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Again, the red, white and blue of Captain America's costume is the one I would have used on the covers. That would have gotten attention. Before a kid buys a comic he has to be interested in it enough to pick it up and look through it or already know it (as the Superman family) and like it. The covers Atlas used were simply not good enough to attract the kid's eye consistantly.
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Regardless, your theory is just to subjective to prove or disprove.

What I do know for a fact though is that when I was ten years old, back in the summer of '65, (way before such things as "comic book shops";) when my friends and I went to the local drug stores looking for the next month's comics, we didn't give a solitary hang about the covers. All we looked for was our favorite characters.

In fact, I don't recall a single conversation about comic book covers during my entire childhood. Covers and cover art is a lot more important to me now, as a 52 year old, then it ever was 40 years ago.


Everything is subjective. And my question isn't about proving it one way or the other, we never can. I want ideas as to why the Atlas heroes failed. Facts are nice, conjecture is welcome! To me, the covers, and the titles are at least some of the reasons.

As for your other point, I know that as a kid I too looked for favorite books -- and those changed over the years from Sea Devils, Rip Hunter, Strange Adventures, Mystery In Space to Spidey, Avengers (SPECIFICALLY because of the cover of Avengers #4 -- Kirby's Captain America classic!) and FF. Did my friends and I discuss covers? Sure, not often, but we would.

"Hey, look at the cool Mystery In Space cover! And A-bomb and some kinda flying lens frying a city like you fry ants, Jimmy!"

"Wow, look at the eye beams coming from these evil looking snowmen!"

"Why are you looking at that Wonder Woman cover, Steve? Only girls read that!" "Whatdaya mean I'll know why some day?"

But, when I had the money I WOULD buy other books if I already had my favorites. There is nothing in the Atlas covers of the era to attract this kind of impulse buying. No color, no familar characters, no great design, no patriotic appeal, nothing...



A. Leedom, President, and creative consultant for Mighty Comics. I'm sorry about that, fans.