Dear Editor: "Jack, Are You Running Out of Monsters?"

As a founding father of the Marvel Universe, uber-artist Jack Kirby was a creative dynamo who could do no wrong in the eyes of 1960's Marvel fans (or "Marvelites" as they were known). 

Well, most of them, anyway.

Appearing on the letters page of Thor #155 (1968), a guy named Len Uricek from Flint, Michigan had a laundry list of visual gaffes and art observations that targeted Jack Kirby with a rare bit of (good natured) criticism...

Let's take a look at that NYPD hardware Len was talking about (click on the panels for a larger view)

Marvel (possibly Stan Lee himself) jumps to the defense of not only Kirby, but the New York Police Department as well....

Once the Thor-related questions were out of the way, Len also had something to say regarding the issue's back-up story, starring Triton of the Inhumans...

Here's the costumed actor Len is referring to, alongside the legendary Creature from the Black Lagoon. Yeah...a definite resemblance there.

The reply? Just some of that classic, good-natured obfuscation that 

characterized the free-wheeling Marvel Comics letter pages... 

Comments

[Kyle]

In King Kirby's defense, I must point out that there really isn't that much resemblance at all between Jack's costumed monster and the famous Creature. I mean, just look at them. Jack's monster has MUCH bigger scales (silver dollar sized) than the movie monster!

BUKOOOM!!

[Reggie]

Someone at Marvel must have taken a second look at Triton and said "Hey, this guy's got a point", because he certainly doesn't look like that anymore. Fear of lawsuits is a strong incentive for creativity.

[Pat Curley]

I see that Reggie made the same mistake I did; thinking that Triton was the orange-skinned guy. Actually I always thought Triton himself looked like the Creature from the Black Lagoon.