Marvel Monsters: October 2009 Archives

What would a Marvel monster version of the Defenders look like?  If Mike Ploog were drawing it, something like this nifty commission done for Leo Chuah on comicartfans.

Ghost Rider, Frankenstein, and Werewolf by Night on a moonlit night.  Greatness!  Nuff said.

Mike Ploog brought his artistic talent to shed light on Marvel's version of the Monster of Frankenstein in 1972.  Here are some of the best covers, with the original black and white art versions for comparison.

Monster of Frankenstein #2 is one of my top 10 favorite Marvel covers of all time, and perhaps my favorite Ploog cover as well.  You can really feel the Monster's pain as he carries his Bride (snuffed out after a horrific rebirth by Victor Frankenstein) away from the castle.  I loved this cover so much, I put a piece of light paper over it, traced it, and inked it in junior high school.  There was a girl in my class who was really impressed by this:  You drew that?  I nodded my head.  What the heck, was she gonna know who Ploog was?

There is one negative thing about the cover: that logo is one of the worst designs for a title that I've ever seen!

The original art to this piece is even more stunning, the textures and shadows are wonderful.  Who is the lucky sonofagun who owns this piece?  John Butler from comicartfans, unless it was sold to another person.

After Victor crushed his dream of friendship and love, the Monster gets revenge in issue #3 by murdering Elizabeth Frankenstein on her wedding night.  The cover is just classic horror to the max: the Monster's rage with the full moon in the background, Elizabeth's décolletage, her expression of surprise, and the candles getting snuffed out by the sudden gush of wind.  Just as Elizabeth herself will be snuffed out.

The original art to Monster of Frankenstein #3.  From the collection of John Scarpone at comicartfans.

Issue #4 featured a departure from the general story of Mary Shelley's novel.  The Monster winds up meeting a tribe of native aborigines who adopt him.  The creature finds a home for a while--until a war with a neighboring tribe kills all of his friends.

The original art to Monster of Frankenstein #4 looks a lot more striking in black and white.  If this scan is correct, Marvel flipped the cover.  Notice the mountain and sky in the background--completely erased in the printed cover.  Once again from John Butler's gallery.  I am getting really envious of that dude.

Now here's an interesting behind the scenes look at the design of Marvel's Frankenstein Monster.  This character design sketch was done by John Romita Sr.  There is a note written in ink by Roy Thomas to Ploog.

Mike --

This is (the) version Stan wants to see.  Please call me to discuss.

Roy

Ploog then created this Frankenstein conceptual drawing based on Romita's sketch and Roy Thomas' comments.  I think I first saw this in the Essential Monster of Frankenstein a few years ago.  Both of these character design pieces are from Doug Edelman on comicartfans.

Many thanks to all of the Mike Ploog fans on comicartfans for these scans.  It's nice to know that many people love Ploog!

You can also view Ploog's recreation of Frankenstein Monster #6 from a post I did in Jan 2009.  Nuff said.

A number of years ago, Mike Ploog produced a series of cover recreations for some of his most famous Marvel Comics from the 1970s.  I'll showcase a few each day leading up to Halloween.

Man-Thing #9 from 1974 has a great yarn about the creature discovering a hidden enclave of Spanish soldiers who had discovered the Fountain of Youth.  They have miraculous potions which can possibly change the monster back into Ted Sallis.  But construction magnate F.A. Schist (fascist) throws several wrenches into this plan.

The recreation to this cover accentuates everything.  The Man-Thing is gloopier than ever and the wizened skeletal man in the lower right is scarier.

Giant-Size Man-Thing #1 is one of my favorite all time comics.  Ploog and swamp monsters slugging it out in a giant-size comic, what could be better?

The recreation is pretty cool--notice how great the colors are in this version. 

You can find all these Mike Ploog cover recreations (and more) on comicartfans.  Nuff said.

Finding that Neal Adams pinup yesterday reminded me that wasn't the only time the Nefarious one drew Marvel's muck-monster!

There was this terrific cover to Monsters Unleashed #3 in 1973, featuring Man-Thing cracking a couple of redneck heads as a young woman looks on in horror.  If she's feeling fear, then I don't like the way Man-Thing is looking at her!

But wait--if we go back even further in time--we can find this Man-Thing story that Neal Adams drew, featured as an interlude in Astonishing Tales #12, 1972.  Ka-Zar, the star of the series, met Man-Thing in the Florida everglades.  Since Manny had only appeared in Marvel's black and white Savage Tales #1, this story introduced him to Marvel's color comics.  Man-Thing would become the lead character in Adventure Into Fear #10, a few months later in 1972.

You'll notice the story doesn't have color, it's printed in black and white with yellow tones.  Perhaps it was originally meant for publication in Savage Tales #2?

One panel in this story always stuck in my memory--the one above where Man-Thing watches an old lady walk across the swamp.  Notice the way Manny stands, left arm braced against a tree, right arm supporting himself on the muddy floor.

This same pose was used in the Man-Thing cover, the one Marvel usually put on the left-hand upper corner, featuring an iconic shot of the titular character.  Neal Adams' drawing isn't used line by line--but someone must have used that panel above as a reference.  It's exactly the same pose.  Nuff said!

I found this drawing of Marvel's Man-Thing in Neal Adams 2008 Sketchbook.

Startling, eh?  Fantastic point of view, as if the viewer were sitting in a tree and seeing Man-Thing trudge through the swamp below.  What makes Manny look up?  Perhaps it is because the voyeur suddenly feels...fear?  Nuff said.

Marvel Comics started producing calendars in 1975.  For the very first calendar (which I've been able to acquire recently, thanks to eBay), they tapped the best artists of that year...including Mike Ploog, who they unleashed in the month of October.

The October illustration featured the trio of monsters that Ploog had drawn in their own comics: Frankenstein, Man-Thing, and Werewolf by Night!  The big bad daddy of all supernatural characters, Dracula, lorded over all of them--Ploog had drawn this character as well, when he teamed up with Jack Russell in Werewolf by Night #15.

The month of October itself is ridden with monster-sized jokes by Marvel staffers. 

Oct. 4th: Man-Thing with the caption: Save the Everglades--Or Else!  That scares me into taking care of the environment.

Oct. 8th-9th:  Son of Satan asks pop for the hell-horse drawn chariot, but sister Santana asked for it first.

Oct. 13-15: Three nights of the full moon with Werewolf by Night.  Jack Russell's eyes go left, middle, right.

Oct. 19th: Jim Starlin's birthday.  Which is today, Happy Birthday Jim!

Oct. 28th-29th: Two creatures called IT!  The first one was featured in Supernatural Thrillers #1, the second one was a hero who appeared briefly in Astonishing Tales.

Oct. 30th: The Halloween party in Rutland Vermont, which was featured by Roy Thomas in both Avengers and Defenders (Marvel Feature #2).  Several comics creators made the trek to this party.  If only we could go back in a time machine! 

Many thanks to Sanctum Sanctorum Comix for providing the scans of the Marvel Calendars!  Nuff said.

We haven't had a Monster Monday in a long while here at Giant-Size Marvel, which is a tragedy, since most Mondays are truly horrific.

This black and white pinup by Jim Starlin and Ernie Chan appeared on the inside front cover of Rampaging Hulk #7.  Last week, I took Marvel to task for having Alfredo Alcala destroy Walter Simonson's work in this same magazine.  In this particular case, having a radically different inker works quite well.  That's because Chan keeps all the Starlin elements intact (the facial expressions, the poses) intact while adding his own style.  Chan did the same while inking John Buscema on Conan.

And what the heck--isn't it cool just to see Man-Thing and the Hulk chillin' in the Florida swamp?  It beats trying to knock the snot out of each other--like they did in this Berni Wrightson cover.

Rampaging Hulk #7 (1978) also featured a brand new Man-Thing story by Steve Gerber and Jim Starlin.  This was the first full length story since the Man-Thing series terminated in issue #22 (1975).  The story is classic Gerber insanity, featuring women going wild in swamp, and Man-Thing fusing their hands together when the moment of fear arrives.

Jim Starlin's artwork, inked by Bob Wiacek, looked really nice in this black and white story.  You have to appreciate the final panel where Manny slowly sinks down into the swamp.  Was this the last Man-Thing story that Gerber ever wrote?  I think so.  Nuff said.