The Manhunter back-ups in Detective Comics by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson were unlike anything I had seen in comics at the time. Here was an update to a Golden Age character that truly went in its own direction. They were definitely my first exposure to the amazing artistic talents of Simonson, he gave the tales a unique look through his signature style and use of innovative page layouts. DC has honored those stories by allowing Paul Kirk to remain dead (a rarity for comics)! The Manhunter concept has been brought back time and again, with new characters assuming the mantle, but nothing has stuck a chord with readers quite as much as those original back-up stories.
These two previously met in STF #1402...
19 comments:
How did he manage to through a punch without getting his fist trapped in that billowy sleeve?
The Manhunter is a blank page to me, but I'm fairly up to speed with the Punisher. Didn't Simonson take over Kirby's Fourth World? if that was him then he was really impressive on the Kirbyesque scenes he conjured.
I'm with Ivan on the sleeves...
I imagine Punisher would be impressed with Kirk's fighting skills but he'd have to bite his tongue to avoid commenting on those sleeves.
@Ross! You got that right!
@Dave and Ivan: they probably allowed him to glide short-distances like the "squirrel suit" used by some modern skydivers. He was trained in Nitobe-ryu ninjitsu, remember!
@The Punisher: hey, Frank! How ya doing? Bob Greenwade and I were just talking about you back @ STF #3077.
I agree with the remarks about Manhunter's costume. It's visually interesting, but ridiculously impractical on many levels. It's not just the sleeve extensions, but the oversized shoulders and whatever those ribs are around the boots. I'd dread to think what Edna Mode would make of that!
Regarding the billowy sleeves, that's COSTUMES for you!
@Bob et al: those ribs were the handles of his Bundi daggers (aka "qatars"). As for the billowy sleeves? They probably had hidden pouches containing extra ammo clips for his broom-handle Mausers. And in the event of a fight? He could probably pin them back with Velcro (or whatever was the equivalent back in the 1ate '70's).
I'm sorry, but Manhunter's costume is just plain awful! And I'm with Ivan, how did he *throw a punch with those sleeves??
That's the trouble with simple logical thinking. Paul got trained by the best magicians in the business, like Zatarra. His costume was all distractions. In part it was to 'falsify' where his body was like Batman's billowing cape. Really, Kirk had nothing up his sleeves!
Paul Kirk appeared in "Beware the Batman" voiced by Xander Berkeley in Episode 21 "Unique". For animation the costume was closer to GL Manhunter which makes sense when you see episode.
Nice cover and team up. Always loved Manhunter. As for the costume - He did have interesting knives/ swords that were housed in his boots- thus the odd shaped things around the white boots. Also her used a gun like Punisher. This was a well thought out team up!
@Daviticus: evidently, with no difficulty whatsoever.
@Horsefeathers: you're half-right. Following his reawakening from cryogenic hibernation, he was trained by a ninja named Asano Nitobe. But, yes; the billowy sleeves were definitely meant to distract, a la Batman's cape.
Y'all can suspend disbelief for a baby in a rocket or a man swinging on a rope over a city for hours but you fixate on sleeves? ��♂️��♂️��♂️��♂️��♂️��♂️
The costume match up this inspires is Manhunter and Jack of Hearts.
@Anon445: "If you gots to ask the question, you ain't ever gonna know the answer."
Which inspires a great idea, however. A sequel depicting Manhunter vs. Judge Dredd in...
"Fashion Police!"
@Cary: This sort of thing has been suggested before, back when Ross put Tyroc and Wonder Man together in #2335 a little over two years ago. It was actually for a group of heroes with bad costumes, including (among others) Jericho, Jack of Hearts, the Golden Age Atom, and the Sixth Doctor (Captain Ultra wasn't mentioned at the time, but would be an easy addition).
Thanks for the back link, Bob. And, yes, in retrospect, the LSH costumes done by Mike Grell are somewhat amusing. But, when I first read those stories, as a high school kid, I thought they were pretty bad-ass!*
*And I say this as someone who thought the outfits worn by 30th Century superheroines of the Early Silver Age (mini-skirted ones and glorified leotards both) were delightfully daring.
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