Beware The Creeper!

Beware The Creeper the title says and it's no small warning. The Creeper was one of Steve Ditko's remarkable and memorable additions to the DC universe when along with other Charlton talents such as Dick Giordano, Pat Boyette, Sergius O'Shaugnessy, Steve Skeates, and Jim Aparo landed on those halcyon "House of Krypton" shores. The cover above is my favorite image of the Creeper, his posture all bent and the water oozing and dripping, a deadly "Menace" looming behind him. Ditko did his heroes proud with this one especially Will Eisner. 

But before that debut issue, we were first told to Beware the Creeper in Showcase #73. In this issue WHAM tv reporter Jack Ryder runs afoul of a bunch of thugs led by Angel Devlin and in the course of his adventures gathers the odd bits of his bizarre costume and meets Professor Yatz who is the man who uses his new inventions to give the Creeper his new powers. A fluid is injected into the wounded Ryder to save his life and a device is implanted beneath his skin which allows him to alter his appearance with the press of a button. 

I'd seen the Creeper in other comics drawn by Neal Adams and Dick Dillin, but the first time I was able to read this debut story plotted and drawn by Ditko and written by Don Segall was when it was reprinted in on of those juicy giant 100-Page Detective Comics issues which made DC so alluring at the time. 

It would many a few decades before I got my mitts on the Showcase issue itself as well as the original Beware the Creeper run. 

The Creeper's main enemy in most of the issues of the original series was Proteus. Proteus was a man who could be anyone, could alter his features and sneak up behind you at a moment's notice. Proteus seems to have been killed after their first encounter but that doesn't prove to be the case and in stories written by Sergius O'Shaugnessy (Denny O'Neil).

"The Isle of Fear" finds the Creeper on a long-lost island remarkably close on which an old society has been put upon on modern criminals eager for a safe haven from the law. 

As Creeper's fight against Proteus continues he gets new cast members such Rip Cord who join regulars his boss Bill Brane and self-absorbed weathergirl Vera Sweet, who sometimes afflicts Jack and at other times gives him a hand in his investigations. 

It's notable that Denny O'Neil seems to take on more of the plotting and scripting control as he sheds his "Sergius O'Shaugnessy" identity. Inkers join up such as Mike Peppe and give Ditko's pencils a different and frankly less effect look. For the most part, this era of Ditko always looks better when he inks himself.

In the sixth and final issue of the original run under this handsome Gil Kane cover we have only a part of a Ditko issue with journeyman Jack Sparling finishing up this final Beware the Creeper tale, at least for the time being. I an only imagine that Ditko has once again sought greener pastures as he leaves Hawk and Dove too, in the capable hands of Gil Kane it's to be noted. 

But Steve Ditko will return to DC and to the Creeper, but more than a few years will pass. 

In 1975 the mavens at DC Comics decided to give The Creeper another try-out on the newsstands and to that end the seventh issue of 1st Issue Special was pressed into service. This featured a story drawn by the Creeper's creator Steve Ditko. One curious detail about the cover above is the tiny detail of the dog and fire hydrant. (You can almost see them.) This cover was designed by Carmine Infantino and handed to Ditko to finish and to show his displeasure with such an arrangement he has that pup show its disrepect to that hydrant in the natural and time proven fashion. 

In this singular issue Creeper finds himself battling the Human Firefly, a hood just busted out of prison and aching to remake his reputation. The Firefly was a vintage Batman villain first and last seen in Detective Comics #184 from 1952, about the time Ditko was first breaking into comics. The script for the story was by Michael Fleisher, and Mike Royer inked Dikto's pencils. But Ditko wasn't done with his creation, he had more Creeper stories to tell. 

The try-out sparked a revival in the back pages of World's Finest beginning with issue #249. 

The Creeper was rarely featured on the covers, though his smiling yellow mug and lustrous green motop was nestled alongside the logo with the other back-up features face in this densely packed dollar comic. All the stories were written and drawn by his creator Ditko. 

The stories in these issues have a much broader comic feel than the original series had shown nearly a decade before. The Creeper is working for Cosmic Broadcasting as part of a security team. 

Joining his cast are his boss Sam Hagen along with spry blonde dame named Fran Daye and a galoot named Dump. One odd detail is that a fly always seems to be hovering around Dump's head. 

The Creeper comes up against new baddies like The Disruptor and a lug called simply the Monster. He also has to deal with the return of Angel Devlin who was instrumental in the origin of The Creeper in his very first story. 

Apparently there was some thought to busting the Creeper out into his own comic again, but the infamous DC Implosion put the skids to that idea. The issue of Showcase #107 would have allowed The Creeper to return to his place of birth but it was only seen in the Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2 for many years. Creeper does rate an appearance on both of the CCC covers though. 

This is a wild wild issue with two double-page splashes and a cameo by Ditko's Odd Man. (The Odd Man was touted to have a back-up feature, but the implosion ended that aspiration.) 

And that's a wrap on The Creeper, at least as produced by his maker Steve Ditko. The Creeper did prove somewhat popular and did get around for some time by dint of other talents. 

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Children Of Doom!

"Children of Doom" is a story I've examined before, but this time I'm focusing on it as an atomic fable. The yarn of how the story was composed is interesting in itself as it was put together quickly when a scheduled story for Charlton Premiere failed to appear and that Denny O'Neil (under his Charlton pen name of "Sergius O'Shaunessy") wrote it quick and artist Pat Boyette (who typically did pencils, inks and letters for his jobs) handled the rest. It's weird and oddly compelling, even if it doesn't totally make sense all the time. 

We begin at the end with a story told in flashback of how an atomic Doomsday device was made to scare mankind into peace. But a tinpot dictator used other technology to create massive firestorms which were the targets of missiles from space which caused the firestorm to overspread the entire planet. It resulted in mutations of three kinds -- firestarters, blind soothsayers, and mysterious others who stay hidden from the mass of humanity who survive but just barely.

The astronauts who fired the missiles think they can get their ship to Venus where they think they might survive and there they encountered a mutated human, one of the mysterious hidden variety who is apparently able to transport himself across space, and they bring him back to Earth.

But all that folderal activates the Doomsday device and only the weird powers of the mysterious and shunned mutants can save the day for the rest of humanity which hangs on by a thread as the story winds up. It's not a happy tale, it's not really a sad tale, it's an enigmatic fable which does and doesn't make sense at the same time. 

But one thing it is for certain and that's a parable preaching against the dangers of war and particularly atomic war, as if that needed preaching against. But there we are. This story is widely reprinted but I read it this last time in The Unknown Anti-War Comics from Yoe Books. 

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Dystopian Countdown #2 - Children Of Doom!

It's as close to poetry as comic book stories can come. From out of nowhere in the second issue of Charlton Premiere  a little gem of a tale was told by Denny O'Neil (as "Sergius O'Shaugnessay") and the late great Pat Boyette. "Children of Doom" is one of those yarns that rises above its genre roots and takes hold of your imagination in strange ways and unexpected ways. The story is part apocalypse, part ghost story, and part vintage space opera and yet none of these really. It's a truly unique tale (an overused word) told with pace and using the range of Boyette's artistic techniques to throw actual real atmosphere into a comic book story, something quite rare.

If you'd like to read this 1967 classic online check out this Groovy link.

If you'd like to read it in paper form of course you can seek out the original or perhaps one of its reprints.  There's the 1978 reprint in Space War #32.

And more recently the 2010 publication from Abrams Books of Art in Time.

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The Coming Of the Man-God!

This is one of my comic book dreams come true. One of the earliest comics I ever stumbled across in my youth was the singular Hercules from Charlton Comics by Sam Glanzman, Joe Gill, and Denny O'Neil. I fell in love with the book immediately and despite having the issues in the original and some in proper reprints, I have yearned for a proper collection to make the reading of this true saga a real event. And now it's arrived at last, dropping on my porch  a few days ago. It's handsome and light, ready to read. I know I'm being greedy, but I want Thane of Bagarth now -- it never ends.

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Dojo Classics - Hercules #6

Hercules #6 is dated September 1968, and is something of a turning point for the series. In the previous issue Sal Gentile had taken over as editor and in this issue Sergius O'Shaugnessy (Denny O'Neil) gives way as writer to Charlton stalwart Joe Gill. Sam Glanzman remains on the the art chores.

The title of the lead story is "Hercules' Choice" and it begins quite literally with Hercules having to choose a path, one leading to pleasure and joy and the other to hardship and duty. These paths are marked on a sign and each has a lovely woman marking its beginning. Zeus and Hera look on while Hercules ponders his choice. But Hera is interrupted by Mars, the God of War who is mad at Hercules because he stopped a war that Mars was sure would last a good long time. Mars hurls a spear at Hercules which brings down a hillside on him. Thinking this the work of Zeus, Hercules chooses the path of duty and hardship. That road takes him to King Eurystheus, who was mentioned in the first adventure but is seen now for the first time. He gives Hercules the task of slaying the Birds of Stymphalus, birds which are the pets of Mars no less. Hercules takes on the task and Mars is most upset looking down from Olympus. Going to Stymphalus, Hercules finds it deserted save for a woman who seeks to warn Hercules of the danger of the Birds. It seems they are giants, and very dangerous. Hercules escapes the talons and falls into a cellar where he finds the villagers cowering from the monsters. Taking his weapons he goes up to fight the Birds but finds them proof agains his spear and his sword. He does manage to break the neck of one of them swinging a giant timber. Then the Birds show another power and fire some of their nigh-metallic feathers like arrows at Hercules who protects himself with a giant rock slab. He then strings his bow, a gift from Vulcan, but the Birds fly out of range. Hercules is at a loss. But in Olympus Aphrodite goes to Minerva who sens a magic rattle to Hercules, which draws in the Birds which he then uses his bow and arrows to dispatch. Triumphant he travels on the road of hardship looking for his next task. Meanwhile in Olympus Zeus invites Hera and Mars to dine with him on a scrumptious meal of Bird gotten he says from the Stymphalus region. They are both nauseated by the invitation.

The text story this issue is titled "Mountain Man Morgan in Sandstorm". It is a tall tale of a railroad crew besieged by Indians who seek help. The get that help from a giant named Mountain Man Morgan who is empowered by Indian magic. He is reluctant to kill the Indians despite the evil nature of their leader, and uses his massive lungs to blow up a sandstorm which drives the Indians away far into Mexico making it possible for the railroad to finish.

There are two letters in "Letters to the Editor -- Hercules". Both are by writers who would make impact in the field. The first from David Singer praises the comic and the second from Duffy Vohland is a broad letter commenting not only on Hercules but three other Charlton books as well.

Thane of Bagarth this time is presumably written by Steve Skeates though for the first time there are no credits. The artwork is by the all-purpose Charlton team of Nicholas and Alascia. The story is titled "Chapter Six: The Queen" and finds Hrothelac captured after escaping his Viking captors in England. He is taken to the dungeon and there is tended by another prisoner named Mordwain who is in jail for speaking out against his Queen. We meet the Queen and the King as they hear news of a possible pact with the Mercians which the Queen rejects. She is clearly the one in charge. Another scene change takes us back to the Land of the Geats and King Beowulf's castle as he gets word the Swedes are raiding the territory. Thane of Bagarth Eowanda, Hrothelac's disloyal brother sends an envoy to get the lovely Freahulf for him. While on their way back to Eowanda's castle, the pair meet a party of Swedes. Back in England Mordwain treats Hrothelac's wounds but the two cannot converse yet. The story closes with the threat of war in England.

This issue as I say is a transitional one. Mars is introduced in the main Hercules story and he will have an increasing role in the trials of Herucles. As drawn by Sam Glanzman, Mars is a vivid character with his exotic armor. Also in this story Hercules seems more a frail man with desires and weaknesses of spirit. It's been hinted at in other stories, but is a focus here. In the Thane of Bagarth the story is pretty static really, as Hrothelac is pretty passive in most of it. In fact that's been something of a flaw in the story all along.


The main story here was reprinted in Charlton Classics #6.


The backup story was reprinted in Thane of Bagarth #25.

More to come.

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Dojo Classics - Hercules #5

Hercules #5 is dated July 1968. The issue is edited by Sal Gentile who took over from Dick Giordano who was beginning his tenure at DC. There seems little evidence of his hand in this issue though.

The first story starring Hercules is written by Sergius O'Shaugnessy (Denny O'Neil) and drawn by Sam Glanzman whose name appears in full for the first time in the credits. The story is titled "The Land of the Amazons". Hercules is fighting two bulls in the arena for the entertainment of some locals. He then is interrupted by Zeus and Hera the latter giving him his next task, to bring to her the Golden Girdle of Hippolyta the Queen of the Amazons. Hercules takes up the task readily and heads off. He soon chances across a beautiful young blonde maiden chained to a stake being threatened by a giant lizard. He battles the lizard and saves the girl only to learn that this was seen by Queen Hippolyta who had staked the girl out to begin with for her amusement. Hippolyta is impressed by Hercules and invites him to her palace where she attempts to woo him. When he balks she shows him the young maiden trapped on a platform over a firey trap. Hercules is himself then imprisoned. He asks Zeus for aid who is ready to give it until Hera intercedes. Hercules then takes matters into his own hands and breaks out of his jail, climbs to a connecting rope and swings out to the trapped girl and rescues her from her danger. The two of them battle through Hippolyta's forces, Hercules even toppling some columns but it is to little avail when they find themselves confronted by her whole army. Hercules prepares to fight the Queen but is stopped by a command from Hera ordering him not to battle a woman. His dilemma is solved when the blonde maiden chucks a rock at Hippolyta knocking her out. Hercules takes her Golden belt and the army is freed from her influence. They thanks Hercules who takes the Girdle to Hera who doesn't seem that happy that he's succeeded. The maiden wants to thank Hercules but he says he must continue with his quest and he leaves.

The "Letters to the Editor -- Hercules" page features two letters this time out. Both praise the book for its staying to true to the mythological details of Hercules and both single out Glanzman for praise.

The text story "Mogo the Mighty" tells a tale of a village threatened by a evil warrior chief named Gogo. The villagers go to a wizened old man on the mountain who takes from each man in the village some hair, some nails, and some drops of blood to fashion a super warrior named Mogo the Mighty. Mogo defeats Gogo and vanishes telling the villagers that next time they should battle evil themselves.

Thane of Bagarth is again written by Steve Skeates and once again drawn by Jim Aparo. The title of this installment is "Chapter Five: The Battle Lost". Hrothelac the banished Thane of Bagarth finds himself a slave aboard a Viking ship. He's beginning to adapt to his role when the ship runs aground and he finds his chains freed by the melee. He tries to get clear of the ship, fights a Viking and both are thrown into the sea, the Viking sinking because of his armor. Hrothelac swims to shore only to see the ship itself finding purchase on the shore. But the land is England and Celts long under attack by Vikings immediately assault the weary Vikings and soon kill them, including the chief Figlaf. Meanwhile Hrothelac wanders this new land thinking of those he left behind when he chances upon a castle. Unknown to Hrothelac a warrior approaches him from behind.

This is really solid issue. Hippolyta is a beautiful and well-defined villain for Hercules. In fact the characterization in the series is really becoming sharp. Visually Herucles is really becoming more fully realized. Glanzman gives him a more exotic look this issue by angling his eyes not unlike those you find on Greek pottery. Some of the pages featuring the Amazons are very neatly designed and Hippolyta is actually a ravishing creature as presented in this story. The Thane of Bagarth story reverts to its Prince Valiant roots eschewing any use of word balloons in this installment. All in all a very solid and enjoyable issue.


The lead story was reprinted in Charlton Classics #5.


The Thane of Bagarth story reprinted in Thane of Bagarth #25.

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