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Post by jtrw2024 on Oct 13, 2024 14:32:23 GMT -5
John Romita, among numerous talents, was a fine artist who--unlike many comic artists before and after him--did not "dabble" in painting, but was an actual talent with the brush. Professionally, he would work at a quicker pace to create advertising art as seen below (right), yet never show a lack of quality: Wow! That's some great looking art! Romita had talent for sure!
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Post by jtrw2024 on Oct 15, 2024 18:05:11 GMT -5
MARVEL SUPER-HEROES 14 THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN in “The Reprehensible Riddle of… The Sorcerer!” Credits (as they appear in the comic): Cunningly concocted by Smilin’ Stan Lee and Riotous Ross Andru Embellished by Wild Bill Everett Lettered by Swingin’ Sam Rosen Witchcraft by Forbush Fetishes Inc Plot Synopsis: A mysterious foe lures Spider-man to New Orleans for the strangest adventure ever! Comments: This isn’t a regular Amazing Spider-man issue, but a special tale appearing in Marvel’s anthology/reprint series Marvel Super-heroes (formerly Fantasy Masterpieces). This comic came out months earlier, but I’m including it here according to the chronology established in the Epic Collections TPB, (which is the reading order I’ve been using just for the sake of convenience). The Marvel Masterworks edition I have, actually has it even later A note on the first page of this story indicates this tale was originally intended as a fill-in after John Romita sustained a minor injury, and when it was presumed he would not meet his deadline. I’m not sure which issue of Amazing Spider-man John Romita managed to draw with a sprained wrist, but all his work from around this time looks pretty good. This issue looks good too, so I’m glad it saw print. Ross Andru handles the art for this one, with inking/embellishment from Bill Everett. Ross Andru would eventually become the regular Amazing Spider-man artist years later, and I’m a real fan of the work he produced during his run. The style Andru uses in this story is a bit different than how it would develop a few years later, but here it looks like a nice balance between Ditko and Romita’s Spider-man. Spider-man and this tale’s mysterious new villain, who is referred to as the Sorcerer, never actually meet. The Sorcerer has spent a long time, developing his bizarre psychic abilities and has been preparing for the opportunity to test them against a challenging opponent. Guess who he chooses! The Sorcerer operates from the basement of an innocuous New York City residence. Though seemingly ordinary from the outside, the Sorcerer’s home is stocked with all sorts of mystical icons and artifacts. His psychic powers reach across the city and assault Spider-man’s mind, hampering his ability to stop even the most common of criminals. The Sorcerer allows Spider-man the chance to recover, while he prepares for the next phase of his ultimate plan. Like any good super-villain, the Sorcerer has been waiting for the chance to reveal his origin, and to explain the details of his master plan to his enemy. Unfortunately, since Spider-man is no where around, he settles for just sharing all this with us lucky readers. Really he’s talking to himself, but that’s what guys like this do in their spare time. The Sorcerer has spent many years, studying mystic phenomenon and travelling the globe, seeking out anyone who might teach him to hone his mental abilities. A Juju doll, made to look like Spider-man, allows the Sorcerer to continue his psychic attacks against Peter Parker, who has managed to make it back to the apartment he shares with Harry Osborn. Part of the Sorcerer’s plot involves mailing the totem to Spider-man, somewhere in New York City. This will apparently ensure that the world knows that it was the Sorcerer’s superior power which has brought about Spidey’s defeat. I’m not exactly sure how this part of the scheme was supposed to work, but I’m sure it made sense to the Sorcerer. The last Spider-man annual provided a pin-up showing Peter and Harry’s pad, but the layout probably hadn’t been fully established when this issue was drawn. Ross Andru apparently has Peter and Harry sleeping in the same room. What’s worse, a shower seems to have been installed in the middle of their room, and provides the opportunity for Andru to draw the first ever nude scene in a Spider-man comic Whatever effect the Sorcerer’s psychic onslaught is having on Peter is beyond the understanding of regular science, as Dr. Bromwell can’t find anything wrong with Peter. Even visits from Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy aren’t enough to raise Peter’s spirits. It does however give Ross Andru the opportunity to present his depiction of these two lovely ladies. I’m assuming this would have been drawn around the time of Amazing Spider-man 46 since Gwen still has her old hairdo and Mary Jane is shown with the more iconic style we’re used to, not the one she's had in recent issues. Through the use of his special device, the Psycho-intensifier, the Sorcerer is able to increase his mental abilities to take control of Peter’s actions, compelling him to purchase a plane ticket and make his way to New Orleans. The Sorcerer has already struck a strong hit against Spider-man, getting our hero to spend his hard earned money to cross the country for some unknown purpose. The Sorcerer could just as easily have set his trap in New York City where he himself is located, but he probably believes that such a pretentious display makes for a more impressive demonstration of his power. The Sorcerer’s control over Spider-man isn’t total, but just enough to push Spidey into going where he wants. After checking in to a New Orleans hotel, Peter finds himself unable to get any rest amidst the ruckus of the Mardi Gras festival which is going on outside. An irresistible urge coerces Spider-man towards a warehouse for a confrontation with the Sorcerer’s construct the Synthetic Man (aka the Hollow Man). The Synthetic Man has a plethora of unique abilities, such as the power to alter his density from pliable to rock solid, as well as some sort of ray beam that shoots from his forehead. The monster’s enormous size and strength make him a formidable opponent, especially considering the disadvantage faced by Spidey due to the Sorcerer’s continued mental attacks. Spider-man does manage to hold his own against the Synthetic Man. Ross Andru gets a few pages to illustrate Spider-man in action, and does a fairly good job on this first outing with the character. It is only through a fluke of fate that Spider-man manages to survive this misadventure. Apparently the Sorcerer’s plan to mail the Spidey-doll to an indeterminate location in New York City, wasn’t as well planned out as he thought. Unable to deliver the package, the New York Postal Service returns it back to the sender’s address. The sound of the doorbell interferes with the frequency of the Psycho-intensifier, resulting in a powerful surge of mental feedback against its user. As the Sorcerer perishes, so does his control over the Synthetic Man. Spider-man watches as the giant takes a long walk off a short pier, vanishing forever beneath the Gulf stream. It’s an interesting story, and a bit different from what’s been done before. Spidey never even gets to find out what this whole incident has been about, or who the real villain behind it all was, but that’s something he’ll have to deal with on occasion. Being a publicly known superhero makes Spider-man a target for all sorts of weirdo villains out to make a name for themselves. Having a Spider-man story set in someplace other than New York is a good change of pace once in a while. I really like Ross Andru’s style on this story. I’m not too familiar with his other work from before and around this period, but I think he does a good job making Spider-man seem like Spider-man. This story was probably just a fill-in, as was stated on the first page, and not necessarily a try-out for a full-time gig, (since Romita probably wasn’t going anywhere), but I’m sure Stan Lee was always on the lookout for artists who had a good grasp on Spider-man. Notes about the Reprints: Although this wasn’t really the type of story that Marvel Tales would usually cover, it did get reprinted in Marvel Treasury Edition 1 – The Spectacular Spider-man (1974) which includes some other classic stories, drawn by various artists, as well as some text pieces about Spidey and the creators who’d worked on him. Other than being bigger than a regular comic, the story in the treasury sized reprint is pretty much the same as the original. There are some changes such as the updated caption on the opening page, which notes the fact that Ross Andru had since gone on to become the regular penciller on Amazing Spider-man. Also, the panel where the Synthetic Man is referred to as the Hollow Man, has been corrected, for the sake of consistency. A smaller reprint of this story appears in Spider-man Comics Magazine 13. This was the final issue of the digest-sized reprint series. The story is placed out of sequence from its proper chronological order, but I commend them for including it at all considering some of the other stuff that was neglected in this series. Adaptations in other media: As far as I know, neither this story, nor the villains have ever been adapted for any Spider-man cartoon, or live-action adventure, however, panels from this comic did make it into the Spidey Super Stories segments of the Electric Company television series. The series would use panels from other comics too, as well as some original art to supplement the live-action scenes, and they would also change from episode to episode, but there were, sometimes, quite a few noticeable images from Marvel Super-heroes 14, as seen in this episode “Spidey Meets the Prankster” Personal anecdotes: I was really getting in to Spider-man around 1984-85. This was when Marvel Tales was reprinting the early Lee/Ditko stories, so anything Spidey-related caught my attention. Spider-man and his Amazing Friends was still on Saturday mornings, and I would watch reruns of the original 1960s Spider-man cartoon, and also the Electric Company, hoping it would include a Spidey Super Stories segment. I’d always stare at the panels that would frame the live-action portions of Spidey Super Stories, trying to recognize where they were from. I was young, and it probably didn’t occur to me that my meager collection of Spider-man comics was only a small fraction of what was out there, so the chance of me actually identifying the source of these images was pretty slim. One day, when visiting friends of my parents, I spotted a few Spider-man comics which their son had in his room. There were two older Marvel Tales comics, one reprinted Amazing Spider-man 15, and the other was either 29 or 30 which I recognized as ones I had read from more recent MT reprints. The third comic in the pile was Marvel Super-heroes 14 and caught my eye because it wasn’t a story I had already read. I seem to remember thinking it was another Marvel Tales issue, but that’s probably just my mind confusing it with the other two, just because it had a similar format and included other non-Spidey reprints. I flipped through a few pages and instantly recognized the images I had been staring at from all those Electric Company episodes I’d been watching. I’ve always considered that an odd stroke of luck. I didn’t have the opportunity to read the actual story while I was there, but at the time it was just enough to know that I’d been able to identify the source of those images. That was probably one of my earliest comics related accomplishments. I’d eventually get to read the story when it was reprinted in Spider-man Comics Magazine 13 which I bought new when it was released. I don’t really have a lot of comics from this early period in my collection, but at some point I bought the actual Marvel Super-heroes 14. Occasionally I’ll even read the other stuff reprinted in that issue, but they don’t usually hold my interest as much as the Spider-man story.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Oct 17, 2024 10:40:09 GMT -5
I'm getting way behind now, but I'm gonna keep plodding on anyway with my thoughts on each issue and review... THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN 1 I've aways thought this was a kind of nothingy cover, to be honest. I know that John Romita did the rough layouts for it, but whatever Harry Rosenbaum did afterwards robbed that image of all its magic. It's a far cry from the wonderful cover for Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #2, which featured unadulterated Romita magic. The story doesn’t really fit in exactly with the continuity established by The Amazing Spider-man comic, but it’s close enough, and seems like it was intended to be an accessible adventure, introducing the characters to a new audience. .... Peter and Gwen’s relationship was going through a bit of dramatic turmoil in the regular Amazing Spider-man comics, but this issue has them acting like their usual selves, probably for the benefit of any new readers. Peter and Gwen do reconcile their differences in the regular series, but MJ’s change in hairstyle around that time, make it difficult to place this story later in the chronology, so we just have to deal with it. Yeah, it's basically impossible to fit the events of this comic magazine into the chronology of concurrent issues of Amazing Spider-Man. As you point out, Gwen and Peter's relationship status as a happy couple in Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #1 means that the magazine can't be placed before ASM #59, and that issue starts a sub-plot that shows them having fallen out over Gwen blaming Peter for attacking her father. They don't put that misunderstanding behind them until ASM #66, and Mary Jane has her horrible, permed hairstyle by then (which she doesn't in this magazine). Even for a continuity obsessive like me, there's just no way to make the events of Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #1 fit into the then-current Spider-Man continuity. This is doubly true when you consider that, with a bit of re-writing, the events of this issue occur again in ASM #116–118. I remember our own Cei-U! telling me once, a long time ago, that you just have to write off the discrepancy with then-current issues and the events recurring again in later issues of ASM by saying, "Kang did it!" The story and themes aren’t necessarily any more mature than what was being done in the regular Spider-man comic, but it does deal with politics, a subject that hadn’t really been touched on before in Spidey’s earlier adventures. Stan Lee and Romita definitely intended this magazine to appeal to older readers, though as you say, there is scant evidence of that in the finished product. Nevertheless, Romita has discussed the short-lived series in interviews and mentioned that the black-and-white format was supposed to give the story a slightly film noir look, to compliment the more nuanced characterisation and longer stories. Whether that was successful or not is a matter of opinion, but to me, this just reads like any regular issue of ASM, only done in black-and-white. Instead of a straight reprint of Spider-man’s origin from Amazing Fantasy 15 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, this is a new updated version written by Stan Lee, with art by Larry Lieber (pencils) and Bill Everett (inks). For us long-time readers, this origin recap is pretty much surplus to requirements. But I guess it makes sense to include it, given that Stan was trying to attract new readers for this magazine. It's interesting to see the origin story beginning to evolve here though, especially with Peter's encounter with a bully prior to his leaping up onto the building wall to avoid a car. The Larry Lieber/Bill Everett artwork in this recap is pretty nice too. Overall, Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #1 is weird one for me. Due to its conflicts with continuity, I tend to dismiss it and pass over it when I'm re-reading Spider-Man comics, instead treating the re-written version in ASM #116–118 as the real deal. But viewing it on its own merits, this is a pretty strong story. The subject of dirty politics hasn't really been dealt with in the main series, so that's an interesting change of pace, and I guess maybe that was something designed to appeal to older readers? Also, I noticed that Spider-Man killed the monster at the end of the story, right? That's unusual for Spidey…he usually tries to save the villains and hand them over to the police. I'm a quite a big fan of the, frankly, underrated Jim Mooney, so it's little surprise that I rather like Mooney's pencils and inks over Romita's layouts. The grey washes that either Mooney or Romita employ on the interior artwork are really nice too. So yeah, all in all, this is an entertaining enough story, but one that I must deem "inessential" because it doesn't fit in with continuity.
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Post by jtrw2024 on Oct 17, 2024 17:57:21 GMT -5
Overall, Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #1 is weird one for me. Due to its conflicts with continuity, I tend to dismiss it and pass over it when I'm re-reading Spider-Man comics, instead treating the re-written version in ASM #116–118 as the real deal. But viewing it on its own merits, this is a pretty strong story. The subject of dirty politics hasn't really been dealt with in the main series, so that's an interesting change of pace, and I guess maybe that was something designed to appeal to older readers? Also, I noticed that Spider-Man killed the monster at the end of the story, right? That's unusual for Spidey…he usually tries to save the villains and hand them over to the police. In the long run, neither Spectacular Spider-man 1, nor ASM 116-118 really get referenced at all, so I'm okay just pretending that they both count, and try not to think about it too hard. Spectacular Spider-man 1 not fitting into continuity bugs me, but not enough to skip whenever I'm reading through these issues. Plus I really like the second issue, so skipping issue 1, but still reading 2 would probably bug me more!
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Post by Confessor on Oct 17, 2024 18:19:13 GMT -5
In the long run, neither Spectacular Spider-man 1, nor ASM 116-118 really get referenced at all, so I'm okay just pretending that they both count, and try not to think about it too hard. Spectacular Spider-man 1 not fitting into continuity bugs me, but not enough to skip whenever I'm reading through these issues. Plus I really like the second issue, so skipping issue 1, but still reading 2 would probably bug me more! Well, the difference for me is that issue #2 fits into continuity...even though it needs to be split up and slotted across several issues. So, I would never skip SSM #2, but issue #1 almost always gets skipped by me.
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Post by jtrw2024 on Oct 18, 2024 4:07:43 GMT -5
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Annual 5 “The Parents of Peter Parker!” Credits (as they appear in the comic): Phantasmagorically Produced by Smilin’ Stan Lee and Larrupin’ Larry Lieber Embellished by Mickey Demeo* Lettered by Artie Simek Jazzy Johnny Romita, Chaotic Consultant *(Mike Esposito is credited as Mickey Demeo) Plot Synopsis: The secret of Peter Parker’s parents, revealed at last! Comments: John Romita came up with an awesome effective cover for this historic Spider-man issue! Spider-man’s latest big Annual adventure opens in mediās rēs. Our hero is far from home, facing a horde of ruthless killers in the heart of the Casbah of Algiers. These thugs mean business, and despite Spidey’s amazing abilities, a bullet from one of the attackers strikes him down, causing him to plummet to his doom. As Spidey struggles to pull himself from the brink of death, his mind recalls the troubled events which brought him to this moment. One day while helping his Aunt May clear out some belongings from their old basement, Peter Parker stumbles upon the secret that has been hidden from him his whole life. Peter seems to know little about his parents, and apparently wasn’t even sure of his father’s name. Some newspaper clippings reveal to him the shameful truth that his Aunt May and Uncle Ben swore never to reveal. May relates the story of how Richard and Mary Parker left Peter in the care of his aunt and uncle while they flew overseas. Peter learns that his father had been a decorated hero during World War II, and afterwards would continue to work for the government in some secret capacity. It was only after Richard and Mary’s death in a fatal plane crash, that the true nature of their work was revealed. With Richard and Mary dead and branded as traitors, May and Ben raised Peter as their own, all the while shielding him from the painful truth. The revelation proves too troubling for Peter Parker to ignore as it begins to take its toll on his personal life, school work, and his effectiveness as a crimefighter. A trip to the Fantastic Four provides Spider-man with the means to travel across the globe to Algeria where he hopes to find the answers which will placate his restless soul. Tracking down the man who identified his parents’ bodies, points Spider-man towards a mysterious master of intrigue who apparently holds the answers he seeks. The story comes full circle, catching up to the opening scenes. Recovering from his injuries, Spider-man is more determined than ever to learn the truth. Arriving at the headquarters of a secret spy-ring, Spider-man discovers a file containing damning evidence which he cannot ignore. An ominous looking identification card confirms all the horrible things that had been said about Spider-man’s father. The mastermind behind the whole affair is a villain familiar to Marvel fans, but this is the first encounter between Spider-man and the Red Skull. Other Marvel stories would establish that the Red Skull was out of commission for a period of time from the end of the war, until his re-introduction in the mid-sixties. As the death of Peter Parker’s parents would have occurred sometime shortly after the war, early 1950s, or maybe late 40s, the Red Skull whom they were involved with was eventually revealed to be an imposter named Albert Malik. After a brief battle with the Red Skull’s super-strong henchman Sandor, Spidey flees into the streets of Algiers. An agent of the Red Skull, known as the Finisher, rides around in a special car, equipped with weapons and an electro-scanner with spectro-analytic capabilities that can track Spidey using a piece of his torn costume. Confirmation that his father was truly as evil as everyone had claimed certainly seems to have affected Spidey. Spider-man is more brutal in these action scenes than he is typically portrayed. After dodging and diverting one of the Finisher’s missiles, Spider-man intentionally leads a second one right back to its source. The car’s armor seems to have been strong enough to protect the car’s driver who flees from the wreckage, but the impact has severely injured the Finisher. The Finisher is pulled from the flaming vehicle, and manages to live long enough to provide Spider-man with the true story about Richard and Mary Parker’s death. The art on this story is credited to Larry Lieber and Mike Esposito, and looks a lot better than their work on the previous year’s annual. I’m not sure if they just spent more time on this one, or if there was some assist from John Romita on layouts. Romita does get credited as a Chaotic Consultant, but I’m not sure if that means he helped develop the plot, or if he actually made some contribution to the interior art in some way. Regardless, I think whoever it was who choreographed the fight and chase scenes for this issue did a pretty good job. The Algerian setting for this story makes for an interesting change from Spider-man’s usual New York City haunts. I assume the creators were basing their portrayal of the city and its characters on depictions from popular films of their era, with as many clichés as they could fit in. . Returning to the Red Skull’s lair, Spider-man engages the villain in a fierce final battle. The room is outfitted with various death-traps which the Red Skull controls from his command chair. Even when fighting hand-to-hand, the Red Skull proves capable of holding his own against Spider-man. The Red Skull’s shirt conceals a destructo-beam weapon strapped to his chest. A stray blast causes the Red Skull’s base to go up in flames, and allows the villain to escape in confusion. Fortuitously, the flames also damage Richard Parker’s seemingly incriminating ID, allowing Spider-man to discover another card hidden inside. The hidden credentials reveal that Richard Parker was actual a counter-spy answerable only to the United States. I’m not sure if this is an actual thing that counter-spies would carry around, but for the sake of wrapping up this story it works and it’s enough to reaffirm Spider-man’s faith in his father. The revelation that Richard Parker was a government agent and spy seems to be somewhat of a controversial addition to Peter’s backstory. I’m personally okay with the idea, especially considering the time this was written, and I like the way it’s presented in this story. Peter’s father would have been the appropriate age to have served during World War II, and this on its own isn’t too far-fetched. Some readers at the time may even have been able to relate to this if their own parents served (whether they were “decorated war heroes” or not). I think later writers would take this too far though by depicting Richard and Mary as intrepid super-spies on par with James Bond or Nick Fury. The story ends with Spider-man swinging off into the Algerian night, vowing never to again regret the role fate has chosen for him, nor consider giving up. Of course, he’ll continue to do that sort of thing many times over the years, but it’s a good positive ending for such a monumental tale. Back-up features in this annual include - a pin-up of the Daily Bugle cast - a double-page pin-up showing Peter imagining himself using his spider-powers to excel at sports. - a map of New York City overlaid with images of recurring fictional locations that feature in many of Spidey’s stories - a humorous double-page pin-up showing Spider-man redrawn in the style of various different comic book, or comic strip characters - A humorous 3 page story showing how Stan, Larry and Johnny come up with their amazing plots Notes about the Reprints: Marvel Tales reprinted the main story from ASM Annual 5, conveniently timed to coincide with a long running storyline involving the return of Peter Parker’s parents which started in the summer of 1992 during Spider-man’s 30th Anniversary. To fit the length of the story into a regular size comic, it was split into two parts appearing in Marvel Tales 264-265. The first part of the story ends on page 20, with the surprise appearance of the Red Skull, which actually works out pretty well. If you had to break-up the story, this moment makes for an effective cliff-hanger moment. Additional captions are added to the panels where the chapter breaks occur, and the credits and title are included on the first page of MT 265. Both issues have new covers drawn by Brian Stelfreeze. I particularly like the cover to MT 264, despite the wonky anatomy on Spidey. The cover to MT 265 could have used some more work though. The original cover is included as a bonus page at the end of MT 264 along with a Marvel Mails letters page. Both issues also include double-page Spider-man pin-ups celebrating the character’s history . Adaptations in other media: Spider-man The Animated Series (1994) adapted some aspects of this story for a 5-part epic called “Six Forgotten Warriors” which aired during the show’s fifth and final season. The first chapter of “Six Forgotten Warriors” has Peter learning about his parent’s shameful past in much the same way as it happened in the comic book. The story of Peter Parker’s parents was part of a larger plot which featured many of Spider-man’s villains and supporting cast, as well as Captain America, the Red Skull, heroes from Marvel/Timely’s golden age, Silver Sable & the Wildpack, Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. Personal anecdotes: I’d seen some references to this story in other comic books I had, but didn’t get to read the actual story until it was reprinted in Marvel Tales in 1992. At some point in the last 10-15 years I acquired the actual annual. I’ve read the main story plenty of times. The extras are okay though not particularly memorable.
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 18, 2024 11:55:05 GMT -5
The stupidest idea Stan Lee ever had was to make everyman Peter Parker the son of murdered secret agents.
Cei-U! There! I said it! (whoops, wrong thread!)
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Post by kirby101 on Oct 18, 2024 12:54:30 GMT -5
The stupidest idea Stan Lee ever had was to make everyman Peter Parker the son of murdered secret agents. Cei-U! There! I said it! (whoops, wrong thread!) So agree. After Ditko left they made Peter more and more unrelatable to the average young reader. He went from schoolbook nerd to dashing leading man with two of the hottest girls in comics vying for him. And then this, the everyman is the son of international couple of mystery. During this time, it was hard to know who Peter was. He still had more problems than the average Job (biblical pun) but they often seemed done for the sake of Peter having trouble and not organic.
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Post by kirby101 on Oct 18, 2024 13:06:23 GMT -5
John Romita, among numerous talents, was a fine artist who--unlike many comic artists before and after him--did not "dabble" in painting, but was an actual talent with the brush. Professionally, he would work at a quicker pace to create advertising art as seen below (right), yet never show a lack of quality: There is no questioning Romita's talents. But "unlike many comic artists before and after" Really. I can name half a dozen comic artist off the top of my head who were superb painters. Have you seen the art of either Buscema brother, who both also worked in advertising. Or Neal Adams or Frank effing Frazetta who started as a comic artist. You should see some of Dave Stevens later paintings. I could go on.
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 18, 2024 13:39:53 GMT -5
The stupidest idea Stan Lee ever had was to make everyman Peter Parker the son of murdered secret agents. Cei-U! There! I said it! (whoops, wrong thread!) So agree. After Ditko left they made Peter more and more unrelatable to the average young reader. He went from schoolbook nerd to dashing leading man with two of the hottest girls in comics vying for him. And then this, the everyman is the son of international couple of mystery. During this time, it was hard to know who Peter was. He still had more problems than the average Job (biblical pun) but they often seemed done for the sake of Peter having trouble and not organic. I think Stan knew he'd screwed up, as (aside from a sentence or two in the first Official Handbook series explaining the bogus Red Skull) the story was never referenced again as long as he had any input into the comics.
Cei-U! I summon the 20/20 hindsight!
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Oct 18, 2024 15:03:06 GMT -5
The stupidest idea Stan Lee ever had was to make everyman Peter Parker the son of murdered secret agents. Cei-U! There! I said it! (whoops, wrong thread!) I rather like ASM Annual #5 for what it is, but I have to reluctantly agree with you that this was not one of Stan Lee's better character choices for Peter.
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Post by tarkintino on Oct 18, 2024 15:12:08 GMT -5
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Annual 5 Yet another innovative Romita cover drawing the reader in with mystery. May relates the story of how Richard and Mary Parker left Peter in the care of his aunt and uncle while they flew overseas. Peter learns that his father had been a decorated hero during World War II, and afterwards would continue to work for the government in some secret capacity. It was only after Richard and Mary’s death in a fatal plane crash, that the true nature of their work was revealed. With Richard and Mary dead and branded as traitors, May and Ben raised Peter as their own, all the while shielding him from the painful truth. The revelation proves too troubling for Peter Parker to ignore as it begins to take its toll on his personal life, school work, and his effectiveness as a crimefighter. A trip to the Fantastic Four provides Spider-man with the means to travel across the globe to Algeria where he hopes to find the answers which will placate his restless soul. Tracking down the man who identified his parents’ bodies, points Spider-man towards a mysterious master of intrigue who apparently holds the answers he seeks. [/quote] Always a fascinating and once-unexpected turn in the life of Peter Parker, this annual gives a rare view of a 1960s American superhero not being so divorced from the sociopolitical shaping that comes from living in the U.S. of that time, that perceptions such as being a traitor meant something to him, which would be extremely rare to find in modern day comics (for a number of reasons). Peter is presented as being patriotic--not to the degree of a Golden Age character, but he still feels a measure of loyalty, tinged with a bit of misplaced feeling of betrayal. No matter which Red Skull this one happened to be, we were treated to more Marvel world-building in having the two meet--and size each other up, with the Red Skull's assessment showing contempt by stating Spider-Man is more like a "...spindly scarecrow" compared to Captain America. Considering his emotional turmoil, I welcomed Spider-Man punishing his adversaries to a degree he usually avoids as a standard of practice. Its a taste of how much danger just about anyone would be if facing an enraged Spider-Man. Typical of Romita, he did some face and action corrections to put Spider-Man back "on brand", but even he could not completely steer Lieber's stiff art toward anything resembling Romita's dynamic work. Agreed. Good observation; Peter having parents who were not the cast from Father Knows Best or The Donna Reed Show was an intriguing concept, and has roots in mythology (the hero having secret parents, or parents with a larger than life past), creatively modified to work within the Spider-Man characterization and his general corner of the universe, where family drama, pain and revelations are not uncommon. Quite true. It was about time someone at Marvel dressed Archie as Spider-Man; even in the 60s, the lighthearted comparisons between Peter / Gwen / Mary Jane to Archie / Betty / Veronica were already a thing. Its just too bad the Archie creators did not attempt at least one issue or story (most likely in the pages of Life with Archie) featuring Archie and his pals as Spider-Man characters, since they already jumped on the "superhero boom" by turning four of their main characters into costumed heroes for a brief time. Love this!
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Post by kirby101 on Oct 18, 2024 15:13:19 GMT -5
You have to wonder. Larry was a writer in his own right and Romita was a co-plotter on these books. (and gets credit for doing something on this annual). Was this a story without Stan's initial involvement, but just approval, maybe sounded cool without thinking it through. There were deadlines and work loads. So I can see this being done, and if there were any seconded thoughts, by the time Stan got it to tweak the dialog, it was too late to not print it.
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Post by tarkintino on Oct 18, 2024 15:13:57 GMT -5
John Romita, among numerous talents, was a fine artist who--unlike many comic artists before and after him--did not "dabble" in painting, but was an actual talent with the brush. Professionally, he would work at a quicker pace to create advertising art as seen below (right), yet never show a lack of quality: There is no questioning Romita's talents. But "unlike many comic artists before and after" Really. I can name half a dozen comic artist off the top of my head who were superb painters. Have you seen the art of either Buscema brother, who both also worked in advertising. Or Neal Adams or Frank effing Frazetta who started as a comic artist. You should see some of Dave Stevens later paintings. I could go on. Emphasis on the word "many". Comic book history overflows with innumerable illustrators (as opposed to those who were strictly painters), but there were not some sizable amount or majority who were objectively great painters.
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Post by jtrw2024 on Oct 19, 2024 8:13:37 GMT -5
You have to wonder. Larry was a writer in his own right and Romita was a co-plotter on these books. (and gets credit for doing something on this annual). Was this a story without Stan's initial involvement, but just approval, maybe sounded cool without thinking it through. There were deadlines and work loads. So I can see this being done, and if there were any seconded thoughts, by the time Stan got it to tweak the dialog, it was too late to not print it. Stan Lee wrote a column piece in Amazing Spider-man 365 discussing ASM Annual 5. This was years after the fact, and Stan has been prone to memory loss, not to mention exaggeration, so who knows how accurate it was. He talks about both him and Larry being involved in story discussions, including the idea of using the Red Skull as the villain, and developing the plot with Peter's parents being government agents and traitors.
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