Amazing Adventures #25



"The Devil's Marauder"
writer: Don McGregor
pencils: Rich Buckler
inks: Klaus Janson
letters: Dave Hunt
colors: Linda Lessmann
editor: Roy Thomas

grade: A-

Chalk it up to losing Herb Trimpe, or maybe to Don finally wrapping up the nightmare of last minute deadlines that the "Washington Trilogy" of the previous three issues turned out to be (it was originally supposed to be a one parter, but was changed at the last minute), but this issue is actually...good. Pretty much as good as I expected this series to get after Don's first issue in AA #21. It's not the action or even the post-apocalyptic concepts that won me over (because really, the Indy 500 with Martian tripods? C'mon). Instead, it was the characterization that came alive so vibrantly this time with tension erupting between Killraven and M'Shulla, Carmilla questioning Killraven's lack of strategy in confronting the Martians (FINALLY!) and, best yet, two serious moments of self doubt for Killraven, the second of which is bound to produce significant changes in his character as Killraven discovers that Hobie, the slave he promised to help escape, has been killed from the fallout of K.R.'s senseless vengeance-inspired battle with Skar (not the Hulk's son). A powerful moment indeed.

These characters are truly starting to feel real, and that's probably why McGregor keeps narrowing the circle, giving more attention to fewer characters, while Arrow is discarded somewhere in the creative abyss,and Mint Julep and her thus far unspecified group of Freewomen are left back in DC. Even Hawk is mysteriously absent in this issue (though, oddly enough, he is mentioned once on page 14 as if he is there), allowing the focus to fall squarely on Killraven, M'Shulla, Carmilla, Grok, and Old Skull.

It's worth noting here that I did not know until this very issue that Don McGregor was the writer of Black Panther's acclaimed run in Jungle Action. I tried to read that run once, based upon recommendations on this board, and hated it. If this series holds up, maybe it's time for me to finally give Jungle Action a second chance.


1st appearances: Skar and Hobie
deaths: Hobie


Minor details:

- Doesn't the guy on page 1 look like Aquaman?

- McGregor seems very intent on building a rogues gallery for Killraven. This time around, a mystery is created around Skar, the seeming mutated human who refers to the human "breed" as if he is not a part of it, and is defeated but not killed by the end, just as happened to High Overlord in the previous issue and Warlord before that.

- First implication that K.R. has a "power" since AA #19. In this issue he is inexplicably able to achieve "clairsentience" in which he is able to see through a stranger's eyes for a brief time, though even he does not know how or why.

- It's briefly mentioned that they are headed toward Yellowstone, exactly where the mysterious Saunders was said to be located two issues back. McGregor is certainly playing that particular mystery close to his chest. A less careful reader wouldn't even notice that there is a mystery there.

- On page 14, McGregor states that "cars had long become extinct" since the 1990s (replaced by "the Transbelt Conveyor"), yet we saw K.R. drive a car parked on the street that still had gas in the tank in AA #20.

- McGregor seems to be getting more comfortable with the new 23 page allotment for Killraven, even dividing this issue's story into a Part I and Part II. Still, the stories do feel too short now.


So the series has definitely improved drastically with this issue, but it still has a long way to go. Let's see how K.R.'s transformation goes next issue, as well as whether we'll finally get an artist who knows how to have fun with a post-apocalyptic landscape (hopefully P. Craig Russell).

Amazing Adventures #26



"Something Worth Dying For!"
writer: Don McGregor
pencils: Gene Colan
inks: Dan Adkins
colors: Petra Goldberg
letters: A. Kawecki
editor: Roy Thomas

grade: C+


As the Killraven series moves forward, it's fascinating to see both how aware McGregor is of his own continuity and how consciously he chooses to violate it. On the one hand, M'Shulla is making references to a conversation he had with Carmilla five issues earlier and Killraven is finally referencing the "Saunders" mystery from three issues back and, on the other, Hawk got completely and inexplicably reinvented in this issue. So, while Killraven still hasn't made a real change based upon the events of last issue (and this issue indicates at least several weeks have now passed), you know something is brewing. McGregor doesn't forget the minor details -- he just changes them when they become inconvenient.

So let's talk about Hawk. He was introduced in the second issue and, for six issues, was depicted with a top knot, looking quite a bit like a samurai. He vanished last issue (though was mentioned once as having a particularly strong thirst for vengeance and Martian blood), and now reappears this issue attired as a Native American, complete with a differently shaped face and (forgive me, but it's true) redder skin tone. The personal thirst for vengeance and Martian blood is reiterated. And, whereas he first seemed to be a close companion to Old Skull in the early issues, he seems more like a loner now, as Carmilla gently lectures him that others have it worse than him and Killraven and M'Shulla both discuss his limited perspective on the battle against the Martians.

As for the story itself, while the characters are developing nicely, and the premise behind this story was a clever one, the execution was poor. For one thing, McGregor's narrative ramblings are becoming more distracting. He goes off on long tangents about things that have changed since the Martian invasion that have no relationship to the plot, from graffiti to the loss of Fred Foy. Fortunately, this time around, most of his ramblings (focused on advertising and cereal) end up tying into the end of the story (for once), but they were still utterly distracting in the middle of action sequences that had nothing to do with them, AND they were a waste of space for a feature that has already been cut down to fifteen pages. 2.75 pages were spent almost entirely on McGregor's narrative ramblings, and one more is spent schizophrenically divided between such ramblings and the present action of the story.

Then there's the actual conflict of the issue. Killraven and his band are attacked for no good reason by uniformed guards who don't work for the Martians, one of the captured guards mentions a treasure being guarded, Killraven and M'Shulla go to investigate, they learn the treasure is the center of a culture of Freemen who resisted the Martian invasion and the scavengers that followed, and they then decide they do not want the treasure and yet instigate battle with the really honorable guardian protecting it, killing him and the other guards that are with him, only to leave, not even checking out what the treasure was. THESE are the actions of a hero? What the heck? Couldn't McGregor at least have had Carmilla read them the riot act for doing this so that we'd know McGregor, himself, sees the total lack of logic and scruples in these actions?

Oh, and the treasure turned out to be cereal boxes and give-a-ways, but that was pretty obvious with the orgy of clues McGregor and Colan left us.

Speaking of which, it was nice to see Colan on the book this issue. Adkins did some decent inking over his pencils, though Goldberg lacks a certain intuitiveness with her coloring. I liked her work the first time she came on the book, but now I want Glynnis Wein back.


Minor details:

- Killraven's purpose for wanting to go to Yellow Stone is that Saunders was one of the two keepers who captured Killraven and his brother as children. K.R. hopes to learn what happened to his brother. This is also the first reference made to K.R.'s origin story since it ran in AA #18.

- However, there was clearly no brother present when Killraven was captured as a child in the AA #18 origin story. This is a new addition by McGregor.

- The spray painting of "Killraven was here" returns in this issue (a nice nod to the WWII "Killroy was here" graffiti art). Seems implied that M'Shulla is the one doing this.

- Killraven calls M'Shulla his "mud brother". Does this mean they are brothers because of all the "mud" they have crawled through together, is it a reference to M'Shulla's skin color, or does it mean something else? The Urban Dictionary lists it as a euphamism for gay lovers. I doubt that's what McGregor was going for.

- Page 10, panel 1 -- Grok is definitely watching Carmilla bathe topless, and she is looking at him and talking while doing so. When we find out who Grok is, this is going to appear all sorts of wrong in hindsight.

- Thomas claims that Carmilla named Grok in reference to the Robert E. Heinlein novel, Stranger in a Strangeland. The definition of "Groking" from the novel:

"Grok means to understand so thoroughly that the observer becomes a part of the observed—to merge, blend, intermarry, lose identity in group experience. It means almost everything that we mean by religion, philosophy, and science—and it means as little to us (because of our Earthling assumptions) as color means to a blind man."

- More tensions between Killraven and M'Shulla in this issue and, though McGregor doesn't draw attention to it, M'Shulla throws words back at K.R. about having "faith" in him that K.R. had said last issue. It's also becoming obvious that the true source of this tension is that Killraven objects to M'Shulla being romantically involved with Carmilla (distrust? Jealousy? Maybe they really were "mud brothers"...)

- Killraven apparently has a reputation for being able to master any weapon. This is the first time this has been mentioned.


Not a particularly strong issue in all, though the characterizations are still coming across strongly, and the cereal-as-treasure concept was pretty fun. McGregor needs to tone down the narrative rambling though, or at least do a better job of syncing it with the present action of the story.

Killraven Status Update
With all the care McGregor is giving to continuity, let's take stock of all that's still up in the air in this series



Let me know if I've missed anything (but don't give away future events!)


Interpersonal relationships:

Carmilla and Grok are close, but not romantically. Carmilla feels responsible for what happened to Grok and knew him best in his former life.
Carmilla and M'Shulla are romantically close
Carmilla pushes Killraven to be more intelligent in making his decisions. K.R. resents this
Killraven and M'Shulla are "mud brothers," but tension is arising between them
Old Skull is fiercely loyal to K.R.
No one seems to like Hawk all that much.
Killraven is attracted to Mint Julep.
M'Shulla and Julep have a mutual admiration cloaked in feigned hostilities to one another.


Unsolved mysteries:

Why is Carmilla traveling with the Freemen?
Who is/was Grok?
Is Killraven's brother still alive?
What is Killraven's "power," and why does he have it?
Why did the High Overlord particularly want to make sure Saunders saw Killraven die?
Who is Skar, and why does he hate humans?
What happened to Hawk to make him want to take such personal revenge on The Martians?
What was the story of Old Skull and K.R. meeting at Madison Square Garden. Why is Old Skull so fiercely loyal to him as a result?



Villains with good reason to want revenge: (note that McGregor has de-emphasized the Keepers as the chief villains of the series)

Warlord -- K.R. badly mangled him and cost him years of recuperation...twice
High Overlord -- K.R. embarrassed him in front of a viewing audience
Rattack -- K.R. killed his rats
The Martians -- K.R. has become a symbol of hope to all freemen
Skar -- K.R. embarrassed him in front of The Martains
Abaraxas (if not dead) -- K.R. caused his slave trading post to be destroyed

Amazing Adventures #27



"The Death Breeders"
writer: Don McGregor
pencils: Craig Russell
inks: Jack Abel
colors: Petra Goldberg
letters: John Costanza
editor: Roy Thomas

grade: C+


Getting through this issue was sheer work. I had to restart it three different times because I truly, truly didn't want to finish it. It's not that this issue was particularly bad, per se. It's that I had high hopes for this first P. Craig Russell issue (just "Craig Russell" here) but I'm still not really feeling the series. I suppose I should give the new team some time to get used to each other.

There's a lot working in this issue, including some semi-interesting post apocalyptic settings (an ice ship sliding across a frozen Lake Erie, the breeding cells, the old brewery) and more interpersonal character developments (I'll get into this later), but the series still feels directionless to me -- continuing, issue after issue, without any real idea of what it's moving toward. There's no master plan or goal to be attained beyond annoying Martians, Killraven is still a very flat character, and there's no clear and immediate conflict building throughout this story beyond K.R. learning about the breeding cells and deciding he wants to destroy them.

Russell's art does shine at points, especially in depicting Killraven's face, conveying both discomfort and compassion towards Carmilla, in the 2nd to last panel of page 7. It's pretty much the richest characterization he's received at this point (which, I suppose, isn't saying much).

Here's what's worth noting in this issue:

1st appearance: Volcana Ash
1st appearance: Atalon
ist appearance: Death Breeders
1st appearance: Death-Birth (breeding complex)

Hawk -- still haunted by his near death back in #20. Beginning to butt heads with Killraven.
Killraven -- It's becoming more obvious that he's jealous of Carmilla for taking M'Shulla from him.
Grok -- may have some sort of empathic connection with Carmilla. Nearly killed by giant lamprey.
Martians -- communicate telepathically (this may have been stated before)
Skar -- can communicate telepathically with Martians


Additionally, the High Overlord shares Killraven's file with Skar on page 14. There's nothing particularly new here, but it might be worth repeating:

2006 - Killraven, approximately six Earth years of age, captured by human recruiting force under the leadership of DR. RAKER. Professional exterminator, SAUNDERS, accompanying.

2008 - Killraven shows rebellious tendencies. He is placed under KEEPER WHITMAN [later Warlord]'s observation.

2010 - First meeting with Earth subject, M'SHULLA, in the gladitorial pen.

Somehow, I expected the Martians to have more info on him than this. For example, when did he first go to Staten Island to form his band of Freemen?


We also lean in this issue that The High Overlord intentionally dropped that information about Saunders in front of Killraven in #23 in order to create a trap for him.

Finally, interpersonal conflict seems to be on the rise, with Hawk and Killraven getting tense with each other, Killraven and M'Shulla getting tense with each other, and Carmilla on the threshold of losing Grok. Were these characters better developed by this point, I'd probably care about all of this a lot more than I do.


Minor details:

- The Martians can clone humans, and yet they go through all the trouble of running breeding complexes. Why not just mass clone brain-less humans? This can't be an efficient method of producing food when each couple can only produce once every nine months.

- The cover: Russell likes his Hentai, doesn't he?

- The cover also includes the "Starring -- Killraven!" tag for the first time.

- Finally, the cover promises: "This is it! The most widely-acclaimed Science-Fiction series ever!" I'm all about Marvel style fanfare, but come on. New Gods? Kamandi? "Most-acclaimed" according to who?


So I'm definitely struggling with this series at this point. Still I'll push on, hoping Russell brings something truly special to the series (as promised).