Thursday, April 20, 2023

Kirby Reading Room BOMBAST "Bombast Lives!" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

Revived from suspended animation after 15,000 years genetically-engineered warrior Bombast encounters problems in then-current (1993) Chicago!
Besides not understanding any current language, the Garzan soldier's actions are misunderstood and the police, led by the Savage Dragon, attempt to apprehend him!
He narrowly manages to evade the authorities and...
To Be Continued on Friday at our sister RetroBlog...
as NightGlider makes her introduction!
BTW: there's an in-joke on the cover almost nobody born after 1975 will get!
(But almost all the readers of Topps' never-reprinted Bombast #1 in 1993 did understand and appreciate!)
All the listed creatives worked on Marvel's Sgt Fury and His Howling Commandos!
"Wah-Hooo!" was the squad's battle cry!)
Additional BTW: all the creatives were active during the Silver Age and Bronze Age!
But both Dick Ayers and John Severin began working in comics at the end of the Golden Age!
And Jack (King) Kirby himself was there at the dawn of the Golden Age up to the "present" (1993)!
So that's three generations of creators who happily leaped to participate in this project on the strength of Kirby's name alone!

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retelling of elements of the Secret City Saga which also combines other Kirby projects like Galaxy GreenCaptain Victory and Silver Star!

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder IRONJAW "Saga of IronJaw!" Part 1

In the 1970s, everybody had at least one "barbarian" comic book!

Unlike most of them, set in the mists of "pre-history" millennia ago, this one was in a post-apocalyptic future!
To Be Concluded...
NEXT WEDNESDAY!
Written by Michael Fleisher, penciled by Mike Sekowsky, and inked by Jack Abel, this never-reprinted premiere from Atlas' IronJaw #1 (1975) features what has to be the most-misogynistic, least-moral, comics character ever to be classified as a "barbarian"!
He makes Robert E Howard's Conan look like a Boy Scout...and that's how he was intended to be!
It looks like this tale was originally-intended for use in the company's b/w magazine line, which didn't adhere to the Comics Code Authority.
But, for whatever reason, it was used to launch one of Atlas' first wave of  four-color comic titles, which required some rewriting/redrawing to cut back on the blood, gore and sexual content!
We'll go into more detail next week!

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Kirby Reading Room BOMBAST "Bombast Lives!" Part 1

Moving from 15,000 years ago (as we saw yesterday) to the "present day" of 1993...
...Chicagoans (including Savage Dragon) are about to meet the first of the Ninth Men to be revived from suspended animation!

To Be Continued...
Thursday!
And before you ask, yes, Erik Larsen granted permission to utilize his Chicago-based Image Comics character, Savage Dragon, in this tale to help foster the "Silver/Bronze Age" feel with an almost-traditional "heroes meet up but fight due to a misunderstanding" event.
Considering how much Jack Kirby has influenced Larsen's storytelling/illustrating style, I suspect Erik might have wanted to, at least, pencil the tale, but was unable to do so!
As it is, plotter Roy Thomas, writer Gary Freidrich, penciler Dick Ayers, and inker John Severin are all in top form as they follow through with the concept in this never-reprinted story from Topps' Bombast #1 (1993), producing a kool example of how comics used to be before the "Dark Age of Comics" begun by Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns in the mid-1980s!

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retelling of elements of the Secret City Saga which also combines other Kirby projects like Galaxy GreenCaptain Victory and Silver Star!

Monday, April 17, 2023

Monday Madness SECRET CITY SAGA "Gazra"

Begin the never-reprinted tale here...
...as we journey back through the mists of time, to the era of the Ninth Men!
(Don't worry, everything will make sense by the end of this chapter!)
Written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Walt Simonson, the series was conceived and produced as a lighter (but not campy) Silver/Bronze Age-style response to the then-current "dark" trend in comics which began with Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen.
Tomorrow:
BOMBAST!

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics!
Visit Amazon and Buy...
retelling of elements of the Secret City Saga which also combines other Kirby projects like Galaxy GreenCaptain Victory and Silver Star!