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| Images copyright MARVEL COMICS |
October 12th 1977 - that's the day RAMPAGE #1 went on sale. The weekly Rampage that is, not the monthly magazine that surfaced sometime after its namesake's demise. The one you're now looking at lasted for 34 issues and featured The DYNAMIC DEFENDERS and The Man Called NOVA. At one time I owned them all, but now only have the first 3 or 4. You have to hand it to MARVEL UK - they were continually unleashing new mags on British Marvelites in an attempt to see what would stick, but aside from SPIDER-MAN COMICS WEEKLY (in all its various incarnations), nothing seemed to last for long.
In just under 3 weeks, it'll be 40 years since I bought this comic (yup, this is the actual one I purchased back then), but the moment seems as fresh as the touch of a gentle summer breeze upon my face, and I find it hard to believe that such a length of time has elapsed, so quickly has it flown by.
Anyway, that's enough of my nostalgic introspection - now it's time for yours as you peruse these pulsating pages and re-acquaint yourselves with yesteryear. If you bought this comic back in the day, let's hear all about it in the comments section.
11 comments:
That's one cool looking comic Kid. That NOVA guy looks a bit like a Mattel Shogun robot. I wish I'd carried on reading comics like this into my later teens. I got all serious and started reading OMNI and Undercurrents! I should have stuck to comics!
I remember asking my dad what a tit-an was. It's titan, son he said. Word learned. Funny what sticks in the brain. (I learned the word rendezvous from the novelisation of the Moonraker film).
You can catch up on what you missed with Marvel's Epic Collections, Woodsy. Full colour, high-quality reprints, and not too expensive. Probably even cheaper on Amazon. I love re-reading old stuff.
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I momentarily forget just how many words I mispronounced in comics, OD, until I learned otherwise. (Which is just as well, as it would be embarrassing.)
I had Rampage No.1 (in fact, I had every single issue) but I don't remember it at all ! But I do remember October 12th 1977 because it was my father's 50th birthday - my sister and I made him some sandwiches as a treat :)
What was on the sandwiches, CJ? The world needs to know.
Just looking at those sample pages shows how hard it seems to have been for artists to pin down the look of the Hulk - everyone seems to put their own slant on drawing him, unlike say, Cap, Iron Man or Sub Mariner for instance who tend to stay 'on brand' more than the big green guy. Though despite this you can almost work out which decade the character was drawn in by the look he had, no matter who drew him.
Even Jack Kirby drew the Hulk slightly differently almost issue-to-issue in #s 1-5, PC, so it seems like he's always been more open to 'interpretation' than other characters. I suppose because he's big and green, readers know who he is so therefore don't mind slight variations in his facial features. I really love the way he looked in Hulk #2, inked by Ditko, or Hulk #5, one of my all-time favourite Hulk tales.
Yeah, I agree; the Ditko / Kirby combo Hulk art would be my definitive Hulk as well. The Brutish the better! Not a fan of some of the more recent depictions where he seems a tad too handsome for my liking. I like the look of the movie Hulk in the Avengers films (not so much in the 2003 & 2008 solo outings), but Hulk in the Thor Ragnarok trailers is looking a bit too refined - hope they are not messing with his look from the earlier two films.
Funnily enough though, PC, Stan wanted a 'handsome' monster when he and Jack first did the Hulk. And he IS (sort of) in his 1st issue, especially on the cover. When the strip was revived in Tales To Astonish, Ditko at first returned him to that look, as Hulkie was certainly different to how Steve had drawn him in Hulk #6. I'm looking forward to the Thor movie - it looks like a belter.
Ross Andru, in my opinion, is one of the most under-rated Silver Age artists. I liked his Spider-Man stuff, but this is the first time I recall seeing his version of the Hulk and it looks great! Looks like Bill Everett was a good match for his pencils too.
I think Bill Everett must've been trying something different, DS, because it's not quite his usual inking style. Nice though.
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