Not noticing something on a comics cover or page till years later

[Mark S. Ogilvie]

I was scanning in Howard the Duck today and I realized that I had never spotted Bev in the crowd, lower right hand corner. Strange because as Gene Colon drew her Bev was one of the most easily recognizable women in comics.

http://members.ttlc.net/~mso/Howard_the_Duck_5_1976_Cover.jpg

[Mr. Silver Age]

She's colored purple along with everything else to fade the background away. Colan may not have intended that, but the colorist made her fade away.

I've been using that notion in my Trivia Panel at the Chicago comic-con for a few years. People remember key comics covers, but not all the details. Especially which Avengers were actually on each cover, etc.

Some people think there are only two people on the cover of AF #15.

-- MSA

[Dave Blanchard]

Good point. Some people also forget there are more than two people on the cover of Fruitman Special # 1.

[Craig Boldman]

Here's a thing I didn't notice for a long time, but once I did, I couldn't look at this story without wondering about it: on the table where IM's new armor is laid out, what's the thing just under the chestplate? I finally concluded that it was supposed to be a belt, but the inker misinterpreted it and made it look like a club, or a tailpipe, or peg leg or vacuum cleaner attachment or something, but maybe somebody has a better answer? In the printing I originally saw, it was colored silver.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_543wI3Z8gDM/TS9hRkx1AQI/AAAAAAAAA7E/dgM_N...

[Mark S. Ogilvie]

I think it is the belt. If you'll notice it is slightly larger at the left side and even though we don't see him put it on it's not part of the chestplate or the briefs, but by the time he opens the chest plate to check things out it's there.

[Mark S. Ogilvie]

By the way did Mr. Doll ever show up again?

[Luke Blanchard]

The belt seen from behind, perhaps, which could explain the absence of the belt's detailing and the silver colour. But the bit of it that should be the buckle on this interpretation isn't the right shape. I was tempted to argue it might be the radio that the antenna over his left shoulder sticks out of, but it's too long. 

[Luke Blanchard]

Mark S. Ogilvie said:

By the way did Mr. Doll ever show up again?

He was linked to the Brothers Grimm in Spider-Woman ##11-12. (Spoilers for these issues at the link.)