Sunday, December 24, 2017

Holiday Reading Room COMICO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL "Traditions Everlasting"

Beneath this never-reprinted Dave Stevens cover...
...lies the polar opposite of the cynical Christmas tale we told yesterday!
See?
There is hope for Christmas (if not humanity) after all!
Written by Doug Wheeler, illustrated by Steve Rude and Bret Blevins, this cover-featured tale from Comico Christmas Special #1 (1988) is this perfect closer to our little blogathon of Christmas-themed stories!
Now get out there, finish your last-minute shopping, and spend the evening with the family!

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Holiday Reading Room ELVIRA'S HAUNTED HOLIDAYS SPECIAL " 'Twas the Night before X-Mas..."

Here's a never-reprinted variation of the Clement Clarke Moore tale...
...that, despite being published 30 years ago, seems as appropriate now as it was then!
Written and illustrated by Ed Hannigan, this downbeat story of slaughtered Santa finds us just as close to war as we were when DC's Elvira's Haunted Holidays Special #1 (1987) appeared!
But we can't let our fans be depressed just before Christmas!

Friday, December 22, 2017

Holiday Reading Room BEST OF O HENRY "Gift of the Magi"

With the last weekend before Christmas approaching...
...let's look at how True Love and Christmas shopping can go hand-in-hand!
This straightforward adaptation of O Henry's Christmas classic appeared in the HTF Pendulum Press' Best of O Henry (1977) digest-sized comic.
Written by John Fago (whose father, longtime comic artist/editor Vince Fago packaged the series) and illustrated by Anton Caravana, it was part of a series of Classics Illustrated-type publications released like the Scholastic Book Club, directly to students and school libraries.
(Don't despair Friday Fun fans!
Tragg and the Sky Gods will return next week!)

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Space: the FInal Frontier (for Christmas Gifts)!

Since the 1890s, and the heyday of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, science fiction-themed presents have found a place under the Christmas tree and in Xmas stockings for the young (and young at heart)!
Continuing that entertaining tradition, Atomic Kommie Comics™ is proud to offer our line of retro-design sci-fi/fantasy collectibles, The Future WAS Fantastic!™, for both kids AND adults!
We're talking 12-month calendars, mousepads, mugs, magnets, t-shirts, sweatshirts and other goodies featuring some of the niftiest illustrations from the comic books, pulp magazines, and movie posters of the 1930s-1960s, all digitally-restored and remastered!
Spaceships with wings and big fins!
Ray Guns that can zap an entire army in a flash!
Slimy Aliens!
Killer Robots!
Heroes in bubble-helmeted tight spacesuits!
Heroines in even tighter space suits!
Never did the future look so...stylish!
If you're looking for something in the vein of Star Wars or Star Trek (You did know that George Lucas wanted to remake Flash Gordon, but King Features didn't want to trust a young director whose biggest credit at that point was American Graffiti, didn't you?), here's the stuff that provided the visual inspiration for today's hi-tech flights of fantasy!
Enjoy, and may your rocket tubes never overheat...

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Holiday Reading Room MYSTIC "Help Wanted"

A Christmas tale that begins just before Easter...
...proves it doesn't pay to be a Scrooge!
Mort Lawrence illustrated this tale of Xmas justice from Atlas' Mystic #19 (1953) including a rather...unusual-looking...demon.
This proved a tad problematic when editor Roy Thomas made the tale the cover feature for an issue of Marvel's horror reprint anthology Vault of Evil!
Penciller Gil Kane and inker John Romita Sr followed the demon's design perfectly...but someone forgot to tell the cover copywriter what the story was about!
There's no story in #6 (1973) even vaguely-related to insects!
And detail-obsessed Roy Thomas is the last person you'd expect to allow such a mistake!
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