13 COVERS AND PAGES — A birthday tribute…
By PETER BOSCH
In previous birthday salutes I have written about the great artist Joe Maneely (born February 18, 1926), I have highlighted his amazing work on various Atlas Comics titles. But did you know that the man had wild and crazy issues? He did. But I’m referring to Wild and Crazy comics, Atlas’ answers to EC’s Mad.
Just as Maneely was terrific in drawing Westerns and other genres, he gave as much to his satire pieces. Enjoy these 13 boundless covers and pages of mirth from one of early Marvel’s supreme illustrators:
Wild #1 (Feb. 1954)
Wild #2 (Mar. 1954) splash page
Wild #4 (June 1954) splash page
Wild #5 (Aug. 1954)
Crazy #3 (Feb. 1954)
Crazy #1 (Dec. 1953) splash page
Crazy #3 splash page
Crazy #4 (Mar. 1954)
Crazy #4 splash page
Crazy #5 (Apr. 1954) splash page
Crazy #5 splash page
Crazy #6 (May 1954) splash page
Crazy #7 (July 1954) splash page
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MORE
— JOE MANEELY’s BLACK KNIGHT: A Birthday Feast. Click here.
— 13 COVERS: JOE MANEELY Could Draw Anything. Click here.
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13th Dimension contributor-at-large PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, was published by TwoMorrows. (You can buy it here.) A sequel, American Movie Comic Books: 1930s-1970s — From the Silver Screen to the Printed Page, is due in 2025. (You can pre-order here.) Peter has written articles and conducted celebrity interviews for various magazines and newspapers. He lives in Hollywood.
February 18, 2025
He was so good. Such a shame what happened to him. Happy birthday Joe.
February 18, 2025
It would have been fascinating to see how the Marvel Age would have evolved had he lived.