Back in August, we had the pleasure of talking to artist Sal Abbinanti about his recent book The Hostage. He had hinted at that time that his iconic work Atomika was soon being given the Omnibus treatment and coming to Kickstarter. Well, fast forward to November 8th and that project is taking flight. Starting at 12:00 noon, Sal and writer Andrew Dabb’s ATOMIKA: GOD IS RED OMNIBUS EDITION campaign begins with a bang. And if it is anything like Sal’s The Hostage campaign, fans will be treated to a no hold’s barred, high quality treatment of their Atomika series.
Sal talks Atomika
When Sal had mentioned the upcoming campaign back in August, we had asked him why he thought it was time for Atomika to come to an Omnibus:
Sal – So when it [Atomika] came out, it came out as individual issues. And you know individual issues…sometimes you pick them up, and sometimes the comic store doesn’t order the next issue. So there was this kind of broken continuity of people trying to get the whole 12 issue series. So we’re putting it out as an Omnibus November 8th through Kickstarter. It’s very exciting and there’s so many contributing artists that did covers and pin-ups and interior stuff on that book. That never got seen until now, which is great! Like Alex (Ross) and (Bill) Sienkiewicz and Darwin Cook, and Claudio Castellini and Glenn Fabry did these amazing covers.
At the time, I was doing a lot of Artist Alley’s and doing a lot of shows. So I had the opportunity to hit up a lot of my heroes that were there. Like Ernie Chan, Alex Niño and Tony DeZuniga, John Romita, Sr. and guys like that. Travest Charest, Michael Turner… So there’s a tremendous amount of great art that’s going to be included in the Omnibus for Atomika.
Needless to say, that is quite the lineup of artists that Sal has brought onboard along with this deluxe Omnibus collection. Here is some exclusive process art for the Omnibus, courtesy of Sal and the good folks at Mercury Comics.
You can see the details of the Atomika Kickstarter on the following Press Release:
Now on Kickstarter: Sal Abbinanti and Andrew Dabb’s ATOMIKA: GOD IS RED OMNIBUS EDITION
Featuring Rare and Never-Before-Seen Pin-Up Art by
Tim Bradstreet, Claudio Castellini, Gene Colan, Darwyn Cooke, Glenn Fabry, David Mack, Eric Powell, John Romita Sr., Alex Ross, Steve Rude, Bill Sienkiewicz, Michael Turner, and More
November 8, 2021—Chicago, IL— Artist Sal Abbinanti and writer Andrew Dabb are bringing their cult classic comic ATOMIKA: GOD IS RED to Kickstarter, with an all-new, massive omnibus edition that includes rare and never-before-seen art by legendary illustrators Tim Bradstreet, Claudio Castellini, Gene Colan, Darwyn Cooke, Glenn Fabry, David Mack, Eric Powell, John Romita Sr., Alex Ross, Steve Rude, Bill Sienkiewicz, Michael Turner, and more! Originally self-published between 2005 and 2011, the cold war era sci-fi superhero comic features Atomika, the modern god of the 20th Century Soviet Union, battling the old mythological gods of Slavic Russia. The ATOMIKA: GOD IS RED OMNIBUS EDITION features more than 75 pages of new art, the entire 12 issue series, and a stunning wraparound cover by award-winning artist Alex Ross.
About Atomika
ATOMIKA: GOD IS RED is written by Andrew Dabb, a writer for CW’s Supernatural and Netflix’s upcoming Resident Evil series, and was dreamed up and illustrated by Sal Abbinanti, a Chicago native and the art rep for comic book superstars Alex Ross and Bill Sienkiewicz. “After numerous failed attempts to get work from mainstream publishers I decided to self-publish my story inspired by the works of Jack Kirby and John Buscema,” says artist and co-creator Sal Abbinanti. “ATOMIKA is about the death of religion in our society and how it has been replaced with technology. Now I’m thrilled to present the story in one big compilation and showcase some exciting ways to back the project.”
Abbinanti began working on ATOMIKA more than a decade ago in his spare time, in airports, and at comic book conventions where he met many of the most celebrated artists in the industry, including Simone Bianchi, Simon Bisley, Tim Bradstreet, Claudio Castellini, Travis Charest, Gene Colan, Glenn Fabry, Gary Gianni, David Mack, Angel Medina, Eddy Newell, Alex Nino, Lucio Parrillo, Eric Powell, John Romita Sr., Steve Rude, Arthur Suydam, and Michael Turner, each of whom contributed pin-ups or covers to the series which can be seen in the book’s gallery.
Synopsis
In ATOMIKA: GOD IS RED, Atomika is the first man-made deity—the God of Technology and the 21st Century. One-by-one, the nations of the world have fallen before him. Now, with the Red Empire spanning the globe, Atomika has turned his attention to the ancient gods of his Russian homeland, the very beings he seeks to replace. Despite his multiple victories, Atomika begins to have doubts about his mission.
With the entire world broken at his feet, Atomika stands at the center of a global red empire, loved and worshipped by billions. But danger lurks in the shadows. Some believe Atomika has outlived his usefulness—that he’s a danger to the new world order—and they’ll stop at nothing to destroy him. Atomika has defeated gods, armies and nations, but now he faces his most dangerous enemies…those closest to him. His friends, his family and for the first time, Atomika is forced to wonder: Is he truly a God or monster?
The Artists Speak
Here’s what artists are saying about ATOMIKA: GOD IS RED:
Alex Ross
“Sal’s artwork is the purest form of artistic expression, filled with great power and dynamic design. For me as a friend and a fan, Atomika has been an awesome sight to watch develop into one creator’s bold and personal statement to capture the energy that comics gave to him. It’s truly impressive work.”
Bill Sienkiewicz
“Atomika is a modern day masterpiece, an all-out arms race between American superhero comics and wild Russian constructivism—all gone absolutely stark raving mad. How cool is that?”
Geoff Darrow
“Sal Abbinanti’s Atomika has a balance of story and art that makes for reading akin to being at ground zero during Los Alamos open air testing hey day. Juggling Jack Kirbyesque themes like a master, the result will have you wishing Sal had provided protective goggles. Dance in the fallout, it’s pure imagination!”
What’s in the Kickstarter
The ATOMIKA: God is Red Omnibus crowdfunding campaign is live now with pledge tiers ranging from a digital edition to a signed print edition, those with original artwork by Abbinanti to a tier including a collectible trading card set featuring ATOMIKA covers by classic Silver Age artists including Claudio Castellini, Ernie Chan, Gene Colan, Gary Gianni, Alex Nino, John Romita Sr., and Sanjulian to tiers featuring limited edition 7×10 prints showcasing artwork by many of the most celebrated artists in the industry including Alex Ross, Glen Fabry, Michael Turner, Darwyn Cooke, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Tim Bradstreet. Abbinanti’s original graphic novel The Hostage was fully funded at Kickstarter earlier this year.
About The Creators
Sal Abbinanti was educated at the University of Southern California and the Art Institute of Chicago. Sal began his indie comics career in 2005 with the launch of Mercury Comics and the publication of Atomika-God is Red, and now, The Hostage. He lives on the North Side of Chicago.
Andrew Dabb is an American writer, working in the field of television, movies, and graphic novels. His comic works include Ghostbusters: Legion, Happydale: Devils in the Desert, Atomika, G.I. Joe and Dungeon and Dragons. Dabb also wrote the webcomic series Slices for opi8.com. Most recently, Dabb was a writer for the CW television show Supernatural. He penned the series’ Season 11 finale and became co-showrunner beginning with Season 12. Currently, he is writing the upcoming Netflix series Resident Evil. He lives in Los Angeles.
You can check out the Sal and Andrew’s ATOMIKA: GOD IS RED OMNIBUS EDITION Kickstarter Campaign here.
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Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
