Monster Blog!

You know the super-heroes, right? Spider Man, The Hulk, Fantastic Four, and Iron Man made Marvel famous. But do you know what Marvel Comics was all about in the late 50's and early 60's? Monsters! That's right, monsters!

Join me in a celebration of the Marvel monster comics of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. Here you'll find the pulse-pounding tales of radiation run amok, of scientific experiments gone awry, of shape-shifting, mind-bending aliens from the furthest reaches of outer space!

There's a whole ton of reviews that need to be written but all covers are up, stories are listed and the comment system is on. If you're a big fan and know these stories, write in your own reviews — beat me to the punch! Otherwise, there's lots to see so look around and, most of all, enjoy.

What’s New

13 Feb 05: Story scans

Well, the last of my wish list is complete. I've just uploaded scans of Prison 2000 A.D. from Mark Neunder's copy of World of Fantasy #16. Let's all thank Mark from the bottom of our hearts!

There's been talk about providing more scans from original issues of these old monster comics. It's beginning to make sense since the originals are spendy, the old reprints are becoming more scarce and expensive, and Marvel doesn't seem to be interested in putting these stories back on the market.

Yes, the Marvel Visionaries: Jack Kirby book was a lovely and welcome volume but it merely whets the appetite of most dedicated collectors and fans of this site. I'll have more to say about all of this in the near future. In the meantime, enjoy what we have here on Monster Blog!

13 Jan 05: New stories came in!

That's right, folks. We've got two new (old) stories here on Monster Blog for you courtesy of one Mr. Brian Snyder. He's made some beautiful scans of his original copies of To Build a Robot from World of Fantasy 18 and The Day Before Doomsday from Strange Tales 99.

Since these babies are so hard to find in either original or reprinted form, I just had to pass them along for your enjoyment and edification. That leaves us with only ONE missing story: Prison 2000 A.D.

This one should be coming very soon — right, Neunder??? — and will be added to MB asap. After that, I'll be adding scans of originals from my own small collection and other readers have offered scans of rare Kirby work that relates nicely to the wonders seen here on Monster Blog.

2005 should be a fun year for us and we're glad to have all of you wonderful people along for the ride.

Before I sign off, let's observe a moment of silence in respect and admiration for the great Will Eisner who left us at the beginning of the year. He was truly one of the great artists and great men on this tiny planet. He will live on in all our hearts.

04 May 04: Quickie

I've got a reader who's looking for the origin of two stories. He thinks they're from the early '60s, possibly both by Ditko, possibly not. I'll leave it to you faithful fans to deduce the source of these tales. ~~Send me an email if you know.~~

5/10 Update: Thanks for all the input from you fine folks! Your's truly (with backup from a couple others) correctly guessed the origin of the second tale but it took the monumental mind of Chris Jarocha-Ernst to fathom the first. Thanks so much Chris!

Story 1: A man's hobby is collecting rare butterflies. We see him completing his collection after which we discover that his other occupation is being an astronaut. We see him getting into his rocket, bound for a remote planet. On arrival there he discovers that the world is home to giant insects who promptly hunt him down with nets. “Wings of the Butterfly!” by Joe Sinnott from JIM 79, reprinted in Fear 6

Story 2: We see a couple in one of those pink, 50's convertibles, driving on an open road which seems to stretch out forever. As they speed along we are taken further and further back until we discover that they are driving on the rings of Saturn. “The Speed Demon” by Steve Ditko, also from JIM 79, reprinted in Monsters on the Prowl 14

01 May 04: What a Wonderful World

Here's a few things that have crossed the desk(top) of ol' Monster Blog of late. I know you'll enjoy these as much as I have:

The novelist Jonathan Lethem has crafted a loving memoir to Jack Kirby's influence on his life. Filled with insightful perspectives on the collaboration between Kirby and Lee, the importance of Sue Storm, and the impact of Kirby's work in the '70s, this essay in an essential read. See My Marvel Years on the London Review of Books web site.

Chuck Dixon, equally famed for his ebullient contributions to Monster Blog and his phenomenal writing for some of comicdom's most famous titles, has gotten his personal site back up and running. It's got erudite articles, original scripts, and a lively message board. Visit Dixonverse today!

For a special treat, crank up the sound and give a listen to Jarret Keene's wonderfully catchy Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth. There's a full-length preview if you've got the Flash plugin on your computer (who doesn't these days) and the MP3 is available for a measly 25 pennies. Can you beat that?

23 Mar 04: New and Improved Search Box

As you all must have noticed, the search feature built into Movable Type was rather weak. From tonight onward, Monster Blog proudly brings you Atomz Search. I hope you like it as much as I do. I’ve been testing it for a few weeks now and it so rocks.

The best news is that you will get good results even if you misspell a monster’s name; and we know how easy that is to do! As always, be aware of hyphenated words like Spider-Man, X-Men, or Ant-Man: “ant-man” or “ant man” works, “antman” gives you nada.

Here’s the stats from Atomz about this site:

The last index of your web site index was completed 2 days ago. It took 4 minutes to crawl 487 pages and index 487 pages containing 309106 words for a total of 5224040 bytes. 16672 word endings, 0 synonyms, 10311 sound-alike words, and 15 excluded words were included in the index.

Wheee!

01 Feb 04: We ♥ Comments

Wow! All of you wonderful people have been contributing so much to Monster Blog that I felt compelled to recognize. Thank you, thank you for your comments, your assistance, and most of all, your enthusiasm for these fantastic comics!

I've added a complete list of who's commenting on what. You'll also notice some info under the search box on every page that lets you know the scope of this site. I hope this helps everyone from the new visitors to the most active contributors.

27 Dec 03: Stories Never Before Reprinted

Well, we've got something super special here on Monster Blog: scans of stories that have never, ever been reprinted by Marvel Comics! Thanks to the generosity of a few wonderful collectors, we can all finally enjoy these terrific tales.

While perusing the comics archives, keep you eyes out for this image: Never Before Reprinted!

Click on the story thumbnail image and off you go! And if you're the impatient type, visit the article Kirby Monsters Never Reprinted for a nearly complete list of stories available to see. I say nearly because there are a few other gems hiding in the nooks and crannies of Monster Blog, so you'll have to look around to find them all.

Enjoy!
p.s. If you have the original comics and a scanner and would like to help, take a look at my wish list and contact me.

04 Oct 03: Welcome John!

Let me introduce Monster Blog's latest author, John Kaminski, who's responsible for our sensational new section — Meet the Monsters! John brings a wealth of knowledge about these creatures as well the whole dang Marvel Universe.

John will be profiling each and every fearsome fiend introduced in these illustrious issues. Each profile is accompanied by a scan of the splash page that introduced the monster, along with occasional panels where appropriate.



	Astonishing Articles Comics Archives Collectors’ Corner Meet the Monsters Monster Blog Mailbox
You know the super-heroes, right? Spider Man, The Hulk, Fantastic Four, and Iron Man made Marvel famous. But do you know what Marvel Comics was all about in the late 50's and early 60's? Monsters! That's right, monsters! Join me in a celebration of the Marvel monster comics of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. Here you'll find the pulse-pounding tales of radiation run amok, of scientific experiments gone awry, of shape-shifting, mind-bending aliens from the furthest reaches of outer space! There's a whole ton of reviews that need to be written but all covers are up, stories are listed and the comment system is on. If you're a big fan and know these stories, write in your own reviews — beat me to the punch! Otherwise, there's lots to see so look around and, most of all, enjoy. What’s New 13 Feb 05: Story scans Well, the last of my wish list is complete. I've just uploaded scans of Prison 2000 A.D. from Mark Neunder's copy of World of Fantasy #16. Let's all thank Mark from the bottom of our hearts! There's been talk about providing more scans from original issues of these old monster comics. It's beginning to make sense since the originals are spendy, the old reprints are becoming more scarce and expensive, and Marvel doesn't seem to be interested in putting these stories back on the market. Yes, the Marvel Visionaries: Jack Kirby book was a lovely and welcome volume but it merely whets the appetite of most dedicated collectors and fans of this site. I'll have more to say about all of this in the near future. In the meantime, enjoy what we have here on Monster Blog! 13 Jan 05: New stories came in! That's right, folks. We've got two new (old) stories here on Monster Blog for you courtesy of one Mr. Brian Snyder. He's made some beautiful scans of his original copies of To Build a Robot from World of Fantasy 18 and The Day Before Doomsday from Strange Tales 99. Since these babies are so hard to find in either original or reprinted form, I just had to pass them along for your enjoyment and edification. That leaves us with only ONE missing story: Prison 2000 A.D. This one should be coming very soon — right, Neunder??? — and will be added to MB asap. After that, I'll be adding scans of originals from my own small collection and other readers have offered scans of rare Kirby work that relates nicely to the wonders seen here on Monster Blog. 2005 should be a fun year for us and we're glad to have all of you wonderful people along for the ride. Before I sign off, let's observe a moment of silence in respect and admiration for the great Will Eisner who left us at the beginning of the year. He was truly one of the great artists and great men on this tiny planet. He will live on in all our hearts. 04 May 04: Quickie I've got a reader who's looking for the origin of two stories. He thinks they're from the early '60s, possibly both by Ditko, possibly not. I'll leave it to you faithful fans to deduce the source of these tales. ~~Send me an email if you know.~~ 5/10 Update: Thanks for all the input from you fine folks! Your's truly (with backup from a couple others) correctly guessed the origin of the second tale but it took the monumental mind of Chris Jarocha-Ernst to fathom the first. Thanks so much Chris! Story 1: A man's hobby is collecting rare butterflies. We see him completing his collection after which we discover that his other occupation is being an astronaut. We see him getting into his rocket, bound for a remote planet. On arrival there he discovers that the world is home to giant insects who promptly hunt him down with nets. “Wings of the Butterfly!” by Joe Sinnott from JIM 79, reprinted in Fear 6 Story 2: We see a couple in one of those pink, 50's convertibles, driving on an open road which seems to stretch out forever. As they speed along we are taken further and further back until we discover that they are driving on the rings of Saturn. “The Speed Demon” by Steve Ditko, also from JIM 79, reprinted in Monsters on the Prowl 14 01 May 04: What a Wonderful World Here's a few things that have crossed the desk(top) of ol' Monster Blog of late. I know you'll enjoy these as much as I have: The novelist Jonathan Lethem has crafted a loving memoir to Jack Kirby's influence on his life. Filled with insightful perspectives on the collaboration between Kirby and Lee, the importance of Sue Storm, and the impact of Kirby's work in the '70s, this essay in an essential read. See My Marvel Years on the London Review of Books web site. Chuck Dixon, equally famed for his ebullient contributions to Monster Blog and his phenomenal writing for some of comicdom's most famous titles, has gotten his personal site back up and running. It's got erudite articles, original scripts, and a lively message board. Visit Dixonverse today! For a special treat, crank up the sound and give a listen to Jarret Keene's wonderfully catchy Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth. There's a full-length preview if you've got the Flash plugin on your computer (who doesn't these days) and the MP3 is available for a measly 25 pennies. Can you beat that? 23 Mar 04: New and Improved Search Box As you all must have noticed, the search feature built into Movable Type was rather weak. From tonight onward, Monster Blog proudly brings you Atomz Search. I hope you like it as much as I do. I’ve been testing it for a few weeks now and it so rocks. The best news is that you will get good results even if you misspell a monster’s name; and we know how easy that is to do! As always, be aware of hyphenated words like Spider-Man, X-Men, or Ant-Man: “ant-man” or “ant man” works, “antman” gives you nada. Here’s the stats from Atomz about this site: The last index of your web site index was completed 2 days ago. It took 4 minutes to crawl 487 pages and index 487 pages containing 309106 words for a total of 5224040 bytes. 16672 word endings, 0 synonyms, 10311 sound-alike words, and 15 excluded words were included in the index. Wheee! 01 Feb 04: We ♥ Comments Wow! All of you wonderful people have been contributing so much to Monster Blog that I felt compelled to recognize. Thank you, thank you for your comments, your assistance, and most of all, your enthusiasm for these fantastic comics! I've added a complete list of who's commenting on what. You'll also notice some info under the search box on every page that lets you know the scope of this site. I hope this helps everyone from the new visitors to the most active contributors. 27 Dec 03: Stories Never Before Reprinted Well, we've got something super special here on Monster Blog: scans of stories that have never, ever been reprinted by Marvel Comics! Thanks to the generosity of a few wonderful collectors, we can all finally enjoy these terrific tales. While perusing the comics archives, keep you eyes out for this image: Click on the story thumbnail image and off you go! And if you're the impatient type, visit the article Kirby Monsters Never Reprinted for a nearly complete list of stories available to see. I say nearly because there are a few other gems hiding in the nooks and crannies of Monster Blog, so you'll have to look around to find them all. Enjoy! p.s. If you have the original comics and a scanner and would like to help, take a look at my wish list and contact me. 04 Oct 03: Welcome John! Let me introduce Monster Blog's latest author, John Kaminski, who's responsible for our sensational new section — Meet the Monsters! John brings a wealth of knowledge about these creatures as well the whole dang Marvel Universe. John will be profiling each and every fearsome fiend introduced in these illustrious issues. Each profile is accompanied by a scan of the splash page that introduced the monster, along with occasional panels where appropriate.	Search Monster Blog Monster Blog comprises: 207 Illuminating Comics! 210 Illustrious Characters! 1786 Illegible Comments! All images and comic book titles © Marvel Enterprises Inc. and used here for informational purposes only. The rest © Philip Parodayco.