Love To Love You

Wednesday Advertising Day.

This is the last of my posts to sell my double Timely books. Timely (or Atlas, as is was also known) was the company run by publisher Martin Goodman line editor Stan Lee and is one of the must sought after comic lines of the fifties after EC. If have written somewhere that I feel the output of the Timely lne more in line with our current sensibillities than the EC books. EC was a literary company and it's quality suited the needs of a generation of fans who were looking to justify their collecting hobby. The Stan Lee edited books were nothing than entertainment and are often a lot more fun for those of us not interested in proving ou interest in them is justified. This opinion has not gotten me a lot of respect from the comic book collectors community, which is still being monitored by the first generation. Still, I have to concede that they have their points. The general wuality of the EC books was much higher than that of Stan Lee's output. There are more clunkers to be found among the many books published. On the other hand, for years the mpression has been made that Bill Gaines was the only publisher allowing artists to develop their own style and that is not so. DC may have had a company policy of having everyone draw as much as possible in a slicj 'huse style', but most other companies couldn't be bothered. There is some evidence that Stan Lee at least appreciated individual quirkiness as much as Bill Gaines.

Anyway, in these romance books you can find as much art-surprises as in any of the other lines. And though the stories themselves are usually nothing special, at least they weren't overwritten and allowed the artists some moments to shine.

Girl Comics #6
Januari 1951
Cover by unknown

Artists: unknown, unknown, Ann Brewster, John Tartaglione/Hy Rosen (?)
Condition: Good minus, some damage to the cover, a bit old otherwise
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $8

The cover looks like those stories drawn by Mike Sekowsky and inked by Christopher Rule, so either of them might be involved. Even though it looks like a romance book, it was actually a girls adventure series - something entirely new and creative and therefore abandonned after twelve issues.


Girl Confessions #27

August 1953
Cover by Al Hartley

Artists: Bernard Baily (?), Jerry Robinson, Manny Stallman, Jay Scott Pike,
Condition: Good plus, a bit worn, some red smears on the cover (a lipstick kiss, actually)
Guide price: $14
Offer price: $10

Atlas Tales suggests that the fist story might be by Bernard Baily, but all the other attributions are by me so it may be an early guess I made myself. The Robinson story is another gem. The story isn't too bad either, with the girl not getting her man for once. The lipstick lips on the cover make this a true rarity.

Love Romances #29
July 1953
Cover by Al Hartley
First copy of two.

Artists: Jay Scott Pie, Alice Kirkpatrick, John Tartaglione, Jerry Robinson
Condition: Good, cover loose and split, right hand corner fold on cover
Guide price: $12
Offer price: $10

Jerry Robinson solo love story. Get this book. The Al Hartley cover doesn't hurt either. In fact, the art in all these stories is great. The amount of effort the artists put into their stories in this period is astounding.

Love Romances #29
July 1953
Cover by Al Hartley
Second copy of two.

Artists: Jay Scott Pie, Alice Kirkpatrick, John Tartaglione, Jerry Robinson
Condition: Good, spine roll, some creasing on cover
Guide price: $12
Offer price: $10

It's only of one Jerry Robinson's rare love stories. Interesting to compare this to the ones he did togther with Mort Meskin. Great splash page.

Love Romances #52
October 1955
Cover by Vince Colletta

Artists: Vince Colletta, Jay Scott Pike, unknown, Vince Colletta
Condition: Good minus, cover loose but unsplit
Guide price: $6
Offer price: $5

Vince Colletta does a pretty good wedding dress design, if you are into that sort of thing. The unknown story is credited to Fred Kida on Atlas Tales, but it looks as if it could have been inked by Vince Colletta (although he usually put his own style unto it a bit more).

Love Tales #50
January 1952
Cover by Al Hartley
First copy of two

Artists: Mike Sekowsky, Joe Sinnott, Vince Colletta (?), Bill Everett
Condition: Good, cover a bit loose, blue pen on title and text balloon
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $8

Mike Sekowsky always worked with inkers. This is one of those I always thought were inked by Christopher Rule. The early Sinnott story doesn show his Tom Gill influence or his later grimaced faces. Actually, it is quite pretty. The seve page Everett story is a gem, wit two woman literally fighting over a man.

Love Tales #50
January 1952
Cover by Al Hartley
Second copy of two

Artists: Mike Sekowsky, Joe Sinnott, Vince Colletta (?), Bill Everett
Condition: Good, some tears in spine, a bit beat
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $8

Slightly better than my other copy and just as interesting.

Love Tales #69
August 1956
Cover by Coletta

Artists: Vince Colletta, Al Hartley, Bill Everett, unknown, Jay Scott Pike
Condition: Very Good, but front cover missing
Guide price (Very Good): $20
Offer price: $8 (with other book)

Great book, apart from the missing cover. The main reason for getting this one is the rare Bill Everett love story.

Lovers #27
Februari 1950
Cover Photo with Cathy o'Donnell and Farley Granger
52 Pages

Artists: Mke Sekowsky, Bob Powell, unknown, unknown, unknown, Al Eadeh (?)
Condition: Good minus, corner fold, dirt mark on page 1, spine roll
Guide price: $12
Offer price: $8

My copy of this book (as more in my collection) has a stamp by the seller Bonnett's from dayton, Ohio Don't know if that's a famous collection, but a colection it must have been. the first story is what I used to be sure was a Mike Sekowsky/Christopher Rule colaboration. The Bob Powell story is a rare early appearance at Timely for him. And already his characters were wearing those striped and blocked jackets that must have een out of date even then.

Lovers #51
July 1953
Cover by Jerry Robinson

Artists: Al Hartley, Mike Sekowsky, Jim Mooney, Jay Scott Pike
Condition: Fair, water damage on the cover, tear on first page top
Guide price: $6
Offer price: $5

What's not to like? A Jerry Robinson cover, Al Hartley pulling out all stops, one of those Mike Sekowsky stories that is sometimes attributed to Alex Toth and a Jim Mooney story to die for. In fact, it is so good I just had to have it in a better condition. A good starter, though and highly undervalued in the Guide.

Lovers #60
April 1954
Cover by Jay Scott Pike

Artists: Jay Scott Pike, Paul Reinman, Bill Ely, unknown
Condition: Good, cover scuffed, a bit beat
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $10

The unknown artist of the last story has a photorealism that reminds me of Art Peddy. The true rarity here is the story by Paul Reinman, who was usually used for war and horror stories. This is a far cry from his romance stories for Prize at the end of the fifties, thouh. He was at the top of his art around this time. The open bottomed splashed shows he waas a great designer as well. To make an odd issue even odder, ther's also a rare story by Bill Ely, who usuall worked for other companies.

Lovers #66
March 1955
Cover by Vince Colletta

Artists: Vince Colletta, Jay Scott Pike, Vince Colletta, Al Hartley
Condition: Good plus, some creases on cover
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $7

I had a quick look through this first post-code issue to see if there wer any alterations, but on the whole the love stories from Timely were never out of line even before the code was installed.

My Own Romance #62
March 1958
Cover by Kirby (?)/Vince Colletta

Artists: Vince Colleta, Jay Scott Pike, John Tartaglione, John Forte, Vince Coletta
Condition: Very Good Minus, some creases and tears, but well preserved
Guide price: $6
Offer price: $4

After the implosion of 1957/8 the Timely books fell into a predictable rut. Capabillity took over from excitement. What remains is Vince Colletta's extreme facillty at surfaces and Jay Scott Pike's all American faces. And the fact that some art connesseurs have speculated that the cover may be from a Kirby sketch reworked by Colletta.

Patsy Walker #19
November 1948
Cover by Al Jaffee
52 Pages

Artists: Al Jaffee, Harvey Kurzman, Al Jaffee, Al Jaffee, Harvey Kurtzman, Ken Bald, Mike Sekowsky, Ken Bald, Al Jaffee
Condition: Good minus, spine damage, a bit rough
Guide price: $15
Offer price: $12

Patsy Walker was Timely's effort to create a Archie clone, with Patsy and Hedy playing the Betty and Veronica roles. The two Harvey Kurtzman Hey Look pages are in his best style. All Hey Looks were reprinted in a handy book by Denis Kitchen, but it is time for a complete reprint in color. Many newer artists aknowledge Kurtzman's ongoing influence and here we see him at his best.

Wendy Parker #2

August 1953
Cover by Christopher Rule

Artists: Christopher Rule, Christopher Rule, Morris Weiss (?), Christopher Rule
Condition: Good minus, cover loose and split
Guide price: $8
Offer price: $5

Three stories by regular Wendy Parker artist Christopher Rule and a Ptsy Walker story which is probably by Morris Weiss. Probably only for the completists, but then again - I apparently have two.

As always, leave your name in the comments section and I will get back to you.

Crime Can Pay

Wednesday Advertising Day.

This is the last before last of my posts with double Atlas Comics for sale. After I am back from my honeymoon, I will start putting them on e-bay, often at a lower starting price. I think the prices here are quite reasonable as well, so if you want to be sure to get a certain book, drop me a note in the comments section. When the books are up on e-bay, I will refer to this site, so people can select books to be added for maximum packaging. I can put seven or eight books in a $12 envelope, limiting the cost per book. After that I will also start selling other books, mainly stuff from other publishers.

Justice #31
November 1952
Cover by unknown

Artists: George Tuska, Jack Keller, Allen Bellman, Tony DiPreta
Condition: Good, would have been better but for a small piece missing from the right hand corner.
Guide price: $12
Offer price: $10

George Tuska had started at Gleason's doing crime stories. His work was very much appreciated and even imitated, for instance by Stan Lee when he was doing crime books at Timely. When he joined Timely in the early fifties, his inkline had beefed up considerably, making his caroony realism even more striking. The crime titles were giving way to the 'new' genres of horror and war, but some of them remained. Justice was one of them. In this book Tuska returnes to crime, using his new (and in my opinion even better) style. Tony DiPreta had done a lot of work for Gleason as well. He is a remarkable artist, who could adept his style to whatever was needed. It was only at Timely that he seems to have found a style of his own, a weird sort of realism, with a Dick Tracy like element of charicture, but totally his own. Sadly, in the early sixties he took over Joe Paloeka and dropped all of his individual quirks. Allen Bellman has a similar quirky style, that makes the story really speak.

Justice #34
Februari 1953
Cover by Sol Brodsky

Artists: Jack Keller, unknown, Allen Bellman, Vernon Henkel
Condition: Good minus, cover split and loose
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $6

More true crime stories, with Bellman's story telling the tale of a German tailor who stood up against the NAZI's for being rude (one of their more serious crimes apparently) in 1937. Hitler even appears himself to say he wants the case solved and shaking his fist.

Justice #46
May 1954
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Gene Colan, Tony Mortellaro, Ed Moline, John Forte
Condition: Very Good, actually Fine book but for water stain on cover
Guide price: $25
Offer price: $18

With this issue the cover from this books gets the slogan: "Respectfully dedicated to the law-enforcement officiers around the nation, without whose selfsacrificing devotion to duty out society would fall prey to the underworld!" The water stain in the cover does not touch the image area, as you can see from the scan (which, although it is from Atlas Tales, is from my copy). The Gene Colan opener, a true story about an ecapes convict is worth the money alone. The John Forte story is very similar artwise to the one shown by Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine recently.

Justice #47
June 1954
Cover by Sol Brodsky

Artists: Chuck Miller, Lou Ravielli, Bill Savage, Mac Pakula
Condition: Very Good, just some small creases along the sides
Guide price: $20
Offer price: $15

The Atlas Crime books used more 'serious' artists than the others, ot at least there wa less charicature and more 'realism'. This could give them a dull look, but with atists such as Chuck Miller and Lou Ravielli, there lots to admire. Mac Pakula actually does some of his best work here.





Justice #50
November 1954
Cover by Sol Brodsky

Artists: Dick Ayers, Ed Moline, Sam Moscowicz, Al Eadeh
Condition: Good, a bit beat, creases on the cover
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $7

Sam Moscowicz did a couple of stories with Joe Kubert, but apparently he was promoted to doing his own inking. Al Eadeh draws his usual ugly people, this time including someone who could be a contender for the Worst Haircut of the Decade.

Police Action #5
September 1954
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Dick Ayers, Ed Robbins, unknown, Mort Lawrence
Condition: Good minus, bit beat, piece missing from right hand corner
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $7

Towards the end of the fifties most artists started to slick up their styles. One sample of that would be Mort Lawrence, whose work here looks as if he is auditioning for DC or a newspaper strip. Ed Robbins had been drawing the Mike Hammer strip for the newspapers and is more than suited for this book. His style is suitably butch and his scartchy inking makes it very lifely.





Crime Can't Win #12
September 1952
Cover by Sol Brodsky

Artists: Jack Keller, Manny Stallman (?), unknown, Marion Sitton
Condition: Fair minus, back cover ripped, front soiled and creased
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $8

Here's one for the art spotters. The first story could be by Manny Stallman, but has a weird comical vibe as well, usally missing form Stallman's work. The third story is competently drawn by a Jim Mooney-like artist but with some odd touches, almost as if the penciller and inker were'nt on the same wavelength. Pretty good story too, about an apparently insane criminal on the run capturing a kid as a hostage... with a pretty surprising and humane twist.

Crime Must Lose #11
February 1952
Cover by unknown

Artists: Tony DiPreta, George Roussos, Allen Bellman, Jack Keller
Condition: Good, some creases, some splittage of the spine, but holding on
Guide price: $15
Offer price: $10

This series is the one that escapes me the most. For some reasons there are none issues to be found, cheap as they are. These 'true crime' books could be pretty boring, with very little to be surprised at in the stories (whose main fault seems to be that they are well-told), but around this time Stan Lee artists did start to turn loose with their own styles. Both Tony DiPreta and George Roussos offer a lot of dark shadows and good storytelling here.





All-True Crime Cases Comic #47
November 1951
Cover by unknown

Artists: Jerry Robinson, Marion Sitton, Dan Loprino, Jim Mooney, Mike Sekowsky
Condition: Poor, would be Good, bit of a spine roll, 52 pages, but last story is missing large chunks of pages
Guide price (Good): $15
Offer price: $5 (with other books)

This book is ruined because of the damage to the last pages. I would get it for the Jerry Robinson story if I couldn't get it any other way. He was way ahead of anyone at that time. The Guide price for this book is rediculously low anyway.

Hi-Yo Golden Age

Wednesday Advertising Day.

Here are soe more of my double Timely books. I am selling these at the most reasonable price. People interested can contact me through one of the Yahoo groups I frequent or leave their e-mail adress in a comment (which I will remove after answering).

Western Gunfighters #21
Aug 1956
Cover by Carl Burgos

Artists: Reed Crandell, Herb Familton, Jay Scott Pike, Manny Stallman (?), unknown
Condition: Good minus, tape on the spine (no deterioration)
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $8 (sold)

Western Gunfighters was a great book with mixed one-off stories, which eans it has a different surprise for collectors every issue. This time it's the Reed Crandell story, a seven pager by Stan Lee about a gunfighter who has been given only a few weeks to live. Stan Lee sometimes gave himself a few more pages for his stories and it often paid out. The fourth story, though drawn by an unknown seems like the work of Bob Forgione to me.

Cowboy Action #6
May 1955
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Joe Maneely, Paul Reinman, Mort Drucker, Ross Andru
Condition: Fair, some water damage on the top and top spine brittle
Guide price: $8
Offer price: $5

Great book, too bad about the condition. It has four of my favorite artists and all stories are written by Stan Lee. As with most post code books from Timely, I don't see anything rewritten or redrawn to suit the code, though.

Apache Kid #15
May 1955
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Werner Roth, Wrner Roth, Mac Pakule, Werner Roth
Condition: Good, no obvious defects but a bit beat
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $8

If you look at the action in Werner Roth's Apache Kid stories, it is a wonder how inept he was at drawing action for The X-Men. Everything about these stories sparkles.

Frontier Western #2
April 1956
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: George Tuska, Gene Colan, Al Williamson, Norman Maurer, Don Heck
Condition: Very Good, but coverless
Guide price (Good): $15
Offer price: $8

The first two stories were written by Stan Lee. The Al Williamson story is very nice and moody and the Gene Colan story was inked very well, possibly by Colan himself.

Frontier Western #7
February 1957
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Joe Sinnott, John Romita, Jay Scott Pike, Werner Roth, Joe Maneely
Condition: Fair, pretty beat, centrefold loose
Guide price: $12
Offer price: $8

All stories written by Stan Lee. The Romita story is one I have used as a sample how John Romita Jr. style in an unexplained way looks like his father's.

Gunsmoke Western #49
November 1958
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Jack Keller, Joe Maneely, Joe Maneely, Joe Sinnott, unknown, Dick Ayers
Condition: Good minus, pretty beat
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $6

Two Stan Lee stories. I quite like the filler story, but the artist is unknown to me as well.

Kid Colt Outlaw #46
Britisch edition, early sixties?
Cover by unknown

Artists: Jack Keller, Jack Keller, Syd Shores, Jack Keller, Doug Wildey, Doug Wildey, Syd Shores, Doug Wildey, Doug Wildey, Doug Wildey
Condition: Good minus, a bit beat and square back breaking
Guide price not applicable
Offer price: $10

These black and white reprints from the UK are fun for collectors, because they offer a look at the art in the sharpest form. Especially an artist like Doug Wiley benifits from that. Although the cover is from the June 1952 issue of Two-Gun Western (and mentions the Owlhoot Trail story from that issue), the contents are from 1954/5. Job numbers: E-910, E-924, F-008, E-907, E-799, E-895, E-845, F-153, F-179 and one unknown.

Kid Slade Gunfighter #8
July 1957
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Werner Roth, Werner Roth, Bob Forgione, Werner Roth
Condition: Fair, covers loose and front damaged at sides
Guide price: $8
Offer price: $5

The action-packed Roth art is what makes this one worth a look.

Matt Slade, Gunfighter #4
November 1954
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Werner Roth, Werner Roth, Ted Galindo, Werner Roth, Werner Roth
Condition: Good plus, some weakness along the staples
Guide price: $15
Offer price: $10

For a short period Joe Maneely did these wonderful covers with a clean image and several great border vignettes. Four more Matt Slade stories by Werner Roth and an unknown writer and one filler by Stan Lee.

Texas Kid #2
March 1951
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Joe Maneely, Joe Maneely, unknown, Joe Maneely
Condition: Good, insides are even great, but the cover is split and loose
Guide price: $15
Offer price: $10

Nice early issue with Joe Maneely already in good form, especially on the splashes.

Western Outlaws #6
December 1954
Cover by Sol Brodsky

Artists: Paul Reinman, Joe Sinnott, George Tuska, Werner Roth
Condition: Fair plus, some tears on the cover, no defects on the book
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $6

The Werner Roth story was probably drawn on a larger paper size than his later work, as it is more detailed than the previous stories.

Western Thrillers #2
December 1954
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: George Tuska, Bill Walton, unkown, Warren Broderick/Jack Abel
Condition: Fair plus, cover almost loose and a corner missing
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $8

This book is one of Timely's 1954 push into new or old but forgotten genres and is filled with reprints from Western Outlaws and Sheriffs #71 and #72 from 1952 (with a new cover). Nice moody Tuska story and Bill Walton doing his best Tuska impression.

Wild Western #21
April 1952
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Pete Tumlinson, Chic Stone, To Gill, Pete Morisi
Condition: Good minus, cover a bit brown, little pieces missing from corner, but it holds
Guide price: $15
Offer price: $10

Under this great Joe Maneely cover we find a host of great stories by great artists. Pete Tumlinson is one of the forgotten Timely artists of the early fifties. He has a very detailed style, but his staging is great. The later Jack Kirby inker Chuck Stone shows only the slightest hint of his thicklined style. Pete Morisi also was a great artist with his own fans. He got to work in George Tuska's studio and they very much influenced each other. I am curious why it says 'salt porn' on the side of a barrel in the splash.

Wild Western #46
November 1955
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Jack Keller, Ross Andru, Sam Kweskin, John Severin
Condition: Good plus, some small tears at spine, some creases
Guide price: $15
Offer price: $12

Annie Oakley completists alert! To advertise the Ross Andru/Mike Esposito drawn series, Stan Lee featured Annie Oakley stories in Wild Western #46 and 47. #48 had a similar teaser for Mort Drucker's Billy Buckskin and there were other series showcased here as well (including the Ringo Kid story by John Severin). So that's why Wild Western is sort of a wanted series for many collectors.

Wyatt Earp #4
May 1956
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Norman Maurur, Norman Maurer, Norman Maurer, John Severin, Norman Maurer
Condition: Good, slight spline roll, loosish cover
Guide price: $15
Offer price: $12

The Wyatt Earp character was stered by Joe Maneely and succesfully contineud by Norman Maurer, who had just come off a good but commercially unsuccessful run of titles with Joe Kubert at St. John, including his work on the Three Stooges titles. I have written about those in my article on Mad imitations in Alter Ego #86. He was a very solid teller, maybe a bit tame but it has a quality not many artist these days achieve. The John severin story was written by Stan Lee.

Wyatt Earp #13
Augustus 1957
Cover by John Severin

Artists: Dick Ayers, Dick Ayers, Dick Ayers, Merv Stein, Dick Ayers
Condition: Good plus, slight split on spine, piece missing from back cover
Guide price: $15
Offer price: $10

For Wyatt Earp #9 the character was given to John Severin, but from #10 it was Dick Ayers who over. The Merv Stein story is one of those weird fillers that seem to be taken from the pile randomly.

Wyatt Earp #17
June 1958
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Dick Ayers, Dick Ayers, Dick Ayers, Doug Wildey, Dick Ayers
Condition: Fair plus, lots of creases and well read
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $6

With this issue Stan Lee signs on as the writer and we enter what is in fact the post-implosion period of Timely/Atlas, when Stan Lee was slowly picking up the pieces of the comapny after it had to downsize due to distribution problems and started using his spare time to write almost all of the company's output (with increasingly more help from his brother Larry).

The Battle between Good and Very Good

Wednesday Advertising Day.

Here's the second half of my Timely/Atlas war doubles. Lots of great stuff to see, even if you don't intend to buy them. Next week, I'll finish of this list with my cowboy and love doubles. Not that I have a love double or if I did that it would be a cowboy. Those rumors are made up.

Battle #18
1953
Cover by Russ Heath

Artists: Dick Ayers, Dick Ayers, unknown, Mike Sekowsky
Condition: coverless, but otherwise spotless
Guide price (Good): $10
Offer price: $5 (with other book)

The second Dick Ayers story is part two of a two part series about Adolf Hitler, the first part having been drawn by Werner Roth for Battle #17. The unknown artist signs his name Miller, but it's not Chuck Miller.



Batlefield #10
April 1953
Cover by Carl Burgos

Artists: John Forte/John Belfi, Bill Benulis (?)/Jack Abel, Dick Ayers, Bill Walton?
Condition: coverless, solid pages
Guide price (Good): $12
Offer price: $5 (with other book)

Like so many of these coverless copies, the actual comic is in pretty good shape, since most of those were kept apart somewhere and haven't been read to death. John Belfi was mainly an inker, but he was responsible for training a lot of artists (like John Severin and apparently John Forte) by always working with young artists who were starting out. The last story is given to Bill Walton on Atlas Tales, but it could very well be my own list that provided that information and I am not so sure now. The style is very similar to that of George Tuska with a hint of Ross Andru, but it's not by Tuska and Andru wasn't working for Timely at that point. Both were present at Standard, with Bill Walton, where they fashioned a 'house style' very much based on the Milt Caniff, Noel Sickles and Dan Barry influenced Alex Toth style. But if this was by Walton, he had gotten a lot better and would get worse after that again. I get a strong whiff of Cal Massey from the splash, but otherwise I am stumped. Nice pin-up girl, though.

G.I. Tales #5
April 1957
Cover by Carl Burgos

Artists: Gene Colan, Dick Ayers, Paul Reinman, Frank Bolle, Mort Drucker
Condition: Good, some creases along the spine and on the sides of the cover
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $7 (sold)

Great violent Colan splash, Dick Ayers does WW I, Paul Reinman in the jungle, Frank Bolle does a story about Rudyard Kipling and Mort Drucker illustrates the plight of the Chinese nationalists against the communist government. One of the rare instances where my copy is actually better than the scan used here.

Kent Blake of the Secret Service #6
March 1952
Cover by Sol Brodsky (?)

Artists: Tom Gill, Tom Gill, unknown, unknown, Tom Gill
Condition: Very Good plus, solid spine, no gloss, nice page
Guide price: $25
Offer price: $15

The outdated 'spy' stories were soon to be replaced by actual war material, but here we still see Tom Gill do what he does best. In this period he was often assisted by Joe Sinnott, but I have no list of his actual involvement. The rare twopager Mission at Midnight seems like a pure early Sinnott effort to me.

Kent Blake of the Secret Service #8
July 1952
Cover by unknown

Artists: Tom Gill, unknown, unknown, Tom Gill
Condition: Good minus, good spine, but little piece out of cover bottom
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $8

Kent Blake has changed his spy coat for an army uniform and joins the brave men fighting the reds in Korea. The Tom Gill stories look more Sinnotty, if there is such a word. If there's ever a Kent Blake mocie, these are going to be huge. Okay, there are no plans yet, but you never know, huh?

Man Comics #14
May 1952
Cover by unknown

Artists: Jerry Robinson, George Tuska, Mac Pakula, Dave Berg, Vernon Henkel
Condition: Good, half split cover, solid but old
Guide price: $20
Offer price: $18

The only double issue I have of this series, but it's a doozy. I already showed the Robinson and the Tuska story on my blog, so I'll repeat it here. The Chapman-written Berg story is job number 10019, the last of the nineteen that were numbered that way before Timely switched to a system using letters and numbers. For more, see my previous post about these stories.

Man Comics #16
July 1952
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Werner Roth, George Tuska, Cal Massey, Russ Heath
Condition: coverless, but almost white pages
Guide price (Good): $10
Offer price: $10

Ik know I keep saying these coverless books are often better than better graded ones, but this time it's really true. I wondered if I shouldn't rip the cover of the other copy I have and marry it to this one to create a book many times worth the catalogue price for either. And what a great book to have. The Werner Roth story shows his skill at staging action within a panel (and unfortunately his lesser talent at creating close-ups). The George Tuska story could be used to teach pacing in comics, the Cal Massey story is a great sample of this Afro-American painter, who only worked in comics for a short time to earn a bit of dough and the Russ Heath story is a harrowingly told tale of a mine tester with an horrific ending. Amazing that a book such as this would only be $10 in the Price Guide. Get a better copy, if you find it or settle for this one to read.

Man Comics #23
Februari 1953
Cover by Fred Kida

Artists: Gene Colan, Joe Sinnott, Gil Evans, George Tuska
Condition: coverless, good pages, some soiling
Guide price (Good): $10
Offer price: $10

One of the best early Gene Colan stories around. This is the sort of thing he tried to do at DC and wasn't allowed after one or two tries. The Joe Sinnott story is a great historical tale about Napoleon Bonaparte and George Tuska does another lavishly inked gritty war story. Great book to have, actually.



Marines in Action #14
September 1957
Cover by John Severin

Artists: John Severin, Syd Shores, Mac Pakula, Dave Berg, Chuck Winter
Condition: Good, some creases on the cover
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $8 (sold)

The well-colored cover is one of the big attractions here. I always felt that Timely's less noble war stories were a lot closer to reality than those that were done at the same time at DC. And Stan Lee had John Severin, who added humanity to everything he drew.

Marines in Battle #10
Februari 1956
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Forgione/Abel, Gene Colan, Bob Powell, Dick Ayers, Forgione/Abel
Condition: Good, some creases, cover loose on top staple
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $8

Solid work by Bob Forgione, Dick Ayers does the early history of the marine corps and Bob Powell is one of the best artists as far as human expressions go, but the real star is a rare Gene Colan story about jet pilots. All that under a fun cover by Joe Maneely about American soldiers using flame throwers (although the only red we see gets punched in the face instead of horribly burned).

Marine in Battle #20
November 1957
Cover by Carl Burgos

Artists: Gene Colan, Syd Shores, Dick Ayers, George Tuska, Joe Sinnott
Condition: Fine, bright cover, solid spine with some scuffing, no creases or missing flakes
Guide price: $30
Offer price: $20

A Great Marvel All-Stars issue. All artists who worked on this book would still be working for Stan in the sixties. The Colan story is a great tale of captured Americans and George Tuska tells another tale of the early days of the Marine Corps.

Marines in Battle #21
Januari 1958
Cover by Fred Kida (?)

Artists: Gene Colan, Doug Wildey, Carl Burgos, Al Gordon (?), Dick Ayers
Condition: Good minus, cspine partially split, some cover flakes
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $6

Doug Wildey was still assembling his photo-realistic style from various sources here. The fourth story is attributed to Al Gordon at Atlas Tales as one of his few solo stories and I can see why.

Navy Action #3
1954
Cover by Carl Burgos

Artists: Mac Pakula, Bill Everett, Bill Benulis, Paul Reinman,
Condition: Good, slight creases and spine roll
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $8 (sold)

If you want to collect an abtainable corner of Timely's output, you could do worse than start with the Navy series, Navy Action, Navy Combat and Navy Tales. These series span the pre-code and post-code area and feature load s of great work by Joe Maneely, Bill Everett, Don Heck,Reed Crandell, Al Williamson, Angelo Torres, Hoe Sinnott, John Severin and Paul Reinman. And they have the added bonus of being cheaper than they shoudl be. Here we have a great tale by Bill Everett. No one drew large bodies of water like him. The Reinman story is a moody piece about a stranded submarine.

Navy Action #10
Februari 1956
Cover by Carl Burgos

Artists: Syd Shores, Gene Colan,Dave Berg, Bob Forgione/Jack Abel,Syd Shores
Condition: Good minus, some flakes of cover sides
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $6

Gene Colan shows how to ink Gene Colan with a story about the war against the Japanese and Dave Berg takes us underwater in a submarine. Okay, I agree. It's all the submarine stories that really atrackt me to these books.

Navy Combat #3
October 1955
Cover by Carl Burgos

Artists: Don Heck, Bill Everett, Joe Sinnott, Chuck Miller
Condition: Good plus, some light creases
Guide price: $18
Offer price: $14

Don Heck had is own series in this comic, called "Torpedo" Taylor. Bill Everett tells the story of a pilot who gets left in a inflateble boat after being shot down.

Navy Combat #14
Augustus 1957
Cover by Bill Everett

Artists: Don Heck, Gene Colan, unknown, Angelo Torres, Geore Woodbridge
Condition: Very Good minus, some light creasing, solid book
Guide price: $20
Offer price: $12

Guns, planes, warships and Bill Everett. What else do you need for a dynamite cover? The Angelo Torres story is a great moody piece. The unknown story could be one that was left over before the implosion of 1957 and finished by a different artist. I see traces of Werner Roth, Manny Stallman and Bob Forgione, so take your pick. Don Heck does his signature "Torpedo" Taylor series.

Navy Combat #18
June 1958
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Gene Colan, Paul Reinman, John Forte, Syd Shores, Mac Pakula
Condition: Good minus, lots of little creases, but the book holds together
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $8



Spy Cases #9
Februari 1952
Cover by unknown

Artists: Robert Sale, Bill Savage, unknown, unknown
Condition: Very Good plus, some scuffing on the spine, almost glossy cover
Guide price: $25
Offer price: $15

Last issue in the spy format, with the last Doug Grant story. But the Robert Sale story is already about Korea and might be one of the first. Sale is here still halfway between his Joe Maneely- and his Reed Crandell-influence style. verworked, but impressive. People who know better than me have identified Bill Savage as the second artist. The third story has many shots that looks like Gene Colan's to me, but the inking is totally different.

Spy Cases #11
June 1952
Cover by Sol Brodsky

Artists: Bill Savage, Vernon Henkel, Bill Savge, Bill LaCava
Condition: Good, some scuffing on the cover, holds together well
Guide price: $15
Offer price: $10

Now we are geting somewhere. Four solid war stories, not as desperate as some of the later ones, but certainly violent.

Spy Cases #19
October 1953
Cover by Carl Burgos

Artists: Bill Savage, Bill Savage, Ed Moline, Bill Savage
Condition: Good plus, slight spine roll, but hold very well together
Guide price: $20
Offer price: $14

Towards the end of it's run Spy Cases reverted to it's spy format. Bill Savage had diferent inking styles, but the strength of his work lies in the weird and often ugly characters he designed. After this he worked on some of Stan Lee's crime titles before disappearing.

Spy Fighters #7
March 1952
Cover by Russ Heath

Artists: unknown, Sol Brodsky, Cal Massey Sol Brodsky
Condition: Good plus, little piece missing from cover (not image area)
Guide price: $20
Offer price: $15

When I started collecting war books, I started on the early part of 1952. In these months some of the best stories and art appears, as Stan Lee and his artists and writers try to get a grip on the war in Korea. The cover is one of those Russ Heath gems I would love to have him recreate if I had the money.Violent heroic fiction as no other company was providing.

War Action #4
July 1952
Cover by Sol Brodsky

Artists: Dave Berg, Jay Scott Pike, Norman Steinberg, Sy Grudko
Condition: Very Good, only defect a small loose piece in the left bottom corner
Guide price: $25
Offer price: $20

Norman Steinberg writes his own story, as per usual, about a nebbish finding happiness when he finally is in a position to give his life for the army.

War Action #8
November 1952
Cover by Sol Brodsky

Artists: George Tuska, Sol Brodsky, Vernon Henkel, Cal Massey
Condition: Good plus, slight spine roll
Guide price: $20
Offer price: $18

Vernon Henkel has a great splash with bullets coming through a letter a soldier is writing home and Cal Massey does a daring tale by Hank Chapman about ski soldiers, but the star here is the George Tuska story. The first page images are gripping and overall it is great to see how dark he can get. All through his career he was tempted to deliver no more than line-work, but when he was working for Stan Lee in te fifties, he really delivered on the inking. Never more so than in this story.

War Combat #3
July 1952
Cover by Joe Maneely

Artists: Robert Sale, Bill LaCava, Gene Colan, Norman Steinberg
Condition: coverless, outside a bit rough
Guide price (Good): $10
Offer price: $ 5 (if bought with other books)

Here's a coverless book with some defects on the outside. Without the cover protecting it the first page can get a bit dirty apparently. Great four pager by Gene Colan. My father in law used to tell a story about how he gave a sigaret to a dying comrade fighting for the Dutch army in Indonesia in 1948. Gene Colan tells a similar story to great effect. Unlike all of DC's stories, this one takes place at night of course.

War Comics #10
June 1952
Cover by Sol Brodsky

Artists: Robert Sale, John Romita, unknown, Sol Brodsky, Norman Steinberg
Condition: Good minus, holds together well, but feels a bit rough
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $10

I wonder how a book this good could be priced so cheap in the price guide. But hey, that's why I started collecting Atlas books with the war series and why I allowed myself to buy so many doubles in lots. This book has two stories plus a text story from the 'nineteen that were lost', the numbers over regular job number 10000. I particulary like the early John Romita, where he tries to impress the reade rand Stan Lee with lots and lots of mud.

War Comics #14
December 1952
Cover by Sol Bodsky

Artists: Syd Shores, Chuck Miller, unknown, Joe Maneely
Condition: Good minus, spine half split, good color pages
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $9

The unknown story could be by Gil Evans, but I am not sure. Joe Maneely's story is another sample of his virtuoso art style, with great depth and use of thick and thin lines, which have led some to call it like woodcuts.

War Comics #16
Februari 1953
Cover by Russ Heath
First copy of two

Artists: Russ Heath, John Romita, Paul Reinman, Mike Sekowsky
Condition: Poor, four middle pages missing, affecting Reinman story
Guide price (Good): $10
Offer price: $5 (if bought with other book)

Another book which should be worth a lot more than the Price Guide indicates. It has everything, a rare jet pilot story by John Romita, a dark and muddy Mike Sekowsky story (who usually got assigned a slicker inker for his work), Russ Heath's impressive examination of the German Kaiser and even the Paul Reinman story shows what a great action artist he used to be. All that under a Russ Heath cover dabout a soldier caarying his wounded (or maybe even dead) comrade across a river, adding a humanity to it that was missing from much of DC's war output). The low price is due to the missing pages, but the missing page was on Atlas Tales, so I am showing it here.





War Comics #16
Februari 1953
Cover by Russ Heath
Second copy of two

Artists: Russ Heath, John Romita, Paul Reinman, Mike Sekowsky
Condition: Fine, glossy cover, holds together well
Guide price: $35
Offer price: $25

For the description see the previous entrance. If ever you buy a book for the cover, this should be it.

War Comics #24
March 1954
Cover by Russ Heath

Artists: Joe Maneely, Dick Ayers, unknown, Syd Shores
Condition: Very Good, no real defects, just a bit dull
Guide price: $20
Offer price: $15

The Joe Maneely about the battle of the Siegfried line shows Hitler in his last days and the unknown story look familiar to me, but I can't place it. Maybe it's by Fred Kida. The cover is magnificent although personally I would have gone for a less realistic color schema allowing for a bit more light on the soldiers face.

War Comics #29
November 1954
Cover by Russ Heath

Artists: John Romita, Joe Sinott, Mort Leav, Dick Ayers
Condition: Good, lots of creases, cover almost loose, supple pages
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $7

Another great Russ Heath cover. Mort Leav was on eof the best artists almost never working for Stan Lee. He had other companies to supply. In his early years he ifluenced Bernie Krigstein with his own brand of realistic stylisation.

War Comics #33
March 1955
Cover by Russ Heath

Artists: Bill Benulis, Joe Sinnott, Jack Katz, Dick Ayers
Condition: Poor, bit rough on the outside and would be good but for missing centerfold
Guide price (Good): $10
Offer price: $5 (with other book)

Bill Benulis was a weird artist, who page lay-out was always special, but he story I like best here is the night patrol story by Joe Sinnott. Sinnott's work can be a bit too clean for my taste, but here it's rain and mud everywhere. The missing centerfold affects the Katz story, but I have found a scan.



War Comics #38
November 1955
Cover by Carl Burgos

Artists: Bob Forgione/Jack Abel, Dick Ayers, Jack Katz, Kubert/Moskowitz,
Condition: Good plus, little bit loose and some creases, but hold together well
Guide price: $15
Offer price: $10

For some reason Joe Kubert did a couple of stories for Stan Lee that were inked by Sam Moskowicz. More a rarity than a highpoint in the history of comic art.

War Comics #41
May 1956
Cover by John Severin

Artists: Gene Colan, Vic Carrabotta, Bob Powell, Mort Drucker, Chuck Miller
Condition: Good, some bits missing from side cover, some creases
Guide price: $10
Offer price: $8 (sold)

Mort Drucker has great splash page with Genhis Khan illustrating the principle of attacking at dawn and Gene Colan takes us through the mountain snows.