Space Force Saturday SPEED CARTER "Half-Horrors of Hyades!"

We skipped last Saturday to present a tribute to the late, great writer/artist Richard Corben...

...but we're back with a never-reprinted story that gives new meaning to "split personality" from Atlas' Speed Carter: SpaceMan #2 (1953).

This tale takes several cliches, including hero/heroine tied to a buzz-saw and the idea that, since different sides of the brain control different aspects of memory and personality, physically dividing it would result in different personas and mixes them together.

It's an interesting concept, but doesn't quite work.

Written (as are all the Speed Carter stories) by Hank Chapman and illustrated by Joe Maneely.

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Friday Fun / Holiday Reading Room: RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER "Rudolph's Swelled Head" Conclusion

When Last We Left the Red-Nosed Reindeer (you know who)...

...It's Christmas Eve, Santa has to get moving, and an apologetic Rudolph is ready to rejoin the crew...

And that's how Santa introduced licensed toy promotions into comic books.

Written by Sy Reit and illustrated by Rube Grossman, this 1950 annual was the first of a series that ran until 1963.

The concept was revived in the tabloid-sized "Treasury" (10" x 14") format in 1972 and was published annually (except in '75 and '77) until 1978.

(Both DC and Marvel experimented in the 1970s with the over-sized format.

They were much bigger than normal comics with cardstock covers, though the interior pages were printed on the usual comic book newsprint.)

The series was a more-or-less sequel to the original story (which we presented HERE.) and song.

(The animated TV special that tells a totally-different version of the tale didn't appear until 1964.)

We're skipping the next two Fridays since they're Christmas and New Year's Day!
Fear not!
Friday Fun will return in 2021!

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics this Christmas!

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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

75th-Anniversary Edition

(a replica of the original 1939 book which is quite different from the TV special and its' sequels!)

Holiday Reading Room SANTA CLAUS FUNNIES "Ticky Tack the Littlest Reindeer"

You know all about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer...

...but I'd bet you've never even heard rumors about this guy!

This story from Dell's Four Color #205 (1948) aka Santa Claus Funnies, is an original tale by writer/artist Walt (Pogo) Kelly, who mostly did adaptations of fairy tales modified to fit the Christmas season or straight-out re-tellings like "Night Before Christmas".

There have been other "Littlest Reindeer" tales, but none with this particular plot or characters (besides Santa and the rest of the classic reindeer, of course!)!

Support Atomic Kommie Comics this Christmas!

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Great Treasury of Christmas Comic Book Stories

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder LOST WORLD "Coney Carousel Combat"

 Still in New York City...

...Hunt Bowman and Lyssa encounter VoltaMen in, of all places, the legendary Coney Island!

This never-reprinted tale from Fiction House's Planet Comics #35 (1945) shows some of the famous rides at the time in Coney Island, including the Parachute Jump, Cyclone roller coaster, the Wonder Wheel ferris wheel, and the B&B Carousell (yes that's how it's spelled)!

All four still stand, having been restored/rebuilt and recently-granted landmark status.

All but the Parachute Jump are still functional.

No doubt artist Lily Renee rode them, since she lived in Manhattan and studied at both the Art Students League and the Cartoonists and Illustrators School (now known as the School of Visual Arts) and was only a subway ride away...

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Planet Comics

Volume 8

(which includes this story!)

Holiday Reading Room SANTA CLAUS FUNNIES "First Christmas Tree"

 An never-reprinted tale from Dell's first Santa Claus Funnies (1942)...

...details a "legend" (involving young Jesus Christ) about how the tradition of Christmas trees came to be!

Well, it's as plausible as any theory that combines Christianity with the pagan tradition of decorated fir trees...
If the artwork looks "classier" than the usual comic book art, that's because illustrator Arthur Jameson was already a major artist in the pulp magazine field when he debuted in comic books with this tale!
As a result, his work was largely confined to fairy tale-themed and holiday comics.

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics at Christmastime!

Visit Amazon and Order...

Great Treasury of Christmas Comic Book Stories