Maybe Olivier will defend the trademark on that skull better than Marvel/Disney has. Maybe he won't...

OK, so I mentioned reading the first issue of this one, just over a year ago, and I'm just getting around to reading them all now? And I'm not 100% sure I haven't read it before--or maybe I've just read the first issue more than once. From 1999, the Punisher #4, "Purgatory, part 4: the Hour of Judgement" Written by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski, pencils by Bernie Wrightson, inks by Jimmy Palmiotti.

The conclusion to the four-issue Marvel Knights 'Angel' Punisher mini, which begins with Frank and the angel Gadriel captured by the demon Olivier, who thinks Frank might know him better by his former human identity, Boss Costa. 'Costa' had been behind the killing in Central Park, a blood sacrifice that led to the deaths of Frank's family; but he was also a devil, forced out of Hell to live as a human, and playing the long game to get back in. He had orchestrated the creation of the Punisher, insuring every kill was a sacrifice to him, even his own: Frank murdering 'Costa' put Olivier back in Hell as his old self. Gadriel wasn't blameless in this, either: he had been demoted multiple times, finally to the position of Frank's "guardian angel," and we can all agree his job performance there wasn't sparkling. Worse, Gadriel hadn't been there when Olivier's demons forced Frank to kill himself, but had resurrected him, since he couldn't get back into Heaven unless Frank forgave him. Typing all that, it does feel like a lot to bolt onto a perfectly servicable origin: "They killed his family. Now he kills them." Simple! Although, Olivier is a clever bit of design, with the skull-motif on his face, to make it seem like it was, to misquote the Omen, "all for him!" (Yeah, tell all the cops and chuds co-opting the skull that it's a Satanist symbol; see what that does for anybody...)

This is maybe to set up a new mission for Frank, more about redemption than vengeance. Yeah, that stuck even less than the angel stuff. Daimon Hellstrom and Dr. Strange both make brief appearances in the end, planning to keep an eye on the Punisher for their own purposes; and while Wrightson is great, neither looks quite right? It's kind of a minimalist Strange that makes him look like some kind of...opera pervert; while Hellstrom looks like a redheaded Fabio. Also, a devil or two escaped, presumably for use in future stories, but the 'Angel' Punisher only had one left, the Wolverine/Punisher: Revelation mini. I'm not sure, and kind of doubt, it wrapped up all the loose ends, but maybe. Read more!

"Fronkenstein."

This isn't the most Christmas-y of strips, but nothing to be done for that! I don't know if anyone else has done this, but I had this idea: what if Wolverine was haunted? Either the metal in his bones, the claws, or the whole package. I don't know if he's the psycho-killer Claremont once claimed--a lot of his kills seem to be either completely justified or because someone pushed their luck--but his body count was substantial: what if instead of haunting where they died, these ghosts stayed with him? Literally, instead of metaphorically. I may have somehow conflated DC's nth metal of Hawkman with adamantium, and wondered if they had similar properties against ghosts. Or maybe opposite properties, like adamantium holds them with it...Also, this is a two-fer for Darick Robertson references! Kurt ran into ghosts in his 2005 solo series, and Logan should be haunted by these guys: he killed a bunch of mobster little people (trying not to use the m-word, it may be considered a slur now) in Punisher #17, "Aim Low" with Garth Ennis! Logan gets swamped when he's got like three of them impaled on the claws on each hand...  

In the same vein as nth metal though, I lose track of Daimon Hellstrom, which might be because he's not always consistently portrayed in the comics. Which might even be addressed, in a run of Venom, of all places: Daimon apparently magically made copies or variants of himself, to investigate the upcoming demonic "Descent." The copies may not even be sure if they're the original or not; but it does give writers leeway to do whatever they want: this frees Daimon up for use as a contact for exorcisms as we saw in Avengers #23/LEG #723, although he had previously been seen as part of Baron Zemo's inner circle in Avengers Undercover #1. He was also briefly part of the Hellfire Club; although I think that plot was copied from Magneto's brief stint as part of the Club: join up as the White King, to maybe try to mitigate some of the Club's worst impulses. Oh, and of course "Fronkenstein" is from Young Frankenstein: since like Frederick there, Daimon sometimes tries to distance himself from his heritage. Sometimes.

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Is Christmas this week? Well, you're getting Son of Satan.

For little apparent reason, I was watching grotty old possession/Satanism movies on Tubi last week: they were by-and-large not very good, but also seemed very matter-of-fact that Satan was going to get you and God would do just about nothing. I swear half of them ended with "Satan didn't get my soul, I'm free" then immediate death; and that's a happy ending? I'm legit surprised this sort of movie hasn't made a big comeback: I think people were disillusioned and unhappy for large chunks of the 70's, although compared to now, well...From 1976, Son of Satan #4, "Cloud of Witness!" Written by John Warner, layouts by (P.) Craig Russell, finishes by Sonny Trinidad.

Daimon Hellstrom had departed Arizona, after a battle with the Possessor that I've seen mentioned but don't think I've read yet. (I'm pretty sure I coughed up for Essential Marvel Horror #1 a bit ago; I need to sit down and read it!) Daimon was maybe trying to see what direction his life was going to take now, and Georgetown had called him in: a university upper-admin type wants him for the school's new para-psychology program, and wants posh librarian Amelia to work as his researcher, and maybe keep an eye on him. (The admin worries about bringing in someone so "unorthodox," as he views a picture of Daimon in full Son of Satan mode.) Hellstrom himself is greeted by the charming (and pale) Saripha Thames, and set up in a dorm room to rest.

Either through jet lag, his ongoing search for identity, or psychic attack; Daimon has a series of unsettling dreams, one of which involves his mother, who had wanted to be a nun at one point. She wasn't picked at the time, and ended up falling into the arms of Satan. (Or "Satan," as it were; Daimon's dad maybe was never the actual, capital-S Satan; but "Son of Marduk Kurios" would make for a terrible logo.) He's also visited by the mysterious Proffet, who shows him a bunch of symbols and portents and says he can change them. This is followed by a funeral for Saripha, and Daimon seemingly split into the Son of Satan, the Darksoul, and a cross-wielding Daimon. He awakens, to find himself in his Son costume, cape and trident out, as Proffet again appears: she didn't really know what the message meant either, that was for him to figure out.

Saripha, approaching the dorms, witnesses an explosion from Daimon's room, and rushes there to find him in his...she's not really sure what his outfit is, pajamas? But, there had been one other visitor on that floor, and they rush to check on them, and find...I'm not sure; I can't tell if they were supposed to be alive or dead, in bed or upside-down on the wall. Maybe it'll make sense next issue; I wouldn't bet on it. Read more!

Didn't I do this already? The hell...

This had the Legacy number on the cover as well, but I did have a moment's confusion with this issue and yesterday's book; since I thought Sam was the Captain America in the Black Cat story, but this had Steve on the cover...because this was like 60-some issues prior! From 2019, Avengers #23/LEG #723, "Challenge of the Ghost Riders, Part 2: Hell Race 666" Written by Jason Aaron, art by Stefano Caselli.

"Challenge of the Ghost Riders" sounds like a great cartoon that we'll never get in this failed earth; but this issue a failed exorcism of Robbie Reyes' Hellcharger car has sent Robbie to Hell (or a hell, we've discussed this!) and the Avengers Mountain--the Celestial the team lived in now--was possessed! Daimon Hellstorm--Hellstrom?--is called in, as the demonic entity also takes over several suits of Iron Man's armor. Meanwhile, in Hell, Johnny Blaze explains to Robbie that Ghost Riders love two things: vengeance, and racing. (The mammoth-riding prehistoric Rider is shown, either setting up or tying into later Avengers of 1,000,000 B.C. stuff.) Robbie doesn't wanna, though: he was trying to get rid of the curse, and didn't want to race. Johnny was currently King of Hell, and apparently needed to get stronger to keep his hold on the throne, which meant this race: forced to stop "babying" Robbie, he threatens to take Robbie's brother for a ride, which lights a fire in Robbie...see what I did there? Well, I liked it, anyway.

Back on earth, Hellstorm realizes who the demonic entity was--one of the biggest killers the world had ever known, but not a demon--and of course is knocked out before he can say this early in the story. The race in hell goes badly for Robbie; partly because Johnny cheats and has "zombie cannons" shooting at him, but also the street-racing Hellcharger maybe wasn't the right tool for the job: as he takes a jump for the lead, Johnny yells back "...you're the cocky jackass that took a tank to a motocross race!" But, Robbie is then visited by a gaggle of Ghost Riders--a surprising number of whom wear hats, which I feel is counter-intuitive for guys with their heads on fire--who tell him he's going to have race the Ghost Rider way. I feel like that involves a lot of cackling.

At Avengers Mansion, the demonic presence appears, engulfed in flames like a Human Torch, and taking on Thor and She-Hulk, before revealing himself as...Frank Castle, Cosmic Ghost Rider! Boooooo! Absolutely hate CGR. I don't think I'd take to him even if he wasn't Frank--and honestly, he's so not Frank I still can't believe anybody thought this was a good idea. They should've gone with this guy, or better yet, brought back Ghost Rider 2099. That reveal just let the air out of the Hellcharger's tires for me. Also, while Marvel has pretty firmly established a legacy of Ghost Riders, they often seem to have trouble with what to do with more than one of them at a time? It's not quite like Green Lanterns, where even with several there you can distinguish them: put Johnny, Danny, and Robbie in the same scene and you have to be very careful with their outfits! Read more!

Needle drop! Tired, obvious needle drop, but sure.

Huh, I thought the song started with "whoo who" or whatever. From 1987, Mephisto Vs. #2, "Sympathy for the Devil" Written by Al Milgrom, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Bob Wiacek.

It's been years since I've read this series, but I grabbed two issues from the quarter bin recently; and I think Mephisto was trying to pull a trading scheme like we saw Huey, Dewey, and Louis do, except with souls. Start with nothing, then keep trading up, until he had Thor's soul. And I think Mephisto lets slip, he started with nothing: X-Factor thought he had the Invisible Woman's soul; but he just had her as hostage. But, if they made a deal based on bad info, well, that's on them! This issue is also maybe not a load-bearing piece, but is lodged right into then-current continuity; in a brief window when X-Factor was still running their fake mutant-hunter cover, Warren was in the hospital post-Mutant Massacre, and Scott's wife and kid were MIA but presumed still alive. None of the team does real well, but Scott seems to get repeatedly clowned and/or screaming ineffectually for Jean. I had needle drops in mind, since I had been writing posts at a pretty good clip, then got sucked into watching Preacher on Shudder! It's not as good as the comic, sure; and I maybe wouldn't have made Hitler a recurring character; but I like the actors and the music. And this extrapolates from a brief scene in the book! Read more!

It only took, um, a little less than two years, but we have the conclusion of this one: from 1993, Pinhead vs. Marshal Law #2, "Hell to Pay" Written by Pat Mills, art by Kevin O'Neill. Shiny, embossed, super-great cover that's not going to scan properly: find yourselves a copy, pronto! Such sights to show you...

Pinhead has the Marshal and his girl Super Nova on the mat here, because the Marshal is as much as a tease to him: Pinhead's master Leviathan subsisted on mankind's suffering, and let's be honest: the Marshal had dispensed more than a little of it. The Marshal's deputy/assistant/undiscovered serial killer Razorhead led a batch of disposable cannon fodder super-heroes to rescue his boss; as both the Marshal and Super Nova (I think she may accidentally be called "Seraph" here, or maybe I misread it) rally against Pinhead: the Marshal admitting, he was basically a super-hero himself, while Super Nova believes the universe should be more than pain and sadism. Which reads as willful naivety here.

The Marshal manages to reach out to Pinhead's past life, as a World War One officer, where he had seen unimaginable suffering, in the name of gaining a mere six miles of ground. "The Best of British." Pinhead also alludes to the idea that the trauma of past deaths carried onto current physical ailments: acne was probably evidence of the bubonic plague in a past life, for example. As the super-heroes get brutally chewed up in the no-man's land of WWI, the Marshal basically sells those "costumed bozos" to Pinhead, as imposters, phonies ruining whatever heroism was to be had there. Back in the real world, Super Nova calls Razorhead out as a serial killer, which the Marshal downplays as mere fantasies. Which might be naivety on his part. Super Nova breaks up with him, realizing he was not going to stop hating heroes, and the Marshal finds if not new love, willing partners going forward, unrepentant. 

 The series as a whole leaves you to ask yourself: Super Nova would wonder, is this suffering absolutely necessary? While the Marshal and Pinhead seem to agree, those assholes have it coming.

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As often the case around here, things have been on blog-o-pilot for the last week or so: I've been out, and it's the brief stretch where it's really hot locally. Maybe this comic will make things seem cool by comparison! From 2008, Reign in Hell #4, featuring "Counterstrike!" Written by Keith Giffen, pencls by Tom Derenick, inks by Bill Sienkiewicz; and "Half Measures" Written by Keith Giffen, pencils by Justiniano, inks by Walden Wong.

No opening recap here, as war in Hell continues, with the Demon and Blue Devil smacking each other around. That's...kind of good on Danny, for going toe-to-toe with Etrigan; but on the other hand, remember when he used to be fun? Two lower-level devils cut out as the fighting gets too close, as that could maybe release something worse...Elsewhere, Dr. Fate visits, I think that's Lady Blaze? about the ongoing Neron problem, but may have said too much and gets attacked by her she-devils. Zauriel meets with part of the Shadowpact, regarding a resistance in Hell, which may also involve Zatanna.

Back on earth, the Etrigan-less Jason Blood is hitting the spell books, trying to find a way to keep the Demon from ever being bound to him again. Good luck with that! But he's visited by Deadman, who warns of Ruma Kushna losing balance: all "infernal" things had been purged from earth, but that was driving her insane. Boston advises, an intervention. Finally, the Etrigan/Blue Devil brawl hits "deep detention," something it took all of Hell to imprison in a "runespout," which of course they then fall into. After a massive explosion, a familiar figure emerges from the smoke...none other than the main man himself, Lobo! The next issue box praised the "frag-tastic" return of the "real" Lobo; what, was there a fake? I was thinking of the later New 52 version, but that was years away.

The second feature continues Dr. Occult and Yellow Peri's journey deeper into Hell, in search of Occult's "soulmate" Rose. They appear to be coming up on a weird techy part of Hell, but not much to that one.

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"The End" Week: The Demon #58!

I haven't been a fan of McFarlane Toys DC figures, but I did get lured back in for their spin on the Demon: I probably could've waited for it to go half-off. But I'd been looking for this issue for some time, and good news: possibly thanks to some friendly encouragement, I think this has been reprinted! From 1995, the Demon #58, "The Longest Day, part 4" Written by Garth Ennis, art by John McCrea.

The angels are winning the war in Hell, as Etrigan and his forces are down to their final stand, unless they can find the Horned Crown. Etrigan goes back for one of his troops, the minotaur Morax; only to find his head, severed by the angels' leader, Karrien. While Etrigan (who seems to have foregone pants for most of this issue...) gets him with "your shoelace is undone," Karrien cuts the Demon up, since he has "right" on his side, and throws the body into a pit.

Dying, Etrigan is visited by Morax, either the ghost of his head, or a dying hallucination, but that gives him the strength to get up. He then nearly breaks his foot on something while cursing Karrien...namely, the lost Crown of Horns! Etrigan returns to the fight, restored and stronger than ever, but also now aware that maybe Karrien didn't have right--or 'God'--on his side; the angel may have been acting without sanction. Etrigan tears him up, then seemingly offers forgiveness...nah!

With the battle over, Etrigan drops the crown, and walks away; leaving the remaining denizens of Hell to consider who should take it. The concensus is ruling Hell would be a colossal pain in the ass and only a goddamned lunatic would even consider it...enter Baytor, with an extended Ren & Stimpy riff that may have been his only dialog besides "I am Baytor" ever! Hell seems more than happy with King Baytor, especially when he vomits and kills the remaining angels. Etrigan knows, though: "No future lies in ruling Hell...that's a lesson I learned well." But the last three pages are a thank-you from Etrigan, to Jack Kirby and the creators that followed him in presenting his adventures. In rhyme!

The Demon has of course returned multiple times since this. Books like this are why! Read more!

Today, Ghost Rider guest-stars in--nope, nope, stop that!

It's his own reprint book! From 1993, the Original Ghost Rider #9, reprinting from 1973 Ghost Rider #2, "Shake Hands With Satan!" Written by Gary Friedrich, pencils by Jim Mooney, inks by Syd Shores. Reprint cover by Klaus Janson. 

Let's be honest, it's gonna be tough to live up to that title, isn't it? Especially since we begin with the Ghost Rider, the transformed Johnny Blaze, driving a pickup truck in the rain. After running off the road, his girl Roxanne Simpson recaps his predicament: on the run from the cops, Johnny may or may not turn back to human come daybreak, but he had been critically injured prior to his transformation, and might die in the middle of nowhere now. Only one thing for it: give up! Game over, Satan, I'm yours!

Well, now, who among us hasn't said that at one time or another...? Johnny has either finally cracked, wanting Satan to "end (my) wretched earthly life forever!" Or, more likely, can't stand to see Roxanne suffer or put her at risk. Satan himself doesn't show, though; instead Witch Woman comes for him. Not far away, her fiancé and mother have a houseguest that could help them, but instead insists on having his wrists bound with a "chain of ankhs" and locked in a room until morning. About ten minutes later (okay, not really, but it feels like it!) the guest demands to be freed, or the possessed Linda will die: ha, ha, psych! We only glimpse his yellow boots, but the Son of Satan beats feet out of this comic towards Marvel Spotlight #12.

Witch Woman thinks Roxanne may as well just surrender herself to Satan too, you know, as long as she's there. Johnny refuses for her, leading to a fight, interrupted by the arrival of cycle gang Big Daddy Dawson and his Ruthless Riders. Johnny is at a self-imposed disadvantage, not wanting to use his flame powers and expose himself as a pawn of Satan. Um, that ship's kinda already sailed, hasn't it? Worse, Witch Woman doesn't care about that, and just drags Johnny to hell, leaving Roxanne in the clutches of Big Daddy! I'm more concerned for her than Johnny right now, but he's swamped by demons, than about to have the "sacred sword of Satan" crammed into him, making him a prisoner forever! Except, someone arrives in the nick of time to help...but who? Maybe I could tell you if I ever read any of these in order, but you're on your own!

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Apparently, 'regret' means I post this every ten years or so.

The cover of this one makes Inferno look cool as, well, hell; while Satan looks like the devil Pitch from that MST3K Santa Claus. From 1993, The Original Ghost Rider #16, reprinting 1974's Ghost Rider #8, "Satan Himself!" Written by Tony Isabella, pencils by Jim Mooney, inks by Sal Trapan.

This has long since been retconned so this wasn't the capital-S Satan, but he's the one that turned Johnny Blaze into the Ghost Rider: Blaze, currently in control of the Rider, claims Satan broke the deal by saving Crash Simpson from dying of cancer or something, for him to immediately die in a motorcycle wreck. While Satan can't claim his soul, he can hit Blaze with enough pain he'd give his soul for it to stop; but Blaze has Roxanne Simpson in his heart to protect him. It would be just too bad if something happened to her, Satan tells him. Later, when he and Roxanne visit the Stunt-Master in the hospital, she is hit with a vision of her father burning in hell. Satan is intrigued that she then lies about it to Johnny.

While Roxanne is more than willing to stand against Satan with Johnny, she is still lured away by an image of her father, and is trapped in hell. Satan lets her visit Crash, just to see his torment, and she faints. Satan then levels up recurring lackey Slifer, into Inferno, and sets him on the Ghost Rider. Radiating waves of fear into the people of the city, GR is beset on all sides; while Roxanne remembers an earlier issue (of Marvel Spotlight) in which "the Messenger," the Lord Jesus Christ himself, took Crash to "his final reward." (Maybe I should've gone with DM instead of Orbital here...) Satan has a hearty laugh at that, claiming he had been the Messenger! But, he might be persuaded to release Crash, if Roxanne renounces her protection of Johnny! Cliffhanger. Also this issue: five pages of the Phantom Rider! It's not great, even when trying an Indiana Jones-style setting. Read more!

I don't know why the Hulk gets a cover blurb this issue...

...unless to tie-in, however tenuously, to the TV show? From 1978, Defenders #66, "Val in Valhalla, part 1: War of the Dead!" Written by David Anthony Kraft, pencils by Ed Hannigan, inks by Bruce Patterson.

So no Hulk this month, save a brief floating head; and the other Defenders get only brief appearances or a mere mention: Hellcat is concerned over the departure of Valkyrie, and Kyle (Nighthawk) Richmond was going to go under financial investigation that would seemingly run longer than the course of the book. The rest is the return of Valkyrie to Asgard, which is not as happy an occasion as it could be: instead of reporting to Odin, Val has to visit the Three Fates. (It's mentioned Odin was not currently "leige-lord" of Valhalla, since I think Hela was in charge.) She is treated to visions of a horrible future, worse than Ragnarok, with death even striking earth and her Defenders, and ending with her banishment to Niffleheim. Val grasps at the hope that maybe forewarned she could stop this; and the Norns tell her no in no uncertain terms. Unafraid, Val resolves to surrender herself and accept Hela's judgement, but the Norns remind her she shouldn't just be worried about herself: she was still using the body of Barbara Norriss.

In scenic Valhalla, the sea reavers of Tyr have won the first skirmish of the war against Hela's Valkyries and the legions of the noble dead, led by Harokin. (He's appeared multiple times, but I remember him as covering for Thor in the Frog of Thunder issues!) Val seems resigned to being sent to Niffleheim, the bad hell of Norse myth; but Hela just waves off the Norns as full of crap: she wanted Val there to lead her forces against Ollerus. Ollerus? Is that name a joke or something? I don't know, but he's running to be the next God of Death, backed by his wizard staff: jester-looking Poppo the Cunning, and disaffected blonde Cassiolena. Cassiolena at least had made appearances before, in Defenders #4. Visiting one of her fellow Valkyries, Val notices Valhalla doesn't look as nice since Hela took over, and some of her troops are not thrilled with her. Now, here we get into a weird bit of Norse mythology, as all the warriors fighting here are honored dead, and any slain would return to life in the morning: all except Val. If she dies, Barbara Norriss's body goes with her!

Onnerus has some kind of magic mountain going, which causes massive rockslides, not caring if his own forces were squashed as well. Invading the mountain, Val finds...her old body, in the classic uniform! Touching her forehead, a mystic whammy awakens the mad Barbara Norriss, in the Valkyrie's immortal, super-strong body! The next issue blurb promises "The Death of the Defenders" but has to add a "(Really!)" since I think they had played that card before... Read more!

I was kind of hoping this would just be the guys, sitting around: "Isn't pain awesome?" "It's the best!"

Also, there's a shiny red foil cover, but while the Marshal has one of his traditional guns, I don't know what Pinhead is holding. T-square? Plunger? From 1993, Pinhead vs. Marshal Law #1, "Book One: Hell for Leather" Written by Pat Mills, art by Kevin O'Neill.

I spent a few minutes looking for sales numbers on this one, and came up empty, which isn't encouraging. Epic had put out multiple Hellraiser titles, including a few just under the title Pinhead, which seems to detract from his gravitas somewhat. This might've been the first new Marshal Law in a few years; and like a lot of these crossovers if you go with two issues, the first one is going to be more set-up than anything. In the dystopian future city of San Futuro, Law is the licensed vigilante that hunts "heroes" that commit crimes. Most, including Law himself, were former government super-soldiers, and were either murderous thugs or deluded lunatics; with many of the latter bearing unflattering resemblance to traditional superheroes. Law felt no pain, but hated the heroes, and himself; yet is flying high the start of this one; enjoying the hell out of his job and his new girlfriend, Super Nova. Her daddy issues might account for most of their relationship, as she's more esoteric and spiritual than Law. In fact, she was currently trying to contact "...the dark ones. Cenobites." Law figures Super Nova was "out to lunch," but she was hot, so...he's willing to accompany her to a "super hero therapy party," even if he's not sold on the treatments, and he still has a good laugh with her.

Unfortunately, the arrival of Super Nova's angelic friend Seraph steps on the moment: Law has an immediate knee-jerk reaction to the holier-than-thou, and S-N wonders if Law's negativity is good for her. Seraph has a little sermon-slash-sales pitch for transformation, with a familiar looking box: it's not named here, but I believe it's called the Lament Configuration. He convinces Law to try it, opening a gate to hell, where Law is run through a few fears, but none stick yet. Seraph grabs Super Nova, and takes on a more demonic appearance, as Pinhead arrives, to drop a bit of the Cenobites' mythology, and how they used fear to create order. Law is pleased to find his old foe the Public Spirit there, although he doesn't think he's being tortured enough: Law, like others, joined the army because he wanted powers like the Spirit's, and instead became a desensitized killing machine. Pinhead and his "War Cenobites" run Law through the gauntlet, then now feeling pain, Law is on the operating table for "limb modification procedure," an aphorism for amputation!

There's a lot going on this issue, and much of it still has some bearing today: Pinhead explains to Law how words are used to desensitize people to the horrors of war--otherwise, horrors, war might stop! And as usual for Marshal Law, O'Neill puts a ton of cameos, subtle nods, or blistering parodies in there. Keeping my eye out for the conclusion.
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Hey, I had this scheduled before the Morbius movie announcement, although I'll kinda believe it when I see it. Kinda betting Helleyes won't be in it, though, which is a shame.

Here's something that comes from blogging as long as I have: we saw the previous issue over nine years ago, and the reprint of the next issue about three years ago, so I had to search for a moment to make sure we hadn't hit this issue yet! From 1975, Fear #29, "Through a Helleyes Darkly!" Written by Bill Mantlo, pencils by Don Heck, inks by Bob McLeod. (The cover's full title is Adventure Into Fear with the Man Called Morbius...the Living Vampire, put that in your indicia and smoke it.)

Morbius has just passed through one of the multiple eyes of the creature called Helleyes, and each of its eyes are a doorway to a different other-dimensional hell. Morbius finds himself underwater, in an ocean of blood, which he takes a hearty chug of once he gets ashore a small island. There, his pursuer of the last few issues, ex-CIA agent Simon Stroud, catches up to him and confronts him about the recent, seemingly vampiric murders in Boston. Morbius points out, they may have bigger fish to fry right now; since both are stubborn as hell it turns into a fistfight. Stroud still has his gun, though, and plans on bringing Morbius alive; Morbius wonders how he's going to get them back to earth; and then they're interrupted by singing crabs.

Even so, this issue doesn't have the same level of bizarre imagery the previous one (written by Doug Moench, with artist Frank Robbins) did. Morbius and Stroud fight various manifestations of Helleyes, and each other--mostly each other--until Morbius jumps through the eye on Helleyes's hand, and he and Stroud are back in the basement of Mason Mansion, setting up the next issue. It really feels like Mantlo got this assignment out of the blue, and had to wrap that storyline up quickly. And while I couldn't say if he ever appeared besides this next one, Helleyes would make a brief appearance in Busiek and Larsen's Defenders!
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