Read An Exclusive Short Story by Legendary Marvel Artist Joe Maneely
Mary Beth McAndrews
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While many of us know and love the disgusting works of EC Comics, there was another genre comics publisher working at the same time: Atlas (now known as Marvel). Atlas was thought of as a B-movie production house of sorts, pumping out tons of stories told and illustrated by a wide variety of artists. Now, Fantagraphics is celebrating one of those artists with The Atlas Artist Edition Vol. 1: Joe Maneely.
Joe Maneely was considered one of Marvel Comics’ top artists of the 1950s. His work spanned genres but never veered into the realm of superheroes. While he sadly passed away at 32, Fantagraphics is thrilled to publish 256 pages of his body of work. In honor of the book’s release, Dread Central has an exclusive short story from the collection for you to read right here!
We present, Joe Maneely’s “Room Without A Door”:
In the book’s introduction, Dr. Michael J. Vassallo says,
“Unlike many other artistic contemporaries of his Atlas tenure, who all entered the industry around the same time, dabbled there and then further blossomed in the Silver Age — Gene Colan, Steve Ditko, John Romita, and John Buscema, for example — Maneely never had that second act, and in the 1950s, he was considered more accomplished than even that talented quartet. It’s hard to say how comic-book history might have been different if Joe Maneely had lived, but, unquestionably, whatever he would have done would have been wonderful.”
The Atlas Artist Edition Vol. 1: Joe Maneely includes works in genres like:
- Westerns (Kid Colt, Black Rider, Ringo Kid, Wyatt Earp, Two-Gun Kid), pre-code horror (“Haunted!”, “The Raving Maniac”, and the classic “Your Name Is Frankenstein”)
- Space Opera (Speed Carter)
- War (Combat Kelly)
- Mad Magazine-style parodies from the pages of Crazy and Riot
- Cold-war intrigue and paranoia
- Joe Maneely’s pride and joy — his Arthurian champion The Black Knight.
Atlas Artist Edition Vol. 1: Joe Maneely is the second volume in Fantagraphics’ ongoing series of Atlas reprints following the critically acclaimed release of The Atlas Comics Library No. 1: Adventures Into Terror Vol. 1.
Atlas Artist Edition Vol. 1: Joe Maneely is available now.
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