Friday, July 6, 2012

The head of Marvel Studios doesn't know the meaning of the word "reboot"

The head of Marvel Studios, Avi Arad, said that in a recent article about the rebooted Spider-Man series in USA Today.
Is he an idiot?
Or has he not seen a James Bond film?
It's perhaps the longest-running franchise in cinema history with an unbroken continuity for 40 years from 1962 (Dr No) to 2002 (Die Another Day).
This knowledge (or lack thereof) of movie history (and common sense) may explain his numerous misfires including the Punisher and Hulk franchises, several video game movie bombs, and the Hasslehoff Nick Fury tv movie.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Reading Room: SPACE SQUADRON "Davis Carter and the Magno I"

Just as Speed Carter had a "future history", so did the earlier Space Squadron...
...as this tale about the first manned space flight in 1953 (yes, 1953) demonstrates!
The writer and artist(s) of this tale from Space Squadron #1 (1951) are unknown.
The Famous Explorers of Space feature ran in all five issues of Space Squadron and the single issue of Space Worlds that used up material left homeless when Space Squadron was cancelled.

When Speed Carter: SpaceMan came along a couple of years later, writer Hank Chapman ignored everything done in Space Squadron, producing stories that often contradicted "history" established in the earlier series.
(Having one of the first space pioneers in Space Squadron named "Carter" could've provided a perfect "hook" to link the two, but Chapman made the wise choice to not do so!)

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Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Patriotic SuperHeroes besides Captain America

"I'm NOT Captain America, or Superman, you sieg-heiling swine!
I'm Super-American!"

Yes, you know about Captain America, but you might want to have a look at the other star-spangled heroes introduced during the Golden Age of comic books!

You did know Captain America was not the first superhero to wrap himself in the "colors that never run", didn't you?
The very first flag-wearing hero was Archie (then MLJ) Comics' The Shield who predated Cap by over a year!
Then, between 1940 and 1945, dozens of stars & stripes-wearing heroes (and heroines) flew, leaped, punched, kicked, and flipped thru the four-color newsprint world of comic books!
(Technically, Superman wore red, YELLOW, and blue, so he wasn't visually a flag-waving hero.
But Wonder Woman's Amazon garb was meant to show alliance with America's values and beliefs!)

In that virtuous vein, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ want to tell you about a plethora of patriotic pummelers at Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ in our Flag-Draped Heroes line of kool kollectibles!
We're talking about
American Crusader
American Eagle (now Burning Eagle)

Captain Battle & Captain Battle Jr
Captain Courageous
Captain V
The Conqueror

The Eagle & Buddy

The Flag

Fighting Yank
Major Victory

Man of War

Miss Victory

Stars & Stripes

Super-American

Unknown Soldier (now Soldier Unknown)

U.S. Jones

V-Man

Yank & Doodle

Yankee Doodle Jones & Johnny Reb

on t-shirts, mugs, messenger bags, and other goodies!

So fly the flag (or The Flag himself) this 4th of July with Flag-Draped Heroes ONLY at Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™!

Monday, July 2, 2012

75th Anniversary of the Disappearance of Amelia Earhart

Let's look at how the amazing aviatrix was portrayed in comics...
Though cover-dated August, 1937, the issue this one-pager by Stookie Allen appeared in (Dell Comics' The Funnies #11) was probably produced in March (when Amelia made her first attempt at an around-the-world flight), and on-sale in May or June, shortly before her ill-fated second attempt.
So the reference about the writer/artist "pulling for her" was probably in reference to her first attempt.
The other comic stories we're presenting were done after she disappeared on July, 2, 1937...
This story from True Comics #52 (1946) has one interesting mis-statement.
See if you can find it...
Did you catch it?
The next-to-last panel should read "Two hours later...", not "Two days later"
Our final tale is from an installment of the ongoing non-fiction feature Wonder Women of History that appeared in Wonder Woman #23 (1947), illustrated by Robert Sale...
Rest in Peace, Ms. Earhart.