My pal Mark is doing a great occasional series on the wonderful Marvel (or Timely) Monsters of the late 50's and early 60's.
While I don't want to horn in on his act, I DO want to note one of the great modern pastiches of those stories, as presented by John Byrne in Fantastic Four #271 (1984):
The story flashes back to a time shortly before the fateful rocket trip, when apparently giant monsters from space were landing every other day. And Byrne hits all the notes during his little 8 page story-with-a-story. It starts with a drive through the countryside (galactic monsters never, it seemed, landed in cities)...
...our hero alone initially encounters the would-be conqueror (so nobody can believe the hero until it's too late)...
...who has a deliciously goofy name ('cause he's alien, see?)...
...and is no big fan of E.T....
I won't spoil the rest of the story, but it is a delightful homage to a delightfully silly time in Marvel history. OK, I will spoil that Reed defeats Gormuu with the help of "a simple, wooden ruler." And that Gormuu's attack, and the threat of other space dictators, was the impetus for Reed hurrying his rocket test without proper shielding...
GAARD!!! says: C'mon, now, after that, you can't possibly say I was the lamest FF villain ever!!! C'mon!!
While I don't want to horn in on his act, I DO want to note one of the great modern pastiches of those stories, as presented by John Byrne in Fantastic Four #271 (1984):
The story flashes back to a time shortly before the fateful rocket trip, when apparently giant monsters from space were landing every other day. And Byrne hits all the notes during his little 8 page story-with-a-story. It starts with a drive through the countryside (galactic monsters never, it seemed, landed in cities)...
...our hero alone initially encounters the would-be conqueror (so nobody can believe the hero until it's too late)...
...who has a deliciously goofy name ('cause he's alien, see?)...
...and is no big fan of E.T....
I won't spoil the rest of the story, but it is a delightful homage to a delightfully silly time in Marvel history. OK, I will spoil that Reed defeats Gormuu with the help of "a simple, wooden ruler." And that Gormuu's attack, and the threat of other space dictators, was the impetus for Reed hurrying his rocket test without proper shielding...
GAARD!!! says: C'mon, now, after that, you can't possibly say I was the lamest FF villain ever!!! C'mon!!
Great story...thanks for refreshing my memory!
ReplyDeleteAs for "horning in" on the monster posts, don't worry your pretty little head over it. I'm sure I'm copying something others have done hundreds of times before, so anything goes out here in the Wild West blogosphere. But I thank you for the mention, anyway!
Speaking of "monsters", though....I'm again reminded of how much fun Byrne's FF run was...second only to the great Lee and Kirby run (in my opinion). Too bad Byrne had to turn into such a marginalized, Gormuu like figure...
Gormuu?A goofy name? what are you,racist?
ReplyDeleteDid he get a hula hoop stuck in his jaw to keep it in that O shape in every panel?
"You were a terrific embarrasment" Oh Reed,you hopeless romantic.
Gaard was, is, and shall always be the LAMEST FF villain.
ReplyDelete