When Your Protagonists are Antagonizing... Super-Villain Team-Up 2

Super-Villain Team-Up #2 (October 1975)(cover by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia)
"In the Midst of Life... the Way to Dusty Death!"
Tony Isabella-Sal Buscema/Fred Kida

Doug: Continuing a week's worth of Civil War-themed posts, what about bad guys fighting bad guys? This was the first issue of Super-Villain Team-Up that I ever bought, and I stayed with the series (when I could -- you know, distribution woes) until the end of the original run; I did not know until years later that there was a 16th and then a 17th issue (each released waaaay after the 15th issue). Super-Villain Team-Up seems typical of other short-lived series at Marvel in that (in my opinion) sub-par and oft-rotating creative teams doomed it. Case in point: during its 17-issue run (plus Giant-Size issues), the following writers and artists helmed the series --

Giant-Size SVTU #1 -- Roy Thomas-John Buscema/Joe Sinnott (framing sequences)
Giant-Size SVTU #2 -- Roy Thomas-Mike Sekowsky/Sam Grainger
#1: Tony Isabella-George Tuska/Bill Everett/George Evans/Frank Springer
#2: Tony Isabella-Sal Buscema/Fred Kida
#3: Jim Shooter-George Evans/Jack Abel
#4: Bill Mantlo-Herb Trimpe/Jim Mooney
#5: Steve Englehart-Herb Trimpe/Don Perlin
#6: Steve Englehart-Herb Trimpe/Jack Abel
#7: Steve Englehart-Herb Trimpe/Pablo Marcos
#8: Steve Englehart-Keith Giffen/Owen McCarron
#9: Bill Mantlo-Jim Shooter/Sal Trapani
#10: Bill Mantlo-Bob Hall/Don Perlin
#11: Bill Mantlo-Bob Hall/Don Perlin
#12: Bill Mantlo-Bob Hall/Don Perlin
#13: Bill Mantlo/Keith Giffen-Giffen/Don Perlin
#14: Bill Mantlo-Bob Hall/Don Perlin/Duffy Vohland
#15: Larry Lieber-George Tuska/Wally Wood/Mike Esposito (reprint)
#16: Peter Gillis-Carmine Infantino/Bruce Patterson
#17: Peter Gillis-Arvell Jones/Bruce Patterson

So if you're scoring at home, that's six writers (I won't count Lieber due to the reprint), 11 pencilers, and (wait for it) 13 inkers. That's right -- 13 inkers working on 18 issues in the series (again, not counting the reprint). Granted, they doubled-up a few times, but still... If that's not a major reason why a book would look different month to month, I don't know what is. And regardless what you think of a guy like Herb Trimpe, when you place him under the influence of Don Perlin... well, let's just say it ain't Trimpe under John Severin! I will say, though, that the Bob Hall/Don Perlin issues look pretty good.

Doug: There's something for you to chew on as we now get on to the task at hand -- reviewing what's sort of a bridge issue, but fun nonetheless. We pick up the trail on one of our favorite Bronze Age conventions -- the visi-screen! I mean seriously... if I can't have a couple of panels with a rubber mask reveal, then just hit me upside the head with a visi-screen! Here's your 100-Word Review of the plot of this issue:

After a battle near Hydrobase, Namor has fallen under the combined might of Attuma, Tiger Shark, and Dr. Dorcas (now there's a moniker for ya). But somewhere distant Namor's would-be ally Dr. Doom watches, and reflects on the brief history of his and Namor’s alliance. Doom is found out, forcing his hand. Seeking to liberate Namor, Doom encounters the transformed Betty Dean Prentiss, former love of the Prince during the War. Doom infiltrates Namor’s prison, but in the melee Betty is killed trying to save Namor from Dr. Dorcas’ blast… she falls just as Namor breaks free. “Avenging Son”, indeed!

Doug: If I were an editor working at Marvel in the Bronze Age and I wanted to stabilize a book either to keep it on schedule or to smooth out its "look", I'd turn it over to Sal Buscema. That's not to say that he was the best artist Marvel had at their disposal, but he could crank out the "house style" in an efficient manner. I don't know if that is why he was tapped for this particular issue, but in the looks dept. his presence makes this one of my favorites in the entire series. So...

The Good: Obviously the art. I really don't have a lot of experience with inker Fred Kida, or at least I don't think that I do. Maybe that I can't recall Kida's work is a good thing? Perhaps you immediately inferred that he's not a memorable artist. Maybe that's his strength, because when I look at this I see Sal Buscema. It's no Joe Sinnott production, that's for sure (and you all know I love Joe Sinnott). At this stage of his career Sal was a grid guy, utilizing 4-8 panels on a page. Only the double-page spread (pages 2 and 3) rejects the notion of borders; every other panel in the book contains the art. So if you're looking for anything resembling the better design aspects of Jim Steranko or Neal Adams, you won't find it here. And that's OK. As I said, if someone felt this book needed a steadying hand, they got it.

There is one specific panel that I think is genius. I've provided it here -- Tiger Shark emerging from the ocean. Look at his right hand. He skims the water with the backs of his fingers, just like you or I would if we were walking to shore, thinking or watching. I just find that bit of familiar motion fascinating -- what a detail. I also have a love/hate sense with a single panel of Doom holding his chin in the crook of his thumb and index finger. While it's an image that conveys the motion of stroking one's chin and it fits Doom's mood in the scene, it does seem somewhat odd that a fellow would place a hard metal finger beside a hard metal chin. Not exactly the pensive beard-stroking one might think of. The emotion on the final panel of the book leaps off the page. Fabulous ending (see the end of this post)!

Earlier I mentioned the visi-screen. Unlike in the past, when our would-be world-dominators are just able to kick back and look at these things as if possessing some sort of universal clairvoyance, here we actually find the source of the images Doom is perusing. Doom had devised a mechanical fish that looks to me quite a bit like a Joker fish. Even though Tiger Shark spied it and wrecked it, I did appreciate that we got a "plausible" explanation for Doom's spying capabilities.

While I'll take issue with Tony Isabella's characterization here in just a minute, I must compliment him here on making me root for the main character of the magazine (the Marvel Universe's alpha super-villain) against all other characters -- especially when everyone in the book is a bad guy! Namor's rogue's gallery is bereft of true heavyweights, so of course Doom would be able to out-smart them, out-tech them, etc. But there was still the sense that I wanted Doom to be the victor (no pun intended) here. I don't say that in he pages of the Fantastic Four.

Lastly, I've been on record for years stating that I love this life-giving suit that Namor wore in the early-mid 1970s. Love the look! It's certainly more regal than trying to rule or lay waste to the world in a green Speedo.

The Bad: Let's go right into my scripting complaint. If you would be so kind, hop back to my review of Sub-Mariner #8, written by Roy Thomas. That issue was narrated by Betty Dean Prentiss, who is a major supporting character in today's story. You can see some narration boxes in the art samples -- those were "written" by Prentiss in her diary. Got her voice? Yeah, Isabella must have just ignored all that, because I think he took her character profile (she worked for the NYPD) and just wrote her as some hardened beat cop-type of person. It's really off, and I think I'd feel that way even if I had not known the character from that other book. The way she addresses Doom is pretty stupid, as well. I'm all for bravado in the face of extreme adversity, but c'mon... the monarch of Latveria could have vaporized her on the spot. I guess I'd rather she'd been written differently.

Note - You may notice that some of the "human" characters, like Betty Prentiss, are amphibians. This was apparently a development in the last issues of Namor's solo mag, which was cancelled around six months before Giant-Size SVTU #1. I don't know if this is necessarily a bad thing as a plot device, but I'll put it here since I was discussing Betty Prentiss.

The Ugly: Tiger Shark's teeth. You know -- like a shark. Boy should have had braces! That being said, are his teeth uglier than Attuma's whole face? Discuss.

Doug: I am hesitant to read the entire trade Super-Villains Unite: The Complete Super-Villain Team-Up, which I have used for today's festivities. As I said, the art is a real turn-off at times. And that's a shame to middle-aged me, because my memories of this series are better than the reality of it with which I am now faced. "Hold up"? Umm...

Doug: For conversation starters, what other instances can you come up with where super-baddies fought super-baddies? Were there some memorable tussles? Who would you have liked to have seen -- where were two guys (or gals) who may have conceivably had a beef with each other?

#Inktober - Romita's/Kane's/Zeck's Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

Doug: Happy #Inktober (our fourth installment, no less!) to all. Our Saturday feature today is not the work of one great Spider-Man artist, but three. I'm going to shove some work from John Romita, Sr., Gil Kane, and Mike Zeck under your noses. All images today come from the following books:

• John Romita's Amazing Spider-Man Artifact Edition
• Gil Kane's Amazing Spider-Man Artist Edition
• Mike Zeck's Classic Marvel Stories Artist Edition

I must confess that in some cases the scans don't look so great. That would be due to the tremendous size of these books -- and the Jazzy One's Artifact Edition is the biggest yet, as it's reproduced in the "twice-up" size of that era (hence, I've generally only provided single panels). It's a beast!! But I hope you'll get some enjoyment out of my choices. I've had fun providing them (hernia notwithstanding!).

 

     

  

Hooking the Reader, Only to Fizzle?

Doug: For my 49th birthday, which was 10 days ago, my in-laws got me a $20 Barnes and Noble gift card. I'm usually an Amazon kind of guy, because I feel their prices are better. But of course I took the plunge and snagged a used (although when it arrived it was as new as new can be) copy of Super-Villains Unite: The Complete Super-Villain Team-Up for $16. Thumbing through the book (which is thick -- I got a great deal) I was struck with how below-average the art was in the series. Lots of not-so-good Herb Trimpe, some really early Keith Giffen that is baaaaaad, etc. But the first appearance before the ongoing was actually in Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up #1. It featured two reprints, but the framing story was drawn by Big John Buscema. For the second G-S issue, DC guys Mike Sekowsky and Jack Abel turned in the pictures. While obviously a couple of notches below JB, it was serviceable. When the series finally began in 25c form the first issue featured George Tuska and the second Sal Buscema. So really, to get this ball rolling there was some pretty solid art. But as I said, it devolved quickly.

Doug: All this got me to thinking -- Marvel seemed to have a "hook" artist at the beginning of many of their 1970s start-ups. But did that last? Did the series (of course most of them barely made it past a second year of circulation) continue to deliver? Let's stick to the John Buscema theme for a minute. Below are the covers to three other series that Buscema was tapped to kick off: Ms. Marvel, Nova, and She-Hulk.

Doug: Obviously John Romita provided the cover for Ms. Marvel #1, and Rich Buckler and Joe Sinnott did the honors on Nova. Big John penciled the She-Hulk book. For the record, Buscema stuck around for three issues on Ms. Marvel, two on Nova (before giving way to his brother, Sal), and only penciled the inaugural issue of She-Hulk. I'm not going to denigrate the work of guys like Mike Vosburg, but let's be honest -- he isn't JB! And as I said above, each of these books petered out around the 25th issue.

Doug: So what else? Marvel had tried to get an Inhumans series going earlier in Amazing Adventures. It lasted around 10 issues before the second attempt was made a few years later. It should have succeeded -- during its short life, the book featured pencils by George Perez, Gil Kane, and Keith Pollard. Perez, young and green, handled five of the first eight issues. But Kane's style is such a stark contrast to that of Perez, was that a factor in perhaps driving readers away? Hard to say. Another book in which Kane was involved was the Champions. Maybe this book had other issues involving the writing and/or hero line-up, but covers by Kane, Ron Wilson, and Rich Buckler couldn't save the book from the interiors of Don Heck and George Tuska (in fairness, both past their prime). 

Doug: So speaking of interiors, one of the great mysteries of short-lived series in the Bronze Age is the survival of The Invaders. From the get-go Frank Robbins was on duty (often inked by Frank Springer) -- to say Robbins' art is not to my liking would be an understatement. I've read his scripting on the Batman books -- I absolutely have no problem at all with him as a writer. But I have a struggle each time I try to read books he penciled. To further confound the Invaders problem, the series enjoyed wonderful covers by John Romita (I'm featuring the second issue, as I'd shown the first issue's cover a few weeks ago) and then an extended run by Jack Kirby. Many have said that Kirby should have done the interiors as well. By the way, the fifth issue, penciled by Rich Buckler, was a treat.

Doug: What do the readers say? I guess we're talking about a subject that comes up then and again -- covers vs. interior art and also the major issue of short-lived series -- the often-revolving creator carousel. And what's your opinion on those first-issue artists? I was surprised at how many kick-offs John Buscema shepherded us through. Was he editorial's go-to guy? Was he the Bronze Age's Jack Kirby, in terms of "if we want this to be good and get off the ground, Big John has to do it"? Do you think these series had a focus, or were they merely to take up shelf space in order to cut into DC's market share? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Strange Visitor to Another Planet - Showcase 17

Showcase #17 (November/December 1958)(cover by Gil Kane)
"Secret of the Eternal City"
"The Planet and the Pendulum"
Gardner Fox-Mike Sekowsky/Bernard Sachs

Doug: As I mentioned in last Tuesday's anniversary post, straying from the regular writing of comics reviews has cost me the joy of reading comics regularly. That's not to say that I haven't read a single book since Karen and I reviewed our last issue of Marvels back in April. On the contrary, I've read a few, including the entire New Frontier series as well as some Lee/Kirby Thor. But I do miss that week-to-week reading and writing. Also as I mentioned last week, I'm going to be very intentional about publishing my reflections on a few issues here before the summer ends. And, with some minimal arm-twisting, I think I'll have my partner along for the ride twice.

Doug: So back in February we ran an Open Forum where I posited that there are characters I know of, sort of like, but really know nothing about. Adam Strange was my guy. A few weeks after that post I found a deal on eBay that was simply too good to pass on -- the first two volumes of the Adam Strange Archives for around $25 total. You're going to be the beneficiary of that purchase today. The character bowed in Showcase #17. I was surprised that the initial adventures were penciled by Mike Sekowsky, he of the Super-universe titles. My assumption was that I was going to see Carmine Infantino, or perhaps even Gil Kane. Infantino became the regular penciler of the strip once it moved to the Mystery in Space mag -- Adam Strange's fourth appearance. But today we're going to see his first two outings: the origin story, sans costume, and then a short tale where he dons the familiar red space suit.

Doug: We open in the Andes mountains of Peru at an ancient Inca site. Archaeologist Adam Strange has found the secret city of Caramanga, which really sounds like something a Ninja Turtle would shout. And with that found city -- a treasure not plundered by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro. But as Strange further investigates, he's set upon by a very angry detachment of Inca warriors -- still dressed in 16th century garb! One has to "love" 1950s racism... Strange wheels and runs for his life, quickly reaching the precipice of a deep canyon. The divide spans some 25 feet, but Strange's only choice is to back up and race toward what will certainly need to be the best long jump of any track career he ever had. As he hurtles into the gap, he's suddenly in the midst of some sort of power beam. Blink! Gone is Strange from our planet, only to arrive on some distant world. He's immediately chased by some sort of giant lizard, but is saved by a small aircraft. The vessel ensnares the beast with a strong net, and then a beautiful young woman emerges from the cockpit. She attempts to converse with the stranger, much to his frustration. He understands, however, that she wants to spirit him away. Having no idea where or when he is, he consents -- so one must assume that her looks trumped any mistrust Adam may have felt. Soon they are in the city of Ranagar, and in the company of the young woman's father.

Doug: This plays out like an episode of Flash Gordon -- we have the beauty and her dad, we'll see some ray guns, space fighters, weird creatures and settings... Alanna, the woman, places a metal band around Strange's head. Instantly his brain is infused with all knowledge of the language he moments earlier had not understood. The man's same is Sardath, and he is a scientist (of course). Sardath explains that four years ago the people of Rann attempted to contact the people of Earth, firing zeta-beams at our planet. It must have happened that when Strange fled the Incas he leapt right into the beam. Alanna offers that in the time the zeta-beams had been active, some space radiation must have converted them from communication beams to teleportation beams! Man, this truly is great 1950s fare!

Doug: Alanna offers Adam a tour of the city, and explains some local history to him. Suddenly they are attacked by blast rays from a space ship -- trouble is, Rann has no space ships. This is an alien invasion! Alanna finds a radio frequency (ha!) that alerts she and Adam to the goings-on: a race called the Eternals has come to Rann seeking a metal called Vitatron. It seems like some Vitatron had landed on their planet years ago, and they quickly deduced that its properties could render their people immortal. However, the metal began to fade in intensity, so they sought another source. Their sensors determined that Rann had some. Alanna heard all this, and wondered if it might be located in the city of Samakand, an odd location that appears in our dimension only once every 25 years! She and Adam set out to investigate.

Doug: In Samakand, Alanna and Adam meet with some priestly officials who confirm that they indeed have the metal. But -- how to keep it away from the Eternals, and Samakand has no weapons! Adam says to leave it to him. And then this Earthman archaeologist offers to pilot a space fighter in an effort to drive the Eternals away. I have to convince myself that I'm in that 10-year old target group that DC drove at. You know, and I said this just above, this science fiction is fun -- and it's not generally in my wheelhouse. So Adam, as you might guess, successfully defeats the Eternals in space. But when a detachment continues to follow Adam and Alanna back to Rann, Adam urges Alanna to parachute from their ship, leaving it on auto-pilot to return to Samakand. The Eternals follow, but arrive just as Samakand fades out -- not to reappear for another 25 years! But at the same moment? Adam begins to fade also. Did the zeta-beam wear off?


You betcha -- but back on Earth, Adam is at least armed with the knowledge of the location of one of the other zeta-beams. Maybe, he will be able to get back to Rann, and to Alanna.

Doug: This issue of Showcase actually contained two Adam Strange tales, and in the second one we see our hero in his customary costume. We begin with Adam wondering about the zeta-beam. He's in the south Pacific, near Singapore -- that's where he'd calculated the beam to strike. Counting down to its anticipated arrival, at "zero" Strange throws himself from his boat and into the beam. He'd been right! However, he arrives on Rann not near Alanna, but in the presence of some barbarians. They overwhelm Adam and haul him to their leader. That guy, Zoora, tells his minions to take Adam to the Tower of the Rainbow Doom. Strapped into a chair, a kaleidoscope of colors begins to swirl -- and suddenly Adam Strange is no more! But we see that he's not really disappeared, but has been teleported. Scanning the sky, he sees he's in the middle of a meteor shower. But seeing a crashed space ship -- one that looks exactly like the one he and Alanna had used to defeat the Eternals -- causes Adam to race to it and enter. At the controls lies Sardath, unconscious. Elsewhere Adam attends to crew members, and finally to the lovely Alanna. I know you're asking -- what are the chances? Me, too! Alanna awakens and relates a tale of their fate, how they'd been contacted by the scientists of Samakand. As they were heading into the fourth dimension for the next 25 years, they left all their scientific knowledge with the city of Ranagar. This allowed Ranagar to attain technology of which they'd only dreamed.

Doug: Before the scientists had gone into exile, they set up a colony on a nearby planet. The city-state had a large artificial lake, and a dome to protect the people from meteor showers. Sardath wanted to see if those people were still there, so built a spaceship and assembled a crew. But on the way there they were attacked by another ship, and crash landed. The Rainbow Doom was a teleportaton device, hence sending Adam to the spot of the crash. Donning a space suit found in the craft (yep -- you know what it looks like), Adam told Alanna they could search for the city Sardath had sought. Again using a space radio (this still cracks me up that they felt advanced societies would rely on common radios), Adam and Alanna send out a distress signal. The people they're seeking actually pick up on it, and arrive to rescue our stranded party. But once aboard the vehicles, another tale of alien attack is told. The same ship that had sent the Rannian craft into distress had returned to the domed city, but this time with a scythe attached to a pendulum on the lower hull of the ship. You got it -- think of some of the perils from the Batman television show and you know what we're dealing with. Of course Adam suits up, dons a jet pack and packs a blaster and he's off to the stars. Our guy single-handedly whips the enemy and preserves democracy and all that jazz. But when he's ready to receive the adoration of his lady friend, what should wear off but the zeta-beam? And so it's back to Earth! Adam still has the space suit on, and says he'll have to hide it away. But when he finds that next zeta-beam, he'll be ready to defend Rann... and his new love, Alanna (with whom he's spent what? -- all of 48 hours?).

Doug: I enjoyed these stories. Sure, they were hokey, but they did fill in that knowledge gap that I've had for Adam Strange. I liked them enough that I'll return to this book as well as the second Archive volume. I'd lie if I didn't tell you I got sort of a "Spaceman Spiff" vibe from some of the situations in which Adam found himself. Gardner Fox's stories were what I'd have expected from a Silver Age DC (remember, they entered that "period" years before Marvel did), and Mike Sekowsky's art was pretty solid for the time. I'm always amazed when I read a story by Fox, and perhaps moreso by Bob Haney, at how many twists and turns there are in a plot. Marvel's longer, linear, narratives seemed to flow so much better and could be infinitely easier on the reader to just go along for the ride. Sometimes when I read some of the DC scribes, I feel the need to flip back a page or two and ask myself, "Now what just happened there?"

Doug: I would like you to take a look at the panel below. At the top of this post I'd mentioned Carmine Infantino. We know that by the time this saw print Infantino was one of DC's studs. I don't know to what extent he had any duties in art correction, but the face in the panel below can only be his work -- there is no other panel in either story included in Showcase #17 where there is a profile of Adam Strange drawn in that manner. What do you think? Of course, my line of questioning spins out of our discussion a couple of weeks ago on John Romita, where Marie Severin's name also came up. I just think that Carmine redrew that face -- and that's not to denigrate Sekowsky, who was overall quite solid. So leave a comment, you who knew all about this character, as well as those of you who have either had your curiosity piqued or who may not care at all!

Guest Review - Gil Kane's Blackmark

Doug: If I've not said it previously, I have really, really enjoyed the variety our guest writers have brought to the reviews here on the BAB. Karen is much more varied in her interests than am I. I am a Marvel first guy, but with a fair working knowledge of some things DC. But beyond that, call me mostly ignorant. So I've thought it just great that our readers have had the opportunity to consider formats beyond the four-color newsprinted page. Edo Bosnar is your moderator today for an Archie Goodwin/Gil Kane collaboration that is many likely new for most of us.

Blackmark (one of the earliest graphic novels)(Bantam Books, 1971)
Created and drawn by Gil Kane; Script by Archie Goodwin

Edo Bosnar: Besides being an artistic mainstay in American comics pretty much since the Golden Age, Gil Kane was also one of the pioneers of the graphic novel, i.e., a long-form comic story that deals with more serious, “adult” themes and appears in a format different from the periodical comic books all of us love so much. Kane actually first experimented with this different form to tell comics stories in a book called “His Name is Savage!” that came out in 1968 (and later reprinted in the early 1980s by Fantagraphics as “Gil Kane’s Savage”). It didn’t exactly set the world on fire, but he didn’t let this daunt him.

So he came back in 1971 with this book, a sort of barbarian epic set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future. It was released in pocketbook format, and some years back I found a really inexpensive copy online and snapped it right up.

As the introductory page notes, the earth has devolved to a state of pre-industrial barbarism. But there’s no magic, instead there’s the “old science,” for it is looked upon as some kind of dark art that elicits fear, as do any who have some knowledge of it and/or know how to make use of it. And to some extent, there would seem to be good reason for this. Kane drew the backgrounds as suitably bleak and desolate, and besides the normal-looking humans, everything else seems mutated and grotesque – in fact, all of the animals have the hyphenated suffix “-mute” added to their names, i.e., mutants.

The story begins with a young woman named Marnie and her much older husband, Zeph, described as a tinker, as they travel through some dangerous wasteland on their way to a new home. At one point, after Zeph wards off a primate-like mutant that attacks them, he goes off somewhere (it’s not really explained why – to fetch firewood or hunt game I guess), leaving Marine alone with her thoughts, when she gets some unexpected visitors.

 

They introduce themselves as Amarix, the recently deposed king of a country called the Westlands, and his companion Balzamo. The people of Westlands rose against Amarix because he was trying to revive science. Amarix tells Marnie if she undergoes this odd procedure (that looks something like a blood transfer), it will transfer all of the knowledge he acquired into her mind, and also alter her physical structure slightly to enable her to bear children (she is infertile up to that point). He and Balzamo also offer her all of the wealth they have a left, a small pouch of gold. She agrees and goes through with it. The two then leave to try to evade their former countrymen who are in hot pursuit.

Zeph returns to the camp and Marnie tell him about all of the excitement and shows him the pouch of riches – and this leads to the first of two genuinely disturbing and brutal parts of the story, as Zeph, believing that Marnie cuckolded him, with a man using science to boot, starts slapping her and then finishes the job by caning her. It’s not drawn in explicit detail (thankfully), but it is narrated.

Marnie eventually gives birth, to a healthy child who has the same black mark she does on his upper thigh (hence his name, obviously). And she also has troubling visions that she doesn’t understand – the consequences of the procedure Amarix put her through.

At first Zeph can’t stand the sight of the baby, even though Marnie insists that the child is his. But by the time child is a year old, he eventually comes around.

 

Zeph and Marnie eventually used the last of the gold from the pouch given to her by Amarix to buy a piece of land that Zeph farms. Blackmark grows into a strong, intelligent and inquisitive boy, and the small family seems content. Of course, any reader knows this won’t last. And sure enough, a band of raiders attack the nearby village, and then eventually make their way to Zeph and Marnie’s homestead. And this is the second of two scenes I mentioned, as the brigands kill Zeph and proceed to beat and then rape Marnie in front of the young Blackmark, and when she manages to scratch the face of her assailant, he plunges his sword into her chest. All the while, her assailant wears a distinctive helmet that Blackmark will never forget as he swears vengeance.

He eventually gets caught by slavers and ends up in captivity. And the story now jumps ahead to Blackmark as a 21 year-old man, a gladiator-slave in the court of the rather repugnant king of the Westlands, Kargon. The narration indicates that Blackmark actually escaped from captivity several times and even led a band of ex-slaves in an abortive revolt before being captured again.

The gladiatorial arena has an interesting feature: a giant rocket ship, pointing to the sky. It is called the “Warlock Shrine,” and according to legend, anyone who manages to free it from its earthly bounds (i.e., launch it), will become the king of the world. Kargon explains to a visiting dignitary that the previous king (i.e., Amarix) tried for years in vain to figure out its secrets (and was probably on the verge of succeeding) before Kargon riled up the people to exile him from the kingdom for “blaspheming” by using science. Kargon adds that he has a standing offer to any who attempts to move the “Warlock Shrine”: he will give his kingdom to anyone who succeeds, but the price of failure is death.

An additional problem for Blackmark is that Kargon’s youngish and alluring wife, Lyllith, has taken quite a shine to him (apparently Kargon is used to her having little flings gladiators and visiting warriors who tickle her fancy). At one point, Blackmark spurns her advances, so she sics the trainer on him. This doesn’t end well for the trainer, who gets strangled by his own whip and Blackmark then proceeds to beat the daylights out of most of guards. However, they finally manage to subdue him. Kargon shows up and wants him killed, but Lyllith begs for him to be spared. So he decrees that that Blackmark will face the “fire lizard” (an actual fire-breathing dragon) the next day. He’s thrown into a dank cell to get some rest the night before facing this challenge. There’s another inmate in that cell, an old man who recognizes Blackmark’s, well, black mark, and tells him that he’s Balzamo, a name Blackmark recognizes from his mother’s stories. So the two do some catching up.

The next day, both Blackmark and Balzamo are ushered into the arena to face the fire lizard. In the stands, Blackmark notices that Lyllith’s new boy-toy has a very distinct helmet – he recognizes it immediately as the one worn by the man who slaughtered his parents.

The battle goes well for Blackmark, as he unexpectedly (well, to Kargon and the spectators , anyway) kills the dragon.

The crowd goes wild, cheering for Blackmark. Even Lyllith realizes that Blackmark is a threat at this point, and tells Kargon he should have him killed. Blackmark rather impulsively wants to take the king out, even though there’s a bunch of archers with arrows mounted ready to take him down. Balzamo advises caution.

(By the way, that page above was apparently inked by Neal Adams, as Kane called in a few artists to help him out when he was having trouble meeting his deadline.) Blackmark tells he’ll take the challenge to move the rocket. Against Lyllith’s opposition, Kargon agrees, thinking there’s no way he’ll figure out how to move the thing. But the knowledge of Amarix apparently stored away in Blackmark’s genes comes to the fore, and he enters the craft without much effort and, similarly, just seems to automatically know how to operate the controls. He turns on the ignition so to speak, and the rocket launches. The astonished spectators are already calling him their new king,.

He turns the rocket around and then lands back in the arena, and he’s greeted by the adulation of the people. Kargon orders his guards to kill him, and a melee ensues. The sword Blackmark found in the rocket seems to have a life of its own, and makes a screaming sound as Blackmark easily slashes through his opponents. He first takes down the king, and wants to get the mysterious helmeted man who’s with Lyllith. He spots them fleeing in the crowd, and flings his sword, but the mysterious man – a model of chivalry to be sure – uses Lyllith’s body as a shield. The sword kills her and he gets flees through the city gates just before they shut. Blackmark sees that he’ll have to get his revenge another day, and instead returns to the people.

At the very end of the story, there’s a scene that sort of sets up the sequel, as a large dragon passes over the city and casts a pall over the otherwise cheering crowd. Blackmark fires an arrow at it, which just flies right through. And then it turns and leaves.

(I mainly put that last image in there just to show the contrast between the original, aged pocketbook I have and the later reprint edition. Also, I was starting to get worried about doing too much damage to the spine of that older book by repeatedly shoving it into the scanner.)

The story hits all of the typical notes one would expect to a find a sword & sorcery tale (although in this case it’s sword & science, I guess), with lots of melodrama and a rather predictable ending. However, I still thought it was pretty solid, and can’t help thinking that a Blackmark movie – with the right director and production company – could be pretty good.

Kane did a sequel to this story (also scripted by Goodwin) that never got the pocketbook treatment, rather it was later published in Marvel Preview #17 in 1979. (The original Blackmark story was also reprinted by Marvel in the first four issues of Savage Sword of Conan.) Both of the Blackmark stories were then published together in a very nice paperback edition in a larger, more attractive format by Fantagraphics in 2002.

As I mentioned at the start, Archie Goodwin was the actual writer, and one thing that really bothers me about the original pocketbook edition is that his name does not appear anywhere in it. Seems a bit unfair to me. The Fantagraphics volume does  redress this to some extent, as there is an almost fine print credit above the indicia: “Written by Archie Goodwin from an outline by Gil Kane”), and, commendably, publisher Gary Groth also discusses Goodwin’s role in writing Blackmark in the afterword.

Like Chandler: Red Tide by Jim Steranko, which I also reviewed not long ago, the main thing I like about this one is simply the fact that it exists. I just love all of these experimental efforts with comics and sequential art done in the 1970s. (This review, by the way, is dedicated in particular to frequent BAB commenter Garett, who mentioned it in the comments to my review of Steranko’s Chandler.)