Alter Ego # 120 (magazine review).
I think the cover of Alter Ego # 120 should give away why I pulled this magazine that was released in 2013. This was the first cover for The X-Men # 10, as drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Chic Stone and one of those rare instances, Stan Lee decided he wanted something different. Inside is the black and white version of how it would have looked with logo and such, so it must have gotten a considerable way before a re-draw, a version of which is in the Brazilian section. X-Men # 33 had two alternative covers as well and both seen here, too, although one was considered ‘too strong’ by the Comic Code Authority. There’s also an alternative cover to X-Men # 53, having Cyclops alone against Blastarr. I think my favourite though has to be an illustration by Gene Colan, not least of which because he made Iceman’s snowballs look effective against a menacing Sentinel.
A quarter of this issue is devoted to the original X-Men, including suggestions of who would be seen as suitable for voice types had the mutant team been used for those 60s Marvel TV cartoons. What was even odder was an examination of the Brazilian release of the original X-Men where, to fill the pages, they did ten stories of their own. Although the art is poor and derivative, it was never something I came across, despite the fact that I own reprints in French and Italian, where the most they might do is create their own covers. Oh, the Brazilians played around a lot with the colours because whoever did them had probably not seen the originals and considering the Iceman is coloured red, probably hadn’t seen the translation neither.
The rest of the magazine covers a wide range of subjects from the Golden Age. A look at the history of the Merry Marvel Marching Society to a selection of interviews with Ed Silverman and Bill Schelly. The latter’s comments on why paper based fandom is no longer viable centres on the cost of paper but I suspect it’s because the Internet and digital makes things infinitely cheaper and quicker to update, especially with breaking news. There’s also a look at the work of various artists who would recreate various covers by Harvey Kurtzman as variants using similar gags and you finally get to see Melvin, if you haven’t seen him before.
If you were brought up in the Golden Age era of comics then you’re going to share the appeal it has with editor Roy Thomas and his team as they provide a lot of assorted information and insight in each issue. The TwoMorrows website list all available issues and contents so you can pick the issues which most appeal to you for either characters or people or both.
GF Willmetts
May 2015
(pub: TwoMorrows Publishing, 2013. 82 page illustrated magazine. Price: $ 8.95 (US). ISSN: 1932-6890)
check out website: www.twomorrows.com
