Saturday, October 17, 2009

Illegal Alien Costume?

"Hey, I have a Green Card!"

There's been a great deal of politically-correct controversy about an "Illegal Alien" Halloween costume.
(I do note nobody from the ethnic group being portrayed has actually come forth to complain. And if they don't think it's offensive, why should anyone else?)

Personally, I think it's weird to bitch about this NOW, since we've been wearing "illegal alien" Halloween costumes for, literally, generations and nobody's complained about it before...

So, why are we glorifying this...
Illegal Alien?
Entered United States via unregistered aircraft! (Plus, no flight plan filed!)
Adopted by American couple under suspicious circumstances!
Operates under two aliases: (Clark Kent and Superman), not his birth name (Kal-El)!
Ethnicity: "Kryptonian"
I could go on and on...

So, GET A GRIP, PEOPLE!
It's a JOKE!
Humor doesn't have to be politically-correct!
(And, in fact, much of the FUNNIEST stuff ISN'T politically correct!)

Friday, October 16, 2009

Horror Comics Hoodies for Halloween!

Across most of the country, it's colder than usual for mid-October!
Temps are in the 40s already, and will slip to the 30s by the end of the month!
So you'll need something to keep from freezing your trick-or-treating butt off this Halloween.
Luckily, Atomic Kommie Comics™ has your best interests (and health) at heart, and we have exactly what you need...Horror Comics of the 1950s™ Black Hoodies!
An assortment of classic retro horror comic book covers adorns these kool pop comics collectibles featuring...
Ghouls!
Zombies!
Demons!
Skeletons!
Ghosts!
Even Aliens!
What more do you want?
Stay warm on the inside while looking oh-so-ghoulishly-cool on the outside!
Don a super-comfortable 10 oz. fleece blend (90% cotton/10% polyester) black sweatshirt with a fleece-lined hood, roomy front pouch pocket, and heavy-weight 1x1 cuff and waistband ribbing before heading out into the night to do...well, whatever it is you're doing on All Hallow's Eve! (Don't worry, we won't tell!)

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Design of the Week--Halloween SleepOver

Each week, we post a limited-edition design, to be sold for exactly 7 days, then replaced with another!
This week...
Since Halloween is on a Saturday, why not have a sleepover for your kids and their friends?
And, if you do, use this slightly-scary illustration as the basis for your theme!
It's available on:
greeting cards, notecards and postcards for party invites!
mini-buttons as party-favors or trick-or-treat bag stuffers (NO cavities!)
Speaking of "trick or treat bags", why not a double-sided reusable canvas tote bag?
PLUS: t-shirts, mugs, sweatshirts (light AND dark), even baby clothes!

BUT, order quickly!
Halloween is ONLY 2 weeks away!
Don't say we didn't warn you...ha...ha...ha...ha...ha...ha...ha...ha...

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

NEW: Basil Rathbone IS Sherlock Holmes Store!

We've had several requests for more SherlockStuff using the sepiatone photo of Basil Rathbone as The Greatest Sleuth of All™ on the cover of our popular Basil Rathbone IS Sherlock Holmes 2010 12-Month Calendar, so we set up a standalone storefront HERE to accommodate your wishes!
Of course, there's still the MAIN Sherlock Holmes section in the Crime & Punishment™ annex of Atomic Kommie Comics™ with a dozen different, delectable, detectable designs if you can't get enough of Holmes (and Watson, of course)!
"The Gifts are Afoot, Watson!" ;-)

Monday, October 12, 2009

The Green Lama

In the 1930s-40s The Shadow was big!
I mean REALLY BIG!
We're talking "Harry Potter"-level popularity here!
Between a bi-weekly magazine (and hardcover reprints), a radio show, b-movies and a serial, a newspaper comic strip, a comic book, big little books, and lots of collectible merchandise, He Who Knows What Evil Lurks was one of the FIRST multi-media and merchandising phenomenons!
It was inevitable that rich playboy-turned-cloaked avenger imitators would pop up.
Some were obvious and blatant like The Whisperer.
Some were obvious, but had a really distinctive style, like The Spider.
And some were...well...unique, like The Green Lama!

The Green Lama was rich playboy Lamont...I mean Jethro Dumont who spent a decade in a lamasery in Tibet learning how to become a Buddhist priest (or Lama).
This training gave him amazing mental powers including the ability to cloud mens' minds. (This is not to say all Buddhist priests go around doing that sort of thing. Jethro apparently took some extra-credit courses.)
Jethro also picked up radioactive salts which gave him physical enhancements as well , including super-strength and enabling him to fly.
Upon returning to America, Jethro resolved to use his abilities to right wrongs, punish evildoers, and in general, fight crime.
Like The Shadow, who had several other identities besides "Lamont Cranston", Jethro also used the identity of "Dr. Pali" to go places rich playboy Dumont couldn't.
Unlike The Shadow, he never used a gun, instead depending on his mental powers (and, if necessary, his physical prowess) to deal with villains.

Experienced pulp writer Kendall Foster Crossen was hired to create a character to compete with The Shadow on the newsstands.
He conceived The Green Lama and penned, under the name "Richard Foster", over a dozen tales about him for the pulp magazine Double Detective from 1940 to 1943.
(While The Lama was always the cover feature from his first appearance onward, he never had his own pulp, like The Shadow.)
The Lama also appeared in comic books, first in Prize Comics from #7 in 1940 to #34 in 1943, then moving into his own comic for eight issues until 1946.
Crossen wrote most of the comics, which were illustrated by Mac Raboy, one of the best artists of the period!
Three years later, the character was revived in a summer-replacement dramatic radio show which ran only 11 episodes starring Paul Frees, who sounded eerily-similar to Orson Welles, who had played The Shadow on radio!
In all these incarnations, efforts were made to portray Buddhism sympathetically, if not always accurately. For example, The Lama's primary incanation to invoke his powers; "om mani padme hum", is a mantra used while praying or meditating, not going into battle!

After the radio show ended, the Lama faded away except for the occasional reprint...until 2007, when Alex Ross revived the character as one of the major players in the new Project SuperPowers line of comic books using long-lost comic book characters.
In addition, Dark Horse Publishing recently published high-quality hardcover reprints of his title's long out-of-print 8-issue run!

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ want to do our part in re-presenting The Green Lama to the pop culture world with a line of kool kollectibles including t-shirts, mugs, even a Classic Green Lama 12-Month Calendar for 2010!

So have a look at The Green Lama, today!
And "om mani padme hum" to you! ;-)

BONUS! A pre-Halloween "treat" for our faithful fans: a link to FREE mp3s of some of the Green Lama radio episodes!

And remember...pick up Project SuperPowers, where The Green Lama LIVES!

NOTE: We've temporarily deactivated our FaceBook account.
Too many tech problems on their end and their "Help" section seems out of date, referring to links and tabs that don't actually exist (but may have in the past)!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Fantastic Femmes--Nancy Giles

One of the high-points of my weekend is sitting back and watching CBS Sunday Morning while having brunch.
And, one of the too-infrequent joys of that are commentary segments with Nancy Giles.
(While I like Ben Stein, I loathe Mo Rocca, one of the most annoying people to ever appear on-screen. Why CBS doesn't just rotate Nancy and Ben 50-50 is beyond me...)
Though she started out as an actress, with ongoing roles on China Beach and Delta, Nancy seems to have found her niche as a television journalist and commentator, while still doing the occasional supporting tv or film role.
She's also appeared on Broadway and currently writes and performs a one-woman stage show both off-Broadway and regionally.
IMHO, truly a Fantastic Femme!
Genre appearances include...
Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles [VG] (Adi Gallia)
Law & Order "Gov Love"
Dream On (Carolyn)
Jury "Mail Order Mystery"
L.A. Law "BadFellas"
Smuggler's Run II: Hostile Territory [VG] (Robot)
Grand Theft Auto 3 [VG] (Pedestrian)
Joshua (Betsy Polsheck)
SuperHeroes (Barbara Finch)
DollHouse Murders (Librarian)
True Crime (Leesha Mitchell)

Check out...
Nancy's Official WebSite
Nancy on Twitter
Other actresses to play Adi Gallia include...
Gin Clarke in Star Wars Episode I: the Phantom Menace and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.