Origin of Galactus

Tags

Galactus, galan, Jack Kirby, John Byrne, mark gruenwald, Origin of Galactus, Stan Lee, Super Villain Classics, Thor, watcher

We posted these pages in serialized form in the early days of this blog, but that’s proven inconvenient for people searching for this entire epic. Here they are, all in one spot for those legions of internet users who want to know the answer to the most burning question in the universe: Where the heck did Galactus come from?!

Super Villain Classics #1 (1983) compiled pages from even older Thor comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Some supplemental art and dialogue was added to streamline the story into one coherent narrative. Are you interested in those original Thor issues? Check our archives for samples of Thor #162 here and here! Super Villain Classics #1 was reprinted in 1996 as Galactus the Origin.

Marvel Treasury Edition: Thor by Kirby

Tags

Jack Kirby, Mangog, Marvel Comics, marvel treasury edition, ragnarok, Stan Lee, Thor

Marvel Treasury Edition #10 features the mighty Thor in a four-issue saga by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby. The original issues reprinted in this gloriously oversized edition are Thor #154, #155, #156, and #157. Considering any one of these original issues will run you from $15 in a VG condition to $200 in a CGC-graded 8.0 VF condition, a $15-$30 copy of this treasury edition will leave some cash in your pocket and deliver the goods in a superior format.

And it truly is superior. Just look at these gorgeously reproduced pages and that mind-stunning back cover! Jack Kirby’s artwork at this size never fails to crank the awesome-meter into the red.

The story itself starts off well, with a big bad monster foolishly released by some power-mad moron. Guess what? It presages the end of the universe! Oops!

The monster – called the Mangog – begins an unstoppable march towards Thor’s home in Asgard. Its ineluctable progress drives just about all the action in this story, as hero after Asgardian hero fails to stop Mangog’s tenacious travels. It’s very dramatic, true, but essentially you get one long fight scene bathed in delicious Kirby Krackle.

Normally we would hate spoiling the ending, but this story spoils it on its own. After all this cosmic-level struggle, the pay-off kind of sucks. Odin steps in at the end, waves his hand, and puts a stop to the whole thing in deus ex machina fashion. This cheapens the epic struggle that comes before it by suggesting that, well, we had nothing to really worry about the whole time.

Despite this let-down of an ending, one can have some great fun with Thor and his friends along the way, valiantly struggling to overcome their implacable foe. Readers who may have looked forward to Ragnarok (end of the universe, basically) would have to wait until Thor #200, some pages of which we have in our archives.

Whether you collect Jack Kirby art or classic Thor issues, Marvel Treasury Edition #10 probably deserves a place on your shelf. We recently sold ours on eBay, but you can usually find it in stock. It’s big, it’s bold, and the lame ending does little to detract from Kirby’s masterful visual approach leading up to it.

Readers who don’t mind black and white reprints will find this story in the Essential Thor paperback #3. Let’s have a look at some more interior pages from this titanic tome!

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

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

Of all the glorious splash pages in Astonishing Tales #1-8, this one of the Red Skull turning Latveria into Nazi Nation cracks us 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 we 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. 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.



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 our 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 we could almost forgive him for killing Gwen Stacy… but we won’t.

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 its still the golden age at EC Comics. And did we mention the Red Skull shows up while Doom is on vacation? Guess what – he turns Latveria into Nazi Nation! What an idiot.


Conway and Smith continue their dramatic portrayal of the Savage Land through several issues. Just look at that splash page!

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.

Herb Trimpe steps in with what seems a Frazetta-inspired pose for Ka-zar, and Colan’s pencils seem to become more flowing and abstract in his next few issues of Doom.



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

But despite these creative high points in these little-known and certainly 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.
We recently sold our ‘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 super cheap. Just try finding VF/NM copies, though, and you will have yourself a collecting challenge!

Silver Surfer by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (1978)

Tags

1978, book, Fireside, Jack Kirby, paperback, Silver Surfer, Silver Surfer graphic novel, Simon & Schuster, Stan Lee

The 1978 version of the Silver Surfer by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby stands apart from the rest of the characters and history of Marvel Comics. It does not have the obligatory cameo appearance by Spider-man and it does not cross over with the Avengers. In fact, it re-tells the first Silver Surfer story: the Surfer rebels against Galactus so that Galactus will spare Earth. But here, we have no Fantastic Four, no Watcher, nothing from the first time Lee & Kirby spun this yarn. Instead we have a love story, featuring a previously unseen female counterpart for the Surfer.

If we may be honest, we did not care for the story. The love story felt contrived for maximum pathos without really mattering at all, and the additional “average person” characters trotted on stage seemed generic or maybe just bland. Reading a different version about a Surfer scenario we already knew backwards and forwards felt almost like a waste of time.

So why did this come out? If we had to guess, Marvel hoped to pick up a more adult audience for the comic book. Notice that Fireside, apparently a Simon & Schuster company, published this “ultimate cosmic experience” – not Marvel. This book seems aimed at a general audience, not your die-hard Marvelite. Stan and Jack stripped off all the superhero from the original Surfer tale, turning it into a science-fiction movie that adults could get into, but also share with their kids. As such, we can appreciate this book as an example of early efforts Marvel made to penetrate mainstream culture by expanding into more media, and adapting their intellectual property to the new media. And just look at them now.

Anyway, regular visitors to Mars Will Send No More will understand we bought this book for exactly one reason: the stunning jack Kirby artwork. So why don’t we have a look inside and blow our minds together?!

We would pitch you this book from our eBay sales page, but we already sold it to a lucky reader in Switzerland. Global Shipping Program spreads the love internationally! But have hope: you can often find Simon & Schuster’s original Silver Surfer printings from 1978 in stock in both paperback and hardcover.

Incredible Hulk Pocket Book 1978

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1978, collection, Herb Trimpe, Hulk, Incredible Hulk, Incredible Hulk Pocket Book, Jack Kirby, paperback, Pocket Book, Pocket Books, reprint, Stan Lee

This handy paperback has most recently proven useful in settling questions about Hulk history. Often these stories get forgotten in the vast expanses of Hulk lore, his origin story retold so many times that any two people probably have a different version in their heads. Here, Hulk remains more a man than a monster – a sullen and irritable man with a limited vocabulary, but far from the dim-witted “Hulk Smash” of the 1970s. In these stories, Banner hulks out at night, not simply from rage.

Stan Lee provides a brief but entertaining introduction as he did with all the Pocket Books we’ve seen from the 1970s. These books were great fun to own then, and we read these stories until we had them memorized. Ditko’s artwork – featured in one story here and in the similar Spider-man paperback – and Kirby’s artwork entertained us to no end.

These days, they seem a bit dated. Hulk is always fighting Commies, the art is far more simplistic than Kirby’s later style, and the plots seem kind of goofy. Stan and Jack probably hit the nail right on the head for their audience: boys and young men who enjoy action stories full of conflict and gadgets, at a particular time in history. Today they are curious beasts, an odd lot from a simpler time of comics where pulp horror and science fiction met in the mainstream to create superheroes.

Stan and Jack had no idea how big this thing would blow up, and readers 50 years later would seek out these stories for reference and entertainment. The charm in these first six Hulk tales lies in that very lack of self-consciousness, innocently dashed out in a few days or weeks. Just look at the utter disregard for backgrounds and ornamentation on these pages: direct, economical, focused entirely on figures and dialogue.

This little volume from Pocket Books in 1978 held up remarkably well. Even as a mass market paperback it enjoys very solid production: durable pages with clear art and color, a firm binding more than 35 years later, and a tight, glossy cover. We have this copy of the Incredible Hulk Pocket Book for sale on eBay, if you would like to be the next fan to take a turn unearthing this Marvel Comics time capsule.

It even comes with a bonus two-page spread of “Hulk’s life in a single image” by Herb Trimpe. Trimpe, of course, had put his unmistakable stamp on the Hulk by the time this reprint book arrived in 1978, visually defining the Hulk for a generation of fans.

Marvel Tales Collection: John Romita’s Spider-man

Tags

Amazing Spider-man, collection, John Romita, Marvel Comics, Marvel Tales, Peter Parker, Spider-man, Spidey, Stan Lee

John Romita’s run on Amazing Spider-man brought a whole new energy to a book once defined by Steve Ditko’s unique illustration style. Peter Parker remains beset by all sorts of problems, but being treated like a wimp is no longer one of them. He has both Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy competing for his attentions, and he doesn’t mind telling his rival Flash Thompson to go take a flying leap. But between his aunt’s failing health and a slew of supervillains that beat him down repeatedly, Spider-man exemplifies the underdog appeal of many Marvel from the 1960s. Though these books cost quite a bit of money, many Marvel Tales reprints from the early 1970s cost substantially less.

Spidey’s classic A-list foes – Dr. Octopus, the Vulture, the Lizard, Mysterio, Electro, the Rhino, Kraven, and the Chameleon – all take turns clashing with the web head. New villains like the enduring Prowler stake early claims to Spidey’s rogue’s gallery, and Captain Stacy’s investigation into Spidey’s identity meets an unexpectedly tragic end.

Along the way, Stan Lee adopts a groovy-man-groovy tone to some of his dialogue, and even places Spidey on campus for a student protest. While it might seem dated to some readers, it shows Lee’s constant aspiration to make his heroes more relevant and relatable to his audience. It blends well with his tendency to address readers directly and the melodramatic voices of the villains, giving these stories a unique voice.

While Peter enjoys unprecedented romantic success, Lee takes an issue to hand Spidey a lesson in humility from a strong woman: Medusa of the Inhumans. Despite the hand-to-hand combat (or hand-to-hair, in this case) Lee keeps a comedic tone about greed, advertising, and misunderstandings.

But things turn more grim near the end of Romita’s tenure, where a fatal confrontation with Dr. Octopus sets the tone for the subsequent tragedy-ridden days of Gerry Conway and Gil Kane’s run.


Still, the majority of the run dishes out personal tragedy, epic struggles, heroic triumphs, and comedic banter in equal parts for our hero. Artists John Buscema and Jim Mooney, among others, fill in a few issues but maintain Romita’s overall tone and style.

Let’s see some more of the interior artwork, below!

The Figure According to John Buscema

Tags

anatomy, art, drawing, figure drawing, how to draw comics the marvel way, John Buscema, lessons, Stan Lee

 
Let’s have just one more look inside in How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way for some helpful figure drawing lessons.

In an earlier chapter, John Buscema addressed basic anatomy and proportions: the breakdowns of the human figure into formal shapes: cylinders, spheres, and so on. That chapter is quite detailed and well worth reading. This shorter chapter compares that approach to a much more loose and relaxed – even sloppy – method: scribbling.

 

The Human Head According to John Buscema!

Tags

anatomy, art, drawing, figure drawing, head, how to draw comics the marvel way, John Buscema, lessons, Stan Lee

 
The following pages from How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way demonstrate all the essentials of drawing the human head. These breakdowns resemble the ones we looked at in yesterday’s Bad Girls figure drawing lesson. But, they go more in depth: more poses, more character types, and more comparisons of the highly idealized male and female faces.

 

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

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.

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.

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 may be 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; Marvel,
– Reprinted in Marvel Masterworks #4: Doctor Strange; Marvel, 2010

 

A Time to Die!

Tags

Don Heck, John Buscema, Stan Lee, Tower of Shadows

In this 1969 tale, Stan Lee and John Buscema bring to the page the magic that would make their Silver Surfer collaboration so memorable.

Collector’s Guide:
– from Tower of Shadows #1; Marvel, 1969.

The Mighty Oak!

Tags

mighty oak, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

Stan Lee and Steve Ditko subject an oak tree to the same atomic test blast that created the Hulk in this classic short story from Strange Tales #100.

 

Captain America 112: Lest We Forget!

Tags

Captain America, Iron Man, Jack Kirby, Lest We Forget, Stan Lee, Sub-Mariner

Jack Kirby redraws the origin of his creation Captain America in this 1969 gem. We don’t know if Kirby really hammered this out in 24 hours or not, but the artwork feels big and bold. Fans will notice quite a difference between Kirby’s approach to Captain America here and his late 1970s return to the title. Cap seems less a caricature of himself than he would in 1977.

This issue exemplifies our favorite Kirby treatment of Cap, so far advanced beyond the 1940s as to be almost unrecognizable as the same artist, even accounting for Joe Simon’s hand in the original mix.

Collector’s Guide:
– From Captain America #112; Marvel, 1969.

 

Captain America 100: This Monster Unmasked!

Tags

Black Panther, Captain America, first issue, Jack Kirby, origin, Stan Lee

People complain about Marvel’s constant renumbering of titles these days, and you can count us in on a vote for the ridiculousness of all that. But do you remember that in 1968, Marvel’s first volume of Captain America began at #100? Up until then, Cap had filled the pages of Tales of Suspense. When TOS rolled over from #99 to #100, it became Cap’s own book. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee present Cap’s origin, which they would also do a year later in #112, perhaps to bring even more and more fans on board. To be fair, this one only covers Cap’s defrosting by the Avengers.

Collector’s Guide:
– from Captain America #100; Marvel, 1968.

Dr. Doom Steals the Power Cosmic!

Tags

Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four, Jack Kirby, power cosmic, Silver Surfer, Stan Lee

Dr. Doom, you ruthless bastard. You parasite. You…

Wait. Did you really siphon the Power Cosmic from the Silver Surfer in a wicked splash of Kirby Krackle?! Doom, you’re alright after all.

Also in this issue: an early splash page where Jack Kirby rocks his modern art style in the disguise of fantastic machinery!

Collector’s Guide:
– From Fantastic Four #57; Marvel, 1968.
Part One of Four.

The Beginning of Adam Warlock!

Tags

Adam Warlock, Fantastic Four, first appearance of Warlock, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Warlock

Adam Warlock began his career at Marvel as part of a mad experiment in Fantastic Four #66 and #67. We knew this much from Jim Starlin’s recap when he took over Warlock in the 1970s. But, it wasn’t until more recently we got our hands on reprints of this tale in Marvel’s Greatest Comics #49 and #50. Jack Kirby’s artwork on Warlock’s first appearance knocks us out!

The Origin of the Silver Surfer by Stan Lee and John Buscema!

Tags

Fantasy Masterpieces, first issue, Galactus, John Buscema, Norrin Radd, origin, Silver Surfer, Silver Surfer Omnibus, Stan Lee, Zenn-La

The story of Norrin Radd’s abandoning a life of luxurious complacency to wield the power cosmic remains our favorite Origin of all time. If you ever have a chance to be the herald of Galactus, don’t think about it – just do it! We’ll see you in the spaceways.

Dig this slightly abridged version of Silver Surfer #1. We kept in all the origin parts, don’t worry! A nicely recolored version from one of the more recent reprints, it truly does justice to the all-powerful artwork of John Buscema.

Collector’s Guide:
If you need a copy of Silver Surfer #1 for yourself – and believe us, you do – then here is a list of every time Marvel has printed it. Have fun shopping!

– From Silver Surfer #1; Marvel Comics, September 1968.
Reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces Vol. 2, #1; 1979.
Reprinted in the Silver Surfer Omnibus Vol. 1
Reprinted in the HardCover Silver Surfer Masterworks #1, a 2003 Paperback version, and a 2010 Paperback.
Reprinted in black and white in Essential Silver Surfer, Vol. 1, Edition 1 and in Edition 2.

X-Men 7: The First Cerebro, and a Beatnik Shin-dig!

Tags

Cerebro, first appearance of Cerebro, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, X-men

Let’s dig a few pages from X-Men #7 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Here they introduced Cerebro, a mainstay of the X-mythos ever since. But while Cyclops and the Professor are having guy time with their geeky gadgets, Beast and Iceman are “enjoying a taste of the bohemian side of New York.” In just a few panels they become the stars of the beatnik bopper parade, and Hank gets his feet painted. Crazy, man, crazy!

X-Men 10: Introducing Ka-Zar!

Tags

Jack Kirby, Ka-zar, Savage Land, Stan Lee, Uncanny X-Men, X-men, Zabu

The Coming of Ka-Zar! Here it is: the first silver age appearance of Ka-zar, lord of the savage land! And don’t forget Zabu!

Even though Ka-zar is not a mutant, Xavier allows the X-Men to travel to Antarctica and enter the Savage Land to investigate this noble savage. They end up having to save Jean and Warren from being sacrificed by the Swamp Men.

Collector’s Guide:
– From Uncanny X-Men #10; Marvel, 1964.
– Reprinted in Marvel Masterworks X-Men HC #1
– Reprinted in Marvel Masterworks New Edition X-Men HC #1
– Reprinted in Marvel Masterworks X-Men TPB #1

Script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Chic Stone.

 

The Lizard Has Only One Desire that Will Never Die!

Tags

Amazing Spider-man, Jim Mooney, John Buscema, lizard, Marvel Tales, Spider-man, Stan Lee

Being a super-villain must be awesome. You never have an existential crisis. Every day when you wake up, you know exactly what you want most in life. One purpose. One plan. One desire that will never die…

Collector’s Guide:
– Reprints Amazing Spider-man #76
– From Marvel Tales #57

Avengers 4: Captain America Joins the Avengers!

Tags

Avengers, Captain America, Captain America joins the Avengers, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee

When Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created Captain America in 1941, they probably did not imagine the multi-billion dollar franchise he would become. Cap all but disappeared in the 1950s, nearly fading into the permanent fog of obscurity. The Avengers #4 changed all that for good in 1964. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby brought Captain America from the days of World War II into the ranks of the Avengers. Let’s check out this piece of comic book history!

Collector’s Guide:
– From Marvel Masterworks Avengers #1
– Reprints Avengers #4
– Reprinted in Essential Avengers TPB #1