Monday, December 5, 2011

Design of the Week--Public Defender in Action!

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
This week...He's the man who defends those who can't afford a defender!
He's the Public Defender and he's obviously in Action! (It says so in the title!)
While district attorneys and criminal lawyers tend to get all the attention in fiction, Legal Aid lawyers usually get short shrift, most often as easily-disposed courtroom opposition for lead characters in various Law & Order series.
There's only been one radio series (Roger Kilgore: Public Defender) and a single tv series (Young Lawyers) about them*.
Oh, and this short-lived comic book series about Richard Manning, who defends those the law has wrongly-accused!
It didn't set the world on fire during it's six-issue run (In fact, it's never been reprinted!), but it did offer a contrast to the usually-infallible police and DAs who never prosecuted an innocent person!
We're promoting our addition of Public Defender in Action to our Crime & Punishment™ line of comic collectibles which includes his across-the-aisle counterpart, Mr District Attorney with a one-week special including items that won't be offered in the regular store!
If you have a friend/relative/loved one who is a Legal Aid lawyer or legal aide, one of these kool kollectibles would make a great kitschy Christmas gift!
Be there for Public Defender!
He'd be there for you!

*The long-running TV series The Guardian, starring Simon Baker, was about a lawyer from a high-end firm forced to perform community service as a Legal Aid consultant after a drug conviction.
Not the same thing. ;-)

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Good Will Must Originate in the Industrial Plant!

It's amazing how the solutions to current problems can be found in old comic books!
...as shown in this strip from Picture News in Color and Action #3 (1946)
Considering how Republican 2012 Presidential candidates are publicly throwing around ideas like eliminating minimum wage and child labor laws and Republicans are actively backing labor-busting initiatives, it's frightening to consider how far we've regressed!
Are debtors' prisons next?
Support Small Business this Christmas!
Visit the
and the

Saturday, December 3, 2011

"The Gifts are Afoot, Watson..."


OK, it's a silly paraphrase of a classic line, but we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ take our Sherlockania VERY seriously...
As part of our Crime & Punishment™ collection, we've given The Greatest Sleuth of All™ his very own section!
12 different designs, including several with Basil Rathbone, the man who is to Sherlock Holmes as Sean Connery is to James Bond; not the first, but to many (including myself), the definitive portrayer!
Add to that, several classic comic book covers, a variety of other movie posters (including the campy A Study in Terror with Holmes as "The ORIGINAL Caped Crusader"!), the coolest cigar box art I've ever seen (based on William Gillette, the definitive stage Holmes), and 1st Edition covers including A Study in Scarlet and His Last Bow!
PLUS:
NEW: Sherlock Holmes Throw Blankets & Snugglies!
The Basil Rathbone IS Sherlock Holmes! 2012 12-Month Calendar!
The Sherlock Holmes: the Greatest Sleuth of All! 2012 12-Month Calendar!
With the NEWEST Robert Downey jr/Jude Law movie opening December 16th, if you're looking for a cool, retro Christmas gift for the Holmesian, Sherlockian, or Baker Street Irregular in your life, you can't go wrong with one of these calendars, mugs, bags, shirts or other goodies! (Let him/her go to the flick "secret chic" style with a vintage Holmes sweatshirt or hoodie!)

Friday, December 2, 2011

What We MUST Do to Avoid the Disaster of Inflation!

Is it 2011 or 1946?
The more things change, the more they remain the same!
This dire warning from Picture News #4 in 1946 frighteningly-mirrors the state of America in 2011!
Bowles was the head of the Office of Price Administration, set up by President Franklin D Roosevelt just before World War II began.
Support Small Business this Christmas!
Visit the
and the

Thursday, December 1, 2011

The Woman Who Loved Scrooge!

When you think of Ebenezer Scrooge, "lovable" is probably the last word you'd associate with him.
Yet, one woman gave her heart to him...was engaged to him...and had her heart broken by him!
Her name was Belle!

She appears twice in A Christmas Carol, during Scrooge's journey with the Ghost of Christmas Past.
First, we see how the young Scrooge choose between his love of money and love of her.
Second, we see how, after the breakup, she married a good man and together they raised a loving family, giving Scrooge a look at what "might have been" had he chosen to remain with her!

Almost every dramatic adaptation shows the first incident, but omits the second scene (usually due to time constraints), thus many people have never known how Belle's life turned out after Scrooge left her!
(You'd be surprised how many people never actually read the story, only seen tv or film versions!)

Most of the illustrators of the many editions that have been printed over the decades have also bypassed the conclusion of Belle's plotline.
But not Arthur Rackham!
The legendary illustrator did not one, but two color illustrations just for the short conclusion to Belle's story in Stave Two!
And we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ just had to include both of them in our A Christmas Carol collection!
One, Belle & Children shows Scrooge's once-love playing with her kids.
The other, Belle's Family portrays the children crowding around their father (whom Scrooge could have been, had he chosen differently) as he comes home, laden with presents!

They're absolutely beautiful pieces, some of the best work Rackham ever produced!
Enjoy!