Here’s an interesting find. In this SUB-MARINER story from a 1950’s issue of THE HUMAN TORCH, Prince Namor is humanized a bit more than normal. In fact, artist Bob Powell makes him into a kind of "Tarzan of the Sea," having him carry a knife to fight predators. The biggest changes though come in the fact that his classic pointed ears are rounded off, his triangular face drawn more normally and no wings on his feet! Yes, I know they’re
pretty stupid but they ARE supposed to BE there! I wonder if Powell just took it on himself to do this or if this was a directive from above possibly tying in to the rumored SUB-MARINER TV series that was supposedly about to materialize in the fifties (starring actor Richard Egan if I recall).
Good guess on your part, Steve!
ReplyDeleteIt's the usual nice art by Bob Powell, but without the jutting eyebrows and distinctive hairstyle,
(not to mention a slightly triangular head) this image barely
resembles the Prince Namor we know
and love. If this was a style change to reflect a Richard Egan
Sub-Mariner tv series, I guess they
weren't going to make the actor
over to look like the hybrid Atlantean, but rather make the comic book character look more like
the actor! An easier job circa 1955.
As I remember from reading Marvel Comics as a kid in the 1960s, there were two accounts of how The Sub-Mariner got the wings on his ankles. In one reprinted story they sprouted suddenly when he was an adolescent. In the other he got them after exposure to radiation in an experiment aimed at giving him flight. I expect the ankles were intentionally deleted from the character for a while, and the story of the experiment was written to account for how they came back.
ReplyDelete