Marvel Comics: January 2009 Archives

I ran into this parody while perusing the Silver Surfer Omnibus, from Not Brand Echh #13, circa 1969:

The Simple Surfer by Roy Thomas and Marie Severin!  Marie was always great at drawing these types of parodies, filling in countless sight gags across the page.  Tons of easter eggs are thrown about everywhere.

Roy Thomas used to love poking holes in Stan Lee’s creations in Not Brand Echh.  He’s taking a shot here at the Surfer’s penchant for whining about how isolated and sensitive he is.  We also see the real reason Borin Kadd (Norrin Radd) left his home planet—to escape his girlfriend, Shallo-Gal!

When Galacticus (Galactus) appears in the inevitable full page spread, he’s more menacing than a planet eater, because he’s super salesman.  “Galacticus!  The no-money-down King of the Used-Comet game!”  Galacticus kind of looks like Jack Kirby under the mask, especially with the cigar.

The rest of the story parallels the Galactus trilogy, but the ending is truly happy, where the Surfer finds a home out in Malibu.  Here we’ve got Archie and Jughead, Frankie and Annette, Little Orphan Annie and her dog.  There is a podium with a note that reads "Return to Billy by Sunday”, which must have been a reference to the evangelist Billy Graham—someone who also gave sermons like the Silver Surfer!  Nuff said.

Marvel often tried to put two characters together in a series of ads or anthologies that often left me scratching my head.  So let’s celebrate those double feature specials!

Morbius and Lilith.  Kind of makes sense, both vampires, right?  Wrong.  Morbius is a scientifically created vampire, while Lilith was magically created.  OK, I’m a nit-picker.

Brother Voodoo and the Son of Satan?  Competing religions right there!  The Mark of Satan was the original title for Daimon Hellstrom’s series. 

Hey, we’re launching Man-Thing #1, and just because you love monsters so much, you should also buy Ka-Zar #1!  Well, both series have characters running completely naked in the great outdoors.

How about putting Ka-Zar in Astonishing Tales along with Doc Doom?  Jungle tales combined with evil dictator conquering tales—peanut butter and jelly!  We just weren’t ready for that jelly.  I just noticed that Zabu’s head is the hyphen in Ka-Zar’s logo.  Too bad Zabu’s head was also the same color as the background!

And then there was Amazing Adventures with the Inhumans and the Black Widow.  That didn’t make sense either; you would think the Inhumans and Doctor Doom would be better off sharing a title!

Amazing Adventures #7 is almost a crime, because you have 2/3 of a great cover ruined by the Widow at the bottom.  What’s more dramatic, some dude with a bionic arm threatening to burn down San Francisco or the lithe Black Widow karate kicking a fat guy?  I think I know which one Neal Adams preferred.  Nuff said.

I finally got a chance to read last week’s Secret Invasion: War of Kings one shot by Abnet/Lanning and Paul Pelletier.  This issue takes the Inhumans to places you never imagined before.  Spoilers ahead…

Black Bolt is mad as hell after recent events in Secret Invasion: Inhumans; I guess being tortured by the Skrulls in front on his son can really unhinge a guy!  Sick and tired of being the target of both the Skrulls and the Kree, Black Bolt finally takes the leash of Maximus and actually works with his demented brother for a little payback.  Maximus has been creating an arsenal of bizarre weapons for years, one of which is this awesome helmet that converts Black Bolt’s vocal utterances into waves of interstellar destruction—aimed at a fleet of Skrull ships!  Oh, and the spaceship that the Inhumans are riding?  Attilan itself.

A lot of things happen in this one issue.  If you remember your Marvel history, you will know that the Inhumans are the byproduct of an experiment by the Kree.  In an earlier mini-series, Ronan kidnapped the Inhumans to forge them into a super-powered strike-force.  After dealing, with the Skrulls, Black Bolt races to the Kree homeworld Hala and engages in a short but sweet battle with the Kree.  In the end, Ronan is forced to declare Black Bolt his Lord.  Black Bolt is now the leader of the Kree, and about to go to war with the Shi’ar and Vulcan.

Paul Pelletier’s artwork in this special is off the charts.  He’s right up there with Alan Davis.  War of Kings is off to a great start.  Long Live Black Bolt!  Nuff said.

Captain Britain and MI-13 9 has a very satisfying ending to the “Dream Corridor” arc.  Spoilers ahead…

Pete Wisdom figures out how to sever everyone’s addiction to their greatest fantasy.  “You are going to take responsibility for your dreams.”  The sword that Dane Whitman has been carrying around has an even deeper mystery surrounding it.  There’s a lot of characters to juggle around in this book, but everyone gets a bit of love, there’s even hope for Meggan and Captain Britain.  Blade and Spitfire go from being enemies to lovers by the end, as someone predicted.  Then there are the last few pages…

Dracula is back, no big surprise, as Cornell has mentioned this in a few recent interviews.  But look at where he lives—on the friggin’ Moon!  The best home for a vampire, where he never sees the Sun.  “Get me Doctor Doom.”  Fantastic.  Dracula’s playing on a scale that he never has before.  I can’t wait for the Dracula arc.

Captain Britain is one of the best books Marvel is publishing now, I hope you are all picking it up.  Nuff said.

After Iron Man’s adventure with Benjamin J. Grimm in Marvel Feature #12, he was low on power.  How did he get back to New York City?  Wait for it true believers…

…Tony Stark roller-skated his way home!  Nuclear powered roller-skates, I am sure, not like those cushy wheels in Xanadu.  I think if I saw a roller-skating Iron Man on the freeway, I’d probably flip out.

Making a sudden exit on the freeway seems like a bitch.  Do you have to give hand signals?

Steve Gerber was making a joke with this scene and most us never forgot it.  I just ran across an interview with Gerber on Comics Bulletin where he mentions this:  …we used to buy comics because comics could show us things we couldn't see anywhere else -- Weaponers of Qward, Reverse-Flashes, Iron Men on roller skates. Today, comics are still showing readers things they couldn't see anywhere else in 1963. The world has changed; comics haven't.  Nuff said.

Think you are having a bad day?  If you’re Benjamin J. Grimm and you’ve just saved the world (in a team-up with the Hulk), what thanks do you get?  None!  Not even a ride out of the desert when Marvel Feature #12 begins…

Since it is a Marvel comic, you just know the Thing won’t be left alone for long.  Sure enough, Iron Man shows up and they fight a couple of Thanos’ goons, the Blood Brothers.  At the end of the tale…

…The Thing is stuck in the desert again!  What a blamed revoltin’ development!  Nuff said.