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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 26, 2018 17:03:39 GMT -5
Defenders #53![](http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/large/23916995360.53.gif) Red Guardian has a super hot foot! Creative Team: get ready for a "to many cooks" scenario: DAK-writer, Dave Cockrum, Kieth Giffen, Michael Golden & Terry Austin-art, Joe Rosen-letters, Phil Rache-colors, Archie Goodwin-fuming at Kieth Giffen (probably) Synopsis: After securing help from the Defenders (last issue, after the cliched slug-fest), Namor and the gang are headed for the danger area., around Atlantis. Hellcat gets a bit of a shock, upon arrival... ![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6550/1202/1600/scan0008.1.jpg) The gang heads for the mess hall for some chow, served by nubile Atlantean waitresses. Then, Namor gets down to business and sends the women away and the team is briefed about the radiation and its apparent source. We then cut to said source, where Sergei, aka The Presence, is still messing with Tania's mind. Val has a chat with Clea, then departs on a bus to try to register for classes again. The commuter hour gets too crowded for comfort and Val spazzes out... ![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6550/1202/1600/scan0016.0.jpg) Up yours, buddy! Val also witnesses the police chasing Lunatik and trips up the Joker-wannabe. Back under the water, the defenders arrive and end up in a flooding situation, while Sergei puts on his Kirby hat and crackels up.... ![](http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/scans2/DEF53_Presence.JPG) Things end rather abruptly and we switch to a Clea story, which appears to be an inventory piece. Creative Team: Naomi Basner-script, Sandy Plunkett-pencils, Tony Salmons-inks, Joe Rosen-letters, Marie Severin (RIP)-colors, Archie Goodwin-reaching for the emergency pile. Synopsis: Clea is walking in Central Park and is accosted by a mugger. She zaps him into a bench and it turns out he is a sorcerer, named Nicodemus. He Pearl harbors her and takes her hostage and it goes all John Fowles, as she is chained up in his place. he basically magic rapes her (steals her powers) then tells her she will remain as his hostage and love-slave. Clea says "F-you, buddy!" and clobbers him with a statue, from a nearby table. She then makes a phone call to Dr Strange. ![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6550/1202/1600/scan0004.3.jpg) Thoughts: There is a whole lot of gender dynamics going on here and I suggest reading Jim Roeg's blog, Double Articulation for an interesting essay on the whole thing. While the guys (and Patsy) are off trying to help Namor save Atlantis, Val deals with pushy commuters and runaway crazies, while still trying to register for courses. Quite frankly, I think she would be better off away from a university and instead head to the library, while working one-on-one, with a tutor. She needs specialized knowledge; not the usual university play acting of scholarship, as you go through the motions to secure a rubber stamp of approval, to get a good job (obviously, for less technically-oriented majors). I learned more reading our home set of World Book Encyclopedias than I did for most of my 4 years of college and the few practical classes I had were all part of my Naval Science curriculum, for my NROTC Scholarship, which prepared me for my role as a naval officer, upon graduation. The rest was mostly time filler (the bulk of electives) or farce (my urban economics class, especially, where we explained the bleeding obvious with pages of analysis). I don't see how this is going to help Val, except put her in the path of Lunatik and add a few non-superhero supporting characters. Lunatik, himself, has made this a somewhat sought-after comic. Although issue 51 is his first appearance, in shadow, this is the first full on appearance. Giffen conceived of it in high school; but, in the hands of David Anthony Kraft and Ed Hannigan, it morphed into a different character, which they tried to connect to a character, Arisen Turk, in Creatures on the Loose 35-37. It was not what Giffen intended; so, when he was at DC, he took his ideas for the character and created two new ones, each embodying part of the original. One was Ambush Bug, who carried the goofy aspect that Giffen wanted. The other was Lobo. Once that word was out, collectors started snapping up this issue (and 51) as the first appearance of Lobo, as well as his actual first appearance, in Omega Men. Quite frankly, anyone who picked it up for proto-Lobo is a sap, as there is little or no connection between the two. They are vastly different characters, who share a creator. Lunatik ends up being a rather forgettable character, more of a wannabe gerber-type weirdo, than Lobo, or even Ambush Bug. The look is swiped from the Joker, then stuffed into a track suit and Doc Martins. ![](http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/scans2/DEF53_LunatikVal.JPG) Sergei/The Presence continues to be a Kirby-Lite villain, with more crackle than sparkle and poor Tania gets sucked along in the vacuum of personality. The Atlantean stuff gets pretty male chauvinist, with Patsy just "one of the gang," rather than reacting to it. By contrast, Val tells men to back off and thought balloons label her a bitchy feminist. Then, the Clea filler story has her as damsel-n-distress, who turns the tables on her attacker and exerts her own power. I don't know if all of this is deliberate or by accident. The main story is filled with male chauvinism, in the wake of the ERA lobbying and feminist movement. The back-up shows female empowerment, though so does Val, although she receives negative responses for it. Tanie is a helpless pawn. Lots of gender dynamics on display. Is Kraft a social commentator or did he just get lucky? Did Archie shape the debate by adding the filler story, as a counterpoint? My instinct is, based on Giffen's own admissions about deadlines, that he blew it and had produced only a portion of the book. Cockrum, Golden and Austin were drafted to finish it and the filler story was snapped up to close out the page count. The art has some sudden shifts in look and tone. Cockrum can be seen heavily on the splash page (and is credited only with that page, at GCD), while Giffen's grids follow. Then, the Val stuff is definitely Michael Golden. Austin tries to give it some continuity but doesn't achieve it. He cleans up Giffen significantly, though. By contrast, Sandy Plunkett, in the back up, reminds me of a mix of Don Newton and David Mazzucchelli, with that more delicate line (bit of Gray Morrow, too). It's a nice touch that the statue Clea clobbers Nicodemus with is a depiction of two gladiators, in combat. Much of Clea's posing, while a prisoner, is straight out of classic fantasy illustration. Naomi Basner has only 3 credits listed, at GCD; this story, one from Tales to Astonish (#1, "Deadly Game"), featuring Nighthawk, and one called "Dial I For Information," in Storytime, from Friends of Lulu. Don't really know much at all about her. Peter David named a character after her in the Star Trek New Frontier novel, Restoration, as a crewmember of the USS Exeter. Beyond that, I got nothing. Kraft was also getting help from Don McGregor, on some of his Defenders stories; but, I am inclined to believe that Giffen is the one who was late. However, it is possible that Kraft was late with the script and Giffen worked on the Atlantean part of the story, while Golden worked separately on the Val portion and the other story was inserted. Not sure why Cockrum handled the splash page only, other than either a change was needed (Cockrum was working on staff, at one point) and may have done the deed of that necessity. EDIT: Kraft acknowledges deadline problems, with past issues, in the letters column, and gives a shout out to Ed Hannigan, Don McGregor and John Warner. Hannigan would end up taking over the book from Kraft.This issue is a mess and Shooter has made swipes about Archie letting mediocre stuff get through to meet deadlines. Archie inherited the mess left behind by the succession of Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, and Gerry Conway, especially Conway's quick bailing out. Suddenly, he had 40+ titles to try to get out and the suits wanted them out there, earning money. Archie was only supposed to be a temp EIC and he did a ton of clean-up, before Shooter got the reins, far later than Goodwin expected. He's not around to defend himself from left-handed statements like that. Archie was one of the best editors in the business and I think he did pretty well as EIC, given what he inherited. Shooter benefitted from that work (and aided it, as Archie's assistant). Hopefully, we get back on track here, soon.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 26, 2018 17:37:58 GMT -5
Defenders #54 Creative Team: DAK-writer/coloristm Giffen & Golden-artists, Bob Mcleod-inker, Bruce Patterson-letterer, Archie-chasing Veronica. Golden opens the art, then it shifts to Giffen, then Golden carries most of it, ending with Giffen back. We also have another inventory story. In this and last issue, a panel has been inserted to try to link the two. Synopsis: The defenders' ship is flooding, after being hit by the shockwave of the nuclear explosion, caused by Sergei. They end up in the water, where Hulk gets mad and Patsy tries to rescue Kyle, but gets dragged down. Namor saves Patsy from some monster, from Super-Villain Team-up #13, and Hulk rescues Kyle. They make it to shore and run smack into The Presence and Red Guardian, looking all crackly. Meanwhile, Val watches home movies with Dollar Bill and falls asleep. He blew his date and you are left to wonder if a #MeToo moment occurred. I doubt it, as Val would wear his testicles as earrings, had he tried anything. ![](http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/scans2/DEF52_vsPresence.JPG) Back up, with Nick Fury and a bunch of LMDs (Life Model Decoys), weakly linked by Jack Norriss musing about becoming a SHIELD agent. Creative Team: Scott Edelman-script, Juan Ortiz-art, Bruce Patterson-inks, Howard Bender-letters, Ken Klaczak-colors, Archie-chasing Betty Synopsis: Nick Fury runs into Clay Quartermain, who is ignoring him and turns out tobe an LMD. Fury is then attacked by other LMDs of himself, under the control of some guy in a red hood, who turns out to be another Fury LMD. Thoughts: I'm not a happy camper here, boys and girls. Imagine trying to read this monthly! There is little or no movement on the main story, other than the Defenders come face-to-face with Sergei and Tania. The rest is just pointless filler. I'm starting to lean towards DAK being the source of the deadline issue, though Giffen may still be involved as his art looks like McLeod is doing the heavy lifting. Golden is still on the Valkyrie stuff, which is equally pointless. The backup is terrible. It's a big cliche and has been done better, starting with Steranko. You could say it inspires Nick Fury vs SHIELD, with the whole Deltoid Affair, as LMDs replaced actual agents. Really though, it reads like crappy fan fiction. The art is pretty bland, too. Archie, it's time to kick some butt!
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 26, 2018 18:14:48 GMT -5
Defenders #55 Creative Team: DAK-writer, Carmine Infantino & Klaus Janson-art (Klaus also colors), Gaspar Saladino-letters, Archie-had enough of Reggie Well, Giffen is gone and Kraft is still there. Swinging back to Giffen on the deadline problem. Now, we have Carmine Infantino, in a period of his career that is not a favorite of many. Carmine was replaced by Jenette Kahn in 1975 and went back to freelancing. By this stage, Carmine had done a couple of issues of daredevil (including the debut of Paladin) and Nova. He is about 4 months away from taking over Star Wars and oing the art on Spider Woman (giving her massive hair) Synopsis: Everybody stares up at The Presence and Red Guardian, while leaning waaaay back. Sergei nuclear swats Hulk away, Tania attacks Patsy and Namor attacks Sergei. Kyle is floundering about and finds a horn and blows it, to summon Namor's troops; but, ends up calling the monster that grabbed Patsy, previously. It attacks, Hulk smashes it, gets zapped by Sergei and transformed back to Banner. Patsy reaches out with her mind to tap into Tania's brain and restore her sense of identity. She reaches her and she then talks Sergei down and sends him off ons a cosmic voyage and this mess of a story comes to a merciful end. ![](http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/scans2/DEF55_vsBehemoth.JPG) There is an epilogue, as Ledge asks Val out on a date, only to be interrupted y Lunatik. Val has had enough and draws Dragonfang. Lunatik's trousers go from gren to brown. Thoughts: Oh my f@#$ing head! What started out as an intriguing mystery, involving Russia, nukes and Atlantis, turned to s@#$ almost immediately, due to people not being able to meet their professional obligations and ends up a total mess, which ends on a pretty cliched note. Carmine brings us a lot of angled poses and nostril shots, must have looked at Kane's Marvel work, and Hellcat look a lot like Batgirl, in Carmine's hands, though her hair looks more like ponytails. It looks rather.....off. Meh.....
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Post by brutalis on Sept 27, 2018 7:56:36 GMT -5
Yep these were some sad days where I almost dropped Defenders from my collecting. But I really liked Nighthawk, Val and Hellcat as a team so stuck through the rough times to better days. Gorgeous Perez covers too. By this point I had grown tired of the Giffen Kirby as it was beginning to wear thin and not be as dynamic as Kriby was capable of doing in the smaller scenes. Giffen did some fantastic big Kirby splash pages but was failing in giving much more story telling in the rest.
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Post by chaykinstevens on Sept 27, 2018 15:45:34 GMT -5
SuperMegaMonkey's page on Defenders #52-56 includes some interesting information in the comments section. Apparently some unused pages by Keith Giffen from Defenders #53 turned up in FOOM #19, the Defenders issue. Naomi Basner is said to have been a high school intern in the production department, and she dialogued the Clea story over on uncredited plot by Jim Shooter. And Dave Kraft is said to have designed Lunatik's look himself. link
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 7, 2018 22:36:35 GMT -5
Defenders #56 Creative Team: David Anthony Kraft-story, colors, individual cheese slices; Carmine Infantino & Klaus Janson-Axis Art Powers, Pete Iro-letters, Archie Goodwin-editor, gopher for Nero Wolfe. Synopsis: Val is facing off with Lunatik, in some really ugly art, from two masters. Something went horribly wrong here... ![](https://www.writeups.org/wp-content/uploads/Lunatik-Marvel-Comics-Defenders-a.jpg) After her buddy Ledge (who looks vaguely like Shooter) tries to intercede, he gets busted up, distracting Val, which lets Lunatik get away... ![](http://www.writeups.org/wp-content/uploads/Lunatik-Marvel-Comics-Defenders.jpg) . Meanwhile, in the USSR, the government shows up and Namor tries to kick some Commie tail; but, passes out. Bruce Banner convinces them to get the irradiated Defenders some help; but, they later need him, since he is smarter than the average Russian Bear. He helps save the defenders, including the very near death Hellcat, which is why he looks like Rom, on the cover. They eventually get better and then get kicked out of the country. Back in the US, back in the USA, Val meets up with Lunatik again and they fight..... ![](http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/scans2/DEF56_LunatikVal.JPG) and fight and Lunatik unleashes really horrible banter and then escapes on a subway train. Thoughts: This looks like a deadline problem, as Carmine and Klaus look like they got drunk and puked out the art. I suspect they drank gallons of coffee to get this done in time, possibly due to Kraft, who has admitted he was bad at deadlines (or a carryover from Giffen or both or other problems) We've seen on the Shooter thread he felt Archie let a lot of bad stuff go out to meet deadlines and this one sure supports that viewpoint, though Archie inherited this mess and did a lot to get it under some sort of control, before having enough and Shooter getting the gig (and it was supposed to be temporary, in the first place). The fight between Val and Lunatik reads like a rejected Joker script, from a lousy fan writer-wannabe. Quite frankly, the whole Lunatik subplot has mostly been a bust. Giffen would do better, later, with his reworked versions of the character (Ambush Bug and Lobo). Not a particularly good issue.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 7, 2018 23:04:27 GMT -5
Defenders #57 Creative Team: Gerry Conway=plot, Chris Claremont-script, George Tuska & Dave Cockrum-pencils, Dan Green Inks, Pete Iro-letters, Francoise Mouly-colors, Archie Goodwin-obviously sounding the emergency. And, yes, that is Francoise Mouly, as in Raw Magazine and the New Yorker, as in Mrs. Art Spiegelman. Mouly did some coloring work for Marvel, after coming to the US; but, before starting Raw, with Art. This one has deadline doom written all over it and if Conway plotted, it is likely and inventory plot, from before he quit and DAK took over as writer. Claremont is probably here since he was writing Ms Marvel, who turns up. Conway had been doing Defenders and Ms Marvel, so this is probably left from then. Cockrum was on staff; I assume Tuska might have been, too, or was available and fast). Synopsis: We jump back to the past, when huly is smashing up the Sanctum..... ![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/00PBn3XVnhdr4Lbk9oKuqtqNKd-dF06BPaGX747b2k_KZ7Cm-J1Bn0aHr9hl5Jllu5jJOba2VkAD=s1600) He is being taunted by a vision of Ms Marvel, yet refers to Mar-Vell (they guy had girly hair; but, not THAT girly). Val tries to calm him and Doc dispels the....um, spell. Hulk goes off, somewhere and we are told that the Red Rajah attacks, later. We cut to a bar and find mike Barnett, Carol Danvers shrink, watching tv footage of her as Ms Marvel, when some creepy dude, with the improbably name of Arthur Shaman comes along. Kyle and Patsy are on a date and an alarm sounds in Kyle's penthouse pad (I sense nookius interruptus hee; hope Kyle was going to use "defenders," if you know what I mean...) They switch to costumes (kinky....) and find Ms Marvel, who needs their help because she has foreseen that her shrink needs her help. We cut back to the goof being handed over to AIM, who hook him up to a brain gizmo.... AIM attacks the Sanctum, looking for the Hulk, to torment Carol Danvers. They run into Hulk Clea and Val and sick a robot, who looks like the Beetle... ![](http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/scans/DEF57_AIMRobot.JPG) The robot takes out Val, Clea and Hulk and AIM takes them away, just as Kyle swoops over, observing them. he follows and radios Ms Marvel and Patsy, and the three bust in on AIM... ![](http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/scans/DEF57_MsMarvel.JPG) Carol takes out the robot with a couple of punches (and Hulk and Val couldn't do the same?) and Patsy kicks some beekeeper bootie. Kyle mops up the rest and they free the headshrinker, just in time for a merciful end. Thoughts: Not many and none to high. This was rightfully buried until the need arose; and, quite frankly,they were better off not shipping that month and getting a better story done. This is a hot mess. That's 0 for 2.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 7, 2018 23:57:42 GMT -5
Defenders #58 Creative Team: DAK-story, Ed Hannigan & Klaus Janson (and Dan Green)-art, Phil Rache-colors, Archie-edits. Title is an homage to Blue Oyster Cult and Agents of Fortune, the album that gave us "Don't Fear the Reaper" Super-Mega Monkey has a quote from Shooter and a rebbuttle from DAK about the BOC connectionSynopsis: We open in the Sanctum, as Dr Strange snoozes and Wong thinks of Sinful Love. He's interrupted by some dude in a chicken mask and we know This Ain't The Summer Of Love! Doc gives Wong some True Confessions and fights Chicken Man and loses, as the Poultry Poltroon purloins a pendant: The Eye of Agamotto. ![](http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/scans/DEF58_ChickenManVsStrange.JPG) We cut to a Morning Final, where we find Debbie Denise, I mean Val and Bruce Banner, looking in on Ledge, who has a Tenderloin. Dollar Bill invites them out to dinner at the Felix Club (where the waitresses dress like cat versions of the Playboy Bunnies and Val spots Devil Slayer ( a Reaper of Souls) in conversation with Vera (Gemini?) Val briefly spots his Devil-Slayer costume, then just sees a dude in a suit. Devil-Slayer tells Vera he is not going back to the Cult and he loses control when she tells him that the Cult (with a Soft White Underbelly) has the Eye of Agamotto. He is revealed in full Devil-Slayer outfit ![](http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/scans3/DEF58_DevilSlayer2.JPG) and Val pulls out Dragonfang and changes into her duds, and attacks Devil Slayer. He tries to tell her "Don't Fear the Reaper" (of Souls); but, she's a bit hot headed and is about to Tattoo Vampire on his forehead. Banner turns into Hulk and smashes Devil-Slayer, bringing about The Revenge of Vera Gemini! ![](http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/scans3/DEF58_HulkvsDevilSlayer.JPG) Devil-Slayer uses his cloak and makes Hulk disappear, then takes a powder, himself (with Val). ![](http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/scans/DEF58_Devilslayer.JPG) Meanwhile, in Mexico, a pair of travellers are destroyed by and Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (ETI) who is part of the Cult. his agent shows up with the Eye and mystical mumbo jumbo ceremonies begin, observed by a wounded Doc. While this was happening, Jack Norris went to Avengers Mansion, to find Nick Fury and gets caught in intruder traps. Thoughts: If my review is annoying, it gives you a feeling for all of the BOC references in the story, especially from the Agents of Fortune album. It does bring back Devil-Slayer, that creation of Rich Buckler, brought over from Atlas/Seaboard (Demon Hunter) and redressed as Eric Simon Payne, aka Devil-Slayer. for those in the dark, Payne was a Vietnam vet who became involved with a cult, trained to be their mystical agent. he rebelled against them and now they are coming after him, bringing them in contact with the defenders. This is a nice return to form, despite the cutesy in-jokes, including Dollar Bill constantly calling Banner "Doctor Bob," an allusion to Stan being unable to remember Banner's name, in the early days. Ed Hannigan starts up as resident artist and he does a sort of Gene Colan reference, which fits things nicely. Intriguing stuff here, mixed with some bad homages. The next issue is referred to as "Tyranny & Mutation." Keep it up too long and DAK could find himself roasting over a "Fire of Unknown Origin." And, just for nothing, Agents of Fortune is a tremendous album. I've told this story before; but, here's a repeat. I'm a massive BOC fan (one of the few bands I've seen live, along with ZZ Top). I had a cat, named Mr Man, who had a kidney disfunction and was dying. We had made an appointment with the vet to put him to sleep. We were saying our goodbyes, with him on the bed. He crawled on top of my wife's laptop (which he often did, for the warmth and set off a music file, which was "Don't Fear the Reaper." It was pure coincidence; but, we had to laugh at the cosmic joke. It was the most fitting way for him to say goodbye. He's been gone for a couple of years now; but, the song makes me think of him. I miss you, little buddy! ![](https://i.postimg.cc/Wz7gM3yY/My_little_buddy.jpg)
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Post by badwolf on Oct 9, 2018 9:46:16 GMT -5
Sorry to hear about Mr. Man, but...that is a classy exit!
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 9, 2018 13:02:09 GMT -5
Sorry to hear about Mr. Man, but...that is a classy exit! He was a fun little character, so it just fell right into his personality. I'm also a big Terry Pratchett fan, and when the music went off and we laughed, I just had this image of DEATH and THE DEATH OF RATS coming to collect him, and him trotting off with them; but, stopping for a moment and looking back at us, before chasing after THE DEATH OF RATS, and pouncing on him. Someone put together a cool edit of the song and footage from Hogfather, the first live adaptation of pratchett's work...
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 9, 2018 14:15:28 GMT -5
Defenders #59![](http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/large/23916995360.59.gif) The issue is titled, "Tyranny and Mutation," the title of Blue Oyster Cult's second album, which featured this iconic cover.... ![](http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/images/covers/blue-oyster-cult-tyranny-and-mutation-20111024014124.jpg) Remember that image, as it will come into play, rather quickly. Creative Team: David Anthony Kraft-story, colors, mac & cheese; Ed Hannigan-art & vegetables, Dan Green-inks & drinks, Joe Rosen-letters & desert, Archie Goodwin-editor, stuck with the check. Synopsis Devil-Slayer and Valkyrie are tumbling through a very Escher landscape.... ![](https://www.cbr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/defenders-59-1.jpg) ...remember the BOC album cover? It gets sillier. Devil-Slayer recaps things. The Cult of the Harvester of Eyes has stolen the Eye of Agamotto, to wipe out humanity and replace them with the demon race. He believed Valkyrie was a Reaper of Souls, for the Cult, as he once was, before he rebelled. Val merely interceded when Devil-Slayer attacked Vera Gemini. Word of advice, Devil-Slayer; don't mess with Valkyrie, shes a Veteran of the Psychic Wars and could kick the tail of Godzilla. And, that will be enough BOC references, for the moment. Now, let's get back to the action, because Joan Crawford Has Risen From the Grave! Val convinces Devil-Slayer that they are on the same side and DS explains what was going on. They go and find the Hulk, who is punching monsters, then tries to attack D-S He cloaks him to Earth, then he and Val follow, ending up in the Sanctum, where Hulk is reunited (and it feels so good...) with Smart-Friend Magician, who has a boo-boo, from last issue. He recounts his mystical spying on the Cult and Vera gemini, seeing them call forth the demon Balthauzer, who relates that they have secreted demons around the globe in many forms, showing images of Idi Amin, Yasser Arafat, Mao, Anita Bryan (I think, she was making homophobic noises around that time), Charles Manson, the KKK and the Son of Sam (David Berkowitz, a serial killer who operated in NYC, in the summer of '76 to 77, and claimed to be following the orders of a demon, in the form of his dog, Harvey). D-S takes a moment to recap his past and then we are off to gather the others. While that happens, we see Balthauzer assume the form of an Air Force general, who commands a SAC base. Meanwhile, Patsy is busy stripping the gears on Kyle Richmond's $50,000 Lola Mk1 grand prix racer... ![](https://farm7.staticflickr.com/6107/6311942182_f7f79f892c_z.jpg) Patsy thinks it would be a swell Hellcatmobile and Kyle whines about the cost. He then suits up his new jetpack and wings for a test run... ![](http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/scans3/DEF59_Nighthawk.JPG) ...incorporating machinery from a carnival he owns, as a sort of mobile Danger Room. Kyle goes through the test paces, when Patsy decides to join in the fun and it turns into some kind of bondage game, as she gets snared by rings (inspired by Nighthawk's battle with the Ringer, in issue 51) and steel tentacles. Um, guys, whatever you're into is cool, just keep it in private, okay? Patsy has also sent the machine into haywire mode and the timely (and convenient) arrival of Hulk and Val keeps them from getting mooshed by a carnival ride/death machine. We have a brief check in on the still irradiated Red Guardian... ![](http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/scans22/DEF59_RedGuardian.jpg) We cut to Dr Strange doing an astral recon of the Cult (while Devil-Slayer watches over his body, at the Sanctum) and seeing Vera Gemini and Balthauzer in demon form, when they spot him and attack. D-S senses someone and runs into the Agent of Fortune (the chicken mask guy, from last issue) and it's on. We end with the other Defenders arriving and Dollar Bill telling them that Doc is dead. Thoughts: Harvester of Eyes is a song off BOC's third album, Secret Treaties.... ![](http://data.opus3a.com/product_photo/dc/dc05109389331348fd873e3fd3b7e2fb/max/3b61cffe5cf8ec6cb39920408ae8046f.jpg) (Eric Bloom is the doofus in the cape). The album also features Career of Evil, written by Patti Smith (who was dating Allen Lanier) and the song Astronomy, written by producer Sandy Pearlman (Needs more cowbell!), which speaks of a decades spanning evil, Desdinova. The poem was from a group of poems, called The Soft Doctrines of Imaginos, which was later adapted into the concept album, Imaginos, which is my favorite of all of their albums. It features a battle between the forces of light and darkness, with the all-time classic song title: "The Siege and Investiture of Baron Von Frankenstein's Castle at Weisseria." Footage from 1990's Roger Corman's Frankenstein Unbound, adapted from the novel, by Brian Aldiss, with John Hurt and Raul Julia slumming and Nick Brimble (Little John, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) as the Monster. Thematically, BOC fits this stuff quite well, and vice versa. Kraft has a pretty nifty supernatural story going here and Devil-Slayer makes for a pretty good guest star (and he would end up joining the team, for a time). Ed Hannigan continues to liven up the art, after the Carmine Infantino train wreck (I like Carmine, but the stuff was way off on his two issues and he and Klaus didn't mesh). Hannigan would later handle art on Mike Grell's Green Arrow run and create a cool little, mostly unseen mini-series, for DC, called Skull & Bones... ![](http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/large/76242509616.1.gif) ...about an ex-Spetsnaz special operative (Soviet Special Forces), who returns from Afghanistan and becomes involved in the collapse of the Communist government, which occurred just before the mini-series was published (which made Boris Yeltsin a hero, despite decades of corruption). Hannigan will soon be co-plotting and outright writing the series. He also handles the comedic stuff well, with Patsy & Kyle and draws a pretty damn sexy Hellcat! So, lots of stuff for BOC fans and a good story for those who don't give a s@#$.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 9, 2018 15:20:11 GMT -5
Defenders #60![](http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/large/23916995360.60.gif) Title is "The Revenge of Vera Gemini," which is a song on BOC's Agents of Fortune album, their biggest seller (with Don't Fear the Reaper). The song itself was written by Patti Smith and Albert Bouchard (drummer of the band). Patti also lent vocals to the song. Creative Team: DAK-script, Ed Hannigan-art, Dan Green-finishes, Rick Parker-letters, Francoise Mouly-colors, Jim Shooter-launching his reign of terror! Synopsis: Doc is still alive and Dollar Bill is an idiot. The gang hops up into Kyle's jet and heads for Mexico, while Wong muses about being left alone, in some kind of homage to Stan's dialogue of yesteryear. In Mexico, the Cult of the Harvester of Eyes gets gobbled up by newly released demons and Vera Gemini crows about being a half-breed, yet accomplished everything in a day, after years of failure by the full blooded demons. We get another BOC reference (Dominance & Submission, from Secret Treaties) and a lot of scalley, burning demons. The defenders are over the Gulf of Mexico, when they are buzzed by F-15s, which are ordered by the demon general to attack, despite it being a civilian plane, over international waters. This being a comic written by a hippy (well, 70s Marvel writer; same thing), the pilots ignore rules of engagement and blindly obey orders (they do question the orders, though) and fire at the plane. Hulk jumps out and smashes, while the rest hit the silk. Devil-Slayer and the Agent of Fortune are locked in inter-dimensional battle, while Ed Hannigan does his best Kirby collage imitation (splash page with photo insertion, in the background). He learns that Xeno-Genesis, the rebirth of demonkind, has begun. We see Vera playing roulette with demons, disguised as Blue Oyster Cult, who lose the spin and their fate is now trapped with that of humanity. It makes little sense and is mostly a series of BOC references (Dominance & Submission, Red and the Black, Nexus of the Crisis, etc...). The Defenders land and do a recon, when they spot a flying demon. It leads them to Dr Strange's body... ![](http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/scans3/DEF60_DRSTR.JPG) ...being taken over by a demon. A fight ensues. Hellcat gets nabbed by a flying demon and gets dropped on top of the Agent of Fortune. She gets swatted away, but, gets his mystical cloak and sends him packing. hulk mistakenly attacks Devil-Slayer and Val and Nighthawk beat the demon, which turns out to be using an illusion of Doc's body, as Dollar Bill has the real thing in his arms. His astral form re-enters his body and then sends Kyle into the demon dimension to retrieve the Eye of Agamotto. He gets it and ends up unconscious, but, flies out, guided by Doc. Patsy covers Vera with the Agent's Shadow Cloak and it swallows her up. Nighthawk emerges through the portal with the Eye and the demons get sucked back home. Hulk scratches his head. Thoughts: More BOC references and a demonic cameo, in this decent end to the whole thing. Devil Slayer gets a decent page or two; but, not much else. It all ends like most Dr Strange things, with a bit of deus ex machina. The art is a bit weaker, as it seems an Green carries more of the load. Some pages are better than others. Pretty decent story, though stretched out about an issue too much, if you ask me (and this was before decompression!). I suppose it could have been worse; DAK could have been homaging Bee Gees lyrics for 3 issues, though I can just picture Hulk doing the John Travolta strut, to "Stayin' Alive."
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Post by Rob Allen on Oct 9, 2018 15:34:37 GMT -5
I was buying Defenders thru May 1978 so I probably have these last few issues, but I was oblivious to the Blue Oyster Cult references at the time. I would still be oblivious if I hadn't read these reviews!
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 9, 2018 16:10:09 GMT -5
Defenders #61![](http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/large/23916995360.61.gif) Spidey & Lunatik. Well, one out of two.... Creative Team: DAK-story, Hannigan-pencils, Bob Lubbers-finishes, Nellie (aka Nelson "Nel" Yomtov)-colors, ick Parker-letters, Jim Shooter-God Almighty For those who do not recognize the name, Bob Lubbers was better known in the world of newspaper comics, having worked on Tarzan, Li'l Abner, The Saint, Secret Agent X-9, and his own Long Sam, a sort of cousin to Li'l Abner (initially written by Al Capp, then turned over to his brother, before Lubbers took over writing and drawing). Synopsis: Patsy is showing off her new Shadow Cloak, taken from the Agent of Fortune, last issue. Strangely, Hulk is the voice of reason in this. Patsy does her best Bullwinkle imitation... ![](http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/scans/DEF61_ShadowCloak.JPG) Hulk goes after the Ort-Beast, which skitters back into the cloak and Val restores order. Dollar Bill shows her the Daily Bugle, with front page story about Lunatik. The Defenders decide to lay a trap and Patsy, Val and Bill zoom off in Kyle's Lola, to nab the bozo. The enlist the aid of Prof Turk, the drama teacher, who seems to defend Lunatik, in a way and then comes up with a scheme to lure him, using Spider-Man (since he is wanted by the law). We cut to the USSR, where The Presence is whining about Tania telling him to take a hike. He then passes over a forbidden region (kind of like a "zone"), where some experminet went wrong. But, that is for another time. Meanwhile, back at the ranch (or riding academy, to be precise) the girls ride horsies while Bill films them bouncing around, in tight costumes (ho long before he cons them into an amateur porno?). The Spidey statue has arrived and Kyle wants Hulk to hide inside, to catch Lunatik, when he shows up (at ESU, when it is unveiled). Hulk thinks the plan is stupid and storms off. I kinda agree with the green guy. At the Daily Bugle, J Jonah screams for Parker... ![](http://www.littlestuffedbull.com/images/2016/366jjj/0116-defenders61.jpg) Spidey goes to the campus and sees the statue being set up and chases after a shadowy figure, which turns out to be curvier than Lunatik, as he nabs Hellcat in his webbing (ewwwwwwwww...) He thinks she is Cat, aka Tigra, and she introduces herself and tells him of their plan, when Lunatik shows up. Spidey and the Defenders prove unable to stop one Joker-wannabe, with a staff and he cuts the cords holding the tarp on the statue, snaring Spidey and Hellcat, and revealing one ugly statue... ![](http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/scans/DEF61_SpideyStatue.JPG) Lunatik buggers off and the Defenders have egg on their face. Thoughts: Rather silly issue, as Lunatik is drawn out interminably. It's time to put the character to rest, as he adds nothing. Spidey is wasted in a guest shot and Patsy gets tied up in something again (webbing). Much more of this and we will have to change her name to Betty (as in Page). The scene with the drama professor suggests a suspect for Lunatik. The dialogue is really stilted here, reading like bad 60s Stan Lee (and I'm not a huge fan of a great deal of Stan's patter). Kraft needs to drop this and right the characters like real people. It seems like Lunatik is the filler between better stories, and the Presence teaser suggests that will be the next major arc. However, before we get to that, we have a recruitment drive.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 9, 2018 16:18:13 GMT -5
ps Bob Lubbers had a background in comic books, having started at Centaur, then a long stint at Fiction House, on such features as Captain Wings. He drew Vigilante for DC and some westerns for Ned Pines (Standard/Nedor), up until the war and after he left the army. he later did this issue and issues 16 & 17 of The Human Fly (which had featured art from fellow newspaper artist Frank Robbins). He was confused with Bob Lewis, in the 80s, as some thought that was Lubbers working under a pseudonym.
Lubbers died last year, in July, at the age of 95.
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