Tag Archives: Art

MIGHTY MARVEL MAY #17: ROGUE

Posted on by Mister Farrell
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When Rogue first appeared in AVENGERS ANNUAL #10 in1981, long before that internet, artists were often at the mercy of their local libraries and bookstores for reference. If a story called for them to draw the Taj Mahal or a Gemini spacecraft, they couldn’t use Google image search, so they had to do research on their own time at their own expense. Writer Chris Claremont’s script described a new villain called Rogue as looking like Grace Jones, artist Michael Golden didn’t know who Jones was. So he made Rogue up out of his imagination.

Seemingly a remorseless villain, Rogue’s mutant power to absorb other superhuman powers (as well as short-term memories) from other superhumans meant she was almost a match for the Avengers. A heroine named Ms. Marvel fell victim to Rogue’s ability and, for the first and only time, the transfer of powers and memories was permanent. Since that time, Rogue has had the basic set of superpowers in addition to her own: flight, invulnerability and super-strength… And the memories of Ms. Marvel clamoring in her head.

Rogue fought the X-Men next, but soon Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers)’s memories were impossible to drown out, and Rogue turned to her enemies at the Xavier’s School for help.

She was not greeted warmly. (Art by Walt Simonson)

Having fought her before, the X-Men were not happy to have her on the team. But gradually she became one of the longest-lasting, best loved members of the team.

With her superhuman strength, invulnerability and Mississippi sass, Rogue appears  confident and brash. But to me, her inability to come into physical contact with anyone makes her a tragic heroine, and highly vulnerable. Her capricious, criminal youth means her career as a hero is a redemptive one. She can never give back what she’s taken, but she never stops fighting to correct the mistakes of her past.

Don’t be filled with dread- MIGHTY MARVEL MAY continues tomorrow!

MIGHTY MARVEL MAY #16: DOCTOR DOOM

Posted on by Mister Farrell
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When you think “arch villain,” no one fits the bill like Doctor Doom. Originally an adversary of the Fantastic Four, also created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Doom grew to be one of the main antagonists in the Marvel Universe.

Victor Von Doom was a college student from the European kingdom of Latveria when he met Reed Richards and Ben Grimm, who would later become Mister Fantastic and The Thing of the Fantastic Four. Doom was Richards’ greatest scientific rival. When Richards tried to correct Doom’s faulty equation on an experiment, Doom’s hubris kept him from listening. The experiment literally blew up in Doom’s face; he blamed Richards.

Now scarred (Lee preferred Doom’s face be ruin in the accident; Kirby wanted to reveal only a tiny cheek  scratch which to the egomaniacal  Doom would amount to the same thing), he donned an iron suit, studied super-science and magic. He declared himself Doctor Doom (because, after all, he never graduated college) and returned home to conquer Latveria.

If Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor is a cutting edge supercomputer in human form, Doom’s armor is a Panzer tank. With no less than the entirety of Latveria’s resources, and endless supply of lookalike “Doombots”, and one of the most formidable intellects on earth, Doom has set out to conquer the world many, many times. And he even succeeded once.

Doom is a complicated character, conflicted by his own desire to be the best, most noble, greatest man and his own selfishness. Ashamed of his Gypsy heritage, he fought and succeeded to make himself a king. His intellect matched (and exceeded) only by Reed Richards, Doom seeks to destroy him. But like many egotists, Doctor Doom is his own worst enemy. He is just as often undone by his own self-sabotage as by his enemies.

Please return tomorrow for another touching installment of MIGHTY MARVEL MAY!

MIGHTY MARVEL MAY #15: NIGHTCRAWLER

Posted on by Mister Farrell
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Originally created by artist Dave Cockrum as a character for DC’s LEGION OF SUPERHEROES, Nightcrawler made his way into GIANT-SIZED X-MEN #1 in 1975.

Blue, furry, and with a prehensile, barbed tail, German-born Kurt Wagner was a mutant who could never pass as a normal human. His outlandish appearance even drove a number of German peasants, seemingly drawn from FRANKENSTEIN, to try and lynch him before he was rescued/recruited by X-Men leader Charles Xavier. With his ability to teleport short distances and swashbuckling heart, he was a proud addition to the team.

I like Nightcrawler for his exuberance and refusal to give up in the face of adversity. A devout Catholic, he and his unlikely best friend Wolverine  would have long spiritual discussions. I always liked that the two men could disagree but had enough respect for one another to listen.

I hope you’ll be back for tomorrow’s regal installment of MIGHTY MARVEL MAY!

MIGHTY MARVEL MAY #13: BEAST

Posted on by Mister Farrell
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Hank McCoy ought to be the poster child for mutants. As created by stalwarts Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in  X-MEN #1 in 1963, Beast was a hirsute, agile man, with oversize hands and feet, but recognizably human. His brutish exterior  was at odds with his eloquent, erudite manner and genius intellect. Seeking the genetic cause of human mutation, Beast transformed himself into a blue-furred, apelike creature (courtesy of writer Gerry Conway and artist Tom Sutton. He also got a great Gil Kane cover out of it!). He could no longer hide his mutation from the world.

More gray than blue on this great Gil Kane cover. And more people need to work “lo” into sentences.

Far from withdrawing from society, Hank became a celebrated member of the  Avengers and continued his work as a scientist. He was a quirky, verbose, well-adjusted guy. Years passed and Hank mutated once again. This time the mutagen was writer Grant Morrison’s mind.

Morrison and artist Frank Quitely redesigned the X-Men for the 21st Century beginning with NEW X-MEN #114. “Increased sunspot activity” was blamed for secondary mutations around the world, and Beast was now a blue-furred, catlike humanoid who felt “like a Hindu sex god.”  While rebuffing an ex-girlfriend, he also alluded to being gay, a revelation which was hastily retracted by Hank himself a few issues later (I’ve always suspected the change was mandated by Marvel’s management, who realized Beast action figures were sold at Walmarts around the country and feared a conservative backlash). Hank’s shifting orientation was not as controversial as his shifting appearance. Although many embraced his leonine look, which he has to this day, others wished for a return to his earlier, more apelike appearance.

I like both looks. My guess is that Quitely was inspired by Jean Cocteau’s Beast in La Belle et la Bête. I went with this version because I haven’t seen it represented in 3D as often.

With luck, you’ll be back for another edition of MIGHTY MARVEL MAY tomorrow!