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COMIC BOOK REVIEW! CREATURES ON THE LOOSE #11, MAY 1971 ISSUE (Marvel Comics Group)

If you're won'drin why I had any nerve-digging interest in this particular issue of Marvel's long-running monster reprint title (a subject of which I went whole hog full depth into in the 22nd issue of my crudzine, and just try finding a copy), it is because of the Mighty Marvel Checklist mention that can be seen directly to your right, or to your left, or below or somewhere thereabout depending on your browser. Well, it's on this page somewhere and you can't miss it, and you can't miss just why I wanted to latch this 'un up for quite some time! For a suburban slob like myself who was diving whole hog into the comic book realm and found out about the underground comix not only via a variety of magazines but that chapter in the infamous Les Daniels COMIX history well, you can just bet that I was searching through piles of flea market and garage sale stacks trying to find this elusive issue with visions of the Checkered Demon violating Angelfood McSpade while Nard 'n Pat watched as they engaged in the act of self-abuse dancing in my head. Well, what were you expect to be dancing there anyway...SUGAR PLUMS???

Actually the idea of an underground comic, even in the pages of a reprint title such as CREATURES ON THE LOOSE, ain't that far fetched considering just how much Marvel kingpin Stan Lee himself used to show off his intellectual acumen bragging about how much he admired 'em because they could get away with anything, in my opinion an attempt just to look hipper to the more lovenpeace members of the comic book audience. Some of you (not me though) might remember Marvel's own venture into bringing the undergrounds to the mainstream entitled COMIX BOOK which I get the sneakin' suspicion wasn't as hotcha as the run of ARCADEs that followed but at least they got Richard Meltzer to contribute to an issue. However as to this particular CREATURES ON THE LOOSE well...for years my guess was that Stan Lee actually hired one of the undergrounders to contribute at least the artwork to some story, one that would conform to the standards and norms that you'd expect from a comic title that was best known for rerunning those pre-superhero stories with titles like "Gagoom" and "Fanabla". Perhaps someone like Greg Irons who very well would have been able to handle a Code-approved horror comic as long as he held the reins in. In '71 a stunt like that woulda been a coup for Lee, who had already defied the CCA once with those Spiderman anti-drug comics making him hip enough to the point where a whole load of "youth-oriented" mags were giving the ol' braggart a whole load of free publicity.

Otherwise CREATURES ON The LOOSE #11 comes off like your typical early-seventies Marvel monster reprint title what with cover story "Moomba" who was one of those oversized pre-hero Marvel monsters that most of the fans (I assume) thought were total cornballus but the suburban slob ranch house kiddies like me sure knew different! In yet another Jack Kirby penciled story set in Africa we find that typically patented everyday Marvel somewhat faceless character traipsing across the Dark Continent looking for exquisite native carvings to sell to the artsy types back home. While in the wilds, Our Hero comes across a huge wooden statue, one which the ol' stroonad actually believes will rake in the much-desired greenbacks and if you believe that this statue is gonna let the man get away with it you got another think comin'!

As for the underground comic that appears, the one that I've held a curiosity about for ages on end ever since I was a young turd well, who sez that Lee wasn't the P.T. Barnum of his day? The comic in question is titled "The Underground Gambit" and it is about as underground as a King Family television show with a few Lawrence Welk audiences thrown in. HULK artist Herb Trimpe drew this 'un about some hack working away on an underground strip entitled "Peter of the People" (which as you would expect comes off exactly like some square's idea of what an underground comic is supposed to look like) while longing for a bigger piece of the comic industry pie. This budding John Romita who goes by the typically Marvel-ish name of "Roger Krass" even has to keep up an image with the Greenwich Village locals by putting on an Afro wig and a vest actually fooling the locals if you can believe it. Anyway Roger gets a gig with a publisher who is really into the concept of what "underground" is s'posed to be, and if you don't think this one's gonna have one of those typical weak-tea takes on a Stan Lee idea of some sorta O. Henry surprise ending I don't think you haven't been reading these comic books long enough!

Yeah I like it in its own way. Marvel's various early-seventies horror titles like CHAMBER OF DARKNESS were trying to capture something of an EC feeling as much as they could get away with even if most of the time these stories veered closer to one of those old MAD satires of the old days like "Outer Sanctum"*. Dunno if those stories have ever been collected into one nice 'n title book but the idea sure seems like a funzy enough one a good fiftysome years down the line, don't it?

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*...and speaking of "Outer Sanctum" I remember when I was a pre-pubesprout and my father, so fed up with the then-current hippoid trend that was overtaking things at the time, was whole hog into the thirties/forties nostalgia trip that you just couldn't escape back then. Anyway, amongst the junk mail and various nostalgia-based fliers he received in the mail was one for some company that was hawking recordings of old radio programs including one with the once-popular INNER SANCTUM only (now get this) the opening panel from the EC spoof was actually used as a come-on illustration for that particular item! Naturally I was surprised to see this and even recall mentioning this interesting fact to my father, who didn't seem to be surprised or care at all for that matter.