Lee & Kirby: THE TROUBLED BIRTH OF THOR #169

It's no great secret that the relationship between editor and scripter Stan Lee and artist and plotter Jack Kirby had grown fraught by 1969. Having at least co-invented the characters who ad saved the company and done the lion's share of the story work that continued to make the Marvel books he worked on shine, … Continue reading Lee & Kirby: THE TROUBLED BIRTH OF THOR #169

MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, Part Six

We're almost done with our review of MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED, THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, which uses examples culled from the pages of Marvel comics to illustrate different points of film theory. This was a ubiquitous tome among comic book artists in the mid-1970s. A trio of IRON MAN panels from Johnny Craig lead off this final section. … Continue reading MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, Part Six

MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, Part Five

We're back with more of this early 1970s reference volume which illustrated points of filmmaking through the use of examples culled from Marvel Comics. I find this chapter interesting, in that it instructs in the use of sound in a motion picture by using examples from a medium that doesn't have any sound. Some George … Continue reading MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, Part Five

MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, Part Four

Continuing our look through MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, a 1973 release that explained assorted filmmaking techniques and terminology by using visual examples culled from then-recent Marvel comics. A Johnny Craig sequence from IRON MAN opens this chapter. Panels by John Buscema and Jack Kirby Some more John Buscema here. A Barry Smith CONAN sequence … Continue reading MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, Part Four

BHOC: INCREDIBLE HULK #235

He'd been teased over the course of the previous month, but this issue of INCREDIBLE HULK firmly brought Jack Kirby's creation Machine Man into the Marvel Universe proper. The character had debuted in the last couple of issues of Kirby's 2001 and possessed ties to the mythos of that film. But after 2001 had run … Continue reading BHOC: INCREDIBLE HULK #235

MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, Part Two

Continuing back with our look at this 1973 release that explained elements of filmmaking storytelling and composition by using visual examples selected from contemporaneous Marvel comic books. This was a volume that could be found in many an artist's drawing space during the 1970s. A sequence illustrated by Larry Lieber. Here are two sequences by … Continue reading MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, Part Two

MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, Part One

Here's an interesting little book that was a fixture among comic book artists during the 1970s.MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK was co-authored by James Morrow and Murray Suid and strived to teach film storytelling by using examples from the comic book medium. They had gotten the rights from Marvel Comics to reproduce panels and sequences … Continue reading MOVIEMAKING ILLUSTRATED: THE COMICBOOK FILMBOOK, Part One

BHOC: MARVEL TREASURY EDITION #21

It was an exciting day when this Fantastic Four-themed MARVEL TREASURY EDITION showed up at my local 7-11. Because of their size, the Treasury Editions were racked with the general magazines rather than by the comic book spinner rack, meaning that you needed to know to go and look for them. As FANTASTIC FOUR was … Continue reading BHOC: MARVEL TREASURY EDITION #21

BHOC: INCREDIBLE HULK POCKET BOOKS Volume 2

I come from a family of readers, and so every time we'd go out to the mall or to another shopping center on the weekends, as typically happened most Saturdays, we almost always stopped into any bookstores that happened to be around. Our main destination, the Smith Haven Mall, had three if you can believe … Continue reading BHOC: INCREDIBLE HULK POCKET BOOKS Volume 2

The 1974/1975 Topps Marvel Super Heroes Stickers

If you were a kid growing up in the 1970s, then these Topps stickers are going to be familiar to you. These things were everywhere--stuck up in all manner of places by industrious kids who bought them either because they had a love for the Marvel Super Heroes of that period, or just because they … Continue reading The 1974/1975 Topps Marvel Super Heroes Stickers