Western Marvel Firsts - Red Wolf!

Perhaps the western star from Marvel who most impressed my imagination was Red Wolf and his sidekick, the wolf Lobo. Their western adventures debuted in the very first issue of Marvel Spotlight written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Syd Shores and Wally Wood with a dynamic Neal Adams cover. It's a wonderful story of a man stranded between two cultures. A full-blooded Native American, an orphaned young boy is taken in by white settlers and to a very large extent takes on their world view. When they are slain by Indians, he is torn between his two heritages. He is then chosen by the Native American gods to bring some level of justice to the savage plains and does so in the role of Red Wolf, a legendary fighter from from Indian culture.

Red Wolf as a character had actually debuted in The Avengers as a modern-day righter-of-wrongs in the dark alleys of New York City and masterfully drawn by John Buscema and Tom Palmer. But for this own series the action was shifted back into the past of the mythical Old West. The story from Marvel Spotlight does trigger a short-lived series with most stories by Fox and the artwork by Shores. For a somewhat more detailed look at the series check out this vintage Dojo post.

Later the character is shifted into the modern world again but it's too late to save sales. Not only is the look altered to its detriment, but the stories lose their special nature. 

The series wraps up after eleven issues, not great but better than some during the hectic early days of the Bronze Age of Comics. The complete series has never been reprinted to my knowledge but the debut issue was published in all its glory in the first Marvel Firsts: The 1970s volume.

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Zodaic - Key To The City!

The Zodiac is or rather was a crime cartel which first surfaced in the pages of Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD and later in full force in Avengers #72. They don't show up again until we hear of them in Avengers #80. But that doesn't mean they haven't been busy.

Avengers#77 is one of my all-time favorite comics. Produced during the brief time when Marvel was eschewing continued tales, it's a one-off classic which has the Avengers working for hire to help raise rent money for a beleaguered Tony Stark who is staving off a takeover bid by a heretofore unknown rich and dangerous fellow named Cornelius Van Lunt. Van Lunt is a vulgar and rude multi-millionaire who doesn't hesitate to throw his considerable weight around and who seems to take delight in demeaning those who work for him.

The Avengers agree to do some demolition work for Van Lunt. At the same time they are being harassed by a small-time gang of thieves led by a singularly familar-looking chap named Kronus who dubs them the Split-Second Squad. With colorful names like Joe the Gorilla, Captain Scragg, Sweet William and Onionhead this is a motley group of hoods who the Avengers have little problem mopping up when the time comes. But the twist is that Van Lunt is not their leader, who is in fact Van Lunt's assistant.

Van Lunt's name comes up again in Avengers #80 when Red Wolf and his loyal sidekick Lobo hit New York City with vengeance in mind.

It seems that Van Lunt is using his unsavory tactics to try and acquire land from a Native American tribe in the American West. Red Wolf is a warrior from Indian myth but in this instance is a Vietnam vet named Will Talltrees who seeks to stop Van Lunt's efforts to force his people to sell their lands. The Vision, Goliath and the Scarlet Witch agree to help him. Meanwhile the Black Panther leaves the team to attend to important problems he's having with gangs in his role as a teacher. That leaves Quicksilver, Thor, Iron Man and Captain America to investigate the rumored threat of the returned Zodiac.

In Avengers #81 the Avengers (Vision, Goliath, and Scarlet Witch) go with Red Wolf and confront Van Lunt's forces leaving behind Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Quicksilver and the Black Panther to deal with threats in NYC.

The battle is a pretty desperate one at times Van Lunt seems to have access to some pretty high-tech arms and even some robot-controlled attack vessels. But in the end the Avengers are successful in helping the tribes and Red Wolf to hold back the attacks of Van Lunt's men. In the process a dam is destroyed which pretty much makes Van Lunt's schemes untenable.

At that same time in Daredevil #69 the Black Panther is concerned with one of his students who has fallen in with a gang called the Thunderbolts. The young man's brother, a returned Vietnam vet seems to have come under their spell as well. But there's much more going on as Daredevil shows up and he and the Panther fight the gang together to stop their plans which seem to be part of a larger and darker plot.

That darker scheme is revealed in Avengers #82 when the Zodiac reveal themselves, or at least their leader Aries does.

He leads an army into Manhattan in the dead of night and effectively cuts off the city from outside aid by means of a force field using his powerful and mysterious Zodiac Key. The Avengers (Cap, Shellhead, Thor, and Quicksilver) have been captured but thanks to DD and the Panther they are freed in time to battle back and eventually stop the threat of Aires and the Zodiac for the time being. Aries is seemingly killed but soon enough another will take his place. It's further revealed that the Thunderbolts were part of this plan and even out West the actions of Cornelius Van Lunt (also presumed dead) were to help stage this takeover of NYC.

A story like this one today would occupy dozens of comics and run perhaps a half year at least. That such a magnificent plot was compressed into a mere four comics is amazing to think of today. And the craftsmanship on these issues is just stellar, as John Buscema and Tom Palmer were at the very top of their respective games. The two seemed to find a synthetic whole which was just stunning to see. Even the Daredevil chapter has great artwork by Gene Colan and Syd Shores. Roy Thomas outdoes himself with the mini-epic which is full of action, drama and even establishes a brand new hero. Furthermore it sets the stage for the next Zodiac installment.

But that one will be written by a fledgling Gerry Conway. More next time.

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