Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Reading Room FLYING SAUCERS "Far Out Physical"

Both Gold Key and Dell produced UFO-themed anthology titles in the 1960s...
...with decidedly-different approaches!
Editor Don (D J) Arneson wrote all the stories in the four-issue run of Dell's Flying Saucers, also making sure the various artists presented a fairly-consistent "look" to the aliens.
In the case of this tale from #1 (1967), Sam Glanzman brought his realistic, natural style to a story using many of the established elements of UFO lore.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Reading Room CAPTAIN JOHNER AND THE ALIENS "Forced Landing"

...we see how working together can have unexpected benefits!
Writers Eric Freiwald & Robert Schaefer and creator/artist Russ Manning take a deceptively-simple story and add an unexpected twist with this tale from Gold Key's Magnus, Robot Fighter #5 (1963).
Nicely done...

Sunday, May 22, 2016

War IS Hell...Without LOVE!

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ know that the path of true love is not always smooth, especially in wartime.
In tribute to the brave men and women of the armed forces, we have a section featuring military-oriented romance comic books entitled WarTime Love™ just in time for Memorial Day featuring greeting cards, teddy bears, clothing and a host of other goodies with vintage retro military romance comic cover art.
Show your beloved, whether they're an officer, noncom, or GI Joe (or GI Jane), or the civilian waiting for you at home, that you're thinking of them on Memorial Day!

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Best of Reading Room GULLIVAR JONES "Web of Hate"

We're still in the mood for High Adventure...
..so, we're re-presenting, from the b/w magazine Monsters Unleashed #4 (1974), the first all-new, never-reprinted, Gullivar Jones sequel strip, produced by two then-newcomers to Marvel...
Dave Cockrum had been doing some inking over various pencilers including Rich Buckler, Don Heck, and George Tuska on The Avengers, but this was his first full art (Pencils and inks) assignment at Marvel.
Tony Isabella had co-plotted/scripted a number of other stories including the last Doc Savage two-parter with Gardner Fox, but this appears to be his first solo effort as a writer.
It's a fine job by both of them.

There's one more Gullivar Jones tale to be told.
And, like this one, it featured the Marvel debut of another soon-to-be superstar!
Who?
You're going to have to come back next Saturday to find out!

Friday, May 20, 2016

Reading Room CLIFF HANGER "Chapter One: Jungle Peril"

It's the weekend, so, since comic book heroes will dominate the cinemas for most of the summer...
...let's revive the tradition of movie serials, but in comic book form!
Written by Bruce Jones and illustrated by Al Williamson, this backup strip from Pacific Comics' Somerset Holmes #1 (1983) perfectly conveys the fun and excitement of 1930s-40s movie serials!
Note: this chapter was reprinted (in b/w) in Insight Studios' Al Williamson Adventures (2003), but it's not listed on GCD, nor can I find a copy to check if the remainder of the series was reprinted in that volume.
Bonus: a photo feature about the creatives working on both the lead Somerset Holmes tale and Cliff Hanger!
As we said, be here next Friday...