‘The Atlas Comics Library No. 8: Snafu’ (review)

Written by Stan Lee
Art by John Severin, Russ Heath, Joe Maneely,
Howie Post, Bill Everett, Marie Severin
Introduction by Dr. Michael J. Vassallo
Published by Fatagraphics Books

Let me state write up front here that the best thing about the latest Atlas Comics Library volume, Snafu (number 8), is, as usual Doctor Michael J. Vassallo’s long and informative Introduction. I really think that when all is said and done, these text pieces should be collected in a book of their own, complete with the same perfectly chosen and annotated illustrations. It would be an indispensable book on the history of the company that became Marvel Comics. And whilst I do sincerely think all that history is worth the cost of admission, the rest of the book’s content is more interesting than good.

Snafu was Marvel’s 1956 attempt at cashing in on the success of Mad magazine. The company we now call Atlas, like Timely Comics, which preceded it, was widely known—and would continue to be known in later years—as a bandwagon-jumper. When long underwear heroes were popular, that’s what they did. Archie became popular, and they did a dozen clones of him. Cowboys were big on TV so the company cornered the market in comics. Horror comics, romances, and even multiple full-color humor comics in the style of Harvey Kurtzman’s original Mad, were all staples of the proto-Marvel at one time or another.

In the case of Snafu, we’re told that it was mostly, if not entirely, written by Stan (not yet “The Man”) Lee. I tend to believe this because it’s nowhere near as amusing as its writer seems to think it is, despite the cover billing as “The Funniest Magazine in the World.”

I am not a Stan-basher. In fact, I’m a big fan, but I just never found him particularly funny. Oh, he was charming in person, very clever, and wrote some wonderfully funny, bantering dialogue in the sixties, but his flat-out attempts at humor have generally left me cold. Snafu is no exception.

But then, Mad wasn’t always spot-on in those days, either, as it still was finding its audience. One thing that made Mad stand out from other humor mags was its artists. That works here, as well, as we get a large amount era started, thus no doubt changing comics history.

Maneely is joined by John Severin, who had started out as one of Kurtzman’s four original Mad artists and who would go in to appear in nearly every issue of Mad’s rival, Cracked magazine. Another Mad veteran, Russ Heath, shows up, as does the great Howie Post, both briefly, and issue three of Snafu has some work by Sub-Mariner creator Bill Everett.

A running gag is that of the Forbush clan, with Stan referencing various characters with that peculiar last name, specifically Irving, as the Alfred E. Neuman style mascot. Irving Forbush would continue on as a joke in early Marvel, eventually appearing as Forbush Man! Another name here that would appear later is Lumpkin. Willie Lumpkin would be the name of a comic strip mailman created by Stan and Dan DeCarlo. Still later, the name would be re-used as the Fantastic Four’s mailman.

This being the fifties, topics and gags are built around the likes of Davy Crockett, Marilyn Monroe, Edward R. Murrow, Senator Joe McCarthy, Bettie Page, movies like The Blackboard Jungle, and radio shows like Pete Kelly’s Blues. There are magazine parodies, ad parodies, and captioned photos (in the manner of Stan’s later Monsters to Laugh With and Monster Madness mags). Like his former employee, Harvey, Stan throws in funny-sounding Yiddish words like “mashugana,” but in Mad, it seemed organic. Here it feels forced…to imitate Mad.

There’s a real treat at the end, as you get nine pages of Maneely’s original Snafu artwork, and some nice capsule bios of the contributors!

All in all, though, Snafu was cleverer and more interesting than it was funny, even back in the day, and if one doesn’t know all the 1950s history or references, one is likely to be totally lost today. Historically, this is an important book regarding comics history, collecting some mags that seemed unlikely that anyone would ever collect, but just as entertainment in 2026, you could do better.

For its fun artwork, though, its Introduction, and its historical importance…

Booksteve recommends.