Information about the comic, from May 2003:
I found this wonderful thing (scroll down beyond introduction)
completely by accident and on an apparently very lucky day at
a house sale earlier
this year. As far as I can tell this comic book is, forgive me
for using this term but it deserves it unbelievably unknown.
I even showed it to some friends who collect peculiar comics like
this and none of them had ever heard of it (and a couple offered,
no, demanded I sell it to them on the spot, heh. sorry.) nor could
I find any mention of it in books or on the web. So enjoying the
idea that this is a discovery, I have posted it here. It's certainly
a very strange time capsule at the very least. A little disturbing
and funny, too. Read through the whole thing for all the science
and world-history lessons (the Manhatten
Project and Ernest Rutherford panels are especially good) and enjoy the somewhat bizarre
speculation on what good the Atom would soon do for mankind. My
favorite bits are the predictions of strapping medical patients
to nuclear reactors (page 22), and of our future as colonizers
of the moon (page 33) - Quite a future atomic energy had planned
for us back about fifty years ago.
Particularly though, I think this comic is just really beautifully
done - and reading through it, it is difficult to believe that
it's gone ignored for almost half a century. It's just so well
written, conceived and illustrated. Every detail seems just perfect,
especially the bold unconventional layouts for two-page spreads,
like BUILDUP (pg 12) and PROPULSION (pg 16) - and the gorgeous
use of spot-colors throughout the entire book's design. I really
think it's one of the most interesting and beautiful looking comics
I've ever come across, maybe you'll agree.
And what of its creator or team of creators? Who the hell made
this? Well, we don't know, really. The only information given
as to who created it is the copyright info, "© 1957
- M.Phillip Copp" - an Internet search says there's another
comic from that time that Copp worked on, with a wonderful rightwing
fear mongering title of "Crime Corruption & Communism".
I'd really love to see this comic book! Please email
me if you have scans, or know anything about any other M. Phillip
Copp comics.
August 2003 Update: Wow, well here we go. Scroll down to
the bottom of this page for a link to a recently published
webpage with a ton of research done on Copp and the Atomic Revolution
comic. High praise to the researcher Greg Allen for finding out
all these wonderful details. It is now known that Copp was actually
an Art Director or Artist's representative, sort of a pasty politically
conservative type, and that comics like this were produced by
a team of (unfortunately) still anonymous illustrators - click
the link for more interesting information (including a great NYT
photo from 1956 of Copp approving art for page 30! There's a Disney
connection too, for you conspiracy buffs)
Well, enjoy our past's take on today and the future...
best -- Ethan Persoff
http://www.ep.tc
Also
on this website, be sure to check out HOOKED!
- another great
and previously unknown comic. About drug abuse from 1966.
and
for music made from old obscure tapes and vinyl, check out SPREE
and SNAP
And
now, here's the 1957 Atomic Revolution Comic.
Click on a thumbnail:
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Additional
researched information on the atomic revolution comic and M. Phillip
Copp,
courtesy greg.org
other
things on www.ep.tc
