The Importance of Superheroes

Superman and The Amazing Spider-Man by Ross Andru

Booktube supremo Michael K Vaughan presents a 20-minute video essay on the "importance of superheroes", which I agree with 100 per cent, for the regular Epic Comic Book Wednesday slot on his channel.

Head of The Family (1996)

It's amazing what you can just stumble across on Shudder.

I'd just finished one "time-filler" movie and up popped in the "also available" offerings: Head of The Family, a Full Moon film I'd never even heard of before but clearly inspired by the legendary cover story of DC Comics' Black Magic issue one, from 1973 (see below).

Although no acknowledgment is made in the credits the similarities are staring you right in the face!

Now, the 1996 movie is from Full Moon so you know it's going to be cheap and sleazy, and not one you want your wife randomly wandering in in the middle of (as Rachel did!)

Gangster and drug dealer Howard (Gordon Jennison Noice) is trying to muscle in on Lance's (Blake Adams) diner business, unaware that Lance is having a torrid affair with Howard's stunning wife, Loretta (Playboy model Jacqueline Lovell).

Lance resorts to blackmailing a weird family of local well-to-do mutants, the Stackpools, into disposing of Howard.

Although then Lance gets greedy and tries to scam money out of the peculiar family, only to have the tables turned on him and Loretta.

There's an element of 2003's House of 1,000 Corpses in the way the Stackpool quadruplets are seemingly 'farming' captives in their basement for scientific experiments, and I can't help but wonder if maybe Rob Zombie picked up on this at some point when 'crafting' his first flick about the murderous Firefly family.

The head of the Stackpool family is poster boy Myron (J.W. Perra), a giant head with all the brains and mild telepathic influence over his siblings: the superstrong, but dumb, Otis (Bob Schott); the bug-eyed Wheeler (James Jones), with incredible senses; and the seductive Ernestina (Alexandria Quinn as Dianne Colazzo).

Myron's siblings: Otis, Wheeler, and Ernestina!

You will note that there are only two main female characters in this movie, both hot blondes and both who are required - in Jacqueline Lovell's case nearly constantly - to get naked.

Written and directed by Mr Full Moon himself, Charles Band, Head of The Family is supposedly a black comedy, but while it does raise a laugh every so often that's invariably because you are laughing at it.

Myron's experiments - to find a 'regular' human body capable of holding his mighty intellect - are set up like Chekhov's Gun, and I was half-expecting Howard to make a more dramatic return than he actually did, now 'gifted' with Myron's brain.

But no, that thread was seemingly just there for an excuse to show off some low-budget post-operative patients.

Several scenes, particularly in the final act, go on way too long, such as Loretta's uncomfortable attempt to seduce Myron and then her forced involvement in a play about the death of Joan of Arc... with its expected fiery pay-off.

The whole "blackmail scheme backfiring" is nicely plotted, very film noirish, but, narratively, one of the big issues I had with Head of The Family is that there's no one to root for.

Both sides of the dramatic equation are equally scuzzy and despicable, although I guess, if anything, I felt slightly more empathy for the Stackpools as, despite all their money, they were clearly physically and mentally disabled.

Even the denouement (and this is a mild spoiler for a 29-year-old Z-list schlock movie) has Loretta taking advantage of the mentally ill Otis.

In a strange way, I'm glad I discovered Head of The Family - for its vague connection to a comic book that's near and dear to my geeky heart - but beyond that, and the swathes of skin on display, there's very little to recommend this shoddy old movie.

I've talked before about my early exposure to comic books as a young kid, namely the Fantastic Four in British reprints and discovering The Flash and Shazam in a newsagent's spinner while on holiday on the South Coast.

But there was always one other comic book cover that has stuck with me - possibly from the same time I found those comics in a seaside newsagents back in the early 70s.

All I could remember was the picture... and the pun. However, in 2013, thanks to a magnificent retro comic book blog, Rip Jagger's Dojo I was mentally reunited with the first issue of DC's Black Magic (dated November 1973).

I suspect it was probably early '74 (or it could have been late '73, I suppose) when I saw this comic. I was about seven at the time - and either mum didn't approve or I was too chicken - but I didn't pick it up.

However, the "head of the family" pun stayed with me.

I'm pretty certain that anyone who knows me will see that my dark sense of humour is perfectly encapsulated in this image and I think it's fair to say that it was possibly a bigger influence on me in my formative years than I realised.

I still regard it as one of the greatest visual gags ever. Over the years I've recycled it in roleplaying games and awkward social occasions (and probably will, again, in the future).

Thank you, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby!

Soon after encountering Black Magic #1 on Rip's site, I tracked down a reasonably-priced copy (thank you, eBay), and it now has pride of place among my gallery of framed covers in the lounge.

My framed copy of Black Magic #1 from 1973

The Complete Timeline Of The Fantastic Four

This video looks at all the complete publishing history of the Fantastic Four from its beginning in 1961 to modern times. It highlights the major developments, changes in creative teams and why the title has stopped and started numerous times over the last six decades.

Another quality feature from the marvellous Strange Brain Parts, the erudite king of comic book analysis on YouTube.

This 13-minute film breaks down the various incarnations of the main Fantastic Four title, since their creation by Stan Lee and Jack Lee, right up to the modern Ryan North era. It also offers some suggested "jumping on" points for newcomers to the title.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

I've been reading the Fantastic Four for over 50 years and have seen all the previous movies (even the unreleased Roger Corman version), but the latest offering from the official Marvel Cinematic Universe is - beyond a shadow of a doubt - the most comic book accurate to date.

Taking place on an alternate Earth to the main Earth-616 of the MCU, Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces us to the planet's heroes - Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic (The Mandalorian's Pedro Pascal), his wife Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman (Napoleon's Vanessa Kirby), Sue's brother Johnny Storm/The Human Torch (Stranger Things' Joseph Quinn), and family friend Ben Grimm/The Thing (The Bear's Ebon Moss-Bachrach).

In fast order, a chat show - hosted by Mark Gatiss - summarises the team's origin story and gives us a good look at the retro-futuristic 1960's world the team inhabit.

Soon after Sue reveals to the team that she's pregnant, Earth-828 is visited by the alien herald known as the Silver Surfer (Ozark's Julia Garner) to tell everyone that the planet has been selected as the next meal for the ever-hungry extraterrestrial "god" known as Galactus (The Witch's Ralph Ineson).

Naturally, Reed and co. want to prevent this and travel back out into space to try and negotiate with Galactus. 

The incomprehensible space kaiju, seated in his cyclopean planet-devouring spaceship, offers them a trade: it will spare the Earth if Reed and Sue give him their child, who Galactus says is a powerful cosmic being and the only creature that can take his place.

Of course, the Fantastic Four refuse this deal and head back to Earth, with the Silver Surfer and Galactus in pursuit across the vast expanse of space.

Once home, the people of Earth are initially angry at our heroes for turning down the offer that would have saved them all, but nevertheless the Fantastic Four knuckle down and try to come up with a scheme to dispose of Galactus and save the world.

With influences from classic science fiction films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and numerous period B-movies, Fantastic Four: First Steps has more of a pure pulpy sci-fi feel than any previous MCU offering and, to my tastes, is all the better for it.

Kudos to director Matt Shakman (of WandaVision fame) and scriptwriters Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer, for channelling the spirit of the original Fantastic Four comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (there's a lovely explanation at the end of the credits tying Kirby to the choice of Earth designation).

I might have tweaked the look of a couple of the supporting members of the cast, but that's trivial compared to how much of First Steps is just so right in the eyes of this life-long Fantastic Four fan.

I cannot stress enough how "comic book" this film is. I nearly cried a number of times because it was so perfect, and the rest of the time I was either grinning from ear-to-ear or my jaw was on the floor from the sheer awesomeness and grandeur unfolding before me. 

For my money - although I'm obviously biased - Fantastic Four: First Steps is the best Marvel movie yet, perfectly encapsulating why I've always loved this team of characters as well as dropping multiple breadcrumbs and potential plot hooks for future movies.

We're going to have to wait until the end of next year and the release of Avengers: Doomsday though before we see the team again.

Although I can't wait for the home video release and the film's appearance on Disney Plus to watch it again... and again... and again.

I'd booked cinema tickets for Rachel and I to see Fantastic Four: First Steps weeks ago, prior to the whole "losing the power to walk" nonsense, but a kind attendant in the foyer of The Odeon (Tunbridge Wells) today swapped them for two spots in the third row. One was a place for me to park my chair, the other was an adjacent sofa seat for Rachel.

Naturally, she turned it into a comfortable bed and slept through about an hour in the middle of the movie - as is her wont. 

Rachel on her comfy sofa, next to me in my wheelchair slot

Having spied some Fantastic Four-themed merch on the way in, after the movie I was directed to the food counter where I was able to order an empty drink container and popcorn bucket (not that I eat popcorn).

Rachel had agreed to pay for these treats, but we both realised my "schoolboy error" in ordering them without asking the price. Both items were way more expensive than we'd naively imagined, but Rachel kindly got them for me anyway.

Back home, showing off my unexpectedly expensive Fantastic Four merch

Sixty Years of Fantastic Four History in 90 Minutes (Marvel Recap)

Take your "First Steps" toward the upcoming Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four movie by learning everything there is to know about Marvel's first family. So, hop into the Fantasti-Car and set your coordinates for the Baxter Building, because there is a lot to cover in this video.

From cosmic rays to Secret Wars, uncover the origins of the team, including Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic), Sue Storm (The Invisible Woman), Johnny Storm (The Human Torch), Ben Grimm (The Thing), and their lineup of additional heroes coming in and out of the team. Within this epic recap are the many heroic accounts of the Fantastic Four, including their early feud with the Mole Man and his legion of subterranean kaiju, battling the shapeshifting Skrulls, quelling the Atlantean Prince Namor, and their endless encounters with their greatest nemesis of all... Dr. Doom.

So take heed of the Silver Surfer's warning, for the Devourer of Worlds has arrived and only the F4 team stands between him and his next meal.

See Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps, only in theaters Friday, July 25.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Monster Mag #2

Don't say I'm not a man of my word. Although it seems like only hours from when I 'promised' I'd scan the second issue of my childhood DIY comic from 1976, there was actually a three year gap between the two tasks!

Anyway, here it is... in all its badly drawn and misspelt glory.

Unfortunately, since I scanned the first issue back in 2020, the Sellotape that held the fragile pages of issue two together had lost its "stick" and as I picked it up and moved it to the scanner the pages came away in my hands.

Now, I hope I've scanned them all in the right order. The child-logic of my writing made the narrative a bit hard to follow, but I think I've got it.

Again, it's all about the chaotic adventures of my character, The Ray-Kid, teaming up with random Marvel characters such as Nick Fury, Dr Strange and Iron Man, while fighting The Hulk, a villain called Magno The Great (I suspect I was unsure about how to spell Magneto), and an assortment of horror film monsters, such as The Blob, Frankenstein's Monster, and The Mummy.

For some reason, the Marvel heroes, and I think Ray-Kid, are a team called The Inflans!

No, no clue, sorry...

For a more in-depth background on my self-published comic you need to jump back to the original post here.

I was certainly no budding Jack Kirby (although I was, unknowingly, influenced by his work in the British reprint titles of the time).

It's easy to see why, later on, one of my art teachers at Skinners' would describe me as "the most artistically inept pupil he'd ever taught", but I like to think the two issues of Monster Mag have an innocent charm about them.

Sadly (or maybe not) this was the last issue of this comic ever produced, even though it ends with the proclamation that the next would feature a "great comp", by which I guess I meant "competition", although I have no idea what the prize could possibly have been!

And everything ends with the most gripping of cliffhangers: "Will The Hulk Drop The Tank? Find Out Next Week..."

Now here are (finally, and hopefully in the right order) the two stories contained within Monster Mag #2 (cover date, sometime in early 1976) - When The Blob Hits, He Hits Hard and The Beginning of The End.