Favourite Comics: Thrilling Adventure Stories #2

During the 1970’s comic book newcomers Atlas/Seaboard stormed on to the spinner racks with no less than 23 colour comic titles and 5 black and white "adult-orientated" mags. Despite the many problems the company faced they did produce some decent books with arguably their best title being the black and white anthology magazine “Thrilling Adventure Stories” (TAS), in particular issue 2 of that title. While the first issue of TAS was a good attempt the title exploded with its second and sadly final issue with some wonderful strips by the top writers and artists of the day all wrapped up in the above wonderful Neal Adams cover. Below are a few pages from what I consider to be one of the best black and white magazines of the 1970’s and beyond.

Above: The splash page from perhaps the most famous of all the stories in this issue by the legendary "Manhunter" team of Archie Goodman and Walt Simonson (which I may shown more of later)

Above: The magazines only returning character from TAS #1 "Kromag" by Gabriel Levy with art by Jack Sparling. Although Sparling wasn't one of the top hot comic artists at this time, this was a pretty decent strip.

Above: 2 pages from the John Albano and Russ Heath tale "Tough Cop" - Heath at this time never failed to produce anything less than jaw dropping art.

Above: 2 pages from "Town Tamer" by Steve Mitchell and the wonderful John Severin. Second page image from Comic Art Collectors ( I deleted my image in error after scanning and I'm too lazy to scan it again lol ).

Above: "A job well done" by Rick Meyer and Alex Toth. This was a pretty grim and gritty tale even for the 1970's expertly drawn by Toth who added some nice touches including not using word ballons.

Above: The cover to the first issue of "Thrilling Adventure Stories" by Ernie Colon.

This issue wasn't quite the end of TAS as in 2021 a third issue (of sorts) of "Thrlling Adventure Stories" was published featuring text stories of Targitt 2021/ Man Hunter and Bog Beast by Jeff Rovin, John Albano and Richard Meyers. Cover image from Amazon.

Spinner Rack - 1974/75 - Part 4 - Charlton / Gold Key

The mid 1970's was a time when you could simply pop down to your local newsagents and be presented with an wide assortment of US comic books stuffed into spinner racks. And not all of these were Marvel, DC or indeed Atlas, there were other books available from companies like Skywald, Archie, King, Charlton and Gold Key comics. Of these companies Charlton produced many of my favourite titles for the period 1974/75, some of these are shown below:

"The Phantom" issues 67 (heading) and 68 above by Don Newton. I was never really that big a fan of the Phantom as a kid until Don Newton became the regualr artist on the Charlton comic.

"E-Man" isues 10 - Cover by Joe Staton. I have rambled on about my affection for E-Man in the past but it was a really wonderful comic. Sadly this was the last Charlton issue.

"Vengeance Squad" - Issue 2 - Cover by PAM (Peter Morisi) - In the 1970's TV detective shows were everywhere yet very few comic books really tried to copy this format. Vengeance Squad made a valid attempt to break into the TV detective genre but the title never took off and was cancelled after only 6 issues.

"Doomsday + 1" - Cover by John Byrne - This SF comic was John Byrne's first original colour comic series. The story which lasted for 12 isuses, featured 3 astronauts who return to Earth after a nuclear holocaust wipes out humanity and is worth searching for in the back issue bins.

"Haunted" issue 21 - cover by Don Newton. Charlton were known for their horror/mystery anthology titles each with their own "presenters" (Dr Graves etc) - with issue 21 of "Haunted" the comic introduced Baron Weirwulf as its caretaker to the macabre.

"Ghost Manor" issue 23 -Cover by Tom Sutton - This is simply my all time favourite horror/mystery anotholgy cover. Charlton, and in particular Tom Sutton produced some stunning horror covers.

"Magnus, Robot Fighter" - issue 39 - Cover by Russ Manning - This was the only Gold Key issue of "Magnus, Robot Fighter" that I ever bought.

"Ripleys, Beleive it or Not !" - issue 54 - Ripleys, Beleive it or Not! is a museum full of kitch oddities like shrunken heads, strange animal skeletons etc. It was particaltly popular in the late 1960's to the mid 1970s spawning a film, books and a Gold Key comic that lasted 94 issues. I picked up the above issue up on a holiday visit to the Blackpool Ripley's museum shop . The comic wasn't great but I liked the cover.

As with my previous 3 posts on the 1974/75 spinner rack I end this one with an Atlas/Seaboard cover. This time one of their wonderful black and white magazines "Weird Tales of the Macarbe" issue 1 - cover by Jeff Jone.

The Spinner Rack - 1974/75 Part 1 - The Atlas years

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.

Gone but not forgotten: Planet of Vampires issues 1-3 – Atlas comics 1975

The troubles of Atlas/Seaboard periodicals were many and are well documented within comic book circles. However, to many kids at the time who were suddenly confronted by a plethora of new comic book titles that seemed to appear from out of nowhere, Atlas comics were, for a short time at least a total joy to behold. Sadly, many of the Atlas titles turned out to be derivative or downright weird (See my blog on Morlock 2000) and as a result, wholesale creative changes were implemented to almost every title after only 2 issues which exacerbated their already mounting problems. For example, Howard Chaykin's character the Scorpion (probably their best title) started out as a 1930s pulp adventurer, but by issue 3 the character was suddenly rebooted into a poorly designed and standard 1970s superhero title. No Atlas title lasted more than 4 issues but despite this some of their comics had merit such as the above title "Planet of Vampires".

Planet of the Vampires (PoV) issue 1 (Feb 1975) started out with great promise featuring a stunning cover (above) pencilled by Pat Broderick with inks/finishes by the legendary Neal Adams. The first issue, written by Larry Hama recounts the story of 5 astronauts (it says 6 astronauts on the cover but we only ever see 5 people) the crew of the Mars probe Aries VII , who return home on 21 April, 2010 (then 35 years in the future and now almost 13 years in the past – how can that be?!) after a 5-year voyage only to find that they have returned to an Earth very different from the planet they left.

After a successful water landing (above splash page from issue 1) outside of Coney Island, the astronauts (2 married couples and a single older man) are attacked by a group of savages and one of their crew (the older single astronaut) is immediately killed before a floating aircraft appears obliterating the savages to rescue them. The remaining astronaut crew are then taken to a huge dome designed to keep the savages out by a group known as the “Domies”. Of course, the remaining astronauts soon find out that the “Domies” are not the good guys and are mechanised vampires who have set up an industrial scale assembly line to extract bodily fluids from humans to feed on. Freeing what savages they can the 4 astronauts destroy the assembly line.

As noted above the problem with Atlas comics was that they regularly changed the character(s) or the focus of the story after only 1 or 2 issues. In the case of PoV the changes were less drastic than for most Atlas titles with only the original writer Larry Hama (an artist undertaking his first comic script) being replaced by John Albano. This issue titled "Quest for Blood”, featured the remaining 4 astronauts (Craig, Chris, Brenda and Elissa) fighting off a second band of savages and fending off an attack by the “Domies”. The story ends with both of the female astronauts being captured by the “Domies” leaving their husbands vowing to rescue them.

Planet of Vampires issue 2 - Cover by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano. The Dracula character on the cover never appears in the actual comic.

Above: The splash page to issue 2.

With issue 3 (“The Blood Plague”) the cover (above) and art chores are taken on by the wonderful Russ Heath with John Albano remaining as the writer. In the story itself Chris and Craig go back into the dome to rescue their wives. The issue is pretty much just them battling the forces of the dome but it’s a fun romp nicely illustrated by Russ Heath. In the story Craig finds his wife, Brenda, but she has already had her blood harvested and is dead, later he finds and rescues Chris’ wife Elissa, and they make their escape and take refuge in an abandoned zoo. However, they are attacked by giant spiders and Elissa is killed!.

I did enjoy "Planet of Vampires", it wasn’t a classic but it was an exciting title at the time and unlike many US comics Atlas were very well distributed in the UK which was strange as in the US thier distribution was very poor and contributed to the companies failure. The problem with PoV was that they killed off 3 of their main characters in just 3 issues leaving only 2 astronauts to seek revenge on a planet full of vampires. Did they succeed? , well, we will never know as not long after issue 3 was published Atlas/Seaboard closed up shop. However, a 4th issues does seem to have been created as can be seen by the advert and splash page that appeared in issues 3. Atlas comics may not have been a success but they provided a lot of excitment and fun for comic book fans at the time.

Above: The advert for the 4th issues of Planet of Vampires that sadly never appeared.

Bizarre characters: Morlock 2001

Morlock 2001 was to say the least an incredibly bizarre comic book published by the short lived Atlas Seaboard comics company in the mid 1970’s. The basis for the story takes place in a then future (now the past) dystopia of 2001 when a scientist grows a plant man to battle government tyranny, let just say things didn’t work out to well as he may have planned. The character itself “borrows” heavily from other influences including (but not restricted to) Swamp Thing, Man Thing, 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and the Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Witten by Michael Fleisher, who wrote perhaps my favourite Spectre stories at DC (with the wonderful Jim Aparo) Morlock 2001 can only be described as simply weird and at times an unsavoury comic book character. The title character is a plant who in his human form turns people to vegetation by simply touching them and as a plant liquidises and then eats them something he/it is not averse in doing. For example in issue one Morlock kills and eats a young woman but worse is to come as in issue 2 he/it eats a young blind child who was trying to help him/it. Not exactly the actions of a hero (even an anti-hero).

The opening page from issue 2

Issue 2 featuring the death of the blind girl!

Issue 2 cover by Al Milgrom and Dick Giordano

As much as the first 2 issues of Morlock 2001 were freaky, issue 3 took it to another level of weirdness. Not only had they changed writer to Gary Friedrich, but this issue contained the strange art combo of Steve Ditko on pencils with Bernie Wrightson on inks (it didn’t really work) replacing Al Milgrom and Dan Atkins. As was the case with almost all of Atlas comics titles by the 3rd issue they decided to change the direction of the comic as can be seen by the above cover by Rich Buckler which now sports the moniker ”Morlock 2001 and the Midnight Men” no doubt in a plan to appeal to the superhero market. On the cover itself we see what seems to be a new version of Morlock bestridden by the Midnight Men who look to have killed him. This issue opens on Eugene Whitlock in his private library in a world where books are banned (Fahrenheit 451) - long story short the Thought Police arrest and execute him by flamethrower no lees, and he becomes the Midnight Man. In the last few pages the Midnight Man in an attempt to spare Morlock from turning into the plant creature for good, simply shoots him. Yes, the lead character in the comica giant evil plant was simply shot and killed. Of course soon after Atlas comics folded so there may have been some plan to bring him back in issue 4, but thankfully that didn’t happen.

The opening page from issue 3 - The only time the legendary Steve Ditko and Bernie Wrightson worked together.

Issue 3, The death of Morlock 2001 - never before has a plant deserved to have been shot!