Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Does North Korea Realize World War III Already Happened?

Nuclear Armageddon came in 1960...
...not once, but twice!
At least, that was the basis for two different series from the same publisher running simultanously in 1952, Atomic War! and World War III!
Oddly, the premiere issue of World War III presented a similar series of events to the first issue of Atomic War, but in a slightly-different time-frame, and a different order!
There were no cross-overs and certain events and available technology were very different in the two titles, indicating the two series were alternate universe versions of each other!
BTW, Atomic War! came first, in November, 1952, following in December, then going bi-monthly in February and April, 1953.
World War III ran in March and May of 1953, the months Atomic War! wasn't published, giving kids of the era a monthly fix of future fun!
Noted comics, pulp, and paperback author Robert Turner wrote both issues of World War III, but the writer(s) of Atomic War! are unknown.
With North Korea threatening us with nuclear annihilation (again), we thought we'd call your attention to our re-presentation of these kool examples of Cold War paranoia at our "brother" RetroBlog ™, War: Past, Present & Future™.

Monday, March 7, 2016

Reading Room UNKNOWN WORLDS OF SCIENCE FICTION "Kick the Can"

It's said that space opera = "horse opera" with rayguns instead of six-guns...
...and just like the revisionist westerns of the '60s and '70s, this is a more sophisticated version of that concept.
Written and illustrated by Bruce Jones, this never-reprinted tale from Marvel's Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #4 (1975) takes the cliches of both horse opera and film noir, puts them in a sci-fi setting and makes them work in a way the Comics Code would not have allowed in a color book.
(Helping a wife escape her husband through extra-legal means and deliberately allowing someone to die were both no-nos to the Code.)
Plus, Jones' classical illustration style gives the tale an emotional resonance a more-stylized artist wouldn't have achieved.
BTW, Jones is still active in the field, as his LinkedIn site shows...

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Holiday Reading Room: EASTER WITH MOTHER GOOSE "Chicken Little"

It's a classic tale with a holiday twist...
...as told by the legendary Walt (Pogo) Kelly in Dell's Four Color Comics #140 (1947)
"Fudgy-wudgy" indeed!

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Toddler and KidsWear Easter Egg-citment!


Choose from Ducky's 1st Easter...
Bibs, creepers, toddlers' and kids' t-shirts, sweatshirts, and adult goodies like maternitywear!
NOTE: The organic clothing is from American Apparel!
Order now, so you'll have it in time for Easter!

Friday, March 4, 2016

Reading Room: ROBBIE

Let's end the week with a kool project that, unfortunately, never reached fruition.
Combining Little Nemo in SlumberLand with Flash Gordon should've been an easy sell in the 1960s.
But, this two-page labor of love by writer Len (Mars Attacks) Brown and Al (Flash Gordon) Williamson was presented to the syndicates at a time when the only adventure strips were "legacy" series with an already-existing following.
So, it was consigned to the dustbin of history, published in the same 1962 issue of the fan/prozine Fantasy Illustrated yesterday's "Life Battery" originally-appeared in.