Ambush Bug Day!

Keith Giffen was born on this date in 1952. Giffen was a wonderful artist who worked for Marvel in his early years in the business before shifting to DC where he and Paul Levitz breathed new life into the Legion of Super-Heroes. Giffen's style became more and more compelling over the years. For me at least his funnest if not finest contribution is the Ambush Bug. 

I picked up the Ambush Bug Showcase volume on a whim and promptly set it aside. The artwork by Keith Giffen and Bob Oksner really looked choice and I wanted to savor it a bit. I never read any of these comics (save possibly for the DC Comics Presents issues) when they first appeared, so I came to the Ambush Bug character largely ignorant of its style and content. I knew it was supposed to be funny, but that's about all I knew. I was very impressed.

Now truth told, when Ambush Bug first appeared as a low-level villain in a few issues of Superman's team-up comic he was cleverly written but hardly transformative.

He seemed to be a character in the vein of many of the classic Bat-villains, a killer with a morbid sense of humor. And if he'd stayed like that I suspect he'd be mostly forgotten by now.

But in a trio of appearances in Action Comics, the character blossomed into the antic fourth-wall breaking roustabout who went on to scratch out a few limited series in some of DC's brightest days.

If you haven't read these "adventures" then it's difficult to describe. Keith Giffen and Robert Loren Fleming have so deconstructed the superhero comic book adventure in these stories so as to undermine any attempt by a reader to extract enjoyment on that level. The only thing I can compare these Ambush Bug stories to is Monty Python's Flying Circus. The pacing felt the same and the unpredictability of page after page seemed more than anything to mimic the antic pacing of that classic comedy show.

In the first limited series we meet Ambush Bug's partner Cheeks the Toy Wonder (a plush toy and nominal inspiration for one of the earliest and most entertaining websites devoted to comics that I ever chanced upon) and having him meet up with the likes of Scabbard (from Thriller), Jonni DC (made into a chick--sort of) and most hilariously Darkseid.

What follows in the subsequent specials and limited series is more of the same, more or less. With DC, and superheroes in general getting the satirical crap beat out of them in fine form.

I found Ambush Bug a fun fun read, but for comics fanboys only I suspect.

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Claw The Unconquered!

Conan the Barbarian was a hit. Marvel was sopping up sales with the color comic and the black and white version. Barbarians were selling it seemed in 1975, so the call went out at DC to bring more barbarians to the table. And that's how we got Claw the Unconquered. 

The book was written by David Michelinie and was originally drawn by Ernie Chan who had just left his gig at Marvel inking the Conan comics. It is to be noted that Chan drew under the name "Ernie Chua" when he first started in U.S. comics because of a typo on his immigration documents. Chan is assisted on art chores by Pat Boyette. Claw was apparently supposed to be called "Talon", but Jim Steranko had dibs on that name. The first nine issues were all edited by Joe Orlando.   

Claw is the one character in DC's "All-New Adventure Line" that looks like Conan. That the series lasted twice as long as most of its companions and three times as long as more than few it's possibly due to that resemblance. In the first Claw story we meet our hero, a man who suffers a bit of amnesia yet is still a potent warrior. Possessed of a red gauntlet which overs a furry claw, he is a man prophecy suggests will bring down King Occulus of Pytharia. The King orders his underlings to kill Claw, but that proves more difficult than one might've thought. 

The first several issues follow a familiar pattern as Claw will encounter an individual, save them from some threat and then see them turn on him either for reward or other recompense. His "Claw" seems to have a will of its own, and moves to save him in circumstances in which he is oblivious to the threat. This is the best cover of the series. 

He also confronts giant creatures with names such as Kann the All-Consuming , often referred to as gods and is able in most instances to kill them or at least escape their clutches. The look of the earliest Claw comics seemed especially designed to evoke the Conan comics being produced over at Marvel. 

In the fourth issue he meets Ghylkin, a warrior from another dimension who sought adventure and so came to our world, but not before he got a nifty pair of horns. Claw and his new ally battle N'Hflhss, an ogre-like demon called down to Earth. The story stays open as the threat is not ended, and leads to the first multi-part epic. A prophecy from Asvitar the Burning Man causes the duo to seek the Moonthorn, a sword which will be effective against the threat of N'Hflhss and will give Claw much needed info as well. 

"The Gemstone Trilogy" begins the search for the Moonthorn, a sword which will reveal great secrets to Claw. But before they can find the Moonthorn, they must find the Gristone and that's divided into three parts. The first takes them to a territory guarded by strange women with a bizarre secret, the second has them battling a teenager who comes into possession of great magical powers, and the third is found at the bottom of the sea among a society of passivists. King Occulus and his court magician are keeping an eye on Claw and making things none too easy for him. 

The cover of issue eight is Ernie Chan's last contribution to the series. He headed back to Marvel, leaving Claw in the hands up new talent Keith Giffen who is aided by a bevy of inkers. 

Alas, Claw the Unconquered number nine is the only issue of the run I actually bought off the stands at the time of publication. I must have had some extra quarters in my pocket when it hit the spinner rack. Giffen is inked by Bob Layton in this issue. 

Claw the Unconquered returns to the stands after a one and six-month hiatus. Joe Kubert joins the book's regular team of Michelinie and Giffen as the cover artist for the final three issues. So, at long last we are about to get a face-off between Claw and Occulus, foes who battled but never met in the many issues previous. But not before Claw must confront the weird trio of "Those Who Must Abide". This issue was edited by Paul Levitz. 

The actual confrontation between Claw and Occulus is in issue eleven and it's an Occulus made even  more powerful by the magic of Miftig. To avoid Claw, the palace is even lifted into the air, but that doesn't stop our hero and he finally gets to see the man behind the death of his parents pay a price. This would've been an ideal place to end the series, but we get one more issue. Joe Orlando returns as editor. 

In the final issue drawn by Giffen and Layton, Claw is robbed of his red gauntlet and later when he hooks up with a group of fighters, he finds he loses control and the violence gets out of hand, so to speak. We see that Occulus is rescued so to speak from the wreckage of his palace and there are hints of battles to come. Without his protective glove, the Claw we are left with is a man who fears himself, so much so that in the final panels of the story he makes a tragic decision. Larry Hama is the third editor in three issues, probably one good reason this revival didn't get off the ground. 

Apparently two more issues of Claw the Unconquered were prepared but went unpublished. I note that the price on issue thirteen is for fifty cents so there might've been discussion of bumping up the price and adding a back-up, like another of the Adventure line. I haven't read these, but those Kubert covers are incredibly suggestive. 

Claw made DC's Who's Who line-up in the 80's, suggesting that he wasn't forgotten about. In fact, he makes a few cameos in comics over the years, but nothing of real substance. 

Claw the Unconquered was brought back to comic life in a cross-over with Dynamite's Red Sonja. The two shared two issues in 2006 which initiated a revival of Claw in his tittle from the Wildstorm brand. I love the cover Alex Ross produced for the crossover event. 

Wildstorm gave us a full-blown Claw the Unconquered limited which featured the slightly reimagined hero, with a full name -- Valcan Scaramax. In this story we are reminded that Claw cut off his hand (again) in the Red Sonja appearance, but the hand refuses to die and in fact regrows on Claw's arm. The abandoned hand also grows and develops into a full-blown copy of Claw but more savage. (Reminded me of the plot to Frankenstein Versus the World.) Claw is recruited by a sorceress and is led to her compound by a gang of werewolves. I'm not  that taken with Andy Smith's artwork on this one. The series seems to lack the elaborate detail I like in my fantasy yarns which creates that other world. Sadly, this presentation reeks of those bad old Image days when muscles mattered more than storytelling. They are im freezing temps in much of this story, so put some darn clothes on! I will give the story credit for a bold ending. 

Below is a short gallery of the  Wildstorm issues. 

Next time we meet Stalker - The Man with No Soul. 

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Thunder Agents Archives Seven!

I haven't the strength to revisit the whole meandering odyssey of the THUNDER Agents after their Tower days were done. The saga of their ownership is a confusing and at times quite dark tale. A chap named John Carbonaro got the rights from Tower to publish the T-Agents (although some say that those rights never existed and remained with Wally Wood and afterwards his estate -- it's murky). 

Carbonaro's first foray with the Agents was in the form of a black and white magazine which lasted exactly one issue. It was put together by Pat Gabriele and featured some decent art by Mark Texeira. The Adams and Kirby art advertised was vintage stuff from years gone by. It's not a sterling effort by any means, but it was new THUNDER Agents. 

Next Carbonaro took the Agents into the direct sales marketplace under his own brand of JC Comics, We got a few new tales of decent quality and a reprint series. Somehow this was tied into Archie Comics and the short-lived run was finished under their banner in an issue of Blue-Ribbon Comics. 

And that brings us to Deluxe Comics, the stories reprinted in the seventh and final volume of DC's THUNDER Agents Archives series. Another fellow named Dave Singer and former associate of Carbonaro claimed that the Agents were in public domain and set about to use them in a brand new spanking line despite Carbonaro's objections and eventual lawsuit. Singer seems to have been a dodgy character at best and though he promised big money to big name talents such as George Perez, Dave Cockrum, Keith Giffen, Steve Englehart and others his promises were more impressive than the reality. 

So after a couple of stunning issues the talent began to walk away and the books trudged along. There are some really sweet stories in these, such as nifty hard-edged Raven stuff from George Perez, fan-pleasing artwork from Dave Cockrum and some really weird but fascinating stuff about Lightning by Giffen. There is a definite grimness to some of it, but for the most part the characterizations rang true since most of the creators were drawn to the work by their fondness of the original Tower Comics. The storylines even recognized the old Tower days and built upon them. 

Some of the stuff had real fanboy appeal such as the exceedingly physical encounter between Dynamo and the Iron Maiden. The two had danced around one another in the 60's but here in the 80's that dance took a highly erotic turn, something the old Comics Code would not have approved of I have little doubt. Undersea Agent is incorporated into the T-Agents properly and after he's forced to be voyeur to the Dynamo-Maiden love scene he might have wanted to change his name to "Unsee Agent". 

Despite great covers right to the end, the books insides became less and less impressive. Though Perez is still around there is even in his art an unfinished quality. 

The fifth and final issue has some Jerry Ordway art and its quite handsome and the story picks up embers from the Tower days yet again, but it's too little to late. Other stories in this issue are not nearly so professional in their aspect and the writing seems to be handed off to lesser known names. Singer's venture falls apart even as his claim to the Agents turns to ashes in the courts. 

The THUNDER Agents tumble around for several more years becoming guest-stars in several Indy books before Carbonaro is able to land a deal (of sorts) with Bob Guccione's Penthouse outfit.

He has a guy named George Caragonne in charge of them now and he  proves another less than reliable fellow. There is a stunning story done with Paul Gulacy and Terry Austin but only the first chapter of three ever sees publication in an issue of Omni Comix due to the suicide of Caragonne among other factors. The Agents are in limbo yet again  until many years later DC picks them up and later still IDW takes a stab at them. 

A few more pages of the Gulacy material gets published in The THUNDER Agents Companion from Twomorrows but it's still less than satisfying not see the whole story, which may or may not still exist. This Twomorrows book has been a ton of fun to read as I've tumbled along with the Agents on this read. There are many many interviews and profiles of the talent involved with the creation of the T-Agents over the many years. The book is a bit out of date now having been published in 2005 or thereabouts. But it still makes one hunger for more good THUNDER Agents stories and I for one believe there are more of those to tell. 

Note: Only the Deluxe material and the single story for Omni Comix is included in this particular Archives edition. 

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