Savage Tales Volume 2 Ad

Marvel did not spend a lot of time, space, or money advertising the second iteration of Savage Tales, but they at least did run this ad, which I found in an old issue of the comics magazine Amazing Heroes.

Sure, it's only a half-page, but at least it's something...!

The Hulk! #18 - Marvel

Dec. 1979 - "Cast Away"

A less than inspiring cover graces this issue of The Hulk! It's not the painting (by Bob Larkin) that's all that bad, it's the butt-ugly design that really does it in--a super-bright yellow border, really?

Anyway, on the inside cover is a spiffy pin-up by Ernie Chan, who always rendered a particularly fearsome Hulk:

In this issue, the Hulk meets...Tom Hanks?!?

When last we left the Hulk, his alter ego of Bruce Banner was in Africa, being carted away to a nearby hospital. But of course, it doesn't take long for the Hulk to reemerge and find himself fighting yet another group of armed men:

After a quick battle, the Hulk--perennially just wanting to be left alone--leaps into the air, and lands on a tiny island a few miles out to sea. The island is quiet and seemingly uninhabited, which calms the Hulk down enough that he can fall asleep. As he rests, he changes back into Banner.

But of course the island is not uninhabited--a bearded man wanders through the brush and finds the unconscious Banner, and hauls his body out the sun. A few hours later, Banner wakes up, and learns that this castaway--named Thaddeus Hatcher--has been on this island for nine years.

Turns out Hatcher experiences a series of unfortunate events, and after feeling lonely and unwanted by the world, he decided to take off and just let Fate take him. It did, and he ended up on this island, which he considers a paradise. Banner stays with Thaddeus for a few weeks, where they do lots of manual labor, talk, and watch the sunrise. Thaddeus starts to convince his guest that this really is a paradise after all.

All is good until one night, when a lightning storm threatens a new hut they've worked hard at building. Banner goes outside to try and secure, his pulse pounding, leading to, of course:

Thaddeus befriends the Hulk, and before too long Banner has returned. Thaddeus shares some bad news about the island: that it is occasionally visited by pirates, who use it for smuggling. Eventually the pirates stumble across Thaddeus, leading to violence. One of them shoots a young man who happened upon the island with his girlfriend, and as he lay dying, the Hulk returns!

Chasing after the pirates, the Hulk pulls off a truly amazing display of strength, even for him:

The Hulk carts the entire island closer to shore, allowing the authorities to get the boy and bring him to the hospital. The Hulk, now back to being Banner, is also brought there, and when he awakes he finds Thaddeus is gone--and so is a rowboat owned by one of the locals. The last shot we see is of Thaddeus, once again fading from the view of man. The End.

As with previous issues, Moon Knight is the back-up, once again by Moench and the unbeatable art team of Bill Sienkiewiz and Klaus Janson:

Despite the middling cover, this was one of my favorite issues of The Hulk!--I thought the lead story was so involving that I truly felt sorry for Thaddeus, whose paradise was taken from him by events beyond his control. The conservations between him and Banner about the nature of living in what we call society were interesting and well-developed, despite the inherent limits of dealing with weighty topics like that within a comic book framework.

On top of that, Moench managed to work in a great, classic "Hulk moment", where he lifts an entire island; it seems like Moench was trying to top himself every few issues to see just how impressive a feat he could make the Hulk accomplish.

Also, the art by Ron Wilson and Alfredo Alcala is top-notch; the jungle setting is full of rich detail, and with this story colorist Steve Oliff really gets a chance to shine. I'm generally more in favor of the black and white format for these comic magazines (hence the title of the blog!), but once in a while I could see why Marvel wanted to shoot the moon and make this a color magazine--issues like this are truly an impressive package.

Savage Sword of Conan #235 - Marvel

July 1995 - The final issue!

Since we covered the very first issue of Savage Sword of Conan in our last post, I thought it'd be fun to shoot twenty years ahead and profile the very last issue!

Appropriately enough, the final story--"A Rage of Goblins", Part 2 of the "Daughter of Raktavash" two-parter--is by Roy Thomas and John Buscema. Here are some highlights, involving--you guessed it--sex and violence:

I find it charming that this last classic Conan tale ends with him tired and ready for a rest. By Crom, he's earned it!

There is another feature, also by Roy Thomas, titled "The Blood of Beasts":

It's here, on the final page, that Roy Thomas gives Conan something of a send-off. Sure, there will be more adventures, but there is just a touch of melancholy as the Barbarian conceives of a time when he will "lay down his sword for the last time":

There are two more pin-ups, as well as a final editorial by Roy Thomas saying goodbye to the magazine that lasted so long and presented so many fine adventures:

By the end of 1996, Marvel would stop publishing Conan comics entirely, and after more than a quarter of a century, the character would move onto another company (ever the nomad!).

Savage Sword of Conan managed to outlast every single Marvel b/w magazine, a testament to the character's enduring popularity. By this point, its best days were clearly behind it (that cover...hoo boy), but its great that it went out with Thomas and Buscema, one more time.

Crom!

Savage Sword of Conan #1 - Marvel

August 1974 - The one that started it all!

Of course, that's not really true; Marvel had tried their hand at the magazine format a couple of times before this, to varying degrees of success; but it was this first issue of Savage Sword of Conan that launched the House of Idea's longest-lasting, best-selling black and white comic magazine. And what a first issue it was!

Behind a beautiful cover by Boris Vallejo, this inaugural effort is chock-full of Barbarian goodness. First up is this pin-up by Estaban Maroto:

While the color Conan comic had lots of scantily-dressed maidens getting groped by icky monsters, they never were quite as salacious as what you see here: I mean, clearly, this multi-tentacled baddie is headed for third base, only to soon be felled by a sword.

The main feature is about as classic Conan as it gets: it's "Curse of the Undead-Man" by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, and within the first few pages we get all the classic trappings of a Conan story:

...sex, violence, action, even Red Sonja!

This story runs about twenty pages, and is a total blast--as is the rest of the book. Following another pin-up is a Red Sonja solo story by Maroto and Neal Adams:

I see a lot of Adams in this story, I have to wonder how much of Maroto was really here--perhaps just breakdowns. In any case, it--and Sonja--looks gorgeous. A great second feature.

After another pin-up and a text feature ("Conan's Women Warriors"), comes the first installment of "Blackmark" by Gil Kane:

This is another instance of the reader getting something they'd normally never see in a color Marvel comic: Blackmark was not a Marvel character, but licensed from Bantam Books, for whom Kane did the original material.

After two(!) more text features, comes a Conan reprint, from Savage Tales #1, by Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith:

This is is astonishing amount of top-flight material for only a buck. Sure, that was about three-to-four times what a regular comic book cost at the time, but where else were you going to get Vallejo, Buscema, Adams, Maroto, Kane, Smith, and others all in the same book?


Savage Sword of Conan would, in the end, last longer than any other black and white mag that Marvel produced, longer than every other magazine combined. Of course, not every issue was as good as this one (as we've seen, and will see), but by Crom! did they get off to a good start!

The Hulk! #17 - Marvel

Oct. 1979 - "The Biggest Game!"

A fairly straightforward Hulk! cover by Earl Norem graces this issue, with Ol' Greenskin waving his absurdly-huge fist in the reader's face!

This blog covered The Hulk! #16 a little while ago, which ended with the Hulk leaping away from a remote island which was the home of a proverbial mad scientist. But before we get into all that, enjoy another Hulk pin-up, by the team of Gene Colan and Bob Wiacek:

This issue's story, "The Biggest Game" (written, of course, by Doug Moench) opens with a great splash page by Ron Wilson and Alfredo Alcala, featuring the Hulk raging against the heavens:

This story is unusual in that neither Banner or the Hulk shows up for the first fifteen pages, a fairly gutsy move. Set in Africa, we're introduced to some big game hunters and their guide, a man who specializes in helping hunters find endangered species. Yeah, I really hope the Hulk pounds these guys into paste...

Bruce Banner is on his way to Africa (man, his frequent flier miles must really be racking up) to hunt down yet another serum that might help him. In this case, its not a cure, but it is a step in the right direction: an experimental serum that keeps the user calm for extended periods of time, which of course is music to Bruce's ears.

But Banner is tricked by Jason Strack, the aforementioned big game specialist. As soon as Bruce gets the serum, his pulse starts to race, and:

Of course, this doesn't stop Strack, who now has a bigger game to sell to his clients--the Incredible Hulk!

As usual, Alfredo Alcala really dominates the art (he tended to, no matter who he was inking), and in this case it makes for some beautiful pages, like this detailed shot of the quiet jungle:

Later, the Hulk finds himself face-to-face with a charging rhino--but the Green Goliath has no reason to fight the animal, and tries to get it to back down. But it won't, no matter what:

Strack ends up caging the Hulk, and killing a young hippie who befriended him. When the Hulk sees what Strack has done, he goes into a rage. He chases Strack, who falls victim to one of his own men, in an act of justice that even the Hulk can recognize:

The Hulk, tired of fighting, collapses into sleep, and turns back into Banner. His unconscious body into loaded into a truck, headed for a nearby hospital. For the moment, the jungle is safe again. The End.

This issue again features Moon Knight as the back-up feature:

This issue's story is drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz and Klaus Janson, who make a smashing team; perfect for Moon Knight. This adventure is particularly grisly, with bullets and axes flying, and a really downer cliffhanger ending.


These issues of The Hulk! show that the series was really running on all cylinders; Moench was spinning the dial on the lead feature, dropping the Hulk in different settings, usually with great results. And with the addition of Bill Sienkiewicz, "Moon Knight" really came into its own, as well, making for a really solid package, issue after issue.

The Hulk! #15 - Marvel

June 1979 - "The Top Secret!"

The Earl Norem cover tells you everything you need to know about this issue's story--the Hulk fights a giant robot, full stop. But before we get to all that, let's take in the regular inside cover pin-up, this time by the unusual team of Gene Colan and Rudy Nebres:

After spending several issues dropping the Hulk in some unusual locales (a circus, a runaway plane, a spooky castle), writer Doug Moench decided to throw one right over the plate this time, with Bruce Banner returning to the desert where the Hulk was born:

In the intervening years, a huge complex has been constructed, called--without apparent irony--"The New Hope Installation." Of course, inside the installation is your typical mad inventor type, who has constructed a small band of robot soldiers called Cybortrons.

Not to do disservice to the story, but I thought let's skip ahead and get to where the Hulk interacts with the Cybortrons:

As you might expect, it all ends badly, with the front wall labeled "New Hope" burning in flames. The Hulk, sick of the whole thing, takes off, leaving the survivors to rebuild--"Your tax dollars at work."

While the main story is in many ways a classic Hulk adventure, Moench had other tricks up his sleeve with this issue. Case in point, the back-up feature, Moon Knight: the story is titled "An Eclipse, Waning":

Instead of finishing up the issue as it normally does, the Moon Knight back-up story leads right into another Hulk story, also by the team of Moench, Sinkiewicz, and McLeod, titled "An Eclipse, Waxing":

Here, the Hulk ends up in the same place that the Moon Knight story takes place in, and the two characters meet, albeit briefly. The final page ends with the same scene as the Moon Knight story, but from the Hulk's perspective. Its essentially just a goof, but a really fun goof nonetheless, and superbly drawn by Sienkiewicz and McLeod, who make a great team.


We already covered the next issue, The Hulk! #16, a few months ago, so we're going to skip ahead to #17 in a few days.

In the meantime, we wish everyone a happy new year, and thank you all for stopping by. My posting schedule here has been random (to say the least), and I know that doesn't make this blog easy to follow. I am hoping to put up a lot more here in 2012, and make All in Black and White For 75 Cents a worthwhile place to visit!

The Hulk! #14 - Marvel

Apr. 1979 - "A Cure for Chaos!"

Behind the spooky, almost romance novel-esque cover by Bob Larkin awaits another slam-bang Hulk adventure, but in an unusual setting. But first, more Hulk by Mike Zeck!:

"Hulk hate being told to wear seatbelts while in cab! Who am puny Mayor Bloomberg?!?"

In "A Cure for Chaos" by Doug Moench, Ron Wilson, and Rudy Nebres, we find Bruce Banner in Switzerland:

Banner is there to visit Dr. Hans Feldstadt, who has been doing research in Gamma radiation. Of course, Bruce Banner thinks this is his best chance in ages to be cured of his awful curse. But when Bruce arrives at his destination, no one in the small village has even heard of the eminent doctor.

However, he is pointed to the castle of another doctor, named Klein. Figuring he has nothing to lose--plus its his only lead--he makes his way to Klein's imposing home, which looks like its right out of Dracula:

Banner says his name is David Bixby (gee, wonder where he came up with that?), and is here to assist the doctor in his experiments. Feldstadt rejects Bruce, and has him thrown out, then calling the local police to boot!

Some of the constabulary arrest Bruce, roughing him up in the process--and you can guess what that leads to! The Hulk's sudden appearance in this quiet village causes a near riot, leading Ol' Greenskin to take off. Feldstadt sees the story in a newspaper, and connects "Bixby" with the Hulk. So when Bruce arrives back the castle, Feldstadt takes him in.

Feldstatdt's inner sanctum is a combo of Carfax Abbey and Castle Frankenstein, complete with hunchbacked assistant. Later, while in town, Bruce learns that the villagers aren't too thrilled about Feldstadt's work, and plan to storm the castle; again Frankenstein-style.

Bruce storms in the middle of one of Feldstadt's experiments (on a young woman named Katrina, who has volunteered, hoping to be cured of a rare blood disorder), trying to warn him to stop what's he doing and that the village is on its way.

But its too late--Feldstadt believes he can control the Gamma radiation (gee, where have we heard that before?), and the villagers are already outside his door. One of them tosses a torch inside, which blows up the lab! Bruce rescues Katrina, leaving Feldstadt to become another Gamma victim:

This of course leads to what we all came here for: another knock-down, drag-out fight between the Hulk and a bad guy, and we get it! The Hulk and The Incredible Feldstadt smack each other around, smashing up the castle, ending with the Jade Giant delivering the final blow:

The Hulk takes off. Later, Banner reads a newspaper article on Feldstadt, saying that he died in an accident. He visits with Katrina one last time (who has also figured out he and the Hulk are one in the same). Bruce gives her the address of a clinic that owes him a favor, saying they can help her. Katrina thanks Bruce, hoping that one day he too can have real hope of a cure. But until that day...


This issue also features the regular back-up, Moon Knight, also written by Moench and drawn by the boffo team of Bill Sienkiewicz and Bob McLeod:

The Moon Knight story is tough and gritty, a perfect companion to these Hulk adventures. After casting about a bit trying to find the right back-up feature, I think Marvel had it finally figured out with the Hulk/Moon Knight combo.


Another fine issue of The Hulk!