Len Wein (1948-2017)

Most remember Len Wein for co-creating Swamp Thing, Wolverine, and the All-New, All-Different X-Men...

FOOM Magazine #10 Cover Original Art by Dave Cockrum

(...particularly, Storm, Colossus, and NightCrawler.)

But I prefer to remember his earlier, quirky projects like...

Hot Wheels #6 Cover Art by Neal Adams & Dick Giordano

Hot Wheels

(based on the cartoon series based on the toy line)

Wild West Action #1 Cover Art by Syd Shores and Mike Esposito

The Bravados

(An ethnically-diverse assortment of Western heroes)
and his (believe it or not)...

Secret Hearts #148 Contents Page Art by Gray Morrow

...romance comics work!

Len was not a one-trick pony!

He had an interest in almost everything imaginable...and it showed in his work.

BTW, all the links are to material that hasn't been reprinted since publication in the early 1970s!

Check them out!

BONUS: Here's the printed version of the X-Men-themed cover for Marvel's FOOM #10...

...and that's why I wanted to run the original art!

The two-color (as compared to comics' usual four-color) printing really muddied up the art!

9/11 Report: the Graphic Adaptation

You'd think two of the guys who worked for decades on Casper and Richie Rich...

...couldn't produce something as...violent and visceral...as this!

Well, you'd be wrong!

Writer/editor Sid Jacobson and illustrator Ernie Colon took the 9/11 Commission's Report and made it into a must-read graphic novel!

BTW, a lot of the purple prose in the adaptation is taken verbatim from the original Report!

You can read the entire GN as an interactive presentation HERE.

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9/11 Report: the Graphic Adaptation

and/or

After 9/11: America's War on Terror

(both by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon)

The Koolest (and Reusable) Trick or Treat Bags You'll EVER See!

Atomic Kommie Comics™ suggests you don't use flimsy plastic bags for your Halloween booty.

Instead, try our specially-designed...

Halloween Trick or Treat Canvas Bags
(Plus: We have Halloween Large Tote Bags and Diaper Bags at the same page!)

or, if you're in a more macabre (PG-13) mood...

Horror Comics of the 1950s Canvas Tote Bags
(GREAT as trick-or-treat bags!)

Our 15" x 18" x 6" 100% 10 oz heavyweight cotton canvas tote bags have plenty of room to carry everything you collect on Halloween!
They include a full side and bottom gusset and 22" reinforced self-fabric extra long handles for easy carrying.
And, they're machine washable! If you get melted chocolate or fake blood on it, you can easily clean it up!

Reading Room 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY "Beast-Killer!" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

...the mysterious Monolith providing guidance in constructing tools and weapons to primitive Man, in this case, one who becomes known as "Beast-Killer"...

The second part of this never-reprinted sequel tale from Marvel's 2001: a Space Odyssey #1 (1976) adheres closely to the structure of the last part of the movie...astronaut in peril encounters Monolith, travels through it and is transformed/reborn as an immensely-powerful being resembling a human fetus!

But Jack Kirby was never one to be predictible, as the second issue will reveal...Next Friday!

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Simon & Kirby Library

Science Fiction

Friday Fun 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY "Beast-Killer!" Part 1

We begin a new arc of never-reprinted tales...

...with the premiere story from Jack Kirby's sequel series to 2001: a Space Odyssey!

(Note: I'm pretty sure this was meant to be the left side of a two-page spread, but Marvel's cutting the page count from 18 to 17 for several months simply meant leaving out the right-hand page!)

To be concluded...TOMORROW!

Not exactly what Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke had in mind, I'll wager.
We see the mysterious Monolith and spacesuits designed for the movie along with a transition from past to future mirroring the one in the film, but that's about all that carries over from the cinematic experience...up to this point!
Written and penciled by Jack Kirby, inked by Mike Royer, Marvel's 2001: a Space Odyssey #1 (1976) diverged wildly from the movie and novel, going into a more pulp magazine/comic book universe where aliens were known to exist and interplanetary travel was commonplace!
How it actually links to the movie will be apparent in the conclusion.
BTW, thanks to fellow blogger Rip Jagger for inspiring this new chapter in Friday Fun.
His amazing Tribute to Jack Kirby reminded me that I had already run half of The King's version of the world created by Clarke and Kubrick, and prompted me to re-present the series that hadn't seen the light of day since it's publication over 40 years ago,,,far too long for Kirbyphiles to be denied a look at it!
You can see the earlier installments by clicking on the titles...

Norton of New York, 2040 AD & Inter-Galactica

and

Capture of X-51 & Mister Machine & Hotline to Hades

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Simon & Kirby Library

Science Fiction