THE INFERNAL MAN-THING (Marvel, 2012; Softcover)
Collects
Man-Thing
No.
12, The
Infernal Man-Thing Nos.
1-3, and
the Man-Thing origin story from Savage
Tales
No. 1 (cover dates May, 1971- October, 2012)
Writers:
Steve Gerber and Gerry Conway (Savage
Tales
No. 1 only)
Artists:
Gray Morrow (Savage
Tales
No. 1), John
Buscema and Klaus Janson (Man-Thing
No. 12), and
Kevin Nowlan (Artist and Colorist- The
Infernal Man-Thing Nos.
1-3)
Steve
Gerber is a great writer who has gotten a bad rap from modern comic
book fans for being supposedly pretentious and overly wordy. While
the late Gerber's writing was definitely a product of its time,
sharing the beliefs and convictions of baby boomer hippies
everywhere, his cynicism and wit transcend those perceived
limitations. Gerber seemed to put himself into these stories as the
characters. Brian Lazarus is Gerber on some level.
The
three-issue Infernal Man-Thing series is a sequel to 1974's
Man-Thing No. 12. Brian Lazarus' life has gone on since then
but not gone well. A series of unfulfilling life choices have brought
him face to face again with Sibyl Mills, the girl whose path he
crossed in the original story. Sibyl's life has been equally
unfulfilling. This is a bleak, somewhat depressing look at two
people's lives but is saved from becoming a sobfest by Gerber's
witty, cynical worldview. This was finished after Gerber's death, as
Nowlan was still painting it on and off over the years. Like so many
stories in the original series, the Man-Thing is a set piece and
utilized sparingly. There is an Omnibus hardcover and two
black and white Essential phonebooks of the 1970s run available.
Highly recommended reading.
The
origin story from 1971 is great. I've read it numerous
times over the years and it remains brilliant. I love the whole Gerry
Conway/ Len Wein Man-Thing/ Swamp-Thing wink and nod.
For those of you who don't know, they were roommates at the time. Gerry worked
for Marvel while Len worked for DC (and later Marvel). Swamp-Thing's
origin is very similar to Man-Thing's. Wein doesn't see the
similarities but it would surprise me if those two weren't just
taking the piss out of Marvel and DC at the time.
Junk
Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.
The
OCD zone- This is one of the thinnest trade paperbacks that
Marvel has done in a while, clocking in at around 104 pages.
Linework
and Color restoration rating on Savage
Tales
No. 1 and
Man-Thing
No. 12:
4.5 out of 5. While not Marvel Masterworks level, the restoration is
really good on these issues. The color palette is faithful to the
original publication on the Man-Thing issue. Savage Tales
was a black and white magazine.
Paper
rating: 4.25 out of 5. Decent weight coated stock with a slight
sheen. Looks too glossy for the '70s material.
Binding
rating: 4 out of 5. Glued binding.
Cardstock
cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. The same nice laminated cardstock found on
all Marvel softcovers.
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