Tower of Shadows (Lost Marvels #1)

This vital collection of Marvel’s 1969–1971 horror series, edited by journalist Dean, spotlights the work of prominent artists such as Neal Adams, Marie Severin, Jim Steranko, Barry Windsor-Smith, and Wally Wood. Several tales are narrated by the artists themselves, caricatured within the panels to deliver Twilight Zone–style twist endings. Throughout, the volume delivers atmospheric, spooky artwork with inventive panel construction and page layout. In “At the Stroke of Midnight,” a portrait of avaricious heirs frantically searching for lost treasure, Steranko divides a wide-screen shot into ever-shrinking panels that evoke an eerie entrapment. In “One Hungers,” a claustrophobic tale of a trapped subterranean creature, Adams tilts his panels precipitously in a chase through an underground cavern. The reprints retain their original coloring, a major plus with collectors. An extensive introduction by Dean emphasizes the progressive and distinctive nature of these pieces in a field then-dominated by superheroes. Other ephemera includes letters, columns, house ads, and the cheerful self-promoting Bullpen Bulletins. While the stories never reach the terrifying heights of the classic 1950s EC horror comics, there are plenty of thrills here—but it’s the detailed period artwork that will call to collectors and scholars. Old-school Marvel fans will eagerly add this to their shelf and look forward to forthcoming volumes. (Apr.)