Not Brand Echh #1 - The Debut Issue!

 Dear Marble Gang, 

    I absolutely loved the debut issue of Brand Echh! This little glimpse of the "Marble Universe" was a rip-roarin' beginning to what I hope is a long run for one of the best new comics in many a moon. The front cover by the great Jack "King" Kirby is a stunner and demands the absolute attention of all who encounter it. The mystery of "Forbush Man" is one I pray will be revealed in due course as that little glimpse on the cover is just not enough for this fanboy. 

    My favorite feature by far in this issue was "The Silver Burper" by Stan and Jack and Frank Giacoia. It's a nifty spoof of the most recent Fab 4 issues in which the Silver Surfer ran afoul of the maniacal Dr. Doom. Here Doom becomes "Doctor Bloom" and he's more fun and less odious. The almost-FF of "Mr. Fantastical", "Inevitable Girl", "Human  Scorch" and "The Thung" were madcap and antic and totally convincing in the bizarre "Marble" world in which they thrived. 

    The Human Scorch is also in my second favorite tale, "The Human Scorch versus The Sunk-Mariner". I've been enjoying the Golden Age reprints in Fantasy Masterpieces and the original battle between these two icons of yesteryear from Mavel Mystery Comics #9 is well captured by Roy Thomas and the Ross Andru-Mike Esposito team. I see Bill Everett had a bit to do with this issue as he had done with the original but his contribution is hard to detect. '"Chaplain America" was a neat surprise and I don't doubt we'll see him again.

    Coming in third on my list is "The Fastest Gums in the West!" by Roy and Marie Severin. "Mirthful" Marie has a flair for parody and its on full display here with the cowboy stars battling it out in a mere four pages. Even Ghost Rider gets a mention, if not an appearance. 

    Sadly the weakest of the four stories in this fine issue was still entertaining though. Having the actual team of Gary Friedrich and John Severin take on this spoof of their Sgt. Fury book was a great idea. Unfortunately the art on "A Day of Blunder" seemed almost too much like the original and not quite as broad as the rest of the stories in the issue. Severin's work looked great for certain, but it didn't seem to be part of the "Marble Universe" style, at least in these early stages of what its supposed to be. 

    All in all a great beginning and I look forward to more Brand Ecch soon. 

                                                                                                                         Sincerely (Not)

                                                                                                                         Rip Jagger 

Notes and Comments: Brand Echh #1 is a gleeful beginning to the series. It would not get its more famous title of "Not Brand Echh" for several more issues though the cover reads that way. The gimmick of spoofing current issues of Marvel Comics is a great way of targeting the existing Marvel fan but does pose a limitation for new readers who might like parody but don't know the source material. Any good spoof needs that context to flourish and while the FF story succeeds quite well all of the other three are pretty insular in their gags. The Golden  Age spoof is the wittiest of the three remaining stories and Roy Thomas indicates he unintentionally might've been influenced by a vintage parody story about Captain Marvel from Nuts #5, a 50's MAD lookalike. Bill Everett's participation or lack of same created a bit of a buzz when Everett went to Stan complaining about the story he'd been given and the instruction to follow the zeitgeist of MAD's Harvey Kurtzman. Apparently Stan took this as a slight and called Roy in for a dressing down and to remind him who signed the checks. Personally I'd have loved to see what Everett could have done with the issue, but Andru and Esposito were well practiced with parody given their experience on their own magazine Get Lost from some years before. 

Here are the comics getting the poke this issue.

More Brand Echh is on the way. 

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