Yellow Claw #2

Yellow Claw #2, published by Atlas Comics—the 1950s precursor to Marvel—hit newsstands in late 1956. This series was part of a brief post-Code attempt to capture the pulp-adventure market, centering on the conflict between the titular Asian antagonist and FBI agent Jimmy Woo. The stories were penned by Al Feldstein and illustrated by the legendary Jack Kirby, who brought a dynamic, cinematic sensibility to the pages that arguably prefigured the energy he would later bring to the Marvel Age of Comics.

The series is historically significant for its ambitious but conflicted attempt to blend Cold War anxieties with exoticized adventure tropes. Kirby’s pencils are highly regarded by collectors for their raw power and composition, yet the title itself was short-lived, running for only four issues. Its reception was modest at the time, but it has since gained a cult following among comic historians and enthusiasts who view it as a fascinating transitional artifact in the history of American sequential art.