The Atlas Creator Collection No. 3: Bill Everett Vol. 1: "One Head Too Many!" and Other Weird Horror Stories (The Fantagraphics Atlas Creator Collection)

The latest volume in our new Fantagraphics Atlas Creator Collection focuses on the feverishly imaginative Bill Everett’s brilliant masterpieces of skeletal horror and oozing, creeping dread.

Already a Marvel/Timely legend for his creation of the Sub-Mariner in 1939, Bill Everett returned to Marvel during the 1950s to become Atlas’ most versatile and effective practitioner of horror-fantasy. Everett’s art was a combination of Graham Ingels, Harry Anderson, and Bernie Wrightson, with the slick ink line of Jack Davis, all melded within his own uniquely captivating imagery and in-your-face ghastliness.

This mammoth Fantagraphics/Marvel volume is packed with Atlas pre-Code horror stories ― the first volume of a series collecting the Atlas works of Sub-Mariner-creator Bill Everett. Including: “Spectacles of Doom,” “The Evil Eye,” “The Pit of Horror!” “Horror in the Moonlight!” “Don’t Bury Me Deep,” “One Head Too Many!” “Burton’s Blood!” Werewolf!” “The Madman,” and “The Graymoor Ghost,” from titles like Menace, Journey into Unknown Worlds, Strange Tales, Uncanny Tales, Spellbound, Mystic, Suspense, as well as “Zombie!” from Menace #5, featuring a character rebooted as Simon Garth in the black-and-white Marvel Magazine explosion of the 1970s. An introduction by Atlas expert Dr. Michael J. Vassallo puts it all in context.

Full-color illustrations throughout

Bill Everett (1917-1973) was the foundational artist of Marvel Comics. He originated Namor, the Sub-Mariner as a freelance creation, before placing it in Marvel Comics #1, the first publication from Timely Comics, later Atlas, then Marvel. Everett wrote and drew the early appearances of the character from 1940-42, and would periodically return to him during the post-war ‘40s, right up until the early 1970s. During Atlas’ heyday, Everett worked extensively on horror anthology shorts, including taking over the romance/fantasy series Venus and converting it to straight horror. After Marvel’s wholesale move to a superhero universe, Everett co-created the blind hero Daredevil with editor/scripter Stan Lee.

Dr. Michael J. Vassallo is a noted historian on Marvel's early pulp, Timely and Atlas periods. A Manhattan dentist, he spends his free time attempting to bring recognition to artistic creators of the 1940's and 1950's. He has also written introductions to 20 Timely and Atlas Masterworks volumes, dissecting the credits for posterity and providing historical context, as well as writing the detailed captions to the first 210 pages of Taschen's 75 Years of Marvel coffee table book. He lives in Westchester County, New York.