Mammoth Atlas at War! Collection out soon from Dead Reckoning

By John Freeman on August 28, 2020

On sale soon, Atlas at War! from US publisher Dead Reckoning collects 50 hard-hitting stories from Atlas Comics, the company that became Marvel Comics and published more war titles than anyone in the industry between the years 1951 and 1960.

Comics historian Dr. Michael J. Vassallo has chosen the best of the best, many of which are coming back into print for the first time, from 16 different Atlas war titles and featuring the artwork of twenty different artists – giants of the genre, including Russ Heath, John Severin, Bernie Krigstein, Joe Maneely, Jerry Robinson, Steve Ditko, and Jack Kirby. Each page has been meticulously restored from its first printing by comic art restorer Allan Harvey.

Atlas at War! covers the brutal pre-code period, where graphic depictions of war action were rendered by artists who were World War Two veterans themselves, as well as the post-code period, where code restrictions forced creators to tell stories without graphic violence but produced some of the most beautiful comic art of the genre. In addition to the artists, stories cover all aspects of war – from famous campaigns, weaponry, and personal soldier stories to political topics, Nazi atrocities, and even one story tinged with pre-code horror…

Often overlooked in favour of its competitors, the team at Dead Reckoning feel Atlas at War! will finally show that Atlas’ war titles were second to no one.

Dr. Michael J. Vassallo is a noted comics historian and a world-renowned authority on the Timely/Atlas period of Marvel’s history. He is the co-author of The Secret History of Marvel Comics and has written 20 introductions to Marvel’s Timely and Atlas Age Masterworks volumes.

A frequent contributor to comic history publications, Dr. Vassallo has provided writing and editorial support to Taschen (75 Years of Marvel, The Stan Lee Story) and maintains his own Timely-Atlas-Comics blog.

A Manhattan dentist, he resides in Westchester County, New York, with his wife, Maggie, and their children, Michelle and Jason. He is currently researching and writing an art biography of Atlas giant, Joe Maneely.

*Above: examples of the restoration work for Atlas at War! by Allan Harvey*

Welsh graphic artist Allan Harvey specialises in digital restoration, breathing new life into vintage comic artwork. Previous restoration projects include Colleen Doran’s A Distant Soil, Stan Lee’s Amazing Fantastic Incredible, and a host of Sam Glanzman war comic reprints for It’s Alive Press.

• Atlas at War! is on sale from 14th September 2020 and available from all good book shops | Buy Atlas at War! from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

• Dr Michael Vassallo’s Timely-Atlas Blog

• Allan Harvey is online at allanharveyrestoration.com | Follow Allan Harvey on Twitter @allanharveyres1

• Dead Reckoning Atlas at War! page at www.deadreckoning.org

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.