tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post1230471392992712365..comments2024-03-19T10:41:35.976-05:00Comments on Bronze Age Babies: Stepbrothers -- Fantastic Four #25Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-6106044774063412072014-09-03T12:22:59.217-05:002014-09-03T12:22:59.217-05:00The crudeness of the art is primarily due to extre...The crudeness of the art is primarily due to extremely rushed inking by George (Bell) Roussous. Hastiness that would make Vince Coletta blush. Roussous continued as inker through #27. The inking in #27 looks like he inked it with his feet while riding the subway. It's said that this issue was inked in less than two days! Kirby pencils during this time tended to be simpler than we are accustomed from Kirby, and somewhat lacking in backgrounds due to his tremendous output (at times over 100 pages in a month), but never sloppy.the stiKmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03304386071332495561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-23811676725056899622013-10-27T14:27:03.728-05:002013-10-27T14:27:03.728-05:00Sue Storm as Silver Age fodder for Stan Lee's ...Sue Storm as Silver Age fodder for Stan Lee's sexism? Now that is a line I have never seen before.... Then again, perhaps back in the Silver Age and at times even in the early Bronze Age, we should have nicknamed the comic "The Trials of Susan Storm"?Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02650921114832558648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-19327549779565549552013-02-05T23:55:45.250-06:002013-02-05T23:55:45.250-06:00this is one of my all time favorite comic book sto...this is one of my all time favorite comic book stories. The cover of FF #25 is also one of my top ten faves too!davesharonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01329379245538254472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-67283536807984558712011-12-02T23:03:11.153-06:002011-12-02T23:03:11.153-06:00This story was parodied in the fifth issue of Marv...This story was parodied in the fifth issue of Marvel's own "Not Brand Ecch" title.B Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18016629838915185467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-70941287891615087312011-12-02T20:26:27.416-06:002011-12-02T20:26:27.416-06:00I first read this story (as well as the next issue...I first read this story (as well as the next issue) in one of the giant Treasury editions, one of the Christmas specials, I think. I was a bit put off by the crudeness of the art, a far cry from the polished sophistication that would become more prominent when Sinnott came on board, although Colletta did some fine work too. I recall reading elsewhere that the inking on these stories was rushed and it shows, but we still get plenty of Kirby's characteristic dynamism, if nowhere near the sort of detail that would mark much of his later Silver Age work.<br />Anyhow, it's clear that the main point of this issue, as emphasized on the cover, is to present a one-on-one brawl between Marvel's two biggest, freakiest powerhouses and naturally Reed, Sue & Johnny had to be put out of commission so Ben would be left to tackle the Hulk on his own. Within the next year, Marvel would also pit the Hulk against Spider-Man, Thor and Giant-Man before he got his own (half)mag again, but this was really the big event in a season when Stan & Jack were just rolling them out one after the other, with this two-parter and Avengers 3 & 4 all tied together in one of Marvel's greatest early epics!Fred W. Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07602124919964053532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-54473316397287814402011-12-02T16:48:53.202-06:002011-12-02T16:48:53.202-06:00It's funny that Karen mentions the Professor f...It's funny that Karen mentions the Professor from Gilligan's Island in relation to Reed because isn't that the reference Alex Ross used in the Marvels mini series ?<br /><br />As to the Robert Bruce Banner issue Stan explains in The Incredible Hulk from Fireside books, " When the strip started I called him Bruce Banner. Then, in my usual bumbleheaded way, I started erroneously referring to him as Bob Banner in occasional scripts. In answer to the flood of irate letters we received, I took the cowardly way out by explaining that his name was really Robert Bruce Banner.Anthonynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-52106640934777176102011-12-02T13:28:24.404-06:002011-12-02T13:28:24.404-06:00Aw, shucks, Doug. Anytime...Aw, shucks, Doug. Anytime...Edo Bosnarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-60183081059077415552011-12-02T13:02:45.211-06:002011-12-02T13:02:45.211-06:00I think the change to a more simple-minded, childl...I think the change to a more simple-minded, childlike Hulk helped to make him more sympathetic. Here he is too much of a thug. <br /><br />The problem with the simpleminded version was that it limited him as a character. Too many of his stories seemed contrived as the writers strained to find a way to involve him in the plot. The dumb Hulk mostly just reacted to the things around him. He wasn’t very proactive.<br /><br />I liked him best in the Defenders, where he actually seemed to fit in well. Funny he should work so well in that team and not in the Avengers. Then again, the Defenders were the “nonteam” so I guess that makes sense.<br /><br />By the way, the last time that we looked at the Hulk vs. the Thing, I asked if anyone knew when in the comics the Hulk began to switch from articulate thig to monosyllabic oaf. <br /><br />Commenter Dougie responded with, "The Hulk's dialogue becomes more monosyllabic by TtA66 'The Power of Dr. Banner'. I blame the Reds."Inkstained Wretchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-66464263725060012952011-12-02T12:53:02.546-06:002011-12-02T12:53:02.546-06:00I just noticed something I had overlooked before i...I just noticed something I had overlooked before in the very early Hulk stories. At this stage the Hulk was drawn with chest hair. I guess when his intellect began to decline the hair fell out as well. Funny.Inkstained Wretchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-26868381363728345232011-12-02T12:50:41.244-06:002011-12-02T12:50:41.244-06:00Richard:
I too have fond memories of MF #11. Star...Richard:<br /><br />I too have fond memories of MF #11. Starlin did outstanding art IMHO on both ol' Greenjeans and Mr. Grimm. I'd agree this ish, along with the boxing match in GS Superstars and FF #112 as the best.<br /><br />I too notice when Benjy's not looking as bulky as he should. I know some early Buscema/Sinnott stories (like against Thundra) had him a bit too trim until the Shaper and Miracle Man stories came.david_bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00218727673816200051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-10555675053305944272011-12-02T12:21:26.013-06:002011-12-02T12:21:26.013-06:00I originally read this in a UK reprint, and I had ...I originally read this in a UK reprint, and I had the 2nd part (‘the Avengers take over’) before the first. I remember really wanting to see part one, and I wasn’t disappointed when I got it. <br /><br />Karen – I detect an undertone in your comments that I feel myself, which is to say that I feel a strange.....well, not loyalty exactly....but the dumb Hulk was the first Hulk I knew, and even though making him more intelligent opens up a lot more storylines and possibilities, the dumb Hulk is somehow the ‘real & correct’ Hulk. I remember enjoying all the paraphernalia coming into play: boats, trucks, buildings, cables, power lines....and in part 2, a construction site....you really have the feeling that they’re trashing the city and using everything to hand. <br /><br />Doug – I agree with you about Reed. It always amused me that he was a scientist who seemed to ‘specialise’ in absolutely everything from microbiology to astro-physics. Mind you, he did smoke a pipe, so maybe that’s all it takes. ( You’ve got to wonder how he & Ben ever hit it off). <br /><br />William – I definitely agree, but for some reason I have very fond memories of Marvel Feature 11. I must re-read that. Or, given that it’s Starlin, we could just ask Karen. <br /><br />Regarding Sue being a bit of a damsel, I guess we should remember we’re barely out of the 50’s here, so actually, although we’re rightly accusing Stan of sexism, a couple of years earlier, she would have been standing on a chair and screaming if a mouse came into the room. 1964, and here she is fighting the Hulk hand to hand. I venture to suggest that we had actually already come a long way in a couple of years. <br /><br />I think the thing about early super-heroes powers ‘running out’ is just a general plot device to obviate the Superman problem (if someone is literally invincible, there’s no way to imperil them and therefore no story). Certainly, Johnny used to fall out of the sky on a semi-regular basis. Having said that, in Strange Tales 101 (I don’t mean ‘a Beginners Guide to Strange Tales’, I mean literally #101), we see Johnny’s apartment in the suburbs (no, really) in which EVERYTHING is made of asbestos, so it’s a bloody miracle he’s even alive. <br /><br />RichardAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-47466278259061945842011-12-02T09:58:08.057-06:002011-12-02T09:58:08.057-06:00Edo --
Ugh. Thanks very much. If you check the ...Edo --<br /><br />Ugh. Thanks very much. If you check the original post, I've made a correction -- and even tossed a kudo your way!<br /><br />Thanks again, and my apologies for my sloppiness. You are a reason why this is such a great "water cooler" community!<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-5883216781288211222011-12-02T09:44:55.360-06:002011-12-02T09:44:55.360-06:00I first read this in that oh-so-awesome Super-hero...I first read this in that oh-so-awesome Super-hero Battles book as well (damn, I wish I still had that!). This is such a wonderful issue, from it's wonderful cover - love the way it portrays a much smaller Thing boldly taking on a monstrously huge Hulk - to the very last panel. In my view, it was when this epic 2-part Thing-v-Hulk story appeared that the Lee/Kirby FF really started to get good. And I also agree with both of you that Kirby's art only really began to shine with Sinnot's inks.<br />By the way, didn't Sue's force field powers only emerge in issue #22 or 23? It certainly wasn't as early as #13.Edo Bosnarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-42413760169962789412011-12-02T09:33:48.048-06:002011-12-02T09:33:48.048-06:00This has always been one of my favorites. And even...This has always been one of my favorites. And even though there have been many others I still consider this to be THE OFFICIAL Hulk vs. Thing battle of the century.Williamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988016825582035390noreply@blogger.com