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Rebecca Jansen
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Joined: 12 February 2018
Location: Canada
Posts: 4635
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| Posted: 08 March 2023 at 5:58pm | IP Logged | 1
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Rich Yanizeski! That's the artist I had in mind before. I have no idea how I connected the name Len to him. I ran across his work on a one-off Iron Man story.
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Eric Jansen
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Joined: 27 October 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 2386
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| Posted: 11 March 2023 at 1:20pm | IP Logged | 2
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The short-lived Atlas/Seaboard line has held a special fascination for me ever since I was a child--right there to pick up the first issues of a brand new company! Chaykin's two SCORPION (who sort of became Dominic Fortune at Marvel) issues, Buckler's one DEMON-HUNTER (who definitely became Devil-Slayer at Marvel), and the first couple of issues of PLANET OF VAMPIRES really grabbed me. But by the third issues, most of the series were revamped/ruined and gone by the fourth. But I missed quite a few.
Only in recent years did I come across Atlas' DESTRUCTOR by Archie Goodwin and Steve Ditko--a fantastic series that was NOT ruined by the third issue, though it was gone after the fourth. Inker Wally Wood was gone after the second issue and Goodwin after the third, but Ditko stuck it out for all four. It's a super-hero with a strong design, interesting set-up, and a solid villain introduced in each issue. If this series had been introduced at another publisher, we might be reading issue #500 or 600 by now!
Here are some pages from DESTRUCTOR #1 by Goodwin, Ditko, and Wood.
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Doug Centers
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Joined: 17 February 2014
Location: United States
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| Posted: 11 March 2023 at 3:11pm | IP Logged | 3
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I just happen to start reading comics soon after Atlas started up. Those first few months I had just as many Atlas as DC or Marvel.Including 2 or 3 each of Destructor and Tiger-Man.
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Rebecca Jansen
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Location: Canada
Posts: 4635
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| Posted: 11 March 2023 at 6:49pm | IP Logged | 4
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There was a bookstore here that had literal stacks of Atlas as well as '70s Marvel comics primarily all at their original cover price. I bought a few Atlases (Atlasi?) but my main preoccupation was assembling the full Starlin run on Warlock (they had a dozen copies of #9 for some reason. The Destructor would've been worth the 25 cents alone though. This is where I remember seeing most '70s Kirby Marvel comics all pretty much mint condition. It must have all been some big dump off via a distributor that wasn't scrapping them or having to tear a part of the covers off? There I remember getting Machine Man #10 (as well as #1 and 2), titles I saw the most of were Marvel's Skull The Slayer and Man From Atlantis, I guess those really didn't sell? The Atlas comics I got were Phoenix and Morlock 2001 which had what seemed the most Marvel names. Lots of Marvel reprint titles too. Now I see those Atlas comics with fairly high sticker prices... would love to investigate Planet Of The Vampires at least.
Another shop I would visit but only rarely had bags of mint Modern Comics reprints marked half price to liquidate and I bought a lot of those. The prizes there were a lone Captain Atom with two Ditko stories, and the E-Mans some of which had one. I ended up because they were three to a bag with more Doctor Graves, Cheyenne Kid, Geronimo Jones, Judo Master and House Of Yang I didn't want... I got both Peacemakers, Haunted Love #1, two Hercules, a Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt and I forget what else.
I guess like $1 bin LP records, 25 cent bins of comics gong back years are a relic of another age. On another side note that same regular looking bookshop's owner had more comics from the '50s and '60s in storage, often stone mint condition too. The downside being he had gotten a Price Guide, and so although it was a couple years out of date you didn't get one of the multiple never read X-Men #25s or Daredevil #21s for a quarter, you had to pay a whole dollar or even two! Also that hedl back stuff had been picked through of most of the best items like the Ditko Spider-Mans (#41 on up however in ample supply, and I did get a couple Ditko issues somehow missed). Strange Tales with Ditko Doctor Strange were also less than abundant versus later issues (great for a Steranko fan though).
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Doug Centers
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Joined: 17 February 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 5644
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| Posted: 11 March 2023 at 7:32pm | IP Logged | 5
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Re: Atlas, the Vicki title is notoriously hard to find and comes at a premium price, which is even more extraordinary since it was a reprint book (Tippy Teen from Tower Comics). Of course I didn't have any since it was a "girls book".
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Eric Jansen
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Joined: 27 October 2013
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| Posted: 12 March 2023 at 10:58pm | IP Logged | 6
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Here's issue #2!
DESTRUCTOR #2 penciled by Steve Ditko and inked by Wally Wood
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Eric Jansen
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| Posted: 13 March 2023 at 7:20am | IP Logged | 7
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And now issue #3!
DESTRUCTOR #3 penciled by Steve Ditko and inked by Frank Giacoia (according to GCD but uncredited in the original comic)
Edited by Eric Jansen on 14 March 2023 at 2:41am
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Eric Jansen
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| Posted: 14 March 2023 at 7:48am | IP Logged | 8
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And, finally, issue #4! (With Gerry Conway taking over the writing.)
DESTRUCTOR #4 penciled by Steve Ditko and inked by Al Milgrom
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John Wickett
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Joined: 12 July 2016
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| Posted: 14 March 2023 at 8:29pm | IP Logged | 9
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Eric, those are great looking pages; especially the Wood issues. Thanks for sharing.
Edited by John Wickett on 14 March 2023 at 8:31pm
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Rebecca Jansen
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Location: Canada
Posts: 4635
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| Posted: 14 March 2023 at 9:10pm | IP Logged | 10
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Those Destructors look great; nobody does insane and/or scary bad guys the way Ditko can! I noticed Duffy Vohland's credited as letterer... and that title "Doomsday Minus One"? Hmmm. :^)
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Eric Jansen
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| Posted: 16 March 2023 at 6:37am | IP Logged | 11
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Though I appreciate Ditko anywhere, I especially like his DC creations. It'd be nice if all of them were given the star treatment up to the present day. Here's some pages from one of his quirkier (and cooler) back-up features--the ODD MAN.
Edited by Eric Jansen on 16 March 2023 at 6:39am
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Eric Jansen
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Joined: 27 October 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 2386
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| Posted: 17 March 2023 at 7:11pm | IP Logged | 12
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Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Hulk!
INCREDIBLE HULK ANNUAL #9 penciled by Steve Ditko and inked by Al Milgrom
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