Important News Bulletin : MONSTERS ON THE PROWL!

I'm taking a quick break from the current series of posts to feature a MAN-THING appearance!

(Hey. They don't happen all that often.)

*click* to make monster-sized.
From MARVELS : EYE OF THE CAMERA # 3
Kurt Busek & Jay Anacleto

Not exactly capturing Manny's "good side" there.
(I know Marvel - and comics in general - have been very prone to showcasing the "ass-shot", but this might not be the best usage of that angle.)

Image featuring (clockwise from top center):

- Daimon Hellstrom (Hellstorm) - the "Son of Satan"
[in St. Louis; Missouri]

- Morbius; the Living Vampire
[somewhere in New York]

- Dracula
[in Boston, Massachusetts]

- Man-Thing
[in the Everglades of Florida]

- Jack Russell; Werewolf-by-Night
[Los Angeles, California]

- Johnny Blaze - Ghost Rider
[as part of the team; The Champions - in Los Angeles, California]
Note: Ghost Rider is portrayed in the wrong clothing.
He is drawn in the Danny Ketch "1990's" Ghost Rider's gear.

And just what the heck is Ghost Rider doing to the Werewolf?
Is he whipping the man-beast with that chain?
Who do you call to report that? The cops or the S.P.C.A.?

Besides the small costume goof, Jay Anacleto has been making this series look gorgeous and lovingly rendered.

Kurt Busiek's love for Marvel history and continuity shines!

A picture (or two) is worth a thousand exclamations of delight!

How can something so minor make me so happy?

In reply to my LAST post (about the subtle nature of Doctor Strange's involvement in this "MARVELS : Eye of the Camera" series) my friend Howard Hallis emailed me and mentioned the pic of Doc at the END of the issue (issue # 2).

I had totally forgotten that I had seen that, because I was so damned pleased about the RABBIT thing, that I neglected to mention it in yesterday's post.

Good thing too, because when I went to get the pic just now I took another look at that panel and also saw...

MAN-THING!
DOCTOR STRANGE & MAN-THING are both hidden away in this title.

click pic to zoom in.

Man-Thing is seen at the very top center of the page (behind the Daredevil & Iron Man pics).
Dr. Strange is seen to the far right of the page, in a pic obviously taken after he made the "House of Shadows" disappear (from Strange Tales v1 # 120 - and mentioned in this blog in this old post HERE).

Kurt Busiek & Jay Anacleto are making me a happy fanboy thus far.
I don't need to have Doc (or Manny) front and center all the time.

Would I LIKE to see Strange in a more meaty role in this book?
Well... SURE.
But, sometimes a good, well-placed and purposefully hidden cameo is more than enough.

Also, there's something to be said for the child-like joy of finding hidden treasures like this. Almost like Christmas. Or finding an Easter Egg (a mossy, muck-encrusted mockery of an egg, that will burn you... but that's neither here nor there).

I'd love to have some more "urban legend", "boogie-men" type of appearances for these two characters.
Sure beats "deus ex machina" and "plot device" any day.

Thanks again Kurt & Jay (and Howard)!

Silly Rabbit...

You ever have one of those times when you think of something... something so completely random and incongruous, something that would seem improbable that anyone else has given much thought towards... and then find that it is addressed and brought to your attention soon thereafter?

Sure. We all do.
However, the difference between those "normal" instances and something like this is that the object of contemplation was a minor, throw-away scene in a comic book published nearly 35 years ago.

Back in November 02008, when I was working on a mega-series of posts *, I came across a scene that, whenever I see it, always makes me wonder... "Whatever happened to that giant rabbit?"...

From Doctor Strange; Master of the Mystic Arts # 1 (01974), by Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner...

In order to take Strange's mind off of more serious matters, Clea performs a cute magic trick.


Afterwards, the villainous Silver Dagger, who had been hiding outside, casts a spell upon the rabbit causing it to grow in size...

... and bust through the Sanctum's sigil-window, breaking the mystic seals, the rabbit's egress allowing him ingress.

However, the rabbit is soon forgotten in the ensuing chaos of Silver Dagger's attack and his "killing" of Dr. Strange.

But, as an animal lover, (and obsessed comic nerd,) I always wondered... "Whatever happened to that poor 'little' rabbit?".

It seems, Kurt Busiek has also had that thought weigh heavily on his mind all these years, as we see in

MARVELS : Eye of the Camera # 2...

MARVELS : EYE OF THE CAMERA # 2
by Kurt Busiek & Jay Anacleto.

Kurt Busiek is such a comics nerd... how can you not love him?
Thanks, Kurt!

This, added to his cameo for Dr. Strange from issue # 1 (seen here), it seems to me that Doc might be treated as a behind the scenes "urban legend" that touches the periphery of this story.
If it is indeed to work out that way... that would be FANTASTIC!

***UPDATE***
There's also another cameo of Dr. Strange - AND the Man-Thing - in this issue, that was brought to my attention after making this post.
They're in a new blog-entry - HERE.
***END UPDATE***

By the way... if you haven't read the epic Silver Dagger story arc you really should!
And, for your convenience, you can do so in either of these volumes:

Doctor Strange : A Separate Reality trade paperback

(full color reproductions of the epic storyline - and more)

or

Essential Doctor Strange vol 3.
A TON of Dr. Strange stories, reproduced in black & white.

***UPDATE***
It seems that Steve Englehart had NOT left the poor "little" rabbit to an unknown fate.
In an updated post, I show what happend to the rabbit after the events of
Master of the Mystic Arts # 01.
Check that out HERE.
***END UPDATE***

*(This Clea / Silver Dagger "rabbit-trick" featured in part III of the mega-popular "Housing Crisis" series of posts - seen here in Parts I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII & addendum)