October 30, 2006
Ghost Rider Part 5: Vengeance in the Year 2099
Marvel has always sought ways to bolster their line of comics with new properties. The 1970s horror line, the 1980s New Universe line, and the 1990s lineup of futuristic heroes in the 2099 universe were all attempts to gain new marketshare. For a while, it looked like the 2099 universe was a goldmine: Spider-Man 2099 was a huge seller for the first couple of years. After the initial 2099 lineup, Marvel turned to other well known characters that could be fast-forwarded into the future, and the smokin' hot Ghost Rider was an obvious choice. While the very notion is gimmicky, Ghost Rider 2099 (at least in the first 8 or so issues) was my favorite 2099 title next to Spider-Man.
Written by Len Kaminski and drawn by Chris Bachalo and Mark Buckingham, Ghost Rider 2099 didn't have anything to do with horror. It was all about youthful rebellion against a culture dominated by mega-corporations. I'll always remember Ghost Rider 2099 as a symbol for the Gen-X movement, as I sped down Seattle's 520 bridge, listening to Beck's Loser ("I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?") on the stereo, with the first issue of GR 2099 waiting to be read in the seat next to me. Although I've never found any interviews with Kaminski on the subject, I'm sure he was into the popular culture of that time period.
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Posted by Adam Warlock at 9:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)Doctor Strange's Massive Orgy in Shamballa
SanctumSanctorumComix reminded us that there were a couple of more memorable Doctor Strange moments when he got down with the ladies. Give us any chance to pound on Scott Hinze and we'll take it! In Doctor Strange Sorceror Supreme 86 (1996), written by J.M. DeMatteis and drawn by Mark Buckingham, Doc travels to his hometown in Nebraska. While visiting his childhood home at night, he runs into an old friend, Amanda Payne. Amanda is a single mom who asks the Scott Hinze question, "...with those clothes and that beard...living in Greenwich Village and all--are you gay?"
I have to admit, looking at Doc in that Warren Ellis-era costume, I might ask the same thing. Too much red! Amanda becomes Doc's girlfriend for a few issues. It's a bit funny that this happens when Doc encounters Baron Mordo again, as that villain showed up at the beginning of Doc's infatuation with Morgana Blessing. Baron Mordo apparently dies in this story, but he's revived in Amazing Spider-Man #500, according to Mordo's Wikipedia article.
J.M. DeMatteis probably wrote the most wicked sex scene involving Doc in Marvel Graphic Novel #23, Into Shamballa. This fantastic gem wasn't a normal comic book, it was more like an illustrated novel, with fully painted artwork by Dan Green. Green was well known for being an top-notch inker, but Shamballa gave him a chance to really shine on his own. Doc's teacher, the Ancient One (now one with the universe), sends his former student on a series of trials where he must overcome earthly illusions.
One of them is Lust. In India, Doc is confronted with a harem of sexy ladies. The lustful feelings are intense and there are so many beautiful babes. What would a Sorcerer Supreme do? After performing a Spell of Separation, Doc does just that, spinning off multiple threads of himself to have a massive orgy. Let's see Harry Potter do that! Nuff said.
October 27, 2006
Ghost Rider Part 4: Who is Daniel Ketch?
When Ghost Rider rode back into comic book stores in 1990, fans welcomed the character back as they never had before. Written by Howard Mackie and drawn the art team of Javier Saltares and Mark Texeira, this all-new Ghost Rider became one of Marvel's highest selling series. Whereas previous writers made an intricate story between the Ghost Rider and Satan, Mackie abandoned that approach to portray a character stripped down to his minimalist roots, encapsulated by the slogan: Spirit of Vengeance!
In the first few pages of Ghost Rider Volume 2 #1, we meet the host for the vengeful demon: Daniel Ketch. (Readers of the Busiek-Ross MARVELS book may remember that Ketch shows up on the last page of the story.) We know nothing of this fellow other than he's walking through a graveyard at night with sister, Barb. They run into a gang of criminals fighting each other (one group belongs to the Kingpin) and Barb gets critically wounded. Daniel backs into a junkyard, where he discovers a mysteriously abandoned motorcycle with a glowing gas cap. After touching the gas cap, Daniel gets imbued with a powerful energy.
The Ghost Rider emerges a few panels later, having possessed Daniel's body. It was clear from the start that Daniel and the Ghost Rider were separate entities, given that Daniel remembered little of Ghost Rider's nocturnal activities. All of these elements made Daniel Ketch less interesting as a person for me. I couldn't believe the way that he accidentally stumbled into these powers, which was so unlike a typical Marvel hero! Worse, I could never get a grip on Daniel Ketch's personality, his aspirations, fears, love interest, his family or friends. All the supporting characters belonging to the Daniel Ketch character all seemed too bland, too indistinct. I could never tell his girlfriend from his sister!
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Posted by Kid Flash at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)October 26, 2006
Ghost Rider Part 3: From Satan to Mephisto
Marvel's horror-craze only lasted a few years, beginning in late 1970 (with Marvel Spotlight #2 featuring Werewolf by Night) and ending during the first half of 1975 (the last issue of the black and white monster magazines). The longest lasting characters to survive the horror boom were Werewolf by Night (43 issues), Tomb of Dracula (70 issues), but Ghost Rider beat them all with 81 issues and numerous comebacks. Part of his survival is due to writer Tony Isabella (taking over when Gary Friedrich left the series) deciding to usher Johnny Blaze into the superhero population. The dramatic event occurred in Ghost Rider #9. The cover proclaimed: This is it! The final fearful Showdown with Satan!
As Tony Isabella said in his interview with Alex Ness at Pop Thought: "When I was assigned to write GHOST RIDER, two things were obvious to me. Without artist Mike Ploog, the supernatural-based stories weren't working as well as they had during his stint on the book, leading me to consider whether or not that book might sell better if I emphasized the super-hero aspects of the title. The second thing was that there were plenty of Satan avatars active in the Marvel Universe, but precious little evidence of the loyal opposition. I hit a point in the extended storyline where it made wonderful sense to have Jesus Christ prevent Satan from claiming Johnny Blaze's soul."
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Posted by Kid Flash at 2:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)Marvel Ultimate Alliance: Quick Impressions
I picked up Marvel Ultimate Alliance for the XBox 360 yesterday, based on a number of very good ratings from IGN, Team XBox, and GameInformer (see this Metacritic link for a summary). I like this game a lot, it's good, cheesy fun for Marvel Comics fans. The opening cinematic featuring the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier under attack by the Masters of Evil is excellent--if they could stretch this into 90 minutes, they would have a fantastic movie. Your first mission is to save the Helicarrier from blowing up with a team consisting of Captain America, Thor, Wolverine, and Spider-Man. You will see Nick Fury quite a bit in this game, because he's directing your attacks against the Masters of Evil, and he's got some secrets of his own that he doesn't want revealed. Besides that level, I've also played through a S.H.I.E.L.D. roving laboratory (under attack by AIM) and the Atlantis level where you have to rescue the Sub-Mariner. As soon as you're done saving his bacon, Namor rewards you by telling your team to beat it! Another level has a throwdown against MODOK, where he asks you trivia questions--if you miss them, your team gets a little electrical shock.
Soon after you start playing, you can choose different team members. When I selected Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Ms. Marvel, I got a special Avengers notice, with extra bonus points for damage. There's also a special bonus (resistance to damage) when you select the Fantastic Four. I really get a kick of playing Captain America, because you can throw his shield around and use it as a ranged weapon to take out numerous enemies. Thor and the Thing are both pretty cool because they can take out really strong enemies. It's even fun to play around with Sue Storm--just make her invisible and she's a great stealth attack player. I'm disappointed I can't have my Defenders dream team with Dr. Strange, Sub-Mariner, Silver Surfer, and the Hulk. Namor is an NPC and ol' greenskin is not listed anywhere.
Not everything is great. Some of the reviews are talking about how fantastic the graphics are, and I don't see much difference between this and X-Men Legends (although I just have a 480p TV). There's some graphical glitches, like Captain America floating and flickering above the ground when I was walking in a certain area. In some of the big boss battles (against creatures like Fin Fang Foom and the Kraken) the camera pans away so far that you can't really see your characters that well. Certain things don't make sense, like the Human Torch using fire powers in Atlantis! But I think if you're a Marvel Comics fan and you like video games, Marvel Ultimate Alliance is great fun. If you get it for XBox 360, you will rack up achievement points in no time. Nuff said.
Posted by Kid Flash at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)October 25, 2006
Pick of the Week: Nextwave #9
Never have I laughed so long or so hard while reading a comic book as I did just now, reading Nextwave #9. There's a deep belly laugh on almost every page! I can't reveal the jokes without spoiling them for you, but if you remember an old Marvel comic called Not Brand Echh (1967-1969), which satirized all the classic Marvel heroes, you'll really love it. And if you've read The Ultimates or the Authority, you will probably get a kick out of it, too. It's a shame this book is getting cancelled at issue #12, but I'm hoping it does return soon. Nuff said.
Doctor Strange Gay? We Say Thee Nay, Scott Hinze!
Scott Hinze's gaydar is seriously out of whack. On an otherwise very fine interview with Brian K. Vaughan at Fanboy Radio, Scott had the audacity to ask if Doctor Strange was gay. Now, Scott is usually a very fine interviewer, but let's just say that at times there are gaps in his knowledge of comic book history. Mr. Vaughan's reply was that Stephen Strange isn't necessarily gay, but he might swing both ways occassionally. Well, we've never seen any evidence of that. Look at the above panel from Dr. Strange Sorcerer Supreme #3 (1989) where the Enchantress goes to great lengths to seduce Doc!
Probably the first subtle mention of sex that I read in any comic as a youngster was Dr. Strange #1 in 1974 (Volume 2) by Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner. There was this little sequence where Clea tells Doc she's interested in far more than magic tricks. That we could infer this action in-between panels from Clea pursing her lips up towards Doc shows you how desperate we were for superhero sex. It released all that pent-up frustration we had from looking at Clea's plum little ass in that leotard. As BKV also mentioned, Doc was one of the first superheroes to "live in sin" with his girlfriend, Clea. I thought that was so cool as a kid, I told my Mom I was gonna grow up to be just like Doc Strange. That's how also I met my first psychologist!
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Posted by Adam Warlock at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)Ghost Rider Part 2: The HellCycle
In the beginning, Johnny Blaze rode an ordinary motorcycle on his nightly excursions. But when your skeletal body is shooting fire Every Which A Way But Loose*, how practical is that really? Your bike could explode at any given moment! Not to mention that Johnny Blaze was getting sucked into Hell regularly and when he came back to Earth, his bike couldn't be found! Well, after Johnny Blaze shook hands with Satan in issue #2, issue #3 had the answer.
In "Wheels of Fire", Gary Friedrich concluded his epic tale that introduced the Son of Satan to the Marvel Universe. Daimon Hellstrom had rescued both Johnny Blaze and Linda Littletree from Hell. Linda had been possessed by the Devil and had become "Witch Woman", givin' Johnny Blaze nothin' but red hot pants trouble for three issues. When the Son of Satan dumps Johnny miles away from the nearest city, he realizes he's in a mess of trouble.
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Posted by Cousin Dick at 9:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)October 24, 2006
Mike Ploog's Classic Ghost Rider
1972 was a banner year for Marvel Comics horror characters. With Monster of Frankenstein and Werewolf by Night successfully launched in their own titles, editor Roy Thomas decided it was time to "horrify" an old western character called Ghost Rider. I had already fallen in love with Ploog's artwork, but his work on the first three Ghost Rider tales made me his eternal worshipper. I had anticipated the debut issue ever since I had seen that flaming skull in the Marvel Bullpen Bulletins.
Like the previous monster series, Marvel once again turned to writer Gary Friedrich and artist Mike Ploog, who said in this interview: "When I first heard of Ghost Rider, I thought it was a Western, going back to the Frazetta-drawn Ghost Rider riding around on the white horse."
Ghost Rider was different from most of the Marvel horror series. Whereas Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Werewolf were Marvel-ized version of popular horror characters, Ghost Rider was completely original. Not even Man-Thing could claim to be totally unique, having had a famous predecessor in the Heap.
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Posted by Cousin Dick at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)October 23, 2006
Satana the Devil’s Daughter: A Symbol of Women’s Lib
Satana, the Devil's Daughter, was conceived by Marvel at the same time as the Son of Satan. In Marvel Spotlight #12 (Hellstrom's first solo story), Daimon says to Johnny Blaze: "…until I gain the final, ultimate revenge-for what he did to my mother and sister!*" Roy Thomas' editorial note follows the asterisk: "*More on the mother next ish! And as for his sultry sister Satana, you can get a fleeting glimpse of her in our current giant-size Vampire Tales #2, now on sale!"
The original model for Satana was developed by Roy Thomas and John Romita. Satana was a succubus, able to steal men's souls with a kiss. She was taught black magic as well, but unlike Daimon, in the beginning she was loyal to Satan. In Marvel Spotlight #13, Satana sacrifices a cat to her father's name, much to the horror of her (human) mother. While Satana never had a strong run of stories, in many ways her debut in Vampire Tales #2 was the most remarkable story of all. It left an impression on me that I'll never forget.
It was a four page story by Thomas and Romita. Romita's artwork was stunning in black and white. It starts off wordlessly, with a classic Romita girl-with his Romance background-walking through the deserted streets of New York City at night. She looks apprehensive, afraid-then looks back at the sound of footsteps following her.
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Posted by Kid Flash at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)