Monthly Archives: March 2006

Stupid question

Posted on March 25, 2006 by Bob

Was Fin Fang Foom coloured orange or green in the first printing of his story in STRANGE TALES #89? I know he’s green on the cover, but can anyone confirm the interior?

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Showcase Presents The House of Mystery #1 [2006]

Posted on March 24, 2006 by Bob

First published in HOUSE OF MYSTERY #84 [1959], then reprinted in HOUSE OF MYSTERY #194 [1971], now the 8-page “The Negative Man” is reprinted in SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY #1, along with 538 other pages of comics from the first 21 issues of the series edited by Joe Orlando from 1968 to 1971.

In this story, two scientists build a miniature town to test their power transmission through radio waves device. A loose watch straps makes all the energy go through one of the men, creating a negative energy duplicate of him.

The negative being goes on a rampage, until the original scientist plans to sacrifice himself to destroy it. Fortunately for him, what he didn’t know was the secret of the negative being which made it afraid of him.

I really like what I’ve read of the Kirby stories from DC in this period, and it looks really sharp in this book (except for the enlarged gutters they would put in reprints back in the early 1970s). That first panel in the scan is just really evocative and does a great job of capturing movement on a comic page.

Great book overall, too, maybe my favourite book in DC’s new SHOWCASE PRESENTS line so far, thanks to the sheer variety of great artists from that era, with much better reproduction than the stories got the first time around.

Published 2006

Posted in Genre, Science Fiction | 3 Comments

My Own Romance #75 [1960] – Cover

Posted on March 23, 2006 by Bob

I think there was some rule that said Kirby had to do at least one artist/model themed romance cover for every publisher he did romance comics for. This is the one from Marvel, featuring a very leggy model making a play for the artist in the background, who seems to fill his studio with a lot of sexy women. What would Roz have thought if Kirby tried that?

MyOwnRomance75_691.jpg

Inked by Colletta.

Published 1960

Posted in Genre, Romance | 1 Comment

Thor #253 [1976] – Cover

Posted on March 22, 2006 by Bob

Another of Kirby’s many covers for various Marvel books in the mid-1970s, this one inked by John Verpoorten with some Romita credited as well. Ulik is a pretty cool villain from the 1960s, so it’s good to see him again, especially with those crazy eyes. And the good old “ominous shadow” layout is nice, especially with that texture on the rocky surface.

Thor253_690.jpg

Published 1976

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New Kirby – Marvel Visionaries Jack Kirby v2

Posted on March 22, 2006 by Bob

Shipping to comic stores this week is MARVEL VISIONARIES – JACK KIRBY v2, almost 350 pages of Kirby reprints, some never seen since their original publication. Contains selections from:

Captain America Comics #1; Marvel Mystery Comics #23; Yellow Claw #4; Strange Tales #89, 114; Two-Gun Kid #60; Love Romances #103; X-Men #9; Tales of Suspense #59; Sgt. Fury #13; Fantastic Four #57-60; Not Brand Echh #1; Thor #154-157; Devil Dinosaur #1.

My impression of the choice of contents was posted here.

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