Oddly Similar Comic Covers 11 11

[Malacoda]

This is a bit off topic, but the UK covers are a happy hunting ground for oddly similar covers because they re-used artwork or bits of artwork from the originals and then used the original itself, like the Rhino on 2 consecutive MWOM covers....

in some cases, the replication was a little more obvious....

notice how it's not only the same Hulk cover, but we are threatened (again) with the end of the Fantastic Four and Daredevil is STILL facing his deadliest foe (which was presumably an artwork deadline). 

For those of you who won't sleep until you know, the 2nd one is actually the reprint of Hulk 160 which does feature the Tiger Shark.  #154 actually reprints Hulk's startlingly brief visit to Counter-Earth from Hulk #158, with Tiger Shark nowhere to be seen.  I suspect they had got the artwork for 159 ready, but got caught short with #154.

 

Edited November 16, 2023 by Malacoda

[Malacoda]

By the way, this FF cover is credited to Jerry Ordway, not as inker but as artist.  

Edited November 17, 2023 by Malacoda

[MR SigS]

On 11/9/2023 at 8:35 AM, gadzukes said:

 

[MR SigS]

On 10/27/2023 at 6:17 PM, ganni said:

 

 

[Kevin.J]

Battle Cry #1 British reprint followed by Aussie Reprint thats exactly the same but different  

I still need the original US Battle Cry #18, I hate being a completist sometimes  

 

 

 

[MR SigS]

On 11/17/2023 at 9:03 AM, MR SigS said:

 

 

Edited March 17 by MR SigS

[Gaard]

[Malacoda]

So, I was thinking, that Red Sonja cover where the vampires are coming out of 3 mirrors in front of her, there must be loads of covers like that.  However, when I checked, they're not actually mirrors, they're tombs....

 

Having said that, this was is what I thought it looked like......

 

 

[MR SigS]

Edited March 17 by MR SigS

[Malacoda]

This has to be a swipe surely? It's not just Spidey's fingertips scraping the wall, it's the positioning of both legs. 

Edited November 19, 2023 by Malacoda

[Malacoda]

[MR SigS]

On 10/27/2023 at 2:44 PM, Malacoda said:

Oh, hang on, I've got another one of these....

 

 

[Ken Aldred]

On 11/16/2023 at 11:44 PM, Malacoda said:

This is a bit off topic, but the UK covers are a happy hunting ground for oddly similar covers because they re-used artwork or bits of artwork from the originals and then used the original itself, like the Rhino on 2 consecutive MWOM covers....

in some cases, the replication was a little more obvious....

notice how it's not only the same Hulk cover, but we are threatened (again) with the end of the Fantastic Four and Daredevil is STILL facing his deadliest foe (which was presumably an artwork deadline). 

For those of you who won't sleep until you know, the 2nd one is actually the reprint of Hulk 160 which does feature the Tiger Shark.  #154 actually reprints Hulk's startlingly brief visit to Counter-Earth from Hulk #158, with Tiger Shark nowhere to be seen.  I suspect they had got the artwork for 159 ready, but got caught short with #154.

 

I’d be interested in seeing more of these if you’ve found any. 

Just to show how unobservant I was as a kid back in the 70s.

[Malacoda]

On 11/20/2023 at 3:44 AM, MR SigS said:

LOL. superb. How did I miss that one? 

[Malacoda]

On 11/20/2023 at 4:47 AM, Ken Aldred said:

I’d be interested in seeing more of these if you’ve found any. 

It's a rich and varied seam.  For example, as you know, Jim Starlin drew a lot of the early UK covers.  I always thought that his UK covers were recycling ideas and layouts from his US work, but in fact, the UK covers were some of his first work at Marvel and precede the US covers.   For instance, MTU 27 is pretty clearly a re-drawing of MWOM 44.

  

[Ken Aldred]

On 11/20/2023 at 12:50 PM, Malacoda said:

It's a rich and varied seam.  For example, as you know, Jim Starlin drew a lot of the early UK covers.  I always thought that his UK covers were recycling ideas and layouts from his US work, but in fact, the UK covers were some of his first work at Marvel and precede the US covers.   For instance, MTU 27 is pretty clearly a re-drawing of MWOM 44.

  

I did know about Starlin and Marvel UK.  Always a big fan of his BA work.

Great example.

Edited November 20, 2023 by Ken Aldred

[Malacoda]

On 11/20/2023 at 4:47 AM, Ken Aldred said:

I’d be interested in seeing more of these if you’ve found any. 

MWOM #49 swipes Big John's cover of FF #112.  Amazingly, MWOM #49 is actually an FF vs Hulk story, but it's a reprint of FF #25, so the cover art is separated from the story by more than 7 years. 

 

[Ken Aldred]

Oh, brings back memories. 

[Malacoda]

On 11/20/2023 at 1:02 PM, Ken Aldred said:

Oh, brings back memories. 

The preceding issue is even better.  Although MWOM is nominally reprinting Hulk stories from TTA, they are padding it out as much as possible, so before these FF issues were used as Hulk stories in MWOM 49,  Avengers #3 was also reprinted as a Hulk story.  But the cover art is from the Defenders.  Note Hulk & Thor from Defenders #10, but also Subby is Neal Adams from Marvel Feature #1 which is the first appearance of the Defenders.

 

Also, just to complete the loop, while Tony Isabella clearly agreed with Steve & Sal's note at the bottom of the page and used this interior panel as cover art, John Romita was not of the same mind and re-drew it for the cover of Defenders #10.

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by Malacoda

[Malacoda]

On 11/20/2023 at 4:47 AM, Ken Aldred said:

I’d be interested in seeing more of these if you’ve found any. 

MWOM #111 is clearly a repasting of GS Defenders #1, the Torch and the Thing have been completely re-drawn to replace Doc & the Surfer, but it looks like someone has used Gil Kane's Subby as the template for DD and just morphed Namor into DD.