Gorilla Daze

Western Action # 1, February 1975

“Birth of a Badman!”

Script: Larry Lieber

Art: Doug Wildey

The Corbett family arrive in Cody, Wyoming to take over the running of the farm left to them after the death of a relative. Cody is a wild frontier town full of danger to the newcomers. Instantly they are threatened with death unless they give up the farm to local bigwig Blackwell, who wants it for the water found there. Pa Corbett refuses, and gets himself and his missus blown away.

Corbett junior is in town on an errand, and goes to the aid of “Old Logan” a one-eyed wreck of a man — the sad remnant of someone who was once the fastest gun in the west. Corbett offers the tramp a meal at the farm, and the pair head for home. Once there they discover the grisly remains of the Corbetts.

Old Logan helps Corbett bury his parents, and, when the kid swears revenge, he teaches him everything he ever knew about gun slinging. Corbett is a fast learner, and the pair go after Blackwell. It’s all over very quickly, but Corbett — now known as Kid Cody — realises that the law will be after him.

He and Logan ride off into the sunset.

“Vengeance Trail”

Story: Steve Skeates

Art: Jack Abel and Allen Milgrom

When he spots a farmhouse aflame following an attack by outlaws, a young man goes to the aid of a dying old man and a child. The old guy soon dies after imploring the young man to take care of the boy. This triggers memories for the man, for he is “The Comanche Kid”, a white child raised as an Indian following the death of his own parents. He was then disowned by the tribe after he hesitated when a lion pounced on him and his Indian “brother”, resulting in the latter’s death. He carries the guilt around as he wanders a lonely road.

He takes the boy to town, but is there set upon by the same outlaws that destroyed the farmhouse. Unfortunately, no one is willing to help the Comanche Kid as the outlaws effectively own the town. However, he overcomes his guilt and gathers the courage to fight the overwhelming odds — and wins.

With his wounds tended, he leaves the boy in the care of the local hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold, and rides off into the sunset.

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Though Jeff Rovin was brought in as the Editor in Chief of Atlas there were too many titles for him to oversee personally, so Larry Lieber was lured over from Marvel to look after half the line. Lieber, of course, is the brother of Stan Lee, and so his appointment was seen as something of a coup for Atlas — and Lieber was keen to step out from his brother’s shadow and show what he could do on his own. Sadly for him, things didn’t go well.

Western Action was one of Lieber’s titles. While Rovin’s initial lineup had some degree of originality, Lieber’s were almost all entirely derivative of Marvel. That’s probably not his fault, it’s what he was brought in to do: Goodman wanted his new venture to be a new Marvel. At Marvel, Lieber had mainly done work on the war and western books, and this book shows that influence heavily.

Doug Wildey does a nice job on the art for the Kid Cody origin, but it’s hardly his best work. Kid Comanche, on the other hand, is totally forgettable. Skeates was far better than this. The only point of interest is that the pencils are by Jack Abel, better known as an inker, with inks by Al Milgrom, better known — in my mind at any rate — as an penciler!

The cover, inevitably, is by Larry Lieber. Needless to say, Kid Cody and the Comanche Kid never appeared again.

©2010 Atlas/Seaboard Periodicals/the respective copyright holder

Blazing Battle Tales #1, July 1975

“The One-Armed Beast”

Script: John Albano

Art: Patrick Broderick and Jack Sparling

This Sgt Hawk and His Killer Platoon tale sees the eponymous sergeant hand pick a team (if two can be called a team) of crack operatives to go behind enemy lines to rescue a French girl who knows the names of hundreds of resistance fighters. She’s been captured by “one of the most sadistic officers in the German command.” Hawk and his men are soon at the spot, and waste no time dispatching the enemy in a variety of gruesome ways. However, having rescued the girl, they have to face the might of the whole German army getting her back to safety.

Completely enraged by the thoughts of the indignities the girl faced while captive, Hawk goes berserk and carves his way to a German camp. As they approach, US bombers blow the whole place to smithereens.

However, the sound of a jeep reveals that the German officer is still alive and making a break for it. Hawk coolly squeezes the trigger on his machine gun, causing the jeep to run off the road and explode. Hawk and his chums celebrate by watching the guy go up in flames.

“The Sky Demon!”

Story: John Albano

Art: Al McWilliams

Captain Gunner is a bit of a maverick flier. However, he’s given his head as he has a weird “sixth sense” that guides him to important targets. When Lt General Sands takes over as base commander, Gunner has his wings clipped. Later, on a sortie, Gunner is ordered to return to base — despite his having a hunch about a passing train.

Later that evening Gunner is summoned, and Sands apologizes for scoffing at his sixth sense. From now on Gunner will be allowed to fly solo once more. Intelligence has been received that that train was carrying a very special passenger: Adolf Hitler!

“Blazing Battle Tales Salutes: Bronze Star Winner… Pvt. William Swanson”

Writer: John Albano

Artist: John Severin

A true life tale of Swanson’s exploits

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John Albano is probably best known for co-creating Jonah Hex at DC. Blazing Battle Tales sadly sees him slumming it somewhat, and is a pretty sorry book. It is partially redeemed by the art jobs on the back up stories from Al McWilliams and the always reliable John Severin. Pat Broderick, in one of his earliest jobs, lacks his later panache, and the Sgt Hawk story is a painful read.

The cover, by Frank Thorne, is the best thing about this comic. Past that, avoid..!

©2010 Atlas/Seaboard Periodicals/the respective copyright holder

The Cougar #2, July 1975

“A Walk With a Werewolf”

Script: Gary Friedrich

Art: Frank Springer

Jeff Rand “the best stuntman in the business” is shooting another picture. He finds a corpse with its throat ripped out (well, we’re told that, though the picture shows the throat as perfectly intact). The police can’t figure out what could’ve caused the mutilation, but Rand becomes thoughtful…

His mind wanders back to the time when, as a young man, his brother was cursed by “Black Hattie”, the Bayou witch. This curse means that Rick Rand (!) has become a werewolf, and later Jeff returned home only to find his brother had got there first — and ripped out the throats of his parents!

Back in the present, Rick shows up again and kills cousin Roger, just as he was about to spill the family beans to Jeff.

Jeff goes off to meet his girlfriend Janie, a singer. Unfortunately, Rick has become interested in her too — but for entirely different reasons. As she’s crooning away, feral Rick — bizarrely dressed in raincoat and trilby — attacks her right there on stage. “I’m splittin’!” cries her guitarist, helpfully.

Jeff climbs into the stage gantry, pulls out a knife, and swings down on a rope. His swing brings him into contact with the werewolf, and the blade is driven powerfully into Rick’s chest. As Rick dies he turns back into human form, much to the consternation of Janie and the police. Jeff, on the other hand, has been seriously hurt by his spectacular stunt.

Later that night, after long and difficult surgery, Jeff survives. Unfortunately, his spinal cord has been “shattered” — he will be permanently paralysed.

“Noooo!” cries Janie.

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The next issue blurb promises us “a crippled Cougar — helpless in a jungle of evil”, and also “the most devastatingly different superhero of all time!!” Which, y’know, given that the Cougar had just had his spine shattered by his fall from the gantry, might just have been true. Would we have seen wheelchair bound acrobatics next time? I suspect it’s more like that the next issue would’ve seen the debut of a replacement Cougar, with Jeff Rand as an advisor. However, we’ll never know, as this was the last issue.

It’s not as good as the previous issue. Creator Steve Mitchell, and original editor Jeff Rovin, had moved on from Atlas, and new editor Larry Lieber brought in new creative teams with instructions to ramp up the action and characters Marvel-style. Gary Friedrich was the new scripter, and he attempts to provide a kind of origin for the Cougar, but it’s none too successful. The werewolf angle is just silly.

Frank Springer takes over the full art chores from Dan Adkins, and does an okay job. He’s not the most consistent penciller, but it’s solid story-telling and the action is sound.

The all action, Marvel-style cover is by Rich Buckler.

Alas poor Cougar, it started off fairly promisingly, but quickly died a death.

©2009 Atlas/Seaboard Periodicals/the respective copyright holder

The Cougar #1, April 1975

“Vampires and Cougars Don’t Mix!”

Writer: Steve Mitchell

Art: Dan Adkins and Frank Springer

Jeff Rand is a stuntman working on a vampire movie shooting in an east European location. When not pursuing that line of work Jeff wears a skintight red outfit and calls himself The Cougar. This appears to be common knowledge: no secret identity for Jeff.

One evening after the cameras stop rolling, a prop man finds a coffin lying around in a castle that’s to be used as a location the next day. This coffin just happens to contain a cape pierced by a stake. Naturally enough Roger, the prop man, pulls out the stake, and is promptly killed by the vampire that subsequently materialises!

Having tasted fresh blood, the vampire heads for the nearest tavern. Unfortunately, it’s the tavern in which the Cougar is entertaining his pals with a little after work drink up. Spying the make-up girl, the vamp pounces, forcing the Cougar to spring into action. However, his lightning fast reflexes are not sufficient to dispatch the fiend — and neither are the umpteen bullets pumped into him by the local constabulary.

The next day shooting resumes on the movie, and poor Roger’s blood-soaked body is discovered. Deciding that a vampire must be responsible, the Cougar goes to a bookshop to do some research and finds that the vampire is most likely a Count Krolok, the 17th century owner of the castle. Jeff is concerned for the safety of Kathie the makeup girl, but the police just laugh it off.

Thinking that Kathie is the reincarnation of his lost love, Krolok comes calling that night — but finds the Cougar waiting for him. Unfortunately, our hero once again proves no match for the vampire’s might, and Krolok kidnaps the girl.

In hot pursuit, the Cougar commandeers a car and makes his way swiftly to the castle to confront Krolok. There, he finds the beast ready to drink Kathie’s blood. A bloody battle ensues in which Krolok is speared — to no great effect — with a sword. As the fight goes on, the Cougar engineers a situation whereby he brings his whole weight to bear on a rickety wooden table. The table splinters, and the Cougar uses a large shard to impale Krolok’s heart.

The vampire dissolves, and Jeff leads Kathie to safety. “C’mon babe, let’s go home!” he says in a manly manner, as Kathie caresses his barrel-like chest.

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This is actually a pretty solid comic, one of the better ones from the Atlas stable.

When Atlas was being set up, the initial ideas included licensing some well-known tv and film properties to add name recognition to the fledgling line. One such property considered was Kolchak: The Night Stalker, a 1973 tv show that featured Darren McGavin as a reporter that investigated supernatural goings on (it was kinda like a 1970s X-Files). When publisher Martin Goodman deemed the licenses too expensive, he ordered that Atlas merely copy the ideas instead.

Yep, The Cougar is basically a super-hero version of Kolchak. Whereas Kolchak, being a journalist, just wandered around with a notepad, Jeff Randall, being a stuntman, was able to provide the necessary super derring-do required in an action adventure comic. And, it works. The only slightly odd thing is the notion that Jeff has no secret identity as such, he pretty much always dresses in his super-threads — even when going out for a drink of an evening! But then I guess Evel Knievel was doing much the same thing at the time.

To make the association even more obvious, note that one of the cover blurbs highlights the phrase “Night Stalker”, and Kolchak creator, Dan Curtis, receives a dedication on the splash page.

Steve Mitchell’s script is a little repetitive, and low on character, but there’s plenty of action, and it’s all extremely entertaining. The art, by Dan Adkins and Frank Spinger is very pretty. I can’t see a lot of Adkins to be honest, so I suspect he mainly provided layouts with an occasional more finished panel here and there. Good, solid draftsmanship and storytelling.

The beautiful cover is by Frank Thorne.

©2009 Atlas/Seabord/the respective copyright holder

Weird Suspense #4, September 1975

In this issue, the Tarantula…

Hold on?! Number 4!!??

Yep. There actually wasn’t a fourth issue of Weird Suspense. However, this cover did appear in a house ad in Cougar #2, so we can be fairly sure that the issue was actually prepared and ready to go. The cover lines indicate yet another retelling of the origin of the Tarantula, which would be the fourth in just four issues! The letters column of the previous issue claim that Gary Friedrich intended to expand upon the nature of the tarantula cult. Looking at the image here, it would seem that his ideas were taking a sci-fi turn, and that it would be revealed that the tarantulas were alien in origin — which would at least go some way to explaining their green skin and red compound eyes, I guess. Bit of a shame it never came out really, it might have helped make more sense of what had come before.

I can’t read the signature, so can’t comment on who the artist was. Rich Buckler perhaps.

So, that was Weird Suspense and the Tarantula. Not quite Atlas’s answer to Spider-Man (he’d come later), and not one of their better titles.

©2009 Atlas/Seaboard/the respective copyright holder

Weird Suspense #3, July 1975

“Mind/Matter = Murder!”

Script: Gary Friedrich

Art: Pat Boyette

Count Lycosa frets that a killing reported in the newspaper might have been committed by his alter ego, the Tarantula. Loyal manservant Crispin (brother to the previously employed Joseph, who was killed last issue) assures him that this wasn’t the case as he — Crispin — spent all last night watching the Count sleep. Cozy.

At the office where he works as an investment counselor Lycosa is visited by Abdul Rashid, a turbaned individual who is looking to steal his father’s money. Lycosa refuses to help, but finds himself attacked by a suit of armour that just happens to be standing in his office. It transpires that Rashid has perfected the power of mind over matter! Lycosa agrees to the man’s demands.

Later, Lycosa goes home and is tucked into bed — after being tied up with steel cable(!) — by Crispin. However, this proves no match for the Tarantula’s prodigious strength when the transformation overcomes the Count. Crispin threatens to shoot the beast, but the Tarantula reminds him that he and the Count are one and the same, and so the manservant backs down.

Meanwhile, Rashid uses his power to break into a bank vault. Then, for no readily apparent reason, he shows up a the apartment of Lycosa’s secretary, Natalie Walters. When she tells him that she can’t reach the Count, he strangles her. Just then the Tarantula arrives: he’d been on his way to drain Natalie’s blood, having learned of her existence from Lycosa’s files.

Rashid and the Tarantula clash. The Tarntula find himself crushed under the weight of a heavy bookcase, and then attacked by a gold statuette. As he struggles, Rashid flees onto the fire escape. While trying to climb to safety Rashid loses control of matter, and the Tarantula runs after him. Finally, Rashid is captured and the Tarantula sucks him dry.

The sun rises triggering Lycosa’s transformation. Luckily Crispin has followed his master, and so spirits the Count away before he has to make any awkward explanations to the recovering Natalie.

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The most consistent thing about Atlas Comics was its inconsistency. Here, after two issues, the creative team is shaken up with the departure of Mike Fleisher and the arrival of Gary Friedrich.

This comic is a mess. It makes no sense whatsoever. If Rashid can open bank vaults, why does he want Lycosa to transfer his father’s funds? For that matter, how could Lycosa, who is after all just an advisor, transfer the funds anyway?? When did the Tarantula read Lycosa’s files, and why doesn’t he just know about Natalie anyway, given that he and Lycosa share the same brain? Biggest of all is the denouement: Rashid just suddenly loses his powers. Why? Even Friedrich knew he was on thin ice here. He even has the Tarantula ask the very same question: “Why can you not summon nearby particles of matter to your rescue?” Rashid promises to supply the answer if the Tarantula saves him–but instead the monster kills him, saying that he has no need of the secret!! Cop out, Mr Friedrich.

Boyette acquits himself well on the art front, but the Tarantula himself still makes for a ludicrous design. And two pages are wasted on yet another recounting of the Tarantula’s origin — the third in three issues.

Cover art by Rich Buckler. The splash page, too, is by Buckler, but has pretty much nothing to do with what follows.

© Atlas/Seaboard/the respective copyright holder

Weird Suspense #2, April 1975

“The Revenge of the Spider Witch!”

Script: Michael Fleisher

Art: Pat Boyette

The murderous rampage of a group of thugs is stopped cold by the web and blood-thirsty, paralysing bite of Count Eugene Lycosa: The Tarantula. However, one of their number, Frank, escapes.

Something compels Frank to enter a bookshop, where he buys a volume on the “ancient history of the middle European spider-cults.” Probably not on the Times best-seller list that one. Clutching the tome tightly to his chest, he’s drawn to a cave outside town; a cave that was “once the scene of dark, unholy rites performed by an ancient cult of evil…” Inside Frank begins chanting in a forgotten tongue, and lo and behold, the spider-priestess from issue one is reborn in a flash of flame. She quickly rewards her unwitting minion with a swift death. Nice.

We learn her name is Rak-Nora and she teleports to Lycosa’s mansion, where she dispatches poor Joseph the butler. Lycosa is understandably miffed by this and sets off in hot pursuit. In the meantime Rak-Nora transforms several drunks into giant green tarantulas, all the better to do her bidding. Having gone to all that trouble, she then hypnotizes a couple of cops to go and pick up Lycosa.

Lycosa awakes in a big glass jar, which shatters as he transforms into the Tarantula. He fights with, and slaughters, the giant tarantula slaves — bloodily dispatching the last one with a large shard of glass. Rak-Nora ambushes the Tarantula as he attempts to leave the cave, and sinks her venomous fangs deep into his throat. Their powers closely-matched, the struggle goes on atop a craggy cliff. Seizing an opportunity, the Tarantula throws a tasty right-hook unbalancing the priestess.

He then picks her up, and bodily chucks her over the cliff edge to her death.

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As you’ve no doubt realised, the cover — by Larry Lieber — has absolutely nothing to do with what goes on in the comic itself. Bit of a shame that, as it at least looks vaguely interesting. This is a mess of a comic, where things just happen for no rhyme or reason. For instance, there’s a bizarre scene where Rak-Nora — having teleported miles in the previous panel — suddenly has to transform herself into a tiny spider so as to scuttle under a door to enter Lycosa’s house!

There’s bright red blood aplenty for those looking for some gore, but Boyette’s art is generally uninspired.However, fans of Fleisher’s Spectre run at DC may find some familiarity in the inventive manner in which the bad guys are done in.

©2009 Atlas/Seaboard/the respective copyright holder

Weird Suspense #1, Feb 1975

“Curse of the Tarantula”

Written by Michael Fleisher

Art by Pat Boyette

Weird Suspense was one of Atlas’s “try-out” books — and there were many — the idea being that a new character would be given a showcase for a few issues, and if successful, spun off into its own title. As Weird Suspense only managed a three-issue run before it gasped its last, just a single character emerged: the Taranutla. And what an odd beasty he was…

A storm-lashed nighttime prison break by three lags leads to the bloody demise of numerous guards and pursuing cops. The trio chuckle to themselves over their good fortune as they drive off into the night. Passing a mysterious and rambling old house, they decide they need to stop to find food. Beckoned inside by elderly butler Joseph, the three are confronted by the horror that is Count Lycosa: the Tarantula.

In his Nehru jacket, and with scaly green skin and red compound eyes, Lycosa is quite a fright. That he craves nothing less that to drain the blood of his “guests” merely adds to the nastiness. The trio panic and flee, only to find themselves trapped in a huge sticky web as Lycosa descends upon them, “paralyzing their every nerve…” with his venomous bite.

A flashback then reveals some of the history of the Tarantula. In a moody European village during the Dark Ages, a beautiful priestess leads an attack by a mass of huge — and I mean huge, like ten foot tall!! — tarantulas. Some of the villagers are killed, while others are dragged to a hidden glen where, in a mysterious rite, they are themselves transformed into more huge spiders. Thus they are “bound to serve the Tarantula God and his sordid, blood gorging cult.”

Back in the village, the courageous Count Lycosa regroups. When the spiders attack once more, he leads his volunteers to the hidden glen where they fight back with pitch forks and flaming torches. The priestess is tied to a stake and burned — but not before she has sworn a curse upon all the male descendants of Count Lycosa.

And so it is, as we return the current Count Lycosa, that we discover that he is the eleventh to suffer the curse. Though he has spirited himself away in the ramshackle house, far from “innocent men and women who would otherwise fall victim to [his] unnatural lust”, he now decides that he can no longer live in isolation…

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This is really not very good. It has an almost Golden Age feel to it, a kind of breathless “and then this happened, and then this…” Fleisher did much better work elsewhere; Jonah Hex at DC, for example. The art by Pat Boyette is disappointing. Boyette is something of an acquired taste, and there is a certain European/South America quality to his line, but this is hardly his finest hour. The modern day prison break stuff is quite acomplished and exciting, the “Dark Ages” sequence just inept. And since when do tarantulas have human-shaped heads and compound eyes? Or suck blood?? Very strange.

The cover, by Dick Giordano, is by far the best thing about this comic, and, indeed, one of the best things about Atlas, period.

©2009 Atlas/Seaboard/the respective copyright holder

Launched in a fit of pique by ex-Marvel publisher Martin Goodman after his son, Chip, was denied a seat at Marvel’s top table, Atlas Comics (aka Seaboard) was nothing if not bold. “The new House of Ideas”??! If only. The insane decision to flood the market with twenty new titles pretty much doomed the company from day one. As if that wasn’t bad enough the comics themselves suffered from a severe lack of consistency, with creative teams often changing every issue.

Within a year the company was gone, none of its comics lasting more than four issues.

But Atlas did do a few things right: they paid the creators very high page rates for the time, and offered an early royalty deal and return of original artwork. Those things eventually became the norm for the mainstream comics companies.

And, despite there being a lot of rubbish, there are a few comics and characters worth a look. Indeed, over the coming months Gorilla Daze is going to be reviewing them all…

©2009 Seaboard/the respective copyright holder