The 1950s boom in horror comics saw Atlas Comics' entrée into the genre. Beginning in March 1952, Amazing Detective Cases began detailing cases where justice was served in supernatural fashion and beginning in May 1953, the adventures in Men's Adventures were taken over by ghosts, murderous revenge, and psychological terror. The cream of Atlas' artistic line-up -- including recent EC stars and future Marvel staples - rose to the grisly challenge of the horror genre. Each issue is crammed with four condensed tales of creeping dread, ironic comeuppance, or startling twists, all from a different artist or team.
Among the short, sharp shocks included in this volume are the mini masterpieces "The Eerie Escape" by B. Krigstein, "The Torture Master!" by Russ Heath, The Drowning Witch" by Reed Crandall and "The 3rd Corpse" by Bill Everett. Stories by Gene Colan, John Romita, Joe Sinnott, Dick Ayers, Jim Mooney, Paul Reinman and George Tuska, all of whom remained through the shift to Marvel Comics, additionally fill out these issues, along with Atlas regulars Fred Kida, Mort Lawrence, Mike Sekowsky and Myron Fass. Notably included is the first appearance of "Gorilla Man" by Robert Q. Sale, a character brought back in Marvel's contemporary Agents of Atlas series, and part of their ongoing continuity.
Collecting Amazing Detective Cases #11-14 and Men's Adventures #21-26, Shiver As You Read! is a perfect companion to Adventures Into Terror, Venus, and the other titles of the Atlas Comics Library.
Colan, Gene: - Eugene Jules Colan (1926-2011) illustrated many war comics for both Timely/Atlas and DC Comics. He flourished after Atlas became Marvel, with notable stints plotting and drawing on Daredevil and Captain America in the 1960s, before co-authoring Howard The Duck with Steve Gerber and Tomb of Dracula with Marv Wolfman.
Everett, Bill: - Bill Everett (1917-1973) was the foundational artist of Marvel Comics. He originated Namor, the Sub-Mariner as a freelance creation, before placing it in Marvel Comics #1, the first publication from Timely Comics, later Atlas, then Marvel. Everett wrote and drew the early appearances of the character from 1940-42, and would periodically return to him during the post-war '40s, right up until the early 1970s. During Atlas' heyday, Everett worked extensively on horror anthology shorts, including taking over the romance/fantasy series Venus and converting it to straight horror. After Marvel's wholesale move to a superhero universe, Everett co-created the blind hero Daredevil with editor/scripter Stan Lee.
Krigstein: - Bernard (B.) Krigstein (1919-1990) was trained as a classical painter, but early on he recognized the artistic potential of the comics medium. He worked for major publishers including Harvey, Fawcett, Atlas (Marvel) and National (DC), in 1952 he moved to EC Comics, where his work is widely recognized as among the most innovative in comics history.
Lee, Stan: - Stan Lee (1922-2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher and producer for Timely/Marvel Comics and was the co-creator of many of the Marvel Comics iconic heroes, including Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Daredevil, Thor, Doctor Strange, Nick Fury, and the X-Men.
Vassallo, Michael J.: - 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.
