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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 6, 2020 16:41:04 GMT -5
Marvel Super Special #41, Howard the Duck Now the snake is just eating its own tale. This is a comic book adaptation of a movie adaptation of a comic book, that was inspired by other comic book that were inspired by animated cartoons. So blame Disney for this; which, since they own Marvel, is kind of fitting. Oh, and blame George Lucas, who produced this twaddle. Creative Team: Steve Gerber-writer...... HA! GOTCHA! You wish! Danny Fingeroth-script, Kyle Baker-art, Janice Chiang-letters, Glynis Oliver-colors, Bob Budiansky-editor. Jim Shooter-mortal enemy of Gerber Well, at least it has Kyle Baker. Never did like the redesign of Howard, after Disney came calling. Can they change it back, now? Make him a cousin to Donald or something? Synopsis: On Duckworld, Howard comes home, pops the top on a brewski and watches some tv. He looks at Playduck and the centerfold of a duck with breasts, despite not having mammary glands. Strike one! His chair vibrates and he is pulled across space to another world...  He says Wuagh! and tumbles to Earth, lands outside a bar in Cleveland and gets kicked around. Meanwhile, Beverly Switzer leaves her gig and is mugged, but rescued by Howard, who knows Quack Fu. Howard rescues the singer, who dresses like a New Wave prostitute, and is taken back to her place, when it starts raining. they get acquainted. Howard is a copywriter in advertising, having given up dreams of being a songwriter. he falls asleep and Bev looks through his wallet and finds snapshots of ducks...and a condom. The next morning, Bev takes Howard to see a friend, at the Natural History Museum. he's an idiot, who tries to test Howard for super powers. Howard leaves in anger. Phil, the friend, chases after, spouting some theory that Howard is a missing link in evolution, which is quite a stretch. Howard feels like a freak and yells at Bev, who storms off. Howard has to find a job and goes to work at a hot tub company, as a water expert. It doesn't work out and he ends up at a bar, where he overhears Bev's crooked manager admit to stealing from her. he and Howard have a fight...  He gets the money owed to Bev and they forgive each other, while Phil continues to pester Howard. Howard stays with Bev, and we almost get some inter-species romance.....  Ewwwww.........and then Phil turns up with a sexual predator....er, Jeffrey Jones, who shows Howard footage of an experiment that resulted in a feather appearing in the lab. That experiment is what brought Howard to Earth (as opposed to stepping off floating stars, in some cosmic dimension). They think they can get him home. They go to the lab, but there has been an accident. The police arrest Howard as an illegal alien. Bev breaks him out, the Professor helps drive them, then starts changing. Later, at a diner, Howard is accosted and the Prof goes totally looney and runs off with Bev.  With Phil's help, they steal a plane (ultralight, in the film) and hunt down the Prof & bev, and find mad scientist stuff going on. That or bondage games.  They rescue Bev from a space monster, but, to get rid of it, Howard sacrifices his chance of getting home. He ends up with the band, and via an accident, becomes a star...  . Thoughts: the movie was crap, didn't do much for Leah Thompson or Tim Robbins (Jeffrey Jones has his own self to blame for his troubles), and did a number on George Lucas' reputation, even though he didn't direct this mess. He did , however, hire buddy Willard Huck to do so and he blew it. The script is bad, it isn't very funny (though it does have some moments, here and there) and it tanked. It is watchable, in a trainwreck kind of way, and the actors are likable enough to help; but, too much was working against it. Howard has since gotten MCU cameos, but no one is ready to go there, yet. Nothing can match Gerber. Baker is fine on the art, Fingeroth is by-the-numbers. It's pretty much average Shooter Marvel, which kind of sums up the film, really. Fittingly, Howard killed Marvel's chances of getting their properties on film, for a while (longer than you think, when you add the Captain America and Punisher failures of the dawn of the 90s) and killed Marvel Super Special, as this was the last one, until they revived the name in 2001. This was all after Gerber and Marvel had settled and Gerber is noted as Howard's creator, in the film credits.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 6, 2020 16:47:31 GMT -5
Next, we begin the look at Marvel Team-Up and Marvel Two-in-One. We will do this chronologically, so MTIO will join in when it apepars on the stands; so, MTU will lead us and be a solo, for 17 issues and will continue after MTIO is put to bed. So, first up will be Spidey and Torch; so, get your tickets for the fight.
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Post by Calidore on Sept 7, 2020 12:45:26 GMT -5
This is a comic book adaptation of a movie adaptation of a comic book, that was inspired by other comic book that were inspired by animated cartoons. So blame Disney for this; which, since they own Marvel, is kind of fitting. And now that Disney owns both properties, we really need a crossover. Seems like there could be great chemistry with Howard as basically the irascible, foul-mouthed uncle who Donald desperately tries to keep from having any influence on Huey, Dewey, and Louie, but who the kids of course think is the coolest person they've ever met. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 16, 2020 17:43:26 GMT -5
Marvel Team-Up #1 The title sounds like the intro to a Monty Python sketch! Creative Team: Roy Thomas-team writer, Ross Andru-team penciler, Mike Esposito-team inker, Artie Simek-team letterer, Stan Lee-team coach Where were you in '72? (to swipe from George Lucas...) I was starting the 1st grade. Technically, this was released in December of 1971, so I was being forced to do some horrid Christmas thing for school, to present to our parents, while in kindergarten. Nap time was fine; but, I learned more from Sesame Street than kindergarten. I could already read, thanks to the Muppets and The Electric Company (well, to a certain extent) Synopsis: Peter Parker is at the beach, having been assigned there by JJ Jameson to get snaps of the Polar Bear Club and their annual attempts at hypothermia. One nitwit comes out of the water screaming about a tentacle, made of sand. The tentacle forms into a man and it's the Sandman....  Cue Metallica... The Sandman pops a beer and whacks someone with a cane...... ...Oh, wait, that was ECW..... ECW was an exciting (if rather bloody and violent, far too often) product; but, their ringside crowds were like Pavlov's dogs. Anyway... Sandman is sporting his Kirby duds, having left behind Ditko's striped shirt and eschewing Neil Gaiman's black coat and black eyeliner. The cops try to arrest him (On what charge; tickling with intent?) and that doesn't work, as the cuffs just pass through his arms. Sandy shakes out his trunks (the sand gets everywhere) and laughs atthe fuzz and then Spidey shows up. He swings in on a web, though I don't know what it is attached to there on the beach. The banter and play on the beach and Spidey mentions Christmas Eve, which catches Sandy by surprise (Oh, no; what will I get the Wizard for Christmas?) Sandy takes a powder and Spidey slings off down the street, before nearly getting burnt, by a ring of fire... It's the Torch, goofing around, while demonstrating that he is color-blind (even for 1971/72)...  Spidey tells Johnny that sandman is back (since he is with the Frightful Four and Johnny used to spar with him solo). They go off to New Jersey in Torch's beater version of the Fantasticar, since Reed and Sue have the new station wagon model on a test drive. They drop down in Jersey to check around and spot muggers attacking a woman and intercede, getting checks on Santa's Good List. next, they spot a cement truck (who's pouring concrete in December?) that goes out of control, sliding on ice and they stop it. They are about to give up when they spot Sandman on a rooftop (where else?) They fight and Sandman says something about "Not when I'm this close..."  Using the Wizard's gadgets, which solidify his sand into concrete, he takes out the Dynamic Dimwits and holds them prisoner. He dumps them into a water tower to drown. Spidey can't get loose; but, Torch is able to spit fire onto the cable that holds them and burn through, freeing them. They catch up to Sandy and spot him going into a window. Then, they follow and find a surprise...  They give Sandy five minutes, but Torch falls asleep and Sandy gets out through a sink drain. The boys go off to celebrate their own Christmases. Thoughts: Sappy, but fun. Oh, for the days when you could have a cornball holiday issue and no one got all bent out of shape because it wasn't part of a multi-chapter epic, stretched to fit into a trade book or with 18 variant covers, including Hanukkah and Kwanza limited editions! Andru & Esposito were Spidey vets, so they knew what they were doing and Torch and Sandman are well handled. It's holiday fluff, so no real in depth analysis is needed. Just a good, solid comic for readers, for the holidays. Back when comics were still a mass medium. Marvel Team-Up was initially launched as a Spidey & Torch vehicle; but, that proved limiting and they abandoned the format after the first three issues. So, we get two more Torch crossovers, then new guest stars. Roy pretty much sets up the template; Spidey is hanging around, away from his normal soap opera, when some crisis erupts and he stumbles into another hero. They work together to solve things, with a lot of banter and a greater emphasis on action than plot (not that they didn't come up with some good plots in these things). Big names would come in to give the series a boost and rookies would get a tryout or attempt to "get a rub," as a wrestling booker would say, to elevate a minor character. Sometimes, they carried over into a second issue and would continue their team or bring in another character. Once in a great while, they stretched it over three or four issues, such as when Spidey encounters an amnesiac Black Widow, who is on the run from SHIELD, while Silver Samurai and Viper are up to no good. That one brought in Black Widow, Nick Fury and Shang Chi, by the end of it and had them stopping Viper from using the Helicarrier to launch 9/11, some 22 years earlier. I always preferred MTU to the regular Spidey books, as the tone was lighter and more playful and you weren't hit with the constant whining that passed for soap opera. Spider-Man had some great stories; but, for much of the 70s, he came across as a big crybaby, who could whip up some electronic gizmo, with no money, and defeat a villain, but couldn't earn enough to pay his rent. It just never worked for me. Next, The Thing starts his own tag-team series.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 16, 2020 17:48:43 GMT -5
ps Where do you get a magenta plaid sportcoat?
Must be that golf shop where Herb Tarlek shopped.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 16, 2020 18:20:14 GMT -5
Marvel Two-in-One #1 Ben and Man-Thing go monstro a monstro! Looks like Man-Thing needs a little chlorophyll there.... Creative Team: Steve Gerber-writer, Gil Kane-pencils, Joe Sinnott-inks, Jean Izzo-letters, George Roussos-colors, Roy Thomas-editor Synopsis: Ben is at a store newsstand (remember those?), looking at Man-Thing on the cover and contemplating calling his lawyer to file a trademark infringement suit...  Thing short changes a clerk for a bus ticket to Florida to go serve papers. Th gas station owner wonders how he angered the Fates. On the bus, Ben muses while his fellow passengers wish they had taken Amtrak. He remembers his recent battles with the Hulk and alongside Iron Man, in Marvel Feature, which served as a test for this concept (and helped further Thanos on his road to killing the universe). Elsewhere, the Molecule Man is dying and passes on his legacy to his son. He dies and Junior heads to Earth and does the usual fist rattling at the world...  He transports to Florida and runs into the chlorophyll deprived man-Thing and feels weaker and ages. Well, he's ugly; but not that bad...He grabs his wand and it reverses things (he dropped it when he saw MT). So, Chekov's Gun and all that. He goes stomping off in the Everglades, looking for Ben, with man-Thing loping behind him. Ben gets off at a bridge and hops into the swamp to go searching. You know, the Everglades covers a lot of acreage; how exactly is Ben going to find Man-Thing; luck? Yup.....  Molecule Man Jr attacks, Man-Thing Pearl harbors him and tosses him aside, but he keeps hold of his wand. Ahem... He zaps Ben and M-T with its rays, which affect time and both appear in previous human form, with Ben back to his ever lovin' self and M-T returned to Ted Sallis. MM runs off and Ben seems a bit miffed about being returned to human form, though Sallis is pretty happy.  Molecule Man's wand starts acting up (stop it!) because of the Nexus of Realities. he decides to walk to New York, to attack the FF. Ben and Ted follow. They track him to Citrusville, where he is making things go all loopy...  He turns an old man into reed Richards, then smacks him around and Ben attacks and gets turned back into the Thing. he then gets chained down. Ted tries to tell ben that brute force won't work and gets smacked into MM and turned into Man-Thing, who then attacks Ben. MM laughs and Ben throws debris at him, knocking away the wand, which causes him to rapidly age. He tries to get to the wand but crumbles into dust before he can reach iot. ben picks it up but can't make it work and throws it aside, for a kid to pick up. Man-Thing shuffles off and the kid dreams of being King of the World. Nice job Ben; future super-villain right there! Thoughts: Pretty contrived but it gets by on personality and just enough comedy to make it work. I always preferred MTIO, since Ben made for a more fun character and the comedy was usually better written than MTU. Also, Ben is just a big lovable hunk a' rock. The idea of Ben and Ted being restored is tossed aside pretty quickly and Ben is back in rocks and trunks faster than you can say "Presto-chango!" You could have got some mileage out of that; but, these were usually done-in-one stories. Kane makes it look all...well, Kanesian. He adds some nice physical touches with the bystanders at the beginning and as MM is running amok. Now, quick housekeeping note; at one point, MTU crosses over with MTIO; but, they started 2 years apart. that meant either waiting to do MTIO until I hit that point, 40+ issues down the road, or that I just cover things separately, which is what I'm going to do. So, when I hit that point in MTIO, I will start the story's review with the MTU chaper, even though it will be out of sequence and continue in the MTIO chapter, then go back to pick up the MTU coverage where I left off. It may get confusing; but, it's more fun, for me. your mileage may vary.
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Post by zaku on Sept 17, 2020 2:35:35 GMT -5
Spider-Man had some great stories; but, for much of the 70s, he came across as a big crybaby, who could whip up some electronic gizmo, with no money, and defeat a villain, but couldn't earn enough to pay his rent. It just never worked for me. Well, wasn't in the 70s Spider-Man regularly beaten even by not-super powered villains like Tarantula? Someone who can lift 10 tons and is so quick that he can dodge a bullet shoot at point blank range had consistently his ass kicked by a guy with the power of pointy shoes. I remember that was even lampshaded in a 80s story  |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Sept 17, 2020 5:30:49 GMT -5
What makes Marvel Team-up and Marvel 2-in-1 'misfit' stories? Both series were pretty mainstream, starred two of the company's most popular/fan favorite characters and had respectably long runs (150 and 100 issues, respectively). It seems like they would warrant their own, separate discussion thread.
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Post by kirby101 on Sept 17, 2020 7:36:34 GMT -5
I loved that first MTIO story. I thought Kane never looked better. One of his best stand alone stories (along with Valley of the Worm) I thought Sinnott inking him was something special. Apparently, Kane did not, I have heard that he did not like the work Joe did on his pencils. Maybe because the Thing looks a little more Sinnott than Kane.
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Post by brianf on Sept 17, 2020 8:31:01 GMT -5
There was also the run up to MTIO in Marvel Feature   |
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Post by chaykinstevens on Sept 17, 2020 9:03:01 GMT -5
Marvel Team-Up #1They drop down in Jersey to check around and spot muggers attacking a woman and intercede, getting checks on Santa's Good List. A retcon by Claremont and Byrne will later reveal the identity of the mugging victim. Andru & Esposito were Spidey vets, so they knew what they were doing and Torch and Sandman are well handled. Andru had only drawn Spider-Man once before, in Marvel Super-Heroes #14. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 17, 2020 10:00:30 GMT -5
Marvel Two-in-One #1 That issue was mentioned in the Marvel No-Prize Book, as the corner-logo title says "Marvel two on one". Maybe someone thought that the book was about two heroes pounding on one villain! And Molecule Man isn't kidding... his robes were nowhere as disturbing as his wearing Borat's swimsuit. |
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Post by MDG on Sept 17, 2020 10:09:11 GMT -5
That issue was mentioned in the Marvel No-Prize Book, as the corner-logo title says "Marvel two on one". Maybe someone thought that the book was about two heroes pounding on one villain! That was actually a joke in a fanzine about 40 years ago--they had promos for non-existent comics and one was something like: "Marvel Three-on-One #7: Spider-Man, Hawkeye, and Iron Man beat the living crap out of Paste-Pot Pete." |
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 17, 2020 11:04:30 GMT -5
What makes Marvel Team-up and Marvel 2-in-1 'misfit' stories? Both series were pretty mainstream, starred two of the company's most popular/fan favorite characters and had respectably long runs (150 and 100 issues, respectively). It seems like they would warrant their own, separate discussion thread. Well, they occasionally ended up finishing off a story that was canceled elsewhere (such as Starlin's Thanos or Deathlok), and many of the characters who appeared as guest stars were misfits without a home. Also, the stars tended to be kept away from their usual continuity; or, at least it was minimized. I already had this going as a home for comics titled Marvel (fill in the blank) and it seemed fitting to continue them here. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 17, 2020 11:05:32 GMT -5
Marvel Team-Up #1They drop down in Jersey to check around and spot muggers attacking a woman and intercede, getting checks on Santa's Good List. A retcon by Claremont and Byrne will later reveal the identity of the mugging victim. Andru & Esposito were Spidey vets, so they knew what they were doing and Torch and Sandman are well handled. Andru had only drawn Spider-Man once before, in Marvel Super-Heroes #14. It only takes one battle to make you a veteran, when some other rookie comes along. |
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