Before Marvel/Atlas comics entered into the superhero arena they produced a plethora of giant monster stories in titles like "Journey into Mystery", "Strange Tales", and "Tales of Suspense". These stories were later reprinted during the early/mid 1970's comic book horror revival in iconic titles including "Monsters on the Prowl, "Where Monsters Dwell" and "Creatures on the Loose". Each of these comics featured formulated but fun tales of amazing monsters like Fing Fang Foom (above from "Monsters on the Prowl" #21) the Chinese Dragon who wakes from his centuries long slumber to rampage through the world. As a 10-13 year old I loved these monsters and stories which still retain a special place in my "comic book world". Below are some of my favourite of these fun Marvel/Atlas monsters, most by team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
"Fear" #3 featuring Zuttak (1971). This was one of the first Marvel monster reprint comics that I purchased as a 10/11 year old. Sadly I lost my original copy but managed to track down a replacement a few years ago.
"Monsters on the Prowl" # 28 (1974) featuring Monsteroso - One thing that confused me when I revisited these comics was that some were from 1974/5 as my memory of reading these tales seemed to come from a few years previous. This was probably due to the fact that many of these tales were first reprinted in the UK in various
Alan Class titles and in the Odhams POW!, Smash!,and Wham! comics of the the mid/late 1960's.
"Monsters on the Prowl" # 17 (1972) featuring Colossus - Similar to Fing Fang Foom, Colossus was not restricted to a single tale and appeared in several other stories.
"Where Creatures Roam" #4 (1971)- Featuring Vandoom
Where Creatures Roam" #7 (1971)- Featuring Glop.
"Monsters on the Prowl" #19 (1972) Featuring "The creature from the Black Bog (the cutest looking monster ever ) art by Steve Ditko.
"Where Monsters Dwell #10 (1971) - Featuring Gigantus. Like so many monsters "they walk like a man!!"
Monsters on the Prowl" #20 (1972) Featuring Oog.
Fear # 8 Featuring "It crawls by Night"
I was probably about seven years old when I walked into my local newsagents in Cambuslang (near Glasgow) with my pocket money firmly he...
Following on from my last post featuring some of my favourite Marvel comic book covers from 1973, I thought I would show some of DC's ...
Nearly a half-century on I still consider 1973 to be the year that cemented my destiny in becoming a lifetime comic book fan. It was a yea...
I encountered Fin Fang Foom in Fantasy Masterpieces #2 in the 60's and the story captured my imagination, not unlike a fairy tale might do. I love it. Other monster tales came in the early 70's when Marvel was busy trying to fill up the newsstands with Jack Kirby work when the King had hopscotched over to the competition. Some got into the main continuity like Xemnu the Titan in the Defenders and IT the Colossus in its own short but sweet series. These have undeniable charm.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise that Marvel were using these reprints to fill the spinner racks when Kirby moved to DC. For me, Fing Fang Foom is one of comics greatest creations . I read a few FFF (and other monster) strips recently when Marvel revamped thier Monsters on the Prowl et c series which was interesting, but didn't match the charm of the original strips for me.
DeleteIt Crawls By Night! sounds a bit like me as I make my way to the loo in the early hours. As RJ says, they have an undeniable charm - and what would Alan Class have done without them? If I remember correctly, GLOP was a name I occasionally used to letter some Marvel UK strips in the '90s. I won't tell you what it stood for - too big-headed.
ReplyDeleteLol I know the feeling Kid. Yeah Alan Class comics were heavily reliant one these strips, thank goodness I loved them. Mmm now you have wondering what GLOP could stand for!
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing the G in Kid's GLOP stood for Gordon.
ReplyDeleteNow and again one of those old monster tales would turn up in a Marvel UK weekly like Dracula Lives or Planet Of The Apes.
I was thinking that as well Colin and "L" for lettered/Lettering" and that's me done lol.
ReplyDeleteYeah I had a few issues of POTA back in the day and they had a few Steve Ditko strips from this time.
Well, I'd better spill the beans I suppose. Richard Starkings lettered under the name of ZED, which was (and still is) the last letter of the alphabet turned into a word. He told me it stood for the 'last word in lettering'. Gary Gilbert used the name GLIB, which I understood to stand for 'Greatest Letterer In Britain', though I can't now recall if I was told this by someone (or even Gary) or just assumed so. I decided to go for GLOP, which stood for 'Greatest Letterer On-Planet' - as you know, I was always a modest and humble soul.
DeleteOr then again, maybe it stands for 'Gordon Loves 'Imself Proper'.
DeleteNah, that doesn't make any sense - 'cos then it would be GLIP. (Brain fog.) How about 'Gordon Loves Only Perfection'?
DeleteAhhh right lol
ReplyDelete