Why I Hate The Silver Surfer!

The Silver Surfer is trying to save a young woman's life...but circumstances have made everyone think that he's trying to kill her. So...

OK, bad form by a human, I admit.

And Norrin Radd? Pissed.

OK, getting angry, melting the guns? All justified.

But because one cop frakked up, Surfer is going to punish the entire human race:

Now, perhaps we should try to tally the hundreds killed when all power and communications went out.

(And I suppose if you want to, you can try to rationalize that, despite what we saw, Radd actually allowed every plane in the air to land, and everyone on life support to still have power somehow, and...)

But the bottom line is: the Silver Surfer is a dick.

John Buscema and Joe Sinnott sure draw him purty, though.

From Silver Surfer #3 (1968)

Manic Monday--I'm Spartacus!

Because some mornings...

...you just need to see Kirk Douglas in a loin cloth.

I miss the good old days when Dell would do lots and lots of movie adaptations, especially of things you never thought you'd see in a comic book.

SUPERTECHNIRAMA!!!!

The bonus part of this adaptation?

John Buscema artwork!!

Gaylord Du Bois did the script, supposedly adapted from Dalton Trumbo's screenplay. But there are significant differences. Take, for example, the famous "I'm Spartacus" scene...

That's not quite how it went down in the movie...



Sorry, Dell. The movie is better.

From Four Color #1139 (1960)

The Best Cover You've Never Seen--Marvel Fanfare #51 (1990)

Cover by John Buscema.

Back in the mid 80's, Marvel had planned to do a 12-issue Silver Surfer mini-series, with each being a double-sized issue. But as Buscema was completing #1, Marvel decided to make a regular-sized ongoing Surfer series. Buscema dropped out, Marshall Rogers came on board, and the rest is history. They decided to take a slightly different direction with the character and storyline, so this story was tabled. After a few years, they decided to take it out of the drawer and publish it in Marvel Fanfare, because it was too purty not to.


Steve Englehart scripted it, so of course Mantis is in it. Of course.

But it still features Buscema drawing the hell out of the Silver Surfer versus Mangog, which is worth price of admission.

The Avengers Covers Of John Buscema!

You know who the greatest Avengers cover artist of all time was?

John Buscema, that's who.

His covers were on mega-doses of caffeine--everyone always moving, often towards the reader, windows being smashed, every characters' every muscle vibrating with energy.

Even when the Avengers are "just standing around," they're in motion--reacting, preparing to leap into action.

Buscema took a several month break from the Avengers (save for this cover):

But soon he was back with a vengeance!

That's a hell of a run.

In many ways, Buscema was the perfect complement to Roy Thomas' writing, as Roy always had the Avengers arguing, fighting, ready to leap into action in a nano-second. And Buscema was able to capture that, doubling that nervous energy.

John Buscema's Avengers covers--appreciate them today!!

Manic Leapday Triple Overtime--Great Moments In Black Widow Montages!

I can't think of a better way to finish off Leap Day than by wallowing in Natasha Romanov goodness from her run in Amazing Adventures.

The first few issues, they tended to start off with a montage splash page, like this one...

But that wasn't enough, so we had a training montage in side the story...

Issue #2? Let's do it again!

For issue #3, Gene Colan picks up the torch...

Even Dandy Don Heck got in on the fun:

Montage, won't you?

From Amazing Adventures #1-3 & #7 (1970-71)

Manic Monday Triple Overtime--That Time The Government Gave Us Free John Buscema Pin-Ups!!

Emblazoned on the cover of Fantastic Four #128 (1972) was this:

 And it was true. Stuck right in the middle of the comic, on glossy stock no less:

Well, it turns out that there was a reason for this largesse on Marvel's part:

Yes, in the 1970s, Republican presidents used executive orders to mandate what private business could charge customers or pay employees. How times have changed. Pray remember that the next time someone starts throwing around the words "socialist" or "free market."

Anyway, I've read varying accounts; some say Marvel did this out of the goodness of their own heart as a make-good, others insist that they were compelled by the federal government to do it. If so, thanks for the free pin-ups, Mr. Nixon!!

Of course, today, Marvel just throws 8-page gatefolds into every damn issue (and often in the middle of double-page art spreads, thank you), and claims that they can't afford to sell their comics more cheaply than $3.99.

So...any presidential candidates out there: President Nixon established the precedent that you can tell comic companies how much they can charge for their books. Make the pledge to lower books to $2.99, and you've got my vote...

The Charles Xavier School Of Acting

No offense to James McAvoy or Patrick Stewart, but there is a specific way that you're supposed to present the wielding of vast mental powers.

Professor Xavier, would you care to demonstrate?

There you go.

So, Mr. McAvoy, no more of this...

Mr. Stewart, no more feeble gesturing...

From now on, we want eyeballs bulging out, eyebrows to the ceiling, chrome-dome vibrating, and face set in a John Buscema-drawn rictus of power.

I expect to see this happen in X-Men: Who The Hell is This Apocalypse Guy?

Panels from Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4 (1975)