So much for the Atlas/Seaboard comics line.

Did something happen?

When they started publishing again, they did not know that someone else now held the copyright to the "Atlas" name. Lawsuits ensued. People were sued.Atlas Seaboard pretty much lost.
But they are coming back due to some legal wrangling.


And now, some good news: "Paramount Pictures" is investing in them in hopes of creating a movie chain like Disney's MCU.


https://www.cbr.com/paramount-atlas-...atic-universe/


I don't think it's going to be as successful as Disney's, but it might boost comic sales (maybe?).


I hope they do well.

Me too. Thanks for the well- informed update.

What bugged me was how they stopped printing issues just as they were starting to do a crossover to show that the characters are all in the same universe.

Dynamite Entertainment currently holds the copyright to the "Atlas" name. They do not, however, own the rights to any of the characters.
I just don't understand why they can't publish under the "Atlas/Seaboard" name.

I remember, as a kid, seeing some of those original Atlas comics around at used comic shops and being blown away. They were colorful and imaginative and while they didn't seem to be comparable to the best of the best at DC or Marvel, they certainly were comparable to the titles that might be thought of as the blue-collar grunts of those publishers. Those grunt titles at DC and Marvel had potential and the characters in those comics were afforded the opportunity to grow and thrive under the direction of editors and writers that could work with them over decades. When I look at those old Atlas titles, I just see the same potential. Those characters really could have been something. Maybe they still can.

Based on the number of posts you've made about the Atlas characters, I imagine we have similar opinions about that potential.

The problem is that there were so few issues of each character and most made sudden changes after the first few issues. Then they pretty much all ended with the 4th issue or so.
When they came back a few years ago, I was interested to see what they'd do and then they suddenly stopped publishing. And even before that, the store I went to only had a few titles they were selling and all of this cause me to miss out on most of the releases.
Still, it showed promise.

Maybe they can make a deal with Dynamite. I still think it's weird they can't use "Atlas" in the name "Atlas/Seaboard".

I picked up, but only recently got a chance to read Crimson Flower #1.

https://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/300...imson-Flower-1

I bought it because it was written by Matt Kindt. I became a fan of his when I saw him at an Emerald City Comic Con years ago. He was selling his graphic novel Super Spy https://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/super-spy/571

After that story blew me away, I read a bunch of other things he wrote, like 3 Story, Mind MGMT, and Dept. H.

Crimson Flower is a story set in modern day Russia. The protagonist uses her job as a traveling rep for a pharmaceutical company to hunt down the people who killed her father in front of her as a child. Her favorite childhood pastime involved endlessly reading stories of Slavic folklore. Now, as an adult hunting through a shadowy world of covert Russian assassins, her perspective and drive are all framed around this world of Slavic folklore that still permeates her imagination and consciousness, as if she sees herself as a hero from those fairy tales.

The art is stylistic, not attempting to be realistic. An aged Russian operative, falling to the floor has his long, impossible beard twist around the comic panel like a sea serpent. The action smacks of realism, but the tone and imagery are removed from that. The contrast is very engaging. I suspect I am going to like this comic quite a bit.


Some reviews of #1....

https://www.comicsbookcase.com/revie...imson-flower-1

http://www.multiversitycomics.com/re...mson-flower-1/

And these days, I can't recommend anything from Marvel.
I still can't believe how much of a chump they turned Galactus into AGAIN.

I am reading and enjoying several Marvel titles right now - Avengers, Fantastic Four, Amazing Spider-Man, Immortal Hulk.

Upcoming titles I am looking forward to:
- Defenders by Al Ewing
- Moon Knight

I am completely in love with Tillie Walden's queer-future social science fiction saga "On a Sunbeam," available in print or for free from the author here:
https://www.onasunbeam.com/

I grew up in Nigeria, and an ambitious publisher of Nigerian/West African comics in a number of genres has dozens of titles for free online here:

https://www.thecomicrepublic.com/home.html

Some very good stuff here. I particularly like the Ireti titles (supernatural superheroine). Itan is an interesting primer to Yoruba mythology. A nice introduction to a burgeoning comics sector.

Those are excellent links. Thanks!

I only took a quick glance, but On a Sunbeam has a very appealing design.

Tidge, thanks for your mini-reviews! "Mage" holds up quite well. Worth a read.

I haven't been doing too much branching out, but here are some things I've read recently/forever:

Locke & Key/Sandman: Hell and Gone. Issue Zero was a Locke & Key stand-a-lone story, and I haven't started issue 1 yet I gather that it is mostly a Locke & Key story that leverages the Sandman universe from the immediate post-capture period (i.e. Issue 1) of the 1990s series. Also available on Hoopla.

Knights of the Dinner Table is closing in on issue 300. It's not exactly fair to call this a 'throwback' comic/game magazine considering its origin and longevity, but I continue to enjoy the stories of the extended gang and their gaming (and gaming-adjacent) adventures. This has been roughly a 25% general-interest, 25% 'Hard Eight', 50% comic for years, but if you only are interested in the comics they are all in collections.

DIE is the flip side of KoDT. Think about the 1980s D&D cartoon, but with a little bit of the Thomas Covenant attitude to the 'gaming world'... and how difficult it would be to return to 'normal' lives... an then being brought back to the 'gaming world' for unknown reasons. It is clever and brutal. Also available on Hoopla.