The Second Coming of Marvel Comics

Marvel still had hits with the Fantastic Four, The X-Men, and Spiderman, but it also saw that DC was having some success with the new Tarzan and Swamp Thing titles. So in an attempt to cash in, Marvel flooded the market with jungle stories and swamp creatures. Marvel also began resurrecting several older horror/fantasy titles, such as Journey Into Mystery, Vault of Evil, and Chamber of Chills, to compete with the new magazine format graphic stories that Warren was producing.

You can view or download a larger image by clicking on one of the thumbnails below. To download, once the image displays, position your cursor on the picture and click the right mouse button (Mac users click and hold down the mouse button). Then save the image as a file on your own computer.
Go to Page 2 AG00051_.gif (1652 bytes)
shanna.jpg (214992 bytes)Shanna, The She-Devil, Vol. 1, No. 1, Dec., 1972. An obvious tribute (rip-off?) to Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, but with an "ecological" theme. Shanna lasted 5 issues, then had one story in Savage Tales. Credits: "Stan Lee presents an ecological epic by Carole Seuling and Steve Gerber (story), George Tuska (art), Vince Colletta (inker), John Costanza (letterer), and Roy Thomas (editor)."
jungle.jpg (190584 bytes)Jungle Action, Vol. 1, No. 1, Oct., 1972. Around 1972 Marvel began reprinting many stories from the Atlas comics from 1954 and 1955. Jungle Action was an Atlas title and the blond Aryans Lorna and Tharn and the dark-haired, gypsy-like Jann were characters from those issues. These stories are from the early Comics Code years are pretty tame. However, the stories do have a "white supremacy" theme running through them that was prevalent during the "innocent" Eisenhower years.
it.jpg (185634 bytes)Supernatural Thrillers, Featuring IT!, Vol. 1, No. 1, Dec., 1972. "Stan Lee presents a macabre masterwork by: Theodore Sturgeon, adapted by Roy Thomas (scripter), Marie Severin and Frank Giacoia (artists)." Yes, it looks like the Swamp Thing, but the story is very much like early EC stories--maybe because Marie Severin used to work for EC--which makes this one-shot more enjoyable than most. Supernatural Thrillers lasted 15 issues, each one with unique stories and no continuing hero-types.
mystery1.jpg (195893 bytes)Journey Into Mystery, Vol. 1, No. 1, Oct., 1972. The original Journey Into Mystery was an Atlas publication that began around 1952, later to become a Marvel comic until 1965. The early "Journeys" were all separate stories with no recurring characters until one of Marvel's most famous characters appeared, Thor, who later got his own comic. Writers for this issue were Roy Thomas, Steve Englehart, and Steve Skeates. Artists included Gil Kane, Tom Palmer, Ralph Reese, Jim Starlin, and Mike Ploog.
chills.jpg (201835 bytes)Chamber of Chills, Vol. 1, No. 1, Nov., 1972. The original Chamber of Chills was a Harvey Publication that ran from 1951 to 1954 and was very instrumental in forcing the Comics Code into being. Mainly because the Harvey publication had extremely violent and disturbing content--more so than EC ever could come up with. A note in the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide says that "about half the issues contain bondage, torture, sadism, perversion, gore, cannabalism...". The new Marvel version was much tamer but still retained some of the EC horror/mystery comic feel. Writers and artists this issue were George Alec Effinger (writer) Craig Russell, Dan Adkins (artists); Stan Lee (writer) and Russ Heath (artist) in a reprint; and Gerry Conway (writer) and Syd Shores (artist).
vaultevl.jpg (192910 bytes)Vault of Evil, Vol. 1, No. 1, Feb., 1973. This title, which ran for 23 issues, was all reprints from early Atlas comics, including Mystic, Uncanny Tales, and Menace. Artists in several issues included Ditko, Drucker, Everett, Heath,and Krigstein.
Go to Page 2 AG00051_.gif (1652 bytes)

Return to The Second Coming Page