Friday, February 24, 2012
Cosmic Week Concludes: "Metamorphosis!" by Starlin and Milgrom
Greetings, Groove-ophiles! We're gonna end COSMIC WEEK with the biggest bang Ol' Groove can think of. THE comic that totally won Young Groove over to Jim Starlin and his cosmic consciousness, "Metamorphosis!" from Captain Marvel #29 (August 1973). Neither the Kree/Skrull War nor the earlier chapters of Captain Mar-Vell vs. Thanos (mostly written by Mike Friedrich) could have prepared Young Groove for what Jim Starlin laid 'pon us in CM #29. That cover (in spite of the John Romita head) with all of those funky planets really grabbed me, but man, the art and colors inside reeled me in and I s'pose I encountered a metamorphosis of my own. While I'd been grooving to Captain America, the Avengers, the JLA and other "mainstream" comics (as well I should have!), Starlin and Mar-vell, beginning especially with this issue, gave me an appetite for "something else". It was an elusive "something else" that, at the time, I couldn't quite put my finger on (and it's probably a good thing!). I'd never seen such...how shall I put this...psychedelic art. Yeah, I'd seen Steranko's S.H.I.E.L.D. and Kirby's FF, but, man, this was out there! Daredevil heads with arms and legs. Floating, talking eyeballs. Broccoli-headed cyclops. Talking trees. Stone-demon doubles. Soulless dead girlfriends. Judo Jim was speaking a language I was only beginning to understand, and it all but ruined me for "regular comics". I held on, though, and would be able to appreciate Jim's work on Warlock even more, but CM #29 was the catalyst that totally turned me on to cosmic comics. Thanks, Jim!
It's a watershed comic book, no doubt. While my nostalgic heart always yearns for the green and white Cap, I cannot deny the awesome wildness of Starlin's transformation. If not for that infusion, Cap would be among the likes of Black Goliath, Skull the Slayer, and 3-D Man, a mere relic.
ReplyDeleteRip Off
I said it before and I'll say it again, nothing got me back into comics more than Jim Starlin. Marvel, Warlock, I can hold these up against anything.
ReplyDeleteRickH
Absolutely mind blowing art! This is the stuff of genius.
ReplyDeleteIndeed,It'd be fine with me if you posted the entire storyline.It reminds when Marvel was really good.
ReplyDeleteFantastic really excellent..
ReplyDeleteMan all the Starlin love has drawn me here. After all the nerd-rage I've spent on these decompressed sagas... If the story above is what compression looks like, i'm in!
ReplyDeleteHey, Groove! Thanks for following me over at my Spectre blog. And thanks as well for the listing your your classic blog - quick question: You got me down under "gone but too groovy to forget" - I just got started!
ReplyDeleteMykal, I thought about making a joke that since the Spectre's a ghost that was the appropriate place in the list, but the truth is, I'm just a bonehead, lol! I fixed it though. Thanks for the head's up!
DeleteBonehead, you're not! Thanks, Pal
ReplyDeletewhen i was a kid buying these when they came out thought captain marvel kinda stereotyped as not cool. But the whole captain marvel starlin series is a work of art! Not to mention warlock as well! And the stories were great too, thanos character awesome. I was very happy that starlin finally got a book out about him and his craft over the years. what an unsung hero.
ReplyDelete