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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 24, 2020 21:15:30 GMT -5
Scout #18 Creative Team: Tim Truman-story & art, Tim Harkins-letters, Sam Parsons-colors, cat yronwode-editor Monday: Flint Henry-pencils, Jeff Easley-inker, everyone else the same. Also from Eclipse: Airboy #19 & 20, Alien Encounters #12, Axa #1, Bullet Crow #2, Crossfire #21, Dreamery #3, Enchanter #1, ESPers #5, Mr Monster #9, New Wave vs The Volunteers #1, Overload #1, Portia Prinz of the Glamazons #3, Tales of the Beanworld #6, Villains and Vigilantes #3, Whodunnit #3, Zooniverse #5. Axa featured new stories, written by Chuck Dixon, and drawn by original Axa artist Enrique Romero (who also drew Modesty Blaise, for a long period of time). In the Penumbra, cat fills out a change of address form, as the Eclipse offices have moved to Forestville, CA, an hour and a half north of San Francisco, near the Russian River (but outside the flood plain, on an old farm. Sounds pretty nice. Synopsis: We are in Las Vegas and it looks like Tim has been reading some Moebius...  Well, him or Juan Giminez, as there a similar vibe to their work (Jiminez did character designs on the Harry Canyon sequence of Heavy Metal, aside from his own comics and the Metabarons, with Alejandro Jodorowsky). Scout and Monday are trying to look inconspicuous. Scout notes that Vegas soldier on, while the rest of the cities crumbled. he spots a flyer on a lampost for Missy and the New Disciples of Soul. he's happy to see they are becoming a success. Monday feels Scout should ignore it; but, since he hasn't clued in Scout on why they are there, Scout tells him to pound sand, until he does. Monday has things to do, anyway, so they split up and Monday tells Santana he will find him. He is lost in thought and memories, thinking he can just head out to his homeland, but the sight of Missy keeps him there. Then he sees another sight which churns up a less pleasant memory...  Doody lives on, in a cult of followers that consider him a prophet. He is standing in front of Circus Maximus, with a big poster of Missy and the urge is too great. Also on the walls are graffiti promoting the upcoming 4 Winds projects, including Prowler, Strike! and Rangers ATF. There are also notes to Beth, Ben and Emily Truman. Oh, and Mojo Nixon Lives! Michael J Fox is the Anti-Elvis! Meanwhile, Savage Henry is getting some "medical" attention from one Dr Portugal, who seems like a sick puppy. We are interrupted by a Monday back-up story, covering what he does, but we will get to that, in a moment. Inside Circus Maximus, Guitar Man cuts off Missy as she is announcing a new song and he pulls her off stage. The crowd chants for more. They have a little creative discussion backstage...  Ah, yes; this bodes well for the future. Scout interrupts and Missy and the band are ecstatic. Showdog interrupts (and seems to recognize Scout) and tells them they are going to play live, via satellite, from Colorado. Then, Lex Lucifer and the boys further interrupt (where's security for this club?). With them is Wormer, who informs them that Melissa Strange, aka Missy, already has a contract with Savage Henry, who is Henry Bonanza, son of Al Bonanza, the first "monster," slain by Scout. He is holding her to the contract and she is now with Lex Lucifer and the Blue Scream...  Missy says it's over; but, Guitar Man and Scout aren't settling that easy. Next issue will feature a real Battle of the Bands, for Missy's contract. Oh, and we will meet the mayor of Las Vegas. Monday-while Scout is having reunions, Monday is experiencing old times, as people try to kill him. They are professionals and he feels like he is back in Paris...  ..when Robespierre and his fanatics hunted him. The guillotine was one of the few things that could kill him. He fires his HK-33 assault rifle...  and takes several down, bit receives a few hits of his own and seems to fall down dead. Until he poops up again and kills some more. He moes on and the hunters enter the alley, behind where he was. He has moved to higher ground and shoots from above, while he thinks about how the Legion of Man used Robespierre and his cult as pawns in their game. Monday pauses as her hears a sound and smells gunmetal. It turns out to be friendlies...  It is Wizard, Monday's buddy from Vietnam, looking older. The people with him are "Samothracians, " some of Monday's "people," as well as natives, who are allies. The Samothracians have "wire guns", which doesn't mean much yet, except that they have an optical mechanism over one eye and the weapon seems to fit onto a socket, over their hand. Monday says he will "sleep," then he will be ready. Observing all of this is Ortega, who has the nuclear warhead, from Mt Fire, after double-crossing Banner and the Swords of Texas. The hunters were his men, though they didn't know it, neither do his "Mexican brothers." he appears to be working for another agent and he knows of the Samothracians, which suggests the Legion of Man. Thoughts: this issue is about reunions as Scout and Missy (and the band) find themselves together, for the first time, since Scout slayed Jerry Grail, the President of the United States and they parted ways. It is good to see their storylines converge and Truman gives everyone involved a real look of affection. of course, he also throws a major complication into things, as Savage Henry is tied to the beginning of Scout's quest and he "owns" Missy. Don't expect that to stand, for long. Meanwhile, Monday info dumps a lot of stuff on us, among the slaughter. Monday is definitely long-lived, as he was in Paris, during the French Revolution and The Terror. The Legion of Man are shown to manipulate history, via agents like Robespierre; though, to what end? Nothing terribly original here, as this matches up with masonic and martial order conspiracies, such as the Templars, Rosicrucians, and Freemasons. The theories would have you believe that they have and do secretly manipulate government and events for their own purposes, though everything I have ever read about these ideas seems to always stop short as to what their goal is, apart from vague things like a world government or "total control." Really, it's just fear of the unknown and looking for scapegoats for personal troubles and the ego of "knowing about the conspiracy," and inflating one's self-importance. Fraternal orders do create networks, which can aid one in their profession; but, it's a much bigger leap to say that such groups "control" societies and governments. Various people have exploited these fears for their own gain, such as the Tsars and the fascists, feeding Jewish conspiracies to angry and frightened people, focusing their fear and hate on another, to keep them from noticing that the dictators are taking power for themselves and living high on the hog, while the masses continue to struggle through life. It goes on and on. So, Truman is mixing that with some other old adventure stories, such as the Wandering Jew, a mythical figure, whose stories spread in the 13th century, telling of a Jew who mocked Jesus, on the way to the Crucifixion and was cursed to wander the Earth until the second coming. This was the inspiration (the main one) for Barry Sadler's Casca the Eternal Mercenary and it is probably one of the roots of Monday. Added to that are the mysteries and legends surrounding Samothrace, an island in the Aegean Sea, traditionally part of Greece. It was the site of Sanctuary of the Great Gods, where various rituals were held, across not just Greek cultures but others, as well. Various historical figures are said to has visited and partaken in rites, including Lysander of Sparta, Phillip of Macedon, and Caesar's father-in-law, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesonius. Talbot Mundy, one of the granddaddies of pulp adventure fiction (the JimGrim series, King of the Khyber Rifles, The Nine Unknown, and many more) wrote the seminal novel, Tros of Samothrace, around its lore. Tros is a Samothracian who aids ancient Briton in fighting the Romans. The novel originally appeared as a series of novellas, in Adventure magazine and proved to be the most controversial series in the magazine, as it depicts a rather corrupt Caesar and Roman Empire (which is a certain point of view). Volume 5 of the Tales of the Shadowmen anthologies features a story, by GL Glick, which teams up Tros with yet another enemy of Rome, a certain Gallic (all of the stories in the anthology have some tie to French pulp literature or related fields) warrior who stars in a series of satiric adventures, created by Rene Goscinny and Uderzo....  So, Monday is definitely immortal, though his thoughts reveal that he would die if his head was cut off (Highlander would appear later, in 1987, after this comic was published) and he has been at odds with the Legion of Man for some time. The Samothracians are his followers and Wizard appears to be one of them, as we saw previously, when he aided Monday, in the past. The wire guns will get an explanation coming up, but, if you think of the term "wire-guided missile," you get the basic idea. This will add an interesting wrinkle to Monday, though it also throws him firmly into Terminator territory, again. "The sleep," sounds rather like the Odinsleep," of Thor. Wizard speaks of a "new war" and the Legion of Man, the native Americans that aided Scout and Monday's escape, Ortega and the nuke and Monday and his Samothracians suggest it will definitely be something different. It is obvious we have taken a decidedly weird turn, with a bit of a sci-fi bent and a bit of mythology. It's not too far off the track, as we have been treading the edges of sci-fi, with an alternate future, as well as Apache legend, in the Four Monsters, plus Biblical prophecy and metaphor. Next, Airboy #19.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 25, 2020 14:52:39 GMT -5
Airboy #19 I think that's a tunnel rat.... Airboy has officially passed Scout in the numbering, thanks to the bi-weekly schedule. Creative Team: Chuck Dixon-writer, Ron Randall-pencils, Kim DeMulder-inks, Tim Harkins-letters, Olyoptics-colors, Tim Truman-editor Skywolf-Chuck Dixon-writer, Tom Lyle-pencils, Mark Nelson-inks, Bill Pearson-letters, Olyoptics-colors, Tim Truman-editor. Ron Randall, of Trekker fame, takes over as regular pencil, while Stan Woch works on one of the specials and some other things. Synopsis: Chuck opens with a few fun facts about rats....  Davy Nelson is in Manhattan, to surprise Valkyrie, but she isn't home. Marlene answers her door, in a sheer nighty and invites Davy inside her place...  Turns out, she is actually going out and invites Davy along. Davy meets her pet mouse, then Marlene comes out, in her finest 80s fashions, to go clubbing: Mickey Mouse sweatshirt with the collar area cut out (as in Flashdance), black mini-skirt (possibly leather), and buccaneer boots (an actual style for women of the 80s, though a bit less swashbuckling than depicted by Ron). Sense a particularly rodent theme going here? They head to a club, where people are dancing to Ratt's "Round and Round"... Davy can't stand the noise (any more than I can) and asks to go for a walk. He tells Marlene he isn't used to that much noise (not the volume, just the hair metal junk) and she asks if he lives in a monastery or something, to which he replies, "Uh...yeah." Marlene is actually charmed by Davy and he buys her flowers as the walk and talk, then they go to take the subway and Marlene lays them down, and a trenchcoated figure, who was slumped on the ground, gets up and takes them. Davy goes after him. He is about to kick his tail, when he sees he has one!  There are others and Davy thinks they are just a masked gang and battles them and kicks some rodent but, then they screech and run off. Davy retrieves the flowers and they take the subway back to Marleen's, as a normal sized rat (for New York) hops on the train. Marlene invites Davy up, and he starts to beg off (What, are you, stupid? Go, you fool!) and he goes up (About time he listened to me). Meanwhile, in the sewers, a rat reports to one giant honkin' rat, who knows Airboy and says David Nelson II was responsible for destroying their dreams. He gives the rousing "Now we are stronger and they will rue the day!" speech. Kind of reminds me of certain rallies. Davy and Marlene are in her apartment and Davy tries to phone the police about the subway thief and the line is dead. Then the lights go out and we see why...  Rats come out of the subway exit and scale Marlene's building. Her mouse is going crazy, while she lights candles. She finally decides to make a move, since Davy won't, and checks his tonsils. Wouldn't you know it, the rats decide to attack!  With machine guns! Skywolf- Skywolf is getting acquainted with the POW camp he's been dumped into, when he hears a familiar voice...  It's Jack Gatling, the Bald Eagle, come to make his life miserable, again. He came to Korea to try to collect the bounty on an intact MIG-15, but discovered that Russian fuel gages read in reverse of American ones. He says they use the able prisoners as labor for some secret project. That gets Sky's attention. They are interrupted by a big Russian with bad dental work...  Sky is conniving to get n the work detail so he can see what's going on, after hearing about brainwashing experiments. They get on the detail, which is laying rail track around the valley; but, not in a direct line. The tracks cross over at multiple points. There is also one rail car, with some kind of box shape on it, with Japanese writing. A guard harasses Sky when he pays too much attention. Later, as Sky missies his Momma's cooking (man, that is bad!), he asks Jack about Japanese weapon experiments, in WW2...  So, the Japanese were trying to build a death ray! They are interrupted by a commotion, as the big Russian, Ignoyotov, selects another victim. Sky asks Jack if he has a plan for getting out, as it is time to head out. The next day, they are working on the tracks, as the North Koreans unbox the Buck Rogers ray cannon and our heroes get to work...  Ecch! They grab the truck and the guard's Ppsh-41...  and the other guards open fire. Sky's wingman, Freddy, goes down. Sky and Jack get the truck moving and Sky unloads some rounds. They bust out and head for a nearby airfield that Jack had seen before. They bust through the wire, with Sky manning the truck's .50 cal machine gun.  They head for the MIGs and get ready for takeoff, as we switch back to the camp, as Ignoyotov is informed and decides to test the weapon. Thoughts: Well, the lead feature has turned into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Present: Willard, as intelligent rats are after Airboy. The big leader mentions "magic food" from an island, which suggests nuclear or chemical waste, which altered them, as in the TMNT (whose radioactive waste was from the cannister that blinded Daredevil; but, people forget that the series started as a Frank Miller parody). Not sure what the connection is to the original Airboy; but, I'm sure Chuck will fill us in, in two weeks. Apparently, that rat on the cover is a Vietnam vet. The whole thing would be silly, except Chuck and Ron play it perfectly straight, which both lets the excitement of the action and suspense grab you (and makes your skin crawl), while it still lets you be a bit bemused. Marlene is making moves on Davy, though she sure took the scenic route. It looked like she was going for the direct approach, at the start, since she is standing there in skimpy, gauzy stuff, which sure didn't look like a dressing gown, to me; more like a babydoll nightie or something. This is an 80s comic, so Marlene is an 80s gal, with big hair, contemporary fashions, lots of rouge, shoulder pads (well, not with the scalloped neckline, but, I'm sure she has plenty in her closet) and earrings that can maim. Chuck runs the rat joke about as far as he can, between pet mice, Mickey Mouse and Ratt. I'm surprised we didn't see Stewart the Rat! (which was an Eclipse graphic novel, from Gerber, Colan and Palmer). Ratt was a bit much. I like heavy metal, but I couldn't stand them or that damn song. Much rather hear Motley Crue, Scorpions, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Dio, Black Sabbath or Def Leppard or some old school Blue Oyster Cult. You can keep Ratt, Warrant, Stryper, Wasp, Krokus, Winger and all that noise. Heck, Iron Maiden's "Aces High" should be the theme song for this comic series... Your musical mileage may vary. Skywolf is firmly in science fiction territory, in the grand tradition of some of the adventure strips and serials of the age. Death rays are a stock mcguffin for these things, going way back in pulp storytelling, literary and cinematic. Usually, the Nazis were the ones trying to build death rays. The Japanese were usually trying to steal our death rays, which kind of indicates the racism inherent in even pulp fiction, when you think about it. Chuck brings up the Japanese nuclear project; but, again gets some of his historical facts wrong. Gatling says it was abandoned in 1942, which is incorrect. There were Japanese physicists involved in nuclear research, in the 30s, when Hikosaka Tadeyoshi wrote a paper, in 1934, about the possibility of obtaining energy from atomic physics, as well as potential for weaponry. Dr Yokio Nishina was a contemporary of Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein and he alerted the Army's Technical Research Institute, of the Aerial Department, about the potential of nuclear weapons. However, due to bureaucracy, research didn't begin until 1941. Like many things in Japan, the Imperial Navy had a competing program, at their technical research institute; but, they concluded that the complexity of such a project was not likely to result in a success during the war, for even the US and abandoned their program. The Army program, however, continued. Lack of material resources hindered them, as they searched for sources of uranium in captured territory and asked for material from the Germans, which was intercepted. Meanwhile, a new Navy research project had begun in 1943. So, ray gun experiments aren't any more fanciful than if it had been German experiments. Laser research dated back to 1917, when Albert Einstein established the theoretical possibility of stimulated emissions, though breakthroughs didn't emerge until after the war. However, good science fiction writers often followed scientific research and laser theories informed many a "death ray". So, why not? After all, it is far more practical, from an engineering standpoint, than a War Wheel or "semi-planes." Science fiction and the supernatural were staples of the Air Fighters, and sci-fi inhabited strips like Steve Canyon and Johnny Hazard, to a more limited extent. The criss-crossing rail lines is a clever idea, probably borrowed from ideas about mobile missile launchers. As these things go, Sky and Jack probably break out a little too easily, seeing as they have one submachine gun, with, at most, 50 rounds in the drum magazine. Being the hero, Sky shoots better than a whole crowd of guards, armed with the same weapon. He also hauls the Russian DShk heavy machine gun around like it is an M-1 Garand. The thing weighs about 75 lbs, without ammo! Later, in the Strike! series, Chuck will, similarly, have the WW2 era Sgt Strike (a Captain America analogue) using a Browning M2 Heavy Machine Gun (the .50 cal) as a weapon, but he had advanced strength, due to his power harness. Skywolf is an ordinary (albeit skillful) human. I know he has the strength of ten, for his heart is pure; but, come on! Besides, his heart isn't that pure! Ignoyotov looks like the love child of Leonid Brezhnev and the "Swimwear, very nice" emcee, from the old Wendys commercials... ps I've eaten at Wendys twice, in my lifetime, and both times had me running to the bathroom within 30 minutes. Your digestive system may vary. Still, despite stretching credibility, Skywolf continues to be my favorite part of Airboy. Chuck really churns out classic adventure stories here, while still getting in some characterization, through dialogue. Airboy is a bit more soap opera-ish, at times, though it is still more of an action book than similar fare on the stands. The two features compliment and contrast each other well, giving you a lot of value for your comic buying dollar (buck twenty five) In the letters page, Chuck Dixon reveals he wrote some Winnie the Pooh and Raggedy Ann stories, for children's books (along with then-wife Judith Hunt, who illustrated them), which means Chuck worked for Western, as they owned Golden Books, which published the Raggedy Ann & Andy stories, as well as Disney stuff, under license. He says he wrote under other names, and there are 1980s Golden Storybooks, with Judith's name as illustrator and Mary J Fulton (which I assume is the house name used for the story, which would be Chuck). They also talk up the Valkyrie mini, which is why she is absent, though Marlene said she was out on a date, in-story. The issue also carries an ad for Critters and Usagi Yojimbo, at Fantagraphics. I assume this was some sort of quid pro quo deal, as Amazing Heroes was carrying the Eclipse full page marketing piece, with Fit to Print in it. Next, Airboy #20.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 26, 2020 22:14:49 GMT -5
Airboy #20 Gulacy cover. That is one funky hairstyle, even for the 80s! Creative Team: Chuck Dixon-writer, Ron Randall-pencils, Kim DeMulder-inks, Tim Harkins-letters, Olyoptics-colors, Tim Truman-editor Skywolf: Chuck Dixon-writer, Tom Lyle-pencils, Mark Nelson-inks, Tim Harkins-letters, Olyoptics-colors, Tim Truman-editor Synopsis: A talking giant rat, with a submachine gun (which went from an Ingram Mac-10 to a Mini-Uzi, between issues) and his smaller brethren are about to kill Airboy, who they think is is father (who dashed their hopes of world conquest in the 40s!), and Marlene, who just wanted a good time and a bit of romance with Davy.  Airboy hits him with a lamp and tells Marlene to scoot boots, as she grabs her pet mouse. They go out the door and head into Valkyrie's place, since she has more weapons than a militia member at an NRA convention. Davy tears up the apartment looking for firepower, while Marlene cracks jokes, to relieve the tension, then Davy finds an M-60 and an Uzi under the bed, and Marlene drops the jokes in the face of hard evidence that Val is more than a pretty face, with a Dietrich voice (I assume; she could sound like Elke Sommer, which wouldn't be bad). The rats gnaw through the bottom of the front door and rush inside and get mowed down with machine gun fire (which is kind of overkill). A neighbor, named Nicholas, leaves his wife Bunny, to investigate the noise and goes back inside to get a double scotch.  Davy tosses Marlene the Uzi and is lucky she doesn't hit him with a spray of bullets. They retreat as more rats invade (though Marlene should be providing covering fire, then running when Davy takes up a firing position and starts shooting, leaprfrogging away in a disciplined retreat). They have to hop across balconies, which isn't easy for Marlene, in her high-heeled buccaneer boots. A neighbor comes out and complains about the noise and is told to join the race, as rats pour over. Meanwhile, Val and her date leave Klub Kit Kat (you can break of pieces of it and consume them separately). He is looking for some action and Val doesn't think buying her dinner is grounds for that and walks out on the guy. Davy and Marlene run through the halls of the building and rouse the tenants to get out. He jokes about the Pied Piper and some kid out of Revenge of the Nerds says the idea of sound against rodents has merits and another kid has a portable Casio organ; so, he and Davy go grab it to play some Kraftwerk.  Outside, the rats are advancing and Marlene can't seem to figure out how to pull a trigger and Lewis (well, he looks like Robert Carradine) grabs it and sprays the magazine at them. He says he learned to do that from watching tv (well, this is the era of Miami Vice and The A-Team). They are out of ammo and the rats are doing fight cheers...  Turns out the musician kid has an AX synth and he plays, while Davy holds up the stereo speaker and the rats yell for them to play some Skynard...  Davy them shoots them down, while they are shrieking at the sounds of Howard Jones (probably "Mental Chains"). Davy kills the big dude and the rest lose motivation. Then Val walks in and sees the mess. Meanwhile, in the Land Across the Water (Newark), Mother Rat hears about Airboy and the death of "The General" and says they will have to regroup, before attacking again. Skywolf-Sky and Jack Gatling have taken off in stolen MIGs and Jack acquaints Sky with the peculiarities of Russian avionics...  On the ground, General Ignoyotov commands that the death ray be used to stop them, despite never having been tested. He pushes them out of the way and takes the command chair. meanwhile, Freddy, Sky's wounded wingman, crawls in that direction. Sky and Jack bank at the sudden appearance of a death ray beam, which nearly bisected them. The general calls for the gun to be repositioned for a better shot, as they recover. Freddy grabs a Ppsh-41 and unloads the "burp gun, hitting the general and the techs. Freddy takes over the gun and fires it at the advancing PKA soldiers and tanks and turns them into fricassee.  Freddy gets shot in the back and collapses, dead, on the controls, causing the weapon to overload and explode. Jack and Sky see all of this, but then have to turn their attention to the attacking red MIG, with the rooster emblem on it, which shot down Skywolf, before. Sky goes after his wingman and shoots him down, drawing in the pilot of the red MIG. Sky tests his skills and puts the MIG into a roll (which it supposedly can't do) and the Rooster tries to follow and stalls, and crashes to the ground, while Sky keeps it going (while not wearing a pressure suit and without oxygen). Sky puts down his MIG south of the 38th Parallel and gets picked up by a farmer, after he has trashed the thing in a belly landing. As they ride off in his ox cart, Sky asks the man if he has seen a bald-headed maniac. We are told that next issue will feature a story of Skywolf's father and Pancho Villa! Thoughts: The Rats story wraps up and the whole thing is a hoot. No explanation about Airboy's past with these rats; but, plenty of mindless violence and jokey dialogue. All that is missing is Eddie Murphy! This was a nice bit of fun, after some deadly serious previous issues. Chuck has a nice balance of humor and action, no matter how absurd this gets. Skywolf finishes up by flying the pants off the Rooster pilot, though why his plane can withstand the maneuvers and the Rooster's can't makes little sense. The success of US pilots in Korea was more down to experience and dog fighting skills, than equipment. There were a lot of veteran WW2 fighter pilots, while the North Koreans and Chinese were new at this. It makes a bit more sense to have Sky and Jack use tactics to defeat Rooster, rather than aerodynamics. Still, pretty exciting finale. Freddy's revenge is a bit hard to swallow, like something out of a war movie from the period depicted. Eclipse includes their news page, announcing the Valkyrie mini, the renunion f Truman and John Ostrander, on Hotspur, plus Trina Robbins' California Girls, Bo Hampton's Lost Planet (which is great pulpy fun), and some other goodies...  That is followed by Paul Gulacy's cover art for Valkyrie...  Letters pages contain criticism of Chuck's German phrasing, requests for Airboy merchandise, a letter from a Navy airman, fresh out of boot camp, who had to wait 10 weeks to read Airboy #6-12, and one from Beau Smith. Next: Scout #19, including soundtrack!
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 28, 2020 15:22:29 GMT -5
Scout #19 Creative Team: Tim Truman-story & art, Tim Harkins-letters, Sam Parsons-colors, cat yronwode-editor Monday: Tim-writer, Flint Henry-pencils, Jeff Easley-inks, Tim Harkins-letters, Sam Parsons-colors, cat-editor. The Dixie Pistols: Paul Vignone-vocals, Tim Truman-Guitar/vocals, Mike Fisher-guitar, Doug Flurry-steel guitar, Joel Bragg-bass, Jim Rhodes-drums Also from Eclipse: ARBBH #6, Airboy #21 & 22, Area 88 #1, Fusion #3, Lars of Mars 3-D #1, Legend of Kamui #1, Lost Planet #1, Mai, the Psychic Girl #1, Miracleman #11 (finally), Mr Monster's Super Duper Special #7, New Wave vs the Volunteers #2, PJ Warlock #3, Tales of Terror #12, Valkyrie #1, Villains & Vigilantes #4, Zot #13. Lot of new stuff from Eclipse, including Bo Hampton's Lost Planet, a pulpy "other world" adventure. Valkyrie gets her own mini-series, as she deals with fallout from her return to the world of the living. Most of all, Eclipse helps usher in the dawn of manga, in America, with the first issues of Legend of Kamui, Mai, the Psychic Girl, and Area 88. Kamui tells the story of a young member of a ninja clan who rejects the clan and tries to leave, causing the others to turn on him, as a traitor. Mai deals with a young girl with extraordinary psychic power, who ends up on the run from a secret global conspiracy. Area 88 features a new airline pilot who is tricked by a rival (while drunk) into signing a mercenary contract with the nation of Asran, to spend 3 years as a fighter pilot, in their civil war. He must serve his 3 years or earn enough bounty money to pay off the $1 million buyout of his contract. At the same time, First Comics launched the English translation of the legendary Lone Wolf and Cub. This issue features a special gimmick, that almost no other company could match: a soundtrack, on a "flexi-disc" (a thin vinyl sheet with a sound recording imprinted). This was possible because Tim Truman was also a musician and had played in bands, for years. The disc has Tim and his band, The Dixie Pistols, performing the song "Blues Crusade." synopsis: Missy has been forced to become the new singer for Lex Lucifer and the blue Scream, thanks to her prior contract with Al Bonanza, which was inherited by his son, Henry, aka Savage Henry.  He owns her career, lock, stock and voice. All Missy wants to do is sing. However, Missy has friends and they aren't stopping at a contract, signed with a dead sleazeball. Missy has a guardian angel, who's a little different. Scout is on a roof and he radios Showdog that he is in position. A truck comes rumbling in and interrupts Missy's performance. It is driven by Showdog. Savage Henry is POd. On the back of the truck are Guitar Man and the New Disciples of Soul. Guitar Man is playing a riff from their usual closing number. He stops it in mid-note and issues a challenge...  Savage Henry threatens to have them shut out of the entire West and Guitar Man strikes a blow for artistic freedom and says they will not bow to the oppression of such things and will stop playing, rather than be controlled by the likes of Savage Henry. He then asks Lex Lucifer if he knows "Blues Crusade" and they rip into it..... Missy goes to get her Telecaster and is grabbed by Juke Boy and Scout, who are making sure Savage Henry can't hold onto Missy. Guitar Man and Lex tear into Blues Crusade, with Guitar Man on vocals and the pair swapping solos and riffs. The crowd loves it and Lex has a smile, as he digs Guitar Man's tone. Savage Henry tries to put a stop to things and finds himself alone in the fight...  Henry threatens a war, when the sound of a pistol slide being pulled back and slamming home catches everyone's attention. It's the Mayor...  He tells Henry there will be no wars in his town and he rips up the only copy of the contract. Missy stays with the New Disciples and Juke Boy joins the band. They go to help Lex break down his amps and Scout sees Monday, in the shadows, with someone else...  He is Senator Craig Creek, a Navajo, who has a mission for Santana. They prepare to move to a more secure are, when Banner turns up, with a delivery for the senator and his men. Monday the Eliminator: Some time ago, a group of people walk across a land bridge to an island, where a sleeping figure lays on an altar, inside a cave/tomb. The group lays the pieces of his armor and his weapons on the altar. The narration speaks of names: Golem, Gilgamesh, Siegfried, Little John, Rugaru, the Big Man......  The man awakens and dons the armor and sets out. In the present, Monday awakes. Wizard and some others watch over him. He has been "asleep" for 4 days. Wizard ushers the others out and hands Monday his Raybans. While he slept, Wizard fitted him up with the connectors for the Wire Gun system: a cybernetic patch that links the brain to an automatic weapon, which fires at the speed of thought.  Monday questions Wizard (at gunpoint) about who saw the x-rays of his body. Wizard assures him no one else did, and relates some strange findings: Monday has an auxiliary system tied to his lungs, a very large liver, and a second, non-functioning heart, which his brain is transforming. They meet a visitor: Senator Craig Creek, of the Southwest States Liberty Party...  He is the source of the Native Americans who helped break Monday and Santana out of the mental hospital. They have joined the monitors to stop the Legion of Man. Meanwhile, in the USSR, Premier Gapon gets a report from his man. Outside the Kremlin, we see Soviet mecha standing guard. The KGB man gives a report from Mexico, where everything is in place. Gapon says centuries of planning are about to be fulfilled, as he fingers a gold medal, with the Vitruvian Man etched on it. Thoughts: The flexi-disc gimmick was a great little thing, as you could hear the music at the center of the battle between Guitar Man and Lex Lucifer. It also showcase Tim's other talents. The story itself resolves the New Disciple storyline and serves to bring everyone together: Missy and the New Disciples, Scout, Monday and the Samothracians, Craig Creek and his Native American followers, and Banner and ther Swords of Texas, as they prepare to face the threat of the Legion of Man, the secret allies of Vice President Bill Loper. they are the ones who have manipulated America's downfall, to serve their own ends. Monday has hidden in the VA Hospital to avoid their attention, while he waits and prepares. Scout's arrival provided the missing piece. Now, they combine forces to bring the fight to the Legion. True to form of Tim having fun, The Mayor is none other than Clint Eastwood (well, an homage) though he has traded his Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 magnum for a S&W Model 459 (or 469) automatic (either 9mm or .45 ACP). I guess they wanted to play it a bit safe, as the likeness isn't exact, since that would cause legal issues. At the time, Eastwood had been elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, in California, after a zoning dispute with the town and his ice cream parlor. The 80s became noted for celebrities entering politics, as Ronald Reagan was president, the Love Boat's Fred Grandy was in Congress and would later be joined by Sonny Bono, and Jesse Ventura wasn't far from running for mayor of Brooklyn Park, MN, in 1990 and then winning the race for Governor, in 1998. We learn more about Monday, largely from his dream. He is tied to Samothrace, in some fashion and the narration says he was created by Demeter, the goddess of the harvest and fertility of the earth. That would suggest that he is some kind of agent out to protect the earth, which ties into the ecological themes that have been in the book, from the start. The earth is poisoned and crops fail, which is at the heart of America's decline. This appears to be the work of the Legion of Man, for some purpose that still remains a mystery. Monday seeks to rectify the situation and Scout is the link to achieving this. The wire gun is a fun little gimmick and this being Monday, he gets an M-60 grafted onto his arm (other Samothracians carry M-16s or similar). This isn't too far off from DARPA research on the soldier of the future, as they have been developing and testing remote weapon systems, computer-aided targeting and potential cybernetic technologies to transform thought into instantaneous action. I read articles on some of the equipment being tested back around 1990, in Popular Science. Things were evolving from night vision gear and sighting systems to computer heads-up display systems and field computers, feeding info to soldiers and medics. As with the best sci-fi, the fantasy has strong elements in truth in them. So, everything is ready for the final storyline of this chapter of Scout.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 28, 2020 15:30:56 GMT -5
ps Tim included photos from the recording session...  |
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 30, 2020 23:10:04 GMT -5
Airboy #21 Creative Team: Chuck Dixon-writer, Ron Randall-pencils, Kim DeMulder-inks, Tim Harkins-letters, Olyoptics-colors, Tim Truman-editor Skywolf: Chuck Dixon-writer, Attilio Micheluzzi-art, Bill Pearson-letters, Olyoptics-colors, cat yronwode-editor Attilio Micheluzzi was an Italian artist, who trained as an architect and did work in Libya, for the royal family, before Gaddafi came to power. Hewent into comics, producing historical pieces and adventure comics, including Petra Cherie, about a young woman flyer, fighting against the Germans in WW1...  Synopsis: Val is surveying her wrecked apartment, trying to come to grips with what happened, while Davy inserts both feet into his mouth and wishes he had never been born...  Val gives him both barrels before she is through, while pushing Davy out the door, leading him to wish he was with Hirota. Yeah, well, his life isn't exactly sunshine and rainbows right now, either. Some nut is hijacking his plane and wants it to land in the Soviet Union, but some Russian is on board with a CIA or State Department minder and the guy (probably CIA) tries to intervene. The hijacker has a bomb, which gets knocked loose and bounces across the cabin. Hirota dives for it, places his carry-on bag over it as it goes off. It blows a hole through the fuselage and the CIA dude and the hijacker go out like Goldfinger. The plane starts losing altitude and the pilots can't compensate. the captain prepares for an emergency belly landing, somewhere in the Arctic...  The Soviets monitor the disappearance of the plane from their tracking systems and follow orders to alert the GRU (military intelligence). The plane was carrying a Soviet defector, which was why the Soviets were monitoring it and the plane has come down somewhere over the North Pole. They assemble an operations team. Meanwhile, In Langley, VA, headquarters of the CIA, they also receive the alert. They contact the President and ask for permission to act immediately to recover Dimitri Rhuzkhov, the defector. Davy is interviewing a new head of security for Nelson Aviation, someone named Lester, who is the son of a friend of the original Airboy. They are interrupted by a call from Skywolf about the downed airliner, reminding Davy that Hirota was on it. He and Kip are headed up in his Apache and says he will meet Davy over Ottowa. I hope someone is bringing the fuel, because an Apache doesn't have that kind of range. They rendezvous and head into the Arctic circle, but the weather is bad, hindering their search. Survival odds are low. On the ground, the pilot and co-pilot are dead and the navigator (or engineer) is the senior officer in charge. The passengers are given warm liquids and moved to the rear of the plane to conserve warmth. He thanks Hirota for his actions, as no one else is seriously hurt. However, on the ground, a Soviet military team is searching...  Skywolf: In 1950, Skywolf talks to some reporters looking for a story. he lost out on the MIG bounty, since it isn't intact. He recognizes it as a propaganda stunt, anyway. He mentions something his father said and we segue back to the year 1915, the port of Guaymas, on the West coast of Mexico, as soldiers of Pancho Villa unload a shipment of rifles from a ship and put them aboard a train for transport. They are attacked from the air, by a bi-plane, with the name La Arpia emblazoned on it...  Federales attack the train and the rebels and take the shipment for Presidente Carranza and his loyalists, an entire shipment of Krag rifles...  Just north of Chihuahua (the city and state, not the little mutt who likes Taco Bell), General Villa gets word of the stolen arms shipment and calls for El Lobo Alado (Winged Wolf). He's a bit busy, having his lunch in a cantina, just as soldiers arrive....  Federale soldiers! Well, like father, like son....he dives behind a table and opens fire, though he runs out of bullets, but is saved by Miguel, his gunner, who has the telegram from Villa, about La Arpia. Skywolf takes off and looks for the train. They spot it and swoop down to spray the engine, to get them to stop, but see that the Federales have a surprise...  Hostages! Skywolf has Miguel take the controls and get level with the train and jumps down onto it. He makes it; but, finds himsel;f caught between Federales and La Arpia...  The letters pages have compliments about both Airboy and Skywolf stories and there is an ad for California Girls and a PSA that DC would never run...  cat's not helping with the image that Airboy is put out by a bunch of liberal Commies; but, that was a pretty gutsy thing to do, given the political climate of the time. There was a strong conformist vibe in the air, during that period, and it wouldn't be too long before comic shops came under attack for selling adult comics to adults. Thankfully, the publishers didn't run and hide, this time and most of the attacks were at the local level and soon found themselves in a whirlwind of the ACLU, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and amicus curiae from the American Booksellers Association and American Library Association. Still, it wasn't an easy fight. Thoughts: The book actually leads with Skywolf, who also grabs the cover, as we see Lawrence Wolfe Sr, who is every bit the dumbass that his son is, when it comes to finding trouble. Here, that trouble comes in the form of Pancho Villas' fight against Venustiano Carranza. Villa had fought in support of Francisco madero's revolution against Porfiro Diaz and fraudulent elections and they succeeded in ousting Diaz, placing Madero in power. however, Madero abandoned the revolutionaries and made his number two Carranza, who had supported Diaz, until he refused to make him Coahuila. New fighting broke out and Villa fought for Madero, againstPascual Orozco, who rebelled against Madero, for failure to enact land reforms and properly reward the revolutionaries. Villa became allied with Federale general Victor Huerta, but Huerta could not easily control Villa and they were soon at odds. Villa was labelled a bandit and nearly executed, but Villa eventually escaped prison and fled to the US, where he was in exile when Huerta murdered Madero and assumed the presidency. Villa was allied with Carranza, against Huerta; but, after Huerta was ousted, they were soon at each other's throats, while Villa was also allied with Zapata, who fought in the South. Villa was eventually defeated in a series of battles and retreated into the mountains of Chihuahua, with only 200 men. The US government refused to aid him and recognized Carranza. Vila continued fighting a guerilla war and launched a raid into New Mexico, which brought the wrath of the US government down upon his head, as Gen Black Jack Pershing was sent with a military expedition, who used trucks and airplanes to hunt for Villa, though they were unable to locate him and defeat him. Villa eventually mae peace, in 1920, after Carranza's death and was able to retire to a hacienca. In 1923, he was gunned down in his car, by 40 riflemen, firing dum-dum rounds. There are competing theories, but one suggests he was thinking of entering politics again and was eliminated. The Villa and Zapata rebellions have always been fertile grounds for Hollywood, going back to the dawn of cinema, as he appeared, as himself, in silent films re-enacting the Mexican Revolution. This would later be featured in a film, with Antonio Banderas portraying Villa, in And Pancho Villa As Himself, for HBO. He has been portrayed in many films, including by Fred Flintstone, himself, Alan Reed, in Viva Zapata! Dixon's story pretty much follows the conventions of the previous Skywolf adventures, as we see a mercenary adventurer ending up in a world of trouble, complete with aerial battles and gun battles on the ground. Micheluzzio renders some really nice art, reminiscent of Alex Toth and similar minimalist storytellers. He's the perfect kind of artist for this era of adventure. Airboy treads in more familiar territory, mixing in influences of things like Alistair McLean's Ice Station Zebra, with the airplane crash of the Uruguayan rugby team, in the Andes, in 1972 (which inspired the books and films Survive! and Alive!). We have arctic survival, for a downed airliner and passengers, while Soviet troops look for a defector. Into this mix come Airboy and Skywolf. All we need are some avalanches, exploding aviation fuel, a plague, and hungry polar bears and we will have an epic! Hirota's covering of the bomb, directing the force downward seems a bit farfetched, unless he had some pretty hefty metal inside his bag, or it was a pretty weak explosive. Not sure who Lester is, at this point (I'm not reading ahead and I don't recall; but, he has some tie to the history of Airboy). Davy talks about rebuilding Nelson Aviation, and clearing out the snakes. So, look for some corporate shenanigans in the future. Davy also screws his chances with either Val or Marlene, as Val puts it too him pointedly about treating her like an afterthought and Marlene like a consolation prize. Both are dead on target. Davy better get his s@#$ together, in the romance department, or he might need that monastery for a long time! So, nice balance of the lighter Skywolf adventure and the heavier Airboy survival thriller. ps If you can't translate it, La Arpia mean "The Harpie." She's a female pilot, so, you get the gist. Not sure if she is meant to be based on Pancho Barnes or not. Barnes was Florence Leontine Lowe Barnes, a wealthy dilettante of a California family. She was a keen aviator and a pioneer of women's aviation and one of the earliest movie stunt pilots and hung around with some of the revolutionaries, in Mexico, disguised as a man. She returned to the US and took her inheritance and took flying lessons, leading to a career in barnstorming and air races, where she broke Amelia Earhart's speed record. She flew planes in Hollywood, including for Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels. After losing most of her inheritance in the Depression, she sold her LA apartment and bought land near Muroc Field, in the Mojave Desert. There, she built the Happy Bottom Riding Club, also known as the Rancho Oro Verde Fly-Inn, a dude ranch and restaurant, catering to airmen. It was there that she crossed paths with other aviation legends, including Chuck Yeager, as seen in The Right Stuff. Barnes didn't fly with Villa, as she took lessons after returning to the US; but, I could see her being Chuck's template for La Arpia.  
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 1, 2020 19:25:35 GMT -5
Airboy #22 Creative Team: Chuck Dixon-writer, Ron Randall-pencils, Kim DeMulder-inks, Tim Harkins-letters, Olyoptics-colors, Tim Truman-editor Skywolf-Chuck Dixon-writer, Dan Spiegle-art, Carrie Spiegle-letetrs, Julie-colors, Tim Truman-edits. Carrie Spiegle is Dan's daughter. No idea who Julie is (Dan's wife was Marie, so it doesn't appear to be another family member). GCD offers no help. Synopsis: In Elizabeth, NJ, Hamilton Wechter, head of security of the Nelson Aviation plant there (where they make subway trains) walks into his office to find a man sitting there, who says he broke in, during the night with no problem and introduces himself: Lester Mansfield, new head of Nelson Aviation Corporate Security, and Wechter's new boss.  Well, for about 5 minutes, anyway. Meanwhile, Hirota and the passengers of a 747 are trying to survive, above the Arctic Circle. The acting captain asks for volunteers to shovel snow off the plane, so they can more easily be spotted, from the air and Hirota puts himself forward. Before anything can happen, a voice cries out, via bullhorn, identifying themselves as a Soviet rescue party. Both Hirota and the captain are suspicious, even more when they ask if Dmitri Rhuzkhov is on board. The "rescue party" are, in fact, SPETSNAZ, Soviet Special Forces, under the command of the GRU, military intelligence.  To the south, Davy and Skywolf are conducting an aerial search; but, Skywolf's rotors are icing up and he needs to set down. They spot a military convoy and set down near them and discover that it is a detachment of US Marines. Skywolf talks to the officer in charge, whose "gunny" (Gunnery Sergeant) in boot camp, served in Vietnam with Skywolf and talked about him. A couple of cases of Lone Star beer later, they are tagging along qwith the jarheads. At the crash site, Hirota advises the plane captain to be cagey. The Russians again ask fro Zhukhov, but the captain says they will have to search. Hirota asks if they have any weapons on board. They find Zhukhov who tells them his story. He was a senior GRU officer, who defected to the American Embassy, in Tokyo. His State Department escort (read CIA officer) was the man killed stopping the hijacker. He knows the Soviet's want him back or dead, or both. the captain tells him he is safe, then passengers start sticking in their noses, wanting him turned over to save their skins. The captaain argues that they have no guarantee that the Russians would let them live, knowing that they had taken a defector off the plane, in territory not their own. Hirota has check the baggage and the only weapons are muzzle loading rifles, from Taiwan (I assume replicas, though Ron Randall draws them looking like the British Brown Bess muskets, of the Revolutionary War period...)  The Marine lieutenant fills in Davy, Sky and Kip, as they ride snow cats north. On the airliner, the stewardess tells the captain that the passengers are getting agitated and a mutiny is brewing (well, uprising, since they aren't crew). Hirota says he isn't surprised and he and the captain get acquainted as Hirota mentions his time in WW2, in the Imperial Japanese Navy, as a Zero pilot. The captain asks if he was visiting family in Japan and Hirota answrs "Their graves," informing him that his family died at Hiroshima. The conversation turns awkward.  Major Stevyanko, in charge of the Soviet team reports to the KGB advisor, Pirodan, but ignores his advice. He says they have enough demolition charges to send the plane through the ice and into the Arctic Ocean, beneath, if Zhukhov is not turned over to them. Skywolf- Larry Wolfe Sr is on top of the train carrying the stolen arms shipment, fighting a running gun battle, as La Arpia swoops down to attack...  Miguel forces La Arpia to veer off, so Skywolf can continue to try to separate the engine from the train, and free the hostage children. La Arpia engages in a dig fight with Miguel and she is the better pilot. Skywolf is carrying dynamite and he drops it onto a car coupling and succeeds in killing his pursuers. he still faces the guards forward and shoots the man holding a little girl, as hostage. She drops toward the side and he lunges and grabs her before she falls off, just as La Arpia turns up to strafe him again...  Skywolf is able to get to cover and succeeds in stopping the engine. he turns the guards over to the engineer and stoker, while he goes to catch a ride from Miguel, as La Arpia goes into her attack run. he tells Miguel to gun the engine and climb as high as he can. Miguel protests, saying the plane is damaged and won't take the strain. Sky tells him to do it anyway and uses the plane's Lewis Gun...  ...to fire back at her. He tells Miguel to stall the engine and put it in a dive...  La Arpia follows in a steep dive and Sky tells Miguel to turn the engine over, which he tries. It catches at the last minute and they pull out just before hitting some scrub trees. La Arpia isn't so lucky and crashes into them. She survives. Skywolf tells Miguel to head north to the US, as Villa is likely to be angry he didn't save the arms and it would be a good time to see the wife. Thoughts: Both sections continue to be great excitement. The downed aircraft has increased tension, as the Soviets demand Zhukhov and self-interested passengers want to turn him over. Hirota and the captain know they will likely be killed to cover it up, as they can't afford witnesses. Davy and Skywolf are with the Marines, headed to the area, but way behind things. The cover is deceptive, as it makes you think Davy and Skywolf will be attacking the Russians on snowmobiles. Ron Randall does a good job with things and is relatively accurate with Soviet and American weaponry, though his AKs are occasionally out of proportion (and a couple of panels have wonky M-16s). On the cover, the Russian commander is carrying a Stechkin autopistol, which was a weapon of SPETSNAZ...  Many artists would have drawn a generic automatic, or maybe a Tokarev (which is WW2 era) or a Makarov (which was later 80s, similar to a Walther PPK in appearance). So, points to Ron for his research. The Soviet vehicles I'm not sure about, but they look authentic enough. Leaving the details aside, Randall is good with characters and action and has good body language and facials and is a strong storyteller. he was never flashy enough to be a star artist; but, anyone who has read his Trekker or any of his other work knows he excelled at story, which is the name of the game. Skywolf continues to be great classic fun, aided this issue by the best pure comic storyteller, this side of Alex Toth: Dan Spiegle. Spiegle worked for King Features on the Hopalong Cassidy newsstrip, before coming to work for Western. He was one of the go-to artists at Western, along with Toth, handling their many licensed adaptations, in all kinds of genres. he was especially noted for the Maverick comics, based on the James Garner tv series. Spiegle was another minimalist, using the necessary lines, yet filling his work with fluid motion, excellent staging, inventive camera angles, and great and expressive character work. It took me a while to warm to his style, as it was in such contrast to the superhero artists I had been immersed. The first work of his I recall seeing was Nemesis, the back up strip in Brave and the Bold, though I was familiar with some of his work at Western, especially Space Family Robinson, which I loved (plus some of his Disney adaptations). His style, when put up against the likes of Jim Aparo, seemed a bit old fashioned; but, as I grew older, I came to appreciate his storytelling and the clarity of his work. The Secret Six revival, in Action Comics Weekly, was where I really came to appreciate it, plus work on Crossfire, a bit later. I had the first issue of his and Mark Evanier's Blackhawk, which I loved, but didn't get the rest until much later (I don't recall seeing it consistently on local comic racks). He is so well suited to adventure material, especially period stuff; and, especially westerns or pseudo-westerns, like this era of the 20th Century, which is kind of the End of the West. Spiegle also excelled at humor and had a long history with the Hanna-Barbera characters, especially Scooby Doo, drawing them for Western, Marvel and for foreign distribution. Skywolf returns to Korea and we get back to Larry Jr, which is a bit of a shame, as I would have liked some more of pop. It would have been great to have Toth do a story with him. Next: Valkyrie #1
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 1, 2020 19:30:39 GMT -5
ps Lester Mansfield is the son of the Hillman character, Craig Mansfield, aka Rackman, who fought crime, using special stilts to make himself taller. You see, he and his family were "little people," in a rather unique gimmick, which kind of ignored some of the physical characteristics of dwarfism, aside from height (starting with body proportions).
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 4, 2020 19:46:18 GMT -5
Valkyrie #1 Gulacy cover, which kind of looks like it is illustrating Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire." (..Russians in Afghanistan) Gulacy has some ups and downs with his females; he has done very sexy women and others that look like mannequins. This is kind of in the latter. Creative Team: Chuck Dixon-writer, Paul Gulacy-pencils, Will Blyberg-inks, Mindy Eisman-letters, Sam Parsons-colors, cat yronwode-editor Just for clarity, I know I have types in many of these, including caps mistakes; but, not with cat yronwode. cat always wrote he name in small case letters; so, I carry on the tradition. Synopsis: Val and Marlene return from a shopping spree (no stereotypes here, boys!) Marlene is a little free with talk of paying in cash and some 80s stereotype hoods decide to mug them, until Val kicks their collective asses. A news camera crew is nearby and the reporter spots the fight and rushes over for a scoop...  Val and Marlene go on inside to try on their purchases. The next morning, Val is awakened by her doorbell and finds a bunch of reporters there, trying to get in on the story. Val leaves the vultures and sees more of herself on tv. She goes an mopes in her bedroom, for a while, mooning over a picture of David Nelson II, aka the original Airboy. There are more interruptions. This time it is a modeling agent who wants to make Val a star...  She is plastered on magazine covers, from Vogue to Time, to the National Enquirer ("Spirit of Elvis Shielded Me!"). Surprised Guns & Ammo missed out. Her friednds see these, and so do some former enemies, as noises are made in Moscow, at Dzerzhinsky Square, at the home of the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (Committee For State Security), aka the KGB. Yuri Khokhlov, who scans American magazines for intel, recognizes Val and finds a vintage photo...  Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, a mujahadeen column is strafed by a Hind gunship...  The rebels are gassed and killed, and the experiment is declared a success by it's commander, code named Steelfox. He is passed the news about Valkyrie...  Val is continuing her modeling, while punching out sleazy Larry flint wannabes, and Steelfox is in the US, collecting more evidence. Later, at home, some men bust into her place and try to grab her and get some 9 mm discouragement. Val has them at gunpoint and is calling the police, when Steelfox crashes through her patio door, in a hangglider and tells her she is being extradited to the Soviet Union to stand trial, for war crimes. DUNH-DUNH-DUH!!!! Thoughts: This issue takes some time to get things in motion, as it has to set up Valkyrie in the public eye, with the mugging and sudden fame, then the modeling, so Steelfox can be alerted and come to capture her to stand trial. This all seems a bit inspired by the Mossad capture of Adolf Eichmann, in Latin America, in the 60s. The question is, what alleged atrocities did Val commit? Is she being framed? Does Marlene have a job or does she just hang out with Val all of the time? Why do their scenes always look like the set up for an 80s porn film? This isn't the best Gulacy art I have seen. Blyberg is usually a good inker; but, I don't think he and Gulacy mesh as well as Stan Woch. Gulacy isn't at the top of his game and Marlene looks really off model, compared to Airboy. She went from big hair to short crop suddenly and seems to have grown about 6 inches and lost 30 pounds. Like I said, many of Gulacy's women in this era could end up looking like mannequins and Marlene sure does. Val doesn't fare much better, in some shots and comes off better in others. She has that generic Gulacy look; so, I don't think he is using a specific model, as he did in Master of Kung Fu. Steelfox kind of shows the level of thought put into Soviet villains, in this period. At least he isn't the Red Bear, or something like that. Fox became a bit of a synonym, thanks as much to the movie Firefox, with Clint Eastwood, as the Soviet advanced fighter jet, the Mig-25 Foxbat...  The Mig was the Soviet equivalent of the F-15 Eagle and it was a favorite of writers and filmmakers of the era (even if they couldn't fake them and just used the F-5 Tiger II as a stand-in). So, you get a lot of "fox" names, instead of bears. Once things kick in, this gets good; but, it takes time getting there.
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Post by chaykinstevens on Nov 5, 2020 14:34:27 GMT -5
Skywolf-Chuck Dixon-writer, Dan Spiegle-art, Carrie Spiegle-letetrs, Julie-colors, Tim Truman-edits. Carrie Spiegle is Dan's daughter. No idea who Julie is (Dan's wife was Marie, so it doesn't appear to be another family member). GCD offers no help. A colourist named Julie Michel has credits on 4 Winds titles such as Prowler and Winterworld starting shortly after this. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 5, 2020 22:13:23 GMT -5
Skywolf-Chuck Dixon-writer, Dan Spiegle-art, Carrie Spiegle-letetrs, Julie-colors, Tim Truman-edits. Carrie Spiegle is Dan's daughter. No idea who Julie is (Dan's wife was Marie, so it doesn't appear to be another family member). GCD offers no help. A colourist named Julie Michel has credits on 4 Winds titles such as Prowler and Winterworld starting shortly after this. Sounds plausible. I suspect the next issue will mention the missing surname. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 7, 2020 0:20:34 GMT -5
Scout #20 Beau La Duke! Creative Team: Tim Truman-story & art, Tim Harkins-letters, Sam Parsons-colors, cat yronwode-editor Rosa: Tim Truman-story, Bill Jaaska-art, Tim H, Sam & cat doing their things Also from Eclipse: Airboy #23 & 24, Alien Encounters #13, Amazing Cynicalman #1, Area 88 #2 & 3, California Girls #1, Contractors #1, Crossfire #22, Detectives Inc: A Terror of Dying Dreams #1, Dreamery #4, Enchanter #2, Floyd Farland: Citizen of the Future, Hotspur #1, Legend of Kamui #2, Liberty Project #1, Mai the Psychic Girl #2 & 3, Mr Monster #10, Portia Prinz of the Glamazons #4, Silverheels TPB, Valkyrie #2, Zooniverse #6. Lot of stuff from Eclipse. They were building towards their 10th anniversary, in 1988 (we are in June of 1987) and had put some stuff to bed, but were launching new titles, including their line of managa titles. Detectives, Inc: is a new mini from Don McGregor and Gene Colan, who had worked on the previous Detectives, Inc stories and Ragamuffins, in the Eclipse magazine. Floyd Farland is one of Chris Ware's first projects, collecting strips he was doing in college. This is well before Acme Comic Novelty Library. Liberty Project is a superhero title (well, supervillain, actually), with some parallels to John Ostrander's Suicide Squad. It is from Kurt Busiek and James Fry and features a group of minor villains who are part of an amnesty project, where they gain their freedom, in exchange for serving the government, helping take down other villains. It didn't last long; but, it was entertaining and showed a lot of promise in Busiek. Hotspur is another offering from 4 Winds, with John Ostrander writing and Karl Waller & Romeo Tanghal drawing. I'll be discussing it soon. Contractors is about a group of repo men, in space. The Penumbra has cat crowing about being right about the fear of censorship of comic books coming to naught, while Iran-Contra was unveiling. Synopsis: Tim opens with a beautiful shot of Santana in the desert...  The area was Navajo and Hopi and Scout's Uncle Bejay brought him here once. The ecological disaster has removed the grasslands, but he notes that life still flourishes, having adapted to conditions. He sees a vehicle approaching, in the distance and runs off. We cut to Sen Creek's camp, where a satellite dish is set up and Guitar Man is hooking equipment up. The plan is to interrupt the government broadcasts, have the New Disciples play, to gain attention, then Sen. Creek will broadcast tapes that will show what the government has been doing. Scout warns him of the approaching vehicle. It turns out to be Beau La Duke and Billy Zeitgeist, as La Duke is bringing in equipment for the senator's pirate broadcast. He tells Scout he joined up after what happened to his land.  Scout is sent off to lead in Creek's people, from Las Vegas, along with Banner & the Swords of Texas, and Beau. Banner shoots his mouth ff and gets a warning from Scout. Beau just grumbles...  Monday and his teams, in the hills, lock and load. Banner's APC approaches a small airfield, outside Las Vegas and they pull up to a C-130. They look for their contact and find dead people stashed away. Scout tells them to move out, fast. They are stopped by the mercenary, Ortega, and his men. They have also destroyed Banner's APC (armored personnel carrier). He and Banner exchange words. They are herded on the C-130, which takes off. Ortega wants to know where Creek is, so he can deliver a package. Banner tells him where to go. He holds a gun to Beau's head. Scout speaks up, but wants to know the stakes. Ortega reveals the cargo...  He is working for influential people, who want to stop Creek's movement. Banner is still defiant, but Scout, surprisingly, tells Ortega where to head. While Ortega is distracted, he pops a knife out of his glove and slices Ortega's throat. They then battle Ortega's men for control of the aircraft. Ortega crawls over to the ramp controls and opens it up, dumping himself and a vehicle out the back. The vehicle with the nuke, set to explode when it leaves the plane.  The nuke takes out Las Vegas and Scout knows that the plane has a trail to Creek and his organization will be discredited. They are out of the EMP zone and safe; but, things look bad. They look even worse, south of the border, as new forces are in motion...  Rosa's story: Rosa and Avner are flying into Las Colinas, TX, on an Apache gunship, which can apparently carry 4, instead of just 2. It bears Israeli markings...  Las Colinas is the new home to Laura Carver's administration and they come in for a landing. Rosa has been at OCS (Officer Candidate School), after being commissioned as a lieutenant. She is back to take up her duties as Carver's guard. They see the heavy military presence as a guide confirms that 7 battalions are stationed there. They enter the presidential office and Laura rushes over to greet Rosa, forgetting herself...  Vice President Loper exerts control and redirects Rosa's attention. He presents a briefing that Mexican troops are massing along the border, backed by their Soviet allies. They have moved troops into position to intercept. Rosa is surprised, but sees that Laura is under Loper's sway, again. Rosa is tasked to find the missing nuke, from Mt Fire. Avner has been allowed into things because they want to make a deal with Israel for arms. Avner informs them his country would consider finding the nuke as a sign of faith for the stability of America. Rosa goes off to attend to her mission and looks back at Carver, who sheds a tear.  Avner is staying with Rosa, as he feels something more is in motion. Loper sends a message to his allies to alert Mexico that they are ready. The marketing page announces that Bruce Jones Associates will be packaging exclusive material for them, including a new superhero book, Man of War, with Rick Burchett on art. It was a decent book; but, nothing groundbreaking. They are also reviving Twisted Tales and Alien Worlds, which began at Pacific. The manga titles sold very well, while Valkyrie was also a hit, along with Airboy and Scout. They announce The Liberty Project, another superhero book, as well as the Scout Handbook, which I will get to, when we reach the release point. Lock & Load (the letters pages) has an interesting one from a Canadian reader who is worried that Upjohn might sue them into oblivion over the references to Xanax, in the sequences in the veterans hospital and states the drug is an ant-anxiety med and not prescribed for depression. Tim counters with his research, which included a series of articles on a veterans hospital that treated Vietnam vets with heavy doses of Xanax and thorazine and navane, which were noted by several vets to produce the effects that Truman described in the story. Another Canadian takes Tim to task for a flippant remark, inresponse to a previous letter, saying he was dropping the title. Tim apologizes for lumping the writer in with X-Fans, but then reminds him of accusing him of shoving his political ideology down his throat, while Tim had already indicated that he is writing entertainment that also reflects his observations of the modern world. Tim is pretty cranky here, and it is understandable. The writer also sent a copy to CBG and Tim kind of dismisses them, though he says he aprpeciates Don & Maggie's comments. I wasn't reading CBG, then, but, I believe they did criticize the level of violence in Scout, while praising the artistry. That is followed by praise from TM Maple and Uncle Elvis Ortne, then some mixed responses to the 3-D issue. Then, as if Tim didn't have enough hassle over perceived political content in his work, Eclipse inserts a PSA about probable survivability of a nuclear attack, even with a workable (which has yet to be achieved) SDI system (Strategic Defense Initiative, aka Reagan's "Star Wars" program).  I don't know about anyone else; but, within my circles, our nuclear attack response consisted of, "Stick your head between your knees and kiss your ass goodbye!" It was a bit of an antsy time period, though not quite as bad as 1962. Boy, were we surprised in a few years! Thoughts: Scout is in the final phase of its original run, as we now see the subplots come together and the final picture is unfolded. the Legion of Man is instigating a war between Marxist Mexico, backed by the Soviets, and the US, backed by Israel, which will likely lead to nuclear war. Loper thinks it will give them complete control over America and allow them to militarize and move against Latin America, expanding into the needed territory. Sen Creek is looking to expose Loper and his allies, but he is now discredited by their stolen nuke, planted on a plane registered to him. So, now what? Well, Mexico has armored mecha troops massing, the US has troops being repositioned and armed and Rosa is hunting for a nuke that has gone off. We used to refer to this as, "The defecation has impacted the oscillator!" Another term is FUBAR. the BAR part means "...Beyond All Recovery." You can probably work out the FU part. Basically, it's SNAFU turned up to 11 (blowing right past TARFU). Tim is really breathtaking when he handles the stark beauty of the desert, which is amazing since he was living in West Virginia (I believe). Bill Jaaska is a bit less polished, on the Rosa segment; but, still captures the right mood. We see that Laura Carver has slipped back under Loper's thumb, in Rosa's absence. This isn't going to end well. Rosa knows it and Avner suspects it. Things look pretty bleak. Meanwhile, let me just take a moment to illustrate what an exciting time this was, in comics. The Direct Market and the Independent Comic Book world was booming. Eclipse was doing well, with the 4 Winds material, Miracleman (when it came out) and their new manga titles. First was cooking with their own manga (Lone Wolf and Cub), plus a strong line of titles. Comico was also doing well (though not for very long, as they spent a lot of money to put their books on regular newsstands, which failed). Dark Horse is growing (The American was published this month) and DC is really cooking, as Longbow Hunters was out, Watchmen reached its conclusion, Batman Year 2 was ongoing, JLI was a hit (and Batman's one-punch knockout of Guy Gardner was on the stands) the Charlton characters were in new, intriguing books, Byrne has the Joker meet Superman and is dealing with the Pocket Universe. Marvel has Super Patriot as the New Captain America, Kraven's Last Hunt is going through Spider-Man titles, the X-Men dominate the market, Punisher is still new to his solo title, Walt Simonson is cruising on Thor, the New Universe has sucked for a year (well, they weren't all winners). Just a really great time for comics. It wouldn't last for too long, though. Still, things looked really rosy for the future of the industry, both in diversity and maturity of product, and sales growth. Next, Airboy #23.
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 7, 2020 15:56:13 GMT -5
Airboy #23 Um guys...you're facing the wrong direction... Creative Team: Chuck Dixon-writer, Ron Randall-pencils, Kim DeMulder-inks, Tim Harkins-letters, Olyoptics-colors, Tim Truman-editor Skywolf: Chuck Dixon-writer, Tom Lyle-pencils, Mark Nelson-inks, Bill Pearson-letters, Olyoptics-colors, Tim Truman-editor Synopsis: The passengers and crew of the downed airliner wait and plan. Hirota lends survival advice and the captain asks where he learned his skills. Hirota tells him of the war...  The Russians call for an answer to their demand and the captain says Rhuskhov is dead. Major Stevyanko doesn't believe it, without seeing a body. Meanwhile, to the south, Davy, Skywolf and the Marine detachment are drilling holes in the ice to lower a hydrophone, to communicate with a sub under the ice. The sub confirms Soviet presence under the ice, so the Marines conclude they also have troops nearby. They prepare for a stealth approach to the plane.  However, thanks to comic book science, these are stealth snowmobiles, with muted engines. Should have drawn a big honkin' muffler coming off the engine! The Soviets send two soldiers to verify the dead target and they are taken hostage by Hirota and the crew...  Hirota makes Stevyanko a counter-offer. Stevyanko makes threats, but withholds action. Pirodan, the KGB observer, takes matters into his own hands. he grabs an AK and opens fire, and Hirota shoots him with the muzzle-loading long rifle.  Two soldiers are sent out to lay charges on the ice, surrounding the plane. They hear a noise and Skywolf and Airboy turn up to ruin their day. Major Stevyanko lays out the plan, to Piordan and sees his two soldiers returning. However, they are actually Skywolf and Davy, in the soldiers greatcoats. Stevyanko is defiant, until he sees the rest of the surprise, as the Marines arrive...  Davy calls to Hirota and they bring in hot food, blankets, and medical supplies, while the APCs are brought up to evacuate the survivors. Stevyanko watches and accepts his defeat. Skywolf: November, 1950, Korea. Skywolf is snoozing in his bunk when he is awakened by Black Angel, who says the 1st Marines are in trouble, near Chosin. Yeah, you could say that. They head out in her F2H Banshee jet fighter....   She makes mention of losing "John" two months ago, at Inchon. They are searching for signs of 12 Chinese divisions that may have moved across the border, into the region. They soon find them. The Chinese soldiers start firing and Black Angel makes a strafing run. Skywolf tells her to break off and head back to warn command, but Angel decides to go into another run, "For John."  Skywolf yells that she is too low and they start taking small arms fire. Rounds soon hit the port engine and they are going down. they are too low to eject, so Angel executes a belly landing. Skywolf and Black Angel get out before the jet fuel explodes and start hoofing it, to find shelter and avoid the Chicoms. They have to hide, as the Chinese are in their path and Angel is sorry for getting them in the situation. Skywolf says he understands she lost her head, but she is glad she kileld those men. Unfortunately, the Chicoms find them. They grab weapons and return fire, then run. They leap frog for a bit and eventually run into friendly forces; the US Marines. Problem is, they are surrounded, low on supplies and the weather is worsening. Thoughts: The Arctic story ends with a great conclusion, with plenty of action and tension. This was well done, with the right pacing, some excellent character moments, and the right kind of action, without getting too ridiculous. Hirota, especially, gets fleshed out, as we learned he went to Japan to honor his lost family, at Hiroshima, and that, when he was shot down, in WW2, he survived, on Tinian, for several months, until the war was over. Tinian was the base, in the Marianas, where the B-29s Enola Gay and Boxcar took off, to deliver the atomic bombs to Hiroshima and Nagasaki (respectively). Lot of tragedy there. Ron Randall handles the art well, capturing the technical aspects well, while adding humanity to the proper character moments. Skywolf continues to be great period adventure, as now, Sylvia Lawton, the Black Angel, has entered the picture. Well, she was already there, in the present, as she is the US Ambassador to the Soviet Union, as seen when Misery snatched the third atomic bomb from the past. Now, we see her in action, as a young woman, with Skywolf. Chuck gives us a one page history of the character...  She is now a grieving woman, her husband killed just a couple of months ago. She is a bit bloodthirsty in her grief, which gets them in trouble. They escape, only to find themselves right smack in the middle of the Marines stand, at the Chosin Resevoir. In October, as the UN Forces were pushing the North Koreans back, well beyond the 38th Parallel, Chinese forces spilled across the border and pushed back. On November 27, 120,000 soldiers engaged and encircled X Corps, at a strength of 30,000, at Chosin. Fighting lasted for 17 days, before the Chosin Few broke out and engaged in a fighting retreat to Hungnam. Un Forces eventually withdrew back across the 38th Parallel and the war settled down into a long stalemate. 17 Medals of Honor were awarded in the aftermath of the fighting: 14 to Marines, 2 to Army soldiers, and one to a Navy pilot. Marine Maj Gen Oliver Smith was credited with saving X Corps, thanks in large part for his personal conflict with X Corps commander Army Maj Gen Edward Almond, stemming from Inchon, where Almond's ignorance of amphibious landings irked Smith, a veteran of the Pacific War. Commanding the 1st Marine Regiment was Col Lewis "Chesty" Puller, who added to his legend by being awarded the Navy Cross, for his leadership at Chosin, where he made the famous statement, "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." It was Puller's 5th Navy Cross, after winning 2 in Nicaragua, 1 at Guadalcanal and one at Cape Gloucster. Here is the citation: "For extraordinary heroism as Commanding Officer of the First Marines, First Marine Division (Reinforced), in action against aggressor forces in the vicinity of Koto-ri, Korea, from 5 to 10 December 1950. Fighting continuously in sub-zero weather against a vastly outnumbering hostile force, Colonel Puller drove off repeated and fanatical enemy attacks upon his Regimental defense sector and supply points. Although the area was frequently covered by grazing machine-gun fire and intense artillery and mortar fire, he coolly moved along his troops to insure their correct tactical employment, reinforced the lines as the situation demanded, and successfully defended the perimeter, keeping open the main supply routes for the movement of the Division. During the attack from Koto-ri to Hungnam, he expertly utilized his Regiment as the Division rear guard, repelling two fierce enemy assaults which severely threatened the security of the unit, and personally supervised the care and prompt evacuation of all casualties. By his unflagging determination, he served to inspire his men to heroic efforts in defense of their positions and assured the safety of much valuable equipment which would otherwise have been lost to the enemy. His skilled leadership, superb courage and valiant devotion to duty in the face of overwhelming odds reflect the highest credit upon Colonel Puller and the United States Naval Service." That's what leadership is all about. Not bad for one of the "suckers." The letters page includes praise from a reader for the series and the Valkyrie reprints (of Fred Kida stories, from Hillman) and he compares Skywolf to his old favorites of Steve Canyon, Johnny Hazard and Scorchy Smith. Chuck says Truman turned him onto Johnny Hazard and they were a great influence on Skywolf and he wishes Frank Robbins was available to do a story (he was in retirement). Next up, Airboy #24, as the Heap returns and we continue with Skywolf and Black Angel, at Chosin. ps. This ad for Bo Hampton's The Lost Planet makes me want to read it...  There is also an ad for the new Hero Comics, which started up with the Champions characters, previously featured in two mini-series, at Eclipse. Hero tried with these characters, but only Flare sold many copies, mainly through T & A, though they also published Roy & Dann Thomas' Captain Thunder and Blue Bolt, which was pretty darn good! Another ad signifies why I always liked Eclipse, for the range and depth of their features, including idiosyncratic work... 
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 8, 2020 17:09:57 GMT -5
Airboy #24 The Heap is back! Creative Team: Chuck Dixon-writer, Ron Randall-pencils, Kim DeMulder-inks, Tim Harkins-letters, Olyoptics-colors, Tim Truman-editor Skywolf-Chuck-writer, Tom Lyle-pencils, Mark Nelson-inks, Bill Pearson-letters, Olyoptics colors, Tim-editor Synopsis: At the monastery, Iron Ace takes a call from Marlene, about Val, but we don't get the details. The other side of the conversation appears in issue #2 of the Valkyrie mini-series.  Meanwhile, the Heap is in New Jersey and comes across the waste material that may have been the source of the Rats.  He's pretty POd and someone is about to wish they had cleaned up their mess. Meanwhile, meanwhile, Davy Nelson lands Birdie at Nelson Aviation, in Elizabeth, NJ and runs into a hell of a lot of security. He's taken to Les Mansfield's office, where he crows about how he has tightened security and Davy is pleased. They go for a tour. At the monastery, Iron Ace wakes Hirota and tells her that Marlene called and said she sounded rather breathless. Hirota says she always sounds that way and goes back to sleep. Back in New Jersey, Les shows Davy the new subway cars and says he is using this plant as a test, before moving on to higher security plants that produce government work. We finally learn why Les always wears gloves (burnt his hands, as a child) and he then kids Davy about his flying jacket (his father's, actually). They get a radio call about police band reports of an animal or something tearing up the Jersey Turnpike, nearby. They decide to take a look, since everything else is quiet. It's not exactly an animal....closer to vegetable...  The fly over in Birdie and spot the Heap. The police fire automatic weapons at the creature, with no effect. Davy lands and calmly walks up to the Heap and talks him down. The Heap remembers Airboy and is calmed, recognizing a friend. The cops are still hostile; but, Davy's checkbook helps smooth things over. Amazing how that seems to do the trick, every time. The story ends; but, there is more to come, with the Heap; and, I suspect, the source of the pollution. Don't think Davy is going to be too happy. Hopefully, Davy gets over to Ft Lee, NJ and runs into Richard Fader. The world could use more Gilda Radners. Skywolf: The Marines are waiting for the next Chinese attack, as their perimeter is littered with bodies. The cold is even effecting their weapons...  Uh, Sky, ditch the 50-round drum magazines and stick with the "stick" magazines; they are more reliable. Black Angel has borrowed some utility trousers, which do a better job insulating her than her figure-hugging ones. The bubles sound and the marines lock and load and the major calls for flare rounds from the mortar crews. The Chinese attack en masse and a man goes down next to Sylvia. She calls for a medic, but the blood freezes over the wound, due to the extreme cold, which actually helps protect him. They've beaten back the attack wave; but, more are coming. A Marine greases his weapon with Wild root hair cream, saying it works better than gun oil, in the cold. Sounds like a commercial if ever I've heard one! The Chicoms put up a loudspeaker and send propaganda at the Marines to give up. He don't know dem vewy well, do he? Sky shoots it down and yells for them to come get some!  The major tries to call up reinforcements, as the Chicoms attack again, but they are told to hold their position. Skywolf grabs a 57mm recoilless rifle  and fires it....  Only problem is the Marines weren't equipped with the Weapon, in Korea. Sylvia comforts the dying Marine until he is gone. The Chicoms reach the trenches and it turns into hand-to-hand (bayonet-to-bayonet, really). Sylvia unloads with her Luger P08.  The Marines fight with everything they have, including their entrenching shovels (which is a deadly melee weapon). They beat off the attack. They received word that Gen. Smith has called for a fighting retreat to Koto-Ri. Trucks are waiting. Sylvia hears something, which Sky says is probably a wounded Chinese soldier. Sylvia goes to finish him off, for revenge.  She carries him back for treatment and they load their dead and wounded into the trucks and mount up. The letters pages has praise for showing restraint in the politics, while a couple of others accuse them of jingoism and one flat out calls everyone Commies, even sending in his letter in a pink envelope (unsigned, because why be brave enough to give your name, when taking a political stance). Chuck mocks him and moves on. The letter that follows has more balance, though it questions the Skywolf Guatemala story and the CIA man Lacey, bringing up the CIA's later history. Chuck points out that the CIA was a minor group, compared to Army Intelligence and the Office of Naval Intelligence, in strategic planning, until they proved correct in their predictions that the North Koreans were massing for an invasion of the south and that the Chinese would act with them. After that, they grew in power and prestige and went down the path that led to some of their later shenanigans. However, Chuck ignores some of their early, questionable history, such as their involvement in trying to sway the vote in the Italian election of 1948. Marty Pasko, in the later Blackhawk series (following the Chaykin mini and the Grell Action Comics Weekly story) had the Blackhawks working with the CIA, dropping leaflets. If you have wondered about Contractors, based on the vague description a couple of reviews ago, here is the marketing piece from this issue...  Looks pretty fun to me! Only one issue, though. It was part of the black & white boom, which was going bust. Ken Macklin was also involved with the humorous sci-fi series Fusion (with the Weasel Patrol) and The Dreamery (the quirky anthology that didn't have a long life). It looks pretty good, actually...  Macklin did the Dr Watchstop stories, which were very good. Thoughts Mostly prologue stuff, here, in the Airboy segment. There is the tease to read Valkyrie #2, mixed with the Heap going on a rampage because of the pollution and Airboy checking on Nelson Aviation. It doesn't take Columbo to see that Nelson will probably turn out to be the polluters. This doesn't help differentiate the Heap from Swamp Thing, given how much environmentalism was going on in those pages, which was part of the impetus to revive the earlier Heap. Heap wasn't particularly original, since Ted Sturgeon's "It," predates it; but, for all its quality, the Heap was never in the same league as Swamp Thing. Still holds true here, though he makes for interesting diversions in Airboy, as does Misery. It adds a bit of variety to something that would be a lot of gun battles, otherwise. Skywolf continues its look at Korea, capturing the feel of those old 50s war comics, which were filled with Korean War stories, as much as WW2 ones. It's a lot less jingoistic than the Atlas stuff, or Fightin' Army (hell, even DC was pretty bad about that, in those days). Black Angel is an interesting characterization, as she is made the most bloodthirsty one there, in her grief. Normally, it would be a male figure racking up the bodycount. Given what we have seen of her in the previous bomber over Russia story, it is quite a surprise. You go into this seeing her as a heroic figure, based on what Eclipse has presented of the Airfighters, as well as her actions in the Airboy story; but, then, Chuck upends our expectations and has her grieving the loss of her husband and turning into a cold-blooded killer. It is very effective in highlighting how war can breed hatred and twist otherwise "good" people. To me, this is far more effective than most attempts in things like MASH, which takes the superior attitude from the start, compared to how Skywolf thinks she is overdoing it, but understands. He tries to stop her; but realizes its her decision and that, as he says, the wounded man will likely die from exposure. In the end, Sylvia reclaims her humanity and finds a reason to go on living. I can see how that Sylvia would grow to become what we saw in the Airboy stry, far more than the original Hillman stories (which were more in the sexy heroine who ends up captured a lot). Glen Danzig's Verotik published a collection of Black Angel stories, with a Dave Stevens cover, which (of course) depicted her chained in front of a large stone swastika. About as subtle as his music. Tom Lyle continues to do fine work and is doing his research, though his M-1c carbines are a bit wonky (he draws them a little gigger than they were) though he does a pretty recognizable recoilless rifle (though he draws a backblast, which is more like a bazooka, then the escaping gasses from a recoilless round). His human characters are well drawn and expressive, even in the quieter moments. I still say Lyle was a highly under-rated artist. Ron Randall is equally good, in Airboy, though he has the luxury of drawing modern times, which requires a heck of a lot less research or the imagination that is necessary for his own Trekker. Regardless, he makes the fantastic believable and handles the mundane with skill. Both artists fall into the "not flash" category; but, both are excellent storytellers (though Lyle is probably the more stylistic of the two).
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Post by codystarbuck on Nov 8, 2020 17:30:52 GMT -5
ps I met Tom Lyle, in 1989, after he was about a year in, on Starman, in Augusta, GA, at a small convention. I complimented him on the accuracy of the weapons in his Eclipse work and asked where he got his reference material. If memory serves, he said Chuck provided him some of it, at first; but, he ended up investing in some book series (probably one of those Time-Life sets) on military history, which gave him excellent photo reference for the time periods he was depicting,. This is what we had to do in the days before Google, children. I still say a good set of World Book Encyclopedias blows away anything in wikipedia and most things that Google will turn up.  They still sell 'em! You can get a set for 2021, for just $999! We had a 1972 set, with the brown accent color on the spine; plus, the Childcraft Library...  This was my favorite from the Nursery Rhyme volume...  Man, if ever there was a recruiting poser for piracy, that is it! |
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