Luke Cage | Magazines and Monsters!

ROM 23, 1981 “The Thing From Outer Space!”

Posted on July 22, 2019 by billyd75

For anyone that’s never read a ROM comic before, you’re in for a treat. Imagine if you will (sorry, I couldn’t help myself), a cyborg, leaving his home planet to pursue an ancient, malevolent race, that is bent on conquest at any cost. These “Dire Wraiths” are a vicious lot, and not only kill without provocation, they can assume the form of anyone. In this specific issue, we learn that they mimicked the Fantastic Four previously, and also we’ve seen in the past that they’ve replicated many humans, including politicians, and police!

ROM has recently learned that (allegedly) the Wraiths have destroyed much of Galador (ROM’s home planet), and ROM feels he must return to see if this is true and to help rebuild. Along the way, he meets up with two Good Samaritans (Power Man and Iron Fist) that agree to help him get to the Baxter Building to seek the help of the FF in getting him back to his home. There’s only one problem…the media has created an absolute frenzy by reporting that an alien is running amok in the city, so, the National Guard was brought in to contain the matter. And when I say the media, I mean J. Jonah Jameson! It’s up to Luke and Danny to get ROM to the Baxter building, and the only thing standing in their way is a concrete jungle full of police, military, and other assorted crackpots! There’s also a brief cameo by the new superhero on the block, The Torpedo!

Written by “Boisterous” Bill Mantlo, art by “Our Pal” Sal Buscema (pencils) and “Joltin” Joe Sinnott (inks), with colors by Ben Sean, and letters by Rosen and Zalme! The cover is by “Amiable” Al Milgrom!

Power Man #30, 1975 “Look What They’ve Done to Our Lives, Ma”

Posted on January 17, 2015 by billyd75

You know, whenever I’m feeling kind of down, I can always turn to comic books and/or old school horror/sci-fi movies to brighten up my life. There’s actually one thing that you can add to those two mediums that helps even more, and that is blaxploitation. The movie “Blacula,” and its sequel, are both films that make me laugh, but also movies that scream the 1970’s, with their atmosphere, music, and vernacular. Just a great time for both comics and movies (and T.V.)! Marvel Comic’s answer to that sub-genre, was of course, the Hero for Hire, Luke Cage! This tough, street-wise dude was one bad mamma jamma, and has skin that bullets can’t penetrate!

In this issue, we see Cage fight two of the most off-the-wall villains you’ll ever see, in the Cockroach and Piranha! Both of these crooks posed different problems for Cage, but in the end, he figures out a way to stop both of them. The story was written by one of the best Bronze Age writers, Don McGregor. The art was equally impressive, with Rich Buckler (cover by Rich Buckler and Klaus Janson) and Arv Jones on pencils, and Keith Pollard inking. Petra Goldberg was the colorist, and the letters by Denise Wohl. All of these talented people were on top of their game for sure. The book was edited by none other than ‘Marvelous’ Marv Wolfman!