Fill Your Easter Basket with JOY!

Back in the 1940s and 50s, comic book companies produced a prodigious number of holiday annuals and one-shots.

For example, a multitude of Christmas-themed comic books flooded America's magazine racks every November and December!
(In fact, a large part of our popular Cool Christmas collection is based on them.)
But, did you know that several publishers also did Easter-oriented books?
And, that noted comics illustrators including Walt Kelly (Pogo) and Harrison Cady (Peter Rabbit) contributed art to them?
Believing that there's always room for more classic comics collectibles, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ offer a line of goodies entitled Exciting Easter!
Yes, it's eggs, bunnies, chicks, and other fuzzy animals galore digitally-restored and remastered from Baby Boomer-era classic comics covers on baby bibs, infant creepers / onesies, toddler and kid t-shirts, greeting cards, mugs, nursery clocks (like the one above) and a plethora of kool kollectibles!
They make great Easter basket stuffers! (And they won't rot your kids' teeth like marshmallow chicks or chocolate bunnies!)
So click over and see what's in our basket!

Space Hero Saturdays FLASH GORDON "Return to Mongo" Part 2: MindLife!

When Last We Left Flash, Dale, and Zarkov...
...Ming the Merciless has been freed from exile and returned to the throne of Mongo!

Our heroes, unaware of this development, have been ambushed and shot down over Mongo's "Lost Continent", where they've been captured by a band of Lizard Men and their queen, the priestess Silith!

Flash Gordon Will Return!

Bonus: the original, uncropped cover art by the prolific George Wilson who illustrated a lot of Gold Key comic covers, as well as numerous paperbacks..including the Flash Gordon novels from Avon Books in the mid-1970s.

Note that, according to the hand-written text at the bottom, it's supposed to be for Flash Gordon #2, not #19!

That's because this was, in fact, the second Gold Key issue of Flash Gordon!

The first was a one-shot in 1965.
But, in 1978, King Features (which owns Flash Gordon) insisted Gold Key continue the series numbering which began in 1965 with a short-lived King Comics series with a new #1, then continued when Charlton Comics took over the book as of #12 and ended with #18 in 1970!
The numbering continued to Gold Key's final issue, #37 in 1982.
Since then, every new Flash Gordon series from Marvel, DC, Dynamite, Ardden, etc, began with #1s!

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Flash Gordon Archives

Volume 4

(which includes this issue)

Friday Fun ZANY "Russian Bubble-Gum Cards"

Americans have obsessed about Russians for over half a century...

...as this never-reprinted feature written by editor Dick Richards and illustrated by Ricahrd Doxsee from Candar's Zany #4 (1959) proves!

To explain some of the references:
"Bubble-gum cards" are trading cards, which haven't included bubble gum in the packaging for decades!
(The sugar in the gum damaged the cards!)

"Mel Stalin" is based on Mel Allen, longtime play-by-play announcer for the New York Yankees.

"Dr Wherner von Foofnick" is loosely-based on Dr Werner von Braun, inventor of the V-2 rocket who later created the Saturn V rocket for NASA.
(German scientists ended up working for both the USA and USSR on various projects including the respective countries' space programs.)
"Henry Fordsky" is based on automobile innovator Henry Ford.
"Edvard R. Murovitch" is based on radio/TV newsman Edward R. Murrow.
"Mickey Mantlevitch" is based on Baseball Hall of Fame New York Yankee Mickey Mantle.
And the fact I have to explain who and what these things are makes me feel very old...

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Sincerest Form of Parody

Valentine's Day Special MY ROMANTIC ADVENTURES "Comic Valentine!" Conclusion

When Last We Left Our Heroine...

...struggling artist Peg Manton couldn't find a profitable venue for her talent.

Broke and starving, she encountered George Jessup, an average guy who recognized her artistic ability, and suggested she try her hand at doing a comic strip!

With his guidance, she created "The Loves of Lorna Lee", basing Lorna on herself!

The innovative strip was snapped up in record time by a newspaper syndicate!

While Peg reveled in her new-found professional success, George professed his love for her.

But Peg didn't feel the same way, and George accepted his fate as a close friend, continuing to offer suggestions about the strip...which had started losing readers due to a lack of a compelling male co-star to match the female lead.

With George's help, Peg created an extremely-manly character..Greg Gallant...who proved so popular that he stole the stip's title as well as his creator's heart as she began having erotic fantasies about her own creation!

A major studio bought the rights to the strip and came up with the idea to cast an unknown actor to play the part...with Peg making the final decision!

Wow!

All that in a 13-page story!

These days, it'd be a full-length Graphic Novel!

Writer/editor Richard E Hughes and illustrator Ogden Whitney presented an extremely idealized version of what goes into creating and marketing syndicated comic strips, as well as offering a beautiful and talented woman who looked past the physical to choose a guy who, though less handsome than his rival for her affections, possessed intellectual and emotional attributes she wanted in a "significant other"!

A most appropriate tale for Valentine's Day, eh?

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Agonizing Love

The Golden Age of Romance Comics

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder MEDUSA CHAIN Conclusion

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. and Part 5.

Then ask yourself...

I'd like to be able to say "The Medusa Chain will continue...", but it didn't.

Unfortunately, the book (and most of the DC Graphic Novel series) sold poorly, and the project ended after only six issues.

(The exception was Jack Kirby's The Hunger Dogs.)

It was revived a year later as DC Science Fiction Graphic Novel, using adaptations of already-published  prose novels by big genre names like Robert Bloch, Harlan Ellison and Ray Bradbury adapted by comics pros like Doug Moench, Keith Giffen and Klaus Janson, but fared equally-poorly, ending after seven issues.