Spider-Man: The Reader vs. The Speeder, and Become the Next Marvel Superstar

[lbd_nytetrayn]

Well, my last post seems to be well-received as a novelty post of sorts, so now seems like the perfect time to follow it up two more pieces of fluff-interest.

First up is a 1974 Electric Company tie-in, showing Spider-man teaming up with... The Reader? But what villainy could possibly necessitate these two forces for good coming together in a tale like no other?



Like yesterday's, this too comes by way of The Retroist, whose old comic scans I promise to stop grabbing so much after this. Speaking of which, I rather like his analysis:

The Reader seems to have the ability to force people to prance, almost mince, merrily down the street reading whatever they lay their eyes on.

Lucky for Spidey he had passed this way, because a motorcycle driving scofflaw, who cannot read, happens by at the same time and runs the very Stop sign that the Reader was pointing out. Spider-man, who has no other crimes to fight in early 1970s New York, shoots a web at guy, pulls him from his seat and shatters his spine. It might seem like an inappropriate response, but I’ll have you know that guy enrolled in an adult learning classes at the hospital. 8 months later, when he got out, he could read! He couldn’t walk anymore, but 6 of one. Out of sight!

All in a days work for the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

The main reason I'm posting, however, is this next scan. But since I wasn't sure if it was sufficient on its own, I opted to piggyback it on the above, since they come from the same source. I guess you can sort of call this an endorsement of the site:



I always wondered what Jim Shooter looked like, but never actually cared enough to look. I was content to just think of him as a mysterious man behind the curtain. I never imagined that he was one of the Beatles.

--LBD "Nytetrayn"

Comments

[proteus_lives]

Maybe Shooter was one of the Skrull!Beatles. ;)

[leikomgwtfbbq]

That would be pretty awesome. XD

[box_in_the_box]

According to photos, Jim Shooter was the supervillain secret brother of Edward James Olmos.

[box_in_the_box]

And holy shit, he's a fucking hill giant.



... Okay, so he's standing on a cinder block, but still ...

[icon_uk]

He IS something like over 6 and a half feet IIRC.

[foxhack]

Rise and. Shine. Mr. Freeman.
Rise and. Shine.

He also kinda looksk like Antonio Banderas.

[neuhallidae]

I dunno, he looks more Tommy Lee Jones to me. I think it's the frikkin' creepy eyebrows.

[box_in_the_box]

And I find it endlessly amusing that Easy Reader has become an actor so respected that playing the President of the United States is now considered a step DOWN for him:

[xammax]

Where is being Batmans connection land in there?

[icon_uk]

Between High School Principal and pimp?

[tanetris]

Wayne Enterprises CEO? Pretty sure that would go on one side or the other of CIA Director.

[icon_uk]

True, I was thinking of him as being in the "guy stuck in bunker with naff all to do but look after the toys" bit from the first movie, not the CEO of the second.

[terrykun]

What about the (temporarily?) disabled cop from Bone Collector?

[lamashtar]

Where does being Secret Head of Assassins (Wanted) fall?

And when is he going to be a superhero? He's only been a sidekick and a supplier!

[psychopathicus_rex]

Easy Reader was played by MORGAN FREEMAN?! Seriously? Wow! I wonder whether he left that on his resume or not...

[aaron_bourque]

YOU MAY BE THE NEXT MARVEL SUPERSTAR!

Mark Bagley was one of two pencillers chosen from the Marvel Try-Out Contest.

[icon_uk]

The Reader seems to have the ability to force people to prance, almost mince, merrily down the street reading whatever they lay their eyes on.

He's Morgan Freeman, of course he does...

[tacobob]

And make Spider-Man think he's a traffic cop.

[yaseen101]

If you want to know,

Jim Shooter in the year 2008:




This is when he was younger.







This is from Wiki:

"While Marvel editor-in-chief in 1982, Shooter detailed what he considered the necessary qualities for a good comic book story:

* The characters must be introduced.
* Their situation must be established.
* The conflict must be introduced.
* Suspense must be built.
* A climax must be reached.
* A resolution must be achieved.

. . . When I evaluate a story, should one of the essential elements listed above be missing — say, the characters are not introduced properly when they are brought onstage — I immediately suspect that the author of the "story" knoweth not what he ith [sic] doing.

Second, I look for how well the story is told. Is the conflict worthwhile? Is the climax exciting? Is the resolution satisfying? Is the plot good? Are there interesting twists and turns? Is there a theme? Is there character development? Is it dramatic? Is it entertaining? This is the really important stuff. It should go without saying that a writer or a prospective writer should know enough to meet the fundamental requirements of a story. It's the power and the passion and drama and characterization that I really look for.[32]"

[foxhack]

Jin Shooter can still kick your ass if he wanted to, but he won't.

[yaseen101]

If he looked any younger, he would be a great contender to play Inspector Lunge from Monster.

[brandiweed.livejournal.com]

In that 2nd picture he looks like he should be playing an enforcer in a '30s gangster film.

[yaseen101]

Or a hard-boiled noir-style detective.

[thandrak]

And I still think of him as Little Jimmy Shooter.

[yaseen101]

Because he wrote scripts for the Legion of Superheroes at the age of 13? In modern terms he was a fan fiction writer, back then he might have been a good writer seen as though DC actually bought his scripts.

[jlroberson]

Looking at that Marvel Try-Out Book ad: I can just see every freelancer at Marvel seeing that and thinking, this is how much I'm valued.

Ever see the piece Charles Burns did in RAW using pages from that as his layout?

[lamashtar]

No, but I'm betting we'd all like to.

[jlroberson]

It's called "Naked Snack." I'll see if I can dig it up...it was from the Penguin period, I think. I only say that because those were the only original RAWs I was ever able to buy.

[arbre_rieur]

If you're wondering who ended up winning the try-out contest:

Writer-- Chuck Duffie
Penciller-- Mark Bagley
Inker-- Doug Hazlewood
Colorist-- P. Jeanine Pasda
Letterer-- Robin Riggs

[xammax]

Is that the same Bagley of I can draw the universe on time?

[aaron_bourque]

Of Ultimate Spider-Man, Trinity, etc., etc.

[mcbangle]

I loved Easy Reader!

[lamashtar]

You can't fool me! That's Reading Rainbow man, 1970's version!

[psychopathicus_rex]

Easy Reader is strangely adorable. How can you not love someone who skips down the street like a little schoolgirl, enthusiastically reading out the signs, and manages to convince a superhero to join in the fun? Well, OK, in real life he might be a tad annoying, but still, you gotta admire someone who's that committed to a laudible activity.