Bizarre Adventures is a magazine woefully under-represented here; this is only the second issue I've ever talked about--rest assured, there'll be more in the future. But for now, let's enjoy this issue--"A Hard Look At Violence", featuring a cover by our pal Joe Jusko!The first story is "The Philistine", script by Denny O'Neil and art by none other than Frank Miller. It's a weird metaphysical debate between two guys about art, one a museum curator, the other a master swordsman. While its point eluded me entirely, Miller's work is superb in both storytelling and composition.
Next is "Dr. Deth with Kip & Muffy" by Larry Hama, featuring a kind-faced, Goodman Beaver-looking, motorcycle-riding Mad Max type, as he helps rescue two babes from the clutches of a weird mutant family. Extremely violent and gory, even for a Marvel magazine.
Third is "The Hangman" by Mark Gruenwald and Bill Sienkiewicz; a really good, dark tale about violence in both real life and the movies. Ghoulish, gory fun.
Fourth is the two-page, totally silent "Violence Wears Many Faces" by John Byrne, about a different kind of violence. Its a little heavy-handed, but sadly as relevant today as it was then. Hell, it seems even prescient on Byrne's part.
Fifth is "Recondo Rabbit" by Hama, Mark Armstrong, and Joe Albelo, a funny animal tale set in--*gulp!*--the jungles of Vietnam!
"Let There Be Life", by Tom DeFalco and Herb Trimpe, a rip-snortin' action tale set during the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, an unlikely setting for a comic book story if you've ever seen one. Trimpe's very Marvelized style helps the point of the story--what does the loss of a single life mean?--sneak up on you because you're not expecting it.
Next is "A Frog Is A Frog", a long tale by Stephen Perry and Steve Bissette, someone I never knew did anything for Marvel, so it was a welcome surprise. Its about two teenage friends who have trouble discerning reality and the fantasy they read in their comic books(including this self-same issue of Bizarre Adventures!). A moody, thoughtful tale, very reminiscient of the kind of work Bissette would do in Swamp Thing.
The final story stars the recurring "Bucky Bizarre" character, a mischevious, time-hopping adventurer by our pal Steve Skeates and Steve Smallwood. An issue all about violence wouldn't be complete without an appearance by the Mob, would it?
A very diverse issue, to say the least--Frank Miller, John Byrne, Steve Bissette, Bill Sienkiewicz, Larry Hama, and Joe Jusko? Wild! Overall, there's some good stuff, some odd stuff, and some ehh stuff, but that was the charm of anthologies, wasn't it? You never knew what you were gonna get!
6 comments:
This was one of my favorite issues of Bizarre Adventures! It was originally called "A Hard Look at SEX and Violence", but Marvel kiboshed the "Sex". The Dr. Deth story is beautifully drawn, and contains several in-jokes that only people in the business would get. That was the great thing about Larry Hama; he was always willing to push the envelope and try new things. Marvel was desperately trying to compete with the edginess of Heavy Metal within the confines of 'Marvel Comics', and Larry was the right guy to put in charge of that.
Incidentally, the girl on the cover originally had a mostly see through teddy on, but I was told to give her a dress in the final painting. While Marvel was 'trying' to be daring, they really weren't.
I don't have this issue, but I was a fan of BIZARRE ADVENTURES... any chance we'll be seeing some of the 80's SAVAGE TALES around here?
chris-
i reviewed the first issue, way back when:
http://allinblackandwhitefor75cents.blogspot.com/2007/01/savage-tales-vol2-1-marvel.html
...but i do plan to do more!
I remember the issue as well... my thoughts on the O'Neil/Miller story left me feeling exactly the same as you!
A damn good issue of Bizarre Adventures with a nicely varied mix of stories and creators. "A Frog Is A Frog" was the standout story for me. Steve Bissette also illustrated a story in Marvel Preview 23 and collaborated with Steve Perry again on a great looking Dracula story in Bizarre Adventures 33. He also drew part of an issue of Perry and Tom Yeates' excellent and much under-rated Epic series Timespirits.
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