Thursday, August 16, 2018
Funny Stuff: "Dr. Deranged vs Deadpan!" by Thomas, Colan, and Grainger
Dig it, Groove-ophiles! Roy Thomas and Gene Colan (with inker Sam Grainger) brought us a doozy of a supernatural, super-hero parody in Not Brand Echh #13 (February 1969). Can ya believe..."Dr. Deranged vs. Deadpan!"? (And how 'bout that Spookter cameo?)
Not sure why Not Brand Ecch failed. Maybe a little too niche-y? I loved every single issue and the talent was top-notch.
ReplyDeleteThe "Not Brand Ecch" comic book was perfect when it was making fun of the Marvel super heroes . The readers asked for stories that made fun of the latest TV shows and movies . The writers and editor sneaked in a few stories along that line, and the more readers asked for stories that made fun of TV shows and movies, the more they took over . Later in its run, "Not Brand Ecch" was making fun of "Bonnie and Clyde","King Kong","The Green Hornet","The Guns of Will Sonnet","Super -- Hero Daydreams","How to Be a Comic Book Artist",and "Casey at the Bat" . Anything was fair game for satire, which made it a copy of "Mad" magazine . I remember talking to a fellow comic book fan who also thought expanding into making fun of movies and TV shows killed "Not Brand Ecch" .
Delete1. That was goofy fun, perfect for the campy era it came from.
ReplyDelete2. I don't know why Dr. Strange (or Deranged, in this case) needed a blue bodysuit back then, and I still don't.
3. Marble tried to revive Not Brand Ecch not that long ago, and didn't find many takers, it seems. Today's audience is too humor-challenged.
Dr. Strange's solo mag was failing so in a last ditch effort it was decided to make him more superheroic. Thus the mask, bodysuit and secret identity (he was Stephen Sanders out of costume). This only gave him about 6 more months printwise before being cancelled with issue # 183. I am in a minority but I loved this phase of the good Doctor's career. When they brought him back sans bodysuit for Marvel Feature # 1 I was really disappointed.
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