Monday, August 29, 2016

Marvel-ous Mondays: "From the Shadows...Stara Kan!" by Wolfman, Kane, and Nebres

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! It's Monday, so let's make it especially Marvel-ous by taking a look back at Marv Wolfman and Gil Kane's John Carter, Warlord of Mars series from Marvel! We're starting with the second issue, cause the first ish is right here, and it's a doozie! All the pulp-ish adventure, swashbuckling action, and political intrigue you'd expect from a really good Edgar Rice Burroughs novel--but filtered through Marv Wolfman's more hip sensibilities, and coupled with the awesome artistry of Gil Kane! Dejah Thoris! White Apes! An eeeeeevil villain! The only thing "From the Shadows...Stara Kan!" was missing was more Dave Cockrum interior inks (Dave did ink the cover and had inked ish #1); however, one can't be too disappointed with the incredible inks of Rudy Nebres, who definitely gives the comic a truly otherworldly feel. Whaddya say we go back to April 1977 and take a look...?

















Special thanks to Surerik for the superior scans!
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6 comments:

  1. Edo BosnarAugust 29, 2016 at 8:15 AM

    Lovely stuff. And it makes me feel a bit ashamed - my Warlord of Mars omnibus has been sitting on my shelf for years now, waiting to be read...

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  2. JDJarvisAugust 29, 2016 at 3:18 PM

    I loved this comic when I was a youngster.

    For a little while in DC comics (I think in the back of Tarzan) they had John Carter stories and the occasional Barsoom info piece, ever see those?

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  3. The Groovy AgentAugust 29, 2016 at 8:03 PM

    Indeed, JDJ, JC ran in the back of Tarzan during the 52 page era, then served as the lead feature for most of DC's Weird Worlds mag. Dark Horse collected them into a tpb a few years back. I may try to share those after we finish the Wolfman/Kane run...

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    1. AnonymousAugust 29, 2016 at 11:09 PM

      You're going to post the rest of the Gil Kane issues? Outstanding!
      Not to be critical of Dave Cockrum, but Rudy Nebres really bought something distinctive to Gil Kane's pencils that was perfect for John Carter. Not unlike the way Alfredo Alcala added something special to John Buscema's Conan.
      Thanks for posting Mr. Groove - enjoyed this one a lot.

      -sean

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  4. The Big Red OneAugust 29, 2016 at 9:04 PM

    One of my faves! studied every panel 100 times over. Couldn't believe how beautiful the artwork was.

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  5. RickAugust 30, 2016 at 12:11 PM

    Kane and Nebres' work is beautiful, but the coloring by Janice Cohen is frightful. Seeing all the pages at the same time, as we can see in your post, only brings that fact to the forefront. Perhaps she had a limited palette back then, or they were using the infamous plastic printing plates, but everything is washed-out reds and blues.

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