Marvel Graphic Novel #10 Heartburst



The less successful prototype for Starburst Candies. The taste was fine; but, the cardiac arrest was a problem.

Creative Team: Rick Veitch-everything; Jim Novak-logo, Archie Goodwin and Jo Duffy-edits.

You know, I don't recall ever seeing this one on the Waldenbooks Marvel Graphic Novel spinner display.

Synopsis: A boy, named Sunoco Firestone, dreams of a woman's face, in a well, calling to him. he is dressed in a clown suit and is drawn to the seductive voice. He falls in the well and wakes up screaming, aboard a ship that is headed to a prison. He is with his uncle, the Inquisitor Xerox Firestone. The Gene Police have captured a rebel, called Rimbaud, who claims to be an Earthwoman. She was aiding the native Ploo, a native species who are genetically compatible with humans, but which is a violation of the law. Inquisitor presents the Holy Croadcasts (Sgt Bilko) and she says they are just tv signals from the past, that took 600 years to arrive. They have no connection to reality. Sunoco finds himself troubled by the woman.



He goes to a circus, in Plootown (ghetto of the natives), and beholds a Ploo woman, doing a mating dance. he is entranced by it and drawn to her, following her out of the tent, after the crowd of humans boos her away. He wants to see her and be with her. His friend comes along and breaks the spell, dragging him away before the Gene Police show up. The woman says he will be back. At Holy Dinner, with his family, they speak of a great space ark, leaving Earth and Sunoco breaks down, crying and runs out of the house. He heads into woods, where the Ploo woman, Maia, finds him. They engage in intercourse. Maia explains that they reacted to the call of nature, as Sunoco was overwhelmed by pheromones. Maia admits to having escaped a Desexing camp, where they are sterilized. Her mother was a circus whore but she is proud to be a Ploo and tells Sunoco she could never be the mate of a human, even if the law allowed it and runs off.

Sunoco returns home and finds his uncle drunk, because the Sponsor's broadcasts have been cut off. Sunoco punches him out, gathers his thing and leaves. his friend helps him jump the circus train, where he falls through the roof of a car, surprising the performers inside. After they down the 2 bottles of alcohol he secreted away, he is allowed to join the circus. He reunites with Maia, who first slams the door on him, then welcomes him as her true soul-mate.

Sunoco mucks in and is eventually taken under the wing of the clown Faffle, who helps him find his true face. Then, one night, Maia tells him she is pregnant. Sunoco cries that it will be a freak, a monster and Maia kicks him out....



She forgives him, but the dreams worsen. He tells Maia, who then leads him to the well, in Eos. She tells him it is the well of all dreams and he must stare into it an go in, if it calls to him. He is frightened and runs away. he crashes out the door of the temple and into the street, right into the Gene Police, who arrest him. maia follows. they discover that Sunoco's green face is covered in greasepaint; and, that he is human. They spot that Maia is pregnant. Maia releases a noxious gas, a natural defense mechanism (especially after a bowl of chili) and escapes. Sunoco is sentenced to life in prison, by his uncle.

4 years later, Sunoco's uncle visits him. The Inquisitors, with the help of the Gene Police, have seized power. The Ploo rose up in open rebellion. Nukes were dropped; but fighting continues and the Gene Police numbers are dwindling. A convict army is being raised and Sunoco will serve in a non-combatant role, with Rimbaud. She tells him that the Sacred Broadcasts were just cheap entertainment and the loss of their past is worse than the genocide being waged on the Ploo. She was sent to make contact with the lost colony, as she was able to make the jump.

Sunoco tells her of his dreams and she seems to make fun of him, then admits that the Unified Field allowed her to jump across space and to contact him in dreams. It requires the human heart to work and they need a jump point, as hers was destroyed by the Gene Police (I keep hearing Cheap Trick, every time I type that...."The Gene Police, they live inside of my cells....") Sunoco knows of one. they head for Eos.




They recon the outskirts of the city, which is under siege, by the convict army. They expect they will nuke it, when they are fully trapped. Just then, a Ploo leaps out at them and Sunoco kills her, fearing, for a moment, it wa Maia. It's not. They bury her and Rimbaud asks about Maia; but, Sunoco doesn't want to talk. She tells him to come with her to the well and jump, reminding him of the dreams. She seduces him and they make love. The see the Gene Police withdrawing, in preparation for the nuclear bombardment. they head into the city, before the attack comes, to get to the well.

They find the well, but Sunoco can't go and leave Maia. They argue, then notice the quiet. the bomb is coming, right on top of the convict army and the Ploo.



They dive into the well and Rimbaud is guiding him to Earth; but, he veers off and follows his heart to another well. he finds Faffl and the circus, who points him to Maia. She greets him, then introduces him to her husband, who took her in. He points to the freak trailer, for their son. He flips out and attacks the husband, who gases him (pickled eggs and sauerkraut for dinner, last night) and they leave him behind. He is found near a train station and rounded up by the military. He is dumped on the train, with others of the convict army, who have radiation sickness. Sunoco finds a medical kit and aids the dying as best he can. He leaves the train, yelling that the pardons were fake and that they were set up. Then, the Gene Police show up with ships to finish the job. Sunoco witnesses the attack and is the only survivor. he collects food and weapons from the train and departs.

Sunoco dreams of another well and see Maia's husband in it. he tells him there is one chance; he must enter the well and come to him, to learn the secret of the Heartburst, to return the Light. Sunoco gives into the visions and follows his heart, which leads him to the old prison. He finds a well hidden inside and waits. Soon, the surviving Ploo show up; and, eventually, the circus. He is reunited wit Maia, who was injured, and her husband, Toobah. he teaches Sunoco, after he heals Maia's wounds. However, Toobah dies before completing the ritual. The Gene Police attack and Sunoco is captured by a soldier, who turns out to be his old friend, Ipana Schlitz. He is willing to let Sunoco and Maia go; but not their child. Maia is willing to give him up, which horrifies Sunoco. Then, she produces a radiation-scarred child and he understands. Ipana doublecrosses them and calls in Inquisitor Xerox. He tortures the lovers, when Sunoco releases energy into the well and light burst forth. Then, Rimbaud climbs out, with a tv, and direct transmissions from Earth, explaining things and setting forth to restore Ploo and the people. Sunoco turns down Rimbaud's offer to join her in contacting others and goes off, finding his costume and putting on his face. then, he meets his true son, Sunny and he and Maia are wed, a family, finally...



Thoughts: This is what this line should be producing. Once again, we have the involvement of Archie Goodwin and Epic. Archie was the conduit for real creativity, at Marvel, both as a mentor and as the editor of Epic. Epic was producing the only real alternative work at marvel, with things like The Metamorphosis Odyssey, Dreadstar, Moonshadow, the Bozz chronicles, Starstruck and Veitch's works. he had already produced Abraxis and the Earthman for Epic illustrated and would follow this up with The One, an early deconstruction of superheroes.

Veitch and his brother Tom had a background in the Undergrounds, before he attended the Kubert School. this shaped much of his work, which was often filled with shocking visuals and adult views of storytelling. this work has quite a bit of nudity in it, plus horrifying images. That was common to his other work, including his King Hell Heroica (The Brat Pack, The Maximortal) and Roarin' Rich's Rarebit Dreams. This looks like something Heavy Metal would have published, a few years before (the magazine's glory days were slipping away, by this point, under new editorship) or Star*Reach, though they wouldn't have done it justice, in color.

Really, this demonstrates that the graphic novel line should have fallen under Archie Goodwin's oversight, as he understood what kind of material fits the format, rather than putting something like Dazzler, the Movie or New Mutants in there. Luckily, Akira and Moebius were left to Epic to handle.

"Only if they are clown mutants who fight other clown mutants, with plots stolen from The Avengers and Alien.  Oh, and I will bury your script with endless notes telling you to make it read like my masterpiece, Secret Clown Wars."

"Psst....hey kid; bring it my way.  There's always a spot for something different here."

"Which is why we will never promote your projects.  Now, what's the budget to push our latest Clown men spinoff, the New Pagliaccis?"

"Five grand, your tallness!"

"And for the entire Circus line of books?"

"50 cents, Lord Giant."

"Perfect.  What's the status of the Bullpen?"

"12 more desertions this week."

"Bah; ingrates!  Get me a dozen fan wannabes and give them copies of my scripts and layouts;  we'll show them what creativity is!"

"By the way, here's my resignation.  I'm going to the other side for some editorial freedom and a chance to develop innovative projects."

"Fine; I run the show here!  My methods are unbeatable!"

Heartburst was one of those books where, in the 80s/90s you'd see a lone, unsold copy on a forgotten shelf next to Super Boxers and Ginger Fox in every LCS.

I never picked it up, but the art here looks good. I never warmed to Tom Veitch. I'm a big fan of his brother Rick's UD work, and I like stuff he did with Steve Bissette (including the great 1941 adaptation and 50s Funnies), but didn't read much after The One came out. I felt it pretentious. I dropped Swamp Thing pretty quickly after he took over writing.

I think the only Rick Veitch I ever read was "Abraxas and the Earthman" in Epic Illustrated, and it disturbed me but in a way I liked it. I remember seeing this graphic novel previewed in that mag (including some panels that were appealing to adolescent me) but I never picked it up. Would read now if I found one though.

Marvel Preview #16



Lilith, Queen of the Undead....



Creative Teams: Hodiah Twist-Don McGregor-writer, Gene Colan-pencils, Tony DeZuniga-inks; Voices-Marv Wolfman-writer, Gene Colan pencils, Tom Palmer-inks; Lilith-Steve Gerber-writer, Colan & deZuniga-art; Rick Marschall-edits

Marschall is credited on the contents page for Hodiah Twist; but, McGregor is listed on the into page. McGregor had quit in an editorial dispute. Lilith might be inventory material; not certain. Same for the Wolfman and Colan piece, but I don't have any definite info on that.

Synopsis: Hodiah Twist-There are a series of murders on the El trains and Hodiah Twist and partner Conrad Jeavons ride one, in search of the killer. Also on the car are young Jeffrey, who idolizes pulp heroes and sees Twist as such; Col Witherspoon, an aged Victorian who deplores modern manners, Mildred Argot, who fancies herself a detective, and Gladys Jones, a champagne dancer. Well, the colonel gets it, then Mildred gets it and it turns out that Jeffrey is in fact a werewolf, which Twist discounts until he is facing fangs and claws.



Voices- Detective York is overworked and pressured, as the heat is on about the Magnum killer.



Meanwhile, Jeffrey berger feeds pigeons and thinks back about his father, who dumped him because he is mentally handicapped. Neighbor Harry Tate is henpecked by his wife, whose insurance salesman brother, in Yonkers, is going to be putting in a pool. Harry retreats to his den and his CB radio. he calls over to Jeffrey's tv, on the transmission frequency and speaks as the voice of god, giving him instructions. York later gets a call about another murder, in Yonkers. Friends, relatives and neighbors are questioned. Harry speaks to York on the sidewalk, outside his building, as Jeffrey walks past and recognizes the voice of god. Later, inside, Harry sees Jeffrey watching him and panics. Harry's wife nags at him through the closed door to the den. Harry decides to end it; but, decides to take care of two problems at once. he orders Jeffrey to come to his place and shoot the person who answers the door, then turn the gun on himself. He then calls Det. York, saying the Magnum Killer had called and was coming for him. The wife has overheard and Harry claims it was a joke, as she storms out the side. the police arrive and buzz Harry to let them in. he goes to do so as Jeffry comes through the door and shoots him, though York stops Jeffrey from turning the gun on himself.



Ron Goulart provides a piece on detective fiction; specifically, the private eye. he discusses the pulp origins, in Black Mask, with characters like Hammett's Continental Op and Carroll John Daly's Race Williams. he then moves on to Hammett's Sam Spade and Chandler's Phillip Marlowe, the Warner gangster and noir films, and seminal performances by people like Humphrey Bogart.

Lilith: Death by Disco- Fraser is sitting in the Cheers bar, when Norm comes in......"NORM!". Then Lilith enters and everyone cringes..............

Oh, wait- a bat flies over San Francisco, an old lady is being mugged by punks, and the bat turns into Lilith, who assaults the punks with her cleavage...


(must use double-sided tape, or something)

Lilith goes all Dracula-meets-Paul Kersey and the old lady is perfectly fine with her killing the punks. then, in the vocals of Meatloaf.........



She returns to human form, Angel O'Hara and comes home to partner Martin Gold, wannabe writer. She's complaining of blackouts and Martin is too engrossed in his writing to listen. The next day, Angel meets with Martin's editor about her failure to convince him to do a proposed article on Disco and the editor asks her to give it a go. She agrees, as they need the money, even though she isn't a professional writer. She goes to the disco, the ice Castle (Lynn Holly Johnson is dancing blindly...) and surveys the scene, but John Travolta hasn't shown up yet. Some scumbag (probably a Wall Street coked out broker) makes a move on the very pregnant Angel, egged on by his buddy ("She can't get any more pregnant...."), gets rebuffed, goes to get a little respect (the buddy's words) and nearly gets his head chopped off by the newly emerged Lilith. The Village People head for the YMCA. Another wannabe smoothie ditches his girl for the hot chick in the S&M gear and offers up some pills and gets mocked and told to dance for Lilith, which he does. he is apparently Denny Terrio, and she likes it. Donna Summer starts singing about last chances for love as Lilith and TJ, the smoothie, depart. They walk the streets, to a Bee Gee's beat, then TJ tries to swipe some boots, by smashing a storefront window. He ends up shot by the lady he ditched, aided by the two scumbags who hit on Angel. Lilith uses their heads to Knock On Wood, then the girl tries to listen to Gloria Gaynor; but, she did not grow strong and hasn't learned how to get along. Lilith hypnotizes her into dancing, then sucks her body dy of blood, flying off to go visit Kirk and Francine Langstrom.

There follows ads for portfolios from Howard Chaykin...



and Richard Corben...



Then an announcement that next issue will feature Gil Kane's Blackmark. More portfolios, with an ad from the Schanes Brothers (Pacific Comics), including Chaykin's Cody Starbuck and the Robin Hood one, from the previous page, a Frank Thorne Wizards and Warrior Woman, a Gil Kane Blackmark, Alfredo Alcala and Frank Cirocco.

Letters ages comment on naked chicks with Star-Lord, including praise from a female reader, use to claim it was artistic vs sensationalistic (not buying it, guys); consensus was they liked the story, didn't like Carmine's art, and wish John Byrne was still drawing the adventures of Peter Quill. other features are pretty much an afterthought.

Thoughts: All Gene Colan issue, though with varying degrees of success. Palmer makes it look fantastic, DeZuniga fluctuates quite a bit within single stories, let alone two different ones.

Hodiah Twist is slightly satirical, though not particularly funny or clever. The art elevates a rather mixed story with a clumsy opening section. Lilith is more successfully satirical, both of disco and Death Wish vigilantism. You can all but smell the polyester as you read it and hear the base line. Much more enjoyable, though it feels like a bit of a retread of the previous Lilith effort, in terms of her personal life. Something tells me that the Marvel gang weren't exactly welcome at Studio 54. Who knows? Could have been much more savage, in terms of the disco satire.

Voices is terrific: nice twist on things, beautiful art. The story is obviously inspired by the case of David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam Killer, who operated across New York, in the summer of 1976. He used a .44 Special caliber Charter Arms Bulldog revolver in his killings, which was often misidentified as a .44 Magnum; hence, the Magnum Killer. Berkowitz claimed to be acting on commands of a dog, possessed by a demon, who belonged to his neighbor, Sam Carr. The twist here is that the killer is being manipulated by a human demon, Harry, via CB radio transmissions, received on Jeffrey's tv, across an alley (not sure how feasible that was; but, CB's did cross over with radio frequencies, at times, despite being restricted to specific bands). Harry has used Jefrey to settle petty slights and annoyances, showing who the real monster is. This is in the fine EC tradition (or O Henry, for that matter) with a twist ending, as our manipulator gets his just desserts. Poor Jeffrey is the real victim in this, as a product of an accident of birth and development, abuse and neglect, then manipulation by petty evil.

All in all, a pretty decent issue. Nothing classic; but, mostly well executed and entertaining.