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Man-Thing

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Vigilante
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« on: November 08, 2008, 06:05:32 pm »

As described in the text featurette "The Story Behind the Scenes" in Savage Tales #1 (May 1971), the black-and-white adventure fantasy magazine in which the character debuted in an 11-page origin story, Man-Thing was conceived in discussions between Marvel Comics editor Stan Lee and writer Roy Thomas, and that together they created five possible origins. Lee provided the name, which had previously been used for unrelated creatures in Marvel's early science-fiction/fantasy anthology Tales of Suspense #7 (Jan. 1960) and #81,[3] [4] as well as the concept of the man losing sentience.

As Thomas recalled in 2002:

“ Stan Lee called me in; it would've been late '70 or early '71. [...] He had a couple of sentences or so for the concept — I think it was mainly the notion of a guy working on some experimental drug or something for the government, his being accosted by spies, and getting fused with the swamp so that he becomes this creature. The creature itself sounds a lot like the Heap, but neither of us mentioned that character at the time.... I didn't care much for the name 'Man-Thing', because we already had the Thing [of the superhero team the Fantastic Four], and I thought it would be confusing to also have another one called Man-Thing.[5] ”

Thomas worked out a detailed plot[6] and gave it to Gerry Conway to script. Thomas and Conway are credited as writers, with Gray Morrow as artist. A second story, written by Len Wein and drawn by Neal Adams, was prepared at that time, but, upon Savage Tales' cancellation after that single issue,[7] "took a year or two to see print", according to Thomas.[8] That occurred in Astonishing Tales #12 (June 1972), in which the seven-page story was integrated in its entirety within the 21-page feature "Ka-Zar", starring Marvel's jungle-lord hero. This black-and-white interlude (with yellow highlighting) segued to Man-Thing's introduction to color comics as Ka-Zar's antagonist in this and the following issue (both written by Thomas, with the first penciled by John Buscema and the second by Buscema and Rich Buckler).

The Wein-written Man-Thing story appeared in-between Wein's first[9] and second[10] version of his DC Comics character Swamp Thing. Wein was Conway's roommate at the time, and as Thomas recalled in 2008,

“ Gerry and I thought that, unconsciously, the origin in Swamp Thing #1 was a bit too similar to the origin of Man-Thing a year-and-a-half earlier. There was vague talk at the time around Marvel of legal action, but it was never really pursued. I don't know if any letters even changed hands between Marvel and DC. [...] We weren't happy with the situation over the Swamp Thing #1 origin, but we figured it was an accident. Gerry was rooming with Len at the time and tried to talk him into changing the Swamp Thing's origin. Len didn't see the similarities, so he went ahead with what he was going to do. The two characters verged off after that origin, so it didn't make much difference, anyway.[11] ”

Steve Gerber would refer to Man-Thing as an "Un-Man" (eponymous with enemies of Swamp Thing) in Fear #12.

Man-Thing received his own 10-page feature, again by Conway (with Morrow inking pencils by Howard Chaykin), in Adventure into Fear #10 (Oct. 1972), sharing that anthological title with reprinted 1950s horror/fantasy stories. Steve Gerber, who would become Man-Thing's signature writer, succeeded Conway the following issue, with art by Rich Buckler (Mayerik began with issue #13). The feature expanded to 15 pages with #12 (art by Jim Starlin), became 16 pages two issues later, and reached the then-standard 19-page length of Marvel superhero comics with issue #15, at which point the series also went from bi-monthly to monthly. In Fear #11 (Dec. 1972), page 11, Gerber created the series' narrative tagline, used in captions: "Whatever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing's touch!"

After issue #19 (Dec. 1973), Man-Thing received a solo title, which ran 22 issues (Jan. 1974 - Oct. 1975). Following Morrow, the main series' primary pencillers were, successively, Val Mayerik, Mike Ploog, John Buscema, and Jim Mooney. A sister publication was the larger, quarterly Giant-Size Man-Thing #1-5 (Aug. 1974 - Aug. 1975), which featured 1950s horror-fantasy and 1960s science fiction/monster reprints as back-up stories, with a Howard the Duck feature added in the final two issues. The unintentional double entendre in the sister series' title became a joke among comics readers.[12]

In the final issue, writer Gerber appeared as a character in the story, claiming he had not been inventing the Man-Thing's adventures but simply reporting on them and that he had decided to move on. Gerber continued to write Man-Thing guest appearances in other Marvel titles, as well as the serialized, eight-page Man-Thing feature in the omnibus series Marvel Comics Presents #1-12 (Sept. 1988 - Feb. 1989), and a supporting role in The Evolutionary War, coming to the aid of Spider-Man[13]. Gerber also wrote a graphic novel that Kevin Nowlan spent many years illustrating, but he did not live to see it published.[14]

A second Man-Thing series ran 11 issues (Nov. 1979 - Jan. 1981). Writer Michael Fleisher and penciller Mooney teamed for the first three issues, with the letters page of #3 noting that Fleischer's work had received a great deal of negative criticism and that he had been taken off the book. He was succeeded by, primarily, writer Chris Claremont and illustrators Don Perlin (breakdowns) and Bob Wiacek (finished pencils). Claremont's stories introduced Man-Thing and Jennifer Kale to Doctor Strange (whose series he was concurrently writing), after which his material focused on two new supporting characters: John Daltry, Citrusville's new sheriff, and Bobbie Bannister, a formerly wealthy girl who is the only survivor when her parents' yacht is attacked. These characters' stories he resolved by tying them to a resolution for his own War Is Hell series.

Simon Jowett provided a Man-Thing story in Marvel Comics Presents #164-168 (Early Oct.-Late Nov. 1994). The story was set soon after Sallis's transformation, yet depicted Sallis using a standard personal computer with up-to-date graphics rather than hard-copy files, an example of the floating timeline effect.

J.M. DeMatteis began writing the character in a backup story in Man-Thing vol. 2, #9 (March 1981), which opened with a fill-in by Dickie McKenzie. DeMatteis would go on to write Man-Thing stories in Marvel Team-Up, The Defenders, Marvel Fanfare, and the limited series Daydreamers, as well as the eight-issue Man-Thing vol. 3 (Dec. 1997 - July 1998), illustrated by Liam Sharp. The two would re-team for the Man-Thing feature in the two-issue Strange Tales vol. 4 (Sept.-Oct. 1998). Four issues were written, but #3 and 4 were never published. Their stories were summarized briefly in Peter Parker: Spider-Man Annual '99, also by DeMatteis, with art by Sharp and others.[15] [16] [17]

In the 2000s, Man-Thing has starred in a handful of stories appearing in one-shots and limited series, including Marvel Knights Double Shot #2 (July 2002) and Legion of Monsters: Man-Thing #1 (May 2007).

In 2008, writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa retold Man-Thing's origin in Dead of Night: Man-Thing #1-4 (April-July 2008), from the Marvel MAX imprint. This was followed by an eight-page story in Marvel Comics Presents vol. 2, #12 (Oct. 2008), by writer Jai Nitz and artist Ben Stenbeck.

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