Marvel comics story. 2: 1947
 

 

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The fiveties were the reign of DC years. By the quality, as well as by the success, DC runed far away before the racers. Except for years 50-54, when they were relegated to the second rank by EC horror comics. Marvel, or more exactly Atlas, ex Timely, was but a small company among hundred others producing middling series of no much popularity..Nevertheless, they had something for anybody's taste.

BELLOW : Atlas creations from 47 to 55. (Notice that the creation of a title doesn't allways match with the number 1 issue of a comic. For instance, the first Teen, funny adventures of high school guys in Archie's way is numbered 20 and published right after All Winners 19, last issue of this super heroes comic book.)

 

 
COMICS CREATED FROM 1947 TO 1955
33 Westerns
28 Love comics
20 Horror comics
17 War series (Almost all in 52-54, meanwhile Korea and
..... cold war's most)
15 Comic books for girls (other than those of love)
11 Humorous series for young children (kind allready exploited during
.....the golden age with 14 titles from 1942 to 1946)
10 Magazines of crime or detectives
9 Super heroes (4 from the last embers of the golden age (1948)
....and 5 from the 1954 short start (cold war)
7 Teen agers humorous series in Archie's way. (distinction between
.... for teen agers or for girls is sometimes vague and a bit arbitrary.)
4 Jungle magazines (hosting female versions of Tarzan)
3 Sarcastic humorous magazines (All in 1953-54 in the wake of the
..... legendary Mad launched by EC in 1952)
3 "Spies stories" series (that is to say action-commando wich could as
.... well be put with war titles.)
2 Space operas
2 Adventure comic books
1 Historical narratives magazine
1 Swashbuckler
1 Science fiction. No. Super heroine. Well. Something like this.
1 Heroïc dog
1 Hot rods racer
1 Collection of illustated pop music hits
1 Magician detective
 

 

Comics for girls.

They were the only ones, some of them at least, to show some quality.And to make a hit. The two stars of the kind were Patsy Walker an ordinary young girl and Millie the modele. From her appearance in 1944 in Miss America, Patsy was published in Teen, Patsy and Hedy, Patsy and her pals, A date with Patsy, Girl's life and in Patsy Walker whose more than five millions copies of every issue were sold!. Seven comic books fully devoted to her whose six simultaneously. Better than Spider-Man. She lasted untill 1967. It takes to say that her principal illustrator Al Hartley was Atlas only realy good artist, the only one who could have work at DC's or EC's. As for Millie the model, she beated Patsy's longivity record. She kept on stage from 1944 to 1973.

As ashtonishing as it may seem, it's Jack Kirby who invented love comics; with My Date and above all Young Romance in 1947, for Hillman and Prize respectively. This was such a hit that everybody imitated it. Hundreds of romantic titles blossomed everywhere. The fiveties were realy the years either rose water (*) or hemoglobin. All wich worked was love or horror. Only DC resisted those two mermaids' song. Atlas rushed in both's arms. Love comic years were 1949-1956. For Atlas it's been a bit shorter. In 1949, Atlas created 18 love comics. 15 disappeared in 1950 or before.
(*)In France, l'eau de rose, that is to say rose water, stands for schmaltzy.


Westerns.
Let's be honest. Westerns too worked. The three Kids were, except for Patsy and Millie, the only characters who passed the sixties mark. Kid Colt Outlaw, published from 1948 to 1979, long kept the record of longest uninterupted publishing at Marvel's. Rawhide Kid, 1955-1979, was drawn by Jack Kirby during three years, from 1960 to 1962. Few series have been so long kept by the King. Notice that in the begining of the 60's, mostly under Kirby's pencil, the Kids came to fight rather unusual in western field adversaries, dressed and gun-armed gorilla, invisible gunman and any other giant indian. As for Two Gun Kid, 1948-1977, a time travel introduced him in the super heroes' world among the Avengers.

1954: Heroes return.
In 1954 the three super nazis breakers, Captain America, Submariner and Human Torch, were, each one in his own side, called back to break, this time, communists. They disappeared even faster than love comics.

1955: Black Knight
This rond table knight was the only Atlas swashbuckler. He disappeared after 5 issues but he would be resuscitated, or more exactly reincarnated twenty years after, as super hero among the Avengers. At Marvel's, nothing get lost.

Before to turn the page, just a world about the most curious series of this time. Creeated in 1948 by Harvey Kurtzman, the futur famous artist of EC Comics and specially of Mad,Venus was in the begining a funny pin up. She was drown in humorous style. During the romance frenzy of 1949 our character became the realistic heroine of love stories. Next year, her divinity was pointed at and the she-god of love lived science fiction adventures wich made out of her a kind of interplanetary super heroine. At last, in 51 she played a part in the big wave of horror comics. She would have a short but fully filled life.Don't you think so?

 

 

 

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1956-1961 Marvel real birth

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