Even today after nearly 50 years I can still remember the day I entered my local newsagents (R S McColl’s, Rutherglen) to be confronted by a new comic company logo peeking out from the spinner rack. That logo belonged to Atlas Comics, the company set up by Martin Goodman with some of the money he made from selling Marvel comics to the Perfect Film and Chemical Company in 1968. The troubles and failings of Atlas/Seaboard comics were many and have been well documented throughout the years, but to your average comic fan in 1974/75 all that mattered was that Atlas comics provided a wide selection of new and entertaining comic books with new titles appearing almost every week in the spinner racks. In the short time (June 1974 to late 1975) Atlas /Seaboard were active they produced a total of 23 comic book titles and five comics magazines. Unlike many US comics at this time Atlas titles were regularly available in the UK/Scotland (the only exceptions being “Vicki” and “Gothic Romances)”) most of which I manged to purchase and enjoy. Below as some of my favourite Atlas comics, the little company that made a big impression (above cover to "The Destructor" by Larry Lieber and Wally Wood):
"Phoenix" issue 1 - Cover by Dick Giordano - This was the first Atlas comic I saw and immediately purchased. The Phoenix lasted 4 issues changing its direction and name to "Phoenix, The Protector" from isuse 4
"Iron Jaw" issue 1 - Cover by Neal Adams - Despite the excellent Neal Adams cover (
issue 2 being even better) the story / dialogue inside was pretty dire to say the least. Iron Jaw was probably Atlas' most successful character lasting 4 issues of his own title and appearing as the lead tale in "The Barbarians " title.
"Fright - featuring the Son of Dracula" issue 1 - Cover (and story) by Frank Thorne. This was one of my favourite Atlas issues, unfortunately the title only lasted for one issue.
"The Grim Ghost" issue 1 - Cover by Ernie Colon. The Grim Ghost lasted for 3 issues and was another favourite of mine.
"The Brute" - issue 1 - Cover by Dick Giordano - Another title that lasted for only 3 issues whch was frankly 2 more issues than it should have lasted.
"John Targitt..Man-Stalker" - issue 3 - Cover by Rich Buckler and Al Milgrom. This title was originally called "Targitt" and like many Atlas titles it was changed to a superhero type vigilante character with its 3rd and final issue. This was a strange title with a pretty violent storyline (similar to Marvels "Punisher") illustrated in a cartoony style by Howard Nostrand, but I really liked this one.
"Weird Suspense The Tarantula. issue 3 (last issues) cover by Rich Buckler.
"Tales of Evil - Featuring the Bog Beast" - issue 2 - Cover by Frank Thorne - The Bog Beast was another of my favurites Atlas characters nicley illustrated by Enrique Badia Romero.
he Cougar issue 2 (last issue) - Cover by Rich Buckler and Al Milgrom - Not one of Atlas' best titles.
"Planet of Vampires" issue one -Cover by Patrick Broderick and Neal Adams - Possibly my favourite Atlas title (and cover) which I have rambled on about in a
previous post.
"Thrilling Adventure Stories" - issue 2 -Cover by Neal Adams. Atlas' black and white magazine titles were for the most part excellent and featured the work of some of comics best artists ( Russ Heath, Alex Toth, John Severin, Walt Simonson etc) . This issue is one of the best black and white magazines produced by any comics company.
By the end of their run Atlas Comics were in total turmoil and were frenziedly changing the direction of many of their titles before the second issues had hit the newsstands in an vain attempt to imitate the shared fictional Universes of Marvel and DC. Sadly, Atlas failed and their last titles “Demon Hunter” issue 1 (cover above by Rich Buckler) and “Savage Combat Tales” issue 3 hit the newsstands in June 1975. Next up the 1974/75 Marvel Spinner Rack.
I was probably about seven years old when I walked into my local newsagents in Cambuslang (near Glasgow) with my pocket money firmly he...
Following on from my last post featuring some of my favourite Marvel comic book covers from 1973, I thought I would show some of DC's ...
Nearly a half-century on I still consider 1973 to be the year that cemented my destiny in becoming a lifetime comic book fan. It was a yea...
I bought a stack of Atlas mags when they first came out, but most of them were pale Marvel imitations. Nevertheless, I have fond memories of them, mainly because of the time in my young life they represent, as opposed to any of them being brilliant (which they weren't). I did like the Grim Ghost though. I presume Martin Goodman must have lost a bundle on them.
ReplyDeleteThere were some good and titles in there as well Kid bit the initial promise of many title did indeed fall well short of the mark. But I loved most of them. The Brute, Cougar and Hands of the Dragon however were poor half baked ideas.
DeleteAbsolutely loved these comics from Atlas-Seaboard! I gathered them up, even for the first time getting double copies of some number ones. I was headed off to college and was looking for change and this was ideal. The company went bust before I'd even gotten my first quarter grades. I hung with them until the bitter end, getting every single issue I saw. A few of the magazines slipped by me and I filled in in later years. Those first four -- Grim Ghost, Phoenix, Ironjaw, and Wulf were amazing. Planet of the Vampires was strong. Destructor was incredible in its debut. But they all changed so fast it was hard to keep up. Love them still.
ReplyDeleteI was the same when it came to Atlas Rip. I thought ,they showed great promise at the start (some turkeys like the Brute and the early Iron Jaw until Pablo Marcos came on board and turned it around,) . The first 2 issues of Phoenix were excellent , I was really surprised they changed the direction of the character from issue 3 and 4 ditto Cjaykins "@Scorpion" character . Atlas will always hold a place in my "comic book heart".
DeleteI remember buying virtually every comic Atlas produced, in the space of just 2 weeks, during a holiday in Blackpool.
ReplyDeleteIn retrospect, their comics were uniformly woeful but, at the time, they seemed genuinely exciting and I especially dug the covers Dick Giordano did for them.
I would say The Phoenix was my favourite Atlas title. Mixing aliens and super-heroes, how was I ever going to be able to resist that?
I certainly think many of Atlas' titles like Hands of the Dragon, Morlock
ReplyDeletethe Brute etc were pretty poor Steve as we're almost all their reboots (although I did like the John Targitt, Man-Hunter reboor). I loved their black and white mags and thought for the most part they were strong books. Most of their covers were excellent with Dock Giordano's covers being particularly amazing , sadly the interior strips weren't anywhere near the standard of his covers.... did someone mention the Brute?
Nice covers but I'd never heard of Atlas Comics until the internet came along (I probably first read about Atlas on Kid's Crivens blog).
ReplyDeleteAtlas were a big thing back in 1974/75 when you were a wee 9 year old Colin.
ReplyDelete