Doctor Weird Day!

Jim Starlin was born on this date in 1949. He made his mark at Marvel with stellar runs on Captain Marvel and Warlock. His creation of Thanos has given the MU a villain worthy of the entire universe itself. Starlin's The Death of Captain Marvel is one of Marvel's finest productions and that death has never been undone to my knowledge. But before all that, there was Doctor
Weird. 

Created by Howard Keltner, a fan-talent and part of the "Texas Trio", Dr. Weird has gotten a life in comics outside his fanboy beginnings. Keltner is not timid about saying that Mr. Justice, the old MLJ hero was Weird's inspiration.

I first chanced on the good Doctor in a Caliber Comics reprint of vintage Dr. Weird stories by now-famous writer George R.R. Martin and now-famous comics artist Jim Starlin. They kindle with the robust energy of youth and have a vigor and life missing from most modern comics, overcome by ironic commentary. Starlin's artwork is very like the stuff he first showed up at Marvel with on Iron Man and Captain Marvel, a fusion of Kirby and Kane and others, a synthesis of what was good in comics art at the time. The special reprints the contents of the two Dr. Weird issues published by Keltner along with a few other short tales.

The stories are a blend of science and sorcery. The Doctor is a lost time traveler who dies before he was born creating a paradox that gives him a weird unlife in which he's given the mission to use vast powers to help mankind in the 20th century. The threats are cults and demons and whatnot, vaguely Lovecraftian with a comics twist.

Dr. Weird got a few issues from Caliber of new adventures but these don't have the same magic somehow. Then he was folded into the Big Bang universe and had some fun things happen there. I've seen a few other issues advertised but I don't have those.

He's also shown up at Hamster Press in some classic reprints from the 60's with artwork Landon Chesney and others, really fine stuff. Howard Keltner his creator apparently sold the rights to the Big Bang guys, but I don't know where they reside now since Keltner passed away. Dr. Weird is good reading for fans of vintage comic book heroes and fans of Jim Starlin. 

When Jim Starlin broke into Marvel, he brought with him a new character named Drax the Destroyer. Drax was introduced in the pages of Iron Man, but soon became a central part of the battle against Thanos, the Mad Titan. 

Here we see Jim Starlin's Drax the Destroyer in full on destroyin' mode as he attacks the Mad God Thanos with Death looking on. Since Drax is risen from the dead and Thanos worships death, it's a most appropriate image. This is the classic Drax, the original design which I have to believe was based in part on Dr.Weird, a fanzine hero Starlin had worked on previously.

Here's that double page spread from Captain Marvel #32 in all its original black and white glory. Beautiful!

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The Spirit Gets Some HELP!

When The Spirit was going unpublished in the early 60's, the strip still had fans. One early reprint which perhaps triggered others was in the back pages of Harvey Kurtzman's HELP! 

Check out this Internet Archive link to see this particular version of Will Eisner's classic "Sand Saref".  

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Black Kiss Day!

Howard Chaykin was born on this date in 1950. He did early work at DC and Marvel after a tenure as one of Wally Wood's many apprentices. He made his mark on an adaptation of Fritz Lieber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser and The Scorpion for Atlas-Seaboard and Dominic Fortune for Marvel. He elevated his status and comic art with American Flagg for First Comics. His most infamous work is easily what he created for Black Kiss, a brutal film noir tale of horror, murder, betrayal, and sex. 

I didn't know about Howard Chaykin's Black Kiss when it was first published in the late 80's. But I have to admit the bold sexuality of the book did intrigue when I did learn of it sometime in the last dozen years or so. I finally got around to ordering a version of the story, and I have to say it's absolutely compelling. No comic book I've ever encountered had more pure classic noir elements than this one. This is not a comic book for everyone. This is a story in which the creator seems bent on challenging as many of the taboos in classic comic storytelling as possible. But it is a story which delivers both shocks and surprises. There is the original series produced in the late 80's, and a sequel produced in this century as well as a Christmas special and a Halloween story especially made for the omnibus edition which came out only last month. It's worth the money if this stuff is something you'd be interested in. 

Here is a cover gallery which gives a hint as to what is going on in this wild ride of a yarn. And these covers are provocative. 

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Red Circle Sorcery!

Above is a wonderful run of comics produced under the watchful eye of the late great Gray Morrow. Every now and again Archie Comics wants to try out something under their "Red Circle" logo. Morrow was the kahuna of this experiment by Archie to capture a bit of another aspect of the comics market in the early 70's. Sorcery and Madhouse are filled with really outstanding artwork by Morrow and others like Doug Wildey, Vicente Alcazar, and Frank Thorne. Then we are treated to three more covers by Gray Morrow for the Archie run of Chilling Tales of Sorcery. This title became Red Circle Sorcery with its sixth issue. The first two issues are in Archie style and feature Sabrina.

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