Sunday, March 28, 2010

Preview--Kato: Origins #2 Cover

Another moody, pulp-style cover by Francesco Francavilla, from his blog.
It's for Kato: Origins #2, due out in June.
Why they don't give this guy a whole Green Hornet book is beyond me!
He's already proven himself with Zorro!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Pop Culture Messenger / LapTop / iPad / Kindle / eBook Reader Bags

With the new iPad coming out in a week, it's time to consider what you're going to carry it in...
Yeah, you could just stick it in your backpack, along with all your other books n' stuff, but think about two important things...
1) What happens if it gets damaged?
2) Where's the fun in that?
So, to
1) Protect your investment in state-of-the-art electronics!
and
2) Have some fun!
we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ offer the following option...
Our line of pop culture-themed Messenger Bags!
They have...
One front adjustable clasp closure.
Main compartment has an inside slip pocket.
Front panel has zipper compartment.
Adjustable 2" shoulder strap.
Made of sturdy (and waterproof) 600 Denier Polyester
Size: 14 1/2" x 12" x 5" (Perfect for iPad, Kindle, most other e-Book Readers, dvd player, or smaller laptops/notebooks!)
Of course, they come with our assortment of retro-kool vintage designs, many exclusive to our online store!
And, best of all, they're ONLY $29.99! (Cheaper than a pair of Doc Martens!)
We've even set up two different ways you can go directly to our kool kollection...
1) a special shop page leading you directly to the bags, separated by genre (mystery, horror, western, romance, sci-fi, etc.) Yes, we cover EVERYTHING!
or
2) you can just look thru the entire assortment (over 500 designs) at once!
(Of course, if you just want to take your time and browse thru the whole store...come in. hang out, look around! You're always welcome!)

Friday, March 26, 2010

Design of the Week--Easter with Mother Goose (by popular demand)

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!

Since we've had numerous requests since it "rotated out" of Design of the Week, we thought we'd re-present an absolutely adorable piece by the legendary Walt (Pogo) Kelly featuring a puppy, kitten, and bunny with surprised looks on their faces as the egg they're painting hatches, producing yet another cute animal...a chick!

You just don't see stuff like this anymore!
So, why not order some kidswear, or even holiday greeting cards with this one-week-only graphic?
Everyone who sees it will go "Awwww."

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Trent, Kelly Robinson, Bill Maxwell...they were ALL Robert Culp!


One of the underappreciated talents of the genre, actor / writer / director Robert Culp, passed away.

Best known for his genre work, he made three appearances (more than any other lead actor) on the original Outer Limits, "Architects of Fear", "Demon with a Glass Hand"*, and  "Corpus Earthling".
He even played the villain in the 1st season Man From U.N.C.L.E. ep "The Shark Affair"!


His greatest success came on the tv series I Spy, one of the many secret agent shows of the 1960s, but one with a distinctive twist...it co-starred a Black actor as an equal part of the lead duo!
Bill Cosby's Alexander Scott posed as "trainer" to Culp's "pro tennis player" Kelly Robinson, but the pair were equals in every way, including fighting abilities and opportunities for romantic entaglements, though Scott was the better-educated of the two, and Robinson was more experienced at espionage work.
Both Culp and Cosby liked improvising their wise-cracking dialogue, and, after doing a couple of takes as scripted, usually did one or two off the tops of their heads, with the resulting episode being a combination of takes.
Culp and Cosby were both nominated for Emmys as Lead Actor in all three years, with Cosby winning each time.
Culp was also Emmy-nominated for one of the seven episodes he wrote. (Culp insisted on no improv when filming those episodes!)
Like most 60s shows, there was both a reunion tv-movie I Spy Returns, and an awful updated movie version I Spy with Eddie Murphy as Kelly Robinson.
There were eight original novels (no novelizations of episodes like Star Trek) and a comic book. (Remember, there were no videotape or dvds of the show!)

After  I Spy, Culp did various tv guest-star roles as well as both starring and supporting roles in feature films, most notably Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice.

He was the first choice for Commander John Koenig on Space: 1999, but when he insisted on the opportunity to write and direct as well, producer Gerry Anderson went with Martin Landau.

He returned to genre tv in the early 1980s as old-style FBI agent Bill Maxwell in The Greatest American Hero (which,like I Spy, ran three years), and it's spin-off pilot The Greatest American Heroine.
Robert Martin Culp
August 16, 1930 – March 24, 2010

A special tribute treat: The pop-culture spy blog Mister 8 provides the I Spy comic story "The Missing Man", while the Gold Key Comics blog samples the I Spy comic "A Deadly Friend".

*There were plans by "Demon with a Glass Hand" writer Harlan Ellison to use Trent (again played by Culp) in an episode of Babylon 5 (which Ellison was serving as a creative consultant on), but they never came to fruition.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Golden Age Comic LogoWear

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ are big fans of logos.
You know, the distinctive title lettering for a book or character.
Visually, it's the main element that distinguishes one book from another, especially when they're "racked" in a traditional magazine rack so only the top 1/3rd of the cover is visible.

And nowhere were logos more distinctive than during The Golden Age of Comics.
So, it's with pardonable pride that we present a line of kool kollectibles featuring the best of classic comic book logos in our line of logowear!
We've included some of the niftiest lettering ever to grace t-shirts, messenger bags, mugs and other goodies including Amazing-Man Comics, The Black Terror, The Blue Beetle, Captain Future, Captain MidNight, Captain Science, Captain Video, Cat-Man Comics, DareDevil, Doc Strange, The Face, Fighting Yank, The Flame, The Green Hornet, Green Lama, Monster of Frankenstein, The Owl, Phantom Lady, Samson, and SkyMan!
We're also featuring our own retro-themed Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ logo in it's own line of logowear!
There'll be more to come, so check us often!