A Happy Halloween with Morbius and the Marvel Collector Corps

Happy Halloween to all Marvel Monster fans! If you've visited here before, you will know of my love for the Man called Morbius the Living Vampire! One of the first vampires created for Marvel's super-hero line, he started in Spider-Man.

I've already done articles on his origin, but the above cover is a good one (not a great one) from Dave Cockrum and Al Milgrom. At first I believed this was a Gil Kane cover as the Morbius head in the background looks like his style! Thankfully a reader named Abney corrected me.

Now a few days ago I received the latest box from the Marvel Collector Corps, which had this little guy in the box...

How cute is that? A Marvel Funko Pop figure of Morbius! If you're not familiar with the Collector Corps, it's one of these box services - they ship you a box every 2 months, it comes with 1-3 Funko Pop figures, a comic book variant (this month it was Invincible Iron Man #1), and a t-shirt. The theme this month was villains. In addition to Morbius, they had a cute Loki figure and a small Venom key chain.

The box containing the figure is nifty, too. Now you have to realize how great it is that they selected Morbius for this box. The theme was villains; I kept wracking my brain on who would be included. Dr Doom? Magneto? Morbius fits perfectly with the Halloween theme. I wonder how many people even know Morbius now?  He had a limited series years ago, made a few Spider-Man appearances in recent years, but that's it. Someone I know who gets this box without much Marvel history had no idea!

I think it's pretty cool they chose Morbius, makes a long time fan happy. The cuteness has grown on me, too. Nuff Said!

Monster Monday: Morbius and Spider-Man by Mark Laming

Mark Laming illustrated Morbius in his classic costume meeting Spidey on a roof top...in the rain!

Whoa! 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.

Monster Monday: Morbius versus Blade!

I need a little something extra to get me going on this particular Monday.  How about this snazzy 1974 cover to Fear #24?  Morbius the Living Vampire versus Blade the Vampire Slayer!  The cover, penciled by Morbius creator Gil Kane, is classic Marvel action.  Even better, it was inked by John Romita Sr. 

Here is a scan of the original inked cover, which I found on the Gil Kane Unchained page on Facebook.  Nuff Said!

Gil Kane Fear #25 cover, Morbius the Living Vampire

One of my favorite Marvel monsters was the man called Morbius--The Living Vampire!  The best Morbius covers were drawn by his creator, Gil Kane. 



Adventure into Fear #25 (1974) featured this scene, with Morbius entering an apartment window in New York City.  He looks eager to bite into that woman sleeping on the bed, while her daughter looks on in horror.  You Always Kill the One You Love! Of course, things are not always what the seem.  The little girl is looking for Morbius' help and this scene doesn't really appear in the story.  But a cover like this can help sell a comic!



I have to admit, I am featuring this cover because I found the scan to the original on Romitaman's web site.  The cover is really well designed and drawn.  I have to wonder if John Romita inked the cover, or at least the woman on the bed.



Here is another of my all-time favorite FEAR covers by Gil Kane.  Happy Halloween and Nuff Said!

Update: Comments from my old MT blog...

1 Comments

By Nick Caputo on November 2, 2010 12:31 PM

I believe the cover is inked by Frank Giacoia.

Nick Caputo

Monster Monday: Vampire Tales, Morbius, Satana are back in print

At the comic shop the other day, I noticed the digest sized reprint of Vampire Tales - Volume 1.  This reprint contains the first 3 issues of the Marvel magazine, in glorious black and white, the way it was originally published.  It features stories by Steve Gerber, Pablo Marcos, Don McGregor, Rich Buckler, Gerry Conway, John Romita (Sr) and Esteban Moroto!

The star of Vampire Tales was Morbius, the Living Vampire, but he didn't make on the cover of the magazine until issue #3.  This cover painting was credited to Luis Dominguez, but it also has touches of Romita, especially on the girl's face.  I suspect that Romita did a cover rough and gave it to the painter.

I loved Morbius and these stories in Vampire Tales were far more graphic than his Spider-Man appearances.  Don McGregor portrayed Morbius like a heroin addict, trying to refrain from drinking blood, then going crazy when he can't control the urge.  McGregor set up an arc of stories involving the Demon Fire cult, and the first two were drawn by Rich Buckler.  This is the splash page of the story in issue #3 and you can see Buckler's knack for innovative panel layout once again.

. 

Besides Morbius, you get the first two Satana stories in this volume.  The very first story was a teaser by Conway and Romita, only 4 pages long, but just perfect in execution.  Romita's design for Satana's costume is wonderful.  In the third issue it was Esteban Moroto who drew Satana.  A wonderful artist, 180 degrees different than any Marvel artist, but the first thing he did was ditch Romita's costume!  And it has been used rarely since. But the costume was resurrected a few years ago, in the Alex Ross/John Romita poster titled Mighty Marvel Heroes and Villains.

If you're a retro dude like me, or if you appreciate classic monsters with a bit of cheese, I think you'll like this reprint volume.  Nuff Said!

Link: Vampire Tales - Volume 1 on Amazon

Monster Mondays: Werewolf by Night meets Morbius on a Gil Kane Cover

As a big fan of the Marvel Monsters, I couldn't wait to see them meet each other.  In particular, I wanted Morbius to meet Werewolf By Night.

Giant-Size Werewolf By Night #3, published in 1975, featured this titanic event.  Would you believe this Gil Kane cover was the single best thing about this comic?  The interior artwork by Virgil Redondo is so horrible, I can't even bear to crop any scans and show you here.  It's like the artwork for a drab 1950s romance comic (not a Johnny Romita romance book--that would be cool) that some idiot thought was appropriate for a horror story.

Of all the Giant-Size books, the Werewolf drew the short end of the stick on artists.  What a shame--especially after being drawn by Ploog, Kane, and Sutton in the regular monthly series.  Nuff said.

Monster Monday: Morbius the Living Vampire meets Lilith the Daughter of Dracula

The Marvel Monster mags had some great illustrations on the inside front covers and contents pages.

This one by Pablo Marcos was featured in Vampire Tales 6, 1974.  I thought it was an outstanding visual of Morbius (the Living Vampire) meeting Lilith (Daughter of Dracula).  Marcos always had a great take on the horror characters—and his ink and grey wash tones were perfect for the black and white magazines.  There’s the violence on the left—with Morbius about to chow down on the woman—and Lilith’s bold sexuality on the right stopping him.  Alas, this was another case where the illustration did not fit the story inside—the two characters did not meet at all.

The cover to this issue also featured Lilith, a painting by Boris Vallejo.  Marvel probably intended Lilith to become the co-feature in Vampire Tales, giving the magazine two strong characters (along with Morbius) to attract readers. 

But Marvel’s decisions were often haphazard—was this due to the round robin of editors or illegal substances in the Marvel offices?  Lilith is a vampire, she belongs in Vampire Tales!  No wait, Lilith is Drac’s daughter, let’s put her back in Vampire Tales!  Oh no, we have a Lilith inventory story by Steve Gerber that was never published.  Dracula Lives is cancelled.  What to do?  Put in Marvel Preview #12 and call it the Haunt of Horror!

I suppose all these stories are collected in some Essentials trade, right?  Nuff said!

Monster Monday: When One Isn't Enough, You Need A Legion of Monsters!

If you haven't read Dark Reign Punisher The List (by Rick Remender and John Romita Jr), I highly recommend it.  The ending was very surprising to me, and it sets up this next Punisher arc (starting in issue #11) with art by Tony Moore.

Mike McKone's cover to Punisher #12 brings back the Legion of Monsters to aid the Punisher (now FrankenCastle).  Morbius, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night are all there, along with the Living Mummy, who I haven't seen in decades.  I'm looking forward to this, especially after the terrific job that Moore did recently Ghost Rider. 

I'll be you dollars to doughnuts that Moore remembers this cover...

The very first (and only?) appearance of the Legion of Monsters in Marvel Premiere #28, 1975.  As a total Marvel Monster freak, I couldn't wait to read this story.  Written by Bill Mantlo and Frank Robbins, you had to admire the lengths that Mantlo went to have Man-Thing transported out of the swamp--it was an ordeal just to get all these horror guys together to fight a menace.  It was a bit of a letdown, but I was always hoping for a return appearance.

Keep on eye on that logo, because it moved around a lot.

Later that year, Marvel published a black and white magazine called Legion of Monsters, with a Neal Adams cover painting.  I had hoped for a team-up, but the magazine contained only solo stories.  I believe most of them were inventory stories left over from the defunct magazines Dracula Lives and Monsters Unleashed.  The editorial indicated that the magazine was an ongoing publication, but issue #2 never appeared.

But Marvel was never one to let a crappy logo go to waste!  The Legion of Monsters title appeared yet again in Marvel Preview #8 in 1976.  You would think with a cover like this, there would be a team-up, right?  Blade and Morbius never crossed paths, they were featured in solo stories only.  More inventory material, this time left over from Vampire Tales.

Let's raise a glass to Tony Moore, who loves Marvel Monsters as much as we do!  Nuff said.

Monster Mondays: Greg Land and Marvel Zombies 4 cover

This cover hit me right out of nowhere.  Greg Land doing a terrific rendition of Son of Satan, Man-Thing, Morbius, and Werewolf by Night for…Marvel Zombies?

It turns out that in a world overrun by zombies, these supernatural creatures are the best resistance the planet has to offer.  I’m very interested in reading this one.

I’m beginning to think Greg Land loves the classic Marvel Monsters as much as I do.  Nuff said.

Monster Mondays: The First Appearance of Morbius!

Morbius first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #101, in the middle of a storyline that had Peter Parker somehow growing 4 additional limbs to become even more arachnid like.  The worst idea Stan Lee ever had!  Fortunately, Peter went to 2 arms after issue #102.



Morbius was different than the typical villain.  He killed people for blood, but felt really guilty about it afterward.  His tragic origin pushed Morbius to the edge where he could be villain or anti-hero. 
Gil Kane’s art was really inspired during this issue.  I am wondering who came up with the design for Morbius.  Was it John Romita or Kane?  Maybe an informed Marvel historian can please tell me.



Morbius quickly became a popular character.  He next appeared in Marvel Team-Up #1, then he helped launched Giant-Size Superheroes #1 for Spider-Man.  He teamed up with Man-Wolf (a scientifically created werewolf) to take down Peter Parker.  After this, Morbius graduated into 2 separate series: Adventure Into Fear (a color comic) and Vampire Tales (a black and white magazine).  Nuff said,

Update: Comment from my old MT blog...

1 Comments

By Lue Lyron on May 18, 2010 9:59 AM

Since you ask: Gil Kane was asked not to incorporate Gothic elements. He used red and blue---like Spidey, Super-Man---and created the first Morbius costume.
This is my sixth or seventh visit, having come here for the Defenders, Dracula, the monsters, Joe Sinnott, and I can't remember what else. Great big scans: it's like getting to see your comics in person! I have to imagine the old paper smell...
I hope I can join your blogroll someday, even though I don't do strictly comic-related stuff. Perhaps I can convert my comic-leaning blog integr8dfix.blogspot.com into one. What would you say?

Monster Mondays: Pablo Marcos tribute to Steve Gerber

A while back I mentioned Back Issue #31, a tribute to Steve Gerber.  This contained a nifty illustration by Pablo Marcos, Gerber’s artist on Tales of the Zombie:

These were all of the horror characters that Gerber wrote during his tenure at Marvel.  From left to right: Simon Garth (Zombie), Morbius, the Living Mummy, Lilith, Son of Satan, and of course, Man-Thing.  You can visit Pablo Marcos’s website for more illustrations.  Nuff said.

Monster Mondays: Gil Kane's Blood-Red Morbius Cover

I was crazy about Morbius ever since he first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #101.  I loved that costume, the way his white-pale skin contrasted against the blue, the fact that maybe it had shrunk in the wash a few sizes.  Morbius is a scientific vampire, he drinks blood because of an experiment gone awry, yet he can fly because...his bones are hallow?  A man of contradictions, that Morbius, but I love him.

Morbius' greatest adventures were in Vampire Tales, in a series of stories written by Don McGregor and Doug Moench.  Adventures into Fear featured Morbius' full color adventures, which had a lot less blood and horror.  But this cover for Adventure into Fear #23, by Gil Kane and Tom Palmer, has always been my favorite one featuring Morbius.  The composition of the piece, with the viewer looking at Morbius from a slightly down angle, with the woman sprawled between his legs, is just terrific.  That gaudy blood-red sunset behind him still sends a chill up my spine, even today.

Gil Kane did hundreds of covers for Marvel in the 1970s.  I bet he banged this out pretty quickly, but that doesn't make it any less great.  He had an instinctual knack for placing figures at dynamic angles.  There's no one drawing today with Gil Kane's unique style or talent.  Nuff said.