 DAREDEVIL #7 Switcheroo April, 1965 Wally Wood original artist |
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Hey!?! This drawing--it looks somehow eerily
familiar!?! But...but...HOW can that
be??.. Simple, folks--it's the old Switcheroo!!! The reason you feel overcome with deja view is 'cuz you just glimpsed this composition with it's original stars, Marvel's Daredevil, and their own personal undersea monarch, Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner. Before you now is a redone version of the same situation, only the analogous DC Comics characters find themselves taking center stage. But what is this "Switcheroo" and how did it come to be? I'm glad you asked... |
| A little over a year back, my attention was
taken by an ad for the 13th issue of
Roy
Thomas's superb Two Morrows publication,
ALTER EGO. Legendary DC artist Murphy
Anderson
had taken members of the embryonic
Marvel
superstar aggregation, the Avengers,
and
dropped them into what appeared to
be a recreation
of DC's JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA#1!
The
term that first came to my mind was,
"way
cool!" The next thing that popped
into
my head was "How can I rip-off
this
concept?" Well, I quickly figured
out
a way--before ALTER EGO#13 even hit
the stands,
I'd conjured up a "Dateline:@!!?*"
page for CBG spotlighting wee warriors
Ant-Man
and the Atom in reverse roles on opposite
cover scenes. I found it to be a fun
twist
on my Classic Cover Redo shtick, and
I was
more than willing to give credit where
credit
was due on that initial go-round and
heaped
all sorts of praise on Roy for his
brilliance
in conceiving the idea. Unfortunately,
in
my eagerness to get this strip to press,
I didn't actually wait to get a copy
of AE#13
in my sweaty little hands. If I had,
I would've
realized that it was a Con host by
the name
of Shelton Drum who had prevailed on
the
mighty Murphy to create this unique
illustration
for the cover of the 2001 Charlotte,
N.C.
Heroes Convention program book. Roy
was so
taken by it that he received permission
to
use it as the cover of his fine magazine,
but 'twas Shelton who sparked the notion.
Inasmuch as they both contacted me
afterwards,
I'd long wanted to clear up any misconceptions
that I may've inadvertently caused.
And with
my recent nonappearance in CBG, this
here
is my first opportunity. So--Shelton
Drum
thought it up, Roy Thomas popularized
it,
and I, Fred Hembeck, stole it! I'd
like to
thank the first two fellas, and request
forgiveness
for the third. The tableau you see before you was recently commissioned by a long-time Aquaman fan. Yes folks, Aquaman actually has fans!?! And my patron, who's engaged me to scribble several sea king scenarios in years past, is one of the biggest!! As proof of just how nice comics fans can be, he takes my relentless digs at his hero good-naturedly in stride, undoubtedly smiling all the while at my pot-shots through gritted teeth!?! Thanks, fella, you've been a great sport! (...and why do I suddenly feel like Don Rickles wrapping up his act?...) A successful Switcheroo is precipitated on characters of corresponding abilities replacing one another, and these four principals--particularly the pair of Davy Jones locker-mates--certainly fit that criterion. Then you have to consider if the transferal will function artistically. While Batman is a good trade-off for Daredevil, that cape of his would play havoc with the composition, leaving the star of our commissioned piece almost totally obscured. Solution? Torn cape. Hey, why not? It's happened before. As for the logo, it was decided that "Detective" was the best stand-in for the original, since it not only also began with "D", but contained a like number of letters as well. After that, it's just a matter of paying attention to details--the "Superman of America" sticker in lieu of the "M.M.M.S." one, the "Gotham Gazette" masthead replacing the "New York Daily Press" heading, and see those two fish up in the background?? On the DD#7 cover, they're merely innocent swimbyers, but on the revamped version, they're in constant contact with the telepathically inclined Aquaman, actual finny friends of the swim-suited superhero. As to the CONTENT of that conversation, well, you'll just have to use your imagination, but if Aqua creator Mort Weisinger could've lent his talents to the mix, we may well have seen a thought balloon that read somewhat along these lines:" Our friend Aquaman has gone mad! He's fighting his fellow Justice Leaguer, Batman! Why is he battling a friend--and a hero far more popular than he is??" Why indeed? Ponder that, Aquafans--all half-dozen of you!! (…sorry, guy--you KNOW I'm kidding, right? Right?!? ...heh...) |
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