Reading Room OUTER SPACE "Man from Outer Space"

Finding a never-reprinted Al Williamson-penciled story really makes my day!

And finding one inked by Dick Giordano,  an artist who rarely worked with him, makes it even kooler!

Likely created in the pre-Sputnik era, this Joe Gill-written tale appeared in the first issue of Charlton's Outer Space (#17 in 1958) with other stories showing a more realistic look at space travel based on Chesley Bonestell's iconic designs and then-current technology than this Flash Gordon/Weird Science rendition!

Not that I'm complaining, mind you...

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics

Visit Amazon and Order...

Al Williamson Adventures

Reading Room OUTER SPACE "Repair Stop"

Today's comics creators have lost the ability to tell a straightforward story...

...in a short story format!

Written by Joe Gill and illustrated by Steve Ditko, this efficent, effective tale from Charlton's Outer Space #18 (1958) sets up the minimal plot, conveys multiple points of view, and delivers a satisfying ending...all within four pages!

If it was done today, it'd be a book-length tale!

You'll note Ditko's heavy use of pen, rather than brush for inking, resulting in a less-lush, less organic "feel" and a lot more cross-hatching instead of feathering than his work only a year later, when he was transitioning from Charlton over to Atlas/Marvel.

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics

Visit Amazon and Order...

Steve Ditko Archives

Volume 6

Outer Limits

Reading Room NORGE BENSON "Plutonian Prehistoric Peril"

When Last We Left Our Hapless Hero...

...he was returning to Pluto after spending a couple of issues on a jungle planet where he met the scantly-clad Princess Jolie...

This tale from Fiction House's Planet Comics #22 (1943), proves artist Al Walker and whoever the writer is haven't lost their sense of the ludicrous!
More cold calamities next Monday!

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics!

Visit Amazon and Order...

Planet Comics

Volume 6

Design of the Week NEGRO ROMANCE

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!

This week...with Valentine's Day rapidly-approaching, here's a unique design for your loved one!

In the mid-1950s, with superheroes and horror stories all but eliminated from comics, other genres dominated!

Westerns, war, sci-fi, teen humor, and romance now filled the comics racks.

The big problem was finding a way to stand out from the crowd!

Fawcett (and Charlton, who bought a lot of Fawcett properties when they went out of business) were willing to take a crack at the untapped African-American teen/young adult audience.

Sadly, the book only ran four issues.

But, you can read the stories that appeared in this issue HERE!

Note: This design is the only comic art cover in the series (the rest were photo covers using models).

Besides being a kool retro romace cover, suitable as a Valentine's Day gift, it would also make an appropriate gift for someone celebrating Black History Month!

Check out the whole line of Kool Kollectibles HERE!

Trump Reading Room STRANGE STORIES OF SUSPENSE "Beware...a Martian"

Here's a tale of racism and innuendo involving an "illegal alien"...

...that all Trumpettes should take note of!

Written by Carl Wessler, penciled by Al Williamson, and inked by Ralph Mayo, this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' Strange Stories of Suspense #14 (1957) uses science fiction to tell a civil rights parable, substituting a Martian (and the paranoia about his race) for a African-American, Hispanic, Japanese, or other minority group about whom equally-inane fantasies have been concocted!

Note: it's interesting that Nardo the Martian has the same appearance as DC's J'Onn J'Onzz: the Martian Manhunter (except for skin color), as well as MM's specific ability to shape-shift, not a talent usually attributed to inhabitants of the Red Planet!

J'Onn had debuted almost two years earlier!

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics

Visit Amazon and Order...

Fire and Fury

Inside the Trump White House

Unquotable Trump

Sh*t My President Says:

Illustrated Tweets of Donald J Trump

MAD About Trump

A Brilliant Look at Our Brainless President