Cover Contest, 29/7-04/08/2020: Swim!

[Speed Force League Unlimited]

[Ajax_X]

The full extent of my original art collection.

[Ravin' Ray]

[CaptainEurope]

Art by Syd Shores.

[icctrombone]

[Beatnikman]

What is going on with Namor's head there? Did he have stretchy powers in the Golden Age?

Screen Shot 2020-08-02 at 7.38.50 PM.jpg

[Speed Force League Unlimited]

What is going on with Namor's head there? Did he have stretchy powers in the Golden Age?

Screen Shot 2020-08-02 at 7.38.50 PM.jpg

Your guess is as good as any. This is a weird design.

[Ravin' Ray]

Your guess is as good as any. This is a weird design.

Brian Cronin wrote a few years back that when Namor returned in the Silver Age Lee and Kirby gave him the power to mimic marine animals' abilities. Maybe they saw this and assumed he tried (and failed) to mimic a hammerhead shark.

https://www.cbr.com/namor-fantastic-...e-puffer-fish/

[MRP]

Brian Cronin wrote a few years back that when Namor returned in the Silver Age Lee and Kirby gave him the power to mimic marine animals' abilities. Maybe they saw this and assumed he tried (and failed) to mimic a hammerhead shark.

https://www.cbr.com/namor-fantastic-...e-puffer-fish/

Nope. That was just how Subby was drawn in the late Golden Age. As time passed, his head became more and more exaggerated. First his face was elongated, then the top of his head got wider. Different artists exaggerated it in different ways but it was essentially a triangle. Just look at a cover gallery of the Sub-Mariner Comics to see its progression. As early as issue 10, Namor's head was becoming elongated, and by #19 the brow and top of head became extra wide. It normalized a bit by issue 30, but his head was still drawn more like a triangle and elongated, it become closer to the modern look in the later issues 35-42 but it still varied wildly by artist. He wasn't featured on the cover of Marvel Mystery as often, but you can still see it on the ones he appears in.

I won't post covers here right now, as I don't want them to be confused for entries, but after the contest is over I can post some examples.

-M

[Iron Maiden]

Nope. That was just how Subby was drawn in the late Golden Age. As time passed, his head became more and more exaggerated. First his face was elongated, then the top of his head got wider. Different artists exaggerated it in different ways but it was essentially a triangle. Just look at a cover gallery of the Sub-Mariner Comics to see its progression. As early as issue 10, Namor's head was becoming elongated, and by #19 the brow and top of head became extra wide. It normalized a bit by issue 30, but his head was still drawn more like a triangle and elongated, it become closer to the modern look in the later issues 35-42 but it still varied wildly by artist. He wasn't featured on the cover of Marvel Mystery as often, but you can still see it on the ones he appears in.

I won't post covers here right now, as I don't want them to be confused for entries, but after the contest is over I can post some examples.

-M

Bill Everett continued to give him a somewhat triangular shape head for a while he Stan Lee brought him back on the title in the early 70s. Scroll down to the cover for issue #57 in this group and you will see a signed Bill Everett cover with a Namor that resembles Everett's comics from the 1940s. His widow's peak hairline lends to giving a triangle shape to his forehead too.

[Riv86672]

Bill Everett continued to give him a somewhat triangular shape head for a while he Stan Lee brought him back on the title in the early 70s. Scroll down to the cover for issue #57 in this group and you will see a signed Bill Everett cover with a Namor that resembles Everett's comics from the 1940s. His widow's peak hairline lends to giving a triangle shape to his forehead too.

John Byrne also went w. the triangular head design when drawing Namor in other books...

https://i.ibb.co/1QbDd7L/6-FB02-CEA-...BDEC351358.jpg

...though he kinda got away from it by the time he was writing/drawing Namor in an ongoing.

https://i.ibb.co/wKLw7ty/5-DE169-FA-...F4-DA8-BF2.jpg

He also made him a bit bulkier, as opposed to the leaner look i prefer on Namor. I always thought it was cool that he could match up to the Hulk w.out being half his size.

[Beatnikman]

I appreciate the responses. Thanks!! A triangular head gives him a distinct look. Maybe that Syd Shores cover is just taking that idea to its ultimate extreme.

[Scott Taylor]

[PaulBullion]

That's my favorite Joker origin story. They should have used that in the movie.

[Riv86672]

That's my favorite Joker origin story. They should have used that in the movie.

Maybe then the movie wouldn’t have been as awful.
Good call!