''Not Brand Echh'' is a

satiric Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

that

parodied A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

its own

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

stories as well as those of other comics publishers. Running for 13 issues (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d Aug. 1967 to May 1969), it included among its contributors such notable writers and artists as

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Social Security Death Index via ...

Bill Everett William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie and Daredevil with writer Stan Lee for Marvel Comics. He was alle ...

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

and

Marie Severin Marie Severin (; August 21, 1929 – August 29, 2018) was an American comics artist and colorist best known for her work for Marvel Comics and the 1950s' EC Comics. She is an inductee of the Will Eisner Comics Hall of Fame and the Harvey Awards ...

, and

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

. With issue #9, it became a 68-page, 25¢ "giant", relative to the typical 12¢ comics of the times. In 2017, a 14th issue was released. Its mascot,

Forbush Man Forbush Man (spelled Forbush-Man in his early appearances) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Originally the mascot of Marvel's ''Not Brand Echh'', he is the alter-ego of Irving Forbush, a ficti ...

, introduced in the first issue, was a superhero wannabe with no superpowers and a costume of red long johns emblazoned with the letter "F" and a cooking pot, with eye-holes, covering his never-revealed head. His secret identity was eventually revealed in issue #5 (Dec. 1967) as Irving Forbush, Marvel's fictitious office

gofer A gofer, go-fer or gopher is an employee who specializes in the delivery of special items to their superior(s). Examples of these special items include a cup of coffee, a tool, a tailored suit, or a car. Outside of the business world, the term ...

Publication history

Marvel Comics' superhero-satire comic book ''Not Brand Echh'' ran an initial 13 issues (

d Aug. 1967 - May 1969),''Not Brand Echh'' at the Grand Comics Database
with a 14th issue published in 2017. Editors

and

Gary Friedrich Gary Friedrich (; August 21, 1943 – August 29, 2018) was an American comic book writer best known for his Silver Age stories for Marvel Comics' ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'', and, in the following era, for the series '' The Monster of ...

pitched a comics series that would poke fun of other companies' characters, but

decided that it should focus its satiric lens on Marvel's own output. The series title was a play on an advertising convention of the time, in which a competitor's product was not referred to by name, but simply as "Brand X"; DC was sometimes playfully called "Brand Echh" in Marvel "

Bullpen Bulletins "Bullpen Bulletins" (originally titled "Marvel Bullpen Bulletins") was the news and information page that appeared in most regular monthly comic books from Marvel Comics. In various incarnations since its inception in 1965 until its demise in 200 ...

" and letters pages, hence this comic was "Not Brand Echh". The title of the comic in its postal indicia was ''Brand Echh'' for its first four issues, and afterward ''Not Brand Echh'', the trademarked cover title from the start. Typical stories and name transpositions included Ironed Man (

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

) vs. Magnut, Robot Biter (

Gold Key Comics Gold Key Comics was originally an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated this way from 1962 to 1984. Currently, Gold Key Comics is owned b ...

Magnus, Robot Fighter Magnus, Robot Fighter is a fictional superhero, appearing in comic books created by writer/artist Russ Manning in 1963.Steve Holland, ''Sci-Fi Art : a graphic history''. Lewes : ILEX, 2009. (pp. 102-3) Magnus first appeared in ''Magnus Robot Fight ...

); "Best Side Story", with Dr. Deranged (

Dr. Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...

) in a ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

'' pastiche; "The Origin of...Stuporman", a

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

takeoff recalling

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...

's influential "

Superduperman "Superduperman" is a satirical story by Harvey Kurtzman and Wally Wood that was published in the fourth issue of '' Mad'' (April–May 1953). Lampooning both ''Superman'' and '' Captain Marvel'', it revolutionized the types of stories seen in ''Mad ...

" in ''Mad'' #4 (May 1952); the Ecchs-Men in "If Magneat-O Should Clobber Us", parodying not only the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

and

Magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

, but also the high melodrama of 1960s Marvel titles; and Marvel characters visually standing-in for the

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

-player protagonists of the otherwise faithfully rendered famous

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

Casey at the Bat Casey at the Bat is a poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer. Casey at the Bat may also refer to: * ''Casey at the Bat'' (1916 film), a film based on the poem * ''Casey at the Bat'' (1927 film), a film based on the poem * ''Casey at the Bat'', an ...

". Events took place in the "Marble Universe", a play on the

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...

. In broader topical references,

, writer of ''

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' was a comic book series created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and published by Marvel Comics from 1963 to 1981. The main character, Sgt. Nick Fury, later became the leader of Marvel's super-spy agency, S.H.I.E. ...

'', and

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

and Marvel

production manager In the cinema of the United States, a unit production manager (UPM) is the Directors Guild of America–approved title for the top below-the-line staff position, responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production. Non- ...

John Verpoorten John Verpoorten (May 15, 1940 – December 15, 1977) was an American comic book artist and editorial worker best known as Marvel Comics' production manager during the latter part of the Silver Age of Comic Books and afterward, during a seminal peri ...

contributed a Marvel-character version of the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

' ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the roles of sound composi ...

record album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

art.

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...

's album cover art for

Big Brother and the Holding Company Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane. After some in ...

was parodied by Herb Trimpe. Later issues had parodies of famous films such as ''

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer, and written by William Rose. It stars Spencer Tracy (in his final role), Sidney Poitier, and Katharine Hepburn, and featur ...

'' and ''

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...

'' and features about superhero poetry, superhero carnival and "Rent A Super-Hero", in which children employed their favorite heroes to help with mundane tasks like family plumbing problems.

Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren (publisher), James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include ''After Hours (magazin ...

editor

Bill DuBay William Bryan Dubay (January 11, 1948 – April 15, 2010William Bryan Dubay

Paul Gambaccini Paul Matthew Gambaccini (born April 2, 1949) is an American-British radio and television presenter and author in the United Kingdom. He has dual United States and British nationality, having become a British citizen in 2005. Known as "The Grea ...

stated he coined the term "Brand Echh" in his letter published in ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bim ...

'' #7 (Dec. 1963).

Similar Marvel publications

In 1988, Marvel published ''

What The--?! ''What The--?!'' is a Marvel Comics comic book series self-parodying the Marvel Universe, similar in vein to the 1960s series ''Not Brand Echh''. It was billed as "The Marvel mag of mirth and mayhem!" The series ran for 26 issues, from August 198 ...

'', a four-issue

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

(Aug.–Nov. 1988), followed by an additional 22 issues continuing the numbering (July 1989 – Sept. 1993).''What The--?!''
at the Grand Comics Database. One story, for instance, featured "Superbman vs. The Fantastical Four" — the same name as in ''Not Brand Echh'' for a parodistic

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

. ''Not Brand Echh'' mascot Forbush Man made a cover-featured return appearance in issue #8 (July 1990). Two one-shots, ''Wha...Huh?'' in 2005, and ''Marvel: Now What?!'' in 2013 revisited the concept. The '' Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes'' (2005) designated the Earth of ''Not Brand Echh'' and ''What The--?!'' as Earth-665. ''Not Brand Echh'' characters made an appearance in Marvel's ''

Nextwave ''Nextwave'' is a humorous comic book series by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen, published by Marvel Comics between 2006 and 2007. ''Nextwave'' consistently features extreme violence and comedy, and simultaneously satirizes and celebrates Marvel' ...

'' series.

Reprints

Several stories were reprinted in the three-issue Marvel comic ''Crazy!'' (Feb.–June 1973), not to be confused with Marvel's black-and-white magazine ''

Crazy Magazine ''Crazy Magazine'' is an illustrated satire and humor magazine that was published by Marvel Comics from 1973 to 1983 for a total of 94 regular issues (and two ''Super Special''s (Summer 1975, 1980)). It was preceded by two standard-format comic b ...

''. In the UK, the comic was published in a tabloid-like black-and-white format in the early 1980s and renamed ''Marvel Madhouse''. In 2022,

NFT A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the ...

app

VeVe A ''veve'' (also spelled ''vèvè'' or ''vevè'') is a religious symbol commonly used in different branches of Vodun throughout the African diaspora, such as Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo. The ''veve'' acts as a "beacon" for the ''loa'', a ...

reissued 10,000 copies of issue #1 with five variant covers.

Collected editions

References

External links

''Not Brand Echh''
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on August 26, 2015.

at The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators * {{Marvel Multiverse Comics magazines published in the United States Defunct American comics Parody superheroes Satirical comics Parody comics 1967 comics debuts 1969 comics endings Satirical magazines published in the United States Marvel Comics parodies Magazines established in 1967 Magazines disestablished in 1969 Monthly magazines published in the United States