George Perez July: Avengers Annual #8

Avengers Annual #8 (1978)
"Spectrums of Deceit!"
Roger Slifer-George Perez/Pablo Marcos/Ricardo Villamonte

Karen: It's time for our second installment of George Perez July. We're looking at Avengers Annual #8, which was published a scant two years after our previous review. I'm going to start this one off by saying that I think the inkers on this issue, Pablo Marcos and Ricardo Villamonte, do not mesh well with Perez' art. The linework often looks thin and scratchy, and there are times when Perez' style is completely lost. Honestly, getting through this book was a chore because of how badly the inkers had mangled Perez' work.

Doug: Whew! If you hear me breathing hard, it's because a busy weekend almost swept me right under the Dreaded Deadline Doom! But I'm here, first and foremost to agree with my partner on the inking situation. Of course sneaking an early peek at Karen's comments was what got me to dwelling on the whole issue of just what an inker is supposed to do, which is the inaugural topic in our "The Open Forum" series. And, under the category of "great minds think alike", I had already begun my part on next week's post of FF Annual #14 and had skewered Pablo Marcos there as well.

Karen: Our story revolves around the Wasp being possessed by villain Dr. Spectrum's power prism. For some incredibly stupid reason, Hank Pym decides it would be a good idea to fix the prism and give it to Jan as a gift. Seriously, this man is one of the smartest guys in the Marvel Universe?

Karen: Of course, the prism is far from inert -it is actually sentient. When Jan finds it -that's right, she goes peeking in Hank's dresser, she can't wait to get her present, just like a child - the gem takes control of her and sends her in search of Iron Man, "the only earthling who knows my single weakness!" Spectrum/Wasp manages to capture old Shellhead and returns to Avengers mansion, to imprison him alongside Wonder Man and Quicksilver (what's he doing there?).

Doug: Do you suppose this story was the impetus for the modern "innovation" of turning classic male villains into females (Ultron, Loki)?

Doug: When I read through this section, and reflecting on the parallels between the Squadron Sinister/Supreme and DC's Justice League of America, I came across another parallel character -- the Emerald Empress and the Evil Eye. I felt that the sentience of the prism, as you said, really set it apart from, say, Green Lantern's power ring.
Karen: Before anything much can come of this, a whole gaggle of Avengers show up. How many people were on the team at this point? First it's Cap leading Ms. Marvel, Beast, and Black Panther. Then after they get knocked around, Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch, and the Vision pop up. The Vision, being such a dedicated reader of Avengers case histories, recalls Spectrum's weakness and zaps Spectrum/Wasp with ultraviolet lights. The attack causes her to collapse, and the Avengers summon Dr. Don Blake, who discovers that the gem has attached itself to the Wasp's palm.

Doug: Hercules and the Black Knight must have been out of town, and Mantis maybe couldn't tear herself away from her tree and the little saplings?

Doug: Did you think it was hyperbole to say that Don Blake was the finest doctor they could think of? I mean, a short time after this he would save the team at the conclusion of the Korvac Saga, but c'mon... Steve Strange was the best surgeon, Hank Pym is the best biochemist, etc. Good thing a regular shmoe like Ben Grimm became the Thing!

Karen: The team decides that maybe the previous possessor of the prism might know how to remove it. They seek out Dr. Strange, as the Defenders (along with Pym) were the last to defeat the villain. Strange tells them he essentially gave Spectrum and the other members of the Squadron Sinister amnesia and let them go. He points them in the right direction, and off Earth's Mightiest go.
Karen: Strange is just the first of a number of somewhat pointless guest appearances. Next we see Thundra and Hyperion in a gym, and the obligatory fight ensues. Then it's off to encounter the Whizzer -not the WWII hero but the bad guy. It's kind of amusing that the team that takes down this speedster is Cap, Hawkeye, and Wanda -sort of a Kooky Quartet, minus their own speedster. Next we're off with the Beast, who finds that the erstwhile Dr. Spectrum has now become a bigtime evangelist. The Beast brings him back to help Jan, and of course all hell breaks loose.

Doug: Perez is not credited as a co-plotter anywhere for this story, but one has to wonder. The man has undoubtedly made his reputation on cramming everything but the kitchen sink into his books. I wonder if perhaps this story was created Marvel Method style, and young George had carte blanche to do whatever he wanted. He would work on Thundra in the pages of the FF, and he'd done the Squadron Supreme very early in his first Avengers run.



Karen: The preacher man still covets the prism and takes it from the Wasp. The Avengers attack, and the prism reaches it's true goal: taking over Thor! It embeds itself in the hammer (how?) and controls the Asgardian. We get a nice knockdown, dragout fight between Thor and Iron Man that would have been spectacular with a better inker. The Spectrum entity is eventually vanquished when Thor drops the hammer and it reverts to his cane. All is right with the world and the Avengers celebrate Jan's birthday.

Doug: The prism's self-embedding in Mjolnir doesn't make sense, as it apparently needed a sentient host itself. I thought that Iron Man separating Thor from the hammer was an interesting way to end the battle, and further cemented Thor's position as the most powerful Avenger. Oh, and by the way -- early on, when the prism dissed on Wonder Man in stating that although powerful, he was not the one the prism coveted... That almost seemed like one of those instances when a writer couldn't really decide (or recall) what had gone down before. It's been stated many times, usually by Simon himself, how he's "gone toe-to-toe" with Thor! yadda yadda yadda. But the prism put Wondy in his place.

Karen: I'm sure it's obvious that I was not impressed with this issue. The thing is, if the art had actually looked like Perez art, I'm sure I would have been more excited. But as it is, knowing what could have been, it's just a disappointing issue.
Doug: My dear, if you didn't like the inks in this one, wait until next week. I felt that Ricardo Villamonte (I'm really unfamiliar with his work) must have lended a strong hand here, because I didn't think Marcos' facial expressions were as prominent as they'll be next week in the FF annual. I thought the story had its high points, though. You mentioned the fight between Iron Man and Thor at the end -- shoot, we even got a panel with IM on his roller skates! I must say, too, that I don't always care for breaking a team into parts to solve a mission. However, here the teams were good and it was fun to see the Squadron again even if they were not in costume and not together. As you mentioned, the "reunion" of the Kooky Quartet was fun. I thought Slifer had some good lines for the Beast, too.
Doug: So, while not a "you gotta run out and get this!" sort of book, it did take me back to the summer of 1979, which was closing in on the last months of my initial comics-collecting phase. Looking at this book through those eyes, I did smile a few times.

BAB Two-In-One: Werewolf Astronauts and Spiders, Panthers, and Dinosaurs -- Oh My!

Karen: My pick today is from Marvel in 1975, which you should know by now means there's a good chance my review will cover a book far from the mainstream. And so it does! Today may I present Creatures on the Loose #36, featuring the marauding Man-Wolf! This issue is brought to us by David Kraft, George Perez, and Frank McLaughlin. Yup, more Perez even in the Two In One reviews!

Karen:We've discussed our buddy the Man-Wolf before - a few times, actually. But always as the antagonist to Spider-Man. Here, he is the star of the show. The story is well-written, although Kraft's narrative style is sometimes over the top ("Then, his consciousness is supplanted by another...a sable mentality that does not intellectualize but, instead, responds directly to stimuli--with consummate and suicidal violence!")but the story moves along well and kept me interested. The young Perez' art here is delicious -McLaughlin's inks go well and bring out the details in the pencils. The Man-Wolf looks sinewy and savage, and Perez shows he's equally adept at high tech scenes with rockets and space stations. It's a beautiful looking book. It also has an exciting Gil Kane/Klaus Janson cover.
Karen: The story is somewhat convoluted, and I seem to be coming in in the middle of it. John Jameson -aka the Man-Wolf - has agreed to pilot a rocket to an orbiting government space station in return for amnesty for his AWOL status. However, as Jameson begins to dock with the station, the rays of the moon hit him and he wolfs out. A mysterious stranger in a spacesuit that looks like a suit of medieval armor comes to his rescue, but is soon treated to a fist full of wolf. There's a nice fight sequence as Man-Wolf battles the knight and a big bruiser named Gorjoon.
Karen: We then get interludes with John Jameson's girlfriend and his dad, J. Jonah Jameson. It's fun seeing Jonah in a situation not dealing with Peter Parker or Spider-Man.
Karen: This issue ends with the space-knight, Garth, managing to use a power cable in the space station to zap Man-Wolf nearly unconscious. He and his companions have seen the moonstone around Man-Wolf's neck, and it has significance to them, as they call it the Weird Stone. The last panel leads us to believe that Garth is going to cut the stone right from Wolfy's neck!
Karen: I had a lot of fun with this issue. It was a solid story, and the Perez art is terrific. It's amazing to think this was a second or even third tier book in its time. However, there were a lot of hidden gems like this that Marvel put out in the 70s. Titles like Iron Fist, Amazing Adventures with Killraven, Warlock....none of these were blockbusters, but they were some of the most unique and exciting titles to be found.

Doug: Yep, after a month-and-a-half hiatus, we're back at the 2-in-1's. My choice today is Marvel Team-Up #20 from April 1974, co-starring the Black Panther and brought to us by Len Wein and the art team of Sal Buscema and inkers Frank Giacoia and Mike Esposito. This tale picks up immediately after the previous issue's Ka-Zar team-up and battle against Stegron in the Savage Land. As we join our cast, ol' Steggy's on an "ark" full of dinosaurs and bearing straight down on New York City! But much to his future-chagrin, the Dinosaur Man has a stowaway/tagalong -- Spider-Man
In spite of that crack creative team, I have to say that there really isn't too much meat to this story. With the set-up above, we basically get the Panther involved (Jarvis hears a report of a strange craft bearing down on Manhattan), who arrives just in time to save Spidey, who's been knocked off the ark by a blow from Stegron's tale. Spidey gets T'Challa up to speed on what's gone down in the Savage Land and how Stegron has a whole lotta lizards to unleash. The heroes visit Dr. Curt Connors -- Stegron had been Connors' assistant before turning himself into a walking dinosaur. Connors begins to work on an antidote, T'Challa helps Spidey develop a stronger web fluid, and Stegron attacks some folks in Central Park.
We cut away to the Daily Bugle, where Mary Jane is asking City Editor Joe Robertson if he's seen Peter Parker lately. Robbie replies that he hasn't, Jonah busts into the conversation railing about dinosaurs in Times Square, and MJ cuts out -- she assumes where there's a Spider-Man, there's a Peter Parker. So we cut away to Times Square to see Spidey and T'Challa engaging the dinosaurs. As Spidey's about to wrap things up, Mary Jane tricks a police officer and sneaks past the barricade line. In a strange scene, she looks right at Spider-Man and calls out Peter's name. Of course, we're at this point over a decade before Peter would reveal his dual identity.
Spidey webs MJ and pulls her out from under a toppling brontosaurus, then gives her a firm tongue-lashing for putting herself in danger. It's Spidey's hope that the gruff treatment would throw her off any trail that Spidey might be Peter Parker, and it does. Dr. Connors arrives to talk some sense into Stegron, Steggy calls a pterodactyl and makes a break for it, and Spider-Man follows. Over the ocean, Spidey slugs Stegron, who falls off his mount and into the drink. The Dinosaur Man sinks to the bottom, not to be seen again until a Lizard two-parter in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man a few years later.
Overall, this issue was OK, and that's about all the kudos I can toss its way. Sal's art is fine, not spectacular, but serviceable. Wein seems off with some of his dialogue. I always "hear" the Panther as very proper -- not stuffy so much, but speaking with respect and etiquette. Hearing him say "wall-crawler" just doesn't sound quite right. Really, the issue is just one big battle that never seemed in doubt. And, like many of the early Marvel Team-Ups, this was probably just a vehicle for some Panther-promotion, as his feature in Jungle Action was taking off. A little cross-pollination, so to speak...

Marvelous House Ads, part 3: Marvelous Merchandise

Karen: Perhaps the best, or at least most exciting, house ads were those put out by Marvel for Marvel merchandise. Whether you ever got the stuff or not, it was fun to look at all the different types of items available. Although the comics had ads for superhero and other merchandise from a variety of sellers, we're focusing just on those items offered by Marvel itself. Well, except for our opening one, because it's just too cool!

Karen: Yes, it's what everyone wanted back in 1974: these scintillating collector's medallions! Spidey, Hulk, and Conan on these groovy solid-bronze medallions. And so many ways to wear and display them...all you needed to complete your look was a Hercules wristband and bell bottoms!

Doug: Let it not be lost on anyone, faithful readers, that to have worn one of these bad boys around one's neck would certainly have invited a look of disdain from the ladies!! I fondly recall this ad, but must admit to never actually desiring one of these medallions. But they were cool-looking, even if I would have drawn that sideways glance!

Karen: I'm a little surprised that they went with Conan over Captain America. When I think of Marvel products from the 70s, there were three main characters who were represented: Spidey, Hulk, and Cap. But there's no denying Conan's popularity either.

Doug: Oh, that all-powerful marketing machine! You are correct in your assessment of the Big Three... well, Four.

Karen: Of course, another accessory that you couldn't be without was your Marvel belt buckle. I have to say, if that's the actual art that appeared on the buckles, they didn't put a lot of effort into making it. I mean they just took images from existing covers, and not necessarily good ones either. And the 'Hulk" buckle is actually a Defenders buckle. Of course, what do I know, I never wore a belt! This ad is actually for two products, the second being posters. Those posters are pretty cool, particularly the ones from actual magazine covers. I love how it reads. 'Because Stan (the Man) Lee has heard the word, you can get any of these posters for a mere $2.00". Like Stan had anything to do with the merchandising! But again, this was Marvel's way of telling us, "We're all one big family!"

Doug: You know, I've seen the next generation of these for sale in comics shops. They're just as spiffy. Much cooler than sporting some big honkin' John Deere logo (and probably more comfortable, too!).

Karen: Doug, I know this is one of your favorites, and one of mine too: Mighty Marvel calendars! This one is from 1975, although it says it will still be valuable "in the year 2,001"!! That must have seemed a long way off back then.

Karen: I think my favorite calendar was the bicentennial one, where a lot of the Marvel characters were inserted into historical scenes.

Doug: Now you're cooking in my kitchen! Yep, I have the 1976 calendar you reference, as well as calendars from 1978, 1979, and 1980. You can find a group shot here, and a pic of the July 1976 page featuring Cap here. I did display them, and later went through a period when I regretted doing so. Printed on heavy stock, January and February often began to tear at the pinhole. My mom's solution was to put transparent tape over the hole, thus reinforcing it. But nowadays I'm just glad to have had (and still have) these gems. They were really neat, and the new art dedicated to them was very cool. You also can't beat knowing the birthday of your favorite Bullpen personality!

Karen: Of course, the calendars were great, but this was the one thing I simply couldn't live without: Stan Lee's Origins of Marvel Comics! I got this for Christmas and it completely blew my mind. Not only did you get the origin tales of the FF, Spidey, Thor, the Hulk, and Dr. Strange, but the book also had text from ol' Smilin' Stan himself, explaining how these characters were created (although his recollections might not jibe with others, most especially Jack Kirby's!). This was one of my most treasured possessions -in fact I still have it today! - and I'm sure many folks had the same feeling. Although the ad shown here portrays a slightly different cover than what was finally produced.

Doug: I believe the Surfer was put on hold until Son of Origins. I loved this entire series as it progressed annually. Even though I got Son of Origins first, I nonetheless enjoyed this entire series and Stan's "recollections", as you put it. And yes, the more I read about Stan and Jack, the more their accounts seem to differ. Stan really makes no apologies for his "memories", and of course from Jack we'll never really know -- I guess whatever Mark Evanier says is all we'll get.

I Have Died and Gone to Avengers Heaven...

Doug: I will probably never own this, and I will confess that when I saw this image I got all giddy. I am certain I must have some stupid grin on my face even as I type this. Wow. Just WOW!!! Here is a link to text that was attached to it. Wow... By the way, look closely to see the Wasp -- and did you notice (I did not at first) that the backdrop is really Goliath's visor and mask?

George Perez July: Avengers Annual #6

Avengers Annual #6 (1976)
"No Final Victory!"
Gerry Conway-George Perez/Mike Esposito/John Tartag/Duffy Vohland

Doug: Welcome to July's four-week look at the art of George Perez, as on display in several of Marvel's summer treats -- the Annuals! As we've been saying on the sidebar, over the next three weeks you'll see our take on Avengers Annual #8, Fantastic Four Annual #14, and X-Men Annual #3. So strap in -- here we go!

Doug: This Annual picks up right where Avengers #153 left off. In that issue, the Whizzer had attacked the Avengers (again -- see our review of Giant-Size Avengers #1; this was becoming a broken record to an extent) and Wanda had run up against the Living Laser, who found himself in possession of the Serpent Crown. This 2-parter served as an epilogue to the "Serpent Crown Affair" arc that ran from Avengers #141-144 and #147-149. It also set up the excellent Beast/Wonder Man era that would take off from here on.

Doug: Three things jump out at me right from the first few pages. 1) This is only about a year into Perez's first run on the book, and already he's starting to show a penchant for really individualizing the faces of each character. 2) Conway writes the Wasp just like everybody else. Thankfully she got some depth of character in the '80's. 3) Wow -- Cap and Iron Man are buddies... actually cooperating! What a concept!

Karen: Perez is already a solid artist here, way back in 1976. It's amazing to think how much better he actually got! I just wish the cover had been a Perez one and not Kirby.

Doug: The first several pages of this story recap the events of G-S #1, as well as Avengers #153. There's also some backstory on the Whizzer for the interim time period. We find that after the defeat of Nuklo, Bob Frank was first in the hospital and then became destitute, eventually turning to alcohol abuse. Cleaning himself up, he set out to find out what had happened to Nuklo. Finding the US military less-than-cooperative, Frank took the information he wanted and was shocked to see that the government was apparently studying his son in an effort to use him to their advantage. Frank sped off in a fury to obtain the services of his daughter, the Scarlet Witch, and her husband the Vision.

Doug: In the meantime, the Beast sets out to find the zuvembie Wonder Man. However, upon encountering the recently-revived (see our review of Avengers #152) hero, he finds that Wondy's got some mental wherewithal and an improved vocabulary. They battle, and Hank finds out just what the big deal was all those years ago when Wondy had fought Thor to a standstill. But, Hank's pretty smooth and eventually uses his own strength and mutant agility to dispose of ol' Simon Williams.

Karen: I'd forgotten how the Beast and Wonder Man came together initially. They were such an odd couple, but they perfectly complemented each other. I'm not really buying this idea that Beast could knock Wondy into a wall and knock him out though.

Doug: Then we interlude again, this time with Iron Man and Captain America, who are tracking the Serpent Crown. They end up at a military installation in California and this story begins to all come together. As fate would have it, the installation is run by a rogue general who is in league with the Living Laser. And wouldn't you know? This is the same place where Nuklo is being held! Cap and IM are engaged by some soldiers who are quickly shown the folly of their ways, but then LL strikes and it ain't looking good.

Doug: Perez's art is just outstanding in this issue. To think he'd only been on the title since #141 (and that excludes #'s 145, 146, half of 150 and 152-3), really a grand total of 8 1/2 issues! His camera angles are varied, face and form are outstanding, and he moves the story along well -- words aren't really required to know what's happening. His later genius was already evident back in the summer of 1976.

Karen: His flair for the dramatic was always present in his work. 'Camera angles' is an apt description, as I've always felt his books have the feel of a big budget action film. He knows how to arrange figures in panels, how to utilize angles and depth....the man is simply one of the best.

Karen: I also really enjoyed his way of depicting Nuklo's energy effects, although I wonder if colorist Petra Goldberg deserves the credit for that.
Doug: As you might imagine, the cavalry arrives, a melee ensues, and Nuklo is released. The Living Laser and his military henchmen soon learn that they've messed where they shouldn'ta been messin' and ol' Nuklo goes nuts. Wonder Man's along for the ride, his mind now clear. He finds that his strength and stamina is no match for this radioactive powerhouse, who just happens to be about ready to blow. All of a sudden, a streak enters the picture, homing in on the monster. With a tremendous impact, we see that Bob Frank had launched himself forward with all his speed and rammed into his son. In effect, he'd caused Nuklo to implode rather than explode, thus saving the day.

Karen: I guess we'd have to read the next issue of Avengers to find out how Wonder Man came to his senses. Geez, that really does bother me that it's not shown here!

Doug: At 27 pages of story, this is truly a giant-size tale. It is, however, not one of the "extra"-type of stories that Annuals would contain a few years later. No, this one fits directly in between Avengers 153 and 154; in fact, the "next issue" box at the conclusion of the story advertises the Atlantis multi-parter that would cross over with Super-Villain Team-Up. We should note, too, that this book does have two stories, and the back-up is not a reprint but a new tale of the Vision in battle against Whirlwind. That story's by Scott Edelman and Herb Trimpe. Trimpe was better suited to the Hulk, methinks...

Karen: You thinks right!

Happy Birthday, America!

Doug: Through the highs and lows, the good times and bad, and even in spite of some of the stupid things we do, I still look with pride on the Stars and Stripes. Thanks for being a Land of Opportunity.

Doug: The following story was relayed to me by my wife's uncle, a Vietnam veteran who works with other vets. He put out an e-mail that simply asked his clients, "What do you think of on the 4th of July?" Here is one of the replies:

My first contact with the American military was when I was a young boy living in Beirut Lebanon. Though I don't remember why, Eisenhower sent the Marines to Lebanon and after they landed they set up camp on the beach, directly under our 4th story balcony.

After a few days, we developed a game where we'd throw water balloons off of our balcony at them and if we hit them they'd give us a chocolate bar. They were all bigger than life and so nice.

They were there for one of the holidays (July 4, Memorial Day, Veterans Day -- I can't remember) and they had a big party on the beach. They told us stories about living in America and how wonderful it was. I was enthralled and wanted so badly to move here.

The luckiest day in my life was the day our ship came through New York Harbour and Lady Liberty shown down upon me true freedom.

Corny, but true to this day.

Happy 4th ....

Farid

Wonder Woman...street-fighter?!

Karen: OK, I bet you've all seen it, but here it is, in all its glory, the new Jim Lee-designed Wonder Woman outfit:Karen: I don't know if I can adequately express just how much I don't like this outfit. What in the heck are they thinking? The outfit, and the direction outlined by JMS, sounds terrible to me. Wonder Woman (in my opinion) should be DC's Thor: a link to the tales and heroes of mythology, and a figure of grandeur. I'm not feeling that from this look. Now I know that WW sales have been poor -in fact, have been for most of her existence. But her costume was never the reason!

Doug: DC's Thor? What, you mean like George Perez was doing back in the post-Crisis reboot? Exactly right, and those were some mighty fine tales. Not only did he update her look and really improve the overall quality of the book, but he made it fun -- just as you said, a link to the immortal corners of the DCU. Although the book began to fade near the end of his run, I don't feel that's as much his fault as it was DC's in not finding comparable creators to step in and provide a smooth transition between creative teams.


Doug: I will fall in line with much of the rest of fandom and echo your sentiments about the costume. While I don't care for it and some of the story elements, I do understand from a marketing standpoint why this is being done. And, too, like many critics and bloggers have also suggested, this will all be undone in two years tops. In fact, I'll wager that while Diana is wearing this costume, we see some high-quality reprints of previous material -- Perez is probably due for the new DC Library hardcover treatment. After all, the tpbs of his WW material were out several years ago, and really that translates to a generation of comics fans. The suit we all know and love will live on, but just in places other than the main title.

Doug: When you think about the iconic characters, none are spared the occasional fashion reboot. Think about it: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Aquaman, Robin, and J'onn J'onzz have all been retooled occasionally -- but they always come back to the classic. At Marvel, Spider-Man, the Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, the FF, Dr. Strange, Namor, Daredevil, the Scarlet Witch... same story. In the end, it's all about attention-grabbing, and in these mass-media times, it's about hooking the non-comics fan (or latent comics fan) to get them into the shops or other comic outlets.

Doug: On a personal note, I'm just tickled that Don Kramer and Mike Babinski have been chosen to illustrate these now-high profile adventures. I've documented it here and elsewhere that Don and I worked together through high school and college (Redwood Inn, Kankakee, IL, baby!), and I had Mike as a student very early in my teaching career. Don paid his dues for a long time, dreaming since childhood to be in the business. After college, he sweated it out while working for his dad's trucking company, doing small press stuff and showing his portfolio to industry bigwigs (and some small wigs, too!) at every turn. Of course, his big break came when he landed a Startling Stories Starring the Thing for Marvel, and a Dr. Fate mini at DC shortly after. Since then, he's done JSA, Detective/Batman, some other DC minis, and now Wonder Woman. DC is certainly not afraid to put him out there.


Doug: So, while I am not in love with this particular outfit, and agree that sometimes telling a good story should be enough without busting out the dog-and-pony show every five years, I know that soon order will be restored in my comic-icon universe. We're just victims (constantly) of the big marketing machine.

NOTE: Read an outstanding retrospective of Wonder Woman's different looks throughout her history by clicking here.

Part Nine: A Bird of Prey...

NOTE: This post was updated on June 8 2020; if I've included images that don't exactly jibe with our comments, please forgive me. Ten years on it's not possible to recall what we had displayed in the original post. -Doug

Doug: Hi, kids! You voted, and we listened. We didn't truly know the extent that you loved this costumes feature, but you spoke loudly and clearly in our recent anniversary poll. Well, truthfully, around 5 or 6 of you said you liked it...

Doug: Let's take a look at our favorite inner-city social worker, Sam Wilson! Sam's sported a few different looks over the years. And when you look at him from beginning to present, it's really a varied display of haute couteur.

Doug: In the beginning, Sam wore green, and lots of it. Not possessing the power of flight, Sam nonetheless took the name The Falcon and became an able partner to Captain America. He first appeared in Captain America #117 in an outfit drawn by Gene Colan. He'd wear these threads for a few years until he switched to the more well-known red/white motif. Even then, it would be another stretch of times before T'Challa -- the Black Panther -- gifted him with wings and the power of flight. Sal Buscema pencilled that story, which took place in the midst of the "Secret Empire" arc.

Karen: I've always liked the Falcon. Unfortunately he's usually been in the shadow of Captain America -as probably anyone who partnered with Cap would be. But he's a great character with some real history.

Doug: So which of the various costumes that we have depicted throughout the page are favorites? I'll start... I really don't care for the original green get-up. Yeah, it's nostalgic, and I was surprised the first time I saw it because I had no idea that it had existed. But it just screams "blaxploitation" to me. The showy colors, the major skin showing, the long chain and falcon medallion all make this a relic from its time. I think, too, that the orange framing of the shirt coupled with the green on the rest of the costume evoke somewhat of an African theme. That's not bad in itself, but to me it just adds to the criticisms I have overall of the costume.

Karen: The green and orange look is not my favorite but...I like it! And Doug, I hear all your criticisms about it, and they're all valid. But for the times, it was some swinging threads. I probably also have some nostalgia for that outfit, as it's what Falc wore when I first started reading the title. It is a weird color combo though. I think Aquaman is the only other guy rockin' those colors. But I think you're on to something when you say that they are supposed to evoke an African theme. That makes sense to me.

Doug: The familiar red/white costume shown above was what Sam was wearing when I read my first issue of Captain America and the Falcon, as well as his costume on his immortal Mego figure. It has a familiarity for me, but really -- it has many of the same elements I criticized above. Additionally, it would make more sense if there were fabric over the arms for the wings to completely attach to. But it's still what I think of when ol' Falc is brought up in conversation.

Karen: This is the outfit that comes to mind when I think of Falcon. It has the same cut as the original, but the red and white combo is probably better. Of course, I think the best thing of all is the wings - Sam needed something besides that silly grappling hook deal.

Doug: It seems that what came after that costume is just a variation. I must say I prefer the suit to the right of Sam in flight to the one below that has the awful headpiece. To the right, I really like the mask and the V-look of the white against the red. But again, why are his ribs exposed? It just doesn't make sense. It's somewhat like all of the supergals cavorting around in their thongs... is it practical? The deeper red is nice as well.

Karen: I do like the darker red, and they've kept that with his current outfit. This is similar to what he wears in the present, although now his sides are covered. His arms still aren't.

Doug: Yeah, the last costume has issues. The boots evoke those worn in the 1970's and are OK; I'd prefer they didn't look like real feathers so much, but I see what they were going for. As I said above, the mask is ugly. And overall the layout of the colors just says "Stingray" to me, not "Falcon". Not sure, too, why the brown belt buckle is added as an accent color.Karen: Wow, that last costume is craptastic. The mask is dorky-looking, and I'm not digging those feathery boots and gloves.

Doug: OK, I've been really grumpy it seems. If you want to nail me down, I like the costume worn in flight the best. Of course I have a bit of a soft spot for the first red/white costume. But I really don't want to give in on my complaints about all of that skin on display.

Karen: I think the Falcon is a winner. That last costume is nasty, but all in all, he's got a solid if unspectacular look.

Marvelous House Ads, part 2: Marvel Magazines

Karen: Howdy folks, we 're spending some more time taking at trip through the past via those fun Marvel house ads from the 70s. Our first time around, we did showed a variety of ads from 1970 to 1973. This time, we're going to focus on Marvel's ads for their magazine line, from about 1973 to 1975.

Karen: When most of us think of Marvel magazines, we probably think of the biggies, like Savage Sword of Conan or Hulk. But Marvel actually turned out a variety of magazines, from sword and sorcery to horror, science fiction, super-heroes, and even humor. Here's one of the goofier books, Monster Madness, which put humorous captions with old Universal monster and other movie stills. This kind of fumetti seemed to appeal to Stan Lee, who I believe had done some similar books. I'm pretty sure I had this magazine as a kid -one of the few Marvel mags I actually owned.

Doug: I always looked at these in the grocery store, in addition to Mad and Car-toons, but must confess that back in the day I never owned any. I was pretty much a four-color zombie and was generally put-off by the B&W art. In retrospect, what a dope I was! Today I really love to see that lush art in Savage Sword, and I enjoy the mythos that was being created in Planet of the Apes. I did have a few issues of the Hulk, but even those were after the magazine went to color.


Karen: Of course, Savage Tales was one of the most popular titles. Because there was no comics code on the magazines, Marvel could get away with more violence and nudity, although it was still pretty tame comparatively speaking. And this is the part that kills me: 76 pages for 75 cents! The ad here is a pretty nice one, with that awesome Barry Smith Conan art. I love John Buscema's work, but I have to say, I really enjoy Smith's interpretation of Conan.


Karen: From roughly the same time, we have these text-laden ads for Monsters Unleashed and Dracula Lives, two of several monster mags that Marvel was putting out. It's interesting to note that for most of the mags produced in this time period -1973 - the ads don't actually show the covers! I can only imagine that this was because they hadn't decided on a cover design yet? In any case, it strikes me as very peculiar.
















Karen: Here's an ad for Planet of the Apes. Doug has reviewed at least one issue of this magazine here. I recall owning several copies at one time but not any more. This mag combined adaptations of the movies with new, original stories, and also articles about the films and photos from the films. I'm not sure if this or Doc Savage was Marvel's first movie tie-in.


Karen: And who could forget Crazy? Well, I could actually -I was a Mad magazine fan. But I think Crazy was relatively successful for a number of years. In this ad we actually get a depiction of the cover.