Bloodstone From A Turnip!

I don't have any specific memory of first reading Bloodstone, a monster hunting immortal who popped up in the pages of Marvel Presents in its debut issue.

Here was a brawling blonde hero who warred with giant monsters, monsters very like the myriad which had been rising in a host of Marvel Comics in the preceding years.

In a hodge-podge story written by John Warner and drawn by Mike Vosburg, Pat Boyette and others we learn that Ulysses Bloodstone is a caveman who finds a meteorite which bonds itself to him and gives him eternal life and vast powers. This starstone is at once a great weapon for good despite being a totem for great evil. Bloodstone disappears from the pages of Marvel Presents, to be replaced by the Guardians of the Galaxy. (I wonder what happened to those guys?)

He found a home of sorts in the back pages of The Rampaging Hulk, a wildly entertaining black and white magazine which tried to capitalize on the Hulk's massive popularity at the time. Bloodstone never got a mention on the cover but continued to battle against alien forces until  he and his enemies are all destroyed.  Some dandy artists (John  Buscema, Sal Buscema, Bob Brown, Val Mayerik, Keith Pollard, and more) take the helm refined by the luscious inking  work of Rudy Nebres.

This saga was recently collected in the pages of Bloodstone and the Legion of Monsters. I lingered over this tome for quite a few minutes before passing on it. I'd pop for a handy-dandy Bloodstone collection in a heartbeat, but this one is fronted by way too much modern comics material featuring Bloodstone's offspring.  Maybe I'll find it reduced one day and snatch it up, I hope so.

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Vampire Tales #11 - Legion Of Blood!

Vampire Tales #11 is dated June, 1975. Sporting another handsome though more subdued Richard Hescox cover this is the last regular issue of Vampire Tales. Preceded in its demised by Monsters Unleashed and Tales of the Zombie the end of the series well and truly marks the end of the great monster trend of the early 1970's in comics.

Following a Bullpen Bulletins page called "Fearsome Features, Far-Out Fabrications and Fictional Configurations" which announces the end of the aforementioned monster titles the editors are not savvy enough to see the handwriting on the wall for Vampire Tales itself.

Morbius stars in a sprawling tale titled "Death Kiss" written by Doug Moench and drawn by Sonny Trinidad. In this one he finds himself on the cruise liner Muritania but soon is pitted against a cult of vampires who call themselves "The Brotherhood of Judas". He is directed in his mission of sorts by a beautiful woman named Morgana St.Clair who has secrets of her own. A host of coincidences make this one work, but it does feature some typically lush and evocative art by Trinidad. For a close look at most of the story in its original art format go here.

The second and final story in the issue is "Hobo's Lullaby" by John Warner and artist Yong Montano. This is a weird little short story about a legion of bums who aspire to get power by becoming vampires. One of their number objects and his story is the focus of our attention as the hobos battle the cops. It's a strange one and I suspect Warner was trying to say something about the predatory economic nature of society, but I'm not sure. Check it out for yourself here.

And after two blood-spilling years that's a wrap for the regular Vampire Tales series.

There is one more Vampire Tales magazine to come, an annual but more on that later today.

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Marvel Horror - The Living Mummy!

When the monsters were unleashed at Marvel they lumbered in from everywhere, including the crypts of ancient Egypt. The Mummy was a natural addition to a line-up which already included Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, a Werewolf by Night, and assorted other fiends. This "Living Mummy" woke up and walked out first in the pages of Supernatural Thrillers #5.

Written by Steve Gerber and drawn by the muscular team of Rich Buckler and Frank Chiramonte, the mummy, named N'Kantu, rose up in the middle of the Middle East with its interminable conflicts. Found by Israeli soldiers, N'Kantu is an black African king and giant who was buried alive by the vile priest Nephrus. He seeks revenge on the descendants of Nephrus.

That descendant turns out to be one Dr.Alexi Scarab who along with his colleagues Ron McCallister and Janice Carr are about the opening up old tombs. You get the sense that the story is intended as a one-off as that's what Supernatural Thrillers featured until that point and the next issue of the comic feature a whole other set of characters.

But by the seventh issue it had been decided that the Living Mummy would be a series and to that end Gerber is joined by new regular artist Val Mayerik, his former partner on the Man-Thing. If they thought they could work that same magic here, they were alas sadly mistaken. Tony Isabella became the regular writer with the next issue and an elaborate plotline about other-dimensional super-beings called "Elementals" dominated the series for the balance of its run with the Mummy becoming a sidelight in his own title. John Warner as writer and Tom Sutton as artist stepped in toward the end of the run to try and take it in a new direction but that didn't work either.

They did get some striking covers, one must say. See below.

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Bloodstone!

Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia

Rich Buckler and Frank Giacoia
I love immortal characters. I find the idea of a man or woman who has lived across centuries fascinating. Whether a baddie like Vandal Savage or a hero like Moro Frost, the notion is compelling and adds instant gravitas to anything you might have them do. The character is immediately freighted with understanding which defies the limits of humanity. It's that perspective which fascinates. Here's a groovy link to his debut story by his creator John Warner and Mike Vosburg.

The second story in the first issue featured a rare Marvel art job by Pat Boyette. Sonny Trinidad handled the artwork for the follow-up issue.

Ulysses Bloodstone is an immortal character who deserved a bigger stage than he got. Debuting in debut issue of Marvel Presents, one of Marvel's many try-out comics of the Bronze Age, the character was originally scheduled to run in the latter issues of Where Monsters Dwell, Marvel's then long-running reprint magazine which focused on vintage Atlas monster epics. I wish that had worked out as it adds to the patina of the character even more.

Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko
Bloodstone is a prehistoric warrior made immortal when a ruby gem imbeds itself in his chest and enables him to confront an ancient alien menace which makes use of giant monsters to wage war on mankind. A rather awesome premise which alas was given only two issues of Marvel Presents to unwind.

The series did find a home in (of all places) the back of The Rampaging Hulk magazine where the story of Bloodstone ran its course. It featured some dandy artwork by a host of talents, not least of which were John Buscema and Rudy Nebres as seen above.

Marshall Rogers
There have been other  Bloodstone sightings over the years, even a daughter of sorts. The oddest was his appearance (of sorts...that's him in the box) in the pages of Captain America during "The Bloodstone Hunt".

Kieron Dwyer
My favorite was his work with his fellow Monster Hunters in some incredibly entertaining issues of the much too brief comic Marvel Universe.

Diverse Hands

Mike Manley

Bruce Timm

Mike Manley
Bloodstone is a character who deserved more. And being immortal after all, might yet get it.

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