Pop Culture from an Alternate Dimension

       The cover of Amazing Fantasy comics #15 is a famous image. Jack Kirby's drawing of Spider-Man swinging among the skyscrapers with someone under his arm was the first time people saw the web-slinger in 1962. However, Steve Ditko, who did the interior art, had also drawn a cover but it was vetoed in favor of a cover by Kirby. In 2007, Jonathan Ross interviewed Ditko and the artist mentioned that Spider-Man was originally supposed be the secondary colors of orange and purple instead of the primary colors of red and blue. Co-incidently, there was a comic character in 1941 called The Spider Queen who wore red and blue, and also had web-shooting bracelets.       In 2008, the Library of Congress anonymously received Ditko's original artwork for that first Spider-Man story and there was another surprise. Under the partly cemented logo and white gouache was a much more webby header; that I recreated as well as cleaning up and re-coloring the origin...

       In the late 1980's NBC aired two Hulk tv movies with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno that were meant to be backdoor pilots for new superhero shows. The Trial of the Incredible Hulk  introduced The Daredevil. Instead of Foggy Nelson and Karen Page being in it, they created two new characters; Christa Klein was essentially Karen but was a partner in the firm with Matt Murdock. The character was played by Nancy Everhard, she was also in the Dolph Lundgren Punisher  movie the same year. In an interview, Rex Smith said that he and John Rhys-Davies were excited about it becoming a series. Sadly, it did not, so above you can see the "what-if" DVD cover.

         I previously mentioned that CBS made two pilot movies for a Captain America series that wasn't picked up. The year before they made a pilot for Dr. Strange that wasn't greenlit either. The story goes that after having Wonder Woman, The Hulk and Spider-Man, they didn't want to be known as the "superhero channel". What if they had leaned into it? They could have been CW before CW. So, before Netflix decided to put their heroes together as the Defenders, I present a crossover that should have been. It might even have been better than this:  The 1987 MARVEL Universe Macy’s THANKSGIVING Day Parade Float Is The GREATEST Thing You've Ever SEEN