Joe Maneely

Joseph "Joe" Maneely (born Feb. 18, 1926, Pennsylvania, United States; died June 7 1958) [Birth date per [http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/ Social Security Death Index] , which lists only "June 1958" for death date. Full death date per Daniels, Les, "Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics" (Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1991), p. 70 (sidebar) ISBN 0-8109-3821-9] is an American comic book artist best known for his work at Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics.

An exquisite draftsman whose delicate yet solid, fine-line figures made his work both distinctive and well-suited to the medium, Maneely was one of the relative stars of Atlas, along with such soon-to-blossom talents as Steve Ditko and John Romita. Talented and well-respected, he died in a commuter-train accident shortly before Marvel's ascendancy into a commercial and pop-cultural conglomerate.

Biography

Early life and career

Trained at the Hussian School of Art in Philadelphia, Joe Maneely worked in the advertising art department of the "Philadelphia Bulletin" newspaper before serving in the U.S. Navy as a visual-aids specialist. He joined Street & Smith Publications in 1948 as a comic-book artist, drawing such features as "Butterfingers", "Django Jinks, Ghost Chaser", "Mario Nette", "Nick Carter", "Public Defender", "Roger Kilgore", "Supersnipe", "Tao Anwar" and "Ulysses Q. Wacky" in comics including "The Shadow", "Top Secrets", "Ghost Breakers" and "Super Magician Comics". His earliest known credit is the company's "Red Dragon" #4 (Aug. 1948), for which he penciled and inked the eight-page story "Death by the Sword" and the one-page featurette "Tao's Small Sword Box", both starring the hero Tao Anwar.

Other nascent work includes the seven-page story "Washington's Scout" in Hillman Periodicals' "Airboy Comics" vol. 6, #10 (Nov. 1949).

Atlas Comics

Maneely then found work at publisher Martin Goodman's Marvel Comics predecessor, Timely Comics, as it was transitioning to its 1950s incarnation as Atlas Comics. Following his debut there with the eight-page Western story "The Kansas Massacre of 1864" in "Western Outlaws And Sheriffs" #60 (Dec. 1949), Maneely hit his stride at the company, for which he freelanced before going on staff "in about 1955". [Interview with fellow Atlas staff artist Stan Goldberg, "Alter Ego" #18 (Oct. 2002) p. 11]

With speed to match his style, [Goldberg, "Alter Ego" #18. p. 10: "He was the fastest artist I ever saw. I was always fascinated by how he did covers. He'd start out penciling stick figures and outline them with a pen and then fill in the blacks [i.e., the shaded areas] . You'd look at your watch, and 45 minutes later he was done".] he became a favorite of editor-in-chief Stan Lee, [Goldberg, "Alter Ego" #18. p. 10: "Joe was always Stan's favorite artist. No question about it. Even over [Jack Kirby| [Jack] Kirby] and the others".] who assigned Maneely covers and stories throughout virtually the entire range of Atlas comics. With superheroes experiencing a lull in popularity, Maneely drew Westerns, war, horror, humor, romance, science fiction, spy, crime, and even period-adventure stories — that last most notably with the medieval series "Black Knight", reprinted in 1960s Marvel Comics. Other Atlas work reprinted widely by Marvel in the 1960s and 1970s include "Yellow Claw" #1 (Oct. 1956) and "Ringo Kid" #1-21 (Aug. 1954 - Sept. 1957).

Maneely's talent, range and prolificness impressed fellow Atlas artists. Stan Goldberg in 2002 recalled, "the all-time great Joe Maneely, [...] who I thought was the best artist that ever drew comics. [...] Joe wasn't just a great craftsman; he worked so fast and he was one of the few artists who could go from drawing the Black Knight to drawing Petey The Pest, or a war story. He had an unbelievable knack and he was just one sweet, nice guy". [ [http://www.adelaidecomicsandbooks.com/goldberg.html Interview, Stan Goldberg, Adelaide Comics and Books (April 2005)] ] Goldberg recalled in 2005, "He worked so fast, we used to call him 'Joe Money'". [Goldberg, "Alter Ego", p. 10]

By the summer of 1957, Atlas was experiencing difficulties and began shedding freelancers. Shortly afterward, Martin Goodman stopped distributing his own titles and switched American News Company, which soon closed, temporarily leaving Atlas without a distributor and resulting in all staff other than Lee being fired.Ro, Ronin. "Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and the American Comic Book Revolution" (Bloomsbury, 2004)] Maneely continued to work with Lee on the "Chicago Sun-Times"-syndicated comic strip "Mrs. Lyons' Cubs". He also "bought a new home in [New Jersey| [New] Jersey] for his young wife and small daughters" and did a limited amount of freelancing for DC Comics ("Gang Busters" #62, "House of Mystery" #71-73, "House of Secrets" #9, "Tales of the Unexpected" #22, cover-dated from February to April 1958); Charlton Comics ("Cowboy Western" #67, "Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal" #20, both March 1958); and Crestwood Publications.

Maneely also drew a four-page comic about Social Security for the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, "John's First Job" (1956). [ [http://www.ssa.gov/history/comic1.html Social Security History: "John's First Job"] ]

Death

On the night of his death, Maneely had dined with fellow laid-off Atlas colleagues (including Bill Everett) in Manhattan. He did not have his glasses with him, and was killed when he accidentally fell between the cars of a moving commuter train on his way home to New Jersey.Daniels, Les, "Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics" (Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1991), p. 70 (sidebar) ISBN 0-8109-3821-9]

Fellow Atlas artist Stan Goldberg recalled that on the night of Maneely's death,

His last original published story was the five-page Ringo Kid tale "One Bullet Left" in "Gunsmoke Western" #53 (July 1959), and his final comics work was the cover of "Gunsmoke Western" #55 (Nov. 1959), featuring Kid Colt and Wyatt Earp. Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee opined in the early 2000s that had Maneely lived, "he would have been another Jack Kirby. He would have been the best you could imagine".

Quotes

.Herb Trimpe: "The "Black Knight" stuff is great! Marie (Severin) said his pencils were almost nonexistent; they were like rough, lightly done layouts with no features on the faces ... It was just like ovals and sticks and stuff, and he inked from that. He drew when he inked. That's when he did the work, in the inking!" [Herb Trimple interview in "Comic Book Artist" #13 (May 2001), p. 62]

Fred Hembeck: "While we may've heard of the pivotal day a young Romita spent with the tragically doomed yet immensely talented artist Joe Maneely, listening to him describe it as one of the most important days of his entire life gives the familiar tale an added gravity". [ [http://www.hembeck.com/FredSez/FredSezMay2003.htm Hembeck.com: Fred Sez (column, May 2003)] ]

List of Maneely reprints

Marvel Comics reprints of 1950s Atlas Comics stories. Stories starring specific characters are followed by anthological genre stories. Listed chronologically within categories, from date of earliest original publication.

The Apache Kid::"Western Gunfighters" #8 (April 1971): "The Comanches Strike" ("Apache Kid", issue n.a.)::"Western Gunfighters" #10 (July 1972): "The Human Sacrifice" ("Apache Kid", issue n.a.)

The Black Knight::"Fantasy Masterpieces" #11 (Oct. 1967): "The Menace of Modred the Evil" ("Black Knight" #1, May 1955)::"Marvel Super-Heroes" #12 (Dec. 1967): "The Abduction of King Arthur" ("Black Knight" #1)::"Marvel Super-Heroes" #13 (March 1968) and "The Golden Age of Marvel Comics" (1997) ISBN 0-7851-0564-6: Untitled; first:::line "From out of the north..." ("Black Knight" #2, July 1955)::"Marvel Super-Heroes" #14 (May 1968): "Tournament of Doom" ("Black Knight" #2)::"Marvel Super-Heroes" #15 (July 1968): "The Siege of Camelot" ("Black Knight" #2)::"Marvel Super-Heroes" #16 (Sept. 1968): "The Black Knight Unmasked!" ("Black Knight" #3, Sept. 1955; title per cover)::"Marvel Super-Heroes" #19 (March 1969): Untitled; reference sources list as "Modred and the Gypsies" a.k.a. "The Knight:::and the Gypsies" ("Black Knight" #3)

The Crusader::"Savage Tales" #2 (Oct. 1973): Untitled five-page origin story ("Black Knight" #1, May 1955)::"Savage Tales" #4 (May 1974): Untitled five-page origin story, Part Two ("Black Knight" #2, July 1955)

Matt Slade, Gunfighter::"Western Gunfighters" #8 (April 1971): Untitled; first line "For his skill with guns..." ("Matt Slade, Gunfighter", issue n.a.)

The RIngo Kid:: (information to come)

Tharn (renamed from) Lo-Zar::"Jungle Action" Vol. 2, #1 (Oct. 1972): "The Trail of Sudden Death" ("Jungle Action" #1, Oct. 1954)::"Jungle Action" Vol. 2, #2 (Dec. 1972): "The River of No Return" ("Jungle Action" #2, Dec. 1954; original title: "Red Poison")::"Jungle Action" Vol. 2, #3 (Feb. 1973): "Elephant Charge" ("Jungle Action" #4, April 1955)

The Two-Gun Kid::"Mighty Marvel Western" #37 (Feb. 1975): "Mystery in Mustang Mesa" ("Two-Gun Kid" #42, June 1958)::"Mighty Marvel Western" #41 (Sept. 1975): "The Gun-Fighter" ("Two-Gun Kid" #42, June 1958)::"Mighty Marvel Western" #42 (Oct. 1975) : Untitled; first line "It started out as a humdrum stagecoach..." ("Two-Gun Kid" #41, April 1958)::"Mighty Marvel Western" #43 (Dec. 1975): "Gun-Fight in Crow Town!" ("Two-Gun Kid" #41, April 1958)::"Mighty Marvel Western" #44 (March 1976): "Origin of the Two-Gun Kid ("Two-Gun Kid" #41, April 1958)::"Two-Gun Kid" #124 (June 1976): "The Giant of Rawhide Ridge" ("Two-Gun Kid" #42, June 1958)::"Two-Gun Kid" #104 (May 1972): "Gunfight at Gila Rock" ("Two-Gun Kid" #43, Aug. 1958):::Clay Harder story with costume redrawn as Matt Clay's

Yellow Claw::"Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu" #1 (Sept. 1974): "The Coming of the Yellow Claw" ("Yellow Claw" #1, Oct. 1956)::"Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu" #2 (Dec. 1974): "The Yellow Claw Strikes" and "Trap For Jimmy Woo" (both "Yellow Claw" #1)

Horror (anthological)::"Monsters on the Prowl" #26 (Oct. 1973): "Where?" ("Adventures into Weird Worlds" #5, April 1952)::"Chamber of Chills" #15 (March 1975): "I was Locked in a ... Haunted House" ("Uncanny Tales" #7, April 1953)::"Beware" #3 (July 1973): "Today I am a Man" (source n.a.; year 1954 per copyright data)::"Giant-Size Man-Thing" #4 (May 1975): "The Man with No Past" a.k.a. "A Man with No Past" ("Journey into Mystery" #21, Jan. 1955)::"Fear" #9 (Aug. 1972): "Dead Man's Escape!" ("Adventures into Terror" #11, date n.a.)::"Crypt of Shadows" #2 (March 1973): "Going ... Down!" (reprinted from n.a.)

Western (anthological)

::"Western Gunfighters" #2 (Oct. 1970): "The Man from Cheyenne" ("Quick-Trigger Western" #13, July 1956)::"Kid Colt, Outlaw" #150 (Oct. 1970): "A Desperado at our Door" ("Kid Colt, Outlaw" #68, Jan. 1957)::"Kid Colt, Outlaw" #142 (Jan. 1970): Cover and "Rustler" ("Kid Colt, Outlaw" #73, June 1957)::"Kid Colt, Outlaw" #144 (March 1970): Cover ("Kid Colt, Outlaw" #77, March 1958)::"Kid Colt, Outlaw" #151 (Dec. 1970): "The Coward" ("Kid Colt, Outlaw" #81, Nov. 1958)::"Kid Colt, Outlaw" #160 (July 1972): "35 Notches" (reprinted from n.a.)

Footnotes

References

* [http://www.lambiek.net/artists/m/maneely_joe.htm Lambiek Comiclopedia: Joe Maneely]
* [http://www.comics.org/search.lasso?type=credit&query=Joe+Maneely&sort=chrono&Submit=Search Grand Comics Database: Joe Maneely search results]
* [http://atlastales.com/cr/2/n:2:z:a:o:4:d:ASC:p:1 Atlas Tales: Joe Maneely search results]
* [http://frostbytei.com/jc/3page20.html "Just Comics": "What If? - Joe Maneely: Marvel's Forgotten Star", by Dr. Michael J. Vassallo] Also appears in "Alter Ego" #28 (Sept. 2003)

External links

* [http://www.samcci.comics.org/_artists/maneely.htm The Silver Age Marvel Comics Cover Index: Joe Maneely]