Killraven Amazing Adventures No. 38

Killraven: 'Amazing Adventures' No. 38

(September 1976)

‘Amazing Adventures: Featuring War of the Worlds’ No. 28 appeared in early Summer 1976 (its publication date is September 1976). The writing duties for this issue were handled by Bill Mantlo, and the artwork by Keith Giffen.

In a seeming last-ditch effort to garner increased sales (this is the second-to-last issue of the Killraven / WotW saga) the cover depicts a slew of Marvel heroes clustered around a bewildered Killraven. How does the writer explain a meeting between Killraven and the Marvel heroes ? It’s all a dream, of course…

In the opening pages Killraven chances upon a strange exhibit hall among the ruins of Miami:

Soon he is caught up in the hallucinatory ditherings of an android residing in the building’s interior; in an utterly contrived plot device, this particular android tends to dream of as many Marvel heroes as this comic can cram into its 17 pages. We first get Iron Man, then the Swamp Thing, and then, in the last six pages, not only a cavalcade of heroes, but mention as well of Howard Cosell (?!) and President Gerald Ford (?!).

Just one issue left with which to put Killraven out of his misery…

Killraven: 'Amazing Adventures' No. 21

Killraven: 'Amazing Adventures' No. 21 (November 1973)

Amazing Adventures 21 (November 1973) features Killraven in “The Mutant Slayers”, written by Don McGregor and illustrated by Herb Trimpe:

Killraven and his crew are still battling the Warlord, a human lackey of the Martians. At one point in the comic, Killraven comes upon the ruins of Yankee Stadium (ca. 2018) and provokes an attack by humans and animals mutated by the release of toxins from nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons deployed in a failed effort to stop the Martian invasion of the Earth (back in 2000).

These are some genuinely bizarre, tongue-in-cheek creatures; my favorite is the amalgam of man and crab (!) The scene depicting the mutilation of Killraven’s prickly comrade Hawk- by crab-man drool- is a demented gem.

No other comic of the era could match ‘Killraven’ for its lunatic imagination and energy….and even today, only Britain’s 2000AD / Judge Dredd books really succeed in approaching these qualities half as well…

Killraven's First Appearance, Amazing Adventures Issue 18

Killraven's First Appearance
'War of the Worlds'
Amazing Adventures No. 18
Marvel Comics, May 1973

I've posted excerpts from this inaugural issue of the 'Killraven / War of the Worlds' storyline back in 2009, but I think it deserves to be presented in full. These scans come from the 2018 Marvel Masterworks edition of 'Killraven: Volume 1' (look for a full review coming soon)

Certainly, 'Killraven' is one of the greatest of the sci-fi comics of the 70s (standing alongside Deathlok's appearances in Astonishing Tales during the same time period). Neal Adams started the artwork on this issue of Amazing Adventures, but left the assignment unfinished. Howard Chaykin hastily was recruited to fill in the missing pages.

While limited to only 20 pages, writer Gerry Conway nonetheless was able to come up with a narrative that sufficiently fleshed out the future world of Killraven to keep readers intrigued and ready to come back for more.  

Amazing Adventures No. 22 with Killraven

Killraven: 'Amazing Adventures' No. 22 (January 1974)

‘Amazing Adventures’ No. 22 (January 1974) features Killraven in ‘Washington Nightmare’, scripted by Don McGregor and illustrated by Herb Trimpe.

The story opens with some great action sequences (excerpted below) as a monster rises from the depths of the Potomac and attacks the tugboat bearing Killraven’s party to the ruins of DC. Trimpe provides a fine double-page spread, calling to mind the memorable Silver Age spreads of Jack Kirby:

The fight with the river creature is a fierce one, observed from the shore by a freelance raider named Sabre.

 

 

The issue ends with yet another cliffhanger, as Killraven gets the worst of his encounter with Abraxas, the human squid of the cover  (and  a name undoubtedly inspired by the Santana album of the same name).

The Killraven story in this issue of Amazing Adventures was only 15 pages in length, a telling indication that, by the late fall of 1973, Marvel’s production problems had become critical. The remaining four comic pages of the book are filled out with a story titled "The Man Who Went Too Far!" which, according to the Marvel Wiki entry for this issue, originally appeared in Journey into Unknown Worlds #56 (April 1959).

In Stan Lee’s Soapbox, the Man Himself admits – in his usual corny blather – that things are not well with the company, and a number of ‘secondary character’ titles are being discontinued – ostensibly to give cash-strapped Marvel readers a chance to purchase comics that stress ‘quality over quantity’.

Of course, Lee – ever quick to take credit for characters and stories authored by other Marvel staffers – declines to say who, exactly, was responsible for the state of affairs in which multiple books (including ‘Fantastic Four’ ) were having to include filler material from the company vaults due to over-extended artists and writers.

One of the strangest things about looking through these old comics are the advertisements. I’ve included one for the ‘Record Club of America’.

Far out…!

 

Among the groovy LPs, 8-track cartridges and casette tapes for offer are those by Hurricane Smith, a middle-aged English crooner with a sandpaper voice who had a big hit with ‘Oh Babe, What Would You Say ?’

And there’s also an LP from the Toronto band ‘Edward Bear’, who had a top 40 hit in ’72 – ‘73 with ‘Last Song (I’ll Ever Write for You)'.

And let’s not overlook the soundtrack to the film ‘Godspell’, a single from which, ‘Day by Day’, was in Heavy Rotation on many AM and FM stations throughout ’73 and ’74 !

Killraven: 'Amazing Adventures' No. 30

(May 1975)

The May 1975 issue of ‘Amazing Adventures’ No. 30 features one of the more iconic representations of Killraven and the Marvel ‘War of the Worlds’ storyline. 

The cover of the British edition was  used by author David Kyle in his section on H. G. Wells’ novel in 'A Pictorial History of Science Fiction' (1977, Hamlyn, London).

It’s also featured on the back cover of the 'Marvel Essentials' black & white collection of the Killraven saga.

 

Unfortunately, however striking the cover, the contents of this issue leave a lot to be desired. By Spring 1975 Marvel’s publication schedule was so over-ambitious that it wasn’t unusual for Stan Lee to recycle previously published material in order to fill the necessary page count and meet  deadlines. For Amazing Adventures No. 30, pages from issue No. 23 (‘The Legend Assassins’) and issue No. 24 (‘For He’s A Jolly Dead Rebel’) are inserted under the ruse of a ‘flashback’ storyline featuring the High Overlord.

[In fairness to Lee, he wasn’t alone in shamelessly recycling comics during the 70s. Over at Warren publishing, James Warren was regularly reprinting previous strips into new issues of Erie and Creepy. Maybe, like Warren, Lee was reluctant to expand his payroll when he could wrest sheckels from the unwary buyer for the old stuff in new packaging…..]

The last page of the book tells us that, far from dying in the assault that killed their mother when they were boys, Killraven’s brother Deathraven is alive and well… and awaiting our hero at Yellowstone National Park. It’s the only really rewarding tidbit present in one of the more forgettable issues of the Killraven saga........

Killraven: 'Amazing Adventures' No. 29

(March 1975)

‘Amazing Adventures featuring Killraven’ No. 29 (March 1975) appeared on newsstands in the Christmas / New Years season of 1974. 

This issue, ‘The Hell Destroyers’,  continues the ‘Death Breeders’ storyline involving Killraven's quest to free what used to be Chicago from control of the Martians and their human lackeys. The script is by Don McGregor and the art and colors by Craig Russel. 

Things improve page-wise with this issue, as the number of pages devoted to the Killraven story goes up to 19, with no filler material (such as reprints from Marvel stories from the 1950s). The reason for the return to the page counts routine for comics of previous years is unclear; perhaps the beleaguered Marvel staff is beginning to catch up with their workload. Or maybe Stan Lee came to his senses and canceled a bunch of books and assigned the artists to existing titles.   


Unfortunately, despite the increased pages given to him to work with, MacGregor can't help stuffing too much awful dialogue and text boxes into each panel, essentially overwhelming the decent art by Russell. There are also too many characters vying for attention - Killraven's crew has grown too big for its own good. Nonetheless the story does work up some momentum, and features some gruesome revenge upon the servants of the Martians.