CAPTAIN MARVEL: THE MISGUIDED “EPIC”
While many modern fans may not realize it, Timely / Atlas / Marvel was and continues to be a 2nd-rate publisher that combines hype with flooding the market to overwhelm their competition. But for most of the 1960’s, there was a real golden period when the company was, due to their being distributed by National (DC), limited to 8 books a month. During this period, the company's Editor and a small, core group of highly talented, creative people produced some of the most vibrant, dynamic, imaginative comics EVER in the history of the industry. This is the story of one book that went horribly, terribly wrong…
BACKSTORY: THE KREE (and related etcetera)
Jack Kirby (writer-artist-and former editor & publisher), beginning with FANTASTIC FOUR, created comics like NO ONE had ever seen before. The art was dynamic, the characters had real-life personalities and problems. In addition, events did not happen in a vacuum—when something happened, it affected later stories, and was often referred back to. Stories not only tended to be full-length (20 or more pages), after awhile, 2-parters or even longer stories became more common. Characters made cameo or guest appearances in each others’ series, giving the feeling it all was happening in the same consistent “world”. Eventually, even crossovers started to appear that began in one book and finished in another. Common today, extraordinary and rare back then. And Kirby, especially, thought “big”, with his ideas & designs, creating characters, machinery and architecture the likes of which no one else has ever done.
In F.F. #13 (Apr’63), “The Red Ghost And His Indescribable Super-Apes!”, the heroes discovered a mysterious “blue area” on the moon which contained a long-abandoned dead city with its own sustained atmosphere! There was no clue as to when it was built or by who, until writer Steve Englehart revealed it had been The Kree, in AVENGERS #133-135 (Mar-May’75).
That month, Reed Richards & Sue Storm were married in F.F. ANNUAL #3, which featured cameos by almost every character Kirby, etc. had introduced over the previous 5 years. The next issue had Joe Sinnott become the regular F.F. inker, bringing a glossy finish to the book absolutely perfect for science-fiction stories. And Kirby went completely wild, ushering in a whole new era of “epic” stories that continued on for months on end. Of course, this made it difficult to really appreciate or enjoy any single comic you might pick up, and has been carried on by others to such a degree these days that one might argue Kirby has a LOT to answer for… but that’s besides the point here.
Recently, I re-read the BLUE BOLT series done by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby from 1940, and was struck by certain similarities. Blue Bolt and his nemesis, The Green Sorceress, are super-powered characters in an advanced, super-scientific city, located at the Earth’s core. It was like a cross between Flash Gordon and Burrough’s “Pellucidar” stories. What struck me was looking at the cover of F.F. # 47 (Feb’66), “Beware The Hidden Land!”. The F.F. get their first glimpse of the city of The Inhumans, standing atop a stone bridge high OVER the city. This makes no sense in a mountain location, but could if the city was meant to be underground. Could the cover have been done first, and then disregarded? If so, it’s just possible Kirby was reviving concepts leftover from 25 years before! (Never throw away any ideas…)
Which brings me to the REAL (or at least, “obvious”) beginning of the story in question.
FANTASTIC FOUR 64 (Jul’67)
“THE SENTRY SINISTER!”
FANTASTIC FOUR 65 (Aug’67)
“—FROM BEYOND THIS PLANET EARTH!”
Where would Kirby have gone with this story? It’s hard to tell. At this point, his editor seemed to spend more and more of his efforts trying to “pull back” Kirby’s wilder concepts, to re-mold them in the dialogue stage to fit his narrower vision of “good vs. evil” type of stories. The following month saw a 2-parter that introduced “Him”, a scientifically-created super-being who later became Adam Warlock, and there’s evidence that "ye editor" so completely altered the intent of Kirby’s plot that it ended prematurely after only 2 episodes (rather than 4, as the early pacing would seem to indicate). Also, in SILVER SURFER # 1 (Aug’68), "ye editor" & John Buscema revealed the origin of one of Kirby’s favorite characters, a story completely at odds with any ideas Kirby intended for him! Tired of having too many of his ideas corrupted or “taken away” from him, and still not getting paid for the writing he was doing, Kirby told his boss to start plotting FANTASTIC FOUR on his own, and the book suffered tremendously as a result for the remainder of Kirby’s run.
As an aside, I first read these 2 stories in the mid-70’s as reprints in MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS # 47-48. I was blown away then. Recently I got my hands on a copy of F.F. # 64, for a “mere” $7.00! Joe Sinnott’s inking in the original comic is STAGGERING. But in the reprint, his fine, precise lines either blur together or disappear completely. This may be one more reason why original issues command such high prices—Marvel’s originals NEVER looked so good again later. If I can afford ‘em, I prefer originals!
Meanwhile, "ye editor" wasn’t the only one putting his 2 cents in—but at least he was some kind of writer. (If just barely.)
MARVEL SUPER-HEROES # 12 (Dec’67)
cover by Gene Colan & Joe Giella
At some point, then-company-owner Martin Goodman (the editor's boss) told "ye editor" to create a character called “Captain Marvel”. The original character by that name had ceased publication in the 50’s. In 1966, a tiny publisher, M.F. Enterprises, came up with a short-lived series by that name. Apparently Goodman wanted to STOP anyone else from using a name that could be confused with his company’s name!
Originally, the "editor", who wanted to make more money than the small number of books Marvel was allowed by their distributor to put out would allow, came up with a SCAM. If artists wanted to work for him, they would write the stories themselves-- UNCREDITED, and UNPAID, he would write the dialogue, and get credit AND PAY for the full writing job.
In MANY instances, Jack Kirby would come up with the basic story ideas, which he would pass onto the "editor"-- who would then pass them on to the "artists", while taking credit AND PAY for them himself. Most artists hired were capable of doing their own writing, even if they didn't really like doing it. This kind of thing went on for a whole decade, which no doubt should explain why both Wally Wood and Steve Ditko left Marvel in the mid-60s, while Kirby (who had a family to support) was so desperate to get a contract that would guarantee he got paid for the writing he was actually doing... and why he had to go to DC to get such a contract.
There were 2 very different and distinct versions of "The Marvel Method". The first-- where the "artists" wrote the stories, and the "editor" RE-wrote them at the dialogue stage-- and the second, where either a "writer" would come up with a plot, an "artist" would flesh it out, and the "writer" (or a 3rd person) would do the dialogue-- or where the "writer" and "artist" collaborated up-front on the plot.
The first person to actually use the "Marvel Method" as understood by most people (plot / art / dialogue), was former DC fanboy Roy Thomas, and the practice was used from the time he joined the company on up through the 1970s.
Over many years, I've concluded this was actually done-- and maintained-- to perpetuate the LIE that the company's editor had always been doing it that way in the 1960s, when nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone who DIDN'T write this way, was often treated like a pariah while at the company! (This included Jack Kirby, Jim Steranko, Don McGregor, Jim Starlin... notably several of their very best writers!)
Back to the sci-fi story... Allegedly, one of Kirby's COUNTLESS ideas, was about an alien spy who would come to Earth on a secret mission-- only to switch allegiance to Earth once he got to know the people here. THIS formed the basis for what became Marvel's "Captain Marvel" series!
Tragically, once past the 2 episodes in FANTASTIC FOUR #64-65, Kirby never touched the concept again! We will never know how he might have handled such a storyline.
The "artist" picked for the assignment was Gene Colan, who was then doing DAREDEVIL, Iron Man (in TALES OF SUSPENSE) and previously been doing Sub-Mariner (in TALES TO ASTONISH). Gene’s art is said to resemble photographs—back when, I always thought it felt like I was looking at paintings in a museum. They had an huge, epic feel to them combined with a moodiness completely unlike ANYTHING anyone else in the 60’s was doing.
FANTASY MASTERPIECES had been, for 11 issues, a reprint anthology that featured stories from the "Golden Age" (1940s and 50s). Rather than start a new magazine (while cancelling an existing one), it was decided to put the new "Captain Marvel" in there, while changing the name to MARVEL SUPER-HEROES. The cover of MSH #12 shows a crowded street, people gasping in awe, as the imposing figure of Captain Marvel strides down the street, having been dropped off by an alien spacecraft, circling overhead in the background. I still recall seeing the ad for this long ago and thinking, “What a GREAT scene!” The representative of a alien race has come to Earth and announced his presence—WHAT happens next??? Inexplicably—this scene NEVER occurs in the entire run of the strip!
Note how the scene is nearly-identical to this earlier cover by John Buscema!
However, the story, and their mission, is derailed ONE PAGE into the issue, when Yon-Rogg orders Mar-Vell to carry out the mission ALONE. It seems Yon-Rogg is in love with Una, while she and Mar-Vell love each other. Yon-Rogg feels that if he can KILL his rival, he’ll get Una. So much for a “superior” race! This lame soap-opera wouldn’t be a bad sub-plot, but it winds up over-riding the main plot and gets in the way of it ever building momentum.
The Kree spaceship is one of the clunkiest in Marvel history—sadly, Gene’s design seems completely out-of-place in this era of wild Kirby creations. CM’s uniform, which at least seems impressive on that cover, became very awkward-looking in action, particularly the bulky collar and belt. Kree can’t breathe in Earth’s atmosphere, so a special potion is used which allows Mar-Vell to survive for one hour without his helmet. (Somehow I’m reminded of similar built-in and contrived weaknesses in characters like Aquaman and Ultra Man!) Because Earth has a lighter gravity than the Kree homeworld, Mar-Vell is more physically powerful than Earthmen—and can leap great distances. Gee, do you suppose these guys were reading early Siegel-Shuster Superman stories? A “radiation factor” in Mar-Vell’s suit somehow affects a missile’s guidance system and puts him at odds with some army personnel, against which he uses one of many functions of his “Universal beam” weapon. In this case, a black light ray temporarily blinds them—shades of Phantom Lady!
Out of uniform, Mar-Vell takes a room at a motel, signing in as “C. Marvel”. In his room, he is briefly paralyzed by a beam from the spaceship while a wrist monitor is teleported and attached to his wrist, so his C.O. can keep a close watch on him. Considering the guy wants to kill him and he knows it, this doesn’t make him very comfortable!
Gene Colan tends to pencil with a lot of shading & tonal rendering, which has always been a challenge for inkers to capture without losing most of the original intent. Frank Giacoia had worked with Gene before and doesn’t do bad here, although it could have been better—and the book would get far worse. What a way to start a series!
I only found out years later that Martin Goodman had been trying to work a deal with a toy company to do a toy line based on the new "Captain Marvel", but the deal fell through. The moment I read this, the design of CM's uniform-- with the bulky helmet, the even more bulky belt, and the awkward "wrist-mounted" weapon, suddenly made PERFECT sense. In all probability, those were not Gene Colan's designs-- but those of the toy company!! This is really an example of "the tail wagging the dog". (For all I know, the Kree spaceship may have also been a toy design.)
I first read this episode when it was reprinted in CAPTAIN MARVEL #36 (Jan’75), when a deadline was blown after Jim Starlin left and Alfredo Alcala only did one issue—just before previous inker Al Milgrom came back as penciller. By the late 90s, prices of many 60’s Marvel back-issues had skyrocketed, especially key issues with 1st appearances and crossovers. My comics-shop guy, Fred Marcus, had a copy on his wall going for $45.00. But he was also selling books on consignment for a friend of his, who had one for “only” $28.00. I figured it was a bargain, if only to get that GREAT cover. While I wasn’t too thrilled with the episode way back when, now I really don’t think much of it. Ironically, the best part of the issue was the Golden Age reprints in the back. Between The Human Torch (Dick Ayers?), The Destroyer (?), Captain America (John Romita), The Black Knight (Joe Maneely) and Sub-Mariner (Bill Everett!!), the back-ups were more worth the price than the cover feature.
(11-6-2003 / updated 8-24-2018)
(Continued in January 1968)
All Text (C) Henry R. Kujawa
Artwork (C) Marvel Comics
Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa
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