This month Marvel starts a new comic, Werewolf by Night, the ninth new comic since March. Slowly we have to ask ourselves if Marvel is overreaching, expanding too fast.
Werewolf by Night #1
Title: Eye of the Beholder
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: Mike Ploog
Villain: Miles Blackgar, Marlene Blackgar
Regulars: Lissa Russell, Philipp Russell, Buck Cowan
This story continues directly from Marvel Spotlight #4. The Werewolf has been turned into a stone statue by Marlene Blackgar's stare. That would be horrific in itself, but worse still, he can still think. Will he have to suffer in this frozen form forever?
Not forever. Only until sunrise. When the Werewolf turns back into Jack Russell the spell is broken. Buck Cowan finds him unconscious in the grounds of the castle.
Jack retrieves the mystic book, the Darkhold. Marlene and Miles Blackgar take Jack's sister Lissa as hostage to force him to give the book back. At night he turns into the Werewolf. Marlene tries to tun him into stone again, but he closes his eyes, and he's standing in front of a mirror. This turns Miles and Marlene herself into stone.
This is a very well written story, especially the epilogue, the last three pages after the action when the Werewolf is wandering through the woods.
The Crazy Credits say that Irving Forbush is the stone-cutter.
Avengers #103
Title: The Sentinels are alive and well!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Rich Buckler
Avengers: Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch (flashback), Vision
Villain: Grim Reaper (flashback), Sentinels, Blob (flashback), Unus (flashback), Vanisher (flashback), Mastermind (flashback)
Regulars: Rick Jones
Guests: Nick Fury
Why is Iron Man showing off his beautifully tanned legs today? Does he want to compete with Hawkeye? Or did the colourist just blunder? The colourists aren't usually named in the credits, because the art is drawn and the page layout is made before the decision is made who will colour the comic. However, we know from replies to reader letters that Marie Severin is the main person who coloured the super-hero comics. If that's the case, maybe she just likes men's legs.
Quicksilver is searching for his sister Wanda by himself. He goes to Larry Trask, whose father created the Sentinels. Larry says he has no knowledge of the Sentinels, but after Quicksilver removes the amulet round Larry's neck, his memory returns. The Sentinels have a secret base in the Australian outback. The amulet also suppressed Larry's mutant powers; he can see the future.
The other Avengers receive a warning that there are solar flares which threaten the Earth. They're being provoked by rays from a location in Australia. That's hardly a coincidence. The Avengers travel to Australia, refusing help from Rick Jones, who thinks he's something special after defeating the whole Skrull Empire single handedly in Avengers #97. Poor kid. In Australia they battle the Sentinels.
Larry Trask has a vision that the Avengers will be killed and the world will be destroyed.
Captain Marvel is back, after a two year hiatus. Unfortunately, Roy Thomas is no longer the writer, but be patient. After a few issues Jim Starlin will take over and produce some of the best Marvel comics ever.
Captain Marvel #22
Title: To live again!
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: Wayne Boring
Villain: Megaton (Jules Carter)
Regulars: Rick Jones, Lou-Ann Savannah
Rick Jones is walking away despondently after being rejected by the Avengers earlier this month. Now he sees a vision of Captain Marvel, who he thought had died after giving his life force to save him in Avengers #97. Captain Marvel tells him that he's still alive, somehow contained in Rick's body, and he needs to be let out. Rick refuses.
Rick Jones meets a young singer called Lou-Ann Savannah in a club. He takes her home, tells her all his problems, then collapses. (I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere). Her uncle, a skilled scientist examines him. He bathes Rick's body with photon rays, which turns Rick into Captain Marvel.
A man called Jules Carter has been turned into a monster by radiation. He now calls himself Megaton, the Nuclear Man. He goes on a rampage, and Captain Marvel prepares to attack him.
You might be wondering who the artist for this comic is. Wayne Boring worked for DC from the 1940's to the 1960's, and is best remembered for his work on Superman. He left DC, together with several other writers and artists, because DC refused to give its staff medical insurance. He drew a few comics for Marvel, starting with Captain Marvel #22. After that he changed his career and became a bank security guard. That's truly boring, but at least he got medical insurance.
There's something that annoys me about this cover. Did you notice it? Ever since Fantastic Four #4 the series has been labelled "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine". This issue it's been changed to "The World's Greatest Comix Magazine". Ugh! Roy Thomas should be ashamed of himself! Luckily it will only last for five issues; in Fantastic Four #131 the old title will return.
Fantastic Four #126
Title: The way it began!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: John Buscema
Fantastic Four: Reed Richards, Susan Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm
Villain: Doctor Doom (vision), Mole Man (flashback)
Regulars: Alicia Masters
This is the first issue of the Fantastic Four after Stan Lee left for good. Roy Thomas commemorates the occasion by giving a recap of the Fantastic Four's origin, for the latecomers who missed Fantastic Four #1 in 1961. Then he goes on to retell the story of the Fantastic Four's first battle with the Mole Man, also from Fantastic Four #1.
This is a very well written homage to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's early masterpiece, the comic that kicked off Marvel as we know it.
Amazing Spider-Man #112
Title: Spidey cops out!
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: John Romita
Villain: Gibbon, Beetle (flashback), Doctor Octopus
Regulars: J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Betty Brant, Aunt May (flashback). Anna Watson, Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy, Flash Thompson
Spider-Man is worried about his Aunt May leaving the city. He thinks someone might have kidnapped her. He wants to concentrate on finding her, which means that he ignores petty robberies; by petty I mean robberies where super-villains aren't involved. As a result, the Daily Bugle publishes headlines calling him a coward.
Eventually Spider-Man witnesses gang fights which are too dangerous to ignore. The crooks are wearing metal harnesses that enhance their strength. He carries a harness away to examine it, and Doctor Octopus attacks. This is a wonderful final page by John Romita, and it's a well-written story by Gerry Conway. We haven't seen Doctor Octopus since Amazing Spider-Man #90, so I'm glad that Gerry Conway has brought him back instead of constantly inventing new super-villains.
Iron Man #50
Title: Deathplay!
Writer: Mike Friedrich
Artist: George Tuska
Villain: Super-Adaptoid, Princess Python, Cyborg
Regulars: Marianne Rodgers
Guests: Jarvis
Iron Man manages to plug himself into a power supply in Avengers Mansion before it's too late. He barely avoids being detected by Jarvis, when he comes to investigate the noise.
Marianne Rodgers flees, still afraid that she'll cause Tony Stark's death.
The Super-Adaptoid loses his mimicking powers. This is in connection with two men oberving him from a sub-atomic world.
Princess Python wants to kidnap Tony Stark. In the past we've only seen her as a member of the Circus of Crime, for instance in Thor #173. It's good to see her in action by herself.
Iron Man easily defeats Princess Python. In the fight her snake is killed. She swears revenge.
Sub-Mariner #53
Title: And the Rising Sun shall fall!
Writer: Bill Everett
Artist: Bill Everett
Villain: Sunfire, Dragon Lord
Sub-Mariner persuades Sunfire to help him save the ship, or at least its contents, because the defoliants will destroy all life on Earth.
After they finish their mission, they return together to Dragon Lord's island.
The Incredible Hulk #155
Title: Destination Nightmare!
Writer: Archie Goodwin
Artist: Herb Trimpe
Villain: Shaper, Captain Axis (Kronsteig), Doctor Doom (flashback)
Regulars: General Ross, Major Talbot, Betty Ross
Guests: Ant-Man
Bruce Banner shrinks ever smaller, falling through worlds, until he reaches a city that looks like New York, but he's in the middle of a Nazi invasion. Now listen carefully while I explain this. It's complicated, but it all makes sense.
A Nazi scientist called Kronsteig went to work for Doctor Doom after World War Two. He helped develop the shrinking ray that Doctor Doom used in Fantastic Four #10. Kronsteig himself was the first test subject. He fell into a microworld that was ruled by a powerful being called the Shaper. The Shaper changes worlds to take on the appearance of people's dreams. When the Shaper saw Kronsteig's dreams of the Third Reich invading America, he set it up as a war.
It may be based on a dream, but everything in it is real. The deaths are real. The Hulk joins in the war on the side of the American army. When the Nazis are almost defeated, Kronsteig tells the Shaper that it's unfair, so the Shaper allows him to dream of a way to achieve victory. Kronsteig becomes a Nazi super soldier called Captain Axis.
The Hulk still wins, killing Kronsteig. The Shaper tires of his game. He casts the Hulk into the void, and he leaves the planet.
I'm very excited about this issue. Today is the first time I read it. In fact, I didn't read any of the Steve Englehart Captain America issues, because they weren't sold in England at the time, at least not in any of the shops I visited.
Captain America and the Falcon #153
Title: Captain America, Hero or Hoax?
Writer: Steve Englehart
Artist: Sal Buscema
Villain: Captain America, Bucky – really!
Regulars: Sharon Carter, Nick Fury, Countess Valentina
Nick Fury challenges Captain America to a fight, man to man, over Countess Valentina. The fight doesn't stop until Valentina herself arrives to break it up.
Sharon Carter quits SHIELD, which is what Captain America has wanted for years. They go on a vacation to the Bahamas.
While they're gone, the Falcon hears stories about a costumed white man beating up black men in the neighbourhood. He goes to investigate, and he finds it's Captain America and Bucky. Wow! We didn't see that one coming.
I'm looking forward to reading the next 30 issues with Steve Englehart.
Thor #203
Title: They walk like Gods!
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: John Buscema
Villain: Karnilla, Ego Prime
Regulars: Odin, Balder, Sif, Hildegarde, Heimdall, Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg
Guests: Tana Nile
Thor is powerless, separated from his hammer. When he finally reverts to Donald Blake after 60 seconds, the explosion clears the rubble, and he can take it once more.
Karnilla bursts into Odin's throne room to plead for Balder's life. He confesses that he's been playing a game.
Thor and his comrades fight valiantly, but they can't defeat Ego Prime. Heimdall arrives with three humans, Jackson Kimball, Carter Dyam and Chi Lo. They stand passively. Confident of his victory, Ego Prime fires an energy blast to destroy Thor and everyone with him. The three humans absorb the energy, while Ego Prime withers and dies.
Odin announces that the game is complete. The intention was to create three new Gods, and only Ego Prime's power could do it. Thor is angry at having been used, even when Odin undoes all the damage on Earth
Daredevil #91
Title: Fear is the Key!
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: Gene Colan
Villain: Mr. Fear (Larry Cranston)
Regulars: Black Widow, Ivan, Danny French
The Black Widow saves Daredevil's life, but she thinks he's patronising her and not taking her seriously as a partner – which is probably true – so she says their partnership as crime fighters is over.
The Black Widow then follows Danny French. She finds him engaged in a petty blackmail. She asks him about the globe he stole from Project Four, and he says he was never able to use it.
Daredevil has been suspecting Mr. Fear was responsible for his recent fear attacks, but Starr Saxon died in Daredevil #55 after taking over the identity of the original Mr. Fear, Zoltan Drago. In actual fact, Matt Murdock's former friend from university, Larry Cranston, stole the fear gas from Zoltan Drago before he died.
When Daredevil returns home, Ivan tells him that Natasha has disappeared.
Marvel Feature #5
Title: Fear's the way he dies!
Writer: Mike Friedrich
Artist: Herb Trimpe
Villain: Egghead
Regulars: Wasp
Now trapped at ant size, Henry Pym has to fight for his life against birds and other predators.
In one of the Mighty Marvel Coincidences (MMC), he sees Egghead fighting with a girl. Egghead is one of Ant-Man's oldest foes, but we last saw him in Avengers #65. He helps her escape. It's Egghead's niece, Trixie Starr. He wants to use her in his experiments. That's sick! His own niece? Really sick!
Trixie sews a new costume for Ant-Man. It must be really fiddly at that size. Egghead finds them and takes them back to his laboratory. After a fight, Ant-Man blows up the lab, and Egghead dies. Seemingly.
Henry Pym returns home, and he finds his wife unconscious on the floor.
Marvel Premiere #4
Title: The Spawn of Sligguth!
Writer: Roy Thomas, Archie Goodwin
Artist: Barry Smith
Villain: Sligguth
Regulars: Ancient One, Wong
A quick question about the splash page. Why is Doctor Strange called Stephen Strange? His name was changed to Stephen Sanders in Doctor Strange #182. Or did I miss something?
Doctor Strange returns home after battling Nightmare last issue. There's a man called Ethan Stoddard waiting for him. He's asking for help, because he fears his girlfriend has suffered harm while researching mystical arts, in particular the Thanatosian Tomes, in the New England town of Starkesboro. Or Starksboro. The letterer John Constanza can't make his mind up. He spells the town's name Starkesboro six times, then Starksboro three times on one page, and finally Starkesboro another seven times.
Doctor Strange agrees to accompany Ethan on a journey to Starkesboro. And he enjoys a hot dog on the way.
The town is the centre of a demon cult. Everyone worships a creature called Sligguth, who they want to bring back into the world. Doctor Strange is part of the plan. Ethan was sent to lure him.
Amazing Adventures #14
Title: The Vampire Machine
Writer: Steve Englehart
Artist: Tom Sutton
Villain: Quasimodo (Quasi-Motivational-Destruct-Organism)
Regulars: Vera, Patsy Walker, Buzz Baxter
Guests: Iron Man
The Beast visits Iron Man to make sure he's still alive. He saw Iron Man die in an illusion created by Mastermind in Amazing Adventures #12.
The Beast has to go to Brand Corporation at night to retrieve the missing parts of his costume. He only has his rubber face mask at home. The guards tell him they've seen the Beast. He goes to investigate, and he meets Quasimodo, who we last saw in Captain Marvel #7. Quasimodo has heard about the Beast, and he thinks he can use his body for himself.
After a fight Quasimodo falls and dies – seemingly – and the Beast loses his powers, though not his hairy appearance.
Tomb of Dracula #4
Title: Through a mirror darkly!
Writer: Archie Goodwin
Artist: Gene Colan
Regulars: John Drake, Clifton Graves, Rachel Van Helsing, Taj, Ilsa Strangway
Kills: None (total 4)
Embraces: One woman (total 3)
Ilsa Strangway bargains with Dracula. If he embraces her she will give him a black mirror that acts as a portal to another time.
Ilsa goes out to feed after becoming a vampire. She's disappointed, because she doesn't look younger. She misunderstood vampire lore. She thought that drinking blood would take 20 years off her life. See the first rule for vampires below.
Dracula attempts to step through the mirror into another Century. Taj attacks him, and they tumble through the mirror together.
The rules for Marvel's Dracula:
When a vampire grows old, drinking blood makes him revert to the age he was when he became a vampire.
All vampires can turn into bats, not only Dracula.
Non-canon comics published this month:
Marvel Team-Up #4 (Gerry Conway, Gil Kane)
Conan the Barbarian #18 (Roy Thomas, Gil Kane)
Kull the Conqueror #4 (Gerry Conway, Marie Severin)
My Love #19 (Steve Englehart, Paty Cockrum)
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #102 (Gary Friedrich, Dick Ayers)
Red Wolf #3 (Roy Thomas, Syd Shores)
Rawhide Kid #103 (Larry Lieber, Larry Lieber)
Creatures on the Loose #19 (George Effinger, Gil Kane)
I mentioned the subject of Stan Lee's ascension to publisher last month, in my review of Fantastic Four #125. This month an official announcement was published.
That's it. Marvel Phase One is over. Marvel Phase Two is beginning. Some comics fans don't like to attach an exact date, but as far as I'm concerned September 1972 is the beginning of the bronze age of comics. The silver age ran from November 1961 to August 1972.
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