EVEN MORE LOOPY LAPSES In LOGIC DEPT - The MYSTERY Of The MISSING SKRULL...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS.  Art by JACK KIRBY

Remember FANTASTIC FOUR #2, where four SKRULLS impersonate the cosmic quartet in order to frame them for a series of crimes they didn't actually commit?  (There's more to it than that of course, but that's the READER'S DIGEST version.)  At the end of the story, three Skrulls transform into cows and REED RICHARDS hypnotises them so they can't change back.  The curiously missing fourth alien is dismissed by Reed with these words: "The fourth one is on his way to another galaxy now with the rest of his invasion fleet!"

Say what?  Now that just doesn't make any sense.  You see, the FF masquerade as the aliens (so they're disguised as disguised Skrulls), to throw the orbiting invasion fleet 'off the scent'.  Reed informs the Skrull leader that Earth's defences can never be defeated, then says the foursome (still pretending to be Skrulls disguised as themselves) will stay behind and remove all evidence of their presence on the planet.  Amazingly, the alien leader falls for their preposterous fable and awards them a medal.

This is a tale laden with illogical and error-ridden plot points.  First is the idea JOHNNY STORM comes up with to infiltrate the alien ranks (see here).  Then there's the fact that, descending back to Earth, the four are exposed to the cosmic rays that first gave them their powers, causing The THING to temporarily change back to human form.  However, they must have passed through them on their way up to the waiting Skrull armada, so why didn't it affect BEN GRIMM then?  Delayed reaction perhaps?  Then why just Ben and not the other three?

However, it's the missing Skrull which has always bothered me.  When Reed leaves the aliens tied up in their hideout, there are four of them.  When the FF return, there are only three - but Stretcho remains recklessly unconcerned.  If the Skrull's on his way back to his own galaxy with the rest of the invasion fleet, why isn't Reed worried that he'll alert the other Skrulls of the deception?  Something has clearly gone wrong here, and Stan fails to tie up the loose ends.  So exactly what happened?

Here's my theory.  Unless an encounter with the fourth Skrull on the FF's return was edited out for reasons of space (between pages 22 & 23), then the missing impostor died when he collided with the real HUMAN TORCH while both were aflame.  Concerned that the COMICS CODE wouldn't permit this, ol' Stan had a fourth Skrull added to the three tied-up ones in the panel where Reed decides on their next move.  However, in an editorial oversight, Stan neglected to include the subsequent pages when he had the earlier panel altered, and so therefore later attempted to explain the inconsistency by means of some expository dialogue.  (Though Stan's 'resolution' fails to satisfactorily explain the Skrull's mysterious disappearance.)

Well, that's one possibility as to what happened.  Can anybody come up with another explanation?  If so, let rip in the comments section and show us all how clever you are.

******

Meanwhile, take a look at the page below, from The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL #4 (cover-dated October 28th 1972), and see how the problem was 'fixed' a whole eleven years after the fact.  A Skrull has been added to panel 3 and the dialogue amended to remove any mention of the absentee alien.  (Just a shame they didn't position the speech balloons in panel 5 in the right order.)  In the last page's final panel (not shown), a cow has been added near the other three in the field, but is difficult to discern under a nearby tree.

The INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES Of JANUS STARK...

Copyright REBELLION

Let's now journey back to the Summer of 1970, when British comic fans would have first become aware of the SMASH! HOLIDAY SPECIAL on sale in newsagents.  In that year's bumper number, readers were spoiled by the Victorian escapologist JANUS STARK's strip, as it was drawn by J. G. QUIROS and not the regular artist SOLANO LOPEZ, who drew it for the weekly periodical.  As great as Lopez was, Quiros was undoubtedly better.  Just look at the terrific detail in the following pages - truly a master at work.  I believe he also drew for other British weekly comics such as TV21 and LOOK-IN, which is ironic, as the late ALAN FENNELL was editor on both comics in their early days.

However, that's enough waffle from me.  Time to let these truly astounding pages speak for themselves.

And for the completists amongst you, here's the cover to the magazine itself.  Time to get cracking on eBay, I'd suggest.  It's definitely one to have in your collection.

PART TEN Of COMIC COVERS 'SNAP'!

 

Copyright DC COMICS

 

Fifty-two years after having graced the cover of DETECTIVE COMICS #27, the design resurfaced in 1991 on yet another issue of the same title.  What could be more fitting?  What's more, BOB KANE had apparently copied elements for his version from other sources, so it wasn't even new back in 1939.  Neither was NORM BREYFOGLE the first or last artist to pay homage to the iconic image - it's been imitated several times to date, and not just on comics featuring The BATMAN.

 

SON Of LOOPY LAPSES In LOGIC DEPT...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS.  Cover art by JACK KIRBY

One of the drawbacks of the much-vaunted 'Marvel Method' was that, occasionally, the words didn't always match what was going on in the pics - or vice versa, if you prefer.  Writer STAN LEE usually tailored his script to the art, and on the odd instance when he diverged (for whatever reason), he would have a panel or page redrawn to fit the direction in which he wanted the story to go.  It has to be admitted though, that sometimes things didn't quite gel and that glaring inconsistencies managed to sneak past the proofreading process.  Such an example is the one below from The INCREDIBLE HULK #5 - take a look.

   

Okay, got that? According to RICK JONES (the inevitable teenage sidekick), TYRANNUS and BETTY have already passed through the opening which the boulder now blocks, this being the route by which the villain first reached the surface.  However, peruse the following panels and see if you can spot the 'loopy lapse in logic' which Stan, as both writer and editor, failed to see. 

It's obvious from the first panel that Tyrannus and Betty are still making their way up the mountain (from the other side, presumably), not descending into the bowels of the earth.  And, when The HULK and Rick return, the boulder has been moved.  However, if Tyrannus was already on the other side of it, who moved it and why?  The scene as dialogued just doesn't make sense.  It's clear that JACK KIRBY intended Bruce and Rick to detect tracks leading from the boulder, not to it; and while they made their way back to the lab, Tyrannus arrived and moved the rock, which is why it wasn't in place when ol' Greenskin and his teenage chum returned.

 Here's how certain dialogue and captions should read:

CAPTION:  A SHORT WHILE LATER...

Bruce:  IT DOESN'T SIT RIGHT WITH ME, RICK!  WHY

WOULD AN ARCHAEOLOGIST NEED A LOCAL GIRL TO

SHOW HIM THESE CAVES?  WE'D BETTER INVESTIGATE!

Rick:  AW, THIS IS FOR THE BIRDS, PAL!  WHO

WANTS TO LOOK AT SOME OLD CAVES?

Bruce:  ANOTHER THING - - WHY DIDN'T TYRANNUS

HAVE ANY ARCHAEOLOGICAL EQUIPMENT WITH HIM?

RICK - - LOOK AT THAT!

Rick:  TRACKS - - LEADING FROM

BEHIND THIS GIANT BOULDER!

Rick:  WE CAN'T BUDGE IT - - YET IT'S CLEARLY

BEEN MOVED RECENTLY!  BUT HOW?

(Etc., etc.)

Caption:  NOT LONG AFTER, AS TYRANNUS TAKES HIS

BEWILDERED PRISONER TO HIS SUB-SURFACE ESCAPE

CRAFT, THE MOST POWERFUL CREATURE OF ALL LEAPS

TOWARDS THE CAVE ENTRANCE... 

Obvious when you apply a little logic, isn't it?  Still a classic story though, and one of my all-time favourites.

For more Loopy Lapses in Logic, click here and here.

******

(In case there's anybody out there unfamiliar with the 'Marvel Method', this was when the writer would supply the penciller with a brief synopsis (or both of them would work out a basic plot), which the artist would then illustrate, perhaps adding some ideas of his own to 'flesh things out'.  Then the writer, usually following explanatory margin notes by the artist, would script the dialogue and captions, before sending the pages to be lettered and inked.)

PART TWO Of The MISSING LINK...

Copyright REBELLION

You know the old saying: "A picture is worth a thousand words."  Here are 16 pictures, you can do the maths yourself.  From 1967, part two of The MISSING LINK from the peerless pages of FANTASTIC, a weekly periodical published by ODHAMS PRESS as part of their POWER COMICS line.  British comics were good back then - if only they were as good now.

So savour the work of Spanish artist LUIS BERMEJO, one of the all-time greats.  If only the entire run were coloured-up and sold in a deluxe (but not too expensive) edition, I'm sure it would sell.  However, somebody better do it soon - while all those who remember this classic strip are still alive to appreciate it.

Want to see the next episode?  Cast your vote in the comments section.

For Part Three, click here.  For Part One, click here.

   

FANTASTIC COVER GALLERY - PART FOURTEEN...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Before your pulsating peepers lies six of the final ten front and back covers from FANTASTIC, a weekly comic published by ODHAMS PRESS back in the latter half of the '60s.  That means there are only four more examples to go before we bring down the curtain on this series for the last time.  On view here are issues 80-85, with 86-89 still to come in our final instalment, which will also include the covers to the Fantastic Summer Special and three Annuals.  So are you ready?  Okay, then let's go!

Be here for the final instalment of Fantastic Cover Gallery - coming soon.

The THING From The SWAMP - PART ONE...

Images copyright DC COMICS

As I roam the streets of Sheffield - oops, sorry - wrong blog.  As I patrol the local environs of my town clad in my homemade superhero costume, ready to right wrongs and dispense instant justice to neighbourhood miscreants, people often say to me:  "Why are you dressed like that, you feckin' psycho?"  To which I reply:  "Stop picking on me, or I'll tell my mum."  Thankfully, that only happens when my normal clothes are in the wash and it's too cold to go out in my pyjamas - and besides, there's a guy down the road who thinks he's Elvis, which just goes to show that there's always someone far worse off than yourself.  Now, where's my 'Smarties'?

Anyway, for this post, I thought you'd enjoy seeing some terrific covers by TOM YEATES from The SAGA Of The SWAMP THING.  Having been a regular reader of ol' Swampy's original comic back in the '70s, I was overjoyed to see him awarded his own magazine again in 1982.  It gave me the opportunity not only to catch up with an old friend, but also to get in on the ground floor of what became a highly collectable series.  The release of this title inspired me to eventually hunt down and re-obtain Dr. ALEC HOLLAND's previous 24 issue run of four-colour classics, which, I'm proud to say, I still have in my collection today.

However, it's the second series we're going to focus on for the moment, so - without further ado - here are the first six covers for you to drool over.

 

COMIC COVERS 'SNAP'! - PART NINE...

Copyright DC COMICS

The DEMON Of GOTHOS MANSION was a cracking tale (Gromit), with a cracking cover.  Does anybody else think, like me, that if BATMAN comics were still this good then more people might buy them?  I first read this DENNY O'NEIL, IRV NOVICK & DICK GIORDANO story in b&w when it was reprinted in the BATMAN From The '30s To The '70s volume, and I obtained the original comic quite a few years back.  Anyway, NEAL ADAMS' cover art is moody and mysterious, and actually a lot more effective than the 1939 BOB KANE one which inspired it.  Agree?  Disagree?  Feel like a pizza?  Let us all know in the comments section.

The MISSING LINK In COMICS...

Copyright REBELLION

Now that I've cleverly piqued your interest with a cunningly conceived title, I can deliver the knockout blow.  The MISSING LINK began as an INCREDIBLE HULK-KING KONG knock-off in "the comic with the mid-Atlantic accent" - FANTASTIC #1, way back in February 1967.  Written by ODHAMS' POWER COMICS editor ALF WALLACE (who later worked for MARVEL UK), it featured the superlative artwork of Spanish illustrator LUIS BERMEJO ROJO, usually credited simply as Luis Bermejo.

Within the space of a few weeks, the strip took a completely different direction, eventually being renamed JOHNNY FUTURE with issue #16.  Fondly remembered by readers of the time as one of the better-drawn adventure strips of the '60s, here, for your perusal, is the first episode in case you weren't around at the time.  And if you were, here it is again so that you can relive the happy memories of your childhood days.  Brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it?

Now tell me - who wants to see the next episode?

For more information on The Missing Link and Johnny Future, click here.   

And, below, is the cover of the comic in which ol' Linky made his debut.

PART EIGHT Of COMIC COVERS 'SNAP'!

Copyright DC COMICS

Okay, I'll admit the above cover isn't a dead ringer for the one below, but it's essentially the same design from a different angle.  However, I consider it an example of comic covers 'snap' because both comics feature the same tale and the same artist, NEAL ADAMS, drew each cover.  Much as I appreciate both illustrations however, I still feel they could be more dynamic.  I'd have loved to see a CURT SWAN or JACK KIRBY version - what about you, culture lovers?  Make your views known in the comments section. 

The GREATEST SUPERHERO Of ALL?

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

How could I forget?  And just how could I forget I'd forgotten?  If I hadn't seen the cover staring out at me in a previous post on this very blog, I wouldn't have remembered that I'd forgotten to remember I'd forgotten.  All clear?  Good.  (You know how I hate confusion.) 

Back on October 6th, 1976 (wow, thirty-six years ago), MARVEL's U.K. answer to CAPTAIN AMERICA went on sale in newsagents all across the country.  The accompanying scans come from the very copy I purchased from JOHN MENZIES in my local shopping centre on the way to work that morning all those years ago.

CAPTAIN BRITAIN was a first for Marvel U.K. - the debut of an all-new, specially created superhero, as opposed to the diet of reprints from across the pond we had hitherto enjoyed and responded to with rabid appreciation.  The strip was still produced in America (though writer CHRIS CLAREMONT and artist HERB TRIMPE had British connections), but set in England, and featured the kind of mockney-Cockney dialogue that our Yankee cousins imagine we all speak like.  (Think DICK VAN DYKE in MARY POPPINS and you've got the picture.)

Various hands have guided the LONDON LION in different and diverse directions since his first humble beginnings in '76, but despite basically being a SPIDEY knock-off, there was an unconvoluted innocence about CB's early tales which was refreshing.  But don't take my word for it.  Judge for yourself as BRIAN BRADDOCK's initial voyage of discovery now unfolds before you for your reading pleasure.  Ready?  Hold on to your hats and off we go!

Unfortunately, the budget didn't stretch to full-colour throughout the mag, so the FANTASTIC FOUR reprint had to settle for Letratone, though by now the printing standard was good enough to reproduce the grey hues without turning them into the muddy mess that had blighted many earlier weekly titles.  NICK FURY, AGENT Of S.H.I.E.L.D. brought up the rear of the comic, which had returned to colour for JIM STERANKO's classic tales of super-espionage.

So there you have it!  Britain's Brian Braddock battling the bombastic baddies of the brutal JOSHUA STRAGG - The REAVER - for the very first time in a classic tale from the vaults.  Now don't say I'm not good to you, 'cos it simply wouldn't be true.