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| Images copyright MARVEL COMICS |
Well, in this one the differences are obvious, aren't they? In the production stat above (I'll call them 'cover proofs' from this point on), SUSAN is far too tall and BEN is far too small in relation to her. Solution? Redraw Susie smaller (and give her a haircut as well), and lengthen Ben's leg to make him appear taller. (Still not tall enough in my estimation.) The original version saw print, in colour, in 1973 as an ad for MWOM #23 in sister publication SMCW #4. (And turn in your F.O.O.M. card and hang your head in shame if you don't know what those esteemed initials stand for, not-so-frantic one.)
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| The published version |
Don't think the MWOM is the original version. Why would Sue be sporting a 70s hairstyle in '62, and the leg does not look very Kirby. I think that someone tried to update the original cover for the ad ( see also what Joe Simon did for the DC Black Magic reprints).
ReplyDeleteLove your blog and the cover alterations. The original JIM Thor cover was totally new to me. Good stuff!
I don't usually publish anonymous comments, but I'll make an exception in this case in light of the interesting points you make. If commenting again 'though, choose a name so that I know future comments are from you; doesn't have to be your real one.
ReplyDeleteI too thought that Sue doesn't look very Kirby-ish, but it's possible that Stan Lee had Sue redrawn, perhaps by another hand, before the page was inked, lettered, and photostatted. Or perhaps the inker changed her slightly at Stan's request, but on reflection, Stan still wasn't happy and had her changed again before publication. (If you enlarge either version and look at Sue's left elbow, you can see a space where her elbow originally ended. Also, on the proof, Ben's left leg and foot are slightly odd, and there's a hint of what might be Sue's original boot next to it.) It's also possible that Jack had rendered her in her invisible form (broken lines) and that Stan asked the inker to render her visible, which might explain the slightly different look. Either way, it looks as if Sue was redrawn twice.
Marvel themselves assert that it's the original cover proof as drawn by Jack Kirby, so reservations about Sue aside, I'm prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt in this case. I doubt they'd have changed it just for a half page 1973 ad. ('Though they did 'beef up' the Thor figure from the cover of Journey Into Mystery #83 for an ad in MWOM for SMCW.)