Tales of the Zombie #4 - Marvel

Have we talked about Tales of the Zombie yet? No? Good, then let's talk about Tales of the Zombie.

This issue is confusingly numbered "Volume 2, No.1" on the indicia, but a quick trip to the GCD reveals that this is actually the fourth issue, cover-dated March 1974, presumably making this the first issue produced in that year, hence that weird multiple-volume thing you used to see in old comics(remember back when Action Comics would say "Volume 37" or something? As a kid, I was confused as hell by that). Ok, ok...enough postal-regulation talk. Let's get to the zombies, shall we?

After the nice spooky, "ta-daa!" cover by Boris Vallejo is Simon Garth starring in "The Law and Phillip Bliss", by Steve Gerber and Pablo Marcos. A myserious talisman calls Simon Garth back to his "home" in New Orelans, where he is attacked by a cult led by a voodoo preistess named Katanya. After fifteen pages, the story abruptly stops, to be continued on page fifty-three. So until we get there, we have...

...an article on the newest James Bond film, Live and Let Die, which used voodoo as a backdrop. Oddly, even though the review(by Don McGregor) features stills from the film, starring Roger Moore as Bond, the illustrations that appear in the article are of Sean Connery. McGregor has a very negative review of Moore as Bond.

Next is "The Drums of Doom!", by Gerry Conway, Rich Buckler, Vic Martin, and Win Mortimer, a ghoulish tale about a guy who crosses a practicer of voodoo, as in Don't. It even ends with a classic EC-esque "Choke!" exclamation by one of the characters.

There's a text article on "Neo Witchcaft" by Lin Carter, complete with photos of ritual sacrifices! Fun!

There's a one-page feature by Tony "The Tiger" Isabella and Ron Wilson called "Courtship by Voodoo", and then "Nightfilth Rising" by Doug Monech and Win Mortimer, about a guy who rises from the grave. I wonder what old-timer Mortimer thought about all this material featuring zombies and voodoo priests...

After that is "Four Daughters of Satan" by John Albano and Ernie Chua, about four female convicts who show up at a castle run by a werd old woman who is in the business of oh-so helpfully providing cadavers to the local doctor. Again, fun! Nice creepy art job by Chua.

The Simon Garth tale resumes, picking up the back story of the aforementioned Phillip Bliss, whose life was ruined by a conspiracy of crooked lawyers, and how he has spent his whole life in an attempt to get back at them. Phillip happens to be in the possession of an amulet that makes Simon Garth think Bliss is his master! This leads to Simon showing up in a court, and handing out some mindless revenge in the name of his master. A totally crazy, insane tale--and I've only hit the highlights!