Number 2439: “I can shoot faster than you can slit throats!”

I saw a picture of a crime comics cover years ago, and the title stuck in my head: Seven Dead Men. It is an intriguing title, but what got my attention was the garish cover lettering.It was another example of a comic book fighting to command attention on newsstands, and probably succeeding. It came out in 1948, which was the year that newsstands saw an onslaught of crime comics. 

I didn’t see the actual comic until much later. The title is officially Complete Mystery #1, in small print. It is a private eye story; a tale of some hidden stolen loot and some gangsters getting bumped off by a guy looking for that loot. 

Best information on the creators are from Dr Michael J Vassallo, who knows more about the magazine and comic book empire of publisher Martin Goodman than anyone. In the Grand Comics Database he says that it is Gene Colan’s pencil art with an unknown inker, and script by Stan Lee. There are no credits for either the short “Tommy Tyme” story or the U.S. Post Office's requirement for two pages of text material, “The Stuffed Rubber.”

 I showed the lead story in 2014. These are new scans of the entire book.

Number 2311: “Your Name is Frankenstein!”

I like the old Atlas stories written by Stan Lee. His issues of the horror comic, Menace, are good examples of his skill and style. It helps that he had top illustrators to do the artwork. In this issue, besides the stories being written by Lee, the comic has artwork by Syd Shores, Joe Sinnott, Russ Heath, and the illustrator of today’s offering, Joe Maneely. A stellar lineup of talent.

Menace #7 (1953) was one of the first pre-Code horror comics I owned, thanks to Bill Thailing of Cleveland, Ohio, a very early comic book dealer. I think it cost me 50¢.

I showed the Frankenstein story in the very early days of this blog. I had only my own copy to scan and present, and it was in bad shape when I scanned it. Today I am showing much better scans from a copy I found online.

Number 2282: Two from Uncanny Tales

Jack Keller was a longtime comic book journeyman, working in a variety of genres. He was definitely able to tell a story, and my opinion was also helped by seeing some of his Kid Colt western stories for Atlas/Marvel. I would bet Keller was a very dependable artist who got his work in on time. An editor's dream.

For today I have picked a werewolf story by Keller; the Grand Comics Database credits Carl Wessler for the script.

Speaking of scripts, the late Stan Lee showed his funny side with this Joe Maneely-drawn shorty of a horror comics editor who can’t seem to find a decent story from writers. I have mentioned before I like self-referential stories about the inner workings of the comics business. I wonder if Joe Maneely caricatured himself bent over a drawing board (page 3, panel 2). Obviously he didn’t caricature Stan Lee, who was too tall and slim to be mistaken for the fat and angry editor, Bradbury Bulldozer.

Both stories are from Uncanny Tales #4 (1952).