Atomic Junk Shop is pleased to present a guest post by acclaimed cartoonist Scott Shaw!
Sam Glanzman means a lot to me. He was an early influence on my visual thinking and has become an honored friend. He’s still around and still doing great stuff after an amazing 76 years (!!!) of writing and drawing comic books. Sam is best known for his “USS Stevens” and “Haunted Tank” stories for DC, but for me, Sam’s KONA, MONARCH OF MONSTER ISLE from Dell was absolutely mind-altering. It was like reading a vintage pulp magazine soaked in LSD. And as good as the stories were, his thought-provoking filler pages were even better.
Sam’s work is finally getting the respect it’s always deserved. USS STEVENS and A SAILOR’S STORY have recently been reprinted by Dover Press and there is an ever-growing legion of Glanzman fans who are always on the lookout for any vintage four-color gems written and/or drawn by the prolific cartoonist. No matter how obscure it may be, there’s always something innovative about a Glanzman comic book story. Lotsa research, innovative storytelling and an astounding grasp of drawing animal anatomy are all reasons for relishing Sam’s body of work. It’s time for his work on Dell’s now obscure VOYAGE TO THE DEEP to be re-presented to a new and appreciative audience.
All of those factors are on display in Sam’s work on this short-lived series. Although the publisher’s intent was to take advantage of the then-popular Irwin Allen TV series, VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, Sam combined military hardware with oceanic monsters to give the project his uniquely personal twist. (Geez, it’s too bad that Sam never took over the writing and drawing of DC’s “The War That Time Forgot” in STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES, ain’t it?)
Anyway, I’ve got my fingers crossed that a collection of Sam Glanzman’s VOYAGE TO THE DEEP will become a reality.
Even if those gigantic manta rays probably won’t, dammit.
— SS!
There is a Kickstarter for Sam Glanzman’s Voyage to the Deep that ends tomorrow. Check it out!
Quite the popular Kickstarter, getting two posts two days apart. Note that USS STEVENS hasn’t been reprinted yet. (Cancelled early this year and relisted last month.)
I was hoping to do one as well, and find room to tell my favorite Glanzman anecdote, but Real Life intervened. Take it from all of us, though, Sam is THE MAN. Backers on this will be delighted with the result.
I’ll say it again; his Hercules needs to see the light of day, again.
I just pledged myself. With the topping of 200 backers and $13K, all books have some extra stories AND are in HC. Woo hoo! I hope we helped, Drew and Sam!
Just to make sure everyone knows, the U.S.S. STEVENS collection has been out for a while, but there was a problem with the listing in Previews, so it had to be relisted. The book is currently available on Amazon and in bookstores around the country, and will be available in comic book shops in January. Here is the code in case you want your local comic shop to order one for you: NOV161504
The rights on the Glanzman Hercules stuff are complicated, but I just learned some things that make me feel like a Hercules collection is closer than it was a year ago. Keep your fingers crossed!
Thank you for your pledge, Travis! I am so incredibly thankful to everyone who backed this campaign, not only making this book a reality, but helping to make it a big, beautiful over-sized HC! And thank you to Atomic Junk Shop and Scott Shaw! for all the incredible support. Sam and I greatly appreciate these posts…it definitely helped!
Glad to hear that Hercules could be a possibility. I still live in hope for Iron Corporal and Lonely War of Willy Schulz.