By 1969, Roy Thomas has already begun reviving the Golden Age heroes he love so much. However his story inspirations reach well beyond comics, as the books I’m looking at this post show.
X-Men #60 pays tribute to Tolkien — well, sort of — with “In the Shadow Of … Sauron,” by Thomas and Neal Adams. Unfortunately Karl Lykos, AKA Sauron, feels more like a Not Brand Ecch parody of Tolkien than a serious villain in his own right.
During the X-Men’s second battle with the Sentinels, Cyclops’ brother Alex was seriously injured. Scott fortunately knows a researcher who worked with Professor Xavier (who at this point was supposedly dead) and might be able to treat Alex. Little does he know that kindly doctor Karl Lykos is — well, try this for size. As a kid he accompanied his explorer father on a South Polar expedition, got bitten by a pterosaur at the border of the Savage Land and somehow that turned him into an energy vampire who needs the life-force of others to survive. When he gets his hands on Alex, the mutant energy surging into Lykos transforms him into a were-pterodactyl because why not? The man-dactyl proclaims himself so utterly evil the only name that captures his evil evil evilness is …. Sauron!
Um, no. As a couple of later letters to the editor complained, this guy isn’t even remotely in Sauron’s league; I wouldn’t even match him to Saruman or Wormtongue. Even if his origin wasn’t idiotic (out of curiosity, did anyone make sense of it later?), he’s one dull villain.
That Roy Thomas also played tribute to HP Lovecraft in ’69 interests me a little more. In Daredevil #56, ” … and Death Came Riding” (Thomas, Gene Colan) the death of Matt Murdock sends Karen Page, heartbroken, home to her parents. In the best horror movie tradition, nobody in the neighboring town wants to drive her out there, leading to this scene:
While Lovecraft had devout fans back then,he was very far from the household name he’s become since (despite having been adapted into the movies a couple of times) — the driver’s confusion is how a lot of comics fans probably reacted to the name. If I’d been reading comics in 1969 (I’d stopped temporarily) I’d have been baffled. I hadn’t heard of Sauron either but at least I knew Tolkien’s name from The Hobbit.
That Karen is obviously familiar with Lovecraft’s work is an interesting character detail — is she into classic horror? — but I don’t believe anyone ever followed up on it, much like the Wasp’s passion for jazz.
We have one more pop culture reference in the story, though not particularly literary: although Karen’s never been a smoker, Roy works in a reference to Virginia Slims, a relatively new cigarette marketed to women.
I remember the endless quips about the brand in the 1970s when it positioned women smoking as a feminist act (“You’ve come a long way, baby.”). I hadn’t realized it started this early.
Now, the Adams stuff. I think this Neal Adams Superboy cover —
— looks like he was riffing on Golconda by Magritte.
On the other hand the inspiration could as easily have been the cover of Metal Men #1 by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito.
What do you think?
I’ve always liked Sauron as a villain (I was really into dinosaurs as a kid). It wasn’t until adulthood that I found out how he got his name, though. When I found out, I didn’t have a problem with it.
Before that, I’d have agreed with those who were saying ‘but he’s nothing like Sauron’. Now I know it’s just somebody evil being incredibly arrogant and putting on airs.
In a situation where nobody wants to take Karen Page to That House, I’d have leapt to Dracula before Lovecraft. It’s something more people would know, and a specific situation I know happened in that work (I haven’t read Lovecraft).
Even now, I wouldn’t expect normies to know who Lovecraft is, because:
To tie these two things together:
Once, before the movies came out, I was talking to a co-worker and mentioned Lord Of The Rings. She had no idea what I was talking about.
Also, I keep hoping I’ll see Savage Land dinosaurs when I go to Antarctica.
It’s a fair point that Lykos/Sauron is delusional about his own awesomeness.
Nobody Goes There is such a genre cliche I wouldn’t have thought of Dracula in particular — but you’re right, it’s not a particularly Lovecraftian trope. As for reading him, he can be very much Love Him Or Hate Him — I love him even when his purple prose makes me wince.
Guessing what non-genre fans known is often a challenge. I’ve been surprised often enough that I’ve learned to roll with it.
It’s also amusing to give a capsule history of a long-established character and watch their eyes bug out (“So after Hal Jordan redeemed himself he was condemned to Purgatory, then freed to reclaim the Spectre’s spirit from the demon Neron — wait, you don’t know who the Spectre is, do you?”).
I’ve been reading Tomb Of Dracula recently, and they were stuck on somebody specific, but you’re right – it’s so generic, I wouldn’t associate it with any one thing. (Isn’t there a horror that starts with ‘every neighbourhood has that one house nobody goes to’?)
I just haven’t read Lovecraft. It has more to do with having a very big reading pile than anything to do with desire – I’d like to have read some, though, at some point.
Once I talked about the Spectre to a guy named Jim Corrigan. I ended up lending him Kingdom Come.
Having never been a Tolkien fan, the Sauron name meant nothing to me when I bought a few back issues from this acclaimed run after joining a certain auction site c. 2008 – you know, back when these things were affordable!
We did a few group class reads in late primary school including The Hobbit but we didn’t get very far. Classmates then went on to LotR but I didn’t feel the urge.
Still haven’t watched all the Jackson LotR or Hobbit films, plus no spin offs (are there any?).
A similar geek culture blank spot: have never read a Potter or completed a HP film.
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I would be wary of attributing – I’m not saying you have, Fraser – the majority of X-Men story engine ideas to Roy Thomas on this run. Eg ever notice how a Thomas book got really good when paired with a really good artist/plotter like, say, Neal Adams; or Barry Smith on Conan? Hmmm. Both Adams and Smith are on record as saying they did the plot heavy lifting although these guys had/have monster egos, to be sure. Mind you, if I had the talent of Adams or BWS I’d have a bit of an ego!
Now the dialogue and pop culture references: THAT’S definitely Thomas. Note the ‘Fagan’ on the DD sign: that’ll be Tom Fagan, one assumes.
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As Adams had a more rounded past via his illustrative ad background and didn’t just grow up reading comics like Thomas and most of his fans-turned-pro generation seemed to do, I’d say Magritte.
You’re quite right about attribution with the Marvel method — sometimes I’m just guessing or assuming who shaped what. People’s later claims about who gets credit are often just as debatable in many cases—even if everyone thinks they’re being truthful, memory ain’t always reliable, as rereading these old books has reminded me (“Wow, I could have sworn they never used that character again!”).
There was a big fight between John Byrne and Peter David that involved a lot of ‘he said / the other he said’. In thinking about it, I thought about how I’m a fan of both of them – but you know why I like them?
They’re good at making up stories.
Also, with Byrne, I saw him post a note on Byrne Robotics once saying ‘I always wanted to do a story where Shaman turned his pouch inside out’. (He’d clearly forgotten that he actually *did* do that!)
A few years back I asked Gerry Conway what his original plan for Firestorm’s foe Hyena was — in the first appearance it’s clearly someone in a costume, then they turn out to be a were-hyena (possibly inspired by The Howling having been a big hit). He didn’t remember, darn it.
Then again, there’s decisions I make in my writing I don’t remember and it’s much more recent.
Sure, Fraser, particularly with what we now know about the Marvel Method — I think most on here are well aware that Kirby, Ditko, Wood, Ayers, Goldberg et al all stated their problems with or outright rejections of the way the MM inflated Lee’s pay and credit and diminished theirs. There’s enough evidence emerging via FB and other sites or social media to back Kirby and co’s cases.
And since your articles aren’t really concerned with this issue I don’t expect you to comment on it or editorialise in them (“Well Thomas said this in 1990 whereas Adams online in 2014 stated he in fact created…”). Comments like these on the MM are best left to the, er, comments section!
Attack of the 50-Year-Old Comics does a good job covering those disputes where it’s relevant to the comic book under discussion.
I have discussed the Marvel method in some Silver Age Reread posts. Mostly where it seems obvious that the writer and artist weren’t on the same page about what was happening or where it looks like the artist is padding the plot. Not that I blame them, given they weren’t paid for plotting — and when Gene Colan does it on Iron Man or DD, it’s always good-looking padding.
Attack of the 50-Year-Old Comics is the only other comics related blog I read regularly (other quality comics related blogs are available!).
Colan could draw someone reading the telephone directory and make it at least halfway good-looking/interesting. IIRC, he did the same with someone opening a door knob on Daredevil!
Karen’s cab driver was spot-on with his “new-fangled singin’ groups” in that H P Lovecraft was an American rock group formed in 1967. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft_(band)
I had no idea. That’s pretty damn funny.
Apparently the group’s albums are available on iTunes. I’ll have to give some samples a listen.
Oh yes, Colan makes Silver Age DD look so much better than it deserves.