It's almost Halloween! Here's Santa Claus (and some Martians!)

He's the Jolly Old Elf in a red suit!
They are BIG Green Men from Mars with an even BIGGER robot!
Before Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, they were the ingredients for the weirdest Christmas movie ever!
And, since they include some of Halloween's traditional monsters--notably Martians, we thought we'd represent this cross-holiday classic NOW!
(Besides, most brick-and-mortar stores are already promoting Christmas stuff! Why can't I?)

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians was filmed in 1964 in that bastion of cinema, Long Island, New York (in an unused aircraft hangar).
Starring a host of tv and b-movie actors including handsome-but-stiff Leonard Hicks as the good Martian leader Kimar, 60s villain/voiceover artist Vincent Beck (who did lots of work for Irwin Allen's sci-fi shows) as the film's mustache-twirling Martian villain, Voldar, and John Call as a pretty damn convincing Santa Claus, the flick is touted these days as the debut of future talentless chantuse Pia Zadora as Martian Kid Girmar. (Thankfully, she has rather limited screen time.)

The plot's pretty simple.
The children of Mars are in a funk.
The adult Martians deduce it's due to the childrens' strict and sterile upbringing, and that to "normalize" them, the kids must have fun!
And what could be more fun than celebrating Christmas?
But, to do a proper Christmas, you need a Santa Claus!
Thus, the Martians journey to Earth to kidnap Santa Claus and force him to create a Christmas celebration on Mars!
Then, as they say in TV Guide, hilarity ensues! (well, sorta)

As an example of low-budget filmmaking, it's actually pretty effective.
Every penny (what few of them they had) is up on the screen.
The costuming and Santa's Workshop and Mars sets are as good as those of tv shows of the period.
(The Martian robot is probably the weakest element from a design and execution standpoint, but nobody's perfect!)
There's good use of stock footage (from Dr. Strangelove, no less).
And, the idea to utilize the then-popular Wham-O Air Blaster toy guns as Martian weapons was either a stroke of marketing genius or clever use of limited funds. Either way, sales of the guns shot thru the roof after the film hit the kiddie matinee circuit!

If you're between 3-9 years old, the flick's a lot of fun.
If you're between 10 and whatever the local drinking age is, it'll drive you nuts, especially the theme song!
If you're over the local drinking age, do so before watching! It's available on a host of public domain dvds as well as one of the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 snarkfests.

And you just knew we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ were going to include Santa Claus Conquers the Martians in our Cool Christmas collection on stuff including kid and adult sweatshirts and hoodies, mugs and coasters, tree ornaments, and greeting cards!
BTW: The image is from the comic book tie-in. There was also a 45 single of the theme, a spoken-word LP album of the movie's dialogue, and a novelization!
Now I can't get that damn theme our of my head..."Hoo-ray for Santy Claus..." AARRRGGGHHH!

FREE: either a Halloween trick or an early Christmas gift (interpret as you will) from us to you: a link to a download the film in various formats!

Fantastic Femmes--Heather Langenkamp

Sometimes it's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.
Heather Langenkamp was attending high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, near the location filming for the movie The Outsiders.
While hanging around the location, she was offered the chance to be an extra, and then a small speaking role.
From there she went on to full-time performing, including the tv series Just the 10 of Us and three of the Nightmare on Elm Street films.
Recently, she's gone behind the camera doing film production and directing, including sfx work on Evan Almighty, Dawn of the Dead (2004) and Cabin in the Woods (2011) as well as directing the segment "Jessica" in the new horror anthology film Prank.
Trivia: Much of the plot for the film Wes Craven's New Nightmare is based on Heather's experiences with an Elm Street-obsessed stalker.
She runs an environmentally-friendly candy company!

Genre appearances include...
Perversions of Science "Ultimate Weapon"
Never Sleep Again: the Nightmare Legacy (as self)
Wes Craven's New Nightmare (as Heather Langenkamp playing Nancy Thompson)
Shocker (Victim)
Nightmare on Elm Street / Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (Nancy Thompson)

Check out...
Heather's MySpace Page
Heather's candy company: the Malibu Gum Company

Other actresses to play Nancy Thompson include...
Rooney Mara in Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Newspapermen (& women) Against Evil!

"Newspapermen" in comics tended to be the alter-ego of a costumed crusader.
Look at Clark Kent aka Superman, Peter Parker aka Spider-Man, or Britt Reid aka The Green Hornet.
In each case, the reporter / photographer / editor-publisher served basically as an information provider for the costumed identity to go out and crush evil. ("Hmm...this teletype says Luthor is using a giant robot to destroy Star Labs! This looks like a job for Superman")
But...what if the reporter / photographer / editor-publisher was the actual hero?
What if these crime-crushers had no powers, save The Power of the Press!

That's what Atomic Kommie Comics' ™ newest kool kollectible collection Newpapermen (& women) Against Crime is all about!
Featuring...Big Town's Steve Wilson the managing editor of The Illustrated Press
Casey: Crime Photographer for The Morning Express
Jane Arden: Crime Reporter
and Dick Quick: Ace Reporter
battling corruption, racketeering, and even sabotage, on t-shirts, messenger bags, mugs, and other nifty stuff, these classic images evoke a period when we could trust those who provided the news to give us not only unbiased reporting, but occasionally kick serious ass on our behalf!
(Note: We covered Jane previously, and we'll be doing Hero(ine) Histories for the others shortly.)

If you have a media mogul in the family, here's a perfect (and relatively inexpensive) birthday or holday gift for them.
Remind them of the way it used to be (and could be, again)!

Illegal Alien Costume?

"Hey, I have a Green Card!"

There's been a great deal of politically-correct controversy about an "Illegal Alien" Halloween costume.
(I do note nobody from the ethnic group being portrayed has actually come forth to complain. And if they don't think it's offensive, why should anyone else?)

Personally, I think it's weird to bitch about this NOW, since we've been wearing "illegal alien" Halloween costumes for, literally, generations and nobody's complained about it before...

So, why are we glorifying this...

Illegal Alien?

Entered United States via unregistered aircraft! (Plus, no flight plan filed!)
Adopted by American couple under suspicious circumstances!
Operates under two aliases: (Clark Kent and Superman), not his birth name (Kal-El)!
Ethnicity: "Kryptonian"
I could go on and on...

So, GET A GRIP, PEOPLE!
It's a JOKE!
Humor doesn't have to be politically-correct!
(And, in fact, much of the FUNNIEST stuff ISN'T politically correct!)

Horror Comics Hoodies for Halloween!

Across most of the country, it's colder than usual for mid-October!
Temps are in the 40s already, and will slip to the 30s by the end of the month!
So you'll need something to keep from freezing your trick-or-treating butt off this Halloween.
Luckily, Atomic Kommie Comics™ has your best interests (and health) at heart, and we have exactly what you need...Horror Comics of the 1950s™ Black Hoodies!
An assortment of classic retro horror comic book covers adorns these kool pop comics collectibles featuring...
Ghouls!
Zombies!
Demons!
Skeletons!
Ghosts!
Even Aliens!
What more do you want?
Stay warm on the inside while looking oh-so-ghoulishly-cool on the outside!
Don a super-comfortable 10 oz. fleece blend (90% cotton/10% polyester) black sweatshirt with a fleece-lined hood, roomy front pouch pocket, and heavy-weight 1x1 cuff and waistband ribbing before heading out into the night to do...well, whatever it is you're doing on All Hallow's Eve! (Don't worry, we won't tell!)