Steve Leialoha | Attack of the 50 Year Old Comic Books

Warlock #13 (June, 1976)

Back in November, we looked at Warlock #11, in which artist-writer Jim Starlin wrapped up the “Magus” storyline he’d originally initiated with his first episode of Adam Warlock’s revived feature, one full year earlier. It was a conclusion that, among other things, had given us a glimpse of Adam’s future death by cosmic suicide, as well as setting up a future conflict between our hero and his unlikely ally against the Magus, i.e., Thanos the Mad Titan. As we asked at that time, what was the auteur going to do for an encore? Read More

Howard the Duck #3 (May, 1976)

Posted on February 28 by Alan Stewart

As we discussed in last December’s post about the second issue of Marvel Comics’ Howard the Duck, the departure from the series of artist Frank Brunner — who, along with having drawn the first two Howard solo strips (published as backups in Giant-Size Man-Thing #4 and #5), and the first two issues of the Duck’s own title, had also contributed to the plotting of HtD #1 — was less than entirely amicable. Among the complaints later aired by Brunner in an article published in The Comics Journal #51 (Nov., 1979), the “Master of Quack Fu” parody featured the third issue was his idea as well — though he received no credit in the book itself, nor was he remunerated so much as “a thin dime” (his own words) for his contribution. Read More

Howard the Duck #2 (March, 1976)

Posted on December 20 by Alan Stewart

If you were a savvy comics fan scanning the spinner racks in December, 1975, artist Frank Brunner’s cover for the second issue of Howard the Duck would likely suggest that, following his and writer Steve Gerber’s recent skewerings of a couple of popular comic-book genres — namely, horror (in Giant-Size Man-Thing #5) and sword-and-sorcery (in HtD #1) — they were about to turn their satirical sights on the most popular of them all (at least in the American comics of the 1970s); you know, the one that revolves around colorfully costumed people with funny names.

But while that assessment would ultimately prove to be very much on the money, a turn past the cover to the book’s opening splash page would have clued you in that, before taking on the sacrosanct superhero tropes on which Marvel Comics’ hallowed House of Ideas has been built, Gerber and Brunner (joined by Steve Leialoha on inks) had one other genre stop to make first… Read More

Warlock #11 (February, 1976)

Posted on November 22 by Alan Stewart

As regular readers of this blog may recall from our post on Warlock #10 back in September, that issue ended on a relatively quiet note, with the titular hero grimly preparing to enter his personal timestream for the express purpose of ending his own life — and, thereby, preventing his evil future self, the Magus, from ever coming into existence at all. Or at least that was what should happen, according to the theory espoused by Adam Warlock’s unexpected new ally, Thanos the Mad Titan — and it’s not like there were any better options for saving the universe on the table, so what was a onetime messiah to do?

But while the beginning of our latest object of discussion, Warlock #11, seems to be taking place a mere moment after the ending of issue #10, it’s clear from auteur Jim Starlin’s opening splash that things are no longer the least bit quiet, and probably won’t be again for some time: Read More

Howard the Duck #1 (January, 1976)

Posted on October 29 by Alan Stewart

What a difference a couple of years can make.

From Fear #19 (Dec., 1973). Text by Steve Gerber; art by Val Mayerik and Sal Trapani.

From Man-Thing #1 (Jan., 1974). Text by Steve Gerber; art by Val Mayerik and Sal Trapani.

In the autumn of 1973, Howard the Duck’s debut in the last few pages of the “Man-Thing” story in Fear #19 had been followed just one month later by his apparent demise in the first few pages of Man-Thing #1. Marvel Comics’ editor-in-chief at that time, Roy Thomas, hadn’t thought that the publisher’s readers were ready for a “funny animal”-style character in what was at least ostensibly a horror comic, and had asked Man-Thing writer Steve Gerber to get Howard out of the book as quickly as possible. But Thomas turned out to be wrong; the fan response to the acerbic waterfowl was overwhelmingly favorable, and Gerber was eventually given the go-ahead to resurrect Howard in his own solo backup feature in Giant-Size Man-Thing. After two such stories had appeared, and were again well-received, the author pitched Marvel publisher Stan Lee on the idea of giving Howard his very own solo title — and Lee, who not all that long before had reportedly been utterly bewildered when attendees at his college campus appearances quizzed him about when Howard the Duck would be coming back, immediately said yes. And thus it came to pass that in late October, 1975, Howard the Duck #1 — featuring a guest-appearance by Marvel flagship character Spider-Man, no less — was hatched into the comic-book-buying world. Read More

Warlock #10 (December, 1975)

Posted on September 27 by Alan Stewart

Fifty years and two months ago, the ninth issue of Warlock ended with a shocking revelation — Thanos, the Mad Titan, who’d been missing and presumed dead since the climax of Captain Marvel #33 (Jul., 1974), was alive — and had shown up to offer Adam Warlock his personal assistance in the latter’s battle against his evil future self, the Magus. Could it be true? Going by the cover of Warlock #10, which boldly promised us readers of September, 1975 “Thanos versus the Magus”, both in its blurb copy and in its spectacular illustration by Jim Starlin and Alan Weiss, it sure seemed like the return of the villain of Starlin’s last great cosmic epic was indeed back, and ready to throw down with the villain of Starlin’s current great cosmic epic. But, of course, if we wanted to know for sure, we were going to have to turn past the cover and dig into the comic’s contents, beginning with its opening splash page… Read More

Warlock #9 (October, 1975)

Posted on July 26 by Alan Stewart

The banner that’s emblazoned above the title logo on the cover of Warlock #9 — “Pulse-Pounding PREMIERE Issue” — can fairly be called misleading, if not outright dishonest. After all, “premiere” means “first” (in this context, anyway), and the issue of a periodical that numerically follows its eighth can hardly be its first, now can it? In fact, this isn’t even the premiere issue of the “Warlock” feature’s revival, which would of course have been Strange Tales #178, published back in November, 1974. But I suppose we can forgive Marvel Comics for wanting to trumpet the return of Adam Warlock in “his own senses-shattering mag” (to quote from the cover’s other blurb) with language a little less clunky that “Pulse-Pounding Fifth Issue of Relaunch” or even “Pulse-Pounding First Issue Under This Title Since 1973”. It was a special occasion, after all. Read More