Doug Says: "Check out some of my Stuff!" Part 1

Periodically I'm going to discuss bits and pieces of my collection. Chances are, some of you readers have similar artifacts, if not the very same mementos of your childhood. A few years ago my wife and I decided to finish our basement for our teenagers and their friends. As part of the renovation, I lobbied for and was awarded my very own Sanctum Sanctorum! The pictures below are snapshots of my collection, and I'll show more in the coming weeks and months.

MEGOS -- They weren't called The World's Greatest Super-Heroes for nothing!!


I loved Megos!! I was fortunate enough to receive as a Christmas present the very first Mego Batman, complete with removable cowl! And beneath said mask was a pretty generic-looking Bruce Wayne, but who cared?! What a cool action figure. I never did acquire the Superman, but as you can see, I did have quite a few other characters, both Marvel and DC. My sister owned Wonder Woman, but I have no idea what ever became of her (WW, not my sister -- I know where she is!). Also not pictured, primarily because I don't know what ever became of them, are the Penguin, Mr. Mxyzptlk, and Tarzan figures. I never cared for Tarzan's skin-toned body suit underneath the leopard skin. Also, that skin was over-the shoulder -- Johnny Weismuller wouldn't have been caught dead in it! I guess the quality control or people or censors thought that by the time Conan was produced they didn't need the cover-up. By the way, I clearly recall finding the Tarzan figure in my Easter basket when I was 9.


Funny story -- those of you who remember Megos will recall that they were initially held together by thin pieces of elastic. Elastic isn't too strong, and of course repeated use (in a rough, super-villain crunching manner, of course) will weaken it quickly. Of my initial collection of 8-10 Megos, almost all of them "exploded" -- and again, if you had any in this style, you know what I'm talking about. When that elastic broke, blamm-o -- arms and legs all over the place! About the time the last one broke, my mom had had enough. She got an empty shoebox, threw all of the pieces, costumes, and accessories in it and wrote a "can't you do a better job with the durability?" letter to the powers-that-be at Mego. That was that. UNTIL, about a month later I got a huge box in the mail. I had no idea what it could be. But opening it was like Christmas in July, baby!! There, inside, were brand-spanking new carded (the originals had come in a window box) figures of all the ones my mom had sent in!! Wow!! I was eternally grateful, and really thought Mego was a great company for having not only improved their technology with thick rubber bands, but standing behind their initial product.

A couple of random comments: My Captain America shield is long gone. No idea where it went to. I had a friend who had the Mr. Fantastic figure. We used to put his costume on the Aquaman figure and use him as our Johnny Storm -- I mean, seriously -- why is every action figure of Johnny in "flame on!" mode? I had a friend who showed me a neat trick with the Hulk's pants -- of course they came all clean and almost pressed. The tattering at the bottoms was pretty stiff and straight. But, by dunking the Hulk's legs into water and then letting the pants dry, they would shrink, wrinkle, and the bottoms would really look a mess. Much more authentic, we thought (as 8-year olds!).

Buttons -- Now where the heck did I get these??


I have no idea how I acquired the buttons you see. The "Ron Riley's Batman Club" button was a tie-in to the hit television show that aired in the late 1960's. Ron Riley was a DJ on Chicago's "Big 89", WLS radio. You can read more about the history of that radio station, as well as see a membership card that accompanied the button, at this link:

http://www.wlshistory.com/WLS60/

The "Send Batman to Vietnam" button is in pretty good shape, and would again date to the late '60's. I have seen buttons with the same saying but without the Bat Signal on online auctions for prices ranging anywhere from $35-85. Not sure how much mine is worth...

The Superman button also dates from 1966. You can see a better image of it and get a little background here:

http://superman.avantecmedia.com/pins_club1966.html

Next time we'll discuss Marvel's calendars of the late 1970's, as well as take a foray into the world of Secret Wars action figures and maybe even Slurpee Cups!

Weird Wednesdays: The Dover Demon

Although it’s been over 30 years since I first heard about it, I still hate the Dover Demon. I’m sure most people have no idea what I’m talking about – and good for them. The story is trivial, meaningless, and without any verification whatsoever. But it was a story that struck right at my core, particularly since I had an older brother who took no small joy in scaring me.

The time would have been late spring, perhaps June, since I believe I was out of school already. The year was 1977, and I was 12 years old. I do recall that it was a pleasant night in my central California town, and my brother, Steve, who was 18, myself, and two of his friends had decided to take a walk about half a mile or so to our nearest 7-Eleven, where we might grab a Slurpee or maybe some other treat. It was a clear, warm night and many stars were visible. In other words, it was a pretty nice evening to take a walk. Unless you have a sadistic older brother, that is.

As we wound our way down the streets of our neighborhood, Steve began to discuss a story we’d heard recently on the news. Here I am indebted to Loren Coleman’s wonderful book, Mysterious America, for the particulars of the case, as I was unable to recall them. Four kids in Dover, Massachusetts had reported seeing a strange creature over the course of a 25 hour period on April 21-22, 1977. Witnesses described it as a small, 3-4 foot tall, spindly humanoid, with light, peach-colored skin, and long toes and fingers. The most disturbing detail was its head: it was unusually large, shaped like a watermelon, and had no features except for two large glassy eyes. The kids saw it in different locations in their small town, all at night. One witness, John Baxter (whose drawing is shown above, from Coleman's book) saw it climb over rocks in a gully, with its feet “molded” over the stones.

As we walked along, talking about this weird thing, we approached a large brick wall. There were no street lights in the immediate area and it was fairly dark. My brother said, “What if we saw that thing right now? What if it was climbing up over that wall?” I told him to shut up, which of course only goaded him on. “What if it was crawling along the wall, staring at us with those big, glowing eyes?” That was it – I was completely freaked out. The hairs on the back of my neck were at full attention. But Steve kept it up. I wanted to run back home, but we were too far and I was too scared to do it alone now. I had no choice but to keep going with them, nervously looking over my shoulder.

We finally made it to the 7-Eleven, and I was able to calm down. Nothing like a cherry-cola Slurpee for a case of nerves! The only problem was, we now had to walk back past that wall again!

As we walked towards the wall, things were quiet. Probably the only sound was our footsteps, and me drinking my Slurpee. Suddenly my brother yelled, “What’s that?” I just about choked! I looked around frantically only to see Steve laughing at my reaction. I wanted to kill him, but even more, I wanted to get home!

As far as I know, the Dover Demon has never re-appeared - except in my imagination, whenever I am out for a walk at night. Damn you Steve.

Karen

5 Films to Love

I'd like to start a revolving series of posts where Karen and I shoot your way our opinions of multi-media pop culture. Today I'll start with five movies I really, really like -- they won't necessarily be my "top 5 of all time" or anything like that. But these are movies I'll stop and watch when I see them on the telly, or even fire up the DVD player with them on occasion. So, in no particular order...

1. Planet of the Apes, 1968.

I've previously discussed not only this film, but the entire franchise (though not in exhaustive detail -- you can see my musings here: http://bronzeagebabies.blogspot.com/2009/06/get-your-hands-off-me-you-damned-dirty.html). As I commented at the end of the aforementioned post, I caught a few of these films last weekend on the Fox Movie Channel; I also spied the Tim Burton remake on FX just last evening. I started to watch it, and while there is much to love about it (time has been kind in regard to special effects, make-up, etc.), the general story and execution just doesn't do it for me. I think, although grossly different from Pierre Boulle's novel, that the folks at 20th Century Fox created a classic, a masterpiece, back in '68. Heston's melodramatics, Roddy McDowell's coolness, and the emotional acting of Kim Hunter really carry the story -- a morality play in a time when apocalypse in one form or another was (or maybe should have been) on the movie-going public's minds. As I said earlier, Planet of the Apes had a tremendous sense of adventure and even scariness for me as a child that is still there, but to which has been added a sense of appreciation for the larger stereotypes, social mores, and general ecological warnings that have jumped to meet my adult mind.

2. Logan's Run, 1976.

I think I first saw this on network television in the late '70's, although it could have been a bit earlier on HBO. I've only seen the film all the way through once, but have often caught bits and pieces on the various cable movie channels. What I remember is that sense of futuristic wonder at the cityscape and the terror of the premise that everyone had to die at the age of 30. When I first saw the movie, that didn't seem so bad; at the ripe old age of 43, however...

I recall that Michael York as Logan-5 was just studly enough to carry his part, and his range of emotions was strong. Jenny Agutter was of course beautiful as the VERY scantily-clad Jessica-6, as was Farrah Fawcett (lord, how I loved Charlie's Angels!!) as Holly. The scenes in Washington DC evoked the ending of Planet of the Apes, and further cemented in my mind that we all could be going to hell sooner than later.

3. Jaws, 1975

Wow. I don't even care to swim all that much and this movie scared me to death. Perhaps my lasting memory of the movie comes from a trip to Florida when I was 12; trust me, I didn't venture too far out into the ocean! As the film was huge that summer of '75, the various companies that bring book orders into the schools filled it up with books about sharks, shark attacks, ocean adventures, etc. I bought a book called Sharks: Attacks on Man. I read it until the pages came out. I recall that there were some photos in that book, mostly of chewed-up surfboards and people with mouth-shaped stitches on their sides and appendages -- ugh...

Steven Spielberg just did a fantastic job with this film. The characterization is wonderful, and the suspense created by the score is virtually without peer. Think how long it is until you see the shark -- but you know, you just know that it is a beast to be reckoned with. Spielberg got more out of a few notes on a piano... The film also has its memorable one-liners, and my favorite is Martin Brody's subtle announcement that, "You're gonna need a bigger boat."

4. The Empire Strikes Back, 1980.

A few weeks ago Karen wrote of her love of Star Trek. For whatever reason, and I don't have a good excuse to offer, I never got into Star Trek. I can't figure out why -- it was syndicated on television when I was a kid, and while I loved reruns of Batman, Wild Wild West, and the various Japanese imports like Ultra Man and Space Giants, I never watched too much Star Trek. However, when Star Wars Episode Four: A New Hope came out I was hooked!!

The Empire Strikes Back is my favorite in the 6-film Star Wars franchise. From the opening scene with the AT-AT Walkers to the ending scenes on the Cloud City, the film is just a whirlwind of amazing sets, new machines and characters, and growing characterization. George Lucas really made the Star Wars Universe with this film. He showed that his story was an incredibly dense tale that really did occupy a galaxy far, far away. The film ended with a feeling of darkness that left this young viewer yearning for the next installment. Three years would be a long time to wait!

Just as a last note -- I am one who really didn't care for the additional footage that Lucas added to his first trilogy of films when they first were pressed onto DVDs. I felt in some way that it was unfair to those who'd seen the movies at the theater, and although they were released theatrically in their updated versions, it still just smacked of money-grubbing. They should have left it alone -- it certainly wasn't broke!

5. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is one of the "funnest" films I've ever seen! The chemistry between Paul Newman and Robert Redford is out of sight -- the banter, the physical acting, their facial expressions are just perfect. I know I've heard, as you perhaps have as well, that other actors at one time considered included Steve McQueen and Jack Lemmon. I think they made the right choices.

I think my favorite scene in the film is the battle to see who will become leader of the Hole in the Wall Gang -- just classic Newman! Of course the last scene is great, too -- that on-screen chemistry lasted 'til the end.

So that's five for now -- and I haven't even gotten to Rollerball, Animal House, or Caddyshack!

Weird Wednesdays: "In Search Of"

Welcome to a regular feature of Bronze Age Babies: Weird Wednesdays, where we look back fondly on books, TV shows, films, and reportedly real incidents connected with the paranormal. Growing up in the 1970s, I was acutely aware of a whole lot of weirdness out there: it seemed like we got reports of UFO sightings almost weekly, and in my home state of California, sightings of the mysterious Bigfoot were also frequent. Supposed psychics like Uri Geller were making appearances on all the talk shows of the day, and books like “Chariots of the Gods” brought pseudo-scientific theories to mass audiences. Television capitalized on the publics' interest with many shows that featured paranormal subject matter.

One of the most interesting TV shows to deal with the paranormal was “In Search Of”, a documentary series hosted by Leonard Nimoy (yes, Star Trek's Mr. Spock). The series premiered in 1976 and covered a wide variety of subjects: UFOs, witchcraft, lost civilizations, Bigfoot – you name it, there was an episode about it! With Nimoy as our guide, we viewers were whisked off into an unseen and sometimes frightening world. What made it all the more terrifying was the creepy music played on the show! This was not a show to be watched when one was alone in the house!

In general, the subject matter was handled in a serious manner. Eyewitnesses and experts were interviewed for each episode. The show sometimes used “recreations” of incidents, which often added some punch, and frequently left this young viewer having trouble falling asleep at night!

This show was one of my first introductions to the wacky world of the paranormal. The variety of topics covered had me going back to the library week after week, trying to dig up any information I could on things like Atlantis, Jack the Ripper, or Easter Island. “In Search Of” managed to both entertain and encourage further thought. Plus, it was flat out scary! For a preteen, it was a pretty good way to start my Saturday night – with the Love Boat and Fantasy Island to follow!

Unfortunately, the show is not currently available on DVD. To get your ISO fix, you’ll have to head over to YouTube.

The Comics Code Authority: Revised to Relax, part 2

Amazing Spider-Man #125, October 1973
“Wolfhunt!”
Gerry Conway/Ross Andru & John Romita/Tony Mortellaro

Doug: We’re back with the conclusion of our first foray into Marvel’s post-Comics Code Authority monster mash! In this entry we’re closing out the two-parter that introduced the malevolent Man-Wolf, really John Jameson – son of that perpetual Spidey pain-in-the-butt J. Jonah Jameson!

Doug: Last time I didn’t mention that I had the Power Records Book and Record Set (“It’s Fun to Read as You Hear!”) for this story. I was saving for this go-‘round because I remembered that it contained the origin of the Man-Wolf; however, when I went down to the ol’ Sanctum Sanctorum to pull it off the shelf, lo and behold it sported the cover from ASM 124! What the heck?? Upon reexamination, I remembered how watered down these books were! The comic that comes with the 45 rpm platter is only 20 pages in length – hence, they’ve condensed two issues into one. What’s gone, you ask? Why, only the splash pages with the creator credits, all mention of the deaths of Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn, any scenes that delved into characterization of the cast, most of the physical violence, and just about anything else that would have rated this tome above what a youngster might have found on The Electric Company! Hey, wait! Since this was advertised as a reader – the back cover has a text box that includes, “It’s been especially designed so that you can read the story and follow the record word for word. This is a real learning aid and creates a desire to read as it entertains… The action comes alive as you read!!” – perhaps tying it in with Spidey Super-Stories or the Electric Company was the goal. Makes sense temporally.

Doug: In the actual comic, the splash page just leaps at the reader. Penciling chores have shifted to one Ross Andru, my Spider-Man artist. Yes, he was the regular when I started buying my own books. I always felt like Andru was the “happy medium” between John Romita and Gil Kane. Andru’s style was somewhat quirky like Kane, elongated, wiry… but without some of the Kane annoyances like the nose up-shots and the rigormortis-like fingers. Following is a link to Ross Andru’s Spider-Man work; you can see that he was the Spidey artist for the better part of five straight years! http://www.spiderfan.org/credits/ross_andru.htmlts/ross_andru.html

Doug: Inks are shared by John Romita and Tony Mortellaro. Romita’s influence is felt even more so than in the previous issue, especially on Mary Jane’s face. I don’t know that anyone draws prettier girls than Romita, Sr. Nick Cardy maybe…

Karen: I have to say, that Romita exerts a strong influence on the art here – if I was shown that splash page without the credits, I would have assumed Romita was the penciller. Later in the book, I can see more of Andru’s work in the way the figures are posed, but Romita’s style is still quite evident.

Doug: The cover of this story recalls (again) the recent death of Gwen as Peter cries out while attempting to save a young lady from the clutches of the Man-Wolf, “No! NO!! I won’t let you die – not like Gwen --! Not like Gwennnn!” However, although Peter’s continued grieving is a major subplot within, he doesn’t utter that particular line in the scene the cover references. Wait a second! Did I just say that the cover referenced a scene within the book?? Wow – must be the Bronze Age!!

Karen: I used to be able to remember just about every comic I owned based on the cover – they were always distinctive and served as a preview to the story within. The last few years, I haven’t been able to recall a single cover – sometimes I go to the comic store and can’t recall if I have bought a particular issue or not – because the covers are all so similar.

Doug: I thought the origin of the Man-Wolf was pretty formulaic, as were the scenes showing his first nights “on the prowl”. Again, as I said last time, any “wolf violence” is for the most part implied. There is no blood at all, although Conway does write when the Man-Wolf attacks a back alley junkie, “But, before the Man-Wolf can complete his attack in the manner of the beast he’s become…” That’s about as bloody as it gets.

Karen: It’s similar to how the Hulk was treated when he went on a rampage: somehow, no one was ever hurt! Stan just didn’t want any real violence in the books. Although in the case of the Hulk, he was clearly viewed as a hero. Man-Wolf here seems more like a helpless victim than anything else.

Karen: Speaking of ‘bloodless’, how about the supposedly terrible cut the Man-Wolf inflicted on Spidey? Peter goes on about it and how he might become “anemic”, but again, there’s no blood shown.

Karen: Considering how modern books have no thought balloons, it’s almost funny to see Spidey thinking about Gwen while he’s fighting the Man-Wolf! Really these two issues were probably more important for the way Peter was dealing with the deaths of Gwen and the Goblin than for his fights with the Man-Wolf. Peter really got no sympathy or support from his buddies. Conway’s portrayal of Mary Jane is probably more in line with the way she had been characterized up to that point – sort of flippant and superficial. Even so, she and Flash Thompson are not nearly as understanding towards Peter and Harry as you would expect such close friends to be.

Doug: JJJ is again portrayed as you’d expect him to be – all bluster, somewhat cold, on Spidey’s tail like no other. He does have a few scenes where he’s somewhat sensitive, but those seemed almost out-of-character. I didn’t feel like Conway convinced me that Jonah was really all that concerned for his son’s well-being. And actually, Spider-Man picks up on that and there is a great dialogue between he and Jonah after the climax of the story.

Karen: The way I read it, Jameson cares, but only to a point. His reputation and his paper will probably always come before anything else, including his son. After reading this issue, it sure feels like Peter’s life was filled with a lot of unpleasant people!

Doug: Overall, I had a very good time returning to this tale. Conway’s scripts were not fantastic, but they were solid. I was in familiar territory with characters I love. Classic characters untainted by all of the junk that’s gone on in the Spider-verse over the past 15 years. In that regard, this was like coming home. And while the Man-Wolf has certainly proven to be a forgettable Spidey villain – John Jameson has appeared in many more comics in human form than he has in wolf form – it was interesting to question just what the big deal had been through all the years when werewolves were not allowed.

Karen: It was a fun story, but I realized that there is no real explanation given for why Jameson was turned into the Man-Wolf. He finds this strange rock on the moon, somehow manages to get it away from NASA, and for some reason it turns him into a werewolf! Now that’s pretty weak no matter how you cut it. It wouldn’t be til many years later that the story behind the moon rock was written, in Creatures on the Loose and Marvel Premiere. But whatever the origin, Marvel had its second wolfman, which is what Stan wanted!

Moments Frozen in Time

A few weeks ago I was discussing the passing of Michael Jackson with the incoming freshmen I was teaching in my summer school world history class. I told them that at the age of 14, it was an event they might later mark their lives by -- where they were and what they were doing when they heard the word of the King of Pop's untimely passing.

Folks a little bit older than me often remark that they can recall exactly where they were on the day they heard that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas, Texas. While that was a few years before my time, there are several events (some a bit more serious than others) from which I can mark time in my life. I'd like to discuss a few from my childhood, and I'd invite you to leave a comment for those moments in your life that remain vivid in your memory.

As a kid, my sister and I spent a few summers with our aunt and uncle and family in the Chicago suburbs. My aunt was a stay-at-home mom, so she had the time (and resources) to take us and my cousin on excursions. What I also found to be very cool was the 7-11 that was a block down the street from their house -- a store to which I was able to walk by myself at the ripe old age of 9. I recall my aunt giving me money that I used to purchase Amazing Spider-Man #150 at that store in August of 1975, but the next comic she bought me was even cooler! Not too far from their home in St. Charles was an indoor amusement park that had just opened in Bolingbrook. The park was known as Old Chicago -- you can read more about it at http://www.defunctparks.com/parks/IL/oldchicago/oldchicago.htm.

She took the three of us there one day and we just had a blast! I'd been to several carnivals before, but had never been on a rollercoaster. After, we went outside the amusement area to the old-fashioned shopping center to enjoy some ice cream. As there was a store with a comic spinner rack visible through the window, she shelled out another quarter so I could buy Daredevil #127! Funny how I can envision that like it was yesterday!

You may recall the days before there were such things as comic shops and Internet sales -- that's right, chasing all over God's creation for that elusive new release. In April 1977, Avengers #161 was such a book for me. I went to two Osco Drug Stores, a couple of other pharmacies that I knew sold comics -- everywhere I could think of. I got desperate, so I opened up the Yellow Pages to see if there were any hobby shops or other places I might have overlooked. I came across a book store named "Mickey's Books and Novelties". Now as far as my youthful mind knew, a "novelty" was another way of saying "that cheap crap you get in a goodie bag at some other kid's birthday party". So I asked my mom to drive me across town, because when I had called, Mickey told me that he indeed sold comics.


When we got there, mom dropped me off in front and pulled around to the side. I faced down the sign on the front door that said "No one under 18 admitted" and went on in. This was serious business and I was not to be denied. Sure enough, through the thick smoke and incense, I spied the awesome George Perez cover you see above and snatched it from the spinner rack. Took it to the counter and paid for it and left without incident. Now, and the store is still in the same location, were I to re-enter today with a bit more of a "worldly mind/awareness", I'm sure I would have noticed that there was certainly a reason no chubby-cheeked 11-year old with a paunch and bushy hair was supposed to be in that store. But I honestly didn't notice anything other than the new treasure I left with.

The first really significant death I recall happened on August 16, 1977 when the King of Rock 'n' Roll died at his Graceland mansion. I had been certainly aware of Elvis' music and even at the age of 12 I appreciated him as a pop culture icon. I vividly remember being in the side room on the main floor of my aunt's house when the news came across the small black and white television I'd been watching. I was stunned, as I'm sure most were when they got word.

The last several events take me to high school and beyond, and are certainly, like the passing of Elvis Presley, a little more serious than the day I got this-or-that comic book.

As a high school freshman, I'd become very interested in popular music -- all kinds. From the just-fading disco movement to soft rock like the Carpenters to hard rock to what was probably just then becoming known as "classic rock" -- I liked it all. So it was with outright shock that, as I readied myself for bed at approximately 9:45 pm on a Monday night (December 8, 1980), Howard Cosell gave the following news flash just before halftime of a game between the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins -- you can see and hear it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gcdz1IRVoM. John Lennon's death was a shock, and a moment I will never forget.

Later that spring of my freshman year, on March 30, 1981 actually, I had just arrived home from morning track practice (it was spring break) when I flipped on the television to see ABC News anchor Frank Reynolds give the following report, available here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5323392634516821396&ei=xnBiSpyYBpiQqQKKpoSxCQ&q=%22Frank+Reynolds%22+%2B+%22Reagan+shooting%22&hl=en. As I said, the Kennedy assassination was before my time. This was very real, and very frightening to me. I wasn't much into politics at this time, so to me Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States of America -- and you don't mess with the United States. I watched the coverage the remainder of the day.

I was a sophomore in college on January 28, 1986 when a friend told me in the student union of Burgess Hall shortly after my 8:00 am class was over that the space shuttle Challenger had blown up after take-off earlier that morning. This was as shocking to me as the Reagan shooting had been those years earlier. The image seems as fresh today as it did 23 years ago. Each time there is discussion of problems with the shuttle, delayed launches, etc., my mind goes back to that day all those years ago.

I think the last event I'll comment on is burned in the minds of almost all Americans who are older than about the age of 12. It was Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I was teaching my 1st hour class when I walked over to my computer to enter the attendance. There was an e-mail that had just popped up from a friend of mine who taught science in the room below me. It simply said, "Turn on the tv!!" I walked the few steps and did so. The news of the plane hitting the first tower of the World Trade Center was all over. As we watched, transfixed, we saw the second plane hit live. Words cannot express the feeling I had in my gut. Words also cannot express my reaction when some of my students made light of the situation -- to a few, this was like a video game. I assured them in no uncertain terms that it was not. America was under attack. We were instructed over the PA by our principal to leave the televisions on the rest of the morning so that we could be informed; as we live relatively close to Chicago, there was concern that this plague of violence could spread to our part of the country. Of course it did not, but there was alarm then nonetheless. I will never forget that day.

The Comics Code Authority: Revised to Relax

Amazing Spider-Man #124, September 1973

“The Mark of the Man-Wolf!”

Gerry Conway/Gil Kane & John Romita

Doug: Welcome to our initial installment of an on-going series on post-Code comics. Periodically in the coming weeks and months we’re going to discuss Marvel’s venture into previously forbidden territory: werewolves, zombies, vampires, demons – you name it. If it was too violent or too occult, then it was too much for the Seduction of the Innocent-inspired Comics Code Authority!

Karen: I’m sure everyone knows that the Code was established in 1954, in part in response to the EC Comics of the day, which often featured gruesome stories of the macabre. The Code was very restrictive, and outlawed the depiction of zombies, vampires, werewolves, and so forth. It was not until the Code was revised in 1971 that monsters were again free to prowl the comic racks! At least, vampires and werewolves were; for some reason, zombies were still off-limits (although Marvel got around this by calling them zuvembies!).

Karen: So Marvel decided to jump on the monster bandwagon. Many new monster characters began appearing in the 70s, including the subject of this review, the Man-Wolf. In an interview in Comic Book Artist #13, then-Marvel editor Roy Thomas describes the birth of the Man-Wolf:

“Stan just wanted a character called Man-Wolf. It was that whole Marvel-flooding-the-market- thing! If you’ve got Dracula, you can have Morbius. If you’ve got Werewolf, you can have Man-Wolf. We didn’t have a concept for Man-Wolf, and Gerry (Conway) and John Romita were trying to come up with something. My only contribution was to say, ‘Hey, make it J. Jonah Jameson’s son! He was an astronaut, and he went up in space, and he found a moon rock, and it turns him into a wolf!’ Just like Morbius was a science-fictional vampire, we could make Man-Wolf a science fiction werewolf.”

Doug: As any true Marvelite will know, Amazing Spider-Man #124 comes only two months after the fateful events that concluded in ASM #122 – the deaths of Peter Parker’s long-time love Gwen Stacy and his most dangerous enemy the Green Goblin. In fact, Spidey thinks to himself (and to clue us in) that it’s only been 10 days since those deaths.

Karen: It’s interesting to me how Peter is shown as trying to get past the death of his girlfriend – at one point he thinks, “All I want to do is forget---start my life over again.” I think Conway hit this right on the nose, as I’ve seen this sort of thing in a number of male friends and family who have lost someone. For some, there’s a desire to avoid dealing with the pain and to just begin anew.

Doug: Do you think, though, that when Conway tells us that it’s only been 10 days that there is a slight reconciliation of time problem for the reader – after all, for him/her it had been 60 days! Ah, the old discussion of Marvel-time vs. real-time…

Doug: Conway is at the top of his game in this story. You know, every time I read a Bronze Age-era story, I’m just overcome with joy at the characterization, the amount of words per page, and the use of narration boxes and thought balloons to move the story along. Conway, of course, currently works as a screenwriter and one can see how he cut his teeth back in the day in the storyboard-like genre of comic books. He nails J. Jonah Jameson and Robbie Robertson – their verbal sparring is spot on given the way Stan Lee used to write them. Conway also gives us a great deal of emotion in Peter, fully displaying his anguish and insecurity over the events of the past two weeks.

Karen: I know what you mean Doug; you actually have to spend 20 minutes or more reading these old books! When I read a new comic, it’s usually done in 5 minutes! Personally, I like the thought balloons and captions; it gives us a way of seeing in the characters’ heads that’s not afforded by current methods – which apparently are driven by the idea that comics should be like movies, which is ludicrous; they’re two distinctly different art forms.

Doug: The art in this story is by Gil Kane with embellishment by John Romita. This is a nice combination – I’ve often felt that while JR’s Spidey is the quintessential look for the character, Kane brought back a little bit of Ditko-esque presentation to the book. Kane tends to be longer, sinewy, wiry. Romita, while his pencils were graceful, didn’t have quite the same pell-mell look to Spidey that Ditko had begun. Where Romita really adds to Kane’s linework is in cleaning up the faces and giving them a consistent look with which we’d grown familiar.

Karen: Kane was the artist on the title when I began reading it. But I was aware of Romita because of Marvel Tales, and I’ve always thought of Romita when I think of Spidey. That being said, I like Kane’s depiction of Spidey for the same qualities you mention: the leaner look is appealing. I enjoyed Romita’s inks because it also meant I didn’t have to look up everyone’s nose! I never understood Kane’s obsession with that…

Doug: Gil Kane’s noses – no doubt!! Noses were the main thing that put me off toward Kane when I was a kid. As an adult, I’ve really come to appreciate his work (particularly his Silver Age Green Lantern and Atom for DC).

Doug: The basics of the story are this: We are reintroduced to J. Jonah Jameson’s son John. To the best of my knowledge, John was last seen in ASM #42 (which is also the first appearance of Mary Jane Watson), and hadn’t been seen since. John is an astronaut, reportedly the last man to walk on the moon. Jonah is justifiably proud of John, and even more so when introduced to John’s fiancée. But John holds a secret, contained in the necklace he wears. A side observation here, yet pertinent to the story: in his original appearance, John was a redhead but in this book his hair is some shade of gray. But think about it – have you ever seen a red werewolf? Anyway, John does indeed turn into a werewolf, and of course ends up in pitched battle with Spider-Man. We are left with an approaching sequel to that battle as our last-panel cliffhanger.

Karen: I always liked the look of Man-Wolf. I suspect that he was gray so as not to be confused with Marvel’s other lupine hero, Werewolf by Night! Manny also had a more bestial look to me – more of a snout than WBN. But you’re right; Jameson had reddish hair in his previous appearances. He also re-appeared in ASM a few times after ish 42. In issues 55-58 he was the security chief for a special project (“The Nullifier Weapon”!) and even met Robbie Robertson then, something that obviously neither Gerry nor Roy remembered! He showed up for a few panels in issues 71 and 88 as well.

Karen: It occurs to me that Manny is one of the few gray-colored characters to stay that color. Of course the Hulk started as Grayskin and became Greenskin, and the Beast, who had mutated into his furry form just a year before this comic came out, was also originally gray, but quickly became blue – because there are so many blue-furred animals in nature!

Doug: You are a reference goddess, Karen! As you can see, my laziness has arisen to bite me on the behind. So, with minimal effort I will provide a link to the Marvel Wikia, which will give the curious observer not just the above-stated young JJ appearances, but all of his appearances on Earth-616: http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Category:John_Jameson_(Earth-616)/Appearances

Karen: A nice aspect of this story is that it gives us a chance to see Jonah as something other than just a comedic foil for Spidey. Every once in awhile, Stan would show us that there was more to J.J.J. than all his bluster, and Conway does it here too. His feelings towards his son illustrate that he was more than a one-dimensional character.

Doug: Back to the Code for a second – I have to ask, after reading this story: What was so bad about the werewolf angle? There wasn’t any blood, there wasn’t really a graphic use of Man-Wolf’s claws – really nothing that would scare or alarm a reader outside of normal (whatever that is!) super-baddie behavior!

Karen: I think the Code had really been devised for the more gruesome comics of the 50s; under Stan, Marvel books always had action, but very little real violence. In this story, Man-Wolf is no more violent than any other Spidey villain. I don’t think that was necessarily the case with the stuff EC had put out, although I doubt it would have turned kids into psychopaths. I think Werewolf by Night was a little more graphic, with the Werewolf actually attacking people, but again, at least in the color books, the violence was minimal. It was just the way Stan wanted to do things, to keep the comics mild enough for kids.

Karen: Next time we’ll look at the exciting conclusion to our tale!

Get Your Stinking Paws Off Me, You Damned Dirty Ape!!

Words cannot express my wide-eyed wonder when, as a mere waif of seven years, I watched my first Planet of the Apes movie. My family had recently relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and while I was most disappointed to leave behind my beloved Channel 44 out of Chicago that showed Marvel Super-Heroes (the legendary 1966 cartoon show) or Spider-Man (the 1967 classic), I was excited to discover a few channels in my new home that would expand my love of science fiction.

Among reruns of the 1940's serials, such as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, and a seemingly endless string of Tarzan movies (here my love of Johnny Weismuller and Buster Crabbe began -- it wouldn't be until many years later that I would read the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels and gain an even greater appreciation for Christopher Lambert's portrayal of the jungle lord in Greystoke), there came the Apes movies and still later the CBS television show. From that point forward, I was going Ape!

I had several of the Apes Mego action figures and playsets, bubble gum cards, coloring books, etc. Wanting to soak up all things Ape at this point, I came across the original Pierre Boulle novel at the public library. It featured a cover reminiscent of scenes from the film by the same name, so I asked my mom to check it out for me. What a disappointment! Now, this was long before I knew anything about such things as "based on the novel", etc. But what I'd seen on tv was nothing like this book -- Apes driving cars? Nah...

In fact, I'd argue that the film versions of the Planet of the Apes franchise are not traditional science fiction at all. Sure, it deals with time travel, fall-out from a nuclear disaster (which I assume bred the mutations in the apes and the de-evolution of human beings), and then later genetic proselytizing by Caesar (maybe? But then that wouldn't explain how, only one generation later, all of the apes can talk and are running the world in Battle for the Planet of the Apes). But in the first film, originally released theatrically in 1968, there is no science used to solve any of the conflicts/problems in the plot.

Planet of the Apes was a wonder to me. The concept of time travel wasn't so new to me, as I'd gleaned a little information about such things from an issue of Justice League of America I'd owned -- it was a JLA/JSA crossover, so inter-dimensional travel and such didn't seem strange. As Taylor (Charlton Heston) and crew made their way to the forest, I at first thought they'd ended up on a planet of primitive humans -- until the apes burst on the scene. Looking back on the first film today, it's really the score that makes it so impactful -- the weird music while Taylor and company are traversing the desert, the horn upon first view of the gorilla atop steed, the rapid-fire pace when Taylor ran throughout Ape City, ending up in the "natural history museum"...

As a kid, there were many elements of the morality play that went over my head. It wasn't until viewing all five films in the franchise day-after-day on an after-school "Apes Week" movie festival that I picked up on the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" gag during Taylor's trial and of the impact of the nuclear war. The Statue of Liberty scene was of course impactful to anyone who's ever seen it; but the devastation wrought and the time required to bury her waist-deep in earth didn't settle in until many years after. Perhaps Heston's best performance in the film is that last scene.

Strangely, it was many years later that I saw the third film, Escape From the Planet of the Apes. I'm not sure how I missed it, but I do recall looking through magazines in the grocery store (precursors to Starlog or Fangoria or some such things) and seeing lots of still photos. I didn't really grasp the story -- hey, it was the grocery store, not school... you think I was going to read the magazine?? -- but I did think that Cornelius and Zira looked absolutely ridiculous in regular human clothing. The next exposure to this episode was through the Power Records comic/45 rpm that a friend owned. But despite the wait, I was glad to have finally seen the film, and consider it perhaps my second favorite of the original five.

So if I have to rank 'em, I would say my re-viewing at any time would go in this order:

1. Planet of the Apes
2. Escape From the Planet of the Apes
3. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
4. Beneath the Planet of the Apes
5. Battle For the Planet of the Apes
   

My main dislike for Beneath is the telepathic powers of the cult members. I suppose, though, that if I could accept such a mutation in Jean Grey over in the X-Men, then I should be able to accept it generations after a nuclear disaster. I also disliked the scenes when Brent was forced to attack Nova -- just didn't care for that type of violence. And by the way, Linda Harrison looked much nicer in the second film... And the antithesis to her carnal beauty was the scarred visages of the monks who lived underground -- totally scared the bejeebers out of me as a child!

So to finish (and I could probably ramble on about all of this for quite some time), I still make time for the Apes movies. About a year ago when AMC (was it that channel??) ran an Apes marathon, including the television series, I was along for most of it. I've read a few articles about the black & white Planet of the Apes magazines that Marvel Comics published in the 1970's and have wondered about picking some of them up (could an Essentials volume be in the offing -- please?). I'm just still, all these years later, into the concept and the franchise.

But don't get me going on the Tim Burton re-make...

Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing, Baby

Doug: Almost from the very beginning of the Marvel Age, Marvel Comics began to reprint their Golden and Silver Age material for the benefit of not only a buck, but hopefully with an altruistic eye toward filling in the newer enthusiast. For books like Marvel Tales and Marvel Collector's Item Classics, covers were done with several panes, each showcasing a character or story within. However, as the Marvel line began to expand in the late 1960's, new titles were created for the purpose of keeping material from the seminal days of the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, et al. on the stands. Hence, we saw the rise of titles such as Marvel's Greatest Comics and Marvel Triple Action, respectively.

Doug: Below are some examples of covers that were used on the original titles and on the reprint mags. You'll notice that in some cases the following scenarios were applied (NOTE -- unless otherwise stated, all cover images are from http://www.coverbrowser.com/, and all creator information was obtained from the Grand Comic Book Database, available at http://www.comics.org/) --

• the cover was reproduced faithfully in form and color
• the cover was reproduced in form but not in color
• the cover was redrawn
• the cover was completely different, but somewhat faithful to the topic within
  

Doug: The covers above hold a special place in my heart, particularly the Marvel Triple Action on the right. This was the first issue of the Avengers I ever owned -- it was given to me by a girl whose family was friends with our family. I can almost recall the day she gave it to me; prior to that, I believe I had a copy of a JLA/JSA crossover and a couple of funny animal comics (Mickey Mouse or the Looney Tunes, maybe?).

Doug: As you can see, these covers are basically the same with a few very minor exceptions: the coloring of the floor, color has been added to the floating heads circles, the Cap head in the corner box is larger and a different rendering, there has been a removal of some text from the call-out, and the lowering of the artwork to make room for the larger masthead. In this case, it's my opinion that each of these changes actually improves the look of the cover -- score one for the revamp-guys!

Karen: The reprint does look sharper, but is some of that due to aging on the part of the older comic? In any case, very minimal adjustments were made to that cover.

Doug: Similarly, the two covers above show only a difference in coloring (with slight size alterations to the call-out graphics), which for me is better on the updated version. Keep in mind, however, that the royal blue uniforms are what the FF was currently wearing when this issue of Marvel's Greatest Comics hit the newsstands.

Doug: I've always had a slight problem with the John Buscema/George Roussos cover from Avengers #42. Certainly it's not the art -- that is splendid, indeed. It's more the white cover. I know my copy, which isn't in the greatest shape, is yellowed pretty badly. Let's face it, the publishers never intended that the materials would hold up over a 40-year period of love. But overall, Avengers #42 sports one of the many spectacular efforts Big John dispensed throughout his Silver Age tenure on the title. The reprint, however, has some problems.

Doug: We can start with the color scheme. I'd take dingy-white over this black/lavender/purple trainwreck any day. Beyond the color choices, the incredibly large masthead near-necessitated that Buscema's pencils be altered; had the book been allowed to maintain the original artwork, it would either have had to have been shrunken or permitted to obscure the title. It's been documented (specifically in regard to a Neal Adams draft effort of X-Men #56) that Marvel wanted no monkeying around with the titles/logos to their books -- Martin Goodman felt that the book wouldn't sell if people couldn't read the title. So I'm guessing that the only viable option was to redo the Goliath figure. The cover art on the right is a combination of the Buscema/Roussos pencils from Avengers #42, with touch-ups by Ron Wilson (http://www.samcci.com/). It looks to me like the Hawkeye figure was repeated, although tilted to the right with the left leg and chest redone. Whether due to space or style, Wilson drew Goliath's head larger in proportion to the rest of his body than Buscema had -- the result is a much less menacing Hank Pym, in my opinion. Wanda's cape has also been elongated. I'll take the original effort on these two.

Karen: What's amazing to me is how much space the title takes up on the Marvel Triple Action book. That's easily a third of the cover! No wonder the art has a squished look to it. Hands down, the original is superior!

Doug: Here we have an example of a cover that is near-duplicated from original to reprint version. However, upon closer inspection there is one obvious difference and a few more-subtle changes. Randy Robertson gets the shaft for the UPC code in the corner, and for some inexplicable reason the call-out in the lower right corner is re-formatted. Now, if you look closely you'll notice that all three women on the cover are shown with some type of garment (Was this Code? None of the men are shown with collars, etc.) and the colors on each of them have been changed. Why? No clue, as the color scheme of each cover is virtually the same palette. About the only other difference, and it's even more subtle, is the shrinking of the artwork to accommodate the larger logo as well as the "Marvel's TV Sensation!" call-out.

Doug: In the above duo, the left side depicts the iconic image of Galactus (FF #49 is the first cover appearance for both Galactus and the Silver Surfer) by Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott. On the right is the cover to the reprint of the same story -- this time around the cover is pencilled and inked by Our Pal Sal Buscema. I'm a Sal-fan, but at first glance I really couldn't understand why editorial chose to go away from what many Marvelites might consider to be one of the finest covers of the Silver Age. However, upon doing a little research I think I came to a pretty fundamental answer -- simple cross-marketing among titles. Take a look at the cover to Fantastic Four #122, which is cover dated May 1972; Marvel's Greatest Comics #36 is cover dated July 1972:

Doug: The cover above is by John Buscema and John Romita. The proximity of Galactus to the FF, the frame around the cover art (typical of the 20-cent period in Marvel history), and the general style of the pencils show that Marvel intentionally used Sal's artwork to piggy-back on John's 4-part epic from only a few months earlier. Again, while Kirby/Sinnott had unleashed a classic cover back in 1966, the follow-up effort certainly had its motivations from a dollars standpoint.

Karen: I think this is a good guess on your part Doug. I distinctly remember reading both of these titles when they came out, and it took me some time to understand that one was current and the other was "historical" - or at least that was the way I thought of it as a youngster.

Doug: Here is another example of a reprint where the cover art used was strictly due to the "hotness" of the artist. On the left is the original Marvel Team-Up Annual (1976) with cover art by the original artist of the All-New, All-Different X-Men, Dave Cockrum. However, by the time the Marvel Tales on the right was published, Todd McFarlane was breaking all kinds of sales records with his rendition of Spidey. No wonder, then, that he also got the gig doing covers for Marvel Tales in addition to his work on Amazing Spider-Man in this era. Nevermind that there is absolutely no connection with the more recent cover to the story within. Hmmm... trend developing?

Karen: The Cockrum cover is vastly superior in my opinion. It has a nice clean layout which gives you an idea of what's in the book. As you point out, MacFarlane's cover is simply a pin-up of the characters. I don't know exactly when this trend started but I wish it would go away! The cover should give an idea of the story in the book - something to draw the reader in. X-Men and Spider-Man fighting a giant robot: OK, I'll check it out. X-Men and Spider-Man running: not really all that intriguing.

Doug: So what's the overall evaluation of reprint covers in general? I guess out of sentimentality I'll have to side with the originals. Despite the improved technology that allowed for a richer color palette on the reprints, and in spite of more modern marketing strategies that placed then-hot or -current artists reinterpreting the covers, those new covers sort of disconnected with the original stories. I think for long-time fans, there's that relationship between cover and story that perhaps today's younger readers don't understand. With so many "portrait" covers, a good ol' fashioned cover that makes the reader have that "can't wait!" feeling. Even on a Marvel Triple Action or a Marvel Tales, knowing that what was within was as good as what was on the outside was just a great sense of anticipation.