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Maneely did great things for Atlas/Marvel in all areas leading up to the 'Marvel Age' of heroes but not including them. Sadly his untimely death prevented most of today's comic readers from getting to know the skills of this very talented and mostlly forgotten artist from being known better. Here is a small collection of the works he did after the 1957 'Atlas Implosion' when almost the entire staff of artists were fired while a change in distributors resulted in a huge reduction in the number of books produced annually. Maneely took some work at the lowest paying comic publisher of the time - Charlton Comics - and it shows in his work in this collection. Here Maneely produced work much simpler than his for Atlas. These are not the works that put him among the comic greats. This is artwork done fast for quick money until he could find better rates with other publishers and eventually return to Atlas. This isn't his best but it's still worth a look to see another side of the artist outside his Atlas scope. We hope everyone here enjoys the collection. We are very proud of the final product. -Yoc |
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Wonderful to see this collection. I love this guy's work, and I'm so sorry he had only a very few years making great comics. It's interesting to see him in this more simple style; it shows how nice his basic line was to begin with, before (when better paid) he did all the wonderful inking and finishing he was known for. I wondered if he had worked for Charlton, as it seemed two-thirds of the artists in the industry ended up there in the fifties for at least a little while. Remark: Most of his Timely/Atlas work was clearly signed (i.e., "Maneely"), although now I can usually spot his stuff without having to see the signature, it's so distinct. I am now curious whether he signed any of his Charlton stuff; I don't see his signature on any of the splash pages here. Perhaps he was not proud of this work, and didn't want to proclaim himself? Even so, I am impressed with how much personality and style he brought to bear, even at Charlton's low rates. Thanks for providing these pages! |
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Glad you enjoyed this Eklectic1
Thanks for the kind words, it was a lot of fun creating. |
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If you like Maneely at all, this collection is not to be missed. I suppose one could say the art was banged out for quick bucks, but that doesn't really do it justice. This is his style, his framing, blocking, and pacing distilled down to its core essence. If anything, it makes some of his "classic" art seemed a bit overworked! One thing is sure: this art is heads above most everything else published by Charlton. |
