House ad for the Punisher story in Marvel Super-Action, 1975. Art by Bob Larkin.

Note that Doctor Strange is unleashing Bolts of Bedevilment on his bass. It’s hard to describe, but it makes for a kind of a James Jamerson-meets-Jaco Pastorius effect.

UPDATE: Oh, egg on my face. As others have pointed out, Doc Strange is holding a six-string. Always check the axe. Always.

Cover by Bob Larkin.

“Probably the ancestry of the Rush Hour movies was, Jackie Chan read Power Man & Iron Fist and loved it,” said PM&IF writer Jo Duffy. “And he basically said he’d like to star in an American comic book with a character like Luke Cage. So somebody higher up [at Marvel] was like, ‘Oh, let’s kill Iron Fist and put Jackie Chan in the comic.’ I said, ‘Well, that’s an incredibly stupid idea. We don’t own Jackie Chan; we do own Iron Fist, and he’s a great character.’ But before I knew it, somebody else on the editorial side had written a treatment for killing Iron Fist and bringing in Jackie Chan.”

http://www.facebook.com/MarvelComicsUntoldStory/app_398622146869368

Storm by Bob Larkin.

Second-unit photo shoot for Spider-Woman #50. From left: Brian Postman, Lynn Luckman, Mark Gruenwald, Mike Carlin, Eliot R. Brown. Photograph by Eliot R. Brown.

Photographer Eliot R. Brown recalls:
“Mike [Carlin], Mark [Gruenwald] and I had been working on A) Mark’s OMNIVERSE #3, AND B) [THE OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE] MARVEL UNIVERSE, and any time either of us needed to do something for the other, we did it. This was pretty much the way of the office—we would all jump through hoops for each other…this cover is an apex of self-sacrifice—never mind us crawling up and down fire escapes in the dank and the cold! Lynn—an executive secretary from the mythical “11th Floor”—was such a good sport to wear something so spandex-y and form fitting. She had to crouch on crumbly blocks of brick—she was a trooper! Now, I cannot recall if we did both shoots on the same day/night. I do know I didn’t take enough pictures at the time—well, I had to buy my own film! I do think Mark got us all some pizza, which paid off the extras. I also remember the shot of Belinda (his first wife) as Moth Person, was blown out because we shot that at the last moment in Camp/Waller’s place with room lighting! The print, cut out and pasted up by Redoubtable Ron Zalme, was worked on to make visual sense by Bob Larkin (major league cover painter).

I think I made $75 for this, but spent more on a new, improved lighting kit.

Oh yes! And the costumes? All from Mark Gruenwald’s Box O’ Costumes—he had all of these readily to hand!”

The finished cover is here:
http://seanhowe.tumblr.com/post/30405732743/photo-cover-to-spider-woman-50-shot-behind-bob

Photo cover to Spider-Woman #50, shot behind Bob Camp’s loft on 37th Street by Eliot R. Brown. Painted enhancements by Bob Larkin.

Mike Carlin recalls:
“The Scarecrow was Mark Gruenwald. I was in front of him as The Needle (the guy with the needle). Werewolf By Night was colorist Bob Sharen. The guy hanging off the fire escape is Spongebob animator Vincent Waller. The Moth Lady was Mark G’s wife Belinda. Tigra was Annie Nocenti her own bad self. Brian Postman is the Hangman, though ya can barely see him. Not sure who played The Shroud—Ralph Macchio? White-haired guy in white is letterer Jack Morelli. And Green Hoodie guy MIGHT be Ren & Stimpy animator Bob Camp. Lynn Luckman was a secretary from the business-side of Marvel—and she looked awesome in the suit! In fact she’s the only character painter Bob Larkin didn’t have to “enhance” with costume-lines and such! Lotsa fun here!”

See an outtake from the photo shoot at:
http://seanhowe.tumblr.com/post/30407174045/second-unit-photo-shoot-for-spider-woman-50-from

More of Eliot Brown’s work is viewable at
www.eliotrbrown.com
(Please do not copy the photos on his website without his permission.)