Giant-Size Marvels: December 2008 Archives

Marvel published a number of Treasury-sized Holiday Superhero Grab Bags back in the 1970s, which I’ve seen discussed everywhere on the web this year, most notably on the LA Times blog, Hero Complex.  Marvel Treasury Edition #13 in 1976 featured a holiday cover by Gil Kane.  Here’s the rough layout:

I really love the fluidity of the figures in this one.  Notice that in this layout, Daredevil is positioned just about the Thing.  Also, note the Hulk’s expression, he’s kind of angry—maybe Santa did not visit him this year? 

Here’s the final colored and inked cover:

Daredevil was removed to make room for that giant-sized logo, which the characters are already spilling over.  It looks to me like John Romita probably changed the Hulk’s face to get him in the holiday spirit.

Now I feel like it is Christmas time!  Happy Holidays and Nuff said.

Here’s one of the house ads promoting the first Giant-Size book featuring the Defenders…

Except they promoted it as “Giant Size Super-Teams featuring the Defenders!”  What marketing genius came up with that title?  Fortunately, it was changed to Giant-Size Defenders by the time it was published.  No wonder these books didn’t last long, we could never find them!  Nuff said.

Out of all the Giant-Size books, Giant-Size Defenders #1 is one of my favorites.  I used the logo on the cover as the masthead for this blog.  There's something about seeing Doctor Strange, the Hulk, and Namor teaming up that just gives me a thrill.

The cover looks like it was done by Gil Kane, and I've always liked that motif where they burst of out of comic book pages from previous stories.  It's appropriate because this issue appears to have been produced in a rush, consisting of mostly reprints and only 10 pages of new material!  Yet when it starts off with a splash page like this by Jim Starlin...

...you can't help but be amazed.  Starlin's Hulk looks like he could burst through anything, Strange looks cosmic, and Namor looks regal.  Here's the inked version of this page without color:

Looks like paste up behind the characters for the comic panel motif. 

The rest of the story is quite a lark.  The Defenders had been together for a couple of years, and by this time had survived the Avengers-Defenders conflict. 

Valkryie suddenly realizes that she knows little of her team-mates even though she's been fighting alongside them since Defenders #4.  Clea realizes this, and uses her magical abilities to help Val relive some key moments in the lives of the Hulk, Doctor Strange, and Namor.  What a convenient framing device for a series of reprints!  They are very good reprints, and I didn't care as a kid when I read it.  It was all new to me and flowed into the new material pretty seamlessly.

One of the best things about this story is that it gives us more insight to the relationship between the Hulk and Doctor Strange.  What do they do when they are not saving the world?  The Hulk chows down on massive chicken drumsticks prepared by Wong!  Wong must have Colonel Sanders secret recipe from the look on the Hulk's face in this panel.

I can't wait for Jeff Loeb to bring back the Defenders in the Hulk.  The Offenders (Red Hulk, Tiger Shark, Baron Mordo, and Terrax) sounds like a great enemy for them.  Nuff said.

Back in 1974, Marvel hit their loyal legion of zombies straight in the pocket-book with a new series of giant-size comics.  The first one in the horror line was called Giant-Size Chillers.  A real hokey name, right?  It was supposed to be one of those rotating titles that featured alternating characters, like Dracula, Werewolf by Night, and Man-Thing.  This concept fell apart right after the first story appeared, as you can tell by this long explanation in Marvel’s Bullpen Bulletins: “Hope that’s all clear, Flame-Keeper, cause as or right now—you’re on your own!” Giant-Size Chillers was renamed Giant-Size Dracula with issue #2.

But this was a terrific launch to a line of giant-sized horror comics.  Written and drawn by Tomb of Dracula regulars Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan, it introduced fans to Dracula’s long-lost daughter of darkness, Lilith.  I just loved this cover by John Romita, introducing his tarted-up vamp offspring to the legion of Marvel adolescents about to go through puberty.  That costume is a classic Romita design, split down the middle in just the right place.  Cher used to wear Bob Mackie designs that looked like this, true believer!

Look at how many logos they had to cram onto this cover to covey the content.  Giant-Size Chillers!  The Curse of Dracula!  Her name is Lilith!  She is—Dracula’s Daughter!  Sheesh!  And yet we somehow we are just blinded by that tiara.

You would never know from this cover that Lilith and Dracula just can’t stand each other.  I’ve written a nice little explanation of their family dysfunction over at Photon Torpedoes:  Lilith: Ungrateful Daughter of Dracula!  Nuff said.