BABE Of The DAY - LYNDA CARTER...

Here's WONDER WOMAN

without her striking costume - the

 stunning LYNDA CARTER.

RECOMMENDED READING: The ADVENTURES Of The FLY...

Images copyright relevant owners

Once, in an alternate universe, JACK KIRBY showed a SPIDERMAN (no hyphen) logo by JOE SIMON to STAN LEE, and pitched to him the idea for a superhero who'd been rechristened The SILVER SPIDER before metamorphosing into The FLY.  In this alternate universe, STEVE DITKO did not advise Stan of the similarity of Spiderman to The Fly, and MARVEL's newest character got his wings clipped, either as a result of poor sales or a plagiarism lawsuit from rivals RED CIRCLE/ARCHIE COMICS.

At least, that's what could've happened if we're to believe a dissenting account of the events that led to SPIDER-MAN's creation.  We'll never know for sure whether it's true or not, but imagine PETER PARKER as a teenager who rubs a magic ring to transform into his alter-ego and you have an idea just how different things might've been in the Marvel Universe of the '60s.

Which brings me to this softcover book from 2004 which someone kindly gifted to me recently.  It contains the first four issues of The Fly, produced by Simon & Kirby (with others) before the duo quit the title.  The tales are simple, unsophisticated fare from an era when comicbooks were aimed squarely at kids, but they have their own distinct charm that makes the collection worth owning.  Though after reading the book, it reminded me just what an immense contribution Stan Lee made to the comicbook biz, something for which we should all be eternally grateful.

Some of the art and lettering restoration is a little dodgy, with at least one story appearing more like a tracing than a reprinting, but that aside, it's still an interesting look back at an earlier time in US four-colour comicbook history.  I imagine you'd be able to track down a copy on eBay or Amazon without too much difficulty or too great an expense.  Get hunting!

Ah, yes - how different things could have been indeed!

  

No 'Wide Angle Scream' in this ish apparently

Why no lettering?  Is it a reprint oversight or how it first appeared?

RECOMMENDED READING: COMIC BOOK FEVER...

Images copyright TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING

A book you may enjoy is COMIC BOOK FEVER by GEORGE KHOURY, which celebrates comics from 1976 to 1986.  To be honest, my impression was that some chapters are stretched pretty thin as far as written content goes, with the author saying something because he has a book to fill, rather than because he has something interesting to say, but the visual images and chapters containing comments from comicbook stalwarts (like JOHN ROMITA and SAL BUSCEMA, etc.) compensate for this occasional inadequacy somewhat.

Anyway, read the back cover spiel and make up your own minds.  You could certainly spend your money in worse ways.  Available at all good comicbook shops and (I think) bookstores.