Saturday, August 1, 2009

Sorceress of Zoom--Villain or Heroine?

One of a number of comics anti-heroes who at times helped humanity and other times opposed it (best typified by Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner), The Sorceress of Zoom was the immortal ruler of an other-dimensional city which popped into our universe from time to time.
The Sorceress (she never had any other name) was not evil, but simply thought humanity was inferior and should be ruled by her as were the creatures she created to populate Zoom after all the original inhabitants, except her, died!
When two average everyday people named Tom and Janice inadvertently became involved in her affairs, her attitude slowly shifted from arrogant superiority to arrogant benevolence as she decided not to rule the Earth, but help against the greater threat of the real-life Axis.

Credited to the nom-de-plume "Sandra Swift", The Sorceress' adventures were drawn (and probably written) by Don Rico, a prolific creator of the '40s and early '50s with credits at almost every comics company including Timely (later Marvel).
She had her own feature in Weird Comics for it's entire 20-issue run, but only made the cover once, on issue #4.
While she hasn't appeared in the Project SuperPowers Universe as of yet, it seems inevitable that Alex Ross won't let a character with such potential go un-utilized for long!

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ are already utilizing The Sorceress as part of our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line, with her only cover appearance on t-shirts, messenger bags, mugs and other kool kollectibles!

So, if you're looking for pop-culture collectibles featuring a powerful woman who doesn't take s**t from anyone, check out The Sorceress of Zoom!
Now!

Friday, July 31, 2009

Dante's Inferno

Youse tink just because we're pop culture aficionados, we ain't got no class?
Youse tink just because we're inta video games, that we're uncouth?
Hell, we got couth comin' out the wazoo, pal!
Youse want proof?
Look here!
We have whatcha call your classic Dante Alighieri image right outta da Middle Ages (like around 1900 or so)
And, it was originally cigar box label art, so you know it's classy! Not like a cigarette package! (Cartoon camels? Gimme a break...)

Now, Dante was one of the greatest writers of all time!
He wrote BOOKS, some of 'em witout pictures, even!
He wrote The Divine Comedy (I ain't sure why he called it dat, 'cause it sure ain't funny!), which described what Hell would be like (sorta like Staten Island witout da cute chicks you see on da ferry dat never talk to ya!)
And now it's being made into both a video game and an animated flick!
Dey don't do dat for just ANY book, youse know!

So pick up a t-shirt or mug wit Dante's mug on it!
Impress da ladies!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Design of the Week--the ORIGINAL Woodstock Poster!

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
This week...
40 years ago, the ULTIMATE folk / rock music festival almost wasn't held in a field in upstate New York!
Subtitled "The Aquarian Exposition", it featured a one-time ONLY lineup of most of the greatest solo performers & groups of the era, including (incomplete list):
Richie Havens
Ravi Shankar (father of Norah Jones)
Melanie
Arlo Guthrie
Joan Baez
John Sebastian
Santana
Canned Heat
Grateful Dead
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Sly & the Family Stone
Janis Joplin & the Kozmic Blues Band
The Who
Jefferson Airplane
Joe Cocker
Country Joe & the Fish
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Sha-Na-Na
Jimi Hendrix
Amazing, eh?
Besides various live celebration performances commemorating the event, there's a new film about how the festival came to be--Taking Woodstock!
Over the next few weeks, Design of the Week will be hosting various Woodstock-related designs, just in time for you to go "secret chic"!
Here's the ORIGINAL poster for the festival, listing the original location, Wallkill, New York!
When the permits process fell through, the party was moved to Bethel, but the original artist was unavailable to do a revised poster, so an entirely new one was quickly created! (That's the iconic bird-guitar-hand image you're seeing everywhere now!)
The original poster was forgotten by history...until now!
We scanned one of those hard-to-find original posters and digitally-remastered it for your nostalgic pleasure!
Enjoy!
Peace!
Love!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

MiddleMan...the FINAL Episode!

One of the highlights of the San Diego Comic Con was a "table reading" by the cast (including Natalie Morales) & crew of the script for the unproduced final episode of the TV series MiddleMan.
The ep, "The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse" was adapted into a graphic novel (on sale now), but the reading was from the tv show's script, which was slightly different.
(and, while seeing an illustrated Wendy Watson in a Slave Princess Leia costume was cool (see above). the fact we'll never see Natalie in that costume is a bit of a bummer)

BTW, the DVD of the 12 produced episodes goes on sale today! Rush out and buy it...NOW! PLUS...Check out The MiddleBlog by the creator of the comic and the tv series.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Return of the Green Hornet

Well, with Seth Rogan's appearance (with the new Black Beauty) at the San Diego Comic Con, it looks like The Green Hornet movie is finally moving ahead with a projected release next summer!
Rumors abounded that Nick Cage was negotiating to play the main villain and that Cameron Diaz has signed to play Lenore Case, Britt Reid's personal assistant / love interest who knows his dual identity.
Curiously, no word as to who will play Kato, the man who brings new meaning to "sidekick"! (Steven Chow was negotiating to do the role, but talks broke down.)

We're also moving ahead, preparing our line of retro-design Classic Green Hornet collectibles (including t-shirts, mugs, messenger bags, blank sketchbooks and a 12-month calendar) using the 1940s comic book cover and movie serial poster art scanned directly from the originals and digitally-restored and remastered!
(Above is the cover to The Green Hornet Comics #1 before digital restoration!)
Look for a blast from us around Labor Day, just in time for back-to-school!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Giant-Sized SuperPowers Sunday!

For the next few Sundays, we're going to present the nifty updated designs of the Project SuperPowers characters by Alex Ross along with links to a couple of Squidoo pages of background info and links about the series and characters...
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers
(featuring characters who've been cover-featured)
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers Strikes Again!
(featuring the other characters)
Erik Larsen's the Next Issue Project & Savage Dragon
(featuring several of the same characters as Project SuperPowers and others, but set in a different universe!)

In addition, you can find Atomic Kommie Comics™ kool kollectibles emblazoned with the ORIGINAL 1940s classic cover art featuring these really BIG characters...
Green Giant
Phantasmo
Boy King's Giant
The Claw
at
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™!

And don't forget to buy the Project SuperPowers comics including Black Terror, Death Defying 'Devil, Masquerade, and Project SuperPowers Volume 2, as well as Savage Dragon!