A MONSTER TO MARVEL AT - PART FOUR...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Okay, here we go with the final four issues of MARVEL's own fright-fest known as The FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER.  Now that you have all 18 covers to drool over, you can keep a lookout for them in the back issue bins of your friendly neighbourhood speciality comics shop and pick up a copy or two to actually read - or buy the softcover ESSENTIALS volume - whichever takes your fancy.  And, if they haven't already, Marvel is sure to release an OMNIBUS edition for you to throw your hard-earned cash at before very long.  Keep dem eyes peeled.

To see Part 3, click here - to see Part 1, click here.

BLAZIN' A TRAIL: STARBLAZER COVER GALLERY - PART TWO...

Images copyright D.C THOMSON & Co, Ltd

As promised some time back, here are the covers from
STARBLAZER #s 6 - 10.  I don't think I ever bought
any further issues after #10, so that's yer lot I'm afraid.



AD BREAK: THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR - PART THREE...

And just for completion's sake, here's the in-house ads that appeared
after pages 5 and 18. Now you've got even more than you need.

The MAN WITHOUT FEAR - PART TWO...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

As promised, the second part of DAREDEVIL's origin, scanned directly from my own copy of issue #1 from 1964.  For the cover and the first 11 pages, see the previous post.

The MAN WITHOUT FEAR - PART ONE...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Oh, you lucky people.  Scanned from my own personal copy of DAREDEVIL #1 is the first part of the origin of ol' Hornhead himself.  Drawn by BILL EVERETT with an alleged assistance from STEVE DITKO, the figure on the cover and splash page is clearly by JACK KIRBY, which makes me wonder if JK designed the hero's costume.  If anyone has any information or thoughts on the matter, feel free to comment.

This origin tale is available in the new MARVEL FIRSTS: The 1960s volume, and also the softcover edition of MARVEL MASTERWORKS: DAREDEVIL Vol. 1.  No true believer should be without each handsome tome so if you don't have them already, put them at the top of your Christmas list right away.

Look out for Part Two - NEXT!

A MONSTER TO MARVEL AT - PART THREE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Above and below, another four covers in the 18 issue series of MARVEL's fear-filled fantasy-fest known as The FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER - every one of them scanned from my very own personal collection.  Feast your eyes on these collectors' item classic from yesteryear and don't forget to scour my blog for the previous covers in parts one and two.  4th and final part still to come - soon.

To see Part 4, click here - to see Part 2, click here.

STAN, JACK, Or STEVE - Or Was It ALL THREE?

I sometimes feel sorry for STAN LEE.  Not that he needs my sympathy by any means, but it must be hard to constantly be on the receiving end of concerted attempts to diminish or deny even the slightest bit of creative input from him on anything he ever worked on with JACK KIRBY or STEVE DITKO - or anyone else for that matter.

There are some diehard Kirby and Ditko fans who maintain that their artistic heroes were responsible for everything good that ever came out of MARVEL in the 1960s, and that all Stan did was edit the pages and dialogue them.  Notwithstanding all the redrawn Kirby pages which seem to suggest that Stan's involvement was far more than that.

However, just for the sake of argument, let's imagine for a moment that both Kirby and Ditko created all the characters they worked on and were responsible for all the plotlines, leaving Stan's contribution as no more than scripting the tales from Jack and Steve's margin notes.  Got that notion fixed in your head?  Good.  Now consider this.  Nothing that either Jack or Steve worked on after Marvel ever had the same kind of impact as the body of work they produced while collaborating with Stan.  That would suggest that Stan's involvement, even if only 'mere' scripting, was the 'secret ingredient' that had a disproportionate effect on the finished result.

Stan Lee, in effect, was therefore the vital factor that transformed many competent but ordinary comicbooks into the dynamic Marvel masterworks that so many people fondly remember today. Had Jack and Steve scripted their own strips, it's extremely doubtful, going by their few later limited achievements, that Marvel would have become as successful as it was in its glory years.

Who came up with the idea of THOR?  Jack said Jack, Stan said Stan, and LARRY LIEBER (Stan's brother) said Stan (with input from himself - the names DON BLAKE and URU, for example).  But does it matter who came up with the initial concept?  Surely it's what's done with it that matters?  How it was 'dressed up' and first presented to the public in JOURNEY Into MYSTERY #83.  The finished result was a product of Stan, Jack & Larry, so in that sense all three can legitimately claim to be co-creators of the character.  (Larry hasn't ever made such a claim as far as I know, but I noticed he was credited alongside Stan and Jack on the recent Thor movie.)

Take DOCTOR STRANGE.  Critics of Stan seize on his frank comment that the then-upcoming mystic master's first appearance was "Steve's idea" as proof that Ditko created the character and not Lee.  However, even ignoring Lee's obvious input to the 'DR. DROOM'-type origin a few issues later, it's clear that Strange is nothing more than a reworked Droom figure (by Stan and Jack - and actually inked by Steve), so SD can hardly be said to have come up with anything new, merely regurgitating Stan's original concept.  Certainly, regardless of who first came up with the idea, Doctor Strange - as he is perceived by the comics buying public today - is as much a creation of Stan as he is of Steve.

That's why it's simply much easier (and no less accurate) to say 'by Lee & Kirby', or 'by Lee & Ditko', because the nuts and bolts of exactly who did what is probably much more complicated and may never be known.  One thing's for sure - all three creative titans were never better than when working with their respective collaborators, their body of work providing a perfect example of something being greater than the sum of its parts.

'Nuff said.

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

IF YOU ONLY BUY ONE BOOK THIS YEAR, MAKE IT THIS ONE...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

This is the book that ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS should've been.  Are you ready for this?  The first appearances or/and first issues of The RAWHIDE KID, DOCTOR DROOM, The FANTASTIC FOUR, ANT-MAN, The INCREDIBLE HULK, SPIDER-MAN, THOR, HUMAN TORCH, TWO-GUN KID, IRON MAN, SGT. FURY & His HOWLING COMMANDOS, DOCTOR STRANGE, The AVENGERS, The X-MEN, DAREDEVIL, NICK FURY AGENT Of S.H.I.E.L.D., GHOST RIDER, CAPTAIN MARVEL, CAPTAIN SAVAGE & His LEATHERNECK RAIDERS, SILVER SURFER, and more, more, MORE!!! 

This terrifically titanic tome also contains the dynamic debuts of The WASP, The WATCHER, CAPTAIN AMERICA, and SUB-MARINER in their own sensational series; KA-ZAR, and DOCTOR DOOM in their initial solo stories, plus covers galore, and even more, more, MORE!!!

All in full colour, this is the one book that no dyed-in-the-wool Marvel fan can afford to be without.  This softcover, 488 page masterpiece contains, in the main, the finest and most accurate printings of these tales since they were first released back in the '60s.  Definitely no shoddy 'restoration' work that some first printings of the MASTERWORKS series suffered from.  An absolute bargain, and the book to have this Christmas.  But don't wait - buy it today.

ISBN #978-0-7851-5864-6

SUPERMAN BREAKS LOOSE...

Built and painted by Kid Robson

For no other reason than I'm extremely proud of it, I'd thought I'd share another photo of my AURORA SUPERMAN kit from 1974.  I assembled and painted it myself, hand-painting the 'S' emblems on the costume and cape, rather than using the adhesive labels supplied.  This second release of the famous hobby kit was issued without the nameplate of the original '64 version (as were all subsequent releases), but I added a spare one as I think the model looks better with it.

This kit has been released five times over the years, and I have them all, plus an unbuilt and boxed spare of the original version.  Here are the dates and companies involved:

1964 by Aurora. * 1974 by Aurora. * 1978 by Monogram. * 1984 by MPC. * 1999 by Revell.

As I said, only the 1964 kit included a nameplate (and had moulded 'S' emblems), and the '84 and '99 kits had a different head.

Perhaps MOEBIUS Models will re-release the original kit sometime soon.

DALEKS LOVE BOOTS...

Ever noticed something in a photo that you weren't aware of at the time it was taken?  Have a look at this picture snapped back in 1996 at my local BOOTS The CHEMISTS.  There I am, in all my rugged, manly handsomeness, next to a display for the new video (remember them?) release of the Dr. WHO television movie starring thespian PAUL McGANN.  But wait... isn't that a DALEK's head in the background, protruding upside down from the ceiling?  Like I said somewhere before, those Daleks get everywhere.