Remembering Artist John Romita

Remembering artist John Romita on his birthday (January 24, 1930 - June 12, 2023) with a couple of his covers to Amazing Spider-Man (#66 and #67, from November and December, 1968) featuring the master of illusion....Mysterio!

Celebrating Artist Mark Bagley

Celebrating the birthday of artist Mark Bagley (August 7, 1957) with a trio of covers from Amazing Spider-Man....

...featuring the star, his symbiote enhanced villain, Venom (Eddie Brock), and a new introduction, serial killer Cletus Kasady, who, when merged with a symbiote, became Carnage!

Amazing Spider-Man #361 and #362 (April and May, 1992)

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Amazing Spider-Man #363 (June, 1992)

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Stan Lee 100

Stan Lee was born 100 years ago on this date.  

Remembering the man and his life (December 28, 1992 to November 12, 2018), with a group of Marvel Comics that he wrote...

...that were one hundred issues!

Strange Tales #100 (September, 1962)

The first of the Stan Lee 100 issues, with a cover drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Steve Ditko (names that would always be there to help Stan Lee reach his heights).

Though there were a few Marvel super heroes at this time, this anthology book was still odd horror tales, with stories plotted by Stan, and likely written by Larry Leiber, with art by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Don Heck.

This issue was reprinted in the Marvel: June 1962 Omnibus (2021).

The next issue of Strange Tales would see half the book taken over by the Fantastic Four's Human Torch, with Doctor Strange and Nick Fury to follow in years to come.

Journey Into Mystery #100 (January, 1964)

Here begins a run of stories that Stan Lee would be better known for, this one featuring Thor, the god of thunder!

Under a cover by Jack Kirby and Sol Brodsky, with interior work by Don Heck, Thor faced off against Mr. Hyde (who debuted in the previous issue).  While successful against Mr. Hyde, Jane Foster did not impress Thor's father, Odin, and thus Odin would not allow Thor to marry the young nurse Thor was infatuated with.

This tale has been reprinted many times, including in Thor's first Marvel Masterworks, and his first Epic Collection.

Tales To Astonish #100 (February, 1968)

This issue features a battle royal between the two characters, Hulk and the Sub-Mariner, that shared the title.

With a cover by Marie Severin and Dan Adkins (who also did the inside, with a little inking assistance from Roger Brand), the two heroes often branded villains battled (though it was the fault of neither...the Hulk was being controlled by the Fantastic Four villain, the Puppet Master).

Among other places, this story was reprinted in the third Hulk Marvel Masterwork and in the third Hulk Epic Collection (and would fit in a second Sub-Mariner Epic Collection whenever Marvel makes one).

Captain America #100 (April, 1968)

Here, Stan Lee returns to a character he had worked on since World War II (as Captain America took over the Tales To Suspense title that he had shared with Iron Man).

Jack Kirby supplied the cover (with inks by Syd Shores and Joe Sinnott), with interiors by Kirby and Shores, where Cap, Black Panther and Agent 13 (Sharon Carter) battle who they think is Baron Zemo in Wakanda, defeating the man, with Cap suggesting to Black Panther to join the Avengers as his replacement (which he would).  The issue also features a bit on Steve Rogers' origin, and his meeting with the Avengers.

This issue was reprinted in Captain America's second Marvel Masterwork as well as in his second Epic Collection (and a few other places).

Fantastic Four #100 (July, 1970)

Stan Lee's great triumphant issue 100, where he had written all the previous issues of as well, along with Jack Kirby.

Here, with Kirby inked by Joe Sinnott, the Fantastic Four, along with Inhuman Crystal (who was a part of the team), battled all the FF foes...sort of.  The Mad Thinker and Puppet Master had made android duplicates of the villains, and set them against the five heroes, in an epic tale, celebrating 100 issues with the same writer/artist.

This issue would be reprinted in the tenth Fantastic Four Marvel Masterwork, as well as in their sixth Epic Collection.

Amazing Spider-Man #100 (September, 1971)

Another Stan Lee triumph, as he had written all of the issues previously, though here, he had a few artists working with him over the decades, including Steve Ditko and John Romita.

Under a cover by John Romita and Frank Giacoia, with interiors by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia (and backgrounds by Tony Mortellaro), Peter Parker struggled with his spider powers (nothing new), faced hallucinations of his old foes (new and old), and, by the end, ended up with six arms (totally new).  Hey, Stan could always put Peter through his paces, and an anniversary issue was no exception!

This issue was reprinted in the eleventh Amazing Spider-Man Marvel Masterwork, and in the sixth Epic Collection of that series.

Truly, a touch of the career that was Stan Lee's, and a nice look at the overall history he created, on this, what would have been his 100th birthday.

Excelsior!

 

Mike Zeck's Punisher Marvel Tales 2

 

Celebrating the birthday of Mike Zeck, and taking a second shot at some of his Punisher work....

...not his celebrated 5 issue mini-series, but instead, more of Mike's redos of old Spider-Man covers for Marvel Tales....

...issues of Spider-Man titles that also featured the Punisher, before the mini-series!

Amazing Spider-Man #174 (November, 1977)/Marvel Tales #216 (October, 1988)

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Original cover by Ross Andru and Frank Giacoia.

Amazing Spider-Man #175 (December, 1977)/Marvel Tales #217 (November, 1988)

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Original cover by Ross Andru and Frank Giacoia.

Amazing Spider-Man #201 (February, 1980)/Marvel Tales #218 (December, 1988)

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Original cover by John Romita and Bob McLeod.

Amazing Spider-Man #202 (March, 1980)/Marvel Tales #219 (January, 1989)

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Original cover by Keith Pollard and Joe Rubinstein.

Spectacular Spider-Man #81 (August, 1983)/Marvel Tales #220 (February, 1989)

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Original cover by Al Milgrom.

Spectacular Spider-Man #82 (September, 1983)/Marvel Tales #221 (March, 1989)

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Original cover by Al Milgrom.

Spectacular Spider-Man #83 (October, 1983)/Marvel Tales #222 (April, 1989)

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Original cover by Greg LaRocque and Al Milgrom.

But, why start so late with these?  Well, back a while ago, the first batch of issues were covered here!

A great way to compare artistic styles, and how the different ages designed covers!

Mike Zeck's Punisher Marvel Tales Part 1

After Mike Zeck drew the Punisher in a five issue mini-series in the 1980s, the popularity of the Punisher took off like a rocket.  There were many titles and appearances of the Punisher after, but, in a wise move, Marvel decided to reprint the early appearances of the Punisher form the 1970s in Amazing Spider-Man....in their Spider-Man reprint title, Marvel Tales.  But, to make them special, they had Mike Zeck redo the covers.

So, presenting the first seven covers, side by side with the originals, to show the contrast between 1970s and 1980s styling!

Amazing Spider-Man #129 (February, 1974)/Marvel Tales #209 (March 1988)

Original cover by Gil Kane and John Romita.

Amazing Spider-Man #134 (July, 1974)/Marvel Tales #210 (April, 1988)

Original cover by John Romita.

Amazing Spider-Man #135 (August, 1974)/Marvel Tales #211 (May, 1988)

Original cover by John Romita.

Giant-Size Spider-Man #1 (April, 1975)/Marvel Tales #212 (June, 1988)

Original cover by Gil Kane and Frank Giaoia.

Giant-Size Spider-Man #1 (April, 1975)/Marvel Tales #213 (July, 1988)

Original cover by Gil Kane and Frank Giaoia.  

This issue has the second half of the Giant-Size Spider-Man 4 (so, no "second cover").

  

Plus, most issues had a Spectacular Spider-Ham back-up, except this one, which reprinted Silver Surfer's first solo tale from Fantastic Four Annual.

Up to this point, the Punisher stories were by Gerry Conway and Ross Andru, with the next two by Len Wein and Ross Andru.

Amazing Spider-Man #161 (October, 1976)/Marvel Tales #214 (August, 1988)

Original cover by Gil Kane and John Romita.

Amazing Spider-Man #162 (November, 1976)/Marvel Tales #215 (September, 1988)

Original cover by Ross Andru and John Romita.

Seems a good enough place to stop, but check back soon for a second shot of Punisher by Mike Zeck!

Happy World Photography Day 2020

Usually, Peter Parker would be the first to celebrate World Photography Day.  After all, he's made plenty of money photographing his alter-ego, Spider-Man, for Daily Bugle.

But, this time, the tables have turned....and Peter is caught in a precarious position, and he's not so happy with a picture....as shown on this rare photo cover for Amazing Spider-Man #262 (March, 1985...cover photo by Eliot R. Brown, with Scott Leva as Spider-Man).

 

Trade Secret

In the story by Bob Layton,  sleazy photographer D. J. Jones gets the shot of a lifetime, catching Peter Parker in mid-change at the airport.  Spider-Man, in trying to hunt him down (as D.J. tries to sell the picture), realizes he still has a responsibility to help Jones...and does.  

Spidey does save his secret identity, by using the power of fear (and some acting) to convince Jones to give up the film.

Our Love Story by Spider-Man?

At one time, comics weren’t all guys in spandex fighting each other.

They had war, espionage, humor…and romance!

There were many books that focused on romance, but, I’ll focus on “Our Love Story” from Marvel Comics.

The series ran 38 issues from October, 1969 to February, 1976, and over the years featured work by writers Stan Lee, Steve Englehart and Gerry Conway and the usual Marvel Bullpen artists, including John Romita, John Buscema, Don Heck, Gene Colan, Jim Sterenko, Jim Starlin, Sal Buscema, Gil Kane and Alan Weiss, as well as reprints from earlier romance books with art by Vince Colletta, John Forte, Jay Scott Pike, Matt Baker and Jack Kirby!

Later issues reprinted earlier stories, as well as covers! Check out some of that crazy cover copy…

 ...more drama than 50 Shades of Gray!

Or at least as much as the Comic Code Authority would allow!

 

The stories did get a little repetitive...

...then again, they at least changed hair colors and outfit colors!

 Love might be blind...

...and maybe romance comics readers too!

But, one of the most important parts of “Our Love Story” was the first two issues, with a Stan Lee/John Buscema story “We Dare Not Marry!” and it’s sequel, “I Can’t Forget You!”.


Looking at those two covers by John Romita….

…do they remind you of anyone from the Marvel Universe?

Don’t think too long about it…


....the answer is coming soon…


…real soon, in fact!




The story was reprinted in Marvel Treasury Edition #1 (among many other places…)

If you said Mary Jane Watson, “face it, tiger, you hit the jackpot!”….and that scene was from Mary Jane’s first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #42 (November, 1966) by Stan Lee and John Romita.

Peter and MJ have had their problems over the years, but are still a romance for the ages, and proves that comic characters (like comic collectors) aren’t that different from anyone else…we all just want someone to love!

Swing With the Spidermobile?

Yes, Spidey swung around Manhattan with the greatest of ease…but, I guess there were some days he needed a car.

So, here’s the spectacular Spider-Mobile!

Introduced to the world in Amazing Spider-Man #130 (March, 1974, by Gerry Conway and Ross Andru…one issue AFTER the 1st appearance of the Punisher, by the way), media moguls Carter and Lombardo (working to advertise Corona Motors; they had approached Spidey a few issues earlier), set up a deal with Spidey, where he accepted a check to have the Spider-Mobile…except he had to build it himself! With the help of his hot rod friend, the Human Torch (honest, Johnny Storm was into cars, check out early Strange Tales!), the Spider-Mobile came into being! The car had web-shooters, a spider-signal spotlight, and even an ejector seat (how very James Bond), and, with a push of a button, could disguise itself as a 1950s Chevy fleetline. Spidey even used it to capture some of Hammerhead’s hoods (but not the main villain himself…as Spidey could barely drive! All those spectacular things Peter Parker could do…didn’t include driving; yes, Spidey had never taken driving lessons!).

Spidermobile quick drives!

The Spider-Mobile next appeared in Spider-Man/Human Torch #3 by Dan Slott and Ty Templeton in May, 2005 (though it was a flashback tale), then a few more times…in Amazing Spider-Man #141, where Spidey looks for Jackal in the Spider-Mobile, and sinks the car in the Hudson River when an alley becomes a pier! (This tells you Spider-Man’s foe, the illusion-welding Mysterio is back in town…or does it?).

Then, in Amazing Spider-Man #142, Spidey checks out the wreckage of the Spider-Mobile and Mysterio jumps him!

It took until Amazing Spider-Man #157 (this time written by Len Wein instead of Gerry Conway), where Spidey finds the Mobile’s mirror, and in Amazing Spider-Man #159 where we see someone rebuilding the Spider-Mobile!

The Spidermobile wheels back in

The Spider-Mobile returned in Amazing Spider-Man #160 (September, 1976, by Len Wein and Ross Andru), but this time under control of the Tinkerer (himself a Spidey foe all the way back from Amazing Spider-Man #2…where he worked with the original Mysterio before he was Mysterio!). And, like all car guys, the Tinkerer couldn’t resist tinkering with the Spider-Mobile, having added a remote control (to allow him to attack Spidey with the car), drive up walls (allowing the car to live up to its name), and launch gas bombs that nullified Spidey’s spider-powers! Still, Spidey was able to defeat the car…and returned it to Carter and Lombardo (albeit not in cherry condition!).

Likely, the Spider-Mobile was made to tie into the merchandise that was hitting store shelves in the 1970s…

Toy car?

Spider-Man had himself a Mego action figure, and that was followed up by…the Spider-Car?
Well, it kind of looked like the Spider-Mobile (and likely might have been a reason for it to be put into the comics), but, sadly, this cool little Spider-accessory wasn’t quite in line with the comics, but it sure looked fun! (Isn’t that what having a car you modify all about?).


The Spider-Mobile has even returned a few more times in recent years….with a brief stop in a flashback in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #7, but more would follow…

The Spidermobile Returns

Popping up as a museum piece (fully restored) in Amazing Spider-Man #600 (in one of the stories in that September 2009 book by Zeb Wells and Derec Donovan; but the car was not quite fully respected by the museum patrons….).


In Amazing Spider-Man #647 (December, 2010, by Fred Van Lente and Max Fiumara; this time, the villain Overdrive, who has the power to make machines with his mind, turns an unsuspecting limousine into…the Spider-Mobile!).

It even made an alternate future, where it had been upgraded even more…and was driven by Hawkeye (so he could help Old Man Logan in a run of Wolverine, easier to look for the “Old Man Logan” tradepaperback, though it is issues #66-72 in 2008 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven!).

The Spider-Mobile might not be as famous as Batman's Batmobile, or even Green Arrow's Arrowcar, but it’s still….amazing!