When I bring guests onto the podcast, I encourage them to pick the comic or creator because if the guest is excited about a comic, in theory, it should trickle down to fans. For one show, the guest chose a Golden Age Marvel/Atlas comic—Venus #1 and #2 from 1948.
Wow! What a zany two issues! It’s a different Stan Lee writing in a way that fans might not recognize. Even since I’ve been a fan of Venus for a ton of reasons, it’s a peculiar series that lasted until 1952 and had eighteen issues. Lately, I have been running some columns looking at different sides of Stan Lee, and Venusgives fans a different side of Lee as a writer. While he didn’t write every Venus story, you do see his creativity shine through differently than in his later stories.
The series starts as a bored Venus comes to earth, where she becomes the editor/reporter of Beauty Magazine and begins a romance with publisher Whitney Hammond, who doesn’t believe Venus is really the Goddess of Love as a fun foil and rival, Whitney’s secretary, Della, is always scheming to both undermine Venus and to get Whitney to fall in love with her.
All fans are familiar with the Marvel Masterworks trades. Well, over ten years ago, Marvel put multiple volumes of Masterworks that covered the Timely and Atlas Eras. There are quite a few out there, and it’s worth tracking down because you’ll read stories before Marvel was… well, Marvel. For some reason, Marvel only archived the first half of Venus, which is available through Marvel Unlimited.
Published from 1948 through 1952, Venus started as a lighthearted romance series but evolved into a unique blend of mythology, science fiction, and horror. No matter what direction the series went, Venus stayed true to her character, almost uncannily. Truly, Venus was a goddess of all genres. Until recently, there was no affordable way—if you could even find those issues—to read the rest of the series. Over the past year,Fantagraphics has been reprinting Atlas volumes, and one of them was the remaining issues of Venus. Fans should check out the whole Fantagraphics Atlas series because it gives you a glimpse of what Marvel was like before it became Marvel. And, without the Atlas comics—and other comics—there would have been no Marvel Comics. Think about it: The 1950s saw many publishers fold up, but Timely/Atlas/Marvel was one of the few who didn’t.
At the time, Venus was considered a super-powered heroine—even though heroes were fading after the war. Still, it started more as a girl/teen humor title, which was popular when it first came out. Those early issues set things up, but it isn’t until the fifth and sixth issues that the series starts to gel into something truly different for the times. It is not that those early issuesshould be discarded. They get things rolling and put all the pieces together.
Issues seven and eight have gorgeous painted covers, and the stories masterfully blend fantasy and romance. These issues show how, as the series evolves, the funness of Venus can make any story a truly fantastic read.
By the eleventh issue, Venus, in my view, truly comes into her own, bringing coherence even to the most outrageous narratives. She begins to take on the role of an investigative reporter, which complements the series’ gradual shift toward darker themes, incorporating elements of horror alongside touches of fantasy and science fiction.
All of this makes sense. Back then, Marvel—Atlas/Timely—was always quick to jump into the latest hot trend. Here, horror comics were what was selling for a few brief years. It might seem an odd choice that a fantasy character like Venus would have her series morph into horror, but it works—fantastically!
That is mainly due to Bill Everett, who, yes, is known for creating Namor, the Sub-Mariner. Everett continued to work for Marvel into the 1970s, but his work in Venus shows a genius in his work that he didn’t get to do later, mainly because the horror boom ended. It’s Everett who carries the tile through the end. He did the covers for Venus 13, 15-19, and the interior art for 14-19. One of the hallmarks of his run is how he masterfully conveyed the eerie and supernatural essence of the series’ horror stories.
Some might say that because of all those ways, the series morphed into Venus, never being clearly defined. I disagree. I think what makes Venus a fascinating character ripples through all the issues, and you see the character evolve into something truly unique for the times.
Are all the tales absolute masterpieces? Perhaps not, but the journey is undeniably entertaining, filled with wild and occasionally surreal twists. Across the issues, the unpredictability keeps you hooked, and Venus, along with her supporting cast, manages to make even the most eccentric stories come together beautifully.
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