Tag Archives: Tony DeZuniga

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Essential Thor Vol. 7

Essential Thor Vol. 7

First Published: October 2013

Contents: Thor #248 (June 1976) to #271 (May 1978); and Thor Annual #5 (1976) and #6 (1977)

Key Creator Credits: Len Wein, John Buscema, Walt Simonson, Tony DeZuniga, and others

Story Continues From: Essential Thor Vol. 6

Overview: So over the last 14 years of Thor adventures at Marvel, we have seen some epic runs led by some of the greats in comic book history. Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, Gerry Conway, Roy Thomas, Len Wein, and John Buscema. With this final Essential Thor volume, we can now add Walt Simonson to that list.

This book is very evenly divided between a long run by Buscema and a long run by Simonson, both overseen by writer Len Wein. There are a couple of extra inclusions, like the Annuals and the Tales of Asgard stories. But the three names to focus on our Wein, Buscema, and Simonson.

The first half of the book feels like one long story, as Thor and his friends discover that Odin is missing, and must travel the stars in search of him. Along the way, the Norse deities encounter many obstacles along the way, before tracking down the All-Father being used as a power-source for the wall around the Doomsday Star.

Returning to Asgard, the band of travelers finds that Loki has tricked Balder into surrendering the throne to him. Thor once again defeats his step-brother, and normalcy is returned to Asgard. This gives Thor the breather to return to Earth, where we get to finally see Dr. Donald Blake again.

The highlight of this collection for me was Thor Annual #6, as Thor is kidnapped across time and space to help out the Guardians of the Galaxy. Mind you, this is not the GotG with Rocket and Groot that we fell in love with in the summer of 2014 – and eagerly awaiting their return this weekend! This is the original GotG with Major Vance Astro, Charlie-27, Martinex, Yondu, and Nikki. This is such a fun story!

What makes this Essential?: I can give you two great reasons to read this book: 1) John Buscema; and 2) Walt Simonson. This is a book you buy primarily for the artwork. The stories are decent, but the non-stop space epic looking for Odin started to get stale after awhile. (Remember, this searching for Odin started in Essential Thor Vol. 6!) Towards the end of this volume, when Odin has been found and balance has been restored to Asgard (for now), Thor returns to Earth. And it’s like a breath of fresh air. We get to see Donald Blake again, and we see Thor interact with Iron Man and the Avengers. I get that there is a need for a character like Thor to be featured in EPIC stories, but so much of the charm of the Stan Lee-Jack Kirby Thor was that he was tethered to Earth by his dual identity.

So, back to the art! I’ve sung the praises for Buscema in the past many times over. And I heartedly recommended Simonson’s second and more famous run on Thor during my review of Essential Thor Vol. 4. To get both of these artists in one book is worth the suggested retail price of this book! Give it a read while you can still find a copy on the shelves. 

 

If you like this volume, try:  the current run of Mighty Thor by Jason Aaron. Back with my review for Essential Thor Vol. 3, I suggested you check out Aaron’s run on Thor, God of Thunder. That run came to an end in the fall of 2014, and this new series launched in October 2014. However, this is a different look at Thor. Sure, Thor still wields Mjolnir, still wears the red cape and helmet, and still calls Asgard home. But this Thor no longer uses the same bathroom as the Warriors Three. This Thor is now a female, as the inscription on the hammer reads “…if she be worthy….” Jason Aaron fully gets the big-picture view of Thor, Asgard, and Norse deities. This is an excellent companion piece to his first series, so please pick this up!

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Showcase Presents Doc Savage Vol. 1

docsavageFirst Published: July 2011

Contents: Doc Savage #1 (August 1975) to #8 (Spring 1977)

Key Creator Credits: Doug Moench, Ken Barr, Tony DeZuniga, and others

Overview: In 1930s New York City, on the 86th floor of a skyscraper that may or may not be the Empire State Building, you can find the offices of Dr. Clark Savage, Jr. Affectionately referred to as Doc Savage, he is the ultimate example of the best that a man could be. Trained as a physician, scientist, inventor, researcher, and more, Savage is the modern renaissance man. With the help of his loyal friends, Doc Savage takes on challenges that no other mortal man could do, as evidenced by his sworn oath: “I will travel the world, helping those who need help, and punishing those who deserve punishment.”

Originally conceived as a pulp character in the 1930s, Doc Savage has been a part of pulp culture for many years. Originally designed for cheap paperback novels, Savage has also appeared in a movie, on the radio, and naturally in comics books. For this collection of magazine stories from the mid-1970s, Doc Savage and his crew cross the globe on one adventure after another. Along the way, his friends bicker among themselves, we meet Doc Savage’s cousin, who also is also equally bronze in nature, and Doc Savage triumphs over evil at every opportunity.

Why should these stories be Showcased?: This is an interesting collection, which I am glad it finally got to see print. These stories benefit having been told in a magazine format. Most stories run for 50 pages or more, and the stories get a chance to develop without having to reach a cliffhanger moment every 20 pages if this was in a traditional comic book. Writer Doug Moench has a solid understanding of the characters and manages to portray Savage as a larger-than-life hero but not all-powerful like a Superman. The art from Tony DeZuniga really shines through in this format. Track this collection down if you have any interest in Doc Savage.

Meet the Fabulous Five: Doc Savage kept himself surrounded by a team of associates that would assist him on his cases. While each of the men is the best in their respective fields, you get the feeling that Doc Savage always knows more about their chosen professions.

  • Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Blodgett “Monk” Mayfair, an industrial chemist.
  • Brigadier General Theodore Marley “Ham” Brooks, an accomplished attorney.
  • Colonel John “Renny” Renwick, a construction engineer.
  • Major Thomas J. “Long Tom” Roberts, an electrical engineer.
  • William Harper “Johnny” Littlejohn, an archaeologist and geologist.

Footnotes: These Doc Savage magazines were published by Curtis Magazines, a division of Marvel. The rights have bounced around from various publishers over the years. When this collection was published in 2011, the rights were held by DC Comics. DC included Doc Savage in a then ongoing First Wave project that used a lot of pulp heroes from the 1930s.

If you like this volume, try: diving into the back issue bins to find some Doc Savage comics. The character has been published over the years by DC, Marvel, Gold Key, Millennium, and most recently Dynamite Comics. Or track down some of the pulp novels of Doc Savage, either the old original volume or new modern takes on the Man of Bronze. To explore more on everything Doc Savage, check out the Bronze Gazette website run by my friend Terry. They publish a quarterly magazine as well as cover Doc Savage conventions and other appearances of Clark Savage.

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Essential Marvel Horror Vol. 2

Essential Marvel Horror Vol. 2

First Published: November 2008

Contents: Supernatural Thrillers #5 (August 1973), and #7 (June 1974) to #15 (October 1975); Brother Voodoo introduction from Tales of the Zombie #2 (October 1973), #6 (July 1974), and #10 (March 1975); Strange Tales #169 (September 1973) to #174 (June 1974), #176 (October 1974) and #177 (December 1974); Marvel Team-Up #24 (August 1974); Haunt of Horror #2 (July 1974) to #5 (January 1975); Monsters Unleashed #11 (April 1975); Marvel Two-In-One #11 (September 1975), #18 (August 1976), and #33 (November 1977); Marvel Chillers #1 (October 1975) and #2 (December 1975); Dead of Night #11 (August 1975); and Marvel Spotlight #26 (February 1976)

Key Creator Credits: Steve Gerber, Tony Isabella, Len Wein, Doug Moench, Mike Friedrich, Bill Mantlo, John Warner, Scott Edelman, Val Mayerik, Gene Colan, Tony Dezuniga, Sonny Trinidad, Billy Graham, and others

Key First Appearances: Living Mummy, Elementals (Hellfire, Hydron, Magnum, Zephyr), Asp, Jericho Drumm/Brother Voodoo, Daniel Drumm, Damballah, Black Talon, Gabriel/Devil-Hunter, Modred the Mystic, Chthon, Scarecrow (Straw Man)

Story Continues From: Essential Marvel Horror Vol. 1

Overview: Welcome back to more marvelous debuts of characters from the horror-themed titles of the 1970s. This volume features the first appearances of six characters of varying degrees of success.

  • First up is the Living Mummy. Awakened after 3,000 years, the Living Mummy finds himself adapting to the world of 1973, whether in the streets of New York City or in the deserts of Egypt.
  • Next up is Brother Voodoo, perhaps the most successful of the characters featured in this collection. Jericho Drumm returns to his home in Haiti. Caught up in a spiritual war, Drumm learns the secrets of the Loa and becomes Brother Voodoo. With the spirit of his deceased brother Daniel living in him, Brother Voodoo challenges zombies, ghosts, vampires, and villains.
  • Gabriel, Devil Hunter comes to us from the pages of the horror magazines. With one good eye, the former priest conducts exorcisms to draw out the demons inhabiting innocent souls.
  • Golem hearkens back to Jewish folklore, as a clay figure comes to life, powered by love. The Marvel Comics’ Golem has very few appearances. (If you are interested in reading a great story about a Golem, check out Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2001.)
  • Modred the Mystic comes to us from King Arthur’s court. Modred was to become an apprentice to Merlin, but that tended to be red-shirt situation, if you catch my drift. He embarks on a path to explore the Darkhold, which casts him into suspended animation until he is revived in the 1970s.
  • Finally, the Scarecrow jumps out of a portrait to battle demons. (When he appeared later, he was renamed as Straw Man, to differentiate himself from the Silver Age villain known as Scarecrow.) I really want to write more about him, but there is not a lot to work with here.

What makes this Essential?: This is a book that can go either way — it’s a must-own book or it’s a do not own book. It’s all dependent on your personal tastes. I found that the Living Mummy and the Brother Voodoo stories worked the best, as we were given multiple issues to really dive into the characters. The other four characters each get 3-5 issues, which in most cases is not enough to really get a solid or favorable position on the character.

Personally, I might have preferred seeing more established Marvel Universe characters in this volume. For example, Greer Nelson debuted in the pages of The Cat in 1972. In 1974, she became Tigra in Giant-Size Creatures #1, followed up by a run in Marvel Chillers. She would later have stints in Fantastic Four and The Avengers (see the later Essential volumes of those titles), and has remained a fairly active character in the Marvel Universe since her introduction. This would have been a perfect showcase (pardon the use) for a female character, in a volume that is very male-centric to begin with. 

If any of the six featured characters interest you, then pick it up. If these characters do not interest you, stay far away from this book.

Footnotes: Marvel Two-in-One #11 and #18 were also reprinted in Essential Marvel Two-in-One Vol. 1.

Marvel Two-in-One #33 was also reprinted in Essential Marvel Two-in-One Vol. 2 and Essential Spider-Woman Vol. 1.

Marvel Team-Up #24 was also reprinted in Essential Marvel Team-Up Vol. 1.

If you like this volume, try: the 1980s Elementals series from Comico. The idea of characters with powers representing the basic elements is nothing new in comics. The argument could be made that the Fantastic Four is the best representation of this concept. In the Living Mummy stories in this collection, we see an actual team of adversaries called the Elementals. Over at DC Comics, a team of Elementals was introduced (but never used again) in the pages of Super Friends – see Showcase Presents Super Friends Vol. 1. But the greatest use of the concept came in 1984 at Comico, when Elementals #1 hit the comic book racks. The four characters that would comprise the Elementals (Vortex, Morningstar, Fathom, and Monolith) actually made their debut in the Justice Machine Annual #1 from 1983.  The basic set-up for Elementals is that the four element spirits find physical hosts (who have each recently died in that element) to help bring balance back to the universe due to the actions of the evil sorcerer Lord Saker. The book was written and drawn by Bill Willingham, many years before he became the grand storyteller of the Fables series. This is a really great series that sadly is not easily available today. Comico went through ownership changes and bankruptcy courts, and these characters have remained in limbo since the late 1990s. Comico released a trade paperback in 1988 collecting the initial story arc, but again, that is more than 25 years ago and its no longer in print. You might have to go to eBay or a really good back issue dealer to find these comics, but it’s well worth the hunt.

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Showcase Presents Jonah Hex Vol. 1

Showcase Presents Jonah Hex Vol. 1

First Published: November 2005

Contents: Jonah Hex stories from All-Star Western #10 (February-March 1972) and #11 (April-May 1972); Jonah Hex stories from Weird Western Tales #12 (June-July 1972) to #14 (October-November 1972), and #16 (February-March 1973) to #33 (March-April 1976); Outlaw stories from All-Star Western #2 (October-November 1970) to #8 (October-November 1971)

Key Creator Credits: John Albano, Tony Dezuñiga, Michael Fleisher, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Robert Kanigher, and others

Key First Appearances: Jonah Hex, Quentin Turnbull

Story Continues In: Showcase Presents Jonah Hex Vol. 2

Overview: Meet the most-feared bounty hunter in the wild, wild west — Jonah Hex. A veteran of the Confederate Army, Hex travels the west looking for any opportunity to make money by bringing in a wanted man. The scars on his face are just one mystery surrounding Hex, as are his origins. Truth is, you are better off not knowing his story (yet), and you might live longer if you just stay out of his way.

The stories in this volume are generally one-and-done, with little continuity from issue to issue. In the latter half of the Weird Western Tales run, we meet Quentin Turnbull, a wealthy Virginia landowner that is determined to see Hex hang for his crimes. This is revisited several times before Hex is finally brought to trial for treason due to his actions during the Civil War. Turnbull blames Hex for the death of his son during the war, but it is finally revealed that Hex was the victim of circumstance. Hex manages to escape, and Turnbull’s rage leads to his own demise.

The book concludes with a run of stories featuring Outlaw, who was the star of All-Star Western before Jonah Hex took over. Now there are actually two Outlaws in this run. For issues #2 to #5, the Outlaw is Rick Wilson, a young man who wants to follow his father’s career path as a Texas Ranger, but is blocked by his parent. Angry, he rages against his father, becoming an outlaw on the run from the law. For issues #6 to #8, the Outlaw in question is Billy the Kid. No explanation is given for the change.

Why should these stories be Showcased?: Jonah Hex has become DC’s most recognizable western character. He’s been a regular face in comics most months since his debut in 1972. He’s been featured in various DC animated features and was the star of his own big screen motion picture in 2010. (Yes, it may have been a dud of a film, but it still put a DC character on the big screen.) So, from a historical look, yes this should absolutely be showcased. Given the art talents collected in this volume (Dezuñiga and Garcia-Lopez), again, this absolutely should be showcased. I also believe that westerns, in general, are a genre that looks better in black & white. The only downside is that many of these stories read as very generic. For many of the stories, you could easily substitute Jonah Hex with another DC western character (Outlaw, Bat Lash, etc.) and still tell the exact same tale. My hope is that in Showcase Presents Jonah Hex Vol. 2, we get stories that are more dependent on Jonah Hex being the focus of the story and not just a feature in the story.

If you like this volume, try: All Star Western, which was part of the New 52 launch from DC Comics. In the ramp-up to the 2011 reboot, DC promised a diversity of titles and genres, and this was their entry into western comics. This new title is written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, the scribes of the prior five-plus-year run of Jonah Hex from 2006-2011. Jonah Hex remains the star of this book, but the title featured backup stories of other DC western characters like Bat Lash, Tomahawk, and El Diablo. What makes the title interesting was setting the book firmly in the past of the DC Universe, and not just in a generic past. For example, early in the title, Hex’s travels took him to Gotham City of the 1870s, meeting Amadeus Arkham, years before his home became a famous asylum. In early 2013, the book did a 180-degree turn. The backup stories were removed with issue #21, and the Jonah Hex story took over the entire book. At the same time, Hex was brought into the present and encountered heroes such as Booster Gold, Batwing, Batman, and Superman. Personally, I find Jonah Hex as a bounty hunter in the old west much more interesting than Jonah Hex as a stranger in a strange land.

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Showcase Presents The Phantom Stranger Vol. 1

Showcase Presents The Phantom Stranger Vol. 1

First Published: October 2006

Contents: Showcase #80 (February 1969), The Phantom Stranger #1 (May-June 1969) to #21 (September-October 1972)

Key Creator Credits: Neil Adams, Mike Friedrich, Jim Aparo, Mike Sekowsky, Len Wein, Robert Kanigher, Tony DeZuniga, Murphy Anderson, and Gerry Conway

Key First Appearances: The Phantom Stranger*, Dr. Thirteen*, Tala, Cassandra Craft, Tannarak

Story Continues In: Showcase Presents The Phantom Stranger Vol. 2

Overview: Meet the Phantom Stranger, a man with a mysterious background forced to live in the shadows of the supernatural and unexplained. No one knows where he came from or how he came to be.

The Phantom Stranger first appeared in a six-issue self-titled anthology in 1952. Those stories are reprinted in Showcase #80 and the first three issues of the 1969 series. Similarly, Dr. Thirteen first appeared in the pages of Star Spangled Comics, but his early stories are collected in these first issues as well.

Beginning with issue #4, new ongoing stories featured both characters, either together in the same story or in solo stories. These early issues have Dr. Thirteen at odds with the Phantom Stranger, trying to prove that he was a fraud. Dr. Thirteen eventually comes around to accept the Phantom Stranger as an ally, even if he may not fully understand him.

Two longtime foes are introduced in this volume, Tala, Queen of Evil would challenge the Phantom Stranger over and over, while the sorcerer Tannarak would be a thorn in his side. The psychic Cassandra Craft was brought in a potential love interest for the Phantom Stranger. In an effort to protect Cassandra (or maybe a fear of commitment), the Phantom Stranger faked his own death to let her move on with her life.

Why should these stories be Showcased?: Read this for the art – most covers were done by Neil Adams, and many issues featured work by Jim Aparo. As much as I like the character of the Phantom Stranger, I believe he works much better as a supporting character, such as his appearances in the Justice League of America. I find this to be an average collection.

Footnotes: In the backup story of The Phantom Stranger #14 (July-August 1971), Dr. Thirteen battles a mysterious creature from the murk that bears a striking resemblance to the Swamp Thing. The story was written by Len Wein, with art by Tony DeZuniga. Call it coincidence or accident, at that same time on the newsstand, House of Secrets #92 (July 1971), the Swamp Thing made his first appearance as a mysterious creature from the murk. That story was written by Len Wein, with art by Bernie Wrightson.

If you like this volume, try: tracking down Secret Origins #10 (January 1987). In 1986, DC launched an ongoing Secret Origins series to detail the new origin stories of characters following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Most issues were double-sized and featured two characters, often a Golden or Silver Age character in the first story, and a modern age character in the other. For this issue, the entire issue was given over to the Phantom Stranger, with four possible origin stories. Each story featured a different creative team: Mike W. Barr & Jim Aparo; Paul Levitz & José Luis García-López; Dan Mishkin & Ernie Colón; and Alan Moore & Joe Orlando. The last story has been reprinted in the various editions of DC Universe by Alan Moore collections. The other stories can only be found in this issue, so it is worth finding.