Atomic Kommie Comics

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Reading Room SPACE WAR "Comeback"

What's cooler than re-presenting an over six decade-old never-reprinted Steve Ditko story?

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

I love what I do!

And, as they say, if you love what you do, it ain't work!

Written by Joe Gill and illustrated by Steve Ditko, this story from Charlton's Space War #10 (1961) has some weird "echoes" of the origin of Captain Atom II in Charlton's Space Adventures #33 (1960)...by the same creatives!

(We showed it HERE!)

Could this story have been created before "Introducing Captain Atom" and held in inventory until a slot opened up?
We'll never know...

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Unexplored Worlds

Steve Ditko Archives, Vol 2

Monday, May 6, 2024

Monday Madness MIGHTY MARVEL COMICS STRENGTH AND FITNESS BOOK "Posture and Balance Exercises from The Silver Surfer"

The full title is Stan Lee Presents the Mighty Marvel Comics Strength and Fitness Book...

...but that was too long for the post header!

The book is actually pretty clever and its' use of specific characters for particular easy-to-do exercises is nicely done!

Written by Ann Picardo and illustrated by Joe Giella, this never-reprinted 1976 trade paperback from Fireside/Pocket Books was part of their extensive line of Marvel titles that included the original Stan Lee/Jack Kirby Siver Surfer: the Ultimate Cosmic Experience graphic novel, the four-volume Origins reprints series, and assorted individual character reprints as well as How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way and oddball titles like Marvel Fun Book and Mighty Marvel SuperHeroes' Cookbook!

Sunday, May 5, 2024

It's Cinco De Mayo!!!

Let's show how Mexican-American writer/artist Gus Arriola told about the holiday in his newspaper strip, Gordo...

...by the way, this is from the original art for the Sunday page on May 5, 1946!

A couple of years earlier, Cinco de Mayo fell on a weekday, and Gus made the holiday part of a week-long run of daily strips...

...which were reprinted in United Feature's Tip Top Comics #100 (1946).

Running from November 1941 to March 1985, Gordo was the first nationally-syndicated newspaper strip to title-feature a Mexican character!
While the characters initially followed many Hispanic ethnic stereotypes of the era (never going over the line into offensiveness), Arriola downplayed and eventually eliminated them over time.
By the 1960s, the strip was earning praise from both the Mexican government and the California State Legislature for its promotion of tolerance and understanding between ethnicities.
Charles (Peanuts) Schulz described it as "probably the most beautifully drawn strip in the history of the business."
You can read more about Arriola and his creation HERE, HERE, and HERE!

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