Buried Treasures: Dynamite's Superhero Confidential (the conclusion)

Doug: We've had a blast over the past five or six weeks reminding ourselves how awesome those monthly book orders from Scholastic, Inc. could be when we were elementary school-aged. Today I'm going to show off the last three features that I saved from Dynamite magazine. The Captain Marvel (Shazam to Bronze Age Babies) feature was my introduction to the Captain's four-color adventures, as I am positive at that point in my life I knew him only from the Saturday morning live action show. As you have, drop us a comment on the artwork, the selection choices editorial made, and the Q&A/FAQ sections that followed the comic excerpts.

I think the Daredevil feature is from Daredevil #117, which I reviewed some years ago. However, as my art samples don't match and since that comic has left my possession I cannot be certain. Any help would be welcome.

I've enjoyed finding and sharing these gems from the middle of the Bronze Age. Who knows what else lurks down deep in the recesses of the comic room's closet?

BAB Two-In-One: Cat Fight! and Frankie's Back to the Future

Doug: I'm talking Daredevil again this time, kiddie-winkies, in the conclusion of the Owl story that we looked at last week. Today's fare is Daredevil #117, cover-dated January 1975. This month Chris Claremont worded over a Steve Gerber plot, while Bob Brown returned to the pencilling and was inked by Vinnie Colletta.

When last we saw our heroes, the Owl and his henchmen had disabled DD and the Black Widow. We open this month's installment to find them strapped to lab tables. As the Owl begins to drain Daredevil's mind (which will leave him in a vegetative state), the Widow suddenly finds the strength to burst her bonds -- which, by the way, happened to be made of 1/2" steel. Hmmm... OK, suspension of disbelief kicks in. Next, she fires a Widow's sting at the Owl's machinery, disabling the machine. Somehow bursting her other bond, she then makes short work of the Owl's muscle. But, after recovering, the Owl grabs his pistol and holds it to DD's head. Wanna make a deal, Widow?

Tasha takes the deal: Go to an address and kidnap the lady of the house. Well, the address happens to be a penthouse apartment, and the lady, even though asleep, isn't going easily. Some lingerie wrestling ensues, albeit in silhouette (no details, Vinnie?), and our sleeping beauty turns out to be none other than Shanna the She-Devil! The Widow takes Shanna back to the Owl's lab, where Shanna feigns unconsciousness. The Owl wanted Shanna because she's an animal expert. As the Owl gloats, he orders Tasha to place Shanna on the same table where he'd tried to mindwipe DD earlier. Say what? I thought the Widow had destroyed it? Anyway, as the Widow hands Shanna over to one of the Owl's heavies, a net drops from the ceiling on the Widow; that's all the cue Shanna needs as she goes into action. The first thing she does is free DD (popping the steel as easily as Tasha did), and it's game on!

The Owl releases some gas (no, not like that), which greatly disturbs the two ladies. It doesn't seem to affect DD, though, and he is able to wallop the Owl. But the Owl is able to escape and take the battle to the air. But Daredevil is still without his billy club (lost in issue #115 in battle against the Death-Stalker), so it's a short-lived pursuit. But like a dope, the Owl flies back within range and DD takes him down. Then it's back to the ladies. As the story concludes, Daredevil and the Widow have a heart-to-heart, kiss, and part ways. It's the beginning of the end for them as a couple.
Claremont's words are sometimes off in this story. It's a bit of a comedown from Gerber last issue. And while I generally enjoy Bob Brown on characters like Daredevil, his art is inconsistent -- at times the Owl looks like he was rendered by Gene Colan, but at other times there's some George Tuska-like lines. I'd also say that ol' Bob had a strange viewpoint on women's breasts -- talk about defying gravity!! Maybe he saw all women as wearing those super-pointy bras that were popular in the 1960's... even when they sleep, as seemed to be the case for Shanna! You might also say it looks like he was drawing the old L'eggs containers! And as for Vinnie Colletta -- scratchy like he'd never been before. The inks in this issue really don't help Bob Brown. I am presently about halfway through the TwoMorrows book The Thin Black Line, which is a biography of Colletta. Many of the faults discussed are present here. But hey -- overall this was a good Daredevil story, from "my" era.

Karen: Howdy folks, I'm back with yet another Marvel monster. This time it's none other than the Frankenstein Monster, from the 12th issue of his self-titled book, cover-dated September 1974. This issue marked the transition of the Monster from 19th century to modern times. A good move or not? I suppose it depends on your point of view. According to comments in the letters page, the move was made in order to make it easier for readers to relate to the series. But, as would later be mentioned in the same letter column, the move also made many more guest-star and cross-over options available! We would later see such ridiculous fare as the Monster teaming up with Spider-Man, and appearing as one of the Legion of the Unliving in Avengers. Whatever the reasons, the Monster had joined the 20th century, with a little help from Doug Moench, Val Mayerik, and Vince Colleta (did he ink everything back in the 70s?).

Karen: As we join our undead goliath, he's just been shot by Vincent Frankenstein, a relative of the original who wanted to carry on the family business. He in turn was shot and killed by a maid(!). I'm sure it made more sense if you read the entire story, but unfortunately I don't have that issue, so we're going to have to deal with it. So, justice served, the Monster staggers off to die, and he's not unhappy about that. After an messy encounter with some wolves, he stumbles off a glacier and winds up in the freezing waters below. In a tip of the hat to Capt. America -or was it just a lack of imagination? - our buddy is frozen solid, while the decades go flying by. This being the early 1970s, this is depicted by showing war after war, culminating finally with man's landing on the moon. I think this must have been cliched even in 1974. Frankie doesn't have the honor of having the Avengers thaw him; instead, he is discovered by the crew of an oil freighter. He's hauled aboard, block of ice and all, and found to be in state of suspended animation.
Karen: One of the crew schemes to make some money off the unfortunate creature. He plans to take the Monster to his brother, who runs a traveling carnival -hoo boy, cliche upon cliche! He and his brother sneak the Monster ashore and install him (still in suspended animation) in the freakshow. It is there that he is seen by Derek McDowell, "brilliant young neurosurgeon", who recognizes him as Frankenstein's creation. So it seems like we're all set up for some interesting events when we turn the page and -poof! We get a four-panel recap of events which took place in the magazine Monsters Unleashed issues 2,4, and 6! What the heck? And I thought modern cross-overs were bad! Seriously, this stopped me dead in my tracks while reading. We're told that the Monster escaped the freakshow, was taken to McDowell's lab, where eventually the Monster killed McDowell and then began wandering the streets. And that's where he is at the end of this issue.

Karen: Talk about a let-down. I thought the story started well. The Monster's desire to end his existence was touching and while I was unprepared for the jump forward to the present, I could even handle that. But the Monster stopped being a character in the story about mid-way through. Then we have the cobbled together ending -I suppose they must have made the move to modern times in the magazine first, and then used the comic to explain it? I'm fairly confused. If anyone has read those old monster mags, I'd love to hear what the deal was. I thought the art on this issue was pretty good; Mayerik seemed to have a real feel for the Monster, although I would prefer a more "moody" inker than Colletta. His thin lines do no favors to the pencils.

BAB Two-in-One: A Fangtastic Tale and One Bad Hooter

Karen: I'm continuing my Halloween theme of monsters with this next review. The book is Tomb of Dracula #18 (March 1974), and the selling point is Dracula vs. Werewolf by Night! Produced by the spooktacular team of Marv Wolfman, Gene Colan, and Tom Palmer, this tale features two of Marvel's monsters going for each other's throats -literally!

Karen: As our story begins, Jack Russell, who might be better known as the Werewolf, is traveling by train with his mysterious lady companion Topaz to his birthplace in Transylvania -ah ha, can you see where this is going?!

Karen: In the meantime, Dracula is plotting his revenge and making proclamations from the walls of his ancestral castle. Dracula is most definitely a villain, preying on the innocent, but he's very much in the vein of a Doctor Doom , in the sense that he truly believes he is superior to pretty much everyone else in the world, and this gives him the right to do whatever he pleases.

Karen: When Jack and Topaz arrive at Transylvania they take a room at the local inn, and get into some serious trouble with a local ruffian who paws Topaz. . Topaz has some mystical ability to influence the Werewolf, but he still kills the drunken fool. As the two of them turn to leave, Dracula appears from the fog. He tries to attack Topaz, but apparently her mystical abilities prevent the blood-thirsty Count from succeeding. The werewolf then steps in, but Dracula throws him off and flies away in bat-form.

Karen: The next day, Jack and Topaz have found Jack's family's home. He comments that it's like something out of a Universal horror film -although I would say that Wolfman and Colan may have been more influenced by the British Hammer films of the 60s and 70s. While they look through old books for some clue to the whole story of Jack's curse, they discover (of course) a hidden passageway. Now this seemed a little weird, but apparently the passageway leads outside, where Jack's father had set up a telescope with a clear view to - Castle Dracula! Maybe I'm not clear on what's going on here, but couldn't the guy just have walked out behind the house? The passageway isn't really shown but appears quite short. Well, no matter. Jack and Topaz determine that the answers they seek must be at the castle and head off for it.

Karen: The keen-eyed Count spots them coming and takes the offensive. As a gigantic bat, Dracula swoops down and carries off Topaz. Jack makes it to the castle, and is transformed into the Werewolf. Colan makes an interesting choice: he depicts the fight between the two supernatural foes in a series of six page-long panels (3 per page). At the bottom of each panel are the vampire and the werewolf; at the top, their shadows. It's not ineffective, but it did strike me as unusual.
Karen: Dracula gains the upper hand and our tale ends with the Count about to get a taste of werewolf! Unfortunately, I don't have the conclusion of this story, which appears in Werewolf By Night #15, but I've added it to my want list. I enjoyed the story enough that I'd like to see how it ends. I will say though that while Colan draws a very good Dracula, his werewolf left something to be desired. I'd much rather see Mike Ploog drawing the hairy hero.




 

Doug: Hey, friends -- it's a double-dose of Gene the Dean today! I'm gonna give you a gander at Daredevil #116, cover dated December 1974. This yarn was spun by scribe Steve Gerber and artists Gene Colan and Vince Colletta.

As we pick up the story, Daredevil is in New York, fresh off his defeat (and seeming killing by accident) of the Death-Stalker. One of the casualties of the battle, however, was DD's billy club, so ol' Hornhead is slinging it around town on a rope and grappling hook he (conveniently) found in the warehouse where he'd recently battled. On his mind is a little law-breaking that he did: namely, destroying federal evidence against Foggy Nelson's sister Candace. I don't have the previous story, but from what I gather Candace Nelson was in the know about a project that would have allowed the creation of a race of men who would be immune to any sort of germ or pollution. As Gerber often wrote about social and environmental issues, my guess is (from dialogue here) that Death-Stalker was somehow tied to this project, which might have created men impervious to even germ warfare. As DD gets back, he realizes that without his club he's also without Matt Murdock's cane... So a quick change to his civvies and a little self-rumpling and it's Matt Murdock, recently mugged attorney!

Foggy and Candace go for the ruse, and in the midst of the conversation the phone rings. On the other end is Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. Matt is rather rude to her, cutting her off and asking if they couldn't speak in an hour. Tasha tells him not to bother and hangs up. Matt's mad at himself, and vows to make things right. By this time, the romance between Matt and Natasha was well-established, having been a running storyline since DD #81. So the next day Matt hops a transcontinental flight to San Francisco.

As he arrives at Natasha's mansion, he's surprised to see that some other folks are now living there. Turns out that the Widow could no longer afford the rent, so she and Ivan were evicted. Later in the story we find out that they've been living in the Rolls for several days. Hard times for heroes!! But as Matt leaves the mansion to find Tasha, he comes across a couple of goons making trouble in the streets. Smelling the gunpowder, DD takes them down, only to unleash a hostage situation as one of the gunman grabs a child. Now, as fate would have it in a town the size of San Fran, who should happen on the scene but -- you guessed it -- the Black Widow. She and DD save the day, and then get "reacquainted". As the crowd cheers the PDA, one of the toughs awakens and starts to scat. DD whups him, but the other guy is able to run, too -- he gets away.

And where did he get away to? Why, to the Owl's lair, that's where! Punished for his failure to bring in some delinquent "security" payments, the Owl then rails on about how it doesn't matter where he goes -- NYC, Chicago, or San Francisco -- some do-gooder always gets in his way. So, feeling a little proactive, the Owl and his henchmen (yep, had 'em back in #81, too) take off looking for trouble. They find it and mix it up with DD and the Widow. In the course of the action, the Owl gets DD with a ring barbed with poison. DD succumbs, the Widow is grazed by a bullet... and it's wait-till-next-month time!

This was a decent issue -- not a whole lot of meat to it, but it seemed to mainly serve as a set-up for the next ish. Gerber's words were good -- I've read DD written by several authors and this seemed to be pretty seamless. Colan is just a rock on the title, and Colletta's inks were good (no one draws a woman's eyes like Vinnie...). Colletta may have fit in so nicely due in large part to his reputation for adding blacks over detail -- I've not seen the original pencils here, but there sure were a lot of black spaces!! But there was some zip-a-tone, too -- and even though Vinnie's scratchy, it fit Colan's pencils OK. Next time, we'll take a look at Daredevil #117.

BAB Two-In-One: Devils, Owls, Widows, and a Werewolf too!

Doug: Time for a little Daredevil among these hallowed posts! Today I'm going to explore DD #81 from November 1971 -- the first appearance in this title of the Black Widow! The story was written by Gerry Conway with art by Gene Colan and Jack Abel. The cover art is by Bill Everett and Gil Kane -- check out how the boys drew DD without the red over his eyes. Looks weird.


Doug: I actually got this mag as a pack-in with the Marvel Legends Black Widow figure. I'm not sure why Toy Biz/Marvel chose this particular story; I'm sure there are better Widow stories out there. But overall, it wasn't bad and it is historically significant as it began her run in Daredevil (that lasted to #124). So in terms of her history, this issue picks up after she left the pages of Amazing Adventures and served as the start of the interim before she headlined with the Champions.


Doug: History lesson over. How about this tale? We begin with a defeated DD plunging into the murky Hudson River, along with the Owl's helicopter. As usual, Gerry Conway gives us nice little bits of characterization by way of thought balloons and short interludes featuring the rest of the cast. As Daredevil sinks, he groggily thinks of Karen Page. We see Karen a few pages later, back in New York with her agent. In these days, Karen had long since left Nelson & Murdock to seek her fame in film -- it would be much later that Frank Miller would inform us just what type of films she became involved in! As Karen watches the battle between DD and the Owl on a TV monitor, she faints at the moment DD hits the drink. It's at this same moment, too, that Natasha Romanov is introduced to DD-readers as she dives into the river to save Daredevil. After bringing him to safety, Tasha's a little put out that DD doesn't "see" her.

Doug: We then take a look in on the Owl. There's more to this than appears, as ol' frizzy-hair is getting a chewing-out from some crime boss on a monitor screen. We're led to believe that the Widow's presence on the pier when DD fell into the river was not just by chance. After being fired by the shadowy guy, the Owl basically tells him to shove it and then does his best Caesar Romero/Frank Gorshin impression -- come on... henchmen??

Doug: Making a long story short: DD, still whupped from his battle with the Owl and plunge into the Hudson, staggers into Foggy Nelson's office. Fog tries to help him, but about the time he's beginning to make like a nursemaid there's a huge crash nearby. DD takes off, at the same time the Widow hears it and also responds. While the Owl and his hired baddies attempt to knock off a bank, DD and the Widow arrive to thwart the plans. This is Colan at his most frenetic, a trend noticeable as the Bronze Age dawned, and most indicative of his tenure on Tomb of Dracula. Anyway, the Owl is of course defeated and the seeds of a romance between DD and Tasha are planted.


Doug: Judgment? Pretty good superhero story, moody Colan art, and some typically good Conway words to go with the pictures. Overall, time decently spent!

Karen: This time, I read a 'new' old comic. You see, I bought this with a bunch of other comics at an antique fair (aka swap meet) a few years ago and never got around to reading it -that is, until now. My book is Marvel Spotlight #4 featuring Werewolf By Night, circa 1972. It was written (maybe over-written) by Gerry Conway, and drawn by Mike Ploog in his one-of-a-kind style.No inker is credited so I am assuming Ploog inked himself.

Karen: The art on this book is the real selling point for me. I think Ploog was Marvel's best monster artist -and I include Ghost Rider in this category as well. His work has a strange, fluid quality - almost surreal. He also knows how to use lighting very effectively to convey mood. This art reminds me of nothing less than an old Universal horror film - and I mean that in the best possible way!

Karen: The story itself is less than stellar. Our cursed hero, Jack Russell -yes, the werewolf is named after those cute little dogs - discovers that his dead father's castle has been sold by his step-father to a Dr. Blackgar. OK, stay with me here. Blackgar has had the castle shipped from Europe, stone by stone, to America, where he has had it reconstructed on an island off of California! Sure, let's just roll with that. If I can accept Ego the Living Planet, surely a transplanted castle should be no stretch. But what kills me is that Jack deduces from this that his late father's magical book, the Darkhold, must still be somewhere in the castle! I mean, I guess it could be, but really, is that a certainty?


Karen: So Jack is off to investigate, and winds up a prisoner of the obviously mad Dr. Blackgar and his daughter. For reasons revealed at the end, the good doctor is pulling his own Dr. Moreau gig, experimenting on people on the island. They have become hideous freaks that he keeps locked in the depths of the dungeon. Of course, Jack wolfs out and ruins all his fun.


Karen: There is a lot of narration (by Jack), and it is a long read. It's really composed more like a short story than a comic. There are a lot of long, descriptive passages which sort of seem hokey, but I have to admit, they did build some mood and tension into the story. I didn't think the Werewolf's thought balloons was a good idea. They just come across rather dumb. "Afraid...man is afraid of me. Can taste fear, sweet like odor of forest," Wolfy thinks. Uh no....just no.


Karen: But all in all, I found this a fairly entertaining read, and I especially enjoyed Ploog's art. I recall a panel discussion at the San Diego Comic Con a few years ago, where Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich, and Mike Ploog were the guests. I think it was Roy who said that Mike was their go-to guy for monsters because he could sure draw hairy weirdos! Well, he could draw a lot more than that. I never buy Marvel's Essential collections, because I can't stand to see my comics without color. But I'd actually consider getting an Essentials of WBN because I think Ploog's work would lend itself well to black and white art.