Countdown to Halloween 2019 Blogathon is Coming!

We're pleased to be included in the...

...Countdown to Halloween 2019 Blogathon.

Starting October 1st, we'll be posting stuff once a week on five different RetroBlogs, so there'll be daily posts from us Monday thru Friday!

In addition, our own Monday Madness posts will be the never-seen-in-America Dracula humor strips from the original Spanish-language Dracula comic from 1971!

Note: the 12-issue magazine series was translated and reprinted in England, then the first 6 issues were packaged as a trade paperback by Warren (Creepy/Eerie/Vampirella) Publications!

But neither English-language version ran these one-pagers despite the fact the strip is wordless!

And our Friday Fun posts will be covers and pages from the never-reprinted humor magazines Monsters to Laugh With and Monster Madness, featuring scripting by the late, great Stan Lee!

We'll have links to the other blogs along with the schedule and details about each one's features...

Next Saturday!

Design of the Week Redux: HALLOWEEN HOLE-IN-THE-HEAD!

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another...unless it sells really well, then it goes "Redux" for one more week, like this one!
With Halloween coming, it seems only appropriate that we go with scary themes for the next few weeks.
Kicking off our compilation of creepy collectibles is this ghoulishly-graphic image from one of the types of comic books that gave Dr Fredric Wertham such fits in the 1950s!
(Wertham was the psychiatrist who claimed that horror comics caused juvenile delinquency, resulting in the demise of the genre and the near-death of the comic book industry. Despite his heroic efforts, juvenile delinquency continued to flourish!)
Yeah, it's gruesome, but in a campy, cartoonish fashion!
Isn't that exactly what you're looking for in Halloween-wear?

Design of the Week: HALLOWEEN HOLE-IN-THE-HEAD!

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
This week...
With Halloween coming, it seems only appropriate that we go with scary themes for the next few weeks.
Kicking off our compilation of creepy collectibles is this ghoulishly-graphic image from one of the types of comic books that gave Dr Fredric Wertham such fits in the 1950s!
(Wertham was the psychiatrist who claimed that horror comics caused juvenile delinquency, resulting in the demise of the genre and the near-death of the comic book industry. Despite his heroic efforts, juvenile delinquency continued to flourish!)
Yeah, it's gruesome, but in a campy, cartoonish fashion!
Isn't that exactly what you're looking for in Halloween-wear?

Steve Ditko on RetroBlogs!

It's no secret we at RetroBlogs are major Steve Ditko fans as you can see from our posts at...

True Love Comics Tales, including Ditko's very first published work!

...Secret Sanctum of Captain Video, where we covered some of his work on Get Smart, Gorgo, and Mysterious Traveler!

...Seduction of the Innocent, which showed a Ditko tale that was later re-drawn!
(Who would have the chutzpah to think they could do a better job than Sturdy Steve???)

...Hero Histories, which features one of his greatest co-creations, Captain Atom, one of his greatest creations, Mr A, as well as his only story co-starring The Batman!

...a never-reprinted Civil War tale in War: Past Present and Future...

...even a Western Comics Adventures entry...

...and a Crime and Punishment post!
Was there anything Ditko couldn't do?

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Ditko Unleashed

One-Stop Halloween Shopping at SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT!

Ah, Halloween...
One of our favorite times of the year here at Atomic Kommie Comics™!
And what better time to promote the ghoulish goodies of Seduction of the Innocent™ including Halloween-wear t-shirts, mugs and reusable trick-or-treat tote bags?
SEE: the moody moonlit graveyard of the full-color Italian poster for the original Night of the Living Dead!
SEE: the kitchy graphics of the rarely-seen Astro Zombies poster (believe it or not, the film was PG)!
SEE: the koolest ghoul of all...Vincent Price, on the classic poster for the original House on Haunted Hill?

And let's not forget

The Green Slime!

Last Man on Earth AND Omega Man!

The ORIGINAL Demon Barber of Fleet Street!

I Married a Monster from Outer Space!

The ORIGINAL Little Shop of Horrors!

Occhio de Uccide!

They Came from Beyond Space!

AND (You knew we had to have this one)  

Plan 9 from Outer Space!

Buy them! Trade them! Collect 'em all!

The RetroBlogs Mini-Marathons of 2017!

This summer, each RetroBlog presented a different mini-Blogathon, with some crossing-over between blogs...

The biggest Blogathon was the complete presentation of what many consider to be the first true graphic novel... the 132-page St John's digest-sized b/w one-shot It Rhymes with Lust by writers Arnold Drake and Leslie Waller and illustrator Matt Baker!

This was so cross-genre, it'll be appeared in Seduction of the Innocent, Crime & Punishment, True Love Comics Tales, Heroines, here in Atomic Kommie Comics, and in our newest RetroBlog; Not Safe for Work Comics!
You can start the inter-linked saga HERE!

PLUS...

Hero Histories presented two of the never-reprinted adventures of the Silver Age Plastic Man...his (sorta) origin...

and his team-up with Daddy (the Golden Age Plas) and sidekick Woozy Winks!

(BTW, the gorilla doesn't appear anywhere in the issue!)

Western Comics Adventures spotlighted the complete, never-reprinted adventures of a band of diverse wanderers united by tragedy known as The Bravados!

War: Past, Present and Future covered the short-lived, never-reprinted series Lone Tiger...

..and its' companion strip Dollar Bill Ca$h!
Plus: the final, never-published Lone Tiger tale, scanned from the original art!
 

And with the passing of Jerry Lewis, Secret Sanctum of Captain Video dropped it's look at the never-reprinted adventures of Captain Justice...based on the lost TV series Once a Hero...

...to present never-reprinted classic team-ups of DC heroines...

...and heroes with Jerry!

Still to come...Superman and the 1960s Batman & Robin!
BTW, Captain Justice will pop up before Christmas!
We don't want to miss the show's 30th Anniversary!

Sadly, due to the crush of work...and some serious vacation partying...we weren't able to do how the Comics Code altered reprints in sometimes ridiculous ways at Seduction of the Innocent!

Before the Comics Code...

After the Comics Code...

...so that one will be set for Halloween!

Upcoming 2017 RetroBlogs Summer Mini-Blogathons

This summer, each RetroBlog will be presenting a different mini-Blogathon, with some crossing-over between blogs...

The biggest Blogathon will be the complete presentation of what many consider to be the first true graphic novel... the 132-page St John's digest-sized b/w one-shot It Rhymes with Lust by writers Arnold Drake and Leslie Waller and illustrator Matt Baker!

This is so cross-genre, it'll be appearing in Seduction of the Innocent, Crime & Punishment, True Love Comics Tales, Heroines, here in Atomic Kommie Comics, and in our newest RetroBlog; Not Safe for Work Comics!

PLUS...

Hero Histories will present two of the never-reprinted adventures of the Silver Age Plastic Man...his (sorta) origin

and his team-up with Daddy (the Golden Age Plas) and sidekick Woozy Winks!

(BTW, the gorilla doesn't appear anywhere in the issue!)

Western Comics Adventures will be spotlighting the never-reprinted adventures of a band of diverse wanderers united by tragedy known as The Bravados!

How the Comics Code altered reprints in sometimes ridiculous ways is the basis of the blogathon at Seduction of the Innocent!

Before the Comics Code...

After the Comics Code...

War: Past, Present and Future covers the short-lived series Lone Tiger...

..and its' companion strip Dollar Bill Ca$h!

 

And Secret Sanctum of Captain Video looks at the never-reprinted adventures of Captain Justice...based on the lost TV series Once a Hero...

...along with the secret Stan Lee connection that links the two!

 

The fun begins after the 4th of July, so come back here where we'll link to the various blogathons!

Reading Room MENACE "Walking Dead"

As we pointed out yesterday, "Walking Dead" didn't always refer to zombies...

...but it sure does here!

This cover-featured story from Atlas' Menace #9 (1954) came at the tail-end of the horror comic craze.

Dr. Wertham's crusade against those magazines had already taken it's toll as entire comic companies folded due to falling sales and public outcry.

Menace itself only lasted two more issues before disappearing.

Luckily, Atlas, which already had a predeliction for jumping onto whatever current fad was selling, had such a diverse line, that it was easy for Stan Lee and company to simply "switch gears" and replace the disgraced horror genre with other types of books.

(For example, When MAD comics took off in the mid-1950s, Atlas had four MAD-clone comics; RIOT!, CRAZY!, WILD!, and SNAFU!!

None lasted more than five issues!)

With the Silver Age dawning only a couple of years later, Atlas hung on long enough to become Marvel, and the rest is history...

Illustrated by John Forte with a cover by Gene Colan, the story's writer is unknown.

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Marvel Masterworks

Atlas Era

Menace

Put the "X" Back in Xmas!

Believing that Christmas gifts can have a somewhat risque side, here's a kool, retro, 1950s comic cover image from our somewhat-naughty Seduction of the Innocent™ section.
Quick side note: Seduction of the Innocent was a book written in the 1950s by Dr. Fredric Wertham, a psychiatrist who postulated that, because juvenile delinquents read comic books, comics caused juvenile delinquency! (Psychiatrists today claim the same thing about video games!)
So our collection's title is tongue-in-cheek and somewhat snarky, not prurient!
As we put it..."Proudly show the stuff your grandparents didn't want your parents to see!"
This particular image is a cutting commentary on the belief that New York City is a den of sin, a modern Sodom (if not Gomorrah), and that only MidWestern small-town values are the RIGHT values!
It's available, along with eleven other comics covers and almost TWO DOZEN naughty movie posters, on a variety of items including mugs, messenger bags, t-shirts, tops, and other goodies, not to mention a couple of kool 2017 12-month calendars; Seduction of the Innocent and Good Girls & Bad Grrrls!
So, let's put the "X" back in Xmas! ;-)
It's good to be bad at Christmastime!

Holy Halloween, Batman! Wertham Was RIGHT!

New Pics on Just Jared Say it ALL...

In Seduction of the Innocent, Dr Fredric Wertham claimed, "The Batman type of story may stimulate children to homosexual fantasies, of the nature of which they may be unconscious" and "Only someone ignorant of the fundamentals of psychiatry and of the psychopathology of sex can fail to realize a subtle atmosphere of homoeroticism which pervades the adventures of the mature 'Batman' and his young friend Robin."

There's a delightfully-snarky article about Wertham's conclusions HERE.

And catch the Halloween ep of Modern Family tonite on ABC!

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics

Visit Amazon and Order...

Seduction of the Innocent

by Fredric Wertham

Don't Be Afraid!

It's the final week of RetroBlogs' contributions to the...

Countdown to Halloween

(2016 Edition)

Blogathon

...so catch the final offerings at..

stories of the skull-visaged Masked Marvel II and The Original Ghost Rider!

never-reprinted tales by the Simon & Kirby studio from Prize's Black Magic
and the already weekly...

will run stories of love from the dark recesses of haunted houses to the bright centers of supernovas in horror and sci-fi tales with a romantic bent!
Don't Miss Any of Them!

Are You Missing These Kool COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN Blog Posts?

Just a reminder, the RetroBlogs are proudly participating in the...

Countdown to Halloween

(2016 Edition)

Blogathon

with the following blogs returning to weekly publication for October..

presents the skull-visaged Masked Marvel II and The Original Ghost Rider!

features never-reprinted stories by the Simon & Kirby studio from Prize's Black Magic

and the already weekly...

is running tales of love from the dark recesses of haunted houses to the bright centers of supernovas in horror and sci-fi tales with a romantic bent!

Don't Miss Any of Them!