Today, Rick Jones misses his shot at grunge a decade early.

Black hole sun, won't you come--oh, it might be here already. From 1984, ROM #60, "The Eyes of a Child!" Written by Bill Mantlo, pencils by Steve Ditko, inks by Tom Palmer.

Rick Jones is having a nightmare, that he thinks is about Wraithworld, but he gets the "it was earth all along" twist when he sees the fallen Statue of Liberty. But, then we get Rom flying through unseasonably cold weather: it's one of comics' best "red skies" crossovers, the opening of the Casket of Ancient Winters! The editorial caption box credits it to Thor #349, but I think it was actually #348. Massive snowfall across the planet, and across multiple titles, like the Avengers books, and perhaps most famously, Amazing Spider-Man #258. While Rom has a talk with Brandy Clark, who was currently the spaceknight Starshine and getting progressively angrier and more violent; we check in on a train stopped by the snows, just in time to see everyone on board murdered by the Dire Wraiths. The Wraith Sisterhood, the magic-using ones, seem somewhat divided: sure, they can kill a bunch of people, but so what? What was their goal? Conveniently, one explains it: to recreate Wraithworld on earth!

The army, with Rick, Rom, and Brandy in tow; discover the train and the slaughter two days later. Rom is even at a loss to explain the Wraiths' cruelty, while Rick is trying to hold it together, since the cancer he picked up trying to turn himself into a Hulk was progressing. Rick does find a survivor: a little girl, who was beyond traumatized. But, Starshine points out, she has the tell-tale wound on her head of a Wraith tongue-sucker, and must die! Rick has to throw himself in front of a blast; and Rom's analyzer reveals the child to be human. The girl, Cindy--I don't think we get her name this issue!--tells how the Wraiths killed her parents, but her mom had survived long enough to slice the Wraith's tongue. Instead of getting her brain sucked out, now she knew everything that Wraith had known...including their Wraithworld plans! She would be a recurring character for a good chunk of the rest of the run. Read more!

We brought up the Dire Wraiths of ROM fame yesterday, but of course there has yet to be an action figure for those horrible creatures. Unless you use your imagination, in which any figure could be a shape-changed Wraith. (That one's a Skrull, put that back!) There was a pre-Legends, Toy Biz prototype for a Dire Wraith figure shown I believe in ToyFare long, long ago; that may have been intended for the same Silver Surfer wave that had the Meegan, which we've seen a few times. But, for the next few posts we'll check out some Wraith appearances, starting with one not in the GCD: from 1985, Marvel Age #23, cover by Bill Sienkiewicz!

Despite the great Wraith cover, this issue was hyping up "The New Direction" for the title, post ROM #65, which guest-starred about every hero in the Marvel Universe at the time. Actually, then I start looking, and can only think of who wasn't there: the Defenders roster had changed, so no Hulk or Dr. Strange, although Namor gets in there; no Thor but Beta Ray Bill instead; and no Spider-Man since Ditko wouldn't draw him! Anyway, after banishing the Wraiths from earth and all of Wraithworld to Limbo, Rom was free to return to space, and meander around before returning to Galador and the series finale #75.

Most of the art shown was Steve Ditko, although there's also an unused version of the ROM #61 cover by David Mazzucchelli and Terry Austin

There's also a reused photo of the old Rom promotional costume, which I would've guessed hadn't been used in like five years at that point.

Also, Marvel Age doesn't have the series' covers in the GCD, because despite being all about the comics coming out, in itself there wasn't enough comic content by volume to qualify for inclusion. Which is a shame, since some of the covers were pretty good; and there were usually comics from Fred Hembeck every issue!

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It sucks I'm never going to see the Capitol Building again without thinking of January 6.

Admittedly, I may have thought of this every time I saw it before: Anyway, today we have from 1980, Mystery in Space #111, cover by Joe Kubert.

This was a revival of the classic DC sci-fi title: the previous issue, MiS #110, had featured Ultra the Multi-Alien and was published in 1966. It still looked like they were in apocalypse mode, though: from 1979 to 1980 DC put out five big issues of Time Warp, which ran with the header "Doomsday Tales and Other Things." Time Warp #5 was on stands March 1980 and MiS #111 June 1980: vile speculation, but I wouldn't be surprised if these stories were originally meant for Time Warp, then DC maybe course-corrected from the larger book to standard-size. This is a roundabout way of pointing out the stories here were maybe gloomier than usual for the title, or DC's traditional sci-fi stuff. "Final Warning!" finds an earth ambassador risking his life to get a transmission back to earth, warning of an upcoming invasion...He dies sending it, only for it to be denied unread as "postage due." I...I feel like even in 1980 they should've known that wasn't really how 'electronic mail' was going to work. (Written by Gerald Brown, art by Dan Spiegle.)

In "Viewpoints," a robot in a distant, humanless future looks back through a time viewer at a prehistoric family, and sees itself back in the past. It tries to destroy the machine so it wouldn't get sent back in time, which of course makes it happen; but the humans have something to teach him. It has some dark moments, but gets to a happy ending. (Written by Charlie Boatner, art by Marshall Rogers.)

"Sure Things" is a groaner with the last man on earth, then a sci-fi tale with Jim Aparo art: "The Singling," also written by Gerald Brown. An alien invasion has wiped out humanity, seemingly to the last man; but he's not who you'd think. Hey, the Capitol again, and the Washington Post, being about as goddamn helpful as it is today. I wouldn't even wrap fish in it!

"Once Upon a Time Machine!" is almost a palette cleanser after the rest of the issue, as a young librarian steals a time machine for his research project, into the origins of fairy tales. The beardy jerks at the Temporal Research Center laughed at him, but he wasn't taking no for an answer! But, when you observe a phenomenon you might affect it; especially if you repeatedly affect things, like causing beans to grow a giant beanstalk, or waking an ailing sleeping beauty. Still, is there really magic in those tales...? (Story by Mike W. Barr, art by Steve Ditko.) Read more!

Wrightson cover, should be a horror comic...

I felt a little bait-and-switched after opening up this one, but we'll see: from 1975, House of Mystery #236, cover by Bernie Wrightson.

OK, I'm pretty sure I could search just the blog and find a bunch of Steve Ditko horror stories; although I'm hard-pressed to remember if any were super-scary? Or were they usually morality plays of various degrees of hokeyness? Let's see how this one goes: "Death Played a Sideshow" Written by "Coram Nobis" (David Vern), pencils by Steve Ditko, inks by Mike Royer. Spiritualist/mentalist "the amazing Dr. Krupke" is a fake and a hack, snowing rubes with some ghost effects, and letting their imaginations fill in the rest. Today he's running a "purification rite" scam on an absolute chump, 'burning' money to prove his love. Krupke eventually declares him "pure," or at least broke, but that he shouldn't do anything for three days. Namely, because the carnival will be moving on before then...but, the chump gets word his love eloped with somebody else, and tries to get his money back. Krupke bashes him over the head with his mystic kettle-thing, killing him. He then dumps the body in the river, where he knows it will be found: when the cops question him, Krupke says he returned the guy's cash, but was worried he might still kill himself over losing his girl.

The chump's friends work with the cops, to try and trick Krupke into confessing with a black-light ghost. Sure enough, the ghost scares Krupke into running crying to the cops to confess; but the friends weren't as successful as they thought: their fake ghost hadn't been able to tunnel in and missed his cue, so who...? Yeah, whatever. Let's see how the second story goes, "Deep Sleep" Written by Jack Oleck, pencils by Paul Kirchner, inks by Neal Adams. John visits his college friend Alan Trent and his sister Elizabeth, both of whom are nervous wrecks, terrified of the "curse of the Trents." They allegedly had a family history of seemingly dying, and being buried alive...which seems like the sort of thing that would have come up in college after a night drinking, but again, whatever.

No one else seems to believe them, and they might have a point? How would you know someone had been buried alive, unless they had made it back? The Trents have taken precautions, though; with an elaborate bell system. Did I say elaborate? It's a string tied to the corpse's finger running from the family tomb back to the house. Elizabeth dies first, although Alan swears she isn't actually dead; and insists that one of them always stay awake in case she rings for help. After a week of that, John's ready to call it; and slips Alan sleeping pills so he can finally get a good night's rest. But the next morning, Alan is mortified, since he dreamed the bell had been ringing. They check, and find Elizabeth had been alive--last night, anyway--and had tried to signal. Feeling he owed Alan, John was now himself trapped, forced to stay in case Alan 'died.' Cain returns for a cheerful denouement, though: John had stayed...for fifty-five years, dying before Alan, who was still around and just insane.

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Kinda didn't think there would be that many stories or covers for this series that were this literal, but hell, maybe? From 1981, Secrets of Haunted House #41, featuring "Castle in the Attic" Written by Bob Rozakis, pencils by Greg LaRocque, inks by Vince Colletta; "Canine Conniptions" Written by Robin Snyder, art by Noly Zamora; "House at Devil's Tail!" Written by Jack C. Harris, art by Steve Ditko; "Time Piece" Written by Wyatt Gwyon (Martin Pasko!), pencils by Charles Nicholas, inks by John Celardo; and "The Blood Curse of Maule's Well!" Written by Bob Rozakis, art by Dan Spiegle. Cover by Joe Kubert!

Hmm, so was the titular "Haunted House" different than DC's House of Mystery or the House of Secrets? Abel traditionally lived in the latter, but he's presenting today's stories; but there's not a lot of continuity in any of these: it may or may not be the same House. Anyway, in "Castle in the Attic" a young dad goes on an unexpected trip when he checks out his attic, and finds along with pink fiberglass insulation, a castle! Complete with a giant, and monsters; but luckily his son is more prepared to deal with them, advising dad to stay outta the attic unless he gets strapped.

"Canine Conniptions" is almost literally a shaggy-dog story, but is at least short. "House at Devil's Tail" isn't real long, either: an escaped killer tries to hide out in the titular house, named after the windy-road it sat at the end of...or for another reason? "Time Piece" is a time-loop number, set in the far-off future of...2000? It's three pages of predetermined nonsense, try this instead: Finally, "The Blood Curse of Maule's Well!" was a Mister E story: he was created by Bob Rozakis, and I suspect was intended to play a similar role to say, the Phantom Stranger or Doctor 13; but later writers...usually went in a different direction with him. The blind vigilante visits Salem, where some of the tourists are kind of dicks "...what is a blind man doing on a sight-seeing tour?" He's doing nunya. Nunya business, lady! Geez, maybe I get why he went bad. Anyway, Mister E foils a rather Scooby-Doo scheme involving water turning into blood, but enough weird stuff happens that the paranormal may or may not be involved; and his two assistants are like two steps behind the whole way, but I guess they're his ride home.

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I had to make a quick check, to see if this issue's lead story was in the War That Time Forgot Showcase we mentioned last week. Nope! I also don't know why this series didn't get at least one Showcase collection of its own, either. From 1981, Weird War Tales #99, featuring "A Gauntlet of Giants!" Created and written by Robert Kanigher, pencils by Dave Cockrum, inks by Jerry Ordway! (Is it "Gantlet" or "Gauntlet"? They spell it both ways, between the cover and the lead story.)

A PBY 'flying boat' rescue crew fights hard to save a downed bomber's men, from a familar dinosaur-infested island. We mentioned before, there wasn't really much continuity in the WTTF stories, but a good amount of them ended with the survivors having no proof: in this case, the rescue crew's skipper is Section 8'd out of the service, for telling his superiors he had been fighting dinosaurs; while his crew hem and haw and look at their shoes, afraid of getting the butterfly-net treatment themselves. Thanks heaps, guys!

"A Match Made in Hell!" takes place during the British occupation of Bengal, and a viceroy of the Queen, the extraordinarily-British named "Col. Sir Aubrey Clegg-Haversham" is abusing the hell of out the locals, until he becomes smitten with the lovely Ivira. She claims per the rules of her sect, "only a husband may gaze upon a woman's body!" and I think the key word Aubrey missed in there was "sect." Maybe he misheard. Still, she surprises him by getting a bit handsy on their wedding night...(Written by George Kashdan, art by Ric Estrada.)

In "Man's Best Friend Enemy!" a WWII canine soldier is infected by a biological weapon, and his handler waits too long to put him down. Steve Ditko art, though, on another Kashdan story. "Divine Wind" is a rare story from the Japanese side of the war: a pilot's little brother is selected to be a kamikaze, but when the pilot dies, he still looks out for his brother. (Written by Mike W. Barr, art by Mar Amongo.) There's also the USPS Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation; actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 225,585; and Batman in a Hostess Cup Cakes ad and the subscription ad! What more could anyone want? Read more!

I would've thought Ditko wrote this one, too.

Could've done with some credits, but we'll trust the GCD: 1971, Ghostly Tales #85, featuring "The 9th Life" Written by Joe Gill, art by Steve Ditko; "Hide and E-Eeek!" also by Gill and Ditko; and "Gypsy's Revenge!" Written by Gill or Pat Boyette, art by Pat Boyette. (The table of contents lists them in a different order!) 

"The 9th Life" is a good one, in a Twilight Zone vein: young misanthrope Michael Hoyt hates his life, hates the world, hates about everything; but does show kindness to a scared cat shooed out of a tenement. In what could be a dream, Michael is visited by the cat in the form of a pretty witch, Felicia. She offers to help him find a better life, and what could be better than living in pre-Revolution America? Just about everything, if you're interested in not getting hung for shooting your mouth off... 

That's a bust, so Felicia helps him escape, to about a hundred years after that. Good times...unless you catch about anything, in the days before penicillin. Michael is starting to realize there are risks in any era, and returns to his own time to try and improve it, or at least accept the things he can't change. But, he does get introduced to a familiar girl at a party, so maybe his future is looking up. 

"Hide and E-Eeek!" is odd to me, if only because the book's host, Mr. Dedd, intervenes: you never saw the Crypt-Keeper or the Old Witch do that, did you? Wearing a human face resembling the Spectre's Jim Corrigan, Dedd attends a party where bitter old creep Mr. Spite has made most of the guests disappear. Feeling his family had wrecked his life, Spite was using mysticism or hypnosis or something to kill all his relatives before he died, forcing them to dig their own graves in his basement. Dedd puts a stop to that, leaving the guests befuddled as to why they were all digging... 

"Gypsy's Revenge!" reminded me of Doctor Doom, a little: evil Lord Malko, um, lords it over the countryside, but seemingly allows an aggrieved gypsy to kidnap his son and raise him. Is he just lazy, or have a longer game in mind? The boy Esau seems to excel in the mystic arts, but is he a willing participant or a pawn? I feel like a couple pages were out of order in my copy, so I'm not quite sure either.

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80-Page Thursday: World's Finest Comics #249!

I'm really tempted to just post the cover from this one: whatever you imagine from it, is probably way better than the actual story! How do you have the "vampire of steel" and the Phantom Stranger and still drop the ball? From 1978, World's Finest Comics #249.

The only fun bit in "The Vampire of Steel!" is Superman repeatedly choosing to hang out, but seemingly decline to help Batman, based on his code to "never give super help to corporations or private persons--even friends!" The rest is squandered, like mythical undersea vampire creatures, a Jacques Cousteau-style undersea conservationist who you know is going to be the bad guy--he's named 'Kalamari,' for pete's sake. Batman is about as mysterious as a kid wearing his underroos and almost as effective, and the Phantom Stranger can apparently breathe and talk underwater, yet never visits Aquaman. Jerk. On to the next one! (Story by Bob Haney, pencils by Kurt Schaffenberger, inks by Tex Blaisdell.)

I thought we had blogged either the prior or next chapter of this Green Arrow/Black Canary serial, "Will the Costume Make the Hero?" Written by Gerry Conway, pencils by Trevor Von Eeden, inks by Vince Colletta. Ollie had been ruined financially by Deleon, who added insult to injury by buying his old mansion, then finding the Arrowcave, proving Ollie was...Batman? I think I missed one of Deleon's steps there, but he needs 'Batman' to defend him against Hellgrammite, who has Black Canary captured. She manages to shatter her prison, and beat down the bug baddies's men, but gets knocked out again. Hiding in the shadows, his beard anyway, Ollie makes a convincing Batman, until he goes into action: he has no idea what's in his utility belt, since it's not labeled, and gets tangled in the cape and falls over!

Knowing Deleon was probably going to go to Hellgrammite--part of his scam, supposedly giving old gangsters new lives--Ollie thinks his career is probably over, but Hellgrammite forces Canary to call him for help. Even webbed up, though, Canary is still fighting to free herself: she does like a challenge. Hellgrammite turns on his men and Deleon, intent on covering his tracks and stealing the Green Arrow's identity, but still dressed as Batman Ollie manages to stop him. Deleon was killed, and Canary wonders if Ollie couldn't get his money back, but he claims he doesn't need it, then acts a little too possessive with Canary and pushes her away. Did I say a little? He's being a jerk.

Next, the Creeper's World's Finest debut! I think he'd stick around maybe seven issues, but here in "Moon Lady and the Monster" Jack Ryder and his supporting cast are security for a network's Elvira-like horror host as she's stalked by an old partner. It's a bit of fun, but I don't think sticks the landing--I wanted Moon Lady to go on, but apparently the ratings got her.

Then, an unexpected lead (that's on the cover...) and an unexpected guest-star: Wonder Woman, with Sgt. Rock! With Rock hypnotized by Doctor Psycho! And aliens! The latter are 100% unneccessary, as I'd rather see Rock and WW kicking Psycho back and forth. I don't know if he very much resembles later versions of the character, though.

Seriously, they could beat on him for chapters, I'll allow it. Another DC Necronomicon, though. Read more!

The cover promises "3 Mind-Mangling Tales of the Mysterious!" but there are four inside? Maybe one isn't mind-mangling, it's up to you...From 1975, Where Monsters Dwell #37, featuring a bunch of stories reprinted from somewhere else!

I swore I had read the opener, "Behold--the Monster!" before; it's a Stan Lee/Steve Ditko one. As an alien invasion heads towards earth, a hype man builds a giant paper-mache monster to advertise a new movie. Although it seems like a success--and he takes the statue on tour!--the hype man's boss comes down on him like a sack of bricks. The cops are claiming its blocking traffic, parent groups are writing in, and how much did you spend on that thing? Still, he might feel better if he knew the statue foiled that invasion.

"The Strange Prison!" is from Sub-Mariner creator Bill Everett, and in it a scuba diver finds an undersea kingdom and a beautiful princess. So of course he's gonna rob it. "The World Beyond" is Lee and Ditko again, as a scientist refuses to let his colleagues stop his experiments, and shrinks himself and his dog into a familiar looking sub-atomic world. No, not the one with the Micronauts on it. (Well, kind of?)

It's Lee and Don Heck for the last story, "Fangs of the Monster," in which a man begs passersby to believe his story about a sea monster that was more than it seemed. You won't believe it either! Which was kind of the point? Ah, it's late, I'm tired.
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Vonntor, Valtorr, tomato, to-mah-to.

He's Valtorr on the Ron Wilson cover for 1975's Vault of Evil #21, but was Vonntor inside and in the original Russ Heath story from 1953's Uncanny Tales #14. (Not #37 as noted on the front page!) Vonntor is on a strangling spree, but even with a cop eyewitness and later photos of him in the act, the police chief won't press charges because the fingerprints don't match the victims' throats! I was going to call "no way" on that one, but per some sources it's not impossible. Of course there's a twist, which the GCD spoils on both those links there.

Also this issue: "Nothing," from 1951's Mystic #6. A scientist returns from a time-travel trip, to attempt suicide. You'll see it coming! From 1963, "The Man on the Scaffold!" is a later Lee/Ditko short from Strange Tales #106, which featured the Human Torch and the Fantastic Four on the cover: I didn't think these horror/suspense stories lingered after the FF's intro. The reprint info is wrong on that story as well; but the last one, "The Rescue" was from the aforementioned Uncanny Tales #37 from 1955. A young man enlists in World War I "to fight for future generations of America!" Who might bail him out of that mess.

Yeesh, Russ Heath, Stan Lee, and Steve Ditko, and this reprint was still weaker than a Gold Key book!
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80-Page Thursdays: Marvel Super-Heroes Spring Special!

This is our third straight week for the return of 80-Page Thursdays, but it's a little slight. Like this issue! From 1991, Marvel Super-Heroes #5 (Spring Special), featuring stories by Sue Flaxman, David Michelinie, Mary Jo Duffy, Dan Mishkin, and Dwight Jon Zimmerman; with art by Jim Valentino, Ron Wilson, Steve Ditko, Vince Mielcarek, Mike Clark, and more.

As was often the case for this series, this issue was burning off old inventory: a Thor story with his half-brother Vidar, an "untold tale" of the Thing dating back to his eighties series, and shorter tales of Speedball, Dr. Strange, and She-Hulk.

Mishkin's Strange story is light, but kind of fun; my favorite of the lot. Not one to run out for, but if you see it cheap.
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I don't have all of "Born Again," but I have "Madcasting." That seems fair...

I keep telling you, this blog is "Random Happenstance." Not "Timely Happenstance." Although it could be "When I Damn Well Get Around to It Happenstance." Like today's issue, since we mentioned it back in December: from 1986, Daredevil #234, "Madcasting" Written by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Steve Ditko, inks by Klaus Janson.

A gun-smuggling operation is interrupted by the sudden arrival of "some fruit in a clown costume," as one thug puts it, since he's glad it wasn't Spider-Man or Daredevil. He might later wish it was, though: it's Madcap! The lunatic with a better healing factor than Wolverine and a madness-inducing stare! And he's not so much fighting crime, as just happened to run into these guys. Too bad for them.

After sending the thugs to looney-tunes land, Madcap runs into cable newsman Dollar Bill--he was a supporting character in old issues of Defenders, but had apparently his star had fallen, since he now had a one-man cable public access show. Still, the man knew talent, and saw potential in Madcap. I don't know if Dollar Bill has appeared in a comic in the last two decades, but that name alone is due for a comeback...

This issue was back when the leather-masked crimelord the Rose was competing with the Kingpin for control of the city's rackets; and the gun-smugglers were his. He offers five grand--which seems a little small-change even for the time--to anyone who gets rid of this new vigilante. But he gets results quickly, even with Daredevil investigating; but Madcap is introduced to the ominous-sounding Max the Axe. Well, it'd be ominous for anyone else: even axed several times, then burned "almost beyond recognition," as DD puts it, Madcap recovers and returns to try and commandeer Dollar Bill's show.

Daredevil's barely in this issue, but Janson's inks still make it seem like his series, more than anything. Still, not one of DD's greatest hits, at any rate.

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