Essential Warlock (Marvel Essentials)

Essential Warlock
Marvel Essentials, 2012

'Essential Warlock' (576 pp.), published by Marvel in August, 2012, is a black and white compilation of the character's comic book appearances throughout the 1970s.

Warlock first appeared as a character called ‘Him’ in Fantastic Four, issues 66 – 67 (1967), and then two years later in The Mighty Thor, issues 165 – 166.

In April, 1972, Warlock appeared as a lead character in his own right, in the first issue of Marvel Premiere, Stan Lee's designated book for launching new characters.

Illustrated by Gil Kane, with scripting by Roy Thomas, Warlock was a conventional superhero whose adventures took place on 'Counter-Earth', a planet which orbited the Sun exactly opposite the Earth proper.

Counter-Earth was devoid of superheroes, save for Warlock, a plot device which gave the series’ writers some degree of scripting freedom not available in other Marvel titles.

The character drew enough reader response to result in the appearance of a dedicated series, The Power of Warlock, eight issues of which ran from August 1972 to October 1973. As well, some issues of The Incredible Hulk, from June through August 1974, took place on Counter-Earth, and involved the Warlock character.

Most of the plots for the character depicted him as an overwrought, tormented, Messianic figure who traveled in the company of bell-bottom jean-wearing teenagers who were fleeing the hypocrisy and negative karma of adult society. This was 1972, after all, and the ‘Generation Gap’ was well in place as a pop culture phenomenon.

I remember in 1972 / 1973 picking up some of these early issues of Marvel Premiere / Power of Warlock and finding them interesting, but not earth-shattering.

The last issue of Power of Warlock showed our hero departing Counter-Earth, consoling his distraught followers with a segment of Christ-like oratory. 

In February, 1975, the character was rebooted in Strange Tales No. 178, written and illustrated by Marvel’s signal new talent, Jim Starlin, who had been doing the scripts and art work on Captain Marvel.

Reader response again catalyzed a decision to produce a separate title, and Warlock No. 9 debuted in October 1975 (somewhat confusingly, it continuing the numbering system of the discontinued Power of Warlock) and ran for seven issues.

Starlin made Warlock into a ‘paranoid schizophrenic’ space traveler, beset with self-doubt and emotional angst, an approach which (perhaps deliberately) often verged on parody. 

The ‘cosmic’ scope of these adventures involved characters from Starlin’s work on Captain Marvel, including Thanos.

Starlin’s contributions to Warlock, however short-lived, remain among the best graphic work ever done in comic books. 

Starlin adopted some of the artistic stylings used in the better – quality underground comic books, such as intricate op-art background patterns, complicated shadings, and minutely detailed cross-hatchings. All of these devices were used in the underground books to make the most of the visual possibilities inherent in being printed in graytone / black and white, as opposed to relying on color.

Starlin also regularly split pages into multiple vertical panels, each crammed with detail, pieces of art that must have taken days to complete. He frequently used black and white shadowing to lend extra drama to panels, an approach widely employed by artists for the Warren magazines and underground comix, but comparatively rare and under-utilized in contemporary Marvel and DC products. 

[In a rather sly aside to the influence of the underground comix, Starlin inserts a sidekick for Warlock: a randy, scheming troll named 'Pip', who could well be The Checkered Demon's younger brother.]

Printed in this Marvel 'Essentials' volume in black and white, the detail of Starlin’s penciling is no longer obscured by the low-budget color printing processes used in comic books in the 70s. The episodes in which Starlin pays homage to the artwork of Steve Ditko, in particular, really shine.

The volume closes with some of the guest appearances of Warlock, Thanos, and Captain Marvel in titles such as Marvel Team – Up and Marvel Two-In One Annual, from the mid- to late- 70s.

The verdict ?

Even though his Warlock contributions occupy only the second half of this particular volume, fans of Jim Starlin’s work in the 70s, as well as those who appreciate great graphic art, will want to get their copy of Essential Warlock. 

Book Review: The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

Book Review: 'The Sword of Shannara' by Terry Brooks

5 / 5 Stars

 

The story goes that after spending 7 years writing 'The Sword of Shannara,' Terry Brooks (b. 1944) submitted the manuscript to Lester Del Rey, who was the head of fantasy publishing at Ballantine Books. In November 1974 Ballantine accepted the novel and in 1977, both hardcover and trade paperback editions were published. 

 

The novel was illustrated by the Brothers Hildebrandt, at that time the foremost fantasy illustrators in the world.

I picked up the mass market paperback edition of the book shortly after its release in May, 1978. How does the book hold up after the passage of 47 years ? Quite well. In fact, it's a Five Star novel. 

 

I should state at the outset that 'Sword' is a pastiche of the Lord of the Rings (LOTR). As a pastiche, it was (and is) very successful, being one of the bestselling fantasy novels of the 1970s. 

Brooks is unapologetic about relying on LOTR for inspiration. Lin Carter, who was a prominent editor and author in the fantasy field in the 1970s, was incensed by 'Sword,' devoting a chapter in his 1978 anthology 'The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 4' to criticizing Brooks for writing 'a complete rip-off' of Tolkein. I believe Carter was angry more because Del Rey had not approached him to produce a 700-page pastiche of LOTR, choosing instead to showcase a novice author.........

 

In the 726 pp. comprising 'Sword,' Brooks reprises the storyline of LOTR: 

 

A Dark Lord (designated the 'Warlock Lord') threatens the free world, and elves, dwarves, and men must unite to combat the menace. Under the direction of the mysterious druid Allanon, a multi-racial party is assembled to embark on a quest to recover a mythical talisman, the Sword of Shannara. Playing the role of Frodo Baggins is the Valeman Shea Ohmsford, whose half-human, half-elf heritage makes him the only person in the world capable of wielding the sword, which expressly has been designed to be effective against the Warlock Lord.

 

The initial third of the novel sees the party jointly encountering all manner of dangers, be they gnomes, Skull Bearers, or monsters. Thereafter 'Sword' settles into the narrative of LOTR in which tribulations of one sort or another sunder the party, and the storyline alternates between groups of characters. The closing chapters of 'Sword' focus on the siege of the fortress city of Tyrsis (the counterpart to Minas Tirith) and this account of a desperate struggle to hold off the armies of the Warlock Lord is well done by author Brooks.

 

'Sword' is written for 'all ages' (12 years old and up), and the narrative stays comparatively tame in terms of describing the mayhem between good and evil factions; even the climactic dispatching of one particularly odious character is done 'off-screen.' But it must be said that for a first-time author Brooks displays skill in keeping the plot moving through all 700+ pages, a feat many authors of lengthy fantasy novels (and here Richard Adams's 'Shardik' comes to mind) have problems executing.

I confess that after finishing 'Sword' I was not overly motivated to take up some of the other 40+ novels and short story collections that make up the franchise. However, younger readers may be more motivated to do so than I.

The verdict ? 'The Sword of Shannara' is one of the most successful epic fantasy novels of the 1970s, and thus, a good starting place for anyone who wants to get the sensibility of the genre in that era. 

Gideon Faust: Warlock at Large

Gideon Faust: Warlock at Large
by Howard Chaykin (art) and Philip DeWalt (colors)
from Star*Reach Classics No. 5 (Eclipse Comics, July 1984)

This 12 page comic first appeared in Star*Reach No. 5 in July, 1976, as a black and white comic. When Eclipse Comics began reprinting selected Star*Reach strips in its 'Star*Reach Classics' comic, this was among those selected for reprinting in colored format.

Although nowadays the sub-genre of 'steam-fantasy' is well established and represented by many titles on the shelves of bookstores, back in '76, using it as a theme for a comic was 
imaginative for its time.

Book Review: Floating Dragon by Peter Straub

Book Review: 'Floating Dragon' by Peter Straub

1 / 5 Stars

'Floating Dragon' first was published in 1982 in hardback by Underwood-Miller. This Berkley Books paperback edition (595 pp.) was issued in  March, 1984.

 

I remember reading this Paperback from Hell back in 1984, and finding it underwhelming. Is it any better when revisited 42 years later ? The answer is, unfortunately, no..........

 

The novel is set in May, 1980, in the idyllic bedroom community of Hampstead, Connecticut. Hampstead is all about suburban affluence and comfort, steeped in Old Yankee history - some of this history a trifle unpleasant, involving long-ago murders committed by unstable individuals.

 

As 'Floating Dragon' opens, a laboratory researching clandestine bioweapons has an accident, and an aerosol known as 'DRG-16' escapes into the atmosphere. This 'floating dragon' of the novel's title has varied effects on those exposed to it; some people die instantly, others succumb more gradually. Some people are psychologically deranged, while others seemingly are unaffected. The cloud drifts over Hampstead, and mayhem ensues.

 

Adding to the tragedy, it turns out that a colonial-era warlock, named Gideon Winter (aka The Dragon), has been reincarnated in his past home of Hampstead. Winter is reincarnated every 100 years or so, and he's quite happy to add to the body count triggered by DRG-16. While his true appearance is not very appealing, as in Douglas Wayne Barlowe's portrait (below), Winter has the sort of shapeshifting ability enjoyed by the creatures known as the 'wendigos,' in Straub's 1975 novel 'Ghost Story.' This makes him a particularly worrisome adversary for the hapless residents of Hampstead. 

 

As in a number of novels by Straub and his collaborator Stephen King, there is a Magical Child present in 'Floating Dragon,' in the persona of an adolescent boy named Tabby Smithfield. Like Charlene 'Charlie' McGee in 'Firestarter,' Jack Sawyer in 'The Talisman,' and Danny Torrance in 'The Shining,' Smithfield has some otherworldly abilities, such as precognition and esp. 

 

Smithfield makes the acquaintance of three other Hampstead residents: Graham Williams, Patsy McCloud, and Richard Allbee, all of whom - like Smithfield- are Descendants of the town's original settlers. And, like Smithfield, they also have esper abilities. 

 

The plot basically involves having Winter, in some instances aided and abetted by DRG-16, whittling down the population of Hampstead, while our four heroes struggle to learn just who it is that Winter is impersonating. For all their esper skills, and the vivid hallucinations and visions generated by such skills, the witless four Descendants don't figure out who to target until very late in the novel. 

 

'Floating Dragon' has a lot of the weaknesses of many Paperbacks from Hell. For one thing, it's much too long; the novel would have benefited from being a good 250+ pages shorter in length. There's a rambling, unfocused quality to the narrative that made me fatigued well before the denouement. Indeed, nothing of real import happens until around page 250, when Tabby and some of Hampstead's juvenile delinquents get up to mischief.

 

The narrative is padded with interminable vignettes involving various Hampstead residents and their travails. Once in a while these lend something to the plot, particularly the misadventure of one man, who elects to take a trip into New York City and 42nd Street and its sleaze parlors. This gives 'Floating' a badly-needed episode of dark humor and imbues the narrative with some authentic early 80s flavor. But most of the vignettes Straub trots out aren't very engaging. 

 

The final confrontation with Winter drags on so long, and becomes so tedious, that by the novel's end I really didn't care all that much who lived or died and what became of Hampstead.

 

Summing up, when it comes to Paperbacks from Hell, 'Floating Dragon' is a real dud. It suffers from some of the same problems with wordiness and pacing that afflicted other of Straub's novels ('Koko' comes to mind here). Only those with a formidable patience are advised to pick up 'Floating Dragon.'  

 

P.S. my brother - the same one who coined the (mocking) term 'PorPor book,' just reminded me that when Tabby and the Descendants go to confront Gideon Warlock, they do so singing 'The red, red robin goes bob-bob-bobbing along' to keep up their courage. Fuck.....that's cringe !  

Dreadstar: The Beginning by Jim Starlin

Dreadstar: The Beginning by Jim Starlin

 

Jim Starlin’s ‘Dreadstar’ comic books and graphic novels appeared on a regular basis throughout the 1980s, and since that time, have been reprinted in a bewildering number of volumes in different color formats from different publishers…… trying to sort out the contents of each of these compilations is no small task.

This Dynamite hardbound edition (2010; 230 pp) compiles all the Dreadstar material from ‘Metamorphosis Odyssey’, ‘The Price’ graphic novel, the ‘Dreadstar’ graphic novel, and the ‘Dreadstar’ chapter that appeared as a singleton adventure in Epic Illustrated. All of these works first appeared in the interval from 1980 – 1982.

This volume from Dynamite uses a high-quality, glossy paper stock. However, it is several inches smaller than the magazines and graphic novels the stories originally appeared in, so the typeface is comparatively cramped……and sometimes difficult to read.

The whole 'Dreadstar' series started as a serial in Epic Illustrated magazine: ‘Metamorphosis Odyssey’, which appeared in the very first issue (the Spring, 1980 issue), and appeared in succeeding issues as 14 chapters, concluding with the December, 1981 issue. All of the artwork in the chapters was painted, some of it in black and white, and some in color. 

‘Metamorphosis’ dealt with adventures in a galaxy far, far, away, a long, long time ago (the entire ‘Dreadstar’ canon borrows, not surprisingly, from ‘Star Wars’). The dread Empire of the Zygoteans is enslaving all civilizations in the galaxy; only the planet of the Osirosians is able to resist, but their resources are becoming depleted as a result of the 500-year conflict. 

 

In a last, desperate effort to defeat the Zygoteans, the Osirosians dispatch their most gifted warrior and priest, a long-nosed man named Aknaton, to scour the galaxy for a team of heroes capable of joining together to wield the ultimate weapon. 

Among this team of heroes is the orphan Vanth, from the planet Byfrexia. Vanth is the equivalent of a Jedi Knight, equipped with a magic sword, superhuman strength, impressive spaceship piloting skills, and unmatched skills in hand-to-hand and ranged weapon combat.

I won’t disclose any spoilers, save to say that Vanth – soon rechristened Vanth Dreadstar – plays a key role in the struggle against the Zygotean onslaught.

In 1981 a quasi-sequel, titled ‘The Price’, was published by Marvel / Epic as a black-and-white graphic novel. ‘The Price’ was primarily concerned with the adventures of Syzygy Darklock, the man who would become Vanth Dreadstar’s mentor and ally. 

‘The Price’ moves away from sf, and more into the type of magic-based adventures that characterized the world of Marvel Comic's 'Dr. Strange'.

  

The series’ next installment was ‘Dreadstar’, a Marvel Graphic Novel published in 1982. Featuring color artwork, this volume centers on the adventures of Vanth Dreadstar as he confronts – however unwillingly – the need to deploy his martial skills in the ongoing conflict between the Monarchy and the Instrumentality, the two major political blocs fighting for control of the galaxy.

 

The 'Dreadstar: The Beginning' compilation concludes with an Epilogue, a ‘Dreadstar’ chapter that appeared in black-and-white in the December, 1982 issue (No. 15) of Epic Illustrated. This chapter relates Dreadstar’s efforts to seize a spaceship from an Instrumentality mining colony and contains a lot of flashback sequences. 

Starlin was presumably using this chapter as a teaser for the Dreadstar comic book series, which was inaugurated in November, 1982 by Epic Comics and eventually ran for 64 issues.

So, what do you get with this compilation of all the early adventures of the ‘Dreadstar’ franchise ? As I mentioned, it borrows to some degree from classic space opera and ‘Star Wars’, but it also incorporates the ‘cosmic’ perspective that Starlin routinely employed in his work during the 70s and 80s for Marvel titles like ‘Warlock’ and ‘Captain Marvel’, as well as the high-profile crossover series ‘Infinity Gauntlet’, and ‘Cosmic Odyssey’ for DC.

Dreadstar is not an action comic or a superhero comic; instead, it chooses to focus on a more wordy, cerebral approach, leading to panels that are overloaded with speech balloons and text boxes. This may turn off readers who are more accustomed to the minimalist, 'show, don't tell' formatting of contemporary comics.

 

While there are occasional bloody battles between Dreadstar and Empire troops, much of the series’ contents are devoted to lengthy dialogues between various characters on a variety of ‘deep’ topics. There is always a note of ambiguity about the seemingly ‘right’ decisions that are made in the struggles against the forces of evil, and every victory comes with its cost. At times Starlin’s prose becomes too overwrought, and unconsciously comes a bit too close to self-parody, a phenomenon that characterized his efforts for ‘Warlock’, ‘Thanos’, and ‘Captain Marvel’. 

By and large, however, if you appreciate a space opera with more depth than the genre is usually accredited, then this Dreadstar compilation is worth investigating. It’s also a welcome change from contemporary comics, in that Starlin takes pains to frame his plots using flashbacks and external narration, devices rarely present in modern comics, which often suffer from awkward lapses in visual and storytelling continuity.

As well, Starlin’s use of painted artwork, involving a canny use of different shadings of grays and whites for the black-and-white episodes, stands apart from contemporary comics and their flat, computer-assisted approach to illustration.