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| Copyright MARVEL COMICS |
Still on the topic of Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 and its reprints, when Spidey is about to tackle Electro, he states that if he grounds himself then the electric current will pass harmlessly through him. Was this Ditko's or Lee's mistake? Doesn't really matter, but Stan should certainly have caught it when he was scripting the issue, even though it seems likely Steve was responsible for the plotting and pacing of the story. (Perhaps based on a suggestion by Stan.)
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| I've used the page from the 1969 reprint because the '64 original's colour is out of register. Aside from the yellow Spider insignia in panel 5 (a slip-up, obviously), the colour scheme is the same |
The glaring error still hadn't been spotted when the story was reprinted 5 years later (above), but by the time Marvel Tales #150 rolled around in 1983 (below), it had been noticed and corrected. (Compare the speech balloons in the 3rd and 6th panels on both pages, and the art amendments on the 3rd and 5th.) I've always wondered if anyone who read the original version of the strip was ever electrocuted because they didn't believe they could be while grounded, when actually the opposite was true.
And in case you're wondering, in contemporary reprintings the gaffe is usually left in to preserve things as they were for posterity, warts and all. I assume it will be retained in the forthcoming Facsimile Edition, but I wonder if a footnote will be added to the page underneath the bottom tier's border. If so, I hope it isn't too intrusive. Below are some close-ups of the relevant panels for your convenience.
However, back in 1938, DC Comics got it right first time in Superman's debut appearance in Action Comics #1, as you can see in the two pages below.
This is a universe with radioactive biting spiders, magic Uru hammers, super-power bestowing cosmic rays, and even smarmy walking talking ducks, so who knows how electricity operates. Come to think of it how does Electro even do what he does and for that matter let's talk about the Gray Gargoyle and the Molecule Man for that matter! Fun stuff it was! Thanks for the flashbacks.
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I absolutely remember this from the UK Spidey reprints because even then I knew it wasn’t making any sense!
ReplyDeleteBut it was still a great story.
Yeah, but surely the laws of physics still (usually) operate in the same way in the MU when it comes to electricity, RJ? After all, if Spidey fell into a swimming pool, I'd still expect him to get wet. Fantastic elements tend to work better in a story if they're based (could've said 'grounded') in reality.
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I've got those reprints, PS, and I remember the many character changes that were made when it came to heroes not yet been introduced in the UK. Dr. Strange became the Thing, Giant-Man and the Wasp became Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Girl, etc. I'd just have added a footnote telling the readers that the characters were waiting in the wings ('Don't worry, readers, you'll find out about Dr. Strange before too long'), not (badly) altered the art.
Perhaps they should have done the same with Apeslayer...
ReplyDeleteSorry readers, we've run out of apes material for a few weeks so here's Killraven instead :D
Well, I'm sure they did what I just suggested on other occasions, CJ, so why not?! They had so many different strips in some of their mags, why was POTA the only one that had to have all-ape strips?
ReplyDeletePOTA did feature more than just apes strips, Kid, but I suppose Marvel thought they couldn't publish a comic called Planet Of The Apes without any apes in it, hence the Apeslayer debacle.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the merged POTA & Dracula Lives featured no Dracula at all in its' final 31 issues (#93-123).
Today (17th) is my birthday so where's my card and present???
Happy Birthday, CJ, what age are you now? 55? Your card and present were sent next day special delivery yesterday afternoon, so if they don't arrive later on today then I'm afraid a thievin' postie has nicked them. Typical! Another £50 note neither of us will ever see again.
ReplyDeleteI'm 56, Kid - sadly your card and present didn't arrive but as consolation I did receive my gas bill.
ReplyDeleteI can't say I had a happy birthday as I spent most of the day fretting about the approaching Storm Eunice which was hyped as "the worst storm to hit the UK in decades" and South Wales was directly in its' path so I was dreading structural damage to my house or being left without electricity for days on end. In the event, Storm Eunice is nowhere near as bad as feared (where I live anyway) - yes, it's very windy but no windier than other storms and there hasn't been much rain either so definitely not the worst storm in decades which is the best birthday present of all as far as I'm concerned!
56 - you're now officially a coffin dodger, CJ - as am I. My fence at the side of the house blew over, so naughty Storm Eunice. Won't be able to put it up again for a while, as I'm totally fatigued at the moment.
ReplyDeleteAnd what about those thievin' gits at the Royal Mail, eh?