Marvel Preview #17 - Blackmark

Winter 1979 - From the brilliant creative mind of Gil Kane comes the futuristic world of...Blackmark!

This issue is entirely filled with Gil Kane's original graphic novel--sixty pages written, penciled, and inked by the legendary Mr. Kane. Why the cover is by Romas, not Kane, is a bit of a mystery. After all, it's not like Gil Kane couldn't pull off superb covers...

Anyway, since the story is so involved, featuring lots of twists and turns and fantastical concepts and lots of characters, I've decided not to do a plot synopsis, instead highlighting some of the more memorable moments from the book.

After a nice two-page spread, the story itself starts, and Blackmark is unusual since its a combo of art and text. Blackmark is introduced in the classic heroic manner:

Kane's storytelling abilities of course can not be second-guessed, and indeed the art here is some of his best, though at times the text is totally superflous, explaining stuff we can see for ourselves:

And of course any book drawn by Gil Kane features dozens of super close-ups, nose upturned, a trademark of sorts of Kane's style:

The story is broken up into chapters, featuring nice single illustrations summarizing what we're about to see. In Chapter Two, some of the poor denizens of this world as they are attacked by a creature known as the Psi-Keep.

The attacks are so brutal, some of the survivors are driven to the brink of madness:

Later, Blackmark arrives at Castle Shannux, where he meets the beautiful Shandra. She's first introduced in this fantastic shot:

...I love Kane's use of zip-a-tone here, and the staging is brilliant.

Eventually Blackmark and some of his men hit the high seas, where they encounter a massive, water-churning storm, courtesy of the Psi-Keep:

Eventually they make their way to the island stronghold of the villainous Reynard, who slaughtered Blackmark's parents many years ago. (You know, considering how many superheroes get created by this event, bad guys would stop leaving orphans around after their killing sprees)

Blackmark and Reynard have a knock-down, dragged-out battle, which ends with one of them getting a sword in the eye and thrown off the top of the castle.

But even in victory there is sadness, since Shandra has been wounded, and by the time Blackmark makes it back to her, she is gone, ending the story in a very moody fashion:

All in all, Blackmark is a lot of fun, well told and fast-paced, and of course Gil Kane was a perfect artist to tell a story featuring armadas of warriors attacking one another.

Like I said above, sometimes the text is unnecessary, but overall it works, and the passion Kane felt for this story shows through on every page.

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!

Amazing Spider-Man Ad - Marvel

This dynamic ad ran in yesterday's issue of Marvel Premiere, promising "A daringly different look"--i.e., a Japanese version of everyone's favorite web-slinger.

Sadly, no such daringly different version of Spidey ever showed up. The next issue of Marvel Premiere was Bizarre Adventures, not Spidey.

Our pal Joe Jusko mentioned this aborted project in his interview here a few months ago: "I started doing Rampaging Hulk covers as well as other miscellaneous one shots. I did a cover for a proposed "fumetti"(telling a comic story with photos) version of a Japanese Spider-Man TV show(!)"

...apparently, though, the show looked so cruddy that Marvel decided to scrap the book. I dunno--from Joe's painting here, the show looks insane.

Which means they definitely should've done the book!

Marvel Preview #19: Kull The Destroyer

Summer 1979 - Kull the Conqueror was one of those characters that really deserved to be a bigger comics star than he was.

Between his b/w magazine, his color comic, and his appearances in other mags like this, King Kull racked up an impressive roster of writers and artists who toiled on his stories, and while the comparisons to a certain Cimmerian are inevitable, I found them distinct enough that you could enjoy both and not feel like you were getting warmed-over Conan, or Conan with a different name, or whatever.

The cover, like many a Marvel mag, is by Bob Larkin, and while Kull and Thulsa Doom look cool, I will admit the bikini-clad damsel looks less than terrified.

After an inside-cover by Ernie Chan, the Kull story is "Riders Beyond the Sunrise" by Roy Thomas(adapted from a Robert E. Howard story, 'natch), Sal Buscema, and Tony DeZuniga. It's basically a Kull origin story, where we get to see Kull fight a bunch of bad guys, rescue a toothsome wench, and fight the nasty, evil Thulsa Doom to the death!

Next is a text feature, "Tiger of Atlantis", by Jim Neal, detailing Kull's history as told through Marvel's comics.

Following that is a real treat, an eight-page pin-up section called Kull II, featuring art by John and Marie Severin!:

The first five are by John alone, and then the last three are penciled by Marie and inked by John. All of them are cool:

Ending the book is a Solomon Kane tale, "The Footfalls Within", by Don Glut, Will Meugniot, and Steve Gan, featuring Kane liberating a small village from being turned into slaves by a villainous group of pirates. Featuring honest-to-gosh nudity, though it is from "native" tribal women, so I guess it falls under that National Geographic rule of not being "real" nudity.

A solid package all the way around. Any book with two Severins is worth whatever the cover price.

Marvel Preview #20: Bizarre Adventures

Winter 1980 - This is another one of those magazines that you can pick up for a song on eBay, and yet the total package is so good that you feel like you got away with something, getting it for so little money.

I guess since this issue is a collection of reprinted tales, that's the reason it's so cheaply had, but who cares? Having them all together makes for a fun read.

The first two tales star Howard Chaykin's Dominic Fortune character, one of about half a dozen characters Chaykin created that were, by his own admission, all variations on the hard-bitten, swashbuckling hero type that he did for various companies(The Scorpion for Atlas, Cody Starbuck for Star*Reach, etc.).

The beautiful cover painting is by Chaykin(how does a parachute work in outer space?), and each story features a gorgeous, movie poster-ish splash page, like this one:

This story, "The Power Broker 'Resolution'", is described in the intro by co-editor Roger Stern as "What if Charles Foster Kane Sold Out the United States?" and I can't come up with a better summing up than that. Fortune is unique in that frequently, he seems in over his head, and he knows it. (reprinted from Marvel Preview #2)

The second story is "The Messiah in the Saddle 'Resolution'", which is more superhero-y, featuring a machine that can replicate earthquakes. Like the first one, it moves at a breakneck pace, and is brilliantly executed. (reprinted from Marvel Super-Action #1)

Next up is a big change of pace, Tony Isabella and George Perez's "War Toy", from Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #2, and is generally considered one of the best stories the magazine ever produced. It was one of Perez's first jobs, and even though the inking by Rico Rival is pretty overwhelming, you can see Perez's trademark layouts already, his unique way of telling a story.

Last is "Good Lord!", by Marv Wolfman, the late great Dave Cockrum and the infamous Crusty Bunkers, from Marvel Preview #1. As the splash indicates, this story was meant as a straight-forward tribute to the classic EC sci-fi stories of old:

It features space explorers getting ripped apart, brain vs brawn, and the murdering of God, no less. A lot of fun--nasty fun.

There's also a text piece called "Of Heroes and the Bizarre" by Stern, wrapping up a solid issue full of exciting, diverse stories. A winner.

Marvel Preview #9: Man-God

Winter 1976 - Ok, I admit this right off--I bought this solely because of the awesome, manly-man cover by Earl Norem.

A few weeks ago, a commenter asked me if I was going to cover those "Men's Adventure" magazines that use to fill up newsstand racks. They weren't comics, of course, but they sure looked like fun.

I said I didn't know, but that thought was in my head when I saw this. Norem had(has?) a great skill at creating a cover that looked totally appropriate for the type of subject mater--his Merlin cover three days ago looked like an old copy of The Once and Future King, and this one could've run on a magazine called Rippling Muscle Digest.

Anyway, inside is "Man-God!" an adaptation of author Philip Wylie's epic novel Gladiator, published in 1930. The script is by Roy Thomas, with art by Rich Buckler and Tony DeZuniga, in a story that takes more twists and turns than a Paul McCartney song.

We open on a cruise ship, when suddenly a small child falls overboard. Like lightning, the quiet man swabbing the deck leaps into the water! We follow him underwater and watch him fight off a shark and save the child. People ask this man how he did this, but he remains evasive about his heroism.

He disembarks, and meets another man named Thomas Shayne. As they have a drink, the news breaks out that France and Britian is at war with Germany! Quickly the mysterious man--who introduced himself to Shayne as "Hugo"--and Shayne decide to join the French Foreign Legion. And this is only page nine!

The two of them get jumped by some hoodlums, but they fight them off in a classic Marvel-style donnybrook. As they wait the next morning to meet up with the Legion, we peer into Hugo's mind and see just how this man came to be.

It's here the story takes a sort of grim turn, as we find out that Hugo's father was a sort of mad scientist type, determined to create a sort of "super-solider" formula, starting off by experimenting on animals. Those tests prove inconclusive, so he experiments on his unborn child! Yeesh! Even Victor Von Doom didn't go that dark.

Anyway, it turns out that the formula does, in fact, work, and it's here that the origin of Hugo bears a striking similarity to a certain Kryptonian. Although I guess, to be fair, it's the Kryptonian's origin that seems like this one since Gladiator came first.

We get a few pages of Hugo growing up on the farm, doing amazing things, learning of his amazing abilities, complete with lessons of Homespun Wisdom from his Pa:

We then follow Hugo to college, where he becomes a big football star(hey, just like the Byrne Superman! This is getting eerie!). It's here that the story takes a bit of a, er, different path than the one we're familiar with, and Hugo meets the beautiful Iris and within a few panels is showing her why he's called "Man-God":

"So you've gone, dear Hugo. Did I not please you?"

"Ah, of course I did--though perhaps not as much as you did me. No man has ever made me feel so much a woman!" Wow, how many times have I heard that in my life?*

Anyway, Hugo leaves college, wanders for a bit, and ends up with a job at a traveling circus, performing feats of strength. Here he meets another girl, Charlotte, and beds her down just as quickly.

At the circus, they both meet and befriend Valentine, a french painter who works for the circus doing the billboards. It's here the three of them start a sort of Jules and Jim thing:

Unfortunately, Valentine and Charlotte fall in love, and both leave good-bye notes for Hugo. Hugo, in fact, does not rip the sissy French artiste in half, but wishes them well and goes back to school, rejoins the football team, and becomes their star player until he accidentally kills an opposing player during the game!

Despondent, Hugo goes a series of soul-searching adventures, like becoming a pearl diver aboard the cruise ship that we found him on at the beginning of the tale.

Hugo and Shayne arrive on the battlefield, where Hugo discovers--to his delight--that he's bullet-proof! He then decides to rip into the jerrys like Captain America without that nagging bit of conscience:

But even though Hugo has brutally killed all the bad guys, he still feels a little empty.

He goes on some spy missions, and then decides to sign up for the Air Corps, with the plan to crash his plane right into the heart of Berlin. It's the job he was born to do!

Unfortunately, just as he is about to take off, the news hits that Germany has surrendered and the war is over! What is this Man-God to do now?

The book ends with a pin-up, with Hugo looking very Doc Savage-like, and Marvel informs us that this is only the first half of Wylie's book, and if we want to see more, let the House of Ideas know!

There's also two articles, one on Phillip Wylie, another on "Superman in Science Fiction", both by Don and Maggie Thompson.

I enjoyed this tale quite a bit, but it was sort of odd reading this combo of a Hemingway-esque Journey of Adventure and Self-Discovery mixed with comic-book superhero action.

Like I said, the table of contents credits the art to Buckler and DeZuniga, but I don't see any of Buckler's work here, and in fact on the very next page, it only lists DeZuniga as the artist...?

As far as I could find, Man-God never returned in comics, maybe because he did bear such a striking resemblance to Superman, Captain America, and Doc Savage. Oh well.


*Never, actually.

Update: I asked the man himself, Rich Buckler, what the deal with the credits is, whether he really penciled the book or not. Here's what Rich said:

"You're absolutely correct that the Man-God credits were in error. I only did the pencil art on the first two pages (a double-page splash)--the rest is by the brilliant Tony DeZuniga. I was originally slated to do the whole book, but Roy pulled me off this one for other projects.

For the record, I read Philip Wylie's original novel Gladiator, which this comic book is based on. I'm a big Wylie fan, and really wanted to do the whole project (including the second part, which never happened). Take care."

Now we know! Thanks Rich!

Marvel Preview #22: Merlin

Summer 1980 - What a wonderful surprise this magazine was!

I had no idea what was inside this when I bought it; I just saw the way-cool Earl Norem cover and it was only two bucks so I figured why not? Boy am I glad I did!

Inside is "Quest For the King!", a fifty-five page tale starring Merlin, co-written and penciled by Big John Buscema, inks by Tom Palmer, with calligraphy by John Costanza!

According to the intro by editor Ralph Macchio, Buscema came up with the idea for this tale, and Marvel said go ahead and do it, and we'll publish whatever you come up with. Then, about halfway in, Buscema called them and said he had lost track of the story a bit and needed some help, so Doug Moench was brought in to help co-plot. The result is a fast-paced, exciting story of betrayal and the fight between good and evil.

King Arthur comes across a young knight, unconcious and near death, out in the forest. He rescues him and brings him back to his kingdom, where he asks Merlin to help him see the young man back to health.

The young knight is named Beliar, and he tells a tale of going out to fight a great beast that has been terrorizing a small town. It's during this sequence that Buscema really has fun, and delineates a real knock-down, drag-out fight. I particularly loved the design on this panel on the right:

He managed to defeat the monster, but almost died in the attempt. This was where Arthur found him. Arthur, taken with young Beliar, asks him to remain as an honored guest in his castle. All seems well.

Except...something seems a little off about Beliar to Merlin. He can't quite put his finger on it, but something about the secret smile Beliar has troubles Merlin. He is not reassured when Beliar tries to goad Merlin into a display of "real magic" at a dinner, instead of the more low-key potions that usually satisfy Arthur and his round table. Merlin, despite himself, allows Beliar to goad him into a truly awesome display featuring horrifying demons, whom he dispatches at will.

Then, during dinner, Beliar mouths off and insults Arthur to one of his knights, Sir Pellias, who slaps him for his impudence. Beliar demands a duel to settle the score, but finds he is way outclassed. He then resorts to some sort of hypnosis, which causes Pellias to freeze in place, Obi-Wan Kenobi style. Beliar uses this opportunity to deliver a killing bloew, nearly beheading Pellias!

The other knights are horrified, by Pellias manages to sell King Arthur that he thought Pellias would defend himself. Arthur buys this, but Merlin warns him--this kid is evil! While Arthur is defending him, Beliar is busy making a play for Guinevere.

Soon after, Guinevere and Beliar disappear, and Arthur and Merlin go out to find her. They come across a real evil-looking castle, where after fighting off a monster--that turns out to be merely an illusion--they find the lovely Guinevere imprisoned in chains!

They are then met by the Baron of the Nethelands, Beliar's father, who reveals himself to be the Prince of Evil. His face contorts into a classic Buscema evil-guy face, where you can practially smell the putrescence. It's here that the real Beliar shows himself, and it's only with lighting and some small facial details that Buscema makes the innocent-looking Beliar suddenly seem creepy and malevolent:

Arthur and Beliar have it out, clanging swords, and it takes Merlin to help Arthur from total destruction. And even when they behead the Baron, the battle is not truly over! For as Merlin warns "evil can never be truly slain."

In addition to this slam-bang tale, we get two text pieces about the legend of King Arthur, one by Bill Mantlo(featuring a spot illo by Marie Severin!), the other by Steven Grant. Both are interesting and informative.

Man, what a great package this magazine is. Buscema's art feels like he's having the time of his life, obviously this type of material energized him more than any issue of The Avengers or The Fantastic Four ever did. The wash tones are nicely done, and Costanza's calligraphy is a classy touch.

A total winner.

Marvel Preview #16 - Marvel

I have absolutely no recollection of getting this book, most likely the cover intrigued me and I threw it in with other magazine purchases from a particularly affordable ebay seller.

The inside cover is by Big John Buscema; the scene taking place right after an Depression Era mob hit. I'm not sure what it has to do with the rest of the issue, but it sure is nice lookin'.

The first story, "The Hero-Killer Principle", stars "Sherlockian" sleuth Hodiah Twist and is by Richard Marschall, the great Gene Colan, and Tony DeZuniga.

Hodiah(who is very Sherlockian, complete with hat and pipe) gets involved in a murder that took place on a subway car, and there a number of suspects, Orient Express-style. The major difference being the killer in question is more in tune with Marvel's Monsters Unleashed! than any Christie or Conan Doyle tale. As usual, Colan is excellent, but DeZuniga's inking style doesn't mesh well, to my eyes.

Next is "Voices!" by Marv Wolfman, Colan, and Tom Palmer, a quick little murder mystery imbued with the dark humor and bitterness that must have been part and parcel of living in mid-70s New York.

Third is a text feature "The Rise of the Private Eye" by Ron Goulart, and then with no apparent irony we move on to "Death by Disco!" by Steve Gerber, and Colan and DeZuniga again. Starring Lillith, Dracula's Daughter, this is indeed a vampire story (partially)set in a discotechque, complete with a scene where Lillith uses her powers to make a woman do a disco dance amid dead bodies, the reward of which is getting her blood drained. Like I said, New York in the seventies wasn't for sissies.

Not the most cohesive of collections, but Colan's work all throughout does help give it somewhat of a consistent feel. Because when you've stories draped in dark shadows and fog, Colan was the right guy to call.

Marvel Preview #5 Sherlock Holmes - Marvel

Sherlock Holmes always seemed to be a character that comic book companies attempted to make work in comics (DC even gave Holmes his own title in 1975!) and never had any success with, sales-wise at least.

Behind the creepy Ken Barr cover is a really nice pin-up by Frank Thorne, who also provides the companion piece for an intro written by Archie Goodwin. After that is a full-length Sherlock Holmes story, adapting The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Doug Moench and Val Mayerik. As much as I liked Mayerik's work, Thorne's is so good that I wish he had illustrated the rest of the book. Moench does a nice job adapting the dry Holmes' dialogue into decent comics' storytelling.

All in all, a nice try. And Marvel wasn't quite done with Holmes, not just yet...