Atlas Comics publisher Martin Goodman was known for following the trends, but you may not realize that didn’t mean just science fiction and western books. Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of Melvin The Monster #1 awaits!

MELVIN THE MONSTER #1

Writer: Stan Lee
Penciler: Joe Maneely
Inker: Joe Maneely
Colorist: Uncredited
Letterer: Stan Goldberg
Editor: Stan Lee
Publisher: Hercules Publishing Corporation (Marvel Comics)
Cover Price: 10 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $450.00
Release Date: March 14, 1956

Previously in Melvin The Monster: If you’ve been hanging around in Retro Review corner long enough, you’ve probably run into my endless fanboying about the talent of the late Joe Maneely. Most of that has been about his stellar work on the Marvel Western books of the 1950s, but Martin Goodman’s knack for finding and knocking off what readers love wasn’t limited to that genre. Hank Ketcham’s Dennis The Menace (not to be confused with the British strip of the same name, which unbelievably debuted in The Beano on the exact same day) launched in 1951, and was already a hit by the time this issue hit the stands. Pines Comics had been publishing Dennis in comic book form for almost three years as well, which makes the blatant duplication in these pages that much more flummoxing. I’d say that anyone who visited a Dairy Queen in the 1970s (where licensed Dennis The Menace images were plastered on cups, boxes, and walls) will recognize elements of the very first Melvin the Monster story.
Given Maneely’s eye for detail and design, it shouldn’t be shocking that he could work in a bigfoot funny book style. But Hank Ketcham’s linework and composition are both more complex than it might seem at first sight, so seeing Maneely effortlessly reproducing it is even more impressive. Witness the arrival of Melvin’s father’s boss, Mister Lumpkin.
Lumpkin (which Marvel fans will recognize as one of Stan Lee’s recurring character names, later used in a syndicated comic strip, then as the mailman in Fantastic Four) is a dead ringer for Ketcham’s Mr. Wilson, the irascible foil for his kid protagonist. Lumpkin even storms out, Wilson-style, when he hears young Melvin repeating unflattering remarks that Dad made about his employer. In addition to the four-page comic book stories, this issue features a number of half-page strips that remind me of Sunday newspaper funnies, as well as a number of single-panel gags that make Melvin’s knockoff status that much more obvious.
The foundation of modern-day Marvel Comics is, according to legend, based on Goodman’s desire to duplicate the success of the Justice League of America, leading him to instruct Lee and Kirby to create Mister Fantastic and company, so it should be no surprise that he also wanted some of the cute kid funnies money. But even knowing about Melvin’s pedigree, I was a bit surprised to find that this issue contains an equally audacious ersatz version of Harvey Comics’ Little Dot!
This story also features Joe Maneely on art chores, and while there are some design elements that cross over from pseudo-Ketcham to pseudo-Vic Herman, it feels like a completely different artist. The final story in this issue gives us another glimpse of a Mr. Wilson-like character, this time with the sharp nose that defines the profile of Mr. Mitchell, Dennis’ dad.
With its misleading title, I once thought Melvin The Monster #1 was a horror comic, but what you’ll actually find in these pages is skilled creators doing their best to ape the work of another, and doing a remarkably good job of it, earning 2.5 out of 5 stars overall. Children of 1956 who bought this thinking it was something else might not have gotten what they expected, but they at least didn’t get ripped off for their ten cents.

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