I loved the scenes with the Hulk and the beans in #89, but I HATED the Kyle trial story throughout these issues.  Other than that, I did like the Hannigan run, though.  Some good character stuff and some fun stuff, too.

Defenders #93



Creative Team: JM DeMatteis-writer; Don Perlin, Joe Sinnott & friends-art, Diana Albers-letters, George Roussos-colors, Al Milgrom-edits, Jim Shooter-kibbitz

Synopsis: Namor is out frolicking with dolphins, when he comes across the deceased Lady Dorma, surprisingly alive and chained to rocks...



Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Defenders are siting around, having tea. Daimon tries to impress Doc with his magical knowledge and misidentifies a paperweight as a magical object. Loser! Kyle brings in ice cream, then shrieks like a little girl and keels over. banner can't get a pulse and panics, hulking out. Back in Atlantis, namor turns up with Dorma, everyone is happy, except the few skeptics, who get silenced by a look. or, a look and a mob attacking them, which namor never questions. Something ain't kosher or even halafal!

Back at the Sanctum, Doc pronounces Kyle alive and reminds the gang that he had died; but had been saved by life energies from the Defenders, back in issue #14. Something is interfering with that energy. Kyle wakes up and is paralyzed. Hulk doesn't take it lightly; but, everything is interrupted by news reports of London being invaded by Namor and his people (which had been objected to, by one of the Atlanteans, when Dorma's stare seemed to lead to a mob attacking the naysayer). The team abandons Kyle to go stop it, leaving Clea behind to play Hot Lips.

Patsy is at home in New Jersey, doing some ironing and grieving, when some kind of shadow attacks her. And we cut back to London, where the Defenders arrive to face Namor...



Doc tries to reason, yadda-yadda-yadda- Namor slaps him and it's on! Doc magics, Hulk smashes, Val swats with her sword and daimon forks up Atlanteans. Then, they bring out the sonic scrambler and the Defenders go down. namor has them caged up, with Val guarded by women,; but, she tries to reason with Namor, saying his girlfriend is crazy. She goes ape and faster than you can say "catfight" they are pulling hair and kicking. namor starts waking up and then Dorma is revealed as nebulon, in drag (of a sort).



Nebulon recounts what happened to him, back in gerber's days, and then Namor frees the Defenders, who attack, causing Nebulon to return to his real form...



A bit of monster squishing ensues and Nebulon disappears, leaving one POd and grief-stricken Namor and friends. We are then promised the Six-Fingered Hand, which will be a longer storyline.

Thoughts: Nice bit of intrigue and mystery, coupled with some mayhem, and nods to previous issues. Kyle continues his woes and Patsy is still grieving over her mother. Daimon reveals he was going to come talk to Doc, before he was summoned; so, a lot of recap of the past and set-up for the future. Perlin and Co. have a few Ditko-esque panels, before returning to standard Marvel house style (Shooter seemed to bring out the house style element in non-superstar artists). It looks nice and serves the story, even if it doesnt bowl you over, like a Perez or Byrne. Solid mid-level Marvel, which would be the norm, during Shooter's reign.

Good storytelling is good storytelling. You don't notice the directors who turn out good, solid entertainment; you notice the ones who make a big deal about the style of their storytelling. Some of them do elevate it to high art; others just try to show off to beef up a weak story. TV is the same, as is literature or comics. There are those who churn out entertaining story after entertaining story, without ever creating a "classic" It doesn't mean they are hacks. They are craftsmen, not artists. Good craft lasts as long as good art. Frederick Faust sold more western stories than any other writer in American literature; but, he isn't spoken of in the same breath as Louis L'Amour or Zane Grey. Still, read his stories and you will have a good time (if you enjoy westerns). Today I was reading PG Wodehouse. He didn't aspire to high art, yet he achieved it by creating wonderful characters, witty turns of phrases, and brilliant satire. Somerset Maugham may be the literary darling of the period, yet Wodehouse is far more memorable and entertaining.

When you look at many of the "greats," their output is rather small; certainly the works that draw attention. When you look at the craftsmen, they are prodigious and their batting average of entertaining stories to failures is much higher; yet, because they didn't aspire to more than telling a good story and earning a living, they aren't looked upon as art (often, though not always).

Guys like Don Perlin or Herb Trimpe were not the superstars; yet, the turned out many great stories. Irv Novick was not Neal Adams, yet he drew as many, if not more, great Batman stories (and Flash stories).

DeMatteis is highly underrated as a writer. While people like Frank Miller and Alan Moore were the media darlings of 80s and 90s comics, DeMatteis had great, long, consistently entertaining runs on Defenders, Captain America, Justice League International and more; plus, special projects like Moonshadow and Greenberg the Vampire.

Defenders #94



Totally awesome Michael Golden cover! Too bad he didn't have a regular run on this book; would have been spectacular!

Creative Team: JM DeMatteis-writer, Don Perlin & Joe Sinnott-art, Diana Albers-letters, George Roussos-colors, Al Milgrom-edits, Jim Shooter-credits

Synopsis: A fireball comes crashing down on Montclair, NJ, by Patsy Walker's house and the neighbors gawk as we see hat is causing it.....



Daimon doesn't give a fork (he's a satanic bad-boy, don't you know) as he is concerned about Patsy's call for help. Doc does a little Ditko action and reveals that the house is toast and they find a badly hurt housekeeper, Dolly, who gives them the lowdown. She heard Patsy scream from upstairs and saw her carried off by a living gargoyle, who fired a black firebolt, which destroyed the house....



The Defenders get Dolly medical attention and we cut to some cult hangout, where Patsy is tied, naked (covered with a sheet), to an altar. The gargoyle is leading a ritual. meanwhile, Daimon fills in Stephen why he came seeking him. A woman, claiming to be possessed by a demon, was brought to him. he found out it was her mind that was possessed, not her soul and saw images of a demonic six-fingered hand and images of the Defenders. He uses his trident to scan for clues, then leads the gang to nearby Christianboro. Meanwhile, Doc tells Clea she is better asa nursemaid than sorceress and she stays behind to look after the paralyzed Kyle, who is gone and Clea sees a figure hovering outside the window.

The Defenders arrive in Christianboro and are attacked by demons and gargoyles. Daimon is rather bloodthirsty in fighting them and the gargoyle attacks, spouting about how Avarrish, the demon, brought prosperity to the people here and he isn't going to let Daimon end it. Wow, the villain has a higher motive! They are interrupted by the glowing town hall (where Patsy was held) and out comes a rather different Hellcat, and I don't mean this...



bat, rather, this one...



She and the Son of Satan face off and it is Hellcat 1, Satan's progeny 0. She next runs up against Dr Strange and takes him out! She faces off with Val, who tosses away her sword (she can't fight women, anyway) and Patsy starts choking the life out of her; but, Val calls to patsy's mind, buried inside and talks her through throwing off the demon's control, freeing her and the people of the town, leaving Patsy kneeling there in a pretty sexy bathing suit!

Turns out the demonic action was the fault of Isaac Christian, the old man whose family founded the town. The Defenders go to see him and find the gargoyle, who is what's left of Isaac Christian. he had made a deal with Avarrish to be turned into a gargoyle and help serve him, in exchange for saving the dying town. he tried to warn the Defenders, when he learned the Six-Fingered Hand wanted to destroy them and was punished by being permanently trapped in his form. He offers to aid the Defenders in the fight against the Six-Fingered Hand, revealing he was a veteran of both World Wars. Daimon rejects the idea; but, is overruled and Patsy, who is covered by Daimon's cape, reveals that she had been promised to the Six-Fingered Hand, by someone close to her....



Thoughts: Despite some cliched stuff, this is a pretty exciting issue. It sets up the continuing storyline of the battle against teh Six-Fingered Hand, which will continue through issue #100. It also introduces Isaac Christian, aka Gargoyle, who will become a member of the team and a bit of a fan favorite, during De Matteis' run. So, we have all of the players, now we are going to be moving into the storyline proper.

There are a few disturbing things, which relate a bit to the discussion thread about Avengers #200. Here, we see the all-too-often used trope of one of the female characters reduced to damsel-in-distress, as Patsy is carried off and tied, naked, to an altar. It's old pulp imagery, designed to evoke a dramatic response. However, DeMatteis actually subverts the cliche when Patsy is not rescued by one of the men; but, freed by Valkyrie, who appeals to the "...strong, vibrant woman..." inside and helps her use the mental powers that Moondragon taught her to throw off the mental domination. Val is usually a physical character; but, she uses friendship, love and reason to reach Patsy's mind and help Patsy free herself. I'm still ticked that Clea, a powerful sorcerer in her own right, is constantly left behind or taken out easily. However, I like that De Matteis used Valkyrie as a voice of reason and love, giving her a maturity that was lacking all too often before. We keep up the idea that she can't physically fight against women,; so, she must uses words and reason, rather than fists and steel.

We also have the element of the possessed woman brought to Daimon, who is shown to be meek and submissive and under someone else's control. It's almost never a guy who is possessed in thees things and acts all meek and submissive. The guy is usually the ranting demon, as in the case of Isaac. Personally, i have never cared for Daimon Hellstrom, as a character. I hate the whole concept and never really felt he was used well. Then again, I'm not big on the supernatural. Like Dr Strange, his power is ill-defined and he's mostly a jerk. However, his jerkdom here is mostly in service to the story, as he is concerned for Patsy, which plants seeds for the future.

Perlin and Sinnott's art is fine, if rather typical mid-level Marvel. There are some nice Ditko touches with Dr Strange, which is an element I like, as Ditko defined that character through his visuals. he does create a nice two-page spread, as the team arrives, shown above. Perlin was a decent artist, who could meet a deadline, which is a lot of what drove Marvel in all of its periods. However, after such a stylistic cover, like Golden's, you are left wishing that Perlin had more flair to his work. It is an element holding back DeMatteis' story.

Defenders #96



Michael Golden back to rock the cover. Same lament about the interior.

Some music for this issue....



This issue could really use Paul Lynde!

Creative Team: no changes

This issue is called "The Rock 'N' Roll Conspiracy!" and features some allusions to things like KISS and Alice Cooper, both of whom turn up in the Marvel Universe. Needed some Black Sabbath and/or Iron Maiden.

Synopsis: We head to detroit (home of KISS), where some kids are listening to the heavy metal stylings of Asmodeus Jones(who proves that DeMatteis cannot write lyrics) who sings about some demon, Fashima, who appears to come to life, on stage. His backing band are in hooded robes and there is a six-fingered hand on the drum kit and backdrop. He does not appear to salute any half-inflated dark lords...



Kyle and Val make a visit to Kyle's lawyer, who asks about his physical condition and Kyle gets kind of touchy. Val explains that he is dealing with his situation and is sensitive to pity. This mostly sets up that the whole investigation of Kyle is just going to hang in the background for a bit. (yeesh, they'll get Trump's tax returns released before Kyle gets his day in court!

Dr Strange is meditating and getting visions of Detroit, including that of Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze is backstage, at the concert). Patsy, Daimon and Isaac visit Dolly, in the hospital. Isaac tries to make ammends and Patsy verbally assaults him for touching Dolly. Daimon plays peacemaker and then reveals the cosmic joke; the Son of Satan has the power to heal. He heals Dolly, who will now live. They head back to the Sanctum, where Doc gives a briefing and they head for Detroit, minus Kyle, who sits this one out.

Johnny Blaze is riding his bike, when he runs up against an invisible barrier. He sees Daimon on rooftop and changes to Ghost Rider. GR cuts a promo on Daimon and it's on!



Daimon ends up forcing GR to change back and Johnny is briefed and remembers the six-fingered hand image and the team goes looking for Asmodeus Jones, whose groupies pretty much sum up the relationship with any celebrity....



Asmodeus Jones and his aget have words about Fashima and Asmodeus gets the upper hand. At that night's concert, the defenders are there and Asmodeus invokes Fashima. The crowd fall under his spell, when Ghost Rider turns up and blows away anything KISS had in their stage act. His intervention breaks the spell on the crowd and the Defenders strike, while riding glowing discs, making it all look like part of the act. Fashima is burnt out by Asmodeus sucking more and more power. In the end, Fashima is destroyed. Turns out the agent made the deal, to boost Asmodeus' career and he gets sucked away for it. he was also Asmodeus', aka Ozzie Palmer, brother. Patsy starts laughing her head off, which spooks the rest of the team...



Thoughts: Some interesting character stuff going on here. Patsy seems to have turned rather bitchy and we are left to wonder if it is grief or an ongoing mental fight. The ending suggests the latter. Daimon gets a bit of a redemption, in the jerk department, by healing Dolly. Kyle's legal woes are put on hold and he is separated from the team, for some future story. All in all, kind of a wheel spinning issue, as far as the Six-Fingered Hand, but a character-building episode.

I assume Ozzie Palmer is meant to reference Ozzy Osbourne and Carl Palmer, of ELP and Asia, though you couldn't get further apart in music styles. Amodeus is a mix of Alice Cooper and KISS, which just perpetuates the stereotype of heavy metal and satanism. If it weren't for Gene Simmons' costume, that would have never had had much traction and Alice Cooper was a shrewd performer who followed in the traditions of the Grand Guignol theater, to use shock for social commentary and satire (and feed his Frankenstein). Heavy Metal was all show; there was plenty of music out there with more sinister content, including rampant huckstering for money and power, misogyny, and "thug life." Heavy Metal used fantasy and horror movie imagery to draw attention, with the better bands drawing thematic connections (such as Iron Maiden's use of things like The Prisoner, the Wicker Man, or the Battle of Britain {Ace's High}).

Perlin's art does a better job, here, with the concert battle relatively spectacular, though I can only imagine what Mike Ploog would have done with GR and Asmodeus. Perlin does a good job with the character moments, though there is more than a bit of melodrama in his figures. Then again, when didn't we have that at Marvel? Sinnott is credited with finishes, rather than inks, which usually means that they are doing more than just inking the pencils. Perhaps that is part of why Perlin's art seems too sedate, in that he is loosely sketching it, with Sinnott adding the extras. I don't think Sinnott is holding it back; but, he isn't working over a Kirby. Perlin's stuff looked better on Moon Knight and at Valiant. The supernatural focus limited the appeal of the Defenders (as it did Dr Strange, Daimon Hellstrom and Ghost Rider, compared to other titles) and Perlin's art isn't helping it rise above that built-in limit. I don't think it hurts it, at all. It is serviceable. I do think it improves, with a change in inking styles.

It is probably one of the best covers in the entire series.