Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Escape from Nine by 1 by Russ Heath

Escape from Nine by 1
by Russ Heath
from Thrilling Adventure Stories No. 1, February 1975


When Martin Goodman and his son Charles 'Chip' Goodman launched Atlas / Seaboard Comics in 1974, they were intent on not just producing color comic books, but black and white comic magazines in the manner of the Marvel / Curtis lineup. (The story goes that the Goodmans founded Atlas with the goal of taking away some readership from Marvel, and thus exacting revenge on Cadence Industries, Sheldon Feinberg, and Albert Landau). 

Thrilling Adventure Stories was among the five black and white comic magazines that Atlas published in 1975. Unfortunately, it only lasted for two issues (the entire Atlas line folded before the end of that year). 

While some of the contents of the first issue of Thrilling Adventure Stories was of decidedly mediocre quality, 'Escape from Nine by 1', written and illustrated by comics veteran Russ Heath, was an excellent entry in the 'Escape from a Nazi prison camp' genre of adventure tales. I've posted it in its entirety below.









Saturday, December 19, 2015

The Cathedral by Mantlo and Gal

'The Cathedral' by Bill Mantlo (writer) and Jean-Pierre Gal (artist)


'The Cathedral' was first published in the Spanish comic magazine Cimoc, issue 66 (1985), with an English translation reprinted in 1997 in the '20 Years of Heavy Metal' special issue.


Gal's artwork is just as brilliant as that which he did for the 'Conquering Armies' and 'Vengeance of Arn' comics.











Thursday, December 17, 2015

Fallout 3000

Fallout 3000
by Mike Deodato Sr and Mike Deodato Jr
Caliber Comics, 1996


Since the late 1980s, Mike Deodato, Jr (b. 1963) has established himself as a well-known and successful comic book artist for major publishers, including DC and Marvel. But his first forays into writing and illustrating comic books came in his native Brazil, and his very first comic book was a black and white title called Year 3000, released in 1984.



In 1996 U.S. publisher Caliber Comics negotiated with Deodato, Jr to release seven of his Brazilian comic books in English, including Year 3000, which was retitled Fallout 3000.



Produced in conjunction with his father, Mike Deodato Sr,who wrote the comic, Fallout 3000 is an impressive artistic debut, all the more so considering that Deodato Jr was only 21 at the time. The story starts out on a post-apocalyptic note (with one of the more intense illustrations of a Rat Attack that I've ever seen !) before transitioning into a broader landscape of interstellar war.

Deodato Jr's artwork is reminiscent of that of Paul Neary in the Warren magazines of the 1970s in its innovative and striking use of full-page, collage-based compositions, chiaroscuro, and Zip-A-Tone. 

I've posted the entirety of Fallout 3000 below...........note that the original Caliber Comic book can be obtained, for a reasonable price, from online comic book vendors.