A Marvel Madhouse Gallery!

As the 1980's blossomed in the United Kingdom, at time when Margaret Thatcher was ascendant as Prime Minister and trading kisses with our own President Ronald "Ronnie" Reagan, unemployment mushroomed as British Steel cut jobs, and a Beatles reunion becomes an impossibility, Marvel UK decided the time was ripe to launch some parody magazines. Dez Skinn was in charge at the time and he launched the title Frantic which drew from material developed for Marvel's Crazy magazine.

And then he launched Marvel Madhouse which used both stories and artwork from the over a decade old Not Brand Echh. I for one like to see foreign versions of a cover to see how the colors might changed or the layouts might differ. In this case these Marie Severin covers are topped by a lively and memorable logo.

The chain of NBE cover reprints ends when an interior image of Forbush Man is used with new images to decorate issue eight. 

There are two more Marie Severin reprinted covers than the book shifts focus welcoming a certain misplaced duck into its fold. 

While the art says Howard the Duck, there are still blurbs that announce new "old" NBE material inside. These covers of course come from issue of Howard and are by Frank Brunner and John Buscema. 

Forbush Man makes a final appearance on issue fourteen's cover, with art by Gene Colan. 

Marvel Madhouse closes up shop after seventeen colorful issues. The Not Brand Echh brand simmering to life again a decade after its demise in these United States. 

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Not Brand Echh #10 - The Reprint Issue!

Notes and Comments: The tenth issue of Not Brand Echh was a reprint issue. NBE had just jumped to "King-Size" and apparently the mavens at Marvel needed some time to scrape together enough material for the larger issues. But they didn't leave us the reader completely in the lurch, they gave us one of "Mirthful" Marie Severin's most magnificent covers. This was also the very first issue of NBE that I actually bought off the stands, so the fact it was reprint mattered little to me back then, the stories were all fresh as daisies. But I still remember just staring at the multitude of "Marble Comics" characters jammed together on this one cover with gags aplenty scattered across the image. But since there is nothing much more for me to say about this particular issue, let use this installment to say more about NBE's number one sone, "the Way-Out Wonder" himself -- Forbush-Man!

As already noted we got our first glimpse of Forbush-Man on the cover of the very first issue of Not Brand Echh and he was rendered by no less an artist than the "King" himself Jack Kirby.  But we only get to see his back, and as we'll learn this is an early variation on the "Way-Out Wonder". 

Forbush-Man's origin is revealed in NBE #5 and we discover for the first time what he looks like offically. 

Red wooly underwear embellished wish a stitch-one "F", a kitchen pot with two holes for a helmet, a cape cut from a blue potato sack, and oversize galoshes make up the costume of Forbush-Man. 

Forubsh-Man proves so popular we get a trio of tales (with prologue and epilogue) in issue #8 as Forbush-Man attempts to join the "Revengers", the "Agents of SHEESH", and the "Ecchs Men". It all comes to naught, but it does elevate him to full-fledged mascot status and Forbush-Man becomes a mainstay of NBE as well as the larger MU in years to come. 

He rates two covers on Mavel's later satire comic What The..?!

And for many years appeared monthly in the cornerbox of Marvel Age, Marvel's self-published news and hype comic in the 80's. 

But as it turns out Irving Forbush pre-dates what we commonly think of as the Marvel Universe itself. He first appears as the mascot/publisher of one of Marvel's (at the time Atlas) MAD imitations. Created by Stan "The Man" Lee, Irving makes cameo appearances in all three issues of Snafu. 

For some excruciating detail on Forbush-Man's career check out this mighty entry at The Appendix to the Handbook to the Marvel Universe. 

One oddity I've discovered is The Forbush Gazette, two issues of a fanzine begun in 1967 before the advent of Not Brand Echh by Bill Schelly. He handed this publication off to Marshal Lanz. For more on these two early fan products check out this friendly neighborhood link. 

Forbush-Man was a great creation, one of the last new characters of the classic Marvel era and arguably the last enduring character first drawn by Jack Kirby from that legendary time in Marvel's history. 

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Not Brand Echh #8 - The More Forbush Issue!

 Dear Marble Gang,

    This is the best issue of Not Brand Echh yet! I loved the original creation Forbush Man when he debuted in issue number five and I was exceedingly excited to see this issue in which all the stories are dedicated to his bumbling misadventures. Since this is essentially one story I won't rate the chapters but deal with them in order. 

    "What Price Forbush-Man?" by Roy Thomas and John Verpoorten kicks off things quite well as we meet Irving Forbush again (though without seeing his face -- great running gag) and find out why he feels the need to join a super-team. We are again acquainted with the nigh malevolent Auntie Mayhem and it's a shame what she did to poor Snoopy. 

    "This Fan - This Forbush!" by Thomas and artist Gene Colan was a hit with this fan. While the Avengers are indeed diminished in number (a new "Kookie Quartet" of sorts) that is reflected nicely in this "Revengers" yarn starring "Golightly, the Wisp, Hogeye and Black Panter". Forbush Man's battle against the deadly "Dang" was an disaster sending him into the depths of prehistoric times when Oops and Flinstones thrived,  and he was wise to leave out when he did. 

    "And The Dragon Cried...Forbush!" by Gary Friedrich and Marie Severin brings back "Knock Furious" and his witless "Agents of SHEESH" as they recruit Forbush Man to infiltrate a Chines "Raundry" which doubles as a hideout for baddies. I'll admit I didn't see the disguise of the "Yellow Paw" coming and of course sadly neither did Forbush Man. 

    "Beware the Forbush Man My Son!" by Friedrich and Tom Sutton was another ziner with the "Ecchs-Men" reflecting a nifty costume change like their Marvel Universe counterparts the X-Men. "Magneato" returns, but this time with the help of "Toadstool, Slicksilver, and the Scarlett Wench". It was actually nifty to see Forbush Man prove mildly effective against the Wench's hex spells thanks to his ubiquitous helmet -- great gag. 

    And it's all the more sad that in the end Forbush Man was unable to find a team to suit him, though that didn't stop Auntie Mayhem from klonking him with her "Plastic" rolling pin. "The Lonely Hearts Club Band" seemed receptive to a new member -- maybe poor Forbush missed his chance. 

                                                                                                                         Sincerely (Not)

                                                                                                                         Rip Jagger

Notes and Comments: Forbush Man is without a doubt NBE's greatest contribution to the Marvel/Marble Universe. I'll have more to say about Forbush Man in a few days. But these three tied together tales are a remarkable achievement for the comic. While the satire does draw upon comics and characters which were current, it speaks especially to my fanboy heart because these are some super squads near and dear to my heart. The Avengers were at their lowest ebb, a mere three members when I hopped aboard fully, enjoying the comic as they welcomed the Black Panther to the fold. The X-Men fire up my nostalgic ardor in those offbeat costumes they wore as their comic descended slowly into the West for the first time. Nick Fury and his boys and girls were fighting Yellow Claw when I picked up my first issue of Strange Tales. So this issue of Not Brand  Echh really warms me up neatly. As for NBE itself, the editors claim that sales are hopping though as well see there have been more issues than will be created sadly. 

Here are some of my favorite comic book coves. 

Next time Not Brand Echh goes King-Size.

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Not Brand Echh #5 - The Forbush Issue!

 Dear Marble Gang,

    Now that it's officially Not Brand Echh the book has improved tremendously with the fifth issue. While I was let down a bit by the previous "Bad Guys Win" book, I was much smitten with the events of this particular issue. 

    Easily the winner in a trio of real contenders was "The Origin of Forbush Man" by Stan "The Man" Lee and Jack "King" Kirby. I notice that the King was helped out this time by Tom Sutton who has made a bit impression since his debut on the comic. Forbush Man is a hit with this reader, a real addition to the burgeoning Marble Universe. Loved the fact that we never see the actual face of this newest mystery man and it's very nifty to see that despite his inherent lack of skill or talent that he succeeded in his quest to become a renowned and celebrated superhero. It gives hope to all us nebishes that we too might achieve greatness despite our shortcomings. 

    My second favorite of the three yarns was "The Revengers vs. Charlie America" by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan. This is Mr. Colan's second out in the NBE venue and it's a marked improvement with his characterizations being a bit broader than with the Scaredevil story. Liked that much like the Marvel Universe the heroes of the Marble Universe get to fighting one another for little or no reason and as for the ending, sometimes I think Charlie might be getting right when it comes to the modern world. 

    Finally is the Stan Lee and Marie Severin effort "The Bulk vs. The Thung" which reminded me for all the world of a vintage Popeye cartoon in which two rambunctious and  suitors with violent tendencies battle it out in outrageous fashion for the attentions of a single dame. It was a funny and the send up at the end was pretty nifty. 

    All three stories were well paced and the art as usual was spectacular. Looking very much forward to the next issue which promises marriage if not romance, and I hope to see more Forbush Man before too much longer. 

                                                                                                                            Sincerely (Not)

                                                                                                                            Rip Jagger

Notes and Comments: The arrival of Forbush Man (again...he was on the debut cover but without any story context) signals the beginning of a mature Not Brand Echh. The faceless stalwart takes the book into fresh spaces and not just parodies of particular issues of comics but of the notion of superheroing in general. Really liked Gene Colan's art this time out, it's broad and inviting, and more in keeping with the level of absurdity that both Marie Severin and Tom Sutton were achieving. The battle story between the Marble versions of the Hulk and the Thing lacks much motivation but does capture the singular characteristic of Marvel Comics, that their heroes would tee off against each other on a whim. 

Here are the covers of the comics which inspired some of this issues fun. 

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