Close Encounters of the Third Kind Marvel Super Special

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Marvel Super Special No. 3
Illustrated by Walt Simonson and Klaus Johnson, story adaptation by Archie Goodwin
Marvel / Curtis 1978

Designed to coincide with the November, 1977 release of the feature film, this Marvel Super Special labored under a number of burdens in its execution. For one thing, the Marvel team lacked the rights to the likenesses of the major characters. According to Archie Goodwin, the studio's insistence on pre-release secrecy also meant that the Marvel team had to rely solely on the script, and a short promotional clip, as the entirety of their visual references. Making things worse, the comic was forbidden from showing the aliens in any detail. It's not surprising that artist Walt Simonson called the assignment "the worst experience of my comics career".

There's also no overlooking the fact that as a movie, Close Encounters was underwhelming. Compared to Star Wars, which had transformed sci-fi cinema just 6 months previously, it often was plodding and dull. 

To hold the interest of the comic readers, Simonson wasn't above working in some selected T & A, courtesy of 'Mom' character Jillian Guiller, who seems to have a wardrobe consisting solely of cutoff jean shorts, and a tendency to be framed from interesting points of view even when carrying out the most mundane of household chores.......

Anyways, with the 40th anniversary of the film at hand, it seems right to present the entirety of the commemorative issue of Marvel Super Special No. 3. While there are a number of websites offering scans of this issue, I used a 200 dpi resolution to give the images a (hopefully) superior clarity.

 Enjoy this flashback of vintage 70's sci-fi........