By Crom's black beard...! I was going to say, I've complained before, when Marvel had the Conan license, and re-launched
Savage Sword of Conan not as a black-and-white magazine, but a traditional comic; which was malfeasance bordering on sacrilege. Then I remembered, didn't I buy all those from a show recently? And if so, where the hell did I put them...I got all distracted, but my point was, I should be mad at this issue, for not coming in the classic
Bizarre Adventures format, too: from 2019,
Bizarre Adventures #1.
Oddly enough, this would be the first #1 issue for the title: it had been
Marvel Preview up until 1981, although it had two "Bizarre Adventures" issues before the title change. This issue features four stories from characters who did, or certainly could have, been featured in the magazine days; starting with a Bloodstone story, with the classic monster-hunter. (Elsa's dad to you newbies!) "The Star-Spawned Sorcerer" Written by Jed Mackay, art by Chris Mooneyham.
Next, Shang-Chi in "The Lesson," which features kung-fu action, again in the vein of the magazine days. Shang faces an old master, but is he the unstoppable weapon he could be...? (Written by Sebastian Girner, art by Francesco Manna, color art by Andy Troy.) Then, Dracula, who of course had his own
black & white mag, in "Eveline O'Reilly." Drac revisits an old foe, whom he had conflicting feelings for; but time has long since marched on. (Written by Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad, art by Becky Cloonan, color art by Lee Loughridge.)
There were
three variant covers for this book, but I have the Black Goliath one by Aaron Conley, who also draws the three-page closer with the giant hero in 70's style. It's silly, although his "ew, no, I'm a normal human" crack is a bit rough. ("How Does He Do It?" Written by Jon Adams, art by Aaron Conley, color art by John Rauch.)
For a buck, this was pretty good! Although I wish I had a big stack of black & white next to me now.
3 comments:
I too wonder why Marvel doesn’t dabble in publishing B&W magazines anymore, aside from the obvious like the cost to do so probably being more than the financial benefit, logistics, etc. It’d still be nice to see at least ONE B&W anthology magazine being put out as well as a full-color version, be it as Amazing Fantasy or Bizarre Adventures. Something.
So I tracked this down online to read for free & it’s not bad. Definitely didn’t expect the twist reveal of the identity of said sorcerer from the stars. I won’t spoil it here, but it’s from an alien race well-known to FF & Avengers’ fans.
The Shang-Chi was decent, definitely enjoyed the surprisingly sweet Dracula story. Becky Cloonan’s art definitely helped set the mood & tone just right.
The Black Goliath one was a nice enough gag. Wouldn’t mind seeing THAT version of him getting a mini-series or ongoing. Definitely has potential.
I feel like it has to do with the paper. They seem to use the glossy paper for almost everything except facsimiles, and B&W just doesn’t look as good on that stuff.
That’s VERY true, yeah
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