Doc Savage #3 - Marvel

It's time for another adventure with the Man O' Bronze, Doc Savage!

Behind the James Bond-esque high adventure cover by Ken Barr is "The Inferno Scheme!" by Doug Moench, Big John Buscema, and Tony DeZuniga.

A giant robotic eagle(!) breaks into a jewelry store and steals a clawful of uncut diamonds, flying away and unharmed by the hail of bullets by policemen. Then a giant robotic bear(!!) does the same, and the crimes find the attention of Doc and his team.

They are told by a woman--who entrances Renny, one of Doc's team--who claims to be the sister of the mastermind behind these crimes that her brother has a plan for world domination(of course) and now calls himself Inferno!

Doc and the team head for the secret hideout of Inferno, along with the sister. They spread out and face various death-traps and armed guards, until Renny discovers--via a passionate kiss--that this mysterious woman and Inferno(who looks like a sleazy magician) are anything but brother and sister!

There's rockets, more death-traps, the robot bear, and an even bigger robot that looks like he's straight out of The Fantastic Four. Doc, of course, takes care of all of 'em, and yet Renny is so in love that he almost loses his life still believing in this traiterous woman. Doc saves Renny, the mountain hideaway explodes, and the story ends with a tear.

On top of that, Monk gets his own back-up feature courtesy Moench and Rico Rival, titled "A Most Singular Writ of Habeus Corpus"(remember back when we had Habeus Corpus? Ah, the good old days...). Monk meets a sweet woman and runs afoul of her mobster ex-boyfriend, who kidnaps both of them, and Monk's pet pig HC, which is a mistake in every way. Habeus Corpus helps them escape, and Monk lays a beat-down on the mobster.

Monk's persona was definitely similar to the Thing's, and I bet giving Monk his own back-up was an attempt to make him the break-out star of the book. He carries the story well, in the tried-and-true Mighty Marvel Manner!