Stan, Jack, and Steve - The 1950's. (1956) Separating the Men from the Boys PART ONE 1 1

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS APRIL 1956

Kid Colt Outlaw #62 (Joe Maneely cover) - Stan writes a Western filler for Kid Colt Outlaw #62 with art by Dick Ayers.

 

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Edited July 10, 2022 by Prince Namor

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS APRIL 1956

Western Kid #11 (John Severin cover) - Stan writes a 4 page Western filler for Western Kid #11 with art by Bob Forgione.

 

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Edited July 10, 2022 by Prince Namor

[Prince Namor]

 

ON NEWSSTANDS APRIL 1956

Matt Slade Gunfighter #2 (Joe Maneely cover) - Stan writes a 4 page Western filler for Matt Slade Gunfighter #2 with art by Al Williamson.

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Edited July 10, 2022 by Prince Namor

[Prince Namor]

 

ON NEWSSTANDS APRIL 1956

Ringo Kid #13 (Joe Maneely cover) - Stan writes a 4 page Western filler for Ringo Kid #13 with art by Al Williamson.

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[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS APRIL 1956

Two Gun Kid #32 (Joe Maneely cover) - Stan writes a 4 page Western filler for Two Gun Kid #32 with art by Bob Forgione.

 

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[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS APRIL 1956

Tales of Lesser Known Atlas Books:

Sergeant Barney Barker #1 (John Severin cover) - John Severin had worked for Atlas Pre-EC, and Stan had liked him, so when he had the chance to bring him back after EC Comics folded, he immediately put him on salary and made him one of the Atlas' workhorses. (Between salary and the take-home freelance pay, he was one of the few artists who was doing quite well during this time...)

He also got a chance to do an occasional project of his own and Sergeant Barney Barker is an example of this. It only lasted 3 issues, but its pretty much all Severin...

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[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS APRIL 1956

Kirby was back in April with Charlton's Mad ripoff, 'Crazy, Man, Crazy' (Not sure who did the cover... II like the Chimp though...). For issue #2 we got to see some interesting examples of Kirby imitating Mad's art style... Charlton's attempt to cash in ended with this issue...

 

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Edited July 10, 2022 by Prince Namor

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS APRIL 1956

Spellbound #29 (Joe Maneely cover) - Steve Ditko would again do two stories for Atlas/Marvel in April, the first is this 4 pager from Spellbound #29. This is another story that appears in 2019's Marvel Masters of Suspense: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko #1 Omnibus, when clearly Stan didn't write the story - in fact it was written by Carl Wessler.

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS APRIL 1956

Strange Tales of the Unusual #5 - (Bill Everett cover) Steve Ditko's other story for Atlas/Marvel in April, is this 4 pager from Strange Tales of the Unusual #5. This is another story that appears in 2019's Marvel Masters of Suspense: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko #1 Omnibus, when clearly Stan didn't write it. Strangely, it looks almost like a Charlton job that Ditko decided to turn into Atlas instead!

[shadroch]

So it looks like Stan was experimenting with the mini-series idea, some thirty years before the practice became common.  Give a character like Devil Dog a three or four issie run and then move the story along and change the title.  His constant rebooting of titles lead the way for todays practice. It only took the rest of the hobby fifty years to catch up.  If only Stan hadn't been held back by his creative partners inability to adapt.

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1956

Tales of Lesser Known Atlas Books:

Caught #1 (John Severin cover) - Not sure where this comes from but, it's an interesting comic that only lasted 5 issues. The good thing about this first story is you get to see Joe Sinnott trying to imitate Maneely/Severin.

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[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1956

Detective Comics #233 (Shedon Moldoff cover) - In May of 1956, DC introduced Batwoman. Edmond Hamilton -script - Sheldon Moldoff art (signed as Bob Kane). 

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[lordbyroncomics]

On 7/10/2022 at 11:16 AM, shadroch said:

  "If only Stan hadn't been held back by his creative partners inability to adapt."

Shad ol' boy, this is the most obvious attempt to troll/provoke I've seen in a bit. It doesn't irk me though, I think grown men resorting to these tactics is f**king hilarious!

But let's give you the benefit of a doubt since you've well established your distressing lack of basic knowledge of comics history as well as applying context to different eras. When you say everything about Stan "experimenting" with mini-series- you do not take into account just how different the publishing industry and the comics industry was i the 1950s'. You are applying modern concepts and promotional techniques that were initially created for the direct market to a very unstable field from literally decades ago. (Again, you're trolling but I'll pretend you're just this uneducated)

This is akin to people believing Stan created 'Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos' as a bet with publisher Martin Goodman (!)- it's not even a criticism of Stan to point out this is untrue. It's because of the publishing and distribution details of the time that make it completely impossible.

People are prone to apply broad statements to things from the past under the assumption that it can't be researched. On the contrary, nothing could be further from the truth. It takes time and a proactive approach towards applying yourself, but it's done- Dr. Michael J Vassallo, a well regarded comics historian has done the work for us, thankfully. He has compiled exhaustive and comprehensive stats based on circulation and distribution records, all of which exist, besides the fact that the Atlas Implosion is very well documented and many interviews with professionals from that era have been published in Alter Ego and other places.

So- Stan was not coming up with groundbreaking concepts decades ahead. Also, if he HAD- he wouldn't have been "held back" by his creative partners, especially during this period as he was the only one working in the office. Literally, your statement is so ridiculous that I feel bad for you considering you're so significantly older than me  Like, who would have been able to "hold him back"?! LMAO!!!! Martin Goodman was in the building. He made every decision on publication, cancelling books, and so forth- all of that is documented but is also helpfully supported per Stan himself. Read some interviews with your idol there, real Frantic One!!! ha ha ha ha ha ha

Held back when every artist is a freelancer with multiple accounts?!!! Wow- I really do expect more from my elders, but especially when they're steeped in comics. Maybe I can gift you a subscription to Alter Ego.. they're pretty pro Stan. I'd start with Ger Aperdorn's comprehensive article on Stan's attempts to break away from Martin Goodman and how badly he failed each time. It's pretty good on a historical context.

Also, read up on Michael Vassallo's documentation of Martin Goodman's publishing empire. You should be well versed in all this stuff anytime you want to bring a debate at the table, but that goes for most subjects:  https://timely-atlas-comics.blogspot.com/2016/10/atlas-errata-cover-alterations-and.html

So yeah- the groundbreaking people in comics trying things ahead of their contemporaries (and especially Stan, but I don't mean that as a critique on ol' Smiley, just pointing out factual context)- I'd look at Charles Biro who tried to get TOPS going, I'd look at Matt Baker who did one of the first graphic novels, I'd go with Arnold Drake, I'd go with a bunch of guys who literally were ahead of their time- and it's documented, all the better! So there's no speculation because- and remember this- the documented work and history will always tell a better story than a fan's assumptions. 'Nuff Said! ;) 
 

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1956

Astonishing #53 (Bill Everett cover) - Steve Ditko would again do two stories for Atlas/Marvel in May, the first is this 4 pager from Astonishing #53. And yet again this is another story that appears in 2019's Marvel Masters of Suspense: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko #1 Omnibus, when clearly Stan didn't write the story - in fact it was written by Carl Wessler.

 

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1956

Journey into Mystery #38 - (Sol Brodsky cover) Steve Ditko's other story for Atlas/Marvel in May, is this 4 pager from Journey into Mystery #38. And you guessed it - This is another story that appears in 2019's Marvel Masters of Suspense: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko #1 Omnibus, when clearly Stan didn't write it. 

Carl Wessler was the writer. 

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1956

Young Brides #29 - Jack Kirby was back with an issue of Young Brides, doing the writing, the penciling, the cover, and in most cases even inking his own work. 

Story ONE

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Story TWO

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Story THREE

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Story FOUR

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[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1956

Jack Kirby also did two covers for Harvey Comics, Warfront #29 and Western Tales #33, also doing the 3 stories (21 pages) and an into page in Western Tales. I do not have a copy of it...

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1956

Black Cat Mystic #58 - Jack Kirby did one other comic for Harvey, the entire issue of Black Cat Mystic #58 (now on it's third title change...), writing, penciling (cover and interior art) and inking his own work.

Story ONE

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Story TWO

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Edited July 10, 2022 by Prince Namor

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1956

Black Cat Mystic #58 - Story THREE - Jack Kirby was doing these type of stories featuring robots (usually larger than humans) on his own before he went back to Marvel. In fact you could say, this story is a prototype for the type of stories he'd do for a few years before FF #1 at Marvel. There's nothing like this that Stan Lee is doing. 

[shadroch]

On 7/10/2022 at 9:27 AM, Midcall said:

I think your sarcasm detector is broken 

Do you think?