Reading Room: SPEED CARTER: SPACEMAN "Famous Explorers: Mercury"

Remember when, in 2005, we landed on Mercury?

Me neither.

But, it must have happened, since it's history!

Look! I'll prove it...

See?

Told ya!

Writer Hank Chapman and artists Bill Benulis & Jack Abel wouldn't lie to us!

Chapman, who wrote the entire Speed Carter series, apparently wanted to emulate writers like E.E. "Doc" Smith and Issac Asimov in creating a cohesive universe with an established backstory.

Today, it's more or less standard practice for any ongoing series in print, movies, or tv, but back then, it was far from the norm.

This story from Speed Carter: SpaceMan #2 (1953) references the previous Famous Explorers tale in it's first paragraph, mentioning James Carter and the exploration of Venus.
(Though saying Carter "discovered" Venus was inaccurate.)

Note: the astronauts in this story, which takes place three generations in the "past" of Speed Carter, have different uniforms and lower-end technology than what's shown in the Speed Carter tales.

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Reading Room: "Space Speedsters"

Combine When Worlds Collide, Damon Runyon's Broadway tales, Flash Gordon, and Front Page...

...and you get this really-weird one-shot tale!

So, we got...Armageddon, gangsters, intrepid spacemen (and women) and spaceships, newspaper reporters, and some comedy relief.

Did I miss anything?

This never-reprinted tale from Black Terror #23 (1948) seems like part of an ongoing series, but I can't find any other stories featuring the lead characters!

Illustrator (and possible writer) Stan Asch was one of the steadily-working artists who were the backbone of the comics industry in the Golden Age.

With over 300 stories and covers to his credit, he co-created Johnny Thunder and Dr Mid-Nite for DC Comics, and assisted both Milton Caniff (on Terry and the Pirates) and Al Capp (on Lil' Abner) during his long career.

Was this a try-out for an onoging series that didn't sell?

We'll never know...

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Preview: THE SHADOW #1 2nd Printing Cover by Francesco Francavilla

The 2nd printing of Dynamite's Shadow #1 features this moody cover...

by old friend Francesco Francavilla!

Read about it HERE!

In addition, Francesco won the British comic industry's Eagle Award for Best New Artist!

(I guess they're just discovering his amazing ability now...)

BTW, if you want more The Shadow stuff, have a look at...

The Shadow: the never-reprinted 1994 movie adaptation HERE!

The Shadow's never-reprinted Bronze Age adventures with The Batman and The Avenger HERE!

The Shadow's never-reprinted campy Silver Age adventures HERE!

Reading Room: SUPERSNIPE "Kidnapping of Mary Lou"

Yeah, we're fanboys (and fangirls) here at Atomic Kommie Comics™...

...but even we are mere poseurs compared to Koppy McFad, aka SuperSnipe!

In one of the first comics metafictions, Koppy was a kid who read comics and then daydreamed about being a superhero himself, including interacting with other comics characters, who were fictional characters in his world, as well as real-life villains like Adolf Hitler!
Debuting in the back pages of Shadow Comics, he appeared briefly in Doc Savage Comics, then transferred to Army & Navy Comics, becoming so popular that the book was retitled SuperSnipe Comics as of #6!
In fact his appearance in Army & Navy Comics #5 (1942) was so important, it featured the only time Doc Savage and The Shadow appeared together (albeit in a cameo) in any story before the 1990s...as you can see below!

The Shadow and Doc Savage are holding up SuperSnipe. Can you name the other heroes? If you can, you're a real fanboy/girl!

BTW, you'll note that Koppy didn't start wearing the trademark red underwear (as seen in the cover at the top of the entry) until he gained his own title...
Ironically, SuperSnipe outlasted most of the superheroes who inspired him, with his title's run ending in late 1949.
Story and art by George Marcoux, an underrated master of humor comics with over 200 stories and covers to his credit.
In an amazing feat, Marcoux was the only writer or artist to render SuperSnipe during his run!
(How many characters have that distinction outside of a mini-series?)
Curiously, his adventures haven't been reprinted, resulting in his comics being among the most expensive on eBay and other venues!

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Salute the Troops on Memorial Day!

A sincere Thank You to those who protect us now and in the past.

My father and big brother both served in the military and both saw combat.

Though I didn't serve, I see how it both affected and benefited them.