With that lead-in, kind of have to post this today.

I always think I have more Defenders issues than I actually do; even though #119 was the only one I bought off the racks. (Actually, I'm not even positive about that; maybe I got it in a trade or something.) I thought I had bought almost the whole run out of the quarter bins; but I didn't get that many. And I know I've had the last issue of the series around, waiting to blogged for "The End" week, and I just can't bring myself to plow through it. But, let's try this issue from the bins: from 1982, Defenders #103, "The Haunting of Christiansboro!" Written by J. M. DeMatteis, pencils by Don Perlin, inks by Joe Sinnott.

We open with something not always seen in this title: Defenders giving a crap about a teammate and showing honest concern for their welfare, as Clea and Devil-Slayer track down the Gargoyle, who had taken off a week prior. Then, a scene that I had seen before--I had to check I hadn't blogged this one already! Hellcat recovers her magical shadow-cloak in the ruins of her house, but is surprised when a young child comes out of it, having accidentally fallen in a few issues prior. (That kid had to have been missing a couple days; his explanation to his parents would've been a joy to hear.) Disenchanted with the thing, Patsy folds it in upon itself and out of this world. Summoning the Defenders, Clea tells her she never needed that thing; but then interrupts Kyle Richmond in the middle of a tax investigation: he blurts out he's no longer a Defender, get lost; which is confusing to everyone in the room who didn't see Clea. Still, Kyle gets off with just having to pay $767 grand in back taxes; but his celebration is short-lived, as a grinning government goon from another previous issue tells Kyle that he got him off easy.

Back at Dr. Strange's house, the Gargoyle recaps his origin a bit: short answer, he had been an old man before making a deal with demons to save his small town, but in double-crossing them he was trapped as the Gargoyle. Valkyrie suggests he needs to go home, and the lot of them teleport to Christiansboro...which they find deserted. (They also leave just before the arrival of the Beast, who would have to wait an issue or two.) Splitting up to investigate, Hellcat meets "Simple" Joe, who tells her about "the hauntin'," which drove the rest of the townsfolk away. As the creepy fog intensifies, the Gargoyle sees the ghost of his brother, who died when they were children, then his mother; as Clea and Valkyrie are surrounded by ghosts downtown and Devil-Slayer finds a little girl that is of course eeeeeevil. This isn't a simple haunting, though: it's Null, the Living Darkness! Who we've actually seen on the blog before, but his origin story is much darker than that panel would indicate: long ago, a race of angelic beings that lived on the moon searched the universe for truth, a reason for being; not finding it, the race killed themselves, and their collective despair survived as Null.

While the Gargoyle is driven to attempt suicide over how he feels he failed his family, Null gives him something to fight, and he nearly sacrifices his own life-force to stop the monster. Dying, he's visited again by the ghosts of his family, who want him to bury the past, move forward, and live. I think he would be a lot more upbeat going forward--not quite to the Beast's level of coping, but close--but I never understood why he was so bent out of shape to save his town. Having grown up in a small town, I didn't think there was any one person whose job that was, or who would care. Also, I'm probably wrong, but I feel like the Defenders faced horrible manifestations of negative emotions all the time. The Elf with a Gun was probably one...

I'm off today, all the better to watch horror movies! Have a safe, happy Halloween!