Reading Room MYSTIC "Dinosaur"

We Recently Ran a Dinosaur-Themed Story Illustrated by the Amazing Bernie Krigstein HERE...

...and this one, done around the same time, is so totally-different, we felt we had to present it!

(BTW, when we ran the previous Krigstein dino-story "Lair of the Thunder Lizard" back in May, we were planning a totally-different Halloween blogathon!)

Note: While Krigstein superbly-illustrated this kool tale from Atlas Comics' Mystic #56 (1957) about a dinosaur you never see, the writer is currently-unknown, but might be the comic's editor Stan Lee!

Sadly, we'll never know!

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Messages in a Bottle

Comic Book Stories by B Krigstein

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Reading Room STRANGE TALES "Fear Walks on Four Feet!"

When a Never-Reprinted Story Comes to Our Attention...

...especially one about this month's featured subject, you can bet we're going to present it!

Scripted by Carl Wessler and illustrated by Al Eadeh, this entertaining featurette hasn't seen the light of day since it was published in Atlas' Strange Tales #51 (1958), almost 70 years ago!

And we're going to repeat this feat on Thursday, with another dinosaur-themed, never-reprinted, hidden gem, this time from DC!

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Science Fiction Comics

Taylor History of Comics

Vol 3

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Monday Mecha Madness WORLD OF FANTASY "Guardian of the Stars!"

What's kooler than a Jack (King) Kirby cover?

How about the Steve Ditko story it leads into?

Did the cover or the story come first?

The total redesign of the robot indicates whichever was done first wasn't provided to the other artist as reference!

Also, shouldn't the title be "Guardian of the Earth"?

Of course, that would be a "spoiler", ruining the drama shown on the cover...

Illustrated by Steve Ditko, this tale from Atlas' World of Fantasy #17 (1959) was probably plotted by Stan Lee, though the scripting doesn't read like his work.
Trivia: Though both the Jack Kirby cover and the Steve Ditko story have been reprinted, they weren't reprinted together!
Each was reprinted in an expensive Omnibus devoted to that particular artist's work!

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Ditko Unleashed
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Reading Room STRANGE STORIES OF SUSPENSE "Beware...a Martian"

Here's a tale of racism and innuendo involving an "illegal alien"...

...that all Reich-wingers should take note of!

Written by Carl Wessler, penciled by Al Williamson, and inked by Ralph Mayo, this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' Strange Stories of Suspense #14 (1957) uses science fiction to tell a civil rights parable, substituting a Martian (and the paranoia about his race) for a African-American, Hispanic, Japanese, or other minority group about whom equally-inane fantasies have been concocted!

Note: it's interesting that Nardo the Martian has the same appearance as DC's J'Onn J'Onzz: the Martian Manhunter (except for skin color), as well as MM's specific ability to shape-shift, not a talent usually attributed to inhabitants of the Red Planet!

Note: J'Onn had debuted almost two years earlier!

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Mars in the Movies

A History
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Reading Room VENUS COMICS "Strange Rocket!"

Here's a tale combining sci-fi with the "present day" West...

 ...from the back of Atlas' Venus Comics featuring the art of a future major Silver Age Marvel artist!

The parents weren't questioned as to where their son went after he failed to show up for school...ever again?

"Well, officer, Toby went into space with a bunch of extraterrestrials, but they promised they'd bring him back.

It's OK!
We gave him permission..."

The writer of this somewhat silly story from Atlas' Venus #12 (1951) is unknown, but the artist is Gene Colan, best known to Marvel fans as one of the definitive artists on Silver and Bronze Age titles like Daredevil, Iron Man, and Dracula!

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Secrets in the Shadows

Art & Life of Gene Colan
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Friday Fun RIOT "Advertisements"

Several people have complained my post about Bill Everett's Marvin the Mouse was too harsh...

...but I submit these never-reprinted pages from Atlas' Riot #5 & #6 (1956) demonstrate Everett could do humor...and in a variety of styles!

Spoofing actual ads from Kleenex, Wildroot Cream Oil, Ford Motors, Westinghouse Electronics and TWA (I have no idea what the bike ad relates to), artist Bill Everett demonstrates his mastery of the page, even imitating the art style of Little Lulu's creator Marjorie Henderson Buell!
The mystery of why his work on Marvin Mouse was, to put it mildly, substandard may never be discovered!
Trivia: Atlas was a bit of a trend-follower, rather than a trend setter, as it became in the Silver Age as Marvel!
Trying to capitalize on EC's success with MAD, Atlas launched four different satire/parody anthologies...Crazy, Riot, Snafu, and Wild, only one of which lasted to seven issues!

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Fire & Water

Bill Everett, the Sub-Mariner, and the Birth of Marvel Comics
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Reading Room MYSTICAL TALES "Lair of the Thunder Lizard!"

Bernie Krigstein was one of the most under-appreciated artists of the 1950s...

...and this kool tale he illustrated just begged to be unearthed for the first time in almost 70 years!

Scripted by Carl Wessler and rendered by Bernie Krigstein, this never-reprinted piece from Atlas' Mystical Tales #8 (1957) is a low-key character study enhanced by Krigstein's naturalistic art.

Bernie was already phasing out of comics and into mainstream commercial art (including book and magazine illustration).

This tale was one of his last stories before leaving the comics field altogether.

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Messages in a Bottle

Comic Book Stories by B Krigstein
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Reading Room: MYSTICAL TALES "Nomad of Outer Space!"

It's mind-blowing how much Atlas (pre-Marvel) stuff hasn't been reprinted...

...such as this story from Atlas' Mystical Tales #1 (1956)!

While hunting thru files for un-reprinted Jack Kirby tales for a previous Kirby Reading Room mini-marathon, I came across a lot of never-reprinted material!

This Bob Powell-rendered story is just the tip of the iceberg!

Sadly, we don't know the writer of this tale...

BTW, despite the title, Mystical Tales was an almost-totally "hard sci-fi" anthology!

Only a handful of stories from the anthology's 8-issue run have been reprinted, all in the 1970s, which makes even the reprints at least 40 years old!

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Atlas Era Tales of Suspense

Volume 1
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Reading Room MEN'S ADVENTURES "Secret of the Flying Saucer"

In the Early 1940s-Early 50s, Pop Culture Went Flying Saucer Mad...

...and comics publishers (just like b-movie studios) eagerly took advantage of the insanity!

The writer of this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' anthology Men's Adventures #5 (1950) is unknown and the art is apparently an art jam including Bill LaCava and Vern Henkel.

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Science Fiction Comics

Taylor History of Comics

Vol 3

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