Friday, July 3, 2009

Salute The Fighting Yank on the 4th!

Our story starts in June of 1941...and in 1775.
At a critical point of the American Revolution, George Washington himself entrusted messenger Bruce Carter with vital information.
Carter was captured, tortured, and killed by the British, taking his military secrets to the grave, and vowing to return when danger threatened the Colonies.
Flash-forward to 1941, Cabot's great-great-grandson Bruce Cabot III, a rich idler obsessed with history sees patterns forming that will lead to the USA soon becoming involved in the World War raging in Europe and Asia! But what to do? He's only one man, albeit an extremely rich layabout!
The ghost of his ancestor appears and leads him to a trunk in the attic of the Cabot estate, where Cabot III discovers his ancestor's personal effects, including his cape!
Donning the cloak, Cabot III is granted amazing powers including super-strength and limited invulnerability. (He can't be killed, but he can be stunned.)
Wanting to disguise himself, Cabot rummages thru the attic and dons a tricorn hat, breeches, buckled shoes, a domino mask, and a shirt which he sews an American flag decal to!
Thus garbed, the newly-christened Fighting Yank takes on local saboteurs for "unnamed foreign powers" until December 1941, at which point, the "unnamed" spies became German and Japanese operatives!
In a twist, besides giving Cabot III his powers, the Revolutionary War ghost pops up to warn or advise his decendant about danger, and even occasionally transport the Fighting Yank garb to the non-costumed (and thus helpless) Carter III, who apparently didn't wear it under his street clothes like most superheroes!
Fighting Yank fought the Good Fight, first in Startling Comics, then his own title and the anthology America's Best Comics, until 1949, when superheroes gave way to an explosion of horror, crime, and Western comics.
He was revived in 2001, when Alan Moore brought him back, but quickly killed him off, so he could introduce a NEW Fighting Yank; Bruce Cabot III's daughter, while Carter III took over his ancestor's role of ghostly aide to the present Fighting Yank!
In 2007, Alex Ross revived the Fighting Yank as the lynchpin for the new Project SuperPowers line of comics which incorporates numerous characters from defunct comic companies into a cohesive universe!

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have also revived Fighting Yank, taking the best of his classic 1940s cover art (including his first and last appearances), and emblazoning it on t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, 12-month calendar, and other kool kollectibles in our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line!
If you want REAL fireworks on the 4th, check out The Fighting Yank!

And don't forget Project SuperPowers, the best Golden Age revival on the stands!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Design of the Week--"...Pay My F@#%ing Mortgage"

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!

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!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Don Winslow: the Clean-Cut All-American Hero!

Perhaps the first comic strip to be created as a military recruiting tool, Don Winslow U.S.N. was launched in 1934 to encourage enlistments in the U.S. Navy, which at that point had reached an all-time low.
A clean-cut role model for American Youth, Don battled spies, saboteurs, and criminals on the home front, and even made brief forays to both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of war!

The strip proved to be a big success, not only improving Naval enlistments, but launching a series of novels, comic book series from several publishers, a dramatic radio show, and two movie serials (Don Winslow of the Navy & Don Winslow of the Coast Guard)!
Don finally retired from service in 1955.

Atomic Kommie Comics™ has returned Don Winslow to active duty as part of the War: Past, Present & Future™ line's enhanced World War II section of classic cover art collectibles which also includes Women of World War II and Aviators.
Any of the shirts, fridge magnets, mugs, or other kool kollectibles in these series would make fun retro-style 4th of July gifts for the veteran in your life!
(I sent a set of all four Don Winslow mugs to my Dad, a retired swabbie! He loved them!)

A Free 4th of July bonus from us to you: downloadable mp3s of the Don Winslow dramatic radio show!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Icon of the Golden Age of Comics: Monster of Frankenstein

As we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Atomic Kommie Comics™ is both introducing a NEW line of Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ collectibles, Icons of the Golden Age of Comics, AND thanking our kool kustomers and blogwatchers for their unswerving support!

We're posting the newest link only here on this blog to a special storefront to enable those who click on it to buy items at discount from today until July 6th!
Save up to 50% per item on this titan of terror ...
Monster of Frankenstein Icon
PLUS: Each Monday, we'll be listing one or two MORE Icons ALSO at discount for a week before being offered to the general public at regular prices!
(We show the normal prices next to the item titles on these special pages)

Perfect for streetwear, beachwear and / or conventionwear!

And don't forget to buy Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers, to see his genetic successors, The F-Troop, in action! ;-)

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Beware the Black Owl (both of them!)

We already covered The Owl here, but there was another hero (actually two of them in the same costume) based on the wise bird of legend.
The first Black Owl debuted in Prize Comics #1 as K the Unknown, but became Black Owl in #2. He didn't get a cover appearance until Prize Comics #7, which also featured the comic book intros of pulp hero Green Lama and literary character Monster of Frankenstein!
Now stop me if you've heard this one...
Bored millionare playboy Doug Danville decides to battle cowardly, superstitious criminals as a fearsome creature of the night.
Utilizing his personal fortune, he creates a masked identity with various non-lethal armaments and takes on the criminal element for several years.
Sounds like a whole slew of heroes of the period, eh?
But there's a twist, folks!
When World War II breaks out, he enlists in the Army!
(Most heroes remained on the Home Front battling spies and saboteurs.)
Realizing it would be best for the city he protects if The Black Owl was still believed to be fighting crime, Doug passes on his costume and equipment in Prize Comics #34 to another man...
The second Black Owl was Walt Walters, father of a pair of patriotic teen superheroes, Yank & Doodle whom Doug Danville had teamed up with on several occasions, most notably Prize Comics #24, when they, Green Lama and several other characters, took on the Monster of Frankenstein!
Once Dad became a superhero, the kids became his sidekicks, but remained Yank & Doodle, instead of renaming themselves something avian to match their father's motif!
(Luckily, their color schemes matched!)
When Walt is shot and wounded in Prize Comics #64, he retires from active crimefighting, serving as a non-costumed assistant to Yank & Doodle until their series is cancelled several months later.
Note: we never learn what became of Doug Danville after he entered the Army...

Alex Ross has now incorporated both Black Owls (and Yank & Doodle) into his Project SuperPowers Golden Age revival series, with one of the BOs somehow becoming a living black hole!

While we won't go that far, Atomic Kommie Comics™ has incorporated both Black Owls into our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line, even giving them their own section featuring the first cover appearance as well as the best cover art for each Black Owl on t-shirts, mugs and other goodies!

So, whether it's The Owl or The Black Owl, we have something on WHOOOever (sorry, couldn't resist) holds your interest!

And buy Project SuperPowers, the best Golden Age revival series on the market!