The Downside of the 'Marvel Method'

Now that's a misleading title if I've ever written one! I'm not actually talking about Marvel here, just their common method of making comics, which involved a brainstorming session where the story was devised, which the artist then drew on their own, with dialogue and specific plot details being added later.

That's the only explanation I can possibly find for the following panel:

Yes, it's a story about a mad scientist attempting to behead Fake Albert Einstein, but accidentally killing his assistant instead. Now, let's take a closer look at the body on that slab, with some crude notations by yours truly.

Point A - His left hand. Which means-
Point B - Can only be his left shoulder. Making that lump at-
Point C - His head.

So was the artist really not thinking this one through, or simply uninformed? Also, considering that this particular story was credited to a single writer/artist (Vernon Henkel), what does that say about the behind-the-scenes politics at Quality Comics?

I'd investigate further, but everyone who was there is almost certainly dead by now. I mean, really, it's been seventy years.

1 comment:

dion flynn said...

The body and the head were both retrieved. It's still severed but where else ya gonna put it? On the gurney near where it had originally been.