Right before Fantastic Four became a hit Marvel’s output variously included teen books, horror and Westerns. Though horror is an exaggeration — the Comics Code had clamped down on horror, so they had to settle for SF and kaijin horror. Alien invaders. Prehistoric monsters. Giant mutants. The scripts were mostly crap, but they did boast art from talents such as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. And the covers made them look far more entertaining than they really were. Here, for example, are some Jack Kirby covers.
I know, in hindsight a creature named “shag” seems like a bad idea.
The look of that cover and the distinctive perspective are great.
Monster Breaks Loose was a staple cover image, usually with warnings about how invincible he was and how we were all doomed.
Another with a neat look to it.
And that’s a clever hook.
Covers courtesy of Mike’s Amazing World. You can find info on a lot of the stories at the Marvel Universe Appendix site. All rights to the images remain with current holders.
