FRANK JOHNSON FRANK JOHNSON
Real Name: Frank Johnson (nee Juan Francisco Alonso)
Identity/Class: Human; briefly was a magic-user or some other energy-manipulator via Yucoya-Tzin's paints;
Aztec heritage
Occupation: Museum owner
former comic book artist
Group Membership: Marvel Comics Group
Affiliations: Elsa Bloodstone, Fantastic Four (Ant-Man/Scott Lang, Human Torch/Johnny Storm, Invisible Woman/Sue Richards, Thing/Ben Grimm), Jacob "Hath" Hathaway, Stanley Hathaway, Mark Langley, Jake Mason, Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic), Professor Bob Robertson, his unidentified boss;
formerly Yucoya-Tzin (Mocuepa Tlalticpactli, "The Lord Who
Creates"), Molten Man-Thing duplicate, (“Puma’s Teeth”), Zzutak (only in that he created Zzutak);
fictional creations include the Glob, the Lizard-Bird, and the Mad Martian, and numerous unidentified creations
Enemies: Grottu, the Miztli Tlanti, Phzzzrrzztlzzzz (aka Fizzle; one of the Blips), Rorgg, the Two-Headed Thing, Yucoya-Tzin , Zzutak
Known Relatives: Cal Johnson (son);
Cal's mother may be his estranged wife or his ex-wife, or perhaps they were never married;
figuratively Xxirys, Zzutak (only in that he created them)
Aliases: Frank's
e-mail address (at least at the time of gathering of information for
the Monster files with Jacob Hathaway) was museumofmonsters@roxxon.net.
Base of Operations: Museum of the Monstrous and Strange, Manhattan, New York
First Appearance: Strange Tales I#88 (September, 1961)
Powers/Abilities: Frank Johnson is a highly skilled artist, specializing in designing and drawing various monsters, aliens, etc. 
His Aztec heritage allows him to utilize special paints that, once
painted, allowed a two-dimensional image to adopt three dimensional
form and to be animated under the control of others. The paints
can restore life to comatose life forms, no matter how alien their nature.
Frank previously kept a small supply of these paints in his position,
independent from Yucoya-Tzin, but he apparently no longer has these.
Yucoya-Tzin noted that Frank had latent abilities, presumably indicating that it was more than just his Aztec heritage and his artistic ability.
Frank ages very slowly, apparently due to the enchanted paints’ influence. Appearing to be at least 20-years-old (or more likely 30) in 1961, he appeared to be only 10-20 years older when next seen several decades later (see comments).
Frank Johnson has significant interest in and knowledge of giant monsters.
At least in the 1960s, he enjoyed smoking a pipe.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 6')
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 200 lbs.)
Eyes: Dark (almost black in the one image that shows them clearly; brown would seem most likely given his heritage)
Hair: Dark brown or black
History:
(Fantastic Four Fifty Fantastic Years#1: Yucoya-Tzin entry) - Juan Francisco Alonso...
(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 (fb) - BTS) - ...changed his name to Frank Johnson to anglicize it and hide his Aztec heritage.
(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 (fb) - BTS) - He had a lifelong obsession with monstrous creations.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1) - In his early days, Frank Johnson dreamed of being a sculptor or oil painter, but eventually his desires as a creator were curbed by his needs for food and rent.
He took work at Marvel Comics...
(Strange Tales I#88 (fb) - BTS) <circa 1960> - Comic book artist Frank Johnson created a number of characters for the Strange Tales comic, starting with the giant Mad Martian, and continuing with the Glob and the Lizard-Bird.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1) - Frank didn't think much of the subject matter, but he appreciated the creative freedom he was allowed, and editorial liked his work.
(Fantastic Four Fifty Fantastic Years#1: Yucoya-Tzin entry) - Having acquired quasi-sentient "three-dimensional" paints, Yucoya-Tzin, elder priest of the Aztec-derived tribe known as the Zutecs, sought an artist to use the paints to bring to life the monstrous Zzutak to lead them in their conquest of the world for the rebuilt Aztec Empire.
(Strange Tales I#88 (fb)) - Complimenting him on his previous works, Frank's editor instructed him to create something even better, noting that he wanted him to paint a creature different from all the others: A completely new menace. Frank assured his boss that he could do this and that he would get on it right away. When his boss reminded him that there were millions of eager fans waiting for a great new monster and told him not to let them down, Frank assured him he would paint a menace to end all menaces.
As he returned to his studio and wondered what else there was left to
create, his doorbell buzzed, and a mysterious man (secretly
Yucoya-Tzin) noted his admiration of Frank's work but suggested his art
needed a more life-like quality. To this end, he offered his
"three-dimensional paint."
(Strange Tales I#88 (fb) - BTS) - As soon as Yucoya-Tzin squeezed some of the paint out on Frank's canvas, it had an odd appeal to him, as it began to influence his thoughts.
(Strange Tales I#88 (fb)) - At the stranger's bidding, Frank tried out the paints, painting a flower, which then transformed from a two-dimensional image into a three-dimensional structure. Amazed, Frank offered to pay any price for the paints, but the stranger instead just gave them to him; as he departed, the stranger noted that he would be paid...all in good time.
The longer Frank looked at the paints, the more he felt their hypnotic effect until he realized that his own will had been completely suppressed. Under the paints' influence, taking the paints with him and flying to Mexico and then renting a burro and heading into the Sierra Madre mountains.
(Strange Tales I#88 (fb) / Fantastic Four Fifty Fantastic Years#1: Yucoya-Tzin entry) - Driven to enter a remote valley, Frank found the ancient Aztec temple just beyond the village of Quapultec in the jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula.
(Strange Tales I#88 (fb)) - There he found an immense canvas, and he was unable to resist the urge to paint an immense, fantastic creature. As his hands seemed to be guided by the paints, he swiftly painted the creature, during which time he sensed the identity of the being he was creating: Zzutak. After laborious hours, his picture was complete, at which point the painted picture transformed and solidified into the three-dimensional Zzutak.
As Zzutak approached the frightened Frank, Yucoya-Tzin then commanded Zzutak to stop. Frank recognized the elder medicine man as the man who had given him his paints, after reach Yucoya-Tzin detailed his history,
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1) - ...revealing his identity...
and the extent of his plans, with Frank designing multiple other
creatures that the Zutec armies would use to conquer the world.
At Yucoya-Tzin's command, Zzutak piled boulders to block the entrance to the valley, and then Yucoya-Tzin ordered Frank to paint other creatures like Zzutak. Frank complied, but as he created his next monster, he continued to chant under his breath that the creature's enemy was Zzutak, whom he must destroy.
As he finished, the creature...
(Fantastic Four Fifty Fantastic Years#1: Yucoya-Tzin entry) - ...later identified as Xxirys...
(Strange Tales I#88 (fb)) - ...emerged from the canvas, ignored Yucoya-Tzin's commands, and assaulted Zzutak, ultimately collapsing the temple. Only Yucoya-Tzin emerged from the temple, but seemed to be stricken with amnesia by the head trauma. With their leader incapacitated, Yucoya-Tzin's followers broke down the boulders barring passage into and out of the valley, while Frank used a torch to destroy the remainders of the enchanted paints.
After returning home, Frank went straight to his studio and sketched the next cover for Strange Tales, which he showed to his boss. When he noted that the story of Zzutak this was too ridiculous, too fantastic for anyone to believe it existed, Frank began laughing, as he knew the truth. Regardless, his boss gave him leave to go ahead and paint the story if he wanted.
(Fantastic Four Fifty Fantastic Years#1: Yucoya-Tzin entry) - Johnson apparently retained (or later reclaimed) a sample of the magic paints.
(Fantastic Four Fifty Fantastic Years#1: Yucoya-Tzin entry) - Both Johnson and the amnesiac Tzin apparently aged little over the following decades, presumably due to the paints’ magic.
(Strange Tales I#88) <1961> - One year after it had occurred, Frank recorded the story of his creation of Zzutak, which he subsequently shared with the Explorers Club.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb) - BTS) - In the years that followed, Frank fought his way out of the comics business and into "more legitimate" artistic fields.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1) - Frank married an unidentified woman.(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 (fb) - BTS) - Intrigued by the incident with Zzutak, Frank began to explore other giant monster sightings, and he obtained the remains of Phzzzrrzztlzzzz (one of the Blips), Rorgg, Grottu, and the Two-Headed Thing; while Frank believed these beings to be deceased, they were actually in death-like states of stasis.
(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 (fb) - BTS) - Frank and his wife had a son, Cal.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb) - BTS) - Frank Johnson formed the Museum of the Monstrous and Strange, using his monster remains as display exhibits.
(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 (fb) - BTS) - Frank's brochure detailed his adventure with Zzutak.
(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 (fb) - BTS / Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb) - BTS) - Frank and his wife were divorced, and Cal lived with his mother in Oregon.
Frank's ex?-wife agreed to allow Cal to attend the museum's grand opening.
(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking to use Frank to revive Zzutak, Yucoya-Tzin (who had regained his memory) led a number of his Miztli Tlanti warriors to the museum.
(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 (fb) - BTS) - Frank invited the Fantastic Four (Ant-Man, Human Torch, Invisible Woman, Thing) to be guests of honor at his museum's grand opening,
(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 (fb) - BTS) - Using Yucoya-Tzin's paints, Frank replicated the Molten Man-Thing and sent it on something of a rampage as a publicity stunt.
(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7) - After the Fantastic Four had battled the creature for a time, Frank allowed it to vanish, after which he introduced himself, apologized for the ruse, led the heroes into his museum, and introduced them to Cal.
After Ant-Man discovered Yucoya-Tzin and his warriors and alerted Frank, he instructed his security guards to get everybody out of the museum. Yucoya-Tzin then announced to Frank he had come to take possession of the "Great ones" (the giant monsters) and that they were merely in suspended animation.
After Yucoya-Tzin had revived the monsters and the Fantastic Four were engaged in battle with them, Frank sent Cal to run to his office, lock the door, and wait until he called for him.
(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 (fb) - BTS) -
Apparently having anticipated this move, Yucoya-Tzin confronted Cal in
Frank's office and threatened him with a knife to ensure his silence.
(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7) -
After Frank returned to his office, Yucoya-Tzin threatened Cal to force
his compliance in returning to Mexico with him. Frank promised to go
willingly if he let Cal go, but Yucoya insisted that
Frank was not in a position to bargain and that he would take them both with him.
(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 (fb) - BTS) - Before departing, Frank (or possibly Cal) wrote a "Z" in the dust on his desk as a clue for the Fantastic Four to follow him to where he had first encountered Zzutak.
(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 - BTS) - The Fantastic Four discovered the "Z" and...
(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 (fb) - BTS) - ...correctly determined that it referred to Zzutak, which led them to find the location of the previous Zzutak encounter from the brochure and then follow him him there.
(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 (fb) - BTS) - Yucoya and the Miztli Tlanti brought Frank and Cal back to the ancient Aztec temple just beyond the village of Quapultec.
(Fantastic Four Unlimited#7) - After confirming that he had sought out Frank because of his pure Aztec blood, Yucoya gave Frank a spray can containing their enchanted paints and sent him into the ruins to revive Zzutak. Although Cal told his father not to help Yucoya, Frank noted that he had to as Cal was his true "nation."
Locating and spraying its inanimate form with the paint, Frank revived Zzutak, which remained under Yucoya-Tzin's control and engaged the arriving Fantastic Four. Concerned that the heroes could not defeat the tireless Zzutak, Frank was inspired to revive Xxirys, further painting pictures of the Fantastic Four around it. Guided by Frank, the Fantastic Four members cleared their minds, allowing them to possess and control Xxirys. Realizing what was happening, Yucoya-Tzin resolved that despite his latent powers, Frank had become a risk he could not allow to live. As he charged Frank with his blade, however, Xxirys emerged from the rubble.
The Four's collective wills allowed Xxirys to defeat Zzutak, leaving both creatures buried once again. The Fantastic Four captured Yucoya-Tzin, while Cal praised his father as being most responsible for Zzutak's defeat. Frank blamed himself for having gathered the other monsters, but the Torch suggested that Yucoya-Tzin would eventually have figured out a way to revive Zzutak with or without him, and that it was best that it happened when Frank had the Fantastic Four with him.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb) - BTS) - US officials took custody of the Two-Headed Thing
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb) - BTS) - Frank apparently lost whatever supply of magic paints he had possessed.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb) - BTS) - Frank replaced the monster remains exhibits with wax replicas.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb) - BTS) - Jacob "Hath" Hathaway -- Monster archivist and former data curator for the Monster Hunters -- e-mailed Frank, inquiring about his experiences with Zzutak.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb) - BTS) - Frank returned Hath's e-mail, reviewing his history with Zzutak and noting that he appreciated the walk down memory lane.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb) - BTS) - Frank and Hath found each other to be kindred spirits research-wise, and they continued gathering and sharing information on other such monsters.(Marvel
Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster
Hunters#1 (fb) - BTS) - Frank sent Hath an email discussing Bombu.
(Marvel
Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster
Hunters#1 (fb) - BTS) - Weeks later, while asking Reed Richards about
the robot mailman Elektro, Frank mentioned Robertson, and Richards
confirmed his story.
Frank considered that he owed Robertson an apology.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb) - BTS) - Frank Johnson sent Hath an e-mail account of Spragg the Living Hill.
(Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster Hunters#1 (fb) - BTS) - After Ulysses Bloodstone's daughter Elsa was empowered via a Bloodgem fragment and had a series of adventures, Hath learned of her and began sending her a multitude of messages. Elsa was initially "skeeved out" by the correspondences from the middle-aged Jacob until she learned his connection to her father.Comments: Created by Stan "The
Man" Lee, Jack "The King" Kirby, and "Sturdy" Steve Ditko.
"Talk about a royal
lineage!" -- Prime Eternal
Frank Johnson is tied to the year 1960 for his initial appearance with
Zzutak (since the 1961 story started with him saying that the events
had happened last year), so Marvel's sliding timescale makes him much
more senior than
he appears. Estimating him at 25 years old in 1961, gives him a 1936
birthday.
When he appeared again in Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 in 1994,
that would have made him 58-years-old.
But, of course, the sliding
timescale keeps rolling on, and we typically average 5 years real time
for each year of "Marvel Time," so Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 would be
less than 6 years ago, so that would make him 78 -years-old as of the
time of that appearance, and aging every year.
Exposure to the magic
paints is an easy way to explain why he does appear to be as old as he
"really" is.
In the original story, Zzutak was orange, and the
monster later known as Xxirys was green. In the reprint in Fear#3, they
were colored correctly...but the cover of Fear#3 has Zzutak as gray and
Xxirys as green. It seems likely that the artist/colorist for Fantastic
Four Unlimited#7 used the cover of Fear#3 as reference, but then
reversed the coloring, so that Zzutak was green and Xxirys was gray.
Thanks to Tom Brevoort and Loki for helping confirm the above, as I
have Fear#3 and Monster Menace#3 and the Marvel Monsterworks, but not
the original Strange Tales story.
The easy in-story
explanation is that Frank Johnson's coating their forms with a
spray-form of the Zutec's magical paints involved his using different
colors on each, for whatever reason.
When this story was reprinted in
Monster
Menace#3, Ditko drew a new cover, that proclaimed, "My
Fevered Brain Created Zzutak!" which would lead one to
believe that the monster on the cover is Zzutak in the flesh. But
it isn't. It's some sort of ghostly-green thing, not at all like
our fat orange monstery friend.
--Prime Eternal
In Conspiracy #1, it was hinted that the organization
CONTROL had cleaned up after Zzutak so that the public at large
remained
unaware of the incident -- not that many people outside of Johnson and
the
Aztecs ever saw it anyway.
--Prime Eternal
Frank Johnson originally had a sub-profile under Prime Eternal's Zzutak way back on 2/18/2002.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Frank Johnson should be distinguished from:
 A number of comcis, including Journey into Mystery, Strange Tales, Amazing Adventures, and Tales to Astonish, had covers painted by Frank Johnson around 1960. --Strange Tales I#88 |
  (Strange Tales I#88 (fb)) -
Reviewing his previous works, Frank's boss instructed him
to create something even better, noting that he wanted him to paint a
creature different from all the others: A completely new menace. Frank
assured his boss that he could do this and that he would get on it
right away. When his boss reminded him that there were millions of
eager fans waiting for a great new monster and told him not to let them
down, Frank assured him he would paint a menace to end all
menaces. (Strange Tales I#88 (fb)) - After having created Zzutak, Frank sketched its image for the next cover of Strange Tales. The following day, Frank showed it to his boss, who -- admitting that he had asked for something different -- noted that this was too ridiculous and that nobody would ever believe such a thing could exist. Nonetheless, he told Frank to go ahead and paint it if he wanted to. When Frank stated laughing at the notion that it was too ridiculous and could not ever exist, his boss wondered what he said that was so funny. --Strange Tales I#88 Note: Given that this was meant to be Marvel Comics in 1960, you'd think Stan Lee would have been his boss...but that doesn't lool much like Stan... |
Appearances:
Strange Tales I#88 (September, 1961) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jack Kirby (pencils), Steve Ditko (inks)
Fantastic Four Unlimited#7 (September, 1994) - Roy Thomas (writer),
Herb Trimpe (pencils), Carmen Infantino (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone and the Monster
Hunters#1 (January, 2006) - Michael Hoskin, Madison Carter, Jeff
Christiansen, Sean McQuaid, Stuart Vandal, Eric Moreels, Ronald Byrd,
Barry Reese (writers), Jennifer Grunwald & Michael Short (assistant
editors), Jeff Younquist (editor)
FF Fifty Fantastic Years#1: Yucoya-Tzin entry (November,
2011) - Jeff Christiansen, Mike O'Sullivan & Stuart Vandal (head
writers/coordinators), Markus Raymond & Mike Fichera (assistant
coordinators), Sean McQuaid, Madison Carter, Markus Raymond, Ronald
Byrd, Patrick Duke, Kevin Garcia, Anthony Cotilletta, Roger Ott, Rob
London, Seth Johnson & Eduardo Frye (writers), Gus Vasquez
(artist), Theodore W. Kutt (copy editor), James Emmett & Joe
Hochstein (editorial assistants), Alex Starbuck & Nelson Ribeiro
(assistant editors), Jennifer Grunwald & Mark D. Beazley (editors,
special projects), Jeff Youngquist (editor)
First posted: 11/29/2022
Last updated: 12/11/2022
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
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