Showing posts with label Joe Maneely. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joe Maneely. Show all posts

Monday, September 1, 2025

Monday Mecha Madness CRAZY "Robert the Robot!"

Here's a long-lost tale from the era when MAD comic clones filled America's newsstands!
(Which bring up the question...does anybody under 30 even know what a "newsstand" is?)
While the story's not a classic, it's not bad, either!
The amazingly versatile Joe Maneely handled the art for this never-reprinted tale from this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' Crazy V1N7 (1954), but the script is not by Stan Lee...who would've had his name on it if he had penned the story!
Maneely could do anything; sci-fi, horror, war, romance, western, even humor, as this story demonstrates!
If not for his tragic death falling from a New York suburban commuter train, he would have been one of the major talents of Marvel Comics in the 1960s.
Atlas had no less than three MAD clones going at once; CrazyWild, and Riot!
MAD themselves commented on the proliferation of clones, not only from Atlas, but virtually every other publisher with this opener for their spoof of the 1950s movie Julius Ceasar by Harvey Kurtzman and Wally Wood...
When MAD converted to a b/w magazine, Atlas dropped the three color comics and launched the b/w Snafu,which only lasted three issues!
Atlas/Marvel would revive Crazy twice more!
First, in early 1973 as a reprint book of Not Brand Echh stories.
Then, in late 1973 as a b/w magazine going head-to-head with MAD, and surviving until 1983 for 96 issues!
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Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Wednesday World of Wolverton ADVENTURES INTO TERROR "Where Monsters Dwell!"

Though this cover-featured tale's title became the name of a Marvel reprint comic...
...the story was never reprinted in its' namesake!
Nor does the cover art for Atlas' Adventures Into Terror #7 (1951) by George Tuska and Joe Maneely show anything even vaguely like what this Basil Wolverton penned and illustrated feature is about!
BTW, the splash panel was redrawn by another, unknown, artist!
When the tale was reprinted in Marvel's Curse of the Weird #3 (1994)...
...cover artist Ron Wagner deliberately mimicked the art style of each of the original tales' illustrators!
And, the story title on the cover used a modified version of the logo for the Bronze Age reprint book!
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Friday, March 29, 2024

Friday Fun RIOT "Mother Goosepimple's Nursery Rhymes" Parts 1 & 2

Atlas Comics' numerous 1950s MAD comic clones...
...gave the company's creatives a chance to flex their artistic muscles in ways rarely-seen by their readers!
This never-reprinted short from Atlas RIOT #5 (1956) gave amazingly-versatile artist Joe Maneely a chance to show his rarely-seen humorous side.
The second, final, also never-reprinted installment in this series features an artist who already had a rep doing humor, John Severin, best known for his serious Western and War comics work at Harvey and EC!
He was also brother of EC Comics colorist Marie Severin, who later became Marvel's resident caricaturist (among her many other talents)!
I suspect this was going to be an ongoing series featuring rotating illustrators, but since Riot was cancelled as of this issue (6) in 1956, we'll never know!
BTW, if the writing style for both stories feels "familiar", that's because it was by snarky Stan (the Man) Lee!
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Thursday, October 5, 2023

Reading Room AMAZING DETECTIVE CASES "Ghost Story"

Here's a never-reprinted 1950s tale...

... that's both about law enforcement and justice from beyond the grave!

You may note the Joe Maneely-illustrated cover doesn't really match the Bill Everett-rendered tale from Atlas' Amazing Detective Cases #13 (1952)
There are several possible reasons for that.
1) the cover and interior art were done at two different points in time, sometimes months apart!
2) The cover artist didn't have copies of the interior pages as visual reference, only plot descriptions from the editor!
3) the cover was done before the interior art as a "springboard" and the actual writer/artist(s) made changes when they were creating the story!
All three of these reasons could (and did) apply to Atlas Comics' books if the story's artist didn't do the cover...as was the case most of the time!
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Thursday, April 27, 2023

Reading Room VENUS COMICS "Thru the Lens"

Now this is how you tell a story in four pages...
...as demonstrated by artist Joe Maneely, a talent who died long before his time, and an unknown writer.
Who knew the world could end so...simply?
BTW, did you note the alien astronomer got it wrong?
Our planet blew up, not our sun!
If I was his boss, I'd fire him!
Originally-published in Atlas' Venus Comics #16 (1951), the tale was reprinted in the back of Marvel's X-Men #88 (1974), while the book was a reprint title, about a year before its' resurrection as the All-New X-Men!
So, the odds are that you, dear reader, have never seen it before!
And that, is what this blog is all about, showing you "lost" treasures!

Friday, January 13, 2023

Friday Fun DIPPY DUCK "Dangerous Dave"

...now here's a short from another such one-shot by Stan and artist Joe Maneely!
Much like Everett did with Marvin Mouse, who looked more like a rat than a mouse, Joe Maneely tried to do a totally "non-Donald" duck!
Sadly, the end result didn't look much like a duck!
The versatile Maneely could do humor, as shown HERE, but this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' Dippy Duck #1 (1957) shows even he had his off-days!
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Sincerest Form of Parody

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Haunted House Reading Room UNCANNY TALES "I was Locked in a...Haunted House!"

Here's a tale that was so kool...
...Stan Lee and the artists at Atlas/Marvel told it three times...with variations, of course!
Written by Stan Lee, illustrated by Joe Maneely, this story from Atlas' Uncanny Tales #7 (1953) featured comic book fanboys as the protaganists.
(Note they only read Atlas titles like MysticMarvel Tales, and Uncanny Tales!
None of that EC crud for these guys!)
Be here Tuesday when Stan Lee and another Silver Age great re-tell this tale!
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Monday, October 17, 2022

Monday Madness JOURNEY INTO UNKNOWN WORLDS "Devil's Day Off!"

Here's a never-reprinted tale that's really a product of its' time...
...the 1950s, when paranoia and fear ruled the USA!
You know you're evil when Satan admires to your skills at torture!
Written by Stan Lee and beautifully-illustrated by Joe Maneely, this story from Atlas' Journey into Unknown Worlds #22 (1953) is good clean fun for the entire family, not gory, like so much of the material at the time!
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Thursday, November 18, 2021

Reading Room WORLD OF FANTASY "Inside the Tunnel"

Ever wonder where writers come up with their ideas?
Art by Joe Maneely
...well, here's a never-reprinted story from Atlas' World of Fantasy #2 (1956) that offers a clue!
Of course, if it was an original manuscript/draft by Verne (which I think was the writer's intent), it would be in French...
The writer is unknown, but could be Stan Lee or Larry Lieber.
The art is by Al Williamson who did quite a bit of work in the fantasy and Western genres during the late 1950s for Atlas before it became Marvel.
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(A new translation in contemporary English, heavily-illustrated, and with lots of info about the era when the book was written to put the tale in context!)