If Atlas Seaboard could possibly be said to have a character that served as the face of the company, it wasn't one of their super-heroes that we'll meet in the future. It was a post-apocalyptic barbarian with an prosthetic metal jaw called Ironjaw.
Ironjaw not only starred in a comic bearing his own name for all four of Atlas' months of existence, he was featured in the sole issue of the anthology title The Barbarians. If it existed beyond the second issue, I'm positive he also would have shown up in the black and white magazine Thrilling Adventure Stories.
And to be honest, I'm not surprised. The four issues of Ironjaw are the best series so far.
The first three of those issues (we'll come to the fourth soon enough) were written by Michael Fleischer (1942-2018), a rather controversial writer at the time. Known primarily for his spaghetti western-esque run on
Jonah Hex and a very brief, frequently gruesome series featuring The Spectre in
Adventure Comics at the time of Atlas' reign, Fleischer also gained some fame for publishing a brutally lurid novel set in the comic industry called
Chasing Hairy and suing Harlan Ellison for...well, praising his work in a typically Ellisonian way that he construed as a stream of insults. His window of fame was brief, lasting only a few years in the mid 70's although he managed to keep writing comics into the 80's. Even during his time in the spotlight, Fleisher was known for being one of the darker, grimmer writers in the industry....so imagine what he felt he could release on the public with a higher pay rate and a promise of minimal editorial interference. Under him, the saga of Ironjaw was one of an absolutely amoral lunkhead who managed to survive in a horrid world through his physical prowess and a bit of luck...and I say that with absolute admiration.
It seemed like Atlas knew it had something special in
Ironjaw. The cover of the first issue was done by Neal Adams, and the pencils were handled by Mike Sekowsky in the first issue and the absolutely wonderful Pablo Marcos in the other three. Particularly under Marcos, the pages are the right balance of desolate and lush, giving us a sense of both times of old and times that have gone to pot...which is appropriate given the premise of the series.
You see, Flesicher makes it clear in the first panel of the first issue that this story takes place in a post-apocalyptic future. And with the exception of Iron Jaw's steed, which is an actual unicorn, the first three issues are free of magic or monsters. There's even a moment when Ironjaw and his adopted father goes to a mountain cave to worship his 'god' that turns out to be a washing machine tended by a 'priest' who's using obvious sleight-of-hand. Serpent Men are guys in suits, and 'cannibal bears' are normal sized grizzlies urged to maul victims solely because they're covered in honey. It's only until the fourth and last issue, written by Gary Friedrich that we get giant lizard monsters and a sorceress who is responsible for our hero's titular mandible.
That last issue is supposed to reveal Ironjaw's origin, and it paints a character much different from the brusque, brutish and uncouth figure we've come to know and love. In it, we learn that our boy used to be a...troubadour whose good looks and sexy singing voice enchanted the women of the tribe of thieves he belongs to. Angry that their women throw themselves at him, some of the thieves crucify him and tear off his lower jaw before leaving him for dead. But one of those women saves him and leaves him in the care of an aged sorceress--who ends up de-aging to be a total hottie. Said hottie sorceress nurses ol' Ironjaw back to health, giving him his prosthetic jaw, lets him get some revenge and...
Well, that issue ends with Atlas promising a second part of this origin, and that second part never comes. For me, this change in tone from darkly comic to more traditional low fantasy robs
Ironjaw of what makes it so compelling. Once you get rid of the post-apocalyptic comedy and add in traditional magic and monsters into the mix, the title becomes, well, just another Conan rip-off, and in 1975, we had some super choice Conan comics being done by Roy Thomas, John Buscema and Tom Palmer over at Marvel.
That being said, Ironjaw is the first Atlas comic I've run across I enjoyed unequivocally so far. Even that fourth issue is well-written and has that thoroughly gorgeous Pablo Marcos art to marvel at...and given the total whiplash changes in direction other titles ended up with, that change in direction seems more like a readjustment than a total abandonment of the premise for something entirely different.
(You scoff...but just wait until we get to one of my favorite titles in the line, The Scorpion...)
I would strongly recommend reading Ironjaw. Even if you're not all that enthusiastic about sword and sorcery like I am, there's some great fun in both art and storytelling.
We're not quite done with Michael Fleischer next time. In fact, we're about to take a look at a weird mash-up of science fiction tropes that serves as the first of the Fleischer Cannibal Hero Trilogy. Come with us to the future as seen through the eyes of a man grown from a plant pod with a habit of turning into the man-eating tree known as...Morlock 2001!
Until then, remember...Revenge is a Dish Best Served In Four Colors
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