Comments on: Agent of S.T.Y.L.E.: Get Style-Fish with Namor

By: yahnamore zebulun

yahnamore zebulun — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 06:15:09 +0000

I think its inteligent to mention that I am a huge Namor fan. I have followed him for over 30 years. To say that I am angry at how Marvel has developed him over the years would be a understatement. First subject of disappointment I want to cover is this silly obsession with Sue Richards. This has damaged beyond belief Namor’s reputation. Sue is made to be the most loved respected anglic woman in all Marvel Universe. On the other side you have this shady anti-hero, anti-social ditator King. You get where I’m going with this? She can do no wrong. Sue Richards is maybe the prettiest woman in all Marvel and she is constantly in this MAN’s space. Yes Namor likes her, and you know what? Sue like him, The attraction is mutual, But does any blame get put on Sue when he shows interests in her? NO. Namor get all the bad energy from fans. Comic book readers actually hate him for this. Many readers only know him as ruthless marriage breaker that will do anything to be with Sue. The first Marvel mutant is also the first Marvel charactor, Marvel please put a stop in the destruction of the Submariner, remember he helped build this empire. We are living in a time where Thor, and Ironman have seen major developments to their charactors, weather it be strength or power boost. Almost nothing has been done to Namor. Recently even his kingdom has been taken away from him. I read other blogs and Marvel fans debate on who would win senarioes. One Blog had Wonder woman beating Namor, another blog has Aqua man beating him and still another. Black Adam( Whoever he is) whipping him. This has gotten out of hand. It seems Marvel has givin up on Namor. I have Ideas on how namor should be portrayed. I am also writing a book that Marvel will probably sue me over, but so what. We want the Submariner back. Namor is screwed. Namor live forever…. Imperous REX

By: Archie Medes

Archie Medes — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 17:19:38 +0000

Keep Namor shirtless upgrade the look with tattoos. The trident belt and bracelets kept simple. The new look from Marvel is OK. What can they think of next?

By: rplass

rplass — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 03:57:59 +0000

Great article! Thanks for NOT posting the infamous Quesada pin-up from the Marvel swimsuit issue!

By: Namor

Namor — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:16:44 +0000

My attendants acquired and showed me your report on my apparel. As king of the realm, I have a great variety of outfits to choose from. I have over 100 ‘speedos’ as you call them in a dozen different colors alone. Did you think I wore the same costume every day for years? HA! You mortals make me laugh. I’ll resist the urge to attack you for your remarks and restrain from giving you a far better view of my trident and my fists!

By: PeteGeddes

PeteGeddes — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:59:37 +0000

Loved the article… My introduction to Sub-Mariner was issue 67 of his own book, where he first sports the black moisture suit. Always pleased to see him return to that ‘look’.

Although his new X-Men suit mirrors the moisture-suit design, the boots look a little too clunky and awkward for someone with aquatic abilities. Perhaps it’s a deliberate move, as with the X-Men he would undoubtedly spend more of his time fighting on land..?

By: Alan Kistler

Alan Kistler — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:26:08 +0000

Lyell: Not a problem. Happy to have more readers.

By: Lyell

Lyell — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 03:47:50 +0000

Great article – I’ve posted this on my Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner facebook fan page. I hope you don’t mind but I reckon they’ll get a kick out of this.

By: Alan Kistler

Alan Kistler — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 20:00:02 +0000

Chris McFeely: Well, perhaps Johnny simply secure enough to recognize a handsome guy looking his best.

DonutFactory: That was a great rendition of Namor in 1234, absolutely. He looked sexually powerful and otherworldly. Jae Lee is definitely a great artist, don’t get me wrong. But that Atlantean armor, man. Damn the 90s.

JumborgAce: Hmm, not a bad idea for the future. I will tell you now that the “Great Pickeled Penguins” remark comes from YOUNG MEN #28. You can read that issue for FREE at Marvel.com in their Digital Comics library!

John: Too many ifs in that statement for me to change my mind.

Ryan: Thanks, brother. It’s appreciated.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:19:25 +0000

Great article! can’t wait to see what’s next!

By: john

john — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:05:07 +0000

my favorite namor costume would be the “This is another version of the black suit that we’ve occasionally seen on Namor. We’ve finally lost the wing-fins and that’s cool. But we’ve also lost the scale design in the shirt”…with a very few adjustments. no fins/wings IS cool. add some scales to the vest/shirt. lose the pimp collar; it isn’t aqua dynamic.

By: john

john — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 17:59:31 +0000

hey! don’t laugh about the puffer fish thing. “Puffer fish are generally believed to be the second–most poisonous vertebrate in the world, after the Golden Poison Frog.” now, if namor were to also be able to express this characteristic of the puffer fish that would be awesome. well, depending on the way he released the poison from his body. if he were to release it the way he used to be able to release water from his pores that would be cool.

By: JumborgAce

JumborgAce — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:50:41 +0000

Thanks as always for the article. I love this sort of decades long progression.

One request, would you consider putting a list of which issues all the panels you use came from? I REALLY want to read about pickled penquins now but I don’t know what issue it came from.

Thanks for the efforts!

JumborgAce

By: DonutFactory

DonutFactory — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:42:53 +0000

When I think Namor I think of his Jae Lee drawn appearance in the Grant Morrison written Fantastic Four 1234 mini-series. It’s a definitive look – classic green scale trunks and minimalist gold bands. I was SHOCKED to see such a ridiculous depiction from Lee highlighted in your article when he’s demonstrated such a clear mastery of the character later in his career. I wonder whose idea that re-design was – ugh!

By: Chris McFeely

Chris McFeely — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:19:33 +0000

Man, Subby’s moisture suit is still my favourite. I recall reading the issue in which he switched back to the trunks – I think it was an issue of SUPER VILLAIN TEAM-UP – and as part of the justification for the change, they have Johnny Storm regard the re-trunked Namor and think to himself “You know, he looks GOOD!” Given that it’s just a pair of damn trunks, that pretty much came out as the Gayest Thing Ever.

By: Black Manta

Black Manta — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 06:45:19 +0000

I really like his X-Men costume. Looking forward to seeing what Marvel does with the character, me being an Aquaman fan I never got into Namor but might jump on with the new series and his membership on the X-Men.

By: Kevin Garcia

Kevin Garcia — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 05:07:54 +0000

One thing that always gets me is that people think of Namor’s 1940s look as just being trunks. That wasn’t the case. In fact, in the early Everett issues, Namor sported a different costume almost every month! He would weare a red suit with a yellow cape, a white general’s outfit, sometimes just a cape and trunks, sometimes a super-hero style suit with no cape… a bunch of different combinations. Of course, on the COVERS he always wore trunks, so when later artists took over for Bill, they went with that look, and when he got back from the war, he continued this trend.

By: Mr Nobody

Mr Nobody — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 03:45:33 +0000

It’s your article, so you can certainly cover whatever you please. I’ll still enjoy them.

I thought that it would have been a good counter point to what seemed to be a running theme throughout your article of Namor going from not needed/wanting/caring for clothes, to a full blown suit. Tony Stark corporate raider, we expect him to wear a suit, but for guys like Namor, and oh say Grey Hulk, it is out of the ordinary.

By: Alan Kistler

Alan Kistler — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 02:27:09 +0000

IAN: He did look pretty cool there. I sometimes wonder if it wasn’t a mistake to give Namor Caucasian skin rather than give him an azure hue.

MR NOBODY: A suit is a suit, not a costume or a superhero look. In discussing Iron Man’s armors, I didn’t address when he wore Armani or Brooks Brothers as Tony Stark.

DESTRON COMMANDER: It says that Alex Ross like to throw in nudity when he can. Check out the pants-less Ray in KINGDOM COME.

By: Destron Commander

Destron Commander — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 01:24:57 +0000

In the Marvels series by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross, Namor is clearly naked. What does this say about the guy?

“I don’t give a crap about clothes.”?

By: Mr. Nobody

Mr. Nobody — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:32:14 +0000

Cool article, but no mention of his chic suits during his corporate raider days? Or the Homeless-Namor look shortly there after? Both were from the Byrne era, iirc.

By: Ian

Ian — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:17:48 +0000

I like how pale and inhuman he looked in The Depths,not that I expect that to be used in the mainstream. Personally, I’d like to see a black scale outfit with green used for highlights.

By: Alan Kistler

Alan Kistler — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:37:10 +0000

JON BOGDANOVE: Thank you very much for your input, it is greatly appreciated. And I can definitely see where you’re coming from. You’ll also see that I tend to agree about the decorative stuff being contrary to Namor’s nature. The green trunks with bracelets and a cool belt buckle work for me in many ways and I think there’s a reason it’s stuck with people so much that Namor continually returns to that look. And while I enjoyed some of the elements of the black suit, I also do think it works better as a special suit he wears on occasion or on special missions, not necessarily his standard, every day look.

Again, thanks very much for your comments. This is all opinion, of course, so I very much invite intelligent debate. That’s part of what makes art so much fun.

By: Jon Bogdanove

Jon Bogdanove — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:29:47 +0000

Like most guys my age, Kirby introduced me to Namor in the F.F. –but my real interest in the character came from Bill Everett’s return to the title in 1972. I don’t know why. Everett’s work already looked a bit dated to my 14-years-old critical eye. There was just something awesome about a character in the hands of his original creator.
Anyway, by then Namor wore his scaly, green trunks and, to me, that will always be his one and only distinctive likeness, as far as I am concerned. Frankly, I don’t care if he has a shell on his belt, or a trident, or an “S”. Frankly, I kind of like the idea that Namor has more than one swimsuit and doesn’t really give a crap about whether or not he’s got a trademarked emblem on it or not. The minute Reed gave him that stupid disco “moisture suit” I was outta’ there.
Subby has a giant ego, but he does not invest himself in fashion. Clothes, let alone needless adornment, should have no interest for him. He wears whatever will restrict his movement and streamlining the least. He’s practical, and he’s very secure and comfortable in his body– so he’d probably go naked, except he doesn’t want to be dragging his anchor-chain when he’s swimming.
So, as far as I’m concerned, swimming trunks only for ol’ Imperius Rex. Give him any kind of belt-buckle you want. I’ll even tolerate simple wrist-bands. But anything more than that violates not just his persona, but the iconic nature of The Sub-Mariner’s distinctive archetypal appeal.

By: Alan Kistler

Alan Kistler — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:35:22 +0000

JOHNNY BLAZE DCU: As for the wings, the intention was that Namor would look akin to some figure of Roman mythology, hence his name being “Roman” spelled backwards. So the wings were just to add a touch of Hermes, who could be quite a trouble-maker himself.

I-CHING: Perhaps Namor got that throne from the Atlantean equivalent of IKEA.

FLUFFY6079: It’s not that Namor is “half-mutant” really. In the general definition of mutants in the Marvel Universe, Namor is not a mutant because he’s not a human being born with the X-gene. But he is a mutation, so it’s kind of a “close enough” situation.

FAZHOUL: In some pictures you are correct. In others, it was very clear that there were some jagged blue lines that were meant to convey depth AND there were also stylized blue lines going down the side. In a couple of comics, as I pointed out, the piping changed color, making it clearer that they were a design element. And thanks.

By: Fazhoul

Fazhoul — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:30:34 +0000

Oops, I forgot to say “Great Article”. So, great article!

By: Fazhoul

Fazhoul — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:29:40 +0000

I always thought that the “blue lines” on his original black trunks were meant to be highlighting similar to the way that Superman’s hair was shown with blue highlights or the highlights shown on the first picture of his black bodysuit. I would need to see it from more angles since I don’t remember it well enough.

By: Fluffy6079

Fluffy6079 — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:17:41 +0000

@ Johnny Blaze DCU
Well, Namor is half mutant so that could explain the wings in a modern setting, but clearly that wasn’t the original intention when he was created in the 30s. Maybe it was the drugs?

By: Hadoken_Master

Hadoken_Master — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:05:46 +0000

@JohnnyBlazeDCU

Namor has feathered wings on his ankles, not because he’s part atlantean but because he’s also a mutant. In the Marvel universe, no atlanteans have winged ankles except the atlantean-human mutant hybrids like Namor and Namora.

By: I-Ching

I-Ching — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:09:20 +0000

Oh Namor….that last pic…that shell chair is CLEARLY not ergonomically correct and is going to do a number on your spine with that awful posture. Hope Atlantis has a great chiropractor!

By: Johnny Blaze DCU

Johnny Blaze DCU — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:49:32 +0000

Has anyone ever explained how a sea-based lifeform evolved in such a way they he has feathered wings on his feet? I mean “flying fish” is a but of a misnomer as they don’t actually fly. Was this ever addressed or is it just “Hey, it was the Golden Age. What do you want from us?”