Show Us Your Atlas Books - Have A Cigar 26 26

[jimjum12]

4 hours ago, adamstrange said:

I'm partial to 13.

That's a great example of why I love this title.... the stories in that issue are also top shelf. Heath's technical finesse really exploded during his last couple of years with Atlas. GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[goldust40]

On 10/25/2019 at 4:21 PM, Scrooge said:

 

The complete Heath War Atlas covers set is such a nice set to collect. When I was going after it, here's the list I worked off. Basically a simple Heath search in AtlasTales at the time. I never spent time to "audit" the attributions for those in doubt. A set of 101 was achievable enough at the time. My last count is 87 of those but I am not sure if it's up-to-date. Anyone here has a complete set? Buttock? Andy?

Here it is chronologically. Let me know if you want it alphabetically -

The high watermark is 7 covers dated June 1952. Several months @ 6 covers as well.

Title	Number	Published	Artists
Battle	6	1/1/1952	Russ Heath
Kent Blake of the Secret Service	5	1/1/1952	Russ Heath
Spy Fighters	7	3/1/1952	Russ Heath
Men's Adventures	13	4/1/1952	Russ Heath
Kent Blake of the Secret Service	7	5/1/1952	Russ Heath
War Adventures	4	5/1/1952	Russ Heath
Battle Action	3	6/1/1952	Russ Heath
Battlefield	2	6/1/1952	Russ Heath
Battlefront	1	6/1/1952	Russ Heath
Combat	1	6/1/1952	Russ Heath
Man Comics	15	6/1/1952	[Russ Heath]
Men in Action	3	6/1/1952	Russ Heath
War Adventures	5	6/1/1952	Russ Heath
Combat	2	7/1/1952	[Russ Heath]
War Comics	11	8/1/1952	Russ Heath
Battle	12	9/1/1952	Russ Heath
Combat	5	10/1/1952	Russ Heath
Men in Action	7	10/1/1952	Russ Heath
War Action	7	10/1/1952	Russ Heath
War Adventures	9	10/1/1952	Russ Heath
Battlefield	5	11/1/1952	[Russ Heath]
Battlefield	6	12/1/1952	[Russ Heath]
Battle	16	1/1/1953	Russ Heath
Spy Fighters	12	1/1/1953	Russ Heath
War Comics	15	1/1/1953	Russ Heath
Battlefield	8	2/1/1953	Russ Heath
Combat	9	2/1/1953	Russ Heath
War Adventures	13	2/1/1953	Russ Heath
War Comics	16	2/1/1953	Russ Heath
Battle	18	3/1/1953	Russ Heath
Men's Adventures	20	4/1/1953	Russ Heath
Battlefield	11	5/1/1953	Russ Heath
War Comics	19	5/1/1953	Russ Heath
Combat Casey	10	6/1/1953	Russ Heath
War Action	14	6/1/1953	Russ Heath
Combat Casey	12	10/1/1953	Russ Heath
Battlefront	14	11/1/1953	Russ Heath
Battlefront	15	1/1/1954	Russ Heath
War Comics	23	1/1/1954	Russ Heath
Battle	26	2/1/1954	Russ Heath
Combat Kelly	19	2/1/1954	Russ Heath
War Comics	24	3/1/1954	Russ Heath
War Comics	25	5/1/1954	Russ Heath
Battle	30	6/1/1954	Russ Heath
Battle	31	7/1/1954	Russ Heath
War Comics	26	7/1/1954	Russ Heath
Combat Casey	17	8/1/1954	Russ Heath
Marines in Battle	1	8/1/1954	Russ Heath
Navy Action	1	8/1/1954	Russ Heath
Battle	32	9/1/1954	Russ Heath/[Joe Maneely]
Battlefront	23	9/1/1954	Russ Heath
Marines in Battle	2	10/1/1954	Russ Heath
Navy Action	2	10/1/1954	Russ Heath
Battle Ground	2	11/1/1954	Russ Heath
War Comics	29	11/1/1954	Russ Heath
Battle	35	12/1/1954	Russ Heath
Battle Action	14	12/1/1954	Russ Heath
Battlefront	26	12/1/1954	Russ Heath
Combat Casey	19	12/1/1954	Russ Heath
Marines in Battle	3	12/1/1954	Russ Heath
War Comics	30	12/1/1954	Russ Heath
Battle Ground	3	1/1/1955	Russ Heath
Battlefront	27	1/1/1955	Russ Heath
War Comics	31	1/1/1955	Russ Heath
Battle	37	2/1/1955	Russ Heath
Battle Action	15	2/1/1955	Russ Heath
Battlefront	28	2/1/1955	[Russ Heath]
Marines in Battle	4	2/1/1955	Russ Heath
Navy Action	4	2/1/1955	Russ Heath
War Comics	32	2/1/1955	Russ Heath
Battle	38	3/1/1955	Russ Heath
Battle Ground	4	3/1/1955	Russ Heath
Battlefront	29	3/1/1955	Russ Heath
War Comics	33	3/1/1955	Russ Heath
Battle Action	16	4/1/1955	Russ Heath
Battlefront	30	4/1/1955	Russ Heath
Combat Casey	21	4/1/1955	Russ Heath
Navy Action	5	4/1/1955	Russ Heath
War Comics	34	4/1/1955	Russ Heath
Battle	40	5/1/1955	Russ Heath
Battle Ground	5	5/1/1955	Russ Heath
Battlefront	31	5/1/1955	Russ Heath
War Comics	35	5/1/1955	Russ Heath
Battle Action	17	6/1/1955	Russ Heath/[Joe Maneely]
Battlefront	32	6/1/1955	Russ Heath
Combat Casey	22	6/1/1955	Russ Heath?
Combat Kelly	31	6/1/1955	Russ Heath
Marines in Battle	6	6/1/1955	Russ Heath
Navy Action	6	6/1/1955	Russ Heath
War Comics	36	7/1/1955	Russ Heath
Battle Action	18	8/1/1955	Russ Heath
Combat Casey	23	8/1/1955	Russ Heath
Marines in Battle	7	8/1/1955	Russ Heath
Battle Ground	7	9/1/1955	Russ Heath
Battle Action	21	2/1/1956	Russ Heath
Combat Kelly	35	2/1/1956	Russ Heath?
Battle Action	24	8/1/1956	Russ Heath
Battle Ground	13	9/1/1956	Russ Heath
Combat Casey	30	10/1/1956	Russ Heath
Battle Ground	14	11/1/1956	Russ Heath
Marines in Action	9	11/1/1956	Russ Heath

Excuse the delay in checking out this list and providing feedback. I'm missing three of those books. Men In Action 7 seems to have slipped through the cracks, for some reason. I remember when Heritage a few years ago were selling Atlas war books in batches of four or five consecutive issues in each title, and one I got outbid on was the latter Men In Actions (this was in a Sunday auction before Heritage changed it to the signature auction format. Most of the books were in high grade. Yes, I wish I'd gone berserk with them). Some of the later Combat Caseys or Kellys are noticeably tougher to find (missing one of each). 

Battle Action 15 was a bear to find. None of the above books were super-hard to pick up at one point in reasonable shape, but the supply certainly has diminished - I have a few copies of Men's Adventures 13 (one of my favorite war covers, because it's so unusual - the view from inside a tank looking outwards at an imminent onslaught), which was a book that seemed to turn up fairly often, but certainly not now.

My favorite Heath covers (if I had to pick any, as all are great) would be War Comics 23 (a CGC 7.5 copy of that book ended at $900 on ebay recently, and frankly the buyer did ok at that price - should've bitten the bullet), War Comics 26, and also Battlefront 15 (never seen a copy of this book above FN).

Heath remains my favorite war artist, but then I suspect he's everybody's..

[Scrooge]

1 hour ago, goldust40 said:

None of the above books were super-hard to pick up at one point in reasonable shape

Yes! That's what attracted me to the set. Achievable, fun to look for, and you get great interiors as well as the Heath cover.

Thanks for checking and congrats on being close to the set. 

[goldust40]

3 minutes ago, Scrooge said:

Yes! That's what attracted me to the set. Achievable, fun to look for, and you get great interiors as well as the Heath cover.

Thanks for checking and congrats on being close to the set. 

Cheers Scrooge.

Yes, buying cheap Atlas war books was one way of staving off the compulsion to buy stuff without breaking the bank (four or five years ago every book was $20 -25 in mid grade) but they also had such great content, art and covers.

[Hepcat]

Mmmmmm, 380 pages of Atlas Comics! 

[Robot Man]

1 hour ago, goldust40 said:

Excuse the delay in checking out this list and providing feedback. I'm missing three of those books. Men In Action 7 seems to have slipped through the cracks, for some reason. I remember when Heritage a few years ago were selling Atlas war books in batches of four or five consecutive issues in each title, and one I got outbid on was the latter Men In Actions (this was in a Sunday auction before Heritage changed it to the signature auction format. Most of the books were in high grade. Yes, I wish I'd gone berserk with them). Some of the later Combat Caseys or Kellys are noticeably tougher to find (missing one of each). 

Battle Action 15 was a bear to find. None of the above books were super-hard to pick up at one point in reasonable shape, but the supply certainly has diminished - I have a few copies of Men's Adventures 13 (one of my favorite war covers, because it's so unusual - the view from inside a tank looking outwards at an imminent onslaught), which was a book that seemed to turn up fairly often, but certainly not now.

My favorite Heath covers (if I had to pick any, as all are great) would be War Comics 23 (a CGC 7.5 copy of that book ended at $900 on ebay recently, and frankly the buyer did ok at that price - should've bitten the bullet), War Comics 26, and also Battlefront 15 (never seen a copy of this book above FN).

Heath remains my favorite war artist, but then I suspect he's everybody's..

I agree with Heath but would have to throw in Joe Kubert. The quintessial war artist. I think he gets overlooked a bit due to the huge amount of great  war work and the fact that his stuff is fairly available even in high grades. 

[goldust40]

1 minute ago, Robot Man said:

I agree with Heath but would have to throw in Joe Kubert. The quintessial war artist. I think he gets overlooked a bit due to the huge amount of great  war work and the fact that his stuff is fairly available even in high grades. 

I've often gone back and forth between the two legends as to who was greater. When I first read the Enemy Ace run in SSWS and the SA / BA Rock issues in OAAW, I immediately thought that no-one could outdo Kubert. But after many years of collecting Atlas, not to mention the DC work Heath did, plus the Artists Edition of his work published by IDW, I'd say they are neck and neck.

Either way, Heath was the man for the pre-code era when it came to war books. Kubert by his own admission took most of a decade to reach that level of brilliance we associate with him.

[Robot Man]

I’m with you. Pretty neck in neck war wise in two different eras. I also love Heath’s Sea Devils SA work. Nearly every issue is a classic.

Overall I give it to Kubert for his total comic book output. From nearly the dawn of the GA he has literally worked.  in EVERY genre and worked right up his death. His SA war work is still my favorite stuff.

War wise, I also give an honorable mention to Joe Maneely. So much great stuff. Tragic his life was cut short...

[creaturefan95]

[Hepcat]

On 11/22/2019 at 3:17 PM, Robot Man said:

War wise, I also give an honorable mention to Joe Maneely. So much great stuff. Tragic his life was cut short...

Interesting question to be sure! But you know that both Joe Kubert and Russ Heath did so much for DC in the 1960's (all fabulous of course) with which I'm fairly familiar that I'm actually more intrigued /excited to find Atlas war or western titles with Joe Maneely or John Severin artwork.

Edited December 6, 2019 by Hepcat

[PopKulture]

To me, Kubert's layouts are his strength, but I see Heath's work as more finished - certainly tighter. Kubert's better stuff for me came later. Great artists both! 

On a related note, it's nice to see so much love for the Atlas artists these days - Heath, Everett, Maneely, Severin - so many innovative layouts and wonderful renderings, from the war books to the westerns and beyond!  

 

[jimjum12]

If not for this Forum, I would have likely not been exposed to as much Joe Maneely as I have. It's kind of bittersweet to post some of my favorites of his, especially the later stuff. He just kept getting better and better towards his untimely end. His covers were always imbued with such energy. Through some of the scant Biographical sources, it seems the Western genre was his favorite. GOD BLESS.....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

 

[707comics]

Cross post from the war thread but figured you guys would be interested as well.

Coming June of 2020:
https://www.deadreckoning.org/book/atlas-at-war/

 

[goldust40]

19 hours ago, jimjum12 said:

If not for this Forum, I would have likely not been exposed to as much Joe Maneely as I have. It's kind of bittersweet to post some of my favorites of his, especially the later stuff. He just kept getting better and better towards his untimely end. His covers were always imbued with such energy. Through some of the scant Biographical sources, it seems the Western genre was his favorite. GOD BLESS.....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

It shows - his western covers became more and more baroque towards the end. Really detailed and filmic - you wonder where such energy would've led when Atlas morphed into Marvel.

[jimjum12]

3 hours ago, goldust40 said:

It shows - his western covers became more and more baroque towards the end. Really detailed and filmic - you wonder where such energy would've led when Atlas morphed into Marvel.

Heath and Everett get the most juice in this thread, But some of Maneely's covers are as powerful and unique as you can get, and often without the "good artist" price premium. I just snagged a couple of tougher westerns for a good pal. No harm in posting the covers here... GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

[jimjum12]

This has always been a favorite Maneely cover ….. the largely monochromatic color scheme really punches it up. His attention to detail would be a hallmark of his style. GOD BLESS....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

… There is an issue of Alter Ego devoted to Maneely …. for anyone who hasn't seen it, it is well worth seeking out, but his is a tragic story.

 

[PopKulture]

Playing with some books as the cold weather settles over the Midwest... It's always fun to revisit stuff you haven't seen in a while:

[PopKulture]

This Everett cover is one of my favorites of the run:

Edited December 5, 2019 by PopKulture

[Hepcat]

On 11/24/2019 at 6:41 AM, goldust40 said:

It shows - his western covers became more and more baroque towards the end. Really detailed and filmic - you wonder where such energy would've led when Atlas morphed into Marvel.

Ffffftttt! I prefer Joe Maneely's Atlas Westerns to just about all post-hero Marvel comics anyway! The occasional Fantastic Four or Steve Ditko Amazing Spider-Man might be just about on par but that's about it.

 

 

[Hepcat]

On 11/24/2019 at 10:05 AM, jimjum12 said:

Heath and Everett get the most juice in this thread, But some of Maneely's covers are as powerful and unique as you can get, and often without the "good artist" price premium. I just snagged a couple of tougher westerns for a good pal. No harm in posting the covers here... GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

 

 

Wow! I'm overawed!