Ghost Rider Day!

Dick Ayers was born on this date in 1924. Ayers is likely most famous as an artist at Marvel and many companies before that during the Golden Age of Comics. He was the mainstay artist on Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos. 

Perhaps the character most associated with the late great Dick Ayers, which he had a hand in creating, is Ghost Rider. The character debuted for Magazine Enterprises in the pages of Tim Holt in 1949.

Soon enough he had his own title, and after the debut issue featuring this cover by Ayers, the great Frank Frazetta stepped in to do the cover art for several issues. See this for more on that.

After Frazetta departed though, Ayers was back on the task beginning with the sixth issue.

After the demise of the character and the title and the company, the Ghost Rider waited many more years before riding again. He did with a somewhat different origin and back story for Marvel. Dick Ayers had been a stalwart for the company for many moons, as an inker and penciller. He assumed the art again on his signature character and the title lasted another seven installments.

Marvel revived the name a few years later, but without the western setting and brand new talent. Ayers wasn't connected to the adventures of Johnny Blaze. This new Ghost Rider proved so durable that when the original (sort of) western version (both vintage and modern) was revived his name was changed to "Night Rider" and later to "Phantom Rider".

I've frankly lost track of what they call him now, if he even still exists in some form. AC Comics still reprint his original adventures from time to time, but he's called "Haunted Horseman" when he appears over there.

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Decades - Marvel In The '70s - Legion Of Monsters!

The Decades series a novel way of approaching Marvel history. A slender volume of reprinted material was selected from each decade of Marvel's existence and gathered together. These were not intended to comprehensive nor even thoroughly representative of any given decade but rather a snapshot of material which attempted to communicate the flavor of a given time. For the 70's they chose "Legion of Monsters" and focused on Marvel's early 70's monster comic fad. The Comics Code had released its hold somewhat and a flood of vampires, zombies, and ghouls of all kinds jumped out of the shadows and onto the comics racks. 

 

The name of the book and for that matter the name of this month's look at come choice horror comics came from a trio of publications. Legion of Monsters was a doomed one-shot which followed on the heels of the cancellation of Dracula Lives, Monsters Unleashed and other black and white magazines. Material slated for those mags got gathered together for this issue. We are treated to one final story with Marvel's version of the Frankenstein Monster and his attempts to blend in a murderous costume party. We get the debut of Manphibian, which shouted out to the classic Creature from the Black Lagoon and sported some delicious Dave Cockrum artwork. And we got another chapter of the aborted adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel. (See yesterday's post for more on that.)  Add in a one-shot tales and a nifty horror package it was. 

The name was dusted off again for an issue of Marvel Preview. Apparently, some file stories for Blade and Morbius along with some one-offs were cobbled together at the last hour when an adaptation of Philip Wylie's Gladiator did show up in the mail. Still, we get some nice stuff under a really cracking cover. 

Legion of Monsters also came to an actual assembly of Marvel's critters in a single issue of Marvel Premiere. Ghost Rider, Werewolf by Night, Morbius and the Man-Thing all show up to confront a golden-skinned alien who creates a mountain in downtown L.A. With some dynamic Frank Robbins artwork this is a hidden gem, if a strange one. 

Following the three Legion of Monsters mags we get a quartet of early 70's Marvel monster debuts. First up is the second issue of Marvel Spotlight which gave the world Werewolf by Night by Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog. This is the first of the classic monsters, though the story of Jack Russell (love that name) is not based on a novel. Under a different kind of Neal Adams cover this one kicks off the story of young beset by werewolf curse with great aplomb. 

Perhaps the most significant debut for Marvel in this era was Tomb of Dracula. Gene Colan finds his comic book home with the very first issue of this comic which was plotted by Roy Thomas and scripted by Gerry Conway. It will take the title a while to find its ultimate groove but it would prove to be the most successful of all the Marvel books save perhaps for one. 

That exception is Ghost Rider. Marvel Spotlight five gave the world the debut of the motorcycle riding Johnny Blaze in a story in which Easy Rider meets Rosemary's Baby. Mike Ploog is again on the artwork bringing his "Eisneresque" style to a rough and tumble comic and Gary Friedrich brings the words. Ghost Rider got its own series a few times over the years and inspired two theatre-release flicks. 

Mike Ploog is on board again with the debut issue of The Monster of Frankenstein. Joined once again by Gary Friedrich, Ploog does a bang-up job with this yarn that digs up the creature and begins a four-issue retelling of his origins. While this comic didn't ultimately sell as well as they'd hoped it was one of Marvel 's most interesting monster titles. 

And that's it. A nifty little package with a gang of monsters, enough to inspire me to want to read more. I have done and I'll be coming forth opinions and reports throughout the month. 

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Black Widow - The Champions!

When the Black Widow broke it off with Daredevil, she said she was intent on not being a sidekick but desiring to establish herself as a single agent for justice. What does she do? She joins a team, or better put, she helps establish a brand, new team based in Los Angeles named "The Champions". Admittedly she ends up being the field leader for this ragtag crimefighting unit, but still and all. 

But what a debut it is. Tony Isabella with artist Don Heck is credited with creating this new team from (let's admit it) cast offs from other vintage series. Save for Ghost Rider, who is most misfit of the bunch, none of the heroes had demonstrated the ability to hold a single title. The aforementioned Widow as fresh from the pages of DD, the Angel and the Iceman were X-Men without a home after the arrival of a batch of X-Men with the likes of Storm, Nightcrawler and Wolverine. Hercules had been guest-starring in Thor but save for a single story in an otherwise all-reprint Ka-Zar comic had neverh ad a solo outing in the Marvel Universe. But in tried-and-true tradition these disparate heroes gather together to battle the force of Olympus when one Pluto's schemes to capture Hercules and the goddess Venus from a couple of shotgun weddings. 

The battle against Olympus rages in the second issue which turned out to be Don Heck's pentulimate effort on the series. 

The sturdy George Tuska checked in with is equally sturdy comic book pages to wrap up what was effectively the Champions origin yarn. Bill Mantlo taps in to script Tony Isabella's plot. 

The Widow gets a little more page time in the fourth issue which features more Tuska art with winning inks by Vince Colletta and a one-off story by Chris Claremont. The Champs battle a madman making super-soldiers from mental patients. 

In his lasting outing Don Heck returns to help Tony Isabella tell a story about an inventor who is suffering from the pain of economic recession and turns to crime and his super-powerful exoskeleton. The Angel gets his inheritance, and this fortune becomes the money which will hopefully make the Champions a reliable super-team in the manner of the Tony Stark funded Avengers. 

Under a crackerjack Jack Kirby cover we get the second part of the Rampage saga and the Black Widow becomes the leader of the brand-new Champions. The art chores are again handled by the Tuska-Colletta team. 

Natasha and Ivan become the center of the next story which has the Champions battle a band of Soviet operatives. The Griffin is a spearhead for this attack when attempts to kidnap the hospitalized Rampage. The Widow meets up with the man who trained her to learn important secrets. This one features an Isabella script drawn by the  Tuska-Colletta crew. 

Rampage is used by the mastermind the Outsider who has a deadly secret related to Ivan. Rampage's anger is used against him. And the Champs encounter the combined might of the Titanium Man, the Crimson Dynamo, the Griffin and a new lovely enemy named Darkforce. Bill Manto becomes the regular writer with this issue joined by a green Bob Hall. 

The battle against the Soviet team continues. Secrets are revealed and enemies uncovered. A new ally named Darkstar might have also appeared to assist the Champions in the future. 

Bob Hall wraps up his tenure on the book which sadly I have to report was hurt by limited storytelling. But we get to the end of this longest Champions story with the Widow in charge of the team, Darkstar a new member of sorts, and the Angel sporting a better-looking costume. The Iceman is having second thoughts about the team. The cover is very deceptive in that this scene doesn't really happen. 

The final issue in this first volume of The Champions Classic brings the team into its finest hour. With the threats at bay the team has a new headquarters and new equipment, though the quality of the latter is called into question. Black Goliath shows up to assist them team against the Stilt-Man. They have a surprisingly hard time against a baddie that Daredevil defeated alone. The big news is that the up-and- coming John Byrne steps in to take on the art chores. If the Champ had looked this good from the get-go they might've caught on with more fans. 

In the second volume things begin to improve for the Black Widow a bit. Hercules is the clear focus for the covers of The Champions. and I guess was considered the powerhouse to make the team succeed. That meant that the Widow while being on the covers was rarely featured. 

In a story by Mantlo and Byrne which turns out to be a sequel to the stunning Silver Surfer #5, the Stranger appears just as the Champions are presented with the threat of a bomb which will ignite and destroy nearly everything. It turns out the Strange is trying to end the threat, but the Champs don't believe him. 

The end up being transported to another dimension to find a talisman which will help end the threat only to learn it was on Earth all along, brought there by Hercules after a battle alongside Thor against the blind despot Kamo-Tharn. After a desperate struggle the threat of the bomb is ended. 

Ivan says goodbye to the Widow to deal with some family matters (or so he says) but soon after he leaves the team is confronted with the truly weird menace of the "man" called "Swarm". The bees get some measure of revenge in this Mantlo-Byrne outing. 

In what turns out to be John Byrne's last issue as penciler of the mag, the bizarre Swarm is routed just in the nick of time. 

The Champions guest-star in 1976's Iron Man Annual in a story by Bill Mantlo and the rock-steady George Tuska. Tuska is my all-time favorite Iron Man artist and he is in fine form on this one. The Champs are recruited to help Shellhead battle MODOK and the secret cabal called A.I.M.

George Tuska is on hand again in Avengers #163 as Hercules, Black Widow and Iceman are lured to NYC by Iron Man and attacked by him. It all has to do with a threat to the Beast and a rarely seen nemesis of Hercules called Typhon. Jim Shooter wrote this one which is a big old battle issue in the classic form. 

Then we slip over to Super-Villain Team-Up where Doc Doom has conquered the world by means of a secret gas which has made all of humanity slave to his will. The Champions are just one team among many who are now Doom's willing thralls. Oddly it's up to Magneto to save the day. 

That battle carries over into the penultimate issue of The Champions by Mantlo and artist Bob Hall. Hall has improved significantly since his last stint on the team and turns in a solid effort here as the heroes fight among themselves to save the world from Doctor Doom. For the record the "Surprise Guest-Star" is the Hulk. 

Bill Mantlo turns once again to George Tuska for the final issue of The Champions. John Byrne supplies the inks on this one to create a very nice-looking finale. The Champions find themselves fighting not only the Sentinels but the evil mutants they appear to be chasing when they crash into the Champions' headquarters. We are promised that the story will continue in a fashion in the pages of The Avengers. 

Turns out that's not quite right as the final moments of the Champions are recorded in two issues of Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man. Bill Mantlo's story is drawn by Sal Buscema and inker Dave Hunt and we pick up moments after the end of the last issue of the Champs. The team splits with the Widow heading back to NYC with Hercules. There had been a suggestion in the last few issues of the run that they might be a flicker of romance between the two. It's left to the Angel to clean up the mess with a building that proves a public danger and a best friend in the Iceman who falls under the spell of Stuart Clarke the severely injured man who had fought the Champs as Rampage. Things are put right by the end of the two issues and the "Heroes of the Common Man" are no more. 

The Champions was an important stop in the career of the Black Widow. She'd left her partnership with Daredevil to find strength in herself and she instead found a team which was in sore need of practical field leadership. She proved fully capable of leading a team of men, even one including Hercules. The Champions failed as a comic book and as a team in the Marvel Universe, but it's difficult to lay much of that failure at the feet of the Widow. 

More on the Widow and some of her amazing team-ups next time. 

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