Monday, December 1, 2014

Holiday Reading Room: SNOW QUEEN "Prince and the Princess"

Kay, an innocent little boy, is affected by tiny shards of an evil mirror accidentally imbedded in his skin.
Now cruel and mean, the lad torments his playmates, including his best friend Gerda, who, though confused by his actions, still loves Kay.
While involved in a snowball fight, Kay is swept away by the immortal Snow Queen, who takes him to her ice palace.
Gerda, worried and despondent, decides to go in search of Kay, and encounters a witch who wants to keep the girl in her enchanted garden, forever.
But, the resourceful child escapes and encounters a talking crow who knows of a little boy who sounds like Gerda's missing friend...
Tomorrow:
Written by Gaylord Du Bois and illustrated by Lea Bing, this never-reprinted tale from Dell's Fairy Tale Parade #9 (1943) is the only comic book adaptation of the Hand Christian Andersen fairy tale that serves as the (very loose) basis of the current Disney movie Frozen!

In fact, you may be wondering what the heck is going on since none of this plotline is in Frozen!

In 1943, Walt Disney and Samuel Goldwyn had considered the possibility of collaborating on a film biography of Hans Christian Andersen, wherein Goldwyn's studio would shoot the live-action sequences of Andersen's life and Disney would create the animated sequences.
But, due to creative differences, the project was cancelled.
Goldwyn went on to produce his own live-action film version in 1952, entitled Hans Christian Andersen, with Danny Kaye as Andersen.
But, the Disney studio didn't give up on adapting Andersen's stories into animation, as we will see tomorrow...

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Holiday Reading Room: SNOW QUEEN "Flower Garden of the Woman Who Knew Magic"

We Have Already Seen...
Kay, an innocent little boy, is affected by tiny shards of an evil mirror accidentally imbedded in his skin.
Now cruel and mean, the lad torments his playmates, including his best friend Gerda, who, though confused by his actions, still loves Kay.
While involved in a snowball fight, Kay is swept away by the immortal Snow Queen, who takes him to her ice palace.
Gerda, worried and despondent, decides to go in search of Kay...
Tomorrow:
Written by Gaylord Du Bois and illustrated by Lea Bing, this never-reprinted tale from Dell's Fairy Tale Parade #9 (1943) is the only comic book adaptation of the Hand Christian Andersen fairy tale that serves as the (very loose) basis of the current Disney movie Frozen!

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Holiday Reading Room: SNOW QUEEN "About the Mirror and Its Pieces" and "A Little Boy and a Little Girl"

With rumors swirling about a sequel film...
...and an incredible about of merchandise offered this Christmas for the animated film, Frozen, we're re-presenting the classic (and extremely-different fairy tale the flick is based upon!
Tomorrow:
Written by Gaylord Du Bois and illustrated by Lea Bing, this never-reprinted tale from Dell's Fairy Tale Parade #9 (1943) is the only comic book adaptation of the Hand Christian Andersen fairy tale!
(The currently-available graphic novel...
 ...is an adaptation of the movie, not the original story.

Friday, November 28, 2014

Black Friday Deals

Christmas Greeting Cards
Not Available in Stores!
Digitally-restored and remastered from the original comics/book/posters!
Single Cards
Normally $4.99
Now almost half-price
at only $2.99!

10-Packs
Normally $24.99
($2.49 Each)
NOW $19.99!
(Only $1.99 each)
 
20-Packs
Normally $34.99
(A steal at $1.75 each)
NOW $24.99
(Grand larceny at $1.25 each)

21 designs including the 1st Edition, the Arthur Rackham-illustrated edition, and the 1951 movie!
21 designs that will bring back fond childhood memories of the 1950s and '60s!
He's the jolly old elf in a red suit
They are big green men from Mars with an even bigger robot!
Before Nightmare before Christmas they were the stars of the weirdest Christmas movie EVER!
Choose the comic book cover or two different poster designs!
Comics characters from the Golden Age to the Bronze Age celebrate Xmas in their own unique way.
Prices good now through midnight Eastern Time on December 1st, 2014

Thursday, November 27, 2014

The Secret of 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!