Monday Madness FANTASTIC FOUR UNLIMITED "Shape of Things That Came!"

You thought you'd never see this guy...

...anywhere except in reprints?

well, you don't know Marvel, Bunkie!

Decades after his initial appearance (which we showed HERE), both the monster and his supporting cast re-emerged from obscurity in Marvel's Fantastic Four Unlimited #7 (1994), beginning with Frank Johnson, the illustrator who created Zzutak, meeting the team (minus Reed Richards, but plus Scott Lang aka Ant-Man II)...

However, there was a familiar (to Frank Johnson, at least) party-crasher...

Mayhem ensues, but the Aztecs manage to grab both Frank and his son...

Once in Mexico, we learn why Frank had the ability to bring illustrations created using those paints to life...

In comics, that's actually a quite plausible theory...and it works!

And before you can shout "Here I come to save the day!"...

Subtitled "A ten-story tribute those those marvelous Lee/Kirby monsters", writer Roy Thomas, penciler Herb Trimpe and inker Carmen Imperato followed the original tale's plot and concepts closely enough that anyone reading them back-to-back (as you did) would have no problem considering it a legitimate sequel to the original!

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(HTF anthology TPB from the 1980s featuring Zzutak's first appearance plus a kool never-reprinted "Kirby-tribute" wraparound cover by Walt Simonson)

Reading Room ASTONISHING TALES "Doctor Doom: ...and if I be Called Traitor--!"

Witness a Clash of Kings...

...as the evil ruler of Latveria and the heroic monarch of Wakanda face off under a Herb Trimpe-rendered "split cover"...

In Marvel's Astonishing Tales #8 (1970), writer Gerry Conway and penciler Gene Colan step into the middle of a two-part story and while Colan (who's previously-drawn both Doctor Doom and the Black Panther) does an amazing job, Conway falls flat when it comes to his knowledge of both Wakanda and Vibranium!
Despite the flaws in continuity (and simple logic), Conway does convey the differences in T'Challa and Victor's attitudes towards their respective constituencies and abstract concepts like "honor" and "responsibility", as well as the fact Doom respects the Panther both as a strategist and a fellow ruler!

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Essential Super-Villain Team-Up

Volume 1

(which reprints this story...but in black-and-white!)

Friday Fun BIG APPLE COMIX "Lotsa Yox featuring Rodger Farnsworth USAAF"

With Kong:Skull Island coming out on disc last week...

...we nostalgically flashed-back to the good old days, when cinematic giant apes had to come to NYC and climb whatever the tallest building was at the time!
But, because artists Herb Trimpe and Wally Wood insisted on including a nude woman in the strip, you'll have to see this never-reprinted classic in out "brother" blog Not Safe for Work Comics!

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the HTF Comic Classic...

Big Apple Comix

Best of Reading Room BIG APPLE COMIX "Token" by Herb Trimpe

The Abraham Lincoln story scheduled for today can be found HERE.
In the early 1970s, there were a lot of underground / alternative comics...

...but this HTF 1975 one-shot was one of the koolest, if only for it's awesome lineup of big-name New York-based comics talent including:

Wally Wood (who did the amazing cover above as well as a NSFW spoof of his classic "My World" strip, plus he wrote a second strip and inked a third.)!

Al Williamson, who illustrated a NSFW strip written by Wood, illustrating a Roy Thomas-lookalike nerd thrust into a world of barbarians, nude princesses, and monsters, becoming a loincloth-wearing, sword-wielding hero!

Plus: Neal Adams, Larry Hama, Ralph Reese, Paul Kirshner, Archie Goodwin, Marie Severin, Mike Ploog, Alan Weiss, Stu Schwarzberg, Linda Fite, and Herb Trimpe.

Edited and published by Flo Steinberg (known as "Fabulous Flo" when she was Stan Lee's Gal Friday during the Silver Age), the comic was sold primarily in "head shops" and sleazy bookstores since the Direct Market was in it's infancy and there were maybe two dozen comic book shops in the entire country!

The comic was a tribute to New York City, the city we love, the city we hate, the city we love to hate and hate to love.
(Yeah, I was born and raised in NYC...Brooklyn, to be exact!)

There's lots of venting of cynicism and irritation, like the cover with commuters just standing there with an "It's always something!" attitude instead of fleeing in terror as most populaces do at the sight of giant monsters tearing up the skyline.

And then there's the gentle, poetic, side as shown by the highly-underrated Herb Trimpe's visual treat...

BTW, the object in question is a subway token.
Its' use was discontinued over a decade ago in favor of "smart cards", so there are probably readers of this blog who have never used, or even seen them.

Penciler/inker (and occasional writer) Herb Trimpe, who fell into disfavor with Marvel in the 1990s, despite trying to adapt by becoming a Rob Liefield clone, was as much a part of their Silver and Bronze Age success as the Buscema brothers, Don Heck, John Romita Sr, Dick Ayers, Frank Giacoia, Joe Sinnott, or any of the other hardworking craftsmen of the era.
He passed away a couple of days ago...another of the links to the Silver and Bronze Ages (and, according to all accounts, a heck of a nice guy) lost to eternity.

Reading Room: BIG APPLE COMIX "Token"

In the early 1970s, there were a lot of underground / alternative comics...

...but this HTF 1975 one-shot is one of the koolest, if only for it's awesome lineup of big-name New York-based comics talent including:

Wally Wood (who did the amazing cover above as well as a NSFW spoof of his classic "My World" strip, plus he wrote a second strip and inked a third.)!

Al Williamson, who illustrated the NSFW strip written by Wood, illustrating a Roy Thomas-lookalike nerd thrust into a world of barbarians, nude princesses, and monsters, becoming a loincloth-wearing, sword-wielding hero!

Plus: Neal Adams, Larry Hama, Ralph Reese, Paul Kirshner, Archie Goodwin, Marie Severin, Mike Ploog, Alan Weiss, Stu Schwarzberg, Linda Fite, and Herb Trimpe.

Edited and published by Flo Steinberg (known as "Fabulous Flo" when she was Stan Lee's Gal Friday during the Silver Age), the comic was sold primarily in "head shops" and sleazy bookstores since the direct market was in it's infancy and there were maybe two dozen comic book shops in the entire country!

The comic is a tribute to New York City, the city we love, the city we hate, the city we love to hate and hate to love.
(Yeah, I'm born and raised in NYC...Brooklyn, to be exact!)

There's lots of venting of cynicism and irritation, like the cover with commuters just standing there with an "It's always something!" attitude instead of fleeing in terror as most populaces do at the sight of giant monsters tearing up the skyline.

And then there's the gentle, poetic side as shown by the highly-underrated Herb Trimpe's visual treat...

BTW, the object in question is a subway token.
Their use was discontinued almost a decade ago in favor of "smart cards", so there are probably readers of this blog who have never used, or even seen them.

Penciler/inker Herb Trimpe, who fell into disfavor with Marvel in the 1990s, despite trying to adapt by becoming a Rob Liefield clone, was as much a part of their Silver and Bronze Age success as the Buscema brothers, Don Heck, John Romita Sr, Dick Ayers, Frank Giacoia, Joe Sinnott, or any of the other hardworking craftsmen of the era.
He's still around, making a living as a teacher, and occasionally doing some comic book work.

We'll be presenting the family-friendly stories from this landmark title over the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for them!