Введение
Американский издатель (1974–1975)
Atlas/Seaboard Comics is a line of comic books published by the American company Seaboard Periodicals in the 1970s. Though the line was published under the brand Atlas Comics, comic book historians and collectors refer to it as Atlas/Seaboard Comics to differentiate it from the 1950s Atlas Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics. to compete in a field then dominated by Marvel and DC Comics. Goodman hired Warren Publishing veteran Jeff Rovin to edit the color comic book line, and writer artist Larry Lieber, brother of Marvel editor in chief Stan Lee, as editor of Atlas' black and white comics magazines. Rovin said in 1987 he became involved after answering an ad in The New York Times:
I was one of several people Martin interviewed, and I got the job because I'd had experience not only in comics but in mail order, the latter of which was to contribute significantly to Seaboard's cash flow. Sharing editorial duties on the comics was writer artist Larry Lieber, whom Martin had long wanted to transplant from under the shadow of Larry's brother Larry ended up handling about a quarter of Atlas' output — primarily the police, Western [and] war [comics], and color anthologies of horror stories. Lieber became editor of the color comics following Rovin's departure. Steve Mitchell was the comics' production manager, and John Chilly the black and white magazines' art director. Goodman offered an editorial position to Roy Thomas, who had recently stepped down as Marvel Comics editor in chief, but Thomas turned it down, recalling in 1981 that, "[I] didn't have any faith in his lasting it out. The field was too shaky for a new publisher." Lieber recalled in a 1999 interview,
When I went there, Martin put out two kinds of books. He was putting out color comics, and he was also going to put out black and white comics like Warren and Marvel. Now, I knew nothing about black and white comics, right? My only experience was in the color comics. Jeff Rovin came from Warren, and he knew nothing about color comics. Martin unfortunately put Jeff in charge of all the color comics and put me in charge of the black and white books. It was an unfortunate thing, and basically what happened was that Jeff's books didn't turn out so well Martin had to pay high freelance rates, because otherwise nobody would work for a new and unproven company It didn't work out too well, and Jeff finally left angrily or something, and I had to take over all his books. At this point, business was bad, and I tried to do what I could. One of the things I had to do was to cut rates and tell people they were going to make less money, which was not an enviable position.
Atlas/Seaboard Comics – серия комиксов, издававшаяся американской компанией Seaboard Periodicals в 1970-х годах. Хотя серия выходила под брендом Atlas Comics, историки комиксов и коллекционеры называют её Atlas/Seaboard Comics, чтобы отличать от Atlas Comics 1950-х годов, предшественницы Marvel Comics, и конкурировать на рынке, в то время доминировавшем Marvel и DC Comics. Гудман нанял ветерана издательства Warren Джеффа Ровина для редактирования цветной линейки комиксов, а художника и писателя Ларри Либера, брата главного редактора Marvel Стэна Ли, – редактором черно-белых комиксов Atlas. Ровин рассказывал в 1987 году, что попал в проект, ответив на объявление в The New York Times:
Atlas/Seaboard Comics is a line of comic books published by the American company Seaboard Periodicals in the 1970s. Though the line was published under the brand Atlas Comics, comic book historians and collectors refer to it as Atlas/Seaboard Comics to differentiate it from the 1950s Atlas Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics. to compete in a field then dominated by Marvel and DC Comics. Goodman hired Warren Publishing veteran Jeff Rovin to edit the color comic book line, and writer artist Larry Lieber, brother of Marvel editor in chief Stan Lee, as editor of Atlas' black and white comics magazines. Rovin said in 1987 he became involved after answering an ad in The New York Times:
I was one of several people Martin interviewed, and I got the job because I'd had experience not only in comics but in mail order, the latter of which was to contribute significantly to Seaboard's cash flow. Sharing editorial duties on the comics was writer artist Larry Lieber, whom Martin had long wanted to transplant from under the shadow of Larry's brother Larry ended up handling about a quarter of Atlas' output — primarily the police, Western [and] war [comics], and color anthologies of horror stories. Lieber became editor of the color comics following Rovin's departure. Steve Mitchell was the comics' production manager, and John Chilly the black and white magazines' art director. Goodman offered an editorial position to Roy Thomas, who had recently stepped down as Marvel Comics editor in chief, but Thomas turned it down, recalling in 1981 that, "[I] didn't have any faith in his lasting it out. The field was too shaky for a new publisher." Lieber recalled in a 1999 interview,
When I went there, Martin put out two kinds of books. He was putting out color comics, and he was also going to put out black and white comics like Warren and Marvel. Now, I knew nothing about black and white comics, right? My only experience was in the color comics. Jeff Rovin came from Warren, and he knew nothing about color comics. Martin unfortunately put Jeff in charge of all the color comics and put me in charge of the black and white books. It was an unfortunate thing, and basically what happened was that Jeff's books didn't turn out so well Martin had to pay high freelance rates, because otherwise nobody would work for a new and unproven company It didn't work out too well, and Jeff finally left angrily or something, and I had to take over all his books. At this point, business was bad, and I tried to do what I could. One of the things I had to do was to cut rates and tell people they were going to make less money, which was not an enviable position.
Я был одним из нескольких кандидатов, которых опрашивал Мартин, и получил работу, потому что у меня был опыт не только в комиксах, но и в сфере почтовых заказов, что должно было существенно повлиять на денежный поток Seaboard. Редакторские обязанности на комиксами делил художник и писатель Ларри Либер, которого Мартин давно хотел вытащить из тени своего брата. В итоге Ларри отвечал примерно за четверть выпускаемой продукции Atlas – в основном полицейские, вестерны [и] военные [комиксы], а также цветные антологии ужасов. Либер стал редактором цветных комиксов после ухода Ровина. Стив Митчелл был менеджером по производству комиксов, а Джон Чили – арт-директором черно-белых журналов. Гудман предложил редакторскую должность Рою Томасу, который недавно покинул пост главного редактора Marvel Comics, но Томас отказался, вспоминая в 1981 году, что "[я] не верил в его способность продержаться. Рынок был слишком нестабильным для нового издателя". Либер вспоминал в интервью 1999 года:
Atlas/Seaboard Comics is a line of comic books published by the American company Seaboard Periodicals in the 1970s. Though the line was published under the brand Atlas Comics, comic book historians and collectors refer to it as Atlas/Seaboard Comics to differentiate it from the 1950s Atlas Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics. to compete in a field then dominated by Marvel and DC Comics. Goodman hired Warren Publishing veteran Jeff Rovin to edit the color comic book line, and writer artist Larry Lieber, brother of Marvel editor in chief Stan Lee, as editor of Atlas' black and white comics magazines. Rovin said in 1987 he became involved after answering an ad in The New York Times:
I was one of several people Martin interviewed, and I got the job because I'd had experience not only in comics but in mail order, the latter of which was to contribute significantly to Seaboard's cash flow. Sharing editorial duties on the comics was writer artist Larry Lieber, whom Martin had long wanted to transplant from under the shadow of Larry's brother Larry ended up handling about a quarter of Atlas' output — primarily the police, Western [and] war [comics], and color anthologies of horror stories. Lieber became editor of the color comics following Rovin's departure. Steve Mitchell was the comics' production manager, and John Chilly the black and white magazines' art director. Goodman offered an editorial position to Roy Thomas, who had recently stepped down as Marvel Comics editor in chief, but Thomas turned it down, recalling in 1981 that, "[I] didn't have any faith in his lasting it out. The field was too shaky for a new publisher." Lieber recalled in a 1999 interview,
When I went there, Martin put out two kinds of books. He was putting out color comics, and he was also going to put out black and white comics like Warren and Marvel. Now, I knew nothing about black and white comics, right? My only experience was in the color comics. Jeff Rovin came from Warren, and he knew nothing about color comics. Martin unfortunately put Jeff in charge of all the color comics and put me in charge of the black and white books. It was an unfortunate thing, and basically what happened was that Jeff's books didn't turn out so well Martin had to pay high freelance rates, because otherwise nobody would work for a new and unproven company It didn't work out too well, and Jeff finally left angrily or something, and I had to take over all his books. At this point, business was bad, and I tried to do what I could. One of the things I had to do was to cut rates and tell people they were going to make less money, which was not an enviable position.
Когда я пришел туда, Мартин выпускал два вида книг. Он издавал цветные комиксы, а также планировал выпускать черно-белые комиксы, как Warren и Marvel. Я ничего не знал о черно-белых комиксах, верно? Мой опыт ограничивался только цветными комиксами. Джефф Ровин пришел из Warren и тоже ничего не понимал в цветных комиксах. К сожалению, Мартин назначил Джеффа ответственным за все цветные комиксы, а меня – за черно-белые. Это было неудачное решение, и в итоге книги Джеффа не очень хорошо продавались. Мартину пришлось платить высокие гонорары фрилансерам, иначе никто бы не согласился работать в новой и непроверенной компании. Ничего хорошего из этого не вышло, и Джефф в конце концов ушел в гневе или что-то в этом роде, и мне пришлось взять на себя все его проекты. К тому моменту дела шли плохо, и я старался сделать все, что мог. Одной из задач было снизить ставки и сказать людям, что они будут зарабатывать меньше, что было не самой приятной ситуацией.
Atlas/Seaboard Comics is a line of comic books published by the American company Seaboard Periodicals in the 1970s. Though the line was published under the brand Atlas Comics, comic book historians and collectors refer to it as Atlas/Seaboard Comics to differentiate it from the 1950s Atlas Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics. to compete in a field then dominated by Marvel and DC Comics. Goodman hired Warren Publishing veteran Jeff Rovin to edit the color comic book line, and writer artist Larry Lieber, brother of Marvel editor in chief Stan Lee, as editor of Atlas' black and white comics magazines. Rovin said in 1987 he became involved after answering an ad in The New York Times:
I was one of several people Martin interviewed, and I got the job because I'd had experience not only in comics but in mail order, the latter of which was to contribute significantly to Seaboard's cash flow. Sharing editorial duties on the comics was writer artist Larry Lieber, whom Martin had long wanted to transplant from under the shadow of Larry's brother Larry ended up handling about a quarter of Atlas' output — primarily the police, Western [and] war [comics], and color anthologies of horror stories. Lieber became editor of the color comics following Rovin's departure. Steve Mitchell was the comics' production manager, and John Chilly the black and white magazines' art director. Goodman offered an editorial position to Roy Thomas, who had recently stepped down as Marvel Comics editor in chief, but Thomas turned it down, recalling in 1981 that, "[I] didn't have any faith in his lasting it out. The field was too shaky for a new publisher." Lieber recalled in a 1999 interview,
When I went there, Martin put out two kinds of books. He was putting out color comics, and he was also going to put out black and white comics like Warren and Marvel. Now, I knew nothing about black and white comics, right? My only experience was in the color comics. Jeff Rovin came from Warren, and he knew nothing about color comics. Martin unfortunately put Jeff in charge of all the color comics and put me in charge of the black and white books. It was an unfortunate thing, and basically what happened was that Jeff's books didn't turn out so well Martin had to pay high freelance rates, because otherwise nobody would work for a new and unproven company It didn't work out too well, and Jeff finally left angrily or something, and I had to take over all his books. At this point, business was bad, and I tried to do what I could. One of the things I had to do was to cut rates and tell people they were going to make less money, which was not an enviable position.
Роспуск
Atlas/Seaboard предлагали одни из самых высоких гонораров в индустрии, а также возврат оригинальных рисунков художникам и авторские права на оригинальных персонажей. Эти преимущества привлекли таких звезд, как Нил Адамс, Стив Дитко, Расс Хит, Джон Северин, Алекс Тот и Уолли Вуд, и перспективных художников, таких как Говард Чейкин и Рич Баклер. Однако линейку преследовали проблемы с дистрибуцией, из-за которых комиксы не доходили до многих регионов, а «Охотница за демонами» Рича Баклера послужила вдохновением для его «Убийцы дьяволов» в Marvel.
Чип Гудман
Некоторые сообщения в то время предполагали, что Гудман был возмущен тем, что Каденс, новые владельцы Marvel, отказались от обещания оставить его сына, Чарльза "Чипа" Гудмана, на посту редактора Marvel. Писатель Marvel и Atlas Гари Фридрих вспоминал: "Я никогда особо не верил, что [Мартин] сделал это из-за этого. Думаю, он хотел заработать деньги и полагал, что с Ларри во главе и хорошими гонорарами у него это получится. Ему, вероятно, не было бы жалко, если бы это немного ущемило прибыль Marvel, но я не думаю, что это была месть. Мартин был слишком умён для таких вещей". Однако художественный директор Marvel Джон Ромита считал: "Чип должен был занять его место. Но, видимо, это не было зафиксировано на бумаге, потому что как только Мартин ушёл, от Чипа избавились. Именно поэтому Мартин и основал Atlas Comics – это была чистая месть". Хотя Чип Гудман также руководил комиксами Seaboard, по словам Ровина, он практически не интересовался комиксами. Историк и бывший главный редактор Marvel Рой Томас вспоминал: "Одна из проблем была в том, что он был сыном Мартина Гудмана. Думаю, Мартин не особо уважал Чипа – он назначил его руководителем, но при этом относился к нему с пренебрежением и даже презрением в присутствии других. Мартин порой был довольно жесток". Этот конфликт между отцом и сыном был художественно переосмыслен сотрудником журнала "Magazine Management" Иваном Прашкером, который написал рассказ с завуалированным и нелицеприятным портретом персонажа, основанного на Чипе Гудмане. Когда этот рассказ "Сын босса" был опубликован в февральском выпуске Playboy 1970 года, Праскер ожидал увольнения, но вместо этого, как писал историк комиксов Джон Б. Кук, "он был награждён редакторской должностью в журнале, поскольку Мартин, по-видимому, был больше впечатлён публикацией одного из своих сотрудников в ведущем мужском журнале, чем оскорблением, нанесённым его сыну".
Возрождение
Около 2010 года внук Мартина Гудмана, Джейсон Гудман, объявил о партнерстве с Ardden Entertainment для перезапуска Atlas Comics, начиная с двух выпусков "#0" с участием Грим-Призрака и Феникса. Вместе с другим персонажем, Вулфом-варваром, они стали главными героями мини-сериала "Атлас объединен", анонсированного в сентябре 2011 года с планами публикации в ноябре того же года. Nemesis Group Inc. Джейсона Гудмана позднее обнаружила, что Джеффри Стивенс приобрел товарный знак "Atlas Comics" для комиксов в октябре 2005 года. Nemesis подала иск в 2010 году, утверждая, что Стивенс не продемонстрировал использование товарного знака. 13 марта 2012 года Палата по патентным спорам и апелляциям разрешила дело перейти к судебному разбирательству, однако из-за того, что Nemesis Group Inc. не представила необходимые документы в установленный срок, ходатайство было отклонено окончательно в 2013 году. Стивенс передал права на товарный знак компании Dynamite Characters LLC в августе 2014 года. В феврале 2016 года Nemesis Group подала новый логотип Atlas Comics в Ведомство по патентам и товарным знакам США с целью возможного оспаривания регистрации Dynamite.