Marvel Premiere #27

TITLE: Marvel Premiere #27

PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics

COVER DATE: December 1975

COVER PRICE: $0.25

19 pages


WHAT I REMEMBER...

Not much has changed since the Randomizer picked this book from among the random collection of forty books that I picked up during my LCS' Christmas Extravaganza. I still have never read a Satana book, nor do I have a clue who "The Tribe" is that is credited with the art on this book.

I could tell you that Satana is the brother of Daimon Hellstrom, and that this is her first appearance in FULL color, but anyone with google and five minutes of free time could tell you that. Let's just jump right in, ignorant feet first and see what we have in store for us.

Deathsong

• Author: Chris Claremont
• Artist: The Tribe
• Letterer: Marcos Pelayo
• Colorist: Janice Cohen
• Editor: Marv Wolfman

The tale begins at the ending, as Satana stands at the scene of a horrific car crash, with a smoldering body lying nearby.

I'm assuming we'll get some explanations on how we got here and what it means, and it would also be nice if we got some answers about just who Satana is at the same time. Although, when the narrator has just as many questions as you, that's never a good sign.

With all of these questions, it's best to go back the beginning, as we catch up with the owner of the smouldering corpse, Deborah Hirsch, as she is on the run from an angry mob. Trying to lose them through the alleyways, she quite literally bumps into Satana, who has been drawn to this town by an occult sixth sense.

And really, when you bump into a total stranger through your own negligence, what better way to say "excuse me" than with a roundhouse kick to the head!

Unfortunately, her odd sense of decorum does her no good as Satana delays her just long enough for the mob to catch up to her and bind her in chains. Why chains? Because they claim she's a witch, and they intend to burn her at the stake.

You'd think the devil's daughter would be all for a good witch burning, but not this time. It's time to teach these townspeople some manners, so she makes him grovel like a pig at her feet.

Is "NURF" really the official sound effect for groveling?

As it turns out, she probably should have let them light the blaze as Deborah actually was possessed by the demon Dansker!

And who is Dankser?

He was also Satana's tutor in the ways of all things demony. Dansker used to rule the Netherlands until Lucifer usurped his command and bound him to his service. One of his chores was to "teach" Satana. The last time they talked was on her graduation day, where she attempted to best him in battle. Unsuccessful, her teacher left her beaten and humbled, vowing that he would always be her better.

Now that the Dansker is free in the mortal world, Satana decides it's time to settle some old scores. First, she needs to find where he has run to after he broke free. One stolen soul later from the last surviving townsperson, and she has her answer.

Here's where the story takes a turn into the-- surreal? Comical? Bizarre?

I can't decide, so what do you think?

That, in all of his bearded and bikini'd glory is Dansker. I know this was the seventies and all, and fashion took a certain liberty with common sense, but that's just weird.

You would think that if you have the power to put your head on a body, you could also spare some magical mojo for some more appropriate attire.

You also would've thought that Moondragon would not have taken kindly to someone copping her look. Granted, there's more hair, but tell me Moondragon hasn't wore that same one-piece.

This time, however, Satana is more than able to match Dansker's power. One well placed "SSZZZAA-KOW" later, and Dankser is brought to his knees.

Leaving him humbled and beaten this time, Satana turns his back on him and walks away. Dansker still has a little fight left in him, as he jumps into Deborah's car and tries to run Satana down, which proves the age old adage...if you can't beat 'em with magic, run 'em over with a car!

Summoning from the power of the basilisk that lies deep within Satana's soul, she lashes out and incinerates Dansker alive, host body and all. In the end, Deborah Hirsch's death was avenged by Satana. Yeah, she technically burned her body to ashes, but her soul was already damned by Dansker at that time. Someday her final battle with Dansker will come, and she will be able to take a true reckoning...someday...

SO, WHAT DID WE LEARN...

For all intents and purposes, this is your standard "demon exiled from Hell, trying to find their way in the mortal world" type of story. This particular time around, the demon is the daughter of Lucifer himself. I wouldn't necessarily say she's guided by a sense of justice, but she does appear to have her own roughly admirable moral code to guide her.

Yeah, she avenged an innocent women's death and saved the life of a young boy in the process, but she did it by stealing another man's soul and condemning him to death. And while he wasn't free of guilt himself, he was actually trying to prevent his town from being taken over by demons. Granted, he was using methods straight out of the Salem Witchhunts, but is that a good enough reason to suck his immortal soul dry?

I suppose we'll leave that question to the philosophers and historians to decide.

Apart from the rather silly villain costume, this was a pretty decent issue. Chris Claremont is not a writer I normally associate with done-in-ones, but this one is not bad. There was only one spot where I rolled my eyes at the excessively dramatic narration.

Evil, a living testament to the darkness in men's souls...

Tell me that that description was never used for Apocalypse, or Mr. Sinister, or Magneto.

The art I rather liked as well, as it was very reminiscent of Marvel's house-style for their seventies horror books. It looks like at least two different artists handled this issue, but the transitions are well done and smooth.

As this story draws to a close, I can't say that I'm storming the halls of Marvel demanding she get her own series, but as a random issue read some thirty plus years after it was released, it was entertaining enough.

If you just can't get enough Satana, however, Marvel did us a favor with this issue and reprinted her first appearance from Vampire Tales #2. It's only four pages long, but it's by Roy Thomas and John Romita Sr., so it's worth taking a look at. Check the links out at the bottom of this post, as Pete from The Bronze Age of Blogs has a post that has some nice large scans of all four pages.

All characters and artwork reproduced are (c) Marvel Comics

Related links for your surfing pleasure...

• The Bronze Age of Blogs gives you a nice primer on all things Satana

Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #41

TITLE: Dr. Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #41

PUBLISHER: Marvel

COVER DATE: May 1992

COVER PRICE: $1.75

22 pages


WHAT I REMEMBER...

I gave Doctor Strange a lot of leeway in the 90’s, collecting this title up until it got knee deep into the Midnight Sons crossover, by which point it was near unreadable. The mid 90’s was not a kind period for the good doctor, as it seemed like there were more company wide crossovers and tie-ins happening than not. I’ve always preferred Dr. Strange working on the periphery of the Marvel universe, and all of the constant line-wide events seemed to draw him closer and closer to the mainstream superhero shenanigans.

There were, however, a couple of highlights. I remember Mark Buckingham’s run with Warren Ellis and J.M. DeMatteis that closed out this series as being really good. Too bad it didn’t set the sales charts on fire, as the title was cancelled within 10 issues.

The other interesting run was the twenty or so issues when Geof Isherwood was doing the artwork. I don’t remember the stories being especially strong or memorable, but the artwork was good. Geof eventually took over writing chores from Roy Thomas, but it was clear by that time that the title was in decline. It was only a matter of time before Marvel would do something drastic...enter Midnight Sons.

This particular issue is early on in Geof Isherwood’s run, and appears to be a filler issue featuring Wolverine. I’d like to say I remember something about it, but with all of the Wolverine guest-stars happening around this time, they all just sort of blur together.

A Wolverine At The Door

• Writer: Roy Thomas
• Artist: Geof Isherwood
• Co-Plotter: Jean-Marc Lofficier
• Letterer: Pat Brosseau
• Colorist: George Roussos
• Editor: Mike Rockwitz
• Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

It’s the middle of the night, and all is quiet in Dr. Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum. Everything, that is, except for the basement where a familiar three clawed fist bursts from the floor. Pulling himself up, Wolverine makes his way upstairs into the private quarters of Stephen Strange and Clea. With a mindless stare, he begins to slash and hack at the sleeping sorcerers.

How to throw a slumber party the Mighty Marvel way!

Make sure that your guests know that no powers are allowed in any pillow fights!

The master of the mystic arts, however, will not be surprised so easily in his own house. Floating above the bed, Dr. Strange uses all of the usual Seraphims, Hoggoths, and Agamottos to deduce that Wolverine is more than likely possessed by the N’Garai. Knowing that they will have anticipated Dr. Strange responding with magic, he decides to fight Wolverine with the martial arts skills that he learned from Wong, in an attempt to take Wolverine by surprise.

How to throw a slumber party the Mighty Marvel way!

Always have plenty of opportunity for dancing!

Proving that she is more than mere arm-candy, Clea throws an enchanted silver dagger to Stephen, which he uses stab Wolverine. Out of the wound seeps the evil essence that was controlling him. Dr. Strange uses a Scarlet Sphere of Cyttorak to trap the essence, and with the Eye of Agamotto, he sees it’s true form...The Undying Ones!

If you’re unfamiliar with the Undying Ones, Dr. Strange goes into a three page monologue about who they are. I’ll spare you the recap and give you the bullet points instead. Dr. Strange and The Defenders defeated the Undying Ones previously, but a new Nameless One know leads them. They plan on using the magical doorways called Sa’arpools to kill Dr. Strange and conquer our dimension. Now let’s get back to the action.

Dr. Strange devises a plan to shut the Sa’arpools permanently with a crystal shard containing the essence of the earth goddess Gaea, but it’s only going to work from the other side. That means that he and Wolverine are going through the doors to the world of the Undying Ones.

How to throw a slumber party the Mighty Marvel way!

When sneaking out of the house after your parents are asleep, always make sure you sneak out of a ground floor window!

When they regain their footing in the monstrous dimension, Dr. Strange begins the incantation that will seal the gates for good. Before he can utter the final syllable, they are are attacked by a horde of Nameless Ones. The deomons manage to knock the crystal shard from Strange’s hand, and both it and Wolverine sink into a lake of green muck.

Wolverine fights the Undying Ones as they descend to the bottom of the muck, but they regenerate as quickly as he dispatches them. Overwhelmed, Wolverine swallows some of the muck which has the effect of transforming him and bringing out his wilder persona.

How to throw a slumber party the Mighty Marvel way!

Keep your party drug free, as they can quickly turn a fun party into a dangerous one!

In his berserker rage, Wolverine attacks both friend and foe alike. Strange manages to struggle free and locate the crystal shard. Uttering the final syllable of his spell, the shard begins to seal the doorways and purge the demonic influence from Wolverine.

With the demons momentarily incapacitated, thanks to Wolverine and his demonic fury, they decide to make a hasty retreat through the dimensional doorway before it seals completely. Using Dr. Strange’s Cloak of Levitation, they escape just as the Undying Ones awake and give chase. Alas, the demons just aren’t quick enough as the gate completely seals behind Strange and Wolverine, just as they make their way through.

How to throw a slumber party the Mighty Marvel way!

Be a courteous guest, and always make sure to help the host clean up afterward.

After inspecting the dimensional doorway to make sure that they are permanently closed, they decide to end the night with a drink or two. Surprisingly enough, Dr. Strange doesn’t stock beer at the sanctum santorum, but he does have some 12th century Prussian brandy that he’s been saving for a special occasion. Wolverine agrees, proving that maybe you can teach an old berserker new tricks.

SO, WHAT DID WE LEARN...

Never show up unexpectedly for a slumber party at Dr. Strange’s house, as you never know what dimension you’ll end up in. Although as a silver lining, you could do worse than kicking back when all is said and done with some 800 year old brandy.

As a filler story, this issue was mildly entertaining. I could live a happy life without ever reading another Wolverine story, but I know that’s probably not going to happen. There was really no compelling reason that this story demanded that Wolverine be in it, so I’m sure it was a sales driven decision. And who can really blame Marvel for that, when Wolverine was raking in the cash, clawed-hand over clawed-fist.

Geof Isherwood’s art was good, if a little rougher than I recall. I don’t ever remember seeing his work again after he left this title. It’s a shame, as I think his work would really shine with some state of the art coloring and production techniques.

The only real clunky part of the story was the massive continuity info-dump that Roy Thomas gives us to explain who the Undying Ones are and what their connection to Wolverine was. Honestly, if you need to bring the story to a screeching halt to try to desperately convince us that Wolverine really is integral to this particular story, you’ve probably already lost that battle.

All in all, it’s a decent enough little filler story, but at the end of the day it’s still just filler.

All characters and artwork reproduced are © Marvel Comics

Related links for your surfing pleasure...

• Be sure to check out neilalien for all your Dr. Strange needs
• Don’t forget Sanctum Sanctorum Comix as well
• Geof Isherwood's official website