Giant-Size Marvel

Monster Monday: Bob Layton's recreation of Amazing Adventures #12

2012-02-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

No doubt many of you remember this famous cover by Gil Kane from 1972.

Amazing Adventures #12, featuring The Beast! Who could resist buying such a cover? Iron Man isn't looking too healthy there on the ground and the blurb: One Avenger Dead on Arrival! is enticing.

Here is Bob Layton's recreation of this cover. As you can see, The Beast here looks more like he did in the first issue of X-Factor, the comic that Layton co-plotted and inked in 1986. It appears this commission was done in 1985 and in a very classy move, Layton acknowledges Kane with his signature. Check out Bob Layton's website for more cool stuff! Nuff Said.

Hulk versus Spider-Man by Mike Deodato

2012-02-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Spider-Man versus the Hulk in black and white glory by Mike Deodato.

Amazing and Incredible! Check out another new cool Deodato commission with Wonder Woman versus Ms. Marvel over on Giant-Size Geek! Nuff Said.

Thing Tuesday: The Fantastic Four should Beware of Yancy Street!

2012-02-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

An early look at the Thing, from Fantastic Four #34 from 1965...

Beware of Yancy Street! They don't care for the FF anymore than the Thing. This pinup was by Jack "King" Kirby and Chic Stone. Was Doctor Doom behind the whole Yancy Street curse the entire time? Nuff Said!

Marvel Funnies: The Green Goblin Unmasked!

2012-02-03T09:03:00.000-08:00

Legend has it that Stan Lee and Steve Ditko had a disagreement over the identity of the Green Goblin. While that story may not be true, what if the Goblin was someone other than Norman Osborn?

Artist Loston Wallace has a take on this--what if the Green Goblin was none other than the most sacred person in Peter Parker's life? Genius! Nuff Said.

Thor Thursday: Spider-Man and Thor 1998 poster by the Romitas

2012-02-02T08:37:00.000-08:00

I came across this nifty 1998 poster by John Romita Jr and Sr, featuring Spider-Man and Thor, on Heritage Auctions. As you can see, it must have been done for the San Diego Comic Con. This would have been around the time of "Heroes Return" when Jr Jr and Dan Jurgens began their excellent run on Thor. Nuff Said!

Strange Sunday: Craig Hamilton and the Master of Mystic Arts

2012-01-29T10:03:00.000-08:00

I discovered this nice Craig Hamilton illustration of Doctor Strange from his ComicArtFans gallery. The lens flares remind me of a JJ Abrams movie. I also featured a nifty Hamilton Silver Surfer piece a few years ago. Nuff Said!

Silver Surfer cover by Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott

2012-01-28T11:53:00.000-08:00

It is Silver Surfer Saturday here at Giant-Size Marvel. This one is a doozy.

Silver Surfer by Jack Kirby and inked by Joltin' Joe Sinnott. This piece appeared as the cover to Jack Kirby Collector #43 in 2005. Visit TwoMorrows website for more stuff. Nuff Said!

Neal Adams covers Hulk, Spider-Man, and the Punisher!

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

I like to think of myself as a Neal Adams expert, but somehow I missed these groovy covers he did last year for a bunch of Marvel books.

The cover to Incredible Hulk #1 features ol' Greenskin bursting out of chains, an homage to Neal's Superman #233 cover? Whatever the case may be, it looks great.

This illustration was the variant cover to Amazing Spider-Man #667, but as Agent M Loves Tacos reported, it was also a poster for the Montreal Comic Con. Would hate to walk on the hockey rink after Johnny Storm flew by Spidey.

Here are the pencils. Interesting to see that the lines indicating speed and force were drawn using colors in the version above.

Punisher #1 also featured the second amendment's greatest advocate, Frank Castle, spewing down justice. Nice angle and action shot here.

Check out my article last year on Giant-Size Geek: Neal Adams Marvel Variant Covers: Captain America, Daredevil and Ghost Rider! You don't wanna miss it, true believer! Nuff Said.

Nick Fury, Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D. on Jim Steranko Christmas Card

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the cast of Jim Steranko's 1960s Marvel Comics on a Christmas Card...

No idea what year this was created in, but you can see all the heroes from Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick is pretty cool with Val on his arm, but personally I think Dum Dum Dugan is even cooler. I retrieved this one from Albert Moy on ComicArt who also has a fantastic site selling original comic artwork. Nuff Said!

Thing Tuesday: Evan "Doc" Shaner takes on Ben Grimm

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Evan "Doc" Shaner takes a nice cartoony look at Ben Grimm and the FF in this illustration. You can find Doc Shaner on his blog, his nice deviantART page, and on Twitter. Nuff Said!

Monster Monday: Chamber of Chills covers by Gil Kane and Tom Palmer

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

In the early 70s, the Marvel Monster and Horror line expanded not only with the classic characters (Dracula, Werewolf by Night, Frankenstein, etc) but with anthology titles as well. One of them was Chamber of Chills, which strangely enough was the title of a Harvey Horror comic back in the early 1950s.

The cover to the fear fraught first issue was by Gil Kane and Tom Palmer. The big selling point for this one (besides the giant red dragon) was the adaption of Harlan Ellison's Delusion for a Dragon Slayer. The adaption was by Gerry Conway and Craig Russell, but I read somewhere that Ellison wasn't happy with it. Harlan, not happy with an adaption of his work? Well, you could probably say that about anything of his that Marvel touched.

I think the cover of issue #2 was more effective, featuring a vampire about to attack someone in a cabin. Marvel was once again adapting a short story by another writer, Robert E. Howard, who readers already knew from Conan the Barbarian. This story was adapted by Roy Thomas (naturally) and Gil Kane. Nuff Said!

Strange Sunday: Dr Strange Black Light posters

2012-01-22T12:36:00.000-08:00

Back in the late 60s / early 70s, Marvel licensed their characters for a series of Black Light posters. These vibrant posters sprang to life when illuminated in the glow of black light bulbs. Many characters received the treatment, but the one hero who was featured on more posters than anyone else was Doctor Strange!

The best poster IMHO was the one above, featuring Doc facing off with Eternity. Dr Strange is in his masked superhero costume, which I loved more than many of you. This costume, the swirling madness of Eternity, and the color scheme make this image a perfect choice for a black light poster. You have to place yourself back in that context: sitting in a Berkeley apartment, taking a little hit of whatever to expand your cosmic consciousness, playing Pink Floyd and looking at Doc under the light. None of which I did, btw, but that was the target audience of these posters!

The above and below posters were taken from splash pages inside Doctor Strange 180 (1969) with artwork by Gene Colan and Tom Palmer. There is something interesting about this particular cover. I wanted to confirm that Gene Colan drew the cover--I was pretty sure that he did as Doc looks to be in a typical Colan pose. However, Marvel Wikia states that the cover is collaboration between Colan and Steve Ditko! The figure of Eternity must have been lifted from an earlier Ditko drawn comic and pasted in here.

The opening splash page was also made into a poster. As someone else said, this looks like it was taken from a rather bad copy. It should have been really groovy but it looks murky.

This landscape panel of Doc entering a typical Ditko landscape was also a poster. Who was the artist? Not Ditko or Colan, that is obvious if you are a Marvel fan. My best guess was Dan Adkins, who drew the series in the 1960s before Colan came on board.

The real answer is that this is from Doctor Strange #171 (1968), a rarity in that Tom Palmer (most famously known as a superb inker/colorist for most of his career) actually penciled this issue, with Dan Adkins embellishing! Pretty cool scene and worth of a poster, they must have chosen this one because it was a double page spread.

You have to wonder what a Steve Ditko splash page would have looked like as a black light poster. If you want to see more Marvel black light posters, please visit artist Nick Derington's page on Flickr where he has a lot of them. Nuff Said!

Galactus and the Silver Surfer by Jack Kirby

2012-01-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

Saturdays are often devoted to Norrin Radd here...and this time I found a doozy of an image!

Galactus and the Silver Surfer Marvelmania poster by Jack (King) Kirby! This was inked by the King as well. One of the all time classic images of the Sky-rider of the Spaceways. I've seen this scan on other sites but they were blurry or taken from a wall shot. This scan comes from Heritage Auctions.

Mark Evanier has an interesting story about the Marvelmania posters on his blog and in his book Kirby: King of Comics. Nuff Said!

The Origin of Marvel Bullpen Bulletins

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about Marvel Comics were the Bullpen Bulletins pages. They seemed to make the reader feel as if they were part of special club, led be a merry prankster by the name of Stan Lee. The other day I got to wondering, when and how did the Bullpen Bulletins pages actually start appearing in Marvel Comics?

Fantastic Four #1 was published in 1961, but the editorial content in Marvel Comics remained confined to the single page of letters which began in FF #3. A few months later this was expanded to 2 pages. Stan Lee must have realized he had a new opportunity to market to his fans, and began a section of yellow boxed "Special Announcements" and Mighty Marvel Checklists. The one above is from Fantastic Four #44 in November 1965. Notice that one of the letter writers was none other than Dave Cockrum, who would be working at Marvel on the Avengers and the X-Men in the 1970s.

In the same year, Marvel helped launch the Merry Marvel Marching Society (MMMS) fan club. They started devoting a page to advertise this new club. The ad above appeared in FF #40 from July 1965. They started listing the names of the fans who had recently joined. Notice in this particular ad, the name listed at the bottom: Bud Plant, from San Jose, California! Bud Plant started selling comics and books in 1970 and became one of the largest distributors of comics, games and art books in the 70s and 80s. He recently retired last year.

So there was an evolution of sorts: the letters page, special announcements, Mighty Marvel checklists, and then special pages for Marvel merchandise. What could tie all of these things together and speak even more directly to the reader? A Marvel Bullpen Bulletins page! The first one appeared in December 1965, the one above was taken from FF #45. With the classic Marvel saying, Face Front! It combined all of the elements from the letters column with tabloid bite-size nuggets of Marvel news. Joe Sinnott was back at Marvel, Adam Austin was the nom de plume of Gene Colan, and would we ever see King Kirby ink himself? Our parents may have been reading really kinky Hollywood tabloid, but for comics geeks this was all the gossip we wanted to know.

A couple of months later in Feb 1966, the Bullpen Bulletins evolved into a more classic form. A snazzy headline, more news items and an expanded checklist. One of the biggest news items was that Roy Thomas had recently joined the House of Ideas, and he was probably one of the best people that Stan Lee had ever hired. And looking at the Marvel Checklist, it was pretty easy to collect all 9 Marvel Comics that month--if you could find them at the drugstore.

Even though Stan may have helped created and write these editorial pages, there was still something missing: a way for Stan to speak directly to his flock of geeks! Just over a year later, the very first Stan Lee's Soapbox appeared in July 1967, this one taken from FF #63. In this column, Stan is acting all humble and tossing aside any comments seeking deeper meaning in his comics in a column titled The Marvel Philosophy. Nay, Stan's first and foremost priority was to entertain, and sell more comics than his Direct Competition. I love the hip 60s lingo that ran from his word balloons and into his Soapbox: That's it, pussycat! Thanks to Tom Jones and a Woody Allen movie, every cat in the know used words like pussycat. I think if I said that at work today I might be fired for harassment!

Bullpen Bulletins was Stan Lee's most powerful weapon when it was time to push a new series into the collective consciousness of Marvel zombies. This one, taken from September 1970 (FF# 102) is memorable for two reasons. As you can clearly see, Marvel was hyping up Conan the Barbarian and trying to get jaded superhero-only fans to read a Sword and Sorcery comic. It took a while but it eventually worked in my case. Stan Lee's Soapbox contained a startling announcement: Jack Kirby was leaving Marvel! Well, you kind of knew it was happening by that time if you had seen the ads from DC Comics. But in this column, Stan takes an event that would seemingly bring his House of Ideas down and tried to make lemonade. With a new influx of talent, such as Gerry Conway, Marv Wolfman, Steve Englehart, Steve Gerber, Barry Smith, Rich Buckler, etc., Marvel was in a position to grow. Interestingly enough there is a long column about John Romita, who took over the FF artistic reins from the King. The mention of Steve Ditko leaving Spider-Man years before was also a bit unexpected--these pages were promotional items, yet here an event was mentioned that was somewhat sad.

It's a shame the Bullpen pages have disappeared over the years; the comic book stories were only part of what made me Marvel great. Message boards and blogs don't even come close to spreading the magic.

Thanks to the Bullpen Bulletins blog who covered all of this material in their article. Nuff Said!

X-Men 50 Classic Polaris cover by Steranko, Re-Imagined by Mike Mayhew

2012-01-14T06:06:00.000-08:00

Surely all Marvel fans of the Silver Age remember this classic 1968 cover...

X-Men 50 by Steranko, which introduced Lorna Dane, aka Polaris, to the team. Not only that, she was possibly the daughter of Magneto as well, something that seemed more alarming before we found out that Pietro and Wanda were his children.

I love this cover, with the composition and the green color scheme radiating out of Polaris. Not only that--this issue featured a brand new logo for the X-Men, designed by Steranko himself. One of my favorite logos of all time!

Mike Mayhew did a cover recreation of this over on his deviantArt page. I think it is a wonderful homage to Steranko with great use of Mayhew's color style. Nuff Said!

Marvelous Girls by Adam Hughes: Invisible Woman, She-Hulk, Ms Marvel, Jean Grey and Gwen Stacy

2012-01-05T06:06:00.000-08:00

Here is something for, tovarisch, as Colossus used to say. What is the plural of tovarisch? Tovarisches? Anyway, something for you, a gallery of tastefully illustrated Marvel women, by Adam Hughes...

Invisible Woman. This was done for an auction to raise money for victims of domestic violence. This piece raised $7500 for the cause! That is all icing on the cake of this great illustration, showing Sue Storm as lovely as she can be in her FF uniform.

She-Hulk. This was a lithograph for Sideshow Collectibles, included with the statue of the green lady. I think Norman Rockwell would feel very flattered, don't you?

Ms Marvel. In her original outfit designed by John Romita! You can definitely see the Alphonse Mucha influence with that scarf wrapping around her head. I hope she doesn't trip on it.

Jean Grey as Marvel Girl, wearing her outfit from the Neal Adams period. My what a big mask, she would need telekinesis just to keep that from flying off her head!

Gwen Stacy, Spidey's greatest love, in her trademark 70s coat and black boots. Misty water-colored memories of the Way We Were! It always brings a tear to my eye. Nuff Said!

Thing Tuesday: New Avengers 5 variant Thing cover by Stuart Immonen

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

Mr. Benjamin J Grimm graced the cover of New Avengers #5, in a variant by series artist Stuart Immonen. I think Stuart draws a fantastic rendition of the Thing. My dream assignment for him would be to draw Marvel Two-In-One, written by Dan Slott. Nuff Said!

Monster Monday: Dracula by Gene Colan and Gabriel Hardman

2012-01-02T11:05:00.000-08:00

Hope you all have today off, if not, this little illustration may help you through a Monstrous Monday...

Dracula, pencils by Gene Colan in 2003 and inks by Gabriel Hardman in 2011. Courtesy of Hardman's deviantART page. Nuff Said!

The Return of Giant-Size Marvel! The 1968 Revival: Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, and Sub-Mariner!

2012-01-01T16:31:00.000-08:00

My little blog and I are back to haunt you with Marvel Madness once again, true believers! Heck, if Bucky, Aunt May, Harry Osborn, Norman Osborn, Warlock and even Odin himself can come back from the dead, why can't little old Giant-Size Marvel?

I wasn't sure what image would be the best one to open with until I opened my Vintage Marvel 2012 calendar and saw this cover for January: Tales of Suspense #98.

To Be Reborn! Steve Rogers gives up being Cap and then goes around saving all the clowns who decide to replace him. How many times did he try giving up his Cap identity afterward, only to return again and again? A future topic for a blog post if there ever was one.

Restarting this blog on the first day of 2012 hit me out of the blue as I took a walk this morning. No plan to make it a New Year's Resolution or anything like that--I have given those up long ago. In fact, New Year's Eve and the celebrations that come with it have lost their luster for me. Why are people so excited? Because it is a reason to party, imbibe, and eat too much food? My mind became lost in this mystery, but the answer came when I thought of Marvel Comics in the year 1968.

That year was like a mini Marvel explosion, the year Marvel ended both Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish. The stars who shared those books (Cap and Iron Man in Suspense, Hulk and Sub-Mariner in Astonish) graduated to their own titles. Captain America 100 was virtually Captain America #1 for the Marvel age, complete with a nifty Jack Kirby cover showing Cap leading his pals (the Avengers, Black Panther, Sharon Carter, Namor) to victory. I have a reproduction of this one hanging on the wall. Perhaps not Kirby's greatest cover but one of the most iconic. A new era began for Cap, one that would see Kirby eventually leave and usher in new people like Steranko, Colan, Romita, Sal Buscema, etc.

A number one issue is like the the beginning of the new year. Usually a #1 comic has a really good story and artwork to suck you in, perhaps even make you send in a subscription for a full year. Iron Man #1 from 1968 had artwork by Gene Colan, who had been illustrating the series in Tales of Suspense. We like to think that today's artists don't stick around on series long enough, yet Colan was gone from Iron Man after the first issue! Of course, he had drawn the character for years up to that point. But a number one issue, with all the great promises it brings, you hope the greatness will continue forever. You don't think about alcoholism, losing your own mega-corporation, or igniting a Civil War with your Avengers pals!

Hulk #102 was designed to drive comic book collectors and collecting software crazy for decades. The Hulk premiered in 1962 and lasted for only six issues. He co-starred in Tales to Astonish starting in issue 60 and up to issue 101. Then he launched back into his own title, continuing the numbering. I'll remember this factoid forever, even when I forget the name of my co-workers or where I put my iPod. This cover by Marie Severin is nice but not as iconic as other Hulk covers. Notice how all these 1968 launches have the cover caption: Big Premiere Issue! Just to let you know to get in on the ground floor of something great.

Outside of the Kirby cover, I have always loved the 1968 Sub-Mariner #1 cover by John Buscema. Why would you ever want to read Aquaman when you could read about Prince Namor? His body language on this cover just said, "Don't F--- With Me!" Namor was a rebel with a cause and had an attitude that was unique in the history of comics. When he was paired up with other Marvel heroes, Namor was a ticking time bomb. Would he help them or betray them? Perhaps that is why he was more successful in books like Defenders rather than his own series.

Happy 2012 to all Marvel fans! May we all endure as long as these classic characters. Nuff Said!

Lo, There Shall Be An Ending!

2011-02-11T07:07:00.000-08:00

A hard thing for me to announce to all you Titanic True Believers, but this is the end of the blog known as Giant-Size Marvel! After 300+ posts over the past three years, I have just run out of steam. Lately, every time I think of something to write about, I discover that other nostalgia bloggers have covered the same material, and doing a great job of it, too! (See my blogroll at the lower right.) One of my favorite all-time blogs is the classic Dial B for Blog. I admired Robby for both his taste in comics and his great design work, which I can’t hold a candle to. Like Robby, I think some blogs should not run forever; I have said enough about Marvel Comics and it is time to move onward and upward. You can still catch me on my other blog, Giant-Size Geek, where I discuss Marvel/DC Comics, Science Fiction, books, TV, and all kinds of geeky stuff.

I tried, in the beginning, to cover everything Marvel—modern comics, videogames and movies—and found that to be too difficult. Writing about all the new stuff wasn’t much fun. While there have been some bright spots in modern superhero comics, during the past few years I seem to be losing my interest and connection to them. I keep coming back to the comics of my formative years, the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. I think in writing this blog, I love those comics more than ever. And I love them in their original form, on cheap newsprint with staples or glue, even more than slick trade paper or digital format.

Over the past week, I’ve featured some of my favorite comics covering the Silver Surfer, Doctor Strange, Marvel Monsters, the Thing, Giant-Size Marvel comics and FOOM. There are some other articles that cover some topics which were special for me…

And a few off-beat articles that I enjoyed writing…

I have truly appreciated all the comments and emails that I have received. You guys are all Keepers of the Flame, Merrily Marching in the Marvel Society of my mind, and I shall always be your Friend Of Old Marvel. When we meet in the Great Bullpen of the sky, we shall exclaim:

Excelsior! As Mark Buckingham illustrated in the Stan Lee Meets Silver Surfer special, the characters inspired by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and a legion of other talented creators are truly unforgettable. And now, one last image from the Bullpen Bulletins page to sum it all up…

Make Mine Marvel!

Nuff Said.

My Favorite Giant-Size Marvels of the 1970s

2011-02-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

When I created this blog back in 2008, I needed an idea for a title. My favorite Marvel Comics from the 1970s were always the Giant-Size titles that sold for 35 or 50 cents. Just the thought of extra pages of Marvel-ous content made me heart beat a little faster. Here are some of my favorite titles from this era...

Giant-Size Superstars #1, featuring the Fantastic Four and wildest Thing versus Hulk match ever, was one of the first giant-size titles. The story by Gerry Conway is fun, light-hearted, a done-in-one romp that is perfectly constructed. The artwork by Rich Buckler showcases Marvel over the top action in the best way, with a fight that goes from skyscrapers to the subway system. I first wrote about this comic in 2008.

Giant-Size Superheroes #1 followed a month or so later, with another whopper of a story by Conway, where Spidey's misunderstood monsters teamed up: Morbius and the Man-Wolf. I couldn't imagine how these two got together, but it was an interesting setup. The art by Gil Kane featured some great midnight action in New York City. I mentioned this comic earlier in my look at Morbius' creation.

At this point you may think all my favorites were the first issues of the Giant-Size books. That is true--except in the case of this one. I longed for these Giant-Size comics to somehow tie into the story from the regular monthly titles. Steve Englehart finally broke this barrier with Giant-Size Avengers #2. Kang the Conqueror had attacked the Avengers in the regular monthly title, clobbering Thor, Iron Man, and The Vision into unconsciousness. And kidnapping the Scarlet Witch and Mantis to boot! Kang left the Swordsman behind, because he was a loser. Bad mistake! In this issue, the Swordsman recruits Hawkeye and the two of them start to unravel Kang's plan for world domination. The climax of this story had a big revelation--the Celestial Madonna was actually Mantis--and the Swordsman died trying to save her. One of my favorite Avengers stories of all time. The artwork by Dave Cockrum, who also inked himself on this issue, is one of the best art jobs of his career. I noticed that Doug and Karen mentioned this issue in their recent article on The Vision.

Giant-Size Defenders #1 is an odd choice for a favorite comic--but the Defenders were a very strange team! This particular issue had the least amount of new story content: only 10 pages of new material, used a framing device for a bunch of reprints featuring the Hulk, Doctor Strange, Sub-Mariner, and Silver Surfer. All of those stories were new to me and they were wonderful. It was a great lesson in Marvel history. The cover by Gil Kane, with the heroes crashing out of the comic book page, was so remarkable to me that I made it into a mousepad. I wrote an article about this comic in 2008.

The great thing about Marvel Comics back in the 1970s was that it featured more than just superheroes. A barbarian named Conan was so popular for a while that he outsold most of the other titles. Giant-Size Conan #1 seemed like a blockbuster event, coming off the success of the regular monthly comic, Savage Tales, and the Savage Sword of Conan magazine. To make this series stand out from the rest, Roy Thomas decided to adapt the novel Conan the Conqueror, and tapped artist Gil Kane to work with him. Kane was perfectly suited for fantasy material and he was inked by Tom Sutton, no slouch himself. The backups were earlier Conan stories illustrated by Barry Smith, all new to me at that time. For some other thoughts on this issue and other Kane Conan covers, see this article.

Giant-Size Chillers #1 was the first giant-size title to feature Marvel's #1 horror star, Dracula. Like the Avengers book, it carried over plot lines from the monthly title, since it was written and drawn by the regular team of Marv Wolfman, Gene Colan, and Tom Palmer. It introduced a new character, Lilith the Daughter of Dracula, who was spun off in her own series of stories in the black and white magazines. You have to love the cover by John Romita Sr, who brings a tinge gothic romance to the way that Dracula introduces his daughter to the legions of Marvel. I also wrote a short article about this issue in 2008.

Giant-Size Man-Thing #1 would be on my list just for the title alone! But it also contained a fun story by Steve Gerber about cultists called "The Entropists" who revive the Glob and have him attack the poor mindless Man-Thing. The gloopiest battle of all time was superbly illustrated by Mike Ploog. I wrote about this comic in 2009 and the fact that one of the villains resembles President Nixon, plus a letter from fan Dean Mullaney.

Finally, this list of comics wouldn't be complete without mentioning Giant-Size X-Men #1 from 1975. Not only was it one of the best titles, it was one of the last Giant-Size comics published that featured non-reprint material. My anticipation for the return of the X-Men had been stoked by reading years of reprint material and buying back issues of the Thomas/Adams collaboration. The cover, by Gil Kane and Dave Cockrum, is just superb, and has been homaged several times. The interior story by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum (who managed to surpass his work in Giant-Size Avengers #2) was daringly different than what I expected, but thrilling none the less. I wrote in detail about this issue in 2009.

The Giant-Size comics were a special part of being of Marvel Comics fan back in the 1970s. They were published for a short period of time, from 1974 to 1976. Looking back, my favorites all seem to be characters or titles with short life spans: the Monster characters, the black and white magazine line, Warlock, Captain Marvel, Killraven, Deathlok, Star-Lord, etc. Each of these have had various shots at revival, but nothing matches the original 70s work for Titanic True Believers like you and me. Nuff Said!

FOOM: Artwork by Steranko, Kirby, Buscema, Colan, Starlin and more!

2011-02-09T06:00:00.001-08:00

The Bronze Age Babies blog has a great series every Friday where they cover F.O.O.M., Marvel’s fan club from the 1970s. I thought I would share a few memories of my own. I signed up for this club right after I saw the ad in Marvel’s Bullpen Bulletins page. After a while, I had forgotten about joining—and then I received an giant envelope in the mail—with the Hulk’s green head staring at the viewer! The mailing label was affixed in the white space of the Hulk’s mouth.

I was blown away just by the great design behind even the envelope! I wonder if Steranko, who was behind the first year of the F.O.O.M. club, came up with it. I managed to buy a F.O.O.M. kit a number of years ago and took this scan of it, in a near pristine state.

The FOOM membership kit also arrived with this stunning poster by Steranko. With the Silver Surfer in the forefront, pointing the way for heroes of the Marvel Universe. You have all the big heroes here: Spider-Man, Hulk, Thor, the Thing, etc. But you also have representatives of some smaller teams: Black Bolt from the Inhumans and Angel from the X-Men. Angel is wearing his costume designed by Neal Adams in the last few original issues. If you are wondering why the Black Widow is here, this is probably due to the fact she was sharing space with Daredevil at the time. It is a bit strange that she is the only female super-hero represented. A great poster that I threw away or gave away at some foolish point, but I was lucky enough to get it a few years ago.

The second issue of FOOM had another stunning illustration by Steranko. I had never seen this one before, although I believe it was originally used in the old Marvelmania club—as a poster? Regardless, Steranko’s style in drawing the Hulk is stunning. Karen and Doug cover this issue in depth on BAB here. You can also take a look at Steranko’s Hulk annual #1 cover on my article from 2008.

F.O.O.M. #3 had a very clever cover idea: Spider-Man reading the exact same issue of FOOM. I assume Steranko drew this cover as well, given the inking details? Bronze Age Babies article here for more details.

Jack Kirby and Doctor Doom took over the cover of F.O.O.M. #4. Apparently the club was popular in Latveria! This illustration also originally appeared in Marvelmania?

By 1975, Jim Starlin was a rising star at Marvel, having done the most memorable run on Captain Marvel—so great they have had to leave the character dead for decades! Starlin had started drawing a new Warlock series in Strange Tales about the time this cover for a “Special Cosmic Issue” of FOOM appeared. What is incredible about this cover is that the Silver Surfer is front and center! I heard rumors that the Starlin wanted the Surfer to appear in his Captain Marvel storyline, but the Powers That Be had nixed the idea, as the Surfer’s appearances were extremely limited back then. It was great to see Starlin draw the character finally. We would have to wait about 15 years later, when Starlin finally took over writing the Silver Surfer series in 1990.

FOOM #14 is a great illustration by John Buscema and Tom Palmer, featuring Conan the Barbarian fighting beside his unattainable lust lady, Red Sonja. The only problem with this cover is the blue tones—terrible decision! Still, any cover with my favorite barbarian couple fighting is a good one. This issue celebrates the Marvel Comics world of Robert E. Howard: a long interview with Roy Thomas, a checklist of Conan comics (over 60 issues at this point), Red Sonja article, pin-ups, and more. Conan was a huge smash hit for Marvel back in this era. There were rumors that Conan even saved the company at one point, but I am not sure how true that is.

In 1976, a strange character created by Steve Gerber took Marvel Comics by storm: Howard the Duck! The first two issues were sellouts (although manipulated by speculators) the character caught wildfire in a big way. Gerber had Howard the Duck enter in the 76 Presidential Campaign as a member of the All Night Party. There was a special Howard the Duck button, with an illustration by Berni Wrightson, which I sent away for. FOOM #15 was a Special Election Issue featuring Howard in all his patriotic glory by Gene Colan and Steve Leialoha. Supported by Nick Fury, Jonah Jameson and Ben Grimm? That’s a crossover candidate. Howard would not make it in today’s politics, due to his scandalous relationship with Beverley! Although I would really enjoy seeing Howard on the Bill O’Reilly show.

Finally, here is a scan I took of my FOOM membership card and the FOOM stickers that came in the original Hulk envelope. As the slogan says, E Pluribus Marvel (Latin for: Out of Many, Marvel) – Nuff Said!

Thing Tuesdays: Six Shattering Pin-Ups of Ben Grimm by Moebius, Byrne, Deodato, Smith, and Rude

2011-02-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

I have posted over 25 images of my favorite rocky hero, The Thing. Here are a few of them that are very special...

The Thing poster by Moebius has always gathered a lot of attention here on my blog. I think people forgot that Moebius did some Marvel work in the 1980s. This poster really captures something craggy and cool about Ben Grimm. You can also view Moebius' Iron Man poster and his Silver Surfer cover for Marvel Age.

Another illustration that I found very good and out of the norm was this one by Mike Deodato, showing the Thing hanging out with his nephew, Franklin Richards. This is fun and kind of sweet, reminding you why the Thing is such a great character. He can be tortured, he can be cranky, but he is also just a plain joe who hangs out with his adopted family. I also just think this may be one of Deodato's best drawings ever.

Here is one cover that I somehow missed until now: Marvel Two-In-One #1 from 1973. The launch of a brand new team up series, it was the Thing's own title with guest stars each month. The first issue was written by Steve Gerber, who decided it was high time that Ben Grimm visit Florida and the monster known as Man-Thing. Terrific cover by Gil Kane.

The Thing finally got his #1 issue all to himself in 1983, with this great cover by John Byrne. I always thought Byrne drew a wonderful rendition of Ben Grimm, and this cover is the evidence.

Barry Smith drew the Thing in a few special stories. One of them appeared in Marvel Fanfare #15, a story featuring Ben Grimm suffering from a series of pranks planned by Johnny Storm. Marvel-ous head shot of the Thing, about to enjoy a stogie. I imagine it was probably an exploding cigar planted by Johnny.

When I was a kid, the Thing was one of the most popular characters at Marvel. He lit up a story whenever he appeared in any book, and he had his own series for almost 2 decades--if you combine Marvel Two-In-One with The Thing. Why did his popularity fade away through the years? I don't know the answer, but I did love this commission by Steve Rude, which pondered the same question.

There is a lot more orange crush for you to savor here--just click on all posts tagged The Thing. Until next time, True Believers, enjoy life but always keep an eye open for those darn Yancy Streeters. Nuff Said!

Monster Monday: Six Macabre Covers by Adams, Ploog, Land, Kane and Brunner

2011-02-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

In the past years on this blog, I've shown dozens of covers and illustrations from Marvel's Legion of Monsters during the 1970s. Here are a few of my favorites.

Tomb of Dracula #1, cover by Neal Adams from 1972. This kicked off the whole Monster craze at Marvel which would last a few years. This title didn't really take off until issue 7 0r 8, when Marv Wolfman took over as writer, but it was my absolute favorite in terms of both story and art. Neal Adams actually got to draw a story for this character in the black and white magazine, Dracula Lives #2. Click on all posts tagged Tomb of Dracula for more.

The Monster of Frankenstein #2 continued Marvel's spin on Mary Shelley's novel. The cover by Mike Ploog captures how distraught the Monster was after finding his Bride, murdered by his enemy, Dr. Frankenstein. I loved this cover so much, I traced it and convinced girls at school that I had created it all on my own. Hey--at least I stole from one of the best. Click on all posts tagged Frankenstein for more.

Werewolf by Night, from the one-shot special published in 2007. This is the only modern era cover in this bunch, for two reasons. One, I couldn't get a great scan of Werewolf by Night #1. Two, Greg Land did knock it out of the park with this cover, which appears to have been a character he waited a long time to draw for Marvel. The story by Mike Carey was very good as well. Too bad Marvel didn't continue on with this direction. Click on all posts tagged Werewolf by Night for more.

Ghost Rider, from Marvel Spotlight #8, again a cover by Mike Ploog from the early 70s. I liked the whole idea of taking Ghost Rider and pitting him against a different type of magic in the southwest. I also remember Evel Knivel in this time period, getting ready to jump Snake River Canyon. Click on all posts tagged Ghost Rider for more.

Adventure into Fear #23 featuring The Man Called Morbius--The Living Vampire. I just love Gil Kane and the way he drew this cover, I've featured it umpteen times. In looking at this, I realize that with modern versions of Morbius, they get rid of the costume and have him wearing a trenchcoat or something. But that original costume uses primary colors and just pops out on the page. Click on all posts tagged Morbius the Living Vampire for more.

Man-Thing, his first issue spinning out of Fear, with a cover by Frank Brunner in 1974. When he first appeared in Fear, Manny didn't even take up the whole issue. Somehow he became the most unlikely star that Marvel ever had, outside of Howard the Duck (who appeared in this issue as well). Brunner's portrait of the muck monster is a great one for a first issue cover. Click on all posts tagged Man-Thing for more. Nuff Said!

Strange Sunday: Five Mystical Pin-Ups of Dr Strange by Colan, Brunner, Golden, Smith, and Davis

2011-02-06T06:22:00.000-08:00

I have posted over 20 images of the Dr. Strange over the years...here are five of my favorite illustrations.

It seems like I am one of the few fans of Doc's superhero outfit that first appeared on this cover to Dr. Strange #177 from 1969. I love this cover by Gene Colan--I even had a poster of this on my wall back in the day. I wrote about this in 2009, Dr. Strange Masked Superhero, I had a number of comments telling me this was the worst thing that ever happed to Doc.

Frank Brunner is another one of my favorite Doctor Strange artists, who drew the series when Steve Englehart started writing it in the 70s. This giant-sized pinup, which first appeared in Marvel Treasury Edition #6 from 1975, shows Doc in his trippy 70s new age glory, along with Clea and the Ancient One. Stare at this piece while listening to John Lennon's Across the Universe to get into the proper groove. I wrote about this in 2008 in an article titled Ancient One, Doc, Clea by Frank Brunner. You can see a scan of the original inked version there.

Of all the artists who worked on Dr. Strange, Michael Golden had the biggest impact with just a couple of issues and covers. He produced the wonderful Doctor Strange portfolio in the early 80s. The cover to the folio was this great illustration with Doc about to use the Orb of Agamotto. I just love the fine details of the drawing here.

Paul Smith followed Golden on the Doctor Strange series in the 1980s and did some remarkable work as well. I think everyone loves this cover to Doctor Strange #56 by Mr. Smith. A single character shot that shows why Doc reigns the magical universe of Marvel.

Finally, an man I think can no wrong when it comes to classic Marvel characters, Alan Davis. He drew this splash page in the Stan Lee Meets Doctor Strangespecial from 2006. I really dig the original pen and ink version here.

There is plenty of more magic here on the site, click on all posts tagged Doctor Strange. Until we meet again, may the Vishanti watch over thee...and may your amulet never tickle! Nuff Said.