No doubt each of these two powerhouses had their own idea about who would come out on top in this match-up--but they probably never dreamed they'd each be crushed by the virtual billboard that's become their magazine masthead!
In this comparison between the classic cover of Fantastic Four #112 and that of its duplicate in the FF reprint mag, Marvel's Greatest Comics, it's clear our beleaguered behemoths are in danger of having to trade blows within the confines of a sardine can, with Ant-Man as their referee. In this case, even the MGC banner and FF logo are being forced further down by the $2500 teaser that advertises the hastily-named "Win-Yourself-Some-Big-Bucks" contest from 1980.
Perhaps the one good thing about the overcrowding is that it forces the "Hulk vs. Thing" lettering to be redesigned and placed in more of a "title bout" format. Nor do the figures of the Hulk and the Thing suffer overmuch from being reduced in size, since they were given a generous amount of cover space on the original. Even the stance of the Hulk conveniently accommodates the dreaded UPC barcode symbol that appears on the MGC cover.
I much prefer the MGC cover not least because the Hulk has purple trousers (the Hulk in blue trousers ??) but also because I might be the only comics fan in existence who likes barcodes - I always have since they first appeared !
ReplyDeleteMan, I hated those big unsightly ads they stuck on the top during the '80's.
ReplyDeleteThey could sure ugly up a good cover.
But yeah, the Hulk's pants should be purple. It's a scientific fact that Gamma radiation does that to cotton fibers.
m.p.
IMO, the differing shades of the Hulk's pants (what's left of them) are probably due in part to aspects of the source material--i.e., the digital conversion of the original, as well as the age of the MGC cover. Though it honestly wouldn't surprise me if the MGC retouch colorist wanted to make the cover more vibrant (and contemporary) than its predecessor, the better to grab a person's attention.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was but a young fellow just beginning to read comics, I often wondered just who this Nuff fellow was, and just what it was he said...
ReplyDelete