IMPERIUS REX! Namor the Sub-Mariner Appreciation 2022

[ImperiusWrecked]

YES!!! I will def be getting one as soon as it's a shirt XD

We should make like a Merch List with links for fans to easily buy/support Namor! I can't believe how much stuff we are getting

[Doombot]

I talked about this a bit on twitter but once again, I really love Everett's Namor, so much!!!!



I was also talking about how much I dislike "flat top headed" Namor, and I'm not a big fan of Kirby's Namor bc he sorta brought that into the Silver Age, I just feel Namor's head should be normal XD not so flat topped.

Kirby is a wonderful artist of course but on my list of favorite artists for Namor I don't really put him on there, sorry!

Kirby is unquestionably a master, but there were a few characters he just couldn't translate into his Kirbyesque world, and Namor is definitely one of them. His Namor is an eyesore for the most part.

[Doombot]

I don't love the flat top Namor (I also don't love the bullet head Namor) but ironically, I think my favourite Namor, or like one of my top 3, is the Namor that was done by Tom Plamer finishing over John Buscema's breakdowns in the classic Avengers run (#260's I think) To me, this was a perfect Namor. Palmer and Buscema had come back to do Namor and they had married the (then) modern Namor with the Golden Age version and created a, to me, quintessential Namor. They game Namor a powerful musculature, but still not huge like Hercules, his face was the perfect level of strange, not quite human, and while he had the flat top, it looked like it was his hair and not his head having sharp edges. Sal Buscema would later give Namor that sharp cornered triangle head again. The Palmer/Buscema Namor also had a look of maturity and stoic no-nonsense air about his face that actually looked like someone who had been alive a long time and had seen the shit Namor had seen. I wish this version of Namor was around longer and became the guide for what the character looked like. But Namor continues to be one of those characters that artists just can't seem to decide what he looks like. He's a character that seems much more malleable in the mind's of artists than a lot of other characters.

[Reviresco]

Doombot! Good to see back. Hope everything has been okay.

Kirby is unquestionably a master, but there were a few characters he just couldn't translate into his Kirbyesque world, and Namor is definitely one of them. His Namor is an eyesore for the most part.

I agree that Kirby's Namor is not my favorite, though I'm not sure I would go with eyesore. LOL! I do think he also had an outsized influence on Atlantis and Atlanteans, especially with Fantastic Four Annual 1.

I don't love the flat top Namor (I also don't love the bullet head Namor) but ironically, I think my favourite Namor, or like one of my top 3, is the Namor that was done by Tom Plamer finishing over John Buscema's breakdowns in the classic Avengers run (#260's I think) To me, this was a perfect Namor. Palmer and Buscema had come back to do Namor and they had married the (then) modern Namor with the Golden Age version and created a, to me, quintessential Namor. They game Namor a powerful musculature, but still not huge like Hercules, his face was the perfect level of strange, not quite human, and while he had the flat top, it looked like it was his hair and not his head having sharp edges. Sal Buscema would later give Namor that sharp cornered triangle head again. The Palmer/Buscema Namor also had a look of maturity and stoic no-nonsense air about his face that actually looked like someone who had been alive a long time and had seen the shit Namor had seen. I wish this version of Namor was around longer and became the guide for what the character looked like. But Namor continues to be one of those characters that artists just can't seem to decide what he looks like. He's a character that seems much more malleable in the mind's of artists than a lot of other characters.

I think part of that may have been because Namor's costume is minimal, and costumes is where artists could put their stamp, so to speak, on a character. So, instead, they resorted to Namor's head / hair.

Hmmm. I'll have to take another look at Buscema and Palmer's Namor. I thought it was pretty flat head.

Yeah, flat top Namor isn't my favorite either. Especially when they made his hair look like the eraser top of a pencil, like Rich Buckler and McLeod did in Saga.

[Doombot]

Doombot! Good to see back. Hope everything has been okay.




I agree that Kirby's Namor is not my favorite, though I'm not sure I would go with eyesore. LOL! I do think he also had an outsized influence on Atlantis and Atlanteans, especially with Fantastic Four Annual 1.





I think part of that may have been because Namor's costume is minimal, and costumes is where artists could put their stamp, so to speak, on a character. So, instead, they resorted to Namor's head / hair.

Hmmm. I'll have to take another look at Buscema and Palmer's Namor. I thought it was pretty flat head.

Yeah, flat top Namor isn't my favorite either. Especially when they made his hair look like the eraser top of a pencil, like Rich Buckler and McLeod did in Saga.

I'm alive! Life has a pesky way of getting in the way of Namor talk sometimes.

I'm only talking about Kirby's Namor specifically. It hurts my eyes.

The Palmer/Buscema Namor did have the flat top, but it was soft looking, like it was Namor's hair, unlike many artists who have done the flat top, but it looks like it's a helmet, I always think of how artists draw Colossus when he's in his metal form. Same hair.

Edit: And while I don't love the flat top look, I do feel the more triangular shape of Namor's head is the more classic or "right" look for the character. The trick is balancing that without making Namor look like his skull has sharp edges.

[Reviresco]

I'm alive! Life has a pesky way of getting in the way of Namor talk sometimes.

I hear you. I feel like I'm working two jobs, with caretaking.

I'm only talking about Kirby's Namor specifically. It hurts my eyes.

The Palmer/Buscema Namor did have the flat top, but it was soft looking, like it was Namor's hair, unlike many artists who have done the flat top, but it looks like it's a helmet, I always think of how artists draw Colossus when he's in his metal form. Same hair.

Yes. Colossus has some of the same issues. I think that's another problem / issue with drawing Namor. His hair is wet so often. Besides the erase top look, I think my least favorite look is when artists tried to give Namor Wolverine hair, with actual points! WTF?

[Oberon]

Namor's appearance has never 'pulled me out' of the story - just too much -

and I'd never say Kirby's interpretation was an eyesore.

[Doombot]

I suppose his hair could naturally do the Wolverine thing when it's dry, but much of Namor art underwater has never made sense. Only the oldest Everett are, like in the panels above, really make sense.

These two Ross images show both the "Classic" and Golden Age Namor, both would be considered flat tops, but he makes them look like his hair. To me this is how Namor should look, and the Palmer/Buscema is very much like these.

[Doombot]

Namor's appearance has never 'pulled me out' of the story - just too much -

and I'd never say Kirby's interpretation was an eyesore.

Yeah, this is a No from me, dog. lol

[Reviresco]

Yeah, this is a No from me, dog. lol

LOL! For me, more than the hair, it's the Joan Crawford eyebrows.

[Oberon]

Nothing wrong with those. I guess I do like the wild, breezy look.

[Oberon]

Can you tell me where this is from.

It almost looks like someone reinterpreted Namor/Kirby.

But that eye stance is overly drama!

When Hulk and Namor first fought the Avengers, was that a Kirby? I liked that particular work.

[K7P5V]

I don't love the flat top Namor (I also don't love the bullet head Namor) but ironically, I think my favourite Namor, or like one of my top 3, is the Namor that was done by Tom Plamer finishing over John Buscema's breakdowns in the classic Avengers run (#260's I think) To me, this was a perfect Namor. Palmer and Buscema had come back to do Namor and they had married the (then) modern Namor with the Golden Age version and created a, to me, quintessential Namor. They game Namor a powerful musculature, but still not huge like Hercules, his face was the perfect level of strange, not quite human, and while he had the flat top, it looked like it was his hair and not his head having sharp edges. Sal Buscema would later give Namor that sharp cornered triangle head again. The Palmer/Buscema Namor also had a look of maturity and stoic no-nonsense air about his face that actually looked like someone who had been alive a long time and had seen the shit Namor had seen. I wish this version of Namor was around longer and became the guide for what the character looked like. But Namor continues to be one of those characters that artists just can't seem to decide what he looks like. He's a character that seems much more malleable in the mind's of artists than a lot of other characters.

No matter what, I'll always love introspective Namor (LOL):

When Hulk and Namor first fought the Avengers, was that a Kirby? I liked that particular work.

Yeah! It's definitely Kirby!! Here's a sample...

[Oberon]

I remember this like yesterday, lol.

I reread and reread most of my comics for years, somewhat. Eventually more '90s and later, I did not always reread issues, and that is probably why some recent things are just not as memorable.

[Reviresco]

I remember this like yesterday, lol.

I reread and reread most of my comics for years, somewhat. Eventually more '90s and later, I did not always reread issues, and that is probably why some recent things are just not as memorable.

I did the same thing. When I was a kid, I used to re-read my comics so much. Of course, there were a lot less comics for me to read, and I had a lot more time.

Another difference, however, is there was a lot more to read. Today's comics rely of the art far more than the ones in the past, which had tons more descriptions and captions and word balloons. Which makes me wonder if my brain is wired to remember words more than panels ... or if it's something else.