© Marvel.
Back in the period 1977-1979 my interest in American comic collecting was waning, being replaced by enthusiasm for collecting paperback reprints of pulps. It wasn't until 1980 that I stopped collecting comics completely, and sold my collection in 1983. And it was during this waning period of interest (77-79) that I completely missed Marvel's The Human Fly, a 19-issue run of comics written by Bill Mantlo, drawn by the likes of Lee Elias and Frank Robbins, edited initially by Archie Goodwin.
I recently became aware of the character through listening to a very entertaining podcast by Chris Dingsdale, which is well worth a listen at https://www.darreninform.com/thinkworkspodcast/episode/5126fce7/82-thinkworks-82-adventures-in-comics-2-the-astonishing-true-story-of-the-human-fly
So I’ve tracked down a few issues to see what I missed.
The unique selling proposition of the comic was that The Human Fly was based on a real-life Canadian daredevil Rick Rojatt who had overcome extreme injuries and surgery replacing bones with screws and rods to ride on top of a commercial airliner wearing a full-face mask. Think back to that magical time when Evel Knievel, a fellow enthusiast for having metal hardware inserted into various limbs.
© original photographer. The real Human Fly!
Bill Mantlo came up with the comics concept, and spent an entire editorial page spelling out the lead character’s true story. Each of the nineteen issues revolved around another wild stunt, combined with thrilling do-gooder action and social commentary.
© Marvel. Bill Mantlo explains the origin of Human Fly © Marvel. Lee Elias splash page to Human Fly #1
I think it is fair to say that the concept would have suited a TV series, and perhaps that was in the back of Marvel’s mind at the time. The Spider-Man live-action TV series was on the air at this point, as was the Hulk TV series.
Looking at the splash page of issue #1 (above) I can't help but think how Lee Elias' work looks like it was inked by Frank Robbins. Incidentally, the book is notable for containing Frank Robbins’ ante-penultimate comics story before retirement (Human Fly #14).
The comic only lasted less than two years. Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter confirmed the character was based on the real-life Canadian stuntman Rick Rojatt. Shooter stated in 2007 that photographs in the comic were indeed of Rojatt.
I may try to pick up all nineteen issues. I’ve seen them in the dollar bin from time to time, and I do love a bit of Robbins’ artwork.
Do take a listen to the podcast.
© Ian Baker
Yup, that splash page sure looks to have some Robbins input to it. I don't think I ever saw an issue (outside of ads) of The Human Fly, never mind read one, but for some odd reason the concept doesn't appeal to me. Let me know what you think of the title as a whole should you ever track down the rest of those 19 issues.
ReplyDeleteI think it'll be pretty easy to track down an issue or two. I've skipped past them many times in the past when thumbing through the back issues boxes. I'll see if I can get Chris Dingsdale (who was on that podcast I mentioned in the blog) to see if he can do a guest blog entry.
DeleteMy interest in comics also wained around 1977 and by the early 1980s I was only picking up a couple of Marvel and DC titles preferring comics like Love and Rockets etc. I held onto most of my comics after the early 1980s but I sometimes think it would have been better if I had stopped collecting them .
ReplyDeleteAs a Robbins fan I picked up all his Human Fly issues ( and a few others) . Its not a great comic but it is just screams of the 1970s which I love. Robbins issues are really nice and worth tracking down. Another great series for Robbins fans that you may have missed , is "The Man from Atlantis"
Yes, I totally missed the Man From Atlantis comic, despite being quite a fan of the TV movies and subsequent short-lived TV series. There were quite a number of short-lived SF TV series around that time, if I recall, and Marvel was licensing quite a few of them as comics. I'll look out for some cheap Man From Atlantis comics when my LCS has their semi-annual 50%-off back issues promotion.
DeleteI'm interested in your comment that you wonder if you should have stopped collecting comics back in the early '80s. At that time I certainly felt that my collection had become a bit of an albatross and my continued collecting was more habit than passion. So I sold the lot, with a brief resurgence when Dark Knight, V For Vendetta and Watchmen appeared around 1986/87. I kept the stuff from 86/87 in a single crate until 2003, when I picked up an issue of Batman featuring the Hush storyline around 2003, and I got hooked again. But its really only the early 1970s era that means something to me, recalling those early teenage years.
That's exactly the way I felt about collecting comics around the late 70s - mid 80s as it was starting to be a habit and a bit of a chore. I suppose that was only natural as by the 1980's I was in my 20's . As it happened I didn't stop buying comics but cut back substantially on any new titles until I found back issue shops and then I started to pick up lots of back issues that I missed as a kid and in my teens. Like yourself my interest is almost entirely in late 1960s to early/ mid 1970s comics but I think I've pretty much got all I need now .
ReplyDeleteExcuse my intrusion, but two must-have comics of the early '80s were Marvel Tales (Ditko Spidey reprints from the beginning) and John Byrne's Fantastic Four. I'd have hated to have given up comics back then 'cos I'd have missed out on two great mags. Alpha Flight and The Thing were another two mags I bought regularly, and there were probably others I got too, which I probably still have.
ReplyDeleteI missed out completely on the era of John Byrne's influence on comics. And I was never a big FF or X-Men aficionado, so new developments with those characters simply passed me by. Looking back, my interests in pulps, films, SF, music and girls pushed comics to one side until 1986 and the start of The Dark Age, as Paul Levitz coins it.
DeleteOf course, now I've got time to go back and revisit what I missed. Where should I start?
JB's FF.
DeleteAlthough I passed on most comics at this time, I did occasionally pick up the odd X-Men, FF , Thor etc and they were pretty decent. But one ( the only) title I did read regularly was Byrne/Ordways Superman which not only looked great but was pretty good overall .
DeleteThanks, Kid and McScotty - I'll take a look at Byrne's FF and Superman.
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