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The Black Knight (1955) #1-5
Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Black Knight/Yellow Claw, Vol. 1
Collects Black Knight (1955) #1-5 & Yellow Claw #1-4.
From the heroic times of King Arthur to the dangers of the Cold War, the Atlas Era brings you the greatest adventure stories from the 1950s. Presenting the original series of two legendary characters that have bridged the decades – all the way from the Atlas Era to the Avengers and Agents of Atlas – Black Knight and Yellow Claw are must-haves for every Marvel maniac! Sir Percy of Scandia may appear to be a foppish weakling, too timid to fight and the scorn of Camelot, but only Merlin knows the truth: Sir Percy is the gallant Black Knight! Come to drive Modred de Monfort from King Arthur's court, he wields the ebony blade against Norman invaders, dragons, imposters and usurpers to the throne. With the pencil of Atlas great, Joe Maneely, delineating the action,Black Knight is a sure-fire classic! Then comes Cold War tales of mystery, espionage and world domination from the pages of Yellow Claw! Illustrated by the incomparable trio of Joe Maneely, John Severin and —in a rare mid-50s Atlas appearance— Jack Kirby, F.B.I. Agent Jimmy Woo's mission to capture the century-old mystic from the root of the Himalayas is packed with gritty crime and unimaginable adversaries, from mind-bending mutants and UFO the Lightning Man to Temujai the Golden Goliath and the Living Shadows!
From the heroic times of King Arthur to the dangers of the Cold War, the Atlas Era brings you the greatest adventure stories from the 1950s. Presenting the original series of two legendary characters that have bridged the decades – all the way from the Atlas Era to the Avengers and Agents of Atlas – Black Knight and Yellow Claw are must-haves for every Marvel maniac! Sir Percy of Scandia may appear to be a foppish weakling, too timid to fight and the scorn of Camelot, but only Merlin knows the truth: Sir Percy is the gallant Black Knight! Come to drive Modred de Monfort from King Arthur's court, he wields the ebony blade against Norman invaders, dragons, imposters and usurpers to the throne. With the pencil of Atlas great, Joe Maneely, delineating the action,Black Knight is a sure-fire classic! Then comes Cold War tales of mystery, espionage and world domination from the pages of Yellow Claw! Illustrated by the incomparable trio of Joe Maneely, John Severin and —in a rare mid-50s Atlas appearance— Jack Kirby, F.B.I. Agent Jimmy Woo's mission to capture the century-old mystic from the root of the Himalayas is packed with gritty crime and unimaginable adversaries, from mind-bending mutants and UFO the Lightning Man to Temujai the Golden Goliath and the Living Shadows!
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
12 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Stan Lee
7,563 books2,348 followersStan 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 20, 2018
I always enjoy reading the older marvel stories before they became a superhero mega franchise. While most of the early Atlas (Marvel) stories remain firmly placed in the late Golden Age/Early Silver Age these actually carry plots forward to the modern age. Both characters in some form continue to be part of the modern Marvel Universe. Good reads and nice art. Recommended
October 22, 2024
Set in 1400BC
Unfortunately it falls short of excitement and originality.
The stories, spanning five issues, often feel like a chore to get through. They either seem to cater to a younger audience or they're just too damn old to hold on dear life, relying heavily on predictable plotlines where the Black Knight triumphs in a rather cliched and childish manner. After a somewhat engaging start the writing devolves into repetitive scenarios, with the same outcomes that can be seen coming from a mile away. This pattern makes the overall experience tedious rather than thrilling.
The artwork, while competent, doesn't elevate the material. The visuals serve their purpose but lack the flair that could have brought some life to the bland storytelling. Each issue features over-explanation, making the reading feel drawn out and unnecessarily complicated. The stories often revolve around the Black Knight overcoming various villains in ways that feel overly simplistic.
Overall, unless you're a die-hard fan of classic comics, this collection may not be worth the time or investment.
For those considering a purchase, be prepared for a nostalgic but largely unremarkable journey through the early days of the Black Knight's adventures.
Unfortunately it falls short of excitement and originality.
The stories, spanning five issues, often feel like a chore to get through. They either seem to cater to a younger audience or they're just too damn old to hold on dear life, relying heavily on predictable plotlines where the Black Knight triumphs in a rather cliched and childish manner. After a somewhat engaging start the writing devolves into repetitive scenarios, with the same outcomes that can be seen coming from a mile away. This pattern makes the overall experience tedious rather than thrilling.
The artwork, while competent, doesn't elevate the material. The visuals serve their purpose but lack the flair that could have brought some life to the bland storytelling. Each issue features over-explanation, making the reading feel drawn out and unnecessarily complicated. The stories often revolve around the Black Knight overcoming various villains in ways that feel overly simplistic.
Overall, unless you're a die-hard fan of classic comics, this collection may not be worth the time or investment.
For those considering a purchase, be prepared for a nostalgic but largely unremarkable journey through the early days of the Black Knight's adventures.
June 24, 2021
The complete runs of two short-lived comics are included in this volume. First, five issues of "Black Knight", set in the days of Camelot. Artwork is by Joe Maneely, a name I wasn't aware of before this. His artwork is beautiful and detailed, and he was clearly a major talent. There's a good-sized bio of him included, explaining who he was. The second portion of the book is the four issue run of "The Yellow Claw", a Fu Manchu rip-off. The Claw is a villain who intends to take over the world (don't they all want that?). Most of these issues are illustrated by the famed Jack Kirby. They're interesting, but the Black Knight comics are the highlight of the issue. The entire book is a joy.
August 4, 2023
It's a simple comic with a simple conceit. Have you ever read or watched Zorro? The Scarlet Pimpernel? Then you've grasped the simple idea behind Percy Blakeney's Black Knight. Fop fights evil as the more manly swordsman, while occasionally getting into peripheral trouble if someone is close to guessing his secret identity. This is a character awaiting a reboot. Not to be confused with his MCU counterpart, Blakeney's descendant Dane Whitman.
September 7, 2025
Very interesting read! I loved seeing the Black Knight who finds his way back into the Marvel Universe as the ancestor of the Black Knight who joins the Avengers.
December 29, 2015
These two series have little in common (apart from depicting Asian people with pale yellow skin) other than that they were started by the ornate artwork of Joe Maneely, who later handed them off to others. Stan Lee wrote the first issue of Black Knight, but beyond that, we don't really know. As such, Vasallo gives a lengthy afterword exploring the short-lived Maneely's career. I agree with Thoams's introduction that the shortness of the stories hampers their development. Sir Percy of Scandia, cousin of Sir Modred, is detested by the court as an effeminate popinjay, a personality he admits in thought balloons he despises, but Merlin insists upon him doing so to conceal that he is the Black Knight. Syd Shores's art in the last issue is almost as good as Maneely's, but Arthur looks much older, as if to reinforce that Arthur is too old (fiftyish) at this point to be the star of the series, although he looked younger (thirtyish) when Maneely drew him. Kida's art is also good, but it's the least impressive of the three. It seems clear that the writers changed as well, because the writer of the Shores stories mentions Percy being "scented" and interested in perfumes, which was not previously mentioned. Percy's love interest, Lady Rosamund, has eyes only for the Black Knight, and her harshness toward Percy is similar to that of Lois Lane toward Clark Kent in The Superman chronicles Volume One. She wants someone very bloodthirsty. Her remonstrations of Percy come at him for writing a song rather than getting into an unnecessary fight. Teela's remonstrations of Prince Adam on He-Man and the Masters of the Univers, dating back to my childhood, seem much more reasonable (I re-watched much of the first season in late 2011 before I had to pack everything I own in storage). Later writers lost interest in working with Morgana le Fay. She is a cipher here, and wife to Modred, unlike any other version of the Camelot legend that I know.
The Yellow Claw, with writing by Al Feldstein and art by Joe Maneely would be magnificent were it not marred by the pale yellow skin tones of all the Asian characters, including Jimmy Woo. With subsequent issues, only the title character has yellow skin. The quality of the writing really plummets when Jack Kirby takes over, and his art is disappointingly perfunctory in issue #2. Issue #3 is a different story, with an amazing splash page, a wonderful shot of a miniaturized Jimmy Woo swinging from a desk, and a large panel with unbordered insets depicting Jimmy's fight with miniaturized soldiers. These issues go more toward the fantastic than the first one, including people with mental powers and a space alien who abhors lying. It's a shame Feldstein and Maneely could not have gone on with this one. Yellow Claw is minor Kirby, but the third and fourth issues more than make up for the weakness of the second. Kirby must really like the name Rocky Davis, since he used it in Challengers of the Unknown, and another Rocky Davis appears twice (named once) as Jimmy Woo's pilot. Kirby had nothing to do with a third Rocky Davis that appeared in the first issue of Daredevil and was later retconned to have been an alias of Carl Creel, alias the Absorbing Man.
This volume is important to both Marvel continuity and in preserving the work of Joe Maneely, and to a lesser extent, Kirby, although it's more completionists for the latter. Jim Steranko, of course, brought back the Yellow Claw in S.H.I.E.L.D. stories, and he continued to appear as a villain for Iron Man and others. Black Knight appeared in time travel stories, if I remember correctly.
The Black Knight is backed up by The Crusader, a man raised by Muslims who takes the European side in the crusades. I didn't care as much about him as the other characters, but his respect for the Muslim leader Saladin served both sides honorably because of his ability to be a diplomat once he switched to the side of his birth. The Yellow Claw backups are generic commie spy stories, but relatively interesting stories that you know will have a twist in the end and manage to deliver.
The Yellow Claw, with writing by Al Feldstein and art by Joe Maneely would be magnificent were it not marred by the pale yellow skin tones of all the Asian characters, including Jimmy Woo. With subsequent issues, only the title character has yellow skin. The quality of the writing really plummets when Jack Kirby takes over, and his art is disappointingly perfunctory in issue #2. Issue #3 is a different story, with an amazing splash page, a wonderful shot of a miniaturized Jimmy Woo swinging from a desk, and a large panel with unbordered insets depicting Jimmy's fight with miniaturized soldiers. These issues go more toward the fantastic than the first one, including people with mental powers and a space alien who abhors lying. It's a shame Feldstein and Maneely could not have gone on with this one. Yellow Claw is minor Kirby, but the third and fourth issues more than make up for the weakness of the second. Kirby must really like the name Rocky Davis, since he used it in Challengers of the Unknown, and another Rocky Davis appears twice (named once) as Jimmy Woo's pilot. Kirby had nothing to do with a third Rocky Davis that appeared in the first issue of Daredevil and was later retconned to have been an alias of Carl Creel, alias the Absorbing Man.
This volume is important to both Marvel continuity and in preserving the work of Joe Maneely, and to a lesser extent, Kirby, although it's more completionists for the latter. Jim Steranko, of course, brought back the Yellow Claw in S.H.I.E.L.D. stories, and he continued to appear as a villain for Iron Man and others. Black Knight appeared in time travel stories, if I remember correctly.
The Black Knight is backed up by The Crusader, a man raised by Muslims who takes the European side in the crusades. I didn't care as much about him as the other characters, but his respect for the Muslim leader Saladin served both sides honorably because of his ability to be a diplomat once he switched to the side of his birth. The Yellow Claw backups are generic commie spy stories, but relatively interesting stories that you know will have a twist in the end and manage to deliver.
July 5, 2024
The absolutely stunning artwork by Joe Maneely on most of the Black Knight issues and the first issue of Yellow Claw makes this an eye candy feast. Jack Kirby takes over Yellow Claw after the first issue, and his artwork seems more in line with his '60s style than on his Golden Age stuff like Captain America and the Sandman. I also put Bill Everett's cover to Yellow Claw #3 in this blog because it is so stunning. I mean, look at all of that detail! These stories are above average for the era in terms of quality and are fun reads. There is an in depth article about the life of Joe Maneely in the back of the book that is wonderful. There are several images from the plethora of other titles that he did, and I want to read them all! I can't wait to get to the Menace volume in my queue to read Maneely's Frankenstein.
August 9, 2016
4 stars for Black Night. 3 for Yellow Claw
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews