Some more from Pacific...



Well, this is more weirdness from Neal Adams, though not as Gonzo as Skateman. A group of scientists and technicians are travelling around in a super-winnebago (Neal either watched way too much Ark II or Damnation Alley; not sure which) and are investigating pollution so bad birds fall from the sky and deer upchuck (as graphically depicted by Neal). They try to talk to whoever is running a manufacturing plant in the middle of nowhere and get zapped for their trouble. They zap back and somehow release a woman from another dimensional plane, who bashes the baddies for them. Turns out she is a 300 year old witch, who when she was being burnt at the stake transported to this other dimension. The battle continues into the second issue, where members of the team are transformed, gaining elemental powers (they would go on to be Urth 4, at Continuity). It's really long-winded and I get bored about 7 pages in and just start skimming. That has pretty much been my experience every time I tried to read something from Continuity. Neal is a heck of an artist; but, he isn't much of a writer. he tries for an ecological slant to things; but, there isn't enough reality for it to have much impact. It's to such an extreme it makes the Captain Planet cartoons look like a National Geographic special. Visually, there's a lot to capture your eye; but, it doesn't seem to have a lot of story behind it. At least, not one that sucks me in. It's definitely the template for what Continuity Comics would be. One other thing; that first issue cover looks like Ms Mystic is, er-um, lending a "hand" to the Earth, if you get my drift.



What can I say about Elric? Roy Thomas was in his element, with this character, aided by the perfect art team of P Craig Russell and Michael T. Gilbert. Thomas and Russell had previously adapted The Dreaming City, for Marvel's graphic novel line (their second one) and they did a similar treatment here. At first, I was a bit thrown off, as I started reading Elric in high school, from the DAW editions, with Michael Whelan covers. Whelan gave Elric more Conan-esque proportions and seeing the rail-thin and somewhat angular depiction of Russell was somewhat jarring. It was a while before I read Elric of Melnibone, and saw how sickly the character was and realized how faithful the comics team was being. Roy was quite adept at adapting the stories and Russell excelled at the madness, violence, beauty and despair, as well as the action. Gilbert lent a nice touch to Russell's already stellar work. There had been previous Elric adaptations (in Star*Reach); but, this would set the tone for what would follow, as the adaptations moved to First Comics (who also adapted Corum and Hawkmoon). If you enjoy fantasy, you really need to search for these adaptations. I particularly recommend getting your hands on the First Comics graphic novel editions, which collected each mini-series. They are pricy; but, if you come across one for a decent price, grab it! For those who have never read Moorcock, or heard about Elric, he is the emperor of a dying, though once powerful race of sorcerers and warriors, on the island nation of Melnibone. he is a sickly albino, who needs special potions to survive. He is opposed by his mad cousin Yrkoon, who is in love with his own sister, who is in love with Elric (and vice versa). It was Moorcock's answer to the barbarian fantasy genre, and the likes of Conan and his imitators. Where they were fierce and brawny, he was sickly and cultured. Elric is also one aspect of Moorcock's Eternal Champion, a figure who lives at various points of time and reality, who acts as an agent for the balance between Law and Chaos. Thomas handles the high fantasy well and Moorcock's material had more dramatic meat than the average Conan (though Howard had tons of atmosphere in his stories) and it gave Thomas more to work with. Elric was perfect for Russell, who was known for his thinner and prettier male characters, with his fine art influences and love of opera stories (and, as he remarked in the Comics Journal, it's probably related to his being gay). The closest Russell came to another character so perfect for him was Neil Gaiman's Morpheus. Russell was heavily involved in the plotting at most points, until he split with Thomas and the series, over creative differences. However, they were still in sync, here.



Edge of Chaos was a fantasy mini-series from Gray Morrow, featuring an Earth man, Eric Cleese (say it quickly, several times), who is brought to another world, Aviana, by the rules Zaeus (not the orangutan) to be its new champion. if this sounds familiar it's because Morrow was using elements of Greek mythology, to tell a modern story (before Rick Riordan and his Percy Jackson series). It's rather tongue in cheek and a lot of fun, with Morrow's beautiful, illustrative comic style. he did similar work in his orion series of stories, going back to Wally Wood's Witzend pro-zine, and Heavy Metal, as well as his Amora (done for Playboy, which was later reprinted by Fantagraphics, in their Eros line). The first issue includes a back-up tale from Don Lomax, "The Redeeming Strain," about a scientific experiment that is altered by the scientist, pitting two "cultures" against each other. it has a nice "underground" sensibility, with a more classic sci-fi bent to it. it would have been at home in either Metal Hurlant or Heavy Metal. Issues two and three have a couple of more traditional fantasy stories, with muscular warriors. Meanwhile, Morrow has fun with his mythical and human characters. Morrow was also a fan of the female form and shows a lot of it, mostly undressed or partially dressed. So, this isn't one to share with the youngsters (until their ready).



Silverheels is a sci-fi/fantasy series from bruce Jones and Scott Hampton. This is early work from Hampton and his art isn't as fully developed as on The Upturned Stone; but, it's damn good. the story tells the tale of "'Pache" tribesman Silverheels, who has special abilities that make him an outsider in his own tribe. His world is run, in part, by the Nazites, who rate the Paches as sub-human. Sound familiar? The Nazites went to space; but, found themselves beat back by aliens. Now, several Earthmen have a chance to become intergalactic Lawkeepers, including Silverheels. Unfortunately, the series went unfinished, though it was later collected by Eclipse (I haven't seen that version; so, I don't know if it got the ending it was supposed to or is just a straight reprint). There's some interesting stuff here. the allegory of the Nazis and Apaches isn't fully developed, other than to pit Silverheels against an Aryan rival, in his Lawkeeper training. There is also a great back-up series, featuring a robot character, created and drawn by Ken Steacy. Steacy has a great cartoony style, mixed with his love of airplanes and toys, as well as a glimpse or two of his awesome airbrush work. Steacy only dabbled in comics, which is a shame, as his work was always interesting. You can see it in a grander scale in The Sacred and the Profane, with Dean Motter (Star*Reach, Epic Illustrated, and the Eclipse graphic novel version), and Tempus Fugitive, published at DC and later reprinted by Dark Horse.



Darklon the Mystic was a one-shot, reprinting earlier stories, published at Warren. It features a dark sorcerer, who was beheaded and had an eye plucked out, then restored to life and who fought other nasty individuals. It's all very dark, very cosmic, very amoral, and very Starlin. The character would later turn up in Starlin's Breed, as did some of his other characters, like Vanth Dreadstar. Skimming through it, it reads much like an early musing on what would become The Metamorphosis Odyssey and Dreadstar, though this is more fantasy, while that is more space opera (emphasis on opera). This was Starlin when he was cooking with cosmic gas, as seen in Warlock and Captain Marvel, without the superhero trappings. At also ties in, stylistically, with the story he did in the first issue of Star*Reach.



The Corben Special: Edgar Allen Poe, features Corben's take on The Fall of the House of Usher. Corben and Poe make a great fit. It's Corben, so there are boobs and gore and tons of atmosphere.



Ravens and Rainbows featured reprints of some earlier Jeff Jones work, including art from a limited edition portfolio. most of the pieces are more visual exercises, rather than full on stories. They are very much of that underground/Warren mix and are filled with great visuals. The female form is on great display here, which would originally have been taken as a sign of an artist who likes drawing naked women (no shortage of those). however, as later came to light, Jeff Jones dealt with gender identity issues throughout his life, which manifested itself in alcoholism and other psychological issues. In 1998, Jones began hormone replacement therapy and transitioned to Jeffrey catherine Jones, as she called herself. A nervous breakdown in 2001 lost her her home and studio, though she recovered. Her health, though, deteriorated over time and she passed away in 2011. A tremendous artist who did not have an easy life.



Rog 2000 was a reprint of all of the Rog 2000 stories, from Contemporary Pictorial Literature (CPL), a Charlton fanzine and Charlton Comics. The CPL Gang, as they were known, included Roger Sterne, John Byrne, Bob Layton, Roger Slifer, Larry Brnicki, and Duffy Voland. These folks would eventually get material published at Charlton, leading to their Rog 200 stories, featuring Nicola Cuti (co-creator of E-Man) writing and John Byrne drawing. these are a lot of fun and I highly recommend them. They are filled with humor, slapstick and satire and are a great read. This is Byrne, before the ego went nova.



Wild Animals features "funny animal" stories, from Scott Shaw! and associates (including Sergio Aragones). It's got a definite Underground feel and mixes silliness with social satire. At least some of the stories were reprints from elsewhere. Star*Reach had tried something similar, with Quack. That 70s generation of creators had grown up with Carl Barks stories, Looney Tunes, and other funny animal comics and kept trying to bring some of that back, with the same kind of sophistication; but less censorship, that were seen in the Looney Tune cartoons and similar fare. It seemed time had passed that material by; but, they gave it the old college try. Worth a look, if you like a bit of humor or stuff like Mad.

I'll take a closer look at some of Pacific's bigger books soon, looking at Bruce Jones mini-empire (Alien Worlds and Twisted Tales), the mystery of Somerset Holmes, some guy with a rocket pack, and a few other Pacific odds and ends (such as early Steve Rude).