The Splash Page Made Me Buy the Comic!

Martinex1:  We have frequently discussed covers that have made us buy a book, and there are indeed numerous examples of the great and colorful cover art that caught my eye from across a room.   But today let's talk about some of the splash pages that captured my attention.

As a kid purchasing comics in the late '70s on a very limited allowance, I typically circled a spinner rack numerous times as I considered all of the options for my precious fifty cents or dollar.   Sometimes even my favorite titles didn't totally draw me in and had to compete against all of the other four-color choices.  It wasn't always a slam dunk that I would buy Avengers, Fantastic Four, or the Amazing Spider-Man.  Sometimes the store proprietor wouldn't want me to flip through the book's pages but when given the chance I definitely took a peek to get a glimpse of the story.  And often it was the splash and not the cover that sealed the deal.  Here are a few examples of those experiences from my early collecting days:

One of the very first comic books I purchased was Avengers #164, the start of the Count Nefaria conflict, so it would seem natural that I would grab issue #165 as soon as it hit the rack.   But that wasn't the case at all.  I have to admit that today when I look at the George Perez art for that cover I admire it, but when I was nine-years old it did not grab me.   I can clearly remember thinking how small the team members were on the cover.  And I did not like the floating red Nefaria head screaming at them.  And on top of it, the white logo and lower right corners were a bit mottled from the printing.  Where was the hand-to-hand combat that I was expecting?  Where was the epic battle following the closing moments of #164 when Nefaria absorbed the strength of Power Man, the speed of Whirlwind, and the energy of Living Laser?  But once I opened the book, the John Byrne splash page answered all of my questions!  Nefaria just decked Captain America and Black Panther easily and he is totally unscathed; the villain is just standing there gloating.  This is going to be a huge fight; he's going to kill them all!  At least that is how I interpreted it in my youth.   As it turned out, I am glad I saw the splash page and snatched that issue up because the Count Nefaria storyline has remained my all-time favorite.  Looking back at the art, it may not have been Byrne's best but I loved it.  Here is the cover and splash of which I speak:

 

That very same month, August of 1977, nearly the same thing happened to me with the Fantastic Four.   However, this had a bit of a twist.  I had previously read the Len Wein penned and George Perez penciled FF issue #187.   I was mesmerized by the team's battle with Klaw and the Molecule Man.  That book had so much great art and suspense that I just could not put it down.  The last page overwhelmed young me.  It was monumental and shocking when down-on-his-luck Reed Richards picked up the mystical rod and transformed into the Molecule Man himself!  I know that I stared at that page for a long time.  Reed looked so creepy.   I looked at his jagged lips and his treacherous scowl and I just had to have the next issue.   What a great cliffhanger!

But when the next issue showed up at our local pharmacy, I was seriously underwhelmed by the cover.   "Seriosuly!  They are fighting a giant walking building!  How dumb!" young me thought at the time, "It looks like a silly cartoon not a dangerous battle. It is not scary at all."   In retrospect, it reminded me of one of those Twinkie advertisements we talked about a couple of days ago.  And again, the white background did not help.  It was a struggle to buy that book; it really was.  What carried me through was the memory of the closing splash of #187.   That crazy Reed in the green costume stuck in my head; so the previous issue's final splash made me buy issue #188.  Here they are for your viewing pleasure:

 

Hey!  Wait a minute!  That is bizarre!

The final example for today's post is Marvel Team-Up issue #70 that was on sale in March of 1978.  It had a perfectly fine cover and in fact I liked the cover a lot.   It was dynamic and cinematic.  I just wasn't particularly a Thor fan at the time so I wasn't convinced.  But when I flipped it open, the John Byrne art took my breath away.  I had seen giants numerous times in comics before, but this one looked monstrous crashing through the building, scaring the citizens, and getting ready to put a squeeze on the tiny Spider-Man in his right hand.  I had to have it!  Looking at it now, the inking is a little overdone for my taste.  It still packs a wallop, but I cannot take my eyes off the citizen in the foreground who looks like a zombie.   When I was young, I could only focus on the size of the Living Monolith.   Take a gander.

So there you have it - three splash pages that captured my cash. I cannot explain what hit me on such a visceral level, but it was definitely the interior art that I so clearly remember doing so.  What do you think?  Do you have any examples that you would like to share?   Cheers all!

Discuss: Team-Up Covers

Doug: I have two things to say about team-up books, and then you can run with it in whichever direction you please. First, the interiors were rarely as exciting as the potential of the covers. Second, most of these stories don't "hold up" to the scrutiny of a middle-aged reader. A 10-year old's eyes? You betcha. I loved DD and the Black Widow -- sort of an odd match to team them with the Thing, but still high ratings on my cool-o-meter. And the Marvel Team-Up cover? The Ani-Men are pretty dopey in every incarnation and appearance I've ever read... But that's a good-looking cover!

But all seen through the eyes of a man two generations removed? Not so much. Go.

BAB Classic: "Cows, Pigs, and Witches! The World is Beset by Devils!" Marvel Team-Up 44

This post was originally published on 12 April 2010.

  Marvel Team-Up 44 (April 1976)
"Death in the Year Before Yesterday!"
Bill Mantlo-Sal Buscema/Mike Esposito

Doug: Last chapter, folks... and I'm sorry to say I'm sort of glad. As Karen and I discussed off-site, this little story started out promising -- Spidey, time travel, lots of Avengers, Doc Doom -- should have been good stuff. And while I have fond memories of this as a kid, it is perhaps one story that hasn't held up over time. I think it suffers, maybe even as some superhero movies do these days, of too many characters cavorting around in what became a big mess of a plot. But we'll put a smile on and trudge through.

Karen: Indeed, every so often we come across these books - ones which were far more interesting in our memories than in reality! But let's finish it up.

Doug: We begin on the roof of Avengers Mansion. Moondragon is distracted by her thoughts as Iron Man approaches. I have to say, I really hated Moondragon when I was a kid. This issue of MTU was on the stands the same month as Avengers #146, and of course that was the fill-ins that ran in the middle of the Serpent Crown Affair. If you recall, that was the arc when Moondragon tried to convince Thor that he was above his fellow Assemblers. And what's more, she basically declared herself his equal. Man, I hated that woman.

Karen: I don't think you were alone. I didn't like her either. But of course, I believe that was Steve Englehart's intention when he thrust her on the Avengers. She was that rock in one's shoe, always causing some irritation.

Doug: "Rock in one's shoe" is a great way to put it! So Moondragon succumbs to the same hex bolt that had uprooted Spider-Man back in MTU #41 and is lifted into the timestream, to emerge back in 1692 to find our heroes bound on some gizmo. The Dark Rider is present (still a giant), as is Cotton Mather. The Rider commissions Mather to plunge the Soul Blade into our heroes, which will commence the transfer of their powers/energies to the Rider. Mather hesitates, and that's when Moondragon enters the fray.

Doug: Moondragon zaps the Rider with a mindblast, stunning him. Spidey, Vision, and Wanda awaken to see these new developments, and Doom stuck in some bubble doo-hickey. Spidey and the Vision leap into action to free Doom. While they free ol' Vic, the Rider reverses the mindflow back at Moondragon, who now has to see his origin.

Karen: I thought that was a really strange two page spread, where the heroes are on some altar and Doom is inside a bubble, all very magicky, but the Rider has these mechanical-looking cables coming out of his glove, linking the bubble and altar.

Doug: What was even stranger was the scene where Spidey and the Vision free Doom -- instead of being solid, the bubble peeled back like a... well, like a bubble -- pliable, not solid.

Doug: But wait, there's more! We get to see the Rider's origin as well, and it's... well, to be honest, sort of bland. Wizards, and blah, blah, blah. OK, I've about had enough. This story couldn't get over fast enough. I think, sticking to Bronze Age baddies, that we'd see this sort of thing again shortly with the Sphinx (in the pages of The Man Called Nova and later the Fantastic Four). He was much more interesting with a similar backstory. But, in case you wondered, the good guys gang up on the Rider and eventually Moondragon turns the tide and they blast him out of existence. The story does end on a touching note, as Spidey arrives just too late to save his Puritan friends. I guess I'd forgotten the last scene of the hanging -- while only the victims' feet are shown, it is a bit disturbing.

Karen: Man, you're not kidding. After grinding our way through all the hokum with the Rider, that last page is like a punch to the gut. I'm glad we're done with this one.
Doug: Agreed. This one probably could have been done in 3 1/2 issues, with a lot of the chaff left out. To be honest, some of the Witch Trials scenes became laborious to get through, but it might have been better, more emotional had the scene to the right been set up a bit better. On the one hand we got some really good Sal Buscema art, but on the other we got a Bill Mantlo who seemed to wander the longer this story went on.

BAB Classic: "Before the Awesome Power of the Dark Rider!" Marvel Team-Up 43

This post was originally published on 7 April 2010.

Marvel Team-Up 43 (March 1976)"A Past Gone Mad!"Bill Mantlo-Sal Buscema/Mike Esposito

Doug: Face Front, Marvelites -- it's the penultimate chapter to our little tour through Salem, Mass., circa 1692. When we left off, Doom had arrived on the scene in all his pomposity to face the Dark Rider. Mather falls apart, claiming allegiance to this new "angel of light". While the Dark Rider offers Mather to Doom, Doom backhands ol' Cotton, sending him reeling back toward Spidey and the Vision. It's obvious a face-off is coming!

Karen: I thought it was quite some hyperbole for Doom to say to the Rider that "It was your power that drew me here...power such as even Doom has never known!" considering that Doom had once stolen the power cosmic of the Silver Surfer! But I love the way Sal drew that backhand -whoosh!!

Doug: The Dark Rider reveals that his only interest in Doom and the others of his time is their knowledge of magic. As Spidey and the Vision now move in, the Rider unleashes a cat that had been perched on his shoulder. The cat, like the raven in the previous issue, begins to grow, posing a formidible opponent for our heroes. This scene is a nice two-page spread, where the Rider tells Doom his own origin -- it's a nice recap of the origin tale from way back in FF Annual #2.

Karen: A giant cat. Spidey and the Vision have fought aliens, robots, monsters....yet they are in trouble facing a giant kitty cat. Oh please.

Doug: The bad kitty gets whacked, but by whom? Ah, yes -- the Scarlet Witch has arrived, weakened as she is from her ordeals of the past two issues. Apparently the jig is up (or something), because all of a sudden the Dark Rider flips off his lid, revealing a quite curious look. First off, he sports a Mohawk hair-do. Next, he has shriveled lips like he doesn't have his dentures in, yet has teeth that have been filed to a point (think Dee Snider of Twisted Sister). Lastly, he grows. Really big, he grows.

Karen: This guy reminds me of Necrodamus from Defenders #1, also drawn by Sal.

Doug: Scripter Bill Mantlo cuts us away to a courtroom in Salem, as John Proctor meets his fate. Two pages are devoted to more of the Witch Trials, with the young girls frothing at the mouth and proclaiming "They be witches!" and stuff like that. Even the judge is called out.

Karen: The court room scene, as well as the Salem history lesson in the previous issue, seem over-long. Not all of us are fascinated by this particular point in history the way Mantlo seemed to be!

Doug: Back to the battle, Doom utters one of the greatest lines of his career: "Back! Back, you damnable leech!" Awesome. That is something the Doc would say. Great characterization by Mantlo.

Karen: Yes, Doom constantly referring to himself in the third person was a fitting tribute to his ego.

Doug: During all of this, Wanda is for the most part useless. Spidey and the Vision, as well as Doom, are out-classed. The issue ends with a triumphant, gigantic Dark Rider holding the defeated Doom in his hand as Kong once held Fay Wray. But be optimistic, O Keeper of the Flame -- this yarn's "To Be Continued"!

BAB Classic: "Aye, They Be Witches!" Marvel Team-Up 42

This post was originally published on 31 March 2010.

Marvel Team-Up 42 (February 1976)
"Visions of Hate!"
Bill Mantlo-Sal Buscema/Mike Esposito

Doug: Here we go -- part 2 of our four-parter set in Salem, Mass. Salem, Mass. in 1692, that is! We pick it up right where our tale finished, with Spidey, Wanda, and the Vision in the heart of a witch-hunting mob led by a crazed Cotton Mather.

Doug: The mob starts to get nasty, hitting the Vision in the face with a stone. Wanda unleashes a hex against the assailant, in the form of a swarm of locusts. Can there be any doubt now that she (and her companions, too) is a witch? The Vision going intangible and then immediately hard-as-a-diamond doesn't help matters, although it does preserve our heroes lives for a short time. However, Wanda is eventually grazed by a bullet, Spidey is overwhelmed by numbers, and the Vision is knocked out of commission by a power burst from Mather's cross.

Karen:Okay, I really have got to protest how easily Spidey went down to this mob of yahoos. This is a guy who has fought the Lizard, the Rhino, heck, even the Hulk, yet he gets knocked out by a bunch of pitchfork-wielding nuts? This was a case of Mr. Mantlo doing something for his convenience as a writer, not because it actually made sense in the story.

Doug: I'd have to agree with you after you cite those super-baddies. It was contrived, wasn't it?

Doug: When Spidey awakens, he finds himself shackled by the wrists and in a jail cell with other townsfolk. Wanda and the Vision are shackled across the room from him. He has a benefactor in John Proctor, who gives Spidey a lengthy discourse on the goings on in Salem over the past year which have brought them to this point. It's a tale of voodoo, witchcraft, false accuasations, and unfair/unquestioning justice. Spider-Man soon bursts his bounds, frees the Vision, and it's off they go to find out just what the heck is going on.

Karen: So... can we safely say that Bill Mantlo had probably done some reading about the Salem Witch incidents and was fascinated by them? Because we get a heaping three pages of history right in the middle of this story! This really seemed excessive to me.

Doug: I agree with you, as an adult. But, as a child of 10, I thought it added some necessary layers to the story. Let's face it -- you just don't get stuff like that in the 4th grade. Shoot, we were probably still making Pilgrim hats and construction paper Indian headdresses at that point!!

Doug: Spying a bright light in the distance, our two heroes go to investigate. Sneaking over, they see Cotton Mather in conversation with a dark figure atop a black horse, and holding a raven. The man in black identifies himself as the Dark-Rider. The Vision, seeing Mather as the man who hurt Wanda, lashes out at him. The Rider looses his raven against Spidey, and as the Wall-Crawler moves against it, it begins to grow. An eye-blast from the Vision kills it, and it reverts to its original size. As the Rider confronts Spider-Man, the scene is interupted by a new voice -- a voice that belongs to Dr. Doom!

Karen: The Vision seemed a little too emotional here, attacking Mather rather than waiting to find out more details about what's going on. Still, considering that Wanda was injured I can let that one go. The Dark Rider's reference to "people of this time" is a definite clue that he himself is not of that time period. The plot thickens. The appearance of Doom at the end was appropriately dramatic.

Doug: Yeah, you're right. I did a quick re-read on that balloon -- I guess I'd originally glossed over it thinking the Rider was referring to the colonists. But no, Spidey clearly says that "people of this time" means he and Vizh. Spoiling our next post on this story, did you notice in one panel where the Rider's face is partially shown that he has red hair? He sure doesn't look like that in the next two issues.

Doug: Mantlo has crafted a really fun story. The historical setting lends itself to a backdrop of adventure, the characters are fun, and each issue so far has had enough twists and surprise endings to keep the reader on the edge of his/her seat. I'm looking forward to the next issue!

BAB Classic: "That Cross-Wielding Fanatic Almost Killed Me" Marvel Team-Up 41

This post was originally published on 29 March 2010.

Marvel Team-Up 41 (January 1976)
"A Witch in Time!"
Bill Mantlo-Sal Buscema/Mike Esposito

Doug: For our next story examination, we're going back to the States' Bicentennial year for a four-parter out of the pages of Marvel Team-Up. This should be fun -- Spidey, the Scarlet Witch, the Vision, Doc Doom, Moondragon, and some Puritan wackos from the Salem Witch Trials. So, how about we dig in?

Doug: This one starts off a little spookily. Wanda is roaming around a dark, dank castle, apparently under the influence of some voices in her head. She tells that her troubles began back at Avengers Mansion, when she felt compelled to commandeer a quinjet and fly off to Europe -- specifically to Castle Doom in Latveria!

Karen: That castle made me smile - it could have been taken right out of an old Frankenstein movie!

Doug: That is exactly what I thought! I was reliving memories from my childhood spent watching the Universal Monsters movies!

Doug: Once in the castle, Wanda is drawn to the room that housed Dr. Doom's time platform. Rounding the corner, she is shocked at what greets her and raises her hands to get off a hex. The last we see of her shows her crumpled on the floor, and some very mysterious Pilgrim-looking feet standing over her.

Karen: This issue is another one which illustrates why there's always been confusion over what Wanda's power really is. She uses her 'hex power' for simple explosive blasts, and as a means of teleporting someone - and I'm sure we'll see even more variety over the following issues. Generally speaking, her power did whatever was needed for the plot to work!

Doug: Agreed. I am still not comfortable in calling Wanda's powers "magic", in spite of her training with Agatha Harkness. Anyway, that hex was a cry for help, rocketing back to New York. And, as fate would have it, who would be in the way of the big pink bolt but our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! In spite of his efforts and protestations, he's drawn into it, to reappear beside Wanda in Doom's castle at the feet of Cotton Mather!

Doug: Mather busts on Spidey with bolts from a wooden cross, and implores Wanda to bust on him, too. She is conflicted as she battles against his control, but complies. She first blasts the floor below Spider-Man, dropping him into a hole, and then fires at the ceiling -- burying him beneath a mountain of rubble. Mather then operates the time platform, sending he and the Scarlet Witch back to 1692!

Karen: I always liked the way Doom's time platform worked - it just glides down over the user's body and they disappear. It seems more magical than technological, which I suppose works with Doom's background.

Doug: Yep, the time platform goes all the way back to the good Doctor's first appearance, in Fantastic Four #5! I checked it out, just to refresh my memory -- the first time it's used (to send the FF back in time to get Blackbeard the Pirate's treasure) the FF sort of just "zap" out of the present, but while back in time, they do pass through the platform, much as our pal Sal draws it here!

Doug: Bill Mantlo's words are solid -- he nails everyone's characterization, their voice. Cotton Mather is pretty typically crazed as a bad guy, and Spidey has his usual moments of banter. Sal Buscema and Mike Esposito show why they were so reliable in the Bronze Age. While their linework is nothing spectacular, it is for me quite comfortable -- there is a familiarity with Sal's pencils that gives me a smile as I recall reading this as a 10-year old.

Karen: Comfortable -that's a good way to describe the art. You always knew what you were getting with Sal. He was a very solid story-teller -you never had to decipher what was going on. I read Siege #3 yesterday, and although the art itself was nice, I felt like there was no drama, no sense of rhythm, to the story.

Doug: Once in Salem, Mather tethers Wanda on a platform as a crowd gathers. A pyre has been built at her feet, as the penalty for witchcraft is that for heresy -- to be burned alive. Back at Castle Doom, Spidey digs himself out of his "grave" and hightails it to the time platform. Seeing the date on the monitor as 1692, Spidey quickly deduces that the fanatical pilgrim is indeed Cotton Mather -- and that ain't good for the Witch!

Karen: The page with Spidey trying to crawl out of the rubble reminded me of Amazing Spider-Man #33, where he was in a similar, although more dramatic, situation.

Doug: Arriving in the proverbial nick-of-time, Spidey is actually upstaged in rescuing Wanda by none other than the Vision -- who we have no idea how he came to be 300 years in the past! But, as they say -- to be continued!

Guest Post - If I Had a Buck... Photo Covers

Doug: Here's another economic decision to make -- you have a dollar, only a dollar. Spend it here, on comic books with photo covers!

Smile for the Camera: Photo Covers and the $1 Challenge

Mike S.: Take a look at these covers. What do you see? Do you see creativity, an early sense of cosplay,  photographic interplay years ahead of its time, and your greatest imagination brought to life?  Or do you say, “Meh, this is an empty attempt at marketing and uninspired pandering”?

I have to say I am plowing new ground here on this latest challenge of “If I Had A Buck…” because these covers do not appeal to me. Yes, it is true; I am a photo snob. If I am buying a comic I would like to see comic artwork. Give me Kirby, give me Romita, and Byrne, and Perez, and Kane! This photo trend in American comics left me uninterested and a little heavier in the pocket, because I did not spend a dime on these comics! And I did that based on the covers alone.

I understand completely that I may be wrong. I understand that I may have entirely missed the boat here. Was this any portion of the inspiration that led to photo realistic art like the work of Alex Ross?  Or was it a misguided attempt to do something different? Did you love it? Did it jump off of the rack for you? Or is it best left forgotten?

Now, obviously there are two types of covers here. There are a set of covers from Marvel’s exploration into realism. And there are a set of covers reflecting the adaptation of television or film adaptations. The second set interests me more. I liked reading comic adventures of my favorite television heroes, whether that was the Six Million Dollar Man, the Bionic Woman, Adam 12, or the Man From U.N.C.L.E., and it made sense that some of those comics might have the actual actors emblazoned on the covers. Though it is interesting to note that some of those mentioned above leaned toward traditional pencil and ink rather than photography; even Neal Adams illustrated Steve Austin.

I am not sure what drove Marvel to attempt this on a handful of covers. Surely it could not have been cheaper, could it? With costume development, set design, models, lighting, and photo sessions it had to be difficult. But what drove them to go down the photographic path? I cannot find any examples where DC tried this; do they exist? And even as much as I loved the Bullpen Bulletins and Not Brand Echh!, could I stomach a whole issue of Marvel Fumetti?

I have to recognize that photo covers were definitely a large part of the Silver Age for adaptations, and that trend edged into the Bronze Age as well.Does it have a place today? If I saw Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson on a cover for the Avengers would it surprise me? Probably not. Would I like it? I just might. Does the modern era of comic super realism on film make this more palpable? Maybe. Or do I just disdain the old model because the costumes were just weak? Very possibly. 

So tell me, would you spend your money here? If you walked into my shop and saw only these nine books, these nine oddities, would you bite? On what comics would you spend your single dollar? Or would you buy Marathon Bars, Twinkies, Snowballs, RC, and Fruit Stripe Gum instead?

Was it a Photo Bomb or a Photo Shop?

Dazzler #21; $1.00

Spider-Woman #50; $1.00

Marvel Fumetti Book #1; $1.00

Happy Days #6; $0.40

Beneath the Planet of the Apes #1; $0.25

The Mod Squad #8; $0.15

Amazing Spider-Man #262; $0.60

Marvel Team-Up #128; $0.60

Star Trek #8; $0.15