Archive for the ‘Marvel Comics’ Category
A Little Christmas in May
These are an oddity that I ran across on eBay. They’re dated 1991, but I’ve never seen either before.
These are just a couple examples of Marvel merchandising as the comic market was coming of age after the first Batman movie. It was a period before comic books started demanding attention with gimmicks and number ones.
Spidey and Wolverine are made of plastic/PVC and are approximately 1:43 scale.
Spidey Super Stories (1974) 1
Turning back the hands of time back to when cable and satellite television was in its Golden Age, there was something called the public broadcasting system.
This was, essentially, what many television pioneers believed television was meant to be. It was commercial free, funded by governmental programs and out of public pockets. With no one to answer to, PBS was able to broadcast programs with a more educational agenda.
One such program was The Electric Company.
Part of the American educational children’s television series, The Electric Company aired from Oct. 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977. In total, 780 episodes were broadcast over the six seasons. It would continue in reruns through Ot. 4, 1985.
Marvel Comics formed a free partnership with the Children’s Television Workshop. By the fourth season, Spider-Man began to appear in live-action segments.
Spidey would save the day by stopping crimes of a lesser nature; usually muggings, hold ups, etc. Viewers were prompted to read Spider-Man’s thoughts that popped up courtesy of thought balloons. Less than 30 segments were filmed.
To compliment the episodes, Marvel printed a comic book entitled Spidey Super Stories. While the television series was short lived, the comic book lasted 57 issues running from 1974 to 1982. The book was geared toward six- to 10-year olds.
Spidey Super Stories (1974) 1
Young fans were welcomed to the Marvel U with a guest villain each issue. In addition, other members of the Marvel stable made appearances like J. Jonah Jameson, Mary Jane Watson and many others.
Spider-Man was immortalized on vinyl as part of the Children’s Television Workshop and Peter Pan. His recorded adventures included Spidey Versus the Measles and The Queen Bee, both from The Electric Company. Also included were Spidey’s origin story, The Last Laugh, The Leader of the Pack, 20,000 Feet Under the Ground, Deadly is the Doctor Called Doom and Spidey Versus the Sandman.
Some of Spidey’s electrifying adventures can be found on YouTube and are worth a look for the hardcore Spider-Man fan or just morbidly curious. The once dollar-box fodder Spidey Super Stories are gaining a little traction in the collector’s market and can be found in most third-party shopping spots.
Whatever your predisposition, don’t expect too much and you may not be disappointed this National Public Television Day.
You were probably wondering when we were gonna announce today’s non-holiday.
Amazing Spider-Man 38 (1963)
Welcome to National Joe Day.
Today is designed to serve two purposes: enjoy a cup of coffee – or Joe – with a Joe. Or, Joseph, or Joey or Josephine, Jody, Johanna, fill in your Jo of choice.
For our usage we’re going with plain old Joe. As in Just a Guy Named Joe. That’s the title of Amazing Spider–Man issue 38. While unremarkable story wise, it does mark the end of an era.
Amazing Spider-Man 38 (1963)
Issue 38 is the dissolution of the creative partnership between Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. For 38 issues, and Amazing Fantasy 15 (1962), Stan the Man and Sturdy Steve laid the foundation of a franchise that carried Marvel for decades.
In the first 38, the bulk of Spidey’s rogues gallery was formulated. As were the core cast of characters who have shadowed Spider-Man and his alter ego. Peter Parker’s DNA are in those issues.
So, it is with a whimper the two dissolve their partnership with Joe.
Joe Smith.
A nice enough guy, but a loser. Poor Joe just can’t catch a break. He only wants to be somebody. Whether it be in the ring or in front of the camera.
He gets his wish in merry Marvel misadventure manner. That means Spidey must save the day, yet it’s Joe who wins in the end.
It’s a serviceable comic book. It does bring the promise of action to come. And, Peter almost meets the love of his life.
But, it’s over shadowed by the book that follows. Amazing Spider-Man 39 is the first to feature Jazzy Johnny Romita (Sr) on pencils. It also features the Green Goblin’s real identity.
So, like poor Joe, issue 38 finds itself overlooked except as a swan song for the original team who birthed a legend.
And, like Joe, it has gotten a little respect with the 1:10 scale McFarlane Toys PVC statue. Complete with environmental backdrop.
It actually is cool. I picked one up.
Okay, Back to Joe.
Did you know the name Joe is the 103rd most popular male name in the United States with an estimated population of 508,202.
Joe is used as a first name 99 percent of the time. It is also used as a male’s name 97 percent of the time.
The state with the most people named Joe is Texas where 97,514 can be found. Yet, you are more likely to meet a Joe in New Mexico where there is a person named Joe 477.94 times for every 100,000.
Update: Spider-Man Kids Julehefte (2009)
Back in June of 2020 I interrupted Summer with a Christmas tradition from Norway. At the time I had very little information on the book. By accident I was able to find out a little more, so here’s an update:
The julehefter, or Christmas booklets, have been a Norwegian tradition for over two centuries. Lately the term julehefte has become a synonym for comic book. The first julehefte was printed in 1817 and was a collection of social and drinking songs. It wasn’t until 1845 juleheftes were geared more for children. Their popularity grew and by the end of the 19th century they included a variety of themes including art, literature, recipes and religion.
2009
The first Christmas comic book was based on the U.S. cartoon The Katzenjammer Kids and published in 1911. Eventually other licenses would join the fold such as Donald Duck, Tom & Jerry, Calvin and Hobbes and, obviously, Marvel titles such as Spider-Man.
Apparently there were three published between 2009 and 2011.
Currently there are around 50 Christmas booklets published each season, some selling as many as 150,000 copies or more.
So, while there’s still snow on the ground and portions of Christmas somewhere undiscovered till the spring clean, here’s a little more information on the tantalizing illustration from a couple years back. To see the original post, click here.
2010
2011
It’s in the cards
Today is a day to commemorate wax packs, stale sticks of gum and cardboard likenesses from sports figures to movie scenes.
Sometimes referred to as Topps Trading Card Day, this is also National Trading Card Day.
Trading cards, or more specifically, baseball cards, were first manufactured in the 1860s. As the twentieth century dawned, baseball cards began being packaged with candy or tobacco products. Goudy Gum Company is credited with initially including gum with the product in 1933.
1940 Superman card
While The Topps Company was originally the largest of the baseball card companies, it was Bowman Gum Company – before they were bought by Topps – who produced the 1940s Superman-based set of collectible cards. The set consists of 72 cards in all, each featuring a full-color drawing of Superman. Naturally these, and others of their ilk, are the collectible card sets we’ll be focusing on today.
Donruss licensed the Marvel stable of heroes for a set of 66 in 1966.
They were overshadowed by their Distinguished Competition that same year when Topps produced a 55 companion card set riding ABC’s popular television series coattails featuring the Caped Crusader.
By the 1970s, Marvel was surpassing DC in sales and popularity. Topps chose to commit to a line of stickers featuring the House of Idea’s characters and corny one-liners.
Fantasy Trade Company featured replicas of Marvel first issue covers on cardstock in 1984.
Though the Superman and Batman movies generated trading card sets, let’s focus on the source material.
In 1991 Marvel opened the floodgates with an Impel printed 167 card set. Five chase holograms were featured – Spider-Man, Magneto, Silver Surfer, Wolverine and Spider-Man v. Green Goblin.
Impel offered a set of 180 DC Comics cards that same year complete with 10 holograms.
Offerings continue to this day from various card companies featuring various publishers’ products.
1984 Marvel first issue trading card
I Think You’re X-Tra Special Valentine
Happy Valentine’s Day.
Hopefully you’ve enjoyed wading through the ones we’ve found as much as we’ve enjoyed finding ’em. The day is here, so look quick and go do something with that special someone.
Close to one billion Valentines are sent each year; whether that be via mail or hand delivered. At last count, and that was 2010, an estimated 15 million e-valentines were sent.
The next time you shell out money for a valentine card, thank Esther Howland. Don’t look for her on Facebook or any other social media outlet. She’s been dead since 1904.
Her father owned the largest book and stationary store in the city of Worcester. He catered to his daughter’s wishes importing paper lace and floral decorations imported from England to create her own valentine cards. Her family was conscripted to further the endeavor. One brother with particularly good penmanship wrote the inscriptions. Her other brother who was a salesman began hawking the cards. Orders flooded in and friends and other family members were recruited to keep up with the deluge.
By 1850 she had turned the family business into an annual $100,000 success story. She retired in 1881, selling the business to the George C. Whitney Company, the New England Valentine Co.
With one last Valentine’s Day card to post, let’s go with Marvel’s Logan/Wolverine. While he may not seem to be the playboy Tony Stark is, Logan has had his share of lady friends. For example: Storm, Jean Grey, Mariko Yashisda, Mystique, Domino, Rogue, Silver Fox, Elektra, Itsu, Yukio, Black Cat, Lady Deathstrike and Snow Bird.
Again, happy Valentine’s Day, from us to you. We hope you like the card.
Valentine, you’re a super friend!
While this card is plainly geared for a more platonic relationship, Captain America, or Steve Rogers, has had his share of romantic interests.
Cap’s first love was Betsy Ross. Not the one believed to be the mother of the American flag, but a character introduced in the pre-Marvel era. Ross was also the Golden Age super heroine Golden Girl.
1979 Captain America Valentine Card
When Marvel brought Cap back, his history was retrofitted with another first love named Peggy Carter. Like her predecessor, Peggy was a woman Cap met during the war. All evidence of Betsy was dispatched with and Peggy essentially took her place sans super powers. Instead, Peggy was a member of the French resistance. It is unclear is she even knew Cap’s real identity.
When Cap met his fate in the waning days of World War II, Peggy suffered amnesia.
Cap would later meet Sharon Carter. When he was initially unfrozen, World War II was only two decades old, so Sharon was made a younger sister of Peggy. As time passed, her heritage was changed to grand niece to better fit the real passage of time. While they shared a strong bond for many years, their time together passed and the two became close friends instead.
Bernie Rosenthal entered the picture in the early 1980s during John Byrne’s historic year-long run on the title. At one point the two became engaged, but the nuptials were curtailed when Bernie moved to Ohio to attend law school. The two remained close after and she even represented Bucky for crimes he committed as the Winter Soldier.
Love is never simple. Especially in the Marvel Universe.
From Zero to Hero in One Bite
What a complicated web Stan, Steve, John and all who followed have woven for Spider-Man over the years.
Little did studious Peter Parker know when he attended the science exhibit his life would change forever. One spider bite later and Marvel’s flagship was born.
Whether it was the radioactive spider or Peter coming of age, the floodgates of romance burst open. His first lady love was Betty Brant. J. Jonah’s secretary and the freelance photographer discovered some workplace chemistry ’till reporter Ned Leeds intervened.
Leeds’ interest and Betty’s eventual hatred of Spider-Man would end the romance almost before it began.
Waiting in the wings was Liz Allen. Liz began as the BMOC’s girl, but later found herself swayed by Peter’s low-key charm. Fate intervened with an uncle turned super villain and Liz would fade from the title for a decade or more.
Eventual wife Mary Jane Watson began as a blind date Peter ran as fast as he could from. Even after they began dating, he had eyes for a curvy blond, then involved with his friend Harry Osbourn.
Peter and Harry eventually swapped ladies and Gwen Stacy became his first true love. She would meet with an untimely end courtesy of Harry’s father Norman, aka the Green Goblin.
Mary Jane returned as an on again-off again girlfriend. Peter would even propose to her while still in college. She would decline the offer and head west.
Betty Brant, estranged from her husband, would return for a brief time and Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat, would enter Peter’s life as an admirer. They were an item until Peter learned Felicia was only interested in Spider-Man.
In grad school Peter would meet Deborah Whitman, but he was never as serious about her as she was with him.
Mary Jane would eventually return and this time accept his proposal. This would last until the One More Day story arc.
All this, plus a super-hero career. Wow.
I Feel Strongly about You…
Iron Man is the hero, while Tony Stark is the playboy.
Created in 1962, Stark was an early victim of the conflict brewing in Viet Nam. Misadventure led to the Howard Hughes illustrated surrogate’s heart issues requiring an outside power source to permitting further function.
And, a good thing, too, considering Stark’s other real life inspiration was silver screen Lothario Earl Flynn.
While most of Stark’s trysts are short lived, he has had his more serious entanglements. Employee Pepper Potts was one of the first comic book conquests. She would eventually marry another Stark employee, Happy Hogan.
Roxie Gilbert was introduced to spice the title up. Her plot twist branded her as the sister of Iron Man villain Firebrand.
Another relationship was curtailed when Whitney Frost became Madam Masque.
Bethany Cabe helped Stark dry out when he hit bottle’s bottom during Demon in a Bottle. Cabe would end the relationship for her husband she didn’t know was still alive. Ironically it was Iron Man who found him.
Bringing back the femme fatale, Indries Moomji helped ruin Stark and bring down Stark Enterprises.
The Avenger would mix business with pleasure by dating both the Wasp and She-Hulk, aka Janet Van Dyne and Jennifer Walter’s respectively.
His playboy ways were even expounded upon by Robert Downey Jr. in the big screen adaptation.
Yet, somehow Shell Head finds time to run a company and play hero. Hard to tell what his real super power is.
The Color of Christmas
Another eBay find, here’s a three-and-a-half inch Hulk bursting with holiday cheer.
Again, this plastic/PVC miniature Marvel is dated 1991. Probably a companion piece to Spider-Man and Wolverine posted a week ago.