Stan, Jack, and Steve - The 1950's. (1956) Separating the Men from the Boys PART TWO 3 3

[Prince Namor]

Stan had long been envious of the success of EC Comics, and the fame with which they acquired. Now, his boss and relative by law - having played a part in destroying the EC comic empire, had enabled him to provide work for some of the EC artists’ -  Al Williamson, Reed Crandall, Angelo Torres, and even Jack Davis (very briefly) and Wally Wood (very briefly).  (Imagine going from some of the highest page rates in the business at EC to Atlas paying some of the lowest - these guys wouldn’t fit in at DC or Dell or Archie - they were stuck getting extra work at the one publisher who blatantly tried to copy them…)

Unfortunately for Stan, the type of success EC had, still didn’t transfer to Atlas… or to Lee.

What Stanley really needed was a WRITER, who was creative and visionary. His own work, in the Western genre was pedestrian. He had a flair for creative dialogue in his 'dumb blonde' comics like Millie the Model (one of Atlas' longest running titles), but it still hadn't equated to a 'hit'. He needed a real all star writer...

Well... he GOT it, but not quite how he figured. Inexplicably, Al Feldstein (the most prolific writer EC had) decides to do a comic at Atlas, called ‘Yellow Claw’, the first issue of which is drawn by Joe Maneely. BUT, that would be all for Feldstein*** as one issue with Atlas is all he would do for them. Instead, taking over both story and art with issue #2-4 would be… Jack Kirby. And Kirby both wrote and drew those issues. 

Jack Kirby in 1956, unrestrained from the business side of comics and free to create on his own would go on a creative spurt for all of the publishers he wrote for - Prize, Harvey, and most importantly DC and Marvel. In 1956, Jack Kirby was already, unknowingly, laying the foundation for the Marvel Silver Age, and that would culminate with his introduction of the Challengers of the Unknown in November.

In most of his stories in the second half of 1956, Kirby’s use of Alien races, Mutants (maybe one of the earliest times we’ve seen this concept used in a comic book), Monsters, Romance and… a super team of adventurers - would lay the ground work for much of the next decade. And it wasn’t just the way he drew it or used it - it was the way he wrote it. If you ever want to see Jack Kirby’s pre-Marvel writing style and compare it to what he did in the Silver Age - check out his run on Yellow Claw for Atlas/Marvel (included here)! It’s very telling…. And his Challengers of the Unknown for DC….

It's all on display for you here...

 

*** Freelance for a couple of months after EC ‘comic books’ were officially over with, Feldstein was quickly called back and given Mad to run after Kurtzman asked Gaines for 51% ownership - didn’t get it - and decided to walk…

 

 

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS JUNE 1956

Yellow Claw #1 (Cover by Joe Maneely) - Forget Black Knight, THIS is Joe Maneely's masterpiece. Al Feldstein, in a similar way to Kirby, guides Maneely into telling this story like a movie - the first reel introducing us to Yellow Claw, Jimmy Woo, Suwan and the world we get to see from the inside... all those years of Stan trying to emulate EC Comics, THIS is the closest they'd ever get to it!

[bc]

-bc

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS JUNE 1956

Yellow Claw #1 (Cover by Joe Maneely) - Story TWO

For a book that would end up playing a large part in the history of Marvel Comics, it wasn't reprinted for 18 years, in 1974 in Giant Size Master of Kung Fu #2, and then not again until 33 years after that! 

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS JUNE 1956

Yellow Claw #1 - As much as I love what Kirby did with this the following issue (and what he did was way ahead of what creators were doing in comics at this point), I still would LOVE to see an alternate Universe where Feldstein and Maneely could've finished this! Forget the idea of what've Maneely had lived and worked with Stan in the Silver Age (actually he would've ended up doing the same type of work John Severin did and taking a back seat to Kirby), but WHAT IF Al Feldstein had stayed at Atlas/Marvel Comics???

Kirby, Ditko, Feldstein, Maneely, Severin... with Stan Lee overseeing and promoting it....

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS JULY 1956

Did I say this was an IMPORTANT time in the history of comics?

In July, Showcase #4 featured DC making its first attempt to bring in NEW Superheroes for the THEN Modern Age, with a revamped Flash. You can see the difference in the way DC introduces new concepts vs the way Atlas/Marvel does it! DC is clean, and wholesome, while Atlas still has that more stylized, wise guy approach. It took Felstein to bring that back.... Showcase #4 would get all the attention (even though it wasn't even the biggest hit they'd get in 1956...), but make no mistake - for Atlas/Marvel, the book that kick starts things is Yellow Claw #1-4.

But this book is very important too!

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[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS JULY 1956

Showcase #4 (Cover by Carmine Infantino) - --script by Robert Kanigher, art by Carmine Infantino.

THIS story was first reprinted in 1963 in Flash Annual #1. 

Story TWO

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Edited July 11, 2022 by Prince Namor

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS JULY 1956

World of Mystery #3 (Cover by Bill Everett) - JACK DAVIS would do a couple of more stories for Atlas, before he would go on to a long career with Mad Magazine. Here this 4 pager in World of Mystery #3 (with writer Carl Wessler), as far as I can tell, has never been reprinted!

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS JULY 1956

Battle #49 (Cover by John Severin) - JACK DAVIS' other story for the month, was the lead in Battle #49 (no writer listed), another that, as far as I can tell has never been reprinted!

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS JULY 1956

Journey into Unknown Worlds #51 (Cover by Carl Burgos) - Wally Wood also did a few more stories before leaving, including this 4 pager with writer Carl Wessler!

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS JULY 1956

Western Gunfighters #22 (Cover by Joe Maneely) - Wally Wood also did this 5 page western (no writer listed)

[bc]

On 7/11/2022 at 6:31 PM, Prince Namor said:

 

ON NEWSSTANDS JUNE 1956

Yellow Claw #1 (Cover by Joe Maneely) - Forget Black Knight, THIS is Joe Maneely's masterpiece. Al Feldstein, in a similar way to Kirby, guides Maneely into telling this story like a movie - the first reel introducing us to Yellow Claw, Jimmy Woo, Suwan and the world we get to see from the inside... all those years of Stan trying to emulate EC Comics, THIS is the closest they'd ever get to it!

Other than the early GA Submariner (MPFW and to a lesser extent the Human Torch in MC1), is this the next "anti-hero" that got a title in the Timely/Atlas period?

-bc

[Prince Namor]

On 7/11/2022 at 7:59 PM, bc said:

Other than the early GA Submariner (MPFW and to a lesser extent the Human Torch in MC1), is this the next "anti-hero" that got a title in the Timely/Atlas period?

-bc

Sort of, but not so much anti-hero, as it was an anti-mainstream book (like Subby back in the day - anti-hero and anti-mainstream, that still appealed to the mainstream) in the Comics Code era... which of course is very cool. And a primarily Asian cast - even the main good guy? Very cool, very different, very classic 'Timely' style from back in the day. And this was a year and a half after the Code kicked in? DC was doing squeaky clean and everyone was trying make sanitized comics and here was a book that could've just as easily fit into the pre-Code era very flagrantly flaunted. It looked like nothing else on the newsstand for that time:

http://www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/newsstand.php?publisher=all&type=calendar&month=6&year=1956&sort=alpha

Al Feldstein was amazing with EC Comics, and took Mad Magazine to amazing heights, but I believe, he could've been a genius in the mainstream world of Code enforced Comics as well!

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS JULY 1956

Journey Into Unknown Worlds #51 - Steve Ditko would again do two stories for Atlas/Marvel in July, the first is this 4 pager from Journey Into Unknown Worlds #51 (Ditko and Wood in the same issue!). 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 JULY 1956

World of Mystery #3 - Steve Ditko's other story in July, would be this 4 pager from World of Mystery #3 (Ditko and JACK DAVIS in the same issue!). And 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.

Again the Osborn haircut shows up!

Edited July 12, 2022 by Prince Namor

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS JULY 1956

Young Brides #30 - The final issue of Young Brides, features an all Kirby issue. You wouldn't know its a final issue as Kirby puts his all into these stories! As the market was beginning to slow considerably for romance books, Prize would shrink to just three titles after this cancellation, all of them bi-monthlies. The 9 year reign was coming to an end. 

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 JULY 1956

Also in July, Jack did the cover and title page for Harvey Comics' True Love Problems and Advice Illustrated #41, the cover for First Love Illustrated #68 and the cover and title page, as well as a 5 page story for Hi-School Romance #55.

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[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS JULY 1956

But of special notice to us, is Jack did a story for Atlas in July, for Battleground #14. Having returned to a company he'd left 15 years earlier, due to Goodman screwing them out of royalties, Kirby knew he had to earn a living, and times were tough for those in the comic book business. 

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS JULY 1956

Stan tries his hand at a romance story in Millie the Model #72 (art by Dan DeCarlo)...

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS JULY 1956

Stan also does Homer the Happy Ghost #11 with Dan DeCarlo and Melvin the Monster #3 with Joe Maneely.