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Friday, August 21, 2009


Number 579



I pity the poor immigrant...


It's a shame that this decades-old story should seem so timely and modern. I'm sorry we're not past tribalism. Old prejudices and xenophobia die hard. Or never die, as the case may be.

The story is written by Stan Lee and drawn by John Romita, originally published in Menace #3, May 1953.







8 comments:

Unknown said...

Stan recycled this in a story called "The Hidden Face", drawn by Steve Ditko. A few of the elements were the same, but the punchline was that the guy was only THINKING he was taking hoods off of his face...his face was perfectly intact when the cops came to get him and realized he was insane.

Mykal Banta said...

Pappy: What an amazing clean, well told story. amazing ending. is this artwork typical of Romata, Sr. from this period? It is unlike anything I've ever seen from him, but I am mostly familiar with his much later work. I think, with the fine, feathered line work, it almost looks like Crumb in a few panels. -- Mykal

Pappy said...

I've probably seen "The Hidden Face," but don't remember it specifically. Recycling stories and plots is bread and butter to a comic book writer.

As for Romita's art, this is drawn for a horror comic so it's done in a slightly different style than he'd do for a love story or superhero. He was always a very versatile artist.

Unknown said...

Gee, sounds like Washington's race for governor last year.

Mr. Karswell said...

Love this one Pappy!

Unknown said...

He's like the evil Archie Bunker.

Prof. Grewbeard said...

now THIS is scary!...

Gene Phillips said...

Great reprint, Pappy! Though on one hand I know this is Lee following the lead of EC Comics' breakthroughs, I'm glad to see him putting his hand to this kind of realistic melodrama about racism and xenophobia, over 10 years before he and Jack Kirby (essentially) broke the superhero color barrier. I like the fact that the main guy even knocks his wife for being a "Swede," which used to carry a negative charge not unlike the (sadly-still-current) use of "Polak."