Essential Marvel: Man-Thing, Vol. 2 by various authors and illustrators

(pb; 1974, 1979-1981, 2004, collects Man-Thing [1974] #15-22 and [1979], #1-11, Giant-Size Man-Thing #3-5, Rampaging Hulk #7, Marvel Team-Up #68, Marvel Two-in-One, #43 and Doctor Strange #41)

From the back cover

“With Captain America, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man and the Thing around, it’s hard to stand out in a crowd─but somehow, the Man-Thing manages it! Citrusville, Florida, faces censorship, prejudice, psychosis and ghost pirates in stories as relevant today as they were more than twenty years ago! Sorcery, snowmen and super-soldier serums! Demons, dementia and D’Spayre await─but have no fear, because, well, if you do. . .”

Overall review

As with Man-Thing, Vol. 1, the second volume is a great comic book collection, with impressive artwork, surprisingly nuanced lead characters as well as solid, moralistic and ecology-friendly storytelling. This is especially impressive because of how willing the creators of this comic series are willing to indulge in wild and mostly effective break-the-Man-Thing-mold writing. 

A few of the issues feel like single-shot filler tales, but they are still entertaining and the artwork visually exciting. There are also the inevitable 1970s sexist, hippie and corporate greed stereotypes, along with some heavy-handed thematic overreaches (which further the egregiousness of the stereotypes), but these issues are relatively few, given how many issues are contained in this anthology.

Despite the above caveats, this graphic novel is worth owning.

Issues / story arcs

Caveat: possible spoilers in this review.

“Giant-Size Man-Thing – ‘The Blood of Kings!’” [#3]: Man-Thing, Korrek of Katharta (last seen in Man-Thing issue 1), Dakimh the Enchanter and Jennifer Kale─now a fledgling sorceress─battle the evil magic and brute power of Mortak the Usurper, Klonus  (a wizard) and their forces in an alternate world and Citrusville, Florida.

“Man-Thing – ‘A Candle for Sainte-Cloud’” [#15]: A stalker (Chuck) uses candle magick to get close to Sainte-Cloud, Ted Sallis’s hippie-poet ex-girlfriend, her first appearance in Man-Thing. Caught up in the illusory trap is Jeremy, Cloud’s blind neighbor and close friend─and, maybe, Man-Thing as well. What is real and what is not?

“Man-Thing – ‘Decay Meets the Mad Viking!’” [#16]: In the mucklands, Man-Thing is caught up in the random, chaotic struggle between a loopy, cult-leader rock star (Eugene “The Star” Spangler) and The Mad Viking (a weird-as-hunh??, axe-swinging ex-dock worker with delusions of being an American-tinged warrior). Also caught between them is the Viking’s granddaughter, Astrid Josefsen. The people who worked on this issue were clearly having a throw-in-everything-strange moment when they put this together.

“Giant-Size Man-Thing – ‘The Kid’s Night Out!’” [#4]: An unpopular teenager’s death sparks a surge of unlikely and hyperbolic violence in Citrusville. Alice Rimes, savaged friend of the lonely deceased boy, becomes a target of the maddened crowd, along with Man-Thing.

“Man-Thing – ‘A Book Burns in Citrusville!’” [#17]: The body of Eugene ‘The Star’ Spangler─killed by the Mad Viking in Man-Thing issue 16─is found by a Citrusville delivery boy. Fervor about Man-Thing rises anew, resulting in the murk dweller getting caught and placed in a vat of acid. Meanwhile, Richard Rory─WNRV disc jockey, previously seen in Man-Thing, Vol. 1 issues─tries, in vain, to head off a renewed burst of secular book burnings by a religiously inclined, hyperviolent and one-note Citrusville crowd, led by Olivia Selby. Cliffhanger finish to this one.

“Man-Thing – ‘School’s Out!’” [#18]: The events of issue 17 spill over into this issue. Led by the increasingly violent Mad Viking, the overzealous-religionist book burners storm the local high school and build a library bonfire. Man-Thing, now a creature of muck and chemical foam, confronts the Viking again. Richard Rory, trying to save lives and books, is fired by the manager of WNRV, the radio station he works for. The crazed Viking kills his granddaughter, Alice Rimes, before his fear does him in.

“Giant-Size Man-Thing – ‘Fear Times Three!’” [#5]: A trilogy of microtales makes up this issue, its wraparound story taking place before the events that turn Ted Sallis into Man-Thing─in this wraparound, Sallis and his later-traitorous girlfriend (Ellen Brandt) visit a psychic, who tells them about his Man-Thing-related future.

Her first microtale: In “There’s a Party in 6G!,” a coven of Satanists steal a baby, so that they might sacrifice a child (Allen) to Ehrthold, a powerful demon. Their plan goes sideways when Man-Thing, drawn by the hate and fear of the situation, shows up.

Her second microtale: In “The Sins of the Fathers. . .,” a swamp-trash Romeo and Juliet scenario plays out.

Her third microtale: In “Lifeline!,” Jackson Hunter, wheelchair-trapped and face-burned former foe of Man-Thing, sends a highly trained military force against the titular creature, who dismantles them with initial difficulty. There is a mini-twist character, in the form of one of the soldiers, at the end, before the microtale segues into the wraparound story.

“Man-Thing – ‘The Scavenger of Atlanta’” [#19]: Richard Rory drives a chemically altered Man-Thing─a result of the previous issue’s acidic foam conjoining─and Carol Selby (who reveals herself to be seventeen, a minor, to Rory’s horror) to Atlanta, Georgia. There, Man-Thing battles the quirky-insane, spandex-wearing Scavenger, who attacks women (including Colleen Sanders, a local) and absorbs their essence, physical and otherwise. Cliffhanger finish to this one.

“Man-Thing – ‘The Nightmare Box’” [#20]: Richard Rory is arrested and returned to Citrusville for arraignment, to be charged with kidnapping Carol Selby (who insisted on going to Atlanta with him, and whom he didn’t know was seventeen). Man-Thing carries a strange box containing a destructive, supernatural element (somehow linked to a woman named Dani Nicolle), while an Atlanta-based portrait painter (Paul Jennings) tries to figure out the mystery of Dani’s bizarre eye beams. Shapeshifting demonic creatures stalk and clash with Man-Thing, seeking to take the mysterious box from him. Another cliffhanger ending.

“Man-Thing – ‘A Lunatic on Every Corner’” [#21]: The events of issue 20 spill over into this issue. Demons, compelled by an absent Thog─who first fought Man-Thing in Fear issue 11─run wild in the streets of Atlanta, attacking Man-Thing and people alike. Scavenger, that lust-and-energy-suck-obssessed spandex freak, kiss-feeds on another victim (Elsbeth Duhl), wife of Roland Duhl─a numbers-focused accountant in thrall to Thog. Seems the indestructible Scavenger, brother of Dani Nicolle, can only feel anything when he feeds on his victims.

The wizard Klonus and the barbarian Mortak, last seen in Giant-Size Man-Thing issue 3, return to attack the titular character. While they battle him, Thog appears in a blaze of hellish light, ending the issue.

“Man-Thing – ‘Pop Goes the Cosmos!’” [#22]: The final issue of the first volume/run of Man-Thing goes meta. Comic book writer Steve Gerber recounts how Dakimh the wizard told him about Thog’s escape from the world called Therea, where Thog was imprisoned brought about by Dakimh’s physical death. Later, Thog traps Dani Nicolle─who must vomit her excess, destructive head energy into a box─and her brother, Robert (a.k.a. Scavenger), who is an energy vampire, in trick-deal, resulting in the violence of issues 19-21. Furthermore, Thog’s increasing power source, a pyramid built with Dani’s energy-vomit boxes, becomes the source of the battle involving Man-Thing and the aforementioned characters before Thog is burned by Man-Thing, ending─as I wrote before─Man-Thing’s first titular comic book run.

“The Rampaging Hulk – ‘Among the Great Divide’” [#7]: Man-Thing gets a one-shot/side story about fighting the mostly vicious personalities of a schizophrenic woman (Andrea).

“Marvel Team-Up [featuring Spider-Man and the Man-Thing] – ‘The Measure of a Man’” [#68]: Man-Thing and Spider-Man, on an impromptu multidimensional rescue mission of Jennifer Kale and Dakimh the Wizard, quell the mad power of D’Spayre, a villain whose touch can shatter one’s sanity, reduce one to the mental state of a cowering, weeping child.

“Marvel Two-in-One Presents:The Thing and the Man-Thing – ‘The Day the World Winds Down’” [#43]: The Thing, Captain America and Man-Thing face off against Victorius, a former scientist of A.I.M.─Advanced Idea Mechanics, a “renegade arm of Hydra”─who drank a variation of the super-soldier serum that gave Steve Rogers (Captain America) his super powers. 

Victorius is the new leader of the reborn Entropy cult (“left leaderless” by Man-Thing in “Giant-Size Man-Thing” #1). Victorius has also resurrected Jude the Entropic Man, a logic-leaning supernatural being whose personality will make or break the heroes.

“The Man-Thing – ‘Regeneration and Rebirth’” [#1]: The second volume of the “Man-Thing” kicks off with this issue. At the behest of what he thinks is the CIA, scientist (Dr. Karl Oheimer) discovers a formula that returns to Man-Thing’s mental state to that of Ted Sallis, all the while maintaining the morass-dweller’s physical, plant-based form.

“The Man-Thing – ‘Himalayan Nightmare!’” [#2]: Man-Thing is instantly transported from his familiar morass to the Himalyas, when two scientists (Dr. Schechtman and his assistant, Frederick) accidentally zap him with an experimental raygun. In the freezing Himalayas, he battles a wolf pack and rescues another scientist (Russell Simpson) who has fallen off a cliff. Man-Thing travels with Russell as he returns to his fellow expeditioners (Elaine, his wife, and Roger Grafton, a supposed friend). Roger, a greedy letch who’s been trying to get with an offended Elaine, shoots and kills Russell, causing an avalanche to fall on Man-Thing and Elaine. Cliffhanger finish to this one─this is the beginning of a four-issue story arc.

“Man-Thing – ‘The Gong of Doom!’” [#3]: After surviving the avalanche, Man-Thing and Elaine Simpson are set upon by wild, bearded cave-dwellers with wooden cudgels─“abominable snowmen,” as their leader, Hiram Swenson, a mad anthropologist, calls them. Swenson’s intention to burn them at a stake is interrupted by Roger Grafton, who has returned with a small, machine-toting group of men to hunt Man-Thing, whom has Grafton has mistaken for a yeti, a.k.a. an abominable snowman. Grafton’s men slaughter Swenson and his yeti. Another avalanche follows, burying the Man-Thing-incinerated Grafton and dead combatants. Man-Thing, holding Elaine, grips the undercarriage of an airplane that two of Grafton’s men have taken, and they fly away.

“Man-Thing – ‘Death-Knell’” [#4]: The plane, taken by Grafton’s ex-employees, Conrad Shürz and Billy Ellenshaw, cannot maintain its necessary altitude with 600 additional pounds clinging to its undercarriage─that additional weight being Man-Thing and Elaine Simpson, who fall from the aircraft right before it crashes.

Meanwhile, in Paris, France, master of the mystic arts Stephen Strange (a.k.a. Doctor Strange) is losing a fight against Azrael, a supernatural villain. Azrael, an ancient being, was reborn in Lord Julian Phyffe’s body when Baron Mordo─another Strange foe─subjugated and possessed Phyffe, Strange’s “supposed ally.” This battle is a continuation of a crossover conflict last seen in issue 40 of Dr. Strange. Using desperate magick, Strange manages to defeat Azrael and transport himself and his ex-lover Madeleine de St. Germain to Citrusville, Florida, where Mordo intends to open another Chaos Gate via blood sacrifices. The sheriff tells Strange and St. Germain that eighteen people have disappeared or been slaughtered. Mordo’s targets: Joshua, Jennifer and Andy Kale, friends of Man-Thing whose bloodline and history rife with supernatural and alternate-worldl experience, some of it with our titular hero. 

When Jaxon, a friend of the Kales, takes Strange and St. Germain to the Kale house, they are greeted by a shocking sight: a woman (Elaine Simpson) wearing a parka fleeing their house, screaming for them to get away. It seems Mordo has transported Simpson and Man-Thing to Citrusville, and taken over Man-Thing’s will, in order to destroy Strange. After a brief flurry of physical and mystical blows with the murk creature, Strange plays possum by letting Man-Thing “drown” him in swamp water, while Mordo mocks him and Germain.

“Dr. Strange – ‘Weep for the Soul of Man. . .’” [#41]: The crossover event that began with Dr. Strange issue 40 and Man-Thing issues 3 and 4 concludes in this issue. Mordo’s quest to become the most powerful being in the universe continues as Doctor Strange and Man-Thing battle him. Like Strange’s ex-lover, Madeleine de St. Germain, Jennifer Kale, her friend Jaxon and others, Man-Thing is held in partially held in thrall by Mordo and sacrificial, mystical victims, numbering thirteen. Mordo is barely defeated.

“Man-Thing – ‘Who Knows Fear’” [#5]: Man-Thing helps rescue a quag-trapped young woman, Barbra Bannister, being pursued by modern day pirates, led by the duplicitious Ian McGuire.

“Man-Thing – ‘Fraternity Rites!’” [#6]: John Daltrey, sheriff of Citrusville and ally of Man-Thing, helps the titular quag-monster stop a murderous group of collegiate thugs, its sadistic leader (J. Elliot Osbourne, a.k.a “Jacko”) enamored with Anthony Burgess’s 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange.

“Man-Thing – ‘Whatever Happened to Captain Fate?’” [#7]: A commercial airplane crashes in the Everglades near Citrusville after Captain Jebediah Fate, pirate ghost-captain of the Serpent Crown, returns with his crew and attacks it, killing all its passengers. Fate was last seen in issue 14 of the original run of Man-Thing, thought to be laid to rest with his undead followers. 

John Daltrey, sheriff of Citrusville, and romantic interest Barbra Bannister are kidnapped by the ghost floating-ship ghost crew, and of course Man-Thing is thrown back into conflict with them. Cliffhanger finish to this.

“Man-Thing – ‘Red Sails Burning!’” [#8]: Continued from previous issue. . . Maura Spinner, ex-oceangrapher, and Khourdes, the last of the sartyrs, appear on a mystical British frigate (H.M.S. Athena) to help Man-Thing defeat Jebediah Fate and his scurvy-ridden shipmates, as they did in the original run of Man-Thing, issues 13 and 14. They, along with Barbra Bannister and John Daltrey, are successful─but it is pyrrhic victory. Fate’s curse is passed on to the hapless Daltrey, who is now bound to Fate’s ghost ship, the Serpent Crown.

“Man-Thing – ‘The Echo of Pain!’” [#9]: A baby and his young parents, David and Elizabeth Connelly, are caught between their class warfare-obsessed parents, a more mature, darker take on Romeo and Juliet.

“Man-Thing – ‘Came the Dark Man Walkin’, Walkin’’” [#10]: A stranger with odd powers, John Kowalski, observes a biker gang’s attack on Andy Kale (brother of sorceress Jennifer Kale). When Man-Thing tangles with the vicious bikers, things of course get hetted up.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Kale and Barbra Bannister enact a ritual to try and save Bannister’s boyfriend, John Daltrey, from the curse that binds him to the pirate ghost ship (Serpent Crown)─last seen in issue 8.  The two storylines come together and Kowalski reveals himself to be Death.

“Man-Thing – ‘Hell’s Gate’” [#11 – final issue]: Real-life comic book author Chris Claremont tells his friends (also fellow Marvel/Man-Thing employees) why he can’t write Man-Thing anymore. Seems that Man-Thing is based on real-life, mystical events: Barbra Bannister, transformed into a fellow Death-agent by the cynical John Kowalski, rights a cosmic injustice by also enlisting Man-Thing to fight Thog (a recurrent, demonic foe in the original Man-Thing run) in Thog’s dominion, “Sominus, the land of eternal shadow.” There, Doctor Strange, his lover/disciple Clea, and others are held prisoner by John Daltrey (turned evil by a cursed “magus sword”) and his master, Thog.

Wild, everything-but-the-bathroom-faucet elements make this a slam-bang-boom finish to the dark, ecologically themed and morality-play series that is Man-Thing. My one major nitpick with this issue is that one that plagues many comic books: the women are unnecessarily sexualized in their behavior and outfits─in this case, when Barbra Bannister is transformed into a fellow Death agent, her spandex suit is especially tight, whereas Kowalski (who transformed her) is dressed like a regular guy, button-up shirt and slacks. I understand that this was a trend, then and now, but sometimes it’s egregious in its male-gaze imbalance.

Still, a mostly fun finish that recalls the final issue of Man-Thing’s original run.

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Images from the 2005 film.

Essential Marvel: Spider-Woman Vol. 2 by various authors and illustrators

(pb; 1979–1983, 2007 ─ graphic novel, collects Spider-Woman #26–50, Marvel Team-Up #97 and Uncanny X-men #148.)

From the back cover

“The first part of Spider-Woman’s career concludes as her collection of challenges and crises is completed! Some of Marvel’s most stupendous scribes set the heroine against Morgan la Fay, the Viper, Gypsy Moth and other fearsome foes, forgotten or otherwise! Plus: the first appearances of X-Factor’s Siryn and X-Force’s Caliban! But after tearing through a gauntlet of magicians, mad scientists, murder and mystery, what final fate awaits the webbed wonder? Guest-starring Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-men and the Werewolf!”

Overall review

The second half of this series is a vast improvement on it first half, which struggled to find the character “voice” of its titular character, who also went by the name Jessica Drew. For the most part, the writers ditched the uneven, sexist writing and unlikely character twists─these flaws still pop up, but they are relatively rare in the comics that make up the second Spider-Woman volume.

This is a fun, mostly well-written comic book collection, with a character who got better with each progressive issue. It is worth reading, possibly owning if you are a fan of superheroines of that era (late Seventies to early Eighties).

Issues / story arcs

“The Blades of the Grinder!” (#26): Spider-Woman’s crime-fighting activities catch the attention of a sleazy newspaper owner (Rupert Dockery), who makes Spider-Woman front-page news. He also sets her up for an attack from a new, blade-spinning foe, the easily defeated Grinder.

“Blacked Out—By the Enforcer!” (#27): Dockery, owner of the Los Angeles Courier, continues to endanger Spider-Woman by springing supervillain-thief Carson Collier (a.k.a. the Enforcer) from prison─Carson was last seen in issue #19. He goes on a robbery spree that violently reunites him and Spider-Woman. Cliffhanger finish in this issue.

“That Scotty Should Not Die!” (#28): Spider-Woman is forced to aid the Enforcer in his big-time robberies if she wants to get an antidote to save her crippled assistant, Scotty McDowell, from the Enforcer’s poison. Readers may be required to utilize a higher-than-usual suspension of realistic disbelief while reading this issue.

“Spider-Man is Dead─And I Killed Him!” (#29): News of the Enforcer/Spider-Woman robbery spree reaches Spider-Man, who flies from New York to LA to suss out whether or not his fellow arachnid-themed friend has truly turned to a career in crime. Meanwhile, LA Courier owner Rupert Dockery continues to track the super-thieves (via a listening/tracking device he planted on the Enforcer) and profit from the front-page crime wave he brought into being. Scotty McDowell clings precariously to life.

As in the previous issue, readers may be required to utilize a higher-than-usual suspension of realistic disbelief while reading this issue.

“Come Into My Parlor─Said the Fly!” (#30): Spider-Woman once again confronts Rupert Dockery in a non-violent way. The Enforcer makes an appearance. A supervillain, The Fly, repeatedly attacks Spider-Woman, his assaults indirectly aided by a scientist named Dr. Malus.

“Marvel Team-Up: Hulk and Spider-woman—‘Doctor of Madness’ (#97, crossover issue): The Hulk and Spider-Woman, taken prisoner by Dr. W. Lee Benway, make their escape from the crazed scientist and his misshapen monsters.

“The Sting of the Hornet!” (#31): Scotty McDowell is transformed into the chaos-causing Hornet, a villain who flies around L.A. and stirs up trouble with Spider-Woman. This is because of the “cure” that Dr. Karl Malus injected him with in the previous issue.

“The Fangs of Werewolf By Night” (#32): Dr. Karl Malus continues to manipulate Scotty into becoming the Hornet─an erratic, villainous irritant to the clueless Spider-Woman. Malus also tricks Jack Russell, Werewolf by Night, into becoming his lycanthropic puppet. His target? Spider-Woman, of course.

“Yesterday’s Villain” (#33): Jessica/Spider-Woman visits San Francisco to reap the bounty on an arsonist and murderer, Turner D. Century, a.k.a. Morgan MacNeil Hardy. Century’s mission: relentless purification of the city.

“The Wildfire Express!” (#34): While a wildfire blazes in L.A., the tough-to-beat techno villains Hammer and Anvil kidnap an industrialist CEO, Amanda Sheridan, one step in an attempted corporate takeover. Enter Spider-Woman, who must infiltrate DRC─Sheridan’s main corporate rival─and battle Mandroids, in order to save Amanda  and her company.

“Farewell to L.A.!” (#35): David Angar─a.k.a. the Screamer─is an escaped felon whose sonic screams cause mass hallucinations and amnesia, running loose in Los Angeles.Jessica/Spider-Woman not only has to deal with him, but the increasing tension between her and Scotty McDowell.

Lindsay McCabe, Jessica’s roommate, makes an intriguing offer to Jessica. Great storyline and artwork in this issue.

“The Wanderer!” (#36): En route to their new home, San Francisco, Jessica and Lindsay get in a car accident. They are swept into a small-town murder and a UFO visitation/confrontation.

This issue introduces the the extraterrestrial Tsyrami and their female leader, Elhalyn, into the Spider-Woman timeline. This is a fun, off-kilter tale, with great artwork.

“Who Am I?” (#37): Jessica, now living in San Francisco, interrupts a bank robbery. The robbers: rogue mutant Black Tom Cassidy and Cain Marko─a.k.a. the Juggernaut. Not only that, Jessica, as Spider-Woman, must face off against Siryn, a mutant whose voice can be used as a sonic blast.

“Criminal at Large!” (#38): Spider-Woman, accused of another crime she did not commit, is aided by select X-Men─Angel, Colossus and Storm─as they foil Black Tom, the Juggernaut and Siryn in their criminal endeavors.

Two nits: (1) The cops do not immediately unmask Spider-Woman when they catch her─this does not ring true with cop, even human, nature; (2) one character gives an unlikely confession, given his character─it’s something out of a 1950s crime drama.

I realize this is a comic book, but given how good some of the writing is in this series, these are glaring examples of sloppy writing.

“X-men: ‘Cry Mutant!’” (#148, crossover issue): In the Bermuda Triangle, Scott Summers─a.k.a. Cyclops─and Aleyty Forrester, a sailing ship captain, are shipwrecked. They wash ashore a strange metal city.

Elsewhere, when Kitty Pryde is kidnapped by a mysterious shadow man, the Dazzler, Spider-Woman and Oroco rush to rescue her. This is a fun, good issue.

“Death Stroke” (#39): When Jessica discovers her friend, David Ishima, has been implicated in a murder, she dons the Spider-Woman suit to help him. While doing so, she fights the leader of an assassination group, a spandex-wearing baddie named Death Stroke.

A Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train provides a fun backdrop for this pulpy tale, which makes overall great use of East Bay, California locations.

“Flying Tiger—Kills!” (#40): Another assassin, the Flying Tiger, is hired by Morgan Le Fay to kill Jessica/Spider-Woman.

This issue is mostly good, action-packed. There is, however, an indication that Le Fay can read Jessica’s mind─probably just a gimmick to keep the story flowing while hyping the next issue, but it is a glaring inconsistency.

“La Morte de Jessica” (#41): In the setting of Camelot, Jessica battles Morgan Le Fay, so that she might rescue Lindsay, her roommate, from the fiendish sorceress. Also: a revelation, possibly?!

“The Judas Man” (#42): A failed kidnapping attempt of a college student, Pamela Kramer, leads Jessica Drew to work with Lt. Sabrina Morrel of the SFPD. They need to put down the Silver Samurai, a metal-armored swordsman, and his boss, Viper. The latter foe, an ex-Hydra agent, was first was encountered by Jessica in Marvel Team-Up #85. Viper may have a mystical link to Jessica. Cliffhanger finish to this issue.

“Last Stands” (#43): With her roommate, Lindsay McCabe, in danger, Jessica Drew continues to battle an armor-stripped Silver Samurai and the shadowy Viper, whose physical resemblance to Jessica is uncanny. Another cliffhanger finish in this issue.

“Vengeance!” (#44): Jessica vows revenge on those who caused Lindsay’s near-death: SFPD Lt. Sabrina Morrel and Viper. Complicating Jessica’s furious mission, Morgan Le Fey─previously thought banished to another realm, and possibly dead─appears to Jessica, prophesying our arachnid heroine’s demise.

Viper’s link to Jessica is revealed. The mysterious villain is Meriem Drew, Jessica’s mother, once a Hydra agent and unwilling killer for Cthon, a demon. Fun, nice denouement to the events of the past few issues.

“Mission: Impossible” (#45): The Impossible Man, an impish, cone-headed alien, livens up Jessica’s crime-fighting adventures. Whimsical issue.

“Yakuza” (#46): When yakuza thugs try to kill her boyfriend, David Ishima, Jessica─with help from Lt. Sabrina Morrel─seeks out the orchestrator of the attack: Nguyen Ngoc Coy, a former Vietnamese general-turned-crime czar.

Also helping Jessica: Imura, Morrel’s non-criminal clan lord, and the unlikely and curiously cordial Wilson Fisk─a.k.a. the Kingpin. Fisk is a business partner with the shrill Coy.

This is one of my favorite issues. It is fun, well-written, with unexpected character and plot twists. I love the dynamic between Fisk and Jessica in this storyline.

“Twisted” (#47): Jessica Drew battles Daddy Longlegs─a mutated, freakishly tall dancer whose failed ambitions have led him toward murderous tendencies.

“Original Sin” (#48): Gypsy Moth─a.k.a. Sybarite, born Sybil Dvorak─returns as the leader of a cult of drug-induced followers. Jessica takes her on, again.

Gypsy’s origin story, that of a betrayed woman, is revealed. Also: Jessica goes to visit her friend, Jack Russell, a.k.a. Werewolf By Night, while he locks himself up and transforms into a lycanthrope.

“Runaway” (#49): While searching for a runaway boy with “weird powers” (Mickey Silk), Jessica meets─and briefly battles─his new protector, Tigra.

“Lifeline” (#50): Jessica Drew finds herself in a high-tech prison populated with fellow superheroes and supervillains. The prison is run by a failed, bitter Magician (Locksmith) and his psychic lackey, Ticktock.

Then things get strange, even for this wild-ride title. Magnuss, her mentor who disappeared, died, in issue #16, returns to astral-guide her to the sixth century, where it is likely she will fight her final battle with Morgan Le Fey.

This is the last issue of the series.

Essential Marvel: Tales of the Zombie Vol. 1 by various artists and writers

(pb; 1973─1975, 2006: graphic novel. Collects Dracula Lives #1─2 and Tales of the Zombie #1─10.)

From the back cover

“He lives! He strikes! No grave can hold him! Nothing can stop the man without a soul! Marked for human sacrifice by voodoo practitioners, Simon Garth was instead reanimated by mystical means ─ to be controlled by whoever holds the fabled Amulet of Damballah. And so begins the Tales of the Zombie! Terrors criminal, corporate and just plain creepy are reprinted here for the first time in more than a quarter-century! His stare’s the only thing that’s empty about the adventures of Simon Garth through mad science and madder magic!”

Review

The Tales magazine was a mix of 1970s atmospheric, pulpy voodoo artwork and stories (their themes often rooted in revenge, greed, lust and redemption) and informative articles about the voodoo religion, and films and books related to the subject─e.g., White Zombie, 1932, Ian Fleming’s 1954 James Bond novel Live and Let Die (which resulted in the 1973 movie) and George A. Romero’s 1968 iconic Night of the Living Dead.

Tales also has a recurring, titular character, also called Simon Garth, whose often-violent and troubling journey through unlife is recounted in at least one piece per collected issue. Garth is a sympathetic and subconsciously troubled character: his comic book actions─reprehensible or  kind─are mandated by his ever-changing masters (who hold the Amulet of Damballah, which control Garth).

Brother Voodoo’s loa-based heroics earn him recurring comic book status, as well. He, like Garth, also has sometimes uneven-in-quality adventures.

Overall, this is a fun, well-drawn and-inked (and short-lived) series. Some of Tale‘s articles and comic book storylines are thrilling, others are not. If you are into 1970s Marvel monster comics or  pulpy voodoun works, there is a good chance you will enjoy Tales. If you are not, but curious, borrow this from your local library─if it has it─or pick it up for an especially low price.

Essential Marvel: Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man by various artists and writers

(pb; 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, and 2006: graphic novel. Collects Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #1-31.)

From the back cover

"Spidey faces some of his most fearsome foes - including Tarantula, Kraven, Lightmaster, Vulture, Hitman, Morbius, Brother Power, Hate Monger, Beetle and the Enforcers! Guest-starring the Fantastic Four, Inhumans and Champions!"

Overall review

Spectacular is a fun, action-intense and occasionally ridiculous comic book. Many of its storylines loosely tie in with those of The Amazing Spider-Man. What separates Spectacular from Amazing is the former series, which debuted years later, shows a more mature Peter Parker, and Spectacular’s writing is often better. Spectacular Vol. 1 is worth owning.

Story arcs

"Twice Stings the Tarantula!” [#1] ─ “And There was Lightmaster!” [#3]: A mysterious man hires the Tarantula, a South American assassin, and Kraven the Hunter to kidnap civic leaders and a college professor ─ leading the Tarantula and Kraven on a collision course with Spider-Man. This three-issue arc introduces Lightmaster, a head-blaster of a bad guy.

“The Vulture is a Bird of Prey!” [#4] ─ “Spider-Kill!” [#5]: Spidey squares off against the Vulture and Hitman, the latter a gun- and gadget-using professional. Behind the scenes, Mr. Morgan works a protection racket and keeps Hitman in work.

On the Peter Parker’s-friend front, Flash Thompson continues to be concerned about the sudden reappearance and disappearance of his Vietnamese friend, Shan Shan ─ she was last seen in The Amazing Spider-Man, issue #109.

“The Power to Purge” [#6]: Spider-Man and Johnny Storm (a.k.a. The Human Torch) battle Michael Morbius (a.k.a. the Morbius the Living Vampire) on a college campus.

Meanwhile, Flash Thompson obsesses over his kidnapped friend, Shan Shan.

“Cry Mayhem ─ Cry Morbius!” [#7]: Morbius the Living Vampire, in part controlled by a mysterious being ─ the Empathoid ─ returns. Morbius kidnaps Glory Grant, a Daily Bugle co-worker of Peter Parker’s. Morbius’s reasoning: to lure Spider-Man to him. The living vampire succeeds in doing so. This is the Empathoid’s first appearance in Spectacular Spider-Man.

“And Only One Shall Survive!” [#8]: The web-slinger, now possessed by the Empathoid, fights Morbius, who wants to end the mega-destructive threat of the alternate world creature. But not all is at it seems.

While this happens, Flash Thompson rescues Shan Shan from her captor ─ only to receive a heart-rending blow.

“. . . Like a Tiger in the Night!” [#9] ─ “Tiger in a Web!” [#10]: Spider-Man must contend with another college campus protest. While doing so, our hero must recover a stolen and priceless document, the Erskine Manuscripts (named for the scientist who wrote them, and created the “Super Soldier” formula that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America).

A more immediate concern for the wall-crawler is the appearances of the tough-to-beat White Tiger (also seen in another Marvel title, the Deadly Hands of Kung Fu), and a group of criminals, known as the Black Hand.

“A Life too Far” [#11]: While trying to retrieve an anti-venom vial to save a boy’s life, the web-slinger is forced to confront Medusa from the Marvel series the Inhumans, who has the vial for her own desperate reasons.

“Brother Power, Sister Moon” [#12] ─ “The Final Rage!” [#15]: Spider-Man, Razorback (a.k.a. Buford Hollis) and Flash Thompson try to eliminate the global threat of Brother Power (Achmed Korba, a former Vietnamese smuggler) and the Hatemonger (Korba’s animalistic puppeteer), who have taken Shan Shan and Bobby Sue Hollis (Razorback’s sister) into their cultic thrall.

Parts of this story are crazy fun, others feature dumb character interactions. This is Razorback’s first appearance in Spectacular Spider-Man.

“The Beetle and the Badge!” [#16]: Sad tale about Joey Macone (a NYC cop) who gets caught up in a dust-up between Spidey and the Beetle. This issue has a PSA feel to it.

“Whatever Happened to the Iceman?” [#17] ─ “My Friend, My Foe!” [#18]: The web-slinger and the Angel (a.k.a. Warren Worthington III), formerly of the X-Men and the Champions, combat a brainwashed Iceman (a.k.a. Bobby Drake). Iceman is being controlled by a physically crippled villain, Rampage, also called Stuart Clarke.

This issue ends on a cliffhanger note, with an appearance by lovebirds Flash Thompson and Shan Shan.

“Again, the Enforcers!” [#19] ─ “Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?” [ #20]: The Lightmaster (a.k.a. Edward Lansky) hires The Enforcers (Fancy Dan Montana and the New Ox) to fight Spider-Man, before Lansky enters the fray. Unfortunately for the bad guys, the White Tiger ─ also called Hector Ayala ─ is in the same area at the same time. (The Lightmaster was last seen in issue #3.

“Still Crazy After All These Years” [#21]: The Scorpion ─ once a P.I. named Mac Gorgan ─ comes gunning for the man who helped turn him into a villain: J. Jonah Jameson. Of course, Spider-Man is there to save the day.

“By the Light of the Silvery Moon Knight!” [#22] ─ “Guess Who’s Buried in Grant’s Tomb” [#23]: Spider-Man and Moon Knight meet each other, then tangle with Cyclone, who has been hired by M [a.k.a. the Masked Marauder], leader of the Maggia.

“Spider-Man Night Fever” [#24]: Maggia soldiers hijack a plutonium truck. Peter Parker, against his will, is taken to the Beyond Fever disco, where the Hypno-Hustler and the Mercy killers stage a robbery.

“Carrion, My Wayward Son!” [#25] ─ “Till Death Do Us Part!” [#31]: Spidey, with help from the White Tiger and Daredevil, engages in extended conflicts with the Masked Marauder and his Maggia minions, as well as Tri-Man, a living biped bomb. Things get creepy when Carrion, born of a tragic misunderstanding, unleashes his clone-based horror on the web-slinger and those around him. This may be one of my favorite multipart story arcs in this collection.

Essential Marvel: Iron Fist Vol. 1 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne and others

(pb; 1974 -1978, 2004: graphic novel, collecting issues of  Marvel Premiere #15 - 25, Iron Fist #1 - 15, Marvel Team-Up #63 - 64, Power Man #48 - 49, and Power Man & Iron Fist #48 - 50)

From the back cover:

"Thirty years ago, Marvel's top talents created one of herodom's ultimate martial artists and set him against foes ranging from crazed cultists to alien automata! Now, look back on the days when kung fu was king, and witness Iron Fist's progression from naïve newcomer to hero for hire! Featuring Sabretooth, Luke Cage, the X-men and more!"


Review:

Storyline: When Danny Rand's parents are killed by his father's treacherous business partner (Harold Meachum), the nine year-old boy is taken into K'unlun, the nearby, mystical Himalyan city he and his parents had. been ascending to.

Years later, Danny -- an adult, who has become a martial arts master -- decides to leave K'unlun. The reason: he wants to avenge his parents' deaths by killing Meachum, whose business has flourished in the decade or two since the Rands' murder. Danny should have little problem doing so, having learned how to direct his energy -- his chi -- directly into his right, hard-as-steel fist, thus earning his titular hero name.

Iron Fist is a fun, 1970s kung fu-focused comic book series, with Blaxploitation thrown into the mix with the arrival of Fist's action partner, Power Man (a.k.a. Lucas Cage, who calls women "sweet mama," etc.). The artwork is excellent, the fight scenes well-choreographed, the storylines formulaic; that last trait could be a criticism, depending on the reader, but for this reader it was fine because the talent involved (Claremont, Byrne, others) kept it entertaining despite its cheese-flirtatious limitations. Not only that, but Danny's character matures during his two-year (post-K'unlun) journey, from a vengeance-minded loner to a less naïve man who now is part of an extended family, which includes the aforementioned Lucas Cage.

This is worth owning, if you are fan of the above-acknowledged Seventies elements and characterizations. For everyone else, it might be best to borrow it from the library before committing cash to it.

Below is the back cover of Essential Iron Fist Vol. 1, which was also used as the front cover for Power Man & Iron Fist Vol. 1.