Atlas "2-Gun Western" - Tuesday is new/old comic book day!

Getcher dimes and head on down to the drug store, it's comic book day, kids!!!

Yup, there was a time (just before my time) when for a pocket full of dimes, you could hit the newsstand and buy up ALL kinds of four color goodness!!  For $3 you could pick up 30, count 'em 30 comics (I came along just at the end of the 12 cent era and through the all too brief 15 cent era :-[ )of every description!!  Super-hero, western, romance, horror, mystery, science fiction, funny animal...you name it!!!

That of course wasn't feasible in the economy of the depression and war years, but by the mid 50's on through the late 60's, SOME kids allowance surely amounted to that!

And oooooooooooooooooooooh the treasure you could find in almost ANY genre!!  Case in point, this little gem from Atlas comics in 1956...issue 4? of "2-Gun Western"!

Don't run a-skeered from a little ol' western comic, kiddoes...thar's GOLD in them thar hills!

Even in the days afore the Mighty Marvel banner, Stan Lee was billing himself as the sole writer...and I suppose as always, in the Marvel Manner, he was.  A glorious cover by now forgotten Joe Maneely and a very spry and emotive 1st story drawn by another relatively forgotten but very, very admirable Chuck Miller prod that thin dime outen your hand...

...and then the real fun begins.  Short little 3, 4 and 5 page parables set in the old west and graced with the creative hands of some of comic-doms soon to be giants.

A stalwart of the Mighty Marvel Bullpen, Joltin' Joe Sinnott!!!  p.s. Joe's still around and hard at work at his drawing board.  You can even "like" him and watch weekly videos he makes with his granddaughter here!

You'll be glad you did.

A glorious western turn from my new favorite from my reviews of "Mad:  THE COMIC BOOK!"  John Severin!

Pre-Spider-Man and Doctor Strange...the legendary...the giant amongst men...Steve Ditko.

And a real turn from what I think is his best era, the recently departed "illustrator" Gene Colon!

Some real pre-Marvel Marvelousness that had to be seen to be believed.  

And it didn't even cost you the $3 you would have spent on a new comic.

Tuesdays are awesome!

Talk to you soon!

The Incomplete History of Mad THE COMIC BOOK!

This is something I probably should have posted early in my postings of Mad THE COMIC BOOK, but here's a little secret...until last Wednesday, I actually didn't have the complete run of the comics...heehee.

Well, now I do (thanks to Amazon) and now the entire story of William Gaines, Harvey Kurtzman and that first usual gang of idiots (Bill Elder, Wally Wood, Jack Davis, John Severin and Basil Wolverton) can be told.  My copies that I've been scanning of all of these comics cornerstones and masterpieces, are not from the original comics, but rather from a magazine that Mad and it's now owner DC Comics put out in the late 90's, and within these 8 issues of genius a companion article was published called "The Incomplete History of Mad Comics" that was written by the legendary Frank Jacobs, called the most prolific writer in Mad MAGAZINE history.  He joined the gang of idiots in 1957, and what better person to write the story of the beginning of modern American History.  

And I don't joke when I say that...I believe that if it weren't for Mad Magazine appearing at the time that it did (and continuously puncturing pomposity till today) what we now know as comedy in movies, music, comics and TV would be a very different, much less irreverent, and much more tame brand of larfs.

dig in kiddoes...time to learn something.

There's still plenty more Mad Mondays to come, still 5 1/2 more issues of the comic book that could not be hushed,

Thank Melvin!

Talk to you soon!

Mad THE COMIC BOOK ?Text? Extras 5?

The last day of my posting the "text" extras from Mad THE COMIC BOOK has me back-pedaling.  Other than 1 of the remaining 5, they're fun free-wheeling DENSE cartooning at their Mad best, and not text at all.

The four fun, aimed-at-readers cartoons are self explanatory and ready for your eyes to drink in!

And even the last one, while textual in nature is about 2 of the greatest cartoonist to ever grace the EC pages.  Reprinted from "Frontline Combat" in 1952, "The EC Artists of the Issue - John Severin and Bill Elder.

THIS was indeed a bullpen to watch.

Talk to you soon.