DC Comics Super Heroes Coloring Book: Atom page #2

Of course after I defiantly stand up to the powers unseen and waggle my finger at the passing of time, vowing to make this a solid week of posting... the internet goes out. All I could do was stare at the computer screen, muttering unheard and unread apologies to the hungry millions that visit this site every day.
I'm sorry I let you down.

Moving on.

Graciously supplied by M.O.T.A member Doug Zawisza, I posted the first of these bad boys here.

Unlike the addition of mad scientist in the first one, this here is just Ray Ray getting down to business. It's classic stuff ladies and gentlemen.

And his fuerza grows with each passing day.

As with the first one, I recommend (insist?) that you print out the large version of this, color it in (stay between the lines) and send it in to DC recommending (insisting) that Damian's Search for Ray Palmer Children's Activity Book get the green light.

Hawkman patch

It's exciting post time at the Titan again! I eagerly anticipate and fear at the same time, the flood of comments that await such a conversational piece.

I love when people get dressed up as their favorite characters and go to cons. It's the dedication.

Wassat?

Oh, turns out this a patch representing the actual Hawkman, and not a fan. Or his half-brother Carl.

You're led to believe it's depth perception, but as you can see, Carter, having hit a rough spot, needs to work out his right arm in order to catch up to his left arm... then work everything out. Otherwise he's just a guy flying around wheeting.
Which will probably be his next incarnation.

It's little nuggets like this that are the cornerstone of any geekly collection. Sure the comics are nice. And the figures made solely for collectors get better and better, but this was where it was at. There just isn't nearly enough new crap like this floating around out there in the DC world.

Atom switch plate: Part 2

In my attempt to corner the market on Atom switch plates, I provide this.
Again, custom items do not easily get past security, but occasionally we make exceptions.

Ah, who am I kidding? Take anything the Atom has ever been on and slap him on anything you can find, call it unique, and I'll be all "Gee whiz, sweeet sweeetness!"

"Damian, check out this one-of-a-kind tennis ball with the Atom done in sharpie by an artist who never drew another thing."

Awesome. Sign me up.

The first and finer of the two, can be seen here. That's not too say that the original artwork this was lifted from (a pin-up from that Superman and Batman mag), both by Mike Parobeck, isn't great, but this here doesn't translate as well onto a switch plate as the first one does.
And the fact that he's fighting a giant bug in aforementioned pin-up, leaves one wanting more.

I invite everyone out there to share their Atom switch plates with me, with the T3, in an effort to bring us all that much closer.
____________________________________________________________________

In exciting non-switch plate news, thanks to a hot tip from M.O.T.A. member Ilke Hincer, the Hawkman Companion, from TwoMorrow's publishing, is available for pre-ordering!
Written by M.O.T.A. member Doug Zawisza, through countless hours of sweat and passion, with the grace of a swan and the laborous grunting effort of a Moria dwarf, the Hawkman Companion promises to be the severe hotness. I'll be pimping it (is that correct? I'm iffy with the jive) constantly so ya won't forget.

I'm excited Doug!

DC Comics Super Heroes coloring book: Atom page

This page was taken directly from my Search for Ray Palmer Children's Activity Book!

That's obviously not true as no one would dare green light my Atom activity book.

But this fun scene is from a 1996 Golden Books DC Comics Super Heroes coloring book, featuring mullet Superman, provided to me by fellow F.O.A.M. member and Hawkman nut Doug Zawisza. As you can see, Ray is readying his atomic punch for some mad scientist face. I had no idea The Atom was in there, so I give thanks to Doug for sending this to me.
What needs to happen next is that everyone gets a copy of this (click on the picture for the colorable (?) version. There's another one as well), colors it in, and sends it to DC begging them for Damian's Search for Ray Palmer Children's Activity Book. It's like where's Waldo, but much cooler. And there's coloring!

Speaking of ripping things off, having acquired several Atom related things from gracious senders in the last few weeks, it had occurred to me that maybe I should rip-off (excuse me, the term is "borrow") Rob Kelly's F.O.A.M. group and put something together of my own. Sort of a "thanks for this wonderful thing you sent me, now you're part of such and such, here's your membership." We're looking for a team atmosphere here at the T3.

Maybe M.O.T.A. Yanno, Mates of the Atom.

On the positive side, it's a lot like SOTA (Sword of the Atom) and POTA (Power of the Atom) with the lone exception being one letter. And if you're familiar with the Atom fleer tattoo, or perhaps a mirror, you might just see... Mota spells Atom backwards!!! I am out of control good!

On the other hand, I'm not Australian, so "mates" might be a bit of a push. And to anyone not familiar with it's inception and not particularly interested in researching it, might just seem like a list of people Ray Palmer tried to breed with.

Maybe it's not a good idea. Suggestions?
(Here's one: Get your own identity!)

Chime in on all matters. And as always, we're excited.

Thanks again, Doug!

JLA Pocket heroes: Day 2 - Martian Manhunter with JLA Conference Table and Chairs

There was quite a bit of time between my purchase of the JLA box set and this beauty, because I just didn't know about it. The fact that I hornswaggled it for a cool buck makes the victory a sweet one that'll rot my teeth for years to come.

So that's where's the Manhunter form Mars went! I was going to say it would be mental not to include the charter members of the Justice League in either one of these sets.

Oh wait, aquaman is...
I think that...
It's rubbish is what it is.

But, he's got a seat at the table, and that's pretty cool. 8 chairs to go around, and each chair has the logo of the hero it's meant for.

You've got J'onn, Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Green Arrow, and of course, never one to be left off of anything... The Atom.

You might ask, where in the mighty hell do Batman and Superman sit? Well, not at this table. How this came to be I'll never know. Is it possible the powers that be figured those two had been on enough and it was time to slap the logo's of some of the other schmucks on something?

It's just a very cool little piece (actually, it's much bigger than I had expected it to be. It certainly won't fit in any pocket of mine).
I don't even mind that Ray's chair is the same size as the rest of the lot (although with them throwing in "bonus" Atom stuff, I would have guessed The Batman would get his normal chair, and they'd shove in a lil Atom seat as a "bonus" for lucky folks!). I don't mind that if you try to sit any of these members in their respective seats, you must do so with their legs straight out. And if Ray is in attendance, he'll be so standing up in his chair.

To recap, I was and am very happy that Ray got to be a part of this JLA set. I look forward to that happening more AND more down the line.

JLA Pocket Heroes: Day 1 - Box set

Awesome picture, I know. Not an easy one to find online. Stare directly into the light.

This is the Pocket Heroes JLA box set, released in 2003 from the wonderful DC Direct, blessing us with quality toys since... whenever they started making them.
I do enjoy me some Pocket Heroes. I've heard people complain about them, that they're ugly. But it's what is on the inside that counts.
I just think they're really cool, throwback-ish figures. They're nearly worthless for a child to play with, but as it's more important to make toys for collectors then it is for kids, we're all good.

5 out of 7 founding heroes. Hey, that's not bad. We'll find out what happened to the other 2 tomorrow. It would appear that Ray is blue and orange there (supporting the Mets during a playoff run /choke?) but he's not. At least the one I have is appropriately colored.
Maybe he was originally painted this way because they didn't know what his getup looked like due to lack of merchandising! (zing)


Now, I'm going to complain. Slightly.

Well, we'll see.

The Atom included in a JLA box set. Great anywhere, everywhere. He's rarely included in anything other than art as far as JLA anything goes, so it's great to see and have. It's cute too, because you see... he's smaller than all of the other figures, which are already small to begin with.

Ray doesn't have another, separate packaged pocket hero figurine(Al does), so this is him represented here.
As a bonus.

Hey, spend your hard earned cash on this box set of heroes that have appeared on anything we can mass produce, and we'll throw in the little guy that stands on people made from left over aqualads.
I understand he's generally smaller than everyone else, I do get it. So it makes sense to make his figure "life-sized" as they say. I still would have liked to see him get his own. Package it with a Chronos?
Now I'm pushing it, I know. Still a little pocket slap in the face. Thanks for the bone throw guys!

Things improve tomorrow with the highly anticipated, award winning JLA Pocket Heroes: Day 2!

DC Super Heroes Super Healthy Cookbook

First I think it's important to inform the readers that I scanned all pictures on a small ship with a drunken captain during rough seas, so my apologies for the wobbly pictures. But what can I do? I must scan where I must scan.

The usual suspects may be on the cover, but this baby is all about the Atom.

I love this book. I love that Ray was included in the thing, and they had some fun with him. The book is actually a nice way to show kids how to make food preparation fun, but as is the case with any cookbook, it becomes outdated to society.
After all, there's no organic recipes in here...

Oh, and if anyone wants any of the recipes, you be sure to go ahead and gimme a holler, I'll send em right over.

The Atom's first appearance in the book is super important! He teaches kids to look at the ingredients and that the first one is the most important. Way to go Ray!



Next up we have The Atom's Super Hero Sandwich. You can't tell by the picture or my superior scanning skills, but the sandwich is huge, and took up 3 pages. This is funny, because The Atom is small. So just look at the funny thing he says!




When you're all through and you double check to see that you don't require medical attention due to the severe splitting of sides, we'll move on...



This one here is called The Atom's Knockout Punch. It's great for gatherings, or if you're just sitting there at home alone reading about the Trials of Shazam, very lonely. This makes an instant party!

Ray's last appearance is supremely important. He teaches you how to get the right fruit juice and damnit... it's still the way to go!

Nice job by Ray here!

So overall, a swell time. The last page in the book is everyone putting the finishing touches on an apparently birthday party for the JLA.
It's strange that The Atom would get his money's worth in this thing, but Aquaman only shows up for the party. I hope Arthur didn't refuse to make anything...
With all the Atom inclusion going on, my favorite part of the book is probably "Hawkman's Egg Bird's" Obviously published before Hawkman became an eco-terrorist, here he (along with Hawkgirl) teaches you how to make an egg sandwich and fix it into the shape of his mask.

I heard a rumor that there was a recipe for "Aquaman's Dolphin n' seaweed salad," but they omitted for time purposes.

Atomo trading card (a.k.a. The lil Captain)

Argentinian Wally Wood Atom card?
I know very little about this thing. Actually I know nothing about it. Okay, I know that it's The Atom, and it's a trading card. Or a coaster for tiny people (the Atom's family?).
From Argentina?
My detective skills tell me that the "86" on said piece means that there are 85 other cards (I actually have Hawkman as well), and my gut tells me that the other 83 aren't of the Atom, so it's more than likely indicative of how far down on the food chain he was at the time. Although there's a good chance there's about 30 Superman, 20 Batman, and so on...
I'm of course just happy they made one! Whoever they are!

While I of course love the little s.o.b. and the mystery that surrounds this card, the exchange that took place whilst trying to purchase it is what will last with me forever.

The events and dialogue portrayed here are real are far as memory serves me.

I approached a dealer table and saw "Atomo." I knew at once it had to be mine. (the dealer in this story had an accent, so feel free to include one of your choosing while reading. I like to give him one similar to Jon Voight's from Anaconda.)

Me: Ooh! How much for this Atom card?
Dealer with accent: Hmm?
Me: The Atom card here, what do you want for it?
DWA: Ah, Captain Atom card is (insert dollar amount, I don't remember. Don't be stingy).
Me: Alright. What's this from anyway?
DWA: Part of a set. I've got Supergirl, Green Arrow, Captain Atom...
Me: (mumbling) Well, it's just Atom.
DWA: Hmm?
Me: It's just Atom. The character is The Atom.
DWA: Yes, Captain Atom. DC Comics.
Me: That's true, Captain Atom is from DC Comics. As is The Atom, a completely different character, and portrayed here on this card.
DWA: Same hero though.
Me: I know so very little in this world, but I do know who is on this card, and it's The Atom.
DWA: (blank stare)
Me: Ray Palmer.
DWA: (blank stare)
Me: Captain Atom is some silver dude with a red emblem on his chest. Trust me.
DWA: (shrugs with blank stare)
Me: I know it's not in English, but where does it say "Captain" on this card?
DWA: Hey, whatever you say man. You want it?
Me: I do but you should know that it is widely known that Atom merchandise is generally much cheaper than Captain Atom due to demand. So how much?
DWA: (laughs) Same price.
Me: Ah well. Got any other Captain Atom stuff?


So I never did find out the deal with this thing as I didn't want to further test his vast knowledge of DC Comics.
Nevertheless, Atomo lives with me now where he's recognized for his true self.

It's the feel good story of the year.

DC Super Heroes from Hasbro

These, as far as I know, were originally intended to be part of that heinous Total Justice action figure line Kenner was hucking out. But here, Hasbro is the guilty party. You got yourself a Blue Beetle figure there on the left, and a something resembling The Flash on the right. That's about... wait, what's that? Right there in the middle.

Why it's The Atom! (I swear it is)That's right, in the year of 1999 if you fancied picking yourself up a Blue Beetle/Flash double pack, Hasbro threw you an Atom bone! A Ray Palmer figure of your very own to lose around the house and see who can step on it first.
And sorry, even with my advanced skills in photography (?), that photo is the best I can do.
Does it matter?
Nah, not so much.
It's just a fairly simple, wee figure with The Atom stuck in a pose of him apparently waving to the first tier characters that got their own, non-bonus action figures. And Blue Beetle.
As you can see (or not) he's wearing his Teen Titans vest, which is clutch, because I doubt there's going to be a rush to make vest-wearing Ray Palmer Teen Titan retro action figures any time soon. Unless they de-age him again and he once again decides to head said Titans. Of course, somebody would have to find him first.

All complaining aside (although I wasn't complaining, yanno) it's a cool addition to the Titan collection. The box these guys come in is cooler then the Total Justice figure setup, and again, any Atom action figure is more than welcome.

Power of the Atom ad poster

There is no proof this thing exists on the internet (until now!) so this photo is the best you're going to get. You have my apologies.
This poster was sent to retail stores (preferably ones with comics) so it's always a treat when these guys hang on to stuff like this and I can track em down. Super happy fun when it's in great condition as it was never put up.
Of course the problem with that is... it was never put up. Power of the Atom didn't exactly have an epic run there, yanno. I blame all comic book stores that didn't put up this poster. Bastards.
As you can see, DC had done it again, and it was currently the Atom's turn.
With all the revamping and resurrecting success DC was having, it was Ray Palmer's turn (I already said that sort of), with Roger Stern and Dwayne Turner putting it all together. His costume got a lil tweaking, most significantly losing the dome portion of his mask. It would wisely return to his head later on as Dr. Palmer found that fighting crime and keeping the perfect waviness in his hair was nearly impossible at that time due to inferior hair care products.
I made that up. But feel free to use it if you're writing a new hero and are looking for a severe weakness. Just give me credit.

The Search for Ray Palmer: The T-shirt!

Well, look at that. A t-shirt that I don't need to carry around my own magnifying glass for people to see Ray with. Great strides.
This is a fairly recent item, obviously, but I embrace all apparel featuring Atom the same way: open arms.
As you can see, Ray is quite miffed that he's been found on this shirt. Yet, it doesn't stop me from saying "peek-a-boo, there you are" right before I put it on.
Actually, I don't do that.
Or do I?
My family and those in direct contact with me had better hope not, huh?

If you're tired of searching for Ray Palmer and wish to acquire said shirt, here's a good place for it Graphitti Designs. And if you send us (us?) a photo of yourself (or other people?) wearing apparel with Ray Palmer included, we've (who?) got no reservations about putting that type of filth up on this site. Just think, years from now some alien archaeological team will uncover this site and find you, forever embedded in history, donning Ray Palmer gear. And that's good.
And at least someone will be reading this.

DC Direct's JSA Atom action figure

Al Pratt was promised and Al Pratt was delivered!.

These are actually some very cool figures from DC Direct as they did all Atom's serious justice in the action figure world. It's a shame there isn't more Al Pratt stuff out there (or any Atom stuff for that matter), and I 100% think his Golden Age costume would have made a fine boxed plastic apron Halloween outfit.
You get both versions of him here, and it gives you a chance to see in hand held detail why his first costume is a creation for all time.
His second version of the costume is more towards the "superhero" get-up than the skinfest he was originally running around in.

Pick these up for your yourself, your child, or a fellow hobbyist, and spread the joy of fist solving justice.

Making the world a better place: With Benton enjoying the first costume's mask, and my brilliant idea of combining Al Pratt's costumes into one beast, I got all crazy. Because I know some people just can't picture that first mask on that second costume. Just can't do it. "There's no way it could work!" some would yell.
So I expertly (quality speaks for itself) cut Al Pratt 1's head off and professionally (almost looks human) pasted it on to Al Pratt 2, to show the world that it can AND will work. It already has...Nuklon? Damage? Anyone...

Comic book foldees 1966: Atom

Man I love these things. See, you fold them to make funny pictures. There's tell that they were often the life of the party in the mid to late 60's, and many attribute these beauties to all the happiness that was going on back then. I can see why! It's also up there amongst my favorite eyeless Atom merchandise.
As you can see, the cards also feature the faces of DC's finest, and they all seem to be moderately amused by this out of control foldee! Except for Aquaman. Looks like he sees trouble. And Carter, the only member not facing front, can of course not keep his eyes off Ray for a second.

And here's the back of the card...

Seriously, how many trading cards featuring Mahatma Gandhi are out there?

Probably not many I say.

Atom switchplate

I'm not big on adding custom things to a collection of mine, but I'm slightly flexible when it comes to Ray. Being that Dr. Palmer wasn't really a part of neat-o things such as backpacks and rulers and the like, if someone takes the time to do a nice job of adding him to something as random as a switchplate, I'm all for it.
This was in with a bunch of other switchplates in a nice setup, all featuring those household name heroes, so I was kinda excited someone decided to include Ray.
I taunted, "ha Hal Jordan! Looks like you didn't make the cut this time!"
Of course it had already been purchased, but it was a small victory all the same.

Point is, I need therapy.