Fantastic Femmes--Tamlyn Tomita

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!

Since we covered Babylon 5's First Officer in the previous Fantastic Femmes entry, it seemed only appropriate we present the actress who played her predecessor in the pilot episode...
Had she continued in the role of Laurel Takashima on Babylon 5, it would have been revealed that she was the Psi Corps "sleeper agent" responsible for the attempted assassination of Ambassador Kosh in the pilot. (Instead, the actual assassin was revealed as a guest-star character, and the idea of making a regular character a mind-controlled agent was transferred to Talia Winters.)

It's a bird...it's a plane...it's SUPER GREEN BERET!

Never failing to capitalize on a pop culture trend (how many Barack Obama comics are coming out?), several 1960s comics publishers, noticing the popularity of the hit single Ballad of the Green Berets (by Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler & Robin Moore) quickly launched comics series featuring the elite Army unit.
Most were standard war comics, just set in VietNam instead of WWII Europe or Asia, but one stood out from the rest for sheer weirdness...

What do you get when you combine...
1) Green Berets and the VietNam War with...
2) Teenagers...
and 3) SuperHeroes?
Why, SUPER GREEN BERET, of course!

Green Beret Roger Wilson saves a Vietnamese monk from a wild boar, and in return the grateful priest attaches a pin to his beret which makes it glow.
Home on leave, Roger gives the glowing beret to his teenage nephew Tod Holton, who discovers that, when he dons the headgear and salutes, he's transformed into a super-powered adult dressed in a soldier's uniform!
(There's a long tradition in comics of teens turning into adult superheroes, going all the way back to the original Captain Marvel and The Fly.)
Using his new-found powers of teleportation, telepathy, telekinesis, transmutation, time travel, invulnerability, and super-strength, Tod decides to fight Enemies of Our Country, mostly Communists in then-present-day Asia, but also the British in the American Revolution and Nazis in World War II!
Yes, it's as hokey as it sounds!
And, to think it only ran two issues! (But they were 64 pages each, so it was like getting two regular-sized issues of mind-bending military madness at a time!)

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ felt that we couldn't let such an outrageous character and concept be forgotten, so, as part of our War: Past, Present, & Future™ line, we incorporated Super Green Beret as a light-hearted example of 1960s funkiness to contrast with the seriousness of the World War II and Korean Police Action material (plus we wanted an excuse to make some kool SGB collectibles for ourselves)!

So, why not give a Super Green Beret collectible to the VietNam vet or gonzo comic collector in your life?
It'd make a great Flag Day or 4th of July gift!

FREE BONUS: A link to an online reprint of Super Green Beret!
You gotta see it to believe it!

Congratulations to Shawn Johnson...

...for winning Dancing with the Stars!!!
(It's the only reality show I follow,
besides the Gordon Ramsey shows Kitchen Nightmares
[both US & UK versions]
& Hell's Kitchen!)

Our usual cacophony of comics and crass commercialism will return tomorrow!

Special Memorial Day Shopping Deal!

Atomic Kommie Comics™ offers a special one-day deal to you who choose out War: Past, Present & Future™ line for Memorial Day gifts for the veteran in your life!
Just go to War: Past, Present & Future™ and choose from t-shirts, mugs, tote bags, and other kool kollectibles in the following categories...
World War II as seen by the veterans themselves
World War II as seen from the Home Front
Patriotic Advertising
Korean Police Action
VietNam
or 300 Spartans
(although I doubt we'll find any veterans from THAT conflict!)

Then, if you spend $50 or more, when you go to CheckOut,
enter discount code GOMILITARY to get
FREE SHIPPING
in time for Memorial Day!
(But, it's only good thru 11:59pm Pacific Time today, May 19th, 2009!)

Fantastic Femmes--Claudia Christian

If you believe in yourself, you're willing to take risks.
Claudia started auditioning for film and tv roles right out of high school, working part-time jobs to pay the bills, but keep herself available.
Within two years she began doing guest-star roles on various tv series and small roles in feature films, as well as landing regular spots on several (unfortunately) short-lived series.
Her breakout role was as kick-ass second-in-command Susan Ivanova on Babylon 5.
Since then, she's expanded her acting to live stage as well as animation voice-over and advertising work. (She's the voice of the Jaguar auto commercials.)
She's now living in London, working on her music and guest-starring on British tv and radio.
Trivia:
Has released four solo albums as well as a group album with fellow Babylon 5 cast members entitled The Be Five.
Rumored to have auditioned for the role of Seven of Nine on Star Trek: Voyager.

Genre appearances include...
Star Hyke (Captain Belinda Blowhard)
Mars Shuttle Murders (Lindmeyer)
Geppetto's Secret (Blue Fairy)
Shrek 2 (Fairy GodMother)
Atlantis: the Lost Empire / Atlantis the Lost Empire: the Video Game / Atlantis the Lost Empire: Search for the Journal
(Lieutenant Helga Katrina Sinclair)
Earth & Beyond (Lady Katherine Isabella Olivia deWinter)
Summoner 2 aka Summoner: A Goddess Reborn
(Sangaril/Logosarch / Rosalind / Dama Heras)
Babylon 5 / Babylon 5: In the Beginning / Babylon 5: ThirdSpace
(Commander Susan Ivanova)
The Hidden (Brenda Lee Van Buren)
Maniac Cop 2 (Susan Riley)
Strays (Claire Lederer)
Arena (Quinn)
Hexed (Hexina)
Dot Man (Lieutenant Colonel Dunst)
Gnome Named Gnorm (Samantha)
Doctor Who "The Reaping" (Janine Foster)
Haunting of Hell House [1999] (Lucy)
Half Past Dead (EZ Williams)
Police Story "Monster Manor"
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (Elyse)
Lancelot: Guardian of Time (Katherine Shelley)
Blacke's Magic (Laurie Blacke)
Space Rangers "Death Before Dishonor"
A-Team "Trouble Brewing"
Relic Hunter "All Choked Up"
She Spies "Spy vs Spy"
Highlander "Two of Hearts"
Check out...
Her Official WebSite
Shrine to Claudia Christian (FanSite)
Feature on her departure from Babylon 5