Insect Asides, Part Fifteen-and-Final! ~~ A "Comical Wednesday" Post

Paul  Howley, owner of That's Entertainment!

I've devoted this overlong "Insect Asides" series to reminiscing about my contributions to Insect Man and Insect Man's Weird Tales, amateur comic books I wrote during the 1980s. Today's post, while dealing with the Insect Man character, talks about the two "real" Insect Man anniversary comic books published since my stint on the book! In other words, I didn't write 'em!

Even as Ken Carson and I finished plotting the "Funnel Effect" storyline in 1988, I planned yet another never-finished Insect Man project. This was "A Last Insect Man Story", a proposed two-issue tale that would take place fifteen years in the future, in the year 2003. The concept of the end of a superhero's career was inspired by two 1986 comic stories. One was Alan Moore's two-part Superman story, "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" which was published in Superman #423 and Action Comics #583. The other was Frank Miller's four-part limited series, Batman: The Dark Knight, which has been reprinted a zillion times since as Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

I plotted and partially wrote "A Last Insect Man Story" from an odd angle, namely "What would the last Insect Man story become if I had continually written Insect Man for fifteen more years?" In other words, the story contained all sorts of little references to things that had never actually happened in the stories anyone had ever actually read! Confusing, huh? Oh, well.

"A Last Insect Man Story" is still taking up space inside my twisted mind, although I did actually go so far as to script the nineteen pages comprising part one, which I still have lying around in my files somewhere. No one has ever seen it! Not Ken Carson, not Paul Howley... nobody!

Anyway, once "The Funnel Effect" concluded in Insect Man #108, there wasn't an IM issue published until 1991. Insect Man's 25th Anniversary Special was a "pro" comic book, and featured a cool cover by well-known comic artist Rick Veitch, known for drawing and/or writing such titles as Swamp Thing, The One, and Brat Pack.

The anniversary special also contained pin-ups by Ken Carson, Chris Coleman, Dan Courtney, and Larry Young.

That's the Worcester, Massachusetts, City Hall in the foreground of this first illustration by Ken Carson!

The second pin-up page by Ken, containing the initials of almost every Insect Man artist and writer since IMWT #88!

Not only that, but the back cover of was drawn by none other than Kevin Eastman. And in case you don't recognize the name, Kevin is best known as the co-creator (along with Peter Laird) of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Now, as for the story itself... I've read many interviews with comic writers and/or artists in which the interviewee has said that once he or she stops working with a certain character (or team), he or she doesn't look at the book again. I can sympathize with that. Before opening Insect Man's 25th Anniversary Special, I knew that whether the story was better or worse than whatever I would have written, it wouldn't be the same as whatever I would have written because -- duh -- I didn't write it.

Therefore, I will neither describe nor review the story and art. I will, however, mention the two things that bothered me about the issue.

Firstly, in the author's introduction, he said that he'd first encountered Insect Man's Weird Tales on the rack in a comic shop, and considered it a piece of trash. This prompted him to say "I can do that." He then launched into an overview of Insect Man's 25-year history. I should mention that, although he spoke disparagingly of some of the earlier Insect Man material, he did speak somewhat favorably about the issues which I wrote. He ended by challenging the reader -- and again, I'm paraphrasing to reflect my own interpretation of what he wrote -- by saying "I did it, and so can you," and suggesting that the reader do just that.

The other thing was that he decided to include Rex Mason's son Alex (whom I had created and introduced), but he made him a teenage boy. And he also established that Rex Mason was pining for his ex-wife Angela, Alex's mother. This bothered me only because the writer was ignoring the fact that the Insect Man stories were supposed to be taking place in "real time." Rex "Insect Man" Mason, as mentioned way back in IMWT #97, had been very briefly married in 1963 until the marriage had been annulled, and Alex was born as a result of said marriage. (And he was not "illegitimate" as the anniversary special's author claimed in his intro.) Therefore, IF the "real time" element of the Insect Man stories still held true, in 1990 Alex would have been a young adult in his mid-twenties. Also, Rex presumably hadn't seen his ex-wife for over twenty-five years (in my stories anyway), yet he was still carrying a torch for her?

"My" version:

So. Rex was married briefly when he'd just gotten out of high school, and he hadn't seen Angela since.

Rex, speaking with an off-panel Scythe. Okay, so let's assume from now on
that Rex's son was born circa 1964, one year before Rex became Insect Man.

Here's Alex (Alexander) Mason in 1985, already in his early twenties.

Now contrast that with the Insect Man's 25th Anniversary Special version:

Five years after his introduction, Alex had de-aged and become an adolescent!

Well... no. Rex hadn't even begun his Insect Man career when he and Angela last saw each other.

The changes just seemed wrong somehow. At least, they're wrong if the anniversary special was a continuation of the earlier stories. Of course, I'll readily admit that if it was merely supposed to have been "based on" the amateur editions, my petty complaints would be unjustified.

Or... Maybe the "real time" thing was no longer in effect? I suppose only Paul Howley would know the answer to that... and I've never asked him.

(For that matter, in all these years, I've never asked Paul how he felt about the way that I -- and all the other Insect Man writers -- controlled the lives and deaths of what were essentially his characters!)

In 2015, Insect Man's fiftieth anniversary issue hit the shelves. And this time around, Rex definitely had not aged fifty years since becoming Insect Man in 1965.

The second professional Insect Man comic book sported a terrific cover penciled by legendary comic artist Gene Colan and inked by another well-known comic personality, Tom Palmer!

 

The copy I purchased at That's Entertainment just a few months ago had been signed by Paul Howley as part of the "push" for the issue in 2015. 

   

Looking at the signature, I have to laugh. When I worked for That's Entertainment back in 1985-1988, I was often required (and permitted!) to sign Paul's name to various informal documents. And if you ask me, my "Paul Howley" signature was even better than his! Heh.

(Too bad I never got hold of Paul's checkbook, innit?)

And how did I feel about the fiftieth anniversary Insect Man issue? Well, quite frankly, I was a lot more pleased with what writer Chris Coleman -- who had written and/or drawn Insect Man several times during the 1980s -- had done with the character. It was obvious that Chris had read everyone's '80s stuff and the 25th anniversary issue, and his story incorporated Insect Man's history as related up until then. (I've recently attempted to contact Chris Coleman, by the way, but have not yet succeeded. So, if you someday get a chance to read this, Chris... Great job!)

When I worked at That's Entertainment in the 1980s, they were located here, on Chandler Street in Worcester, Massachusetts:

 

The store moved to a new, much larger building in the early 1990s.

The current home of That's Entertainment is on the corner of Park Avenue and -- I swear -- Lois Lane!

  

Y'see, back in 2011, T.E. "petitioned the Worcester City Council to change the name of the private street running alongside the store from Marmon Place to Lois Lane." (From the Wikipedia entry for That's Entertainment.)

And Paul Howley? Paul currently writes a blog called My Life With Comic Books: A History of a Comic Store. But it's not just a blog about comics, despite the title. Paul's had a very interesting life, and he's putting it out there for us to read, delivering "the truth as I remember it".

Paul retired at -- IIRC -- age forty, but he still owns That's Entertainment. And although he hasn't been my employer for thirty years, I'm proud to say that we're still friends.

Paul as he is today...

And Paul as I like to think of him!

And Insect Man? Well, in another twenty-two years, he'll be celebrating his seventy-fifth anniversary! And who knows, if I'm still around, maybe I'll get to write about it!

Thanks for your time.

Insect Man, Insect Man's Weird Tales, and all related characters and titles are copyright © Paul B. Howley. Scythe is copyright © Holly Basiner and Frank Hunt.

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.

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

That seemingly incongruous mention of "trees falling down" is Ken Carson's inside

reference to Insect Man's origin, and has nothing to do with the legends of King Arthur.

The very last page of Insect Man #105, which I told you about last week, featured the single-page vignette shown above, written and drawn by Ken Carson. Here's where Ken and I -- I say "Ken and I" because, as Ken stated at the bottom of the page, we were by then co-plotting the entire Funnel Effect storyline -- tied in the centuries-old history of the ring which Hur-Bi had given Rex all the way back in 1965's Insect Man #1!

And by the way, the young Tab-Bi is the son of Kur-Bi, a/k/a The Bat, who died in Insect Man #101. Hur-Bi evidently ended up raising young Tab. Tab's mother was never mentioned!

After Insect Man #105 was published in 1986, there was an extended period before another Insect Man story appeared. (This was largely due to various real-world concerns of both Ken Carson and myself, the unpaid contributors to the current Insect Man saga.) In the late 1980s, That's Entertainment began publishing a free newsletter for its customers. The second issue of said newsletter, which was the size of a "real" comic book and printed on newsprint, resumed the long-delayed "Funnel Effect" storyline.

Ken Carson based the above cover to Insect Man #106 on the following sketch of Mary Marvel, drawn by artist Jack Binder in the 1940s or 1950s, but unpublished until Volume Two of Jim Steranko's The Steranko History of Comics in 1972. Please excuse the blurry image. Steranko's book is too big for my scanner, so I had to photograph the page with my cellphone camera!

It had been approximately two years since an Insect Man story had seen print! Therefore, it was decided that all of the Funnel Effect "teasers" from issues #103, 104, and 105 would precede the new material. That way, older readers would be reminded of what had happened, and newer readers who were totally unfamiliar with the story would be told all they needed to know. But before all of that, I even wrote a brief interview where I had "myself" trade questions and quips with Rex "Insect Man" Mason!

The actual first full chapter of The Funnel Effect began with Jake "The Masked Magician" Kellerman communicating telepathically with an unnamed someone whom he (Jake) evidently isn't very fond of. In the background, Rex Mason lies recuperating -- but from what, you may wonder -- in a hospital bed.

As you read today's installment of "Insect Asides," you'll notice that Ken and I were purposely waffling between calling Insect Man "Rex" and "Mike."

Oh, and as for that title, "The Man Who Saved the Universe?" I was really intrigued by the fact that Ken and I were about to tell a story where someone ends up saving all of creation, and yet, his only real power is the ability to change into insects! Now how the hell were we going to manage that?!?

I scripted this one, and for some unknown reason, lettered it as well. Ken Carson penciled and inked it. Jake's story picked up right where #105 ended

I manipulated the story to bring us closer -- Weeks? Months? -- to 1988.

After Jake had been crashing at Rex's apartment for a lengthy amount of time -- time during which Insect Man presumably had other instances of crime-fighting -- Jake caught a frivolous news item on TV which told of a "self-styled messiah" who had taken up residence on Massachusetts' Cape Cod, surrounded by a large group of disciples and acolytes. This philosopher and religious figurehead called himself "Ch'arm." Jake recognized the face of "the devourer", the being which had destroyed an entire alternate universe.

Spurred into action, Jake consulted an ancient tome which he'd received years ago from his order, "The Order of the Protectors". The ancient volume was entitled The Menrosian Chronicles. (At one point, Jake exclaimed "By the sacred Menrosian circlet!" a phrase he apparently picked up from those of the Order of the Protectors.)

Those of you with good memories probably know where all of this is going. Jake did not.

Jake began reading aloud from the book, delivering an incantation which caused the appearance of...

...and his ever-present robotic servant, Greeph! (That's pronounced "grief," of course, as in "Good grief!")

We had fun here. For once, our readers knew more than our story's characters.

Ken's cover to Insect Man #107 paid tribute to Jack Kirby's iconic cover of The Avengers #4, which had reintroduced Captain America to the world in 1964!

Hur-Bi himself got to narrate part of the tale! Hur-Bi, as you probably recall, was a centuries-old alien from the far-off planet Menro-6, an alien who'd spent so much time on Earth, he spoke using a lot of Earthling colloquialisms.

He explained to Rex and Jake that in his youth, hundreds of years earlier, he used to "dimension hop" (as he referred to it).

There was so much to explain, a long-winded b@$t@rd like myself had a field day! (Good thing Ken Carson, and not myself, lettered this chapter!)

Uhhh, yeah. "Demonic" immortals and "angelic" immortals. What Ken and I were actually doing here is re-telling the battle between Lucifer and his renegade angels against God, completely side-stepping the religious aspect to 1. avoid offending anyone's religious beliefs and to 2. give us more freedom in telling the tale, which has many different versions from multiple sources.

It is here that Jake interrupts, explaining how the Spanish monks became the Order of the Protectors, which Jake had joined many years later. He also explained that the former monks had more or less eschewed their religious backgrounds, instead embracing the concept of "true magic." At this point, Hur-Bi grew alarmed.

And here's why...

As I explained in Part Eleven, with Paul Howley in charge, every one of us who submitted stuff for Insect Man or Insect Man's Weird Tales "could do anything we wanted to do... ...except when we couldn't."

Well, Paul is a man of very deep religious beliefs. And when he realized what Jake "The Masked Magician" Kellerman had become, a real magician, he (Paul) interceded. He felt that magic -- any kind of magic, whether black or so-called "white" magic -- was ungodly. (Someday I should ask Paul how he feels about Marvel's Dr. Strange.) He requested Ken and I do something about that.

Ken and I decided that having a "magician" who wouldn't use his magic would seem to be ineffectual against a being such as Ch'arm. This could be fun! We rose to the challenge.

I'll spare you the next segment of the published story, which talks at length about the far-famed Menrosian "circlet" (ring) and how it was given to Rex (Mike?) Mason over twenty years earlier.

Finally, after Hur-Bi had departed...

 

To Be Continued Next Week! And for those of you growing tired of -- or totally avoiding --this "Insect Asides" series, you may be glad to know that there are only TWO chapters left!

Thanks for your time.

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