Marvel Horror Comics of the 1970s

[@jamespero6803]

Mike ploogs best work I think was frankenstien. The cover of that 1st issue was so amazing. Him and Frank Brunner on man thing were some of the best in 70s comic horror. Bernie wrightson completes the trinity

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Those early Frankenstein issues were pretty great.

[@tonygriego6382]

Roger always looks scared whenever you whip out the giant size Man-Thing. Theodore Sturgeon's short story "It!" Was the genesis for all swamp monsters, including the first comic book swamp monster.."The Heap."

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

The Heap!

[@robertmallory1877]

Word was of those extra big quarterlies that Marvel used to put out, the one with the most female readers was the Giant-Size Man-Thing issues!

[@FrankGrauJr]

Mike Ploog’s style on those early WWBN comics reminds me somewhat of Michael T. Gilbert’s style on Mr. Monster, though more polished. But I agree with you about the entertainment value of the B-movie content. Very fun stuff.

[@bhhNC]

I also loved Ploog's pencils. One exception to the 'it's over when a superhero shows up' (usually true) is the DC Swamp Thing / w Batman issue, which was surprisingly excellent. I'm 64 and subscribed to these co,mics back then. The Wein/Wrightson Swamp Things and Ploog Man-Things were great, and concurrent.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

You are right, that Swamp Thing/Batman story was really good.

[@bhhNC]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 ST was mining similar 'classic monster' with a werewolf, Arcane (sorta Frankenstien-y), a cool alien, a Lovecraftian blob thing. Man-Thing was limited by its limited character concept, but I loved both comics and still have them, including the full ST Wrightson run and the HoS92 pre-story. :) Sn old man with his kid stuff.

[@mediumjohnsilver]

Thanks for the fun look at the comic books I passed by. Although I started reading Marvel comics in the 1970s, I never got into their horror comics. On the DC side, I enjoyed reading Swamp Thing, and read some of their spooky titles like House of Mystery, The Unexpected, and The Witching Hour, just out of habit.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

All that DC stuff was great!

[@disshelvedwithadamwhite8731]

I love the 70s Marvel horror stuff! Great video!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks! Such fun stuff.

[@friendsinmyheadtv3890]

Planet of the Apes & Dracula Lives were the main comics had in the 70s. In the latter comic, Wolfman, Frankenstein and Man-Thing were featured. I still got them:)

[@thomasswafford250]

I followed The Tomb of Dracula most of its run. It was fantastic.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

It really was.

[@charliedogg7683]

Hi Michael, just stumbled onto your channel and immediately subscribed. You have so much great content for me to catch up on! I agree with your assessment of the Marvel horror titles; you're quite right in that Don Perlin's art could not match Ploog's on Werewolf By Night, although the Belaric Marcosa story in #34-37 (based on/inspired by Richard Matheson's "Hell House" I'm sure) was well done. I do think, however, that The Monster Of Frankenstein was blessed in both the colour and b/w stories with Val Mayerik art after Ploog left; I find Mayerik's art subtle and his handling of shading was great. Man-Thing is a catalyst character, the character only works because it causes reactions in other characters. Gerber very much owned Man-Thing and his stories are a testament to this writer's brilliance. A lot of people must like Brother Voodoo as prices for his first few appearances in Strange Tales are very high considering that the character has not been in a regular Marvel comic for several years, has never had his own title and has no presence in the Marvel films and series.

[@Toracube]

Mike Ploog answered me when i asked him if he knew about Joe Calquhoun's art. He said he loved it (good to know Joe was appreciated overseas). Yep, the PofTApe stuff was awesome.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

That’s awesome! Good ole Mike Ploog.

[@katherinecierra5683]

The KZbin gods have blessed me with Comic book Wednesday in my subscription feed this week! They were listening. Great overview of Marvel horror! Don't listen to Steve. I want all the campy horror comics! Love your Roger head thumbnail too!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

When it comes to comics it’s always best not to listen to Steve.

[@jeremyfee]

Horror comics are so much fun! Werewolf by Night is a great title, since I mean, that's what werewolves are, LOL. Great art style for that one too. Glad to find out Roger's favorite comics.

[@Couick27]

Mike Ploog created my favorite comic book character and I even own a copy of marvel spotlight #5!! Ghost rider was my introduction to marvel horror

[@athenassigil5820]

I grew up in the 70s and loved all of the horror stuff....and like yourself, I collect the reprints in omnibus's. I also agree, when the big boys appear in the lesser known horror stuff...nah! Even though, in a way, you wanted to see them there, it came across as weird fan fic. I miss those old b&w books, classic stuff! The artists, writers and characters made the 70s a little more bearable.Great synopsis of the pulpy 70s, by the way.

[@MichelNJoia]

This duo is a classic! Lol

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Ha! Thanks!

[@rlyehianbunnyman4242]

This was a wonderful rundown of the era! Loved you commentary! Glad to hear the Man-Thing shoutout!

[@BookBlather]

If only the Comic Code Authority got a look at some of the stuff coming out today. My god, they would probably faint from shock. Great video!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Seriously!

[@josephcontreras8930]

Go epic, vertigo and Pacific comics and dark horse and other alternative comics publishirs. I love these horror comics marvels and DC's house of secrets/mystery/ghosts and creepy/eerie.

[@99Michael]

TOD was by far the best Marvel comic with a strong and mature plot narrative.

[@davidsigler9690]

"Werewolf By Night" was always my favorite.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I love that comic!

[@davidsigler9690]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Ah, my wasted youth.....lol

[@davidsigler9690]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 It was my favorite, I don't remember reading the other M-Horror comics but I must have....

[@PaxPanic]

AHAHA five seconds in and already great 🤣🤣🤣

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Ha! Roger livens everything up.

[@dbitgood1]

Enjoyed the video. However, Ghost Rider was the breakout success story of the Marvel horror line. It too featured the work of Mike Ploog in the first handful of issues.

[@enderwinns]

you're very quickly becoming one of my favorite youtube channels

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Wow! Thank you so much!

[@terrencetarr6913]

When I was first buying superhero comics in the early 1970s, I started with Marvel books (15 cent issues), then a couple of years later, DC books (mostly 20 or 25 cent issues). I saw all the Marvel/DC horror and sci-fi books on the spinner racks, but the only one I bought was Weird War Tales #2, with a Joe Kubert cover...never regretted it

[@ericcake5075]

Thanks, very informative

[@chrisw6164]

Comic book writer Marv Wolfman was almost banned from using his real name because the word “wolfman” was disallowed by the Comics Code. DC Comics went to bat for Wolfman about it in the early 1970s. This is a true story.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

That is a crazy story! I didn’t know that!

[@josephcontreras8930]

Are they kidding us???!!! I cantbelieve they did that. What did he have to do change his name????

[@robertmallory1877]

Did you ever check out the horror type books from DC? Besides Swamp Thing they had the revived (from the 1950's) Phantom Stranger which eventually had the Spawn Of Frankenstein back feature, The Spectre, the Creature Commandoes and I, Vampire off the top of my head.

[@bonpourvous]

I think they did a one off monster team up, `the legion of..?` with Drac, Jack, Frank and Ghost Rider, or did I dream it.?

[@rodneybrimer5171]

I was a kid around the time the horror comics started coming out. Man Thing was decent but my absolute fav was Werewolf by Night. I always loved the Werewolf. I guess we all have our favorites . My next fav is Frankenstein. Dracula never interested me.

[@stevengentry9396]

The Marvel horror comics were a group that I only read a smattering of, but it was always fun when the characters crossed over into the superhero books. Dr. Strange and Thor were natural places for Dracula and Wolfman (by Night) to show up, and those issues were usually particularly entertaining. Man-Thing even showed up in Dr. Strange.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Dr. Strange was particularly interesting when he ran into these kinds of characters.

[@tb1263]

Thanks for the video.. Anybody knows who made DC Unexpected 1971: "The deadly widows web" great art

[@johnbaker6572]

Very interesting.

[@jerr3d]

ToD was not so easy to find in the early 70s, I might have had one of them. I did have some other comic by the awesome Mike Ploog, I just don't remember what it was.

[@DDB168]

Those Planet of the Apes archives are great - I just had a browse on amazon. Very compelling. And Werewolf by Night too. Now I have to talk about the elephant in the room, which is: that cap looks better on Roger 🤣🤣

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Well, I don’t have Roger’s natural good looks.

[@ABFrank.]

I need myself a copy of Tomb of Dracula, damn it!! It costs like £800 😆

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I wish they would reprint Tomb of Dracula! So damn expensive!

[@josephcontreras8930]

Great viddie dude. You kind of look like that singer of manhatten transfer acapella group.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I am that singer. Don’t tell anyone.

[@josephcontreras8930]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 ooomm bbaa ooomm bbbaa hey hey kitty tell us about the boy from New York city.... your secret is safe with me....

[@dannystaton5386]

Greetings from South Carolina

[@sgriffin9960]

So nice to find people I can geek out about comics with! I would read ANY of the books you showcased here! Question! Where does Roger hang out when he’s not hanging out with you?

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Roger has an upright casket down in the Vault of Science Fiction.

[@turtleanton6539]

Cool

[@FrankGrauJr]

I personally miss the Comics Code Authority, nor did the CCA at all ruin or diminish the quality of the comics I enjoyed in the 70’s (as evidenced by the Dracula and Horror omnibus’ you’re sharing with viewers). Most modern comics are not all all appropriate for kids and largely trash. The only modern kid-safe comics are usually condescending and the offerings are limited to My Little Pony type nonsense. Thankfully, there’s an abundance of reprints, omnibus’ and classic comic-strip collections to discover without ever having to read a single modern comic.

[@robertmallory1877]

While originally the Comics Code Authority was too restrictive the revised one that allowed the color horror comics was to me the "Sweet Spot". And of course it never was applied to the B&W books which went further. The Marvel B&W's were mostly not too over the line. I agree with you that most of the no code comics of today are nowhere near as much fun!

[@Dirty_Hamble]

I'm trying to trace a story from a horror anthology, but I don't know if it was in a Marvel or DC book. It involved a guy killing an Indian carpet weaver, and at the end (spoilers), the killer guy started unravelling like a carpet. Can anyone help me find it? Thanks. Keep thinking it was in House of Mystery or House of Secrets.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I’m going to have to look for that one.

[@ThisJustInBookTube]

Nicely done overview of Marvel Horror! Are there any current non-Marvel horror comics worth checking out? Also, I think you and Roger might need some couples counseling… I see a lot of hostility between the two of you.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

There are a ton of horror comics out now but I’ve only read a tiny bit. All our problems are Roger’s fault.

[@johncarter1477-v6y]

No Mention of Damion Hellstrom or Ghost Rider?

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I know. An unforgivable omission! I will have to do a newer version.

[@michaelbertot9743]

Ploog co created Ghost Rider that was his super hero comic

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Is Ghost Rider really a superhero? I guess in a way he is.

[@KennyRider137]

Was the magazine format OK to publish horror themes? I remember a lot of naked women in Warren magazine comics.

[@thedreamsoldiers]

Are you related to Brian k. Vaughan?

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

No relation. I do like his work though.

[@FrankGrauJr]

Man-Thing actually preceded Swamp Thing, so if anything, the latter was the knock-off.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Yes, but The Heap in Airboy preceded them both!

[@FrankGrauJr]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 I’m familiar with the “It” story of which I have a digital copy, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of “The Heap”. I’ll have to search for that. Thanks for the info!

[@Chalwa]

That’s simply not true. They came out almost exactly the same time and the writers were roommates. More to this than meets the eye.

[@FrankGrauJr]

@@Chalwa As they say, "almost" only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades. The fact is, Man-Thing came out first, which is a verifiable fact. Yes, I know the authors were roommates and, yes, in all likelihood there was some influencing going on, but there's no question as to which came out first - it was Man-Thing.

[@robertmallory1877]

@@FrankGrauJr You folks do know that House Of Mystery had a Swamp Thing story before the regular comic, right? It might or might not have seen print before Man-Thing in Savage Tales.