Fred Hembeck Sells The Marvel Universe #1 - Marvel Comics

FRED HEMBECK SELLS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE No. 1, October 1990

Containing a compilation of fifteen of his “favourite strips from past issues of Marvel Age Magazine”, this Fred Hembeck anthology must have not only given its readership an occasional chuckle in its time, but also provided them with a fair few educational insights into both the formation of the American cartoonist’s career, as well as the history behind a dozen or so of “Marvel Comics” most famous creations. Indeed, arguably one of this thirty-two page periodical’s highlights is its abbreviated history of Stan Lee’s wackiest Wild West villains, which succinctly catalogues such utterly forgettable gun-toting desperados as Red Raven, Doctor Danger, the Purple Phantom and Hurricane.

Equally as informative is the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award-winner’s double-splash page depicting some of the more colourful costumes to have ever graced the ‘Marvel Universe’. Complete with useful annotations as to which titles and editions these garishly-apparelled super-heroes appeared in, and rather splendidly pencilled in the author’s own inimitable style, this ‘article’ really is a visual treat with its coverage of such comic book curiosities as The Thing’s masked costume (“Fantastic Four” #4), Iron Man’s noticeable nose (“Iron Man” #68-#85), The Human Torch’s ‘red rags’ (“Fantastic Four” #132-#159), and Black Panther’s half-mask (“Avengers” #52-#55).

Of course, the “fan favourite artist” is undeniably “best known for his parodies of characters from major American comic book publishers” and “Fred Hembeck Sells The Marvel Universe” is crammed full of such skits featuring the likes of Cyclops, Mephisto, Wolverine, Johnny Storm, the Black Knight, Moon Knight and Spider-Man. In fact, the “Alien Encounters” contributor even manages to maintain his “running gag” of belittling Brother Voodoo throughout this entire magazine's length, by initially claiming that this publication was a last-minute replacement for Jericho Drumm’s “low quality” own book, and then later ‘interviewing’ the “sales-levelling guest-star”, alongside the High Evolutionary, on his ‘Talk Show’; “I think you should pick on that kid Quasar more, and me less.”

These live broadcasts, supposedly televised in front of a ‘clap happy’ audience, and featuring Hembeck ‘interviewing’ a variety of characters who are about to feature in their own comic title, provides Fred with a plethora of opportunities to demonstrate his quirky “humorous style”, and genuinely generates some laugh-out-loud moments. Certainly, it’s hard to keep a straight face when the bespectacled “interviewer” is evidently leering at the skimpy costumes of the Black Queen, Emma Frost and Shanna the She-Devil, or thrown by the Punisher’s desire to flog his new fitness video as opposed to talking about his new series. 

Writer, Penciler & Inker: Fred Hembeck, and Colors: Gregory Wright