Man-Thing (Seriously, what kind of drugs to you take to come up with a name like that?) makes his first color comic book appearance in this terrific Ka-Zar story illustrated primarily by John Buscema.
Part of the story was slated to appear in the B&W Savage Tales #2 which did not see the light of day, so it was cleverly re-worked here. Because of the re-mixing, credits on this issue read like an all-star line-up, and include Buscema, Neal Adams, John Romita and Dan Adkins.
Writer Roy Thomas somehow made sense of it all, creating the framing story around Len Wein’s original tale.
Bonus: Man -Thing’s first overall appearance in Savage Tales #1 includes this glorious splash (below) by Gray Morrow.
Nightmare prepares to reveal himself to a fallen Doctor Strange in the second issue of the Sorcerer Supreme’s solo title.
Ever since Marvel Films announced that Sam Raimi was going to direct the Doctor Strange sequel, I’ve thoroughly convinced myself that Nightmare would be a (or “the”) nemesis of the film. Horror, darkness and weirdness? Bring on Nightmare.
And then, we had a Scarlet Witch (w/Vision) TV series, where it appeared that Agatha Harkness was the big bad? C’mon, there’s more to that than meets the Eye of Agamotto, right?
After that, Shuma-Gorath (the giant one-eyed creature) appears in the Doctor Strange trailer? The same Shuma-Gorath (now called Gargantos because of legal reasons) who once “employed” Nightmare in the comics?
And the same trailer where both Strange and Wanda talk about…Nightmares?
Yep, I’m a Nightmare conspiracy theorist, apparently.
I have zero inside information.
I don’t even read most of the spoiler “news” on-line.
I am just convinced that some time before those last post-credit scenes in Doctor Strange 2 are finished rolling, Nightmare will have raised his hallucinogenic head. And I guess by this time next week, most of us will know whether I’m right, or I’m the one hallucinating.
And one more thought on the subject of hallucinogens and impersonations:
Who says that was actually “our” Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home?
Ant–Man (no costume.) Ant-Man (costume.) Giant-Man. Goliath. Yellowjacket. Hank Pym, scientist, no alter ego.
And here, Ant-Man again.
Hank Pym was definitely having an ongoing identity crisis in his 10 years in the Marvel Universe.
Needless to say, seeing Ant-Man and Wasp as a full-length feature on the newsstands was a surprise. It lasted seven issues of Marvel Feature, before disappearing once again.
Here, P. Craig Russell and Dan Adkins present us with a nice Bronze Age action page. This is some of Russell’s earliest professional work, and his distinctive style has yet to develop.
In fact, since Craig broke in as Adkins assistant, it definitely feels much closer to Dan’s work than Craig’s.
Ina few months, Craig would take over the art chores on Killraven in Amazing adventures, and as “they” say (and I say too much) the rest is history.
As for Hank Pym, the identify crisis would continue. He returns as Yellowjacket, joins the Defenders, then rejoins the Avengers, and then… well, it actually becomes even more complicated.
But of course, Scott Lang eventually takes the role of Ant-Man, and as they say…
Hank Pym returns in his Ant-Man persona — with the lamest of reasoning — in the classic Avengers #93.
Death in superhero comic books had always been a gimmick. “Robin
Dies at Dawn” likely meant he would be back by dinnertime. (In fairness, it’s a
pretty good story.)
So back in the 60s, legitimately killing a character was in
fact, a groundbreaking novelty. And this T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents story is one of
the first. Ditko, Wood and company had spent 6 issues developing the character
of Menthor (John Janus), and they shot him to death on this page in Issue #7.
This historic page captures that collaborative methodology
of Woody and the Tower artistic team on T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents. Dan Adkins scripted
and provided layouts, Ditko penciled the story, and Wood inked it, with assists
by Adkins.
The original T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents lasted only last 20
issues, and perhaps, had it survived, John would have been resurrected at some
point. But it certainly did not appear that way.
Unlike, say, modern times where killing a lead character is a
gimmick once again.
Superman. Dead. Then alive.
Batman. Dead? Nope, he’s back.
Captain America? Reborn. Bucky? Not dead, just hiding in
Russia for a few decades.
Etc.
A few months after the death of Menthor, teenaged writerJim Shooter kills off (spoiler alert) Ferro Lad in the Legion of Super-Heroes.
Menthor’s powers derived from a “cybernetic” helmet, so t was no surprise that another character would don the helmet and ultimately become a new Menthor when T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents was resurrected by other publishers. John Janus? Still dead, I believe.
The frustrated artist, working “Marvel style” on Daredevil — plotting AND drawing — but only paid for the art, heard about a new opportunity. Tower, primarily a book publisher, had decided to take a leap of faith into the comics biz, and Woody was ready to help them.
It was the perfect role for Woody, who had carte blanche to
develop the comics as hew saw fit. He was artist, storyteller, art director and
defacto editor — all rolled into one.
And with the help of friends/colleagues Len Brown (Topps
Mars Attacks) and Dan Adkins, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents was born.
Combining a super powered team (think Justice League) with a
secret spy organization (ala S.H.I.E.L.D., which had just launched a few months
prior) T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents was an effort to capitalize on the secret agent pop
culture craze. (James Bond, Man from U.N.C.LE., et al.).
This page is a great example Wood’s crystal clear storytelling
and trademark inks. Adkins is credited in
some instances on this story as the penciller, with Wood on inks, and due to
the collaborative nature of the creative teams on these stories, it’s often
easy to lose the thread of who did what.
But this looks like pure Wood here, as Dynamo and his
“duplicate” (there are actually three Dynamos in this story — don’t ask) are
mowed down in a hail of bullets.
I’ve I always wanted to use that phrase.
Who are you going to call?:
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves.
U.N.C.LE. United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.
S.H.I.E.L.D: Originally Supreme Headquarters,
International Espionage and Law-Enforcement Division and
later Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate. In the
MCU film and TV Universe, it means Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement
and Logistics Division.
By 1965, the super-spy craze (and acronym obsession) was in full bore in pop culture.
By the time of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents launch, Wood had created two bonafide superhero masterpieces. The Superman parody in Mad Comics and the Daredevil and Sub-Mariner crossover in DD#7 are still considered classics today.
Conan celebrates its
50th anniversary in comics this year, and we celebrate the anniversary with
three Conan-themed posts this week.
Barry Winsdor-Smith was not the first choice to draw Conan. Legend has it that Roy Thomas knew that John Buscema was the idea artist for the job. But Publisher Martin Goodman nixed the idea, citing budget and schedule, and told Stan/Roy to find someone less expensive.
The solution? The young British-born Smith, who had been a
fill-in artist on a handful of super-hero titles with an unmistakable Kirby
influenced style, and who was both cheap — and available.
And so Barry drew Conan for 21 of the first 24 issues — and the comic book world promptly grew up.
Smith, one of the many “young guns” of similar age, and breaking in at around the same time, (Chaykin, Kaluta, Simonson, Wrightson among the many others) ultimately developed an inimitable style. Yes the Kirby influence was there, especially early on. But so is Steranko. And Alphonse Mucha, the best-known stylist of the Art Nouveau period (late 19th – early 20th century), provides much of the inspiration for the intricate designs and beautiful women that populate those early Conan stories.
Smith’s run on Conan is unlike any other in professional comics at that time. And Baby Boomers, who had grown up on the simple stories of DC, and had segued into the cosmic soap operas of Stan and Jack, were primed for these comics. The Boomers were growing older, and now, the comics were growing up with them.
Smith’s style developed rapidly over his three year run on Conan, culminating in the extraordinary “Red Nails” that first appeared in 1973/1974 in Savage Tales. And of course, the work was always best when Smith was inking himself, but both Sal Buscema and Dan Adkins did excellent work, and interestingly, both are credited on this issue. Sal is credited on this specific page, but without all 20 original pages together, it’s difficult to tell.
Either way, it’s a stunning page, and only a small harbinger of things to come.
Conan launches in comic books and the more “mature” Marvel magazines.
And early try-out story by Smith and Thomas features “Starr the Slayer,” published just a few months prior to Conan in Chamber of Darkness #4. Smith also developed a Kull Black and White proposal for a paperback graphic novel. (Similar to Gil Kane’s Blackmark) that ultimately was published (unfinished) much later in Savage Sword of Conan #3. Both prototypes look nearly identical to Smith’s Conan.
Smith’s early Marvel work on Avengers is pretty much straight from the Jack Kirby handbook — except for the wild Vision splash page (Avengers #66) which adds some Steranko and Alphonse Mucha into the mix; a sign of things to come.
This version of the cover for Tales to Astonish #98 by Dan
Adkins, ultimately unused, did not fit the bill. It conveys the storyline
inside, and it’s pretty in its own right, but definitely not very dynamic.
“Likely too soft for Stan,” agreed Roy Thomas, (yes, him again) who wrote this story arc of Sub-Mariner.
But, let’s talk about the replacement cover, also drawn by Adkins — likely in one heckuva hurry. Sure, more dynamic. Namor, in a better pose, still unconscious. (Or dead — but even as kids we knew he wasn’t.) In this version we also see the attack that’s destroying Atlantis. Except… since when are New York City skyscrapers in Atlantis?
I didn’t notice the architecture til later on, but once you see it, you can’t unsee it. (Even the unused cover has modern steel girders.) Why is Empire State Building underwater? What in the name of Neptune was Dan thinking?
The unused cover has the Marvel production guides masked off by tape, leading me to believe the piece may have ultimately been printed elsewhere. Marvelmania magazine? Witzend? Convention program? Any comic book detectives out there recognize it?
Poor Dan; he had to redraw a Doctor Strange cover (Strange Tales #168) a few months later. (I’ll post it if I can get an image of the original version.) I loved his inks — he was one of the best — but he definitely struggled meeting Marvel’s editorial standards for cover layout and composition.
Key appearances by Sub-Mariner in the Silver Age: After a seven-year hiatus in comic book limbo, he first re-emerges in Fantastic Four #4, ultimately becoming a key antagonist for the FF. A few years later in Tales to Astonish #70 he gets his own series, sharing space with the Hulk, and a month later gets his first solo cover. Ultimately, he gets his own series in 1968.
