"Midnight Swim with the Black Cat!" Well, that should be fun...(It was not fun.)

Also, I don't think the Cat even gets in the water this issue! From 1989, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #5, "Rockin' at Midnight" Written by Chuck Dixon, pencils by Sal Velluto, inks by Mark Farmer. 

Black Cat is not really integral this issue, though: Moon Knight had been trying to lure out his old foe, Midnight, and Cat gets involved in the jewel heist portion of events, intent on saving them for a fee from their insurers. (That was a very brief status quo for her, trying to establish her as a "good guy" on the side of law and order; I don't think it lasted long.) She rides along on the Mooncopter as Moon Knight and Frenchie chase Midnight's car, which ends up launched off of a bridge when it hits construction, with both Moon Knight and Midnight going into the drink. Still, Midnight isn't found.

Returning to his estate, Marc is greeted by Marlene, who wanted to make up with him, until she finds a platinum blonde hair on his uniform and storms off. Marc is a little perturbed that somehow that hair had stuck to him through a fight, a chase, and a swim: "That Black Cat was bad luck for me." He doesn't get out the door in time to chase Marlene and explain, but then Midnight was in his house! After a brief fight, Marc knocks him out, but apparently hadn't until then noticed he both looked and acted far younger than his old foe, Anton Mogart: this was his son, Jeffrey Wilde. And everything he had done to Moon Knight, had been basically his audition tape, to be his partner. I'm sure that'll work out great for him...Jason Todd would have died just the year prior; this era viewed sidekicks about as favorably as an inflamed appendix and they usually fared about as well. The last four pages of this one set up the Brother Voodoo storyline that would run to MS:MK #9

Ah, what could be more fun than night swimming? Um, just about anything, it's dark and cold. Not to say I haven't, though. And it's part of this great bit from the Looney Tunes Show:

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"Unorthodox."

Although I read Crystar most of its run (despite, I think, not having #6 right away!) I never had Crystar action figures. They were smaller, like 3.75 inch or so; so they would not have scaled with the Sectaurs, who would hit the shelves two years later in 1984, and also had a brief Marvel comic adaptation. You may have seen at Wal-Mart, there have been recent reissues from the Nacelle Company: I hope those are doing well for them, even if most of the stuff I've bought from Nacelle was at a markdown. Still, if they reissue any of the Sectaurs insect companion/mounts, I'm so there: they were basically fuzzy puppets, with a battery-powered wing mechanism. They look like remarkably doofy fun, and my hands do get cold sometimes. (Cutaway to me typing with a bug monster on each hand...Hey, they are up for pre-order!) Read more!

We blogged the last issue of this one some years back, but this one is making me want to fill in the gap! From 1988, Scavengers #12. Cover by Butch Guice.

This would be the second-to-last chapter for "Flesh" in this reprint series: in the 23rd century, man was using time-travel to go back to the triassic...for meat. And to become meat, as a lot of them get eaten by dinosaurs. The square-jawed lead, Peters, manages to finish a fist-fight with 'Claw' Carver, a rat who had already caused several deaths in a quest for gold. Carver is thrown in the brig, but quickly escapes and begins a mutiny; which isn't even their biggest problem, as Nothosaur "Big Hungry" had retaken lead of his former pack, since he needed their help, to wipe out the hated humans. Peters tries to get any of this through the thick skull of corporate man Grose, who is far too confident in Atlantis Station's defensive capability; probably because the station could always just return to the 23rd century...(Written by Roy Preston (credited as Geoffrey Miller) and art by Massimo Belardinelli.)

The other two features, we did see their conclusions previously: "Ant Wars," written by Gerry Finley Day, art by Jose Luis Ferrer; and "the Helltrekkers," written by Alan Grant and John Wagner, art by Horacio Lalia and Jose Ortiz. The "Ant Wars" strip is interesting, as the war with the mutated giant ants is headed toward Rio's Carnival, and the ants may have built a float to infiltrate it! In "the Helltrekkers," the drive across the Cursed Earth claims more of the caravan: Trekmaster Lucas had previously been a desk jockey, but it only took 10 days in the Cursed Earth to toughen him up, as he's forced to kill more of the treacherous Nebb family. The sole survivor, Ma Nebb, is invited to continue with them; but declines to stay with her dead kids and curse them as they pass. If this had gotten an adaptation, you can almost hear British character actors going to town with it! The Helltrekkers had started with 111 and were down to 38, with only 300 kilometers to go... Read more!

I would've bet a quarter I'd blogged this before...

...and I'd have been wrong! I'm not even positive I've read this before, although one story was definitely familiar. From 1980, Time Warp #4. Cover by Michael Wm. Kaluta.

"Pen Pals" was surprisingly disturbing: a plain young girl (well, she's described as plain, but definitely Hollywood-plain) on satellite monitor duty strikes up a long-distance relationship with a lonely worker on a botanical satellite. Even though it was against the rules, she continues contacting him, eventually exchanging photos, and sending him a lock of her hair. That's when the nightmares start! The only cure for her might be to finally meet her guy, but she may have been warned off for a reason...(Written by Bob Haney, art by Fred Carrillo.)

"I, the Creature" is definitely a standard horror-comic plot, only set in space this time: two big-game hunters, despite fighting over a girl, intend to bring back the mythical alien Hwarka. There's betrayal, and ironic justice; you've seen this one before. (Written by George Kashdan, art by Michael Netzer.) "The Most Special of Effects" is a fun one, though: an aged FX artist has completed work for his magnum opus, "Trek Wars," and for his trouble is murdered by his producer, who wants all the credit. The FX artist says his friends would avenge him, which the producer scoffs at; but he's still in for a bad night at the Oscars, despite winning two! (Written by Scott Edelman, art by Joel Magpayo.)

"Asteroid Treachery" is, um, what if the Thing, except two of the humans used to be a couple, and hated and distrusted each other before throwing a shape-shifting monster into the mix? (Written by George Kashdan, pencils by Ernie Patricio.) "The Hole in Reality's Heart" is somewhat more romantic, as a young--and lonely-spacewoman is sucked into another dimension, and has to work with an alien scientist to stop a monster he accidentally created from destroying her universe, even if there was nothing in her universe for her...(Written by J. M. DeMatteis, pencils by Don Newton, inks by Steve Mitchell.)

"A Stitch in Time" was the only story I remembered; although did I read it here, possibly off the spinner racks as a kid? In a far future, two scientists travel back in time, in the hopes of preventing yet another nuclear war, by killing baby Albert Einstein! Finding him as a young boy, they're too soft-hearted to just murder him, so one has the idea of dumping him further in the past, say, 1782! No way he could develop atomic theory back then...right? (Written by David Allikas, art by Steve Ditko.) "The Uncommon Cold" is another comedy of errors, as in this future, a satellite lands on earth, with a horrible creature within, and the return of the common cold; which the future humans no longer had any resistance to. Their frantic research finds, a human woman had been launched, in suspended animation, but time and the cold had mutated her; so they travel back in time to cure her cold before she leaves. They didn't know why she had been launched, though...or that she knew what she was doing. (Written by George Kashdan, art by Ernie Patricio.) 

Finally, in "The Last Megathus," an aged xeno-zoologist takes to space, to save a massive specimen; but ultimately decides human life was more valuable. Enh...I hate this one, since the main part of the dilemma is an accident with a 3-D camera, that apparently runs on poison gas, that can seep even through a spacesuit as well as poison a kaiju-sized creature. Feh! (Written by Arnold Drake, art by Jerry Grandenetti.)

There was a house ad for this very issue within it, as well as a letters page that hailed Time Warp #1 as getting a lot of mail right away. Which maybe didn't translate into actual sales; #4 was the second-to-last issue; although it's end might have been due to market changes: the larger comics like this one were on their way out.

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I think I maybe found one other random issue of Stanley and His Monster since bringing it up, and I don't have all of this one, either: from 1991, Angel and the Ape #1, "Shaking the Family Tree" Written and penciled by Phil Foglio, inks by Keith Wilson.

Angel and the Ape didn't appear in the gorilla issue of Secret Origins, so we get a bit here that might be new: a flashback to Angel and Sam's first meeting. As a child, Angel had met Sam, who was then bitten by a snake, but was more worried about being sent back wherever he had come from. Fast-forward to the present, where Angel was a private investigator, who had developed a style of unarmed combat that would be effective against gorillas, and Sam was a comic-book artist who helped her out on cases. Sam also could talk, and had some mental power to keep humans from seeing him as a gorilla and panicking. This issue also reveals what might have been a fan theory prior: Angel was the half sister of Athena, a.k.a. Dumb Bunny, of the Inferior Five. Athena usually had lunch with Sam on Tuesdays, but today says she needed to talk to Angel, since she had been thinking about trying to start a relationship with Sam. Angel's first instinct was, he's a gorilla, but she had to admit Sam was a great guy, and the super-strong Athena was looking for a relationship with someone who could take it.

Meanwhile, Sam has a weird moment at the bank, where he appears human, but everyone else is a gorilla. It quickly snaps back, so later Sam passes himself off as a video technician, to get access to the bank's security footage: watching the tape with Angel confirms the change did happen, but just for a second. Angel thinks she can show that to the bank manager, to get the bank to hire them to investigate, when three bald stooges show up, demanding Sam come with them. Sam and Angel are no match for them, but Dumb Bunny is, easily clobbering them. The bank manager then arrives to offer them the job, but Sam says he has to go, maybe forever, and jumps out the window! Having no clue, the bank manager wonders why Sam wasn't splattered on the pavement ("Did he miss the ground?") and Angel and Athena realize, those stooges were really apes! To be continued...

Angel and the Ape actually already had a tag here, since we saw their Vertigo mini some years back! Their original sixties series only ran six issues, plus an additional "Meet Angel" issue, that appeared to be trying to change the branding a bit. Those are a bit rich for my blood, though; and I'm not sure they've ever been reprinted. Still, this series would later reveal a secret, about Sam's family... Read more!

80-Page Thursdays: House of Mystery #255!

I wasn't sure I had enough Thursdays left in October for another one, but also wasn't sure I had another one; but in the same pile, sure enough! From 1977, House of Mystery #255. Cover by Bernie Wrightson.

Another framing sequence in this one, as the House is crashed by first a gaggle of "Hollywood" monsters, then reporter Harvey H. Harvey. Despite being ready for bed, Cain is forced to entertain them, opening with "Small Wonder." In 1915, just before Christmas, young Danny is sent to the state orphanage, which is of course run by the cheapest bastard available at the time. Still, Danny was able to change things, magically creating a tree, coal, and toys for the other kids. (Coal doesn't sound great, but it was cold! And he brings all three? Suck on that, Santa!) The orphanage director, Denning, then kills the accountant to keep the secret; and tries winning Danny over as a friend. Which works, and Denning is able to convince the gullible kid into making money for him. Still, after he tries to keep another witness quiet the cops are on him, and Denning runs to Danny to hide him, which he does, by swiping from "It's a Good Life" turning Denning into a jack-in-the-box. That hides him from the cops, but like we said, it was cold: another child had burned some wooden soldiers and a jack-in-the-box to stay warm, since he has assumed Danny could make more, right? Um...(Framing sequence written by Paul Kupperberg, pencils by Ric Estrada, inks by Wayne Howard; "Small Wonder" Written by Jack Oleck, pencils by Ernie Chan, inks by Vince Colletta.)

"The Evil Half" is another deal-with-the-devil number, although it's visually interesting, as the devil appears as Flo, a flapper girl, to tempt suicidal bookkeeper Homer with power and money and dames. Honestly, any one of them probably would've done for him. (Written by Jack Oleck, art by Rubeny.)

Then, "Sometimes Leopards Can..." with story and art by Gray Morrow: animal tamer Erik Braden is on top of his game and the world, but was constantly pushing to stay that way, struggling to find new animals for his act. In Africa, he's stricken by the dancer Fera, and tries to buy out her contract...or her, if it came to that. Fera's manager reveals, she was actually a were-leopard, kept in check by the silver choker she wore; and he gives Erik the key; which is of course like giving him rope. Erik was mean to the animals, then jealous when they responded better to Fera; so he decides to unlock her choker: taming a were-leopard would be a great act, unless of course you got bit and turned into one yourself.

Next, a visit to Abel at the House of Secrets: unsure if he's speaking to the readers, an "imaginary friend," or no one; Abel opts to get a public relations guy for the HoS, and calls DC's own Mike Gold! Who doesn't have time for Abel's numbskullery, but maybe still helps. ("Is Anyone Listening?" Written by Jack C. Harris, pencils by Ric Estrada, inks by Wayne Howard.)

"When You Wish Upon a Star" is the cover story: the GCD notes, it was an older piece by Wrightson, and the story written later to tie into it. A somewhat incompetent witch has some skills and a helpful cat familiar, but can't conjure herself up a guy: her last attempt brings an unappealing creature from space, but he might have been incompetent himself! (Based on the Wrightson cover, written by Cary Burkett, art by Frank Redondo.)

"Bed of Roses" finds a young girl, Lila, rich after her parents' deaths, pursued by a small town reporter; who's using her for her money. After the reporter seems to get what he wants and disappears with a nightclub girl, Lila is seemingly left with only flowers to remind her, but on her deathbed confesses there was something more...(Written by Robert Kanigher, art by Alex Nino.) "The Killing" follows hack magician and gambler Mason the Magnificent, who accidentally kills his boss after he gets fired for missing too many shows, then flees into the jungle. Eventually collapsing, Mason is taken in by an unknown tribe, with a strange god, and ample gold jewelry; but while they know poker, they won't let him in the game, since his money was literally no good there. Mason uses his tricks, to finally convince the tribe he should be allowed to join, and the tribe leader lets him; although if you've ever read any of these you know Mason is just digging his own grave. (Written by Jack Oleck, art by Bill Draut.) 

 After the one-pager "The Victim," Cain still hasn't gotten anyone to leave, and opts to vacate for the graveyard, to see if he could get a good night's sleep there.

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"Better."

The sword wouldn't usually make the swordsman, unless maybe you've got Excalibur. Now I'm mildly curious where Kurt gets his swords in regular continuity. He probably has a guy that spends months and hand-crafts them to an exacting standard; then Kurt shows up again twenty minutes later for another one 'cause he broke it on a Sentinel head or something. 

"Khlav Kalash" is of course from "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson," a classic. And the Khlav Kalash guy has appeared a few times and seems to be doing well for himself. I'm not usually adventurous enough, or maybe I don't get out enough, to sample fare like that; although I suspect Magik maybe isn't a picky eater. 

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