Eerie Presents El Cid!

Here's a strange and weirdly wonderful tome featuring a strange sword and sorcery character from Warren Magazines named El Cid. He springs from the imagination of Gonzalo Mayo and Budd Lewis. He was concocted when Warren ran out of handy-dandy Esteban Maroto stories about a guy named Dax. He was Warren's real last stab at putting out some serial sword and sorcery. 

This Sanjulian painting which originally appeared on Eerie #66 doesn't really capture the tone of Mayo's rendition which is quite a bit more civilized, at least in the beginning. It's a fantastic painting nonetheless. 

The collection begins with "El Cid and The Troll", which it turns out has something of a twist ending. We are treated in this one to terrible images of giant and repellant trolls. Written by Budd Lewis. 

"El Cid and the Seven Curses" is a lush tale not unlike the Odyssey in which our hero slays a wizard to puts these curses on which play out in extremely violent ways. But our hero finds love even in the middle of all the slaughter. This is the longest of the tales and is told in two parts. Story by Bill DuBay and Budd Lewis. 

"El Cid and the Vision" pits the hero against a doughty Black Knight. But it turns out that Knight was merely a hallucination. Later Cid learns why he had the vision when a real Knight shows up. Story by Gerry Boudreau and Budd Lewis. 

"The Lady and the Lie" pits the Cid against two demons named Az and Ahriman -- the Lust and the Lie. These two plot to bring down the noble Cid with all manner of nubile temptations. The Boudreau and Lewis team returns. 

"The Emir of Aragon" shows the Cid entranced by a woman named Arias who in actuality serves the Emir of Aragon. Many times she schemes against the Cid all the while entrancing him with her body. Jeff Rovin and Budd Lewis team to write this one. 

"Crooked Mouth" shows up the Cid as he demonstrates both mercy and wisdom by welcoming Moors into his home. An old man is angered by this and goes to an old enemy of the Cid's named "Crooked Mouth" who uses magic to stop his rival. Written by Budd Lewis. 

"Demon's Treasure" is the tale about a man who wakes a wizard when he seeks treasure. That wizard corrupts the kingdom and it's up to the Cid to bring end his misrule. Budd Lewis finishes his run on the hero. 

(Berni Wrightson)

The adventures of El Cid feature some outstanding Gonzalo Mayo artwork. The work is lush and entrancing, if at times a tad difficult to decode. All of Mayo's women are full-bodied and quite bodacious. 

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Atlas-Seaboard Comics - January 1975!

(Neal Adams)
Atlas-Seaboard Comics appeared all of a sudden on comic bookshelves on the middle of the 70's. The company was started by the Goodman clan which had been behind Marvel for decades before selling off a few years before. Now they wanted to show the world that they had the magic touch and to prove that point, they waved around a lot of money, so much that they enticed all kinds of top talent to give Atlas a try. New comics were wildly exciting to me at the time when only the Big Two really mattered much. But as we know the white-hot Atlas-Seaboard company burned out almost as quickly as they appeared. I want to take this year, fifty years gone since those halcyon days to look back at these comics. We'll do it month-by-month as 2024 rolls along. 

IRONJAW has always seemed to me to be the flagship title of the Atlas-Seaboard line. The book gets the first specific mention on the text page and that Neal Adams cover is almost hypnotic. Talk about making a good first impression. Ironjaw is clearly intended to take advantage of the barbarian bubble that was ongoing in the Bronze Age. Marvel's success with Conan was indisputable, and DC was likewise trying out all sorts of ideas to find one that succeeded. In fact Ironjaw was first proposed as a DC project, but was rejected by Joe Orlando and Fleisher was given permission to shop it around.

(Mike Sekowsky and Jack Abel)

The first Ironjaw issue is a surprise in two ways. Ironjaw, as written by Michael Fleisher is a woman-hating, bloodthirsty thug, in other words a barbarian in more than name only. A descriptive essay on the last page of the comic says that Fleisher is trying to write a "real man" in barbarian setting. Mike Sekowsky does an admirable job under better than average Jack Abel inks. I distinctly remember not liking it so much at the time, but my maturing tastes have given me a fresh appreciation for Sekowsky's storytelling skills.

(Getting the word out.)

All in all, Ironjaw is a pretty good comic. The story of his origin gets underway, as we learn he is the son of the local King and those in power are threatened by inexplicable return; Ironjaw doesn't seem aware of his potentially royal roots. After the usual barbarian battles, and a somewhat disquieting incestuous scene (Ironjaw's sister frees him, but of course he doesn't know who she is...don't worry it remains Code worthy) the story ends midway, with Ironjaw dangling from a prison tower and the promise the story will conclude next issue.

(Sal Amendola and Dick Giordano)
PHOENIX is identified in the text pages as the "Greatest Story Ever Told", a clear reference to Jesus and the Biblical saga of his life, death, and resurrection. Ed Tyler is an astronaut in 1977 (remember the book came out in 1975), and the Skylab is damaged and he's the lone survivor of a crash landing in the Arctic. He's found by the Deiei, a race of tall big-headed somewhat pruny-looking aliens who claim that after God created the Earth and the early creatures that preceded man, they took genetic control and manufactured modern man from those raw elements. The problem is they want to end the experiment totally and start over. After some discussion and histrionics, Tyler gets his hands on some of the alien equipment and becomes super-powered.

Tyler escapes, but the aliens attack Reykjavik, Iceland with a subterranean volcanic assault and Phoenix (not technically called that yet) does what he can to fend them off. Using his vaguely described radiation powers he sends the offending beam back at the aliens destroying their Arctic base in a mushroom cloud. But we find out there are more aliens, and that Ed has a lot more to do before he has saved the Earth from these "demons". The parallels with Christ will continue in the next issue. The story is written by Jeff Rovin (the editor of A-S's color line) and drawn by Sal Amendola, a member of Continuity Associates. With a Neal Adams cover on Ironjaw, a Dick Giordano cover on Phoenix, and Amendola's work, CA seems to have had a big hand in early Atlas-Seaboard.

(Ernie Colon)
GRIM GHOST is a wonderfully wicked book. If The Phoenix is the sci-fi retelling of the Christ story, then Matthew Dunsinane, an 18th Century highwayman turned 20th Century spectral avenger for Satan is something else again. This book is lusciously drawn by Ernie Colon, who also does the gorgeous cover. The script is again by Michael Fleisher. Borrowing from the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (I love this TV-movie by the by) and the Spectre, along with perhaps the old Gay Ghost from Sensation Comics, Fleisher creates a wicked anti-hero who attacks murderous robbers and sends them to hell.

The Grim Ghost is fully established as a character after this one issue. The story briefly is that a notorious highwayman, Dunsinane, a murderer many times over, is eventually captured by falling for a beautiful woman (ain't it always the way) and then is hanged. He goes literally to Hell, where the Devil makes him his agent on Earth to gather souls, but not in the 18th Century, but forward to the then-modern 1975 setting where things have apparently gone from bad to worse. Armed with an array of powers, this Grim Ghost (more than a name at this point) rides his black steed into trouble and gathers up evildoers.

Like Ironjaw tried to hop on the barbarian craze, this book seems to want to take advantage of the Bronze Age interest in horror, but with a twist. Fleisher had been the writer for DC's Spectre, and he brings that violent bent to this book as well. The story is extremely tight, and unlike the other two January dated books, has something of a satisfying ending.

More Atlas-Seaboard to come next month. 

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Atlas-Seaboard Month-By-Month - June 1975

June was a pivotal month for the fledgling comics company known as Atlas. The change made in the editorial direction of the company was seen in the color comics, as Larry Lieber stepped forward and took control of the whole line following the departure of Jeff Rovin. Before this, the two men had split the color books with Leiber focusing on the genre books. Now all the books got some new talent and new directions. The fragmentation of the line is becoming evident.


PHOENIX #3 offers the latest episode in the life of astronaut-turned-messiah/superhero Ed Tyler as he attempts to solve the dilemma of a distant village overcome by Abominable Snowmen. He finds a destroyed village with a single survivor, an old man, and proceeds to find the rest of the missing folks. That brings him into conflict with the Snowmen and their creator and master Lucifer. Lucifer it turns out is something of a rogue Deiei who is now free to pursue his inclinations since Phoenix has largely destroyed the Deiei bases on Earth. Needless to say after much hooplah and one sacrifice, the village is saved and Lucifer is frustrated. The story is by Gabe Levy with more worthy artwork by Sal Amendola. Frank Thorne does the cover.


The second feature of the book is DARK AVENGER and it's a reasonably well-crafted tale of urban crimefighting and offers splendid Pat Broderick artwork. A young man finds a mysterious metal, is able to transform it into a suit and so finds himself with a wonderful superhero gimmick. That such a fellow with so vivid an imagination and so specific a set of skills is still living with his mother and brother is arguably the strangest thing about this little one-off story. It's a bit like Spider-Man meets The Katzenjammer Kids, but lots of folks really like this story.


DESTRUCTOR #3 gives us another installment in this ongoing Archie Goodwin - Steve Ditko epic saga. Gone this issue is Wally Wood, and the artwork seems to have been inked by Ditko. I don't know about that. The story continues with the Destructor still battling thugs from the Combine, but this time under the direction of Dr.Shroud. He sends the Huntress and her attentive sidekick Lobo to take on the Destructor, and they trap him in an elaborate casino/canyon (you've really got to see this one to understand that). Because the thugs fight among themselves, the Destructor lives to fight another day. One thing about our hero, he's certainly presented as a cool character who is willing to sacrifice others to achieve his goals. The anti-hero is popular with Atlas, but in many respects Jay Hunter is the purest example of the disaffected mdoern protagonist.


TIGER-MAN #2 is a real change of pace issue. Steve Ditko takes on the hero and gives him a really dynamic energy he was missing in the earlier chapters. Gerry Conway takes the writing helm, and Tiger-Man seems to become a more conflicted hero, more concerned with the lives of his enemies. He encounters the Blue Leopard, a man empowered with the same talents as himself yet set on a revenge mission against Dr.Hill, the Tiger-Man. There's more than a few clues to suggest the Blue Leopard is a Black Panther clone, with several origin details in common with Marvel's kingly hero. Lots of good fight scenes in this one, and a grand Frank Thorne cover.


TARGITT #2 gives us another story in John Targitt's ongoing war on crime. This issue gives more Howard Nostrand artwork, but the story told in flashback, relates how Targitt is transformed into an undercover FBI secret agent and gives him a uniform to perform his missions against the mob. There's lots of action and mayhem, and the story is reasonably diverting if not particular inspiring. Like the Dirty Harry movies that inspired this comic, there's an ongoing fascination with guns that seems to actually drag the storytelling down a bit.


POLICE ACTION #3 gives us two more crime dramas. LOMAX battles a hotdog vendor turned hitman, and eventually gets his man. Mike Sekowsky does another fine job with more McWilliams inks. LUKE MALONE finds himself drawn into a rock star's murder scam and eventually he uncovers the plot of this thinly-veiled swipe of Alice Cooper. Despite an energetic Frank Thorne cover (Noticing a trend on cover art?), the comic seems to be losing its steam a bit, and just in time, because this is the last issue.

And now the new stuff...


THE BARBARIANS #1 gives us a new IRONJAW story, and its an okay effort with Pablo Marcos art and Gary Friedrich story. Under Mike Fleisher Ironjaw was a grim realist, but now there seems to be a desire to make him more heroic and sympathetic. It's ill-considered I think. In this story Ironjaw fights some barbaric mutants, and to my surprise befriends them. Sheesh! The second feature is a real strange one called ANDRAX. This story seems to be an import and offers the beginning of an epic saga of a young Olympic athelete captured by the obligatory mad scientist and sent (by unexplained means) into the future where the scientist is sure the man's will and stamina will make him a king among the weak future-men. All the newly dubbed "Andrax" finds is a wasteland and soon he's fighting for his life. It ends with him seeking other people. It's a well drawn story, but has a distinct European feel to it.


FRIGHT #1 gives us the beginning of the SON OF DRACULA story by Frank Thorne on art. It's a rambling story, and involves mild incest and more than a bit of coincidence to concoct a complicated situation that finds a young college professor possessed of the curse and the power of Dracula himself. It's not a bad story, just a confusing one as origins can tend to be. The story sets up a man who seems to be both the hero and the villain of the story, despite his better intentions. This book is the only issue of Fright, and the only story about the Son of Dracula I'm familiar with.


HANDS OF THE DRAGON #1 might just be the strangest new addition to the Atlas-Seaboard lineup. This story with Jim Craig artwork gives us a no-holds origin story which has elements of vintage Silver Age Marvel, along with more recent Bronze Age Marvel and a whisper of old Charlton. The book appears to be (and is) a rip-off of Master of Kung-Fu. But the story is really more a clone of the Iron Fist saga with some exploding atomic bombs thrown in to give several folks some superpowers. Two twins survive the blast to be raised by their grandfather in a monastery where one brother grows to become evil (he also was scarred by the blast though he never really looks like it) and the other becomes our hero "Dragon". There's also a villain called Dr.Nhu who corrupts the brother who eventually gets the name Ling the Cobra. It's a complicated story with a few too many elements thrown in. One gets the feeling the script and the art aren't a perfect match, and that the book was drawn with a somewhat different plot. Another detail is that perhaps the Dragon's outfit was originally to have been green. Despite his very MOKF look, one caption describes him as a green figure. I figure that change was made both to take advantage of Shang-Chi's success and avoid too obvious a comparison to Iron Fist. The story ends with an assassination plot foiled and the Dragon vowing to stop his brother. We never find out what happens as this book too ends with its first issue.

The wheels are coming off the Atlas-Seaboard machine. The changes are clear attempts to gather market, and much of the line's early character is disappearing to be replaced by less compelling material.

July will see lots of final issues, and even a debut or two. More next time.

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Atlas-Seaboard Month-By-Month - January 1975

It is hard to believe that it has been thirty-five years since those halcyon days of my youth when as a diehard Marvel and DC comics fan, I chanced upon another company by the somewhat familiar name of Atlas. This was a different Atlas, Atlas-Seaboard to be exact. And they burst onto the comics scene with a fury, literally a bang. How they ended up is the definition of a whimper, but the “New House of Ideas” produced some intriguing comics by some pretty impressive young and veteran talent. So with that in mind let me begin a month-by-month overview of the majority of Atlas-Seaboard’s color comic output. All books save for the reprint Vicki title will be covered, and when appropriate the B&W magazines will be referenced. Let’s begin at the beginning.

JANUARY 1975

By my reckoning there were three color books produced by Atlas-Seaboard with a January date on the cover. I know for a fact, that this cover date is suggestive only, because I specifically remember buying Wulf the Barbarian with a February date at the same time I purchased the books discussed below. The January and February books have the same text page in the back, and as far as I've seen so far the same distribution of ads and house ads.

IronJaw #1 cover by Neal Adams
IRONJAW has always seemed to me to be the flagship title of the Atlas-Seaboard line. The book gets the first specific mention on the text page and that Neal Adams cover is almost hypnotic. In fact this first trio of Atlas covers are among the very best the company ever produced. Talk about making a good first impression. Ironjaw is clearly intended to take advantage of the barbarian bubble that was ongoing in the Bronze Age. Marvel's success with Conan was indisputable, and DC was likewise trying out all sorts of ideas to find one that succeeded. In fact Ironjaw was first proposed as a DC project, but was rejected by Joe Orlando and Fleisher was given permission to shop it around.

The first Ironjaw issue is a surprise in two ways. Ironjaw, as written by Michael Fleisher is a woman-hating, bloodthirsty thug; in other words a barbarian in more than name only. A descriptive essay on the last page of the comic says that Fleisher is trying to write a "real man" in barbarian setting. Mike Sekowsky does an admirable job under better than average Jack Abel inks. I distinctly remember not liking it so much at the time, but my maturing tastes have given me a fresh appreciation for Sekowsky's storytelling skills.

All in all, Ironjaw is a good comic. The story of his origin gets underway, as we learn he is the son of the local King and those in power are threatened by inexplicable return; Ironjaw doesn't seem aware of his potentially royal roots. After the usual barbarian battles, and a somewhat disquieting incestuous scene (Ironjaw's sister frees him, but of course he doesn't know who she is...don't worry it remains Code worthy) the story ends midway, with Ironjaw dangling from a prison tower and the promise the story will conclude next issue.

Phoenix #1 cover by Sal Amendola and Dick Giordano
PHOENIX is identified in the text pages as the "Greatest Story Ever Told", a clear reference to Jesus and the Biblical saga of his life, death, and resurrection. Ed Tyler is an astronaut in 1977 (remember the book came out in 1975), and the Skylab is damaged and he's the lone survivor of a crash landing in the Arctic. He's found by the Deiei, a race of tall big-headed somewhat pruney-looking aliens who claim that after God created the Earth and the early creatures that preceeded man, they took genetic control and manufactured modern man from those raw elements. The problem is they want to end the experiment totally and start over. After some discussion and histrionics, Tyler gets his hands on some of the alien equipment and becomes super-powered.

Tyler escapes, but the aliens attack Reykjavik, Iceland with a subterranean volcanic assault and Phoenix (not technically called that yet) does what he can to fend them off. Using his vaguely described radiation powers he sends the offending beam back at the aliens destroying their Arctic base in a mushroom cloud. But we find out there are more aliens, and that Ed has a lot more to do before he has saved the Earth from these "demons". The parallels with Christ will continue in the next issue. The story is written by Jeff Rovin (the editor of A-S's color line) and drawn by Sal Amendola, a member of Continuity Associates. With a Neal Adams cover on Ironjaw, a Dick Giordano cover on Phoenix, and Amendola's work, CA seems to have had a big hand in early Atlas-Seaboard.

Grim Ghost #1 cover by Ernie Colon
GRIM GHOST is a wonderfully wicked book. If The Phoenix is the sci-fi retelling of the Christ story, then Matthew Dunsinane, an 18th Century highwayman turned 20th Century spectral avenger for Satan is something else again. This book is lusciously drawn by Ernie Colon, who also does the gorgeous cover. The script is again by Michael Fleisher. Borrowing from the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (I love this TV-movie by the by) and the Spectre, along with perhaps the old Gay Ghost from Sensation Comics, Fleisher creates a wicked anti-hero who attacks murderous robbers and sends them to hell.

Like Ironjaw tried to hop on the barbarian craze, this book seems to want to take advantage of the Bronze Age interest in horror, but with a twist. Fleisher had been the writer for DC's Spectre, and he brings that violent bent to this book as well. The story is extremely tight, and unlike the other two January dated books, has something of a satisfying ending.

The Grim Ghost is fully established as a character after this one issue. The story briefly is that a notorious highwayman, Dunsinane, a murderer many times over, is eventually captured by falling for a beautiful woman (ain't it always the way) and then is hanged. He goes literally to Hell, where the Devil makes him his agent on Earth to gather souls, but not in the 18th Century, but forward to the then-modern 1975 setting where things have apparently gone from bad to worse. Armed with an array of powers, this Grim Ghost (more than a name at this point) rides his black steed into trouble and gathers up evildoers.

January was a good month for Atlas-Seaboard. These are all good books, with high concepts and ample evidence that they are set up for long runs. February will yield even more potential.

More to come.

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