Redartz: Marvel and DC; the "Big Two". Known for such heavyweights as Spider-man, the X-Men, Avengers, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Both companies delved into the horror genre with titles such as "Tower of Shadows" and "House of Secrets". Both had entries in the war genre, especially DC. But what about 'funny books? Well, neither company exactly filled the spinner racks with them, generally leaving the field open for Archie, Harvey, and Gold Key (although DC did have more such books during the Silver Age). Nonetheless, Marvel and DC both dipped some ticklish toes into the humor field. Today we look at some of those...
Not Brand Echh: Yes, not technically Bronze age, but certainly deserving of mention. Probably the best of Marvel's 'attempts at humor'. When you have the likes of Kirby, Sutton, Severin, Heck, Colan, and more at the drawing table, you can anticipate some good visuals. Superhero parodies abound; but later issues had more features piercing tv, movies, music, etc.
Spoof: Debuting only a year or so after "Brechh" departed, "Spoof" kept Marie Severin busy (along with numerous others, including Archie Comic's Henry Scarpelli) doing more parodies of popular culture. Dark Shadows, All in the Family, The Partridge Family, and other 70's attractions all ended up under the Spoof scope...
Plop!: DC mined some twisted comic gold with "Plop!" Running from 1973 to 1976, it contained a wealth of humor blended with a bit of the macabre. One big attraction to this title was the covers, often showcasing the talents of comic greats Basil Wolverton and Sergio Aragones.
Arrgh!: Marvel followed DC's entry into horror humor with "Arrgh!". This rather short-lived book ran from 1974 to1975, and again gave Marie Severin some fine cover opportunites. This book had both new stories and reprints from 1950's vintage "Crazy" comics. Incidentally, those reprints had art by the likes of Bill Everett and Carl Burgos. New work was seen by Ross Andru, Jerry Grandenetti, Mike Sekowsky and others...
Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew: In the Exciting Eighties, DC tossed superheroes, satire and funny animals into a blender and came up with "Captain Carrot". Humor maven Scott Shaw! gives life to the Captain, Alley-Kat-Abra, Fastback, Yankee Poodle, Pig Iron and more. One of the best arcs was the Zoo Crew's meeting with the JLA (that is , the "Justa Lotta Animals")...
Ambush Bug: Not one single title, but several mini-series, and numerous guest appearances (usually at the expense of Superman). Kieth Giffen skewered many superhero tropes, played with DC icons, and twisted both story and art. All the while hosted, guested, or devastated by the irrepressible Ambush Bug. He even managed a team-up in DC Comics Presents. One of my favorite AB gags involved him meeting Wonder Woman disguised as Mrs. Sappho; first name Suffern. WW was not amused, but I was...
I'm personally grateful to all these titles for keeping me chuckling throughout the Bronze age. Any of these, or any other books, tickle your funny bone?
Redartz: Hello, friends! Time to relax, think back a bit, and remember. Specifically, can you recall the first time you bought a back issue comic? I'd say almost all of us started out in comics picking up new issues off the stands and spinner racks (or being the recipient of some,perhaps earlier, books from a friend or relative). When I first started my four color obsession, I considered myself lucky to find a few months' worth of a title stuck among the other comics in a rack, probably bent at the spine by now from being pulled down and looked over. I knew of older comics, but hadn't really considered how to get at them.
Fortunately, my pop culture mentor friend, upon learning that I'd finally taken his advice and picked up a couple of comics , hauled me along to a new shop in our modest downtown: a comic book store! That in itself astounded me; I knew we had a couple antique shops locally, and even a coin/stamp/hobby shop. But a whole store devoted to comic books?!? I just couldn't imagine it.
And so, on that early spring afternoon, after school, I opened the door to this shop and stepped into Wonderland. The first thing that struck me was the huge display of new comics! Every title I knew, and many that were unknown to me. And they weren't bent over and scattered around! Looking around, I saw a whole spinner rack devoted just to Archie comics, Disney and other 'funny' books. But the big discovery awaited at the back of the store. There was an alcove, filled with boxes of comics, arrayed by title. Old comics! Actual back issues, including many printed before I even existed! And in the display case , along one wall: some reeeeally old books, including the holy grail itself- Amazing Fantasy 15. It was a staggering experience.
It was hard to know where to begin; so many to look at. So I started thinking of my (earlier) childhood, when I first started reading comics. As noted a few days ago in our "Funny Books" column, one of the earliest comics I can remember having was Not Brand Ecch 5. That seemed like a good way to begin, and lo: they had a copy. Of course, the price was higher than the 25 cent cover price of current comics. It was a whole dollar! But worth it to me, unquestionably. Besides, I'd saved up a few dollars just to make this buying trip. I was just so excited at the prospect of mining comics history, little else mattered. Choice number one was made.
As I was still buying an occasional Archie, I next chose "Archie at Riverdale High" number 1. Another fifty cents on my tab. Finally, as my favorite title was Amazing Spider-man, I knew that my final purchase would be one of those. But again, how to choose? Well, as with the Brechh issue, I recalled a few specific books from my 7-year-old reading. One of those was ASM 66, with Mysterio. So I looked for it, and again: success! Another dollar to my total for the day. And what amazed me about this book: it looked like new! After seven years, it looked like nobody had even opened it. Purchase number three was made. I walked out that door a new kid, no longer just a reader of comics. I was a FAN...
Oh, and one little side note about those three comics: after all these years, and the early 90's purge of almost my entire collection, I still have all three of these very books. Guess I made good choices that day.
So that was my first encounter with old comics. Countless more would be following (oh, the impression made by that first convention; but that's a story for another day). Do you recall the first time you picked up a book from The Past? Can you name the first back issue you actually purchased, and why you chose it from among the thousands of comics to choose from? Let's hear your tales...
Redartz: Good day, everyone! To help us face this Monday, we are taking a funny break today, and looking at a classic bit of Marvel satire. Between 1967 and 1969, Marvel produced Not Brand Echh. And yes, I know that doesn't fall in the parameters of our Bronze Age, but some of those stories found print during our focus years. Actually, Marvel had a brief series called Crazy that reprinted issues of "Brechh" (as it is fondly known) in the early 70's. Here we have the original cover as presented in Not Brand Echh 6 from 1967, and on the right the reprint in Crazy 2 from 1973. By the way, this series of Crazy predated the magazine version of the same name, by four months.
The stories and art were provided by some of Marvel's big guns: Kirby, Tom Sutton, Gene Colan, John and Marie Severin. Later issues featured work by John Verpoorten, Jim Mooney, and Frank Springer, among others. Issue Most of the covers were the work of Marie Severin, who really shows her vast artistic skills over the course of this series.
"Brechh"
largely featured parodies of Marvel's own superhero stable, while also
poking frequent fun at the Distinguished Competition. Here, a certain Darknight Detective and a Son of Krypton get the treatment...
Occasionally, still other companies' properties were 'seen', including Archie, Tower Comics and Gold Key (Archie, THUNDER Agents and Magnus, Robot Fighter, to be specific). And later issues, released
in the giant 25cent size, also contained Mad Magazine-style film and
television pastiches. Frankenstein, Bonnie and Clyde, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner could be found in the satirical klieg lights of Not Brand Echh.
This title has a special place in my heart, as one of the earliest comics I ever bought as a boy was Not Brand Echh #5. I didn't understand all the references, but I loved the
book. Jokes, both verbal and pictorial, abounded. The Origin of Forbush-Man was hilarious, and the Thung/Bulk battle
featured swipes from and nods to several classic Thing/Hulk meetings.
And note the wonderful details inserted within the panels.
Not Brand Echh certainly owed a debt to Mad Magazine, and to the other similar publications of the day. Yet Brechh had a special look and feel, due to the presence of the Marvel Bullpen. Writers including Stan Lee, Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich gave us some witty, pun-filled features, and we saw that Marvel was quite capable of laughing at itself. The whole book sometimes felt like an extension of the Marvel Bullpen Bulletins, with all the self-referential comedy. At any rate, Not Brand Echh was a special, humorous highlight of Marvel's Silver Age. Aside from the stories that appeared in Crazy, some stories have been reprinted in various 'Omnibus' editions. And for all the entertainment they contain, even today the back issues are a bargain. In closing, we present a few more covers and a few more samples...enjoy...
