Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales to Astonish, Vol. 1

Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales to Astonish #1

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

Collects Tales to Astonish (1959) #1-10.

The Marvel Masterworks have brought you stories from the Marvel Age's super-hero heyday and comic books' Golden Age. Now, prepare yourself for the Atlas Era! Throughout the 1950s the comics world sat astride the shoulders of Atlas - a world full of gun-fighting outlaws, romantic heartbreak, gritty battlefields, terrifying horror and visionary science fiction. In TALES TO ASTONISH, we take you back to the days when giant atomic monsters roamed the Earth and alien invasions were a daily occurrence. Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and a host of top talents introduce you to the Ninth Wonder of the World, the Things on Easter Island, Mummex the King of the Mummies and more. Prepared to be astonished!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Comic Book

273 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 8, 2013

About the author

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tales to Astonish became a Superhero title in the late 1960s showcasing and premiering several of the early Marvel heroes but before that it was some nice SiFi comic stories. If you love alien invasion from other dimensions or worlds or science experiments gone bad then here is a nice collection of stories for ya. I know the science and writing are somewhat dated but damn these are still fun reads. Recommended

[Doctor Doom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of these I had read in reprints in the 1970s/1980s [if I remember correctly] but I did not realize that many of the stories actually had sequels in the same series. Quite enjoyable, very nostalgic [for some of us], and well-written.
Another aspect of the book I enjoyed were the plethora of artists whose handiwork I recognized [Kirby, Ditko, Heck and others]. What a great read.

[F · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not read these stories in the 1950s when they first came out but I read some of the reprints in the early 1970s. Great stories [though somewhat repetitive in some ways [giant monsters, etc.] with great artists like Kirby, Ditko, Heck and others. Like a great popcorn movie these stories are plain fun with most containing a thought-provoking twist or moral.

[José Ignacio ZG · Rating 2 out of 5]

Comic book anthology of post-code fictional science and fantasy short tales, most of them finishing with a plot twist, a moral or both.

[Francisco Robles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historias clásicas de misterio y ciencia ficción, sin centrarse en algún personaje en concreto.

[Orrin Grey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lately I've been on a big Jack Kirby kick, and I've been seeking out some of the nice collected editions of his stuff that're out there. To that end, I picked this up from the library, even though only a little bit of it's Kirby. There's some great stuff here (including Titano!), but mostly I was in it for the big monsters menacing mankind stories, and there weren't as many of those as I'd have liked. Surprisingly, my favorite wasn't a Kirby one at all, but a Steve Ditko (doing his best Kirby) on "I Saw the Invasion of the Stone Men!"

[Edward Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of both kitschy comic books and old TV shows like 'The Twilight Zone' and 'The Outer Limits' will enjoy this collection of 'Tales To Astonish', issues 1-10, dating from 1959 to 1960. Some of the art work is even by some of Marvels most famous artists, who worked on later books such as The Amazing Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four. Though the stories are short and sometimes poorly written, the imagination is still there and they make for a great glimpse at how comics used to be.

[Rich Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent reprint trade, featuring the first ten issues of Marvel's Tales to Astonish, which would eventually become The Incredible Hulk's second title. There are a lot of fun stories in here, by comic book legends like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, Jack Davis, Paul Reinman, and others. This one is heavier on the giant monster plots than Tales of Suspense or Journey into Mystery.

Very enjoyable read for comic fans of any age!