I Have Not Stopped

I have been getting questions from people wondering if I have stopped doing The Fabulous Fifties completely. Well, that certainly is not my intention. I do have a lot going on, but I also have many more strips and scans to share that await cleaning or clipping. And when I return, I want to it to on a regular base again. But that make me postpone the starting date every time. So keep checking, it might be soon. In the meantime, here is the next Al Williamson istallment I have ready. And it's a doozy. I can't find a signature, so it may not be a solo job. But look at that inking! It has all the 'innovations' that Williamson brought to John Romita's work when he inked him later in his life. 

The Best Version Of You

Sunday Al Williamson Surprise. Not every story Al Williamson did for Stan Lee was a masterpiece. After last week's triumph, this one certainly falls into the 'not inspired' category. And I don't think there is even an inker to blame. The story is unique, but also oddly unpersonal.

 

A New Age

Sunday Al Williamson Surprise. 

With this amazing story, we see Al Williamson slowly turning from his initial Flegles/Frazetta influenc to the more starker contrasted Alex Raymond/John Prentice style that defined the second part of his career. No lizards, but very impressive.

 

Yelling Wolf

Sunday Williamson Surprise. 

A short fantasy intermezzo from Journey Into Unknown Worlds. I can see why the lay-out and certain panels would suggest Al Williamson set this story up, but in the whole he left a lot up to his inker (probably Ralph Mayo again).

 

No Surprise Ending

Sunday Al Williamson Suprise. 

Another pure western story by the Al Williamson we know and love. Signed and probably inked by Ralph Mayo. And although the story is called The Lasst Notch, I can assure you that this certainly is not the last ime this plot will be used.

Code Approved Shooting

Sunday Al Williamson Surprise. A return of the Al Williamson we all know and love. In a story that normally would have been written by Stan Lee, but it isn't and he didn't sign it. It starts with a flash forward splash, which Stan Lee never did (and very often did not allow in his books). It also lacks the vernicular Lee loved and way too much text. The last panel is funny, though and may have been rewritten after the art was draw. After we have seen the hero drawn and shoot his opponent, his hand dead on the ground, he says: I hit him in the shoulder so he can never shoot again. Yeah, right.

Color Me Blind

Sunday Al Williamson Day. I thought I had done this, even remember writing it. But it is nowhere to be found, so here I go again. This Williamson story is part of a series of contemporary war stories that ran in the late fifties war books. I don't know who wrote them, but jst about everyone who worked for Stan Lee drew them. So it is not surprising Al Williamson got his turn as well. We are now squarely in the period where the coloring at Timely was a joke. It's all flat coloring with secundary colors to give some illusion of richness. No details, no nuances, just a few blobs of what I consider to be the ugliest color set in existance: green, orange and purple. If anyone ever does a color book with these Al Williamson stories (and remember, I wil continue until I have done all 150 of them), I hope they will have it professionally recolored. If there are any colorists out there who want to try their hand at one stoy, I can prepare black and white line-art versions.

Masters Of The Jungle

 

Sunday Al Williamson Surprise

The thirdAl Wiulliamson/Ralph Mayo story from Jann of the Jungle #17 is another one with less Williamsoin, but his style certainly is there. In fact, I see it as a perfect bridge between his earlier Frazetta/Fleagles influenced style and his later Raymond/Prentice work.

A Great Body of Work

Sunday Al Williamson Surprise. 

The second of three Al Williamson/Ralph Mayo stories in Jann of the Jungle #17. I am surprised to see how well it survived the typically bad coloring at Timely/Atlas at that period.

The Busty and the Beasts

Sunday Al Williamson Surprise 

In my ongoing series sharing all of the stories Al Williamson did for Srtan Lee at Timely/Atlas in the late fifties, we have come to the second issue of Al Williamson Jann of the Jungle . Set up by J. Scott Piike, Williamson took over the series (with Ralph Mayo as his regular inker) with #16. Again, there were three stories, of which this is the first. I am not sure who wrote these stories, but it definitively wasn't Stan Lee.

 

Scenes From A Sceance

Sunday Al Williamson Surprise. 

I don't know how much Al Williamson did on this story from the last issue of Spellbound, but if his pencils aren't overwhelmed by Ralph Mayo, we see how he slowly shifts from his lush Raymond and Frazetta influence to the more slick style of John Prentice and Alex Raymond on Rip Kirby. I have said it before, but the colloring in this period does no one any service.

New Hat Old Hat

Sunday Al Williamson Surprise. And what a surprise it must have been for the average reader to come upon a Williamson/Mayo western story in a book full of superstylized Dick Ayers art. The story is not signed by Stan Lee and there is no reason to assume he wrote it. It even has a flash forward splash panel, which is somnething I though no Stan edited story ever had. It is a weird flash forward, too, depicting a moment that is skipped in the story itself. The conclusion is just like all the other stories, though.