Births:
Mike Butterworth (1924); Patrick Blower (1959)
Deaths:
Annette Mills (1955); William Augustus Sillince (Silenus; 1974); John Buscema (2002)
Notable Events:
William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody died in 1917.
The pilot episode of Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show broadcast in 1992.
Richard Horne (Harry Horse) and his wife Mandy were found dead in their remote bungalow on Burra, in 2007, in an apparent suicide pact.
Showing posts with label John Buscema. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Buscema. Show all posts
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Sunday, October 21, 2018
The Mighty World of Marvel Vol.1 #1
07 Oct 1972; Cover price 5p.
40 pages. Colour, tone & B&W.
Magazine Management London, Ltd.
Cover by John Buscema.
Free iron-on Monster T-Shirt Transfer
Contents:
The Hulk has never looked more impressive than the opening splash page, and Kirby's influences (a favourite topic for articles about Jack Kirby) are clear - physical solidity bringing to mind William Blake, and some hint of Karloff's monster - which makes the brief original run of the character's so immediate and enjoyable. There is a uniqueness of vision in artwork for the early stories which would be washed away once The Hulk became popular. Here, with undiluted, unquestionable skill, everything works beautifully. The writing, as always with Stan Lee, is awkward and unconvincing.
The introduction of The Fantastic Four is less obvious a path, and the slow build-up teases a horror story out of what is essentially a superhero concept, though exceptionally done nevertheless. There's no great plot here, nor any deep thinking, beyond the characters getting from point A to point B with all manner of mishaps creating delays through their ill-advised display of abilities. It is almost a parody in places, with one ridiculous moment after another, culminating in the four assembling with joy at having survived the morning.
Rounding out the issue is the first appearance of Spider-Man, and - once again - it is a fantastic depiction of the character. The writing is surprisingly taut, and the twist recalls the best of the pre-superhero Marvel comics, though with much more emphasis on internal struggles than external battles. Without wasting any time, Peter Parker quickly falls into his heroic persona and brings justice to his uncle's killer - a simple motivation, played painfully straight, and which has been recycled endlessly ever after.
Odd tinting choices take attention away from the art, which has always looked better in black and white, but it is the best first issue Marvel have managed for their superheroes, with iconic characters shown from the beginning.
40 pages. Colour, tone & B&W.
Magazine Management London, Ltd.
Cover by John Buscema.
Free iron-on Monster T-Shirt Transfer
Contents:
.2 The Hulk The Coming of the Hulk w: Stan Lee; p: Jack Kirby, i: Paul Reinman.
r: The Incredible Hulk (Marvel Comics) Vol.1 #01 (May 1962).
.9 Instructions for free gift. / Advertisements
10 The Mighty World of Pin-Up Page! Fantastic Four p: Jack Kirby, p: George Klein.
r: (altered) cover from Fantastic Four (Marvel Comics) Vol.1 #01 (Nov 1961).
11 You've a team to be proud of- get a watch to be proud of advertisement for SoccerWatch.
12 The Hulk The Coming of the Hulk (cont.)
15 The Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four! w: Stan Lee; p: Jack Kirby, i: George Klein, lettering by Artie Simek.
r: Fantastic Four (Marvel Comics) Vol.1 #01 (Nov 1961).
20 A Special Message from Stan Lee (one third page) / For Mighty Marvel Readers Only! (1 2/3 pages) collectible token competition.
22 The Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four! (cont.)
30 Accept this Splendid Encyclopedia Free! advertisement.
31 Spider-Man Spider-Man w: Stan Lee; a: Steve Ditko, lettering by Artie Simek.
r: Amazing Fantasy (Marvel Comics) Vol.1 #15 (Sep 1962).
The Hulk has never looked more impressive than the opening splash page, and Kirby's influences (a favourite topic for articles about Jack Kirby) are clear - physical solidity bringing to mind William Blake, and some hint of Karloff's monster - which makes the brief original run of the character's so immediate and enjoyable. There is a uniqueness of vision in artwork for the early stories which would be washed away once The Hulk became popular. Here, with undiluted, unquestionable skill, everything works beautifully. The writing, as always with Stan Lee, is awkward and unconvincing.
The introduction of The Fantastic Four is less obvious a path, and the slow build-up teases a horror story out of what is essentially a superhero concept, though exceptionally done nevertheless. There's no great plot here, nor any deep thinking, beyond the characters getting from point A to point B with all manner of mishaps creating delays through their ill-advised display of abilities. It is almost a parody in places, with one ridiculous moment after another, culminating in the four assembling with joy at having survived the morning.
Rounding out the issue is the first appearance of Spider-Man, and - once again - it is a fantastic depiction of the character. The writing is surprisingly taut, and the twist recalls the best of the pre-superhero Marvel comics, though with much more emphasis on internal struggles than external battles. Without wasting any time, Peter Parker quickly falls into his heroic persona and brings justice to his uncle's killer - a simple motivation, played painfully straight, and which has been recycled endlessly ever after.
Odd tinting choices take attention away from the art, which has always looked better in black and white, but it is the best first issue Marvel have managed for their superheroes, with iconic characters shown from the beginning.
Saturday, October 20, 2018
Rampage Weekly #1
19 Oct 1977; Cover price 10p.
36 pages. B&W.
Marvel Comics International Ltd.
Cover (uncredited).
Free model of Concorde.
Contents:
Marvel do introductions like nobody else.
The job of a splash page is to grab the attention of readers, highlighting the best possible artwork. The splash page kicking off the Defenders story is weirdly posed, and both Doctor Strange and the Hulk seem to be suffering some facial malady. Sub-Mariner has developed a lot in the passing years, from indiscriminately killing people and throwing things around to actively attempting to save a space capsule and its inhabitants from certain death. There is some truly awful dialogue (since when does the phrase "Great balls of fire" emerge from the mouth of a sober General?), and plotting inanity.
Three regular men (well... sailors) against the Sub-Mariner? That sounds like a fair fight.
Jim Wilson looks terrifying as he threatens Namor. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if he later turned out to be a super-villain capable of pulling Namor's ankle-wings off and ramming them down his gills. The threat works, for reasons which aren't clearly given.
There's a sequence in a television studio, where a show called The Astro Nuts is being filmed. It looks every bit as classy as the Generation X television movie. We get to see a young viewer watching, then the script throws a line in which deserves to be on a list of things a person should never, ever say: "In my day we had Howdy Doody. Now there was a kiddie show." Hey kid, I think your mom may have had a thing for Buffalo Bob... Sweet dreams.
Because the script has already run out of ideas, people start throwing pies at each other.
Xemnu, an alien from the show, starts hypnotizing people, so Doctor Strange blasts him with a bolt of energy. The alien turns out to be an actual alien who used the astronauts to get to Earth, but before we are bored to death with more back-story Namor turns up for a fight. It has been a few panels since he hit someone, and he's obviously bored. Then, because a proper narrative is too much trouble, the Hulk arrives to... smash, I suppose.
Things don't improve greatly with Nova.
36 pages. B&W.
Marvel Comics International Ltd.
Cover (uncredited).
Free model of Concorde.
Contents:
.2 Now! From the Mighty Marvel House of Ideas Introduction.
.3 The Dynamic Defenders A Titan Walks Among Us! w: Roy Thomas; p: Ross Andru, i: Bill Everett, lettering by Artie Simek.
r: Marvel Feature (Marvel Comics) #03 (Jun 1972).
26 Score with Mobil advertisement.
27 Nova Nova w: Marv Wolfman; p: John Buscema, i: Joe Sinnott, lettering by Joe Rosen.
r: Nova (Marvel Comics) Vol.1 #01 (Sep 1976).
35 Next Week in Rampage (three eighths page) / 122 Different Stamps Free (one eighth page) advertisement. / Pranks for All (half page) advertisement.
36 It's the 1978 Mighty Marvel Annuals in-house advertisement.
Marvel do introductions like nobody else.
Ever since the DEFENDERS appeared as guest stars in MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL a couple years back all of British Marveldom has been clamouring for more, more, MORE of THE DYNAMIC DEFENDERS! Not being the type to turn a deaf ear for long, the madmen at Mighty Marvel have finally given in to demand and come up with the rip-roarin'est title yet--RAMPAGE!Or given up, happened across the printing plates, and decided to fob off readers with reprints.
The job of a splash page is to grab the attention of readers, highlighting the best possible artwork. The splash page kicking off the Defenders story is weirdly posed, and both Doctor Strange and the Hulk seem to be suffering some facial malady. Sub-Mariner has developed a lot in the passing years, from indiscriminately killing people and throwing things around to actively attempting to save a space capsule and its inhabitants from certain death. There is some truly awful dialogue (since when does the phrase "Great balls of fire" emerge from the mouth of a sober General?), and plotting inanity.
Three regular men (well... sailors) against the Sub-Mariner? That sounds like a fair fight.
Jim Wilson looks terrifying as he threatens Namor. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if he later turned out to be a super-villain capable of pulling Namor's ankle-wings off and ramming them down his gills. The threat works, for reasons which aren't clearly given.
There's a sequence in a television studio, where a show called The Astro Nuts is being filmed. It looks every bit as classy as the Generation X television movie. We get to see a young viewer watching, then the script throws a line in which deserves to be on a list of things a person should never, ever say: "In my day we had Howdy Doody. Now there was a kiddie show." Hey kid, I think your mom may have had a thing for Buffalo Bob... Sweet dreams.
Because the script has already run out of ideas, people start throwing pies at each other.
Xemnu, an alien from the show, starts hypnotizing people, so Doctor Strange blasts him with a bolt of energy. The alien turns out to be an actual alien who used the astronauts to get to Earth, but before we are bored to death with more back-story Namor turns up for a fight. It has been a few panels since he hit someone, and he's obviously bored. Then, because a proper narrative is too much trouble, the Hulk arrives to... smash, I suppose.
Things don't improve greatly with Nova.
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