Happy Father's Day!

Or Else!

Live the 1950s like it was tomorrow (and it might be!) with ATOMIC WAR!

Atomic Armageddon may be here soon!
Duck n' cover and prepare for the inevitable end in style with Atomic Kommie Comics™ radiation-proof (well, not really!) garb and collectibles from our vintage Atomic War collection!
While they may be a bit late for Father's Day, they'll make great 4th of July gifts (presuming North Korea doesn't begin a war before then!)

Will North Korea start World War III? And will you be dressed for the occasion?

Thanks to Kim Jong Il, Atomic Armageddon may be here soon!
Duck n' cover and prepare for the inevitable end in style with Atomic Kommie Comics™ radiation-proof (well, not really!) garb and collectibles from our vintage Atomic War collection!
While they may be a bit late for Father's Day, they'll make great 4th of July gifts (presuming the Hermit Kingdom doesn't begin a war before then!)

North Korea: over 50 years and nothing's changed!

Is this what it's going to come down to?

The recent rumblings and threats from the Hermit Kingdom about atomic weaponry and the will to use it sounded strangely familiar.
A quick look thru the extensive Atomic Kommie Comics™ archives shows a whole section of Korean Police Action kool kollectibles featuring designs from over 50 years ago for the perusal (and purchase) of all you veterans, relatives of vets, and / or war comics fans in our War: Past, Present, & Future™ collection!
Never has "retro" been so timely!
So, if you want to make a statement, or just look like you're up on current events, go with Korean Police Action mugs, t-shirts, messenger bags, or other tchochkies...before the bombs drop!

Design of the Week--Dillinger Is Coming!

Each Wednesday, we'll post a graphic design on kool kollectibles, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another, totally-different image!
Last week it was Honus Wagner on the rarest baseball card in the world!
It's gone now! You can't get it any more!
This week it's Dillinger is Coming!
And he is coming, in just two weeks, on July 1st in the new Michael Mann flick Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp as the legendary bank robber John Dillinger!
Our design this week is taken from the teaser poster for the 1940s biopic Dillinger! starring Lawrence Tierney, noted for "tough guy" roles, as Dillinger.
(It looks especially good on our black / dark t-shirts!)
Instead of wearing Johnny Depp, like everyone else, show your pop-cult cred and join in the tradition of "Secret Chic" pioneered by Atomic Kommie Comics™ using graphics from earlier versions of new flix and tv series as our design inspiration!
Impress your friends (who probably never even heard of the 1940s Dillinger!) with your knowledge of celluloid history and your good taste in t-shirts and accessories!
Order now, 'cause in a week, it'll be gone!

PS...it's our 300th post!

The OTHER Patriotic SuperHeroes...

"I'm NOT Captain America, or Superman, you sieg-heiling swine!
I'm Super-American!"

With all the tzimmis over the Return of Steve Rogers as Captain America (and who didn't know that was coming?), you might want to have a look at the other star-spangled heroes introduced during the Golden Age of comic books!

You did know Captain America was not the first superhero to wrap himself in the "colors that never run", didn't you?
The very first flag-wearing hero was Archie (then MLJ) Comics' The Shield who predated Cap by over a year!
Then, between 1940 and 1945, dozens of stars & stripes-wearing heroes (and heroines) flew, leaped, punched, kicked, and flipped thru the four-color newsprint world of comic books!
(Technically, Superman wore red, YELLOW, and blue, so he wasn't visually a flag-waving hero.
But Wonder Woman's Amazon garb was meant to show alliance with America's values and beliefs!)

In that virtuous vein, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ want to tell you about a plethora of patriotic pummelers at Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ in our Flag-Draped Heroes line of kool kollectibles!

We're talking about
American Crusader
American Eagle (now Burning Eagle)
Captain Battle & Captain Battle Jr
Captain Courageous
Captain V
The Conqueror
The Eagle & Buddy
The Flag
Major Victory
Man of War
Miss Victory
Stars & Stripes
Super-American
Unknown Soldier (now Soldier Unknown)
U.S. Jones
V-Man
Yank & Doodle
Yankee Doodle Jones & Johnny Reb

on t-shirts, mugs, messenger bags, and other goodies!
(We'll be doing individual Hero(ine) Histories of each of them over the summer. Watch for them!)
Most, if not all of them have recently been revived in the new series Project SuperPowers and it's spin-off titles. (Pick them up at your local comic book store TODAY!)

So fly the flag (or The Flag himself) this 4th of July with Flag-Draped Heroes ONLY at Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™!

Fantastic Femmes--Aishwarya Rai

While studying architecture in college, Aishwarya Rai began fashion modeling on the side.
This led to entering (and winning) local beauty pagents, then to the national Miss India contest, then to Miss World, which she won handily!
From there, she became a spokesperson in numerous international advertising campaigns, and came to the attention of the Indian film industry.
Aishwarya's success both artistically, and at the box office, in Bollywood has been nothing short of astounding!
In fact, she's India's top-grossing star, and considered the "public face" of Indian movies to the rest of the world!
In addition, Aishwarya's been named "Most Beautiful Woman in the World" in numerous international polls!
Her ventures into Western filmmaking have been varied, from romantic comedy to action fantasy, but the fame and fortune she's achieved in her native country has, unfortunately, yet to follow her to America.
But, I believe it'll come, and soon!
Trivia: Aishwarya speaks five languages: four Indian tongues (Tulu, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil) and English

Genre appearances include...
Last Legion (Mira)
Dhoom 2 (Sunehri)
Shabd (Antara Vashisth / Tammana)
Khakee (Mahalakshmi)
Check out...

Aishwarya's Official WebSite

It's Flag Day!

Power Nelson the FutureMan

In the year 1982, with the world exhausted by the second and third World Wars (you remember them, don't you?), civilization has been conquered by Emperor Seng I who rules the planet from a palatial palace in New-New York.
Gene West is chosen by a resistance group composed of scientists to be the test subject for a special experiment which gives him super strength and invulnerability.
Armed with these powers and his knowledge of history and future technology, he is sent back thru time to the 1940s where he fights as Power Nelson, the FutureMan to keep Seng I from rising to power, wearing an eye patch when in civilian guise to disguise his secret identity. (Hey, if eyeglasses worked for Clark Kent...)

Created in 1940, before America entered World War II, Power Nelson the FutureMan was the cover feature for the brand-new comic book Prize Comics.
Interestingly, in the series' "future" of the 1980s, America won both world wars, but was so drained of resources and manpower that Seng I easily took control!

Though he only appeared on the first six issues' covers, Power Nelson's strip ran until #23, then disappeared, his (and the world's) final fate unknown...

Until 2008.

Alex Ross revived him in Project SuperPowers as present-day (2008-9) President West, the apparently-ruthless ruler of an oppressive United States. (Ross also revived Golden Age android hero Dynamic Man as a ruthless industrialist! See a theme?)
Whether President West is the Gene West who went back to the 1940s or a parallel-universe version is yet to be disclosed. (Time-travel paradoxes! Ain't they FUN?)
In addition, President West is apparently in league with Emperor Seng II (Yes II, not I!) who may be either Seng's offspring or someone who usurped power and took the name.
(Seng, and other Golden Age arch-villains, as well as President West and Dynamic Man form The Supremacy, which secretly controls the Earth's major governments!)
And West reappears, in costume as The FutureMan aka President Power in Project SuperPowers Vol 2!
Offhand, I'll bet things didn't go quite as planned for Power Nelson in the "untold tales" after Prize Comics #23...

With Gene West taking a major role in Project SuperPowers (and the fortuitous purchase of a near-complete Prize Comics run) we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have also decided to revive "Earth's Last Hope" as part of the Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line of kool kollectibles!
So, check him out, before he disappears into a time loop or alternate universe, or something!

Design of the Week! (1)

We've decided to introduce a new feature to our line of collectibles...Design of the Week!
Each Wednesday, we'll post a design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
First up...
If you share my depression / outrage / fear over the economy, voice your opinion visually with a bumper sticker, shirt, tote bag, or other goodie showing it takes selling the world's most expensive baseball card (Honus Wagner T-206) just to keep a roof over your head by going to ...Pay My F@#%ing Mortgage!

Fantastic Femmes--Leonor Varela

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!

75th Anniversary of John Dillinger's Death!

Famous Gangsters comic cover showing John Dillinger's death in the alley of the Biograph Theater

On July 1st, Michael Mann's new film Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger opens across America, less than a month before the 75th anniversary of Dillinger's death on July 22, 1934.
(Is that great timing, or what?)

Before it does, have a look at John Dillinger in Pop Culture, a cool webpage with links to resources including the official FBI webpage about Dillinger, pages about movies (including Public Enemies) and other media portraying the legendary bank robber, and kool kollectibles (t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, messenger bags, etc.) emblazoned with Dillinger comic covers (including the one above) and movie posters from the 1930s thru the 1960s!

Fantastic Femmes--Zhang Ziyi

Equally-adept at comedy, drama, and action, Zhang Ziyi (or Ziyi Zhang, depending on the translation) isn't a martial arts expert, but, like Michelle Yeoh, uses extensive dance training to learn the needed choreography!
Trivia:
Didn't know any English when she did Rush Hour 2! She learned her dialogue phonetically and star Jackie Chan translated the director's instructions for her! (She has since learned English.)

Genre appearances include...
Sophie's Revenge (Sophie)
HorseMen (Kristen)
TMNT (Karai)
House of Flying Daggers (Mei)
Hero (Moon)
Musa aka Warrior (Princess Bu-yong)
Purple Butterfly ( Cynthia / Ding Hui)
Legend of Zu aka Zu Warriors [2001] (Joy)
Rush Hour 2 (Hu Li)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Jen Yu / Xia Long / Jiao Long)

Check out...
Her Official Site

Other actresses to play Karai include...
Karen Neill in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2003]

The Best of Simon & Kirby

Before Lee & Kirby...there was Simon & Kirby!
As we mentioned in our entry on The Blue Bolt, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby were the first "super-team" in comics!
In fact, their names on the cover were a selling point at a time where most creators labored in anonymity!
Yes, I know Siegel & Shuster came before them, but their fame was based totally on Superman. (Admittedly one hell of a creation [and multi-media sensation], but still, a single character!)
On the other hand, Simon & Kirby created dozens, if not hundreds of characters and series, many of whom had astonishingly-long runs for the mayfly-lived comics business! A number of them (particularly Captain America) are still going strong today!

The new book about them, The Best of Simon & Kirby, certainly lives up to it's title!
Edited by Joe Simon himself, and with intro and info from Mark Evanier, a tv / film scripter, comics historian, and both close friend and co-worker with Jack Kirby from the late 1960s until his untimely passing, the book is a must-have for anyone with...
1) interest in comic books (particularly the Golden Age)...
2) a need to know how sci-fi / fantasy creators come up with all those nifty ideas...
or...
3) a burning desire to gaze at page after page of lovingly-restored and reproduced comic stories (Many of which have NEVER been reprinted!)

Best of all, it's the FIRST in a projected series of S&K tomes, each one covering a different genre (And S&K hit ALL of them, so there's A LOT of material to re-present!)

The Best of Simon & Kirby would make a helluva Father's Day or graduation (elementary, junior high, or high school) gift!
And to make it even better, why not combine it with a kool Atomic Kommie Comics™ kollectible like a mug or t-shirt featuring classic cover art from one of the featured books (including The Blue Bolt himself)?

Even if you don't go with one of our kool kollectibles (why you wouldn't is beyond me...), BUY The Best of Simon & Kirby!
It's a "must-have" for ANY "pop culture" fan!
Good Lord! I'm doing "Kirby Quotes"!

Father's Day is coming...

...and to help you out, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ offer some kool kollectible gift suggestions like t-shirts, mugs, messenger bags, and other stuff featuring vintage retro graphics for all those pop-culture-loving paters....Crime & Punishment (including police-oriented goodies)

Scantily-clad Heroines!

Scary Suspense & Horror!

Spectacular Super-Heroes!

Stellar Sci-Fi / Fantasy!

Kitchy Camp Classics! (Flix & Comix)

Wild Westerns!

And, of course, WarTime Action!

Pushing Daisies--Watch it Tonite!

Tonite, the unfortunately-cancelled tv series Pushing Daisies is airing it's next-to-last episode "Power & Water".
The main guest-star is Fantastic Femme Gina Torres as Lila Robinson, the mother of private eye Emerson Cod's estranged daughter.

(I'll use any excuse to run a couple more pix of Gina!)

Fantastic Femmes--Maya Rudolph

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info 

HERE!

The Coming of...Captain Future (both of them)!

Created and written by legendary sci-fi writer Edmond Hamilton, Captain Future I was a futuristic Doc Savage-type pulp hero with an entourage of aides including robot Grag, shape-changing android Otho, and Simon Wright the Living Brain.
An "ultimate-human" type hero with Olympic-level physical abiilties and genius-level mind, the Moon-based Cap, aka Curt Newton, battled evil all over the universe, first in his own title, and later in the sci-fi anthology pulp Startling Stories.
Strangely, when his publisher put him into comics, Cap was rechristened "Major Mars", even though he was still Curt Newton, and the other characters remained the same!
That publisher then created an entirely NEW comic book hero and assigned HIM the "Captain Future" name!
Captain Future II was present-day (1940s) scientist Andrew Bryant who exposed himself to a combo of gamma and infrared radiation which granted him super-strength, flight, and energy-emitting powers! (instead of frying him like bacon, which is what would happen if it were you or me!)
In a unique twist, if he over-extended his powers, Cap would have to return to his lab and "recharge" himself!

This version is the one revived by Alex Ross in Project SuperPowers.
Interesting graphic note: in Alex Ross' redesign, Captain Future II now wears a reversed Project SuperPowers logo "S" on his chest instead of the original lightning bolt which looks exactly like the SHAZAM! Captain Marvel's!

Check both of them (including Cap I's FIRST pulp and comic appearances, AND Cap II's FIRST appearance) out on shirts, messenger bags, mousepads, mugs & other kool kollectibles by clicking here!

Coming in August...The Classic Captain Future 12-Month Calendar for 2010!

Fantastic Femmes--Karen Mok

Born Karen Joy Morris (sister of writer / producer Trevor Morris) the award-winning actress / singer / songwriter is better known as Karen Mok in English-speaking countries, and Mok Man-Wai in the rest of Asia (except Hong Kong).
Equally-adept at comedy, drama, and action, Karen often does her own stunts.
Trivia:
Karen has done over a dozen solo albums, most of which have gone Gold and / or won awards.
She's also performed on five soundtracks (only one of which was a film she also appeared in)!
Karen is a devoted activist for both animal and human (civil) rights!
She speaks four languages; Chinese (both Cantonese & Mandarin), Italian, French,and English)

Genre appearances include...
Coffin (No name listed)
Black Mask (Tracy Lee)
DragonBlade: the Legend of Lang (Ying Ying)
Twins Effect aka Vampire Effect (Ivy)
So Close (Detective Kong Yat Hung)
Shaolin Soccer (Team Moustache Player 2)
Haunted Office (Pat)
Silent Moebius (performer: "Sailing")
There are several other Hong Kong films which may be genre (judging from the titles), but I don't have enough info to list them.
If I get more data, I'll revise this entry.

Check out...
Karen's Official WebSite
WebSite for Karen Mok: the Fragrance

Do YOU Squidoo?

I do.
I like the ease of use, the variety of "modules" for various functions, and the fact I can be more concerned with content than with html.
While they're primarily selling tools for Atomic Kommie Comics™, I also try to make them destinations for those wanting more info about the stuff we're into and links to related merchandise (not my own) from Amazon or eBay.
I have over three dozen active lenses (and several in development...)

My favorites...
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers Strikes Again
Heroines: Super and Otherwise
Sonia Rolland IS Lea Parker
Martians, Martians, Martians!
Richard Matheson's "I am Legend"

Fantastic Femmes--Vanessa Hudgens

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!

Is there anyone under the age of 25 who doesn't know Vanessa Anne Hudgens as Gabriella Montez from the High School Musical trilogy?
While she is best-known as an ingenue and singer with a couple of gold albums, with her credible acting ability (check out Thirteen), the willingness to do non-dangerous stuntwork (as seen in Thunderbirds), and her love of genre films, Vanessa's standing as a Fantastic Femme is assured!
Trivia:
Offered a role in the remake of horror film Prom Night, but turned it down.
Her singing training is in opera!
Both her maternal and paternal grandparents were professional musicians in the 1930s-50s!

Genre appearances include...
Beastly (Linda Owens)
Thunderbirds [2004] (Tin-Tin Kyrano)
Robbery Homicide Division "Had"
Check out...
Vanessa's MySpace Page
Vanessa's Official page
Vanessa Anne Hudgens Tribute (FanSite)

Vanessa-Hudgens.com (FanSite)
Miss Vanessa (FanSite)

Other actresses to play Tin-Tin Kyrano include...
Christine Finn in Thunderbirds [1965-67] / Thunderbirds are GO! / Thunderbird 6

Things to come...Icons of the Golden Age of Comics!

With the success of the Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line, we're expanding into a somewhat more "mass-market" approach with a new line of Golden-Age related items.
Titled Icons of the Golden Age of Comics™ line, the idea of this series is to take a single defining image for each character, silhouette it, and put it, sans lettering (except for story title lettering as seen in the DareDevil vs Claw shirt above) on collectibles.
Even if a potential customer doesn't know who the Golden Age character is, the exciting imagery (like those shown above and below) should be enough to sell it as a kool kollectible!
The line will debut on July 1st, but we're giving you, our loyal fans, a preview a couple of the designs now.
PLUS: on June 22nd, we'll post a link ONLY HERE on this blog to the new line's storefront to enable those who click on it to buy ANYTHING on the Icon line at discount until July 1st!
(The Storefront WON'T be accessible or searchable to the general public until July 1st!)
It's Atomic Kommie Comics™ way of saying "Thank you" to our loyal fans!

The Coming of...CALENDARS!

Among our most popular items are 12-month calendars.
(Y'know, the ones with different illustrations for each month.)
Last year we almost doubled the selection of subjects, and you pop culture aficionados responded by gobbling them up like there was no tomorrow (pun intended)!

Plus, there were several subjects that you requested we do calendars about!
No fools we, if the demand is there, supply it we will!

So, for 2010, ATC is unleashing the following ALL-NEW calendars...
Basil Rathbone IS Sherlock Holmes!™
(replacing Sherlock Holmes: the Greatest Sleuth of All!™ which will return, revised, in 2011!)
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ Team-Ups
(classic covers featuring two or more characters together who already had their own strips or titles!)
Classic The Owl
Classic Monster of Frankenstein
Classic The Flame
Classic Doc Strange
Classic DareDevil
Classic Captain Future
(featuring all three versions--original pulp hero and both comic incarnations!)
Classic Cat-Man
Classic Blue Beetle
Classic Amazing-Man
Captain MidNight™
Phantom Lady™
Mr District Attorney™
(replacing Crime & Punishment™)
Captains of the Comics!™
(replacing Captains of the Cosmos™)
Jungle Girls™

Masked Western Heroes™
Aviators of the Golden Age of Comics™
(replacing War: Past, Present & Future™)

Along with heavily-revised versions of these previous best sellers...

Mystery / Crime
Good Girl / Bad Grrrl™
Horror
Horror Comics of the 1950s™
Camp / Kitsch
Seduction of the Innocent!!™
Romance
True Love Comics Tales™
Sci-Fi / Fantasy
Martians, Martians, Martians!™
Thrilling Science-Fiction Tales™

SuperHeroes
Heroines!™
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™
MORE Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™
1st Appearance Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™
Flag-Waving Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™
Classic Black Terror
Classic Green Lama
Classic Fighting Yank
Western
Western Comics Adventures™
Real-Life Western Comics™
The Cisco Kid & Pancho™

BTW, The NEW versions have black background covers to differentiate them from the previous versions, which had white background covers.
Buy 'em!
Trade 'em!
Collect them all!

Fantastic Femmes--Jacqueline Obradors

Jacqueline Danlle Obradors is one of those actresses who does a superlative job in supporting roles, but up to this point, hasn't had a breakout role that would put her in the public eye! (which is a damned shame because she's well worth watching!)

Genre appearances include:
NCIS (Paloma Reynosa)
Cold Case "Mind Games"
Crossing Over (Special Agent Phadkar)
UnStoppable aka 9 Lives (Detective Amy Knight)
Atlantis the Lost Empire / Atlantis: Milo's Return / Atlantis the Lost Empire [VG]
(Audrey Rocio Ramirez)
NYPD Blue (Detective Rita Ortiz)
Silk Stalkings "Silent Witness"
Burning Zone "St. Michael's Nightmare"
Murder, She Wrote "Death Goes Double Platinum"
Renegade "Sawed-Off ShotGun Wedding"
Diagnosis: Murder "My Baby is Out of This World"
Vanishing Son "Dance of the Dust"

Check out...
Jacqueline Obradors Dot Net (FanSite)

Lotsa Logos (comic book logos, that is)

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ are big fans of logos.
You know, the distinctive title lettering for a book or character.
Visually, it's the main element that distinguishes one book from another, especially when they're "racked" in a traditional magazine rack so only the top 1/3rd is visible.
And nowhere were logos more distinctive than during The Golden Age of Comics.
So, it's with pardonable pride that we present a line of kool kollectibles featuring the best of classic comic book logos in our line of logowear!
We've included some of the niftiest lettering ever to grace t-shirts, messenger bags, mugs and other goodies including Amazing-Man Comics, The Black Terror, Captain Future, Cat-Man Comics, DareDevil, The Face, Fighting Yank, Green Lama, and The SkyMan!
We're also featuring our own retro-themed Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ logo in it's own line of logowear!
There'll be more to come, so check us out as often as you can!

Beware...The Owl!

"I'm not a Batman rip-off...and get off my flying Owl-Mobile!"

Comics in the 1940s were noted for, among other things, a tendency to see what worked, then take elements from it, mix it with a few other things and see if that new version would sell!

Sometimes the recombination sold better than the original!
For example: Batman's still going strong as a multi-media phenomenon, but most of his "inspirations", including The Shadow and Zorro, are marginal pop culture characters today (though, in the past, both had periods when they eclipsed Batman)!
On the other hand, The Owl was one of those who, while interesting, didn't quite hit the heights.

Nick Terry, a police detective who felt the law was too easily manipulated by racketeers and gangsters (and their lawyers) decided that operating outside the law on behalf of justice would be the way to go!
(Any number of Golden Age heroes, including The Whisperer, Black Hood, Guardian, and DareDevil, had the same concept of one who upholds the law having to indulge in extra-legal methods to achieve true justice.)
He became a Caped Creature of the Night to battle criminals (like Batman, The Shadow, and The Sandman, among others.)
Nick also used a plethora of themed weapons and gimmicks (including an Owl-Mobile, and Owl-Light) not unlike Bat-you-know-who and Green Arrow. (Although since he wasn't a millionaire like most of the aforementioned characters, it's never explained how Nick affords all this stuff!)
His nosy reporter girlfriend (Can you say "Lois Lane" or "Vicki Vale" boys and girls?) eventually discovers his dual identity and forces him (ala Captain America's Bucky) to make her his similarly-costumed sidekick, Owl-Girl! (think HawkGirl, but with hyphenation!)
One of his unique features (he did have a couple, don't get snarky) was that he wore a full-face cowl with sight-enhancing lenses, predating a similar style later worn by Spider-Man!
And, he does have a very distinctive look! You won't mistake him for anyone else!

The Owl didn't have his own title.
Instead, he was the cover-feature of Dell's Crackajack Funnies for over a year before being downgraded to the back of the book in Popular Comics for another year before being cancelled.

But, that's not the end of the story...

In the 1960s, with the pop-culture success of Marvel Comics and the Batman tv series, superheroes were in vogue again!
Curiously, while Marvel, DC, and Archie revived their Golden Age characters, other publishers with old heroes chose to do new characters instead...with one exception!
Gold Key now owned the Dell super-heroes, and though they did several short-lived new characters, they did revive their Golden Age character most similar to Batman.
Guess who?
The Owl finally got his own comic!

And because they felt it should be as much like the tv Batman as possible, Gold Key camped it up beyond belief...
It only lasted two issues.
And except for a cameo appearance, The Owl fluttered into oblivion...

But that's still not the end of the story...

Recently, The Owl was one of the many Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ revived by Alex Ross in his acclaimed Project SuperPowers series.
Up to this point, Nick Terry's alter-ego been a peripheral character, but the covers for the second Project SuperPowers mini-series indicate he's about to become a major player in the plotline!
So, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ felt the time had come to expand our line of Owl collectibles.
(The fact we had just purchased a large comics collection including a near-complete run of Crackajack Funnies had nothing to do with it, we swear!)
Have a look at the half-dozen classic covers we've emblazoned on items from t-shirts to blank sketchbooks, to mugs and many other goodies.
And pick up Project SuperPowers, the best Golden Age of Comics revival on the stands today!
(You thought we were gonna do a "Whooo..whooo" joke of some kind?)

Fantastic Femmes--Tia Carrere

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!

Happy Memorial Day!

Remember the guys who went thru THIS for us!
A public service message from your pals at
Atomic Kommie Comics™

Salute the Troops!

Say "Hi!" to the guys and gals who defend you!
A public service message from your pals at
Atomic Kommie Comics™

It's Memorial Day Weekend...

Get outside, enjoy the beautiful weather, have fun.
But, don't forget to say "thank you" to the surviving veterans in your circle of family and friends for making it possible to do so in a free country.
A public service message from your pals at
Atomic Kommie Comics™

Fantastic Femmes--Tamlyn Tomita

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!

Since we covered Babylon 5's First Officer in the previous Fantastic Femmes entry, it seemed only appropriate we present the actress who played her predecessor in the pilot episode...
Had she continued in the role of Laurel Takashima on Babylon 5, it would have been revealed that she was the Psi Corps "sleeper agent" responsible for the attempted assassination of Ambassador Kosh in the pilot. (Instead, the actual assassin was revealed as a guest-star character, and the idea of making a regular character a mind-controlled agent was transferred to Talia Winters.)

It's a bird...it's a plane...it's SUPER GREEN BERET!

Never failing to capitalize on a pop culture trend (how many Barack Obama comics are coming out?), several 1960s comics publishers, noticing the popularity of the hit single Ballad of the Green Berets (by Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler & Robin Moore) quickly launched comics series featuring the elite Army unit.
Most were standard war comics, just set in VietNam instead of WWII Europe or Asia, but one stood out from the rest for sheer weirdness...

What do you get when you combine...
1) Green Berets and the VietNam War with...
2) Teenagers...
and 3) SuperHeroes?
Why, SUPER GREEN BERET, of course!

Green Beret Roger Wilson saves a Vietnamese monk from a wild boar, and in return the grateful priest attaches a pin to his beret which makes it glow.
Home on leave, Roger gives the glowing beret to his teenage nephew Tod Holton, who discovers that, when he dons the headgear and salutes, he's transformed into a super-powered adult dressed in a soldier's uniform!
(There's a long tradition in comics of teens turning into adult superheroes, going all the way back to the original Captain Marvel and The Fly.)
Using his new-found powers of teleportation, telepathy, telekinesis, transmutation, time travel, invulnerability, and super-strength, Tod decides to fight Enemies of Our Country, mostly Communists in then-present-day Asia, but also the British in the American Revolution and Nazis in World War II!
Yes, it's as hokey as it sounds!
And, to think it only ran two issues! (But they were 64 pages each, so it was like getting two regular-sized issues of mind-bending military madness at a time!)

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ felt that we couldn't let such an outrageous character and concept be forgotten, so, as part of our War: Past, Present, & Future™ line, we incorporated Super Green Beret as a light-hearted example of 1960s funkiness to contrast with the seriousness of the World War II and Korean Police Action material (plus we wanted an excuse to make some kool SGB collectibles for ourselves)!

So, why not give a Super Green Beret collectible to the VietNam vet or gonzo comic collector in your life?
It'd make a great Flag Day or 4th of July gift!

FREE BONUS: A link to an online reprint of Super Green Beret!
You gotta see it to believe it!

Congratulations to Shawn Johnson...

...for winning Dancing with the Stars!!!
(It's the only reality show I follow,
besides the Gordon Ramsey shows Kitchen Nightmares
[both US & UK versions]
& Hell's Kitchen!)

Our usual cacophony of comics and crass commercialism will return tomorrow!

Special Memorial Day Shopping Deal!

Atomic Kommie Comics™ offers a special one-day deal to you who choose out War: Past, Present & Future™ line for Memorial Day gifts for the veteran in your life!
Just go to War: Past, Present & Future™ and choose from t-shirts, mugs, tote bags, and other kool kollectibles in the following categories...
World War II as seen by the veterans themselves
World War II as seen from the Home Front
Patriotic Advertising
Korean Police Action
VietNam
or 300 Spartans
(although I doubt we'll find any veterans from THAT conflict!)

Then, if you spend $50 or more, when you go to CheckOut,
enter discount code GOMILITARY to get
FREE SHIPPING
in time for Memorial Day!
(But, it's only good thru 11:59pm Pacific Time today, May 19th, 2009!)