COVER STORY: Ringo Kid Western #8
The mid-1950s were a tough time for the comic industry. Superheroes had faded from the public eye and publishers scrambled to find a genre that would capture the public’s fancy as Superman and Captain America once had.
During this time the company we today know as Marvel was undergoing as much a crisis as the next company. For a short while they used Atlas as the company’s moniker before they assumed the name we all know and love today (a fuller description of this period is available in an earlier Cover Story feature on focused on Young Men #24).
One of the great artists from this time period is also one of its least known. But those in the know remember Joe Maneely as one of the greats.
He was not only a gifted artist but an incredible inker as well. By the time that Ringo Kid Western #8 (October 1955) hit newsstands, Maneely had been drawing covers and illustrating stories since 1948. Starting at age 22, right out of art school, his first work was for Street & Smith. Over a year later he was over at Atlas and working for Stan Lee.
From the end of the 1940s and into the ‘50s, Maneely spent a good amount of time at Atlas. Judging from the amount of work he did for Stan Lee during this period, it seems safe to assume that he was one of The Man’s favorites.
His work covered romance, humor, horror, adventure and war titles. When Marvel tried to revive the super-hero genre in 1953, he worked on The Sub-Mariner and a few others. But many feel his greatest work was on westerns.
Ringo Kid Western #8 is perfect example of Maneely’s skill when drawing and inking tales of the old west. There isn’t a lick of action on the cover, but it certainly embodies the nature of the hero.
The Kid stands front and center, arms crossed with each hand holding a pistol and a thumb resting menacingly on the hammer. The look on his face clearly states that he has no compunction what-so-ever about twirling around and dropping anyone of the townsfolk or ranch hands who stand behind him.
The townsfolk are a set unto themselves. To the far right of The Kid a woman in a bonnet looks on with concern. Next to her stands a mustached man who could be a ranch owner, a railroad tycoon or just a saloon owner. It doesn’t matter. The hands on his lapels tell you that he has his concerns with The Kid as well.
On the other side of The Kid are two mean hombres. One looks wears a scowl that says “I will drop you in a second simply because I don’t like the way you look.” The other chews a toothpick silently and seems to be waiting for the squat Charles Bronson look-a-like next to him to give him the word to fire.
Behind them all is the sun-drenched yellow of the flatland sky. The town rises and to one side, far in the back, a mesa seems to balance it all out.
You never think about this while looking at the picture, but the composition coupled with the coloring appears to be creating a “V” shape. The result is that your eyes fall naturally down from the title to find The Kid standing at the center.
There is a full sense of dimension to the cover as well as a feeling that this is the final seconds before smoke, noise, screams and falling bodies will fill the center of town. We want to know what is going to happen.
Maneely had a tremendous sense of detail. Look at the green belt holding a knife in the back that rests just a notch above the two gun belts. Check the detail on the vest of the older man behind him. Pull the image closer and you will find that even the top of the buildings in the town are nearly complete.
This cover isn’t one of his most well known, but it serves as a fine example of what the man could accomplish without having to stage a fight or a stagecoach going over a cliff. Maneely was able to fill a cover with anticipation and dread like few others.
The covers for Matt Slade Gunfighter #1 (May 1956) and Sub-Mariner #41 August 1955 were also on our radar for this look at Maneely’s work. Both are fine examples of the man’s skill. As thrilling as each is, we ultimately went with The Ringo Kid #8 because of the way the artist created so much by leaving everything perfectly still.
Sadly, Maneely passed away on June 7, 1958. Those who know this hidden great love to speculate on how he would have fit into the Age of Marvel that was just around the corner…
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COVER STORY: Ringo Kid Western #8
The mid-1950s were a tough time for the comic industry. Superheroes had faded from the public eye and publishers scrambled to find a genre that would capture the public’s fancy as Superman and Captain America once had.
During this time the company we today know as Marvel was undergoing as much a crisis as the next company. For a short while they used Atlas as the company’s moniker before they assumed the name we all know and love today (a fuller description of this period is available in an earlier Cover Story feature on focused on Young Men #24).
One of the great artists from this time period is also one of its least known. But those in the know remember Joe Maneely as one of the greats.
He was not only a gifted artist but an incredible inker as well. By the time that Ringo Kid Western #8 (October 1955) hit newsstands, Maneely had been drawing covers and illustrating stories since 1948. Starting at age 22, right out of art school, his first work was for Street & Smith. Over a year later he was over at Atlas and working for Stan Lee.
From the end of the 1940s and into the ‘50s, Maneely spent a good amount of time at Atlas. Judging from the amount of work he did for Stan Lee during this period, it seems safe to assume that he was one of The Man’s favorites.
His work covered romance, humor, horror, adventure and war titles. When Marvel tried to revive the super-hero genre in 1953, he worked on The Sub-Mariner and a few others. But many feel his greatest work was on westerns.
Ringo Kid Western #8 is perfect example of Maneely’s skill when drawing and inking tales of the old west. There isn’t a lick of action on the cover, but it certainly embodies the nature of the hero.
The Kid stands front and center, arms crossed with each hand holding a pistol and a thumb resting menacingly on the hammer. The look on his face clearly states that he has no compunction what-so-ever about twirling around and dropping anyone of the townsfolk or ranch hands who stand behind him.
The townsfolk are a set unto themselves. To the far right of The Kid a woman in a bonnet looks on with concern. Next to her stands a mustached man who could be a ranch owner, a railroad tycoon or just a saloon owner. It doesn’t matter. The hands on his lapels tell you that he has his concerns with The Kid as well.
On the other side of The Kid are two mean hombres. One looks wears a scowl that says “I will drop you in a second simply because I don’t like the way you look.” The other chews a toothpick silently and seems to be waiting for the squat Charles Bronson look-a-like next to him to give him the word to fire.
Behind them all is the sun-drenched yellow of the flatland sky. The town rises and to one side, far in the back, a mesa seems to balance it all out.
You never think about this while looking at the picture, but the composition coupled with the coloring appears to be creating a “V” shape. The result is that your eyes fall naturally down from the title to find The Kid standing at the center.
There is a full sense of dimension to the cover as well as a feeling that this is the final seconds before smoke, noise, screams and falling bodies will fill the center of town. We want to know what is going to happen.
Maneely had a tremendous sense of detail. Look at the green belt holding a knife in the back that rests just a notch above the two gun belts. Check the detail on the vest of the older man behind him. Pull the image closer and you will find that even the top of the buildings in the town are nearly complete.
This cover isn’t one of his most well known, but it serves as a fine example of what the man could accomplish without having to stage a fight or a stagecoach going over a cliff. Maneely was able to fill a cover with anticipation and dread like few others.
The covers for Matt Slade Gunfighter #1 (May 1956) and Sub-Mariner #41 August 1955 were also on our radar for this look at Maneely’s work. Both are fine examples of the man’s skill. As thrilling as each is, we ultimately went with The Ringo Kid #8 because of the way the artist created so much by leaving everything perfectly still.
Sadly, Maneely passed away on June 7, 1958. Those who know this hidden great love to speculate on how he would have fit into the Age of Marvel that was just around the corner…
Popular Topics
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