Dear Marble Gang,
While not as strong an issue as last, this was still a pretty good entertainment for a quarter. It was nice to see some new talent in the ranks of the NBE squadron and hopefully we'll see more of them going forward. "Mirthful" Marie Severin's cover is not as stunning as many recent ones, but just as funny if not funnier. She never fails to deliver.
"Dr. Deranged vs. Deadpan" by "Rascally" Roy Thomas, "Genial" Gene Colan, and newcome "Slaming" Sammy Grainger" was the highlight of the issue for me. I love Gene's work on the new Dr. Strange and love the new costume. Nice to see that look get a parody this time out and just as awesome was Deadman by Neal Adams. That these two mystical types might meet is a supernatural must and I'm glad that NBE found a way.
"The Origin of the Simple Surfer" by Roy and Marie gets my nod as second best feature this issue. The blow by blow parody of Stan "The Man" Lee's and "Big' John Buscema's debut issue of The Silver Surfer showcasing his origin was totally on point. Great work to everyone involved in the original and the spoof. "Galacticus" never looked so cheesy.
"The Return of Forbush Man" gets the third-place showing in this run and Roy and "Terrific" Tom Sutton do great work capturing the nuttiness of Irving Forbush's existence as well as knocking off a pretty lean spoof of Silver Surfer #5. It was tragic in its own hilarous way.
The fourth spot is taken by "Guess What's Coming to Dinner!" by "Stunning" Stu Schwartzberg, a new name and one well represented this issue. The artwork was a bit tamer than usual but Tom Sutton's inks helped keep it focused. The last page is a gas, though it requires a strong understanding of Marvel lore.
"Cheap Shrills" in the "Golden Wreckord Dept" by "Groovy" Gary Friedrich and "Hapless" Herb Trimpe was dynamite and makes laugh every time if glance at it.
'Who Says A Carnival Has to Be Good?" by Arnold Drake and Marie was a two-page winner with a host of gags filling up the colorful pages. Nifty jokes all. Close on its heels and in a tie for the fifth spot overall was "Rent-a-Super-Hero" by Marie and Stu.
Great art by Ronn Foss on "Valentines" and some pretty good gags Roy. Likewise Bill DuBay supplied some tasty illustrations for "Adult Super-Hero Daydreams". Tom Sutton was on hand again I see to keep things tight. "Liltin' Limericks" by Roy and Phil Seuling tops the bottom rung but still made me laugh, so good overall gents and lady.
As for Sue Richard's sizzling pin-up, the less said the better. I don't want Reed coming looking for me. Va-va-voom though for sure. (What do you mean you can't see her? She's right there.)
You've survived to unlucky thirteen and hopefully no bad luck will befall Not Brand Echh from here on out. Long live NBE!
Sincerely (Not)
Rip Jagger
Notes and Comments: Sadly this was the last issue of Not Brand Echh for forty years, until at long last a fourteenth issue was published only a few years ago. Happily that issue focused on Forbush Man but the Marvel Universe it mocked was one I'd long ago abandoned and the jokes fell flat. This thirteenth issue of NBE does point the way forward to what the comic might've become in its own time as Roy had solicited his fanzine friends and colleagues to work on the book. Ronn Foss is widely considered the best talent in the fan ranks never to successfully break into the pros and this effort here is just a taste of what he might've done. Bill DuBay did go onto a darn good career, mostly at Warren as an editor and sometimes artist. Phil Seuling is most famous now for his comic book conventions. Of the talents only Sam Grainger went on to be a regular at Marvel, doing some little penciling but mostly inking in a magnificent style for several years and becoming one of my favorites. It's a peculiarity that NBE has effectively two Silver Surfer spoofs in this one issue and I cannot imagine that was some grand plan. Silver Surfer was along with NBE the only other quarter book for Marvel at the time (apart from annuals) and while NBE was cancelled the Surfer book slipped down to normal pricing and normal size and survived for a few more measly months. NBE was a nifty experiment that started strong with top-flight talent but by its end was buttressed by the twin talents of Marie Severin and Tom Sutton with newbies being brought into the game to sustain it. I'd loved to have been able to see what it became.
Here are some covers, comic and otherwise which inspired the features this issue.
Rip Off
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