Manic Monday--It Must Be Hard To Draw While So Distracted!

Ad from X-Men Annual #2 (1971):

Man, that's a hell of a deal. I'd pay that just for Romita's doodles!! Plus, I'd love to see those 24 villain drawings...

Manic Monday Bonus--Romita Does Kirby

The cover to Tales To Astonish #34 (1962), by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers:

They basically used the same drawing as the splah page, with minor alteration to fit the indicia and such. (Sorry, I don't have that comic, so I can't show you...I'm taking GCD's word for that).

When they reprinted the story in Monsters On The Prowl #29 (1974), they again re-used the drawing for the splash page, with a bit of re-coloring:

So what did they use for the cover?

Waste not, want not! They re-used that drawing one more time, but this time, they had John Romita make some alterations:

Aside from the re-coloring, note that Romita replaced the guy in the window with a frightened woman; added a second gawking head; added lightning in the background; and added some more detail (especially in the cracking of the window frame and brick work).

I have no real point to make here. I just found the multiple uses of one panel of artwork interesting.

Now why is the monster at the window? We'll find out next post, so come back in half an hour...

Fat-Shaming Spider-Man!

The following letter appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #47 (1967), criticizing Peter Parker's appearance in an earlier issue:

Because I love you all so much, I dug up the panel in question, from Amazing Spider-Man #43 (1966):

Well, John Romita doesn't draw him as thin as Ditko did.

But fat?!? Foggy Nelson's twin brother???

Fortunately, for comparison's sake, this very same issue had a cameo by Foggy Nelson, also drawn by Romita. Let's compare, shall we?

Not even close. Sorry, Johnny Fisher of Ringwood, OK, but you're wrong. Even though Peter is slightly huskier than you're used to, he's nowhere near as big as Foggy (who, by the way, doesn't seem particularly fat here, either). So thanks for the gratuitous weight-shaming!

BTW, here's the response:

A chubby, roly-poly arachnid would be cute!

Friday Night Fight--Kraven Dance Party Style!!

It's the money round of Friday Night Fights, so please pay attention--I need the cash!!

Flash Thompson has enlisted in the army, and the gang is having a party to celebrate before he goes off to Vietnam!

And you can't have a 1967 party without watching swinging chicks dancing, John Romita style!!

I would gladly read an entire comic--hell, an entire year of comics--that consisted of nothing but Romita-drawn ladies dancing!

But there's always a party-crasher:

See, Kraven is looking to kidnap Harry Osborn, so he can get revenge on Norman Osborn, whom Kraven thinks is a flunky of the Green Goblin's, because Kraven thinks the Goblin disrespected and cheated him!

Whew...long story short, the dance party is now a fight party!!

Editor's note: Kraven's rays "magnetizes" his prey's "muscular electrolytes"!! Thanks, Stan, for inventing tasers (Silver Age style) a few decades early!

Well, Kraven gets distracted by Norman Osborn before he can administer the killing blow, and takes off to fight Spidey again the next couple of issues. Still, a pretty clear Kraven win!!

Spacebooger wanted to know what song(s) MJ and Gwen were dancing to, but then he realized that it really didn't matter.

Kraven's Dance Party is courtesy of Amazing Spider-Man #47 (1967), by Stan Lee and John Romita

Now is the time for you to go and vote for my fight. Why?!? Because if you don't, Kraven might magnetize your muscular electrolytes!! So go and vote!!

Because I Thought It Was Cute, That's Why

A visual Stan's Soapbox, from Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #11 (1991)...click to embiggen to full soapiness:

'Nuff said.