Infinite Marvel Picture Frame books 23 23

[Frisco Larson]

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[djpinkpanther67]

On 4/23/2023 at 7:33 AM, namisgr said:

More Picture Frame trivia, the Marvel 'Circle 20' picture frames.

At the end of 1971, when Marvel transitioned their books from giants back to regular size and the cover prices from 25 to 20 cents, the latter was placed in a circle for one month only.  Most 'circle 20s', but not all, have December, 1971 cover dates.  Afterwards, the cover price was designed into a box as part of the Marvel Comics Group banner, where it would stay for the remainder of the picture frame design era.

Another thing worth mentioning, is that the actual MCG Banner itself debuted with the 25c PFs.

[Off Panel]

I filled another hole in my Amazing Spider-man picture frame books:

More wonderful art from John Romita, of course. 

I've always had a soft spot in my head heart for the Gibbon, but even I recognize that the Marvel hype machine was out of control on this one. I'm sure letterer John Costanza was on the phone as he started working on the cover.

"Hey, Stan. It's John.

This Spidey 110 cover -- What if, instead of 'super-star' we said 'guy'?

'INTRODUCING: THE NEWEST MARVEL GUY!' I mean, that just feels a little more accurate to me, Stan."

Still, this was Stan's last issue on the book before he handed the keys to Marvel's Crown Jewels over to a 19-year-old kid, so I'm sure he wanted at least a little fanfare.

I read issues 110 and 111 back to back this week, and I think Gerry Conway did a great job with the transition. I mean, you can sense a little teen angst in the writing, but I count that as a virtue in telling the story of Martin Blank and how he became the Gibbon.

To Stan's credit, he gave Gerry a much gentler transition than when he tried to hand the book to Roy Thomas with issue 101:

"Hey, Roy. I'm too busy to do Amazing anymore. You're going to have to take it. Oh yeah, Peter has six arms now. Excelsior!"

[Off Panel]

One other tidbit I stumbled across this week that I think this group would be interested in. This is a brief exchange between Jon B. Cooke and John Romita from an interview in TwoMorrows' Comic Book Artist #6. 

CBA: The cover designs of Marvel Comics in the early '70s conformed to the same rigid format. There suddenly was just a square for an illustration with the title of the story underneath, with a lot of verbiage around. Do you remember this really locked-in design when Gil did most of the covers?

John: We did it for about a year, with a margin in it. They were looking to stand out from the rest of the crowd. I think Roy was involved. I think Gil might've designed it. I don't remember how much input I had on it; all I remember—that may have been when I was doing special projects.

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Not sure if I posted this here yet. Oh well ...

 

Edited April 25, 2023 by Frisco Larson

[southern cross]

[LordRahl]

On 4/23/2023 at 12:25 PM, djpinkpanther67 said:

Another thing worth mentioning, is that the actual MCG Banner itself debuted with the 25c PFs.

This thread won't be the same without you Thomas. RIP brother!

[namisgr]

On 5/18/2023 at 2:02 AM, LordRahl said:

This thread won't be the same without you Thomas. RIP brother!

Quoted for truth.

It's been quiet.  So here's an oddity for the genre, a cover by Gil Kane, who's normally outstanding with anatomy and form, in which Spidey's left leg looks like it may have an extra joint and appears too long.

[Off Panel]

I’ve crossed another Amazing Spider-man picture frame off my list:

 

 

I know ASM 113 is one of the controversial ones, but it’s easy to see John Romita having fun with the picture frame elements. The Daily Bugle photo takes the place of the conventional “framed’ art and the photo caption replaces the standard text underneath. Romita has said that he only signed his covers when he really liked them, so the big signature at the top of Spidey’s mask lets you know he was pleased with himself here.

 

(I’m a believer, but I get it if anyone says, “I don’t accept 113 as a picture frame and you can’t make me.”)

[Off Panel]

Part of my ritual is to sit down with a beer and read a digital copy of each new book as I add it to my collection. In this case, I also read 112 (which I bought a few years ago) as the lead-in. I want to talk about that one for a minute.

 

Issue 112 was only Gerry Conways’ second Amazing issue, and even though it was billed on the splash page as “an avalanche of offbeat action,” over half the story pages were:

• Peter fretting about Aunt May, who is missing
• Peter getting yelled at by J Jonah Jameson
• Peter fretting about JJJ freezing his salary until he coughs up pictures of Spider-man
• Peter having individual encounters with Harry, Betty and Ned, MJ and Anna Watson (who are all fretting about Aunt May) and
• Flash Thompson trying to make time with Gwen, who feels guilty about Aunt May leaving

 

It made me realize just how much I enjoyed the soap opera elements of Spider-man, even as a little kid. Peter’s troubles were always as interesting as Spider-man’s. Often more so. I really, really enjoyed this issue where the big bad (Doc Ock) didn’t show up until the last page.

 

I wish the modern Spider writers would devote more time to the supporting cast.