Recently on another website, a blogger has been posting cover scans from the various Fantastic Four books from the mid to late 1960s. Most have been covers, but some internal pages have been scanned or snapped and shared in tribute to the King.
Among the recent pages were several from FF #55, The Power of the Silver Surfer...notable for me because it was the very first brand new comic book that I bought off the spinner rack, and started me on a quest of buying FFs and Marvels for the next several years. (It's also about half way through Jack's run, and though we didn't know it at the time, at his zenith of creativity and soaring popularity.)
But the image of page 18 when Reed lassos Ben's arm, restraining him, jogged a memory. I had seen that image RE-USED recently in an FF Masterworks volume. I recall reading in the prolog that fans had noticed the then current artist re-using poses, props and panels in not too subtle "swipes" from Jack Kirby's issues. The author defended the practice, saying that they were trying to recapture the glory of bygone days, but some reacted very negatively to the practice, and shortly, the practice stopped.
If I recall correctly, the time period was around FF #147-150, a time when Namor, the Inhumans, Doctor Doom, and the evil Frightful Four were being featured. Try as I might, I can't find that particular image, but I have found a dozen or so others that I swear I have seen partially or totally re-used.
How many can you spot?
Can we create a list of these re-used panels?
Replies
Alright, let's try a few. Here's what should be an easy one. Remember, I'm not looking for where this actual panel appears...but looking for the source issue that it was probably drawn from. If you can't supply a number, a verbal description will be acceptable.(Note: not all elements in this panel may have come from the earlier work.)
This one might be a little harder. I'm not convinced that it's drawn from an earlier FF book, but the one I'm thinking of doesn't have Ben in the picture, and it's not Reed doing this distinctive "clutch". But have at it. What say you?
Rounding out our three with Reed, where would you say this image came from. Note, Reed may or may not have shaved for the original image. Can you place where he was playing with projectors?
Now here's a beaut. I'll try to give you a hint, it was the fact that neither combatant was looking at the camera that suggested where this was drawn from. If it helps you any, Namor is in the original, but the other figure certainly wasn't Thundra. Where might he had drawn inspiration from this image from?
(Don't let me hold you in suspense over this time, when titans clash... I'll accept either tale for an answer.)
Can't let the heroes have all the fun, now can we? Where have we seen this image suggested. Don't worry about the right hand side being out of focus...my source Masterworks had this image too close to the binding to capture well. But with a little bit of thought, you should figure out where you've seen ol' Sandy do this trick before. Where was it drawn from?
Now here's one that really jumped right out at me. Any fan of the FF should remember the original image for this one. I'll even give you a hint...the story's plotline was used TWICE in the FF's first hundred issues. Where was this image drawn from?
This one may be a little more subtle. I'm not 100% convinced this is a swipe, but the imagry is close enough that it called to mind a classic class between these two titans. Where did the Hulk stuff Ben into an underground chamber before?
And finally, here's one just for fun. Where did this image of The Hulk...or is it Doctor Doom... originally come from?
(Don't let me keep you in suspense... Don't worry if it doesn't come to you...I'm actually cheating here...)
Rich Buckler was well-known for doing swipes of earlier artists. His Wikipedia page mentions it. Type "Rich Buckler" into Google and the first suggestion you get is "Rich Buckler swipes."
To be fair, he also used Neal Adams a lot as well as others, so he wasn't just stealing Kirby, although swiping Kirby when you're doing the FF seems like a natural. If you're going to swipe, go for the best! He denies it, but the evidence is pretty obvious, and it's probably what he's best known for by now.
Swiping occurs fairly frequently, or at least it seemed to when I was paying attention. Sometimes it's virtually a lightbox situation, and others they just use the pose. It's an interesting idea to take the swipe and try to figure out where it first appeared, but you really need a good memory to be able to do it just from a pose of different characters and come up with the proper issue, unless it's pretty famous.
-- MSA
I originally posted this set of answers before Mr SA's response, but I've reposted it to remove a too-elaborate joke about the "Hulk/Doom" cover.
"Meanwhile, on a floor two levels above..." is after a panel from Fantastic Four #40, depicting Reed holding the stimulator.
"...And Thundra fears NO male--" imitates a panel from the Thing/Doctor Doom fight in Fantastic Four #60.
"--And there's no way we can reach 'im--" is after a panel in Fantastic Four #42, depicting the Sandman using his power to enter the Baxter Building.
"...He strikes his most fateful blow!" imitates a panel from the Thing/Hulk fight in Fantastic Four #25. There the Thing counters by shoving electrical cables into the Hulk's hand.
Of others, the bit in Fantastic Four #87 where Sue and Crystal open a door to find Doom waiting for them with dinner was imitated in Fantastic Four #142. I used to think the earlier sequence might have been inspired by the bit in The Empire Strikes Back where Vader reveals his presence on the cloud city to Han and co. but if the sequence was inspired by a comics story it could have been the later one instead.
To add to my original answer, my recollection is the "Reed, she's been taken captive..." clutch shot pose was used, with Reed, in Fantastic Four #75, when Reed contacts Galactus.
There's a sequence during the Thing's fight with Pestilence in Giant-Size Fantastic Four #3 which I think was partly modelled after the concluding panels with the Thing in Fantastic Four #25.
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