The Sewer Werewolves

The Sewer Werewolves
by Dick Ayers
from Tales from the Tomb (Eerie Publications, vol. 2.3, April 1971)

The cover artwork for this April, 1971 issue of Tales from the Tomb likely is one 'borrowed', like so many others, from an issue of Perry Rhodan magazine published in Germany in the 1960s.

The contents of this issue includes a truly demented gem of a story, ably illustrated by Dick Ayers.

A race of tiny cannibals inhabits the sewer system of Paris, feeding on corpses stolen from morticians......!? 

Inspector Vidac is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery......but the Sewer Werewolves are very territorial, as he is about to find out...........

The Essential Silver Surfer Vol. 1

The Essential Silver Surfer
Volume 1
Marvel Comics, 1998

In August, 1968 the inaugural issue of Silver Surfer's solo comic book series was published. The series lasted for 18 issues, till September 1970, when it was cancelled. 

Stan Lee wrote all of the issues; the artwork for the first 17 issues was done by John Buscema, with Jack Kirby pencilling issue 18.

This 'Marvel Essentials volume collects, in black and white, all 18 issues of the Silver Surfer comic book series. Like all of the 'Essentials' titles it is designed to provide an affordable packaging of classic Marvel comics. 

If you want to read this first series in color, there are two 2010 'Marvel Masterworks' trade paperbacks, both published in 2010, that compile all 18 issues. These two volumes are out of print and copies are on the expensive side.

[Volume 2 of the Essential Silver Surfer covers the character's appearances in Marvel comics throughout the 1980s.]

Issue 1 was an 'origin' story that tells of the intergalactic entity known as Galactus, and his intentions to strip the planet of Zenn-La of all life. Norrin Radd agrees to become his herald, in exchange for a pledge from Galactus to spare Zenn-La. 

When the Surfer allies with the Fantastic Four to deny Earth to Galactus, the latter retaliates by imprisoning the Surfer in the Solar System by an invisible ' energy barrier'. Norrin Radd is forever denied the ability to return to Zenn-La and his wife, Shalla Bal.

The succeeding issues of The Silver Surfer are mostly single-issue episodes in which the Surfer confronts 'cosmic' threats to the Earth. A number of supervillains are showcased, including The Stranger and The Overlord. These confrontations often involve 'cosmic' themes, such as time travel and the extinction of all life in the galaxy, that were formerly the province of Marvel heroes such as Thor and the Fantastic Four.

The villain Mephisto makes a number of appearances throughout this inaugural series.

Lee's script called for confrontations between the Surfer and other Marvel superheroes, such as Spider-Man, SHIELD, and the Fantastic Four / Human Torch. Needless to say, the pretext for these battles was always a 'misunderstanding' on the part of both parties.

I remember that, back when a read a few of these issues as a kid in the late 60s and early 70s, I found the Surfer to be the most overwrought character in the Marvel Universe. Re-reading these same issues as an adult, it's abundantly clear. Practically every fourth of fifth page has a least one panel in which Lee's script calls for the Surfer to express Deep Angst over one thing or another......

These showcases of angst come so thick and so fast that they quickly lapse into a tiresome display of self-parody, a phenomenon that Lee probably was completely unaware of.

What saves this 'Essentials' volume, even with its black-and-white reproductions on a lower grade of paper, is the outstanding artwork by John Buscema.

With the Silver Surfer series, Buscema was able to render 'cosmic' landscapes and vistas as only Jack Kirby had done before him. It's Buscema's art that gives the series its strong visual tone, one that transcends the often uninspired plotting that marked the later issues of the series.

The series closed on a strong note with issue 18, as Jack Kirby provided the artwork for one of Lee's better scripts: the Surfer clashes with the Inhumans. The issue's final panel provided a dramatic lead-in to the incarnation of a less preachy, and more aggressive, version of the Surfer.......

Unfortunately, the readership was never to know whether the 'savagely sensational' incarnation of the character would have increased the comic's circulation, for the series was cancelled at issue 18. Throughout the remainder of the 70s, the hapless Surfer was consigned to appearing as a guest-star in comics like The Defenders.

The verdict ? If you're motivated by nostalgia, a fondness for the Surfer, or by an appreciation of John Buscema's artistic talents, then picking up a copy of 'The Essential Silver Surfer' volume 1 could be worthwhile.

Book Review: The Black Roads

Book Review: 'The Black Roads' by Joe L. Hensley

1 / 5 Stars

‘The Black Roads’ (190 pp) was published by Laser Books in 1976; the cover artwork is by Kelly Freas.

[Laser Books was an imprint of the romance novel publisher Harlequin Books. Laser released three novels a month, for a total of 57 novels, during 1975 – 1977 before discontinuing the imprint. The books all were 190 pages in length, edited for content, and required to have a simple vocabulary, a male protagonist, and plots that concluded on a positive, optimistic note.]

I usually don’t read entries in the Laser Books imprint, but I was motivated to get this particular volume due to the favorable impression I got from Hensley’s short story ‘In Dark Places’ in the 1973 sf anthology Future City, edited by Roger Elwood.

‘The Black Roads’ is set in a near-future US that has fragmented due to decades of global famine, economic crises, small-scale nuclear wars, and epidemics. The major power in the land is the Roadmen, an authoritarian polity who maintain the superhighway system that crisscrosses the continental US. Within the fences and barbed wire that segregate the highways from the rest of the landscape, there is some degree of safety and material abundance, provided one observes the laws and regulations of the Roadmen.

As the novel opens, Sam Church – a former Roadman – has escaped from prison and is on the run, accompanied by a fellow prisoner named Doc. Church was jailed for reading forbidden books, and hopes to travel across the country to the location of Central Control, a redoubt where sanctuary can be gained.

The territories through which Sam Church and Doc must travel are filled with dangers, not just from the surveillance helicopters and checkpoints of the Roadmen. Tribes of savages and marauders, including cannibals, fight over the dwindling resources still left in the ruined cities and towns of the US. If Sam and Doc are to survive their journey, they must travel on the highways systems – even if so doing risks capture by the Roadmen…..

‘The Black Roads’ was a disappointment. While some of the Laser Books included worthwhile early-career novels from writers (like K. W. Jeter, Gordon Eklund, and George Zebrowski) that would go on to become well-known sf authors, this particular entry is a dud.

The book reads like an unedited first draft……it’s filled with stilted prose, awkward syntax, and passages of dialogue that are wincingly bad. Although the book’s plot is essentially one long Chase Sequence, there is little in the way of suspense or momentum. Various sci-fi tropes are worked in – including a telepathic Mutant Queen – but they seem contrived and perfunctory.

The final pages of ‘The Black Roads’ exhibit some degree of worthiness, as the lead characters stumble across some revelations about the world ruled by the Roadmen. But I finished the book thinking that it was a mediocre derivative of the classic Harlan Ellison short story ‘Along the Scenic Route’. 

My verdict ? You’re better off reading Ellison's short story, and staying away from ‘The Black Roads’.

The Witch Queen of Acheron

The Witch Queen of Acheron
by Don Krarr, Gary Kwapisz, and Art Nichols
Marvel Graphic Novel No. 19, 1985

'The Witch Queen of Acheron' is Marvel Graphic novel No. 19. The story is by Don Kraar, with pencils by Gary Kwapisz, inks by Art Nichols, colors by Julia Ferriter, and letters by Janice Chiang.

As the story opens, our Hero is in familiar surroundings: enjoying the Company of Wenches and Wine in a tavern in Belverus, capital city of Nemedia. However, this episode of hedonism is not destined to last, for Conan is soon imprisoned and threatened with torture and death.

It seems that Prince Tarascus of Nemedia and his mistress Demetzia want something from Conan: the location of a fabled treasure, secreted in a mine somewhere in Acheron, a lawless state in the northern border of Nemedia 

Conan not particularly inclined to corroborate with degenerate aristocrats like Tarascus and Demetzia, and makes a break for freedom.

Conan is unsuccessful, and to save his own skin, agrees to lead a major expedition to the mine. The way is fraught with danger, for the wild tribesmen of Acheron don't take kindly to the trespass of strangers.

 This being a 1985 graphic novel, the reader is treated to cheesecake images featuring 80s - inspired lingerie / bikini fashions.

I won't disclose any spoilers, save to say that the expedition does eventually find the mine where the treasure is housed. But this is just the start of Conan's troubles.....

I found 'The Witch Queen of Acheron' to be a mediocre graphic novel and Conan adventure. Kraar' script isn't particularly original, treading the same ground as previous Conan adventures. 

Gary Kwapisz's artwork is uneven, ranging from very good in one panel, to makeshift in another, a signal that Deadline Issues were cropping up. The coloring of the book also is mediocre, with the darker color schemes leaving the reader forced to peer at the murk in order to make out any details. I can't tell if the book was printed using the World Color plastic-plate flexographic process, but if it was, that might explain this drawback.

Summing up, 'The Witch Queen of Acheron' certainly isn't a must-have for either Conan fans, or fans of 80s graphic novels. 

The Deceiving Eye: The Art of Richard Hescox

The Deceiving Eye
The Art of Richard Hescox
text by Randy M. Dannenfelser
Paper Tiger, 2004

If you were a reader of sf and fantasy paperbacks and magazines in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s, then it's very likely that you saw Richard Hescox's artwork. 

Starting in 1974, with his first commercial art illustration - the cover of issue 7 of Monsters Unleashed (Marvel / Curtis) - Hescox would go on to be one of the foremost artists for paperback and hardback covers.

'The Deceiving Eye' is an overview of Hescox's work from 1974 to the early 2000s. The opening chapters cover Hescox's education and early career work, which saw him grow up in Pasadena, California, and attend the Art Center College of Design in Hollywood. As a student, Hescox earned money by painting portraits for people visiting Disneyland in Anaheim. Upon graduation from the Art Center, he worked at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History. 

Seeking to break into the world of commercial art, and science fiction illustration in particular, Hescox entered his portfolio into the art show held at the 1973 San Diego Comic Con. Neal Adams, who also was in attendance, asked for a private showing of the entries, after which he asked to see Hescox. As a result, Adams volunteered to send Hescox's work to Marvel for their consideration, which launched Hescox's career as an illustrator.

In 1975 Hescox broke into the book cover market when he received commissions from DAW Books. The quality of his artwork soon earned him a steady stream of assignments for book cover art for other publishers, such as Del Rey, Signet, and Ace Books, throughout the 80s and early 90s.

 During this time Hescox also took commissions for film production and advertising.

 

'The Deceiving Eye' features a chapter on Hescox's studio artwork, which - with its portraits of nubile young women posing in exotic landscapes - is inspired by the art of 19th Century British artists like John William Waterhouse, Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Herbert James Draper.

Other chapters focus on the artist's experiences earning a living as a commercial artist; there are some wry observations here about the nature of such work. One chapter is titled Never Assume the Art Director Has Read the Book, which deals with Hescox's interactions with a confused art director at Ace Books.

In 1992, after becoming increasingly dissatisfied with his interactions with art directors at the publishing houses, Hescox decided to make a major career change and seek employment in the burgeoning computer gaming realm. This led to jobs creating concept sketches and renderings for a number of sf and fantasy games such as Microsoft's Mechwarrior and Sierra's Earth Siege. 

Some of the more interesting chapters are those dealing with Hescox's thoughts and observations on the current state of education in the fine arts, modern art, and learning one's craft.

Summing up, if you're a fan of sf and fantasy illustration, and the illustrations for works of the 70s and 80s in particular, then you'll want to get a copy of 'The Deceiving Eye'. Like all of the art books published by Paper Tiger, it's a quality book, marked by high-quality reproductions of the art, and the conscientious placement of descriptive text and captions.