Atlas Comics (1950s)
Encyclopedia
Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book
publishing
company that would evolve into Marvel Comics
. 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. Atlas was located on the 14th floor of the Empire State Building
.
This company is distinct from the 1970s comic-book company, also founded by Goodman, that is generally known as Atlas/Seaboard Comics
.
Atlas Comics grew out of Timely Comics
, the company Goodman founded in 1939 and whose star characters during the 1930s and 1940s Golden Age of comic books
were the Human Torch
, the Sub-Mariner
, and Captain America
. The post-war era, however, found superheroes falling out of fashion. Television
and paperback books now also competed for readers and leisure time.
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. 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). 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
, romance
, espionage
, medieval adventure, Bible stories, and sports comics. As did other publishers, Atlas also courted female readers with mostly humorous comics about models
and career women.
Goodman began using the globe logo of the Atlas News Company, the newsstand-distribution company he owned, on comics cover-dated November 1951 even though another company, Kable News, continued to distribute his comics through the August 1952 issues, with its "K" logo and that logo of the independent distributors' union appearing alongside the Atlas globe. This united a line put out by the same publisher, staff and freelancers through 59 shell companies, from Animirth Comics to Zenith Publications.
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.). Yet they featured the same sort of Communist Red Scare villains as the late-'40s comics and broke no new ground, particularly in comparison with the clean, uncluttered, streamlined reimagining of super-speedster The Flash two years later in DC Comics
' Showcase
#4 (Sept. 1956), which would successfully bring back superheroes and kick off the Silver Age of Comic Books
.
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. As Marvel/Atlas editor-in-chief Stan Lee
told historian Les Daniels
, publisher Martin Goodman
"would notice what was selling, and we'd put out a lot of books of that type." Commented Daniels, "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. Lee recalled, "[I]t 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." Until the early 1960s, when 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 artists.
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
. Daniel Keyes
, future author of Flowers for Algernon
, was an associate editor circa 1952. Other writers, generally freelance, included Robert Bernstein.
The artists — some freelance, some on staff — included such veterans as Human Torch creator Carl Burgos
and Sub-Mariner creator Bill Everett
. 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
. Others included Russ Heath
, Gene Colan
, and the fledgling, highly individualistic Steve Ditko
.
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 Atlas versions of two prominent 1960s Western characters, the Rawhide Kid
and the Two-Gun Kid
, were different and historically undistinguished iterations.)
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
), Homer Hooper (a la Archie Andrews
) and the Joe Maneely
-drawn Melvin the Monster (a la Dennis the Menace
). Sergeant Barney Barker, drawn by John Severin
, was Atlas' answer to Sgt. Bilko
.
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 1970s, launching spin-offs along the way. 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. DeCarlo wrote and drew Millie for 10 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 slapstick
y Millie, it featured attractive but sedate art by Al Hartley
, Al Jaffee
, Morris Weiss and others. 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. Patsy herself would be integrated into Marvel Universe
continuity years later as the supernatural
superheroine Hellcat
.
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. 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!").
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!"
Staff artist Stan Goldberg
recalled in 2005, "I was in the Bullpen with a lot of well-known artists who worked up there at that time. ... The guys ... 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
. Bill Everett
. Carl Burgos
. 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".
, the nation's largest distributor and a virtual monopoly
— which shortly afterward lost a Justice Department
lawsuit
and discontinued its business. As historian and author Gerard Jones
explains, the company in 1956
Stan Lee, in a 1988 interview, recalled that Goodman:
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:
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.' 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.
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,
The interviewer, Comics Journal publisher Gary Groth
, later wrote of this interview in general, "Some of Kirby's more extreme statements ... should be taken with a grain of salt...." Lee, specifically asked about the office-closing anecdote, said,
Kirby had previously returned, in late 1956, to freelance on five issues cover-dated Dec. 1956 and Feb. 1957, 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. 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
.
A Kirby sci-fi/monster story, usually inked by Christopher Rule
initially, then by Dick Ayers
following Rule's retirement, would generally open each book. This was 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. Lee in 2009 described these "short, five-page filler strips that Steve and I did together", originally "placed in any of our comics that had a few extra pages to fill", as "odd fantasy tales that I'd dream up with O. Henry
-type endings." Giving an early example of what would later be known as the "Marvel Method
" of writer-artist collaboration, Lee said, "All I had to do was give Steve a one-line description of the plot and he'd be off and running. He'd take those skeleton outlines I had given him and turn them into classic little works of art that ended up being far cooler than I had any right to expect."
, and dropped the Atlas globe at that time. Goodman would reuse the name Atlas for the next comics company he founded
, in the 1970s.
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. 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 — cover-dated October 1957, like the final Atlas-globe comic, Dippy Duck #1. The best-selling titles were Westerns (with Kid Colt
starring in two titles) and girl humor (led by the long-running Millie the Model
). The two fantasy titles (Strange Tales
and World of Fantasy
) clung on printing stored inventory material from late 1957 through late 1958.
Although for several months in 1949 and 1950 Timely's titles bore a circular logo labeled "Marvel Comic", the first modern comic books so labeled was the science-fiction anthology Journey into Mystery
#69 and the teen-humor title Patsy Walker #95 (both June 1961), which each showed an "MC" box on its cover. 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.
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Note: The romance title Linda Carter, Student Nurse #1-9 (Sept. 1961 - Jan. 1963), sometimes grouped together with Atlas Comics, chronologically falls within Marvel, and all covers have the "MC" box.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
company that would evolve into Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. Magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman
Martin Goodman (publisher)
Martin Goodman born on was an American publisher of pulp magazines, paperback books, men's adventure magazines, and comic books, launching the company that would become Marvel Comics....
, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic book division during this time. Atlas was located on the 14th floor of the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
.
This company is distinct from the 1970s comic-book company, also founded by Goodman, that is generally known as Atlas/Seaboard Comics
Atlas/Seaboard Comics
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 Seaboard Periodicals, to differentiate from the 1950s' Atlas Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics...
.
After the Golden Age
Timely Comics
Timely Comics, an imprint of Timely Publications, was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics....
, the company Goodman founded in 1939 and whose star characters during the 1930s and 1940s Golden Age of comic books
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
were the Human Torch
Human Torch (Golden Age)
The Human Torch, also known as Jim Hammond, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics-owned superhero. Created by writer-artist Carl Burgos, he first appeared in Marvel Comics #1 , published by Marvel's predecessor, Timely Comics....
, the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner is a fictional comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe, and one of the first superheroes, debuting in Spring 1939. The character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for Funnies Inc., one of the first "packagers" in the early days of comic books that supplied...
, and Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
. The post-war era, however, found superheroes falling out of fashion. Television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and paperback books now also competed for readers and leisure time.
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
Suspense
Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work. Suspense is not exclusive to fiction, though. Suspense may operate in any situation where there is a lead-up to a big event or dramatic...
stories and no superheroes. The company's flagship title, Marvel Mystery Comics
Marvel Mystery Comics
Marvel Mystery Comics is an American comic book series published during the 1930s-1940s period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books...
, starring the Human Torch, had already ended its run (with #92, June 1949), as had Sub-Mariner Comics (with #32, the same month). Goodman's comic-book line dropped superheroes and expanded into a wider variety of genres than even Timely had published, emphasizing horror
Horror comics
Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. Horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the imposition of the self-censorship Comics Code Authority contributed to...
, Westerns
Western comics
Western comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier and typically set during the late nineteenth century...
, humor, funny-animal, men's adventure
Men's adventure
Men's adventure is a genre of magazines that had its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s. Catering to a male audience, these magazines featured glamour photography and lurid tales of adventure that typically featured wartime feats of daring, exotic travel or conflict with wild animals.These magazines are...
-drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, crime
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
, and war comics
War comics
War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II.-American war comics:Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began including stories of wartime adventures in the multi-genre...
, later adding a helping of jungle
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
, romance
Romance comics
Romance comics is a comics genre depicting romantic love and its attendant complications such as jealousy, marriage, divorce, betrayal, and heartache. The term is generally associated with an American comic books genre published through the first three decades of the Cold War...
, espionage
Spy fiction
Spy fiction, literature concerning the forms of espionage, was a sub-genre derived from the novel during the nineteenth century, which then evolved into a discrete genre before the First World War , when governments established modern intelligence agencies in the early twentieth century...
, medieval adventure, Bible stories, and sports comics. As did other publishers, Atlas also courted female readers with mostly humorous comics about models
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
and career women.
Goodman began using the globe logo of the Atlas News Company, the newsstand-distribution company he owned, on comics cover-dated November 1951 even though another company, Kable News, continued to distribute his comics through the August 1952 issues, with its "K" logo and that logo of the independent distributors' union appearing alongside the Atlas globe. This united a line put out by the same publisher, staff and freelancers through 59 shell companies, from Animirth Comics to Zenith Publications.
Syd Shores
Sydney Shores was an American comic book artist known for his work on Captain America both during the 1940s, in what fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books, and during the 1960s Silver Age of comic books....
and Dick Ayers
Dick Ayers
Richard "Dick" Ayers is an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on some of the earliest issues of Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four, and as the signature...
, variously), the Sub-Mariner (drawn and most stories written by Bill Everett
Bill Everett
William Blake "Bill" Everett, also known as William Blake and Everett Blake was a comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner and co-creating Daredevil for Marvel Comics...
), and Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
(writer Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
, artist John Romita Sr.). Yet they featured the same sort of Communist Red Scare villains as the late-'40s comics and broke no new ground, particularly in comparison with the clean, uncluttered, streamlined reimagining of super-speedster The Flash two years later in DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' Showcase
Showcase (comics)
Showcase has been the title of several comic anthology series published by DC Comics. The general theme of these series has been to feature new and minor characters as a way to gauge reader interest in them, without the difficulty and risk of featuring "untested" characters in their own ongoing...
#4 (Sept. 1956), which would successfully bring back superheroes and kick off the Silver Age of Comic Books
Silver Age of Comic Books
The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those in the superhero genre. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an interregnum in the early to mid-1950s, the Silver Age is considered to cover the...
.
Trend-following
Western fiction
Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 1900s and Louis L'Amour from the mid 20th century...
and war dramas prevailing for a time, drive-in
Drive-in
A drive-in is a facility such as a bank, restaurant, or movie theater where one can literally drive in with an automobile for service. It is usually distinguished from a drive-through. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk out...
movie monsters another time — and even other comic books, particularly the EC horror line. As Marvel/Atlas editor-in-chief Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
told historian Les Daniels
Les Daniels
Leslie Noel Daniels III, known as Les Daniels was an American writer.-Background:He attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he wrote his master's thesis on Frankenstein, and he worked as a musician and as a journalist.-Career:He was the author of five novels featuring the...
, publisher Martin Goodman
Martin Goodman (publisher)
Martin Goodman born on was an American publisher of pulp magazines, paperback books, men's adventure magazines, and comic books, launching the company that would become Marvel Comics....
"would notice what was selling, and we'd put out a lot of books of that type." Commented Daniels, "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. Lee recalled, "[I]t 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." Until the early 1960s, when Lee would help revolutionize comic books with the advent of the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
and Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, Atlas was content to flood newsstands with profitable, cheaply produced product — often, despite itself, beautifully rendered by talented if low-paid artists.
The Atlas "bullpen" had at least five staff writers (officially called editors) besides Lee: Hank Chapman
Hank Chapman
Henry P. "Hank" Chapman is an American comic book writer for Marvel Comics' two predecessors, Timely Comics and Atlas Comics, and later for DC Comics, where he specialized in war fiction. Though much of his Timely/Atlas work went unsigned, comics historians estimate that Chapman, a staff writer,...
, Paul S. Newman
Paul S. Newman
Paul S. Newman was an American writer of comic books, comic strips, and books, whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s...
, Don Rico
Don Rico
Donato Francisco Rico II was an American paperback novelist, screenwriter, and comic book writer-artist, who co-created the Marvel Comics characters Jann of the Jungle, with artist Jay Scott Pike, and Leopard Girl, with artist Al Hartley. His pen names include Dan Rico, Donella St...
, Carl Wessler
Carl Wessler
Carroll O. "Carl" Wessler was an American animator of the 1930s and a comic book writer from the 1940s though the 1970s for such companies as DC Comics, EC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing....
, and, in the teen-humor division, future Mad
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
magazine cartoonist Al Jaffee
Al Jaffee
Abraham Jaffee , known as Al Jaffee, is an American cartoonist. He is notable for his work in the satirical magazine Mad, including his trademark feature, the Mad Fold-in. As of 2010, Jaffee remains a regular in the magazine after 55 years and is its longest-running contributor...
. Daniel Keyes
Daniel Keyes
Daniel Keyes is an American author best known for his Hugo award-winning short story and Nebula award-winning novel Flowers for Algernon. Keyes was given the Author Emeritus honor by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2000.-Early life and career:Keyes was born in Brooklyn, New...
, future author of Flowers for Algernon
Flowers for Algernon
Flowers for Algernon is a science fiction short story and subsequent novel written by Daniel Keyes. The short story, written in 1958 and first published in the April 1959 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1960...
, was an associate editor circa 1952. Other writers, generally freelance, included Robert Bernstein.
The artists — some freelance, some on staff — included such veterans as Human Torch creator Carl Burgos
Carl Burgos
Carl Burgos was an American comic book and advertising artist best known for creating the original Human Torch in Marvel Comics #1 Carl Burgos (né Max Finkelstein, April 18, 1916, New York City, New York; died March 1984) was an American comic book and advertising artist best known for creating...
and Sub-Mariner creator Bill Everett
Bill Everett
William Blake "Bill" Everett, also known as William Blake and Everett Blake was a comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner and co-creating Daredevil for Marvel Comics...
. The next generation included the prolific and much-admired Joe Maneely
Joe Maneely
Joseph "Joe" Maneely is an American comic book artist best known for his work at Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics, where he co-created the Marvel characters the Black Knight, the Ringo Kid, the Yellow Claw, and Jimmy Woo.An exquisite draftsman whose delicate yet solid, fine-line...
, 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
Black Knight (Sir Percy)
Sir Percy of Scandia, also known as the original Black Knight, is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe. He was a medieval knight created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Joe Maneely.- Publication history :...
. Others included Russ Heath
Russ Heath
Russell Heath, Jr. is an American artist best known for his comic book work — particularly his DC Comics war stories for several decades and his 1960s art for Playboy magazine's Little Annie Fanny featurettes — and for his commercial art, two pieces of which, depicting Roman and...
, Gene Colan
Gene Colan
Eugene Jules "Gene" Colan was an American comic book artist best known for his work for Marvel Comics, where his signature titles include the superhero series, Daredevil, the cult-hit satiric series Howard the Duck, and The Tomb of Dracula, considered one of comics' classic horror series...
, and the fledgling, highly individualistic Steve Ditko
Steve Ditko
Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange....
.
Atlas' most prominent Western
Western comics
Western comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier and typically set during the late nineteenth century...
titles, many reprinted in the 1970s, were Ringo Kid
Ringo Kid
The Ringo Kid is a fictional Western hero in the Marvel Comics' universe, whose comic book series was originally released by the company's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics...
, with art by Maneely, Fred Kida
Fred Kida
Fred Kida is an American comic book and comic strip artist best known for the characters Airboy and Valkyrie.-Early life and career:...
and John Severin
John Severin
John Powers Severin is an American comic book artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat; for Marvel Comics, primarily on its war and Western comics; and for the satiric magazine Cracked...
; Doug Wildey
Doug Wildey
Douglas S. Wildey was a cartoonist and comic book artist best known for his co-creation of the 1964 animated television series, Jonny Quest for Hanna-Barbera Productions.-Early life and career:...
's The Outlaw Kid
Outlaw Kid
The Outlaw Kid is a fictional Western hero in Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe, whose comic book series was originally released by the company's 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics...
; Jack Keller
Jack Keller (comics)
Jack R. Keller was an American comic book artist best known for his 1950s and '60s work on the Marvel Comics Western character Kid Colt, and for his later hot rod and racecar series at Charlton Comics.-Early life and career:...
's Kid Colt, Outlaw
Kid Colt
Kid Colt is the name of two fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first is a cowboy whose adventures have taken place in numerous western themed comic book series published by Marvel...
and the anthology Gunsmoke Western
Gunsmoke Western
Gunsmoke Western was an American comic book series published initially by Atlas Comics, the 1950s forerunner of Marvel Comics, and then into the 1960s by Marvel...
, starring Kid Colt
Kid Colt
Kid Colt is the name of two fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first is a cowboy whose adventures have taken place in numerous western themed comic book series published by Marvel...
; and The Black Rider
Black Rider (comics)
The Black Rider is a fictional Western character in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in All-Western Winners #2 , from the company's 1940s forerunner, Timely Comics.-Publication history:...
, by Maneely, Syd Shores
Syd Shores
Sydney Shores was an American comic book artist known for his work on Captain America both during the 1940s, in what fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books, and during the 1960s Silver Age of comic books....
and others. (The Atlas versions of two prominent 1960s Western characters, the Rawhide Kid
Rawhide Kid
The Rawhide Kid is a fictional Old West cowboy in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A heroic gunfighter of the 19th-century American West who was unjustly wanted as an outlaw, he is one of Marvel's most prolific Western characters...
and the Two-Gun Kid
Two-Gun Kid
The Two-Gun Kid is a fictional character, a cowboy gunslinger in the Wild West of Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:...
, were different and historically undistinguished iterations.)
Humor and miscellanea
Dan DeCarlo
Daniel S. DeCarlo was an American cartoonist best known as the artist who developed the look of Archie Comics in the late 1950s and early 1960s, modernizing the characters to their contemporary appearance and establishing the publisher's house style...
's Homer, the Happy Ghost (a la Casper the Friendly Ghost
Casper the Friendly Ghost
Casper the Friendly Ghost is the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. As his name indicates, he is a ghost, but is quite personable...
), Homer Hooper (a la Archie Andrews
Archie Andrews (comics)
Archie Andrews, created in 1941 by Vic Bloom and Bob Montana, is a fictional character in an American comic book series published by Archie Comics, as well as the long-running Archie Andrews radio series, a syndicated comic strip, The Archie Show, and Archie's Weird Mysteries.-Character and...
) and the Joe Maneely
Joe Maneely
Joseph "Joe" Maneely is an American comic book artist best known for his work at Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics, where he co-created the Marvel characters the Black Knight, the Ringo Kid, the Yellow Claw, and Jimmy Woo.An exquisite draftsman whose delicate yet solid, fine-line...
-drawn Melvin the Monster (a la Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace (U.S.)
Dennis the Menace is a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip originally created, written and illustrated by Hank Ketcham. It debuted on March 12, 1951 in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate...
). Sergeant Barney Barker, drawn by John Severin
John Severin
John Powers Severin is an American comic book artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat; for Marvel Comics, primarily on its war and Western comics; and for the satiric magazine Cracked...
, was Atlas' answer to Sgt. Bilko
The Phil Silvers Show
The Phil Silvers Show is a comedy television series which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959 for 142 episodes, plus a 1959 special. The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G...
.
One of the most popular titles was the long-running Millie the Model
Millie the Model
Millie the Model was Marvel Comics' longest-running humor title, first published by the company's 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and continuing through its 1950s forerunner, Atlas Comics, to 1970s Marvel.-Publication history:...
, which began as a Timely Comics humor book in 1945 and ran a remarkable 207 issues, well into the Marvel-era 1970s, launching spin-offs along the way. Created or co-created (accounts differ) by artist Ruth Atkinson
Ruth Atkinson
Ruth Atkinson Ford née Ruth Atkinson and a.k.a. R. Atkinson Ruth Atkinson Ford née Ruth Atkinson and a.k.a. R. Atkinson Ruth Atkinson Ford née Ruth Atkinson and a.k.a. R. Atkinson (June 2, 1918 - June 1, 1997 was an American cartoonist and pioneering female comic book artist who helped create the...
, it later became the proving ground for cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
DeCarlo — the future creator of Josie and the Pussycats
Josie and the Pussycats (comic)
Josie and the Pussycats is a teen-humor comic book about a fictional rock band, created by Dan DeCarlo and published by Archie Comics. It was published from 1963 until 1982; since then, a number of one-shot issues have appeared without regularity...
; Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Sabrina the Teenage Witch is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a teenage fictional character named Sabrina Spellman. The character was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo. The comic's characters have also appeared in various other media...
; and other Archie Comics
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
characters, and the artist who established Archie's modern look. DeCarlo wrote and drew Millie for 10 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 slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
y Millie, it featured attractive but sedate art by Al Hartley
Al Hartley
Henry Allan Hartley , known professionally as Al Hartley, was an American comic book writer-artist known for his work on Archie Comics, Atlas Comics , and many Christian comics...
, Al Jaffee
Al Jaffee
Abraham Jaffee , known as Al Jaffee, is an American cartoonist. He is notable for his work in the satirical magazine Mad, including his trademark feature, the Mad Fold-in. As of 2010, Jaffee remains a regular in the magazine after 55 years and is its longest-running contributor...
, Morris Weiss and others. Given the tone and the target audience, Patsy Walker oddly included the legendary Harvey Kurtzman
Harvey Kurtzman
Harvey Kurtzman was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic books and magazines. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a stick figure Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic...
's bizarre "Hey Look!" one-pagers in several early issues. Patsy herself would be integrated into Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
continuity years later as the supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
superheroine Hellcat
Hellcat (comics)
Hellcat is a fictional character published by Marvel Comics. She premiered as the star of a teen romantic-comedy series and was later integrated into Marvel superhero franchises such as the Avengers and the Defenders....
.
No hellcats graced Atlas' funny animal
Funny animal
Funny animal is a cartooning term for the genre of comics and animated cartoons in which the main characters are humanoid or talking animals, with anthropomorphic personality traits. The characters themselves may also be called funny animals...
books, but they did have cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
Ed Winiarski
Ed Winiarski
Ed Winiarski , who sometimes signed his work "Win" or "Winny" and sometimes used the pseudonym Fran Miller, is an American comic book writer-artist known for both adventure stories and funny-animal cartooning in the late-1930s and 1940s Golden Age of comic books.A former animator, Winiarski was one...
's trouble-prone Buck Duck, Maneely's mentally suspect Dippy Duck, and Howie Post's The Monkey and the Bear. 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!").
Miscellanea include the espionage title Yellow Claw
Yellow Claw
The Yellow Claw is a fictional comic book supervillain in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Al Feldstein and artist Joe Maneely, the character first appeared in Yellow Claw #1 , published by Atlas Comics, the 1950s predecessor of Marvel.-Publication history:While the...
, with sumptuous Maneely, Severin, and Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
art; the Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
hero Red Warrior, with art by Tom Gill
Tom Gill (comics)
Thomas P. Gill is an American comic book artist best known for his nearly 11-year run drawing The Lone Ranger.-Early life and career:...
; the Tom Corbett, Space Cadet
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet
Tom Corbett is the main character in a series of Tom Corbett — Space Cadet stories that were depicted in television, radio, books, comic books, comic strips, coloring books, punch-out books and View-Master reels in the 1950s....
-like Space Squadron, written and drawn by future Marvel production executive Sol Brodsky
Sol Brodsky
Sol Brodsky was an American comic book artist who, as Marvel Comics' Silver Age production manager, was one of the key architects of the small company's expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate. He later rose to vice president, operations and vice president, special projects...
; and Sports Action, initially with true-life stories about the likes of George Gipp
George Gipp
George "The Gipper" Gipp was a college football player who played for the University of Notre Dame. Gipp was selected as Notre Dame's first All-American and is Notre Dame's second consensus All-American , after Gus Dorais. Gipp played multiple positions, most notably halfback, quarterback, and...
and Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
, and later with fictional "Rugged Tales of Danger and Red-Hot Action!"
Staff artist Stan Goldberg
Stan Goldberg
Stan Goldberg is an American comic book artist best known for his work as a flagship artist of Archie Comics and as a Marvel Comics' 1960s colorist, who helped design the original color schemes of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and other major characters.-Career:Stan Goldberg began work in the...
recalled in 2005, "I was in the Bullpen with a lot of well-known artists who worked up there at that time. ... The guys ... 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
John Powers Severin is an American comic book artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat; for Marvel Comics, primarily on its war and Western comics; and for the satiric magazine Cracked...
. Bill Everett
Bill Everett
William Blake "Bill" Everett, also known as William Blake and Everett Blake was a comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner and co-creating Daredevil for Marvel Comics...
. Carl Burgos
Carl Burgos
Carl Burgos was an American comic book and advertising artist best known for creating the original Human Torch in Marvel Comics #1 Carl Burgos (né Max Finkelstein, April 18, 1916, New York City, New York; died March 1984) was an American comic book and advertising artist best known for creating...
. 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".
Layoffs
From 1952 to late 1956, Goodman distributed this torrent of comics to newsstands through his self-owned distributor, Atlas. He then switched to American News CompanyAmerican News Company
American News Company was a magazine distribution company founded in 1864 by Sinclair Tousey, which dominated the distribution market in the 1940s and 1950s...
, the nation's largest distributor and a virtual monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
— which shortly afterward lost a Justice Department
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
and discontinued its business. As historian and author Gerard Jones
Gerard Jones
For the entrepreneur see Gérard Jones.Gerard Jones is an award-winning American author and comic book writer.-Biography:Jones was born in Cut Bank, Montana, and raised in Los Gatos and Gilroy, California...
explains, the company in 1956
Stan Lee, in a 1988 interview, recalled that Goodman:
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:
In a 2003 interview, Joe Sinnott
Joe Sinnott
Joe Sinnott is an American comic book artist. Working primarily as an inker, Sinnott is best-known for his long stint on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, from 1965 to 1981 , initially over the pencils of industry legend Jack Kirby...
, 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.' 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.
Return of Jack Kirby
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
Joe Simon
Joseph Henry "Joe" Simon is an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.With his...
a few years earlier was not as busy as he would have liked, recalled in a 1990 interview for The Comics Journal
The Comics Journal
The Comics Journal, often abbreviated TCJ, is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels...
that in late 1958,
The interviewer, Comics Journal publisher Gary Groth
Gary Groth
Gary Groth is an American comic book editor, publisher and critic. He is editor-in-chief of The Comics Journal and a co-founder of Fantagraphics Books.-Early life:...
, later wrote of this interview in general, "Some of Kirby's more extreme statements ... should be taken with a grain of salt...." Lee, specifically asked about the office-closing anecdote, said,
Kirby had previously returned, in late 1956, to freelance on five issues cover-dated Dec. 1956 and Feb. 1957, 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
Strange Worlds
Strange Worlds was the name of two American, science-fiction anthology comic book series of the 1950s, the first published by Avon Comics, the second by a Marvel Comics predecessor, Atlas Comics...
#1 (Dec. 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
Strange Tales
Strange Tales is the name of several comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It introduced the features "Doctor Strange" and "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.", and was a showcase for the science fiction/suspense stories of artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and for the...
and the newly launched Amazing Adventures
Amazing Adventures
Amazing Adventures is the name of several anthology comic book series, all but one published by Marvel Comics.The earliest Marvel series of that name introduced the company's first superhero of the late-1950s to early-1960s period fans and historians call the Silver Age of Comic Books...
, Strange Worlds, Tales of Suspense
Tales of Suspense
Tales of Suspense is the name of an American comic book series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such artists as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck, then featured...
, Tales to Astonish
Tales to Astonish
Tales to Astonish is the name of two American comic book series and a one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics.The primary title bearing that name was published from 1959-1968...
and World of Fantasy
World of Fantasy
World of Fantasy was a science fiction/fantasy comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor company, Atlas Comics. Lasting from 1956 to 1959, it included the work of several notable comics artists, including industry legends Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Bill Everett.The...
above the other horror/science fiction titles that had proliferated in the wake of the recently defunct master of those comics genres, EC Comics
EC Comics
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the Tales from the Crypt series...
.
A Kirby sci-fi/monster story, usually inked by Christopher Rule
Christopher Rule
Christopher Rule was an American comic book artist active from the 1940s through at least 1960, and best known as the first regular Marvel Comics inker for comics artist Jack Kirby during the period fans and historians call the Silver Age of Comic Books.-Early life and career:After driving an...
initially, then by Dick Ayers
Dick Ayers
Richard "Dick" Ayers is an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on some of the earliest issues of Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four, and as the signature...
following Rule's retirement, would generally open each book. This was followed by one or two twist-ending thrillers or sci-fi tales drawn by Don Heck
Don Heck
Don Heck was an American comic book artist best known for co-creating the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, and for his long run penciling the Marvel superhero-team series The Avengers during the 1960s Silver Age of comic books.-Early life and career:Born in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, New...
, Paul Reinman
Paul Reinman
Paul J. Reinman was an American comic book artist best known as one of industry legend's Jack Kirby's frequent inkers during what comics fans and historians call the Silver Age of comic books...
, or Joe Sinnott
Joe Sinnott
Joe Sinnott is an American comic book artist. Working primarily as an inker, Sinnott is best-known for his long stint on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, from 1965 to 1981 , initially over the pencils of industry legend Jack Kirby...
, with the whole thing capped by an often-surreal, sometimes self-reflexive Lee-Ditko short. Lee in 2009 described these "short, five-page filler strips that Steve and I did together", originally "placed in any of our comics that had a few extra pages to fill", as "odd fantasy tales that I'd dream up with O. Henry
O. Henry
O. Henry was the pen name of the American writer William Sydney Porter . O. Henry's short stories are well known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings.-Early life:...
-type endings." Giving an early example of what would later be known as the "Marvel Method
Marvel Method
The Marvel Method is a form of comic book writer-artist collaboration in which the artist works from a story synopsis, rather than a full script, creating page-by-page plot details on his or her own...
" of writer-artist collaboration, Lee said, "All I had to do was give Steve a one-line description of the plot and he'd be off and running. He'd take those skeleton outlines I had given him and turn them into classic little works of art that ended up being far cooler than I had any right to expect."
Pre-superhero Marvel
Goodman shut down his self-distributorship, the Atlas News Company, 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 ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, and dropped the Atlas globe at that time. Goodman would reuse the name Atlas for the next comics company he founded
Atlas/Seaboard Comics
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 Seaboard Periodicals, to differentiate from the 1950s' Atlas Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics...
, in the 1970s.
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
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, was on constrained terms that allowed only eight titles per month. 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 — cover-dated October 1957, like the final Atlas-globe comic, Dippy Duck #1. The best-selling titles were Westerns (with Kid Colt
Kid Colt
Kid Colt is the name of two fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first is a cowboy whose adventures have taken place in numerous western themed comic book series published by Marvel...
starring in two titles) and girl humor (led by the long-running Millie the Model
Millie the Model
Millie the Model was Marvel Comics' longest-running humor title, first published by the company's 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and continuing through its 1950s forerunner, Atlas Comics, to 1970s Marvel.-Publication history:...
). The two fantasy titles (Strange Tales
Strange Tales
Strange Tales is the name of several comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It introduced the features "Doctor Strange" and "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.", and was a showcase for the science fiction/suspense stories of artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and for the...
and World of Fantasy
World of Fantasy
World of Fantasy was a science fiction/fantasy comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor company, Atlas Comics. Lasting from 1956 to 1959, it included the work of several notable comics artists, including industry legends Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Bill Everett.The...
) clung on printing stored inventory material from late 1957 through late 1958.
Although for several months in 1949 and 1950 Timely's titles bore a circular logo labeled "Marvel Comic", the first modern comic books so labeled was the science-fiction anthology Journey into Mystery
Journey into Mystery
Journey into Mystery was an American comic book series published by Atlas Comics, and later its successor Marvel Comics. It featured horror, monster, and science fiction stories...
#69 and the teen-humor title Patsy Walker #95 (both June 1961), which each showed an "MC" box on its cover. 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.
Atlas titles by type
Information from Atlas Tales 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 M, inclusive.Crime
- All-True Crime #26-52 (Feb. 1948 - Sept. 1952; early issues Timely; continued from Timely's Official True Crime)
- Amazing Detective Cases #3-14 (Nov. 1950 - Sept. 1952; continued from n.a.)
- Casey - Crime Photographer #1-4 (Aug. 1949 - Feb. 1950)
- Caught #1-5 (Aug. 1956 - April 1957)
- Crime Can't Win #41-43, 4-12 (Sept. 1950 - Sept. 1952; continued from Romance title Cindy Smith)
- Crime Cases Comics #24-27, 5-12 (Aug. 1950 - July 1952; continued from Timely's Willie Comics and Li'l Willie Comics)
- Crime Exposed (2nd series, following Timely's) #1-14 (Dec. 1950 - June 1952)
- Crime Fighters #11-13 (Sept. 1954 - Jan. 1955; continued from Timely's Crimefighters)
- Crime Must Lose! #4-12 (Oct. 1950 - April 1952; continued from n.a.)
- Justice #7-9 (first three issues), then 4-52 (Fall 1947 - March 1955; early issues Timely; continued from Timely title Wacky Duck); continued as
- Tales of Justice #53-67 (May 1955 - Sept. 1957)
- Kent Blake of the Secret Service #1-14 (May 1951 - July 1953)
Drama
- Man Comics #1-10 (Dec. 1949 - Oct. 1951) continued as War title Man Comics
- True Adventures #3 (May 1950; continued from Western title True Western); continued as
- Men's Adventures #4-8 (Aug. 1950 - June 1951); continued as War title Men's Adventures
Espionage
- Spy Cases #26-19 (Sept. 1950 - Oct. 1953; continued from Timely's superhero title Kid Komics and humor titles Kid Movie Komics, Rusty Comics, Rusty and her Family and The Kellys)
- Spy Fighters #1-15 (Mar. 1951 - Jul. 1953)
- Yellow ClawYellow ClawThe Yellow Claw is a fictional comic book supervillain in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Al Feldstein and artist Joe Maneely, the character first appeared in Yellow Claw #1 , published by Atlas Comics, the 1950s predecessor of Marvel.-Publication history:While the...
#1-4 (Oct. 1956 - April 1957; FBI agent Jimmy WooJimmy WooJimmy Woo is a fictional, Chinese-American secret agent in the Marvel Comics comic-book universe. Created by EC Comics great Al Feldstein and artist Joe Maneely, the character first appeared in Yellow Claw #1 Jimmy Woo is a fictional, Chinese-American secret agent in the Marvel Comics comic-book...
as hero, versus supervillainSupervillainA supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
Yellow Claw).
Funny-animal and other children's comics
- Adventures of Homer Ghost #1-2 (Jan.-Aug. 1957)
- Buck Duck #1-4 (June-Dec. 1953)
- Cartoon Kids #1 (no date; 1957)
- Dippy Duck #1 (Oct. 1957)
- Homer, the Happy Ghost #1-22 (March 1955 - Nov. 1958)
- Little Lizzie vol. 2, #1-3 (Sept. 1953 - Jan. 1954; previous volume Timely)
- Marvin Mouse #1 (Sept. 1957)
- Melvin the Monster #1-6 (July 1956 - July 1957) continued as
- Dexter the Demon #7 (Sept. 1957)
- Note: These two series not supernatural, but Dennis the Menace-like
- The Monkey and the Bear #1-3 (Sept. 1953 - Jan. 1954)
- Wonder Duck #1-3 (Sept. 1949 - March 1950) continued as
- It's a Duck's Life #4-11 (Nov. 1950 - Feb. 1952)
Humor - sitcom
- The Adventures Of Pinky LeePinky LeePincus Leff , better known as Pinky Lee, was an American burlesque comic and host of a children's television program, The Pinky Lee Show, in the early 1950s.-Biography:...
#1-5 (July-Dec. 1955) - Della Vision #1-3 (April-Aug. 1955)
—————————————————————————————
- Millie the ModelMillie the ModelMillie the Model was Marvel Comics' longest-running humor title, first published by the company's 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and continuing through its 1950s forerunner, Atlas Comics, to 1970s Marvel.-Publication history:...
#1-207 (Winter 1945 - Marvel Comics) - A Date with Millie #1-7 (Oct. 1956 - Aug. 1957)
- A Date with Millie vol. 2, #1-7 (Oct. 1959 - Oct. 1960) continued as
- Life With Millie #8-20 (Dec. 1960 - Marvel Comics)
—————————————————————————————
- Hedy of Hollywood Comics #36-50 (Feb, 1950 - Sept. 1952; continued from Timely's Young AlliesYoung AlliesYoung Allies is the name of three superhero teams in the .-Golden Age:The Golden Age's Young Allies were a gang of kids who fought the Axis...
#1-20, All Winners ComicsAll-Winners SquadThe All-Winners Squad is a fictional superhero team in the Marvel Comics universe. The company's first such team, it first appeared in All Winners Comics #19 , published by Marvel predecessor Timely Comics during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books.While the comic-book...
#21, and Hedy De Vine Comics #22-35)
—————————————————————————————
- Patsy WalkerHellcat (comics)Hellcat is a fictional character published by Marvel Comics. She premiered as the star of a teen romantic-comedy series and was later integrated into Marvel superhero franchises such as the Avengers and the Defenders....
#1-99 (Winter 1945 - Marvel Comics) - Patsy and Hedy #1-73 (Feb. 1952 -Dec. 1960)
- Patsy and Her Pals #1-29 (May 1953 - Aug. 1957)
- A Date with Patsy #1 (Sept. 1957)
- Girls' Life (subtitled "Patsy Walker's Own Magazine for Girls") #1-6 (Jan.-Nov. 1954)
- Hedy Wolfe (subtitled: "Patsy Walker's Rival"; not to be confused with Hedy of Hollywood) #1 (Aug. 1957)
—————————————————————————————
- Homer Hooper #1-4 (July - Dec. 1953)
- Kathy #1-27 (Oct. 1959 - Marvel Comics)
- My Friend Irma #3-48 (June 1950 - Feb. 1955) continued from Timely's My Diary
- My Girl Pearl #1-11 (April 1955 - April 1961)
- Sergeant Barney Barker #1-2 (Aug.-Dec. 1957) continued as War title G.I. Tales
- Sherry the Showgirl #1-3 (July.-Dec. 1956) continued as
- Showgirls #4 (Feb. 1957) continued as
- Sherry the Showgirl #5-7 (April-Aug. 1957)
- Showgirls vol. 2, #1-2 (July-Aug. 1957)
Horror/fantasy/SF
- Adventure into Mystery #1-8 (May 1956 - July 1957)
- Adventures into Terror #43-44 (first two issues), then #3-31 (Nov. 1950 - May 1954) orig. numbering continued from Timely's Joker
- Adventures into Weird Worlds #1-30 (Jan. 1952 - June 1954)
- Amazing AdventuresAmazing AdventuresAmazing Adventures is the name of several anthology comic book series, all but one published by Marvel Comics.The earliest Marvel series of that name introduced the company's first superhero of the late-1950s to early-1960s period fans and historians call the Silver Age of Comic Books...
#1-6 (June-Nov. 1961) continued as - Amazing Adult Fantasy #7-14 (Dec. 1961 - July 1962) continued as Marvel's Amazing FantasyAmazing FantasyAmazing Fantasy is an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics from 1961 through 1962, and revived in 1995 and in the 2000s. It is best known as the title that introduced the popular superhero character Spider-Man in 1962...
- Amazing Mysteries #32-35 (May 1949 - Jan. 1950; continued from n.a.; one source lists Timely's Sub-Mariner Comics, which had an issue #32, and which numbering reportedly continued with Best Romance).
- Astonishing #3-63 (April 1951 - Aug. 1957; continued from Superhero title Marvel BoyMarvel BoyMarvel Boy is the name of several fictional comic book characters in the Marvel Comics universe, including predecessor companies Timely Comics and Atlas Comics.-Martin Burns:...
) - Journey into MysteryJourney into MysteryJourney into Mystery was an American comic book series published by Atlas Comics, and later its successor Marvel Comics. It featured horror, monster, and science fiction stories...
#1-82 (June 1952 - July 1962) series continued as Marvel comic featuring "The Mighty ThorThor (Marvel Comics)Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
" - Journey into Unknown Worlds #36-59 (Sept. 1950 - Aug. 1957; continued from Timely teen-humor series Teen Comics)
- Marvel TalesMarvel TalesMarvel 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 Comics...
#93-159 (Aug. 1949 - Aug. 1957; continued from Timely's superhero title Marvel Mystery ComicsMarvel Mystery ComicsMarvel Mystery Comics is an American comic book series published during the 1930s-1940s period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books...
) - MenaceMenace (Atlas Comics)Menace was a 1953 to 1954 American crime/horror anthology comic book series published by Atlas Comics, the 1950s precursor of Marvel Comics. It is best known for the first appearance of the supernatural Marvel character the Zombie, in a standalone story that became the basis for the 1970s...
#1-11 (March 1953 - May 1954) - Men's Adventures #21-26 (May 1953 - March 1954; continued from War title Men's Adventures) continued as Superhero title Men's Adventures
- Mystery Tales #1-54 (March 1952 - August 1957)
- Mystic #1-61 (March 1951 - August 1957)
- Strange Stories of Suspense (1955-1957)
- Strange TalesStrange TalesStrange Tales is the name of several comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It introduced the features "Doctor Strange" and "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.", and was a showcase for the science fiction/suspense stories of artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and for the...
(1951-1957) - Strange Tales of the Unusual (1955-1957)
- Strange Worlds (1958-1959)
- Suspense (1949-1953)
- Tales of SuspenseTales of SuspenseTales of Suspense is the name of an American comic book series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such artists as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck, then featured...
(1959-1968) - Tales to AstonishTales to AstonishTales to Astonish is the name of two American comic book series and a one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics.The primary title bearing that name was published from 1959-1968...
(1959-1968) - Uncanny TalesUncanny Tales (comics)Uncanny Tales was an American horror comic book that had a fifty-six issue run, beginning publication with its cover-dated June 1952 issue and ceasing publication with its cover-dated September 1957 issue. The title bridged the pre-Code Golden Age and Silver Age of Comic Books. It was published by...
#1-56 (June 1952 - Sept. 1957) - World of FantasyWorld of FantasyWorld of Fantasy was a science fiction/fantasy comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor company, Atlas Comics. Lasting from 1956 to 1959, it included the work of several notable comics artists, including industry legends Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Bill Everett.The...
(1956-1959) - World of Mystery (1956-1957)
- World of Suspense (1956-1957)
- Venus #17-19 (December 1951 - April 1952; original numbering continued from Timely's Venus).
Jungle
- Jungle ActionJungle ActionJungle Action is the name of two comic book series published by Marvel Comics and its 1950s precursor, Atlas Comics. The latter-day version is the first series starring the Black Panther, the first Black superhero in mainstream comics, created by the writer/artist team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in...
#1-6 (Oct. 1954 - Aug. 1955; vol. 2, published in 1970s) - Jungle TalesJungle TalesJungle Tales was an American comic book title published by Atlas Comics, the 1950s predecessor to Marvel Comics. It was an anthology title of stories set in an African jungle.-Publication history:...
#1-7 (Sept. 1954 - Sept. 1955) continued as - Jann of the JungleJann of the JungleJann of the Jungle is a fictional comic book jungle girl protagonist created by writer Don Rico and artist Jay Scott Pike in the anthology title Jungle Tales #1 , published by Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics....
#8-17 (Nov. 1955 - June 1957) - Lorna, the Jungle Queen #1-5 (July 1953 - Feb. 1954) continued as
- Lorna, the Jungle Girl #6-26 (March 1954 - Aug. 1957)
Medieval adventure
- Black KnightBlack Knight (Sir Percy)Sir Percy of Scandia, also known as the original Black Knight, is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe. He was a medieval knight created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Joe Maneely.- Publication history :...
#1-5 (May 1955 - April 1956)
Romance
- Cindy Smith #39-40 (May–July 1950; continued from Timely's Cindy Comics) continued as Crime title Crime Can't Win)
- Girl Confessions #13-34 (March 1952 - Aug. 1954; continued from Misc. title Girl Comics)
- Love Adventures #1-12 (Oct. 1949-Aug. 1952; early issues Timely) continued as
- Actual Confessions #13-14 (Oct.-Dec. 1952)
- Love Romances #6-106 (May 1949 - July 1963; early issues Timely; continued from Timely's Ideal
- Love Tales #36-75 (May 1949 - Sept. 1957; early issues Timely; continued from Timely's The Human TorchHuman Torch (Golden Age)The Human Torch, also known as Jim Hammond, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics-owned superhero. Created by writer-artist Carl Burgos, he first appeared in Marvel Comics #1 , published by Marvel's predecessor, Timely Comics....
#1-35; see note at Hero, above) - Lovers #23-86 (May 1949 - Aug. 1957; early issues Timely; continued from Timely's Blonde PhantomBlonde PhantomThe Blonde Phantom is a fictional masked crime fighter in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Syd Shores for Marvel predecessor Timely Comics, she first appeared in All Select Comics #11 , during the 1940s period fans and historians call the Golden...
) - Meet Miss Bliss #1-4 (May 1955 - Nov. 1955) continued as
- Stories of Romance #5-13 (March 1956 - Aug. 1957)
- My Love Story #1-9 (April 1956 - Aug. 1957)
- My Own Romance #4-76 (March 1949 - July 1960) continued from Timely's My Romance; continued as
- Teen-age Romance #77-86 (Sept. 1960 - March 1962)
- The Romances of Nurse Helen Grant #1 (Aug. 1957)
Sports
- Sports Action #2-14 (Feb. 1950-Sept. 1952; continued from Timely's Sport Stars)
Superheroes
- Captain AmericaCaptain AmericaCaptain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
#76-78 (May-Sept. 1954) continued from Timely's Captain America Comics and Captain America's Weird Tales) - The Human TorchHuman Torch (Golden Age)The Human Torch, also known as Jim Hammond, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics-owned superhero. Created by writer-artist Carl Burgos, he first appeared in Marvel Comics #1 , published by Marvel's predecessor, Timely Comics....
#36-38 (April-Aug. 1954) continued from its Timely Comics run, despite its numbering having been taken over
by the Romance title Love Tales). - Marvel BoyMarvel BoyMarvel Boy is the name of several fictional comic book characters in the Marvel Comics universe, including predecessor companies Timely Comics and Atlas Comics.-Martin Burns:...
#1-2 (Dec. 1950 - Feb. 1951) continued as Horror title Astonishing, in which Marvel Boy stars from #3-6. - Men's Adventures #27-28 (May–July 1954; continued from Horror title Men's Adventures)
- Sub-Mariner #33-42 (April 1954 - Oct. 1955) continued from Timely's Sub-Mariner Comics)
- Young Men #24-28 (Dec. 1953 - June 1954) continued from Misc. title Young Men
War
- 3-D Action #1 (Jan. 1954)
- Battle #1-70 (March 1951 - June 1960)
- Battle Action #1-30 (Feb. 1952 - Aug. 1957)
- Battle Ground (first four issues Battle-Ground) #1-20 (Sept. 1954 - Sept.1957)
- Battlefield #1-11 (April 1952 - May 1953)
- Battlefront #1-48 (June 1952 - Aug. 1957)
- Combat #1-11 (June 1952 - April 1953)
- Combat KellyCombat KellyCombat Kelly is the name of two fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Both appear in war comics titles: Combat Kelly, published by Marvel's 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics, and set during the Korean War; and the 1970s series Combat Kelly and the Deadly Dozen, set earlier...
#1-44 (Nov. 1951 - Aug. 1957) - Commando Adventures #1-2 (June-Aug. 1957)
- G.I. Tales #4-6 (Feb.-July 1957; continued from Humor title Sergeant Barney Barker)
- Man Comics #11-28 (Dec. 1951 - Sept. 1953; continued from Drama title Man Comics)
- Marines in Action #1-14 (June 1955 - Sept. 1957)
- Marines in Battle #1-25 (Aug. 1954 - Sept. 1958)
- Men in Action #1-9 (April-Dec. 1952) continued as
- Battle Brady #10-14 (Jan.-June 1953)
- Men's Adventures #9-20 (Aug. 1951 - April 1953; continued from Drama title Men's Adventures) continued as Horror title Men's Adventures
- War Combat #1-5 (March-Nov. 1952) continued as
- Combat Casey #6-34 (Jan. 1953 - July 1957)
- Devil-Dog Dugan #1-3 (July-Nov. 1956) continued as
- Tales of the Marines #4 (Feb. 1957) continued as
- Marines at War #5-7 (April-Aug. 1957)
Western
- 3-D Tales of the West #1 (Jan. 1954)
- All Western Winners #2-4 (Winter 1948 - April 1949; continued from Timely's All Winners Comics vol. 2, #1); continued as
- Western Winners #5-7 (June 1949 - Dec. 1949) continued as
- Black RiderBlack Rider (comics)The Black Rider is a fictional Western character in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in All-Western Winners #2 , from the company's 1940s forerunner, Timely Comics.-Publication history:...
#8-27 (March 1950 - March 1955) continued as - Western Tales of Black Rider #28-31 (May 1955 - Nov. 1955) continued as
- Gunsmoke Western #32-77 (Dec. 1955 - July 1963)
- Annie Oakley #1-11 (Spring-Nov. 1948; June 1955 - June 1956)
- Arizona Kid #1-6 (March 1951 - Jan. 1952)
- Arrowhead #1-4 (April 1954 - Nov. 1954)
- Best Western #58-59 (June 1949 - Aug. 1949; continued from n.a.) continued as
- Western Outlaws & Sheriffs #60-73 (Dec. 1949 - June 1952)
- Billy Buckskin Western #1-3 (Nov. 1955 - March 1956) continued as
- 2-Gun Western #4 (May 1956) continued as
- Two-Gun Western #5-12 (July 1956 - Sept. 1957)
- The Black Rider Rides Again! #1 (Sept. 1957) See also Black Rider, above
- Frontier Western #1-10 (Feb. 1956 - August 1957)
- The Gunhawk #12-18 (Nov. 1950 - Dec. 1951; continued from successive Timely titles Blaze Carson, Rex Hart, and Whip Wilson).
- Kid Colt, Hero of the WestKid ColtKid Colt is the name of two fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first is a cowboy whose adventures have taken place in numerous western themed comic book series published by Marvel...
#1-2 (Aug.-Oct. 1948) continued as - Kid Colt, OutlawKid ColtKid Colt is the name of two fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first is a cowboy whose adventures have taken place in numerous western themed comic book series published by Marvel...
#3-229 (Dec. 1948 - Marvel Comics) - The Kid from Dodge City #1-2 (July-Sept. 1957)
- The Kid from Texas #1-2 (July-Aug. 1957)
- Matt Slade, Gunfighter #1-4 (May-Nov. 1956) continued as
- Kid Slade, Gunfighter #5-8 (Jan.-July 1957)
- The Outlaw KidOutlaw KidThe Outlaw Kid is a fictional Western hero in Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe, whose comic book series was originally released by the company's 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics...
#1-19 (Sept. 1954 - Sept. 1957) - Rawhide KidRawhide KidThe Rawhide Kid is a fictional Old West cowboy in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A heroic gunfighter of the 19th-century American West who was unjustly wanted as an outlaw, he is one of Marvel's most prolific Western characters...
#1-16 (March 1955 - Dec. 1961) - Red Warrior #1-6 (Jan.-Dec. 1951)
- Reno Browne, Hollywood's Greatest Cowgirl #50-52 (April-Sept. 1950; continued from Timely's Margie) continued as
- The Apache KidApache Kid (comics)This entry is for the comic-book character. For the unrelated, real-life person, see The Apache Kid . For other usages, see The Apache Kid ....
#53 (Dec. 1950) continued as - Apache KidApache Kid (comics)This entry is for the comic-book character. For the unrelated, real-life person, see The Apache Kid . For other usages, see The Apache Kid ....
#2-19 (Feb. 1951 - Jan. 1952; Dec. 1954 - April 1956) continued as - Western GunfightersWestern GunfightersWestern Gunfighters is the name of two American Western omnibus comic book series published by Marvel Comics and its 1950s forerunner, Atlas Comics....
#20-27 (June 1956 - Aug. 1957) - Ringo Kid WesternRingo KidThe Ringo Kid is a fictional Western hero in the Marvel Comics' universe, whose comic book series was originally released by the company's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics...
#1-4 (Aug. 1954 - Feb. 1955) continued as - Ringo KidRingo KidThe Ringo Kid is a fictional Western hero in the Marvel Comics' universe, whose comic book series was originally released by the company's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics...
#5-21 (April 1955 - Sept. 1957) - True Western #1-2 (Dec. 1949 - March 1950) continued as Drama title True Adventures
- Western Thrillers #1-4 (Nov. 1954 - Feb. 1955) continued as
- Cowboy Action #5-11 (March 1955 - March 1956) continued as
- Quick-Trigger Western #12-19 (May 1956 - Sept. 1957)
Misc.
- Bible Tales for Young Folk #1-5 (Aug. 1953 - March 1954)
- Girl ComicsGirl ComicsGirl Comics is the name of two comic book series published by Marvel Comics and its forerunners, Timely Comics and Atlas Comics. The first was a ongoing series that debuted in 1949, and the second a limited series published in 2010....
#1-12 (Oct. 1949 - Jan. 1952) continued as Romance title Girl Confessions. - Miss AmericaMiss America (Marvel Comics)Miss America is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in Marvel Mystery Comics #49 Miss America (Madeline Joyce Frank) is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. She first appeared in Marvel Mystery...
#1-93 (Jan. 1944 - Nov. 1958; 126 issues with inconsistent volume numbering) Note: Variously, and at times overlapping, a superhero, romance and humor title. - Young Men #4-23 (June 1950 - Oct. 1953; continued from Timely's Cowboy Romances; note: cover title is Young Men on the Battlefield! #12-20) continues as Superhero title Young Men.
Note: The romance title Linda Carter, Student Nurse #1-9 (Sept. 1961 - Jan. 1963), sometimes grouped together with Atlas Comics, chronologically falls within Marvel, and all covers have the "MC" box.
Further reading
- Lupoff, Dick, and Don Thompson, All in Color for a Dime ISBN 0-87341-498-5
- Vadeboncoeur, Jim (based on a story uncovered by Brad Elliott). "The Great Atlas Implosion," The Jack Kirby Collector #18 (Jan. 1998), pp. 4-7.