I hate stories like this where parts of the art look so familiar and yet I can't identify the artist. In this case, it's mainly the story's blond antagonist whose style resonates. If it weren't for the fact that Jim Starlin would've been two years old when this came out, I'd say I see his style in that guy, especially in panels on pages 2, 3 and 4! It's that splash panel face that gets to me though. It looks so clearly to be by....who??? Any guesses? Oh, read it, too. Don't just look at it. It's a pretty good little scene with a fun moment at the ending which leaves you wondering if the character's ultimate actions were on purpose.
But for the fact you've got a '1952' up there I'd've sworn this was early Dave 'Watchmen' Gibbons!
ReplyDeleteThe face in red on page 3 looks just like Dave Cockrum's work to me...
ReplyDeleteActually, I'd guess Alden McWilliams.
Steven,
ReplyDeleteAfter looking the story over carefully, I suspect this may be penciled by Ogden Whitney, who almost always inked his own work. He did a handful of stories for Atlas in this period, and although the inking is very powerful, the poses and figures point to his style, particularly the boy on page 2; the face on page 3, panel 5; the cop in panel 3 of page 4 and the final panel, a pose Whitney often used.