NICK FURY, AGENT OF SHIELD 7
cover by JIM STERANKO
Synopsis:
Nick gets into a fight at an unnamed foreign embassy, and winds up being injected with a drug that will cause hallucinations, "hyper-intense paranoia", and death after 6 hours. He wanders the streets of NYC, hoping to reach a set rendezvous point for a scheduled pick-up via the Heli-Carrier's vortex beam. However, he's mistaken by a cop as a drunk, and when his felow agents show up, the drug causes him to see them as 3 of his worst enemies! Jimmy Woo comments that other agents have been going berzerk, which was what Nick was investigating in the first place. Nick is found by Sister Angela, who offers to help get him to the pick-up point. However, they're intercepted by 2 of the spies, who tie them up and send their car racing downhill on a dangerous mouontain road! Dum Dum, Jimmy & Gabe, who've been following in their van, almost crash head-on, when suddenly the vortex beam picks up both vehicles! Onboard the Heli-Carrier, a doctor about to inject Nick with an "antidote" turns out to be the same spy who drugged him in the first place-- and at the last second Nick turns the tables, the spy dying by his own needle.
Indexer notes:
Archie Goodwin's only solo SHIELD story. Frank Springer illustrated a parody of NICK FURY #3 this month in NOT BRAND ECHH #11.
(9-15-07)
This is Archie Goodwin's sole solo outing on this series. Investigating agents who have been drugged & killed, Fury winds up the latest victim, and spends most of the issue stumbling around trying to hook up with SHIELD so they can give him an antidote to save his life, and so he can finger the culprits responsible. He has a mid-town run-in with Dugan, Gabe & Jimmy Woo (nice to see they're remembered again), but hallucinates and thinks they're old enemies attacking. He eventually gets help from a "sister of mercy"-- who almost winds up becoming a victim along with Nick when the bad guys catch up with them. Rescued at the last minute by the Heli-Carrier's vortex beam, Nick still almost buys it when the SHIELD medic giving him the "antidote" turns out to be the ring-leader of the spies.
Frank Springer does a nice job with wild layouts, but his Fury still doesn't seem like the "real" one (either Jack's OR Jim's).
(6-9-2008)
DR. STRANGE 175
cover by Gene Colan & Tom Palmer
(alterations by Marie Severin)
This reveals an entire cult beneath the streets of NYC following the same demon the guy in the last issue made that deal with, and their leader, Azmodeus, is watching Doc & Clea's every move. The happy couple wander the city, Doc still trying to explain to her that she can't go displaying her magic like she used to back home. Fighting off an attack during a cab-ride to her apartment, Doc races home afterwards, only realizing that the cabbie knows Clea's whereabouts-- and soon finds the poor guy in a trance. Clea, meanwhile, is pulled into an alley by Azmodeus, who claims to be a "friend". YEAH-- RIGHT.
The Thomas-Colan-Palmer teams continues to dazzle. On the letters page, some readers express missing Dan Adkins greatly, though Colan is definitely picking up admirers. And someone actually says they think Roy Thomas "finally learned how to write" on this series. Between this and The Vision's debut on AVENGERS, it would seem that Thomas has finally managed a jump in quality!
(6-9-2008)
NOT BRAND ECHH 11
cover by MARIE SEVERIN
"KING KONK '68" deals with Hollywood's thing for doing updated remakes of old classic films. Of course, this was 8 years before Dino DeLaurentiis actually did HIS version! In this one, the cast includes Liz & Dick, and Hugh Hefner, not to mention half the superheroes of the Marvel Universe (or parodies of them, in any case). I've often said Roy Thomas has no sense of humor, and judging by 99-9/10ths of his output, that would seem true, yet he proves me wrong with this single story, illustrated by Tom Sutton & Marie Severin. The scene where Konk walks past The Baxter Building and then Avengers Mansion seems to have "inspired" an almost identical visual in the monstrously-stupid American "GODZILLA" movie decades later.
"Look...out the window! I, the Visage, see a giant ape's foot!" "What be-eth so unusual about that?" "We're on the 17th floor!" And of course, my favorite line involves Goliath... "...and some nut TOLD me that Konk was climbin' the CHRYSLER Building! Ever since I lost my own series, I get nothin' but BUM STEERS!" A lot of the jokes in here make a lot more sense to me now than they did back then, strangely enough, considering how much they related to the time it came out.
"SUPER-HERO DAYDREAMS" features a scene that has always stuck with me, a little kid in the local store harrassed by the owner, who bellows, "HEY! You gonna READ 'em or BUY 'em?" Marie Severin supplied both the art AND script, with nice inks by John Tartaglione, who, like several inkers whose work I haven't liked over the years, seems MUCH better suited for "humor" art than "superhero" stuff.
"DARK MOON RISE, HECK HOUND HURT!" is another major highlight for me, as Arnold Drake and then-current SHIELD artist Frank Springer (with inks by Tom Sutton) parody Jim Steranko's NICK FURY #3, and as I read this some 8 years before reading the original, I've always preferred the parody to the "straight" version! The infamous 2-page title spread features a huge image of Snoopy chewing his way thru some bagpipes as their Scottish owner cringes nearby. My favorite bit is when "Knock Furious" rushes to crash thru a door, only to have the butler open it one second before he hits. As he dashes thru the room out-of-control (like a hard-boiled Inspector Clouseau), he yells, "What pea-brained, sieve-headed, vacuum-skulled idiot opened that D-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-R?" The villain of the piece turns out to be "Colonel Von Twothreefour", and as Arnold puts it, his plan is "simplicity itself, but we must complicate it because jaunty JIM STERANKO loves long, wordy captions." The story ends when Furious attacks Arnold Drake & Frank Springer in their office for dumping too many cruel, brutal torturous dangers on him. As he walks off thru a graveyard, he says, "ANOTHER job well done-- another BLOW struck for freedom and decency and western democracy and baseball and drive-in movies and American womanhood and the return of the FIVE-CENT chocolate bar!" To date, this is the ONLY feature from NBE to be reprinted, and on a trip to NYC, I had Arnold sign it for me.
Other highlights include "How To be A Comic-Book Artist" (by Marie Severin, uncredited), "Prince No More, The Sunk-Mariner" (Drake & Sutton parody politics with a race between Subby and Aqualung-Man, with "Floyd Britches" as a write-in candidate), and "The Amazing Spidey-Man" (Drake, Severin & Tartaglione look at fame & fortune in the super-hero biz).
Somebody needs to collect & reprint this stuff... if they can do a decent job reproducing the art! (The 1984 "DARK MOON RISE" reprint in CAPTAIN AMERICA SPECIAL EDITION #2 kinda sucked on that score.)
(6-11-2008)
FANTASTIC FOUR 81
cover by Jack Kirby & Joe Sinnott
Crystal dons an "FF" uniform and suggests she take Sue's place now that the new Mom has a baby to watch after. Reed says he'll have to think about it... Meanwhile, The Wizard, as he promised, has created a new set of power gloves, and immediately attacks the group, drawing them away from their HQ this time. Johnny flies out on his own, followed by Reed, Ben & Crys in the Fantasti-Car (which we haven't seen in ages!). The fight takes half the issue, during which time Crystal takes every opportunity to show just what an asset to the team she can be, both in power and strategy. (Strong, pretty, AND smart!) The Wizard can't believe this "mere girl" is beating him so thoroughly, and only barely escapes at the end after falling into the river and swimming away. For the 2nd time in a row, Reed seems less than concerned, but now happily welcome's Johnny's girl to the team.
As always-- the Kirby-Sinnott art is a wonder to behold. One of these days, I just gotta get my hands on an original comic. This MGC reprint is just too fuzzy.
(6-9-2008)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 67
cover by JOHN ROMITA
This concludes the Mysterio 2-parter as Spidey spends most of his time running and fighting for his life in what appears to be a incredibly-detailed (and extremely DEADLY) table-top amusement park. The sub-plots continue: Norman Osborn now remembers he's the Green Goblin, and wants revenge, but doesn't remember on who; JJJ is pissed that nobody has word or pics of Spider-Man OR Mysterio; Joe calls up Stacy again for another chat; and Joe's son Randy turns up (making his debut) with some problem his Dad tells him to share with him. Back at the tv studio, Spidey gets tired of running and wondering why Mysterio keeps vanishing whenever he gets close, and bets everything that it's ALL an illusion. This proves correct-- Spidey HASN'T been shrunk to 6 inches, it's a full-sized deadly amusement park (presumably built inside the tv studio as a "film set"), and he finds the regular-sized Mysterio running the show inside the parachute jump tower. After clobbering the bum, Spidey can't help but gloat, and his foe asks him, "Just call the cops, OKAY?"
Jim Mooney returns for his 3rd episode, and begins what turned out to be quite a run on the series, doing pencils & inks over Romita layouts. NICE, dark, "moody" stuff.
(6-9-2008)
SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN 2
cover by JOHN ROMITA
"The gang" watches a lecture on crime by Captain Stacy, which focuses on Spidey & The Green Goblin. BAD idea-- as it's the final straw that sends Norman Osborn over the edge, and causes his memories of BEING The Green Goblin to finally return. He returns home, and invites Pete, Harry, Gwen & MJ to a "party"-- at which he can barely restrain himself from revealing to everyone the TRUTH about himself and Peter Parker. Pete manages to set a fire in the next room and sneak away, followed by Osborn as now all facade is brushed aside. The entire 2nd half of the book is dedicated to one LONG battle between Spider-Man and The Green Goblin, who's determined not only to kill his foe, but also reveal his identity to his Aunt May! (The BASTARD!!!) It's a "hallucinogenic" pumpkin that finally turns the tables, as once Spidey overcomes its effects, he realizes it may be hs only way out of this mess. Sure enough, he uses it on The Goblin-- who's mind is so tormented by visions he tears the Goblin costume off, and within minutes, can't seem to remember anything about Spider-Man. Pete helps him back to the hospital, where Harry soon arrives. At the end, Pete walks off with both Gwen AND Mary Jane on his arms, and though MJ thinks it's a hoot, inwardly Pete isn't in the mood for celebrating.
As if the continuity between SPECTACULAR and AMAZING wasn't confusing enough last time, the first half of this issue apparently winds its way in and out of SEVERAL consecutive issues of ASM, as Norman slowly regains his memory. Once he gets it all back, the rest of the story can only fit right after the Mysterio 2-parter. The 2nd issue was printed in color, but it must have been a late decision, as the early pages have MUCH more line-rendering detail, suggesting it was gonna be B&W before someone changed their mind. Tragically, I only have this as the 1973 ANNUAL reprint, which has, apparently, a LOT of pages missing, and some narration at the start and end morbidly talking about the death of Gwen Stacy and The Green Goblin in ASM #121-122 (thank you, Roy Thomas!!!). I'd love to see what this looked like originally when it was magazine-sized.
Some other fan not long ago (I think) suggested that, in a better world, this would have been the LAST Green Goblin story, ever. Spidey worried for almost 2 years that he might get his memory back, and here he did-- then, lost it again. It was a well-told story. There was NO NEED to tell it again-- but they brought him back TWICE more, before killing him off. One of countless reasons I'm beginning to wish the Marvel Universe had just come to a stop when Jack Kirby left the company.
(6-9-2008)
IRON MAN 8
cover by George Tuska & Frank Giacoia
This installment reveals the "origin" of "Big M", as we see how Whitney Frost grew up living a charmed life, a girl who had everything-- until the man she thought was her father died, and she met her REAL father-- Count Nefaria. Once word of her family's crime connections reached her fiancee, he left her, causing her in despair to go along with her father's ambitions to train her to take over his criminal empire. Because this was never reprinted for decades, I spent many many years reading stories about her without ever having read this important story.
Anyway, The Maggia's raid on Stark Enterprises continues, Iron Man manages to get Janice Cord & her lawyer to safety, then head for the factory, where a free-for-all erupts between him, The Maggia goons, The Gladiator-- and Jasper Sitwell & a squad of security men (the ones who were gassed turning out to have been a squad of L.M.D.s!). It seems ever since Whitney started getting so inquisitive about Stark's security, Jasper got suspicious of her, and decided to let it play out so he could nab the whole mob. (Stark sure is surprised to learn this!!) But Whitney escapes at the end, because Jasper can't bring himself to shoot her in the back... something Stark understands, only too well.
The Goodwin-Tuska-Craig team continues, and on the letters page several fans rave about what a big improvement Tuska-Craig are over solo Craig, or even Craig inking Colan.
(6-9-2008)
CAPTAIN AMERICA 108
cover by Jack Kirby & Syd Shores
Cap engages in a really dangerous workout session, before being interrupted by another SHIELD man, who tells him Sharon Carter's disappeared while on assignment. Knowing Cap would be interested, he hands him a homer, which indicates she's still alive. Racing to find her in a slum building scheduled for demolition, he finds she's a prisoner of The Trapster, who's trying to get his hands on some secrets Sharon was transporting. A fight takes up half the issue, during which The Trapster is repeatedly confounded that his super-powered glue keeps disolving too soon. After revealing The Red Skull was paying him to get ahold of the secrets, the baddie is thoroughly beaten-- and Cap discovers the "prisoner" was really an L.M.D. (another one???) whose programming has shut down now that the real objective (learning the Skull was involved) has been accomplished. While a fake Sharon was imprisoned all this time, the real Sharon was using chemicals to water down the baddie's glue. She tells Cap she really wanted his help anyway, as she knew he had the best chance of beating the guy.
After 2 issues in a row of Steve stupidly deciding he wanted Sharon out of his life, last issue he seemed desperate to find her again, and this time, he has. Is this nearly-schizo behavior the fault of "ye editor", or Jack Kirby? We may never know, though as Steve's "I must get her out of my life" only really manifested itself in the DIALOGUE, I think we can make a good guess. (Bad, editor! BAD!!!)
Syd Shores continues to kick A** on the inks, in some panels giving the art a quality almost similar to Gene Colan's art (wild as that sounds, considering it's Kirby).
Something I forgot to mention... isn't it funny that in 2 Kirby comics in the SAME month, we see returns of The Wizard AND The Trapster? Medusa is up for next month's FF (along with the rest of The Inhumans), but I wonder what The Sandman was doing about this time?
(6-9-2008)
SILVER SURFER 3
cover by John Buscema & Joe Sinnott
"DUEL IN THE DEPTHS"
This begins with the Surfer using his power to heal the woman who was victimized by The Badoon in the previous issue. But the whole time, the cops are trying to kill him, thinking he's trying to kill HER! It gets to him so much, he goes on a mild rampage, "Day The Earth Stood Still" style, bringing technology everywhere to a halt, before calming down. All this comes to the attention of this "demon of the lower depths"-- Mephisto, who decides he cannot abide someone so "pure" and "good" and "noble" getting in the way of the world where so many of those who people his nether-realm come from. Wanting to find a weak spot, he travels to Zenn-La, and urges Shalla-Bal to make the trip to Earth to be reunited with her beloved. She does, but soon becomes a pawn in Mephisto's game to turn The Surfer into his slave. It goes on and on and on, until finally, Mephisto whisks Shalla-Bal back to her home planet. On the one hand, The Surfer is glad that now she's safe, but on the other, he may never see her again.
I wonder what was going on that 2 different manifestations of Satan turned up in Marvel books within a month or two of each other-- Mephisto here, and Satannish in DR. STRANGE. Sattanish is the lesser-known of the two, but he sure seemed more "traditional" and scary to me. The John Buscema-Joe Sinnott art is, if anything, even more spectacular than before. I may not be crazy about the stories, but the art's sure nice to look at. Between certain quotes in some of his scripts, comments on the Bullpen page, and this entire issue, "ye editor" seems to be on some kind of a "Jesus" kick, in this case with the Surfer filling in for Jesus and Mephisto filling in for Satan-- especially in the scene where he "tempts" him with riches, and power, and women. Some fans in various mags wrote in to complain, accusing him of pushing a Christian agenda (and here, I thought "ye editor" was JEWISH!). I kinda wonder what kind of reaction this sort of thing might generate nowadays?
(6-10-2008)
SUB-MARINER 8
cover by John Buscema & Dan Adkins
This has Namor's foe Destiny-- or, Paul Destine, dead from his own power, and the helmet he wore, which drove him insane in the first place, in the hands of the authorities, who want it taken to a place of safety where it can be studied safely. On hearing this, Namor is outraged-- he feels if the thing isn't destroyed, or hidden back where it was in the first place, it could prove dangerous enough to start it up all over again. The Thing is called in to transport the helmet, so, naturally, HALF the issue is dedicated to a Thing-Sub-Mariner fight. It gets more and more destructive on both sides (Ben really gets irresponsible without the rest of the FF backing him up), until a very old friend of Namor's-- "Mrs. Prentiss"-- shows up and pleads for him to just stop destroying buildings and leave! He wants to talk, but she disappears, and he takes the helmet and goes. As it turns out, it was Betty Dean-- much older, and sad to see the man she once loved so deeply again for only such a brief moment, especially as he hasn't aged a day while she has.
It seems that despite his perpetual hot-headedness, Namor continues to be some kind of babe-magnet, as we have 3 women in this one issue who he means a lot to-- Dorma, injured in a previous issue, Diane, a new surface-woman friend, and Betty Dean, who was a regular in his series in the 40's AND 50's. The Buscema-Adkins art is nice, but I could really have done without another pointless hero-vs.-hero fight.
(6-10-2008)
THE AVENGERS 58
cover by John Buscema & Frank Giacoia
Iron Man, Captain America & Thor turn up to help weigh the decision of whether The Vision should be made a member of the team. The problem is, he has no memory of his origin... or, he doesn't until he makes a concerted effort to dig back thru his memory banks. And what a twisted, convoluted, far-fetched story it is. It seems Hank Pym, after baby-sitting Diablo's Dragon Man, became interested in artificial life, and began doing some crude experiments on his own. He build a small robot, but was shocked when it suddenly turned itself on, and in a matter of minutes went from speaking like a baby to a full-grown intellectual adult. But this "adult" was of a definitely HOMICIDAL variety, and wanted to KILL its "father". FOR NO APPARENT REASON. Not satisfed with its then-current state, it deliberately induced partial amnesia in Pym, ordered him to board up his house in the suburbs, then split-- returning later to "complete its own creation". Having done so, it became ULTRON-5, attacked the team several times, and then, in some mysterious fashion, created some artificial life of its own, in the form of The Vision-- as seen in the previous issue. And it seems the guy has the "brain patterns" of Simon Williams-- alias "Wonder Man"-- which were recorded for future reference just before he died. (HUH???) NONE of this makes any sense-- AT ALL-- but the team accepts it, and The Vision, who walks off, is overwhelmed with emotion.
It sure seems to me there ought to be some as-yet-unexplained story behind HOW in the hell a scientist who specialized in one field could tinker around building a robot which would come to SENTIENT LIFE, and go on a murderous rampage. Allusions to "Frankenstein" aside, it just seems to me there almost has to be more to it than that... yet, after DECADES, I don't believe anyone ever delved into it, and each time Ultron returns for another bout makes me shake my head more than the last time. (Even The Red Tornado got a better-thought-out origin than this... EVENTUALLY.)
If nothing else, the John Buscema-George Klein art may be some of the best ever seen in the series yet. I'm definitely seeing better art than writing in general from Marvel at this point.
(6-10-2008)
THE INCREDIBLE HULK 110
cover by Herb Trimpe (rejected)
(note, corner box paste-up is incorrect)
CAPTAIN MARVEL 8
cover by Gene Colan & Vince Colletta
Arnold Drake kicks things into high gear! We meet the Aakon, a yellow-skinned alien race who are deadly enemies of The Kree-- who have engine trouble and land on the Moon's dark side for repairs. But Yon-Rogg, seeking GLORY (BWA-HA-HA!) orders an attack, almost getting his sorry self killed in the process! Though he's tried repeatedly to kill Mar-Vell and spent this entire manouever knocking every move the guy makes, Mar-Vell-- in what can only be considered a feat of pure STUPIDITY-- saves the guy's life, then leaves another officer in charge of the ship until he or Yon-Rogg takes command again.
As if that weren't enough... trying to fulfill a promise to Carol Danvers to look into the mysterious background of Dr. Walt Lawson (a bizarre assignment as you can get, considering the guy's DEAD and Mar-Vell has been impersonating him for quite some time now), Mar-Vell finds Lawson has a fancy, expensive mountain-side house and laboratory, a secret lab, and evidence of something HUGE he must have been building. "What were you UP to, Lawson?" he asks rhetorically. The answer comes soon. Of all the people Mar-Vell could have impersonated, it seems Walt Lawson was a renegade scientist, backed by a criminal gang called "The Organization", whose "Number One" (no relation to "Number One" of Hydra or The Secret Empire) had him build a giant robot assassin who could take out any potential enemies. But it gets stranger! The robot, which has not turned up in all this time, suddenly does-- and it seems it was programmed, for some inexplicable kind of "test run"-- to KILL Lawson (not realizing he was its creator). This is so wild, so out-of-left-field, yet so creative, it positively blows my mind.
So of course-- what happens? We wind up with a free-for-all between Mar-Vell, Organization hoods (out to find Lawson who they suspect has skipped with their money), the killer robot, and the Aakon. Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed...
On top of all this, Vince Colletta returns, and for the 2nd time on this series, his taking over on inks proves a MAJOR IMPROVEMENT! (Who'da thunk it?) Colletta often overpowers whatever artist he's inking over, but in this case, as it was with Gene Colan, it's in a "good" way. As he was on THOR for some issues where some fan accused him of trying to be "Joe Sinnott", his inks here are much slicker and bolder than his usual, allowing Don Heck (YEAH-- Don Heck!) to shine. It's almost too bad these 2 guys weren't on this book from the very 1st episode.
(6-10-2008)
THOR 159
cover by Jack Kirby & Vince Colletta
Don Blake lets his mind drift, and it appears Thor enters Asgard-- but is it reality, or just a dream? Odin knows what he wants to know-- and at long last lays out the facts. In long days past, following a peace treaty, a young a headstrong Thor wandered into Niffelheim to bring down a dangerous bird-creature, not caring that he was violating their land and Odin's treaty. Fighting breaks out, Odin has Balder drag Thor back home, and before long, Odin tells his son that the one thing he's really lacking in, which he cannot possibly learn AS a God, is humility. And so, in an instant, Thor finds himself transformed into a frail mortal, "Don Blake", as he enters medical school, with NO memory of being Thor, and under a spell whose nature makes him never question why he has no memory of his own past as Blake! Years went by, and he became a healer, helping others for the sake of helping, until eventually he came across the hammer, hidden in a cave by Odin who knew he'd find it there. At last, he realizes, he always was Thor, and his heart is glad.
The Kirby-Colletta art is the usual brilliance, though less slick than some recent issues. Someone pointed out that having Mangog turn out to be a creation of an Odin-spell, and Don Blake also turning out to be the creation of an Odin-spell, was a good example of thematic consistency-- but that, if it was, it seems to have gone right over "ye editor"s head. Oh well!
(6-10-2008)
THE AVENGERS 59
cover by John Buscema & George Klein
A new hero debuts, catching crooks for the cops who aren't sure whether to thank him or clock him one for his "attitude". He then shows up at The Mansion, wanting to become a member. This would be "nerve" enough, but then the guy CLAIMS he "polished off" Goliath. SAY WHAT?? It's flashback time as we see a big fight between Goliath & Yellowjacket, the latter using shrinking gas on the former, leaving him helpless without his ant-communication headgear, at the non-existent mercy of the insects. Before long, he kidnaps The Wasp, and in a truly bizarre moment, plants one on her. When the team finally tracks them down, they're casually walking out of City Hall... and Jan tells everyone to back off, because she's planning to MARRY the guy.
I suppose if ever an AVENGERS comic felt like one had walked into an episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE, this is it. Or maybe it's like a super-hero version of THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, come to think of it, because "Yellowjacket" comes across one HELL of a lot like "Buddy Love". I guess that should have been the tip-off to anyone reading this when it came out. I had the "surprise" ruined for me by reading later stories first. Oh well. The Buscema-Klein team continues to do some of the best art yet.
(6-13-2008)
DAREDEVIL 47
cover by Gene Colan & George Klein
DD goes to Viet Nam to entertain the troops, and his biggest fan is a wounded soldier who's on the verge of losing his sight. Back home, we find the guy was an ex-cop, framed of taking a bribe by some gangsters. Taking the advice of social worker Karen Page (so THAT's where she's been hiding) he hires Matt Murdock to clear his name. The gangsters don't like the idea, and try to make sure it never gets to trial-- until DD-- in the dark-- convinces them that his client can more than take care of himself! After, Matt reveals that he, too, is blind, which gives the guy renewed hope that his life isn't over after all.
The Colan-Klein art continues to be gorgeous and slick, while the cover sports a new variation of the previous DARE- DEVIL logo. "Ye editor" was apparently proud of this story, as he picked it for inclusion in SON OF ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS, which is where I have it reprinted.
(6-10-2008)
X-MEN 51
cover by JIM STERANKO
This has one huge fight between The X-Men and Magneto and his mutant army in the southwest desert "City of Mutants". As some have pointed out, without Professor X, the team, and in particular, Cyclops and Marvel Girl, have really come into their own! I've never seen Scott so aggressive, and angry, being really fed up with Magneto and all his murderous evil C***. With overwhelming odds, the team is lucky to escape, though Magneto's legs get paralyzed when a pile of scrap metal falls on him (can you say "IRONY"???). Iceman is pissed that Cyclops feels he's "too involved" emotionally with Lorna Dane, who appears to have sided with her father Magneto, and he storms out. (Gee, it's the early Johnny Storm Human Torch thing all over again!) Scott reveals he has a "plan", but doesn't give details... and a couple days later, a mysterious, powerful new entity, "Eric The Red", turns up at the City of Mutants, shouting out a challenge to Magneto.
I'm wondering where Mesmero was while all this was going on. But the main point of interest is the art. The credit actually reads, "Do we really have to tell you?", but it's obvious it's Jim Steranko. Well, barely. John Tartaglione, who did such a wonderful job on NICK FURY #5 (almost shockingly good) does an equally MISERABLE job here, and the closest thing it reminds me of was that issue of MASTER OF KUNG FU when Paul Gulacy's pencils were murdered by the inks of Sal Trapani. (That's just what it looks like!!) I strongly suspect Arnold Drake supplied Steranko with a very detailed, written plot, if not a finished script, as the designs of the pages are almost "normal" given who the guy was drawing them, and the pacing and storytelling is almost completely different from anything Steranko did before this, or after. For whatever reason, this would be his last X-MEN issue (#2 of 2, collect 'em all) and on the Bullpen page "ye editor" has already announced Steranko's already working on something "even better!"
(6-10-2008)
As I learned sometime later, when "ye editor" announced he was going to insert the Roy Thomas-Frank Springer redo of STRANGE TALES #135 into NICK FURY #4, Jim Steranko took back the pages of "WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO SCORPIO?", and re-inked most of them himself. So, those pages didn't look like they were inked by John Tartaglione, because Steranko "fixed" most of the pages himself. Considering what X-MEN #50-51 looked like, BOY, was that the right thing to have done! Otherwise, my favorite issue of NF would have looked like CRAP.
It has been further suggested that "ye editor" YANKED Joe Sinnott off of NICK FURY so he could use him on SILVER SURFER, which he wanted more than anything else in the world at that moment, to be a major "showcase" for how great a comic book HE could do. And that, further still, he shoved John Tartaglione on Steranko, knowing how bad it would look, to "show him who was boss" and "put him in his place". YEAH-- REALLY.
(9-15-2018)
"THE LURE OF THE BEAST-NAPPERS"
This has this criminal gang trying to blackmail Hank McCoy into working for them, by kidnapping his parents and threatening their lives. (That's not cricket, old chap!) Meanwhile, Cylcops, Iceman and Angel (whose origin we haven't seen yet) have become aware of the situation, and are preparing to step in.
This here's an example of how some artists' styles mesh better-- or worse-- than others. Once again, John Tartaglione is on the inks, but over Werner Roth, it looks GREAT! Go figure.
(6-10-2008)
(Continued in January 1969)
All Text (C) Henry R. Kujawa
Artwork (C) Marvel Comics
Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa
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