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| Images copyright MARVEL COMICS |
Accurate creator credits are difficult at the best of times, but to whom do you ascribe credit for creating the character of ADAM WARLOCK? Is it STAN LEE and JACK KIRBY who deserve that distinction, or is it ROY THOMAS and GIL KANE, who, in the pages of MARVEL PREMIERE, significantly revamped the being known as HIM? After all, they're meant to be the exact same person.
While you're trying to work that one out, take a loving look at the covers and splash pages (plus a few other full-page images) from the four issues of STRANGE TALES which featured Warlock in his own series, as written and drawn by JIM STARLIN. If you've got any ideas about who really deserves the creator credit for this cosmic character, the captivating comments section awaits.
And don't forget to come back for Part Two.
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I loved that Warlock series in Strange Tales (and the first few issues of its own title) for me Starlin's best work. Strange the power of nostalgia on seeing these covers again here it brought me right back to that time and to my brother who wasn't a big comic fan but he loved that series - apart from reminding me of that book strangely after my brother passed away (far too young) that's the time I remember him most from and it always bring a smile.
ReplyDeleteNice to know that these images conjure up fond memories of that time, and also of your brother, McScotty. They also remind me of the period, but not with the same significance as your reminiscence. It's amazing how close our past is sometimes, even 'though, at other times, it seems so very far away.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the same page as you gentlemen.
ReplyDeleteMy Ma picked up the Avengers and Marvel Two-In-One Annuals at a drug store in '77, after some insistence on my part (I was nine)
and I was hooked.
Later, when I graduated to long pants and had a job, I hunted down every issue with Warlock, Thanos and Captain Marvel I could get my sweaty little hands on. It took some years and hard-earned money, but well worth it.
A high point in comics, and the favorite part of my collection.
There are a lot things I could say about this run, the art and the pacing, but as a teenager I identified with what I thought Starlin was saying. The themes of alienation, rebellion, individualism, a tragic flawed character trying to find himself.
The art was brilliant.
It must have been kismet, me as a little punk kid stumbling by that spinner rack.
Great post, Kid, a joy to see this stuff again. I had almost forgotten about it.
Believe it or not, I wanted to become a comic book artist back then! I practiced and studied artist like Starlin.
I ended up becoming a soldier.
Ah, well.
Good to hear from you again, MLP, where've you been hiding? Back in the early '80s. Marvel reissued the Starlin Warlock series in a 5 or 6 issue deluxe format (which I've also got). It's been reissued again in various formats (probably more than once) since then, so you could probably pick up these tales without too much difficulty or expense. Just think - then you could relive your childhood.
ReplyDeleteAs to the question of who created Warlock: well, Lee and Kirby created Him but Warlock didn't need to be Him - he could have had a completely different origin and he'd still have been Warlock so Stan and Jack really can't get the credit for this one. I first read Warlock (as drawn by Gil Kane) when it was in POTA and I can't say I was a huge fan either then or later.
ReplyDeleteWho gets the credit for the character?
ReplyDeleteThat is a really hard one to answer.
My contact with the character was linear so I met 'Him" by Kirby and Lee,then Gil Kane and Roy Thomas' version then
when Jim Starlin began to draw him I jumped on board as he had drawn Captain Mar-Vell as did Gil Kane and I loved the issue with Nitro the living bomb.
I bought the collected black and white editions of Captain Marvel and the Warlock editions earlier this year.
The colour hardbacks were very expensive at the time and I did not want to buy single issues as in the case of Warlock,they keep popping up around my rooms,so I did not want to start buying doublers.
I have not read them yet,I am waiting for that 'moment' to arise.
A wee bit of trivia now,In the last Thor movie,Sif takes items of importance to The Collector for safe-keeping and in the background there is a large man-sized cocoon.
I nearly bit off a couple of knuckles!
Well, I've got all the original Starlin stuff! I don't need the reprints.
ReplyDeleteBut I know what you're saying. My collection of the first hundred issues of the Fantastic Four are about 80% reprints. A few originals!
Still, there's nothing like the original copy, is there. I mean, the feel of the paper, the goofy ads, hell, the smell of the paper (I know that sounds weird) takes me back.
The original '60's and '70's copies I do have from F.F., Thor, Spider-man or the Hulk or other titles, I mean, reprints are great, but there just ain't no substitute.
Something seems to get lost in the translation.
But it's good to talk to you again, Kid! I haven't been a stranger! I always check out this site. I just haven't had anything intelligent to say.
Not that that's ever stopped me before....
My regards to McScotty as well. Now about my bar tab in Inverness...
Exactly, CJ, Warlock didn't have to be Him - which is why I asked the question. You see, if there were to be a Warlock movie which was incredibly successful, I wonder if Kirby's heirs would demand a cut - on the grounds that their dad 'originated' the character. Time will tell I guess.
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Baab, I haven't seen the 2nd Thor movie yet, so I'll keep an eye out for that scene when I do.
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Mlp, when I bought the Silfer Surfer Omnibus edition, I pored over it, admiring its beauty - then I dug out my original copies and re-read them over the next few days. You're right - nothing beats the originals, for all the reasons you mention - but the reprints can have their own charm too, I've found. As for having anything intelligent to say, I've never let that stop me either. (The bar manager in Inverness is still looking for you.)
Hey,would you look at the Magus' affro!
ReplyDeleteI thought he was so original and wild for having a crazy hairstyle like that.
I created a character of my own as soon as I saw this.
And I gave him an affro, as well as two meat cleavers instead of hands.
It took me a couple of pages of stories and a couple of weeks drawing the guy before I realised he could not button the buttons on his coat nor go to the toilet and I really should figure that out before I went any further.
The end.
If he was a baddie, that probably explains his attitude. After all, if you can't wipe your own @rse, it's bound to leave deep scars. (And even more so if you try to with meat cleavers.)
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