Marvel Comics | Magazines and Monsters!

Marvel’s Unsung Heroes! -Ron Wilson!

Posted on April 4, 2014 by billyd75

Of course everyone knows names like Kirby, Buscema, Romita, and Colan, but there is a plethora of other guys (and girls), that need to be given a great deal of credit for the success of Marvel Comics. These others helped forge a new pathway, and their number needs to be counted. So, for the month of April, I’ll be spotlighting some of the work that these unsung heroes gave us all to enjoy over the years!

I’ll be presenting these in no specific order, but rest assured, we’ll get a peek at a few names that you should recognize! First up is Ron Wilson, because his pencils have always been a favorite of mine, and I think he deserves more respect than he’s gotten over the years. From his great run on titles like Marvel Two-in-One, to more obscure titles like Chamber of Chills, you’ll see it all in this post! Enjoy!

Gene Colan Tribute- Finale!

Posted on March 29, 2014 by billyd75

In this, the last installment of my Gene Colan tribute, we’ll take a look at his finest work. Yes, Gene did tremendous work on all of his projects, but none matched his excellence on The Tomb of Dracula. This collaboration with friends Tom Palmer, and Marv Wolfman, is without a doubt one of the most incredible series in all of comic books in the 1970’s. For anyone that’s read any part of this series, you know what a gift gene and this team gave us. For seventy issues, Gene poured his heart and soul into this book, and that cannot be debated.

In this finale, you’ll see Dracula’s life, his death, his resurrection, his constant battle with Quincy Harker, Blade, and the rest of the Vampire Hunters, and the birth of his son! So, here’s to you, Gene, the one artist who will always be at the top of my list! Rest in Peace, Gentleman Gene!

Gene Colan Tribute Part 4- Dr. Strange

Posted on March 26, 2014 by billyd75

As we creep closer to the end of the month, and my spotlight on Gene Colan, I would be remiss, if I didn’t get some of his fantastic work on Dr. Strange out there for the masses! The Doc is my favorite character of all time, just edging out Thor and Captain America, and Gene’s work on the Doc is a big reason! Of course, Tomb of Dracula was the ultimate influence, and that title will get its due in my last post on Saturday! Here are some of my favorite covers, title pages, and splash pages by Gene! Quick warning, there are a lot of pics! Enjoy!

Gene Colan Tribute Part 3- Captain America!

Posted on March 23, 2014 by billyd75

So far we’ve seen the master, Gene Colan, and his early suspense/horror work in some of the long-lost anthology titles of the 1950’s, and his Daredevil work from the 1960’s. Now, strap yourself in for his work on the Star-Spangled Avenger, Captain America! Gene’s time on the book was very special, and when he returned in 2009 for a grand send off (color pics at the bottom), who knew this would be his last work for Marvel (and in comics, I believe). This master of the medium will be missed, but in the meantime, check out his great work on Marvel’s WWII superstar! Enjoy!

Gene Colan Tribute part 2- Daredevil!

Posted on March 20, 2014 by billyd75

Now that we’ve seen some of Gene Colan’s early horror work, lets shift gears, and check out some of his Daredevil work from his early days penciling superheroes! He was a master at telling a visual story with a character like DD, and he’ll always be my favorite Daredevil artist! Check out these incredible pages from the ‘Dean’, with some of his Daredevil work originally presented in 1967 (my copies are Marvel Adventure #3, 4, & 6, 1976)! An adventure with Ka-Zar, the wacky Leap-Frog, and a team up with Spider-Man, because you need a partner when you’re facing villains as nefarious as…The Masked Marauder and Stilt-Man? Enjoy!

Gene Colan Tribute- part 1!

Posted on March 17, 2014 by billyd75

To finish off the month of March, I let my favorite artist for last! Gene ‘The Dean’ Colan, has always been my favorite, and always will be. His style just jumps off of the pages to me, and speaks to me like no other. Over the years, he was an artist who could draw any genre, but he certainly excelled at the macabre! Just his Tomb of Dracula (with long time partner, Marv Wolfman) alone could be enough to push him into the hall of fame, but when you look at his entire body of work (Strange Tales, Daredevil, Captain America), you’ll be astonished! Let’s dispense with the verbiage, and get right down to the work of the master himself, Gene Colan! Here is some early work in the title, Strange Tales in 1952!

John Romita Sr. Tribute Finale!

Posted on March 15, 2014 by billyd75

Well, here it is, time for the John Romita Sr. finale! You know, Jazzy John is most notably known for his romance work, and of course, Spider-Man. He did do a fantastic job though on everything he touched, as evidence showed in my first post. As we move further into his career, lets look at some of his other work for Marvel. His runs on Daredevil, The Fantastic Four, and Captain America, are also most excellent! Three cheers for Jazzy John Romita! Enjoy!

John Romita Sr. Tribute! Part 1!

Posted on March 11, 2014 by billyd75

Well, after my tribute to Big John Buscema last week, I’m on to the next face on my Mount Rushmore of comic book artists, with Jazzy John Romita! This man is nothing short of a legend, from his early work at Timely Comics (a precursor to Marvel), then onto becoming one of the industries all-time greatest romance artists, then a return to Marvel that would see him follow the incredibly talented Steve Ditko on Spider-Man. This is where Romita would make his mark, but he also penciled Captain America, The Fantastic Four, and many other Marvel titles before being named Marvel’s art director!

Here are a few of his early pages from Menace, Strange Tales, Tales to Astonish, and more! Enjoy!

‘Big’ John Buscema -Finale!

Posted on March 8, 2014 by billyd75

To finish off my week-long tribute to ‘Big’ John Buscema, I’m going to go with three great covers, and then some more crazy good interiors by the legend himself! So, sit back, relax, grab a cold one, and get ready to be dazzled by a man who will always be on my Mount Rushmore of artists (Colan, Kirby, Buscema, Romita)! This first cover, is one that’s been on my want list for a while, and I recently acquired it and absolutely love this one! Enjoy!

Thor #163, 1969. “Where Dwell The Demons”

Posted on February 9, 2014 by billyd75

If you haven’t figured it out by now, this month will feature nothing but work from the king himself, Jack Kirby! So far we’ve seen a Fantastic Four book, and one awesome Captain America issue as well! This time around, we’ll look at The Mighty Thor! In this specific issue, we see the mad god Pluto, as he’s recruited some other-dimensional mutates, to help him take over the world. of course the mighty Thor is standing in his way, but can he stop the mad god, along with his army?

Thor is dragged inside a strange energy barrier that has appeared on Earth, and he soon finds his lover, Sif, is being held captive there by Pluto and his mutates. You see, Pluto has traveled to the future, and found this planet has been decimated by war. He stops Thor and Sif, and is holding both prisoner, but then finds a cocoon, and something is stirring inside it, and it seems to be a man!

This issue started a great story line that involves not only Pluto, but the fantastic Adam Warlock (Him) as well! Kirby’s work is fantastic as usual, and of course, you have some fans that don’t care for Vince Colleta’s inks, but honestly, these pages look great! This happens to be the one and only comic book I won that has been CGC’d, and it will probably be the only one I ever own (I won it in a contest). I’m not a fan of putting something that’s to be read behind plastic.

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