Silver Surfer Saturday: Norrin Radd and the Fantastic Four by George Perez

Here's a great illustration by George Perez early in his career...

I believe this was in one of the first books on Perez, Accent On The First E! It was around the time he was working at Marvel in the 1970s, before he went to DC Comics. And I noticed this recently on Capn's Comics blog!

Nuff Said.

Thing Tuesday: Fantastic Four 133 where The Thing meets Thundra!

Fantastic Four 133 was a wonderfully silly time capsule of the the burgeoning women's lib movement in the early 1970s! It featured the first appearance of Thundra, the Femizon who came to our world in order to challenge Ben Grimm The Thing!

Here is the original cover by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott. The Battle of the Century--any century!

Here is the original art to the cover.

Here is the new computer colored cover available on digital platforms - I've started noticing how vibrant and different these are from the originals.

This story is notable because it has one of the few Marvel art jobs done by Ramona Fradon, who was mainly a DC Comics artist. Supposedly she hated working in the Marvel method and only did a few stories. This tale is inked by Joe Sinnott who keeps all the characters looking consistent, only Thundra herself looks like a Fradon type of character.

The climax of the story is a fight between Thundra and the Thing while Alicia is held hostage by the Frightful Four. It takes place in a huge arena. The Thing doesn't want to fight a woman! He takes a pretty good licking and actually does get defeated because he just won't fight back too hard.

Thundra is great because she mocks the strength / superiority of men. In her world, men are the weaker sex and she constantly taunts Ben Grimm. Jeff Parker did a great story a while ago about the real reason for Thundra's visits to our world - she was seeking a mate (or frozen sperm / dna) because of the infertility on her world.

There is some historical context around this issue of the Fantastic Four. Bobby Riggs was a retired tennis player who challenged Billie Jean King to a "Battle of the Sexes". At first she declined, Riggs challenged another tennis player, Margaret Court, and won against her in May 1973. Billie Jean King then took up the challenge, played against Riggs and beat him in September 1973. These were big televised sports events and almost everybody who had a TV watched it. However, this issue of the Fantastic Four predated that by several months: with an April 1973 cover date, most likely this comic was sold three months earlier in Feb 1973. Even though it's not directly related, funny how this issue of the FF captures the "battle of the sexes" thing going on at the time. There will be an HBO movie made about the Riggs/King match starring Steve Carrell and Emma Stone.

There you go, true believers! A look back at classic FF and a moment from real pop culture history! Nuff Said.

Jack Kirby's 97th Birthday

Today would have have been the King's 97th birthday - and Tumblr is exploding with Kirby images like crazy.

Here is one that I saw on Flickr - a reminder of how many classic Marvel characters the King created!  In addition this fellow has 170 Kirby double page spreads on his Flickr site.  And this nice cover also got me...

Marvel Collector's Item Classics 19, featuring not only the Fantastic Four vs Sub-Mariner, but with Doctor Strange trying to mediate!  Good stuff, Nuff Said!

Marvel Universe Commission by John Buscema

When I started this blog years ago I spent a lot of time finding images, rare commissions, old magazine covers, etc.  I joined the Tumblr party this year - late to everything as usual - but I see so much fun stuff on there it's addictive.

This John Buscema commission is a wonderful piece of work.  Featuring the Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four, Conan, Red Sonja, Thor, the Vision, various Avengers and X-Men.  From the signature it was done around 1998.  Nuff Said.

Fantastic Four homage cover by Art Adams

I haven't read Fantastic Four regularly since Mark Waid left, so I was a bit startled to come across this 2010 cover that Art Adams produced for the 600th issue.

Featuring both the FF and the Inhumans racing off to fight an unseen foe!  I immediately recognized the source and appreciated the homage.

The original pen and ink version of Art Adams cover features delicate line work as always.

Of course the homage is to Jack Kirby's famous FF #82 cover featuring the Inhumans, back in 1986!  One of my favorites.  Nuff Said!

The Evolution of Marvel Splash Pages (1963-1966) by Kirby and Ditko

Comics evolved into small magazines from their roots as newspaper comic strips.  Indeed, the first comic book ever published (Famous Funnies in 1933) was basically a reprint of humor strips.  Which is why they are "comic" books or as my parents used to call them, "funny books".  When Speedy shot heroin into his veins in Green Lantern I made a point to show them it wasn't funny any more.  But I digress!  Comics evolved from strips, which is why there was the grid on the page: 6 and 9 panel grids being the most commonly used in Golden/Silver/Bronze age books.  I started wondering, how did splash pages evolve at Marvel?  Who did the first splash page, Kirby or Ditko?

I am factoring out the title page, which was usually a full page illustration, and also pin-up pages.  I am more interested in when did Marvel's artists start deciding to use a full page illustration to knock out the reader with an impact in the middle of a story.  The earliest one that I could find was actually a double page splash, which Kirby used to great effect in Fantastic Four Annual #1 in 1963, to showcase the majesty of Prince Namor's kingdom.

But in the regular FF comic, in 1964 you could see that Kirby was itching to bust out of the conventional grid system.  This page to FF #26 was a prime example, where the Hulk takes up half the page as he rages out of control and threatens to clobber not only the FF but the Avengers, too.

Nowadays we almost expect to see at least 1 full page or double page splash in any given modern comic.  I remember reading Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 in 1964, featuring Spidey versus the Sinister Six, and being knocked out by several excellent full page splashes, such as this one with Spidey and Electro.  The annuals seemed like special events and the double length stories allowed the artists to break the rules.  Or maybe they just had to fill more pages!  But at the time, the full page splash was an awesome special effect for a kid.  Steve Ditko pulled this off six times within the same annual, one page for each villain.  My favorite Marvel annual ever.  If you want to see this in prime glory, get the 1975 Marvel Special Edition which reprints this story in a treasury sized edition.

1964 seemed to be the turning point for splash pages.  In Fantastic Four #33, Kirby presented the readers with this mind blowing page featuring the wonders of the ocean, as the FF travel towards Atlantis.  The first Kirby collage?  He did several more of these in the FF and continued to do them in other series.

Amazing Spider-Man #33 (Feb 1966 but published in 1965), one of the greatest Marvel comics of all time, featured this dynamic splash page from "The Final Chapter".  Even more ingenious is how Ditko played with the grid length on the preceding pages, using a 7 panel grid on one page, a 6 panel grid on the next page, a 4 panel grid, then exploding into the greatness of the splash page above.  Ditko will forever be remembered as one of the masters of comic art just based on this single issue alone.

When did Kirby draw his first in-story splash page in the Fantastic Four?  From my findings, it appears to be this one, from FF #38 in 1965 ("Defeated by the Frightful Four").  The Wizard just got thumped by the Trickster (Paste Pot Pete) and needs to show the gang who is really in charge.  He thrashes Trickster, Sandman, and Medusa with his anti-gravity power--along with the contents of the room!  A very nice effect.  This issue, for my money, kicks Kirby into a higher gear with his storytelling that lasts for years.  He opens up his panels to showcase even wider vistas of action.

The following issue, FF #39, featured the team set against a cosmic collage as they try to figure out how to restore their powers.  Kirby had figured out how to place the drawings of his own characters against the collage.  It must have been a bit tricky back then; I wonder if modern artists truly appreciate their software tools which make layering images a snap!

The debut story of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Strange Tales 135 had a scene that was perfect for a full page splash by Kirby.  It's a classic scene where Nick Fury has been summoned to SHIELD headquarters and he discovers a bomb.  Fury throws the bomb out the window, thinking he's in a building on the ground.  To the readers surprise, when they flip the page, they see the HQ is a flying helicarrier! 

One of the most dynamic Fantastic Four splash pages occurred in FF #45, featuring the Airjet-Cycle carrying Reed, Sue, and the ever-loving Thing racing off to help Johnny Storm, who just discovered the Inhumans.  The angle on this page composition is genius.  You are viewing the cycle from a downward angle, just like a person walking on the street below.  Stan Lee's dialogue here is really funny, too!

Steve Ditko never did another in-story splash page for Spider-Man after ASM #33.  He left that series, but continued to draw Doctor Strange in Strange Tales. ST #138 (1965) features the first even meeting of Doc and the abstract entity known as Eternity.  To make this a monumental event, Ditko used a splash page to depict the vastness of Eternity.

Over in the FF, Kirby had a similar being to depict.  Fantastic Four #49 (1966) was the middle part of the Galactus trilogy and featured that awesome being in splash page, confronted by the Watcher.  My first exposure to this page was in Marvel Treasury Edition #2, which made it look even more grand.  Surely one of the most famous pages ever from the history of Marvel.

Strange Tales #146 (1966) was the conclusion of epic storyline pitting Doc against Dormammu.  This time Dormammu meets Eternity along Doc and decides to attack Eternity in his thirst for power and control.  Ditko again uses a splash page to great effect.

This issue is Ditko's finale from Doctor Strange and he made this last story so epic that there were two splash pages.  The incredible cosmic battle between Dormammu and Eternity threatens to tear apart the entire universe!  Ditko made a grand exit with this story which did not disappoint fans who had been reading Doctor Strange over the past two years.  Although it left us wondering what might have been if Ditko had stayed on.

In reviewing these old comics, I wonder how much Kirby and Ditko knew what the other guy was doing in their books?  I had the impression that Kirby was working so hard he didn't have much time to read other comics.  Perhaps he flipped thru each month's Marvel comics and saw what Ditko was doing, and vice versa?  Did they feed off each others ideas and energy?  Did Kirby see Dikto's splash page in the Final Chapter and say, hey, I can do something like that?

This brings us to the year 1966 in Marvel's history.  Ditko left Marvel, but Kirby stayed and continued to knock out fans with his artwork in the FF and Thor.  I primarily covered the FF, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange here to uncover the history of splash pages.  But were there more?  I did not check Thor or Sgt. Fury.  I have no idea when DC Comics started using splash pages in-story.  I can't recall seeing any DC book with a splash page until Neal Adams came along.  What did I miss?  Please let me know!  Nuff Said!

Marie Severin versus the Marvel Superheroes

Here is a little gem I found on Heritage Comics, from Marie Severin in 1996!

Mirthful Marie taking a picture of Marvel's superheroes, along with a couple of villains, too.  Apparently this was a signed and numbered print of 400 copies?  Marie colored it by herself.

Here is the black and white edition.  I have no idea who sold this, are there any Marvel fans out there who bought this when it was published?  I think this piece is awesome and brings back all the fun memories of Not Brand Echh.   Nuff Said!

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

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!

The Origin of Marvel Bullpen Bulletins

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!

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

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!

My Favorite Giant-Size Marvels of the 1970s

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.

Silver Surfer Sunday: Jack Kirby Fantastic Four #72, Where Soars the Silver Surfer!

Yesterday was Jack Kirby's birthday, which we celebrated here and on Giant-Size Geek.  I've still got a Kirby hangover, but luckily, this is not the kind of hangover that hurts.  There is a Silver Surfer cover by Kirby which is my favorite cover of all time featuring Norrin Radd: Fantastic Four #72 from 1967.

I think it's the greatest pose for the Surfer, gliding along the spaceways and blasting out bolts of cosmic energy.  The Fantastic Four aren't around to distract the viewer, even though it's their name on the masthead!  The Kirby Krackle cosmos in the background is just nifty and the red color just makes the Silver Surfer pop out in the foreground.  The Watcher is there in the background, so you just know that the Surfer is doing something vitally important for the universe.

This cover should have been a poster.  Asgard Press, are you listening?  :-)

The mind-blowing images of the Surfer didn't stop with just the cover--oh no, this interior pages had plenty of them.  Including this aerial view of the Silver Surfer flying above New York City.  It's a dynamic introduction to the Surfer's role in this story.  Notice how Kirby put a lake in the middle of the background, to allow the Surfer's body to be less obscured.

Philippe Queveau owns the original art to this piece.  I really like to Marvel (sorry for the pun) at the details of the cityscape below.  George Perez must have gotten inspired to do detailed backgrounds by pages like this one.  Joe Sinnott was the perfect inker for Kirby and this book, magic that was captured in the 1960s, never to be reproduced again.  Nuff Said!

Link: Fantastic Four Omnibus Volume 2 HC (reprints FF #31-60 in a giant-sized hardcover)

Link:  Philippe Queveau gallery at ComicArtFans.

Marvel Milestone: Jack Kirby's Birthday, August 28th

Today is Jack Kirby's birthday.  Even though he's not around, I still like to celebrate with a big old stogie and some Kirby comics.  Well, maybe not a real cigar, but here is one classic Marvel image you will like.

This is one of the Marvelmania posters that Jack Kirby did in the late 60s, featuring Captain America, the Fantastic Four, Thor, Spider-Man, Doctor Doom and Silver Surfer.  The Jack Kirby Collector Magazine #47 had this on the cover, which is where the scan came from.

Here is the original un-colored drawing, from Tod Seisser's gallery at ComicArtFans.

For another tribute to the King, check my Amazing Heroes 100 article on Giant-Size Geek that features a few cartoons from Kevin O'Neill, William Messner-Loebs, and Scott Shaw.  Nuff Said!

Link: Tod Seisser's Gallery at ComicArtFans.

Link: TwoMorrows Publishing.