Alan Weiss will always be a favorite comic artist from his days as one of the young turks of the seventies. Few fans probably know, however, that Weiss, also a prolific fan artist of the sixties, made his pro debut (sorta) in Charlton's BLUE BEETLE # 5 in 1965. Arguably the blandest super hero ever in the Charlton incarnation, young Alan drew and submitted this jazzier new costume which was published on the new letters page. Fans were quizzed as to whether they wanted the costume changed to this one and the official answer was "no." It wasn't long, however, before Steve Ditko redesigned not only the costume but the concept and the character as well!
Oh and, ummm...don't ask me what the big yellow letter "M" is for.
It's possible that it isn't supposed to be an M, but, instead, the blue triangles coming up are supposed to mimic the pincers shown on the scarab on his belt. All too often, we can lock on to what we know we are trying to go for (in art or the written word) and have it taken completely different than intended. Might be that he never saw the M as being there or being pronounced. Or he could have seen it and was just that desperate to introduce a third color and liven the thing up.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt about it. The M is for Marvel... that's the original Goliath outfit that Wanda was making for Hank Pym... LOL!
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