The Atlas Comics Library No. 1: Adventures Into Terror Vol. 1 (The Fantagraphics Atlas Comics Library)

The Atlas Comics Library No. 1: Adventures Into Terror Vol. 1 (The Fantagraphics Atlas Comics Library)

Gene Colan, Russ Heath, Basil Wolverton, Dr. Michael J. Vassallo (Editor)
$34.99
Publication Date: October 31st, 2023
Publisher:
Fantagraphics
ISBN:
9781683968719
Pages:
180
Usually Ships in 1 to 5 Days

Description

Fantagraphics is embarking on a project to reprint Marvel Comics’ 1950s genre titles — war, crime, supernatural, funny animal, Western — under its new Atlas series with the first eight issues of the pre-Code horror series Adventures Into Terror.

Atlas holds a special place among aficionados of the genre, producing more horror titles and issues by far, than anyone in the industry. While the quality of EC's six horror/sci-fi titles was unsurpassed with their elite cadre of talent, Atlas was the equivalent of the B-movies studio, churning out anywhere from 8 to 12 different horror titles a month, giving a wider array of artists, including some of the best craftsmen of the era, a chance to show off their talents: in addition to those already mentioned, future volumes will include Bill Everett, John Romita, Bernie Krigstein, Jerry Robinson, Harry Anderson, and Matt Fox. Stories from Marvel’s Atlas line have barely been reprinted.

The Fantagraphics Atlas Comics Library is the first attempt to publish a carefully curated line of Atlas titles. Our first volume, Adventures Into Terror, includes a treasure trove of stories drawn by many of the most stylistically accomplished artists of the Golden Age including George Tuska, Carl Burgos, Mike Sekowsky, Joe Maneely, and Joe Sinnott.  Highlights include Russ Heath’s two-part story “The Brain” from issue #4 and “Return of the Brain” from issue #6; Basil Wolverton's classic “Where Monsters Dwell” from issue #7; Gene Colan's moody “House of Horror” in issue #3; and Don Rico’s wild layouts are on display from #4’s “The Torture Room." The stories are written firmly in the tradition of the pulpy, perverse, borderline deranged style that brought Fredric Wertham, the United States Senate Sub-Committee, and public opinion down like a sledgehammer on comics in the early ‘50s.

Edited by Atlas scholar Dr. Michael J. Vassallo, scanned directly from the published comics, and meticulously restored by Allan Harvey, the first volume of the new Fantagraphics Atlas Library series is an event among comics lovers, collectors, and historians

About the Author

Eugene Jules Colan (1926 - 2011) was an American comic book artist best known for his work for Marvel Comics, where his signature titles include the superhero series Daredevil, the cult-hit satiric series Howard the Duck, and The Tomb of Dracula, considered one of comics' classic horror series.

Russell Heath Jr. (1926 – 2018) was an American artist best known for his comic book work, particularly his DC Comics war stories and his 1960s art for Playboy magazine's "Little Annie Fanny" feature. Heath was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2009.

Basil Wolverton was born near Medford, Oregon in 1909 and died in 1978. His Fantagraphics-published books include Basil Wolverton's Culture Corner and The Wolverton Bible, and his work is featured in Supermen!: The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936-1941.

Dr. Michael J. Vassallo is a noted historian on Marvel's early pulp, Timely and Atlas periods. A Manhattan dentist, he spends his free time attempting to bring recognition to artistic creators of the 1940's and 1950's. He has also written introductions to 20 Timely and Atlas Masterworks volumes, dissecting the credits for posterity and providing historical context, as well as writing the detailed captions to the first 210 pages of Taschen's 75 Years of Marvel coffee table book. He lives in Westchester County, New York.

Praise for The Atlas Comics Library No. 1: Adventures Into Terror Vol. 1 (The Fantagraphics Atlas Comics Library)

There’s a veritable goldmine awaiting in the Atlas vaults for collectors of vintage comics, including crime, Western, and combat titles, most of which haven’t been available for decades. For readers fascinated by comics published in those uncertain years between the two dominant superhero eras, Adventures Into Terror provides the best reproductions of these long-lost comics, preserving the history of this important and influential age of pop culture.


— Book and Film Globe

Fun, and occasionally pretty creepy. ... this volume is a great introduction to what I hope is a long series of valued reprints.
— Cinema Sentries

Now, in gloriously remastered high definition, you can experience a chilling jolt of some of [the Golden Age] era’s spookiest comics!
— io9

This collection isn’t merely a nostalgia trip; it’s a time machine to an era when comics were unbound, wild, and wonderfully horrific.
— Longbox of Darkness

The main selling point here is the artwork, and there are a number of contributions by artists that would go on to aesthetic heights, most notably Russ Heath and Gene Colan. ... As with most of Fantagraphics’ reprint projects, this is an excellent-looking collection, boasting high-quality production values that let the pages pop.
— The Comics Journal

Fantagraphics is helpfully illuminating one of the darker corners of American comics with its glorious representation of the output of (pre-Marvel) Atlas, starting with a nifty hardcover of spooky stories from Adventures Into Terror.


— ICv2

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