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Mars Will Send No More

~ Comic books, art, poetry, and other obsessions

Mars Will Send No More

Tag Archives: Barry Smith

The Day the Nazis Ruled Latveria, and Other Astonishing Tales!

13 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in superhero

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Astonishing Tales, Barry Smith, Black Panther, collection, Dr. Doom, Gene Colan, Gerry Conway, Herb Trimpe, Jack Kirby, Ka-zar, Kraven, Larry Lieber, Marvel Comics, nazis, Red Skull, Roy Thomas, Stan Lee, Wally Wood

astonishing tales 1-8 ka-zar doom set (1)

Of all the glorious splash pages in Astonishing Tales #1-8, this one of the Red Skull turning Latveria into Nazi Nation cracks me up the most. It’s so wrong in so many ways. Red Skull, what were you thinking? Do you have ANY idea what Dr. Doom is going to do to you when he gets home? And why does the decor look like a high-school assembly?

But let’s start at the beginning. Long before I used the controversial picture above to sell the set on eBay, Jack Kirby kicked off Astonishing Tales #1 in 1970 with a Ka-Zar story.

astonishing tales 1-8 ka-zar doom set (4)
astonishing tales 1-8 ka-zar doom set (5)

Ka-zar versus Kraven sounds like a manly jungle free-for-all, but the tale lacks substance. Each issue, however, provided two stories, and the second one features Dr. Doom. Roy Thomas teams up with artist Wally Wood for several issues of unique stories in the Dr. Doom archives.

astonishing tales 1-8 ka-zar doom set (6)

After Stan & Jack wrap up the Kraven story, Gerry Conway and Barry Smith tell what may be the greatest Ka-zar story of all time. X-men fans may recall Garokk the Sun God from the days of Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s run. Byrne & Claremont’s tale, one of my favorites, has its roots in the pages of Astonishing Tales. Barry Smith renders the Savage Land and its inhabitants like never before or since. Conway’s tale is so awesome I could almost forgive him for killing Gwen Stacy — but I won’t.

astonishing tales 1-8 ka-zar doom set (7)
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Stan’s brother Larry Lieber takes the reins from Roy Thomas to continue Doom’s adventures, which include revolution, androids, and bringing a mummy back to life. It’s a whacky mix of themes that Wally Wood renders like it’s still the golden age at EC Comics. And did I mention the Red Skull shows up while Doom is on vacation? Guess what — he turns Latveria into Nazi Nation! What an idiot.

astonishing tales 1-8 ka-zar doom set (10)
astonishing tales 1-8 ka-zar doom set (8)

Just when you are thinking that you might subscribe to a monthly title featuring Dr. Doom drawn by Wally Wood, the creative team begins changing. Gene Colan joins Gerry Conway for a pretty awesome Black Panther story, the goofy gimmick of drilling underground in Wakanda serving as an excuse for a fine character study of the opposing monarchs, Doom and T’Challa.

astonishing tales 1-8 ka-zar doom set (12)

Colan’s pencils seem to become more flowing and abstract in his next few issues of Doom. Inker Tom Palmer certainly deserves some credit for that effect, and if you’d like to see how different inkers have interpreted Colan, Comic Tropes has a great short video that will show you.

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Doom’s mystic battle is one of my favorite examples of Colan’s style, rendered in bold flowing areas of black ink.

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Herb Trimpe steps in with what seems a Frazetta-inspired pose for Ka-zar.

astonishing tales 1-8 ka-zar doom set (13)
astonishing tales 1-8 ka-zar doom set (14)

But despite the creative high points in these little-known and underrated stories, they might have been too odd for the market at that time. Doom got the axe, and the book became Ka-zar’s title for more than a year beginning with the ninth issue.

Later, it would become a sort of proving ground for potential characters. Tony Isabella and Dick Ayers would give us “It!” for a few issues, and then Deathlok by Rich Buckler and Doug Moench. The Guardians of the Galaxy also make an appearance, but Marvel axed the whole title after issue #36, six years after it began.

I recently sold my ‘reader’s copies’ set of the first eight issues, but you can usually find Astonishing Tales (Marvel, 1970) in stock. Many well-worn copies exist, so prices on VG+ Marvels from this era remain relatively cheap. Just try finding VF/NM copies, though, and you will have yourself a collecting challenge!

astonishing tales 1-8 ka-zar doom set (2)
astonishing tales 1-8 ka-zar doom set (3)

Dan-Thing Archives: Doctor Strange in Marvel Premiere #3

19 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in occult, superhero

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Barry Smith, Barry Windsor Smith, Doctor Strange, Marvel Comics, marvel masterworks, Marvel Premiere, Stan Lee, while the world spins mad

Up from the primordial muck slithers… the Dan-Thing! In his oozing fist he clutches a time capsule: Marvel comic books from 1972! Our muck-stomping friend the Dan-Thing asked that we share these bronze-age beauties with you for education and inspiration.

marvel premiere 3 dr strange -002

Welcome to our fourth and final installment of the Dan-Thing Archives for 2013. Today, we crack open the Dan-Thing’s time capsule to discover beautiful artwork on Dr. Strange by Barry Smith. The story uses a tried-and-true plot with our hero assailed by a mysterious villain warping his reality. Smith takes the opportunity to present us with stunning page designs, compelling facial expressions for the good doctor, and a delicately sumptuous rendering of Strange’s mystical doodads, magic threads, and spiritual chill pad.

marvel premiere 3 dr strange -012

The “reveal” of the villain may seem a little weak to today’s readers, not involved in the Marvel continuity of 1972. But, Stan Lee and Barry Smith nonetheless deliver a truly trippy confrontation, replete with mystic energies and warped realities. While the World Spins Mad is one of the most satisfying Doctor Strange stories we’ve read in a long time.

Collector’s Guide: From Marvel Premiere #3 featuring Dr. Strange. Reprinted in Marvel Masterworks #4: Doctor Strange; Marvel, 2010.








Dan-Thing Archives: Conan the Barbarian #13

18 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in occult

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Barry Smith, Barry Windsor Smith, Chronicles of Conan, Conan, Conan the Barbarian, giant spiders, Marvel Comics, Roy Thomas, Sal Buscema, spider, web of the spider god

Up from the primordial muck slithers… the Dan-Thing! In his oozing fist, he clutches a time capsule: Marvel comic books from 1972! Our muck-stomping friend the Dan-Thing asked that we share these bronze age beauties with you for education and inspiration.

conan the barbarian 13 -013

Dan-Thing’s archival copy of Web of the Spider-God came without a cover but is otherwise intact. In fact, it kicks major ass! We didn’t expect much from a beat up old copy of Conan. Fitting, because Conan gets beat up pretty badly at the opening of this story. But we were admittedly just as wrong as Conan’s foes who thought him defeated. This story rose up to rock and roll with the best of them, coming out on top as perhaps our favorite of the famous Roy Thomas / Barry Windsor-Smith classics.

conan the barbarian 13 -015

Although we have seen Conan in the excessively awesome Marvel Treasury format, he seems just as much larger than life on these regular pages. We admit a preference for the first fifty issues of the Dark Horse Conan series, especially with the amazing Cary Nord painted look. But the more we discover the classic Marvel series, the more we find to like.

And now — into the pit of the giant spiders! YES!

Collector’s Guide: From Conan the Barbarian #13; Marvel, 1972. Reprinted in Chronicles of Conan #2; Dark Horse, 2003.









Avengers 66: The First Appearance of Adamantium!

09 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in superhero

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

adamantium, adamantium skeleton, Avengers, Barry Smith, Barry Windsor Smith, Roy Thomas, Ultron, Ultron-6, Vision

Roy Thomas created the metal Adamantium in 1969 in Avengers #66, the first of a trilogy starring the world’s most evil robot: Ultron! Barry Windsor Smith lays down visually stunning artwork inspired by his predecessors Jack Kirby and John Buscema. Smith returned to adamantium in Wolverine stories Wounded Wolf and Weapon X.

Collector’s Guide:
– From Avengers #66
– Reprinted in Marvel Super Action #27
– Reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Avengers #7
– Reprinted in Essential Avengers TPB #3

This three-parter may well be our favorite classic Avengers story. Once upon a time, we had only read the conclusion in the reprint Marvel Super Action #29. A big Thank You to @GInvestor888 and @Horace_Austin for opening the doors of our memory, and for reminding us on Twitter this first part of the trilogy introduced adamantium to the Marvel Universe!








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