Jerry Bingham | Magazines and Monsters!

Weird War Tales 70, 1978 “The Blood Boat!”

Posted on November 9, 2020 by billyd75

In this, week two of #warcomicsmonth we have another delightful addition to the siege from the pages of Weird War Tales! From the incredible splash page of this comic, you get a real feeling of dread. The Sargasso Sea reference immediately makes me think of Johnny Quest, and that awesome episode that took place in that very location. As Death himself explains how there are seas that make that one seem insignificant, he also explains how he’ll show the readers just what a horrible death is all about!

In “Blood Boat” we see a PT boat, as it spots a man drifting helplessly in the ocean. They pick him up, and he explains how he was on a ship that was sunk by a Japanese sub days earlier. How he alone survived is a bit of a mystery, though. We next see how the Captain has been under tremendous stress, and he’s also really at odds with his job versus his morals. He slips off to sleep, and has a terrible nightmare about Van Derling (the guy they picked up in the ocean). He then awakens to find the ship a mess, and many of his men dead with the traditional vampire bite marks on their throat! Written by J.M. Dematteis, art by Dick Ayers and Dan Adkins, colors by Jerry Serpe, and letters by Jean Simek.

A quick one-pager called “Death’s Double Agent” comes next. The story revolves around a man who escapes German captivity. The senior officer tells his subordinates that it’s all in the plan, though, as he’s been brainwashed to be a double agent! Written by Mike Barr, art by Jerry Bingham and Romeo Tanghal, and colors by Jerry Serpe.

Finally we have “The Lonely Road to Life.” In this tale, we see war training in space! A young hot dog pilot almost causes an accident, but he couldn’t care less as long as it gets him noticed by his superiors. In the end, he winds up alone and with something truly horrifying looming over him! Written by Jack Oleck, art by Alex Niño, colors by Jerry Serpe, and letters by Erick Santos.

The cover is by perennial creepy cover artist, Luis Dominguez! There are also some absolutely classic ads in this one as well!

Marvel Team-Up 104, 1981 “Modok Must Triumph!”

Posted on December 22, 2015 by billyd75

Another “wacky villain” post here, and this guy probably isn’t considered wacky by most, but only because he’s a little more mainstream than the others I’ve typically spotlighted in my blog. Just on appearance alone though, you’ve got to admit that M.O.D.O.K. is weird. Now, throw in the Hulk Ka-Zar, and a boat-load of Dinosaurs, and you’ve got magic! You even get to see Ka-Zar take down a T-Rex*!

With all that’s going on in this book, it’s kind of a “can’t miss” for me personally. The Savage Land is a great setting for a comic book story, and Roger McKenzie (writer) delivers a good one. He completely understands how to articulate the way the Hulk and Ka-Zar communicate, fight, etc. Ka-Zar referring to the Dinosaurs as “thunder lizards” and the Hulk calling MODOK “big head,” are just two examples. Although Jerry Bingham (pencils) isn’t a well recognized name, he does a fine job in this book, and especially with MODOK. Mike Esposito (inks) is a Marvel stalwart from the Silver and Bronze Ages, as he kept books looking consistent and clean. Diana Albers (letters) and Christie Scheele (colors), round out the creative team on the interiors! The cover is by none other than Mr. Al Milgrom, and his rendition of the dinosaurs is awesome (edited by Denny O’Neil)!

(*note from the editor: no dinosaurs were hurt during the making of this comic book)