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.

Silver Surfer by John Buscema

Haven't posted in a while! I've been missing this blog and want to return to writing soon. Here's a short pinup to get warmed up...

Big John Buscema on the Silver Surfer! 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.

Marvel Universe Commission by John Buscema

I recently saw this on Joe Jusko's Facebook page...

A staggering commission done by Big John Buscema!  Nearly every character he worked on during his tenure at Marvel:  Conan (with Belit and Red Sonja), Silver Surfer, The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, Thor, and many many more.  What lucky fan got this original to hang on their wall?  I'm envious.  Nuff Said!

Thing Tuesday: Marvel Slurpee Cups Featuring Benjamin J Grimm

This article should be subtitled "Everything Ya Ever Wanted To Know About Ever-Lovin Thing's Slurpee Cups"!  Because there were not one but three cups produced in 1975.  That's how big a star The Thing was in the 70s!

The first cup featured this great Jack Kirby drawing of the Thing in a tense stance, ready to fight.  I cannot place the issue of the FF where this came from.  Lex Carson, who wrote a great article about the Marvel Slurpee cups in Back Issue #34 (2009) has an index that states it came from FF #67.  After looking at my copy I can't find it.  Maybe that's because I've been drinking slurpees all day.

The back of the cup shows the human Ben Grimm explaining he was a hero even before he grew into his rocky hide!

The second cup featured the Thing in a classic pose with his arms above his head, no doubt yelling It's Clobberin Time!  Obviously this cup has taken a trip through the dishwasher and the ink has smeared, something buyers need to beware when shopping on eBay.  This was also by Jack Kirby.  Which comic did it come from?

This classic image of the Thing, which we've all seen somewhere, didn't appear in any FF comic.  It was done by Kirby for merchandising in the Merry Marvel Marching Society.  If you were a kid like me, you saw this tantalizing ad for Marvel Sweat Shirts featuring both The Thing and The Hulk!  Only $3.15...too expensive for my money, I was lucky to have $5 a month to spend on comics.

Later this same drawing was used in the corner box of the Fantastic Four...they rotated characters as the primary standout so each of the FF had a spotlight.  This is probably where most of us have seen this particular illustration.

The back of this slurpee cup has the Thing proclaiming what a lucky lug of a guy he is to have been loved by Alicia Masters.  Yet somehow despite what this says, I think Alicia prefers the Thing to Ben Grimm.

The third cup I don't actually own...yet.  But it has another image of the Thing in a classic clobberin' time pose.  You can probably guess that this wasn't drawn by Kirby.

This image was taken from FF #116, the special 25 cent double size issue which featured the team (minus Reed Richards) begging Doctor Doom to join them in the fight against Over-Mind.  A good drawing by Buscema.

How about that, three cups featuring Ben Grimm as the Thing, who woulda thunk it?  Nuff Said!

Silver Surfer Saturday: Marvel Slurpee Cup

The holy grail in comics collecting for me was a good copy of Silver Surfer #1 from 1968.  The next best thing to collect?  This Marvel Slurpee cup from 1975.  I recently was able to get one.

The classic logo and a dashing image by a Buscema adorn this fine cup.  It's certainly not a Kirby pose, right?  But where was this illustration taken from?  A cover?  A splash page?  John or Sal?  Perhaps from the Defenders which was published in the 70s?

No, it came from the lower right panel on page 4 from Silver Surfer #4, the issue where the Surfer fights Thor.  John Buscema pencils, of course, but his brother Sal Buscema inked him.  I thought they made a fine team but soon Sal became a dynamic penciller on his own.

The back of these cups had the characters in their civilian guises explaining their origin.  In the Surfer's case, this is Norrin Radd.  I really dig that part about mankind being ignorant.  Kind of snooty, isn't he, that Norrin Radd?  Nuff Said!

Marvel Splash Pages (1966 - 1969) by Kirby, Buscema, Colan

My first article (The Evolution of Marvel Splash Pages) in this series focused on how splash pages were used by Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko within the pages of Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and Dr. Strange.  What happened after 1966?

I wanted to backtrack a bit and take a look at Journey Into Mystery and Thor.  Kirby was indeed using full page splashes in 1965 on that character.  Take a look at this great page from Journey Into Mystery 121 as the Absorbing Man takes new heights in his power.  Kirby uses an appropriate length page to show you how this could be a big challenge for Thor.

Indeed, I found that Kirby used splash pages more liberally in Thor than the Fantastic Four.  Nearly every story after after 1965 had a full page splash, such as this one from Thor 134 (1966) where Galactus made an appearance.

Over in the Fantastic Four, after the Galactus trilogy was done, Kirby used full pagers much more frequently.  Not every issue, but when the story demanded it--and with Kirby, it often did!  Fantastic Four #57 featured this classic scene where Doctor Doom had stolen the power cosmic from a very naive Silver Surfer.

What about Gene Colan?  He started using full page illustrations quite liberally as well in Daredevil, Sub-Mariner, and other titles.  One of his most infamous full pagers was this monumental page revealing the new costume in Dr. Strange 177 (1968). I say infamous as not all fans love this costume as much as I do.

If you flip thru a Marvel Comic by Colan, more often than not you will see a full page illustration for dramatic effect.   Even this flashback scene, from Captain Marvel #2 in 1968, brings out Mar-Vell's early adventures fighting the Skrulls.

John Buscema used splashes as well, though a bit less liberally than Colan or Kirby.  He drew this classic page from Silver Surfer #1 (1968), featuring the moment that Norrin Radd was transformed by Galactus.

Over in the Avengers, one of the first usages of a full page splash occurred in Avengers #58 (1968) which had two such occurrences!  The first one had a little recap of Avengers history featuring their most prominent members.  I can't understand why Spider-Man is here, he wasn't an Avenger at all during the early period!  He had an early team-up with them but that was about it.

The classic ending scene to this story featured the Vision, in his iconic "Even An Android Can Cry" page.  This was the second story to feature the android Avenger and the team debated whether to allow him to become a member of the team.  A bit of an unusual case for a full page illustration, which is normally used for an action scene, but here it is a highly emotional moment.

Back to Jack Kirby, who created one of the best splash pages ever in Fantastic Four #72 in 1968, featuring the Silver Surfer soaring over Manhattan.

There were probably many many Silver Age Marvel splashes that I didn't have room to include here.  I am left with another question, though: when did double page splashes become the norm?  Kirby started using them quite frequently in his DC Comics work.  Mike Grell made the double page splash intro a regular thing in Warlord.  I can't quite remember how this caught on with Marvel and intend to investigate that topic later.  For now, Nuff Said!

Thing Tuesday: A Football Charge of Marvel Heroes

I'm always on a scavenger hunt for artwork featuring Benjamin J Grimm.  A few months ago I came across this nifty illustration by John Buscema.

The Thing in a quarterback pose with a football tucked in his arm, leading a charge of Marvel's Greatest Heroes (and Doc Doom!) into battle.  Anyone know where this first appeared?  I am guessing it must have been used in some Treasury Edition as the back cover?  Nuff Said!

Update:  A fan named Isaiah wrote that he believes this image was from a promotion that Marvel did with the NFL back in 1971.

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

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!

Silver Surfer Saturday: Five Illustrations that Soar by Kirby, Buscema, Byrne, Jusko, and Davis

Over the years I've posted over 25 Silver Surfer illustrations...here are five of my all time favorites.

Jack Kirby, the co-creator of Norrin Radd, of course is the grand master of drawing this character.  While I love a lot of the Fantastic Four covers, this illustration, inked by Al Gordon, knocked me out when I saw it on Al's Flickr page.

John Buscema drew the Surfer in a more sleek, stylized way...in truth, I saw Buscema's version first and regarded it as the model.  It took me quite a while to appreciate Kirby's approach.  But my all time favorite Buscema drawing is this cover to Silver Surfer #3, where he fought Thor on the Rainbow Bridge of Asgard.

John Byrne only drew the Silver Surfer a few times, most notably in this 1982 Silver Surfer one-shot special.  I thought this was a great story, wrapping up several years of continuity, and it was the first time that Byrne had worked with inker Tom Palmer.  The cover is magnificient--the Surfer longingly gazes at the cosmos in the way that Jeff Spicoli looks at the waves in Malibu.

Silver Surfer Saturday: Marvel Fanfare 45 cover by John Buscema

Big Al Milgrom, the editor of Marvel Fanfare, was wise enough to commission this beautiful wraparound cover for a Silver Surfer story in issue #51, circa 1990.  It features some Thor-ish goodness as the Surfer battles Magog on Earth.  The story was written by Steve Englehart and drawn by Buscema and Jack Abel.  It features a Surfer still earth-bound, fighting against a dirty Kree plot, and has guest appearances by the Fantastic Four and Doctor Strange.  Not to mention Mantis, one of Englehart’s favorite characters.

The Editori-AL for this issue explains the origins of this story.  You may remember that Marvel launched a new ongoing Surfer series in 1987, by Marshall Rogers and Englehart.  Originally this was going to be a 12-part maxi series, each one double sized and drawn by Buscema, just like the original 1960s series!  When the plan was changed to make the series an ongoing title, plot lines changed and Marshall Rogers (who had enjoyed great success with Englehart over at DC Comics) became the artist.  The first issue of the original series was written and drawn by Buscema, but never published until this issue of Marvel Fanfare. 

Al Milgrom did everyone a great favor by pulling out these unused inventory stories into Marvel Fanfare.  Makes me wonder how many other stories have been lost throughout the years?  Nuff Said!

Art of John Buscema: Classic Marvel Heroes on this 1978 cover!

This cover appeared on The Art of John Buscema, a 1978 special that focused on Big John’s artwork.  Classic Marvel fans will appreciate this cover, featuring Buscema’s renditions of Conan, the Avengers, Thor, Silver Surfer, etc.  Even Howard the Duck (a real superstar at that point in Marvel History) is represented!


Here’s the black and white version of this cover.  This magazine sized retrospective was published by Sal Quartuccio.


And here’s another Classic Marvel shot by Big John that I featured a while back, a poster Buscema did for a Marvel Convention in 1976.  Nuff Said!

Behold: Avengers #57 Classic Vision Cover Recreations

Mighty Avengers has been recreating a number of classic covers for this series of stories during the Secret Invasion.  The cover to Mighty Avengers #14 has Marko Djurdjevic recreating one of my favorite Avengers covers of all time...

Avengers #57 cover by John Buscema, inks by George Klein.  What a dramatic way to introduce a new character!  Is he friend or foe?  The answer was not obvious, as the Vision was sent to destroy the Avengers by his creator, Ultron.  He was able to defy Ultron, which led to the Vision becoming a full fledged Avenger.  He was a unique character that was created solely to be in this team book, unlike the other Avengers, who had all been created elsewhere.  His origins and behavior were shrouded in mystery which provided a meaty subplot for the next five years worth of stories.

West Coast Avengers #45 cover by John Byrne.  Notice Byrne's signature on the lower left, giving credit not only to John Buscema, but to George Klein as well.  This is a philosophy that both John Byrne and Walt Simonson shared, giving credit back to the original artist when recreating a famous cover.  I just thought both of them were complete gentlemen for doing this.

Mighty Avengers #14 cover by Marko Djurdjevic.  It's a shame that credit was not given to Buscema on the cover or inside the credits page.  I cannot fault Djurdjevic, it seems to be a corporate policy now at Marvel.  Djurdjevic follows the original composition by Buscema very closely.  Note the position of the four figures (Black Panther, Giant-Man, Hawkeye, Wasp) are exactly the same as the original.

While I've come to really love Bendis' Avengers, I cannot forgive him for destroying the Vision back in Avengers #500.  I know he's still running around in Young Avengers, but without his memories or the Human Torch's body parts, it ain't the same.  I was really hoping the Vision who came out of the Skrull ship in Secret Invasion #1 would be the real deal.  Alas, as this cover indicates, Bendis robbed us again.  Nuff Said!

Originally published on May 22, 2008.

Thing Tuesdays: Fantastic Four 112 Thing vs Hulk Cover and Cool Commissions

For those of us that loved watch the Thing fight the Hulk, Fantastic Four 112 from 1971, titled "Battle of the Behemoths" was a doozy.  After a quick search on ComicArtFans, I see that my love for this particular issue is shared among many geeks.

The original cover to Fantastic Four #112 by John Buscema was simple and effective, showing the two Marvel monsters about to trade blows.  It looks to me like this cover was both pencilled and inked by Buscema, or at least, it was not inked by Sinnott.  Marvel Wikia also states this as well.

Michael Finn is a great Marvel fan with gallery on ComicArtFans (see links to all sources at the bottom), with tons of commissions.  Michael has a series of them titled "One Minute Later" where he gets an artist to interpret what happened one minute after the original cover.  In this one, Mike McKone gave his vision and the cover is numbered 112.5.  One of the things you can see here about modern Marvel vs classic Marvel: the Hulk is always drawn much bigger than Ben Grimm in the present day, whereas in the past the Hulk was almost the same size as the Thing.

Buscema re-created this cover several times for collectors.  The version above was commissioned by Bill Thomson and it's very faithful to the original.  One thing I have always wondered about these cover re-creations: how do the artists reproduce the title logos and Marvel sidebar?

Gary Sella also commissioned Buscema for this cover, but with a twist: adding Mr. Fantastic into the middle of the fight!

Ending this with a giant-sized piece of art, here is a look at the original art to the splash page of Fantastic Four #112.  I am especially enthralled with the creator credits on the lower right, framed by bullets exploding into the tree the Thing is holding up.  Nuff Said!

Link:  Gary Sella's Gallery on ComicArtFans

Link:  Michael Finn's Gallery on ComicArtFans

Link:  Bill Thomson's Gallery on ComicArtFans