Insect Asides, Part Fourteen ~~ A "Comical Wednesday" Post

Judging from the "107" which has been changed to a "108", this illustration

by Ken Carson was planned to be used as the cover for both of those issues

at one time or another. As it turned out, however, it was used as the cover

of neither issue, but was instead used as an additional treat in issue #108.

Good news, fellow babies! Today is THE PENULTIMATE POST of my "Insect Asides" series.

But before I wrap up the "Funnel Effect" storyline... Didja ever wonder why we called it "The Funnel Effect?"

Well, here's a reminder of how Ch'arm destroyed an entire universe by... well... eating it, kinda.

The totality of this alternate reality enters this inter-dimensional pin-hole like water pouring down a drain.

And I just figured that "The Funnel Effect" sounded a lot better than "The Flushing Toilet Syndrome" or something similar.

Just sayin'.

Now, the weirdest thing about issue #108's story is... I didn't write it! Ken Carson actually scripted it, from the plot he and I had crafted over two years earlier. So it's still partially mine.

"Wait a minute," you may be saying. (Or thinking, anyway.) "Why didn't you write it, oh Foxy One?"

Well, I'd gladly answer that... if I could remember! It's true that in October or November of 1988, I journeyed from Massachusetts to Florida, planning a relocation which ending up never happening. It could have been because of that. I mean, what else could I have been doing that would have taken me away from this long-planned storyline?

Anyway, let's see how Ken did...

Almost every superhero who'd appeared in Insect Man or Insect Man's Weird Tales since 1985 assembled (with their owners' permission, of course) to attack Ch'arm's lair on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. This included Insect Man, Hur-Bi (and Greeph), Jake "The Masked Magician" Kellerman, Scythe, characters from a group called the Agents of Fortune, Silver Fox...

All these heroes attacked en masse... and Ch'arm kicked their collective butts with little more than a gesture! 

Oops.

The only ones conscious and standing were Insect Man, Hur-Bi, and Jake.

So, first we establish Ch'arm as the biggest freakin' serial killer in the multiverse, and then we cast doubts as to whether or not he was really evil, or just doing what he had to do to survive.

And then, of all... ummm... well, I can't really say "of all people," but a sudden sneak attack comes from none other than Greeph, Hur-Bi's ever-present robot. It does no good.

Yep, that's right. On Menro-6, a robot's primary use is keeping their owners alive. It's sentient life-support equipment, like a respirator, a dialysis machine, or the like. Once Greeph was violently dismantled, Hur-Bi's centuries-long life was ended.

So, Ch'arm vanished, still wearing the Menrosian ring on his finger. And Rex remained comatose until the present day, "present day" meaning the framing sequence for what was essentially a flashback.

The radically-different look to the former superhero, Mr. Secret, reflects changes in Greg Nile that would have occurred during the Mr. Secret mini-series I had planned with artist W.W. Bird, a mini-series which was never published. Somewhere at home, in a box, I have partially-drawn pages from the very first issue!

Anyhoo, after Greg leaves the hospital room, Jake dozes off. He awakens to see this:

I dunno about you, fellow babies, but I was quite impressed with Ken's script (and art, as always). It was precisely what he and I had planned.

Ken Carson

Next Wednesday: The two -- count 'em, two -- Insect Man anniversary specials, "real" comic books, no less!

Thanks for your time.

Insect Man, Insect Man's Weird Tales, and all related characters and titles are copyright © Paul B. Howley.