Justice Inc.: DC's Adventure Line starring the Avenger!

THE BLOODY PULPS: Justice Inc!

            “The Avenger!? We can’t have a comic called The Avenger! Marvel will sue the pants off us! That’s why we call Captain Marvel ‘Shazam’ on the cover of all his comics, you know!”

            “Yes, I know that. What an odd thing to tell me.”

            “It’s called an Info Dump. As you know, Bob ...”

            Which is why the comic was called Justice Inc. to avoid confusion and subpoenas. It was named after the first Avenger story from Avenger #1.

            The Avenger does not predate the superhero - Superman appeared the year before and Batman four months before. The first issue of his pulp magazine debuted in September 1939. His stories were written by Kenneth Robison, a pseudonym for the writers of Street & Smith publishers. His first story was called “Justice Inc”.

            Adventurer Richard Henry Benson boarded an airplane with his wife and daughter. After returning from “freshening up” – he found his wife and daughter missing! The trauma and horror of their disappearance caused his skin and hair to turn white and his face to “freeze”. He could thereafter mold his facial features into any disguise. He avenged the death of his family and declared war on all criminals. He did this with the help of a troupe of aides and assistants ala Doc Savage and the Shadow.

            Eventually, the writers took away his ability to manipulate his face (and normalized his skin tone and hair color) to help sell him as a closer kin to Doc Savage. It still didn’t work. His magazine lasted only 24 issues, and had five or six other short stories appearing in other magazines, including The Shadow. New stories published as paperbacks have been published through the decades.

            His first appearance in comic books was in Shadow Comics, but it wasn’t until 1975 when DC got the license to give him his own comic, or so I found in my research of various online databases. Any search of “The Avenger” online requires page after page of scrolling through Captain America and his kooky quartet, etc.; but I did the best I could. There were other comic characters called “The Avenger” in the 1950s with no relation to Richard Benson and company – most notably a four-issue comic from Magazine Enterprises in 1955.

            But now, thirty-five years after his debut – The Avenger stars in his own comic:

***

Every issue has the tag: “From the creator of Doc Savage – Kenneth Robeson” on the cover.

#1.  June 1975, “This Night an Avenger is Born” by Denny O’Neal (w/e), Al McWilliams (a), Allan Asherman (asst. ed.); cover by Joe Kubert.

The Avenger’s origin story from his first pulp adventure is retold: Richard Benson, his wife and daughter board a plane to Canada. Returning from “freshening up”, Benson finds his family as well as industrialist Arthur Hickock missing. After months spend recuperating from the shock, he investigates their disappearance. Benson meets his first assistant, Smitty, during the investigation. They trace the plane’s occupants to an island on Lake Ontario and wipe out the gang and their surprising leader! They decide to form Justice Incorporated to fight evil in all its forms!

Text column by Allan Asherman describes the Avenger’s operation, equipment and headquarters. The last paragraph hypes the Shadow/Avenger meeting in DC’s Shadow comic, without ever mentioning the issue of The Shadow in which it appears (#11)!  Ew, lost chance at some free PR there – Stan Lee would roll heads if that happened at Marvel…

This issue includes a full-page ad for Joker, Justice Inc, Claw the Unconquered and Ghost Castle, with a tease for Beowulf Dragon Slayer and Richard Dragon Kung Fu Fighter at the bottom.

#2. August 1975, “The Skywalker”, Denny O’Neal (w/e), Jack Kirby (a), Mike Royer (I & i), Allan Asherman (asst.  ed.); cover by Kirby.

            A story from The Avenger pulp magazine #3 from November 1939: Scientist Robert Gant designs a sound ray that can crumble metal as well as a process to render metal invisible! Criminal Abel Darcy kills Gant and uses these tools to destroy railroads and skyscrapers throughout Chicago to extort millions. Can the Avenger, Smitty and new assistants Josh and Rosabel Newton stop Luke – er – Anakin – er – Darcy the Skywalker in time?

            In a text piece, Allan Asherman describes the potential for a Justice Inc movie: Charles Bronson as The Avenger, Alex Karras or Peter Boyle as Smitty, Bill Cosby and Diana Ross as Josh and Rosabel … dodged a bullet there, didn’t they … ?

#3. October 1975, “The Monster Bug”, (same team).  Colonel Sodom (eww…), a villain from the recently-cancelled The Shadow comic has a serum that turns ordinary citizens into monsters – hideously malformed beasts as only Kirby can draw! He tries to force noted chemists (including Fergus – who joins Justice Incorporated with this issue) into replicating the formula; unless the Avenger can stop him!

#4. December 1975, “Slay Ride in the Sky”, (same team, but with Paul Levitz also as writer). Airliners are exploding mid-flight! Investigating the chemical causing the explosions – tintabulum, leads Justice Incorporated to the airline mogul who is collecting the insurance proceeds – unless the mogul, his goons and a flock of explosive seagulls get to them first!

            The final panel for the final issue says, “…and it is at last ended.” True, but much too soon.

            The letter columns in the last two issues were favorable – although they disliked the original stories being so severely edited for the comic book version. Most recommended multi-part stories. Assistant Asherman repeated that readers deserved their “money’s worth” and “how would most reader’s feel spending their money only to see ‘To Be Continued’ on the last page”.

***

The Avenger has popped up occasionally at DC ever since: sometimes in a Shadow revival, teaming with Batman and Doc Savage, and sometimes in his own limited book - also titled Justice Inc. Dynamite has a Justice Inc miniseries out as we speak - teaming The Avenger with the characters who inspired him: the Shadow and Doc Savage.

            I am a pulp junkie - I will read any genre - from pirates to sports. Mostly I enjoy the so-called Yellow Peril stories such as Dr. Yen Sin and the Mysterious Wu Fang – although I cringe at the ugly stereotyping , the stories are creepy paranoid fun. Secondly, though, I enjoy the crime killers – there are certainly more of them available! I collect the paperbacks when I can and even have a few original pulps. Doc Savage, the Shadow (my favorite), the Spider (a close second) and the Avenger.

            The DC comic from 1975 didn’t last long, which was a shame. Of all the comics from the DC Adventure line, this one could have gone on for years.

            But it was an odd inclusion in the Adventure Line. The other six books were firmly set in the sword and sorcery genre - leaning heavily on the sword side.  Although sword and sorcery had their place in the pulps (Conan, Kull, etc.) –Justice Inc.’s inclusion in DC’s Adventure Line is odd. Why not include the new comic Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter as an eighth Adventure Line comic? It wasn’t (yet) set in the world of DC’s superheroes either and Justice Inc proved “the line” wasn’t all sword and sorcery.

The answer is obvious: there was no attempt at all in creating a “line”. Six comics had a theme based on the popularity of Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian as well as the revival of that genre in the paperback market. Other than the one-page house ad, I doubt much more thought was put into it.

At this time DC was also publishing The Shadow - including one issue in which the Avenger guest-starred. The Shadow was cancelled by the time Justice Inc #3 hit the stands. Perhaps they could have advertised them as a “Pulp” line and increased circulation enough for both comics to continue for a few more issues.

But “pulp line” may not have worked back then: Marvel’s Doc Savage only last eight issues two years before and the Doc Savage magazine – published concurrently with Justice Inc – also only lasted eight issues.  DC’s The Shadow lasted 12 issues and was cancelled in between Justice Inc #2 & 3.

It works now, though. Goodness knows Dynamite is going great guns bringing back obscure characters like the Black Bat in comic book form.

But in 1975 DC included the Avenger in their “Adventure Line” and we the readers are better for it. Like most of the line, it didn’t last long; but Justice Inc was pure pulpy goodness while it lasted.

Original material copyright Michael Curry 2015

Tor - DC Comics Adventure Line!

FROM THE WORLD OF A MILLION YEARS AGO: TOR

   

             Tor the comic book character has an interesting sixty-year history: Tor is a caveman from one millions years ago...

            Wait, there weren’t any humans (as is currently defined) a million years ago. Certainly not light-skinned, brown-haired cavemen like Tor. There were homo-erectus (snicker) and homo-mauritanicus, but not humans.

            Well, anyway, Tor the caveman from one million years ago fought other cavemen, dinosaurs...

            Wait, there weren’t any dinosaurs a million years ago. The last dinosaur died out sixty-five million years ago.

            Shut up.

 

           Tor the character debuted in the comic 1,000,000 Years Ago #1 by St. John Press in 1953. Issue #2 was renamed 3D Comics (renaming comics and continuing the numbering was pretty common until the late 1960s and happened even in the 1970s with Our Army at War turning into Sgt. Rock to name one - something to do with saving postage...) and then for issues three through five the series was remaned Tor. It lasted until October 1954.

           In 1975, as part of its Adventure Line, DC revived Tor with his creator at the helm. Back then a creator-owned character was to DC Comics what President Obama is to a Tea Party voter. And to allow a creator-owned character from ANOTHER publishing company!!? {THUD} “Sol? Sol Harrison’s collapsed! Call a doctor!!”

            But they did. Tor, a non-DC character, whose creator had control over his appearances and content, was given his own DC Comic in 1975. Perhaps it had something to do with that particular owner.

            If Joe Kubert drew newspaper comic strips in the 1920s and 1930s, his name would be mentioned in the same breath as Alex Raymond and Hal Foster.  War comic fans would argue Kubert’s best work was with Sgt. Rock and DC’s other war heroes.  Superhero fans would argue Kubert’s best work was with Hawkman.  Kubert became a legend in both these genres and also what would now be called “sword and sorcery” with Viking Prince in Brave & Bold.  His penciling would probably have even worked with Archie and Casper the Friendly Ghost!

            Kubert’s art is very stylized and yet very accessible.  His characters were realistically lean and muscular.  His women were curvy and beautiful.  When a character looked weary, his shoulders sagged and his arms hung limp at this side.  His action scenes were straight out of “Flash Gordon” and “Tarzan”.   When he had his few off-moments, he had the rushed and sketchy style for which he is the most criticized. 

***

            For simplicity’s sake - I will refer to the at-that-time two published versions of the comic as Tor (1953) and Tor (1975).

            The covers of Tor (1975) were great examples of Kubert in all their glory - although I noticed something ... of the six issues - three had Tor rescuing a pretty blond. One had Tor fighting ape-men ala Tarzan, in another he rescued a baby from an erupting volcano and another he saved a tribesman with a pretty blond in the background. Four out of six with pretty blondes...

            Every issue reminds us of this dark and dangerous world - where death can come at you from every angle - be careful while walking in water or around rocky corners. Kubert does a superb job keeping up this moody paranoia!

            Later issues describes Tor as a man dedicated to justice and fairness and how rare that trait is among the first men - who are usually too busy just trying to survive!

            Every story was a reprint. Kubert contributed some new pages as bookends or story tags - usually drawings of the artist himself describing Tor and his environs above a splash page of Tor doing something cavemanish.

            “The World of a Million Years Ago” appears as a tagline on every issue. The word “From” was added at the front of that tag only in issue #1.

#1. June 1975, “The Beating”, Joe Kubert (w/a/e/cover), Carmine Infantino (i) (the strip reprint), Allan Asherman (asst. ed.); as a youth, Tor lives in a fishing village. He wanders into the mountain people’s  territory and is beaten by Kobar. Tor is later chased by an alligator-like phytosaur. Kobar, who considers Tor his slave, tries to protect his property by slaying the beast but nearly drowns. Tor rescues him. Their score is settled. Tor learns you can conquer an enemy by helping as well as hurting. The story is bookended by the adult Tor remembering this adventure while hunting food for his village (presumably written and drawn for this comic).

Kubert and Carmine Infantino (who inked) pushed a Tor comic strip in 1959 unsuccessfully. It was published in a fan magazine (Alter Ego) in 1968 and here in Tor (1975) #1. When DC’s Tor was released, Infantino was the publisher of the company.  This may explain why DC decided to publish a comic character whose bulk of profit, if any, would go to its creator. "Hey, Boss, can we publish my old Tor stories?" "No." "I want to reprint that old strip you helped ink, too." "Yes."

Text page: Dinosaurs for Reel (a piece on stop-motion dinosaur movies through the years).

Another text page describes the origins of the Tor character and his world.

#2. August 1975. “A Million Years Ago,” Joe Kubert (w/a/e/cover, Allan Asherman (asst. ed.) - for all remaining issues); while fishing, Tor rescues a monkey-like creature he names Chee-Chee. Finding his fellow tribesmen - led by Klar - Tor sees another tribesman, Zul, under attack by a dinosaur. Against Klar’s orders, Tor rescues Zul. Later a humiliated Klar traps Tor, Zul stops Klar from killing Tor, Klar kills Zul in revenge. Tor kills Klar (need a scorecard?) and is thereafter banished from his tribe!

“Danny’s Dreams”, young Danny Wakely (get it?) is with his fellow students at the municipal museum’s dinosaur exhibit. Danny feels himself going back in time to the days of the caveman! He is chased by Cro-Magnons, attacked by a bear and a saber tooth tiger! The two beasts battle each other over this blond-haired, freckled meal. Danny escapes by inventing the wheel (tying together round rocks) and two-wheels his way to safety. He wakes back up to find the mummified remains of the bear and saber tooth - each died of their wounds - and a strange two-wheeled vehicle found nearby. Did Danny dream this or did he REALLY go back in time...?

Both stories are reprints from One Million Years Ago #1 (1953)

This issue featured the one-page Adventure Line ad.

Writer Don Glut (I assume that is THE Don Glut) had a letter published, thanking Joe Kubert for his original run of Tor and instilling in him a love of dinosaurs that encouraged his writing.

#3. October 1975. “Isle of Fire” (one of only two of the series in which the cover related to the story inside); Tor travels to a volcanic isle ruled by giant hairless red-skinned “fire-men”. Tor rescues their human slaves and kills the Fire-Men leader just as the volcano erupts and sinks the island. Reprinted from Tor (1953) #3.

“Danny’s Dreams” - Danny, as a caveman, and his tribesman’s raft (presumably not the raft Tor used in the prior story) sink in a storm. Danny lands on an isle of pygmies who are sensitive to loud noises. He helps them defeat a “giant” (normal-sized) man that is terrorizing their tribe. Reprinted from Tor (1953) #5.

Uber-fan Richard Morrisey has a letter published - his second in the Adventure Line.

#4. December 1975. “Black Valley”; a tribe routinely sacrifices their infant/toddler girls to the “gods” of the Black Valley. Tor discovers the gods are amazon women. Can Tor make peace between the tribes and the amazons? Can he rescue the latest sacrifice from a hungry saber tooth? This story has a GREAT two-page splash! Pretty rare for the early 1950s... Reprinted from Tor (1953) #3.

Feature: “Animals of 1,000,000 Year Ago” - the triceratops (wouldn’t this have fit better in issue #2 whose cover featured a triceratops?). Reprinted from 3D Comics (1953) #2.

“Killer Man” is a crippled tribesman who kills beasts for sport. The beasts are slaughtering the Rock People tribe in retaliation! (Letter writers complain about the lack of realism at featuring dinosaurs and men together - imagine their reaction to vengeful mammals!) The Rock People ask Tor to stop the Killer Man. Reprinted from 3D Comics (1953) #2.

Feature: The Caveman’s Escape by Allan Asherman. A text piece with photo stills from the movie “When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth”.

#5. February 1976, “The Giant One”; Tor helps a tribes tormented and tortured by a Giant!

Feature: “Animals of 1,000,000 Years Ago” - the brontosaurus.

“Danny’s Dreams”; clubs can’t kill a bison, so Danny creates a bow and arrow that helps slay the beast - now the tribe has meat! He draws the bow and arrow on a cave wall to show the tribesmen how to make one. Danny awakes at a museum and sees his own drawings as an exhibit!

All three features were reprinted from 3D Comics (1953) #2.

#6. April 1976, for only the second time out of six - a story from inside the comic makes the cover. The stories in this issue are not titled. I’ve lettered them for convenience’s sake.

A.  Captured by Crater People (subterranean Neanderthals), Tor is sacrificed to the Killer Beast (a T-Rex). Even after beating the Beast, he is forbidden to leave! When he is the only one who helps the chieftain after he is attacked by a giant serpent, he is released because of his bravery. Reprinted from 3D Comics (1953) #2.

Feature: “History of Pre-Historic Animals” - the original bone-head: Pachycephalosaurus! Reprinted from Tor (1953) #4.

B.  Tor watches a triceratops battle a stegosaurus - the winner gets to drink from the water pond. The loser? Tor’s tribes’ meal! Um, what tribe? I thought he was banished... Reprinted from 3D Comics (1953) #2.

C.  Man (Tor) and beast flee from a massive forest fire. The only safe place? An island! But while there a turtle the size of a tank attacks Tor! Reprinted from 3D Comics (1953) #2.

***

            Tor was the last of the “failed” titles in the non-imprint Adventure Line. Beowulf lasted six issues, too, and its last issue was on the stands the month before. Warlord #2 was published the same month as Tor #6 – April 1976. This meant it was published around January 1976.

             Tor was an oddity among the other Adventure Line brethren – it was a reprint series publishing a rare comic that few readers had ever seen.  Joe Kubert linked the book in the letter columns with Tarzan and Korak. Books he published with DC always had an automatic audience. But it didn’t last. Korak would also fold within the year. What would happen in a few issues when the reprints ran out? Would Kubert have done new stories? Did he reprint what was available and voluntarily folded the comic? Perhaps. If he wanted to do new stories, he could have – and used the older reprints as back-ups.

            DC reprinted these stories (and presumably the rest of the 1953 run) in trade paperback and even hardback over the years. In 1993 new stories by Kubert were published by Marvel (of all people) under their Epic imprint.

            The two paragraphs describing Joe Kubert’s art is from my free ebook Brave and Bold: From Silent Knight to Dark Knight, available at Smashwords, Kobo, and through Barnes and Noble here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-brave-and-the-bold-michael-curry/1120872264?ean=2940046443011

             I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you enjoy this blog series!

Original Material Copyright 2015 Michael Curry

Mount Vernon Now feature article on Abby's Road!

Abby's Road was the lead feature in this month's Mt Vernon Now magazine for January 2015! Thanks to Robbie Edwards for a wonderful article! I transcribed the article below. Any typos are MINE, not hers! Enjoy!

An Open Heart

By Robbie Edwards

             The heartbreak of wanting a child desperately but not being able to conceive is a feeling Michael and Esther Curry know well.

            So is the joy and abundant love of a child.

            “We wanted a third or fourth person to love,” said Michael Curry. “We had so much love for each other we wanted it to spill over to someone else. Two people so in love was so wonderful – imagine three or four or more.”

For years, the coupe continued to hope, even through the biological clock was ticking and the couple were unable to conceive.

            “Infertility treatments weren’t working and we gave ourselves until age forty to try to make it work,” Curry explained. “It didn’t. So for a few years we put the idea of a family aside.”

            On Jan. 3, 2009, the couple decided to look into adoption.

            “We should have considered adoption from the beginning,” Curry said. “I think everyone should. Remember the old saying, ‘your spouse is the only member of your family that you get to pick’? You get to pick through adoption, too. I think people make a mistake trying only infertility treatments. They should seriously consider adoption or fostering a child too.”

            The couple began doing research and looking for the agency they wanted to use and soon decided on the Adoption Law Center out of California.

            The adoption process continued with filling our paperwork, submitting photos and competing mini-biographies to build a page for birth mothers to browse.

            Curry said one of the rules when it came to what photos could be used is that the photo needed to be less than one year old.

            The photo the couple wanted to use was about three years old.

            “Our friends renewed their vows for their 20^th anniversary in a renaissance-themed ceremony,” Curry said. “We dressed in renaissance outfits for the wedding and took a lovely picture in front of a castle at Boo Rothman Park south of Carbondale. The agency said the photo was fine and they would include it.”

            Curry said after the profile site was made, the two hopeful parents began weeding though the long process of ”red tape” that Illinois requires to be adoptive parents.

            “You have to become licensed foster parents to adopt in Illinois,” Curry explained. In addition, there are fees, inspections, background checks and forms to be complete.

            “We were selected by a birth mother in June and we talked to her on the phone,” Curry said. “She lived in Massapequa, New York and her baby was due on September 23, 2010.”

            Curry said the birthmother selected them because of the renaissance photograph – which in the beginning was not even supposed to be used.

            “She loved reading stories and listening to music of that era and that attracted her to us,” Curry said. “She picked us because of the photograph we weren’t supposed to use because it was over a year old. But they allowed the photo anyway and that was the reason she picked us.”

            The agency contacted the Currys in mid-September informed them the birthmother was in labor and they should make plans to come to Long Island, N.Y.

            The excited soon-to-be parents set off to meet their new baby girl – only to find out there was a bump in the road

            “It was a false labor. She didn’t have the baby that weekend,” Curry said. “There was another false alarm that Sunday. Thursday was the due date. Her doctor decided to push back the due date to October 1st. What could we do? A flight back would cost more than staying the next eight days. We didn’t want to visit New York City or any sights that would take us hours to get back in case the baby was born early.”

            Esther Curry said the actual adoption process seemed to go quick, but witing due to the false alarms is what seemed to take a long time.

            “We got to see her on the second and she was given to us on the third to take back to our motel,” Michael Curry remembered. “It took the rest of the week for the Interstate Compact to be approved between New York and Illinois and we took her home over Columbus Day weekend.”

            The Currys’ newborn changed their lives as it does for most anyone with a new addition to the family.

            “We knew what to expect and prepare for it, but nothing really prepares you,” Curry said. “You expect to be up every two hours for feeding and changing. You expect to plan ahead like Eisenhower on D-Day just to go out to dinner and a movie. But to actually go through it... “

            Abby is five years old now and is a little person on her own.

            “One of my secretaries asked if she was a girly-girl and she certainly is! She loves to dress up in pink and purple. She loves to draw and dance and sing.:

            Curry said he and his wife have had a lot of fun watching her grow and seeing how her mind develops.

            Curry said Abby has even discovered her own sense of humor.

            “Recently she said Robin Hood and Little Red Riding Hood must be related since they have the same last name,” Curry said. “We decided they are cousins.”

            Curry said adoption or becoming foster parents is as big a decision as having a baby and not something to take lightly.

            “This isn’t a whim. This will change your life forever - not to mention the life of the child,” Curry said.

            Curry has written a book about the couple’s experiences with infertility and adoption, “Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption and how Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt helped!”

            The book uses humor from the perspective of Michael Curry – a self-proclaimed nerdy father and his wife. The book was winner of an honorable mention at the 2014 Great Midwest Book Festival.

 This article copyright its respective holder or holders...

Abby's Road can be purchased through, among others, Amazon -http://www.amazon.com/Abbys-Road-Long-Winding-Adoption/dp/0692221530/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1421012590&sr=8-4&keywords=abby%27s+road 

Stalker: DC Comics' Adventure Line

STALKER: BEWARE THE MAN WITH THE STOLEN SOUL

                I loved this comic. I still have issue #1 from when it was first published (and Justice Inc too, by the way). It enthralled me as a youngster. Steve Ditko & Wally Wood’s combined art was stupendous. The scene where the demon takes Stalker’s soul is breathtaking. As an adult, thanks to ebay and other internet stores, I finally collected the rest of the series. Nothing was concluded, of course. But I got them! Despite my love of the first issue, I could see its limitations.

Trouble was, until the end of the four issues it had only one plot – Stalker wanted his soul back. This sets up a one-note plot which, if resolved, ends the story. Gilligan gets off the island, Stalker gets his soul back – show’s over. Still, it worked for “The Fugitive”…

But with Conan the Barbarian dominating the sword and sorcery genre in comic books, and other pretenders doing fair if not well - such as Claw the Unconquered - there just wasn’t room for the weird comic about the man with the lost soul. Perhaps he was too much of an anti-hero. Later interpretations of him as a supervillain make me sad.

                Too bad, the four original issues were real gems.

***

“Beware the Man with the Stolen Soul” appeared on every cover.

#1. July 1975, “Quest for a Stolen Soul”, Paul Levitz (w/creator), Steve Ditko/Wally Wood (a), Joe Orlando (e); an abandoned boy living as a street rat yearns to be a sword-wielding knight! He begs that lands Baroness to train and serve her as a warrior. She instead uses him as a slave. He escapes and begs the god of warriors Dgrth to be made a warrior. Dgrth agrees – the child will be given inhuman martial skill in exchange for his soul. Deal! Wait, you want the soul NOW and not when I die! Wait! Too late! Stalker threatens to kill the Baroness in one year – making her remaining year of life a torment – and slays his former slave-master. He feels no joy or satisfaction as he has no soul. He vows to get his soul back!

                A full-page house ad for Stalker and Beowulf Dragon Slayer is in this comic.

                The text page includes a bio of Paul Levitz and a map of some of Stalker’s world! A map! No fantasy epic is complete unless it contains a map!

                How I yearn to see the tale of vengeance against the Baroness in the next year. The editor says in a letter column that by issue #7 Stalker will be in the northern lands wherein lie dragons. Issue #7, on a bi-monthly schedule – would be the year anniversary. Did the Baroness hie herself to northern lands? What a great multi-parter that would have been – Stalker tracking down the Baroness across the map!

#2. September 1975, “Darkling Death at World’s End Sea”, (same team); F’lan, the prior of Dgrth’s temple at World’s End Sea, knows where lay the gateway to Dgrth’s domain. Stalker is captured by F’lan, who will sacrifice the marked one to Dgrth. Stalker escapes with the help of Merilla on the promise Stalker will take her with him.

                The Ditko/Wood art is just as good as the first issue – the World’s End Sea is just that! Just past the shoreline the sea drops off into eternity. Grand stuff!

                The full-page Adventure Line ad appears in this issue.

#3. November 1975, “The Freezing Flames of the Burning Isle”, (same team); The Burning Isle, on which – so Stalker learned from F’lan – hides the portal to Dgrth’s realm. Stalker befriends Srani, a witch banished to the island one year ago. She tells that the gods and demons man worships were in fact ancient aliens from the stars who were themselves banished from this island to their various domains. Is Srani more than she seems?

                The letter column says this could be Stalker’s last issue depending on the sale numbers.

                My copy of this issue is a Mark Jeweler variant: a cardboard insert advertising Mark Jewelers was distributed on or near military bases. Not only did this soldier defend my freedom, he bought a dandy comic book too!

#4. January 1976, “Invade the Inferno”, (same team – the letter column reveals Ben Oda and Joe Letterese (l), Tatjana Wood, John Albano Jr & Carl Gifford (i) through the series); Stalker invades hell, fights its minions and raises an army against Dgrth. Stalker confronts the demon and demands the return of his soul. He cannot return it – only Dgrth’s death can free Stalker’s soul; and only when a god is forgotten can it truly die. Then Stalker shall slay all evil until his soul is returned. So he vows!

                The letter column says this issue wraps up the first part of the series in case of cancellation. They were right! 

***

If the series had continued it would thus head to other plots – now Stalker seeks to destroy all evil rather than “just” getting back his soul: a MUCH more open storyline with lots of potential (“The Fugitive” wasn’t just him hunting for the one-armed man – there were lots of great stories in between…). Perhaps he can still find his humanity by helping others – even if his reasons are selfish. Perhaps he would have found allies or (gasp) friends.  How a man with no soul would handle allies and friends would make for some interesting character development – even for only a panel or two, as was normal with 1970s comic books.

If it had only taken less than four issues to get to that point. Between the art and that storyline it might have attracted some attention.

                Stalker appeared in JSA Returns as a demonic supervillain, in Swamp Thing (with Adventure Line alum Claw), and in the 2008 Wonder Woman story arc Ends of the Earth as the villain - battling the Amazon with Claw and Beowulf at her side. Stalker replaced Beowulf as the back-up feature in issues #4-7 of the DC New 52 magazine Sword of Sorcery.

                My favorite of the Adventure Line books, if only sentimentally. The art is breathtaking!  It’s Ditko & Wood, folks! DITKO! WOOD!

Original material copyright 2015 Michael Curry

Happy Birthday JRR Tolkien and Isaac Asimov!

A quick blog entry, but of utmost importance!!

Yesterday was Isaac Asimov's birthday, today is J.R.R. Tolkien's, born 122 years ago. Tolkien created the fantasy genre eventually named after him (although as his book "Children of Turin" shows he still wrote "high" fantasy). My book shelves (other than the Asimov shelf) is lined with books he influenced. Thank you for everything, Professors - both of you - and I mean everything...

Kong the Untamed - DC Adventure Line

“Enter the Primitive World of ... KONG the Untamed”

                Thus read the heading of DC’s Kong the Untamed. Not to be confused with the big gorilla from Skull Island. Now THAT would have made an interesting comic book.

                This Kong was interesting too. The text from the first issue’s letter page tells us the DC editors decided to try to revive the caveman again in comic book form. They tried some years back with Anthro. He debuted in Showcase and lasted six issues of his own comic in 1967.

                Not that these were bad issues. In fact, the series started out with quite a pedigree and lots of potential. Alcala’s art, a staple of horror comics from DC and Marvel, gave the series a dark and ominous feel - you never knew what was around the corner. In fact, the first two issues seemed to be an attack followed by a chase followed by an attack. It was of limited appeal and limited scope. Nowadays it would have made an award-winning 12-issue miniseries.

                Later issues lightened the look and the tone. Gerry Conway, fresh from his writing duties on Amazing Spider-Man, gave the book a “Lost World” tone by bringing in dinosaurs (something the letter columnists begged not to happen) and a Romeo-Juliet-like romance. After the dark and brooding first two issues, it turned into Kazar-lite.

***

                #1.  July 1975, “Kong the Untamed” by Jack Oleck (w), Alfred Alcala (a), Joe Orlando (e), cover by Bernie Wrightson. Born with blond hair to Attu, Kong is prophecy reborn! A mighty warrior and leader he shall be! Trog the One-Eyed, the tribal chieftan is jealous and fearful of the stripling and banished his mother and newborn child. As Kong grows on the outskirts of the tribe - he learns to hunt, forage and fight! When he asks to play with the children of his tribe, he is pelted with stones. When he is older, a teenager, he is attacked by a Beast Man (a Neanderthal - Kong and his tribe are Cro-Magnon). A capture/escape/chase commences between the tribe, the Beast Men and Kong and his mother. Eventually the tribe catches up with Attu and kills her. Kong vows revenge against Trog and the gods who cursed him with his blond hair!

                Wrightson’s dark cover set the tone for the issue maintained by the art of Alcala, known for his art in horror books for Marvel and DC. The writing and art show us a dark and cruel world at the dawn of man. Whether the comic would last for dozens or hundreds of issues is doubtful; but the debut showed great potential.

                #2. September 1975, “Blood Brother” by the same team. Cover by Wrightson. This comic features the full-page ad touting their Adventure Line!

                Kong is attacked by wolves. The rock he throws in defense causes a spark. When he is safe, he learns to make fire! Kong is captured by the same tribe of Beast Men from issue #1 but is rescued by Gurat - the Beast Man he bested last issue. Gurat respects the yellow-haired stripling! The two outcasts join together to fight off Gurat’s Beast Men tribe and a deer-hunting Cro-Magnon tribe and become as brothers. This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

                #3. November 1975. “The Caves of Doom” by the same team, but with scripts by Gerry Conway. Cover by Bill Draut.

                A cave provides shelter from a storm until Kong and Garut are captured by Kong’s former tribe! In escaping, they go deeper into the cave until they find a hidden valley of living dinosaurs and spear-toting humans! It is revealed that Trog is Kong’s father.

                Uber-fan the late Richard Morrisey has a letter in the letter column - the only one with negative things to say about the book. Although it is better than Tor, he says, he predicts a swift death due to its lack of scope. At least it doesn’t have men fighting dinosaurs. In this issue, Kong and Gurat fight a dinosaur...

                #4. January 1976, “Valley of Blood”, Gerry Conway (w), Tony Caravana (a), Jo Ingente (i), Joe Orlando (e), cover by Bill Draut.

                Kong and Gurat are attacked by a human in this valley of dinosaurs! A spear hits Gurat and is left for dead by a river as the stranger takes Kong to his village. Kong, after the required fistfight, eventually befriends his apologetic captor, named Rolan. This new village is led by Priestess Jelenna in a society ruled by women! Jelenna strikes Kong for his male-centric views and Kong swears revenge (after getting revenge on Trog of course. Kong is getting an enemy’s list as long as Nixon’s by now...). Kong helps Rolan kill a Spiketail (a dinosaur) to win the hand the priestess’ daughter Sharra. 

                #5. March 1976. “Bones of the Martyr”, Gerry Conway (w), David Wenzel (i), Bill Draut (i) - although comic lists both as illustrators and does not say who drew and who inked, Joe Orlando (e), cover by Bill Draut and David Wenzel.

                Rolan tries to foment a revolt of the village men against Jelenna. Sharra sides with her mother and the other women as Rolan is put to death. Meanwhile, Gurat is captured, and then befriends, by a pteradactile-riding tribe of Cro-Magnons. They attack their sworn enemies - Jelenna’s village - and rescue Kong. It doesn’t end in a cliffhanger, but I wonder where the series would have gone ...

***

                Anthro outlasted out Kong by one issue - two if you count his Showcase debut. So much for bringing back the caveman. Maybe they should have tried a comic starring a big gorilla instead...

Original Material Copyright 2014 Michael Curry

The DC Comics Adventure Line!

In late 1975 issues of DC comics had the following full-page house ad:

“First DC gave you the World’s Greatest Super-heroes” and a line-up of some of their most-popular characters: Flash, Black Canary (an odd choice, but the line-up needed a hot blonde), Captain Marvel (another odd choice since his comic was about to go on hiatus for 1976 - but would soon be revived as a Saturday morning cartoon, hence his inclusion), Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (another odd choice as at the time he was relegated to Flash as a back-up feature) and Deadman (perhaps the strangest choice of all - his solo feature, although legendary, was long-since cancelled by then).

“Then DC introduced top quality mystery tales” and a line-up of characters from their horror line - the one genre DC can truly say they did better than Marvel (perhaps war titles, too, but Marvel didn’t release many war or horror comics that weren't reprint titles by this time and you will ALWAYS get an argument from the more ardent Marvel zom-er-fans about ANY genre): Abel of House of Secrets, Mordred of The Witching Hour, The Phantom Stranger, Cain of House of Mystery, the Spectre, Eve of Secrets of Sinister House and Swamp Thing.

“NOW DC presents fantasy at its best in our all-new ADVENTURE line” and a rendering from each of the seven new comics available: Justice Inc., Claw, Tor, Stalker, Warlord, Beowulf, and Kong. “Now on sale in their own ACTION-PACKED magazines!”

These comics were published under the DC banner and weren’t really part of a “line” or "imprint" - a unique subspecies of comic from the same publisher. That sort of branding wouldn’t become popular for many years to come - Milestone,  Epic, Vertigo, etc. Even the X-Men were given its own line of comics under the Marvel banner.

DC did do a branding of sorts in the next year or so with its DC/TV line - Superfriends, Isis, Shazam and Welcome Back Kotter all published with a variation of the DC logo in the upper left-hand corner to mark these comics as unique in the line-up. No such variation was seen in these so-called “Adventure Line” comics.

Only two characters that debuted under the Adventure Line had any staying power - that is, new adventures could still be found in comic books years after their debut: Warlord and Claw. The Avenger in Justice Inc is and always shall be a strange exception to the mix - his pulp adventures pre-date Superman and comics of his adventures have been published by various companies to this day (Dynamite’s Justice Inc is on the stands right now) and the odd inclusion of a gun-toting crime killer in a group of sword/spear/club-wielding Conan clones will be discussed in the blog reviewing those issues.

That’s not to put the line down. DC put their A-list talent on these comics. The credits read like a list of who’s who in comic-book-dom: Jack Kirby, Joe Kubert, David Michelinie, Ernie Chan, Alfred Alcala, Gerry Conway, Keith Giffen, and of course Mike Grell. The stories and art were well done!

Oh at times there was garbage too, particularly with the last few issues of a run, but overall the quality was good to fair (sometimes great!) compared to other comics released at the time.

I’ve loved all these comics since their debut and I hope you enjoy the next seven blog posts reviewing them!

Original Material copyright 2015 Michael G Curry