Daily Archives: December 24, 2005

Strange Tales #130 [1965] – Cover

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This is one of my favourite of Kirby’s attempts to draw Doctor Strange. Still very Kirby, without question, but also using Ditko’s designs well. I love that look on Baron Mordo’s face. And of course the added bonus of the funnier half of the FF in Beatle wigs, well, there’s a book worth 12 cents just for the cover. Some fine Chic Stone inking on this one.

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Published 1965

Battle For a Three-Dimensional World #1 [1982]

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This was, of course, the first, and presumably last, 3-D Cosmic Book.

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An interesting curiosity is probably the most generous description of this comic. The story (by Ray Zone) involves an attempt by the evil Circe of planet 2D attempting to alter history so that humanity never discovers depth perception or something, and our hero Stereon being sent to stop her. Along the way we learn about the history of 3-D technology, including several movie stills and the like. Like I said, odd, but I did like the the concept of a Cyclops as the natural enemy of a 3-D hero.

Mike Thibodeaux inks the Kirby art in this issue, a 15 page uncoloured 3-D story, front cover (colour, non-3-D), backcover (colour, 3-D) and inside front cover pin-up of Vedeora (black and white, non 3-D). Apparently it came with a set of 3-D glasses that (infamously) mentioned Kirby as “King of the Comics” and had some art, but every copy I’ve ever seen with glasses had a generic pair (I used to see it in quarter bins all the time, and must have bought and given away six or seven copies).

Published 1982