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Here's the latest COMPLETE COLLECTION volume from
MIGHTY MARVEL, folks - MACHINE MAN! Not exactly
JACK KIRBY and STEVE DITKO at their artistic best, but solid
entertainment from the sizzlin' '70s, when people of my age group
were younger, more innocent, and had more time ahead than behind
them - no longer the case, alas. But let's not end on a sombre note.
Relive the happy days of your youth by buying this bombastic
book today. Your local comics shop awaits your visit.
I used to buy "Machine Man" regularly when it came out, partly as it was rarely picked up (along with the excellent "Invaders" comic) but I really enjoyed it and still have most of the issues. As you say not Kirby or Ditko at their best but it is a fun read. Does this reprint the Herb Trimpe / Barry Windsor Smith issues?.
ReplyDeleteOoops sorry just re-read the cover blurb and its all Ditko / Kirby I think the Trimpe/ Smith issues were specials
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I've ever read the Trimpe/Smith issues, PM. I find that I'm enjoying the Wolman/Ditko issues more than the Kirby ones, PM. JK's art is pretty poor in some places, and his scripting is dull. SD's art, 'though nowhere near as good as his work on Spidey or Dr. Strange, is the better of the pair. And Wolfman's stories are far more satisfying. Certainly worth having this volume in your collection.
ReplyDeleteI'm wanting this one for sure. Looked at it closely yesterday and found it a bit pricey but a dandy package. The Trimpe-Smith rendition is outstanding, one of the best mini-series Marvel ever produced. It needs to be collected. Also missing from this package are the Mister Machine issues of 2001 A Space Odyssey in which Machine Man was actually born. I guess Marvel doesn't have the rights to those anymore and that's a shame and a real loss to this package.
ReplyDeleteRip Off
I bought Machine Man #1 and Devil Dinosaur #1 when they first came out. They were first issues of new series by The King, so I expected them to become valuable collector's items that I could someday auction off for a million dollars each.
ReplyDeleteI'm still waiting.
I'd imagine that's the case, Rip, although the Mister Machine issues of 2001 weren't really connected to the world of the movie, if i remember rightly. Marvel could probably have retitled the reprints, but as his origin is recapped in one of the issues in this volume, they probably thought it wasn't really necessary. Hopefully, the Trimpe/Smith issues will soon see the light of day.
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When you consider what a powerhouse Jack had once been, TC, it's almost painful to see how far his art had deteriorated in his later mags. Still good solid entertainment in many ways, but not what he had formerly been capable of producing, alas.
I should get this. Last year I picked up that issue of 2001 where Machine Man first appears.
ReplyDeletePity they're not including those three 2001: a Space Odyssey issues in the "complete" book!
ReplyDeleteMaybe some kindly, handsome, and extremely-modest blogger should consider posting them, eh?
Yes, you should, Phil. Run out and buy one right away.
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Kindly, handsome, and extremely modest, BR? Now who on earth could that be? (He said, extremely modestly.)
Just to let you know , the brilliant Smith/Trimpe series was collected a number of years ago and again more recently in the Iron Man 2020 tp.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Russell. I'll check out eBay when I've got a spare bob or two.
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