What If... # 24: Wolverine Was Lord Of The Vampires

Writers: Roy Thomas & R.J.M. Lofficier
Artist: Tom Morgan
Colorist: Tom Vincent
Publisher: Marvel
Published: April 1991

Happy Halloween! I thought I would take this day to discuss a real treat:

What If...Wolverine Was Lord Of The Vampires! Hell Yeah!

Now this is a real "what if" comic. Way back, the X-Men had a battle with Count Dracula to save Storm's soul. In that time line, the X-Men were successful, but in this issue's time line, the X-Men fail, and are turned to vampires. Wolverine, now free of the trappings of humanity, reverts to his, yeah you guessed it, his wolverine form, and takes down Dracula. After a gruesome beheading of the Count, Wolverine takes over as Lord of the Vampires.

With Wolverine in control, he and the vampire X-Men quickly take down their fellow mutants, superheros and former villains. Humans are merely prey at this point. The only threat to Wolverine at this point is Dr. Strange, so Wolverine sends vampire Juggernaut to kill Dr. Strange, which he does, but only Strange's physical form dies. Strange escapes in his spirit form and later teams up with the Punisher. The Punisher, armed with Strange's mystical cape and the Eye of Agamotto, heads into battle - the BATTLE TO END IT ALL!

Well not ALL, but THE BATTLE TO END ALL VAMPIRES!


So long, spectacular story short, the good, human, guys win, but not the way one would expect. Let's just say Wolverine stays true to his inner character. Oh, what a ride.
More Comix 365 articles:  

Red Sonja # 2

Love Diary

Pigeons From Hell # 1 of 4

Writer: Joe R. Lansdale
Artist: Nathan Fox
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Published: April 2008

Following on the tail feathers of yesterday's post, I thought the comic adaptation of Robert E. Howard's short story, Pigeons From Hell, would be a perfect fit for the day before HALLOWEEN!!!!

The Blassenville sisters, with some friends, are on their way to see an old family house they inherited. Upon entering the house the group find a mass mound of dead pigeons. The group then leaves the house in a hurry, but things don't go quite their way...the pigeon shit is about to hit the fan, as it were.

This is a great series, and not just because of the fantastic story by Howard, or the awesome adaption skills of Lansdale, but because of Nathan Fox's involvement. Now here is a guy that delivers when it comes to images of eeriness and gore. His style reminds me of Paul Pope, but with more lines. Fox's use of color is outstanding as well. This is an artist definitely to watch.

1 DAY TO HALLOWEEN!

Edgar Allan Poe's Haunt of Horror # 1 of 3

Writers: Richard Corben, Rich Margopoulos
Artist: Richard Corben
Publisher: Marvel
Published: July 2006

All things Poe! Or Poe 4 Life! Poe or Die - no?

Marvel's limited edition series inspired by the writings of Edgar Allan Poe is a nice addition to the world of comic horror. And Richard Corben, helming this series is the perfect candidate to bring a new perspective. The artwork he delivers is gorgeous and grotesque, and his take on the Poe stories is both true to the original and uniquely fresh.

Three of Poe's tales are present in this issue: The Raven, The Sleeper, and The Conqueror Worm. After the comic adaptation, the original poem is printed. The Raven is true to form, with our 'hero' tormented by the Raven, only this time Corben shows a visual depiction of a possible past and reason for his descent into madness. The Sleeper tale follows a Priest as he battles it out with some ghouls. The Conqueror Worm maintains it's theme of never ending despair, but it is now set in a futuristic world where food and prosperity is a scarce resource. The worms bring life to the citizens of one city, but the cost is humans are food for the worms. YUM!

With Poe stories having been around for almost 200 years, it is a great that these type of series are being created. By adding and subtracting to the original works and presenting them in a different medium, Poe is reinvented/refreshed and kept in the lime light - where greats such as he belong.


2 DAYS TO HALLOWEEN!

Superman & Batman vs. Vampires & Werewolves # 1 of 6

Writer: Kevin VanHook
Artist: Tom Mandrake
Colorist: Nathan Eyring
Publisher: DC
Published: October 2008

Okay, here's a Halloween treat to keep the ultimate geek gushing. DC's biggest names, Supes and Bats, battling histories greatest monsters, vampires and werewolves. If Hitler was thrown in as surprise villain, this series would be the greatest thing next to Lord of the Rings vs. The Matrix Trilogy. But I digress....

Issue begins with a gruesome half eaten dead body falling from the sky. Batman and a mysterious Marius Dimeter are on the scene, and they both have their suspicions as to who did the deed. Dimeter dissolves into a wall, and Batman is left to continue his search for answers. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman is quick on the scene to beat the crap out of a vampire, (alright, now, this comic is definitely one tier below geek masterpiece - Bats, Supes, vamps, werewolves, AND Wonder Woman - and all for $2.99!) Without ruining anymore of the story, all I can say is that Batman is doing some crime solving, while the vampires and werewolves are up to some shady dealings.


All in all, this looks to be a cheesy series, but hopefully, the end payoff will be worth it.

3 DAYS TO HALLOWEEN!

Elvira's House of Mystery # 1: Halloween Special

Writers: Joey Cavalieri, Philip Clarke Jr., Robert Kanigher, Dennis Yee, Jack Harris
Artists: Ron Wagner, Bob Oksner, Tom Grindberg, Irwin Hasen, Arthur Geroche, Dennis Yee, Dan Spiegel
Publisher: DC
Published: January 1986

Does anyone remember Elvira? Well if not, she was the B-horror movie expert of the 80's. Her film Mistress of the Dark was a big hit and catapulted her into the mainstream media. She just recently had a reality show, The Search for the Next Elvira. So now you're all caught up.

Elvira's House of Mystery follows the same format of her early work. She used to host a small opening and ending segment for old horror movies. In this comic series, she acts as a comical interlude between various stories. House of Mystery has four tales. Only three of the four of worth mentioning. The second tale is called "Death Likes a Lullaby" and involves a kidnapping, psychological torment, being buried alive, all to the theme of a lullaby. It's a pretty good story, all told. It has some definite Edgar Allan Poe elements to it. The third tale "Once Upon a Time" involves ancient wizards battling it out for the souls of two lovers. The last tale "Vengeance in the Creature Feature" involves the victim of teenage bullies getting some much needed revenge.

Also, Cain makes a special guest appearance, which is very fitting considering the title of this series.


4 DAYS TO HALLOWEEN!

Vampirella # 20

Writers: Ty Templeton, David Conway, Steven Grant
Artists: Bruce Timm, Patrick Zircher
Colorists: Dean White
Publisher: Harris Publications
Published: October 1999

Admittedly I know nothing about Vampirella, beyond that she is some sort of alien vampire who wears next to nothing. The only reason I picked up this issue was because Bruce Timm was a guest artist. The issue is broken into two tales, the titled Lust for Life, and the second Rebirth Part 3. Since I am only concerned with Timm's work, the first tale is the only one of interest. Once again, I know, shallow...

Lust for Life opens with Jordan Sheppard painting a portrait of Vampirella. She is entranced by Jordan, whereas he seems to have other things on his mind. And no, it's not his desire to seduce her - BUT TO KILL HER!!! Jordan is an ancient man with ancient evil spells at his command, and he aims to capture Vampirella's essence for himself, which requires her death. Too bad for him, that he has chosen his prey incorrectly - for Vampirella is no ordinary prey - BUT THE PREDATOR! Ah ha aha ha - ack cough - a ha ha bwah ha ha HA!

5 DAYS TO HALLOWEEN!

Solo # 5: Darwyn Cooke

Writer/Artist: Darwyn Cooke
Publisher: DC
Published: August 2005

The Solo collection published by DC is probably the finest series produced in the last 4 years. For those folks that don't know what the Solo series is all about, let me recap: a single issue comic drawn and written by one artist. The contents of the issue are the sole discretion of the artist. They are literally given free reign to write/draw anything they want (except the competitors, ie. Marvel, Image, etc). Occasionally, help is brought in to write a story, (which, yes, defeats the absolute solo rule, but who's that nit picky?), but in the case of issue 5, Cooke delivers an entire issue by himself.

Darwyn's Solo effort has seven chapters, ranging from an awesome Batman tale, to a little crime drama, to one man's love affair with his vacuum. (Yeah, I know bizarre, but great.) Cooke's artwork is amazing, as usual, his Batman is dark and foreboding, and the opening story is a perfect example of what a Solo concept is all about. Stay tuned, folks, as I'll be writing up quick reviews on all 12 issues of the Solo series during my 365 run.

Marvel Comics Presents # 55: Collective Man

Writers: Michael Higgins, Len Kaminski, Len Wein, Scott Lobdell
Artists: Dave Ross, Jim Fry, Jim Fern, Greg Laroque
Colorists: Brad Vancata, Gregory Wright, Renee Witterstaetter
Publisher: Marvel
Published: 1990

Following my last post on MCP # 54, here we have Wolverine and Hulk battling it out, making peace, and then eating some bear meat. Jack Russell (Werewolf by Night) summons his dead dad, all the while unaware that his "grand children" and the Silver Dagger are stalking him. The fish story by Wein has Stingray fighting off a giant squid, which is very cool. Finally, the best story in this issue has, the Collective Man defying the Chinese Army.I'd never heard of the Collective Man, but from what I can manage in 8 pages, he is 5 men who can become 1. There are 5 brothers who can join and separate into one brother at will. As an example, in the issue, one of the brothers visits their dying mother, while the other four battle the God of Happiness (more on that later). The brothers then one by one "merge" on the brother visiting their mom, so that in the end they are all by her side. Pretty cool. As for the God of Happiness, he is this over sized blob like humanoid thing that works for the Chinese government, sent to "spread happiness," ie force people to accept their roles in society.

Clearly this last tale loosely hints on a few themes. The "Collective Man," sporting his Republic of China jacket, is a man who physically embodies the spirit of Chinese communism. The five brothers, each with their respective personalities, can merge and become a singular being of force, who stand for love and protection. The God of Happiness is a perversion of real happiness and represents the misguided application of communism. Then again, it is just a comic. The story ends with the God of Happiness floating away stating: "It became clear that it was this love, not politics, not platitudes, not even a bloated religious belief in me - that will save the people of China...the joke was on me"

Wolverine: Manifest Destiny # 1

Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Stephen Segovia
Colorist: John Rauch
Publisher: Marvel
Published: October 2008

The only reason I am buying this series is because issue 3 is going to have an Enter The Dragon inspired cover. Shallow, I know. But what can you do?

Moving along, Manifest Destiny has the makings of a decent mini-series. The first issue has Logan mulling over past wrongs and a desire to make things right. This involves visiting San Francisco Chinatown, and returning a spearhead. However, the locals of Chinatown aren't too happy to see him, and in classic Wolverine style, he is forced to kick some ass.

Overall, it's a pretty enjoyable comic. It covers all the major elements of a good Wolverine story: regret, drinking, fighting, haunted by the past, and Wolverine getting beat up. It also has a Jim Kelly inspired character, and some kid who looks like a cross between Short Round and Tinny Tim, except the whole robot thing...ok a mix between Short Round and the hat of Tinny Tim.

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? # 1

Writer: Barry Liebmann
Artist: S.M. Taggart
Colorist: Rick Taylor
Publisher: DC Comics
Published: June 1996

As a kid I watched this show obsessively, and because of that elusive Carmen Sandiego, I was able to pass my geography tests in school. So, when I was in the comic shop the other day, I noticed this issue and flashing back to my childhood I was compelled to pick it up. That and it was only 25 cents.

The comic sticks true to the Carmen Sandiego formula. Carmen steals some of Earths major landmarks, and the Acme Agency recruits Evan Sawyer, a Carmen Sandiego computer game champ, to hunt her down. After traversing the globe, capturing some of Carmen's crazy henchmen, Evan is able to locate the stolen landmarks, but alas, that damn Carmen Sandiego is gone.

Besides being an educational read of global proportions, the writers do explain Carmen Sandiego's origin. Turns out out she was originally an Acme Agent, but grew bored with solving crimes, so instead turned to a life of crime. So right from the get go, it's been personal war between Acme and Carmen Sandiego. Speaking of personal war, the Chief of Acme on the television program was played by Lynne Thigpen, who was the radio announcer in The Warriors. Neat. That's right - he has a rat as toupee.

"Testing Hollywood For Love" Romances #51

Writer: J. Thomas
Artist: R. Davis
Publisher: Charlton
Published: February 1970

"Testing Hollywood for Love" Romances is quite the comic. It has three tales: Empty Kisses and Broken Heart's, Born to Heartbreak, and Testing For Love. Each tale begins with a kiss and then ends with a kiss. The story that elapses between the two kisses is only to distinguish the differences in the kisses. The first kiss is on an studio set between two actors and thus has no real "romantic" value. Each story then follows the female lead as she tries to find happiness; and this path to happiness involves giving up their acting career to become wives. The stories then conclude with the real "romantic" kiss between committed partners.

As a guy used to reading about Batman beating the tar out of some crook, this romance comic is definitely a glimpse into another world. Sure, there is no action besides heavy duty snogging, no real character development beyond lonely single career woman converted to married housewife, and no emotion beyond panels and panels of crying, but overall, it's a nice looking comic. The penmanship is crisp, detailed, and holds up to the test of time, even if the story themes don't.

Marvel Ruins # 2

Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Cliff Nielsen, Terese Nielsen, Chris Moeller
Publisher: Marvel
Published: September 1995

Marvel Ruins 2 concludes the dark and uncaring story of the marvels. As much as I dislike this comic (see previous post on Marvel Ruins), the artwork is still outstanding. However, somewhere during the production, the art switches format. Halfway through, Moeller takes over and his artwork is adequate, but entirely different than Nielsen's. This leads issue 2 to being a a disjointed affair, further downgrading the quality of this dark and twisted tale. Take for instance the two below panels by Nielsen and Moeller, respectively. As you can see, vastly different, but well done, even though the story is lacking.

Marvel Comics Presents # 54: Wolverine

Writers: Michael Higgins, Len Kaminsky, Len Wein, Hollis Bright
Artists: Dave Ross, Jim Fry, Jim Fern, Steve Ditko
Colorist: Brad Vancata, Gregory Wright, Ed Lazellari
Publisher: Marvel
Published: 1990

4 comics in 1 comic - can't beat that! Because there are 4 comics crammed in 32 pages, each tale is generally 8 pages of solid mayhem.

The first tale involves Wolverine killing a bear, and then getting into a fight with Hulk. The second tale (by far the most interesting) has the Werewolf by Night chained to a wall, in the hopes of controlling the werewolf transformation. The third tale has Tiger Shark kicking Stingray in the nuts, and finally the fourth tale has some Kali Protector fighting a rogue Kali person or something or other...to be fair I didn't really read that last one. This is often the case with Marvel Comics Presents. Anyway, enjoy some Tiger Shark vs. Stingray action.



Now that's some fish on fish nut crackin'!

Groo The Wanderer # 24: Arcadio's Quest

Writers: Sergio Aragones & Mark Evanier
Artist: Sergio Aragones
Colorist: Tom Luth
Letterer: Stan Sakai
Publisher: Marvel
Published: February 1987

I now own 2 Groo comics! Yeah!

This installment has Groo trying to do a good deed with the end results far from good. Groo is asked to break the curse that has turned the people of Arcadio's town into ug-mo's, ie. uber-ugly folk. Arcadio is also on a quest to transform the ugly folk into their former selves. The problem is that Groo thinks the town's citizens are supposed to be ugly, so when he arrives and sees the townsfolk pretty as ever, he immediately sets to undo the curse of beauty. Basically, the issue revolves around Arcadio and Groo transforming the town's citizens into ugly and beautiful with neither gaining ground. The issue ends with Groo being driven from the town.

What makes this issue stand out is the great artwork by Aragones. His pen work is outstanding, and each character is a treat to view. I don't think there has been another artist that has been able to create such detailed comical chaos in one panel alone. A real treat.


The Beginning of the End Between Gumby and Pokey