Atomic Kommie Comics

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder DEATH RATTLE "Xenozoic!" Conclusion

2026-10-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

...actually we haven't seen this...nor will we!

It's a "symbolic" cover, designed to hook you into reading the comic.

And, hoo boy, does it work!

On a post-apocalyptic Earth several centuries from now, a rescue team checks up on a scientific research outpost that went mysteriously silent.

They find one mutilated survivor, and the group splits up to search for others...

Wow!

Now THAT'S an introduction!

Up-and-comer Mark Schultz created, wrote, and illustrated this tribute to dinosaurs in general and EC Comics of the 1950s in particular.

Dennis Kitchen, editor-publisher of Kitchen Sink was so sure of the potential for this series, he didn't even wait to see how the sales were on Death Rattle #8, as shown by this ad in the back of the book...

The book ran for 14 issues, and sold well.

There was also a one-shot 3-D issue adapting earlier stories to the 3-D format.

Problem was that Mark Schultz, like Dave Stevens, Mike Kaluta, Neal Adams, and a number of other creatives, though incredibly-talented, was also exceedingly sloooooowww, so the book went from bi-monthly to quarterly to semi-annually.

Kitchen Sink tried using back-up tales (overseen by Schultz) by other writers and artists while Schultz did the lead stories, but the book always had trouble keeping a regular schedule.

Even with that, the series built up a devoted following and tie-in merchandise like t-shirts, action figures and other goodies were grabbed off comic store shelves as fast as they were stocked.

Marvel's Epic imprint reprinted the early b/w tales in color under the name Cadillacs & Dinosaurs.

Interest from licensees in this version resulted in mainstream media tie-ins including a popular arcade game, home video console games, and an animated tv series...which resulted in its' own comic series from Topps that did new stories based on the tv show and sequels to Xenozoic Tales comic stories!

The stories continue to be reprinted (most recently in an IDW "Artists Edition"), and there are rumors of a feature film that could lead to an ongoing franchise!

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Xenozoic

by Mark Schultz

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Reading Room GORGO "Land of Long Ago" Part 1

2026-10-27T07:00:00.000-04:00

Most Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fans are Familiar with Gorgo...

...either as a kool '60s British kaiju movie, or a comic book series featuring pre-Marvel work by Steve (Spider-Man) Ditko!

Gorgo herself (she was the mother of a baby Gorgo) was a mutated dinosaur.
But the comic series included a couple of stories where Gorgo met much more"traditional" thunder lizards!

To Be Concluded Thursday!

This never-reprinted tale from Charlton's Gorgo #23 (1965) was the kaiju's final new tale at the company!
Written by Joe Gill, penciled by Bill Molino, and inked by Ernie Bache, it's an interesting send-off to the character.
Ditko had left the book after #16 in 1963 due to growing ongoing commitments to Marvel on The Amazing Spider-Man book, The Incredible Hulk in Tales to Astonish, The Invincible Iron Man in Tales of Suspense, and Doctor Strange in Strange Tales!

Monday Mecha Madness SHOGUN WARRIORS "Should Heroes Fail..." Part 1

2026-10-26T07:00:00.000-04:00

When Last We Left Our Trio of Pilots and Their Robots...

...they were inside a satellite orbiting the Moon, facing a trio of creatures who had battled them in one-on-one combat!

To Be Concluded Next Monday!

Looking for a Kool Halloween Cosplay Suggestion?

2026-10-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

How about any (or all) of this quartet?

(Do I really need an excuse to run these kool, rarely-seen pix?)

In alphabetical order, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Clive Owen, and Bruce Willis.

And if you can't tell who's who, you're reading the wrong blog, bunkie!

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Sin City & Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
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Space Hero? Saturdays NIGHTMARE "When the Dawn Gods War!"

2026-10-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

We've Shown You Numerous Tales of Aliens Visiting Earth in the Distant Past!

Art by Boris Vallejo

But what if those extraterrestrials weren't benevolent?

Written by Gardner Fox, penciled by Paul Reinman, and inked by Mike Esposito, this never-reprinted tale from Skywald's Nightmare #3 (1971) implies that the Biblical God we worshop was, in fact, a manipulative alien!

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Science Fiction Comics

Taylor History of Comics

Vol 3
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Friday Fun HOMER THE HAPPY GHOST "Dinosaur Egg"

2026-10-23T07:00:00.000-04:00

Atlas Comics had a Casper the Friendly Ghost "Clone"...

...written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Dan DeCarlo, who encounted...a dinosaur!

This never-reprinted story from Atlas' Homer the Happy Ghost #13 (1957) is no sillier than the literally thousands of tales about Harvey's Casper, and a heckuva lot wittier!

Reading Room MONSTERS ON THE PROWL "Terror of the Pterodactyl!

2026-10-22T07:00:00.000-04:00

This Never-Reprinted Ptale from Marvel's Monsters on the Prowl #15...

...was the first credited work by a writer who would soon become a major contributor to the Marvel Comics Universe in the Bronze Age!

Appearing in the back of Marvel's Monsters on the Prowl #15 (1972), the story which was produced "Marvel Style" (plotted by an uncredited Al Hewetson and penciled by Syd Shores) was given to assistant editor Steve Englehart to dialogue, then lettered by Artie Simek and returned to Shores to ink!
It led to several full plot & script assignments on various non-superhero stories, then an ongoing series about ex-X-Man The Beast in Amazing Adventures.
Then came the big break...taking over two multi-hero team books, The Defenders and The Mighty Avengers...which led to what can be called the first "Big Event" series in comic book history: the multi-issue, summer-long crossover event between the two books called The Avengers-Defenders War!
His career since then has been long and varied, with stories at DC, Warren, Eclipse, Topps, Deluxe, and Valiant, as well as movie & TV scripts and novels.

But it all began with a ptime-lost ptale about a pteradactyl...

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder DEATH RATTLE "Xenozoic!" Part 1

2026-10-21T07:00:00.000-04:00

With one simple, invented word and a passion for dinosaurs and EC Comics...

...a young writer-artist named Mark Schultz created one of the more successful comic series of the 1980s!

What has Jack discovered?

Find Out...

NEXT WEDNESDAY!

Plus, we'll toss in some background about both the series and the creator!
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Xenozoic
by Mark Schultz
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Reading Room MY GREATEST ADVENTURE "We Were 20th Century Cavemen"

2026-10-20T07:00:00.000-04:00

Prepare to Be Pterrified...

Art by Bob Brown

...because this week we're presenting a pair of ptales of...pterodactyls!

Illustrated by Ruben Moreira and scripted by an unknown writer, this never-reprinted tale from DC's My Greatest Adventure #27 (1959) was typical of their output during the 1950s, imaginative concepts, but only occasionally actually exciting.

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Mysteries in Space

The Best of DC Science Fiction Comics

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Monday Mecha Madness JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY "Orogo!! The Nightmare from Outer Space!!"

2026-10-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

Behind this Jack Kirby-penciled/Don Heck-inked splash...

...lurks a mystery. which we'll delve into after you read the story!

When this Stan Lee-scripted, Don Heck-illustrated (except for the splash) tale was reprinted in Marvel's Fantasy Masterpieces #2 (1967), the cover played-up Heck's Cyclopean robot (and Dashin' Don himself)...

...but when it was first published in Atlas' Journey into Mystery #57 (1960)...

...and reprinted a second time in Marvel's Where Monsters Dwell #12 (1971)...

...it used the original Kirby cover that seems to be a reverse-angle of the splash page above and shows a radically-different Orogo with two eyes!

Did editor/art director Stan the Man have The King do the cover and splash and then pass the rest of the story to Heck to finish,...but, for whatever reason, didn't give Dashing Don the cover as reference for Orogo, so Heck came up with his own version of the robot...with only one eye?

There are several Atlas-era monster stories where Kirby would do splashes, then another artist would complete the tale.

Bookmark us and keep an eye out as we attempt to solve the half century-old mystery....

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The Mid-Term Elections are HERE!!!

2026-10-18T07:00:00.000-04:00

Get Out There and VOTE!!!
Here's a handy (very) basic guide...

Space Hero Saturdays NORGE BENSON...plus DINOSAURS in ""Plutonian Prehistoric Peril"

2026-10-17T07:00:00.000-04:00

When Last We Left Our Hapless Hero...

...he was returning to Pluto after spending a couple of issues on a jungle planet where he met the scantly-clad Princess Jolie...

This tale starring Space Hero Norge Benson from Fiction House's Planet Comics #22 (1943), while out of reprint order, proves artist Al Walker and whoever the writer is haven't lost their sense of the ludicrous!

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Planet Comics

Volume 6
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Friday Fun ARCHIE"S WEIRD MYSTERIES "Monkey's Claw!"

2026-10-16T07:00:00.000-04:00

Before the Ghoulish Doings on the TV Series Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina...

Cover by Fernando Ruiz & Bob Smith

...Archie Comics created an animated series with a sci-fi/fantasy/horror bent!

This tale is from the comic book spin-off.
(The TV series came first.)

Written & penciled by Fernando Ruiz and inked by Bob Smith, this cover-featured tale from Archie Comics' Archie's Weird Mysteries #21 (2002) is based on a classic horror story, "The Monkey's Paw" by WW Jacobs, about a talisman that grants each owner three wishes that always go wrong.

Reading Room BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY "Grave DIggings"

2026-10-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

Who Could be a Better Narrator About a Dinosaur Run Amuck in the Present than...Boris Karloff?

Art by George Wilson

Boris (who died in 1969) still does the hosting duties in this never-reprinted tale from Gold Key's Boris Karloff's Tales of Mystery #71 (1976)!

What a kool ghoul!

Scripted by Arnold Drake and illustrated by Frank Bolle, it's a variation on the "dinosaur resurrected/defrosted in the present by people unaware it was there" trope.

Bonus: the uncropped original painting used for the cover.

Note how tightly the printed version crops in to the dino and tower, losing the wide perspective that emphaisized how big the glowing reptile is in comparison to his environment!

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder TYRANOSTAR in 3-D

2026-10-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

What's Kooler than Dinosaurs?

Dinosaurs in 3-D!!!

Get Your Red (on the left) Blue (on the right) 3-D Glasses on and dive in...

Appearing in Ray Zone's 3-D Zone #14 (1988), Tyranostar by writer/artists Pete Von Sholly & Michael Van Cleve was an attempt at a juvenile adventure series combining humans and sentient dinosaurs set in "Prehistorica".

As for who Tyranostar is...

Apparently, 3-D book producer Ray Zone thought the tale above would be a good entry in his ongoing anthology book 3-D Zone which adapted 2-D comics into 3-D!

You can see another sample of his conversion work HERE!

Von Sholly tried to market the concept again around 2000, this time with a slightly less-juvenile approach in a motion comics sampler...

Tyranostar Will Return...

Reading Room MYSTIC "Dinosaur"

2026-10-13T07:00:00.000-04:00

We Recently Ran a Dinosaur-Themed Story Illustrated by the Amazing Bernie Krigstein HERE...

...and this one, done around the same time, is so totally-different, we felt we had to present it!

(BTW, when we ran the previous Krigstein dino-story "Lair of the Thunder Lizard" back in May, we were planning a totally-different Halloween blogathon!)

Note: While Krigstein superbly-illustrated this kool tale from Atlas Comics' Mystic #56 (1957) about a dinosaur you never see, the writer is currently-unknown, but might be the comic's editor Stan Lee!

Sadly, we'll never know!

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Messages in a Bottle
Comic Book Stories by B Krigstein
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Monday Mecha Madness PHANTOM "Survival!"

2026-10-12T07:00:00.000-04:00

The First Flight to Uranus has Four CrewMembers...

...including one (as the British would say) with a "difference"!

Admittedly, this never-reprinted tale from Charlton's The Phantom #38 (1970) isn't too difficult to figure out, but the fact nobody's seen it in over 55 years compelled us to present this Don Perlin-illustrated story, scripted by a currently-unknown author!

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Science Fiction Comics
Taylor History of Comics
Vol 3
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Holiday Reading Room EVERY DAY IS A HOLLY DAY "Columbus Day"

2026-10-11T07:00:00.000-04:00

It used to always be October 12th (tomorrow, AAMOF)...

...but now it's the second Monday in October, no matter the date, to allow people a three-day holiday!

Interestingly, this page from Brevity Inc's one-shot giveaway Every Day is a Holly Day (1956) acknowledges Christopher Columbus didn't discover America, a rarity in that era!
(Vikings, in fact, discovered the already-inhabited continent in 860 AD!)

Why is this comic entitled "Every Day is a Holly Day" instead of "Every Day is a Holiday"?

Because it was given away to kids by grocers who sold Holly Sugar!

Illustrated by John Rosenberger, it's a unique pamphlet covering a number of American holidays, including both Lincoln and Washington's Birthdays (before they were combined into "Presidents' Day"), Mothers' Day (though not Fathers' Day), Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and a couple of holidays we've largely abandoned...Pan-American Day and American Indian Day!

We'll be presenting the other chapters on the dates they fall upon.

Watch for them!

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Cartoon History of the Modern World

Part 1: From Columbus to the U.S. Constitution
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Space Force Saturdays STAR TREK "Dinosaur Planet" Conclusion

2026-10-10T07:00:00.000-04:00

We Have Already Seen...

...(at Secret Sanctum of Captain Video) the Enterprise, after launching on it's second five-year mission, arrives at the Oblik star system.

They discover an M-Class planet, but one that's in the same stage of development as Earth was around 124,000,000 years ago!
And, they find the primordial world has primordial inhabitants...dinosaurs!

HERE'S a link to the audio file, so you can have a classic Power Records "read-along" experience!

Just move the sound bar control to 6:55 to continue the story!

Written by Ric Meyers and illustrated by Kirby Martin & Associates,

Power Records PR45 STAR TREK "Dinosaur Planet"(1979) is different from most of the famous "record and comic book" series.

It's one of two tales published after the release of Star Trek the Motion Picture, showing the crew in the grey and beige uniforms from the film.
However, the Enterprise itself is rendered as an amalgam of the TV series & movie versions.
And phasers and other tech are incorrectly-illustrated all the way through the story.
Neither of these tales were produced by Neal Adams' Continuity Associates, as all the previous tv show-based stories were.
Instead, Kirby Martin & Associates, a company that handled licensing art on merchandise like coffee mugs, t-shirts, and lunchboxes, was brought in to package the graphics.
Pavel Chekov, who was not on any of the previous Power Records, makes his audio debut here.
And Hikaru Sulu, who was illustrated as African-American in previous Power Records comics is finally rendered correctly as Japanese!

Friday Fun OSWALD THE RABBIT & the Prehistoric Egg!

2026-10-09T07:00:00.000-04:00

It's a Unique, Book-Length Story...

...that hasn't been reprinted since publication in 1947, featuring a rocket ship, Amazons, dinosaurs, cute critters, and an animated character you've likely never heard of...or even seen..facing cliffhanger thrills!

It's Weird!

It's Wild!

It's Fun!

And it has a Baby Dinosaur!
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Conclusion

Reading Room STRANGE ADVENTURES "Maze of Time!"

2026-10-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, We Presented a Never-Reprinted, Dinosaur-Themed, Story from Atlas' Strange Tales!

Cover illustrated by Murphy Anderson

Today, we do the same with a tale from DC's Strange Adventures!

Scripted by Gardner Fox, penciled by Gil Kane, and inked by Murphy Anderson, the cover-featured story from DC's Strange Adventures #159. (1963) has the same sort of "science can solve everything"-based optimism we saw a couple of years later on the original Star Trek TV series!

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Wednesday Worlds of Wonder AMAZING HIGH ADVENTURE "Saurian Remains"

2026-10-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

In the 1980s, Marvel Launched a New Comic...

...an anthology dedicated to 1920s-50s pulp-style "high adventure" tales...but in comics form!

Is this fascinating tale historically-accurate?

The locations, institutions, and some of the characters are real!

There was a controversy in this era among paleontologists about properly-authenticating fossils!
But i don't know if things got as...violent...as presented here!

Only writer Stephen Perry and artist Stephen Bissette (along with Rick Veitch) would knoe the answer, and they've kept mum since the story's sole publication in Marvel's Amazing High Adventure #4 (1986), 40 years ago.
And, if they've kept quiet for almost four decades, I doubt they'll blab about it now...

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SR Bissette's Tyrant presents Paleo Pop! Volume 1
and/or

SR Bissette's Tyrant presents Paleo Pop! Volume 2
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Reading Room STRANGE TALES "Fear Walks on Four Feet!"

2026-10-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

When a Never-Reprinted Story Comes to Our Attention...

...especially one about this month's featured subject, you can bet we're going to present it!

Scripted by Carl Wessler and illustrated by Al Eadeh, this entertaining featurette hasn't seen the light of day since it was published in Atlas' Strange Tales #51 (1958), almost 70 years ago!

And we're going to repeat this feat on Thursday, with another dinosaur-themed, never-reprinted, hidden gem, this time from DC!

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Science Fiction Comics

Taylor History of Comics

Vol 3

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Monday Mecha Madness SPIRIT OF FRANKENSTEIN "Dagget's Phantoms"

2026-10-05T07:00:00.000-04:00

We Have Already Seen...

...disgruntled elderly Professor Lambert Pardway, working as an assistant to Doctor Daniel Warren, tricks Warren into implanting the dying Pardway's brain into an experimental android.

Before Pardway's brain can use the android body to destroy Warren and his girlfriend, it is "short circuited" by Warren...

Writer/editor Richard Hughes and artist Charles Sultan merrily combine science and the supernatural in this wild tale from ACG's Adventures into the Unknown #6 (1949), setting a tone that would countinue for the remainder of the series...

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Adventures Into the Unknown!

Volume 1

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The Mid-Terms Are Coming! Nope! The Mid-Terms Are HERE...

2026-10-04T07:00:00.000-04:00

And Your Voting Participation Will Have a Major Effect!

Sadly, this story, published over 75 years ago is as relevant today as it was in 1952, with the basic percentages of voter participation (actually lack of participation) unchanged!

...unless not enough of those heroes actually go to vote!

Here's a handy (very) basic guide...

Illustrated by Warren Kremer and Al Avision, this one-shot published by Harvey Comics in 1952 (76 years ago) was offered for only a couple of pennies a copy to any group (even Republicans) who wanted to utilize it to "get out the vote"!

Note: Our gratitude to the ever-amazing Kracalactaka for the full-color scans of this ultra-rare comic!

Unless you want things to stay as they are (or get worse)...if you're over 18 and under 110...

...GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND REGISTER TO VOTE!