It’s now the 10th day of the second annual Jack Kirby Tribute Month, devised by Howard Simpson to honor the creative genius of the King. Howard introduced a fun new wrinkle this year, of themed weeks. This week’s theme has been the Fantastic Four, and on this last day of the week, the final prompt is the Mole Man.
The Mole Man may not be considered the FF’s archenemy, but he has the distinction of being the very first antagonist they faced in their origin story. Like many of the FF villains, he had more complexity to him than your average comic book villain. He commanded an army of Moloids (which I’ve included some of here, free of charge) as well as various giant underground monsters. He was bitter, yet not entirely unsympathetic, having been shunned and basically driven away by most of the rest of mankind.
While I have (on rare occasion) previously attempted to draw some of the other FF characters I’ve drawn this week, this is the first time I’ve ever tried to draw the Mole Man. It was fun!
And that wraps up Fantastic Four week. Tomorrow’s a new week, and a new theme!
The Mole Man definitely arouses sympathy. When we compare how Mole Man and Ben react to their deformities, Ben thrives with the love of his team, while the singular Mole Man goes to a very dark place, no pun intended. I don’t believe we ever know Mole Man’s name, which makes the character even more alone than our Thing. Jack’s panel layout brings this story to life in a way nothing before did.
Interestingly in the story, French Africa is chosen as the setting. When the FF and the Mole Man book came out, at the same time we were studying colonization in Africa, particularly the Algerian Massacre in Paris. Great choice, Mole Man. And a great rendition. Maybe it’s my eyes, but the dot matrix pattern seems to pop more with this piece?
I had two copies of this book in my collection at one time. I wish I had just one of the two. Not for the value, but for the memory. I like the way you seem to draw primarily on the first FF issues. Thanks Mark.
Glad you liked my take on Mole Man, Joe.
I’d never thought about the correlation between him and the Thing, but you’re absolutely right about the difference. And the lack of a name making him seem even more alone and forgotten. Later creators though apparently couldn’t resist giving him a name: Harvey Elder. As an apparent nod to Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder’s Melvin Mole story from MAD #2.