Giant Size Marvel Comics

Avengers Invaders Poster by Alex Ross

2008-09-27T20:01:02Z

I can’t say that I like the Avengers-Invaders series, but I sure do love this poster, which will be on sale this winter.

It’s hard for me to get into any Alex Ross series that doesn’t have him doing the artwork. Justice was great because they had Doug Braithwaite doing the art. Speaking of which, Braithwaite’s doing great work on Secret Invasion Thor.

Here’s another nice piece by Alex Ross, the cover of Avengers Invaders #6. There’s a sad emotion conveyed as Toro probably realizes that he is dead in the modern Marvel era.

Nuff said.

Hulk’s On A Rampage For Hero Initiative

2008-06-27T17:16:41Z

You lucky bastiches who are going to Wizard World Chicago this year can view these Hulk covers, donated by a Who’s Who of modern comic art masters, for the Hero Initiative. Comic Book Resources has a full image gallery, but I’ve plucked a few of my favorites.

Alan Davis: I love that glare in the Hulk’s eyes. I think my favorite Hulk artists find the character in his facial expressions. Davis, Dale Keown, Gary Frank, are all superb in this respect.

Jimmy Cheung: This is a fantastic piece with gray tones. Who are the two people on the left? The woman must be Betty, is that guy supposed to be Rick Jones?

Terry Dodson: If you’re a red blooded male, you’re not looking at the Hulk. A lot of the Hulk covers feature the She-Hulk. I am reminded of the Hulk 2000 annual by Paul Jenkins where the Hulk tried to clobber She-Hulk into being his girlfriend. Now that makes me wonder where those Hulk kids came from in Wolverine #66…

Steve Dillion: The most surprising artist to draw the Hulk, but one of the most effective! He really captures the madness in the Hulk’s face in this half-shot.

In addition to the Hulk covers, there’s a special Hulk wine bottle with sketches and autographs that will be raffled off. Oh man…I’d kill to have that collectible! I will bet that thing goes up on EBay after the con. Nuff said.

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows video and podcast

2008-06-22T01:34:15Z

Here's a behind the scenes video of the forthcoming Spider-Man: Web of Shadows videogame. The combat system is pretty cool, you can see Spidey fighting in mid-air with Matrix-like moves:

CBR has an interview with Brian Reed where he mentions his work on this title.

Shaba Games is the company making this game for Activision/Treyarch, EGM Live's podcast for 06/16/2008 has an interview with Shaba studio head Chris Sholz, which has some discussion of Spider-Man WOS as well. Nuff said.

Pak and Garney Bring Sword and Sorcery in Skaar Son of Hulk #1!

2008-06-12T15:41:13Z

I've been looking forward to Skaar: Son of Hulk #1 ever since World War Hulk concluded, and the premiere issue does not disappoint! Ron Garney is the perfect choice to draw this character and the world he lives in. A while ago I said that Skaar looks like a "green gamma-infused Conan". I think a great description of Garney's artwork on Skaar is from Valerie D'Orazio: "Garney's art in this book is like a cross between Joe Kubert and Gil Kane. Together with great, understated color by Paul Mounts, Skaar Son Of Hulk is absolutely freakin' gorgeous. If you want a hint about what that classic, epic comic book art from the 60s and 70s looked like -- the type of stuff that, for the most part, you can only find covered in magazines -- pick this book up.". I agree with her 100%. Lord, I miss Gil Kane so much, but Garney brings that spirit back in his pencils.

The story by Greg Pak really recaptures the sword and sorcery atmosphere as well. We learn how Skaar survived the nuclear bomb, thanks to the combined genetics of his parents. I was relieved to see that Skaar didn't arise fully grown out of that nuclear swamp. There are some Moses-overtones here, as the villainous Axeman Bone goes around slaughtering babies hoping to kill the Hulk's offspring. Next issue promises and epic fight between Skaar and Bone.

My only complaint? This issue went by too fast...it should have been double sized! Nuff said.

Recreations: Jim Steranko's Logo Shattering Hulk Annual #1

2008-06-11T16:22:43Z

Jim Steranko's cover to Hulk King-Size Annual #1 (in 1968) is one of the most famous covers in Marvel Comics history.

I was blown away the first time I saw this image. The Hulk, carrying a crumbling logo on his back, like Atlas with the weight of the world. I had never seen a comic-book logo used as a prop on the cover. Was this the first time it had ever been done? Whatever the answer is, it doesn't matter, for me as a kid, this was my first time seeing such a mind blowing concept. Steranko's depiction of the Hulk is also out of this world. There's a unique quality to the Hulk's face that Steranko captured, something that no other artist has ever matched.

This cover is the favorite of many Marvel maniacs, and inspired a number of recreations...

Kaare Andrews created this cover for Bruce Jones' Return of the Monster arc (Hulk #34, vol 3). In this interview at Comicon.com, Andrews said: "One of the first comic creators I became aware of on an individual level was Jim Steranko. When I started shopping in real life comicbook stores (what a find when you're a kid!) I picked up a reprint book of some of his Nick Fury stuff. I was really intrigued. This was a guy that didn't look like everyone else. This was a guy that stood out. This was a guy that was freakin' cool."

Towards the end of World War Hulk, we were teased with the cover of what should have been Incredible Hulk 112 (vol 3). The crumbling logo does say Hulk, and this issue would have followed immediately after the conclusion of World War Hulk. It gave the reader the impression that the Hulk would be roaming around the Marvel Universe with Amadeus Cho.

Not so fast, true believers! In World War Hulk #6, the full cover was revealed. Incredible Hulk was now re-titled the Incredible Herc, with Hercules taking over the starring role. Art Adams did a beautiful job on this cover, and I am sure it induced many fans to give Hercules a chance.

Now there's a funny coincidence here: Steranko did another take on his own classic cover for Hercules #2 from Radical Comics! You can read an interview with Steranko about his over at CBR. I really dig Steranko's design for this version of Hercules.

If you are going to replace the Hulk in a cover recreation, which character could be better than the Thing? Ron Wilson did this piece, which I noticed in a recent Back Issue magazine. You can visit Ron Wilson at Comicbook-art and get a commission like this one!

Last but not least, I believe Steranko has recreated this cover for private commissions. This full color recreation is certainly different than the original. I can't remember where I found this one...

I found this one on Albert Moy's collection on Comic Art Gallery. Is it a recreation or was this a version of the original cover that was redone/retouched later? The Hulk's face is different, and several of the rocks don't match the published cover.

Steranko is a titan in the world of comics. Let me know if I missed any recreations! Nuff said.

Thing Tuesdays: Jim Starlin's Hulk and Thing, Funnier than Lewis and Martin!

2008-06-10T16:34:29Z

In celebration of Hulk week, let's look at some classic Thing-Hulk encounters. Jim Starlin has produced three classic stories featuring our favorite Marvel monsters, featuring plenty of no-holds barred brawling, but also lots of humor. The Thing becomes the straight man (Dean Martin) to the Hulk's lovable lummox (Jerry Lewis) in each of these stories.

Marvel Fanfare #11 was published in 1973 and was the launching pad for what became Marvel Two-In-One. It proved that the Thing was popular enough to star in his own series, albeit a team-up series with a different guest star each month. Written by Len Wein, drawn by Jim Starlin, and inked by Joe Sinnott, this is probably my favorite Hulk-Thing story of all time.

The Leader and a more obscure villain called Kurrgo (Master of Planet X) are bored and decide to play a game. A game where the Hulk and the Thing must fight each other! One of them boosts Ben Grimm's strength artificially to make him more of a match for the Green Goliath.

In order to induce the Thing to fight, the Leader has planted a nuclear bomb in a western town. Try as he might, Ben Grimm just can't reason with the Hulk! You have to give a lot of credit to Len Wein here, this dialogue just cracks me up every time I read it.

Marvel Feature #11 is a favorite of many fans, including Art Adams. You can see his cover recreation of Marvel Feature #11 here. According to Back Issue magazine, Seinfeld writer David Mandel owns this piece. He is a very lucky guy with great taste!

Jim Starlin's next Thing-Hulk story appeared in Marvel Fanfare #20-21. Marvel Fanfare was a great comic series edited by Al Milgrom (who inked this story, see the "Gemini" signature on the cover), featuring stories by great artists like Michael Golden, Craig Russell, George Perez, etc. These stories were usually slated for other magazines, but were eventually routed to Fanfare because of scheduling problems or cancellations. This particular story reads like a Marvel Two-In-One two parter, with Dr. Strange in issue 20 and the Hulk in 21.

Dr. Strange is battling the evil wizard Xandu, who is using magic to control the population of New York. As the Hulk was a close ally of Dr. Strange's (through the Defenders), it doesn't take much for Xandu to pit the Green Goliath against Ben Grimm. The Hulk keeps calling the Thing "Rockman" which does not set well with Ben Grimm. This fight takes place all over New York City, and the funniest scene is when the Thing gets in a cab to get away from the Hulk.

Starlin returned to the super-powered comedy duo in 1987, in the Marvel Graphic Novel titled "The Big Change". But this time, Starlin did not draw the story. His pal and collaborator, Berni Wrightson, took on the job, penciling, inking, and coloring the 64 page tale. It was a remarkable achievement, as we got to see Wrightson's full take on Marvel superheroes without anyone else ruining his detailed artwork.

Aliens whisk both the Thing and the Hulk to another planet for a job that requires lots of muscle. There's a Maguffin in this story: if they complete their assigned task, the Thing and Hulk will receive two wishes. Ben Grimm is thinking wish #1 must be for both monsters to become human again. The second wish could be something beneficial for humanity. The Hulk doesn't see things the same way.

The second act of the story is an intergalactic romp as they find and locate a giant mutated monster that has attributes of both the Thing and the Hulk. As you can imagine, Ben Grimm and his pal are not too pleased.

At the conclusion of the story, the Thing and the Hulk receive their two wishes. It's funny that I mentioned David Mandel, as what happens next reminds me of a Seinfeld episode. The one where Kramer sues the Starbucks-type company and screws up his lawyer by settling for lifetime free coffee instead of millions of dollars. It's very similar here...while the Thing carefully contemplates what he should ask for, the Hulk blurts out two wishes, one of which involves a lot of hamburgers!

I've enjoyed many of Jim Starlin's stories over the years and these are some of my favorites. I think Jeph Loeb would be capable of writing a funny story with these two characters...let's hope we'll see one from him and Ed McGuinness or Art Adams. Nuff said.

Monster Mondays: The Hulk, Man-Thing, and Berni Wrightson

2008-06-09T15:44:45Z

The Hulk has clashed with Man-Thing on several occasions, but this Hulk #197 (in 1975) was their first meeting, What's extra-special about this team-up is the cover by Berni Wrightson. Wrightson was strictly a DC artist from the beginning of his career, and this was the first time I had ever seen him do Marvel work. Wrightson's best known creation, Swamp Thing, was co-created with Len Wein, the writer/editor behind this issue of the Hulk. It was interesting to see Wrightson's take on Marvel's muck-monster, but I really like Wrightson's depiction of the Hulk. Years later, Wrightson would team with Jim Starlin on a Marvel Graphic Novel featuring the Hulk and the Thing.

The interior art was by Sal Buscema and Joe Staton. After googling for Hulk 197, I found this cover recreation by Our Pal Sal on Eelco's Original Comic Art Gallery. Go check out the rest of his collection! Nuff said.

Silver Surfer Saturday: Nova 14, a big reset coming for Norrin Radd?

2008-06-08T07:00:00Z

The Silver Surfer appeared in Nova 14 this week. Richard Rider (Nova) fights the Surfer in a vain attempt to have Galactus postpone his lunch plans for the planet Orbucen. Orbucen's population needs a little more time to get on their spaceships before their homeworld gets nuked in ol' purple pants portable microwave. Nova is pretty outclassed against the Silver Surfer, but he manages to talk Norrin Radd into delaying the schedule for a little while.

The Silver Surfer is hanging tight with Galactus (which occurred in the Annihilation Silver Surfer mini-series), an plot twist that only makes sense to me if Marvel plans on resetting the Surfer like they did with Spider-Man. For over ten years after the Silver Surfer appeared in the pages of the Fantastic Four, Norrin Radd was bound to Earth, kept there by an invisible barrier Galactus placed around the globe. He had some terrific stories set on Earth and teaming up with the other Marvel heroes, but you had to wonder what the Silver dude would do if he were set free.

We found out when Silver Surfer volume 2, number 1 appeared. The Surfer zipped across the universe and hung out with a bunch of odd aliens. He had sexy-time with Nova and Mantis. Other than Englehart's run and Jim Starlin's brief run (which set up the Infinity Gauntlet stories), nothing too exciting happened. And the reason why is that the Surfer works better as a supporting character against the other Marvel heroes. I think one day Galactus will come back to Earth and the Surfer will be trapped on the planet once again.

Back to Nova 14. I love this splash page of the Surfer chasing Nova against the giant backdrop of Galactus' head. Far-out and spacey! Nuff said.

Secret Invasion: Weekly Avengers Fun

2008-06-06T16:08:34Z

It doesn't seem that long that I read Secret Invasion #2 and the third issue is already here! With the associated titles, I am getting my Avengers fix every week and learning more about the Skrull plot to conquer the world. I haven't had this much fun since the Avengers-Defenders war when we got two titles a month. I am really impressed by the high quality of all the SI tie-in titles.

Let's look at what we had in the past month:

5/7/2008: Secret Invasion 2, Mighty Avengers 13

5/14/2008: Secret Invasion Fantastic Four

5/21/2008: Mighty Avengers 14, Avengers: The Initiative 13

5/28/2008: New Avengers 41, Ms Marvel 27

6/4/2008: Secret Invasion 3

Eight comics related to this event in the span of one month. OK, maybe Avengers the Initiative doesn't really count, but Skrully Yellowjacket was in it. Brian Bendis wrote five of these books, really impressive considering that he is writing a ton of other stuff besides Avengers!

And this all just an excuse for me to use this image of Spider-Man meeting Kazar, Shanna, and Zabu in the Savage Land. Bendis through in all kinds of fanboy love here for obscure Savage Land characters that appeared in various Kazar stories throughout the years. I was wondering if that pterodactyl dude is Sauron? Nuff said. Technorati Profile

Giant-Size Skrulls in Secret Invasion #3

2008-06-06T15:40:58Z

Secret Invasion #3 was action-packed, cover-to-cover action! We finally get to see those Mega-Skrulls (loaded up with several super-powers) taking on the Young Avengers and the Initiative. This is an incredible battle in the heart of Times Square, and I couldn’t help but think how this can replicated in a video game or even a movie. Brian Bendis and Leinil Yu are doing work here that ranks up along with Roy Thomas and Neal Adams. Never thought I’d say that!

I really don’t think Bendis likes the Vision at all. But he’s gotta come back, right? It’s kind of getting old, though, like when they used to blow up the Metal Men in every other issue of their comic.

Meanwhile, in the Savage Land, that cover where we see Spider-Woman kissing Tony Stark is in play. Tony’s trying to assemble a new set of armor that the Skrulls can’t hack and Jessica shows up. As we all know, Spider-Woman is the Skrull Queen and she lays down a Total Recall type mind-fuck on Tony. I don’t believe a word of it, not at all! It’s too easy to say that the Civil War was the result of a Skrull. Marvel won’t go down that road.

The new Howling Commandos on the last page: Wahoo! Nuff said.

Thing Tuesdays: Rich Buckler's Foom Thing

2008-06-03T14:07:37Z

In 1974, I waited breathlessly for the fifth issue of FOOM, Friends Of Ol' Marvel, the official Marvel fan club magazine. The fifth issue was important, as it would be the first one not edited by Jim Steranko. Fortunately, when it arrived, I was not disappointed by the cover...

Rich Buckler and Joe Sinnott drew this dynamic cover featuring Ben Grimm. The pose is definitely inspired by Jack Kirby; I searched in vain for the Kirby source but I could not find it, if you do remember, please let me know. The printing on the FOOM magazines were terrible, but I have touched it up here a bit. Notice on the billboard behind the Thing reads: "Deathlok is here!" This issue also an article about Buckler's creation, Deathlok.

The Thing article inside featured some interesting comments from Stan Lee, Gerry Conway, and Steve Gerber. "When I first got the assignment to write MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE," says Steve Gerber, "I basically thought of him (the Thing) as all wisecracks. But when I started writing, I found myself just taken over by his character." Stan Lee said, "I totally fell in love with the Thing. He was the most appealing character of the FF to me, the character who held the group together." Gerry Conway sees the Thing-Torch relationship as a descendant of the Monk Mayfair-Ham Brooks "feud" in the Doc Savage pulp magazines.

The last page of the article features a drawing of the Thing sitting on his throne after mopping up a gallery of villains. This illustration looks like it was drawn by a very young John Byrne with Duffy Vohland.

Rich Buckler is now doing some amazing fine art, which you can see at this website. I've also seen some amazing cover recreations (notably the first appearance of Deathlok in Astonishing Tales) and commissions. You can see some of the FF-related recreations over at the Fantastic Four Headquarters.

Nuff said.

Link: Gallery Photon: FOOM Album

Link: Rich Buckler's web site

Link: Rich Buckler Interview at Fantastic Four Headquarters

Monster Mondays: Art Adams' Man-Thing

2008-06-02T16:48:59Z

Art Adams' Man-Thing. Sounds kind of disgusting, but it's a beautiful work of art! You can check out Mr. Adams's Fog City Art Exchange website for more amazing images.

Nuff said.

Giant-Size Superstars #1 and the wildest Thing vs Hulk match ever!

2008-06-01T18:47:08Z

In February 1974, Marvel decided to start their own series of deluxe comic books with Giant-Size Super-Stars #1, featuring the Fantastic Four.

As a kid growing up, I can't possibly describe the thrill and excitement this concept of a "Giant-Size" Marvel book being published. Perhaps it felt like a special 2-hour TV movie instead a regular episode. During the same period of time, the NBC Mystery Movie featured rotating characters such as Columbo, McCloud, McMillian and Wife, Banacek, etc. I think I equated the Giant-Size specials with those, and I just had the damndest feeling like Something Big Was Gonna Happen. It had to live up to this expectation, because it cost 35 cents and regular comics were only 20 cents!

What better way to start than by having "The Wildest Thing vs. Hulk Battle of All" by Gerry Conway and Rich Buckler! The cover had a dynamic picture of Ben Grimm clobbering the Hulk while Johnny Blaze cheered him on from the sidelines. The Hulk is on the ropes. But how could this be? Everyone knows the Hulk is stronger. And why was Reed Richards reaching out to stop Ben?

The story begins in a big way as we see the Hulk being chased by the police on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. If Rich Buckler didn't grab me from the cover, he sure as hell did on this fantastic splash page. Everything seemed bigger in scope already! "Hulk wants peace...and Hulk wants it now!" If I get any kind of classic dialog like that in a Hulk movie, I'd be happy. The Hulk reaches New York City and stays hidden long enough (this was when the Hulk was only 7 feet tall, not that gargantuan creature he is today) to calm down and revert to back to Bruce Banner. Banner decides to seek refuge in the Baxter Building and gets some sympathy from Ben Grimm.

Ben starts talking about the various cures that Reed Richards has attempted, the latest being a device called the Psi-Amplifier. Banner decides to use this device to cure both himself and Ben Grimm at the same time. Something goes snafu (as usual) and a mind-swap occurs between the Thing and the Hulk.

Rich Buckler draws this Thing-Hulk fight with Mighty Marvel Kirbyesque Magic. It sure didn't hurt to have Joltin' Joe Sinnott on the inks. The fight between them rages from skyscrapers to the subway to Madison Square Garden. Throw in the Amazonian babe called Thundra (always looking for a sperm donation from Mr. Grimm) and you've got a comedy of errors.

Besides the main feature, the remaining pages featured pinups, which had already been used in various Fantastic Four annuals. It seemed like a great value for a kid...at that point we didn't have Official Marvel Indexes or Guides or anything like that.

This was the first and only issue of Giant-Size Superstars. With the second issue, Marvel gave up the rotating wheel concept and the title became Giant-Size Fantastic Four. Nuff said.

Silver Surfer Saturday: Michael Golden Cosmic Powers #1

2008-05-31T16:48:46Z

Michael Golden is one of my favorite comic book artists of all time. I've bought and devoured two recent books on his artwork. Since he's mostly done covers and pinups for the past ten years or so, finding Golden's work is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. I recently came upon this piece from a Silver Surfer mini-series in 1995, called Cosmic Powers. Golden did this piece for the book.

Here it is in glorious black and white. I love how Golden has positioned all-conquering Galactus, with Norrin Radd breaking down the barriers, trying to hold back his former herald from escaping. I believe I saw this on Albert Moy's gallery on ComicArtFans.

Here is the color version. The Marvel editors didn't use this as the cover for some reason. But they did print it without any captions or logos.

Awesome. This should have been a poster. Nuff said.

Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men Cover Variants

2008-05-30T14:07:29Z

Here is the incredible cover by John Cassaday for Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1. First, the variant black and white edition:

Seeing this without the color makes you appreciate the composition. Colossus, Kitty, Cyclops, and Wolverine pop off the right hand side of the cover, the one that people will see on the rack. I love the visual cue that Cassaday has added for Cyclops, that sideways beam that leaks horizontally from his visor. Angel looks incredibly cool in his winged glory there, too. On the right hand side, you get the non-mutant heroes, and I really dig Cassaday's Thing.

Now let's add the color:

Laura Martin is a freaking genius. I don't need to tell you that, but every time I see her work, I am, well, astonished! She complements Cassaday's beautiful line work perfectly. Nuff said.