Thursday, April 17, 2014

The Brute #1-sales zero

Monday, August 23, 2010


Random Reads: The Brute #1


Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Here's another of the short-lived Atlas/Seaboard's attempts to rip off another Marvel character. This one's pretty obvious: The Brute=The Hulk. The Brute is a hulking giant who is angry at the world; instead of being created by gamma rays, he's released from being frozen in ice (a la Captain America) by nuclear radiation. He has blue skin instead of green skin (I s'pose from being in ice all those centuries), and he's a whole lot more vicious than Marvel's mass of manic muscle. In fact, that's the thing that really sets The Brute apart from TheHulk; by the end of the first issue, he'd killed four people. It should come as no surprise that this much darker and edgier Hulk knock-off was written by Michael Fleisher, best known for his work with Jim Aparo on the epitome of mid-70s dark and edgy, The Spectre. The art by Silver Age great Mike Sekowsky is inked by Pablo Marcos--an unlikely but quite appropriate combination. When most folks think or hear about The Brute, they usually think about the--eh--suggestive tail numbers on the airplane featured on its last page, but that's doing this mag a huge disservice. Fleisher, Sekowsky, and Marcos crafted a very well done comic. From November 1974, under a far-out Dick Giordano cover lurks... "Night of the Brute!"


The Brute v1 #3, 1975 - In the tradition of the Incredible Hulk, Atlas Comics takes a turn at the man-monster genre. Unfortunately, The Brute lacks the charisma of more mainstream characters and last for a mere three issues. In this final story, some price guides credit the pencils to Alan Weiss, Jim Starlin and Frank Brunner. There seems scant evidence of the two latter artists' contributions. Page sixteen (see interior page shown above) most closely resembles Starlin's work, especially in the faces. Brunner's style is frankly indistinguishable. If they did lend a hand, their efforts fall far below expectations. Other artists in this issue include Pablo Marcos (cover). This is number 1 of 1 Brute issues with Starlin art and/or covers and number 1 of 1 Brute issues with Brunner art and/or covers. See today's posts or more Starlin or Brunner issues. See also this blog's Starlin checklistTop 10 Starlin comicsBrunner checklistor Top 10 Brunner comics.
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"Live or Let Die" Starlin partial pencils (Jack Abel inks) = *, Brunner partial pencils? (Jack Abel inks) = *

5 comments:

  1. Experience has taught me never to wax too lyrical about an Atlas comic but that really is a beautifully executed cover by Giordano.
    Reply
  2. You'll also note the infamous 5H17 on the body and wing of the aircraft. That one snuck past the editors and the comics code...

    Apparently Sekowsky was pissed off at the editors.
    Reply
  3. Atlas died way too soon. Also the book owes a heck of a lot to the movie Trog.That triumph of cinima.
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  4. Groove:

    I think we're going to have one of our rare disagreements on this one! Like yourself, I've got a soft spot for the Atlas (Seaboard) line but I thought this one was a stinker. I actually gave it a D+ when I reviewed it — one of only four comics that have dipped down into the D's!

    Of course, I still own. It's a sickness, Groove!

    Cheers,
    Andrew
    ComicsBronzeAge.com
    Reply
  5. One man's trash is another man's treasure and all that rot, Andrew. It's what makes life (and comicbook collecting) interesting!
    Reply 
    you know,when I first saw the Brute,I passed on it-thinking it as an extremely poormans Hulk.Now having read here,I'm glad I passed on this really stupid idea.Obviuosly,somebody thought they had a really good idea-well,sorry no.One man's trash is another man's treasure-sometimes-One man's trash is another man's trash as well.Brute,as comic history shows,was just another stupid Atlas Comics.You sometimes,can't justify garbage as a matter of choice,when everyone smells a turd but you.I'd give Z-minus in the extreme.What can one about a comic badly drawn,badly written and edited by greedy fools,wanting rippoff the Hulk,Egahh and so much else,plus present a totally retarded character-a frozen caveman,erradiated by radiation,who only accomplished thing by crushing everyone to death.Wow and you people the Hulk is dum.But this guy,is simply the biggest asshole in comics.Comic fans were correct to pass on much of Atlas Comics.

1 comment:

  1. Personally ... I loved the Atlas line up of characters and the Brute was no exception .... yeah o.k. same type of character as the Hulk , but different enough to make him/it its own thing .... Atlas was a great attempt and NOT A RIP OFF .... unless your going to equate that line of reasoning to Marvel and DC .... I mean how many similar characters do the Big 2 have ??? Tons !!

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