SuperPowers Saturday is a day early this week...

Because Saturday is Free Comic Book Day, 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 on Friday this week only...
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers
(featuring characters who've been cover-featured)
Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers Strikes Again!
(featuring the other characters)
and, with his own page...
The Classic Green Lama

In addition, you can find Atomic Kommie Comics™ kool kollectibles emblazoned with the ORIGINAL 1940s classic cover art featuring these characters...
American Crusader
in Solo Heroes
American Eagle
in Flag-Draped Heroes
Captain Courageous
in Flag-Draped Heroes
The Face aka Mr Face
The Flag
in Flag-Draped Heroes
The Green Lama
Flash / Lash Lightning
in Solo Heroes
Marvelo
in Solo Heroes
Mr Raven can be found at 4 Favorites
(he never had a solo cover appearance)
The SkyMan
Super-American
in Flag-Draped Heroes
The Sword
in Solo Heroes
Unknown Soldier aka Soldier Unknown
In Flag-Draped Heroes
at
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™!

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

I've Got My EYE on You...

The Eye was a giant, flaming, sentient eyeball!
Seriously!
The actual title of the strip was "The Eye Sees..." and no origin was ever given to the character, but the implication was that The Eye was an extradimensional or extraterrestrial entity, not a human ghost or reincarnated spirit like The Spectre or Captain Triumph, as he (it) didn't really understand human behavior, but was obsessed with the concept of justice, working hand in...whatever...with private eye Jack Barrister in dispensing it.
Like The Spectre, The Eye had near-infinite abilities including being able to warp and alter time and space, although he (it) usually limited him (it)self to generating heat rays or a searchlight beam, growing or shrinking, flying, and teleporting just about anywhere.

He (it) appeared in every issue of Centaur's Keen Detective Comics from #16 onward to the end of the run, sometimes as the cover feature.
Then, he (it) was given his own title, Detective Eye, for two issues, ironically featuring fellow hero Air-Man on the first cover and private eye partner Jack Barrister (without The Eye) on the second!

We at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have revived The Eye as part of the Solo Heroes section of our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line, on t-shirts, messenger bags, mugs and other kool kollectibles!

While he (it) hasn't been included in Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers as of yet, we think we'll be seeing him soon!
So keep an eye out for...The Eye, because he (it) will be watching you!

SuperPowers Saturdays Cometh!

For the next few Saturdays, we're going to re-present the 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)
Plus a solo page for...
The Classic Captain Future
(Both of them. Click on the link.
You'll see what I mean!)

In addition, you can find Atomic Kommie Comics™ kool kollectibles emblazoned with the ORIGINAL 1940s classic cover art featuring these characters (in alphabetical order)...
Captain Future (aka Zeus)
Cat-Man (was Cat, now Man-Cat)  
& Kitten
Dynamic Man
Fighting Yank
The Flame
HydroMan (now called Hydro)
Major Victory
(in Flag-Draped Heroes) 
The Owl
Silver Streak
StrongMan
(in Solo Heroes)  
The Target & Targeteers
at
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™!
(unfortunately, The Woman in Red was never cover-featured, so there's no goodies featuring her...yet!)

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

The Digital Comics Museum--A Great Golden Age Comics Resource!

Many dealers and collectors are encasing their comics in Lucite to preserve them and raise their value.
All fine and well, but it makes it impossible to actually read the stories inside the covers!
And, to get the best quality covers to create the Atomic Kommie Comics™ kollectible kollection, I end up either borrowing / renting (Yes, you can rent comics!) or outright purchasing "slabbed" books that I don't already have in my collection.

So, to correct my lack of knowledge on some books, I'm finally registering with several of the on-line Golden Age comics archives who are, happily, keeping the stories and art of the 1930s-50s available to all.
First up is the Digital Comics Museum.
I'll let them speak for themselves...
We are the #1 site for downloading FREE public domain Golden Age Comics.
All files here have been researched by our staff and users to make sure they are copyright free and in the public domain.
To start downloading just register an account and enjoy these great comic books.
We do not charge per download and the goal of project is to archive these comic books online and make them widely available.
I couldn't have said it better, myself!
So, if you're a Golden Age fan, register and enjoy!

Then, go to Atomic Kommie Comics™ and pick up a couple of Golden Age collectibles! (That part is optional, but appreciated!)

Before Percy Jackson was...Nature Boy!

Long before Percy Jackson met the Olympians, there was another teen given amazing powers by ancient gods...
Rich teenager David Crandall was yachting with his parents when a storm sank the boat and David was stranded!
Rescued by "gods" who control various aspects of nature, he is given a portion of each of their powers...
Neptune--water
Gusto--wind
Furo--fire
Eartha--earth
Electra--lightning
Allura--love
Azura--skies
Friga--cold
(Yeah, I know a couple of them overlap, and only one was an actual mythological god, but why quibble?)
David used his new powers to return home and reunite with his still-alive family.
He also decided to battle evil in various forms as Nature Boy, since he controlled the forces of nature, and the gods gave him a spiffy new outfit to show off!

He only had three issues of his own title (which started with #3*) before he disappeared from the comics scene..until now!
But, within those three issues, the seeds were planted for an entire superfamily of Nature-heroes including Nature Man (an adult version of the hero from the future) and female counterpart Nature Girl.
This isn't surprising, since he was created by Jerry Siegel (co-creator of Superman) who knew a thing or two about that sort of thing.
To add to his hero cred, Nature Boy was drawn by the great John Buscema who later did Conan, Avengers, Fantastic Four, and damn near everything at Marvel in the 70s thru the 90s, so even if the stories were a bit silly, they looked spectacular!

Technically, Nature Boy should be considered one of the first Silver Age heroes as his premiere was in 1956, just a couple of months before The Flash re-emerged in Showcase #4, but, like Captain Flash, and even the Martian Manhunter, he's thought to be one of the last Golden Age characters instead!
On that basis, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ have revived Nature Boy as part of our Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line, on t-shirts, messenger bags, mugs and other kool kollectibles!
It's unlikely that Alex Ross will include him in Project SuperPowers, but we felt he was worth re-presenting to the comics world, even if it's just on tchochkies!
He was one of the last, but hardly one of the worst...

*To save money on paying for a new second-class mailing permit,  comics publishers would often just rename an existing comic, rather than start a new one!
Today, with #1 issues being such "hot" collector's items, publishers wouldn't dream of doing that sort of thing!

The Not-So-Jolly Green Giant!

Pre-dating the "Ho-Ho-Ho-ing" frozen vegetable spokesman by over a decade, a radically-different, costumed, Green Giant appeared in (what else?) Green Giant Comics #1 (and only) in 1940!
The emerald avenger was secretly Brent Wood, who beat Marvel's Henry Pym to developing a size-changing serum which enabled him to grow to between 15-150 feet (depending on who illustrated the story)!
(Mind you, this story background information is second-hand, as the comic book we photographed and digitally-remastered was "slabbed" in lucite, so we were unable to actually read the stories. If anyone could verify or correct us, please do so.)

Less than a dozen copies of this incredibly-rare comic (distributed only in the New York City area, and now valued at several thousand dollars each) are believed to still exist!
The Green Giant recently cameoed (in flashback) in Alex Ross' Project SuperPowers mini-series which revives Golden Age heroes in the present day.
Hopefully, we'll see more of him in the on-going series.

Atomic Kommie Comics™ has incorporated him into the Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ line, in the Solo Heroes section, where characters with only one cover available to us (at the moment) go! (And since he only had one issue...)
If you're looking for a retro-style graduation or birthday gift for a Golden Age of Comics fan in your life, why not bundle one of our Green Giant goodies  with the Project SuperPowers trade paperback (or the original mini-series issues) for a kool, kollectible present?
It's what I'd want...if I didn't already have it! (one of the few perks of working here) ;-)

The White Streak

The White Streak did not wear white, nor did he have super-speed.
Appearing in the back of the first issue of Target Comics in 1940, he was an ancient robot buried in a South American mountain for centuries, then discovered by a team of American archeologists and geologists!
Identifying himself to them as "Manowar", the robot explained (in English) that he was created by the now-extinct civilization of Utopia and deliberately left buried until reactivated in a time of world-wide strife!
(World War II had already started, though America had not yet entered the conflict.)
Manowar was meant to be a peacekeeper, ending conflicts thru his amazing abilities including super-strength, invulnerability, and optical energy beams with the impact of cannon shells!
After ending a local conflict (and gaining the name "White Streak" from the scientists, he traveled with the Americans back to the USA,
He figured out how to disguse himself as human, and taking the name "Dan Sanders", Manowar joined the FBI (who apparently weren't big on background checks in those days.) and, using their information resources, battled spies and saboteurs who were trying to harm the still-pacifistic USA!

From the second issue until the introduction of Target & the Targeteers in #10, Manowar was the cover feature.
After that, he went back to being a backup feature until America entered the war after Pearl Harbor was attacked in December 1941. The idea of a pacifist at such a time didn't seem viable, so the strip was dropped in favor of more aggressively-oriented characters.

Trivia: White Streak was created by Carl Burgos, who seemed to specialize in creating robot / android heroes including Iron Skull, the Silver Age Captain Marvel (who said "Split" and sent various body parts off to operate independently), and, most famously, the Golden Age Human Torch!

We, of course, found a place for such an offbeat character in the Solo Heroes section of Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™!
So, welcome him back!
A good man (or robot) is hard to find! ;-)

THE Clean-Cut, All-American Navy 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 and 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 Memorial Day or 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 bonus from us to you: downloadable mp3s of the Don Winslow dramatic radio show!

The LAST Tale of the Golden Age Black Cat!

Back in the 1940s, one of the hottest superheroines in comics was The Black Cat.
Actress / stuntwoman Linda Turner fought crime in a skimpy costume from 1940 to 1951, then in reprints from the late '50s to early '60s and from 1989-1995, when an updated version of the character was produced.
What was hoped to be the first issue of an ongoing series turned out to be a one-shot due to poor distribution.
It's a shame, the talent involved included writer Mark Evanier, legendary artist Murphy Anderson, the late Mike Wieringo, and the Brothers Hildebrandt (Tim & Greg), and the series was both a loving tribute to the Golden Age material, and a chance to continue in a PG /  PG-13 cheesecake style matching the classic comics without being "too adult-oriented"!
The publishers have graciously posted online both the story from the sole published issue and the art from the unpublished second issue here.
Enjoy! (I did!)

And not one plug for Atomic Kommie Comics™ merchandise! I must be slipping!