Monday, February 1, 2010

Meet the FIRST Black Comic Character with His OWN Book--LOBO!

Celebrate Black History Month (and show off your pop-culture knowledge) with kool kollectibles from Atomic Kommie Comics™ featuring comics' FIRST Black cowboy!

Created the same year (1966) as Marvel's Black Panther (who guest-starred in Fantastic Four, Tales of Suspense, and The Avengers, but didn't get his own series until 1973, or his own comic until 1977), Lobo was the FIRST Black character with HIS OWN BOOK!
(Other Black characters had their own series in anthology books, but Lobo was the first to have his name AS the comic's title!)
Lobo combined several popular concepts...
Man on the Run for a Crime He Did NOT Commit
Exemplified by then-hit tv series The Fugitive, Lobo was framed, but couldn't prove his innocence.
Lone Western Hero
A loner wandering the Old West, righting wrongs was an especially popular genre in tv Westerns.
Variations on the theme included gamblers (Maverick) and martial-arts experts (Kung Fu)
Note: the tv series Branded combined both the Loner and Man Framed themes!
Prominent Black character
Black characters (except for sterotypes like Amos 'n Andy) were few and far between on tv until the mid-1960s, and even then only as supporting characters (usually servants).
1960s urban dramas like Naked City and East Side, West Side, which dealt with current social themes had Black guest stars including James Earl Jones and Diana Sands, but no Black regulars.
Star Trek (1966) had both a Black regular character (Lt. Nyota Uhura) and Black actors in prominent roles as scientists and high-placed officers (admirals, etc,).
But, at that point, there were no tv series with a Black lead or Black title character!
(Diahann Carroll's groundbreaking series Julia didn't debut until 1968!)
So, Lobo was, to say the least, a daring experiment, albeit one with as many popular themes as possible to maximize sales potential!
Unfortunately, it didn't work.
Lobo the comic only ran two issues, but now you can have the collectibles like t-shirts, magnets, mousepads, etc., they never made during his title's too-brief run!
Our Lobo page...
Lobo
Our entire Western line (including Lobo)...
Western Comics Adventures™

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Kool New Blog: Comic Twart

There's a very kool blog I'd like to point out to all comics fans...Comic Twart!
The concept is an artists' jam (both pros and very talented amateurs who could turn pro) with a different character or series each week! (Among them is Francesco Francavilla of Zorro and, soon, Green Hornet, fame!)
So far they've done spectacular jams on Zorro and The Rocketeer.
(both pulp/Golden Age comic/retro-themed subjects! Our favorite!)
Who knows what they'll do next?
I'll be watching!
Will you?

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Return to a "Heroic Age" Atomic Kommie Comics™ NEVER left!

The lead feature in last Wednesday's USA Today's Life section was about Marvel Comics' change of story concepts, dropping the grim 'n gritty themes inspired by Watchmen or The Dark Knight Returns and returning to a more upbeat, fun approach called The Heroic Age, closer to the Golden or Silver Age,while promising to remain "edgy" and "contmporary"!
We're pleased, since that's what Marvel was...back in the Silver Age!
DC had already announced similar plans with their In Brightest Day overhaul of the DC Multiverses, but their PR people weren't quite as effective in generating publicity as Marvel's...

But, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have been presenting the best of the previous Heroic Age on our collectible Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line for the past several years!
The vintage covers we use were the creative expressions of people who sought escape thru entertainment media from a world where financial disaster and war were everyday events!
(Come to think of it, that sounds a lot like today, doesn't it?)

Back then, it was the late 1930s-early 1940s.
The Great Depression was slowly ending, and World War II was slowly creeping up on us!
The average Joe and Jane turned to radio, the movies, and pulp and comic magazines for brief respites from everyday worries!

Today, the Great Recession is slowly ending, and, while the Iraq War is ending, the Afghanistan War is building up!
Instead of radio, the average Joe and Jane have tv in various forms and the internet.
And, we still have movies and comic magazines!

And, we still have heroes!
Come celebrate with us!

Friday, January 29, 2010

Design of the Week--Perfect Love!

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
This week...our final Valentine's Day-themed assortment features..."Tales of Ideal Romances"...Perfect Love!
Available on an assortment of goodies from clothing to collectibles, it'd make a (dare we say?) perfect, yet kitschy Valentine's Day present for your pop culture-loving sweetie!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

News about The Green Hornet: Year One mini-series!


According to noted Zorro artist Francesco Francavilla on his blog, he'll be doing both the interior coloring and alternate covers for the new Dynamite Comics mini-series Green Hornet: Year One!
As you can see from the promo piece, his art has a real pulp-era/Golden Age feel!