After looking at hundreds of comic book covers, it becomes quickly apparent that not every cover is 100% original. Whether done intentionally or even underhandedly, there’s something about uncovering these “swipes” that adds a new element of fun to reading and collecting comics.
In a twist on the Superman mythos, the title character in Jim Valentino’s normalman (stylized in all lower-case letters) is shipped off into space by his father when he concludes that the planet they inhabit will explode. The child arrives on a planet inhabited completely by super-powered beings – they dub him normalman, because he’s the only one there without powers.
The character debuted in Cerebus the Aardvark #56 and was soon given his own ongoing series. That title served as a vehicle for creator, Jim Valentino, to spoof and parody other comics, a perfect opportunity (if ever there was one) to introduce cover swipes that parody the source material.
It looks as if normalman #2 is paying homage to this classic issue of Fantastic Four (guest-starring Daredevil) but the logo is actually honoring the long-standing Spider-Man logo design that debuted on the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #2 and dressed the covers of that series up through issue #394.
/39.jpg "Fantastic Four #39") Fantastic Four #39 June 1965 Jack Kirby |
 normalman #2 April 1984 Jim Valentino |
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