tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6830827465735526826.post2611094952866559056..comments2024-03-29T04:24:08.026-07:00Comments on Marvel University: October 1965: Get Me to the Church on Time!John Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6830827465735526826.post-61609333327829542542012-02-11T16:42:57.860-08:002012-02-11T16:42:57.860-08:00Professor (almost) Glenn: I've been negligent ...Professor (almost) Glenn: I've been negligent in adding my appreciation of your very knowledgable comments. Thanks for adding a lot of info to fill in the picture of the Marvel universe of the time. I'm in the same age range as Professors Matthew and Peter; born in 1964. I got a lot of these issues when I was a little older, in the mid-seventies at my local comic store. What a delight it must have been to get them all for around a dollar in one month! Thanks for continuing to add to the fun.Jim Barwisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06621993116774388708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6830827465735526826.post-39950266043573073722012-02-10T06:48:28.556-08:002012-02-10T06:48:28.556-08:00Thanks, Glenn. It's always nice to be reminde...Thanks, Glenn. It's always nice to be reminded of what made Marvel so special back in the day, and I like your point about the fluctuations in any given book being less important than the whole. Indeed, the very idea of the Marvel Universe as a semi-coherent world created (more or less) by a single writer, credit squabbles notwithstanding, also differentiates it from DC, whose major characters were created by a diverse group of people over a period of many years. I don't know if we'll ever come to a point where we feel like every single book is firing on all cylinders at once, and of course our opinions on all of that will vary among us anyway, partly by age (I was born in '63, as I believe Professor Jack was as well), but to use the current parlance, "It's all good."Matthew Bradleyhttp://bradleyonfilm.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6830827465735526826.post-46951170762304023372012-02-10T06:05:26.395-08:002012-02-10T06:05:26.395-08:00Glenn-
The invitation remains open if you change ...Glenn-<br /><br />The invitation remains open if you change your mind. You're a bit older then me (I was born right as FF #1 was hitting the racks) but I can still remember the thrill of going down to the local soda fountain, Pronto Pup. The Pup had a bar that you sat at and ordered your Pronto Pup (basically a hush puppy) and Coke, all the while surrounded on three sides by shelves stacked full of thousands of magazines and comic books. That's where I'd buy my Eeries, Creepys, FMs, and Marvels every few days. The Pup had so many zines that you could literally go every couple days and there would be a new assortment. How do you explain that feeling of joy to a new generation that has their magazines delivered to them wirelessly on their kindle? <br />-Sigh-Peter Enfantinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04317575598411394944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6830827465735526826.post-42294858257102607112012-02-10T02:16:44.902-08:002012-02-10T02:16:44.902-08:00Thanks for the kind offer to join the faculty, but...Thanks for the kind offer to join the faculty, but for the time being, I think I'll just continue the way I'm going, posting whenever I can.<br /><br />A few observations:<br /><br />How different were Marvel comics in the 1960s?<br />Picking up on everyone's comments, particularly about reading these 1960s books as reprints, I've come to the conclusion that I'm a lot older than most of you. I was 11 in 1965, and read, and collected the books currently under discussion when they were new. If you weren't there, you can't begin to imagine just how different Marvel comics were back then. We laugh at the endless internal bickering and personal problem plotlines today, because they've been done to death. In the mid 1960s, they were still new concepts. With continued story arcs, and powerful graphics, they were nothing like the books produced by D.C. at the time, aimed mainly at kids under the age of eight. <br /><br />How could books like“Strange Tales” possibly sell 200,000 copies a month?<br />I know what you're thinking. Ditko's Dr. Strange was great, but the character almost never featured on the cover, and was buried at the back of a book that led with tenth rate Torch and Thing stories, drawn by anyone who happened to walk past the Marvel offices at the wrong time. <br /><br />In the mid 1960s, on a typical month, there were eight new Marvel Superhero titles on the stands. For less than a dollar, you could pick up the next installment of the entire Marvel Universe. Readers didn't have to discriminate. The quality of each title fluctuated from month to month, but that didn't matter, because it was all part of the big picture, and still cheap entertainment, unlike today, where you'd need a second job to afford to buy every title on the Marvel roster.<br /><br />How was Jack Kirby able to draw and plot so many pages?<br />I have no idea.<br /><br />All the best,<br /><br />Glenn :)GlennMEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08536558149189057537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6830827465735526826.post-69830541293648051362012-02-09T17:52:38.756-08:002012-02-09T17:52:38.756-08:00I would gladly welcome a new addition to staff!I would gladly welcome a new addition to staff!Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6830827465735526826.post-34149578268561609982012-02-09T15:35:27.169-08:002012-02-09T15:35:27.169-08:00Glenn, the President and Dean of Faculty--or, as I...Glenn, the President and Dean of Faculty--or, as I call him, "Paste-Pot"--evidently shares our thinking in this matter, and would love you to contact him at his super-secret e-mail address (penfantino@gmail.com). Hope you will see fit to join us, since I'm consistently impressed with your expertise.Matthew Bradleyhttp://bradleyonfilm.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6830827465735526826.post-17964727661406713372012-02-09T07:56:06.313-08:002012-02-09T07:56:06.313-08:00I second the motion!I second the motion!Jockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16292833295819266389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6830827465735526826.post-78826806403063146082012-02-09T06:55:03.375-08:002012-02-09T06:55:03.375-08:00And Don Heck's work on THE AVENGERS lost a gre...And Don Heck's work on THE AVENGERS lost a great inker in the process. I hereby nominate GlennME as the newest member of the MU faculty, since he obviously knows a lot more about this stuff than some of us do!Matthew Bradleyhttp://bradleyonfilm.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6830827465735526826.post-83871396785582434702012-02-09T05:16:14.185-08:002012-02-09T05:16:14.185-08:00Thanks, Glenn! Daredevil may have had a revolving ...Thanks, Glenn! Daredevil may have had a revolving door for artists, but it sure had some of the best art of any Marvel title at the time!Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6830827465735526826.post-39822810622323662302012-02-09T02:47:52.732-08:002012-02-09T02:47:52.732-08:00As Marvel expanded its line, Stan Lee needed to ex...As Marvel expanded its line, Stan Lee needed to expand the bullpen, and sought out artists capable of working “Marvel style.” For Daredevil, he tapped Golden Age great Bill Everett, the man who launched The Sub-Mariner back in 1939. In an interview with Roy Thomas, Everett recalled that Jack Kirby had already drawn the front cover, designed the character, and devised the billy club idea. Everett proved to be unreliable, delivering the pencilled pages at the last possible second. Daredevil's first issue was his last.<br /><br />Next up was Joe Orlando, an excellent artist who learned the hard way that he could not work Marvel style. Frustrated by vague plot conferences with Stan Lee, and a lack of clear instruction, Orlando found that he would turn in a job, then, typically, have to redraw five of the pages at Stan Lee's request. To Orlando's way of thinking, he was drawing 25 pages or more, only getting paid for 22, and Marvel's page rate wasn't that great to begin with. He left after three frustrating issues.<br /><br />Enter Wally Wood, E.C. legend, and a man capable of illustrating AND writing a story. With minimal input from Stan Lee, Wood was off and running, plotting stories and even redesigning Daredevil's costume, creating the all red outfit familiar today. However, Wood made the same discovery as Steve Ditko. Wood was paid for 20 pages of artwork, while Lee payed himself for writing a complete 20 page story, and gave himself sole writing credit. Wood protested, and demanded credit as Daredevil's writer.<br /><br />The blurb on page one of Daredevil #10 reads “Wally Wood has always wanted to try his hand at writing a story as well as drawing it, and big-hearted Stan (who wanted a rest anyway) said okay.” How insulting. Shades of the blurb on page one of Spidey #25 four months earlier, where Lee joked about letting Steve Ditko plot a story. Wood went one step further than Ditko, and told Lee that he wanted payment for his share of the writing. Lee balked, and Wood walked, after inking Bob Powell's pencilling on Daredevil #11.<br /><br />All the best,<br /><br />Glenn :)GlennMEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08536558149189057537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6830827465735526826.post-61090768591328554872012-02-08T13:03:22.940-08:002012-02-08T13:03:22.940-08:00I'm just surprised we didn't see "If ...I'm just surprised we didn't see "If There Was a Prince," If There's a Bitter Taste, Then It's Defeat," and "If This Be a Monster Dwelling Within This Man."Peter Enfantinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04317575598411394944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6830827465735526826.post-28858924149239928382012-02-08T10:56:29.504-08:002012-02-08T10:56:29.504-08:00What is it with people running out onto battlefiel...What is it with people running out onto battlefields and bomb testing sites? If it's not Rick Jones, it's Happy Hogan. One thing I love about Marvel is the bold, sweeping titles on the covers. Look at this month's: "A Prince There Was," "Within the Monster Dwells a Man," "The Bitter Taste of Defeat," "Lo, There Shall Be An Ending," and "If This Be Treason." These sound like Stan was sneaking a look at the Protestant hymnal, if not cribbing from the King James Bible.Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.com