ATLAS ARTIST EDITION Volume 2 Al Williamson

Becoming a professional comics artist in 1948 at the age of 17, by 21 Al Williamson was so well-regarded he was recruited by EC Comics -- the absolute peak of the field in the 1950s, and a team rarely challenged since. After the Comics Code forced EC to reduce their business, Williamson found himself at the door of Atlas Comics, the largest employer of freelancers in the field. Across 1955-57 and 1959-60, Williamson would draw 99 stories for Atlas (both solo and with help by "Fleagle Gang" studio cohorts Angelo Torres and Roy Krenkel, plus Gray Morrow and Ralph Mayo) in mostly western and fantasy genres, with a smattering of war, romance and "jungle girl adventure." HERE ARE EVERY ONE OF THOSE STORIES, SLIGHTLY OVERSIZED AND IN FULL COLOR! He flourished on Westerns, freely and loosely rendered four-page morality plays, many scripted economically by Stan Lee. But he went on to do stories across all genres, including science fiction that rivials his work at EC. See it all there. With his extensive oeuvre subsequently based mostly in newspaper strip material (including Flash Gordon, Secret Agent Corrigan, and the syndicated Star Wars, at George Lucas' own request), or working largely as an inker, his Atlas stories collectively are the largest single body of work Williamson would ever do as a primary creator for one company. And they are wonderful!!! We are very excited to see this collection. Many of these stories are hidden gems, because Williamson never settled for second best. His work was always first rate; he obviously loved what he was doing, and his comic art buddies loved working along with him, no matter what the genre or the relatively minor title. I've looked for these stories for decades, Williamson being one of my favorite artists. But still, after 50+ years, there will be work here I have never before seen. I I never knew Roy Krenkel did so much work with Williamson for Atlas. And while some credits say Frazetta worked with Al on these, that is disproved by Vassalo in his informative, lengthy and well-illustrated introduction. That work was done by Angelo Torres, who early in his career was strongly influence by Frank.- Bud