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Brand Ecch No More
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This would be the final issue of 'Not Brand Ecch' until it was continued in a special issue 48 years later. It goes out as a confusing mixture of satires on Marvel's own output, mash-ups of other companies' characters, Mad-style film parodies, one-off gags, and a Forbush Man story. It's a sort of summary of the entire run of the comic, and therefore also features several appearances by Doctor Doom.
He's there on the cover, as part of a group of pretend trading stamps.
Once again, he's there as a representative of supervillainy. This is a role he's fallen into over the course of this series, being used as an avatar of evil, almost apart from his own character in the main Marvel Universe.
His first appearance within the comic itself, however, does make a small reference to the more usual characteristics of Doom, via some balloons that say "Visit Beautiful Blatveria".
This is a "humorous" reference to the nation of Latveria which has become a much bigger part of Doom's character in recent years, notably in the storyline occurring simultaneously in "The Fantastic Four". The wording on the balloons is just an extra detail, rather than the gag itself, but it does at least refer to an aspect of Doom himself, rather than using him as a symbol.
Normal service is resumed for his final appearance, as part of a crowd of superheroes, villains, and other company's characters on a Valentine's Card featuring Forbush-Man.
The remarkable thing about all of Doom's appearance over the course of the series is that he has been used almost exclusively as a representation of the wider "Supervillain Community". In most cases another character such as Magneto or Doctor Octopus could have been used without losing any of the humour, but almost invariably it's Doctor Doom that is chosen. This demonstrates how important and how recognisable he is within the Marvel Universe, even at a time when he is almost absent from stories within the main continuity. I've been surprised to find such a rich seam of material in what appeared to be such an obscure, ephemeral series. I can't say I'll miss reading 'Not Brand Ecch', but I'm glad that I did!
link to information about this issue
posted 15/8/2018 by Mark Hibbett
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