Here's a couple of other issues that were part of my recent $1 bin loot. I actually used to have the Human Fly #1 back when I was around 12 or 13 as it was part of the numerous late 70s comic titles that were easily available in what used to be the 3 for $1 boxes found at comic shops. At the time I had no real idea who Bill Mantlo was nor did I know he had anything to do with this character. But more importantly I was too young to understand what the Human Fly was really about which I certainly do now that I've had a chance to thoroughly read it from cover to cover.
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The Human Fly himself was guy who lost his family and badly injured in terrible car accident and had to have 60% of his bones replaced by metal. In the flash back sequences of the his origins during his rehabilitation and of how he recruited his team they show him with his face in bandages the whole time implying that he was disfigured some how. His team members consist of a commercial airplane co-pilot who happens to be a black woman (pretty forward thinking for 1977) by the the name of
Blaze Kendall who is suffering from some serious confidence issues due to an emergency situation she had to take over while in the air. The other is former army engineer
Ted Locke who lost his hands in Vietnam. So ultimately The Human Fly is not about being a super hero per se, it's about over coming disabilities of the mind, body and spirit and in doing so making a difference to others in the world.
Some pretty inspirational stuff a real tribute to not just what kind of writer Bill Mantlo was but also about what kind of person he is. That's why it was something of a shock to me when I came across this editorial page that included this opening sentence.
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It kinda creeps me out how prophetic this ended up being considering what's going on today which I don't need to get into. I'm really glad thanks to the benefit auctions and in general to the fans who've shown over the years how much Bill is missed that something has been given back to him for all he's done for us. More clip art from the issue can been found here:
http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/human_fly_1.shtml
Also written by Bill Mantlo,
Spectacular Spider Man #81 featured his own creations Cloak & Dagger. In this issue we see a convergence of the vigilante duo, Spiderman and the Punisher in the mean streets of New York's drug wars. With Cloak & Dagger we again see the theme of social issues like street crime, drugs and the question of ethics in crime and punishment. You can see clip art from the issue here:
http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/peter_parker_the_spectacular_s_19.shtml
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And on a side note this isn't from a one $1 bin but I recently learned that
The Last Starfighter movie comic adaptation was written by Bill Mantlo. The three issue mini-series was also in the form of a Marvel comic magazine which I used to have. It's turning out that there's more and more stuff I'm discovering was written by Mantlo that I used to have. As to the Last Star Fighter (1984) this was a good adaptation on what was a pretty good movie that still holds up fairly well today. And it was something of a first of it's kind with having been only the second movie to extensively use computer generated special effect. The first of course was TRON (1982) I say both movies when they debuted at the theaters.
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Also the
Swords of the Swashbucklers first appeared in Marvel Graphic Novel #14. Epic Comics, a division of Marvel Comics,
began publishing it as an ongoing title in 1985. Created by Bill Mantlo
and Jackson Guice, it could perhaps best be described as Treasure
Island meets Star Wars.
Swords of the Swashbucklers is set in an
alternate dimension to Earth in which the inhabitants resemble Earth’s
pirates of old. A powerful, evil race of aliens known as the Colonizers
controls the dimension while rebel “Swashbucklers” rob and pillage their
oppressors so that they might survive. In one battle, The Admiral of
the Colonizers’ armada, J’Rel discovers Earth and kidnaps two of the
Swashbuckler’s leader’s descendants. The couple’s daughter, Domino,
finds the Swashbucklers and agrees to use her unique powers to fight the
Colonizers if the Swashbucklers help her rescue her parents. The series
chronicles the war between the two races. A more comprehensive synopsis can be read here: http://www.comicsreview.co.uk/nowreadthis/2011/11/21/swords-of-the-swashbucklers-marvel-graphic-novel-14/
Coming up next we go Easter egg hunting.
Some man this Bill Mantlo..
ReplyDeleteThe Human Fly editorial really grabbed me. And I think, this is why he worked at Marvel. Where they really put so much thought and effort into reasons behind a person becoming a hero, and that it could be just a normal person, overcoming extraordinary circumstances, to do great things. Noble things. The fact that the Human Fly, in retrospect, seems almost prophetic, had me diving for the box of tissues. But Mr. Mantlo continues to inspire. His creations continue to give us joy and spark our imaginations. He is a hero. And I hope he knows that.
ReplyDeleteAs I've stated before, the thing that sets Marvel apart from and ahead of DC is the humanity of its characters. People like Bill Mantlo is the reason for this. In some ways, these comics are soap operas with a manly twist. They talked about things and displayed emotions that most males are rather reluctant to communicate or deal with. But you could see these noble heroes not only overcome enemies both personal and galactic in nature, but also struggle with their own personal demons and issues as well. They brought us all HOPE that we can overcome things ourselves.
ReplyDeletethanks for the comments folks keep em coming.
ReplyDeleteShlomo, you know that I've been building my my Bill Mantlo collection for a while now because I'm such a huge fan of his work. Here's a list of every comic book Bill wrote, but it's long, so you can see that I've got my work cut out for me. ;) Thanks for reminding us of some of his work, particularly The Human Fly, which was a very enjoyable book with strong social commentary (something you rarely see in modern mainstream comics).
ReplyDeletehttps://dl.dropbox.com/u/16360597/MantloList.pdf
Re. Social commentary: Or if you do, it's usually of the depressing, humanity as a whole is doomed variety. There really isn't much of the uplifting, yes life is bleak, but nobility and ideals still exist and we should try to live up to them variety of storyline out there.
DeleteI think that's where the nostalgia comes from. We like to be reminded that we can be better, and do better. Bill's heroes did that.
thanks Rick that list of yours was handy! more stuff to look out for in those $1 bins i didn't know of before. by the way we may have found the answer to your interstellar travel question as far as Rom goes. check the last postings comments section.
DeleteMa I need to come check out your dollar bin Ha! But it's more true than not one mans junk is another mans treasure! Amazing stuff Dave still have more to read here and Lovin it!!
ReplyDelete