So, the inevitable draw to placate the avid fans of either superhero. We wouldn’t have to wait long for a rematch, as that appeared in The Flash #175 four months later (result inconclusive).
Three years later would see the third race in Worlds Finest #198 and #199 (The Flash wins).
The Swamp Thing takes a bow tomorrow in the Famous Firsts feature…
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
The Swamp Thing was written by Len Wein and drawn by Bernie Wrightson and appeared in The House Of Secrets #92 (July 1971). It was such a poignant and well written and drawn short story, that a solo series was launched the following year. The character has had movies and a television series, as well.
Letters pages were found in most American comics and here is the one from this issue, and also an advertisement for those brilliant Aurora model kits that I collected.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,749Chief of Staff
I believe this is your first Bronze Age Famous first CoolHand
when Swamp Thing got a regular series, he was actually a different character, with a similar origin. In the oneshot House of Secrets story above, he is Alex Olsen, and the story is an early 20th century period piece. In the regular series, he was now Alec Holland and it as a contemporary story. Again a scientist is experimenting with a biorestorative formula in a remote lab in the Louisiana bayous, and is murdered by spies trying to steal the formula. Soaked in his own chemical formula and on fire, he disappears into the swampwaters and days later the Swamp Thing emerges . With more creepy art from Bernie Wrightson for the first 10 issues. DC was having great success with a new generation of horror comics in the early 70s, and Wrightson was one of their best horror artists.
my version of Swamp Thing was the long mid80s run written by Alan Moore, and in its earliest best issues drawn by Steve Bissette and John Totleben. This was the only mainstream comic I was reading at the time (I'd gotten more into the undergrounds and National Lampoon), and introduced me to Moore, whose work I've now been following for decades. Moore gave the series lots of learned occult content, black humour, narrative experiments, and content that had never been seen in mainstream comics before. After few issues DC didnt bother putting the Comics Code stamp on Moores Swamp Thing and, as the press liked to say, comics werent for kids anymore. His influence would transform DC and lead to their Vertigo imprint in the 1990s.
Marvel had their own very similar character called Man-Thing, created at almost the same time. written by Gerry Conway, who was Swamp Thing creator Len Wein's roommate! The first oneshot Man-Thing story actually came first (Savage Tales 1, May 1971, so two months earlier), and his origin also involved being doused in experimental chemicals, catching fire and falling in a swamp.
and decades before either Man-Thing or Swamp Thing, there was The Heap, a backup feature in Hillman Publication's Air Fighters/AirBoy comics though the 1940s! the Heap was a german fighter pilot who crashlanded in a swamp and was reborn as a shambling muckmonster. First appears as a supporting character in Air Fighters 3, Dec 1941, solo series begins AirBoy vol 3 no 9, Oct 1946
theres an issue of Alan Moores Swamp Thing where Swampy travels to the Brazilian rainforest to commune with the giant talking trees who live there, and learns not only is he related to Alex Olsen but also (implied by the artwork) Man-Thing and The Heap!
Thanks again @caractacus potts although I’m familiar with Man-Thing, the Heap is something new to me - I will be looking it up! 😁 And, yes, the first Bronze Age Famous First - there will be more!
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
take a close look at the Aurora ad CoolHand posted: amongst the exciting characters included in the Monster Scenes Custom Builder Kit is "Girl Victim"! imagine parents buying their kid a toy called "Girl Victim"!
"mummy, daddy, I've been a vewwy good boy this year. can I pwease have a Girl Victim for my Kwissmas pwesent?"
look at the little boy in the finally panel happily playing with his new toys: he's ripping the arm off of Girl Victim. Bet he grows up to be a serial killer.
also "don't worry, this is New York. No one will help her"
@Barbel I'm surprise Swamp Thing never appealed to you, considering your interest in Universal and Hammer horror films
was it just Swamp Thing, or did you also have no interest in any of the horror comics DC and Marvel were publishing at the time? one of the things that distinguishes Bronze age from the Silver Age was there was a general revival of horror comics, and a slight decrease in the number of superhero comics.
did you get the Warren black & white horror comics magazines over in Britain: Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella?
Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella were all available in newsagents in the London area - it may have been unavailable in other regions, though, it would depend on the news distributors for each area if they carried those imports or not.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
how about Swamp Thing or DC's other horror genre titles? or Marvels early 70s horror titles such as Tomb of Dracula?
upthread you showed us examples of how DC and Marvel content were repackaged for the british market. Weekly magazines thatd break the original stories into smaller pieces, with several ongoing stories per magazine. It looked like mostly superhero titles, but would they also include horror or other non-superhero genre content?
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,749Chief of Staff
All this is fascinating to me…I didn’t ever get into this stuff whist I was younger…thanks all 👏🏻
The content of this comic strip contains very strong language not permitted in the ongoing threads of this site. It also contains themes that some readers may find upsetting. Reader discretion is advised for those who may be easily offended. The content has been cleared for posting by the moderators.
@Sir Miles The story goes in a series of arcs, interspersed with some deviations (we’ve had two so far), hopefully most of the twists and turns will be resolved by the end, although it may be a bit like the television series Lost, where some things are left open or unresolved. But, enjoy the ride, because it is one of the best comics ever published.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
The content of this comic strip contains very strong language not permitted in the ongoing threads of this site. It also contains themes that some readers may find upsetting. Reader discretion is advised for those who may be easily offended. The content has been cleared for posting by the moderators.
Comments
Not mine, alas. Still, that was fun to see!
Britains Dennis the Menace is a much badder boy the America's Dennis the Menace
I wonder if they ever sued each other? wikipedia says they both began publication in March 12th 1951, thats a heckuva coincidence.
Probably the most fascinating coincidence in comic book history. The British Dennis was indeed a bit of a rascal!
SUPERMAN #199 (August 1967) Part Two
So, the inevitable draw to placate the avid fans of either superhero. We wouldn’t have to wait long for a rematch, as that appeared in The Flash #175 four months later (result inconclusive).
Three years later would see the third race in Worlds Finest #198 and #199 (The Flash wins).
The Swamp Thing takes a bow tomorrow in the Famous Firsts feature…
That was fun, thanks CHB.
Why did I think it would end in a draw 🫣🤗🤣🙄
FAMOUS FIRSTS - The Swamp Thing - 1st Appearance
The Swamp Thing was written by Len Wein and drawn by Bernie Wrightson and appeared in The House Of Secrets #92 (July 1971). It was such a poignant and well written and drawn short story, that a solo series was launched the following year. The character has had movies and a television series, as well.
Letters pages were found in most American comics and here is the one from this issue, and also an advertisement for those brilliant Aurora model kits that I collected.
Oohhh, great 👏🏻
yes I like Swamp Thing too!
I believe this is your first Bronze Age Famous first CoolHand
when Swamp Thing got a regular series, he was actually a different character, with a similar origin. In the oneshot House of Secrets story above, he is Alex Olsen, and the story is an early 20th century period piece. In the regular series, he was now Alec Holland and it as a contemporary story. Again a scientist is experimenting with a biorestorative formula in a remote lab in the Louisiana bayous, and is murdered by spies trying to steal the formula. Soaked in his own chemical formula and on fire, he disappears into the swampwaters and days later the Swamp Thing emerges . With more creepy art from Bernie Wrightson for the first 10 issues. DC was having great success with a new generation of horror comics in the early 70s, and Wrightson was one of their best horror artists.
my version of Swamp Thing was the long mid80s run written by Alan Moore, and in its earliest best issues drawn by Steve Bissette and John Totleben. This was the only mainstream comic I was reading at the time (I'd gotten more into the undergrounds and National Lampoon), and introduced me to Moore, whose work I've now been following for decades. Moore gave the series lots of learned occult content, black humour, narrative experiments, and content that had never been seen in mainstream comics before. After few issues DC didnt bother putting the Comics Code stamp on Moores Swamp Thing and, as the press liked to say, comics werent for kids anymore. His influence would transform DC and lead to their Vertigo imprint in the 1990s.
Marvel had their own very similar character called Man-Thing, created at almost the same time. written by Gerry Conway, who was Swamp Thing creator Len Wein's roommate! The first oneshot Man-Thing story actually came first (Savage Tales 1, May 1971, so two months earlier), and his origin also involved being doused in experimental chemicals, catching fire and falling in a swamp.
and decades before either Man-Thing or Swamp Thing, there was The Heap, a backup feature in Hillman Publication's Air Fighters/AirBoy comics though the 1940s! the Heap was a german fighter pilot who crashlanded in a swamp and was reborn as a shambling muckmonster. First appears as a supporting character in Air Fighters 3, Dec 1941, solo series begins AirBoy vol 3 no 9, Oct 1946
theres an issue of Alan Moores Swamp Thing where Swampy travels to the Brazilian rainforest to commune with the giant talking trees who live there, and learns not only is he related to Alex Olsen but also (implied by the artwork) Man-Thing and The Heap!
Thanks again @caractacus potts although I’m familiar with Man-Thing, the Heap is something new to me - I will be looking it up! 😁 And, yes, the first Bronze Age Famous First - there will be more!
Thanks @CoolHandBond and @caractacus potts. None of these appealed to me at the time, unfortunately, and this is the first time I've read Swamp Thing.
take a close look at the Aurora ad CoolHand posted: amongst the exciting characters included in the Monster Scenes Custom Builder Kit is "Girl Victim"! imagine parents buying their kid a toy called "Girl Victim"!
"mummy, daddy, I've been a vewwy good boy this year. can I pwease have a Girl Victim for my Kwissmas pwesent?"
look at the little boy in the finally panel happily playing with his new toys: he's ripping the arm off of Girl Victim. Bet he grows up to be a serial killer.
also "don't worry, this is New York. No one will help her"
@Barbel I'm surprise Swamp Thing never appealed to you, considering your interest in Universal and Hammer horror films
was it just Swamp Thing, or did you also have no interest in any of the horror comics DC and Marvel were publishing at the time? one of the things that distinguishes Bronze age from the Silver Age was there was a general revival of horror comics, and a slight decrease in the number of superhero comics.
did you get the Warren black & white horror comics magazines over in Britain: Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella?
It's just "Swamp Thing", though I don't recall seeing those other titles on the local stands (maybe they were thought too scary?).
Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella were all available in newsagents in the London area - it may have been unavailable in other regions, though, it would depend on the news distributors for each area if they carried those imports or not.
thanks @CoolHandBond .
how about Swamp Thing or DC's other horror genre titles? or Marvels early 70s horror titles such as Tomb of Dracula?
upthread you showed us examples of how DC and Marvel content were repackaged for the british market. Weekly magazines thatd break the original stories into smaller pieces, with several ongoing stories per magazine. It looked like mostly superhero titles, but would they also include horror or other non-superhero genre content?
All this is fascinating to me…I didn’t ever get into this stuff whist I was younger…thanks all 👏🏻
I’m actually working on an article about the non-superhero Marvel UK comics at the moment and they do encompass titles such as…
…but it’s a work in progress so don’t expect it too soon 😁
CONTENT NOTICE:
The content of this comic strip contains very strong language not permitted in the ongoing threads of this site. It also contains themes that some readers may find upsetting. Reader discretion is advised for those who may be easily offended. The content has been cleared for posting by the moderators.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH - Chapter Eight: A Hunter’s Diary (Part One)
Continues tomorrow.
It's got me hooked. Looking forward to more.
I love how this just twists and turns…setting things up now that - hopefully - pay off later 😁
@Sir Miles The story goes in a series of arcs, interspersed with some deviations (we’ve had two so far), hopefully most of the twists and turns will be resolved by the end, although it may be a bit like the television series Lost, where some things are left open or unresolved. But, enjoy the ride, because it is one of the best comics ever published.
CONTENT NOTICE:
The content of this comic strip contains very strong language not permitted in the ongoing threads of this site. It also contains themes that some readers may find upsetting. Reader discretion is advised for those who may be easily offended. The content has been cleared for posting by the moderators.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH - Chapter Eight: A Hunter’s Diary (Part Two)
This double-length chapter continues next Thursday and Friday.
Please!
No problem @Barbel all that’s needed is patience 😁
CONTENT ADVICE: Reader discretion is advised for those who may be easily offended.
DANGER GIRL (1998) Part Three
Now, who could this be?
More tomorrow…
If this were the the quote game, I'd reply with what Stromberg says to Commander Carter once the US sub is inside the tanker .... 🤣
I’m kinda thinking Danger Girl could be better read in the toilet as well….where the light is better 😬
The Department of Truth is tapping more into what I like to read about …👏🏻
CONTENT ADVICE: Reader discretion is advised for those who may be easily offended.
DANGER GIRL (1998) Part Four
To be continued next weekend.
Well, it’s certainly kinder than Roger’s quote to Scaramanga at the dinner table in TMWTGG 😂