{"id":7446,"date":"2020-11-11T14:50:07","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T19:50:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.benzilla.com\/?p=7446"},"modified":"2020-11-11T14:50:07","modified_gmt":"2020-11-11T19:50:07","slug":"the-true-origin-of-m-o-d-o-k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.benzilla.com\/?p=7446","title":{"rendered":"The True Origin of M.O.D.O.K."},"content":{"rendered":"

As you may have heard<\/a>, there’s going to be a stop-motion animated Hulu series starring Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. Reading this news, I was struck by how it’s just de rigueur accepted that M.O.D.O.K.–once a “serious” Marvel villain (first full appearance: Tales of Suspense #94 – ed.)–is now a jokey semi-ironic gag character, a character that might, ya know, show up in an animated series voiced by Patton Oswalt.<\/p>\n

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…or be featured on merch like coffee cups (sadly one tiny foot on mine has chipped off): <\/p>\n

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…or–somewhat horrifyingly–be available as a high-dollar statue you can have your own (giant) face 3-D printed onto:<\/p>\n

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This idea of “jokey M.O.D.O.K.” has become so endemic that  I wonder if the general Marvel property-consuming public has any idea that this entire modern semi-ironic M.O.D.O.K. phenomenon has its origin in one very specific event: a self-published zine from 2004 called The Journal of M.O.D.O.K. Studies<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I wrote a bit about the then-relatively-recent rise in M.O.D.O.K.-ery way back in 2007 for the no-longer-with-us comics news site, The Pulse<\/em>, and interviewed the creator of The Journal of M.O.D.O.K. Studies<\/em>, Robert Newsome. Given the likelihood of a new wave of M.O.D.O.K. interest, I thought now a good time to post that long-404’d article here to my blog. I’ve abridged the article somewhat, but here you go: <\/p>\n

There\u2019s a whole lot of MODOK going on.<\/p>\n

George Bush\u2019s approval ratings may be in the pits, but MODOK\u2019s cultural cache has never been better. Ten years ago, if you\u2019d asked your average fanboy who MODOK was, you\u2019d have been met with a blank stare, but these days you can\u2019t swing a dead cat in your local comics shop without hitting some kind of MODOKery. This once obscure Marvel villain, spawn of Kirby and Lee from a 1967 issue of Tales of Suspense<\/em>, is now the cock of the walk in the Marvel universe, featured in the recent All-MODOK Ultimate Avengers issue, in which the entire Avengers team become \u201cMODOKs\u201d; starring in his own miniseries, MODOK\u2019s Eleven; getting off one of the bawdiest gags in Marvel\u2019s history in their recent holiday special; and even appearing as a Marvel Legends \u201cbuild-a-figure,\u201d available only as a piece-by-piece collectable, packed in, one appendage at a time, with other figures.<\/p>\n

MODOK\u2019s newfound stardom isn\u2019t confined to the hallowed halls of your local \u201cAndroid\u2019s Dungeon\u201d comics shop, though. Wandering the isles of indy comics festivals like SPX or MoCCA these days, it\u2019s not unusual to overhear alt-comics hipsters expound upon the virtues of MODOK with the same studied reverence with which they discuss the latest offerings from Top Shelf, Fantagraphics and Drawn and Quarterly. MODOKery has even oozed out of the seedy world of comics nerddom into the (relatively) mainstream world of animation: The Toonami series Megas XLR features an obvious MODOK homage (albeit one with the face of Bruce Campbell) and Disney has even gotten in on the act with their own faux-DOC., Technor, from their series Teamo Supremo.<\/p>\n

So, you may ask, \u201cJust who in the heck is this cause c\u00e9l\u00e8bre, MODOK?\u201d Let us, as Lewis Carrol quothe, \u201cbegin at the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

As mentioned, MODOK is\u2014like pretty much everything else cool in superhero comics\u2014the creation of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He first appeared in Tales of Suspense in the late 60s and has reappeared sporadically since then, usually to receive an eventual beat-down by Captain America (God rest his soul, supposedly), Iron Man or occasionally the entire Avengers team. If you want to immerse yourself further in MODOK\u2019s history in the Marvel universe, you can find out plenty online, but that\u2019s not really necessary if you\u2019re seeking just to understand MODOK\u2019s appeal; all you\u2019ve got to do is have a look at the guy:<\/p>\n

You see, MODOK is an enormous head in a floating chair. He\u2019s a Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing. And also he has little baby-lookin\u2019 arms and legs. And he shoots some kind of ray out of that weird disco amulet-thing he wears on his head. And he\u2019s got a pompadour. Did I mention he\u2019s an enormous head in a floating chair? As the Comics Journal\u2019s Dirk Deppey put it, MODOK\u2019s \u201cso bizarre [he\u2019s] cool despite actually being really lame.\u201d And therein lies the secret ingredient to this recent MODOK revival: a healthy dose of good, old-fashioned, post-modernist tongue-in-cheek irony.<\/p>\n

The catalyst for MODOK\u2019s rise from semi-obscure B-list villain to giant-headed belle of the ball was surprisingly obscure: a fanzine\u2014or \u2018zine\u2019\u2014from Athens, Georgia called The Journal of MODOK Studies published in 2004 by a supposed \u201cGeorge Tarleton.\u201d Why supposed, you ask? Consult your Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, folks\u2014George Tarleton is MODOK\u2019s real name, and an obvious pseudonym\/homage from the scholar behind this \u201cjournal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Journal of MODOK Studies\u2014or JOMS as it\u2019s known among the faithful\u2014was an obvious labor of love. Printed on a photocopier, its old skool cred was evidenced by the still faintly visible lines around its pictures and blocks of text, betraying its literally \u201cpasted up\u201d nature. And of course, as its name makes clear, it was devoted to all things MODOK. What\u2019s important about this publication isn\u2019t just its single-minded devotion to MODOKery, though, but rather, that singular vision in combination with its tone: a half awed, half mocking ironic zeal focused on a subject that couldn\u2019t have been more deserving of such treatment, a Kirby\/Lee creation that was graphically half genius and half idiocy.<\/p>\n

The Journal of MODOK Studies was published in the winter of 2003 and, as mentioned, was clearly a labor of love; according to the indicia, \u201cMODOK is really awesome and this journal is only published because of this awesomeness, and not through any desire to make money\u2026\u201d This first issue begins with a play-by-play narration of MODOK\u2019s original appearance in Tales of Suspense, then moves on to a piece supposedly reprinting the diary of a hapless food service employee recruited by MODOK\u2019s parent organization, AIM (don\u2019t ask). Included as well are MODOK pinups by a number of artists, including Johnny Ryan, Drew Weing and Patrick Dean\u2014as well as a Bob the Angry Flower cartoon by Stephen Notley which introduces the character MODOKMODOK (Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing MODOK). To anyone prescient enough to have been onboard the hovering MODOK bandwagon at this stage, JOMS offered the following congratulatory remarks: \u201cYou are to be commended for your interest in MODOK which has lead you to this publication, and if you\u2019ve found the Journal and do not posses such an interest, it is our hope that this publication will create this interest, and a love of MODOK in you.\u201d<\/p>\n

And indeed it did\u2014for me and for many others.<\/p>\n

The Journal would publish its third issue\u2014and last to date\u2014in 2004. By that point, though, its mission was largely accomplished; the gospel of MODOK had been launched and MODOKery was spreading like a benevolent pestilence. How is it, though, that a humble zine could launch such a revolution? MODOK himself is clearly the catalyst\u2014but to what specifically can one attribute his appeal? Rather than simply speculate, I contacted \u201cGeorge Tarleton,\u201d real name Robert Newsome, of Athens, Georgia, to ask him about the genesis of the Journal and about his enthusiasm for all things MODOK:<\/p>\n

BT: What possessed you to create a zine devoted to the “study” of all things MODOK?<\/p>\n

RN: MODOK is awesome. That should be all I need to say, because, just LOOK at that guy… But there is some background. My post-college roommate and I had a couple of the MODOK action figures from the Iron Man cartoon around the house and I couldn’t stop looking at the things. [MODOK] really is, I think, one of the best character designs in all of comics. So I kind of developed a mild obsession (if that’s possible). But at the time, there really wasn’t a whole lot of MODOK in the Marvel Universe. I started collecting all the MODOK comics (even the really BORING Sub-Mariner 3-issue arc with MODOK and Dr. Doom) as well as the appearances of MODAM, Ms. MODOK and SODAM. Really. I’d been working on other ‘zines, but I’d gotten sort of bored with them, so I decided to put the MODOK habit I’d developed into print. It just seemed like the right thing to do.<\/p>\n

BT: What is the secret of MODOK’s appeal?<\/p>\n

RN: Ridiculous Kirby character design. I honestly believe, without the irony that saturates so much of people’s appreciation for comics, especially comics of the \u201860s, that MODOK is one of the most interesting character designs in the Marvel Universe. When you look at him, you’re just drawn in. Why is his head so big? How did he get that chair? Can he brush his teeth? Who made that snappy headband? I found it impossible to look at this guy without wanting to know more.<\/p>\n

BT: I’ve heard that you distributed free copied of the Journal to everyone at the Marvel Comics booth at the San Diego Comic-Con. What kind of reaction did you get?<\/p>\n

RN: I had distribution through Last Gasp, and people writing me from all over the country, but I couldn’t get one to Marvel. All the copies I sent to them were returned unopened. Maybe they thought it was an unsolicited submission… I don’t know. I wanted them to see it, though. So I went to the Marvel booth at the San Diego Comic Convention and just gave one to everyone working there. I’m not sure they knew what was going on, they all looked pretty confused. Nobody from Marvel really said anything.<\/p>\n

BT: Do you credit yourself with the current MODOK revival, and if so, do you have any plans to deservedly exploit the situation for your own benefit?<\/p>\n

RN: Yeah, I’m taking credit for it. I know that it’s entirely possible for someone with more influence at Marvel to have noticed MODOK’s brilliance independent of my work, but nothing exists in a vacuum, you know? Plus, I placed enough phone calls to the poor receptionist at Marvel asking if he\/she knew what MODOK stood for (nobody ever did) that somebody had to say SOMETHING, right?<\/p>\n

I’m thinking about doing another issue soon, but I’m not sure what would be in it. There’s certainly enough out there to write about even without the modern MODOK revival, like the two novels featuring MODOK, or the time Jack Kirby just totally forgot how to draw MODOK, and I still haven’t done my all-MODAM issue!<\/p>\n

I was unable to pin Robert down on a date for a possible next issue of The Journal of MODOK Studies, unfortunately, but I believe I speak for fans of MODOKery everywhere when I say, I hope it\u2019s sooner rather than later.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And here’s a small gallery of images from the three issues of JOMS, including comics by Johnny Ryan and Patrick Dean:<\/p>\n\n\t\t