For a short time, sadly near the end of his life, Sub-Mariner creator Bill Everett was given free reign to create a handful of brand new stories for his beloved Prince Namor. Sure, the stories had to fit into Marvel continuity, and Namor had to use his Stan Lee spawned pseudo-Shakespearean style of speech, but other than that, here was the original Golden Age creator turned loose to tell the best tales he could. The following "All-Everett Production" from Sub-Mariner #57 (October 1972) is a special favorite, as it is the best--and tragically, the last--of Everett's solo issues. Not only does "...In the Lap of the Gods!" tie into Marvel's version of Olympus (with the villain Ares), but it also "sort of" brings back another of Bill Everett's Golden Age Timely/Atlas semi-greats, Venus. Plus it spices the story up with a touch of relevance in its anti-war message. I think you'll enjoy this Groovy Age nugget of gold, Groove-ophiles!
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Special thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics and Grand Comics Database for being such fantastic resources for covers, dates, creator info, etc. Thou art treasures true!
Note to "The Man": All images are presumed copyright by the respective copyright holders and are presented here as fair use under applicable laws, man! If you hold the copyright to a work I've posted and would like me to remove it, just drop me an e-mail and it's gone, baby, gone.
All other commentary and insanity copyright GroovyAge, Ltd.
As for the rest of ya, the purpose of this blog is to (re)introduce you to the great comics of the 1970s. If you like what you see, do what I do--go to a comics shop, bookstore, e-Bay or whatever and BUY YOUR OWN!
Note to "The Man": All images are presumed copyright by the respective copyright holders and are presented here as fair use under applicable laws, man! If you hold the copyright to a work I've posted and would like me to remove it, just drop me an e-mail and it's gone, baby, gone.
All other commentary and insanity copyright GroovyAge, Ltd.
As for the rest of ya, the purpose of this blog is to (re)introduce you to the great comics of the 1970s. If you like what you see, do what I do--go to a comics shop, bookstore, e-Bay or whatever and BUY YOUR OWN!
A solid gold classic -- and one of the best comics of the 70s. That Everett is not more celebrated is one of the great mysteries...
ReplyDeleteLooking back over the Golden Age Bill Everett was the ONLY artist whose work seems polished and comparable at times to today's work. In spite of his alcoholism and his long time away from comics, I've long considered these SUB-MARINER issues to be one of THE great runs of the early seventies! Blake Bell is working on a coffee-table bio/history of Everett!
ReplyDeleteAnd it is done! ;)
DeleteLoved Everett's run of Sub-Mariner, and it's always great to see Venus again ... even if she does have red hair.
ReplyDeleteHard to believe Everett was still THIS good so late in his life. The ink line is so sweet! What an amazing, towering (and yes, relatively unsung) talent. I'll buy that book!
ReplyDeleteAbsolute classic Everett! A highlight of the Sub-Mariner run.
ReplyDeleteWe miss you Everett. They have taken your creation and made him a villain. He is not the same dignified honorable character you made over 50 years ago. RIP Bill, RIP Namor of yesteryear.
ReplyDelete