Who's the Best... Anthology Comic Series?

Redartz:  Good day to one and all! Today we consider a genre of comic close to many hearts (certainly close to mine, anyway): anthology comics. Books in which one was treated to a variety of stories, with different characters, different creative teams, all within a single issue. A given book may have contained just two stories (such as was found in classic series like Strange Tales, Tales of Suspense, and Tales to Astonish). Or it may have contained several stories, as with the dollar Adventure Comics, or Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. The stories sometimes shared a theme, such as sci-fi in Mystery in Space, or Batman Family stories in Detective. Story lengths varied, but you always got some variety for your comic coin. And after all, who doesn't enjoy a buffet?

 Following are a few examples to 'prime the pump':
 

 

Among my personal favorites were Adventure (a great line-up with Deadman and the JSA), Mystery in Space (some very nice stories by top talent) and the always fun Disney's Comics and Stories. What were your favorites? What were the best line-ups of features? Let's all get eclectic today... 

If You're Going to San Francisco... Amazing Adventures 7-8

Amazing Adventures #7 (July 1971)(Inhumans cover by Neal Adams)
"An Evening's Wait for Death!"
Roy Thomas-Neal Adams/John Verpoorten

Doug: I know I said that the last four week's worth of reviews was probably going to be it from me for the foreseeable future, but here I sit again. Writing/scanning/arranging/etc. these reviews is a labor of love -- trouble is, for much of the year it's just been a labor to find the time to do it! But lately I've been able to scare up a couple of hours here and there without taking quality time out of the marriage. So what the heck -- I like comics and you like reading about them. Today we'll be looking at an Inhumans story, spread over two issues of Amazing Adventures. Let's go.

Doug: We open on a beach under the control of Red China (because back in the Cold War you had to say it that way). The Inhumans -- Gorgon, Karnak, Medusa, and Triton -- crash-landed there at the end of the previous issue after a skirmish with Maximus. Black Bolt is elsewhere. This was during the time that Black Bolt had amnesia inflicted upon him by Maximus and was in the city of San Francisco. In defending a young man and his uncle from some thugs, Black Bolt had afterward donned civilian clothes. But unable to speak and truly wanting to converse with the boy, Black Bolt had lapsed and uttered the word "I..." It was enough to split a large naval vessel in half. Needless to say, people were on the lookout for the guy who did that.  But back on the beach, our cousins are unconscious when the Red Army shows up. They try to figure out the best course of action to deal with these "monster". As they debate, the commanding officer tells his troops to put down their weapons. Trouble is, that's right about the time everyone wakes up. And naturally Gorgon mistakes all the movement for an attack. So we get a little brouhaha, and Triton hops into the waters to help. He swims out and then down until he finds a large electronic switch on the side of a cliff. He triggers it, and back on the surface a panel opens from the side of a mountain to reveal a slick aircraft. Turns out it had been stashed there months earlier by these very Inhumans (although I couldn't find when). They make their getaway.

Doug: In San Francisco we find Black Bolt, still in civvies and with the boy he'd protected, accosted by an African-American man with a mechanical hand that looks an awful lot like something you would want to avoid the business end of. The man says he knows about the silent man and what he did, and that he can help. The boy asks about the gun-like contraption and the man suddenly converts it to a hand! What a device! He says they must get into his car, and that he will take them somewhere that's safe. As they slide into the back seat, it's suddenly revealed that the boy's (we now know his name is Joey) uncle Roscoe is in the front seat and up to no good. As gas fills the back seat, Joey's uncle and our new villain -- a Mister Dibbs (In the Heat of the Night and Sidney Poitier's "Mr. Tibbs" came out in 1967, but Roy must have been a fan) -- drive off with a costume draped across the front seat. The costume of Black Bolt. Dibbs remarks that the power in that suit is going to bring his plan to fruition.

Doug: We cut to the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of California. Our four Inhuman travelers have set their craft down in the water and hop a hoverboard-type of contraption to make their way to shore. They don't land in directly in San Francisco as you might have guess, but instead turn up on Muscle Beach. It's really sort of silly -- I don't know if it was Roy or Neal who wanted to work this in. But as our costumed Himalayans reach the sand, the muscleheads decide that a) these new arrivals are weirdos and b) they need to be shown that it's a private beach. Well you can guess how this fight will go. Triton again figures that it's he who must end it, so creates a diversion to draw the bodybuilders away. Medusa and Karnak usher Gorgon out and into the city after they steal clothes from the beach's locker room. Emerging, they hail a cab and ask to be taken to the only place they know: Johnson Street. The only reason they know it is because the cabbie had his radio on and a disturbance was reported. In a city the size of San Francisco, Medusa figures any lead is a good lead.

Doug: And, as fate would have it, who do you think is in the middle of the unrest? Why sure -- it's Mister Dibbs. And Black Bolt, now in costume. Dibbs and his armed militants have come to take a stand against their living conditions, their lack of civil rights, and the "crushing heel of white society". If the mayor will not bring down the rat-infested tenements, then Dibbs has a way to do it himself: Black Bolt. To be continued.

Amazing Adventures #8 (September 1971)(Inhumans cover by Neal Adams)
"An Hour for Thunder!"
Roy Thomas-Neal Adams/John Verpoorten

Doug: As I was thinking about what to read for today's reviews, I kicked around some George Perez JLA, some black-and-white Frankenstein Monster, and maybe a Dave Cockrum Legion tale. When I came back to the Perez notion, I remembered the discussion we'd had on Inhumans #2 a couple of months ago. Since I have the Inhumans Marvel Masterworks,
 volume 2, I decided to check out the entire issue -- which was, by the way, my first Inhumans as I'd missed the premier. But in looking through it I recalled that the first four issues were all pretty serialized. So I moved away from that. But lo and behold! Right next to that Masterworks sat the Inhumans Marvel Masterworks, volume 1. Ah ha! I immediately turned to Amazing Adventures #8, recalling the cool Thor cover. Leafing through, it was obvious that I needed to also read and review #7, which you just finished reading. So here we are.

Doug: Oddly enough we open this issue in Avengers Mansion. This is the era of the Kree-Skrull War, and this is a great line-up! They are assembled near a visi-screen, watching the goings-on in San Francisco. As Mister Dibbs shouts the name of Black Bolt, the Scarlet Witch wonders aloud who he is. Cap says he does not know, either. Now hey -- didn't the Avengers and the Fantastic Four always share files? I just found this odd. Roy was writing both books and was certainly the resident Marvel scholar, so he would know if this was off. It sure seemed peculiar to me. Suddenly Thor enters the monitor room and claims that he alone will go to San Francisco to right this coming wrong. Just like the Muscle Beach scene in the previous issue, this appears to be a way to raise up a brawl. But, I suppose that's a long-standing Marvel tradition, so I'm going to play along.

Doug: Back in the City by the Bay, Dibbs is spouting his rhetoric and claims that for years he worked within the system to try to enact change -- a change that white politicians would hear nothing of. Well that was all going to end this day, and by demonstration he was going to show his followers how. Black Bolt barely whispers and one of the projects comes down. A representative of the mayor quickly calls out to Dibbs, saying that they'll work with him. Dibbs will have none of it and relates a tale of his youth. It's unfortunately a typical urban story of this time period (shoot -- of now, to say sadly...), full of poverty, vermin, and the protection of youth. Dibbs is angry, and he's promised to bring the entire area to the ground. Off to the side the Royal Family witnesses this in horror as their liege has used his power for violence. They change and leap to action as Dibbs' men fire smoke grenades near the National Guard.

Doug: Still without Triton, Medusa and her remaining male cousins take the fight right to the militants. It's tough to say who is right and who is wrong in a situation like this, but certainly the means of action by Dibbs and his men do cross a line. Ever the blusterer, Gorgon hoists a VW Beetle to get some attention. The compact car is suddenly sliced in half by a certain hammer made of Uru. Thor makes a grand entrance, but announces that the insurgents are under his protection. Now that's not how I'd have figured it. Karnak leaps at Thor while Medusa holds the Thunder God's arms with her tresses. A strike to the Son of Odin's wrist causes him to drop Mjolnir and since this is the Bronze Age -- you know what that means (tick, tick, tick...)! But we cut then to a hide-out across town, where Joey is being guarded by one of Dibbs' men. There's a radio playing, so Joey knows the score. He manages to get away, but not before looking into another room -- a room into which his guard had called. And he sees...

Doug: We cut back to Johnson Street where it's Gorgon who now (unwittingly) keeps Thor separated from his enchanted hammer. The Inhumans move against Dibbs, who leaps off a tank to meet their charge. He peels off the fake hand to again reveal the gun-like device at the end of his right arm. As Medusa uses her hair to grab the weapon and throw Dibbs off-balance, gunshots suddenly ring out from stage left. The smoke from the grenades has dissipated enough that the National Guard and police can now get through. Dibbs sees that this is it. But Thor reaches Mjolnir in the confusion and uses its power to whip up a thunderstorm, driving law enforcement back with wind and lightning. Thor makes his way to Dibbs and tells him that he knows what he's going through. Dibbs scoffs, incredulous that a god could say such a thing. But Thor remarks that he knows the pain Dibbs has faced. Dibbs wonders if Thor has seen some secret file on him, and then reveals the truth: Cancer was going to take his hand and perhaps his life. But his physician -- Dr. Donald Blake -- gave it to him straight. Dibbs, now mad at the world and for seemingly losing all he'd worked for, said he would see Tony Stark about his hand situation. And after that, he had something to do. Thor tells Dibbs that he's watched him from afar, and that all reason has left him. Dibbs turns to implore Black Bolt to speak and complete the mission. But Thor whacks Dibbs on the back of the head, ending his day. The Royal Family rush to their king, begging him not to speak. And then we find that it's not Black Bolt in costume at all -- no, it's Roscoe, young Joey's uncle. And just as he parts his lips to speak, the antenna atop the mask suddenly recharges with the energy of the sun. And Roscoe is not fit to take it. News later that day reports how a stranger in a strange suit had died that afternoon, and that Lionel Dibbs would be awaiting a trial. Joey heard this, in the company of his companion who had been restrained in the room next to him: Black Bolt.

Doug: So... I'm not going to categorize myself as an Inhumans expert, but I've read my fair share of their adventures. Certainly by 1971's history, I'd say that I have read almost all of them. And I never got the impression that it was Black Bolt's suit that gave him his powers. I guess I always figured it was the Terrigen Mists that had empowered him (see the Inhumans back-ups in late Silver Age Thors) with the curse of the voice, with flight, etc. As to the antenna? I really never thought about it much. I mean, isn't the same deal on Lockjaw, and isn't it a part of him? I'm asking -- help a brother out if you know the answers to these questions. When Roscoe spoke at the beginning of the demonstration and the building fell -- how'd that happen? Oh, yes -- and raise your hand if you're ticked off that Thor and Black Bolt never actually fought inside the book. False advertising, I say!

Doug: And what of the script? Roy Thomas is obviously sitting in for Denny O'Neil in a story we've somewhat read before (see our review of Green Lantern #76, as well as other GL/GA issues). Notice how Neal Adams was the penciler on both tales? I'm not saying social justice in comics is wrong -- I think the fact that Thomas and O'Neil, and Stan Lee and others as well, wanted to bring light to important political issues is probably commendable. And that it plays with a heavy hand? I don't know -- maybe that's my problem, not theirs. We could debate that all day, and certainly bring the topics discussed right up to today's relevance. Adams art was great as it usually is (even if John Verpoorten's inks gave it a scratchy texture). If I'd quibble, it's that Adams could draw Thor a bit beefier. But that splash page of the Avengers was magnificent. The man was born to draw that team! Or was it the X-Men...?

Face-Off: Martian Mayhem!

Karen: In honor of the recent announcement about the discovery of liquid water on the surface of Mars, we give you the opportunity today to throw your support behind one of two books that each dealt with the red planet: In War of the Worlds, Killraven and his band of rebels fought back against invading Martians in a dark future, while John Carter, Warlord of Mars followed the adventures of the Edgar Rice Burroughs character as he rescued princesses and battled six-limbed martians on Mars itself. Which book survives this interplanetary death match?

Readers' Musings -- It's 'Totally Random' Day!

Today let's hear what's on your mind, regardless of what it is.

Doug: Here's one that's occurred to me on multiple occasions -- Why does Black Bolt wear a mask? I understand why Medusa does -- after all, she started off as a goon. But what's the rationale for a monarch, unknown by the public and with no secret identity, to cover up his face?

Doug: I vividly recall seeing the Amazing Adventures with Killraven and the War of the Worlds series when I was a kid. But to this day I have never read a single story. They always looked great on the shelf, but always got squeezed by the other mags I bought regularly.

OK -- your turn!

Ain't Nothin' Like Halloween in Rutland, Vermont! Part 2012

Amazing Adventures #16 (January 1973)
"And the Juggernaut Will Get You... If You Don't Watch Out!"
Steve Englehart-Bob Brown/Marie Severin/Frank McLaughlin

Doug:  Hey, we're back to New England for our 4th annual visit to the Halloween parade that was featured in several Marvel and DC comics in the Bronze Age.  Today we're dropping in on the Bouncing Blue Beast, who Karen and I will tell you never looked better than when rendered by George Perez.  Unfortunately, Sir George isn't the penciller on this ish -- he doesn't do the honors for a couple of years and in the pages of the Avengers.  In Amazing Adventures you were dealt the usual hand of Tom Sutton; today we get a fill-in from Bob Brown.  Now I generally find Brown to be serviceable.  I have liked his work in Daredevil, the Avengers, and the Batman books.  But here...

Karen: I don't know what's going on here; I found Bob Brown acceptable if unexciting on Avengers but this is not his best work, particularly his version of Juggernaut. 

Doug:  If I was driving in some heavily wooded area and a huge blue ape-looking fellow lumbered out into the road, I'd assume I'd just had a sasquatch sighting.  Not so in this case, as it's our hairy hero Hank McCoy who jumps across the pavement in front of a Mustang being driven by none other than our scribe Steve Englehart!  Along for the ride are Len and Glynis Wein and Gerry Conway.  You might notice Marie Severin credited as one of this book's artists -- on the splash page credits, she is listed as the "caricaturist".  Our creative crew leaps from their ride to see the Beast leap off into the brush beside the road.  Marvel's stalwarts are on their way to Rutland, Vermont to meet Tom Fagan and participate in the All Hallow's Eve goings-on.  As for the Beast?  He bounds to a spot where his civvies have been stored -- complete with his mask (OK, don't get us going on that again...).  His lady friend Vera has been left by the side of the road, waiting for her man to return (Hank, there are bears in Vermont).  He does, and tells her that there's a car just up the road in which they can hitch a ride.

Karen: OK, what the heck are Hank and Vera doing just sitting by the side of the road? There's no real explanation as to how they got there. And don't get me started on the super-life-like masks again! I'm reading this out of the Marvel Masterworks edition and Steve Englehart mentions in the foreword that this story was part of a three-way cross-over between this title, Thor, and believe it or not, Justice League (unofficially of course)! I do have Thor #207, which is the second part of this tale. But I've never seen the JLA that finishes it all off.

Doug:  Hank and Vera run up to our friends from New York, and curiously Englehart tells them that the muffler fell off the car and the heater doesn't work -- yet he's wearing a tank top!  They allow Hank and Vera to get in, and away they go.  But what's that big red circle opening in the sky in their wake?  Why it's the Juggernaut's means of dropping back to terra firma.  We get a recap of Juggy's whereabouts -- seems he's been trapped in oblivion, cast there by Eternity after having been confined in Nightmare's realm (sheesh -- Juggy's been on the wrong side of some heavy hitters!).  Now the premise for the remainder of the plot is pretty thin:  the Juggernaut's holder will drop our big baddie on Rutland, VT -- a place where Dr. Strange was a year ago and where the Beast is this day.  The Juggernaut will be able to follow the Beast's emanations and basically do to our hero what he will -- hatred and revenge are front and center.  Nice guy.

Karen: OK, you brought it up in our little editorial post last weekend: Juggy is a big fat blob! I don't know what Brown was going for here, but I'm not feeling powerful and unstoppable here. More like, where's the couch and the Fritos. He looks like a friggin' blimp, for Pete's Sake. The drawing above is actually one of the better ones. 

Doug:  Once the car arrives in Rutland, everyone piles out.  Englehart tells Hank and Vera that they are heading to Fagan's, but that it's invite-only.  Hank says no sweat and asks Vera if she wants to check out the parade.  She replies that they have to get to Canada, and cryptically tells Hank that she needs the very best scientist experienced in mutations.  We then get one of the treats found in these sorts of stories, and that's seeing all of the Marvel and DC character costumes.  By the way, if you want a little retrospective on the real goings-on at Rutland back in the Bronze Age, we'd encourage you to purchase yourself a copy of the current Back Issue.  As the parade kicks off, the Bullpen meets back up with Hank and Vera and tells them that they can go to Fagan's party after all.  But as more smalltalk commences there's a commotion just over Hank's left shoulder -- it's the Juggernaut!

Karen: I'm glad you mentioned that Back Issue article. After reading the comics about the Rutland parades for so many years, it was great to see actual photographs from the parades and parties over the years.

Doug:  The Juggernaut destroys a float while he moves toward Hank -- and the Beast's emanations.  Again, hate and revenge are the agenda of Juggernaut's day, but as he gets close the red circle in the sky opens again and abruptly removes him from the scene.  Somehow in the melee, though, Glynis Wein went missing.  As the Marvel boys fan out to search for her, Hank orders Vera to go check into the motel.  This frees him to go full-on Beast mode and search for the Juggernaut.  He doesn't have to search long, as that mysterious red circle drops Juggy right in front of ol' Hank.  Hank tries to attack by chucking a bunch of rocks, but you know how effective that is.  What follows is a 7-page slugfest where lots of trees, a few boulders, and -almost- a dam are shredded.  But Hank fortuitously falls off the dam and gets himself a breather.

Karen: Yeah, Hank knows he can't beat the Juggernaut, so he leads him away from the town, and tries to figure out what to do. That makes sense.

Doug:   Then Hank does something unexplainable.  He gets back into his civvies and heads up to Tom Fagan's party -- I don't know, drawing the Juggernaut right into the midst of a bunch of innocent bystanders??  We see that Roy and Jeannie Thomas have joined the crowd, but before Hank can find out anything about Glynis the Juggernaut bursts through the wall.  Hank runs, knowing that somehow Juggy can sense his whereabouts.  Heading up the staircase and into the attic, Hank decides to cower on the floor.  But as the Juggernaut draws closer, Hank whirls, whipping his mask off (ah, the mask again) -- and scares the bejeezus out of the Juggernaut!  This creates an opportunity for Hank to launch himself at his foe and rip the Juggernaut's helmet off.  And you know what that means -- a quick and definite decline in mystical power.

Karen: Yeah, it made absolutely no sense that Hank lead Juggernaut back to a house full of people! That was just nuts. Almost as if there had been a miscommunication between writer and artist.Also, perhaps I misunderstood the reason Juggernaut needed the helmet. I thought it protected him from a mental attack by Professor X. I didn't think he lost his might when it was removed.

Doug:  Now it's the Juggernaut who makes tracks.  He runs right out of the house and hops into Englehart's Mustang!  Needless to say it gets destroyed and Hank pours on the attack.  The Juggernaut's no match and succumbs quickly, aging rapidly and getting visibly smaller and weaker.  As the Beast finally lays a hand on him the red circle in the sky appears and whisks the Juggernaut away -- to die, he says!  Back with the Bullpen, Glynis has been discovered and when asked where she was tells that she was in a place she doesn't remember, but had a pretty good time.  Huh?  What are we to make of that?  Anyway, the Beast saunters away, to the forest where he stands in front of a full moon -- until the dawn of the next day.  Vera?

Karen: Obviously the Juggernaut recovered. I think maybe Glynis might have gone over to the DC universe in that JLA issue, but I'm not 100% sure about it. Anybody know for sure? I thought this was a pretty weak story, that was not helped at all by the art.

Doug:  "Mixed bag" would be putting it mildly on this one.  The art ended up being serviceable on all characters except the Juggernaut who just looked fat.  I didn't care for the coloring in the Masterworks, as the Beast was way too dark a shade of blue.  But Bob Brown brought to the table what I'd generally expect.  As to Englehart's script... the inclusion of himself and the Bullpen, while not unusual in these stories, seemed a distraction and a useless plot vehicle.  And Glynis Wein's disappearance?  Your guess remains as good as mine.

Marvel Firsts: The Lady in Black

Amazing Adventures #1 (August 1970)
"Then Came... the Black Widow!"
Gary Friedrich-John Buscema/John Verpoorten

Karen: The Black Widow has been around a pretty long time in the Marvel Universe. Starting as an Iron Man villain (and a commie!) in Tales of Suspense #52 (published April 1964), she soon switched sides and became a good guy, a frequent ally to the Avengers and Hawkeye's main squeeze. But she eventually left Hawkeye and struck out on her own, changing from her original masked outfit to a sexier form-fitting suit designed by John Romita, Sr. Her first appearance in what has become her standard outfit was in Amazing Spider-Man #86 (July 1970). Amazing Adventures #1, published a few months later, was her first solo feature, even if she shared half the title with The Inhumans (what an odd pairing!).

Doug: I always felt that Natasha was a character that writers had a hard time using. Her appearances in the Avengers were for the most part underwhelming. However, I cannot begin to imagine how Hawkeye would have reacted to seeing her in the catsuit she sports in this story. Fishnets aside, ol' Clint Barton may not have been able to contain himself! And she seems an odd choice for a solo book. Do any of our readers know if Marvel's second go-round with split books had the original intention of try-out series, or were the Inhumans and the Widow supposed to be ongoing?

Karen: Our tale opens with 'Madame Natasha' bored out of her rich little mind. At this stage of her career, she was still just as interested in fashion and fun as she was espionage. She gets a call from a well-known playboy (not Tony Stark!) who asks her to come to Switzerland with him later in the week. She's thrilled and accepts immediately. But as soon as she hangs up, she has that empty feeling again. She realizes that it's action she really craves. She thinks back on her encounter with Spider-Man, and how he defeated her. She needs to get out, to prove herself. You never know when opportunity will knock. She notices that her maid, Maria, has been crying. She asks her what's wrong, and the woman explains that her son owes money to bad men who have threatened to kill him. The Widow immediately offers to give her the money, but Maria insists that her son must work things out himself, and leaves.

Doug: How did you view Natasha in this scene? While she's compassionate toward Maria, she's "all about me" in regard to the rest of her life. She just seems pretty aimless. I thought she appeared pretty self-absorbed. Do we know how she got all of her money?

Karen: Yeah, I had the same feeling. It was as if the Widow used Maria's son's plight as the perfect excuse to put on her costume again. We get a page that demonstrates her powers, including her anti-grav shoes (!) and widow's web, which duplicates Spidey's web line. She calls Ivan and tells him to have the Rolls ready, then throws on an overcoat and heads out. As they drive to Maria's home, the Widow looks out the car window and sees the rough conditions of the neighborhood. She does some typical Marvel pondering about government and the common man and then has Ivan pull over. Apparently Ivan is unaware that his boss is the Black Widow at this stage of their relationship, which surprised me. She tells him to go home, leaving him worried, and she clambers up Maria's building.

Doug: This version of Ivan was a very far cry from the protector of his "tsarina" we'd see in the Champions a few years later. Ivan in this story wasn't half as cool as Alfred. If memory serves, it's later revealed (retconned) that Ivan had been with Natasha since her childhood. Am I off-planet in thinking he may even have been her father? Anyway, I thought it was dumb that she went to her crime investigation in the Rolls, especially since it was in the 'hood!

Karen: The Widow eavesdrops on Maria's apartment and hears a couple of typical Buscema-style thugs threatening Maria and her son. They take the kid and tell Maria to come up with the money in 12 hours or they'll kill him. The Widow decides it's time for her to act. As the men leave the building she swings down, kicking one in the face. As the other thug prepares to shoot her, the Widow uses her Widow's Bite (a ray from her bracelet) to shoot him first, paralyzing him. The first thug she attacked has recovered and is charging at her. He's huge, twice her size, and mad as heck. But the Widow takes him down with a well-placed kick. She's actually disappointed that the fight wasn't more challenging.

Doug: You know, they should have just plastered "jumping on point for new readers" all over the cover to this mag. While not a first-issue origin story, it seems to have been written with the grab of new readers in mind. But, there really isn't much of a story here, is there? We get a little history, a little motivation, some very minor characterization (but enough), a complete run-down of Natasha's powers and attributes, her relationship with SHIELD, and that fact that she's superbad when she needs to be. As far as the kidnapping, it may have been a world record for the shortest in history. The baddies don't even get off the front stoop before they're slam-banged by our heroine!

Karen: New York's finest quickly arrive and the Widow realizes her new outfit doesn't have a mask! Uh, maybe she should have considered that before? Wishing to avoid being recognized, she scampers up the building just as the cops help Maria's son up. He explains that a lady in black saved him. The Widow swings off, pondering whether she should continue in her crime fighting career - well, I think we know the answer to that one.

Doug: My suspension of disbelief was put to the test when she got into the Rolls with a trench coat on over what was obviously a black catsuit. Or was she just too good-looking that Ivan didn't even notice her strange clothing choice? Then, as you said, the whole mask thing was dumb. It made her seem way too flighty for me. The Natasha I recall was strong, self-confident, and without doubts. This gal may evolve into here, but there's certainly a ways to go.

Karen: This was an OK little story. To be honest, the Buscema art really saves it from being utterly forgettable. I think the Widow became much more interesting when she partnered with Daredevil soon after.

Doug: John Verpoorten didn't do a bad job on the inks. This Big John was Marvel's production manager, but frequently stepped into his embellishing shoes during this period. I thought in a few instances the faces were flat, but overall there was a little "pop" to the art. I agree with you that the story was unspectacular but not offending. As I said above, it's really a nice little piece of marketing if you wanted to keep new readers coming back. Unfortunately, as we saw before, the Kirby writing on the lead Inhumans feature may have chased some away!

Marvel Firsts: The Bouncing GREY Beast!

Amazing Adventures #11 (March 1972)
"Lo! A Beast is Born!"
Gerry Conway-Tom Sutton/Syd Shores

Karen: Welcome to the inaugural post in a little series that Doug and I will be running out from time to time called 'Marvel Firsts.' We'll be taking a look at the first appearance of a Marvel character, although, in the case of this review, it is a first appearance based on a new look for a character. Original X-Man The Beast got his own brief series in 1971 in Amazing Adventures, but rather than the red and blue suited mutant we all knew, he would now look much more like his appellation.

Doug: I'd be curious to see sales figures from the short time that X-Men switched to the solo format (issues 44-48); surely the issue with Hank and Bobby didn't sell better than the others. I just think the Beast was a curious case for a solo magazine. Surely the Angel would have more cover appeal; trouble there is, he really doesn't have an interesting super power. At least Hawkman looks cool with the medieval weaponry. But a change in form would basically change Hank McCoy, the character, irrevocably.

Karen: Enjoy that striking Gil Kane artwork on the cover while you can, though, because the inside is illustrated by Tom Sutton and Syd Shores, and it's rough going. Honestly, every time I see the Beast in this issue I feel myself scowling. I actually have always liked his hairy, ape-like (not cat-like!) form, but it just looks terrible here. The rest of the art is serviceable, but the Beast in particular looks appallingly bad.

Doug: Karen and I have had a few conversations through email ahead of today's publication of this post. To be honest, neither of us has been looking forward to the art. And I can't really put my finger on it. I'll agree that it's serviceable. The "humanoids" (for lack of a better term) hearken back to the X-days of Werner Roth. That's not a bad thing, just not up with some of the other Marvel mags of this day. One thought I told Karen was that this book looked at times like a pre-hero Atlas mag. Specifically in regard to Sutton's depiction of our hairy protagonist, my impression is that he never got comfortable with the Beast's look -- at times he resembles (I'm talking angular aspects of the body mainly) a gorilla, a werewolf, and at others a plain ol' wolf. There are certain postures that seem to run inconsistent even from panel to panel. But overall the lay-outs and camera angles are varied and there are some nice panels throughout.
Karen: This issue came out at the time when Marvel seemed to be struggling to figure out some way to use the X-Men. Their own title had gone into reprints, and the strangest teens of all would occasionally show up in other titles. Apparently it was felt that the Beast might do well, if there were some changes. I can't help but think that his new look was a part of the whole monster mania that swept through Marvel in the early 70s.

Doug: As an aside here, I am reading from the Marvel Masterworks - X-Men, volume 7. Marvel did a great thing with volumes 7 and 8 in this series by reprinting the interim appearances of the Merry Mutants between X-Men #66 and G-S X-Men #1. The book I'm looking at, for example, contains Amazing Spider-Man #92, Incredible Hulk #'s 150 and 161, Marvel Team-Up #4, and Amazing Adventures #'s 11-17. It's a cool book! I'm not going to buy the MM volume 8, as I have all of those issues reprinted in other formats.
Karen: Our tale opens in the dark of night at the Brand Corporation. From high above a bestial humanoid gazes down on an unsuspecting nightwatchman making his rounds. When the watchman gets to a door marked "Genetic Research Subdivision 12" the man uses a device to burn through the lock on the door. Just as he's about to enter, the shaggy watcher jumps down on him. The monstrous attacker slams the watchman/spy into a piece of machinery, and the spy pulls a gun and fires. The bullets hit him in the chest but still the creature keeps coming. He disarms the man but is then attacked by more guards. He high tails it to another lab but hears the guards fire on the spy and he knows the man has been killed. He feels filled with guilt.

Doug: Early here we're not completely certain that this Beast is Hank McCoy, so this display of nobility... well, if sorrow qualifies a guy who just attacked another guy as noble -- is a bit of a head-scratcher.

Karen: We soon learn that our protagonist is indeed the Beast, aka Hank McCoy, but he has undergone some intentional metamorphosis. However, he soon finds that he is unable to turn back to his human form. He's stuck in his hairy form. Anguished by the turn of events, he trashes his lab and we get a flashback (isn't that how it always works?). He recalls leaving his team-mates to go work for the Brand Corporation, a gigantic company. On his first day there, he's given a tour and meets both the attractive Miss Linda Donaldson and the belligerent Professor Maddicks. Hank soon starts seeing Linda and he's over the moon.

Doug: I really liked the flashback scene to the day Hank left the nest of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Gerry Conway made that a tender part of the tale, and as I said above about Sutton's art these panels really took us back in time. It is always a bit over the top, however, when we see our heroes all dressed to kill in their leisure time. Doesn't anyone own a pair of Levi's?

Karen: It was a nice scene, and helps to provide a reason for Hank's leaving the team. It is kind of funny though to see them all in their costumes as Hank drives off.

Doug: I enjoyed the new cast for their stereotypical natures. Professor Maddicks is a throwback to some of the commie nasties of the Silver Age, and Linda is appropriately pretty and smart. I also enjoyed the pages with Hank getting around town a la Spidey or DD, flashing the red-and-blues. I always liked that costume. When X-Factor began the costumes they wore were a nice homage to the "graduation costumes" of the latter years of the original five.
Karen: Hank's work involves the study of his own genetic structure. He's trying to isolate the cause of mutation. He has a breakthrough and discovers a way to turn any human into a mutant - "for a carefully controlled period of time." When I read this I really wondered why Hank would want to do this. It doesn't make much sense to me. Hank overhears Maddicks on the phone telling someone named 'Agent Nine' that Hank is on to something big, and they arrange to break into Hank's lab. Hearing this, Hank feels desperate. He's afraid if he shows up in his X-Men gear, his identity will be revealed -because of his unusual build. So of course he decides to drink the chemical extract and mutate further. I guess it was one of those, "It seemed like a good idea at the time" choices.

Doug: Question -- Hank claims that he's discovered the "chemical cause of mutation". How exactly does that fit into the whole "children of the atom" deal? Wasn't Stan's original intent with mutants to be some sort of commentary on the nuclear age? Additionally, would one really be a "mutant" if it was through chemical means and temporary? Because if that's the case, then Hank and Janet Pym would have been mutants whenever they were doing their bug stuff. So many queries, so few answers...

Karen: Yeah, it's more than a little weak! Hank drinks his serum and transforms into a still hulking but now grey-furred Beast. There's some indication that he may also have lost some of his intellect -he notes that he's no longer talking in polysyllables all the time. And then we're back to the present, with Hank once again growing angry over his inability to return to his human or at least human enough form. He recalls that Maddicks was going to meet Agent Nine at midnight, and as the clock strikes 12 the Beast bursts through the window to find him. He knocks a door off its hinges easily and begins pounding a half-dozen armed guards. Another interesting bit here: when the Beast is shot, he seems to recover almost instantly. I got the impression he had a healing power similar to that other wild X-Man, Wolverine -but of course, this was a good three years before we'd see that pesky mutant.
Doug: Hey, in my reprint of this story, the Beast is heading towards purple. You ever see a Daredevil with Killgrave the Purple Man? Like that color. Not a becoming look. Speaking of his intellect, there is a concerted effort on Conway's part to animalize Mr. McCoy, so the speech patterns decline in the smarts department. But it's not too bad. You want bad? How about what Walter Simonson did to Hank in the aforementioned X-Factor when he traded a return to plain old skin for Hank's brain? Rather than being animalized, Simonson vegetableized him. Not a fan.
Doug: As you mentioned, the healing factor was noticeable right away. Hank took quite a few bullets as well as a lot of other damage. This was an origin story of discovery for Hank and his readers alike!

Karen: When the Beast finally reaches Maddicks, he goes nuts and nearly strangles the man. He manages to stop himself in time but is alarmed at how wild he's become. He leaps off into the night, leaving Maddicks alive. But not for long -Agent Nine shows up and shoots him. And who should Agent Nine turn out to be but Linda!

Doug: Linda! All is not what it seemed! Oh, the intrigue! By the time this was over, I struggled a bit with the question "who is Hank McCoy?" I just wasn't certain. For most of Conway's script, at least the middle part, it was the Hank last seen in the Roy Thomas days. Now he looks different, sounds different, and certainly behaves differently. My first impression really wasn't all that favorable. What do you think -- is the only thing that separates this character from Werewolf by Night or the Man-Wolf is that backstory of the X-Men? Because I'm thinking they could have just made up a whole 'nother dude for this.

Karen: They seemed, at least initially, to be going for that whole "struggling to remain civilized" thing with the Beast. I'm glad that was dropped at some point. I much prefer the idea of the brainy guy trapped in the monstrous body. I think I would have enjoyed this tale a lot more if I wasn't cringing at the art. Sure, it doesn't make a ton of sense, but it moves along nicely and I'm sure it was an interesting direction for the character at the time.

Doug: You're right. In proofreading our comments (because we want to look good for all of our readers), it sometimes seems like we're complaining, but I think we're really just reacting to how different this depiction of a favorite character was. And I guess as we look at this through the lens of history, it's not only the X-Men's Hank McCoy at issue here, but the guy that became a favorite in the Avengers as well. I can say that since I now hold this series in my hands, I will be interested to see where next issue's scribe, Steve Englehart, takes our now-furry mutant.