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| Image copyright MARVEL COMICS |
Just had to show this simply because it's brilliant. JOHN BYRNE is one of the few artists who can re-create the 'flavour' of '60s Marvel with seeming ease. I well-remember the JACK KIRBY page from FF #9 on which this pin-up is based, and it encapsulates my memories of re-reading the classic tale in an issue of MARVEL COLLECTORS' ITEM CLASSICS back in 1969. The pin-up first appeared in SUB-MARINER Annual #3, 1993.
Kid, thanks for the link to that item on what Byrne had planned for FF #296 - it seems he was planning a Fantastic Five too (possibly). I didn't know the issue involved the return of the Thing, that helps to explain the cover but it still looked rather dull for such a big issue. As for this topic - I'd say Byrne tried a bit too hard to channel the '60s feel. I've read that when he took over the FF he regarded all the '70s output as just something to be dismissed and passed over. I don't mind a little homage but he was rather slavish in his attempt to recreate the early Lee/Kirby era - time and events move on and the FF evolved.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'd moved on or evolved when JB took over, CJ, because I loved the initial return to the '60s look, with the wide collars and Ben's dino-hide. As for the cover, Smith probably got roped in at short notice and I guess it could've been more dynamic, but to those who had been following the mag regularly, that quiet pic screamed the one thing they had all been waiting for - THE THING IS BACK!
ReplyDeleteI've just been reading in Comic Heroes magazine that Byrne was a big fan of She-Hulk and his musings on a possible Fantastic Five suggest that he thought she might become a permanent member after the return of the Thing. Obviously he'd never heard of the re-set button.
ReplyDeleteNot sure about your last point, CJ - after all, he's used that button himself quite a few times. To be honest, I thought the mag lost it's way a bit with the inclusion of the She-Hulk as a regular member. I'd have much preferred the Thing, but I suppose Byrne felt he had to cut him loose from the team as he had his own mag.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I meant that Byrne was a bit deluded if he thought She-Hulk would join the team permanently in the Fantastic Five - but in that link you provided he does talk about the possibility of a F5 which I took to mean including the She-Hulk. And why did the Thing have to leave because he had his own comic - he didn't leave when he had Marvel Two-in-One.
ReplyDeleteHe 'had' to leave because John Byrne set many of his adventures on the planet of the Beyonder for months, which he wouldn't hve been able to do if he was then-concurrently part of the team. Or, at least, John Byrne clearly felt that. His solo adventures in Marvel Two-In-One could more easily be considered as taking place in between his adventures with the rest of the team.
ReplyDeleteOK that does make more sense if the Thing's adventures weren't on Earth! That's the problem with not reading any comics between 1983 and 2007 - I only found out fairly recently that Johnny Storm married Alicia who turned out to be a Skrull and Crystal rejoined the FF to replace Reed and Sue who were supposed to join the Avengers but didn't !
ReplyDeleteThe Alicia/Johnny relationship was the one aspect of John Byrne's run that I wasn't keen on. I'm glad that someone pressed the 'reset' button on that one.
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