OF GORILLAS AND HULKS by Dave Goode

OF GORILLAS AND HULKS BY DAVE GOODE

 When you talk about gorilla artists in the Silver Age of Comics the conversation usually begins with Carmine Infantino. And rightfully so. But for my money the best ape artist of the era was Steve Ditko. Nobody drew a gorilla quite like Ditko. Ditko's best known gorilla was the giant ape Konga. Charlton's KONGA comic book was a sequel of sorts to the British horror movie KONGA (1961) distributed by AIP. Oddly enough the comic book adaptation appeared in June 1960, nearly a year before the movie was released. The second issue cover dated August 1961, written by Joe Gill and illustrated by Ditko more or less took up where the movie ended. And the series has become something of a cult favorite. Fondly remembered by Silver Age readers.

Ditko would team up with another titan of the era, Jack Kirby, inking the pencils of the man known to comic book readers as the "King" on THE INCREDIBLE HULK No.2 (July 1962). Page one of that story has one of my favorite illustrations of the Hulk. In it the green Goliath looks like nothing so much as the personification of brute force. And reminds one that in his first appearance the Hulk was mistaken for both a bear and a gorilla. 

 

Kirby and Ditko would team again on FANTASTIC FOUR No.13 (April 1963). This was the issue that introduced readers to the menace of the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes. For the record the communist villain's anthropoid minions were a baboon, an orangutan and a gorilla. This was a really fun story that I wish the art chores had been switched with Ditko doing the pencils. 

And when the character Kraven the Hunter was introduced in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN No. 15 (Aug. 1964) Ditko had him battling a pair of escaped gorillas as only Ditko could. Nobody drew a fight scene quite like Ditko either.

My favorite issue on the original run of the Hulk's comic book came in the sixth and final issue cover dated March 1963. In this story the Hulk faces the Metal Master. With Dick Ayers inking Ditko pencils the Hulk in his purple trunks resembles a professional wrestler. The massive Bruno Sammartino or Dick the Bruiser come to mind. On further examination Ditko gave this Hulk the same physique he gave to his gorillas. But with much thicker legs. It gave the Hulk the look of being shorter. Except for when he was standing next to something or someone to give him scale. By the way gorillas generally measure about 5' 8" inches in height and weigh in at about 450 pounds. Seven foot tall, 800 pound gorillas can only be found in movies and sometimes comic books.

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The Mystery of Death by Dave Goode

As a lifelong comic book reader I've developed a certain affinity for circus movies. Much in the same way I've developed a certain affinity for professional wrestling. And pretty much for the same reasons. In Phillip Wylie's novel Gladiator the hero , Hugo Danner , a Superman prototype spends a bit of time working as a carnival strongman. And remember when Superman made his first appearance in Action Comics No.1 (June 1938) his costume consisted of the colorful tights of a circus acrobat and Roman sandals of a strongman. As a little boy I would love going to the circus to watch the acrobats , dressed much like comic book heroes , perform. I'm also reminded that Fred Hembeck once wrote that the " Fantastic Four " sounded like the name of a circus act. Which leads me to my favorite Mil Mascaras movie...Enigma de Muerte.

Directed by Federico Curiel from a screenplay written by Ramon Obon Enigma de Muerte found pro wrestler and part-time superhero Mil Mascaras tracking down a group of Nazi war criminals. The Nazis are led by B-Movie icon John Carradine and are masquerading as carnival performers. And so Mascaras puts together an act to join the show and ferret them out. This flick features everything you would want in a carnival / circus mystery. Clowns hiding evil secrets behind their make-up. A sharp-shooter , a knife-thrower, a strongman (who matches his strength against Mil's) and a bevy of beautiful showgirls. Everything except for a man in a cheesy gorilla costume to fight the hero. More's the pity.

The bad guys in this flick always reminded me of Marvel Comics' Ringmaster and the Circus of Crime from the Silver Age of Comic Books. Carradine might have been a good Ringmaster. Though I might have cast Vincent Price in a movie.

By the way there was another Ringmaster who appeared during the Golden Age of Comics in Captain America No.5 ( August 1941 ) in a story from the team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.

The Silver Age Circus of Crime first appeared in The  Incredible Hulk No.3 (Sept. 1962) in a story credited to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

 

 

But to me the best Silver Age Circus of Crime stories came from the team of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in Spider-Man No.16 ( Sept. 1964 ) and Spider-Man No. 22 ( March 1965 ). It's Steve Ditko who I imagine drawing a comic book adaptation of Enigma de Muerte with inks by Wally Wood.

 

Below is a Dr.Judo comic book cover drawn by Vance Capley to give you an idea how that might look.

Steve Ditko...Luchador Artist by Dave Goode

When I first heard of the controversy involving the creation of Spider-Man's costume and Halloween costume designer Ben Cooper I was quite stunned. To be fair there is a superficial resemblance between the Spider Man costume created by Cooper's company in the 1950s and the one familiar to comic book readers.

But I always assumed that Steve Ditko's inspiration was the costume Warren Hull wore in the two Spider serials for Columbia , based on the popular pulp magazine hero. And this costume bore no  resemblance to the one the character wore in the pulps. But to me if a character has "spider" any place in his name he (or she) should have some sort of webbing on their costume. If anything Ditko's mask looked like that of Mexican wrestling icon el Santo. Only in red and covered with black webbing. Which makes me wonder if Ditko was a fan of lucha libre. After all the first person Peter Parker takes on after gaining his spider powers in Amazing Fantasy No.15 (August 1962) is pro wrestler Crusher Hogan.

If you've ever seen a Ditko-drawn fight scene you can't help but marvel at how the two protagonists look like acrobatic wrestlers in action. That's why for years I could readily imagine Ditko illustrating comic book adaptations of el Santo's and Blue Demon's movies. Or adaptations of Mil Mascaras movies while working in a tag-team with Wally Wood inking his pencils. Also a number of characters created or co-created by Ditko wore masks that would have done any luchador proud. In fact the villain in Beware The Creeper No.1 (June 1968) not only has a pretty cool mask. But talks about his physical training. The same type a champion luchador may have undergone.

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HOUSE OF HORRORS by Dave Goode

Call me strange.Like most fan-boys I do imaginary movie castings. Like for instance I think of a big-budget Batman movie in the 40s that stars Robert Taylor as the "caped crusader" with Conrad Veidt and Paulette Goddard as respectively the Joker and the Catwoman. You could also throw in Goddard's husband Burgess Meredith as the Penguin. Can't get around it.Meredith would have been perfect as the Penguin no matter what the era. But I also imagine comic book adaptations of favorite B-Movies. I think it comes from my formative years being in an era when Dell Comics was adapting movies and television shows to comics. And I imagine from time to time an adaptation of the 1946 cult film HOUSE OF HORRORS illustrated by Steve Ditko.

Best known for his work on Spider-Man and Dr.Strange at Marvel Comics he also did great work for Charlton,Warren and DC. His work on BEWARE THE CREEPER is some of the best examples of "comic book noir" ever drawn. So it's easy for me to imagine Ditko drawing adaptations of 1940s mystery movies or low-budget horror flicks. Actually the comic book versions might have been better. Being un-hampered by budget restrictions.

Coming to us from 1946 is HOUSE OF HORRORS.

Directed by Jean Yarbrough with a screenplay by George Bricker,from an original story by Dwight V. Babcock this is a little 65 minute movie that has gained cult status over the years. It stars Rondo Hatton in his signature role as the Creeper a neanderthalic killer. Robert Lowery plays pin-up artist Steve Morrow and Virginia Grey plays art critic Joan Medford,Steve's love interest. The best performances in the flick come from Alan Napier,as an acerbic art critic F.Holmes Harmon, who would have been played by Clifton Webb or George Sanders if this was an "A" picture, and Martin Kosleck as the unhinged sculptor Marcel De Lange.

The film's simple storyline has unhinged artist Marcel De Lange on his way to the river to end it all after art critic Harmon causes him to lose a sale. Instead he ends up saving escaped killer the Creeper (no other name is given in this picture) from drowning and puts him to work as a model...and killing his critics. What would have made this so great as a vehicle for Ditko is the main set is crazed artist De Lange's studio/home with it's abstract sculptures.

 

 

Over the years Ditko has drawn a number of stories featuring artist's studios. And I dare say they steal the show. The other thing he would have nailed would have been the character of the Creeper. Ditko had a certain way of drawing physical brutes that was unmatched. His interpretation of Rondo's Creeper character would have been unforgettable.

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GORILLA MY DREAMS by Dave Goode

Growing up in the Silver Age of Comic Books no doubt played some part in my becoming a fan of "ape-suit cinema". I even have a theory that all the intelligent gorillas that appeared in the comic books of the 50s and 60s were the results of those brain transplant experiments by mad scientists in the horror movies of the 30s and 40s. One of my favorites from the ape-suit genre was the fab 50s 3-D flick GORILLA AT LARGE.

I never considered it a horror flick. More like a murder mystery with the chief suspect a gorilla. A major reason I like this flick so much is that it features Anne Bancroft in what would be her sexiest role until she portrayed Mrs.Robinson in THE GRADUATE. In GORILLA AT LARGE she plays a nymphomaniacal aerialist who spends most of her time dressed in leotards. Another plus,for me at least,was that judo plays an integral part in the movie's plot. No there's no fight between the hero and Goliath,the eponymous gorilla at large.But the hero played by Cameron Mitchell is an ex-Marine with a working knowledge of judo. This makes him a prime suspect when characters start turning up with broken necks. You're left to guess who the real killer is...Goliath or someone in a gorilla costume?

Another favorite of mine is THE APE-MAN. Directed by the legendary William "One-Shot" Beaudine from a screenplay from Barney Sarecky this psychotronic movie isn't great art. But it's a heck of a lot of fun. It stars iconic horror movie star Bela Lugosi with Louise Currie  and Wallace Ford.And in a nod to equal opportunity it features Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison as a newspaper copy boy.Think about it. They could have cast any of the East Side Kids in the role. But they cast "Scruno". It's one of those movies where a scientist breaks the laws of the nature and pays a price for it.Emil Van Horn portrays Bela's pet gorilla. And as usual he's great. One of my favorite ape-suit actors Van Horn also worked in a few Gorilla & Girl nightclub acts.

Retro art by Vance Capley