Marvel Madhouse #1

Jun 1981; Cover price 35p.
36 pages. B&W contents.
Marvel Comics Ltd.

Cover by Marie Severin.
r: modified and recoloured cover from Not Brand Echh (Marvel Comics) #03 (Oct 1967).

Contents:

.2 Dangerous Visions advertisement.

.3 Welcome to the Marvel Madhouse contents page; illustraton uncredited. / Indicia

.4 Earth 33⅓: The Motion Picture And Lo There Shall Come a Norm! w: Tim Quinn; a: Dicky Howett.

.6 Charlie America The Honest-to-Irving, True-Blue, Top-Secret Original Origin of Charlie America! w: Roy Thomas; a: Tom Sutton, lettered by Gaspar Saladino.

r: Not Brand Echh (Marvel Comics) #03 (Oct 1967).

14 Dangerous Visions advertisement.

15 He's Mighty Sore "The Origin of Sore, Son of Shmodin!" w: Stan Lee; p: Jack Kirby, i: Frank Giacoia, lettering by Artie Simek.

r: Not Brand Echh (Marvel Comics) #03 (Oct 1967).

23 The Inedible Bulk! "The Origin of Brucie Banter ...and Friend" w: Gary Friedrich; a: Marie Severin, lettering by Artie Simek.

r: Not Brand Echh (Marvel Comics) #03 (Oct 1967).

30 From the Depths of the Hyborian Age (half page) in-house advertisement for The Savage Sword of Conan. / Now... in Every issue of Marvel Superheroes (half page) in-house advertisement.

31 Too-Gone Kid "The Fastest Gums in the West!" w: Roy Thomas; a: Marie Severin, lettering by Sam Rosen.

r: Not Brand Echh (Marvel Comics) #01 (Aug 1967).

35 Star Wars Watches for Boys & Girls! advertisement.

36 Missed any Good Magazines Lately? in-house advertisement for Starburst.

There's something inherently appealing about the mockery of superheroes. Unfortunately, the reliance on reprints means that this isn't quite as fresh and exciting as it could have been, with only Earth 33⅓ constituting original content. It is extremely good content, with three whole pages to play with, but is followed by so many reprints that no matter how well-crafted the strip is (it is very funny) there's a lingering suspicion that this issue isn't the best value for money.

Quinn and Howett provide a counterpoint to the solemnity and melodrama which regular strips routinely indulged in. A rocket carrying a baby from the dying planet of Britain hurtles through space towards Earth 33⅓, crashing into the bedroom of the Normans. Under Earth 33⅓'s dense gravity the child found it was weaker than on his homeworld. Adopted and named Norman Norman by the couple, his life was quiet until one night on his twelfth birthday his foster parent were gunned down by a robber.

Not being particular fond of them, their deaths didn't discourage Norman Norman. At the age of fifteen, Norman was attacked by a swarm of radioactive, gamma-ridden bats, leaving him suffering from radio-gamma sickness. And a strong dislike of bats. The ambulance taking him to hospital was then involved in a 300MPH collision. Thankfully modern technology being what it is, the surgeons began to rebuild Norman into something even better than before. Until they found out he was broke.

As far as origin stories go, Private Normal - the not-at-all-super-in-any-way-man - is very expansive, with numerous allusions to Marvel comics, and even the appearance of an issue of Whoopee!. The details (Mount Sinus Hospital, Doc Kildane, a sneaky Superman logo) are amusing, and the speed at which events progress means that there isn't a problem with the lack of a narrative thread. The strip remains as fresh as the day it was published, and almost makes up for the amount of reprints which follows.

The splash page of Charlie America makes a decent point (as all satire should) regarding the number of times origin stories are tackled. Some characters (such as Batman) have had their origin retold so many times that it is difficult to feel any empathy for the character's situation - sure, it's sad losing parents to a robber, but it is unbearably cruel and unusual punishment to be told the same story multiple times.

For reprints from Not Brand Echh, the rest of the strips aren't all that bad, and Marie Severin's work really shines in the format, even if the paper quality is abysmal. It is nice to see the linework without unnecessary colour.