Monday, December 19, 2011

Holiday Reading Room: TREASURE CHEST "A Christmas Carol"

There have been numerous comic adaptations of this Dickens classic tale...
...but this version is probably the shortest I've ever seen!
The Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact was a comic published bi-weekly during the school year (September thru June) and distributed to Catholic churches and schools from 1946 to 1966, featuring wholesome stories about historical, scientific, and sports subjects, adaptations of famous fictional works, and a number of original series.
Many well-known Golden and Silver Age creators contributed work to the title including Joe Sinnott, Reed Crandall, Jim Mooney, Graham Ingels, Bernard Bailey, Bob Powell, Fran Matera, and Frank Borth,
It became a year-round bi-weekly from 1966 to 1968, reverting to school-year only until it's cancellation in 1972.
This adaptation appeared in Vol 2 #9 (Dec. 24, 1946).
I believe the artist is Mabel Olsen, whose signature is visible in the next-to-last panel of the last page.
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Sunday, December 18, 2011

Holiday Reading Room: SANTA CLAUS FUNNIES "Night Before Christmas"

There have been numerous graphic adaptations of this classic tale by Clement Clarke Moore.
This version is one of the earliest, from Four Color Comics #61 (1944).
Story taken verbatim from the original, art by Arthur E. Jameson.

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Santa Claus aka St. Nick aka Kris Kringle aka Father Christmas

DID YOU KNOW...the image of Santa Claus, as we Americans know it, is based on the work of two artists over 70 years apart?
1) Thomas Nast, who illustrated the first published version of Clement Clark Moore's The Night Before Christmas in the 1860s
and
2) Haddon Sundblom, who took Nast's visual concepts, refined them, and used them to illustrate Coca-Cola's Christmas advertising campaigns from the 1930s onward!
TRIVIA:
Both Nast and Sundblom are equally famous for their other artistic accomplishments...
Nast was primarily a political cartoonist, whose illustrations of New York's "Boss" Tweed were considered the main reason the corrupt politician was forced from office!
Sundblom also created the image of the Quaker Oats man, and was a noted pin-up girl artist! (In fact, his last published artwork was a pin up girl semi-dressed in a Santa outfit for Playboy's December, 1972 cover!)


We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ offer a dozen different renderings of 'ol Kris Kringle which follow in the visual tradition of Nast and Sundblom, on a host of Cool Christmas™ collectibles ranging from tree ornaments to hot cocoa mugs to snugglies, sweatshirts and hoodies for kids and adults!
While they range from paintings to comic book cover art, they all feature the "classic" image of Santa known to Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials!
So give your "special someone", whether they're a spouse, lover, friend, or relative, a warm feeling this Christmas with a kool kollectible featuring the personification of the Christmas Spirit--Santa Claus!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

While I idolize Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, I'm looking forward to seeing this flick...
 ...this weekend, after which, I'll be dining on fish and chips, stilton cheese fritters, and Guinness Extra Stout at a British-style pub!
For those who are into these (like me), HERE'S the Official Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Downloads Page with desktop/laptop, iPhone/iPod, iPad wallpapers PLUS icons!
Enjoy!
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Thursday, December 15, 2011

Joe Simon (1913-2011)

One of the most important figures of comics' Golden Age, both solo and in tandem with Jack Kirby.
Writer/Illustrator/Editor
Check out his personal website HERE.