Fantastic Femmes--Norah Jones

Actually, she hasn't done any genre stuff, but Geethali Norah Jones Shankar is my favorite vocalist, and I wanted to run a couple of pix of her.
Since it's Christmas Eve, I do have a unique version of "12 Days of Christmas" she did with Jimmy Kimmel...

..so it sorta fits. (And it's MY Blog, so THERE!) ;-)

The Christmas Gift that Keeps On Giving Year-Round: A 12-Month Calendar!

One of our favorite types of pop culture collectible here at the Atomic Kommie Comics™ offices are calendars, in particular the multi-page 12-month kind, with a different illustration for each month.

I have over a decade's worth of James Bond 007 movie poster calendars.
Each year the new one adorns the wall over my computer.
When the year is over, I cut it up and use the art the next year as mini-posters to decorate whatever vacation place I rent during the summer.
Besides 007, over the years, I've picked up, or been given, various Star Trek, Star Wars, DC, Marvel, and other licensed property calendars.
I've always enjoyed using them, and often thought of the person who gave them to me!

But, there are pop culture categories and subjects we've wanted in calendar form as presents for others (or for ourselves), but were never produced!
So, we decided to create them ourselves, using the wildest, rarest, kitchiest comic book, pulp magazine covers and movie posters we could find, each image digitally-restored and remastered from hi-rez scans of the original items, NO reprints or low-rez files! (Would we do that to you?)

Here are the  
Atomic Kommie Comics™ 2011 12-Month Calendars 
by genre 
(Note: Most are revised versions of previous calendars.
TOTALLY NEW ones are indicated as such)

Mystery / Crime
(NEW) Sherlock Holmes: the Greatest Sleuth of All!™ 
Basil Rathbone IS Sherlock Holmes!™
Mr District Attorney™

Horror
Horror Comics of the 1950s™
(NEW) Vampires of Pulps & Comics™
(NEW) Werewolves of the Comics & Pulps™
(NEW) Zombies of Comics & Pulps™

Camp / Kitsch
(NEW) 3-D Movies
(cover shown above)
(NEW) 3-D Comic Books
Seduction of the Innocent!!™
Jungle Girls™
Good Girl / Bad Grrrl™

Romance
True Love Comics Tales™


Sci-Fi / Fantasy
Martians, Martians, Martians!™
Thrilling Science-Fiction Tales™ 
(NEW) Bugs & Creepy Crawlies of Comics & Pulps™
(NEW) Dinosaurs of the Comics & Pulps™ 

SuperHeroes
Captains of the Comics™
(NEW) Classic Green Hornet
Heroines!™
Classic Phantom Lady
(NEW) Lost Heroes of the Silver Age of Comics™
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics Team-Ups™
1st Appearance Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™
Flag-Waving Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™
(NEW) Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics vs HITLER™
Classic Amazing-Man
Classic Black Terror
Classic Blue Beetle
Classic Captain Future
Classic Cat-Man
Classic Dare Devil
Classic Doc Strange
Classic Fighting Yank
Classic Flame
Classic Green Lama
Classic Monster of Frankenstein
Classic Owl
Classic Samson
(NEW) Classic SuperSnipe

Western
Western Comics Adventures™
Real-Life Western Comics™
The Cisco Kid and Pancho™
Masked Western Heroes™


Military
Captain MidNight™
(NEW) Aviators of the Golden Age of Comics™
WAR: Past, Present & Future™
(NEW) Classic Korean War Comics™

NOT available in stores, only on-line! Order now...before time runs out! ;-)
And, of course, there are these other calendars...

YouTube Wednesday: THE GREEN HORNET vs BATMAN!

Continuing our weekly feature "YouTube Wednesday"...

It's Christmastime, so let's go with the most-demanded Green Hornet vids of all... 

When Titans Clash :

Batman vs The Green Hornet!

A decade before Superman vs Spider-Man, this was the first inter-company superhero crossover.
The Hornet and Kato had already cameoed on Batman, in the episode "The Spell of Tut", where they appeared in a window during a Bat-Climb.
Celebrities ranging from Sammy Davis Jr. to Edward G. Robinson popped up for brief appearances during these sequences. Even characters from other ABC series like Lurch (Ted Cassidy) from the Addams Family and Col. Klink (Werner Klemperer) from Hogan's Heroes showed up!

Curiously, the visiting duo are regarded as heroes, not villains, and Britt introduces Kato by name.
(Metafiction aficionados have been driven nuts by these interludes, trying to fit them into their respective universes...)
And, as we've pointed out before, both Batman and The Green Hornet featured their characters watching each others' show on tv!
All that was basically ignored when it was decided that, to boost Green Hornet's decent (but not Batman-level) ratings, GH and K would appear as "Visiting Heroes" on Batman.
For whatever reason, none of the established Batman villains were used. (And The Green Hornet had no costumed or even ongoing opponents.)
Instead, a new baddie, Colonel Gumm, played by Roger C. Carmel*, was introduced, along with a plotline involving counterfeit stamps which drew The Hornet and Kato to Gotham.
The motif of GH and K being perceived as villains was utilized, resulting in the Dynamic Duo being as eager to capture them as to jail the corny counterfeiter!
In addition, it's shown that the two heroes' millionaire alter-egos, Bruce Wayne and Britt Reid, have known each other since childhood, and constantly competed over almost everything, including women!
So, it was inevitable the two costumed frat-boys would square-off in the climax...

On-set photo of Van Williams and Adam West during the climactic fight scene

Unfortunately, the gambit didn't pay off.
The Green Hornet's ratings didn't improve, and the show was cancelled.
(Note: the show's ratings were good enough to make them eligible for renewal, but, since the producers didn't want to implement network-demanded budget cuts, the network axed the series anyway.
Batman, OTOH, continued, with a reduced budget and cut from being twice-weekly to weekly, for another year, before being cancelled.)
Without further adieu, here is the legendary two-parter; "A Piece of the Action" and "Batman's Satisfaction"...






*Roger C. Carmel played numerous flamboyant villains on everything from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. to Hawaii Five-0 to Transformers to Star Trek, where he portrayed Harcourt Fenton "Harry" Mudd on both the classic and animated series!
He's also the answer to the trivia question; "Who's the only actor to play a villain opposite Batman, Captain Kirk, and The Green Hornet?"

Christmas at Ground Zero!!!

At this time of year, Christmas carols are in continuous rotation on the stereo in the Atomic Kommie Comics™ office.
One of our favorites is Christmas at Ground Zero by "Weird" Al Yankovic. (You were expecting maybe Adeste Fidelis?)

Which brings us to, perhaps, the most unusual theme for potential Christmas presents (and, you gotta admit, we've had some real weirdies!)...atomic Armageddon!

Within our sci-fi-oriented The Future WAS Fantastic!™ section is the Atomic War line of kool collectibles with classic comic book covers from the fear-filled '50s, featuring the nuclear destruction of New York City (see above), Washington DC, and Moscow on black hoodies, sweats, and tees, as well as mugs and other tchochkies!

So for all you survivalists out there, while you duck n' cover under the Christmas tree, prepare for the irradiated end stylishly with our radiation-proof (well...not really!) garb and goodies!

Under the Evergreen...Silver Age Green Hornet Poster Prints!

Green Hornet #1

Posters derived from the covers to the hard-to-find (and never reprinted) three-issue comic book run based on the 1960s tv series, digitally-restored and remastered.
Available in several sizes up to 16" x 23".
With a new movie coming out right after Christmas, any (or all) would be the perfect Christmas gift under the evergreen for the Green Hornet fan in your life!

Green Hornet #2

Green Hornet #3

 Green Hornet #2 (Back Cover)

And,because we appreciate your support, a free Christmas gift for you from Atomic Kommie Comics™...cbr downloads of the stories from the 1960s comics!

Green Hornet #1

Green Hornet #2

Green Hornet #3