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§ September 30th, 2008 § Filed under cartoons, galactus Comments Off on Really, that Ghost Rider appearance was totally out of left field.
So, the other day I was watching an episode of the mid-1990s Fantastic Four cartoon, which adapted the 1982 Terrax/Galactus storyline from FF #s 242 through 244. Here’s the cover of the middle installment, just so this post isn’t all boring text:
Anyway, the episode takes this three-issue storyline, including the introduction of Frankie Raye and the “she’s got powers like the Human Torch” storyline from the previous year’s continuity, and manages to squeeze it all into a 20-something minute episode.
Most of the storyline’s plot points from the original comics make it into the show, with some adjustments here and there. The most noticeable change is that, instead of the guest-starring-superhero free-for-all like you see on that cover up there, the only guy that shows up in the cartoon is Thor. And taking the place of Dr. Strange is Ghost Rider, who in the cartoon puts the mystical showing-Galactus-the-souls-of-his-victims whammy on the big G that Strange did in the comic. Apparently this was Ghost Rider’s first appearance in the cartoons, judging by the reaction of the other characters. He just pops up, says “hello,” gives Galactus the ol’ magical hairy eyeball…er, eyesocket, and takes off, confusing children watching at home everywhere.
But the story plays out more or less the same in the cartoon as in the comic…Galactus’ reserves are depleted and he’s on the verge of dying, Reed Richards decides to save his life, Frankie volunteers to become the new Herald of Galactus and lead him to a new world to consume, and Galactus takes off, vowing to never trouble Earth again and notes that this is the one world where he may have friends. The end.
There’s another change I should note, concerning Frankie’s characterization. In the comic, she had a habit of using excessive force on the bad guys, giving as her reasoning, “well, they’re bad guys, right? So what?” When she decides to sacrifice herself to become a Herald, it’s pointed out that she’d likely have to lead Galactus to inhabited worlds for him to consume. Her response:
“So? A few bug-eyed monsters? What’s that compared to my being able to go…out there?”
An amoral stance for a superhero-type, to be sure, and it’s not surprising that it didn’t make it into the cartoon. In its place we get some very broad hinting that Frankie may be, if not outright falling in love with Galactus (a plot development that turns up in later FF issues), at least completely admiringly awestruck by him.
Not quite sure why I’m so fascinated by these comic-to-cartoon translations of specific storylines I enjoyed as a younger Mikester. Particularly since the end result, after having watched this episode, is the realization that as profound and significant it all seemed on the printed page, seeing essentially the same story in animated form made it all feel a bit…silly, I guess. Perhaps it’s just the nature of the bare-bones condensing of the original tale, or perhaps it’s just the recontextualizing of the story from the familiar printed format to an animated one, forcing us to reconsider the storytelling tropes freed of nostalgic memories (see also: the ’60s Batman TV show, discussed previously).
Or perhaps I’m just overthinking a cartoon whose primary purpose was to sell toys to children.
But, honestly, that Terrax/Galactus story from Fantastic Four #s 242 through 244 is really good. And maybe a little silly, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
§ September 14th, 2008 § Filed under galactus Comments Off on Things That Are Rad.
GALACTUS
OF BORG
From
this eBay auction – click the link to see the full image.
Why, I do believe I have my Halloween costume now.
§ August 18th, 2008 § Filed under galactus, sir-links-a-lot Comments Off on Miscellaneous Monday.
Attention Kevin Church:
Drunk Galactus and I wish you a Happy Birthday!
(Okay, I know Galactus was only
pretending to be drunk in this particular story…just go with me here.)
Have a safe and sobe…um, have a safe and happy birthday, Kevin!
In other news:
images from Hercules #4 (Dec. 1982) by Bob Layton; Green Lantern Corps #27 (Oct. 2008) by Peter Tomasi, Luke Ross & Fabio Laguna; and Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #3 (July 1981) by Mike W. Barr, Len Wein, Joe Staton and Frank McLaughlin
§ June 16th, 2007 § Filed under galactus Comments Off on Just in case you needed some Galactus this weekend…
…here you go:
from Fantastic Four #50 (May 1966 – as reprinted in Marvel Masterworks Vol. 25)
by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby & Joe Sinnott
§ January 11th, 2007 § Filed under galactus, swamp thing Comments Off on What do French Swamp Thing, Ambush Bug, and Galactus have in common? *
So pal Tom (not
this pal Tom, but another one) was thinning out his bookshelves and gifted me with this fine volume from his collection:
La Creature des Marais, from 1977, reprinting the first five issues of the original
Len Wein ‘n’ Bernie Wrightson
Swamp Thing series in French. The art is in glorious, sharply-printed black and white, which really emphasizes Wrightson’s fine linework (even though there’s at least one instance that I’ve noticed where two or three panels appear to have been enlarged and redrawn to fill the page). The wraparound cover comes from the new image Wrightson drew for
DC Special Series #2.
This book also includes the original Swamp Thing story from House of Secrets #92, which, for those of you keeping track, makes this copy #9 of this story in my possession.
And because it amused me, here’s the publisher’s logo from the back cover:
“Editions of Cheese?”
As long as I’m talkin’ about Swamp Thing, here it is, by request – Swamp Thing meets Ambush Bug:
from Ambush Bug Nothing Special #1 (1992) by Keith Giffen, Robert Loren Fleming & Al Gordon
Check this out, and tell me this isn’t a bucketful of cool:
It’s the new
Marvel Legends Masterworks “Galactus Versus Everybody” plastic statue, generally available for under twenty bucks, and taken from
this cover. (Some of the flying characters are attached to Galactus by clear plastic rods…which, alas, break easily, so check the item carefully prior to purchase.)
* This post, apparently.
§ December 27th, 2006 § Filed under galactus Comments Off on It’s gotta be better than Eragon.
The teaser trailer is up for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and…well, actually, it’s kinda cool. Mostly it’s just the Human Torch chasing the Silver Surfer over, under, and through the big city, and that seems to work out well enough. I also appreciated the nice Lee n’ Kirby-esque touch of the Thing dabbing at his eyes with a hanky during Reed and Sue’s wedding. And look to the mighty Kevin for a shot of a damned fine cameo.
So, anyway, I didn’t see anything that makes me think this is going to be an unmitigated disaster, so I am guardedly optimistic about this flick. I did enjoy the first film for what it was, though it could have used a little more time on the stove before being served to audiences.
I haven’t read any articles on the subject or even spent the time trying to Google it up myself…but what’s the word on Galactus in this movie? I mean, if you’ve got the Surfer, you have to have Galactus…but I’m thinking it’s going to be the Ultimate-verse “swarm of space bugs” version more than “giant guy in a funny helmet” version.
Oh, okay, I did find this mention via the Wikipedia article I linked. This is what Fox chairman Tom Rothman had to say about it:
“IESB: Is [Galactus] going to look like anything like we’ve seen him in the comic books?
TR: Yes, I think that Galactus, look, I don’t want to give away too much, right, but I will say this, Galactus will appear and fans will not be disappointed.”
‘Course, he didn’t say which comics, and “fans will not be disappointed” is usually code for “we bent it ’til it broke, but hopefully fans won’t care,” but, honestly, before I die, old, alone, in my tiny, underheated apartment with piles of months-old newspapers and too many cats, all I want to see is a live action version of Galactus, as Jack Kirby imagined him, stomping through New York like Godzilla stomped through Tokyo. THIS MUST HAPPEN.
§ July 14th, 2005 § Filed under galactus Comments Off on
So yesterday at the shop, some of us were discussing the eventual sequel to the Fantastic Four movie…specifically, which villain would be the focus. I noticed over the last few days that several of our customers have expressed a preference for Galactus. While I’m a big Galactus fan, and would love to see a live action version of the character, I think the general non-comic reading populace isn’t quite ready for such a spectacle: i.e. the big G would be laughed off the screen. Besides, he’s probably tied up in whatever Silver Surfer film rights that might exist.
Pal Dorian suggested the Skrulls, which actually isn’t a bad idea. It’s certainly better than the other FF villain that immediately comes to mind: the Mole Man. I just keep picturing the FF in fight scene after fight scene in caves, and I just don’t think that would make for a fun film. I’d rather see them in space fighting aliens…though I kind of get the feeling that the people making the Marvel movies don’t want to start throwing aliens into the mix. It’s hard enough getting people to accept the superhero aspects of the films without hitting them with extraterrestrials, too.
Beyond that, what other good movie-worthy adversaries do the FF have? Molecule Man? The Mad Thinker and his Awesome Android? Kid Chris suggested the Frightful Four, and that’s a pretty good idea, I think. However, I imagine we’re just going to get Doom again, so it may all be a moot point.
Anyway, during that discussion, Kid Chris made the offhand comment that he’d like to see a Watcher movie. A movie, starring the guy who hangs out on the moon and watches everything going on, without (ideally) interfering.
That, my friends, is a brilliant idea. I immediately pictured sitting in a theatre for two hours, with this staring back at you from the screen:
Twenty, twenty-five minutes in, you’ve finished most of your popcorn and soda, you look back up at the film:
An hour in, you get up to go to the restroom, and when you return:
At one hour forty minutes, the film approaches its climax:
The denouement, and we fade into credits:
It’d be like the superhero equivalent of
Andy Warhol’s Empire. Genius!
§ July 2nd, 2005 § Filed under galactus Comments Off on
Coop brings us the First Church of Galactus. If you’re going to worship anything, why not something that eats planets?
(via Metafilter)
§ November 30th, 2004 § Filed under galactus Comments Off on
Found
here.
Also found a couple cartoony Galactuses here and here (near the bottom of the page).
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