Wally Wood at Atlas

When Wally Wood took over Marvel’s Daredevil title in late 1964, he was greeted with much fanfare.  In fact, it was a welcome fit for a king.  A blurb on the cover of issue number 5, declared, “Under the brilliant artistic craftsmanship of famous illustrator Wally Wood, Daredevil reaches new heights of glory!”  Editor Stan Lee was known for bucking the prevailing trend by crediting his comic books’ creators, but hailing a new artist on the cover was virtually unprecedented.  Lee clearly had a great deal of respect for Wood’s talent, and few fans today would challenge his assessment.  (Lee and Wood's relationship would later sour, but that's another story.)

Though it might have seemed that way, Daredevil #5 was not Wood’s first work for Lee or the company.  In the late 1950s, Marvel (then known as Atlas), featured his contributions in a half dozen stories.  Most critics don’t consider these among the artist’s most significant works, and they certainly aren't his best, but any vintage Wood is still, I believe, worth a look.

The mid-1950s were a challenging time for Wood.  He had established his reputation with William Gaines’s EC comics, turning out first-rate work in the science fiction, horror, humor, and war genres.  When EC dumped its comic book line and converted MAD into a magazine, Wood continued to work for the company in the retooled title, but not as prolifically as before.  To fill the gap, Wood turned to other income sources.  He drew cartoons for men’s magazines like Gent, Dude, Nugget, and Playboy and illustrations for sci fi digests Amazing Stories and Galaxy Science Fiction, as well as the latter’s book covers.   He inked Jack Kirby’s pencils on the Sky Masters comic strip and DC’s Challengers of the Unknown comic book.  But before that, he took a brief detour to Atlas.

Credits and some synopses from the Grand Comics Database (comics.org).

Journey into Mystery (1952 series) #39 October 1956

The Executioner! 4 pages
Job Number: K-225
Pencils and Inks: Wally Wood

Synopsis (by JD): Scientist Dr. Morey is about to send a man up to a satellite orbiting Earth.  He’s been given the nickname “the executioner” because of his disregard for the safety of the men who work under him.  But there’s something different about the brave soul preparing to take part in this new experiment.

Mystic (1951 series) #52 October 1956

The Effigy 4 pages
Job Number: K-298
Pencils and Inks: Wally Wood
Script: Carl Wessler

Synopsis (from GCD): A criminal takes an effigy from a voodoo cult so that they cannot use it to compel him to surrender himself to the police.

Western Gunfighters (1956 series) #22 October 1956

Rustler at Large! 5 pages
Job Number: K-455
Pencils and Inks: Wally Wood

Synopsis (by JD): When cattle rustler Mace Forester escapes from jail, deputy Miles must re-capture him or face shame and dismissal.

Journey into Unknown Worlds (1950 series) #51 November 1956
(On-Sale Date: August 22, 1956)

He Was Nobody! 4 pages
Job Number: K-411
Pencils and Inks: Wally Wood
Script: Carl Wessler

Synopsis (from GCD): A magician leads a group of townsfolk in saving their town after a flood.

Marvel Tales (1949 series) #152 November 1956

When the Bubble Burst! 3 pages
Job Number: K-657
Pencils: Joe Orlando
Inks: Wally Wood

Synopsis (by JD): In the year 1999, a Martian breaks into the White House and tries to kill the President in order to gain propaganda points in Mars’s war with the Venusians.

Note: Wood and Orlando had shared a studio in the early 1950s and collaborated on artwork for such companies as Fox Features and Avon Comics.  Both were prolific contributors to EC Comics.

Journey into Mystery (1952 series) #51 March 1959
(On-Sale Date: December 1958)

The Creatures in the Volcano 5 pages
Job Number: T-153
Pencils (and possibly script): Jack Kirby
Inks: Wally Wood

Synopsis (from GCD): A chief of a Pacific island tribe finds aliens in a volcano preparing to conquer Earth. He thinks his people will not believe him, so he instead agrees to sell the island to the US for nuclear tests, which destroys the aliens.

Note: Technically, this is not an Atlas book, as the company was no longer using that name.  At the time, Wood was also inking Kirby’s pencils on the Sky Masters comic strip and DC’s Challengers of the Unknown comic book.

Disputed Attributions

There are a couple of additional early Marvel stories that some have attributed to Wood, but I personally don't see much of him in these comics.  They're included here for the sake of completeness.

Captain America Comics (1941 series) #73 July 1949

(On-Sale Date: March 27, 1949)

The Outcast of Time 12 pages

GCD Indexer Notes: Nick Caputo speculates that Wally Wood may have contributed to the story, noting the figures and poses on several pages. This falls into the period of Wood's early comic book work, making it a possibility.

Love Romances (1949 series) #95 September 1961

(On-Sale Date: July 5, 1961)

My Engagement Ring! 7 pages

GCD Indexer Notes: Per Jim Vadeboncoeur Jr: "Previous indexer had penciler credit for Dick Giordano, but these are most likely Wood's pencils - who was heretofore unknown to have worked in the Colletta Studio." Nick Caputo sees some Wood-like figures, particularly the women, but suspects they are swipes and not actually Wood. J. David Spurlock denies any Wood involvement in this story.