One of the most popular concepts in crime fiction of the 30s-40s was a policeman who felt too constrained by the letter of the law and decided to take up a masked identity to "serve justice rather than the law"!
Every rank from beat officers (
The Guardian) to police commissioners (
The Whisperer) donned a mask (and usually a skintight outfit) to fight criminals in their off-duty hours.
One of the longest-lasting was
Officer Dan Garret aka
The Blue Beetle.
Garret had good reason to be disillusioned about the power of law and order.
His late father was a police officer killed by a criminal who evaded prosecution even after
Dan himself joined the force.
Seeing the fiend once again go free due to an unbreakable (though false) alibi,
Officer Garret took matters into his own hands.
Donning a mask, fedora and business suit (ala
The Green Hornet),
Dan adopted the
Blue Beetle identity to harass the felon and force him to to commit a crime in front of witnesses, including
Garret's reporter girlfriend and her photographer!
It worked, and undeniable retribution was finally delivered to the killer!
In the next issue, after saving scientist Dr Franz, from racketeers, the grateful chemist gave Garret a suit of bulletproof chainmail, as well as a supply of an experimental vitamin, 2-X, to enhance his strength and reflexes!
Combined with a pair of lethal .45 automatics, that chainmail and "power pills" made the "upgraded"
Blue Beetle a formidable foe indeed!
The Beetle's adventures began in Fox Comics'
Mystery Men Comics #1 (though he didn't make the cover until #7) and ran thru all 31 issues.
He gained his own title
The Blue Beetle, which published 60 issues between 1939 and 1950 and also appeared in
every issue of
Big 3 Comics, an anthology title featuring the most popular characters from Fox's various titles!
Blue Beetle was popular enough to be the
only Fox Comics character to warrant both a newspaper strip
and a dramatic radio series, both of which were, regrettably, short-lived. (The newspaper comic strip featured art by a young Jack Kirby!)
In the mid 1950s, another publisher did a reprint series which proved so successful that they published a reworked new version of
the Beetle that ran into the 1960s, was revived again in the 1980s and runs on-and-off to this day. (In each of these revivals,
the Beetle has a
new secret identity and powers.)
But
Dan Garret, the original
Beetle, hadn't been seen since the mid '50s, until Alex Ross revived him in the acclaimed
Project SuperPowers
in 2007.
Atomic Kommie Comics™ has also revived
The Blue Beetle as part of our
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line with
several of his best covers from his own title and
Mystery Men Comics on t-shirts, mugs, and other goodies.
Heck, we're so proud of him that we gave him
his own 2010 12-Month Calendar with a rarely-seen comic cover for each month!
The Blue Beetle's waiting to scuttle under your Christmas tree or lurk in the stocking of your favorite pop-culture aficionado!
FREE Christmas bonus for our dedicated fans: mp3s of
The Blue Beetle radio show!
And BUY
Project SuperPowers, the BEST Golden-Age revival comic (er...graphic novel) out there!
issue and the Victoria's Secret
lingerie line, Audrey has also done some acting, both in and out of genre!
(Kenny's Wife)
(Masseuse)
To commemorate the NEW Sherlock Holmes movie starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law as Sherlock
and Dr. Watson, we proudly present The Greatest Sleuth of All™ in an exclusive selection of kool kollectibles!
with Holmes as "The ORIGINAL Caped Crusader"!), the coolest cigar box art I've ever seen (based on William Gillette, the definitive stage Holmes), and 1st Edition covers including A Study in Scarlet and His Last Bow!
For the next few days, we'll be showing Christmas-themed Golden Age comic covers.
For the next few days, we'll be showing Christmas-themed Golden Age comic covers.
For the next few days, we'll be showing Christmas-themed Golden Age comic covers.
For the next few days, we'll be showing Christmas-themed Golden Age comic covers.
In the season of giving, the crew at Atomic Kommie Comics™ ask "why not give the guys who gave as good as they got?"
At this time of year, Christmas carols are in continuous rotation on the stereo in the Atomic Kommie Comics™ office.
Continuing the Next Issue Project
series which presents the "next issue" of comic books that last saw print over 60 years ago, Erik Larsen has just released Silver Streak Comics #24 featuring Dare Devil, Silver Streak, The Claw and Captain Battle.
or, if he / she is into villains...
Never failing to capitalize on a pop culture trend, '60s comics publishers, noticing the popularity of the hit single Ballad of the Green Berets (by Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler & Robin Moore) quickly produced comics series featuring the elite Army unit.
The tradition of Old West-themed Christmas presents dates back to the late 1800s, and was immortalized in the modern Xmas film A Christmas Story written (and narrated) by the late, great, Jean Shepherd.
One of our favorite types of pop culture collectible here at the Atomic Kommie Comics™ offices are calendars, in particular the multi-page 12-month kind, with a different illustration for each month.
ORIGINAL Aquarian Exposition Poster Store 1
One of the most popular concepts in crime fiction of the 30s-40s was a policeman who felt too constrained by the letter of the law and decided to take up a masked identity to "serve justice rather than the law"!
Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
In our continuing quest for cool Christmas presents for the pop culture aficionado in your life, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ wish to offer you yet another exciting possibility for gift-giving...
Along with Santa Claus and Scrooge, our frosty friend is one of the most recognizable symbols of Winter and the joyous Christmas Season!
Few criminals have been fodder for dramatization more than John Dillinger!
, starring Johnny Depp, has just been released on DVD and Blu-Ray.
or Blu-Ray
to make a dynamic Dillinger gift set for Christmas?
The Cisco Kid was the first Hispanic multi-media superstar, featured in books, movies, radio, comic books, newspaper strips, and eventually, television, predating Zorro in each media (except Zorro never had a radio show)!
for a new series that, unfortunately, wasn't picked up (and isn't available on dvd).
Believing that Christmas gifts can have a somewhat risque side, here's a kool, retro, 1950s comic cover image from our somewhat-naughty Seduction of the Innocent™ section.
Since the 1890s, and the heyday of Jules Verne & H.G. Wells, science fiction-themed presents have found a place under the Christmas tree and in Xmas stockings for the young (and young at heart)!
It's great to be in love!
Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
Ah, Christmas.
When you think of Ebenezer Scrooge, "lovable" is probably the last word you'd associate with him.
by Manly Wade Wellman & Wade Wellman!
and other sci-fi novels, is a cross-genre bonus!)
, Challenger
, and/or War of the Worlds
fan (I'm all three), it's well worth the effort!
