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Wayne Markley
by Wayne Markley
This blog I am going to talk about the subject of monsters. Marvel’s history of monsters can be damaged down into two periods really; the pre-1970s as well as the post-1970s. right here I am going to focus on mainly the publish 1970s with three collections from marvel as well as one hardcover collection from England reprinting a traditional story from the pages of Scream! The pre 1970s marvel monsters were the conventional short story (6-12 pages) about some bad human having to face some monster or creature. the most well-known of these were by Stan Lee as well as Jack Kirby as well as were reprinted for many years throughout the ‘70s.
In the early 1970s, the Comics Code of America (CCA) was ending up being much more lax, as well as marvel saw the success that Warren, Skywald, Eerie Publications, as well as others were having with their monster/horror magazines as well as desired in on the trend. They introduced a number of horror magazines with such titles as Dracula Lives, Vampire Tales, Tales of the Zombie, Monsters Unleashed, savage Tales, as well as more. Being magazines they were able to prevent the CCA as well as might be a bit much more risqué in the stories (the CCA wouldn’t enable zombie or vampires for years). In the late ‘60s as well as leading into the ‘70s, marvel likewise restored the horror comic with all-new stories, with titles such as Tower of shadows as well as creature on the Loose. These stories were less monsters driven as well as much more horror as well as criminal offense driven. They were complied with by a number of titles, numerous reprinting the 1950s monster stories. then they dove full bore into the monster genre with their new comics with such titles as The tomb of Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, Werewolf by Night, as well as numerous others. Over the next forty years Marvel’s horror as well as monsters would develop into a large tapestry of mythology tying numerous of the books together as well as firmly planting all of them in the marvel Universe. Recently, marvel has taken to reprinting a number of these stories as well as they are the subject of the very first three collections I am going to review.
Decades: marvel in the ‘70s- legion of Monsters
As part of their anniversary, marvel has been doing a trade a month called Decades, as well as each volume is dedicated to a particular decade (‘40s, ‘50s, etc) as well as reprints a number of comics from that decade. The 1940s volume reprinted a number of Sub-Mariner vs. Human Torch stories (and this was great, by the way). When they got to the 1970s, the volume was dedicated to the wave of monster books. It was called Decades: marvel in the ‘70s- legion of Monsters. This book is a good 248 pages as well as features work by Doug Moench, Marv Wolfman, Gerry Conway, Mike Ploog, Frank Robbins, gene Colan, as well as numerous others. Within this collection there are stories featuring Werewolf by Night, Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, Man-Thing, Ghost Rider, as well as the legion of Monsters. These were stories where a number of the marvel monsters teamed as much as face some kind of menace. three of these stories are included in this book in addition to the very first appearances of Ghost Rider (Marvel spotlight #5), Werewolf by night (Marvel spotlight #2), Blade the Vampire Slayer (Tomb of Dracula #10), as well as much more. This is a fantastic sampler of the monster books of the 1970s that still holds up today, practically 50 years later! Some fantastic stories in a good package.
Avengers/Doctor Strange: increase of the Darkhold
As the ‘70s passed, the monster books likewise faded away. up until the early 1990s when marvel returned to the dark as well as mysterious world of monsters. reality be told, these stories were always in the background as well as a weird would appear from time to time in the mainstream marvel books, however in the early ‘90s they dedicated whole books as well as events to the world of horror as well as supernatural, which these stories tend to be much more than conventional monsters. The very first collection of these stories is called Avengers/Dr. Strange: increase of the Darkhold. This is a collection of all of the stories about the Darkhold which was the driving force behind the Darkhold comics as well as the supernatural revival. I truly delighted in exactly how this collection pulled stories from around the place, numerous I would not have believed of. The Darkhold, a book of immense supernatural power (as seen on TV in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), is as ancient as time has power that rivals the gods. I very first came across the book in the early Werewolf by night stories, as the Darkhold is an instrumental part of why Jack Russell is a werewolf. however this collection likewise has stories from The tomb of Dracula, marvel Chillers, Dracula Lives, as well as Dr. Strange, all of which you may expect, however likewise stories from the pages of Avengers, Spider-Man Annual, Thor, as well as more. I like that the collection editors were able to pull stories from around the MU to flesh out this prelude to the next book. In the practically 500 pages in this book you will discover stories as well as art by Gerry Conway, Marv Wolfman, mark Gruenwald, Mike Ploog, John Romita, gene Colan, John Byrne, as well as so numerous others. just so you know, there is a bit crossover (i.e.: the exact same stories) as in the Decades: The ‘70s collection.
Darkhold: Pages from the book of Sins-The total Collection
Darkhold: Pages from the book of Sins-The total Collection picks up where the pervious book left off. This is one more huge collection, with over 450 pages collecting the total Darkhold comic series, as well as material from physician Strange, Midnight Sons, as well as marvel Comics Presents. a few of the talents in this collection are J.M. DeMatteis, Tony Harris, mark Buckingham, as well as others. The long lost pages of the Darkhold are when once again concerning the surface after being hidden for many years as well as a handful of people should try as well as stop the spread of the evil the book is trying to unleash. Along the way, physician Strange, Ghost Rider, as well as the Midnight Sons lend a hand to try as well as stop hell from concerning Earth. Overall, between these two books it is a nice, as well as at times chilling, story about a long lost source of evil. The influences of H.P. Lovecraft are apparent in these stories as well as unfortunately at times a few of these stories experience from the 1990s comic styling. So to some people the art as well as storytelling style may be a bit offputting, especially in this second volume which is all material from the ‘90s.
Dracula data HC
Finally we have the Dracula data HC, a 96 page hardcover reprinting the traditional strip The Dracula File from the pages of Scream, a British horror comic from the ‘80s. This series was written by Gerry Finey-Day as well as Simon Furman as well as drawn by Eric Bradbury, Keith page as well as Geoff Serior. This handle Dracula is a bit different as right here count Dracula is fleeing vampire hunters from behind the Iron curtain (once again, see the present Avengers storyline for a similar story) as well as he returns to fantastic Britain to cause all type of havoc. Not only is this strip on the graphic side, the storytelling is quick as well as crisp, because of the British comic technique of serializing comics in regular three page installments. This looks a great deal like a story you would discover in the pages of 2000AD except it is much more graphically fierce as well as it has Dracula. While shout did not last that long, 15 issues, as well as was cancelled because of a printers strike, this story did handle to cover a great deal of ground. general I believed this was a well done as well as innovative handle the Lord of the Undead as well as was different sufficient so as not to swipe from previous versions of Dracula. plus there are a number of extras included in this collection such as covers, articles, as well as background material. worth seeking out.
Monsters Vol. 1: The marvel Monsterbus by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber as well as Jack Kirby
I would likewise be remiss if I did not mention the two Jack Kirby Omnibuses called Monsters: The marvel Monsterbus by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber as well as Jack Kirby. These two large hardcover books are full of the traditional monsters stories that appeared for many years in the pages of such marvel titles as Tales of Suspense, Tales to Astonish, unusual Tales, journey into Mystery, world of Fantasy, as well as others. Each book is over 800 pages of full color monster stories, all drawn by the one as well as only Jack Kirby. These two heavy tomes will keep you entertained for weeks. as well as after all, who was the king of the monsters, however King Kirby? plus you see the very first appearances of such traditional characters as Groot, Xemu, Groog, Fin Fang Foom, as well as so numerous more!
This wraps up this blog. I understand when you typically believe of marvel monsters you most likely go to the traditional short stories that Stan, Jack as well as Steve (Ditko) did, however in the 1970s there was a renaissance of monsters in the marvel world as well as they still stay today with the Avengers just wrapping up a story where they faced Dracula as well as hordes of vampires, which led to Blade joining the team. have you checked out any type of of this much more “modern” monster stories? Do you only like the most traditional material? I would like to hear either way. I can be reached at MFBWAY@AOL.COM or on Facebook at Wayne Markley. personally I delight in both the traditional monsters as well as the much more contemporary takes for different reasons as the two extremely different time periods as well as styles of storytelling. all of the opinions expressed right here are mine as well as do not show the thoughts or opinions of Westfield Comics or their employees. As always…
Thank you.