10.04
When I was a kid, going to the corner market to get a comic book was a big deal, and sometimes you were in such a hurry that the cover sold you on the mag more than the pages inside. Marvel Comics was a horrible offender of not being able to judge a book by its cover, as they were notorious for displaying misleading events, or showcasing characters that often didn’t even show up until the last panel. Perhaps the most bizarre and disappointing example of this is Man-Thing #20 from 1975.
Clearly looking to boost sales of the book, Marvel decided to throw 4 guest stars for a giant fight. “Because You Demanded It- Man-Thing battles Spider-Man! Daredevil! Shang-Chi! and The Ever-Loving Thing!” WOW! Now, I can see folks demanding a fight featuring Spidey and Mr. Grimm, and perhaps a few diehard Daredevil fans were requesting this matchup, but was there really anyone asking to see Shang-Chi fight Man-Thing? I doubut it! But for 25 cents, this book seemed at least to offer it all.
But…through the whole book there’s just a storyline wrapping up from a previous issue, and bizarre scenes like this one, which in retrospect is actually pretty damn funny.
Anyway, later on, Man-Thing is shambling down the street with some magic Nightmare Box while demons chase him. When around the corner..he’s finally confronted…26 damn PAGES INTO THE 31 PAGE COMIC!!! Immediately something’s odd, as they are delivering their lines like some bizarre verse of “We Are The World”. But at least, they’re finally going to fight, right?
Ha…the whole thing lasts only 2 panels, and it turns out they were just demons in disguise. though the woman with the snake in her mouth is pretty spooky, to a 6 year old kid, this comic was certainly the rip off of the century!
Dear Marvel, if you’re reading this, please send me my 25 cents back.
Thanks!
Robert Berry
rberry@retrocrush.com
[...] See more here: Man-Thing Lied To Me [...]
To me, the Magic Nightmare Box that Man Thing’s toting around looks a little like a Nintendo Game Cube, which, in turn, looked a little like an old-skool Fisher-Price record player.
But maybe I’m wrong, and need glasses, and am malnourished.
I’ll have to go fetch my specs and get something to eat, and look at this again.
Man-Thing was Swamp-Things older more psychotic brother. While Swamp-Thing may have scored the good looks at least Man-Thing wasn’t bogged down with all eco-conscience politicly correct crap that Swamp-Thing had to deal with.