Citizendia

Atlas Comics
Image:Atlaslog.jpeg
Fatedistribution company closed
SuccessorMagazine Management Co., Inc., Marvel Comics
FoundedNovember 1951
DefunctOctober 1957
LocationManhattan, New York City
IndustryPublishing
ProductsComic Books, Magazine
Key peopleMartin Goodman,
Subsidiarynumerous

Atlas Comics is the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine Management Co Inc was the actual named used by Martin Goodman, founder and publisher of Marvel Comics, in the 1960s and 1970s Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York The City of New York Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally Martin Goodman (born January 18, 1908; died June 6, 1992, Palm Beach Florida) was an American Publisher of The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc Magazine and paperback-novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic-book division during this time. Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally Paperback, softback, or softcover describe and refer to a Book by the nature of its binding. Martin Goodman (born January 18, 1908; died June 6, 1992, Palm Beach Florida) was an American Publisher of Strategic management is the art science and craft of formulating implementing and evaluating cross-functional decisions that will enable an organization to achieve its objectives A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business Atlas was located on the 14th floor of the Empire State Building. The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco Skyscraper in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street

This company is distinct from the 1970s comic-book company, also founded by Goodman, that is generally known as Atlas/Seaboard Comics. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. Atlas/Seaboard is the term Comic-book historians and collectors use to refer to the 1970s line of comics published as Atlas Comics by the American company

Contents

After the Golden Age

Young Men #25: Cover art by Carl Burgos.
Young Men #25: Cover art by Carl Burgos. Carl Burgos (né Max Finkelstein, April 18, 1916, New York City, New York; died 1984 He took a job with the Franklin Engraving Company

Atlas grew out of Timely Comics, the company Goodman founded in 1939 and whose star characters during the 1930s and '40s Golden Age of comic books were the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner, and Captain America. Timely Comics is the 1940s Comic book Publishing company that would evolve into first Atlas Comics, and then Marvel Comics The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books generally thought as lasting from the 1930s until late 1940s during which Comic books The Human Torch is a Fictional character, a Marvel Comics -owned Superhero. The post-war era, however, found superheroes falling out of fashion. Television and paperback books now also competed for readers and leisure time. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic

The line marking the end of the Golden Age is vague, but for Timely, at least, historians point to the cancellation of Captain America Comics at issue #75 (Feb. 1950) — by which time the series had already been Captain America's Weird Tales for two issues, with the finale featuring merely anthological suspense stories and no superheroes. Suspense is the Feeling of uncertainty and Anxiety about the outcome of certain actions most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work The company's flagship title, Marvel Mystery Comics, starring the Human Torch, had already ended its run (with #92, June 1949), as had Sub-Mariner Comics (with #32, the same month). Marvel Mystery Comics (first issue titled simply Marvel Comics) is an American Comic book series published during the 1930s-1940s period known Goodman's comic-book line dropped superheroes and expanded into a wider variety of genres than even Timely had published, emphasizing horror, Westerns, humor, funny-animal, men's adventure-drama, crime, and war comics, later adding a helping of jungle books, romance titles, and even espionage, medieval adventure, Bible stories and sports. Horror fiction is broadly Fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience The Western is a fiction Genre seen in Film, Television, Radio, Literature, Painting and other Visual arts. Humour or humor (see spelling differences) is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke Laughter and provide Amusement Funny animal is a Cartooning term for the Genre of Comics and Animated cartoons in which the main characters are Humanoid or Men's adventure is a genre of Magazines that had its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s Drama is the specific mode of Fiction represented in Performance. Crime fiction is the Genre of Fiction that deals with Crimes their detection criminals and their motives It is usually distinguished from War comics is a genre of Comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following Jungle usually refers to a dense Forest in a hot climate such as a Tropical rainforest. Romance comics are a Genre of US Comic books that were most popular during the Golden Age of Comics. The Genre of spy fiction —sometimes called political thriller or spy thriller or sometimes shortened simply to Spy-fi —arose before Bible stories, Judeo-Christian parables retelling some portions of the Bible, have long had a place in family religious worship spiritual instruction literature and the cultural Sport is an Activity that is governed by a set of rules or Customs and often engaged in competitively As did other publishers, Atlas also courted female readers with mostly humorous comics about models and career women. A model is a person who is posed or displayed for the purpose of Art, Fashion, or other products and Advertising.

Goodman began using the globe logo of Atlas (see above), the newsstand-distribution company he owned, on comics cover-dated November 1951. This united a line put out by the same publisher, staff and freelancers through 59 shell companies, from Animirth Comics to Zenith Publications.

Logo treatment on a 1954 comic-book page, giving "Atlas" as the comics brand.
Logo treatment on a 1954 comic-book page, giving "Atlas" as the comics brand.

Atlas would attempt to revive superheroes in Young Men #24-28 (Dec. 1953 - June 1954), with the Human Torch (art by Syd Shores and Dick Ayers, variously), the Sub-Mariner (drawn and most stories written by Bill Everett), and Captain America (writer Stan Lee, artist John Romita Sr.). Sydney Shores ( September 4, 1913 - June 3, 1973) was an American Comic book Artist known for his work on Richard Bache "Dick" Ayers (born April 28, 1924, Ossining New York, United States) is a Comic book artist and Cartoonist William Blake "Bill" Everett, also known as William Blake and Everett Blake ( May 18, 1917, Cambridge Massachusetts – Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber; December 28, 1922) is an American Writer, editor, creator of comic book characters John Romita Sr (better known as simply John Romita) (born January 24, 1930) is an Italian-American Comic-book artist best known Yet they featured the same sort of Communist Red Scare villains as the late-'40s comics, broke no new ground, and looked old-fashioned — particularly in comparison with the clean, uncluttered, streamlined reimagining of super-speedster The Flash two years later in DC Comics' Showcase #4 (Sept. Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based McCarthyism is a term describing the intense anti-communist suspicion in the United States in a period that lasted roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company Showcase has been the title of several Anthology series published by DC Comics. 1956), which would successfully bring back superheroes and kick off the Silver Age of comics. The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books predominantly those featuring the Superhero

Trend-following

The pre-Comics Code Astonishing #30 (Feb. 1954): Cover art by Joe Maneely.
The pre-Comics Code Astonishing #30 (Feb. The Comics Code Authority ( CCA) is part of the Comics Magazine Association of America (CMAA and was created to regulate the content of comic books in the United 1954): Cover art by Joe Maneely. Joseph "Joe" Maneely (born Feb 18, 1926 Pennsylvania, United States; died June 7 1958) is an American Comic book

Atlas, rather than similarly innovate, took what it saw as the proven route of following popular trends in TV and movies — Westerns and war dramas prevailing for a time, drive-in movie monsters another time — and even other comic books, particularly the EC horror line. Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West between the years of 1860 and 1900 A drive-in is a facility such as a Bank, Restaurant, Movie theater where one can literally Drive in with an Automobile for service Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American Publisher of Comic books specializing in Crime fiction, Horror fiction is broadly Fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience [1] Until the early 1960s, when editor-in-chief and head writer Stan Lee would help revolutionize comic books with the advent of The Fantastic Four and Spider-Man, Atlas was content to flood newsstands with profitable, cheaply produced product — often, despite itself, beautifully rendered by talented if low-paid young artists. A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber; December 28, 1922) is an American Writer, editor, creator of comic book characters The Fantastic Four is a fictional Superhero team appearing in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. Spider-Man is a Fictional character appearing in Comic books published by Marvel Comics.

The Atlas "bullpen" had at least five staff writers (officially called editors) besides Lee: Hank Chapman, Paul S. Newman, Don Rico, Carl Wessler, and, in the teen-humor division, future MAD Magazine cartoonist Al Jaffee. Hank Chapman (living status unknown is an American Comic book Writer for Marvel Comics ' two predecessors Timely Comics and Paul S Newman ( April 29, 1924 &ndash May 30, 1999) was an American writer of Comic books, Comic strips, and Donato Francisco Rico II ( September 26, 1912 - March 1985 was an American Comic book Writer and Artist for Marvel Carroll O "Carl" Wessler ( May 25, 1913 - April 9, 1989) was an American Animator of the 1930s and a Comic Mad is a monthly American Humor Magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952 Al Jaffee (born March 13 1921 in Savannah Georgia) is an award winning American Cartoonist. Daniel Keyes, future author of Flowers for Algernon, was an associate editor circa 1952. Daniel F Keyes (born August 9, 1927 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York) is an American Author best known Flowers for Algernon is a Science fiction Short story and subsequent Novel written by Daniel Keyes. Other writers, generally freelance, included Robert Bernstein. Robert Bernstein (died circa 1988 age 69 sometimes credited as " R

The artists — some freelance, some on staff — included such veterans as Human Torch creator Carl Burgos and Sub-Mariner creator Bill Everett. Carl Burgos (né Max Finkelstein, April 18, 1916, New York City, New York; died 1984 He took a job with the Franklin Engraving Company William Blake "Bill" Everett, also known as William Blake and Everett Blake ( May 18, 1917, Cambridge Massachusetts – The next generation included the prolific and much-admired Joe Maneely, who before his death just prior to Marvel's 1960s breakthrough was the company's leading artist, providing many covers and doing work in all genres, most notably on Westerns and on the medieval adventure The Black Knight. Joseph "Joe" Maneely (born Feb 18, 1926 Pennsylvania, United States; died June 7 1958) is an American Comic book Sir Percy of Scandia, also known as the original The Black Knight, is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe. Others included Russ Heath, Gene Colan, and the fledgling, highly individualistic Steve Ditko. Russell Heath Jr (born September 29, 1926, New York City, New York) is an American artist best known for his Comic book Eugene "Gene" Colan (born September 1, 1926) is an American comic book artist. Steve Ditko (born 2 November 1927) is an American Comic book Artist and Writer best known as the co-creator of the

Atlas' most prominent Western titles, many reprinted in the 1970s, were Ringo Kid, with art by Maneely, Fred Kida and John Severin; Doug Wildey's The Outlaw Kid; Jack Keller's Kid Colt, Outlaw and the anthology Gunsmoke Western, starring Kid Colt; and The Black Rider, by Maneely, Syd Shores and others. The Ringo Kid is a Fictional Western hero in the Marvel Comics ' universe, whose Comic book series was originally released by the Fred Kida (born December 12, 1920, New York City, New York) is an American Comic book and Comic strip John Severin (born December 26, 1921, Jersey City New Jersey) is an American Comic book artist noted for his distinctive artwork Doug Wildey ( May 2, 1922, Yonkers New York - October 5, 1994, Las Vegas Nevada) was a Cartoonist most famous The Outlaw Kid is a Fictional Western hero in Marvel Comics ' Shared universe, the Marvel Universe, whose Comic book series Jack R Keller (born June 16, 1922, Reading, Pennsylvania, United States; died January 2, 2003, St Kid Colt is the name of two Fictional characters in the Marvel Comics ' universe. The Black Rider is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. Sydney Shores ( September 4, 1913 - June 3, 1973) was an American Comic book Artist known for his work on (The Atlas versions of two prominent '60s Western characters, the Rawhide Kid and the Two-Gun Kid, were different and historically undistinguished iterations. For the unrelated 1928 Universal Pictures movie Western The Rawhide Kid, starring Hoot Gibson, see The Rawhide Kid (film -- The Two-Gun Kid is a Fictional character, a Cowboy Gunslinger in the Wild West of Marvel Comics ' Shared universe )

Humor and miscellanea

Sergeant Barney Barker #1, cover art by John Severin.
Sergeant Barney Barker #1, cover art by John Severin. John Severin (born December 26, 1921, Jersey City New Jersey) is an American Comic book artist noted for his distinctive artwork

Atlas also published a plethora of children's and teen humor titles, including Dan DeCarlo's Homer, the Happy Ghost (a la Casper the Friendly Ghost) and Homer Hooper (a la Archie Andrews). Daniel S DeCarlo ( December 12, 1919, - December 19, 2001) was an American Cartoonist best known as the Artist Casper the Friendly Ghost is the Protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name Archie Andrews can refer to one of two fictional characters Archie Andrews (comics, U If newspapers had Dennis the Menace, Atlas had the Joe Maneely-drawn Melvin the Monster. Dennis the Menace, known in some countries as just "' Dennis' "is a daily syndicated Newspaper Comic strip originally Joseph "Joe" Maneely (born Feb 18, 1926 Pennsylvania, United States; died June 7 1958) is an American Comic book TV had Sgt. Bilko? Atlas had the lovably conniving Sergeant Barney Barker — drawn by John Severin, one of comics' top war artists, no less. The Phil Silvers Show (originally titled You'll Never Get Rich) was a comedy Television series which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959 John Severin (born December 26, 1921, Jersey City New Jersey) is an American Comic book artist noted for his distinctive artwork

One of the most popular titles was the long-running Millie the Model, which began as a Timely Comics humor book in 1945 and ran a remarkable 207 issues, well into the Marvel-era '70s, launching spin-offs along the way. Millie the Model was Marvel Comics ' longest-running Humor title first published by the company's 1940s predecessor Timely Comics, and continuing Created or co-created (accounts differ) by artist Ruth Atkinson, it later became the proving ground for cartoonist DeCarlo — the future creator of Josie and the Pussycats, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and other Archie Comics characters, and the artist who established Archie's modern look. Not to be confused with New Zealand author Ruth Atkinson. Ruth Atkinson Ford née Ruth Atkinson and a A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing Cartoons Traditionally much of this work was and still is humorous and is intended primarily for entertainment purposes Sabrina the Teenage Witch is the name of a Comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a teenage Fictional Archie Comics is an American Comic book publisher known for its many series featuring the fictional teenage Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper DeCarlo wrote and drew Millie for a remarkable ten years, even while such companion titles as Tillie the Typist, Nellie the Nurse and even his own Sherry the Showgirl fell by the wayside.

The high-school series Patsy Walker, also created or co-created by Atkinson in 1945, ran until 1967 and spun-off three titles. More naturalistic than the slapsticky Millie, it featured attractive but sedate art by Al Hartley, Al Jaffee, Morris Weiss and others. Slapstick is a type of Comedy involving exaggerated physical violence or activities which exceed the boundaries of common sense such as a character being hit in the face with Henry Allan Hartley (October 25 1921 Kearny, New Jersey, United States –May 27 2003 Fort Myers Florida) was an American Al Jaffee (born March 13 1921 in Savannah Georgia) is an award winning American Cartoonist. Morris Weiss (born August 11, 1915, Philadelphia Pennsylvania) is an American Comic book and Comic strip Artist and sometime Given the tone and the target audience, Patsy Walker oddly included the legendary Harvey Kurtzman's bizarre "Hey Look!" one-pagers in several early issues. Harvey Kurtzman ( October 3, 1924, Brooklyn New York – February 21, 1993) was a U Patsy herself would be integrated into Marvel Universe continuity years later as the supernatural superheroine Hellcat. The Marvel Universe is the fictional Shared universe where most of the comic stories published by Marvel Comics take place The term supernatural or supranatural ( Latin: super, supra "above" + natura "nature" pertains to entities events Hellcat ( Patricia "Patsy" Walker) is a Fictional character published by Marvel Comics.

No hellcats graced Atlas' funny animal books, but they did have cartoonist Ed Winiarski's trouble-prone Buck Duck, Maneely's mentally suspect Dippy Duck, and Howie Post's The Monkey and the Bear, which bore a striking resemblance to DC Comics' Fox and the Crow. Funny animal is a Cartooning term for the Genre of Comics and Animated cartoons in which the main characters are Humanoid or A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing Cartoons Traditionally much of this work was and still is humorous and is intended primarily for entertainment purposes Ed Winiarski (living status unknown who sometimes signed his work "Win" or "Winny" ande sometimes used the Pseudonym Fran Miller, is an DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company Buck and others saw life again briefly in the early 1970s, when Marvel published the five-issue reprint title, Li'l Pals ("Fun-Filled Animal Antics!").

Notable miscellanea include the espionage title Yellow Claw, with sumptuous Maneely, Severin, and Jack Kirby art; the Native American hero Red Warrior, with art by Tom Gill; the Tom Corbett, Space Cadet-like Space Squadron, written and drawn by future Marvel production executive Sol Brodsky; and Sports Action, initially with true-life stories about the likes of George Gipp and Jackie Robinson, and later with fictional "Rugged Tales of Danger and Red-Hot Action!"

Layoffs

From 1952 to late 1956, Goodman distributed this torrent of comics to newsstands through his self-owned distributor, Atlas. The Yellow Claw is a fictional Comic book Supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe, created by EC Comics great Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg, August 28, 1917 &ndash February 6, 1994) was an American Comic book Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States Tom Gill (born May 1913 Brooklyn, New York City New York; died October 17, 2005, Croton-on-Hudson, New York is an American Tom Corbett is the main character in a series of Tom Corbett — Space Cadet stories that were depicted in Television, Radio, books Comic Sol Brodsky (born April 22, 1923, Brooklyn, New York City New York, United States; died June 4, 1984) was an George "The Gipper" Gipp ( February 18, 1895 &ndash December 14, 1920) was a famous College football player who played Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson (January 31 1919 – October 24 1972 was a Baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He then switched to American News Company, the nation's largest distributor and a virtual monopoly — which shortly afterward lost a Justice Department lawsuit and discontinued its business. American News Company was a magazine distribution company which dominated the distribution market in the forties and fifties In Economics, a monopoly (from Greek monos, alone or single + polein, to sell exists when a specific individual or enterprise has sufficient For animal rights group see Justice Department (JD The United States Department of Justice ( DOJ) is a Cabinet department In law a lawsuit is a civil action brought before a Court in which the party commencing the action the Plaintiff, seeks a legal or equitable remedy As historian and author Gerard Jones explains, the company in 1956

“. Gerard Jones (b July 10, 1957) is an award-winning American author and Comic book writer . . had been found guilty of restraint of trade and ordered to divest itself of the newsstands it owned. Its biggest client, George Delacorte, announced he would seek a new distributor for his Dell Comics and paperbacks. George T Delacorte Jr, (1894 &ndash 1991 founded the Dell Publishing Company in 1921 Dell Comics was the Comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in Pulp magazines. The owners of American News estimated the effect that would have on their income. Then they looked at the value of the New Jersey real estate where their headquarters sat. New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. They liquidated the company and sold the land. The company . . . vanished without a trace in the suburban growth of the 1950s. South San Jose (cropjpg||thumb|A suburban development in San Jose California. [2]”

Stan Lee, in a 1988 interview, recalled that Goodman:

“. . . had gone with the American News Company. I remember saying to him, 'Gee, why did you do that? I thought that we had a good distribution company. ' His answer was like, 'Oh, Stan, you wouldn't understand. It has to do with finance. ' I didn't really give a damn, and I went back to doing the comics. [Later, w]e were left without a distributor and we couldn't go back to distributing our own books because the fact that Martin quit doing it and went with American News had gotten the wholesalers very angry . . . and it would have been impossible for Martin to just say, 'Okay, we'll go back to where we were and distribute our books. ' [We had been] turning out 40, 50, 60 books a month, maybe more, and [now] the only company we could get to distribute our books was our closest rival, National (DC) Comics. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company Suddenly we went . . . to either eight or 12 books a month, which was all [that DC's] Independent News Distributors would accept from us. [3]”

For that and other reasons, including a recession in the overall economy, Atlas retrenched in 1957. A fabled story has the publisher discovering a closet-full of unused, but paid-for, art, leading him to have virtually the entire staff fired while he used up the inventory. In the interview noted above, Lee, one of the few able to give a firsthand account, told a seemingly self-contradictory version of the downsizing:

“It would never have happened just because he opened a closet door. But I think that I may have been in a little trouble when that happened. We had bought a lot of strips that I didn't think were really all that good, but I paid the artists and writers for them anyway, and I kinda hid them in the closet! And Martin found them and I think he wasn't too happy. If I wasn't satisfied with the work, I wasn't supposed to have paid, but I was never sure it was really the artist's or the writer's fault. But when the job was finished I didn't think that it was anything that I wanted to use. I felt that we could use it in inventory — put it out in other books. Martin, probably rightly so, was a little annoyed because it was his money I was spending. [3]”

In a 2003 interview, Joe Sinnott, one of the company's top artists for more than 50 years, recalled Lee citing the inventory issue as a primary cause:

“Stan called me and said, 'Joe, Martin Goodman told me to suspend operations because I have all this artwork in house and have to use it up before I can hire you again. Joe Sinnott (born October 16, 1926, Saugerties New York, United States) is an American Comic book artist ' It turned out to be six months, in my case. He may have called back some of the other artists later, but that's what happened with me. [4]”

Return of Jack Kirby

Amazing Adventures #3 (Aug. 1961): A "pre-superhero Marvel" comic, and the first to be labeled "Marvel Comics" (MC below Comics Code seal). Art by Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers.
Amazing Adventures #3 (Aug. 1961): A "pre-superhero Marvel" comic, and the first to be labeled "Marvel Comics" (MC below Comics Code seal). Atlas Comics is the 1950s Comic book Publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. The Comics Code Authority ( CCA) is part of the Comics Magazine Association of America (CMAA and was created to regulate the content of comic books in the United Art by Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers. Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg, August 28, 1917 &ndash February 6, 1994) was an American Comic book Richard Bache "Dick" Ayers (born April 28, 1924, Ossining New York, United States) is a Comic book artist and Cartoonist

Goodman's men's magazines and paperback books were still successful — the comics, except in the early Golden Age, were a relatively small part of the business — and Goodman considered shutting the division down.

The details of his decision not to do so are murky. Jack Kirby, who after his amicable split with creative partner Joe Simon a few years earlier was not as busy as he would have liked, recalled in a 1990 interview for The Comics Journal that in late 1958,

“I came in [to the Marvel offices] and they were moving out the furniture, they were taking desks out — and I needed the work! . Joseph H Simon (born October 11, 1913) is a Jewish-American Comic book Writer, Artist, editor, and publisher The Comics Journal, often abbreviated TCJ, is a US magazine of news and criticism pertaining to Comic books and strips . . Stan Lee is sitting on a chair crying. He didn't know what to do, he's sitting on a chair crying — he was still just out of his adolescence [Note: Lee, born Dec. 28, 1922, would actually have been about 36. ] I told him to stop crying. I says, 'Go in to Martin and tell him to stop moving the furniture out, and I'll see that the books make money'. [5]”

The interviewer, Comics Journal publisher Gary Groth, later wrote of this interview in general, "Some of Kirby's more extreme statements . Gary Groth (born 1954 is an American Comic book editor, Publisher, and Critic. . . should be taken with a grain of salt. . . . "[6] Lee, specifically asked about the office-closing anecdote, said,

“I never remember being there when people were moving out the furniture. If they ever moved the furniture, they did it during the weekend when everybody was home. Jack tended toward hyperbole, just like the time he was quoted as saying that he came in and I was crying and I said, 'Please save the company!' I'm not a crier and I would never have said that. I was very happy that Jack was there and I loved working with him, but I never cried to him. (laughs)[3]”

Kirby had previously returned, in late 1956, to freelance on five issues cover-dated Dec. 1956 and Feb. 1957,[7] but did not stay. Now, beginning with the cover and the seven-page story "I Discovered the Secret of the Flying Saucers" for Strange Worlds #1 (Dec. Strange Worlds was the name of two American, Science-fiction Anthology Comic book series of the 1950s the first published by 1958), Kirby returned for a 12-year run that would soon help revolutionize comics. Atlas gave Kirby a high-profile market, splashing the maestro's work across countless covers and lead stories, with the singular quality and dynamism of Kirby's art elevating such preexisting comics as Strange Tales and the newly launched Amazing Adventures, Strange Worlds, Tales of Suspense, Tales to Astonish and World of Fantasy above the other horror/science fiction titles that had proliferated in the wake of the recently defunct master of those comics genres, EC Comics. Strange Tales was the name of several Comic book Anthology series that have been published by Marvel Comics. Amazing Adventures is the name of several Anthology Comic book series all but one published by Marvel Comics. Tales of Suspense is the name of an American Comic book series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. Tales to Astonish is the name of two American Comic book series and a one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics. World of Fantasy was a Science fiction / Fantasy Comic book Anthology series published by Marvel Comics ' 1950s predecessor Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American Publisher of Comic books specializing in Crime fiction,

A Kirby monster story, usually inked by Dick Ayers, would generally open each book, followed by one or two twist-ending thrillers or sci-fi tales drawn by Don Heck, Paul Reinman, or Joe Sinnott, with the whole thing capped by an often-surreal, sometimes self-reflexive Lee-Ditko short. Richard Bache "Dick" Ayers (born April 28, 1924, Ossining New York, United States) is a Comic book artist and Cartoonist Don Heck ( January 2, 1929 – February 23, 1995) was an American Comic book Artist best known for co-creating Paul Reinman ( 2 September 1910, Germany — 27 September 1988) was an American Comic book Artist Joe Sinnott (born October 16, 1926, Saugerties New York, United States) is an American Comic book artist

Pre-superhero Marvel

Goodman had begun moving away from newsstand distributor Kable News by branding his comics with the Atlas globe on issues cover-dated Nov. 1951, even though Kable's "K" logo and North American map symbol remained through the Aug. 1952 issues.

Goodman shut down his self-distributorship on Nov. 1, 1956, and began newsstand distribution through American News Service. The Atlas globe remained, however, through the Oct. 1957 issues, when American News went out of business. Goodman switched to the distributor Independent News, owned by rival DC Comics, and dropped the Atlas globe at that time. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company Goodman would reuse the name Atlas for the next comics company he founded, in the 1970s. Atlas/Seaboard is the term Comic-book historians and collectors use to refer to the 1970s line of comics published as Atlas Comics by the American company

The final comic to bear the Atlas globe logo was Dippy Duck #1, the company's only release with an October 1957 cover date.

Goodman's switch to the distributor Independent News (see above), owned by rival DC Comics, was on constrained terms that allowed only eight titles per month. Atlas Comics is the 1950s Comic book Publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company Fans sometimes refer to these surviving, bi-monthly titles as the "sweet 16". The first of these to bear the new "Ind. " label was Patsy Walker #73 — ironically cover-dated, like Dippy Duck #1, October 1957. The best-selling titles were Westerns (with Kid Colt starring in two titles) and girl humor (led by the long-running Millie the Model). Kid Colt is the name of two Fictional characters in the Marvel Comics ' universe. Millie the Model was Marvel Comics ' longest-running Humor title first published by the company's 1940s predecessor Timely Comics, and continuing The two fantasy titles (Strange Tales and World of Fantasy) clung on printing stored inventory material from late 1957 through late 1958. Strange Tales was the name of several Comic book Anthology series that have been published by Marvel Comics. World of Fantasy was a Science fiction / Fantasy Comic book Anthology series published by Marvel Comics ' 1950s predecessor

Although for several months in 1949 and 1950 Timely's titles bore a circular logo labeled "Marvel Comic", the first modern comic book so labeled was the science-fiction anthology Amazing Adventures #3, which showed the "MC" box on its cover. Amazing Adventures is the name of several Anthology Comic book series all but one published by Marvel Comics. Cover-dated August 1961, it was published May 9, 1961. [8] However, collectors routinely refer to the companies' comics from the April 1959 cover-dates onward (when they began featuring Jack Kirby artwork on his return to Goodman's company), as pre-superhero Marvel.

Quotes

Stan Goldberg on the Atlas Comics staff: "I was in the Bullpen with a lot of well-known artists who worked up there at that time. Stan Goldberg aka Stan G (born 1932, in New York City) is an American Comic book Artist best known for his work as a flagship We had our Bullpen up there until about 1958 or '59. [sic; the Bullpen staff was let go in 1957] The guys . Sic is a Latin word meaning "thus" "so" "as such" or "just as that" . . who actually worked nine-to-five and put in a regular day, and not the freelance guys who'd come in a drop off their work . . . were almost a hall of fame group of people. There was John Severin. John Severin (born December 26, 1921, Jersey City New Jersey) is an American Comic book artist noted for his distinctive artwork Bill Everett. William Blake "Bill" Everett, also known as William Blake and Everett Blake ( May 18, 1917, Cambridge Massachusetts – Carl Burgos. Carl Burgos (né Max Finkelstein, April 18, 1916, New York City, New York; died 1984 He took a job with the Franklin Engraving Company There was the all-time great Joe Maneely. . . . We all worked together, all the colorists and correction guys, the letterers and artists. . . . We had a great time". [9]

Atlas titles by genre

Information from Atlas Tales [10] and other references. Some titles may be arguably Timely at the earlier end, or Marvel at the later end. Note: In titles numbered from or into the various All Winners Comics, additional clarifying information is supplied. List, in progress, complete through Menace, inclusive.

Crime

  • Tales of Justice  #53-67 (May 1955 - Sept. 1957)

Drama

  • Men's Adventures  #4-8 (Aug. Atlas Comics is the 1950s Comic book Publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Atlas Comics is the 1950s Comic book Publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. 1950 - June 1951); continued as War title Men's Adventures

Espionage

Funny-animal and other children's comics

  • Dexter the Demon  #7 (Sept. 1957)
 Note: These two series not supernatural, but Dennis the Menace-like
  • It's a Duck's Life  #4-11 (Nov. 1950 - Feb. 1952)

Humor - satire

Humor - sitcom

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  • Life With Millie  #8-20 (Dec. 1960 - Marvel Comics)

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  • Showgirls  #4 (Feb. 1957) continued as
  • Sherry the Showgirl  #5-7 (April-Aug. 1957)

Horror/fantasy/SF

Jungle

  • Jann of the Jungle  #8-17 (Nov. 1955 - June 1957)
  • Lorna, the Jungle Girl #6-26 (March 1954 - Aug. 1957)

Romance

  • Actual Confessions  #13-14 (Oct. -Dec. 1952)
  • Stories of Romance  #5-13 (March 1956 - Aug. 1957)

Sports

Superhero

War

  • Battle Brady  #10-14 (Jan. -June 1953)
  • Combat Casey  #6-34 (Jan. 1953 - July 1957)
  • Tales of the Marines  #4 (Feb. 1957) continued as
  • Marines at War  #5-7 (April-Aug. 1957)

Western

  • Western Winners  #5-7 (June 1949 - Dec. 1949) continued as
  • Black Rider  #8-27 (March 1950 - March 1955) continued as
  • Western Tales of Black Rider  #28-31 (May 1955 - Nov. The Black Rider is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. 1955) continued as
  • Gunsmoke Western  #32-77 (Dec. 1955 - July 1963)
  • Western Outlaws & Sheriffs  #60-73 (Dec. 1949 - June 1952)
  • 2-Gun Western  #4 (May 1956) continued as
  • Two-Gun Western  #5-12 (July 1956 - Sept. 1957)
  • Kid Colt, Outlaw  #3-229 (Dec. Kid Colt is the name of two Fictional characters in the Marvel Comics ' universe. 1948 - Marvel Comics)
  • Kid Slade, Gunfighter  #5-8 (Jan. -July 1957)
  • The Apache Kid  #53 (Dec. 1950) continued as
  • Apache Kid  #2-19 (Feb. 1951 - Jan. 1952; Dec. 1954 - April 1956) continued as
  • Western Gunfighters  #20-27 (June 1956 - Aug. Western Gunfighters is the name of two American Western omnibus Comic book series published by Marvel Comics. 1957)
  • Ringo Kid  #5-21 (April 1955 - Sept. The Ringo Kid is a Fictional Western hero in the Marvel Comics ' universe, whose Comic book series was originally released by the 1957)
  • Cowboy Action  #5-11 (March 1955 - March 1956) continued as
  • Quick-Trigger Western  #12-19 (May 1956 - Sept. 1957)

Misc.

Note: The romance title Linda Carter, Student Nurse  #1-9 (Sept. Atlas Comics is the 1950s Comic book Publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. 1961 - Jan. 1963), sometimes grouped together with Atlas Comics, chronologically falls within Marvel, and all covers have the "MC" box.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Daniels, Les, Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics (Harry N. Les Daniels (born 1943 is an American Writer. Background He attended Brown University in Providence Rhode Island, where Abrams, New York, 1991) ISBN 0-8109-3821-9, p. 57, quoted Marvel/Atlas editor-in-chief Stan Lee saying, " 'Martin Goodman . . . would notice what was selling, and we'd put out a lot of books of that type'. The short-term results were lucrative; but while other publishers took the long view and kept their stables of heroes solid, Goodman let his slide". While Atlas had some horror titles, such as Marvel Tales, as far back as 1949, the company increased its output dramatically in the take of EC: Per Daniels, pp. Marvel Tales is the title of three American Comic-book series published by Marvel Comics, the first of them from the company's 1950s predecessor Atlas 67-68: "The success of EC had a definite influence on Marvel. As Stan Lee recalls, 'Martin Goodman would say, "Stan, let's do a different kind of book", and it was usually based on how the competition was doing. When we found that EC's horror books were doing well, for instance, we published a lot of horror books'. "
  2. ^ Jones, Gerard. Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book (Basic Books, 2004; trade paperback ISBN 0-465-03657-0
  3. ^ a b c "Stan the Man & Roy the Boy: A Conversation Between Stan Lee and Roy Thomas", Comic Book Artist #2 (Summer 1998)
  4. ^ Joe Sinnot interview: Alter Ego #26 (July 2003), p. 11
  5. ^ Jack Kirby interview, The Comics Journal #134 (Feb. 1990). Reprinted in The Comics Journal Library, Volume One: Jack Kirby (2002) ISBN 1-56097-466-4, p. 38
  6. ^ Jack Kirby interview, The Comics Journal Library, p. 19
  7. ^ Astonishing #56 (4 pp. ), Strange Tales of the Unusual #7 (4 pp. ), Quick-Trigger Western #16 (5 pp. ), and Yellow Claw #2-3 (19 pp. The Yellow Claw is a fictional Comic book Supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe, created by EC Comics great each)
  8. ^ Library of Congress copyright information at Grand Comics Database: Amazing Adventures #3
  9. ^ Adelaide Comics and Books: Stan Goldberg interview
  10. ^ Atlas Tales

References

External links

The Library of Congress is the De facto National library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress Joseph H Simon (born October 11, 1913) is a Jewish-American Comic book Writer, Artist, editor, and publisher
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