Saturday, February 6, 2016

Retro Foreign

French Titans #69

When I was a kid in the 1970s, The Wizard of Oz was shown on television yearly.  I remember tuning in every year then and have even watched it a few times with my own kids in the past decade, but there was one thing I never noticed until it was pointed out to me in a blog, during a few moments in the movie, the Scarecrow has a gun![1]  In the movie, Dorothy's companions received weapons while in the Emerald City of Oz and use them in a cut scene when they fight a Jitterbug sent by the Wicked Witch.  The Scarecrow is given a gun.  This Jitterbug scene was to take place before the Flying Monkeys attack.

Whenever I see the cover to Titans #69, I am reminded of The Wizard of Oz and the Scarecrow carrying a gun.

Titans #69a - Editions Lug, France (October 1984)
Star Wars #68
It is an interesting choice for a cover, especially when the original Marvel cover for Star Wars #68, the Star Wars story inside Titans #69, features fan favorite Boba Fett.  In the tale, C-3PO is shown in one panel using a knife to cut the rope that holds the cage containing the bounty hunter Dengar.  On the cover, it is not clear that Dengar is the cage's inhabitant.  If they are not going to show Boba Fett on the cover, which is understandable since he appears in one panel in the story, you would think the publisher would have highlighted Dengar who has a more significant presence.  Also on the cover, C-3PO is uncharacteristically stealthy unlike this scene inside the comic.  It is funny imagining C-3PO with any weapon, including a knife.  And C-3PO is anything but stealthy!

Along these lines, in 1994, Topps released the Star Wars Galaxy series 2 trade card set.  One of the promos for the set is a picture of Ewoks attacking a Biker Scout drawn by Jim Starlin.  One of the Ewoks is attacking with a knife.  This art is reused on card #266 in the set, but the art is modified so the Ewok no longer carried a knife.  One can only imagine that the cover to French Titans #69 would never have been approved.

References:

  1. The Scarecrow from The Wizard of OZ carries a gun.

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