ps If you are interested in this, Dover Press put out a collected volume, though I believe you can find the three issues pretty cheaply.

Airboy #25



Bit of an odd cover, from Tom Yeates.

Creative Team: Chuck dixon-writer, Tom Yeates-pencils, Mark Johnson-inks, Tim Harkins-letters, Olyoptics-colors, Tim Truman-editor.

Skywolf: Chuck-writer, Graham Nolan-pencils, Mark Nelson-inks, John Clark-letters, Olyoptics and Tim T doing the rest.

Synopsis: Airboy has brought the Heap to the wilderness of Northern California, along the Russian River.



Don't be surprised if you see some Eclipse titles, floating in the water.

Davy is trying to figure out how to communicate with the Heap, while the Heap is sensing that there is something different about this person from the Airboy he knew, before. they hike and the Heap follows, because he sees the same "flame" within Davy as his father. Heap comes across a dead deer and picks it up and cradles it, then absorbs it into himself. Davy thinks it is his way of "eating." In fact, the Heap is just bringing it back into the life cycle. Davy talks incessantly, with the Heap unable to answer. He speaks of the issues troubling him, in a weird form of therapy...



Meanwhile, a guy in Groucho Glasses is off to dump 4 cubic yards of manure on the Santa Rosa City Hall steps, as a protest. However, he runs into Davy and the Heap, first.



The Manure Man takes Davy and the Heap on a tour of the river and shows the pollution from Santa Rosa, which is carried down the river.



The Heap is angered and decides to do a bit of eco-terrorism, himself, jamming a boulder into a sewage output pipe. This leads to a backflow and leakage at the Santa Rosa Sewage Treatment plant. At city hall, a protest is going on, while the mayor tries to feed an angry populace that their environmental impact is minimal. The Heap arrives to provide a rebuttal to her remarks...



The protest ends successfully and the Manure Man takes Davy and the Heap home, where Davy promises to pay for the replacement of his tractor. Davy has also made up his mind about some things, including Valkyrie and the Heap sense that the flame still burns brightly in Airboy.

Skywolf: February, 1951, on Oahu. Skywolf and Riot O'Hara are having dinner. Sky is on R&R, from Korea, where the Chinese have pushed UN forces back across the 38th Parallel. He's says it is a bit of karma, after the Chinese Civil War. Riot is now running airfreight in and out of Hawaii, looking to make a fortune, as it becomes a state. Things look good for her, when they are interrupted by a disturbance, caused by tattooed men, carrying katanas and wearing ninja hoods...



Well, hoods, as anyone can wear a black hood, not just a ninja, especially since they didn't actually wear black hoods, historically. That idea came from kabuki theater.

Anyway, back to the probable Yakuza hoods, looking for Eddie Ho. Is that Don's older brother?

Ahem....

Sky is miffed that they have bashed his waiter and he has a pointed discussion on the topic of etiquette, with the lead hood, and then some of the others. They come to a meeting of the fist and the mind. Eddie Ho comes out, to see what the noise is about, looking like he has been hanging with Akebono...



(aka Chad Rowan, the Hawaiian yokozuna, from sumo)

The boss hood calls him sangokujin and vows to cut off his head, to present to their oyabun. Riot fires off a shot to suggest that this evening's entertainment is not to her liking. Sky decides he may have to rethink his plans for the evening, since his date came armed. Eddie Ho thanks them and comps their meal; but, the yakuza has a kid and leaves with the child, after forcing Riot to lower her gun. The child is Eddie Ho's grandson.



The next night, Skywolf and Riot meet with Eddie Ho. He has assembled the $50,000 ransom money, which Sky & Riot will deliver to a drop, on a bombing range,. Riot asks the kid's name and Sky says Eddie never mentioned. Riot finds that strange. they land, near an aircraft graveyard and wait for their contact. It turns out to be Tatsuro Ito, Sky's yakuza ally, from Japan, who he aided against the sangokujin who were peddling opium and tried to muscle Riot. He calls Skywolf dishonorable. It seems Eddie Ho isn't what he pretends...



Ho is part of a triad, trying to set up a smuggling operation. The yakuza control Oahu and want no part in drug smuggling (not then, anyway). The child is not Ho's grandson, there is no ransom. he is safe, on Oahu. Ito also reveals that he did not choose the meeting location, Ho did. Sky checks the case and it is filled with worthless paper. He hears jet engines and realizes they are FUBAR. This is an active bombing range. A pair of Navy F-2H Banshee's are approaching the range and prepare to drop their load, assuming the figures moving around below to be wild pigs. Sky, Riot, Tatsuro and the other yakuza are about to become the entre at a luau.

Thoughts: The Airboy story is an environmental morality tale, with the Heap providing a bit of poetic justice. The Manure Man is a real person, named Tom Lynch. In 1985, the city of Santa Rosa illegally discharged 750 million gallons of treated wastewater into the Russian River. It created a furor among communities downstream, who received the brunt of this waterflow. The area is tourist-dependent and bookings plummeted, in the wake of media attention. It was a result of 20 years of unregulated building and growth around Santa Rosa. Later that same year, another illegal discharge occurred. That was followed by Lynch, renting a tractor and manure spreader, driving through the city, wearing Groucho Glasses, spreading cow manure across 4 city blocks, as a protest. that was follwoed by bags of manure sent to city officials. Then, Santa appeared on the city hall steps and dropped a load of coal for the council. The city took the hint and devised a plan to upgrade the city's wastewater system to take it out of the river. meanwhile, others have used the symbol of the manure man to attack environmental dangers.



Tom Yeates and Mark Johnson were involved in some of the protests.

Coupled with the humorous environmental parable is a bit of character development, as Davy vocalizes his feelings about how his father's friends see him, as Airboy, and what his feelings are, for Valkyrie. he works out some issues, just by speaking to the Heap, who cannot respond. The example of the Manure Man shows him that he must act on his feelings, if he wants things to change.

This is about preserving the environment and peaceful protest, using humor to draw attention to the cause, without malicious intent (though 4 blocks of manure is a bit of a health hazard). It's also about Davy searching his feelings about his recent life and making decisions about his future and begin acting upon them.

Meanwhile, Skywolf blunders into a situation, again, without the facts, again, and finds himself in the center of trouble. This is also some character stuff, as we see that Sky has a tendency to go looking for trouble and tends to create as much for himself as he finds from outside. It also develops the relationship between Riot and Skywolf, which we first saw in China, then carried forward to Japan. At first, they are colleagues; but, there is a spark between them. here, they are on a date, suggesting the spark is smoldering into flame. However, Big Idiot Who Thinks With Fists has landed them in deep doodoo. Notice that Riot was the one who asked the questions and wasn't liking the answers. They make a good team, as she has the brains he seems to lack, while he provides the passion. However, he is also a screw up and I don't have high hopes for them, as a couple. His own example is of an absent father, off looking for wars to fight, while his mother has to run a business and raise a son, who follows in his father's footsteps. I think Riot and LaVerne would get along great, mainly comparing what big jackasses are the men they love.

Graham Nolan was still pretty new to the game, debuting in DC's New Talent Showcase, in 1985, alongside Stan Woch and Eric Shanower. That led to some work at DC and Marvel, as well as some indie gigs, like this. He would go on to co-create bane, with Chuck Dixon, and drew both the Rex Morgan, MD and Phantom Sunday newspaper strips. He is still young, here, but well developed, as an artist. Skywolf and Airboy was quite a showcase for some young talent, as well as a chance for some veterans to have a bit of old fashioned adventure fun.

ps Don Ho was of mixed Hawaiian, Chinese, Portugese, German and Dutch ancestry; but, is not related to any triad gangsters. That I know of. he actually has a pretty interesting background, beyond singing "Tiny Bubbles". He played football for Springfield College, but returned to Hawaii to earn a degree in sociology, from the Univ of Hawaii. he served in the US Air Force, flying C-97s for the Military Air Transport Service, before leaving to help his ailing mother run her nightclub, at Kaneohe, called Honey's. The club was a favorite of the nearby Marine base and Don always honored servicemen there. The club thrived and he moved it to Waikiki. he eventually came to sing at Duke Kahanamoko's "Dukes" club, which led to his recording contract and growing fame. he was married 48 years, to his high school sweetheart, until her death. In his stage show, he always honored veterans, especially veterans of the Pacific Theater and survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

So, all joking aside, Don Ho is a man to be respected. Eddie will probably get his, soon.

Valkyrie #3



Nice Gulacy cover, though Val's manicure has stood up to some punishment.

Creative Team: Chuck Dixon-writer, Paul Gulacy-pencils, Will Blyberg-inks, Mindy Eisman-letters, Sam Parsons-colors, cat yronwode-editor

Synopsis: Valkyrie is tormented by nightmares of Misery....



Steelfox believes it is her guilt tormenting her, though the other observer suggests he is confusing his personal vendetta with the justice of the state. He accuses him of developing a cult of personality...



Holly continues her discussion with Anna Mahlmann, one of Valkyrie's Airmaidens. She has been living in Dresden, East Germany, in secret. She agrees to testify, in exchange for American protection and citizenship, to get her away from the Soviets and the East Germans.



The Stasi show up to investigate reports of the sighting of Holly, aka Black Angel and Holly takes them on, but one of them has her at point blank...until Anna bashes him over the head with a porcelain teapot. The two ladies leave in a hurry, before more security turn up.

In Moscow, Steelfox taunts Valkyrie and she throws it right back, saying the gallows will cheat him of his desire to kill her, himself.

At the trial, the prosecution offers up newsreels of Hitler awarding the Knight's Cross to Valkyrie, shots of her with the Airmaidens, and the attack on the village of Lubov, where 2,000 children were murdered. We see the Airmaidens greeted by high ranking Luftwaffe officers.



Sylvia Lawton, aka the original Black Angel, presents the defense evidence, with records of Valkyrie having defected to the Allies and flying with Airboy and the Airfighters, before the terror raid and can place her elsewhere during the event. The Soviets reject the documents as proof, claiming they could be forged by the CIA. They broadcast the trial to the world, where it is seen by Marlene, Skywolf, and Airboy, who can do nothing.

Meanwhile, outside, Holly and Anna have arrived; but, the guards are blocking their entrance.

Steelfox gives testimony of seeing Val in her Stuka, as she dove low and he says he hears the screams of his sister, as she dies in the flames of the bombs. Sylvia confers with Val, later, and it looks hopeless, as the Soviets ignore any evidence that doesn't fit their purposes. Then, Holly and Anna turn up. Anna is reunited with her former commander...



Sylvia cautions that Anna will likely end up being held for her part, as an Airmaiden and Val is resigned to her fate to die for the crimes of the Nazi regime she once served, but left. She is adamant that she must testify. Sylvia calls her as a witness and the Soviets question the relevance until they hear Anna flew with the Airmaidens. Anna takes the stand and says she can offer proof that Val did not lead the mission.....she did!



When Valkyrie defected, Anna was chosen to masquerade as her and lead the mission. It was done, both as terror and to discredit Valkyrie with the Allies. Anna thought they were attacking a military target; but saw the evidence after and has been haunted by the images of the dead children. She breaks down on the stand.

Steelfox refuses to accept this. Sylvia stares him down and reiterates the truth. Valkyrie weeps for Anna.

Valkyrie is freed and Sylvia says goodbye to her at the airport. Anna remains in custody. Sylvia tells Val to go live her new life and to watch out for Holly, who she sends with her, as the Soviets have her marked as CIA. She gives Holly a present, which makes her smile. Holly looks at it on the plane, the Black Angel outfit. Val thinks of Davy, as they head back home.

The issue ends with Anna, her youth restored, sitting on the bed in her cell.  Misery has come to claim her and they leave, as we see Anna's feet hanging limply, from the ceiling.

Thoughts: Strong ending to the mini, though you could see it coming, from the moment Anna was introduced, in the previous issue. We knew Val could not have led the raid; or at least, we were led to believe it, even as Chuck sowed doubt. He did a good job reminding us that she had been a believer of the Nazis, until Airboy opened her eyes. That is an avenue that Chuck and Eclipse never really pursued. In the hillman comics, she switches sides for love and because of some cruel commanders; but, not because she had suddenly been shown the truth of the Nazis. Valkyrie's awakening to the truth would have been a goldmine of a story and better suited to a Valkyrie mini, than what would follow this, in the second mini. It would have been perfect for an original graphic novel; but, they didn't go there.

Gulacy's women still look remarkably generic, apart from hairstyles, when he isn't using models and that is seen here. Even Holly, if it weren't for the coloring, could have been a sister of Val. Gulacy is more expressive within the story; but, there are still panels when it appears he is drawing mannequins. To me, that is the only thing that really hurts this, other than we needed more investigating to uncover the existence of Anna Mahlmann, which means at least another issue or two.

So, we end with Valkyrie being cleared and readers are assured she committed no atrocities for the Nazis, though she doesn't entirely escape her past of having flown for them. She can be cheered as a hero, without guilt. We also get a new Black Angel, to add to the distaff side of the Airfighters and a person of color, which has been sorely lacking in all of this. She will return, as the Airmaidens will get their own special, while Val will have a second mini, more appearances in Airboy, and an Airfighters WW2 special, as they meet up with Sgt Strike, from the upcoming Strike! superhero series, from 4 Winds. I'll have a bit of personal info to add, when we get there.

Next, Hotspur #2

The Prowler #1



Large man looming over young boy and that title suggests a whole 'nother theme and not in a good way!

Creative Team: Tim Truman-writer, John K Snyder III-art, Tim Harkins-letters, Julie Michael-colors, cat yronwode-editor

Synopsis: Night, in the city; a kid in a bad ninja suit (with top of the hood cut out) fires a grappling hook and rope across to another building, then travels by zip line across the chasm. A touch of a remote and the launching gun retracts the line and is whipped across to where it is anchored, on the other side. The kid uses a knife to break in and quickly searches the place, ultimately finding the safe...



So, our "ninja" is a cat burglar! He works to open the safe, but is interrupted by the owner...



...who knows the kid, Scott. Turns out, he isn't cracking a safe, he is setting the washing machine so he can do his laundry, since the dorm's laundry room is closed. he helps himself to Leo's food and we are left puzzled. Leo seems to know a lot about Scott Kida. Scott is worried that his friends think they are a couple. Leo says not to worry what they think or it will make him hesitate in his mission.



Lose a grant? Man, that dates this! The 80s were about replacing grants with guaranteed student loans, the guarantee being that the bank gets there money back from the government (meaning tax payers) when the student defaults under the crushing debt! This is why I had an NROTC scholarship!

Anyway.....the grappling gun is Leo's and Scott leaves, while Leo looks lovingly at an old movie poster, for a Monogram serial...



Leo finishes the laundry and recalls how he and Scott met, a year and a half ago. We see Scott doing katas, in the park, from a book. Leo is reading a newspaper and looks up and watches. Woman with a baby, in a stroller, walks past and her wallet drops out of her purse. Scott stops and picks it up, returning it to her. Leo watches with satisfaction. Later, Scott has mastered the katas and Leo notes he learns quickly. Some hoods mug Leo, with Scott able to see what is happening, but he does nothing and leaves the scene. Then, he stops, turns around and runs back, and finds the gang under a bridge and drops down on them. He has the element of surprise; but, it doesn't last and he is in trouble as they are about to waste him. Then Leo, with a gun, drives them off.



Leo takes Scott home and feeds him and learns of his past. His parents are dead, he lives with an aunt and uncle and has a special grant, for school. He hates classrooms and learns better on his own and is mostly a loner. He sees the movie poster and thinks Leo is a collector. he has heard the name of the film. Leo says it is about him. Scott asks if he is in the film and Leo says he's not an actor; he's the subject. He offers to teach Scott, to become more than he thinks he is.

We end in the present, as Leo looks over a stack of "past due" notices. He grabs the twin of the pistol he holds and goes to his bedroom. He pulls an outfit out of a closet and gets dressed. The Prowler is about to return...



On the letters page, Tim gives the background to the concept. Mostly, he talks about his love of both "high" and "low" art, and how he eventually moved past having to justify loving Carson of Venus as much as Rabbit Run. In other words, Tim likes a good pulp novel; but he reads other things and brings those influences. He got a vision of a pair of masked heroes, one a young kid, the other an old man, both the Prowler. He called JKS III and told him about the characters. They talked for a couple of hours. Snyder called him back, in the morning. The result is this book.

Thoughts: Pulp heroes were in vogue, at the time, much as they were a decade before. Howard Chaykin, who penned a few pulp heroes, was updating the Shadow and DC was about to launch a rather ill-conceived Doc Savage revamp (which, thankfully, they pulled back from). Dave Stevens' Rocketeer lit some of the fire. Truman's previous work on Grimjack had more than a little Black Mask detective pulp at the core. Here, we have an old pulp hero, Leo Kragg, aka The Prowler, who has found a potential successor. Scott Kida is a young man, mostly alone in the world, who has a sense of justice. Leo is obsessed with justice. Master and apprentice. However, we get hints that it isn't an easy collaboration. Leo seems to have financial issues and Scott seems aloof and maybe hesitant bout their mission. Pulp heroes with feet of clay.

Truman handles the script beautifully, crafting interesting characters, in a noir world. Snyder matches with art, though in his stylized manner. He was never the flashy superhero artist; but, he tread the fringes of those worlds, with Grendel and the later Dr Midnite mini-series. Fashion In Action tread on the pulp world, with touches of satire. A good combo.

Also at the heart we see a bit of love for the old movie serials, as Tim mentions Fighting Devil Dogs and Spy Smasher (2 excellent ones), while also name dropping Commando Cody (aka the Rocket Man, from the Republic serials). Monogram was an actual studio, part of Poverty Row, on Gower Street, in Los Angeles. Monogram was noted for low budget pictures, including things like the Cisco Kid films, the Charlie Chan films (after 20th Century Fox dropped them) and the East Side Kids. The Prowler movie poster lists Bela Lugosi, who did several films for Monogram, in the 40s. Monogram also produced three Shadow films, starring Kane Richmond (star of Republic's Spy Smasher): The Shadow returns, Behind the Mask and The Missing Lady. However, Richmond's Shadow wore a face mask, much like Republic's The Masked Marvel.

So, pulp adventure, Poverty Row Hollywood, and modern crime drama.....quite a recipe for adventure. This is good stuff, like a comic noir.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the likely inspiration for Scott's name...Fred Kida, artist on Airboy, with which Tim was heavily entrenched.

Next: Scout #22

Scout Handbook



Let's see, I have my swimmer badge, my woodcraft badge, my field stripping an M-16 badge, my improvised explosives badge, and my peyote badge.

Creative Team: Tim Truman-script & art, Chuck Dixon-script, Ben Dunn, Flint Henry, David Laforce, & Tom Yeates-pencils; Laforce, Yeates, Truman, Tim Harkins, Tom Wimbish, Robert Hardin-inks; cat yronwode-editor

The book is black and white, with typeset lettering. Basically, this is a cross between Mack Bolan's War Book (swiped for the Punisher's War Book), Who's Who in the DC Universe (and OHOTMU), Guns & Ammo, and the informative pin-ups from the classic DC war comics.

Synopsis: The book is broken down into an introductory section about the world and background of Scout, with geo-political maps and explanatory text. it then moves on to character profiles, tech files on vehicles and firearms and miscellania.

The introductory section gives us the maps of the US and the world, with accompanying text.....



The Soviet Union has expanded to encompass all of the Warsaw Pact nations, India and possibly parts of Scandinavia. The map indicates that the Scandanavian states are socialist, but doesn't elaborate if they are independent but allied with the USSR, puppet states, or under direct control. Most of Central, Western and all of Southern Africa is under Socialist control and allied with the Soviets. China's influence extends to Korea and possibly parts of Southeast Asia. The rest of Southeast Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines are allied with China. Latin America is under Marxist control and allied with the Soviets, as is Canada. Israel controls the Middle East, southern Europe, Spain and North and East Africa. Switzerland controls the Germanic areas. France and possibly Benelux are Socialist but non-allied, while Great Britain, Ireland, Greenland, Australia and Japan are unallied. It has already been established that Japan has produced armaments (mecha) for the Soviets). Alaska is a "joint use" zone, administered by the US, USSR and Canada.

Meanwhile, the US is pretty fractured...



This is pretty much at the end of the book, with Sen Creek's faction at odds with the government in Las Colinas. The Southwest has broken away and formed the Southwest Free States, consisting of Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. You will also note that a section of Mexico, along the Gulf Coast, is a Vietnamese "Reservation" Area. Louisiana is altered, probably due to ecological issues, with portions of the delta permanently flooded out, referred to as the Louisiana Islands. North and South Carolina and Pennsylvania were sites of nuclear meltdowns. Also note that part of Baja California is a Japanese Trade Zone. We will see more of that in the upcoming Swords of Texas mini-series, while New America will explore some of Latin America and elsewhere.

There are tech sections, with diagrams of the Soviet/Mexican battle mecha, Big Moishe, and others, plus weapons seen in the series...



One interesting thing I wish I had an illustration for was the wiregun, used by Monday and his Samothracians. Basically, you have an assault rifle that is mounted to a forearm rig, which is them wired into an interface in the skull, which relays impulses directly from the brain, firing the weapon at the speed of thought. This basically does the Terminator one better. Monday's weapon looked like an M-60, with a magazine feed (instead of the normal belt feed), with the gearing. His soldiers had things like M-16s and similar weapons.

Scout's favorite weapons are illustrated, including his Colt Python .357 Magnum revolver, .303 Lee-Enfield Rifle, M-16 (with M-203 Grenade Launcher), Uzi, and CAWS (Close Assault Weapon System, an auto-fire shotgun, from the German armaments firm Heckler & Koch, which was being tested in the late 1980s).

The whole purpose of the issue was to acquaint new readers with the world of the series and help lead them into the spin-off titles that followed the end of this series, The Swords of Texas and New America. Everything seen here summarized the preceding series (with character histories for Emanuel Santana, Rosa Winter, Ray Vaughn, Bill Loper, Laura Carver, Sen Craig Creek, Missy, Guitar Man, Monday, Beau La Duke and Avner Glanzman). So, if you were like me, you could be brought up to speed, as the new minis came out and know what is going on, as you hunt down the back issues (I discovered the series in 1987, when I had both regular access to a comic shop, had moved beyond superheroes, and flipped through the Handbook). This would then lead into the next phase of Scout....War Shaman. However, we still have two issues to go and the SOT and NA minis, before we get there.

Next: Airboy #27.

Airboy #28



Davy sure has a strong forearm, to one-hand fire an M-60! Must be due to a lot of exercise if that hand and forearm, which might be a result of his failure with Valkyrie.

Creative Team: Chuck Dixon-writer, Ron Randall-pencils, Kim DeMulder-inks, Tim Harkins-letters, Olyoptics-colors, cat yronwode-editor
The Heap & Mr Monster: Michael T Gilbert-story, rough layouts & inks, Mark Pacella-finished pencils, Ken Bruzenak-letters, Olyoptics-colors, cat & Fred Burke-editor

Michael T Gilbert and his hero, Mr Monster guest starring, in the Heap back-up story, which leads into the Airboy/Mr Monster Special. The Heap also appears in the lead story, fighting with the other Air Fighters. Valkyrie will turn up, with Black Angel, in the Air Maidens Special. Skywolf is taking some R&R in Riot's bedroom.

Synopsis: Manic orders some of his rats to circle around back, on foot, to outflank the Air Fighters, while he and the rest carry out a frontal assault. He says Airboy is his target, alone. The rats move through the brush and run into something big...



Which turns out to be the Heap, who throws them around like a terrier, with a Napoleon Complex!



Manic and the rest roar in on their hogs, but are met at a bridge by Iron Ace, and his Little Tank. Manic tells them to scatter and the tear off in other directions, as Iron Ace starts wasting rodents. He goes after them in the brush, when a rat grabs a handy RPG and busts the tank.

Another batch comes across Birdie, whose computer systems recognizes them as hostiles and her mini-guns turn them into rodent stew.

Manic pulls up near the monastery and issues a challenge and some homophobic slurs. He moves ahead and trips a laser field and activates remote-controlled Calico submachine guns...





Which chops down more rats. Hirota then goes to town with his katana. Iron Ace is still functional and has a shotgun, so he is blasting more rats, while the Heap continues to splat them.

Manic takes cover in a gazebo and Davy calls out, after blasting with his M-60, and questions what his game is. Manic wants Skywolf, which means delivering Davy to Misery, Davy tells him to leave California and head back to Misery, or he will end him again. Manic comes out fighting. Davy is hesitating, as he is becoming disturbed by how easily he uses the M-60 to solve problems. Hirota, basically, tells him to remove his head from his philosophical ass..ignment and open fire.

Manic starts yelling for Misery to send reinforcements, and a storm drops lightning and rain on a nearby prison graveyard and it is Zombie Time!



Groovy!

The Heap & Mr Monster:

Outside Katmandu, a determined figure cuts through foliage and comes upon Cafe Oblivion, where the Heap is hanging out...



The jukebox is playing.....



(Okay, not really; but, it should be).

Some old timer, getting drunk asks who is crossing his table, whether it is Solar Joe or Major Evil, but sees it is the Heap, who he also drew. The Heap sits down with the old artist, who pours a drink and sits it next to the pistol, on the table...



Like the Russian guy!

The artist's name is Evertt, and we flash back to the 40s, when he prepared samples for Hillman, for the Heap back up stories, in Air Fighters....



He gets the job and comes home to celebrate with his wife...



Slowly, the work consumes him and he loses his wife, as she becomes second to the stories. He never does produce The Beacon, his idea for a super character. He descends into alcoholism, which costs him his job, as his work suffers. Everett quits when he is taken off the feature and hits a liquor store, before picking up cheap work, churning out grisly horror for low rent companies. The drinking costs him more jobs and becomes all he has. He ended up at Cafe Oblivion. When he finishes, he picks up the pistol, points it at his head and pulls the trigger. The Heap grabs his hand and turns the barrel away, so that Everett misses. Behind him, at another table, a figure in a parka, with red eyes, stands up.

Everett laments that he can't even kill himself properly and is tormented by Black Axis, a horror figure he drew for one of the low rent companies. he pushes the Heap aside and preys upon Everett's despair, putting the gun back in his hand and against his head, pushing him to pull the trigger.



The crowd watches and Black Axis berates him, as Everett pleads. The hooded figure calls out to him to stop and removes his coat, revealing Mr Monster...



Letters pages has a goofy one from TM Maple, praising the story, then making satirical suggestions answering the call for suggestions for an Airboy movie. Others alternate between serious and ridiculous suggestions. The Valkyrie mini also gets some mail. Someone asks about Olyoptics and Chuck talks about Steve Oliff and his crew and the computer coloring system they have assembled and are further developing. Olyoptics was one of the pioneers and had the best system, for the longest time. Way better than current stuff, if you ask me, as they were able to maintain the look of the comics, with more subtle shading and a better fit for the mood of the book, rather than using color to compensate for inking (like at Image, in the early days) or giving everything an artificial gloss, like more recent stuff, where the layers seem to hover over one another, rather than integrate into a whole picture.

Marketing page mentions Bruce Jones' Tales of Terror and Alien Encounters (both picked up from Pacific) are ending and are being replaced by a Twisted Tales and Alien Worlds. No real change in content. The push an appearance by Country Joe McDonald, in support of Joyce Babner's Real War Stories. I'll keep my mouth shut on that book. They hype a graphic novel, Samurai, Son of Death, with American writer Sharmon DiVono and Japanese artist Hiroshi Hirata. They announce that Beau La Duke's template, Stephen Scott "Beau" Smith, is their new sales rep, a gig he will hold until nearly the end (as well as writing various comics). Lost Planet is hyped, with mentions of Ambrose Bierce, Amelia Earhart, and Judge Joseph Crater. Sounds a bit like Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld (not exactly, but it was a fun mini-series). They crow about going to reprint on the manga titles, Miracleman, Scout and Valkyrie. Airboy/Mr Monster and the Air Maidens specials are also hyped as is the finale to Portia Prinz. They announce a new format for Detectives, Inc, which is being shot directly from Gene Colan's pencils. As I recall, they had technical issues and it didn't turn out as advertised.

Thoughts: Davy's angst, in the middle of the over-the-top battle with the biker rats is a bit hard to swallow. I don't think too may heroes have existential crises in the middle of battling motorcycle gangs of giant sentient rats and dead hitmen! Just let things go nuts, like the Heap swatting rats, and Iron Ace mowing them down in his Little Tank and with his shotgun. Now, we have zombies! Take a page out of Sam Raimi and let the bats@#$ insanity run wild!

The Heap and Mr Monster prologue to the Airboy/Mr Monster Special is quite good, as is every issue of Michael T Gilbert's Mr Monster. Everett W. Coleman is pretty much Bill Everett, with a bit of Jack Cole thrown into the mix. Everett was a superstar in the dawn of comics; but, alcoholism hurt his career. He was able to have a bit of a comeback, at Marvel, where Roy Thomas roomed with him, for a while, but the drink killed him, in the end, as it weakened his heart, leading to a series of heart attacks.. Cole also had a tragic ending, as he shot himself, while sitting in his car. The reasons for his suicide were never revealed, though a note he sent to Hugh Hefner mentions hurting people around him. He left his wife a suicide note, after they had an argument, but the contents were kept private.

Here, Everett becomes consumed by his work and loses the love of his life and ends up losing his love for the features, as well. He has nothing to live for, yet the Heap, a creature of empathy, tries to stop him. Waiting there is a character he drew for a sleazy little company, akin to the lower tier comics of Fox and Lev Gleason (though Gleason put out plenty of good material). Gilbert is both exploring the despair of the comics as the heady days of the 40s turns into the darker post-war era and the even darker 50s, as comics are targeted by censors and self-appointed guardians of the public morals. A lot of good artists were chewed up by the cutthroat world of comics and either chased out by lousy pay or the witchhunt atmosphere of the 50s. The better ones moved to the more lucrative world of advertising, though long gone were the freewheeling creativity that comics allowed them. Others sold out more and more, for lower and lower pay, going to work for companies like Charlton, for a pittance and trying to produce enough work to survive.

At the same time, Gilbert is also exploring the passion of creation and the feeling of freedom, with the compromises of churning out work for someone else's vision. Everett has his own idea, in the Beacon, yet he never realizes the character, as he becomes snowed under by the Air Fighters features. This loss of creative freedom mirrors the loss of his personal life and his wife, as she leaves him, while he barely notices, as he tries to meet a deadline.

Michael T Gilbert is one of those creators who started out as a fan, yet was able to blaze his own trail in comics, drawing and inking Elric, for Eclipse and First, while creating and drawing his own Mr Monster stories, at Pacific, Eclipse, Dark Horse, Tundra, Kitchen Sink, and others. He was able to maintain his autonomy and produce the work that he wanted, while also paying the bills by working for Eggmont and Disney, scripting stories for Mickey and Donald. Mr Monster was always a cult book; but a great one, with a lot of layers to it, mixing healthy does of horror, action, satire, history, pop culture and sheer fun. Someone seriously needs to produce a Mr Monster animated series or feature, for a showcase like Adult Swim or one of the streaming sites. There is a plethora of fun to be had.

So, to finish this, we need to head over to the Airboy/Mr Monster Special; but, first, we need to link up with the Air Maidens, as they were set up first, last issue. We'll zip back to Davy and Doc Sternn, soon after, before
finishing up Hotspur, continuing the Prowler, and starting up Strike!

Man, these guys were busy!