Holiday Reading Room SANTA CLAUS FUNNIES "Recitation"

Could anyone do these gentle one-pagers better than Walt (Pogo) Kelly?

Nope, as this never-reprinted piece from Dell's Four Color Comics #91 aka Santa Claus Funnies (1945) proves!

Fly the Yuletide Skies with--SKY WIZARD!

In the 1940s, superheroes were the primary genre in both comic books and pulp magazines.
The skies and streets of pop fiction were filled with people in capes, cowls, leotards, or some combination thereof.
And, of course, a superhero had to have a super-power or gimmick that would set him (or her) apart from the crowd.
Which leads us to our feature character today...
Though he hasn't yet appeared in either Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers or Erik Larsen's Next Issue Project, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™thought enough of Sky Wizard that we added him to the Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ lineup without hesitation!
Why?
1) He's "the Master of Space"! Catchy, eh?
2) He's a scientific genius! (Funky weaponry and modes of transport a speciality!)
3) He can't make up his mind about what costume to wear!
He wore a different costume in each of his four cover appearances!
No fashion victim he! (And you thought Janet Van Dyne-Pym and Henry Pym had bulging wardrobes!)
4) He appeared in Miracle Comics! ("...and if it's a good comic, it's a Miracle! Thank you! We'll be here thru Sunday! Try the veal...")
With a name like that, you know we had to find a spot for him...and his book...in our kitchy lineup!
So, if you're looking for a unique, Golden-Age superhero-oriented gift (shirt, mug, blank sketchbook) for your pop-culture craving sweetie, you can't go wrong with Sky Wizard under the tree (or maybe above it)!
And, c'mon Alex, stick him in Project SuperPowers (The best Golden Age revival on the market! BUY IT!), even if it's just a flashback! (Of course, then you'll have to decide which costume to put him in!) ;-)

Holiday Reading Room CHRISTMAS WITH MOTHER GOOSE "Little Boy Blue and Little Girl Green"

Here's an early example of a "mash-up"...

...putting existing nursery rhyme characters into Christmas to create new tales!

Written and illustrated by Walt (Pogo) Kelly, this never-reprinted tale from the final Christmas with Mother Goose anthology (Dell's Four Color #253 [1949]) adds new characters that didn't exist in the nursery rhyme.

THE Timely Christmas Gift: Korean War Collectibles!

With Kim Jong Un doing whatever psycho things he does when he gets bored or desperate (including screwing with the Internet), rumors of war (at least a cyber-war) with North Korea are once more circulating thru the Free World.

So, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ thought now is the time to re-present art showing how pop culture (in particular, comic books), portrayed the Korean Police Action to the American public during the original hostilities back in the 1950s!

We're offering these rarely-seen classics of pop art to a modern audience on a number of kool kollectibles including t-shirts, mugs, playing cards, and a 12-month calendar, all featuring a dozen classic 1950s comic covers, digitally-restored and remastered directly from the actual kick-Commie-butt books!

For those who wish to relive those days, or those who hope the end result this time will be the same as last time, this is the Christmas present for them!

Let Kim Jong Un BEWARE!

We did it before and we can do it AGAIN!

Holiday Reading Room RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER "The Reindeer Who Saved Christmas!"

We Have Already Seen...

...that's as concise a synopsis as you'll ever read, so on to the story with all requisite speed...

(Regrettably, the copy we're using doesn't have a final page.)

Written by Robert L May and illustrated by Denver Gillen, this beloved tale was actually an advertising promotion designed to lure customers into doing Christmas shopping!

True!

You can read about it (and see the original 1940s cartoon based on the tale) HERE!