Marvel Preview #7 - Satana

Summer 1976 - Some warm weather has finally arrived, so what better time for some adventures with the sizzling hot--but deadly--daughter of Satan, Satana?

After an editorial by editor John Warner, Satana stars in "The Damnation Waltz", by Chris Claremont and Vincente Alcazar, and we get hit right in the face with what kind of story this is gonna be:

...yep, pentagrams, headless bodies, upside down crosses, geisers of blood. Strap in, comics fans, this is gonna be a bumpy ride!

The story is about the comely but frail Judith Chamber, who comes home to find her family as seen above. As Judith waits for the police to finish up, her husband's best friend and law partner, Brian Abelard, shows up to comfort her.

But when he finds Judith, she suddenly converts into some kind of horrible she-demon who starts muttering about "foolish spells", "damning souls" and "vengeance." What the Beelzebub is going on here?

She goes after Brian, but is tranquilized by a doctor. Here we see her innermost thoughts, where we see Judith encountering a mysterious, hooded cult which places a curse on her, banning Judith--or is it Satana?--from Earth.

Eventually, Judith makes her way to a strange club on the Sunset Strip, where she meets some people who seem to know her. They hand her a costume, and that transforms Judith into Satana! And what a costume it is:

...that outfit is one of Marvel's most ridiculous, which makes it awesome. I don't care how much of a goody-goody you might be, you could not turn down any woman dressed like that.

Anyway, these guys at the club have some nefarious things planned for Satana, but she doesn't take any crap:

"...All right, fools--who's next?!"

Satana plays hard--not only does she kick these guys' butts, but she even chases down one other guy, who begs for mercy. Satana responds by giving him a big sloppy kiss, which sucks the soul right out of him, leaving him an empty husk. (I've felt that way sometimes, myself)

There's more treachery, involving Abelard (who is not as benign as he first seems), while Judith continually struggles with this--thing--that's inside her.

Alcazar's art here is top-notch, his cramped, claustrophobic layouts perfect for this kind of story. People and objects are draped in shadows, and almost every panel is off-kilter in some way, making you feel as off-balance as Judith is:

This whole story feels a lot like Italian horror films of the 1970s, like Dario Argento's Suspiria, where a young, seemingly naive protagonist is in way over her head, with a seemingly never-ending supply of creepy people waiting to do her in. Alcazar's art only adds to this mood, and its very effective.

The story ends with a massive demon being unleashed, leaving a crater of devastation behind. Brian Abelard's soul ends up inside a butterfly(!), whom Satana crushes to bits, with "Go to hell, Brian Abelard...my father awaits you with open arms." Pwned!

But we're not done yet! This issue also features a text piece by Claremont called "From the Devil, A Daughter", featuring some nifty spot illustrations by Esteban Maroto and Mike Nasser, plus a back-up feature, about as different from the lead as possible: "The Sword in the Star!" by Bill Mantlo and a very young Keith Giffen!

This is part 2 of a story started in Marvel Preview #4, so I have no idea what's going on here. Plus, this is early Giffen, when he was in his Kirby Mode, which never appealed to me all that much (though I would become a huge fan of his later, more personal style). There's some spaceships, some robots, a blind oracle-type woman, lots of crazy goings-on, though nothing nearly as out there as what preceded it.

A smashingly awesome issue; the Satana story is wonderfully ghoulish fun, topped off with a, er, hell of a cover by Bob Larkin.

In fact, when I saw Mr. Larkin at the 2008 NY Comic Con, I went over and introduced myself, told him how much I liked his work, and asked him to sign this for me. He looked at the book and exclaimed "Hey, this was a good one."

It sure was!