Marvel Comics | Magazines and Monsters!

Marvel Premiere #6, 1973 “The Shambler from the Sea”

Posted on April 2, 2015 by billyd75

You know, you’d be hard-pressed to convince me that there was a better age than that of the Bronze Age of comic books. The mix of personalities, both in the books, and within the ranks of the creative offices were outstanding. When you realize all of the creators from previous ages that were still around, plus add in all the new, exciting talent that was making their way into the industry, you were privileged to see an age of entertainment that hasn’t happened since, and probably never will. In this next issue of Marvel Premiere, you get to see the Doc get out of the frying pan and into the fire! Trying to fight a cult, and the entity they worship was bad, but when you have a situation like this issue presents, it just doesn’t get any crazier! The Doc has escaped the clutches of the cult of Sligguth, but now faces another being that is even a bigger challenge because it lives underwater!

The creative team is similar to the previous issue, in that Gardner Fox is still writing. But, the pencils are now by Frank Brunner! And if that wasn’t groovy enough, you get Sal Buscema on inks! Throw in Gaspar Saladino on letters, Roy Thomas editing, and another great cover by Mike Ploog, and you a recipe for awesomeness!

Marvel Premiere #5, 1972 “The Lurker in the Labyrinth”

Posted on March 30, 2015 by billyd75

Continuing with more of the Doctor Strange run in Marvel Premiere, this story is a continuation from the last, and shows the Doc fighting for his life against some crazy cult that has people looking like the Sleestak’s from Land of the Lost! These worshipers of evil also can apparently summon an unseen force to stop people, and even severely weaken the Sorcerer Supreme himself. So, in short, the Doc must overcome a lizard-like entity, his hundreds of hypnotized followers, and restore the town to its peaceful regularity, and oh yeah, all without hurting/killing any of the people who are enthralled! Yeesh!

This magnificent story, like the last issue, is loosely based off of a story by the legend himself, Robert E. Howard. The book’s creative team is nothing short of groovy as well! Writer extraordinaire, Gardner Fox, did very little work for Marvel Comics, but his overall contributions to the comic book industry are nothing short of Herculean. The pencils for this issue are by a man I’m not too familiar with (I’ve seen a couple of pages of his works in reprints of Golden/Silver Age horror/sci-fi stuff), but Irv Wesley (Sam Kweskin) did a fine job. One of the reasons I feel the artwork looks as good as it does, is from the inks of Don Perlin! I’m a big fan of his work, and you should be too! Rounding out the creative team is letter Sam Rosen, and editor Roy Thomas! Oh, and let us not forget the unbelievable cover by the one and only Mike Ploog!

Ghost Rider #41, 1979 “The Freight Train to Oblivion”

Posted on March 18, 2015 by billyd75

I love Johnny Blaze! No, not the “Nicholas Cage I’m doing my Elvis impersonation” guy, but the stunt biker with an attitude that laughs in the face of danger! Listen, if all you know about Ghost Rider is from that craptastic movie, then get out and grab some old issues or Essentials of old flame-head! His early stuff is definitely solid material and when you have good creators like this title typically did, you get good results! In this story, we see Johnny get knocked out, lose his memory, and fall for a hot little lady that drives a race-car!

The writer, Michael Fleisher, had a decent run on this title. he had the pleasure to work with great artists like Don Perlin (pencils & inks). These two guys had a solid run, and really took the character in some interesting directions. Add letterer Clement Robins, colorist Ben Sean, and editor Roger Stern, and you have a great combination! Don’t forget the cool cover by Bob Budiansky and Bob Wiacek! And if all that wasn’t enough, you get a guest appearance by Laurel and Hardy!

Power Man #54, 1978 “Heroes for Hire!”

Posted on March 15, 2015 by billyd75

In many ways, nothing screams the 1970’s more than Power Man and Iron Fist! A bad street dude with impenetrable skin and a millionaire playboy with an affection for martial arts, the perfect combination, no doubt. You get the martial arts craze, plus the blaxploitation angle as well. Quite an awesome mixture! In another great and timely scenario, we see a one-time villain, the Incinerator! Not to mention a quick glimpse of the awesome Thunderer, from Ku’n L’un! Any fan of the more recent Iron Fist series (Brubaker, Fraction, and Aja), knows that name and place very well.

The story, written by Ed Hannigan, is one that covers a lot of ground. By issues end though, you get a feeling that it’s complete. The penciler is an artist I’ve never even heard of, but Lee Elias does a pretty solid job. Inks by Bob Jenny and Ricardo Villamonte, letters by Jean Simek, and colors by F. Mouly, rounds out the creative team. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the totally awesome cover by Keith Pollard (pencils) and Frank Giacoia (inks)!

Marvel Feature #2 (V2), 1975 “Blood of the Hunter”

Posted on March 11, 2015 by billyd75

Taking a look at another Marvel heroine from the 1970’s (previously Spider-Woman), the Robert E. Howard creation, Red Sonja is ready to kick some butt! Of course, the title was part of the zeitgeist of the times, but Howard was a little ahead of time, to say the least. Creating a female character that could hold her own against any male warrior was something quite astonishing for the 1930’s. So, yeah, if you don’t know much about the work of the brilliant man who was Robert E. Howard, look him up!

The creative team is a bit of a mystery for me personally, as I’m not familiar with either the writer, Bruce Jones, or the artist, Frank Thorne. I can find plenty of work both gentlemen have done, but most are titles that are either not my thing (Heavy Metal) or just not something I’ve acquired yet (House of Mystery). The editor, “Rascally” Roy Thomas, on the other hand is very familiar to me, and his work especially in revitalizing the work of Howard, is very well-known to those in and around comics. Thank you, Mr. Thomas!

Fantastic Four #219, 1980 “Leviathans”

Posted on February 27, 2015 by billyd75

The reason I chose this issue, aside from it being the Fantastic Four, is the story, and the creative team. The latter, I’ll get to in a minute, but first, let’s get acquainted with the story. In it, we see Namor, as his underwater kingdom is attacked by some foreign army of underwater creatures. On the surface, Reed is growing more and more apart from the rest of the team. Snapping at them for something miniscule, he storms off in a huff. Can the team unite and help Namor fight off a multitude of attackers, one of which has attained a relic from Atlantis that can make him unbeatable?

Now, on to the creative team. At this point, the book was in a slight bit of flux, in that the Kirby/Lee legendary run was well over, and a couple of the other, lesser known (but still kicked butt!) runs were also over (Wein/Perez, Conway/Buckler, etc.). The other big run, that of John Byrne had yet to begin, leaving room for a strange but incredible great story like this one to be presented by Doug Moench (writer), Bill Sienkiewicz (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Jim Novak (letters), colors by George Roussos, and edited by Jim Salicrup! Enjoy this great issue by this awesome team of creators!

Pin-up by ‘Joltin’ Joe Sinnott

Kull the Conqueror #4, 1983 “Death Stalks a Councilor”

Posted on February 24, 2015 by billyd75

My love for Robert E. Howard created material is something that if most don’t already know about, you soon will. Of course, Conan is the biggest REH character, but if you look deeper into his world, you’ll see others, like Red Sonja, Solomon Kane, and Kull! Kull is basically a Conan “type” character, but more refined as a ruler. He’s a savage warrior like Conan, but most of the stories are as Kull as a ruler, not a thief, or pirate. His trusted friend, Brule, is a warrior born but also a man of great intellect when it comes to war. Kull is a man born in Atlantis, but rules the kingdom of Valusia.

This story was scripted by perennial Bronze Age writer, Alan Zelenetz. He’s done some other great work in this category (Thor/Warriors Three), and should be applauded for his efforts. Penciling, we have the legend himself, ‘Big’ John Buscema, and we all know of his accolades in the industry. An incredible artist taken to soon from the world. Dan Green and Joe Chiodo add their abilities to the artwork (inks), and throw in letters by John Morelli, and colors by Christie Scheele, and cover by Bill Sienkiewicz (inks on the second story as well) make this issue a winner!

Frankenstein #10, 1974 “”The Last Frankenstein”

Posted on February 18, 2015 by billyd75

After a short (but glorious) run, Mike Ploog handed over the reigns to the Frankenstein title. ‘Big’ John Buscema was the man drafted to do the job (pencils), and did he ever impress! He didn’t do a ton of horror throughout his career, but when he did, it was impressive. I loved it when this title went off the reservation with its stories, because the sky was the limit. There could be a flashback story or one in present-day! This story involved an ancestor of the original Baron Frankenstein, and he wants to capture the Monster for a sinister reason that only he knows!

No matter who your favorite creative team is on this title, you have to love this issue! Gary Friedrich was the writer, and does a great job, as usual. His work on titles like this and Ghost Rider, are very solid. Of course, it doesn’t hurt when you have an illustrating team like ‘Big’ John Buscema and inkers Frank Giacoia & Mike Esposito, either. The colorist was Petra Goldberg, the letters by John Costanza. Carefully edited by ‘Rascally’ Roy Thomas, and cover by Mr. Gil Kane (inks by Romita)!

Marvel’s Unsung Heroes! -Ron Wilson!

Posted on February 16, 2015 by billyd75

Happy birthday, Ron Wilson!

Magazines and Monsters!

Of course everyone knows names like Kirby, Buscema, Romita, and Colan, but there is a plethora of other guys (and girls), that need to be given a great deal of credit for the success of Marvel Comics. These others helped forge a new pathway, and their number needs to be counted. So, for the month of April, I’ll be spotlighting some of the work that these unsung heroes gave us all to enjoy over the years!

I’ll be presenting these in no specific order, but rest assured, we’ll get a peek at a few names that you should recognize! First up is Ron Wilson, because his pencils have always been a favorite of mine, and I think he deserves more respect than he’s gotten over the years. From his great run on titles like Marvel Two-in-One, to more obscure titles like Chamber of Chills, you’ll see it…

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Daredevil #47, 1968 “Brother Take My Hand”

Posted on February 15, 2015 by billyd75

With the Vietnam War in full swing, and the tragic deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the atmosphere in the U.S. (and the world) in 1968, was less than inspiring. Many rallied to try to reinforce efforts against such atrocities, and Marvel Comics would add their little story to help ease racial tensions. It might seem to some that a story in a comic book is inconsequential but I beg to differ. Comic books were definitely on the rise in the late 1960’s, and were gaining ground with the youth of America once again. This story, by Stan Lee and Gene Colan is one that still resonates to this day.

In this tale, we see a soldier, Willie Lincoln, who’s a black man who was wounded in Vietnam, and lost his sight. He’s still trying to get his bearings with his blindness, and it isn’t going well. Daredevil has agreed to entertain the troops with some of his acrobatic maneuvers, and Willie is a huge fan of his. They hit it off great, and DD tells Willie to look up a friend of his when he gets back to the states. The friend of course, is Matt Murdoch! It’s a great story that really hammers home the point of no matter what the color of your skin is, we’re all the same.

Written by Stan ‘The Man’ Lee, pencils by Gene ‘The Dean’ Colan, inks by George Klein, and letters by Artie Simek! This is one that I own in a reprint book that was a tribute to Gene Colan. I believe the proceeds (or part of them) went to help Gene with some medical expenses. If you can grab a copy of this book or a trade containing this story, don’t hesitate!