Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Segregationist George C Wallace: the Comic Book!

50 years ago today, Alabama Governor George C Wallace made history...
...by attempting to defy the Federal Government's order to de-segregate Alabama schools.
(He backed down when he realized that the Feds meant business.)
Wallace was so proud of his segregationist attitudes that he had them included in a comic book produced in 1960 during his election campaign!
These pages are excerpts of the 16-page comic considered instrumental in Wallace's victory in 1960.
You can see the complete comic HERE.
You'll note an emphasis on "states' rights" of the sort Tea Partiers advocate as well as the paranoid fear that the Feds wanted to "take over" Alabama.
BTW, In his inaugural speech after winning the race, Wallace promised "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."
Note: Ironically, Wallace was a Democrat.
However, Federally-forced desegregation as well as the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 caused many racist Democrats to switch to the Republican Party (which began catering to the right-wing audience with the "Southern Strategy") or, as in the case of Wallace, joining the newly-created American Independent Party.
In the late 1970s, Wallace became a born-again Christian and recanted his racist attitudes.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Reading Room: STRANGE WORLDS "Death on the Earth-Mars Run!"

Murder on a cruise ship is an old mystery story trope...
...but transposing the plot from an ocean liner to a space liner emphasized the "trapped with a killer" aspect!
This tale of murder and mayhem on the high seas in deep space appeared in Avon's Strange Worlds #8 (1952) and was rendered by Everett Raymond Kinstler, who eventually left pulps and comics for fine art (including several official portraits of US Presidents).
Unlike most pulp/comic artists who moved into fine art, Kinstler is happy to discuss and display his early work.
You'll note a lot of swipes of Flash Gordon art by Alex Raymond.
This wasn't unusual, since Raymond (along with Milton Caniff, Hal Foster, and Noel Sickles) were seminal inspirations for the first generation of comic book artists.
BTW, the writer of the tale is unknown.
When the story was reprinted in the back of Skywald's The Heap #1 (1971), the Comics Code forced a couple of odd changes...
Page 3 Panel 1
Making Santley's adopted daughter his stepdaughter and eliminating the "he signed for me" quote!
Page 5 Panel 1
Adding a "Space Police" sig to the note, emphasizing the "official" aspect of the order.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Reading Room: SPACE ACTION "MIssion into Time"

Look at what's going to happen next year...
...as predicted in this tale published in the third and final issue of Ace's sci-fi anthology, Space Action (1952)!
At least this tale, illustrated by Lou Cameron, offers an explanation as to why time travelers haven't come back to the past.
But, I find it difficult to believe the people of the future couldn't retrofit a vehicle with still-functioning (though centuries-old) technology with a control device.
BTW, the writer is unknown.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Calendars are NOW 25% Off!

From now until July 4, 2013, all calendars are discounted from $19.99 to $14.99!
Here are the  
Atomic Kommie Comics
2013 12-Month Calendars 
by genre

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


Horror
WereWolves & Vampires
Horror Comics of the 1950s
Vampires of Pulps & Comics
Werewolves of the Comics & Pulps
Zombies of Comics & Pulps
(shown above)

Camp / Kitsch
3-D Movies
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!
Art of Barsoom 
Thrilling Science-Fiction Tales 
Bugs & Creepy Crawlies of Comics & Pulps
Dinosaurs of the Comics & Pulps™ 

SuperHeroes
Captains of the Comics
Heroines!
Classic Phantom Lady

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

Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics vs HITLER
Classic Captain Future

Classic Green Hornet
Classic Monster of Frankenstein 

Classic SuperSnipe

Western
Western Comics Adventures
Real-Life Western Comics
The Cisco Kid and Pancho



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

NOT available in stores, only on-line! Order now...before time runs out! ;-)

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Pregnant Zombie NRA Member Sends Poison Letters to White House and Gracie Mansion

You can't make this stuff up!
Shannon in zombie mode as seen on the Fox Internatonal Channel website
Actress Shannon Rogers Guess Richardson confessed to sending letters filled with ricin, a lethal toxin to both the White House and Gracie Mansion supposedly-complaining about her belief that her right to own guns was being violated by the government.
Shannon, who is currently pregnant, had appeared as a "walker" (zombie) in two first-season episodes of Walking Dead and as a background extra in an episode of Vampire Diaries.