Comic Books: October 2006 Archives

Marvel has always sought ways to bolster their line of comics with new properties. The 1970s horror line, the 1980s New Universe line, and the 1990s lineup of futuristic heroes in the 2099 universe were all attempts to gain new marketshare. For a while, it looked like the 2099 universe was a goldmine: Spider-Man 2099 was a huge seller for the first couple of years. After the initial 2099 lineup, Marvel turned to other well known characters that could be fast-forwarded into the future, and the smokin' hot Ghost Rider was an obvious choice. While the very notion is gimmicky, Ghost Rider 2099 (at least in the first 8 or so issues) was my favorite 2099 title next to Spider-Man.

Written by Len Kaminski and drawn by Chris Bachalo and Mark Buckingham, Ghost Rider 2099 didn't have anything to do with horror. It was all about youthful rebellion against a culture dominated by mega-corporations. I'll always remember Ghost Rider 2099 as a symbol for the Gen-X movement, as I sped down Seattle's 520 bridge, listening to Beck's Loser ("I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?") on the stereo, with the first issue of GR 2099 waiting to be read in the seat next to me. Although I've never found any interviews with Kaminski on the subject, I'm sure he was into the popular culture of that time period.

SanctumSanctorumComix reminded us that there were a couple of more memorable Doctor Strange moments when he got down with the ladies. Give us any chance to pound on Scott Hinze and we'll take it! In Doctor Strange Sorceror Supreme 86 (1996), written by J.M. DeMatteis and drawn by Mark Buckingham, Doc travels to his hometown in Nebraska. While visiting his childhood home at night, he runs into an old friend, Amanda Payne. Amanda is a single mom who asks the Scott Hinze question, "...with those clothes and that beard...living in Greenwich Village and all--are you gay?"

I have to admit, looking at Doc in that Warren Ellis-era costume, I might ask the same thing. Too much red! Amanda becomes Doc's girlfriend for a few issues. It's a bit funny that this happens when Doc encounters Baron Mordo again, as that villain showed up at the beginning of Doc's infatuation with Morgana Blessing. Baron Mordo apparently dies in this story, but he's revived in Amazing Spider-Man #500, according to Mordo's Wikipedia article.

J.M. DeMatteis probably wrote the most wicked sex scene involving Doc in Marvel Graphic Novel #23, Into Shamballa. This fantastic gem wasn't a normal comic book, it was more like an illustrated novel, with fully painted artwork by Dan Green. Green was well known for being an top-notch inker, but Shamballa gave him a chance to really shine on his own. Doc's teacher, the Ancient One (now one with the universe), sends his former student on a series of trials where he must overcome earthly illusions.

One of them is Lust. In India, Doc is confronted with a harem of sexy ladies. The lustful feelings are intense and there are so many beautiful babes. What would a Sorcerer Supreme do? After performing a Spell of Separation, Doc does just that, spinning off multiple threads of himself to have a massive orgy. Let's see Harry Potter do that! Nuff said.

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Never have I laughed so long or so hard while reading a comic book as I did just now, reading Nextwave #9. There's a deep belly laugh on almost every page! I can't reveal the jokes without spoiling them for you, but if you remember an old Marvel comic called Not Brand Echh (1967-1969), which satirized all the classic Marvel heroes, you'll really love it. And if you've read The Ultimates or the Authority, you will probably get a kick out of it, too. It's a shame this book is getting cancelled at issue #12, but I'm hoping it does return soon. Nuff said.

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Scott Hinze's gaydar is seriously out of whack. On an otherwise very fine interview with Brian K. Vaughan at Fanboy Radio, Scott had the audacity to ask if Doctor Strange was gay. Now, Scott is usually a very fine interviewer, but let's just say that at times there are gaps in his knowledge of comic book history. Mr. Vaughan's reply was that Stephen Strange isn't necessarily gay, but he might swing both ways occassionally. Well, we've never seen any evidence of that. Look at the above panel from Dr. Strange Sorcerer Supreme #3 (1989) where the Enchantress goes to great lengths to seduce Doc!

Probably the first subtle mention of sex that I read in any comic as a youngster was Dr. Strange #1 in 1974 (Volume 2) by Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner. There was this little sequence where Clea tells Doc she's interested in far more than magic tricks. That we could infer this action in-between panels from Clea pursing her lips up towards Doc shows you how desperate we were for superhero sex. It released all that pent-up frustration we had from looking at Clea's plum little ass in that leotard. As BKV also mentioned, Doc was one of the first superheroes to "live in sin" with his girlfriend, Clea. I thought that was so cool as a kid, I told my Mom I was gonna grow up to be just like Doc Strange. That's how also I met my first psychologist!

In the beginning, Johnny Blaze rode an ordinary motorcycle on his nightly excursions. But when your skeletal body is shooting fire Every Which A Way But Loose*, how practical is that really? Your bike could explode at any given moment! Not to mention that Johnny Blaze was getting sucked into Hell regularly and when he came back to Earth, his bike couldn't be found! Well, after Johnny Blaze shook hands with Satan in issue #2, issue #3 had the answer.

In "Wheels of Fire", Gary Friedrich concluded his epic tale that introduced the Son of Satan to the Marvel Universe. Daimon Hellstrom had rescued both Johnny Blaze and Linda Littletree from Hell. Linda had been possessed by the Devil and had become "Witch Woman", givin' Johnny Blaze nothin' but red hot pants trouble for three issues. When the Son of Satan dumps Johnny miles away from the nearest city, he realizes he's in a mess of trouble.

1972 was a banner year for Marvel Comics horror characters. With Monster of Frankenstein and Werewolf by Night successfully launched in their own titles, editor Roy Thomas decided it was time to "horrify" an old western character called Ghost Rider. I had already fallen in love with Ploog's artwork, but his work on the first three Ghost Rider tales made me his eternal worshipper. I had anticipated the debut issue ever since I had seen that flaming skull in the Marvel Bullpen Bulletins.

Like the previous monster series, Marvel once again turned to writer Gary Friedrich and artist Mike Ploog, who said in this interview: "When I first heard of Ghost Rider, I thought it was a Western, going back to the Frazetta-drawn Ghost Rider riding around on the white horse."

Ghost Rider was different from most of the Marvel horror series. Whereas Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Werewolf were Marvel-ized version of popular horror characters, Ghost Rider was completely original. Not even Man-Thing could claim to be totally unique, having had a famous predecessor in the Heap.

Satana, the Devil's Daughter, was conceived by Marvel at the same time as the Son of Satan. In Marvel Spotlight #12 (Hellstrom's first solo story), Daimon says to Johnny Blaze: "…until I gain the final, ultimate revenge-for what he did to my mother and sister!*" Roy Thomas' editorial note follows the asterisk: "*More on the mother next ish! And as for his sultry sister Satana, you can get a fleeting glimpse of her in our current giant-size Vampire Tales #2, now on sale!"

The original model for Satana was developed by Roy Thomas and John Romita. Satana was a succubus, able to steal men's souls with a kiss. She was taught black magic as well, but unlike Daimon, in the beginning she was loyal to Satan. In Marvel Spotlight #13, Satana sacrifices a cat to her father's name, much to the horror of her (human) mother. While Satana never had a strong run of stories, in many ways her debut in Vampire Tales #2 was the most remarkable story of all. It left an impression on me that I'll never forget.

It was a four page story by Thomas and Romita. Romita's artwork was stunning in black and white. It starts off wordlessly, with a classic Romita girl-with his Romance background-walking through the deserted streets of New York City at night. She looks apprehensive, afraid-then looks back at the sound of footsteps following her.

Several editors in the comic book industry regard certain characters as "radioactive". They've been fucked up so badly that they need to be left alone for a few years and possibly rebooted. Hawkman was the classic example: his origin was redone over and over to the point where it no longer made any sense. Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan, also leapt off the Geiger counter when we found out that his father was Dormammu, not Satan!

Yes, push the reset button, please. Don't explain anything, just fix it, and in Hellstorm: Son of Satan #1, we are back to some of the basic tenants. Daimon is back on earth in human form and his father is Satan, the ruler of Hell. Daimon still wields a lethal pitchfork to dispatch demons running amok in New Orleans. Besides demons chowing down on hapless souls like obese little boys at McDonalds, there's a deeper mystery involving the Egyptian gods Isis and Horus. That was one thing I thought previous writers missed out on--mixing up Gods from different Pantheons and seeing what conflict they might provoke. It's a promising start. I like the interior monologue that Alexander Irvine has written, but certain aspects of the artwork throw me off a bit. Maybe it's the coloring (the demons look like big red teddy bears to me), or perhaps I am just comparing Russ Braun's very different style (which I like but may not fit this genre) to Leonardo Manco, who illustrated the Warren Ellis run. I think I'm just prejudiced--Spanish or Italian artists always seem to hit my Hell-spot better than most American artists.

I really love the alternate cover by Mark Texeira. It's an homage to Marvel Spotlight #13, which featured Daimon's origin. Tex is a class act all the way, because he signs it "Mark Texeira after Romita", who did the original version. So many artists these days are using classic covers for inspiration and not crediting the source. Thank you, Tex, for being so honorable! Nuff said.

See also my history of Daimon's troubled past:
Part I: Daimon Hellstrom, The Son of Satan!
Part II: Dealing with Darksouls
Part III: Teaming Up With the Marvel Universe
Part IV: Who's Daimon's Daddy?

External Links:
Hellstorm Son of Satan

Ever since Bill Willingham wrote his legendary Elementals series, I've been waiting for this creator to take on another superhero team. When it was announced that Shadowpact would spin out of Infinite Crisis, I was thrilled, because Willingham was going to write and draw the book! Although Willingham only had drawn the first two issues, I'm still crazy about this team. Who can't fall in love with a group of third tier heroes who champion lost causes? You've got Blue Devil, the crazy 80s hero trapped in the form of a demon, who gets a special spotlight in issue #4. Nightmaster (Jim Rook), who first appeared way back in DC Showcase 82-83 (featuring early Berni Wrightson), is now rejuvenated and must become a master swordsman to face the threat of the White Rabbit. Detective Chimp, Nightshade, the Enchantress, and Ragman round out this crazy team--and their headquarters is in a bar! The Oblivion Bar, which has been taken away from Rook while the team was missing during One Year Later.

Rook, Chimp and their newest member, Rex the Wonder Dog (a talking dog who had his own DC comic in the 1950s), enter the Oblivion Bar to find that it has a new owner\bartender: Eddie Deacon. Deacon is a young man without hands or feet--instead he has flippers! And it turns out that we've seen Eddie before, in Detective Comics 410 (written by Denny O'Neil and drawn by Neal Adams). In this issue, Batman tracks a murderer to a house where a bunch of carnival people live. Inside the house, he discovers Flippy, who tries to help Batman catch the killer. Flippy later gets taken hostage and rescued by Batman, but I always wondered what happened to this kid!

Now we know, thanks to Mr. Willingham's love for obscure characters. Flippy's determined to have a better life, so he goes to Madame Xanadu and gets introduced to several mystics, who teach him how to levitate objects. It's the perfect power for a bartender. Eddie can mix twenty three drinks simultaneously and also do his laundry! Since Rook has been away for a year, Eddie has claimed ownership of the Oblivion Bar, but rather than fighting over the claim, they are negotiating a deal instead. I don't think Rook would have much time to run a bar anyway, with Doctor Gotham and the Red Witch throwing every supernatural killer they can hire at Shadowpact. If you love DC obscure characters, you've got to read this book. Did I mention that Phantom Stranger appears almost every issue? Nuff said.

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David Micheline and Bob Layton sent the standard for Iron Man stories back in the 70s and 80s. They fleshed out Tony Stark's corporate world (featuring corporate espionage and villains like Justin Hammer, Spymaster) and personal life (girlfriend Bethany Cabe and bodyguard Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes). The classic "Demon in a Bottle" storyline, which told the story of Tony Stark grappling with an addiction to alcohol, will always remain the high point of the Iron Man mythos (no matter what Joe Quesada says). I believe the forthcoming Iron Man movie by Jon Favreau will borrow many of these concepts. Micheline and Layton's first Iron Man (116-153) run ended in 1981. They returned in 1987 to kick off a second historic run (215-250), which included my second-favorite Iron Man storyline of all time.

"Stark Wars" (later re-named Armor Wars) ran through Iron Man 225-232 (volume 1, 1987). The war begins after Stark examines the armor of a former adversary called Force (who went straight in the previous issue). Upon close inspection of the circuitry, Stark discovers that his own technology was powering Force's armor. Since he had never published or patented the designs for the Iron Man armor, Stark thought it was in safe hands--but a villain called Spymaster had stolen Stark's designs and sold them to evil industrialist Justin Hammer. Hammer in turn used these designs to power the armor of numerous super-villains. It infuriates Stark to think of innocent people suffering from something he created. After making every effort to stop them legally, Stark makes a list of these guys (Controller, Beetle, Stilt-Man, Titanium Man, Crimson Dynamo) and goes after them one by one.

Stark's resolve to eliminate all outside use of his technology goes beyond attacking third-tier super-villains. He decides that even the government can't be trusted with it. As long as a government-sanctioned agent uses a variation of his armor, there's always the possibility that Justin Hammer will steal it. At the end of Iron Man 225, Stark makes a declaration: "...with the government's support, or its hindrance...by the law or against it...I'm going to get back what's mine. And Heaven help ANYONE who gets in my way!"

I just finished listening to a delightful podcast over at Indie Spinner Rack, where they interviewed Dave Sim in episode 49. It was a good look back at Sim's 300-issue Cerebus run, plus we got some insight into what he's been up to since the book ended. You might be amazed to find out (like I was) that Sim really wants to unleash his inner "Stan Drake" and do a photo-realistic newspaper style strip. Sim definitely has the chops for this type of work, if you take a look at this newspaper strip sample from the life of his friend, Sue Ta (a Canadian actress). It's a very funny interview, and you must listen to the podcast even after the interview is finished, because there's a great tribute song at the end. For DC fans there's some behind the scenes gossip about the deal Neal Adams got on those Adams hardbound collected editions of his DC work. Nuff said.

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Stan Lee hasn't regularly written any Marvel Comic since the 70s. Sure, he's done one-shots or miniseries here and there, and if we overlook Ravage 2099, that statement is mostly true. Anytime there's been an announcement of Lee returning to write a comic, I usually shrug hopelessly, because Stan Lee usually writes like it's still the 60s: with exclamation points at the end of very sentence! Two weeks ago, the first in a series of Marvel anniversary specials appeared, Stan Lee Meets Spider-Man. In the lead story (written by Lee and drawn by Olivier Coipel) Lee appears as a character in the story and meets his greatest creation, Spider-Man. Spidey complains about his bad luck while Lee makes dinner. The dialogue between the two of them is funny, and I liked Coipel's 60s era depiction of Spidey's memories. The backup story, by Joss Whedon and Michael Gaydos, was also first-rate, about a comic convention taking place in alternate dimensions. Amazing Fantasy becomes Amazing Reality, while Fantastic Four become Normal Four.

The second issue in this series is on sale this week, Stan Lee Meets Doctor Strange. Alan Davis draws Lee's story and it's very funny as well. Doctor Strange has turned to merchandising to keep up with the high rent of his Sanctum Sanctorum, the expenses of cleaning his Cloak of Levitation, etc. I'm a big fan of Alan Davis as well, I think this man is incapable of drawing a visually dynamic story. He's talented at drawing both serious and light-hearted stories.

The backup story features the return of the Impossible Man, written by Bendis and drawn by Mark Bagley. IM can't go on a fun romp through a Marvel Universe torn to shreds by events like Avengers Disassembled, House of M, and Civil War, so he eventually travels to Los Angeles to find Stan Lee. He finds a long line of characters waiting to see Lee, including Gwen Stacy, who is upset about having to sleep with Norman Osborne. It's a fun gimmick, one that allow Bendis to use IM as a stand-in for all the old, cranky fans (like us) who hate some of the recent developments in Marvel's continuity. Bendis uses his usual defense (Avengers V1 #16) against IM's cranky fan complaints, but I think this story ranks right up there with all the classic IM tales.

Stan Lee Meets Doctor Strange also features a reprint as a backup, one of my favorite Doctor Strange stories of all time, from Marvel Premiere #3. What makes this story special is the amazing artwork of Barry Smith. I imagine the younger crowd won't know Smith, but he was one of the dominant figures of Marvel's early 70s. His work on Conan the Barbarian turned that character into a megastar for Marvel. The detail and craftsmanship of his pencilling is evident in this story. Nuff said.

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Back in the Epic days, there was a comic that I really loved, called Marshal Law. Written by Pat Mills and drawn by Kevin O'Neill, the titular character was a cop who policed a city full of superheroes. He took on a Superman type character who killed his girlfriend during the first mini-series; later on he took apart a super-team that was populated with characters resembling Captain America, The Flash, etc. I read somewhere that Mills really hated superheroes!

I have the feeling that Garth Ennis really thinks superheroes are ridiculous, after I finished reading The Boys 1-3. The Boys are a team of spooks hired by the CIA to put the brakes on a number of super-freaks. In this world, they cause a lot of problems. Hughie (the newest member and our POV character) watches his girlfriend die when a super-speedster called A-Train runs through her body. The leader of the Boys, the Butcher, recruits Hughie to his team of spooks, but he's not really sure what he's getting into. The other spooks (Mother's Milk, The Frenchman, The Female) are pretty wacky. They are going after a teenage superhero group first, but there's a Justice League equivalent waiting in the wings. The tone of the book reminds me of a comedy like "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels". I laughed out loud several times, but you have to have an appreciation for dark humor. Nuff said.

External Link:
Fanboy Radio Podcast Interview with Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson on The Boys
Newsarma Interview with Ennis and Robertson on The Boys

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Marvel's New Thunderbolts seems destined to be an instant hit. How could any True Believer resist buying a series with an A-list of villains (Green Goblin, Bullseye, Venom, etc) written and drawn by A-list talent (Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato)? Newsarama has covered this thoroughly in the past few days, and today they have an interview with Deodato that features some preliminary drawings. Sounds pretty nifty, although I noticed that Taskmaster and Lady Deathstrike (who were shown on the last page of Civil War #4) are not listed as appearing in the debut issue, Thunderbolts #110. There's a new character called Penance, who you see in black and white in the image above. I immediately thought of Dan Simmons' character The Shrike, who is a major figure in his "Hyperion Quartet" (Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, Rise of Endymion). The Shrike is an inhuman, almost god-like figure, with metallic spikes covering his entire body. Penance looks eerily similar, although he has only two arms and his helmet doesn't have the jutting spikes.

Somehow the whole "A-list of villains" thing reminds me of Fantastic Four #347-349. When Walt Simonson ran into deadline problems, he called in his buddy Art Adams to draw three fill-in issues. One thing led to another and the FF were temporarily replaced by an all-new FF, featuring the most popular heroes of the day (Spider-Man, Grey Hulk, Ghost Rider, and Wolverine). These issues sold like hotcakes and they were very well done. Lots of fun, but Marvel knew these characters had no business teaming up. On top of the cover it says "The World's Most Commercialest Comic Magazine!" New Thunderbolts will be fun to read, but I can't imagine Bullseye putting up with Norman Osborne for very long. Nuff said.

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DC's 52 series is really great fun for Mark Waid and Grant Morrison. They get to pull out all their arcane DC trivia from the past 50 years and try to make it work within the current DC Universe. In issue 22 they correct one of the greatest blunders DC ever made: the Metal Men limited series from 1993! It was written by Mike Carlin and drawn by Dan Jurgens. Carlin went down the wrong path of trying reality-warp the Metal Men's origin-instead of artificially intelligent robots, they were really outsourced humans who been friends of Doc Magnus! Platinum, Gold, and Mercury were fellow scientists working in the same lab that created the Metal Men. Tin was a meek janitor, while Lead turned out to be a pizza delivery guy who stopped by on the wrong day. They all got hit by "deprivation rays" which sucked their minds into Responsometers (the software unit that operates each Metal Man). Unfortunately, their bodies lapsed into a coma and were eventually destroyed. While Doc felt just terrible about this, he wiped out their memories to allow them to function. At the conclusion of the mini series, Magnus becomes a Metal Man (Veridium) after his body is destroyed, and he finally has an intimate relationship with Tina (Platinum).

The 52 writers have explained away this event as a fantasy that Magnus had during one of his mental breakdowns. Even better, they refer to my favorite Metal Men story by Steve Gerber and Walt Simonson, the Plutonium Man! That's one for the old timers; I don't see how anyone but a die-hard DC fan can get all these references. I love it! 52 has justified itself for me with this one little retcon.

Also in this issue, we see the return of a really obscure character called Super Chief. I remember seeing this character's origin in Superman #245 (100 page Super Spectacular) with terrific artwork by Carmine Infantino. Set in North America during the 1400s, a Native American called Flying Stag inherited super powers from a meteorite that crashed on Earth. He quickly becomes a Superman among his Indian tribe, wearing a buffalo mask that hides his real identity. He even has the Clark Kent dilemma when his favorite squaw is overly obsessed with Super Chief instead of his normal Flying Stag identity. Super Chief appeared in three stories by Gardner Fox and Infantino, and later appeared in guest starring roles, especially during Crisis on Infinite Earths. The moment that I saw Jon Standing Bear punch that guy out of the bus in 52, I had a feeling he would become Super Chief. It is a bit disturbing to see him suffocate his grandfather-that's not too heroic, is it? Nuff said.

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I've written before about how illogical Reed Richards and Tony Stark are acting during the Civil War. Straczynski seems to be hell-bent on casting them both as major Republican assholes, especially in last week's Amazing Spider-Man #535. Tony Stark went from father figure to adversary in twenty two pages. First, he threatened Peter while touring the Negative Zone super-prison: "But I agree with you on one thing, Peter. It would be a terrible thing. To be here. For the rest of one's life." Second, he makes a veiled threat that Aunt May and Mary Jane safety depends on Peter's loyalty. Finally, when Peter does try to escape Stark's Tower with his family, Stark attacks him in full Iron Man gear. And the worst thing is-Peter really hasn't committed any crime whatsoever!

We've seen Tony Stark act in this totally over-the-top evil way before, during Avengers: The Crossing, published in 1995. In that series, Stark killed two people in Avengers Mansion and eventually "died" himself. A time-displaced younger version of Tony Stark from an alternate reality became Iron Man. This all went away after Heroes Reborn and it was all kind of swept under the rug when Heroes Return occurred. There's some speculation on message boards that the Civil War Tony Stark is the one from The Crossing. Yet another theory postulates that Stark has been driven insane by the Extremis nano technology.

I can't buy into this, because it wouldn't explain Reed's bizarre behavior. In the last panel of this week's Fantastic Four #540, Reed sings a lyric from the Tom Lehrer song about Wernher von Braun. The song was meant to a satirical view of the ex-Nazi scientist who contributed to the NASA space program. Supposedly it's made up of real quotes from the scientist. Why is Reed singing it? He must have gone off the deep end to let a deep dish like Sue Richards fly the coop. Nuff said.

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I haven't read all the comics this week, but it's hard to imagine anything being better than Doctor Strange The Oath #1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin. While old-timers thrill to the classic tales by Lee, Ditko, Thomas, Colan, Englehart, Stern, Rogers, etc., the characters popularity has lapsed during the past decade. Numerous writers have tried to update the good Doctor in a variety of ways. Warren Ellis redesigned his costume, while Straczynski tried to reboot him in a mini series called Strange. Vaughan's sensible approach is to keep the classic ornaments (the costume, Wong, Ditko-like dimensions) while bringing other things into the modern era. "Oh shut up with that Zen crap," Strange says to Wong (after he learns about a secret that his servant has been keeping). Wong, who has long been a background character in Strange's life, has become an integral part of this storyline. If you've read the previews, you'll know that the opening pages has Doctor Strange arriving at Night Nurse's clinic with a bullet in his chest. While Night Nurse operates, Strange's astral form supervises. His mysterious relationship with Wong is never ignored: "I'm not sure anyone with his own personal slave boy should be talking about other people's fetishes." And Strange's personality has been given more thought-he's more of a type-A personality, more like the doctor he used to be before giving up the material world. This mini-series is off to a great start. Nuff said.

Check out my classic cover collection:
Doctor Strange @ Gallery Photon

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