Attempted Bloggery: Marvel Comics

Showing posts with label Marvel Comics. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

My Copy—and Others—of The Super Hero's Journey by Patrick McDonnell

At the Princeton Children's Book Festival on October 7, Mutts comic strip artist Patrick McDonnell signed copies of his new Marvel Comics memoir The Super Hero's Journey (New York: Abrams Comic Arts, 2023).

https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/super-heros-journey_9781419769108/

Before adding a drawing to the book, he asked me for my favorite Marvel character. I replied truthfully, "The Sub-Mariner." What else could it be?

Three weeks later I attended an event at the Princeton Public Library where McDonnell was joined in conversation by Gil Roth, the podcaster behind the Virtual Memories Show. The subject, of course, was The Super Hero's Journey.

https://princetonlibrary.libnet.info/event/9228913

McDonnell announced that some four-hundred "Make Mine Marvel Arts" buttons with his own superhero art had been manufactured as a book promotion. Some were given away at the library event with the purchase of a book.

Here is a copy of The Superhero's Journey with a credible drawing of the Incredible Hulk.

And here's another copy with a drawing of the mischievous Loki from the Thor comic book:

Note: Gil Roth's earlier conversation with Patrick McDonnell on the subject of The Super Hero's Journey may be heard on the Virtual Memories Show episode #556 here.

Patrick McDonnell is very generous to his fans at signings and he clearly has a ball drawing all the characters in the Marvel Universe in his distinctive style. I will be happy to add many more personalized book drawings to this blog page if readers would care to send me photos or scans of their own treasured copies. There must already be hundreds out there.

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Tuesday, February 7, 2023

The CartoonStock Caption Contest #163

Hulk smash . . . the CartoonStock Caption Contest #163. Let's go over how this new monthly cash prize contest works: $5 buys up to three entries and no more. Real cash prizes are $500 for first place and $100 for each of five runners up. As of this writing, I've spent $40 over the first eight contests and I managed to win $200, making it my most successful investment of the past year. So here goes another $5. I've done well in part because so few people enter. My three new entries are shown below. The full-color drawing of the Hulk at home is by Christopher Weyant.

"Our home repair bills are up another 400 percent."
"He may be puny, but Bruce is better in bed."
"That Mrs. Von Doom snubbed me again. It would be a shame if her Bentley got smashed."

February 20, 2023 Update: The Winner

"I don't know why I even bother to talk politics with you."

—Christopher Weyant, original caption

In other news, not one of my captions was selected by any of the four judges:

Caption Contest Deliberations

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Sunday, November 10, 2019

Marie Severin: Not Brand Echh

Original art pencilled by Marie Severin from the Marvel comic book Not Brand Echh was exhibited in October 2018 at the Society of Illustrators. Marvel used to refer to its main rival as Brand Echh, hence the title Not Brand Echh for its collection of comic book superhero parodies. The art is from the collection of Zaddick Longenbach.

Marie Severin
Not Brand Echh #2, 1967
"Peter Pooper vs. Gnatman and Rotten"
Original splash page art
Collection of Zaddick Longenbach

The story is featured on the cover:

Marie Severin
Not Brand Echh #2, 1967
"Peter Pooper vs. Gnatman and Rotten"

https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/65344/not_brand_echh_1967_2

The eighth issue had Forbush-Man on the cover back when his name was still hyphenated:

Marie Severin
Not Brand Echh #8, 1968
"What Price Forbush-Man?"
Original cover art
Collection of Zaddick Longenbach

Marie Severin
Not Brand Echh #8, 1968
"What Price Forbush-Man?"

https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/65350/not_brand_echh_1967_8

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Saturday, February 16, 2013

The Night Gwen Stacy Died

In my early adolescence I had been eying The Amazing Spider-Man title at my friendly neighborhood newsstand for some months without buying. When issue 121 came out dated June 1973, it was clear from the cover that something momentous and irrevocable was going on. I clearly had to make the purchase this time.

John Romita, The Amazing Spider-Man #121, June 1973

http://www.spidervillain.com/SpiderManCovers/Amazing/ASM121/ASM121.htm

Thus began my acquaintance with Spider-Man, alter-ego to the tormented teen Peter Parker. Well, every teenage boy probably thinks he's tormented, but when you get to know Peter Parker, you realize your problems aren't so bad, although you might be willing to take his on if his girlfriend is a part of the deal. I met him at his darkest hour, at least since the death of his Uncle Ben.

Let's see. Industrialist Norman Osborn recovers once again from his amnesia and recalls that he is the Green Goblin, Spider-Man is his arch enemy, and that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. So Parker's girlfriend and first true love Gwen Stacy is kidnapped by the despicable super-villain. The resulting battle on the George Washington Bridge results in her sudden death as Spider-Man desperately tries to save her from a precipitous fall. I had just met these characters and I was devastated. Apparently I wasn't alone.

This issue broke the formula. If the superhero can't save the girl, why are we reading these stories? I can't really answer that one, but I did keep reading for a few years at least.

If this indeed marked the end of the Silver Age and the beginning of the Bronze Age of comic books, I was never told. These weren't terms used when I was reading comic books. They were just comic books then. The eras were defined after the fact. My father's comic books were all Golden Age, of course, but he sold them on the street for a few cents long before anyone thought they'd be worth anything. He had the first issue with Superman and the first Captain America too, dammit.

John Romita's original cover artwork to The Amazine Spider-Man #121 will be sold this coming week at Heritage in New York. As of this writing, the next bid will require a cool $200,000. Baby boomers still pining for the lovely Gwen Stacy will be frantically bidding for this one, but remember, lads, nothing can bring her back. Our sweet, lovely, blonde girlfriend is gone forever. Now if only we can find a tall, gorgeous redhead to take her place!