This time around Marvel is touting a 14 issue subscription for six bucks. But the big deal is that when you order two titles at that rate you can subscribe to a third book for just $5 more!
Regardless of the deal, though, this is one weird looking Hulk. His head is frighteningly small for the body it's resting atop, and his face is kind of a caricature of itself -- looking more Cro-Magnon than gamma-irradiated. That same theme seems to be carried throughout the rest of the figure because based on the perspective of the drawing, his knuckles must drag on the ground when his arms rest at his sides. And what about his feet?! Good lord! His feet are as big as his legs are long!
This is the third subscription solicit I've featured so far that's signed by the artist (here next to Hulk's left foot). It looks like an "SEV" but I'm not certain. I'm guessing that Marvel had an intern in late 1983 who was the nephew of Jim Shooter, and he was able to convince his then-editor-in-chief uncle that he could draw. ("Listen Uncle Jim, I swear, I've been practicing! I can do this!") And in a moment of weakness, nepotism carried the day, "SEV" got his shot at the big time, and we got Baby New Year Hulk.
I have kept a Word document called "Book List" since 2002 where I track what I've been reading by year. I log every book I read on that list in the order I read them (although I did separate the list by type for clarity here). I tend to read more non-fiction than fiction, and this year was no exception. Only three books this year were fiction, and all of them were read in the last half of the year. But combined, I averaged about a book-and-a-half per month.
The list doesn't include all the monthly comic books I read in a year, but the number of comic book trade paperbacks and hardcover collected editions are the most numerous. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I averaged one collection per week, but seeing it laid out like this is still kind of amazing. I discovered a lot of great new stuff thanks to John (Invincible), Matt (a lot of the Batman and DC stuff), and others. In all, a good, fun year of reading.
Non-Fiction
Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography - David Michaelis
The Grizzly Maze: Timothy Treadwell's Fatal Obsession with Alaskan Bears - Nick Jans
The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula - Eric Nuzum (So disappointed I missed Eric's talk at the Akron Summit County Public Library in October.)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Sean Williams (Fun read. But I'll likely skip the video game.)
Devil May Care - Sebastian Faulks writing as Ian Fleming (Sort of the opposite approach of the new Bond movies where they have updated the character and set him in the present day. This new book puts 007 firmly back in the '60s with entertaining success.)
Trade Paperbacks and Hardcover Collected Editions
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Vol. 1 - Larry Hama
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Vol. 2 - Larry Hama
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Vol. 3 - Larry Hama
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Vol. 4 - Larry Hama
G.I. Joe: Declassified - Larry Hama
Invincible: Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 - Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker
Secret War - Brian Michael Bendis
Invincible: Ultimate Collection, Vol. 2 - Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker
Daredevil - Visionaries: Frank Miller, Volume 1 - Frank Miller
Thor - Visionaries: Walter Simonson, Volume 1 - Walter Simonson
Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 - David Petersen (Read with the kiddo. Good stuff!)
Power Pack & Cloak and Dagger: Shelter from the Storm - Bill Mantlo
Fantastic Four: Books of Doom - Ed Brubaker
DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore - Alan Moore (In this collection are the first two Batman comics I've ever read: 1987 Annual #11, "Mortal Clay" and the legendary "Killing Joke" story.)
Batman: The Long Halloween - Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale (This would then, I guess, be the third Batman story I've ever read, and it blew me away.)
Even today, Aurora from Alpha Flight still makes me a little uncomfortable in that "adolescent boy just discovering girls" kind of way. But if there was any sure-fire way to get me to pony up for a Marvel Comics subscription as an early teenager, I suppose the tingly hint of four-color sex was the way to do it. And late summer 1984 would have been right around the time I was re-upping my subscriptions to titles like G.I. Joe and Uncanny X-Men. There is something to be said for the way Marvel has always positioned itself in relation to its customers. Just like the Bullpen Bulletins used to make us feel like insiders wandering the hallowed House of Ideas halls, using a quartet from the pages of John Byrne's Canadian team to frame this as a "Special Subscriber's Club" is well within the grand tradition of all things Marvel. Here, your 26 quarters and the completed "Enrollment Certificate" will practically buy you a membership into the greatest comic book club on the planet along with that 16 issue subscription!
I came across this Byrne-drawn ad (signed just below Sasquatch's right shin) in the back of issue #2 of Tom DeFalco's Machine Man four-issue limited series (and run again in the December 1984 issue #3). Around the time of this subscription solicit, Sasquatch and Aurora were struggling to find their way in a relationship while dealing with Aurora's multiple personality disorder, but it's obvious from that grin on Sasquatch's mug that things are good here as he hoists his best girl and teammate Marrina above his head. And check out that authentic Canadian flair the ad copy gives Puck. Good stuff all around, eh?
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