September 13, 2014 by jerrymcmullen - 2 Comments

Essential Man-Thing Vol. 1

First Published: December 2006

Contents: Man-Thing story from Savage Tales #1 (May 1971); Man-Thing stories from Astonishing Tales #12 (June 1972) and #13 (August 1972); Man-Thing stories from (Adventure into) Fear #10 (October 1972) to #19 (December 1973); Man-Thing #1 (January 1974) to #14 (February 1975); Giant-Size Man-Thing #1 (August 1974) and #2 (November 1974); and Man-Thing stories from Monsters Unleashed #5 (April 1974), #8 (October 1974), and #9 (December 1974)

Key Creator Credits: Steve Gerber, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Len Wein, Mike Ploog, Tony Isabella, Gray Morrow, John Buscema, Neal Adams, Rich Buckler, Val Mayerik, and others

Key First Appearances: Ted Sallis/Man-Thing, Ellen Brandt, Jennifer Kale, Andy Kale, Thog, Joshua Kale, Dakimh the Enchanter, Howard the Duck, F.A. Schist, Wundar, Richard Rory, Ruth Hart, Foolkiller

Story Continues In: Essential Man-Thing Vol. 2

Overview: Ted Sallis is a research scientist trying to re-discover the Super Soldier formula, the long lost serum which led to the creation of Captain America in the 1940s. Working in a remote lab in the Florida Everglades, Sallis believes he has recreated the formula. Unfortunately, there are plenty of other people and governments that want that formula, some of whom would kill to get their hands on it. Confronted by spies, Sallis flees into the murk, and injects the formula into himself prior to crashing his car into the swamp. Between the formula and the swamp, Sallis’ body is transformed into what could best be described as a Man-Thing — it has the shape of a human, but made out of swamp material.

The Man-Thing has vague memories of who he once was, but nothing coherent. He reacts to the emotions of people around him, in particular fear. We quickly find out that whatever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing’s touch. He becomes the protector of the swamp, which also happens to contain a Nexus of All Realities, which allow travel between Earth and other dimensions. Man-Thing becomes the protector of the swamp and the Nexus, and encounters many Marvel characters passing through the Florida Everglades.

The bulk of this book is written by Steve Gerber early in his career, and the supporting characters introduced here would make numerous future appearances in later Marvel books written by Gerber. And in a book like Man-Thing, where the title character does not speak, a writer needs a good supporting cast to help advance the story. Howard the Duck is the most famous introduction made by Gerber, coming from Duckworld through the Nexus of All Realities. He would move into his own self-titled book of the 1970s. Richard Rory is a down-on-his-luck guy that can never seem to get the girl. Rory would travel with Gerber to The Defenders, before moving on to the various She-Hulk titles of the 1970s and 1980s. Finally, Jennifer Kale is a teenage girl with an affinity to magic, and makes appearances every few years in a variety of titles, from Howard the Duck to Ghost Rider.

What makes this Essential?: The release of Savage Tales #1 was Marvel’s first attempt to introduce a horror/monster book into the Marvel Universe proper. (Other appearances in that first issue of Savage Tales included Conan and Ka-Zar.) Debuting around the same time as DC’s Swamp Thing (see The First Thing below), Man-Thing remained a steady feature throughout the 1970s and 1980s. For that reason, sure these early stories could be considered as Essential. I do find that the best artwork in this volume came from the various magazines, and I will once again state my plea that Marvel should find someway to reprint the magazines in one collection.

The First Thing: Man-Thing was originally conceived by Stan Lee and Roy Thomas; Thomas fleshed out the character’s story, then handed the story to Gerry Conway to plot. As a result, Thomas and Conway, along with artist Gray Morrow, are credited for the creation of Man-Thing in Savage Tales #1 (May 1971). A second story was done by Len Wein, but Savage Tales was cancelled after just the one issue. It was a year before the story saw print, incorporated into the Ka-Zar story in Astonishing Tales #12 (June 1972). Meanwhile, down the street at the DC Comics offices, the first Swamp Thing story appeared in House of Secrets #92 (July 1971). This Swamp Thing (originally Alex Olsen) took place in the early 1900s. The next Swamp Thing appeared in Swamp Thing #1 (October-November 1972), this time featuring Alec Holland becoming the Swamp Thing. Both of the Swamp Thing stories were written by Len Wein. While there are a lot of similarities in the origins between Man-Thing and Swamp Thing, Len Wein has stated in interviews that they are two distinct characters. The story paths for both characters have followed different paths, taking them further and further away from a very familiar origin story.

Footnotes: Parts of (Adventure into) Fear #19 and Man-Thing #1 are also reprinted in Essential Howard the Duck Vol. 1.

This Essential does carry a Parental Advisory warning, but it is buried on the lower portion of the back cover. This is definitely not an all-ages book.

If you like this volume, try: looking into the life and career of Gray Morrow, the artistic co-creator of Man-Thing. Over the course of his long career, Morrow did work in nearly every genre for nearly every publisher at some point – Classics Illustrated, horror magazines and comics, newspaper strip, among others – but he was most closely associated with the worlds of fantasy and science fiction. Start your search with the retrospective Gray Morrow: Visionary, which was released in 2001 as his career was coming to an end.

September 3, 2014 by jerrymcmullen - 6 Comments

Essential Marvel Horror Vol. 1

First Published: November 2006

Contents: Ghost Rider #1 (September 1973) and #2 (October 1973); Marvel Spotlight #12 (October 1973) to #24 (October 1975); Son of Satan #1 (December 1975) to #8 (February 1977); Marvel Two-In-One #14 (March 1976); Marvel Team-Up #32 (April 1975), #80 (April 1979), and #81 (May 1979); Satana stories from Vampire Tales #2 (October 1973) and #3 (February 1974); Satana stories from Haunt Of Horror #2 (July 1974), #4 (November 1974), and #5 (January 1975); Marvel Premiere #27 (December 1975); and Marvel Preview #7 (June 1976)

Key Creator Credits: Gary Friedrich, Herb Trimpe, Steve Gerber, Roy Thomas, Chris Claremont, John Romita, Sr., Gene Colan, Esteban Maroto, and others

Key First Appearances: Daimon Hellstrom/Son of Satan, Satana, Dr. Katherine Reynolds

Story Continues In: Essential Marvel Horror Vol. 2

Overview: Are you ready for something different? If so, then dive into this volume as we follow the adventures of the offspring of Satan.

First up is Daimon Hellstrom, a learned scholar who specializes in the occult. However, when the cases get dangerous, he changes into his Son of Satan persona. Armed with a trident and possessing the power of the Darksoul, the Son of Satan fights many of the lesser demons of Hell looking to gain favor with Daimon’s father. Daimon’s story ran through Marvel Spotlight before he graduated into his own short-lived title.

Also debuting at the same time is Daimon’s sister, Satana. The two siblings were separated as kids following their mother’s death and raised completely different. Satana embraces her heritage more than her brother. Satana feeds on the souls of men, which she absorbs by kissing them. When she finishes, the man collapses dead and a butterfly is released. Satana’s story jumped around between various Marvel/Warren magazines before it comes to an end in the pages of Marvel Team-Up. Is this the end of Satana? Time will tell….

What makes this Essential?: I’ve got mixed opinions on this book. Most Essentials follow a character through the run of their book, and will include any additional appearances in other titles. So while this is titled the Essential Marvel Horror Vol. 1, it could better be named as Essential Son of Satan & Satana. But I don’t know if that volume would have sold. So, for following the adventures of these two characters, this is a serviceable volume if you are fans of the characters. I found the Satana stories more interesting, being a mix of illustrated tales and prose pieces.

But personally, after seeing the Satana stories from Vampire Tales and Haunt of Horror, I would much rather see Essential Marvel Horror collect the entire run of those magazines in a volume. There are a lot of Marvel/Warren magazines that have not been reprinted, and the Essential line would be the perfect place to present them again.

Footnotes: Ghost Rider #1 & #2, and Marvel Spotlight #12 were also reprinted in Essential Ghost Rider Vol. 1.

Marvel Two-in-One #14 was also reprinted in Essential Marvel Two-in-One Vol. 1.

Marvel Team-Up #32 was also reprinted in Essential Marvel Team-Up Vol. 2.

Marvel Two-in-One #80 and #81 were also reprinted in Essential Marvel Team-Up Vol. 4.

If you like this volume, try: the Rachel Rising series from Terry Moore. For me, the highlight of this entire volume is ‘The Kiss of Death’ story from Vampire Tales #3. Gerry Conway’s script is good, but the artwork by Esteban Maroto steals the show. This story is breathtaking and worth the price of the Essential just to read this story. For those unfamiliar with his work, Maroto is a Spanish artist that did a lot of work for the various horror magazines of the 1970s. He helped design the metal bikini for Red Sonja with her debut. He also did an Amethyst mini-series for DC and a story in an X-Men: Unlimited issue for Marvel. Maroto’s female forms are exquisite, ranking up there for me with the likes of George Perez, Phil Jiminez, Adam Hughes, and Terry Moore. Since the early days of Moore’s Strangers in Paradise series, his female characters have jumped off the page, laughing and loving and living. In 2012, Moore launched his first horror series with Rachel Rising, about a young woman waking up one morning dead, but she remembers who killed her. Over the series, other friends die but remain alive; deals with the devil are made, and a mystery dating back hundreds of years is slowly revealed. This is some of Moore’s best work ever, and you are missing out if you’re not picking it up every six weeks. The early issues are collected in trade paperbacks to bring you up to speed with one of the best (and creepiest) books on the market today.

May 31, 2014 by jerrymcmullen - 11 Comments

Essential Marvel Two-In-One Vol. 1

First Published: November 2005

Contents: Marvel Feature #11 (September 1973) and #12 (November 1973); Marvel Two-In-One #1 (January 1974) to #20 (October 1976); and #22 (December 1976) to #25 (March 1977); Marvel Two-In-One Annual #1 (October 1976); Marvel Team-Up #47 (July 1976); and Fantastic Four Annual #11 (July 1976)

Key Creator Credits: Steve Gerber, Chris Claremont, Roy Thomas, Bill Mantlo, Jim Starlin, Gil Kane, Sal Buscema, Ron Wilson, and others

Key First Appearances: Tarin, Blacksun

Story Continues In: Essential Marvel Two-In-One Vol. 2

Overview: It’s Clobberin’ Time! Welcome to the solo adventures of Ben Grimm, one-quarter of the fabled Fantastic Four. Being the blue-eyed idol of millions is not easy, but the Thing pulls it off as he encounters all kinds of heroes across the Marvel Universe.

Marvel Two-In-One actually started in the pages of Marvel Feature. That title had been the starting point for the Defenders and had recently been home to Ant-Man & Wasp storyline. The final two issues of Marvel Feature featured Ben Grimm teaming up with the Hulk and Iron Man. The end of issue #12 promised a Thing team-up with Man-Thing in the next issue, but two months later, it was Marvel Two-in-One #1 that was on the newsstands. Marvel Two-in-One remained a bimonthly book until finally going monthly with issue #15.

The team-ups collected here are a mixed bag – some issues flow right into the next issue, adding another character into the mix. Other issues seem to come out of nowhere – perhaps a fill-in issue that had been sitting in a file cabinet somewhere in the Marvel bullpen. The Fantastic Four and Alicia Masters make numerous appearances in these issues, and could be read side by side with the Fantastic Four title during this era – keep Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 7 and Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 8 handy while reading this book.

What makes this Essential?: This is a great book to give to any reader, young or old, to introduce the Marvel Universe. Ben Grimm is the “everyman” of the Marvel U, — there are numerous logical connections that help make sense of Ben teaming up with diverse characters such as Thor, Man-Thing, Golem, and the Black Widow. While a lot of familiar Marvel writers and artists took turns on this book, the notable name to look for here is Ron Wilson. Ron’s first issue was #12, and he remained one of the main artists on the title for the remainder of the book’s run, as well as the follow-up series, The Thing.

Footnotes: Marvel Two-In-One #21 is not included in this Essential volume. That issue teamed the Thing up with Doc Savage. Marvel no longer holds the rights to publish Doc Savage, so it could not be included in this Essential.

Who’s Who / Reprinted Elsewhere:
Marvel Feature #11 – The Thing & the Hulk
Marvel Feature #12 – The Thing & Iron Man / Essential Captain Marvel Vol. 2
Marvel Two-In-One #1 – The Thing & Man-Thing
Marvel Two-In-One #2 – The Thing & Sub-Mariner
Marvel Two-In-One #3 – The Thing & Daredevil / Essential Daredevil Vol. 5
Marvel Two-In-One #4 – The Thing & Captain America
Marvel Two-In-One #5 – The Thing & the Guardians of the Galaxy
Marvel Two-In-One #6 – The Thing & Doctor Strange / Essential Defenders Vol. 2
Marvel Two-In-One #7 – The Thing & Valkyrie / Essential Defenders Vol. 2
Marvel Two-In-One #8 – The Thing & Ghost Rider
Marvel Two-In-One #9 – The Thing & Thor
Marvel Two-In-One #10 – The Thing & Black Widow
Marvel Two-In-One #11 – The Thing & the Golem / Essential Marvel Horror Vol. 2
Marvel Two-In-One #12 – The Thing & Iron Man
Marvel Two-In-One #13 – The Thing & Power Man
Marvel Two-In-One #14 – The Thing & the Son of Satan / Essential Marvel Horror Vol. 1
Marvel Two-In-One #15 – The Thing & Morbius
Marvel Two-In-One #16 – The Thing & Ka-Zar
Marvel Two-In-One #17 – The Thing & Spider-Man / Essential Marvel Team-Up Vol. 2
Marvel Team-Up #47 – Spider-Man & the Thing / Essential Marvel Team-Up Vol. 2
Marvel Two-In-One #18 – The Thing & the Scarecrow / Essential Marvel Horror Vol. 2
Marvel Two-In-One #19 – The Thing & Tigra
Marvel Two-In-One #20 – The Thing & the Liberty Legion / Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 8
Marvel Two-In-One #22 – The Thing & Thor
Marvel Two-In-One #23 – The Thing & Thor
Marvel Two-In-One #24 – The Thing & Black Goliath
Marvel Two-In-One #25 – The Thing & Iron Fist
Marvel Two-In-One Annual #1 – The Thing & the Liberty Legion / Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 8

If you like this volume, try: The Thing comic from 2006 by Dan Slott, Andrea DiVito, and Kieron Dwyer. This eight-issue series put Ben Grimm back in the spotlight of his own title. Ben finds himself flush with money, so he moves out of the Baxter Building and sets himself up in a penthouse apartment. He starts to hang out with the millionaire superhero crown (Tony Stark, Kyle Richmond), which puts him in the sights of Arcade, Sandman, and many other villains. In the end, Ben finds that the money is not the solution to all of his troubles in life. Dan Slott has a wonderful grasp of Ben Grimm, and I wish this series had performed better to last longer. This is definitely a hidden gem from Slott’s catalog of great titles. The entire series was collected into one trade paperback, The Thing: Idol of Millions.

January 25, 2014 by jerrymcmullen - 4 Comments

Essential Howard the Duck Vol. 1

First Published: February 2002

Contents: Howard the Duck stories from Fear #19 (December 1973), Man-Thing #1 (January 1974), Giant-Size Man-Thing #4 (April 1975) and #5 (August 1975), Howard the Duck #1 (January 1976) to #27 (September 1978); Howard the Duck Annual #1 (1977); and Marvel Treasury Edition #12 (1976)

Key Creator Credits: Steve Gerber, Gene Colan, Frank Brunner, and John Buscema

Key First Appearances: Howard the Duck, Beverly Switzler, Paul Same, Winda Wester, Doctor Bong

Overview: Created as a back-up character in the Man-Thing stories, Howard the Duck was a cigar-smoking, fowl-mouth duck that should never be confused with any other ducks at Disney or Warner Brothers. Howard moved into some solo stories in the Man-things books before crashing into the mainstream Marvel Universe, albeit Cleveland.

Following the obligatory cameos by Spider-Man and later the Defenders, Howard the Duck settled into a normal life – just a struggling duck looking to find work, and living with his friend, Beverly Switzler. Along the way, Howard would reach great heights (running as the All-Night Party candidate for the 1976 presidential election) and deep lows (wrestling for money). He met a lot of oddball characters along the way, such as the Kidney Lady and the Space Turnip.

Written by Steve Gerber, most of the art in this book was done by Gene Colan, who really does make Howard seem fully alive and part of the normal world of us “hairless apes”.

<WAAAUGH> makes this Essential?: Howard the Duck provided a brutally honest social commentary on life in America in the 1970s. Steve Gerber used Howard to voice the unsaid truths that needed to be said. From politics to kung-fu, and from the Moonies to the Conservative movement, Howard helped verbalize the absurdities and the craziness of that decade. So, from a historical point of view, it’s worth a look. This volume collects all of Steve Gerber’s work with the character in the 1970s, but not all of Howard the Duck’s appearances in that era. So maybe this would be better billed as the Essential Howard the Duck by Steve Gerber.

Webfootnotes: Issue #16 was an odd issue, which is saying a lot considering the over-all tone of the title. Gerber had fallen behind with his writing assignments, having finished up the annual in addition to the bi-monthly book, while relocating from the East Coast to Las Vegas. So he penned a series of text pieces that were internal monologues of his thoughts as he drove cross-country. The issue was a collection of two-page spreads, with background art provided by a variety of artists (Colan, John Buscema, Ed Hannigan, Al Milgrom, and others). Never fear, the ongoing story resumed with issue #17.

Parts of (Adventure into) Fear #19 and Man-Thing #1 are also reprinted in Essential Man-Thing Vol. 1.

Marvel Treasury Edition #12 is also reprinted in Essential Defenders Vol. 2.

If you like this volume, try: the Howard the Duck Omnibus. While I try to advocate other works to explore with this section, reading this omnibus will give you the chance to finish the original run of this title. Steve Gerber was removed from the title following issue #27. The series ran for four more issues until #31. At that point, Howard took up residence in his own black-and-white magazine. The magazine ran for nine issues, and have not been reprinted as of this post. That would not be the end of our fowl-feathered friend. Howard returned in 1986 (right around the time that Howard hit the big screen) for issues #32 and #33, before moving into Marvel limbo. He has been brought back from time to time in mini-series or Marvel events, but this is the longest sustained story-run of Howard. This omnibus includes the full run through issue #33.