Thursday, September 27, 2018

The Mystery of the 40-Year Old Missing X-Men Art

One of the Variant Covers of Marvel's Uncanny X-Men #1 (2018)...
...features the opening art from this text feature in Marvel's Rampaging Hulk #2 (1977)
Now, note the last page of the feature has NightCrawler, who BAMFed from the opening group shot!
The original art for the piece can currently be seen HERE, in the amazing collection of David Mandell!
So where is the accompanying NightCrawler illustration?
And why wasn't it incorporated into the Variant Cover?
We May Never Know the Answer...
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Monday, September 10, 2018

MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL "Epilogue: Mr Mind LIVES!"

...because, like almost all great comic book villains, the little SOB had an ace in the hole...
When DC revived the Marvel Family (after putting them out of business almost 20 years earlier), instead of rebooting the series, the creatives had arch-villain Sivana freeze them (and himself, accidentally) in "suspendium" to explain why they hadn't aged!

After an earthquake hits the museum, Billy/Captain Marvel digs out the museum-goers...
I'm including the next page just because it's a classic example of the kid-friendly "violence" the original series specialized in...
Though Cap stops Mr Mind's plan, the cunning worm escapes...
Despite writer Denny O'Neil and artist CC Beck (Cap's original Golden Age artist who was still going strong) promise in DC's SHAZAM! #2 (1973), the explanation became a running gag as Mr. Mind would escape just before telling how he survived certain death, until SHAZAM! #31 (1977)...
...where writer E Nelson Bridwell (who was DC's resident "continuity fanatic" counterpart to Marvel's Roy Thomas) and penciler Kurt Schaffenberger (who had worked on Fawcett's Marvel Family titles from the mid-1940s until they were cancelled in 1954) finally told the story!
Note: there are no footnotes in these SHAZAM! tales referencing Captain Marvel Adventures #46 (1945), where Mr Mind met his (supposed) demise!
Why?
1) when SHAZAM! #2 was published in 1973, there were no reprints of the Monster Society of Evil serial...nor any Captain Marvel stories in print due to the terms of the DC/Fawcett lawsuit!
2) When SHAZAM! #31 was published in 1977, DC had reprinted some of the Fawcett Marvel Family stories, but had already perceived reprinting MSoE would be problematic due to the racist content of several of the chapters!
(Of course, this was before the Direct Market and comic book stores in almost every city/town/village!)
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(which reprints the complete stories we've excerpted...but in b/w!)

Friday, September 7, 2018

MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL "Chapter XXV: the End of Mr Mind!"

...and now on with the final chapter of this mind-bending (no pun intnded) serial!
Mr. Mind would reappear only in flashbacks in Fawcett's various "Marvel Family" titles.
When DC revived the Marvel Family in SHAZAM!, it was revealed Mr. Mind had survived!
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Thursday, September 6, 2018

MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL "Chapter XXIV: the Undersea Monster Brigade"

...yep, it's the bad guy who's about to meet his demise!
"All of Mr. Mind's dome attendants drown like the rats they are..."
For a kiddie-oriented strip, this serial's pretty damn lethal!

Pity the World's Mightiest Mortal doesn't have x-ray vision like Superman, eh?
Of course, that might have helped end the copyright infringement trial sooner than it did...
D.C. (then National Comics Publications, Inc) found itself squaring off with Fawcett Publications, Inc. in a 1941 lawsuit challenging publication of Captain Marvel (now known as “Shazam”).
It took several court decisions, a 1948 trial and 13 years of litigation before Superman ultimately prevailed in 1954 when Fawcett agreed to settle amidst a decision to leave the comic book business altogether.

Note, we have the secret code...
...from the back of the Captain Marvel Club Membership Card (shown here)!
And, no, we're not going to translate it for you!
...the excitement concludes here
Friday!
(Yes, You Read That Right!)
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Wednesday, September 5, 2018

MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL "Chapter XXIII: Mr Mind's School for Evil!"

...when did Mr Mind have time to set this operation up?
When you think about it, having a "school for evil" is a great idea, which both Marvel's TaskMaster's Academy and DC's H.I.V.E. Academy took even further!
Note, we have the secret code...
...from the back of the Captain Marvel Club Membership Card (shown here)!
And, no, we're not going to translate it for you!
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Tuesday, September 4, 2018

MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL "Chapter XXII: Mr Mind Loses His Mind"

... note that the contents page lists this chapter of Monster Society of Evil as "Mr Mind Goes Straight", even though both the cover and story have a different title!
Let's rejoin Billy Batson as he faces the most mundane foe he'll ever encounter...
C'mon, you really didn't think that change of heart...er, mind...was going to last, did you?
This was the last chapter of Monster Society of Evil to get a cover appearance. 
Considering how much time and effort was put into it, I'm surprised the editors didn't give the serial more promo on the covers!
Note, we have the secret code...
...from the back of the Captain Marvel Club Membership Card (shown here)!
And, no, we're not going to translate it for you!
Please Support Hero Histories
Visit Amazon and Order...