A Modern Stone Age Fantasy - Marvel Fanfare 1-2

Marvel Fanfare #1 (March 1982)
"Fast Descent Into Hell!"
Chris Claremont-Michael Golden

Marvel Fanfare #2 (May 1982)
"To Sacrifice My Soul"
Chris Claremont-Michael Golden

Doug: Hey, it's a Two for Tuesday! Except today is Monday. Well, you're still going to get some extra bang for your time spent on the BAB today, kids. Marvel Fanfare was a book that landed during my hiatus from comics, which stretched from around the spring of 1980 to the spring of 1985 (give or take). The whole direct market thing, comic shops, creator-owned properties, the "Indies"... all of that rose up while I was chillin' in high school and my first three semesters of college. Today's review material came to me in the form of one of Marvel's very early forays into the trade paperback business, in a tome titled The Savage Land (1987) and containing reprints of Marvel Fanfare #s 1-4 -- all for the low, low cost of $5.95! I also have the collected Wolverine mini-series in the same format; maybe we'll get to that some day (if I can stand Claremont's repeated "I'm the best at what I do, and...").

Doug: That's a sweet cover above left, isn't it? I always gape at it in all its airborne terror. That is, until I look at Spidey's legs. Umm... yeah, it just looks weird. But then I come back to the flying lizard from the bowels of hell, Spider-Man's hands working to free himself, and the Angel -- and I gape at it some more. But those legs.

Doug: Today, as you can see, we're going to look at the first two issues of Marvel Fanfare, brought to you by long tenured (even by 1982) X-Men scribe Chris Claremont and artist Michael Golden. At the time Golden was perhaps best known as the penciler of the Man-Bat feature that ran in Batman Family, the Mister Miracle book, and long runs at Marvel on Micronauts, ROM, and Savage She-Hulk. To me, Golden's detailed and expressive style at times channels Alan Davis, but also Marshall Rogers. Not bad company, huh? -- at least in my mind. Here's some background on the series, from Wikipedia (one reference is left in for those concerned with such things):

Marvel Fanfare was envisioned as a showcase of the comics industry's best talent. Each issue featured 36 pages of material with no advertisements and it was printed on magazine-style slick paper. it was more than twice as expensive as standard comic books ($1.25 in 1982 when most titles were 60 cents and $2.25 in 1991 when most were $1).
Editor Milgrom wrote of his experience with the series:

“

It was intended that [Marvel Fanfare] would appeal especially to the fans. [I] tried to get the best possible stuff (...by either established pros or talented newcomers). At least part of the purpose was to use better paper, more elaborate, detailed coloring and, by charging a higher cover price, to eliminate all those unsightly ads. The creators were paid a bonus 50% rate, too. I was sometimes 'accused' of just using up inventory material — as if that was necessarily a bad thing. I did use some inventory stuff — if I thought it was of high enough quality. As with any grand vision, the results sometimes fell short of the goal... What finally killed it was the advent of incentive payments to freelancers — top creators could make far more than the rate-and-a-half Fanfare paid if they worked on many of the better-selling regular titles. That and my workload and family obligations made it tough to keep the book going. And sales had begun to drop as well.[7]

Doug: I know not whether the material we're looking at today was "inventory" or specifically created to launch the book. My guess is that even if it was inventory for an annual or some such thing, Al Milgrom made a solid choice in choosing it. I think you'll agree that the story is OK, but the art is simply gorgeous! Let's get rolling then, with not one but two 100-Word Reviews (one for each issue) --

Marvel Fanfare #1 (17 pages): Tanya Anderssen loved Karl Lykos. Trouble was, Lykos was the mutant energy vampire Sauron, who leached life force from others to keep himself alive. Lykos was believed killed in the Savage Land, until a photograph of him surfaced, taken six months prior. Anderssen enlisted the Angel to find Lykos. Meanwhile, the Daily Bugle is doing a feature on the Savage Land and sends Peter Parker to do the photos; he ends up on the same transport as the Angel and Anderssen. The chopper is wrecked and our heroes are captured by Magneto’s Savage Land mutates. To be continued!

Marvel Fanfare #2 (19 pages): Brain Child hooked Spider-Man and the Angel up to some nefarious gizmo that would in turn mutate each of our heroes. Ka-Zar and his warrior friends rescue Tanya Anderssen from a t-rex attack, but later they themselves are attacked by the horribly disfigured Angel and Spider-Man. Anderssen is kidnapped by the Angel; Spider-Man fights his transformation. Ka-Zar figures out that our heroes are at Zaladane’s citadel, so leads a band to rescue them. Brain Child, however, has subjected Anderssen to his ray, devolving her. Lykos knows only one way to reverse the process, so drains some of her life force. And Sauron returns…

The Good: As you may have guessed, and can see plainly for yourself from the samples I've provided, Michael Golden's art is fabulous. He is also the credited colorist on both issues. You can see that the evolution of paper and printing technologies really gives the art a clean, lush look. I mentioned above the level of detail -- there is great care taken in the rendering of each panel, every figure and even most backgrounds. Golden truly took no shortcuts here. And I think the fact that he was the whole enchilada on the pictures really gave him an investment in the work.

The teaming of Spider-Man and the Angel provides some solid visuals, although I'd argue that dropping Spidey into the Savage Land strips the character of some of his strengths -- notably web-swinging. Still, Golden's backgrounds, colors, and detailed clothing pulled my attention away from that small gripe. I enjoyed the links between this story and X-Men #s 60-63 and #s 113-116 with appearances by Magneto's Savage Land Mutates and references to Garokk and Zaladane. The Savage Land truly is a great backdrop for a story; who doesn't like dinosaurs?

The Bad: I don't really have any severe complaints at all about the story. Sure, Claremont's writing is Claremont's writing, and I can't say I didn't get what I was expecting. But I think taking Spider-Man and mutating him into a voiceless Spider-creature detracted from what one might normally wish to receive in a Spidey mag. In that regard, this was a loss -- sort of like Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye in Marvel's The Avengers. Dude spent 2/3 of the film possessed! Same thing here. But the Ka-Zar and Zabu action sort of made up for it.

The Ugly: Brain Child is one ugly dude. Barbarus is another. Sauron is also one ugly dude. A flying lizard with tattered pants and a gun. But then, what's not to like? I would say, on the serious side, that Ka-Zar comics suffer from one of the same tropes that Tarzan stories suffer, and that's the great white hope coming to save (and even subjugate) the local savages. We get a little of that here, but it's somewhat tame.

Doug: In that Wikipedia article linked above there was a section that shows where several Marvel Fanfare stories have been reprinted. I have the Marvel Premiere Hardcover Black Widow: Web of Intrigue that reprints a George Perez-drawn Widow story. There are plenty of other locations for this material. However, it's high time Marvel did a nice, neat package in their relatively new Epic Collection format and put this varied product between two covers.

Doug: At some point maybe I'll return to finish this tale -- obviously it ends in a pteranodon-level cliffhanger! Marvel Fanfare #3 features the X-Men and was drafted/finished by Dave Cockrum and Bob McLeod; Marvel Fanfare #4 has pictures provided by Paul Smith and Terry Austin. Shoot, those art teams alone are reason enough to revisit!

Guest Post - If I Had a Buck... Barbarians

Doug: Here we have another of Mike S.'s budgetary nightmares -- picking and choosing Bronze Age goodness, but armed only with a dollar! Today's fare -- the animal loincloth crowd!

I Need to Buy Some Pants But Only Have a Buck!  A Barbarian Shopping Spree!

Mike S.: Back in the height of the Bronze Age, it seemed the comic choices were well balanced with Super Heroes, Funny Animals, Teenage Jokesters, Richie Rich (in a category all his own) and of course the Barbarians and Warriors. 

It was not uncommon at all to find a fine selection of loin clothed, weapon wielding, long maned combatants in the comic rack. Savages, warlords, destroyers, and she devils armed with sword, sorcery, and sometimes just their bare hands battled wizards, creatures, and even dystopian futures.

Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard seemed to have invaded the industry as their numerous creations came to life in four glorious colors. Their success was of course followed by numerous copycats armed with knives, battleaxes, and broadswords.

In my youth, in my assessment of what to buy, I lumped these many characters together. From Tarzan to John Carter, from Conan to Killraven, from Kull to Kamandi, I considered these adventure series to be secondary to those of their powered and costumed super heroic counterparts. I dismissed them as cavemen of no interest (even if they battled Martian technology). But I was wrong. Later in life, I found joy in seeing John Buscema’s depiction of the Hyborian Age in Conan, and the kookiness of Kirby’s impending animal rule in Kamandi, and the drama of Joe Kubert’s jungle action in Tarzan.   

So I offer to you another $1 challenge of “If I Had A Buck…” With no competition from other genres, if the comic rack was limited to only adventurers, warriors, and barbarians, who would you choose? There are nine titles, nine stories to choose from, but you only have one measly dollar.  Make your selection wisely or you may lose your head (metaphorically speaking of course). This was a difficult list to assemble, as there were so many titles and great covers to choose from and I am honestly no expert. Titles like “Turok, The Dinosaur Hunter” and “Skull, The Slayer” didn’t make the cut.  Nor did “Ironjaw” or “Wulf, The Barbarian”. But that does not mean you can’t discuss them if they interest you. 

What were your favorite titles in this genre? What did you like about the characters and stories? Did you get drawn in and did you collect these series? Or were you like me and only picked up issues here and there? Do you lump the futuristic fighters with their ancient equivalents, like I do? Is there a storyline that you would recommend? How did you choose to spend your dollar? And most importantly, why were these characters so averse to wearing shirts and why did so many of their names start with a hard “C” sound?

Have fun and here is the list of choices:

Amazing Adventures featuring Killraven, Warrior of the Worlds #32; $0.25

Conan the Barbarian #72; $0.30

John Carter, Warlord of Mars #13; $0.35

Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth #17; $0.20

Lord of the Hidden Jungle, Ka-Zar #13; $0.25

Korak, Son of Tarzan #58; $0.25

Kull the Destroyer #18; $0.30

Red Sonja, She-Devil With a Sword #11; $0.35

Tarzan #222; $0.20

Arc of Triumph? Marvel Fanfare 1-4

Doug: Now I know we've never discussed Marvel Fanfare around here, because when I set up the post's labels it didn't come up as an auto-fill. I have this series in a trade paperback called X-Men: The Savage Land. It may actually be the first tpb I ever purchased. I read it way back when I was in college, but to be honest have little memory of the story beyond the incredible art by Michael Golden, Dave Cockrum, and Paul Smith. Does this ring a bell with any of our readers?

Run Through the Jungle: X-Men 116

X-Men #116 (December 1978)
"To Save the Savage Land!"
Chris Claremont -writer/co-plotter
John Byrne -artist/co-plotter
Terry Austin -inker

Karen: With this issue we wrap up our latest series of X-Men reviews, but we're going out with a bang! This is another well-paced, exciting story. This is a creative team at the top of their game here, and it shows in every page.


Karen: The X-Men and Ka-Zar have made their way to the vast city of Garokk, the Sun God. Byrne and Austin deliver a stunning double page spread (on pages 2 and 3, just like last issue) that shows just how sprawling the city is. Garokk has caused the ecology of the Savage Land to become unbalanced, causing snow storms in the once-lush tropical valley. As the X-Men and Ka-Zar plan their entry into the city, they are attacked from above by warriors riding pterodactyl-like beasts. The tide quickly turns against them, and all but Storm, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine are captured and taken back to face Garokk.

Doug: Yeah, although the team was picked apart pretty quickly, I'd not say that it was because they fought as individuals without a plan -- that had been our gripe in past issues. No, here it was due to the surprise and methodology of the assault.
 
Karen: As Doug mentioned in a previous review, this was around the time that Wolverine started to take on more of the spotlight. Certainly he stands out in this issue. Once their enemies have taken off with as many captives as they can carry, Wolverine takes on a leadership role, saying that they have to break into the city and free their friends. He has a conversation with Zabu, Ka-Zar's pet sabretooth, and sends him off to get help. One of my favorite lines from this era of X-Men occurs here; when Storm comments that there is more to Wolverine than meets the eye, the pint-sized tough says, "At my size babe, that ain't hard!"

Doug: It seems like with each passing issue, you could argue that it's Wolverine's "coming out party". No doubt that his evolution to Marvel superstar is in full swing now.
 
Karen: Our trio starts making their way down the slope towards the city. It's at this point that one of the most infamous Wolverine incidents occurs. A lone guard stands before an entrance. Nightcrawler offers to bamf over and knock him out, but Wolverine does it his way -the implication being that he killed the guy. Storm thinks to herself, "He's like the great cats on the veldt. When he strikes, there is no mercy in him." Nowadays it might seem like nothing, but back then I remember wondering if I had interpreted this correctly. Did a super-hero actually kill someone? And Storm and Nightcrawler were OK with that? I still have to wonder about the second part of that question.

Doug: Yep, my thoughts at the time precisely. I think for Storm, as she even said, Wolverine's behavior would be... not acceptable, but I guess not surprising as she related it to the predators she knew. For Kurt? Despite the persecution he'd endured, he was at the core a hero. I, and I'm sure you and our readers, knowing of Wolverine's background as an operative for the Canadian government, can accept this whole scene. But at the time it was indeed shocking. You know, I'm taken in my memories back to the "Operation Galactic Storm" mega-arc in the Avengers and other titles, when the Black Knight ultimately killed the Kree Supreme Intelligence. That was debated between Dane and Captain America, and the Black Knight carried it out even after Cap's protest. But here, it's the Wolverine show, with his lead and his methods. There was no debate. So in regard to your latter question, about Storm and Nightcrawler accepting this? I'd say there was really no time to process it in the immediate sense, but certainly some off-panel debriefing over the next several issues/adventures.

Karen: Wolverine and company sneak in through the sewer, only to encounter a pack of little vicious dinosaurs. Storm makes quick work of them, flushing them away as it were. The trio climbs up and out of the stinky lower levels to a vantage point high above a colossal arena. They can barely see their friends, bound to columns on a stage far distant. Wolverine says that neither he nor Storm could get there in time -can Nightcrawler teleport that far away? In a nice bit of character building, we see Kurt wondering if he can make it -he's never done anything like it before. But he never displays any doubt; all he tells Wolverine is, "Watch me." Gotta love that bravado!

Doug: You know, even in this scene Wolverine follows up his murder (is it murder in war? I guess what he did to the guard was an act of war...) of Garokk's guard with the running through of the raptor that bit his arm. And by the way, is this one of the first mentions of Wolverine's healing factor as his main mutant power?
 
Karen: We see that Cyclops, Banshee, Ka-Zar, and Colossus are all on the stage, with Garokk and Zaladane telling them that they must be sacrificed for the greater good. They've built a fire around Colossus, who is restrained by vibranium bonds, and whose body is starting to glow red-hot. Suddenly, everyone's favorite blue elf appears and removes the binder over Cyclops' visor. In short order the X-Men are free again, and rejoined by Storm and Wolverine.

Doug: With chaos on their side for once, the X-Men are a formidable bunch!

Karen: As the tide turns against him, Garokk makes a break for it. It turns out all the energy he's used building his city has left him weakened; he must recharge himself. Cyke sees him take off and follows him, blasting through a door to get to him. Cyke chases him up to top of the domed city. We finally get an explanation of sorts as to how the city's construction has damaged the Savage Land. The city was built on top of a geothermal heat sink that keeps the place warm, bringing the temperature down. Sure, that's good enough for me! Garokk taps into the energy grid of the city and he and Cyke start blasting each other most spectacularly.

Doug: At least we got an explanation!
 
Karen: Their battle causes the dome to collapse. The X-Men, seemingly always in such catastrophic situations, blast their way out of the rumbling city. Cyclops and Garokk tumble down into a deep shaft. Banshee saves Cyke while Storm goes after Garokk. Every life is precious to her. But she is unable to save Garokk. The way it is drawn it appears that a piece of debris strikes Storm in the head, and that is why she can't save the Petrified Man. But Claremont's narrative indicates that Storm hesitates and that's why she loses him. In any case, she comes up empty-handed, and distraught.

Doug: Yes, in regard to Storm's "failure" to save Garokk, I wondered too if this book was produced using the "Marvel Method". But by this time Claremont and Byrne were listed as co-plotters, so maybe it was just a slip in Claremont's dialogue. And you reference the once-again blasting their way out... Do you know how many times the original team would have been toast without this group's firepower?

Karen: The team regroups and says their good-byes to Ka-Zar and Karl Lykos. They head out of the Savage Land on a primitive boat, only to sail right into a storm! Typical X-Men. These Savage Land tales may not get all the notoriety of many of the later X-tales, but they were fantastic, fun stories. A lot of writers could learn much from Claremont's ability to keep the action coming while still giving us nice insights into the characters. Byrne and Austin are just magical. 
 
Doug: We just covered six issues, and look at what happened! I feel like I need to catch my breath. Having purchased all of these issues from the spinner racks, this series of reviews has brought that magic back to me. And when you consider that over in the Avengers the "Korvac Saga" was taking place, while the FF were heading toward their "Search for Galactus"... what a magical time to have been a kid at the convenience store!

The Curse of the Sun God

Astonishing Tales #5 (April 1971)"Rampage!"
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: Barry Smith
Inker: Frank Giacoia

Karen: When last we left the fearless jungle lord Ka-Zar he had been swept up in the talons of a pterodactyl ridden by the merciless priestess Zaladane. We start this story with Ka-Zar struggling to break loose from that terrible grip. The acrobatic savage manages to swing himself free and up on to Zaladane's perch, knocking the reins out of her hands. The gigantic beast flies wildly out of control and the two enemies now cling to one another as they crash through trees to the ground below.
Karen: The beast has fallen in front of the temple to the Sun God, where Ka-Zar's friend Garokk, the Petrified Man, stands, hoping to be free of the godlike power that now fills him, and is driving him mad. He looks at the lake before him and sees a sea serpent attacking boats full of men and tries to stop it. Unfortunately he uses too much of his power and practically evaporates the entire lake, wiping out man and monster alike. This is an effective sequence as we see the water roiling and then the near empty lake bed.

Karen: Ka-Zar and Zaladane have survived their crash and she appears to have changed her tune, as Ka-Zar tried to protect her during their ordeal. She shows him a pool of black water under the city -"heating our homes, supplying liquid wood for our fires..." Sounds like oil right? But then she says, "...and he who drinks from it gains immortality, and then unlimited force---and then madness!" OK, definitely not oil! Ka-Zar realizes what this means for Garokk, and asks inf there is no cure. Zaladane replies that if Garokk bathes in the pool the curse will be removed. Unfortunately she's been playing Ka-Zar -she lured him into the chamber only to release a big nasty ape-like monster on him!

Karen: Back on the surface, Garokk has decided the only way to bring peace to the Savage Land is to wipe out the people. He nearly attacks Tongah and Zabu when he feels compelled to leave in his godly form. Zaladane has summoned him, and he's not happy! Back underground, the jungle lord is battling a much bigger foe than he, but still overcomes him. Ka-Zar sees Garokk and tries to reason with him but it's no use. The crazed man-god begins firing energy beams from his eyes, and the very ground they stand upon crumbles and the twon drop into the underground chamber. Remembering Zaladane's words about removing the curse, Ka-Zar manipulates Garokk into the bubbling pool. Of course, Ka-Zar should know better than to trust the treacherous wench. Garokk starts to change, his outer rocky form consumed by the fire. All that is left is his withered, centuries-old mortal form, now dying. Ka-Zar is stunned but Garokk gratefully accepts death.

Karen: Zaladane comes down to the chamber but Ka-Zar leaves her be, pretty much disgusted with the whole situation. Suddenly, from under some rubble comes the guardian-beast that Ka-Zar had defeated. he doesn't recognize Zaladane and goes to attack her. The whole chamber starts to collapse. Form outside, Tongah and Zabu try to enter but the whole temple is falling apart. After the Sun-God's statues falls, they see a figure in the dust; it is Ka-Zar.

Karen: This three-part tale was solid all the way through. It's fun to look back at two young creators, Conway and Smith, just starting to come into their own, Smith with a few more years under his belt at this point than Conway. His art is much improved from his earlier Avengers work, where he seemed to be trying to emulate Kirby. Here, in his own natural style, he excels. I think Giacoia was a better choice of inker for him than Grainger. There seems to be much more of Smith's fine line work retained in this issue. It's too bad he was not the cover artist as well; the covers for these issues have been fairly pedestrian. For anyone wanting to see some examples of early Smith art that is not Conan, these issues would be a good place to look.

Savages and Sun Gods

Astonishing Tales #4 (Feb. 1970)"The Sun God!"
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: Barry Smith
Inker: Sam Grainger

Karen: Way back in February of last year, I reviewed Astonishing Tales 3 (see it here). I've finally acquired the following issues and decided to read and review them. I'll just be looking at the Ka-Zar portion of this split comic. Not that I don't like Dr. Doom, but I find the Ka-Zar tale more interesting. It would be great if Marvel would collect these stories in a TPB. It would be worth it for the early Barry Smith art alone.

Karen: The mad priestess Zaladane has brought war to the Savage Land. Flying in on pterodactyls, she and her people reign fire on the peaceful green-skinned Vala-Kuri people. Ka-Zar is miles away and needs some speedy transportation. He wrestles down a unicorn(!!) and heads off for the city, leaving behind his buddy Tongah and Garokk, the petrified man, who appears to be made of stone; unlike Stone Boy of the Legion of Substitute Heroes, Garokk is quite mobile. In turn, Tongah leaves Garokk, who is left to muse about youth abandoning age and age burying youth. He's that kinda guy.

Karen: Zaladane and her forces are wreaking havoc on the poor Vala Kuri, who have neither the means nor desire to fight back. But along comes an enraged Ka-Zar, who launches himself at one of the pterodactyl riders, bringing man and beast down to the ground. He quickly punches out the rider and takes his flaming device, while Zabu works on the dinosaur. Ka-Zar also waxes a little philosophical here - surely the very young Gerry Conway expressing himself. I've noticed that his early stories seem much more like he's writing a novel rather than a comic.

Karen: In the meantime Garokk has reached the Sun God shrine where he was first transformed. He reaches out to touch it and there is a strange energy enveloping him. A very bizarre-looking Tyrannosaurus Rex comes lurching towards him, and he blasts it away. This was a well-composed sequence by Smith. While Ka-Zar and newly arrived friend Tongah face down Zaladane, a giant fiery head appears in the sky -it is Garokk, now completely changed into the Sun God. He demands an end to the fighting and uses his powers (apparently pretty god-like ones) to destroy all the fire-blasting weapons. The invaders stop attacking -all that is but Zaladane, who is infuriated by this development. She sweeps down and grabs Ka-Zar in her mount's talons and flies off with him! Can you say, to be continued?

Karen: This was a real rip-snorting yarn. I've always liked the Savage Land. It has so many possibilities. Gerry Conway does a nice job here of pacing the story. Although the unicorn seemed fairly out of place, I have to say. I wonder if that was his idea, or Smith's? But otherwise, we have all the elements -the hero, the evil queen, the wizard/god -that make this a classic tale of fantasy- adventure.
Karen: It's really fun to look at this early work of Barry Smith. It's instantly recognizable, but it's also clearly still Smith learning his craft. He has a gift for portraying the fantastic, but at times his figures and especially faces are a bit off. The T-Rex mentioned earlier is a good example of this; it looks almost more-bug-like than reptilian. But Smith still has a very appealing style which shows wonderful flashes of the brilliance he would eventually achieve.