Is he talking about Steranko again?

Jim Steranko makes me happy...a fantastic artist, and an even greater human. He loves his fans like all the greats do (or should...Ditko?grrr). He also has a track record of collaborating with the "little guy." Are you a small independent publisher with a good idea? He just might create your front cover. It's not just Marvel and DC for Mr. Steranko. He understands and supports the art and artists within and throughout and knows the business and passion and nuance of art, especially commercial/pop/comic art...a category that is hard to decipher. That's one of the reasons it is so fun to collect Steranko's work. It takes you all over the place.

As collectors know who register their collections with CGC, it is great added fun to collect sets, complete sets, and fret your hair to baldness over becoming #1 in your favorite set. I collect many titles, and Spider-Man and Conan are probably my favorite comics to collect. But my favorite SET is the Jim Steranko Cover set. Before I go deeper into my story, I'd like to say: People, you should check out the set and get to know the powerful art that spans his 50+ year career. Many of his covers are oil on canvas and great pieces of fine art in their own right. His subject matter covers Marvel and DC heroes and villains as well as Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Horror, pop art, book covers, the list goes on. I love art, his art is worth knowing. Sorry (sort of) for my shameless sale's man plug.

I have a lot of happy and a few disappointing stories regarding many of the books I've acquired within the set. Many of them I purchased raw and got them slabbed (lower grades than anticipated, of course). Those haps and mishaps are for another journal. I'm just happy to have them encapsulated.

This journal will finally get to the point about a specific comic within the Jim Steranko Cover set: Foom #2.

This book has eluded me for years. First of all, it's a Marvel "fan book" that you had to sign up for back in 1973. (I was 4 years old!). From Wikipedia: Foom ...a four-issue yearly subscription was US$3. An additional dollar bought a club membership I.D. card, six decals, and a poster. The membership kit was also available separately for US$2.50..

The whole story is here for those interested.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOOM

The acronym FOOM stands for "Friends Of Ol' Marvel". Sort of a silly title, but the rarity of any of the books in high grade is not silly. Back in the 70's, once you signed up and paid the cash, the books were sent to you through the mail. (I have a raw copy with the mailing label still attached...qualified? Don't know.) And this logistical problem of being sent through the mail made for a comic that inevitably had bent corners or worse. High grades anyone? Not likely. Not only that, but the paper is newspaper grade, not just the interior like most comics, but the cover as well. It's not surprising that the unleashed from bondage Hulk that Steranko rendered looks to be a quick sketch. Don't get me wrong, it's an awesome cover, but you can tell he didn't spend a lot of time on it. He rose to the occasion of what the book was: a promotional piece. But that also adds to its appeal. It came through the mail. It is "cheap". It is simple. It is haphazard. It is rare.

As an aside, this book has a lot of attention as perhaps being a proxy 1st Wolverine appearance. As a promotion within this issue, they put on a contest where they asked fans to create new super-heroes/villains, and they would publish the best ideas. One of the published ideas was a hero with a metal skeleton and claws that predates 181...hmmmm. Don't know where that is going, but I'll stick with the Hulk for now as the 1st app.. That's just an added bonus if it ever gets steam, but I don't advocate it, and that's not why I love this book.

Did I say a page ago I was going to get to the point? Sorry. I must do justice, and brevity isn't working for me right now. Here goes Act II.

If you are an avid collector, you probably have created many automated "want-lists" on various websites, but hopefully you also have collector friends who are "looking" for you. People out there who might stumble upon something that they know might spark your interest. If you are a serious collector, "completionist" or one whose tastes tend to dwell in rarity, these friends are invaluable in helping to locate the most elusive books.

Well, one of these talented friends of mine who fits the above description linked me to a listing on the CGC boards for a Foom #2 SS 9.6. He wrote a simple note. "Weren't you looking for one of these?"

Holy mess! I fumbled with the keyboard while contacting the seller (who I will call LB for the rest of this journal). LB accepted my offer and we completed the deal within the hour. When I paid I asked if he had it signed or bought it that way. Here's where the story gets some unexpected spice. What I forgot about this book is that the backcover has a cover reprint of "Monster of Frankenstein #2" drawn by great Mike Ploog...another of my comic artist heroes...yup, another f'n journal. LB lives in the UK, and in 2012 Ploog was a guest at a Comicon in Bristol, and viola. Magic happened.

Attached are a couple photos LB provided as Ploog perused and signed the Foom. Now how many people have the SS label AND a couple photos to tell it. Too cool.

You can see from the pics that Mr. Ploog is handling the book out of the bag. JB prepped a sig bag (you can see it in the second photo) but Ploog said he'd never seen the inside of a Foom and wanted to take a look. "You mind?" Ploog asked as he started pulling the book from its protective sleeve. LB said "sure", inwardly freaking out, but ultimately helpless. We've all been in that quandary...nothing you can do, but hope for gentleness. LB said Ploog handled the comic with care and enjoyed the quick peek. The 9.6 attests that he was gentle. I still don't know where LB picked up the Foom in the first place. It has no address label. It was in the UK. Did it go to foreign LCS's for distribution after the US market was done with them? Interesting.

I hope all the photos show up ok...there should be 4 in all. I couldn't figure out how to upload separate photos so just put all 4 together in one.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far. Sorry for such a long journal, but I rarely post, so I didn't hold back my ramblings...

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