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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 10, 2019 15:19:34 GMT -5
Marvel Premiere #14 Creative Team: Englehart & Brunner, Dick giordano-inks, Costanza-letters, Glynis Wein-colors, Roy-edits Synopsis: Doc follows Cagliostro and Mordo to the past, where they have stopped, due to a large concentration of magic. Doctries to reason with Caggy and he sicks a dragon on a knight. Doc saves him and the guy thinks he is Merlin, as the man in metal is Lancelot. Caggy steals the magic of this time and moves further back. They end up in the prehistoric period (where dinosaurs exist with man-apes; but, science is out the door in this one) and run up against Cthulhu....er, Shuma-Gorath, when he first ruled the earth. Doc convinces Caggy to save proto-man, or his future will not come about. Caggy puts Shuma to sleep, to awaken later, for Doc to fight. he then heads further back.  They end up at the beginning, where they see and end occur (entropy, at the final stage), then all is reborn anew. They are thrust back to their time, where it is New Year"s Day. Doc realizes that time travel is as Einstein says, that if you go back, you just encounter yourself and start again. It's all a loop. Cagliostro became god and remade the universe as it was. Except, he is Genesis, not Cagliostro. Thoughts: Well, that was original! Okay, the story broke no new ground; but, it was well done, if somewhat muddled. It sure looked great and the Adams influence continued into this. From here, Englehart and Brunner got to move over to the brand new Dr Strange title, which was the last extended hurrah for the character, as a solo headliner. It is spoken highly of; but, this stuff has been just "okay" to me. There was some really great art; but, a lot of swiping from Lovecraft (Howard, whatever...) and sci-fi, without adding much to it. The visuals elevate the cliched stuff, especially when Smith, Starlin and Brunner were handling things. Now we really switch gears, as Doc turns things over to Iron Fist. Cue Keye Luke........ Now, one little detail. Count Alessandro Di Cagliostro was born in 1743 and died in 1795. He was known across Europe, particularly in France, where he was involved in many escapades. He was an alchemist and adventurer. he was also the alias of Giuseppe (aka Joseph) Balsamo, a charlatan. he came from a good family and received a strong education and landed prominent jobs; but, also sold magical "Egyptian" amulets and fake paintings, committed forgeries and other intrigues. He was deeply involved in the court of Louis the 16th and was accused in The Affair of the Diamond necklace,, though eventually acquitted, due to lack of evidence. He became a key figure in Alexandre Dumas' The Queen's Necklace, which, in turn, influenced Maurice LeBlanc's seminal "gentleman thief," Arsene Lupin. Lupin's adversary in the stories is Josephine Balsamo, the daughter of Joseph/Giuseppe. He was featured in tales by Rafael Sabatini (author of Captain Blood and Scaramouche), stories by Catherine the Great, a comedy bu Goethe, and is referenced in Umberto Eco's Foucalt's Pendulum and Robert Anton Wilson's The Historical illuminatus Chronicles. (making use of his Masonic connections)the Universal film, The Mummy (the Karloff one) was based on a story called "Cagliostro," about the magician living in San Francisco, who extends his life by injecting nitrates, and is over 3000 years old. The man is a favorite of conspiracy theorists and cultists and his stories cross over with other adventurers/con artists of the royal courts, such as casanova and the Comte de St Germain. Alistair Crowley claimed Cagliostro as a past life (as he fleeced the wealthy and gullible). See, even L Ron Hubbard didn't start this kind of nonsense; he just gave it a sci-fi flair, rather than an occult one.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 10, 2019 16:17:17 GMT -5
Marvel Spotlight #13 I have to think a good Catholic boy, like John Romita, had to be a bit uncomfortable doing a cover like this. Creative Team: Gary Friedrich-writer, Herb trimpe-art, Frank Chiaramonte-inker, Artie Simek-letters, Petra Goldberg-colors, Roy Thomas-editor Synopsis: Daimon returns home after rescuing Ghost Rider and Roxy. He is given a warm welcome by some demons, who he sends back to Hell.  He puts the fork away in the silver chest and then sits down to read his mother's diary, which tells of meeting Satan. Satan comes to Daimon's ancestral home town and turns into Namor's slightly dim cousin...  Mom (let's call her Rosemary), turns out to be easier than a one letter crossword puzzle and she succumbs to Old Scratch. They are soon married and Daimon is born later (it says more than a year, to emphasize that Daimon was born in wedlock). Daimon even gets a sister and pop starts going on business trips. One day, mom goes down to the basement and finds....  Pop tells the truth, that Rosemary has married....  Rosemary ends up in a padded cell and the kids are whisked of to foster homes, as Satan is a deadbeat dad (figures!). Daimon received an ankh chain necklace from mom and then grew up an orphan. he decided to enter the priesthood, when he got a letter about his inheritance. He took a leave of absence, went home and found his mother's diary. Then, pop called out to him, got him to take off the chain and went down in the basement (deep down, as there is a tunnel to Hell) He meets his father, who offers him the chance to rule bu his side and shows him slaves toiling in Neterium mines. he dumps Daimon back up top, to think it over. Daimon goes back down to the mine, saying his mother (somewhere) told him that Satan was powerless against it (hunh?) and he wants to start a rebellion. He runs into a dragon...  Daimon beats the monster, fosters rebellion and fights dad...  He is holding his own; but, pops is Satan. Daimon steals Satan's trident and runs off with it, taking the family car as a bonus...  Daimon reseals the portal and waits for dad to come after him. Thoughts: Rosemary's Baby this ain't (and mom has no name, I chose Rosemary, for the obvious joke). This Daimon doesn't cause babysitters to jump to their deaths or run down Lee Remick with his tricycle (and that was Damien, not Daimon, for the lawyers out there). You may ask how Satan goes through a "holy" ceremony, like a wedding; but, they are married by a Justice of the Peace. We have no idea about the sister, after she runs out of the basement, other than mom says they went to different homes. It's all kind of mediocre horror, thanks to the Code. it's never as scary as Rosemary's Baby or the Omen, as herb doesn't do that kind of thing and the Code wouldn't let them go that far (easing of restrictions notwithstanding). However, herb draws a mean dragon and that part looks pretty darn cool! Satan is scarrier in Namor-wannabe disguise than in the Human Torch form. This just doesn't have the atmosphere to make it a classic. It just reads like what it is: a rip-off of early 1970s horror movies and fiction, but turned into a superhero.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 10, 2019 16:45:54 GMT -5
Marvel Spotlight #14 Creative Team: Steve Gerber-writer, Jim Mooney-pencils, Sal Trapani-inks, Dave Hunt-letters, Petra Goldberg-colors, Roy Thomas-edits Synopsis: The milkman is making his delivery to the Hellstrom residence (i quart of milk, 2 pints of cream and a pound of butter, please) and witnesses Daimon coming back from a chariot ride. He disappears and Daimon goes inside, transforms out of his Son of Satan look and then passes out, without having any shredded wheat (so bland that it must be the cereal of Satan). He is woken up by the doorbell and gets a registered letter from Gateway University. That leads to a phonecall to Dr Katherine reynolds, of the Parapsychology Department (obviously an unaccredited university) and stories of poltergeists and ice demons.  Daimon meets with Dr Reynolds, says he can exorcise the problem; but, demands to do it his way, alone, at night. He reads up and discovers that the demon is Ikthalon, an ice demon who resists change. At sundown, Daimon transforms into SOS and heads to find Iky. The demon ambushes him, making him drop his fork and drags him into his realm. The next thing you know, Pat benatar starts singing and we get a battle... They get the better of Daimon and seal him in a big ice cube.  Turns out they were hired by some faculty (summoned, whatever...)to prevent changes from occurring. Iky leads the demons to the building and run into an ankh symbol that Daimon burned into the floor, before he was ambushed. They have to go a different route. Dr Reynolds has the janitor let her in and he douses the ankh and the demons come out. Dr Reynolds finds Daimon's fork and holds off the demons...  Daimon is able to link to Dr Reynolds (thanks to the trident) and manages to manifest back in the building. he then fights Ikthalon and his goons, eventually running them off. He then says goodbye to Dr Reynolds and forks off...  Thoughts: Well, it's a different tact from Friedrich, with Gerber adding some campus social commentary; but, it still isn't very scary. Jim Mooney is a little better fit for this, which must have made quite a change from Supergirl. The trident turns out to be yet anther item that can do anything the writer needs. Dr Reynolds will become a supporting character for Daimon, so that's nice. I still think this book would be so much better at Warren or Skywald, whee the lack of restrictions could bring about some real horror. Even House of Mystery was way scarier than this stuff. Marvel did good horror; but, so far, Son of Satan ain't it. Man, if they only had Tom Sutton or Berni Wrightson on this. Friedrich and Gerber both did decent horror; but, I have to think Michael Fleischer or Alan Hewetson would really turn this into something. Heck, pre-Rand Ditko would have been great, based on his early work.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 10, 2019 19:42:06 GMT -5
Marvel Fanfare #5 Creative Team: Chris Claremont-writer, Marshall Rogers & P Craig Russell-art, Joe Rosen-letters, Bob Sharen-colors, Al Milgrom-editor Synopsis: Dr Strange and Clea are in the Sanctum, where Doc is staring out the window, with a sense of foreboding. Clea entices him to come to bed, since he senses no immediate danger.  We see an African-American girl racing through the streets and pounding on the door to the Sanctum. Doc gets up to see who is interrupting his nookie, at 4 am.  (Cool bathrobe!) The girl is comatose and doc detects no psychic aura. He examines her astrally, though Clea bows out. She goes out into the street to investigate (in rain gear) and is spotted by the girl's mystical assailant. He smiles as she moves down the street. While Doc is immaterial, the girl gets out of a hex sphere, with red, glowing eyes and conks Wong on the noggin and opens the front door, letting in her assailant, Nicodemus, the magician who took Clea prisoner in Defenders #53 (in a back up story). Clea goes to the old church where she was held and walks into Nicodemus' trap. She sends a psychic message to Doc, who returns to his body and gets Pearl Harbored. He zaps the possessed girl and escapes via dimensional portal. Clea turns up, having escaped off-panel, while Chris Claremont uses a lot of thought balloons to explain how she got away. Doc talks to her through the girl and tells Clea to find the key to defeat Nico in his old book. Nico stalks him as Clea looks through and finds the spell of transference, while thinking about Nico's lust for power; but, not knowledge. She goes up to the roof and launches the spell, which transfers all of Doc's power to Nico, which turns him into a pseudo-Dormammu. He flips out as he is flooded with knowledge and passes out. Clea then reverses the spell. Doc wakes up and frees the girl's mind, then makes a long winded explanation about curing Nico of his lust for power. Thoughts: Beautiful artwork, mediocre story. Claremont doesn't improve Clea's lot, tremendously. She gets ambushed, somehow escapes, then has to be guided by Doc, to be his "hands." You'd thing he'd give her more agency than previous writers; but, no. Even after reminding us of Nico's previous re-enactment of John Fowles' The Collector. We do get a pretty firm statement that she and Doc are bumping uglies. Really, this story is rather weak. Clea's escape looks like something that was forgotten between plot and art, leaving Claremont to expend a lot of text to explain something that could have been handled in a panel or two. It really makes this seem like an old plot that was dusted off, without proper editing. The ending is even more text heavy, as Doc has to give a long explanation of what happened. Just really sloppy story cinstruction and it suggests to me that Al Milgrom isn't earning his pay on this book (or else Claremont has too much power for Milgrom to say boo about). Shall Freedom EndureCreative Team: Roger McKenzie-script, Luke McDonnell-art, John Beatty-inks, Diana Albers-letters, Glynis Wein-colors, Al Milgrom-edits. Credits suggest it might have been co-plotted by McDonnell, though the placement of "script & plot" under McKenzie makes it look like he did it. Don't know why you would credit script and plot to McKenzie, unless someone else is co-plotting, which suggests McDonnell had a say here. Synopsis: We start out in WW2, as Cap and Bucky run into Nazi goons at an asylum and are attacked by a guy named Stryker, while a goon films. Cap still kicks his but and they film Cap standing over the defeated Stryker. The film is being viewed in the present, by Stryker's son and some hired goons. They lure Cap to an exhibition and ambush him. He gets strung up to a swastika, as Stryker Jr dons his costume and prepares to kill Cap with his shield. Cap gets loose and kicks the son's but and he ends up impaled by a state of Cap about to pant a flag in Bucky. Cap takes his mask back and leaves.   Thoughts: Meh...... Oh, you want more? McDonnell's art is really off kilter; very cartoony. McKenzie's script is cliched and rather lackluster. The whole thing is pretty bad. So far, part from the Deathlok story, these back ups are a waste of space. Marvel Fanfare isn't living up to the intent of putting the best people on the book, for the best stories, at a higher cost. So far, we have a recycled Marvel team-Up plot, combined with an average X-Men plot, and a call back to a back up story in Defenders. Plus, some fairly middlin back up stories. The art on the mainstories has been excellent, with Michael Golden, Paul Smith and Rogers and Russell doing excellent work. The writing and editing seem to be the real let-downs. This might as well be Marvel Premiere, except it costs a heck of a lot more. I can't tell where the problem really lies, as no one really seems to be inspired to produce work beyond the average comic. The artist carry out their usual standards and the Baxter paper makes it look better than standard newsprint; but, aside from that, there isn't much "Fanfare." Could it be that Marvel's writers of the period just weren't up to the challenge? Or were the financial incentives not much better than average? or is it an editorial problem? Nothing points to an answer; but, I suspect the answer lies somewhere amid those possibilities.
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Post by badwolf on Jan 10, 2019 21:35:35 GMT -5
I really think the talk about the best material for Fanfare was just hype. It's pretty clear they used stock stories. There are some gems scattered throughout, but those could still be stock stories.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 11, 2019 0:11:56 GMT -5
Marvel Fanfare #6 Creative Team: Mike Barr-writer & co-plot, Sandy Plunkett-art & co-plot, P Craig Russell-inks, Jim Novak-letters, Petra Goldberg-colors, Al-Milgrom-edits Synopsis: The wizard Xandu (I hear Olivia Newton John in my head...) is watching Spider-Man, via his crystal ball.........  Scarlet Witch is at the beach (hubba-hubba!). She gets the sudden fealing she is being watched (if it had been She-Hulk, she would have realized it was us) and is then mystically attacked by Xandu (Xaaaannnnnnddduuuuu.....................). We switch to NYC, where our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is web slinging, when his Spidey Senses tingle. he looks down and spots Wanda and swoops down to say "Hi!" Her eyes are all "Total Eclipse of the Heart" She hits him with a hex bolt and he ends up somewhere other than a rooftop....   The lady in white is Melinda, love of Xandu (Xxxxaaaaannnndddduuuuuuuu); but, she says she is Wanda. Spidey shows her her reflection, in a pool of water, then Xandu (Xxxxaaaannnnddduuuu.............) shows up and relates MTU #21, where Spidey and Dr Strange fought the wizard. He explains that he regained the Wand of Watoomb and used it to switch Wanda's mind to Melinda's body, while Xandu (Xxxannn.....I'll stop...) controls Wanda's body (ewwww). He plans to wed Melinda, with Wanda stuck inside her empty husk. Xandu sicks demons on Spidey and it turns into The Most Dangerous Game. Later, Scarlet Witch's body turns up, to up the ante...  Then Spidey notices and orb floating by her head. next, Scarlet Witch turns up with Spidey's limp body and Xandu is about to celebrate, when Wanda switches back from melinda's body to her own. Melinda's spirit is in the orb and she tells off Xandu. She helps Spidey and wanda escape and they end up in NYC, where Wanda let's Spidey know she is okay...  Thoughts: Feels like an inventory MTU story, though Scarlet Witch is mostly useless. Damn it's perty, though! Sandy Plunkett and Craig Russell make a fantastic team and this is gorgeous. Story isn't bad; but, it never has much of a sense of danger to it, despite the stakes. Xandu is a bit of a generic wizard here, though you can see the ditko touches, of the original design. The ShowdownCreative Team: Roger Stern-writer, Charles Vess-art, Ron Zalme-letters, Glynis Wein-colors, Al Milgrom-edits Synopsis: Dr Strange has a visitor, a young man named Ian McNee. He is there to challenge Doc for the title of Sorcerer Supreme.  Doc accepts and they go through a doorway, to the other side...  They go back and forth, wehn, suddenly, Doc falls to his spells, dead. Ian becomes the new Sorcerer Supreme. Just as this sinks in, a new challenger arrives...  This guy ends up belly up and then a woman shows up and Pearl harbors him. he fights and kills her. he is torn apart by the deaths and wonders if this is the curse, to face challengers to the death. Then, multiple doors open...  He starts losing it and Doc appears, alive. he lets the kid know that he allowed him to see what it means to be the Top Dog and the sacrifice it brings. Ian realizes he isn't ready for this and leaves, wiser. Outside, some kids play gunfighter, until one runs out of caps and quits, because it isn't fair. The other, who always has to win sees how hollow the victory is, as Ian passes and smiles. Doc watches from the window and tells Wong that he will be in his study, as he has much to accomplish, before Noon. Thoughts: Really great little story that outshines the lead. It's the old story of the gunfighter, cursed to forever face challengers, until he is killed and a new quick draw champion takes up the cycle. Itreinds me of the Gregory Peck movie, The Gunfighter, where he is Jimmy Ringo, a man cursed to face every two-bit punk looking for a reputation. Vess is perfect for this and gives Ian a youthful, Shakespearean look, with tights and funky cape. The kids at the end are not really needed but seal the story with a cute moment. This is the first time that a back up story has earned its place, apart from the Deathlok one (and it isn't quite up to the original Deathlok). Roger Stern shows what you can do in a short story, with a good hook. With more stories like this and stronger lead stories, this could be a great anthology. It's still an artist's showcase; but, Stern finally showed it could be a writer's one, as well.
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Post by badwolf on Jan 11, 2019 11:13:15 GMT -5
#6 was a fine issue and one of a handful that I held on to.
I wish Sandy Plunkett had gotten more work (I don't know what the reason was.) I adore his covers and there are some nice portraits in the OHOTMU as well.
If some of these were intended for MTU, I have to wonder why they weren't used. This issue and the first two would have been light years better than some of the stuff they put in that mag.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jan 11, 2019 11:21:27 GMT -5
Marvel Spotlight #13(...) Thoughts: Rosemary's Baby this ain't (and mom has no name, I chose Rosemary, for the obvious joke). This Daimon doesn't cause babysitters to jump to their deaths or run down Lee Remick with his tricycle (and that was Damien, not Daimon, for the lawyers out there). You may ask how Satan goes through a "holy" ceremony, like a wedding; but, they are married by a Justice of the Peace. We have no idea about the sister, after she runs out of the basement, other than mom says they went to different homes. It's all kind of mediocre horror, thanks to the Code. it's never as scary as Rosemary's Baby or the Omen, as herb doesn't do that kind of thing and the Code wouldn't let them go that far (easing of restrictions notwithstanding). However, herb draws a mean dragon and that part looks pretty darn cool! Satan is scarrier in Namor-wannabe disguise than in the Human Torch form. This just doesn't have the atmosphere to make it a classic. It just reads like what it is: a rip-off of early 1970s horror movies and fiction, but turned into a superhero. Cool review, codystarbuck! I fully agree that this is not much of a horror book, but rather a superhero comic in supernatural garb (and a rather cheesy one, too). But that's why I loved it! There was no sense of fear or horror in finding out that Daimon was Satan's son; however, I thought the sense of wonder was still there. I recall that watching the first two Omen films, my friends and I really wondered how it would feel to discover that one is Satan's son, the way it had happened to Damian Thorn. Does one flip his gourd? Does one revel in this heritage and the importance that comes with it? Does one start to wonder seriously about the intricacies of good and evil? And in this mag we had the chance of finding out, in the familiar context of a super-hero comic. It was great that Marvel had gone for the real thing, too, using Satan himself, the original bad guy (and arguably the baddest of them all). No fooling around with netherworld baddies like Pluto or Mephisto (who until then I had assumed was just another name for Satan). The mag wouldn't have worked otherwise, of course, and one of the most ill-advised retcons of the Marvel universe was, in my opinion, the one that removed Satan from the MU and replaced him with an assortment of lesser demons who simply cannot hold a candle to the real thing. I had a few problems with the limits put on Hell's powers... that thing about special metals being able to defeat Satan was more than a little silly, for example. But overall the book was off to a great start. Daimon Hellstrom being such a bad tempered fellow was also quite refreshing and in character given his lineage. It didn't endear us to him, but made him stand out among the crowd of do-gooders at Marvel. |
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Post by mikelmidnight on Jan 11, 2019 12:42:30 GMT -5
Was this character the inspiration for National Lampoon's Son O' God? Or the other way around? Coincidence?
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Post by Rob Allen on Jan 11, 2019 13:47:07 GMT -5
Was this character the inspiration for National Lampoon's Son O' God? Or the other way around? Coincidence? Son O'God debuted in NatLamp #22, January 1972 - see www.dialbforblog.com/archives/417/Son of Satan first appeared in Ghost Rider #1, September 1973. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 11, 2019 14:01:52 GMT -5
Marvel Spotlight #13(...) Thoughts: Rosemary's Baby this ain't (and mom has no name, I chose Rosemary, for the obvious joke). This Daimon doesn't cause babysitters to jump to their deaths or run down Lee Remick with his tricycle (and that was Damien, not Daimon, for the lawyers out there). You may ask how Satan goes through a "holy" ceremony, like a wedding; but, they are married by a Justice of the Peace. We have no idea about the sister, after she runs out of the basement, other than mom says they went to different homes. It's all kind of mediocre horror, thanks to the Code. it's never as scary as Rosemary's Baby or the Omen, as herb doesn't do that kind of thing and the Code wouldn't let them go that far (easing of restrictions notwithstanding). However, herb draws a mean dragon and that part looks pretty darn cool! Satan is scarrier in Namor-wannabe disguise than in the Human Torch form. This just doesn't have the atmosphere to make it a classic. It just reads like what it is: a rip-off of early 1970s horror movies and fiction, but turned into a superhero. Cool review, codystarbuck! I fully agree that this is not much of a horror book, but rather a superhero comic in supernatural garb (and a rather cheesy one, too). But that's why I loved it! There was no sense of fear or horror in finding out that Daimon was Satan's son; however, I thought the sense of wonder was still there. I recall that watching the first two Omen films, my friends and I really wondered how it would feel to discover that one is Satan's son, the way it had happened to Damian Thorn. Does one flip his gourd? Does one revel in this heritage and the importance that comes with it? Does one start to wonder seriously about the intricacies of good and evil? And in this mag we had the chance of finding out, in the familiar context of a super-hero comic. It was great that Marvel had gone for the real thing, too, using Satan himself, the original bad guy (and arguably the baddest of them all). No fooling around with netherworld baddies like Pluto or Mephisto (who until then I had assumed was just another name for Satan). The mag wouldn't have worked otherwise, of course, and one of the most ill-advised retcons of the Marvel universe was, in my opinion, the one that removed Satan from the MU and replaced him with an assortment of lesser demons who simply cannot hold a candle to the real thing. I had a few problems with the limits put on Hell's powers... that thing about special metals being able to defeat Satan was more than a little silly, for example. But overall the book was off to a great start. Daimon Hellstrom being such a bad tempered fellow was also quite refreshing and in character given his lineage. It didn't endear us to him, but made him stand out among the crowd of do-gooders at Marvel. That was the thing about Marvel's devils; the early ones were supposed to be stand-ins for Satan. Mephisto, Dormammu, Satannish (dumbest name of the bunch; he's a bit Satan-ish). By Roy's era, they are willing to go right for Satan. Don't know if it was a Code issue or just an editorial decision out of fear of causing problems with buyers. By the early 70s, comics were not selling particularly well, though horror and "mystery" titles were doing better than most. You see more supernatural elements enter regular superhero stuff and more horror titles. It reflected what was in theaters and in bookstores. I suspect the upheavals of the late 60s and the fallout of Vietnam and other global issues probably created some resonance with the stuff. So far, Son of Satan isn't cheesy enough to be entertaining to me and the character is rather one dimensional. By contrast, Ghost Rider was just gonzo silliness: biker movies and Evel Knievel-crossed with horror. It was fun, once they started to get the hang of it (then just got old, after a while). It was also greatly helped by guys like Mike Ploog and Tom Sutton, who looked like they were having a ball. Trimpe and Mooney look like they are trying to do their job; but, haven't got a lot of affinity for the material. Trimpe enjoyed his monsters and that shows more. I glanced ahead and Gene Colan joins, eventually, which brings some mood to the whole thing. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jan 11, 2019 16:02:18 GMT -5
Cool review, codystarbuck! I fully agree that this is not much of a horror book, but rather a superhero comic in supernatural garb (and a rather cheesy one, too). But that's why I loved it! There was no sense of fear or horror in finding out that Daimon was Satan's son; however, I thought the sense of wonder was still there. I recall that watching the first two Omen films, my friends and I really wondered how it would feel to discover that one is Satan's son, the way it had happened to Damian Thorn. Does one flip his gourd? Does one revel in this heritage and the importance that comes with it? Does one start to wonder seriously about the intricacies of good and evil? And in this mag we had the chance of finding out, in the familiar context of a super-hero comic. It was great that Marvel had gone for the real thing, too, using Satan himself, the original bad guy (and arguably the baddest of them all). No fooling around with netherworld baddies like Pluto or Mephisto (who until then I had assumed was just another name for Satan). The mag wouldn't have worked otherwise, of course, and one of the most ill-advised retcons of the Marvel universe was, in my opinion, the one that removed Satan from the MU and replaced him with an assortment of lesser demons who simply cannot hold a candle to the real thing. I had a few problems with the limits put on Hell's powers... that thing about special metals being able to defeat Satan was more than a little silly, for example. But overall the book was off to a great start. Daimon Hellstrom being such a bad tempered fellow was also quite refreshing and in character given his lineage. It didn't endear us to him, but made him stand out among the crowd of do-gooders at Marvel. That was the thing about Marvel's devils; the early ones were supposed to be stand-ins for Satan. Mephisto, Dormammu, Satannish (dumbest name of the bunch; he's a bit Satan-ish). By Roy's era, they are willing to go right for Satan. Don't know if it was a Code issue or just an editorial decision out of fear of causing problems with buyers. By the early 70s, comics were not selling particularly well, though horror and "mystery" titles were doing better than most. You see more supernatural elements enter regular superhero stuff and more horror titles. It reflected what was in theaters and in bookstores. I suspect the upheavals of the late 60s and the fallout of Vietnam and other global issues probably created some resonance with the stuff. So far, Son of Satan isn't cheesy enough to be entertaining to me and the character is rather one dimensional. By contrast, Ghost Rider was just gonzo silliness: biker movies and Evel Knievel-crossed with horror. It was fun, once they started to get the hang of it (then just got old, after a while). It was also greatly helped by guys like Mike Ploog and Tom Sutton, who looked like they were having a ball. Trimpe and Mooney look like they are trying to do their job; but, haven't got a lot of affinity for the material. Trimpe enjoyed his monsters and that shows more. I glanced ahead and Gene Colan joins, eventually, which brings some mood to the whole thing. I believe that Jim Shooter had a big role to pay in Marvel's editorial decision that the "real" Jesus or the "real" Satan could not be featured in their books. The only gods allowed were those presented in a mythological context, like Thor or Zeus (although Marvel dropped the ball and got lambasted for presenting Indra as a fat jerk in Thor #301). The idea was, I think, to avoid offending anyone and to make it clear that Marvel was not advocating a Christian viewpoint of the world (or any other religion's). That's probably sensible, but on the other hand these are comics. I'm an atheist and had no problem with Jesus showing up in Ghost Rider to save the day! If one wants to tell a good gothic horror story, it's pretty hard to avoid Judaeo-Christian iconography and mythology; besides, since most of Marvel's readership consisted of people familiar with Jesus, Satan, angels and demons, it gave those titles an added touch of gravitas that's unattainable if the bad guy is revealed as Kurious George or whoever Daimon Hellstrom's dad is these days. The best issues of Son of Satan came a bit later, in my opinion; I really enjoyed the Tarot cards arc and the Christmas story at the end of the run... especially the version that was vetoed and modified before publication, but that can be seen in the first Marvel Horror Essential. It was also a good thing that Hellstrom, for the whole of the series, was so hopelessly outmatched by his dad! I wouldn't believe in an upstart beating the devil. |
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Post by berkley on Jan 11, 2019 17:55:25 GMT -5
One thing I find interesting is how some of those Satanic Marvel characters seemed to concentrate on a particular aspect or version of the Christian Devil - for example, Mephisto was often presented as the tempter, trying to corrupt morally pure heroes like Thor or the Silver Surfer, while Dormammu was more like the Miltonic Satan, driven by a determination to attain supremacy, challenging Eternity himself in a battle he could never win.
I haven't read Son of Satan since the 70s but my memory is that Gerber ended up making it a really enjoyable book. He always had the knack of somehow making things interesting to me, almost no matter what particular book or character he was writing.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 12, 2019 0:34:35 GMT -5
One thing I find interesting is how some of those Satanic Marvel characters seemed to concentrate on a particular aspect or version of the Christian Devil - for example, Mephisto was often presented as the tempter, trying to corrupt morally pure heroes like Thor or the Silver Surfer, while Dormammu was more like the Miltonic Satan, driven by a determination to attain supremacy, challenging Eternity himself in a battle he could never win. I haven't read Son of Satan since the 70s but my memory is that Gerber ended up making it a really enjoyable book. He always had the knack of somehow making things interesting to me, almost no matter what particular book or character he was writing. Well, Dormammu was a Ditko/Lee creation (and Ditko arguably had more of a hand in Dr Strange) and it reflects Ditko's outlook pretty well. Mephisto was Lee & Buscema and was inspired by Mephistopheles, especially in Faust. Satannish is from Roy Thomas and Gene Colan and seems like Roy was trying to do a more obvious Satan; but, wouldn't or couldn't go the whole hog. Bu Ghost Rider, no one has reservations; and, if wikipedia is to be believed, Stan suggested a series, starring Satan, called the Mark of Satan. Roy had reservations and suggested a Son of Satan, though it notes that the Mark of Satan title was advertised in Ghost Rider #1. Supposedly, Jack Kirby's Satan's Six was an old idea he had some time back, that got dusted off later, for Topps. I could easily see that, as it read like something from his early 70s period. |
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Post by berkley on Jan 12, 2019 1:34:27 GMT -5
Satannish - I agree about the silliness of the name BTW - never made much of an impression on me. I remember him mostly for his band of acolytes or whatever they were, so perhaps he was inspired in part by sensationalist stories about modern cults of "devil-worshippers".
Thog looked even more the stereotypical Christian devil than Mephisto, but he acted more like Dormammu, apparently being mainly concerned with power and extending his rule to other dimensions and so on. I kind of liked him in spite of the unimaginative, generic character design, but that was probably due to him playing an important part in Gerber's Man-Thing series.
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