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Monday, November 20

Strange comics, part one: "Atlas Theatre Comics"

by Mike on Mon 20 Nov 2006 11:52 PM EST

Atlas Theatre Comics

Whenever I visit a comic shop, I am always sure to check out the big glass display case for exciting new arrivals and other gems each visit. During a visit about a week and a half ago, I spotted a particularly eye-catching comic book in the case. It was a rather old-looking comic called "Atlas Theatre Comics." I didn't know I wanted it until I laid eyes on it. Really. I asked the proprietor what the story was on the book and he got it out of the case so I could have a closer look. He explained that he had picked this up at a recent comic show as part of a larger collection of old stuff. He didn't have a lot of information on the book, adding that it was not listed in the Overstreet price guide. The cover of the comic was an all-black illustration on an off-white background depicting a handful of "knock-offs" of Golden Age characters, including Plastic Man's sidekick Woozy Winks, The Red Tornado, Bucky and a character that looks like either the Sandman or maybe Air Wave. Once the comic was out of its bag, I had a short look-through, noting that there were ads for local businesses on the insides of the front and back covers and on the back as well. Curiously, the cover itself was more like card stock than paper and it reached just past the pages all around the book. It was an odd sight...My first glance didn't yield any big-name characters and at the top of each page, the words "Triple Threat Comics" appeared. So, I thought it was kind of cool, but I passed on it for the moment. But a few hours after I left the shop, I decided it was too cool to pass up and I called and asked them to hold it for me so I could pick it up early the following week.

Over the course of the next few days, I did a few Internet searches using different combinations of the phrase "Atlas Theatre Comics" and I was surprised that I couldn't find one lick of information about the book I had seen. I remembered the shop owner telling me that he had basically decided on a price for the issue after talking to some "old timers" at a comics show, so I really didn't have much to go on. Last Tuesday night, I picked up the issue and took it home for a closer inspection.

The book is a great collection of obscure Golden Age material. I was especially surprised to see a tale featuring a character called The Duke of Darkness that I recognized from another Golden Age gem, Top Spot Comics #1. I got a copy of Top Spot #1 about ten years ago at a now defunct Dayton-area comic shop called The Bookie Parlor (In fact, it might have been longer than ten years ago, as I bought it back when the Bookie Parlor was located on Wayne Avenue). Anyway, the characters and plot lines of the "Atlas Theater" issue were as follows:

King O' Leary saves a wrongly convicted man from the electric chair
The Duke of Darkness battles Mr. Slumber who torment's the city's elite while they sleep
Beau Brummell takes on a gang who threatens the city's big department store, "Simbel's"
The Menace rescues a famous actress from a kidnapper
The Magficient Epod, lone survivor of Atlantis discovers a magic bottle that grants wishes (during which time, Epon's sidekick manages to get the bottle permanently affixed to his nose
Whippet Wilkins gets conned into buying sweets for a bunch of girls at the local soda shop
Interestingly enough, I got out my copy of Top Spot #1 after reading the Atlas Theater book and I found the Top Spot also includes stories featuring Epod and The Menace. I looked up "Triple Threat Comics" in a few places and I think that Triple Threat was probably published by the same outfit (or a closely related one) that published Top Spot and that both comics were "one shots" (single issues) that were published in 1945.

Top Spot Comics #1

A very close inspection of the Atlas Theatre book gave me a few clues as to its origin. As I noted above, the cover pretty unusual – not shoddy, but a low-budget production, for sure. On the inside near the spine, there appeared to be a kind of clear adhesive in some places and a chip of glossy paper that looked like it belonged to the cover of another comic book. All of the ads on the inside of the cover were for local businesses on "Plymouth Road," including businesses like "Blue Bird Department Store" and "Rose's Sweet Shop." But the biggest clue was a business named "Edmondson-Sweeney, Inc. Ford Dealer". A Google search yielded an ad from the 1950's featuring a business with the same name on Plymouth Road in the Detroit area. There was also a movie theater in Detroit called Atlas Theatre that operated from 1939 to 1950. Now, without actually having a copy of Triple Threat Comics #1 in front of me, I can't say for sure...But I am thinking that Atlas Theatre Comics #1 is actually Triple Threat Comics #1 with the original cover removed and a specially printed cover affixed to the book itself. It was probably part of a special promotion by Atlas Theatre and local businesses from Detroit back in the mid to late 1940's. It was probably cheaper for them to buy a bunch of comics that were already printed and attach a custom cover than to have a totally new and special comic book printed solely for their own advertising purposes.

I am pretty enamored with Golden Age material, both for its charm and its simplicity. And when stuff like this is affordable, that's an extra bonus. Best of all, in this case, this book really has a story to tell in more ways than one. All in all, this is really a cool find, combining a Golden Age gem with some regional history. It sure is another great addition to my collection!

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Sunday, November 5

The Greek Resistance in comics

by Mike on Sun 05 Nov 2006 11:49 PM EST

During some down time this afternoon, I read a 1946 issue of Airboy (v3, #4) that I picked up a few months ago at the 2006 Buckeye Comic Con. The issue’s final story is an Iron Ace yarn that features a young Greek orphan named Mike. The tale opens as Captain Britain (a.k.a. The Iron Ace) is flying Mike from a camp in Italy back to his home on the island of Crete. Along the way, Captain Britain learns that Mike is the living reincarnation of Icarus, Iron Ace does battle with the immortal Daedelus, and they all meet up with Pluto, the Prince of Hades. At the end of the story, Mike decides to tell Captain Britain the story of the Greek Resistance forces of Crete:

The rest of Mike’s tale remains a mystery, because the above panels are actually the final panels of the story. I looked around for more information regarding "Captain Alexandropolus" and I was unable to find anything on the Internet. I also checked the books Red Acropolis, Black Terror and the Time-Life World War II volume Partisans and Guerillas and I came up empty. I’m not sure if Captain Alexandropolus was a real figure or some kind of composite, but I sure would like to know more.