Atlas Era Tales of Suspense Masterworks Vol. 1: Atlas Era Tales of Suspense Volume 1 (Tales of Suspense

Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era

by Jack Kirby (Illustrator), Stan Lee, Larry Lieber

Collects Tales of Suspense (1959) #1-10.

In 1958, Stan Lee stood before the decimated Atlas line. Having gone from editor of a line of dozens of titles to just eight, Stan refocused his efforts on only biggest and best: enter TALES OF SUSPENSE! Anchored by the visual talents Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Don Heck, this new "big monster" book became part of a creative revival that would change comics forever. Their twist-ending tales featuring Martians, killer robots and massive monsters were the very foundation for what would become Marvel's super-hero House of Ideas. So strap on your tin-foil hat, grab your ray gun, and get ready to dive into one of the most amazing eras of comics' history.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Comic Book, Sequential Art, Fiction, Anthologies

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg) was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books, and the co-creator of such enduring characters and popular culture icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America, and hundreds of others stretching back to the earliest days of the medium. He was also a comic book writer and editor. His most common nickname is "The King."

Reviews

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the cover promises, this handsome volume reprints the stories and text pieces from the first ten issues of Tales of Suspense. When Stan Lee talks about cranking out monster yarns for Atlas in his pre-Fantastic Four days, this is what he's talking about.

The stories are–mostly–nothing to write home about. Considering how quickly they were likely written, they're not awful–just rough around the edges. Resolutions are brought about by coincidence as much as any effort on the characters' parts. And attempts at EC-style twist endings are usually not anywhere near twisty enough.

The artwork fares better, particularly Steve Ditko, who really shines on some of these. I was also pleasantly surprised by Joe Sinnott's work. I'm used to thinking of him strictly as an inker, but he does some lovely pencils on a few of these tales.

I think you probably have to be a comics fan to properly appreciate this book, but it's definitely a fascinating glimpse of comics history.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The comic suspense and horror titles are always a fun read for me. I love watching the way the writers and artist work around the Comic Code Authority rules for horror and story plots. Fun reads. Recommended

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terrible, terrible stories but it’s fun reading them and the art is great.

[Adam Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tales of Suspense is known for being the magazine Iron Man debuted in and where Captain America landed a solo feature after his return from the ice. But before that, Tales of Suspense was a 1950s science fiction magazine in the style similar to the Twilight Zone. Each story is about 4-7 pages long and there are common themes about bigotry being wrong, a future where humans fear robots, and so much more.

If you like the 1950s stories, these are fine and you'll some very recognizable art styles from Jack Kirby and the other men who'd make the Marvel era shine, although there are a few daft ideas like ants with walky talkies being picked up by a boy. Still, there are some deft and thought provoking ones as well. Its definitely worth a read if you love that old 1950s/early 1960s Sci Fi.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es ist einfach so, ich kann nicht anders, ich liebe diesen alten Kram! Dass Marvel seit einiger Zeit Masterworks-Ausgaben der Atlas Era herausbringt, ist für Liebhaber des Golden Age Comic ein Glücksfall, denn die Originalausgaben besitzt kaum jemand und sie sind unerschwinglich (und ein Vermögen würde ich dafür auch gar nicht ausgeben wollen).
Wer Fernsehserien wie Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, Hitchcock Presents liebt, wer Spaß an den Pulps hat oder auch Roald Dahls "Tales of Suspense" genossen hat, kommt bei den ATLAS ERA TALES OF SUSPENSE auf seine Kosten - vorausgesetzt, er spendiert seinem erwachsenen kritischen Ich eine Eintrittskarte ins Kino und lümmelt sich, ganz staunendes Kind, in dessen Abwesenheit dann zum Lesen der hanebüchenden Stories ungeniert aufs Sofa, Chips und Cola in Reichweite.
Monster, Saurier, Raketen, Mutationen, Außerirdische, schrille Ideen, oft auch vorhersehbare, die TALES bieten das übliche Menu in wechselnder Qualität. Die Namen dahinter sind trotzdem groß, die zumeist vierseitigen Stories stammen aus der Feder von Stan Lee und Larry Lieber, die Artwork von Jack Kirby, Don Heck, Steve Ditko, Joe Sinnott, Al Williamson, John Buscema und anderen.

Den TALES liegt leider keine Gebrauchsanweisung bei, darum ein Tipp von mir: möglichst in einer ruhigen Stunde, vor allem aber alleine lesen; denn es ist meiner Erfahrung nach gar nicht so einfach, den lieben Mitmenschen verständlich zu machen, wie man solchen "Schrott" - Schrott natürlich nur aus deren erwachsener Sicht - konsumieren kann. Und: sich niemals von Schuldgefühlen anfressen lassen.
Und wenn man sich nach der Lektüre vorsorglich und aus therapeutischen Gründen im Spiegel betrachtet und, sich an den letzten Selbsthilferatgeber erinnernd, dreimal sagt: "Du bist ok, so wie du bist", dann tragen die TALES sogar zur geistigen Gesundheit bei - ganz ohne Nebenwirkungen!

[Rich Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Marvel Masterworks volume (one of the paperback versions) was a fun read, featuring the first 10 issues of Marvel's Tales of Suspense, the comic that would eventually be home to Iron Man and later become Captain America's title.

These stories are all more of a science fiction bent than the companion titles like Tales to Astonish or Strange Tales, but some of the monster or quirky stories fall into the groove here, too. There's plenty of great artwork by artists that are legends: Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, John Buscema, Al Williamson.

Think of this as a comic book version of television's The Twilight Zone, or perhaps Tales of Tomorrow. It will fill your average rainy afternoon quite nicely.

[Daniel Kleven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the earliest Marvel (the "Golden Age"), featuring one-off short stories with some kind of a "moral of the story" at the end. Lots of robots, aliens, and time-travel, and a few themes and elements that would get picked up on in later Marvel story lines and characters. In fact, Tales of Suspense eventually develops a regular "Iron Man" segment in Issue 39 (and then jumps right back to a stand-alone story in the second half of the issue). Anyway, I really enjoy going back to these original comics to understand characters that will persist into the 70s 80s 90s, 00s, 10s, and today. It's the "historical" bent in me to want to go back to the beginning to understand the present, even in comics :)

If you, too, are interested in these early series, in addition to Tales of Suspense (1959–) be sure to see Strange Tales (1951–; eventually featuring Dr. Strange and Nick Fury), Journey into Mystery (1952–; eventually featuring Thor), and Tales to Astonish (1959–; eventually featuring Ant-Man and the Hulk).

[Paul Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great comic book science fiction from Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and others! Wow! A masterly collection of great science fiction stories and art work from the late 1950s/ early 1960s. Favourite stories: One of Us is a Martian; Who Hides Beneath My Mask; Earth Will Be Destroyed. In truth, all the stories were entertaining. If you are into creepy monsters and quirky martians from Planet X, then you will certainly enjoy...

[José Ignacio ZG · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty much like its sister magazine Tales to Astonish this one is centered in short stories, most of them sci-fi-oriented, and usually ending with a moral or a plot twist. The comic code long established, these stories lack of any kind of graphic violence, sordidness or mysticism whatsoever. Much less funny than some pre-code stories of the same kind such as those featured in the first Journey Into Mystery.

[John Marr · Rating 3 out of 5]

The lightweight SF & fantasy in the early issues is pretty trite, but it's worth slogging through to witness the Giant Monster Takeover in the last few!

[James Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great artwork.

Master artists, Kirby and Ditko. These masterpieces still hold up well over time. Read these comics when I was around nine and still am amazed by the artwork.

[Edward Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these kitschy old sci-fi tales and how dated they seem, yet they are still great fun to read, even though they are so basic and simple, because they are such good ideas that could easily be expanded upon if someone chose to.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of a shaky start on this title but you do get some Kirby (rather poorly inked) and some peak period Ditko. Later volumes of this series improve but Vol 4 is the only real masterpiece.

[John Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kirby draws the monsters, Ditko draws the ghost stories, but the Reed Crandall monster in the cellar story was my favorite.