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Post by berkley on Oct 25, 2020 18:46:57 GMT -5
Marvel Two-In-One #8Thing and Ghost Rider! Creative Team: Steve Gerber-writer, Sal Buscema-pencils, Mike Esposito-inks, Charlotte Jetter-letters, George Roussos-colors, Len Wein-editor Thoughts: Gerber needs to lay off the peyote...or whatever is in his peace pipe. This is truly weird, more than a little silly and no one acknowledges that Ben is Jewish. Well, it was kind of ignored, for years. Heck, Ben wasn't even bar mitzvahed until 2002. Jack always knew, though... 
Was it ignored or was it a new wrinkle added to the character later on as a tribute to its creators, Kirby and Lee? I don't recall it ever being mentioned or hinted at in the Kirby/Lee FF but I could easily have missed it, especially if it was something I saw when I was a kid and haven't re-read as an adult.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 25, 2020 19:27:25 GMT -5
Marvel Two-In-One #8Thing and Ghost Rider! Creative Team: Steve Gerber-writer, Sal Buscema-pencils, Mike Esposito-inks, Charlotte Jetter-letters, George Roussos-colors, Len Wein-editor Thoughts: Gerber needs to lay off the peyote...or whatever is in his peace pipe. This is truly weird, more than a little silly and no one acknowledges that Ben is Jewish. Well, it was kind of ignored, for years. Heck, Ben wasn't even bar mitzvahed until 2002. Jack always knew, though...
Was it ignored or was it a new wrinkle added to the character later on as a tribute to its creators, Kirby and Lee? I don't recall it ever being mentioned or hinted at in the Kirby/Lee FF but I could easily have missed it, especially if it was something I saw when I was a kid and haven't re-read as an adult.
I haven't read all of Lee & Kirby; but, I don't believe it was mentioned. However, it was clear that Ben and the whole Yancy Street Gang angle was from Jack and that it reflected his childhood (as did the other Simon & Kirby kid gang stuff, as much as the Dead End Kids). He had also been sending out that Hanukkah card before Ben got bar mitzvahed, later. I think the later reflected the Kirby cards and the fact that Ben was the closest character to Kirby of any at Marvel (aside from elements of Captain America). Stan avoided any idea of religion (aside from just generic heaven and hell, good and evil), for fear of offending and losing readers. With a name like Grimm, you know Ben is of German stock, at least, as was Kirby (well, Austrian) and could easily be Jewish, especially given his neck of the woods. The Brother's Grimm were protestant Christians; so, you were free to assume that was true of Ben, if you were so inclined. However, Ben was so identified with Kirby and there is so much of Kirby in him, it just makes sense for him to be Jewish, if only to serve as a tribute to Jack especially since Stan continued to make money off of Marvel, while Jack only got page rate and whatever reprint fees). If you examine the personality of ben, there is a very Jewish quality to it, from his sense of humor, to a certain cynical outlook, to a long relationship with emotional pain and an outsider status that just seems to reflect a Jewish background, of that time period. You kind of expect him to be the child of poor immigrants, from a tough neighborhood, who made good , through talent and sheer hard work (talking about Ben as an athlete and pilot pilot, before the trip into space). He reminds you very much of Jack's generation of Jewish athletes, actors and comedians. You could see him hanging out at the Friar's Club, or observing Passover, with friends, or peppering his language with Yiddish (which is a trick missed by writers since he has been established to be Jewish). |
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Post by berkley on Oct 25, 2020 20:54:56 GMT -5
Yeah, I get all that, just wondered if I had missed something from the earlier stories.
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Post by mikelmidnight on Oct 26, 2020 11:38:24 GMT -5
Yeah, I get all that, just wondered if I had missed something from the earlier stories.
He wasn't canonically revealed to be Jewish until 2002 (on saying a Hebrew prayer over a potentially fatally injured villain, whom I seem to recall responded, cogently enough, "Funny, you don't look Jewish.")
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 5, 2020 23:52:03 GMT -5
Marvel Team-Up #10 Kang (and Kodos) the Conqueror! Maybe he can travel back in time and make 2020 not suck so much! Spidey and the Torch. We aren't even a year into this and Torch is back already. Granted, this started as a Spidey & Torch book; but, you'd think, once they decided to have rotating guest stars, they'd hold off on Torch reappearing for a bit. Creative Team: Gerry Conway-writer, Jim Mooney-pencils, Frank Giacoia-inks, Charlotte Jetter-letters, Stan Goldberg-colors, Roy Thomas-editor. So, casual perusing of the issues so far suggests it; but, does anyone know definitively if Roy implemented crediting the colorist or am I just forgetting instances where Stan included them in credits? In this series, the first time the colorist is credited is in issue 7, with Stan Goldberg. The Letterer is there every issue, but no colorists before that. Synopsis: In the 23rd Century, Zarko The Tomorrow Man confronts Kang the Conqueror, while Spidey and Shellhead are out cold. It's the battle of the green and purple villains!  Zarko crows about sending back three chrono-bombs that will do what Cher could not...turn back time. (That's the USS Missouri Cher is fondling. The Navy wasn't thrilled by her choice of costuming; though, the sailors obviously were. Personally, I'd have held out for Pat Benatar). Zarko basically tells Kang everything he needs to know to defeat him; so, guess where that is going...  Spidey and Shellhead come around and sneak away from the villains. Spidey finds time gear and uses it to travel back to 1973 and catch the latest episode of MASH (when it was funny). Meanwhile, someone breaks in, but we have to wait for next issue to find out who. This is whay I wasn't a fan of Marvel back then; when you don't have regular access to a newsstand, the words "to be continued" were worse than any curse word. Spidey materializes inside the Baxter Building and the Torch sees him on a monitor. They have coffee and Torch points out what a gullible idiot Spidey is. They head out to stop the chrono-bombs, with Torch headed for one aimed at Japan. Spidey is taking one aimed at South America, without explaining on how he plans to get there. Then again, it'll Torch a lot longer to fly to Japan than the Pogo Plane. A narration tells us Torch hopped on an airline flight to Japan (from JFK Airport) and gets there just as the bomb hits and turns a bullet train into a steam locomotive and people inside are suddenly in kimonos and samurai armor. Okay, it's over 14 hours from New York to Tokyo, on a jet plane. I think Gerry or Jim Mooney screwed up and Roy had to cover. Anyway, things start changing backwards and Torch somehow uses his heat to make radiation waves visible to his eyes and follows the trail to the bomb. he is led to a shack, where a guy aims a rifle at him, then gets turned into a samurai, with the worst drawn katana ever...  That's a broadsword, Jim. Mifune does a snap-mare on Torch, but a left-right-left combo froma Murican knocks him out and Torch finds the bomb. However, the radiation is causing him to lose his mind (minor loss). Meanwhile, we shift to South America and find Spidey in a web nest, under a 747, as it flies over Venezuela. he drops out on landing.  The 747 turns into an old biplane (shouldn't it at least be something like a Gotha, with some size to it?) Caracas (I'm assuming) turns from modern city back to colonial era. He traces the bomb (via Spidey sense) to a warfside warehouse, fights some dudes with machetes and then Torch turns up, magically okay and melts the bomb. They hop into a biplane, that turns into a fighter and head for the third bomb, in Greece. Over Greece, their jet turns into Da Vinci's glider wings and they fall to the ground (Sorry Leo; guess the wings don't work!) They are met by Greeks, bearing swords.  They beat the Greeks, find the bomb and Spidey stops Torch from melting it, since he needs it to figure out how to beat Zarko and Kang. Torch finally realizes the radiation matches that around the negtive zone that hides The Great refuge, of the Inhumans. He doesn't want to see Crystal, so Spidey is going to have to go see them by his lonesome. Thoughts: This issue is a mess! Either Conway gave Mooney a pretty thin plot and he had to try to jam everything into the pages available, or they weren't communicating, or Mooney wasn't great at adding to the thin plot, or Conway just crapped out a plot. Whatever the cause is, this is pretty bad. Conway has jet flights moving way faster than logically possible, the chrono-bombs don't really make a lot of sense, in action, and the resolution comes pretty easily. Plus, we went from Torch losing his mind in one panel t suddenly being okay and flying halfway around the world and saving Spidey, then just flying off when the Inhumans will be involved. It's like this story has ADD. I think Conway tried to shoehorn too many thigs in and Mooney couldn't make it work, in the page count. I also think someone is confused (possibly Conway), as Mooney draws Oscar Niemeyer's Congressio Naciona, in Brasilia, yet Conway's narration block says the jetliner is over Venezuela...  (center panel)  I lean towards Conway, as he was notorious for geographical errors in some of his late 80s era Marvel stories. Conway was pretty young when he was writing this stuff and I think inexperience and maturity are showing heavily here. Might have been a deadline crunch, too. Torch is in his red costume, from FF #132-158, which he wore as a tribute to the original Torch (Roy started it; but, the bulk of its use was in Conway's issues, when Medusa replaced Sue). The first FF comic I ever read was Giant Size FF #3, where the main story, set in the present, has Torch in the red outfit, while the second story, from FF #21, has him in the usual blue duds. Man, I hope the Inhumans can save this storyline. It didn't start well and got worse with this issue.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 6, 2020 0:31:37 GMT -5
Marvel Two-in-One #10 Thing and Black Widow Creative Team: Chris Claremont-writer, Bob Brown-pencils, Klaus Janson-inks & colors, John Costanza-letters, Len Wein-editor Synopsis: It's a Sunday in New York, which Claremont says is perfect for playing hooky, even though there is no school on Sunday. So, what, did he ditch Sunday School and church a lot, while growing up? Anyway, Black Widow is driving a sports car while being chased and shot at by generic goons in generic goon uniforms....  I think you could get those at Montgomery Ward, back then. She goes tearing through Central Park, trying to run down people and horse on the trails, then goes offroad through picnickers, when the cops finally turn up. The goons fire a rocket at her.  Sheesh, as if the muggers weren't bad enough, without car chases and explosives! Wouldn't you know it, Ben Grimm and Alicia Masters are taking a stroll in the park, when Black Widow comes bearing down on them. Ben shoves Alicia out of the way, Widow swerves and Ben gets clipped by her car. Ben slams into a tree and turns it into kindling. Widow gets out and checks on him, when the goons have her at gunpoint. She raises her bracelet, but gets zapped first and they haul her and Ben off, so they can't interfere with Operation Poseidon. So, they're going to capsize an ocean liner! They load them onto some high tech helicopter and take off, while Alicia stumbles around the park calling for Ben. Man, that's cold, even from Claremont! Ben wakes up around strangers and starts punching people wanting to know where Alicia is. He is forced to stop by an officer goon, who has Natasha at gunpoint. He tells them they are prisoners of the Sword of Judgement...  They are formerly "oppressed people of the world", who have a big bomb (which looks like a Kirby version of a sea mine), which is part of Operation Poseidon. The bomb is a nuke that is pretty powerful. They plan to detonate it in the North Atlantic and create a massive tsunami, that will hit the East Coast and wipe everything out. The officer, Agamemnon, puts them in a cell. ben tries to punch his way out, but gets zapped. Widow IDs Aggie as Arndrei Rostov, whom she knew in Commie Land. She says it is time to make their move and starts stripping off. Ben is a little confused about their next move...  But, she actually wants him to tear off fake skin so she can get her spy gear. She builds a field disruptor rifle, which allows Ben enough time to punch through the door. Then, It's Clobberin' Time! A grenade shears the cable holding the bomb and Ben has to grab it to keep it from dropping and setting off a chain reaction. Widow deals with the goons...  She employs a bit of stragedy to defeat the goons, sealing them behind doors, dropping them through holes into the ocean, blasting steam pipes to give them 3rd degree burns over 90% of their bodies, blowing up catwalks and killing them as they hit the ground...heroic stuff! Ben keeps hauling up three miles worth of cable, to pull the bomb back onboard, while Widow karate chops goons in the throat. Agamemnon shoots Ben and he drops the cable and Widow tries to reason with him. They grapple and fall off the platform onto a gangway and he drops his rifle. She grabs it but hesitates in shooting him and he has a sword. ben snaps him with the cable...  Ben saves the day and celebrates with a stogie, then Natasha pours champagne and we confirm that Ben is Jewish, long before Mark Waid...  Ben's pretty happy, though Alicia is still wandering around Central Park, I imagine. Thoughts: Now, this is how to do a team-up story. Bring the guest star in, in an exciting manner, have her cross paths with the host and then set them off on their adventure and keep it lively. The Sword of Judgement's plot lacks much depth or motivation. Aggie just says they are the avenging sons and daughters of the exploited world. Guess that makes them Baader-Meinhoff or Red Army Faction, or something. Or ex-Amway salesmen. The basic plot seems a bit Verne-ish, with his penchant for science pirates out to teach the world a lesson about sticking it to the common man. Really, they are just a generic threat to bring Ben and Natasha together, one that fits into her spy world, and then lets them beat the stuffing out of them. Widow is never shown directly killing anyone; but, her actions aren't likely to leave them alive; so, it's pretty bloodthirsty, just minus actual blood. Claremont does a good job here and he would prove to be one of the better team-up book writers, with a long run on MTU He doesn't stick around here, as Bill Mantlo soon takes over.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 14, 2020 0:16:33 GMT -5
Marvel team-Up #11 Spidey & the Inhumans! Sounds like a punk band. The cover is misleading; it's not that Black Bolt's voice is so deadly, it's that he has such a bad singing voice!. Creative Team: Len Wein-script, Gerry Conway-plot, Jim Mooney-pencils, Mike Esposito-inks, John Costanza-letters, Glynis Wein-colors, Roy Thomas-editor. Synopsis: Spidey is in the Himalayas to consult with the Inhumans about the chrono-bomb; but, he seems to have upset someone...  It's the Great Frank R Paul Refuge!  Spidey is picked up by the local yokel police and Roscoe P Karnak tells him he is in the presence of Boss Bolt. Spidey relates how the Duke Boys, aka Zarko and Kang, have been a feudin' and a fussin' and messin' with the Earth, to boot. Gorgon says yay, though Black bolt hasn't given his consent; but, he does. They turn the thing over to Maximus, aka Maximus the Mad, to figure out how to get Spidey and the rest to the 23rd Century. Call me overly cautious; but, I don't think that is a good idea. Maxie says he needs an hour or two to whip something up. Triton gives Spidey a tour and then back to Maxie, who has the thing ready and he zaps them into the future, a few minutes before Spidey originally left. The team go to town and kick future glutei and record nomenclature.  They battle their way to the central point and find Kang and Zarko facing off and then the fighting starts and Black Bolt shouts out "Hey, rube!", shattering the cells that hold the Avengers.  They capture Zarko; but, Kang gets away, leaving behind empty armor. Kang gloats from the future (further in the future) and they all head home. Thoughts: Meh. Not much of a resolution to the storyline; but, then, it wasn't a particularly deep storyline. This was the first with an extended storyline; but, it doesn't really justify its length and the guest stars all seem rather random. There is really no reason for the Inhumans to be there at all, as Reed Richards, Dr Strange, Dr Doom, or (possibly) Irving Forbush could have gotten Spidey there, given the logic of this thing. Doesn't really make much use of the Inhumans, except to be footsoldiers for Spidey. Len misses a chance to do something interesting with Maximus, and add further complications. So far, MTU is hardly a particularly memorable book. I know it's early days; but, I am amazed this has survived for nearly a year, with the weak stories. Hopefully, Len can liven things up, now that he finished off Conway's meandering plot. I always liked the Inhumans, visually; but, Mooney and Espositio don't do them justice.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 14, 2020 1:18:58 GMT -5
Marvel Two-in-One #11 Thing and the Golem! Oy, vey! Creative team: Roy Thomas-plot, Bill Mantlo-script, Bob Brown-pencils, Jack Abel-inks, Tom Orzechowski-letters, Janice Cohen-colors, Len Wein-editor Synopsis: Ben and Alicia are charging through Grand Central Station, as they are late for their train south. Ben crashes past Frank Nelson...  and, literally (in the correct usage of the term, not the current tendency to use it instead of "figuratively;" but that's a whole 'nother rant) "catches the train...  The conductor isn't surprised to see him and he and Alicia board and take their seats. Everyone else decides the view is better on the opposite side and ben loses his sunny disposition. Meanwhile, at San Pedro University, in Florida, Mantlo goes nuts with the exposition, as the Golem is being studied there...  Sheesh! Makes Don McGregor seem terse! Lot of recappin' of Strange Tales, via word balloons, then we see David Warner watching the whole thing...  Warner, aka Kaballa, sends forth (or even fifth) his demons to separate the Golem, from the love force of the niece and nephew of Prof Adamson, who brought it to life (shouldn't that be Rabbie Loew?) On the train, Ben is introduced to Mott the Hoople, and all the young dudes carry the news that San Pedro University has been cut off from St Petersburg, by a tidal wave of water. Ben and Alicia hop off the train and see a report about the Golem; and, faster than you can say "meshuga," Ben is chasing after the Golem. He runs into him down town, tearing up the place. Ben tries to talk to him; but, gets swatted around. Ben, suddenly, out of nowhere, gains insight that the Golem is acting under someone else's control and gets the idea to build a bridge across the new waterway to reconnect the Golem to the Adamsons. This causes Kaballa's demons to attack, but they are losing, so Kaballa turns up, himself. He and ben fight it out, as only two Jewish men can (What, you trying to zap me or something? look that's nothing, a year ago, I got such a zap...I know it was a year ago because old Yasha was telling me about his corns; but, I told him 'Corns, you should see my bunions!' You can't tell that man anything, he's always going off on a tangent...) The Golem breaks control and moves towards Kaballa, who thinks it's a good time to go for a nosh and leaves St Petersburg (it's too crowded, with all the goyim tourists) and then everything is back to normal. Ben asks if there is a nice deli nearby, where he can get a hot pastrami and a knish. Thoughts:Eh....it's all right. What, you want more? Listen, you get a story of two nice Jewish boy, but, someone forgot to set up the ending, so it doesn't turn out okay....whatta ya gonna do? Look, I'm sure Bill Mantlo is a nice boy; but, he's no Steve Gerber. This thing needs a bit of zing...something to make you plotz. Instead, you have a lot of schmatta and mishegas. I don't mean to kvetch; but, oy, this thing needs some chutzpah!
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 18, 2020 18:08:07 GMT -5
Marvel Team-up #12 Spider-man and the Werewolf! By Night. Creative Team: Len Wein-writer, Ross Andru-pencils, Don Perlin-inks, Charlotte Jetter-letters, Glynis Wein-colors, Roy Thomas-editor Synopsis: Spidey is in San Francisco, trying to take his mind of the Death of Gwen Stacy, by hanging out on top of a suspension bridge...  Ummmmmm...................probably not the best location for grief therapy. It takes time for his Spidey-Senses to kick in, just before he is attacked by the Werewolf, By Late Afternoon, judging by the lighting in the panels. They fall off the supports and head for concrete, while Spidey flashes back to convincing (well, Robbie Robertson did the convincing) J Jonah to send him out West, for photos of Daredevil and Black Widow. Spidey comes out of it in time to zap a nest to catch them, unlike when Gwen was plummeting through the air. Spidey and the Werewolf land safely and commence to roughousing, possibly with chew toys. Werewolf gets too excited and tries to jump on Spidey and misses and plunges into the San Francisco Bay. Eww....wet dog! Spidey looks around at the water and sees no dog person and misses smoke forming a face, then disappearing.  Spidey moves on to a diner (after shedding the costume) and orders a cheeseburger, on rye. Who the hell orders a cheeseburger, on rye bread? Doesn't matter, because the waitress lets out a scream. The werewolf drops in for more play, and knows that Peter is Spidey, by the smell, but no one else is reacting to this scene! They take their game outside and Spidey succeeds in knocking out the werewolf, while the patrons file out like zombies. The Werewolf turns back into Jack Russell, who wakes up and is surprised to see Spidey in the place where they make Rice-a-Roni.  Jack says he and his friends stopped at a theater, almost compelled to do so, and watched Moondark the Magician do his act, which mesmerized everyone...literally!  He woke up in Moondark's dressing room and the magician forced his transformation, then directed his actions. They head to the theater, to find Moondark and Jack changes form and jumps on Spidey, like a rambunctious labrador. They tumble down the steps, into Moondark's dressing area, where other zombies await. Spidey dropkicks Moondark into his pentagram and they pass through a gateway to the bridge, where Spidey catches hold, but Moondark misses and plunges off the bridge. Jack wakes up and so do his friends. Spidey goes off to meet Daredevil, in his book, while captain America is announced for next issue. Thoughts: Bit less contrived a plot than previous issues. Len uses an old standby of the guest star being under the spell of a villain, to put him in conflict with the star. It works better in these situations, with a supernatural creature. Not sure why they even needed Moondark, as a wereolf, alone, would probably have led to Spidey fighting him. Len authenticates the joke when he has Spidey call the magician Moondrake, as in Lee Falk's prestidigitator, with the Adolph Mongeau mustache. As it is, he looks more than a little like Morbius. Slight, but entertaining enough. Still nothing truly memorable, in this series, after one year. Mostly, it is just a Spidey book, with outsiders trespassing in it, but with fewer continued plots. Len is on the right track, though, for doing something else with this. Not sure if Perlin solely inked or if he also penciled the Werewolf, as that was his feature. It's a pretty decent pairing.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 18, 2020 18:43:30 GMT -5
Marvel Two-in-One #12 Ben and Iron Man meet Prester John!  Creative Team: Bill Mantlo-writer, Ron Wilson-pencils, Vince Coletta-inks, Karen Mantlo-letters, Janice Cohen-colors, Len Wein-editor Ron Wilson begins a long association with this title. Synopsis: Ben is testing a new rocket craft for tony Stark, the Pattycake. Ben has been picked because it is an experimental design and he is most likely to survive an accident. A steel funnel is constructed under the gantry to feed away the exhaust heat and disperse it. Ben Launches...  ...but disappears off tracking screens. In fact, he has dropped down the funnel...  Ben gets out of the wrecked craft and looks around. Iron Man arrives on scene, after Tony makes an exit and turns his nose (it's the nose on the faceplate era, folks) toward the funnel and underground. There, he finds Ben kneeling before Prester John...  PJ has used the Power Stone to force ben to kneel and whammies Iron man with it. Then we get exposition about his previous battle with the FF, which looked way better when Kirby drew it. After his buttkicking, PJ wandered the desert and found some bedouins, who were morons, because Mantlo has never met one. They worship PJ as a god, because he is the superior European.  They bring him the Power Stone and suddenly he believes his the creator of ALL. The funnel was built in the site where he had buried everything in a sandstorm. Iron Man wakes up Ben with a repulsor ray and he returns the favor with a shot to the mouth and they climb up the funnel. PJ levitates and awaits them...  They fight and Ben eventually gets the Power Stone away from PJ, who wakes from his dream and it turns out the stone was the cause of all the trouble. PJ goes with Ben to find some shawarma and humus, although Stark mentioned Israeli engineers; so maybe some pastrami and cole slaw. Thoughts: Routine stuff. The launch of the Pattycake is kind of confusing, as it looks like it was meant to go into the ground deliberately, rather than by act of PJ. Prestor John is a medieval Christian legend of a Christian kingdom somewhere in the middle or far East, surrounded by the heathen peoples. The earliest believed connection is to the apocryphal Acts of Thomas, about St Thomas the Apostle and his time in India. With the expansion of the Mongols and the spread of Islamic states, it is believed that the failed Crusades led to the growth of the Prester John legend to offset the losses of Christian forces to the muslim "invaders" in the Holy Land. The legends fueled explorers to try to find his kingdom, with it believed to be anywhere from India to Ethiopia. PJ would turn up in later pulp adventures and in the FF and DC's Arak, Son of thunder, from Roy Thomas. Marvel's PJ follows the basic template of the legend. He wasn't widely used at Marvel, though he popped up again in Defenders and Thor Annual, then In Cable & Deadpool. There is at least a logical reason for bringing together Thing and Iron Man, with the launch test, though no one ever explains why it is done in the Middle east, rather than some remote part of the US Southwest, or the Pacific, or Kenosha.
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Post by berkley on Nov 18, 2020 20:29:51 GMT -5
...Not sure if Perlin solely inked or if he also penciled the Werewolf, as that was his feature. It's a pretty decent pairing. He provided both pencils and inks on the best issues of his run. I'm a fan of his work on that series and have always thought he'd be an interesting choice to do Spider-Man, as I see some similarities or parallels to Ditko in his style - a certain grotesquerie in some of the faces, relatively unexaggerated proportions in the anatomy of his figure-work. His art doesn't really work that well for me when it's inked by someone else, as in his earlier Werewolf by Night issues and later on in the Defenders but when he does his own inks it becomes something special, to my eyes. Perhaps the closest we can come to seeing what a Don Perlin Spider-Man comic might have looked like is the two Moon Knight solo stories he did with Moench in Marvel Spotlight. I highly recommend those and his Werewolf by Night, at least from #25 onwards, when he does the pencils and inks. |
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Post by brutalis on Nov 18, 2020 20:53:39 GMT -5
Glad to see other's appreciation of Perlin artwork. I absolutely love his Werewolf by Night and Ghost Rider runs. Sinnott really overpowered Perlin on Defenders but there is still fun art there. A true joy hits me when finding hidden Perlin gems when they appear in the Charlton war comics too.
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Post by chaykinstevens on Nov 19, 2020 13:07:55 GMT -5
Not sure if Perlin solely inked or if he also penciled the Werewolf, as that was his feature. It's a pretty decent pairing. This was nine months before Perlin began pencilling WBN. The comic's credits suggest he may have worked from layouts or breakdowns by Andru, but GCD credits them as penciller and inker. |
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Post by badwolf on Nov 19, 2020 13:10:19 GMT -5
Thoughts: Bit less contrived a plot than previous issues. Len uses an old standby of the guest star being under the spell of a villain, to put him in conflict with the star. It works better in these situations, with a supernatural creature. Moony does it again in #91, with Ghost Rider. |
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Post by chaykinstevens on Nov 19, 2020 13:31:37 GMT -5
He provided both pencils and inks on the best issues of his run. I'm a fan of his work on that series and have always thought he'd be an interesting choice to do Spider-Man, as I see some similarities or parallels to Ditko in his style - a certain grotesquerie in some of the faces, relatively unexaggerated proportions in the anatomy of his figure-work. His art doesn't really work that well for me when it's inked by someone else, as in his earlier Werewolf by Night issues and later on in the Defenders but when he does his own inks it becomes something special, to my eyes. Perhaps the closest we can come to seeing what a Don Perlin Spider-Man comic might have looked like is the two Moon Knight solo stories he did with Moench in Marvel Spotlight. I highly recommend those and his Werewolf by Night, at least from #25 onwards, when he does the pencils and inks. Perlin pencilled a Spider-Man and Nick Fury story, published in Marvel Super-Heroes (1990) #4, with Frank Springer inks. This had been sitting on the shelf for some time, and circa 1082 Tom DeFalco had used a page from it in a hoax that Marvel was going to print a backwards Spider-Man comic that would require a mirror to read. link |
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