Celebrating Artist Adam Kubert

Celebrating the birthday of artist Adam Kubert (October 6, 1959) with 2 of his covers to Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits Of Vengeance (#5 and #6 of December, 1992 and January, 1993), featuring Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, Spider-Man and Venom.

The other two parts to the story didn't have covers by Adam, and were in Web Of Spider-Man.

Celebrating Artist Mike Ploog

 

Celebrating the birthday of artist Mike Ploog (July 13, 1940) with a spotlight on early covers he did for Marvel Spotlight...

...featuring the Werewolf By Night (Jack Russell) and Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)!

Marvel Spotlight #3 and #4 (May and June, 1972)

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Marvel Spotlight #5 and #6 (August and October, 1972)

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Marvel Spotlight #7 and #8 (December, 1972 and February, 1973)

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Marvel Spotlight #9 (April, 1973)

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We Are The Marvel Champions Part 2

Picking up where we left off, more on Marvel's Champions!

Champions #11 (February, 1977) was a big issue for the team in more ways than one.

First and foremost, it had the team meeting Black Goliath (a West Coast super-hero with growth powers and ties to Hank Pym/Ant-Man and the Avengers).  It also guest-starred ex-Avenger archer, Hawkeye, and his time-misplaced cowboy buddy, the Two-Gun Kid, and the team faced off against the shadowy threat of Warlord Kaa (as well as getting use to having Darkstar around).

The team also was to deal with the Stilt-Man, and a threat from Black Goliath's recently cancelled title, and artist John Byrne came aboard as Champions artist at this time (through issue #15), joining Bill Mantlo's wild scripts (which were a part of the rest of the Champions' run!).

Things did get wilder, as Hercules, Black Widow, Ghost Rider, Iceman, Angel and Darkstar faced the Stranger (a cosmic powered villain who had previously faced the X-Men and the Silver Surfer) in Champions #12 (March, 1977), and dealt with the item that Stilt-Man stole....and might end the Earth, all while half the team ended up in the other dimensional realm of Kamo Tharnn (the Possessor....an old foe of Hercules and Thor).  The team was able to stop all the problems and come back together in Champions #13 (May, 1977)...but there were problems developing on the team (having a headquarters and other equipment that didn't work, as well as the differing personalities of the team causing problems...and the team let Ghost Rider take a little time in his own title in Ghost Rider #23, and Black Widow helped Spider-Man fight the Silver Samurai in Marvel Team-Up #57).

Swarming Super-Heroes

The team came back together in Champions #14 and #15 (July and September, 1977), where they fought Swarm, lord of the killer bees!  (This wasn't John Belushi on a cross-continental bender, but instead a man (Fritz Von Meyer) who had been mutated into a form where he was held together by bees!).  The Champions managed to pull apart this threat as they were falling apart....

Vacation From Trouble

The team tried to get away from trouble (and each other), but only ended up facing Godzilla (at least Hercules, Black Widow, Angel and Iceman did) in Godzilla #3 (October, 1977 by Doug Moench and Herb Trimpe); the whole original team gathering to help Iron Man fight MODOK and A.I.M. in Iron Man Annual #4 (August, 1977, by Bill Mantlo and George Tuska); Hercules working with Black Widow and Iceman and Avengers Iron Man and the Beast to fight Typhon (an old foe of Hercules) in Avengers #163 (September, 1977, by Jim Shooter and George Tuska), and the team being the destination of Magneto and the Beast in a world taken over by Dr. Doom in Super-Villain Team-Up #14 (October, 1977 by Bill Mantlo and Bob Hall), which led directly into...

Back to Business

...Champions #16 (November, 1977 by Bill Mantlo and Bob Hall).  In this issue, the team was a pawn of Dr. Doom and his mind-controlling gas as well, except for the non-breathing, very demonic Ghost Rider, proving the Beast knew what he was doing when he led the team out west!

The rest of the team was controlled and did fight against Magneto, the Beast and even the Hulk, but eventually Dr. Doom was beaten (but not without more fracturing of the team dynamic....which already was falling apart).

The team showed how fractured it was here...


....and things didn't get better.

The Last Issue

Champions #17 (January, 1978, by Bill Mantlo, with art by George Tuska and John Byrne) had the Champions facing off against a group of evil mutants (Unus, Lorelei, Blob and the Vanisher) who had come to the team looking for help...from the Sentinels (evil robots who planned on eradicating mutants, and it seems demi-gods, ex-Russian spies and demonic motorcycle riders as well)!

This was the end of the Champions run, but not quite the final end of the team....that was promised for an upcoming Avengers issue, but instead ended up in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man....

...and for more on that, check back!

We Are The Marvel Champions Part 1

Take one son of an Olympian god, a millionaire mutant, an ex-Russian femme fatale, a walking ice box and a demon from hell...and what do you have? Certainly not a team....well, actually, there was one.

In a tribute to committee thinking, two ex-Avengers (Hercules and Black Widow) joined solo star (Ghost Rider) and two ex-X-Men (Angel and Iceman) to form...The Champions! (And it really was quite a committee...David Anthony Kraft came up with the name for the team, Len Wein and John Romita contributing to the design of Angel's new costume - taking away a blue colored costume in a blue dominated team, and Len insisting a team have five members).

Cover dated October 1975, the saga of Marvel's Champions began. Originally intended to be an Angel/Iceman series, the Marvel offices convinced writer Tony Isabella to add Hercules (a strongman), Black Widow (a woman) and a solo star (Ghost Rider...though, had he not gotten his own title, it could have been Black Goliath! Or even Son of Satan, Captain Marvel or Power Man) to make it a full-fledged team. Art on the first two issues was by Don Heck (himself no stranger to the Avengers or the X-Men), and Champions #1-3 (also originally suppose to be Giant-Sized Champions #1, another in a long line of pre-production tinkering for the team) told the tale of how these unlikely teammates would gather.

The hell it was to put this series together was reflected in the story...it was Pluto (Olympian god of the netherworld), who, in an agreement with other more demonic underlords to restrict the actions of Zeus, god-father of the Olympians (and Hercules in particular). Pluto's plan was to wed Hercules to Hippolyta (queen of the amazons), and Venus (the goddess of love) to Ares (the god of war), which would end their interference with his plans for Earth and Olympus. If the human friendly Olympians don't play along, the alliances he made with the netherworlder demons like Mephisto, Satan and the Demon of the Mask, would destroy Olympus. Hercules and Venus oppose this, along with the rest of the future Champions, but Pluto has Zeus' (father to the Olympian gods, and Hercules) aid in bringing them back to Olympus. The Earth heroes eventually figure out a way to Olympus and defeat Pluto's armies, but are not enough to stop the demonically backed Pluto himself. The Ghost Rider has to convince Zeus to stop Pluto (as Johnny Blaze knows a little about demons, and gets Zeus to realize that the only reason the underlords united was to topple Olympus). Venus stays behind to spread the message of love amongst the gods, and Hercules and the rest of the humans return to Earth.

Group Dynamics

The Champions next gather in Champions #4 (May 1976, by X-Men writer Chris Claremont and art by George Tuska, who also drew #3).

In this issue, the team faces Dr. Edward Lansing, who has a solution to the homeless problem – turning them into his mind controlled mutated slaves. Black Widow and Hercules are the first to stumble onto his plot, but the Mutates overpower the two. Dr. Lansing then uses his mind control box on the two ex-Avengers, and sends them to attack the two ex-X-Men (Iceman and Angel, seems the Avengers and X-Men always fight!) as well as Black Widow’s mentor, Ivan Petrovich, who were all at Angel’s beach house. In facing Ivan, Black Widow breaks her control, then turns to break Dr. Lansing’s control box…which frees Hercules and the Mutates, but the Mutates kill the Doctor. Angel decides at this point that the team should form on a regular basis, to be champions to protect the innocent. The Champions bid fair well to Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider #17 (April 1976, by Tony Isabella and Frank Robbins) but that’s just to allow Johnny Blaze time for his own series, and doesn’t stop their adventures.

On A Rampage

In Champions #5-6, (April and June of 1976, written by Tony Isabella and art by Don Heck in #5, and George Tuska in #6), the team faces an inventor, Stuart Clarke, who succumbed to the recession and uses his exo-skeleton to try to rob a bank. At the same time, Angel was securing his right to the Worthington fortune his mother left him, and the team battles Clarke (who gets the name, Rampage) and asks him to surrender, but Rampage instead tries to kill himself by exploding his suit’s jet back. Iceman manages to save everyone, even Clarke, who is injured by the blast. During all this, Black Widow is elected leader of the team.

Motorcycle Detour

The team briefly appears in Avengers #151 (September 1976), to comment on the hype around the announcement of the Avengers new roster (which will include ex-X-Man the Beast…he comes in more later). Ghost Rider is present as well, having returned from his team-ups with the Son of Satan, the Werewolf by Night, the Man-Thing, Morbius and Daredevil in Ghost Rider’s #17-20, Daredevil #138 and Marvel Premiere #28 (all from 1976, and explains why the motorcyclist from hell was not available for the two issues with Rampage).

Back To Full Strength

In Champions #7-10 (August-January 1976/1977), the team experiences a few explosive changes both inside and outside the book (as shown by this stunning cover by artists Gil Kane and Al Milgrom for issue #8! And, it wasn’t even a fully symbolic cover – as the damage done from this explosion gets Angel to switch from his costume to a red version of the blue costume he had worn in the X-Men, but more on that later,…so keep reading, true believer!).


Tony Isabella and George Tuska still write and draw issue #7, to set the stage, but Bill Mantlo becomes the new writer for the rest of the Champions series, with Bob Hall in some of his earliest work as an artist for issues #8-10.

The team changes at this time as well, starting with a temporary headquarters! And, the team just starts to settle in as they get to face a menace that's like a marriage...something old (armored Russian Iron Man foe, the Titanium Man), something new (the Russian mutant Darkstar, wielder of the darkforce), something borrowed (a new Russian named Yuri in the second Crimson Dynamo armor) and...well, something that fought something blue (that being the Griffin, who faced the blue-furred Beast and Angel back in Beast's solo stories in Amazing Adventures, as well as Spider-Man and the Beast; now returned to face the Angel and his friends in an attempt to get back to being human).

Griffin and Darkstar go to free Rampage from the hospital, while the returning Ghost Rider is headed there as well to meet the Champions' first costume foe of their own and use his "demon from hell" act to get some information from the bankrupt villain.

Meanwhile, the Titanium Man captures the Black Widow and her mentor, Alexi Bruskin. Rampage delivers the news of the Widow's capture to the rest of the Champions, but unbeknownst to him, his exoskeleton was booby-trapped by his supposed allies, exploding in an attempt to kill the Champions.

Thanks to Iceman, they survive, and Ghost Rider even saves Rampage. The explosion does cost Angel his costume, and he gets a red-colored variation of an old costume of his. The Russian villains then try to add Ivan Petrovich to the group they want to take home - and it is revealed why - Yuri is Ivan's estranged son. After a pitched battle in Los Angeles and in the Pacific Ocean, Bruskin dies, Darkstar switches sides, the Champions capture the Titanium Man and the Griffin and Yuri escapes. All the while, conflict grows amongst the Champions.

The conflict subsides for a while during the Christmas season, as the Champions celebrate together in Marvel Treasury Edition #13 (1975, by writer Roger Stern and artist George Tuska), where the team thinks Iceman delivered some snow...but instead it was a little Christmas magic in California!

And, the rest of the Marvel Champions' story will come soon, so stay tuned!

Mighty Marvel Monster Mash

It's a Halloween tradition for monsters to gather and mash up...

...and that was true at Marvel Comics as well, as four of its greatest monster heroes, all of whom had their own series at the time, gathered in Marvel Premiere #28 (February, 1976) by Bill Mantlo and Frank Robbins to deal with the fact that "There's A Mountain on Sunset Boulevard!" and the menace of the Starseed!

This story showed perhaps who the real monsters were...but who are these four Marvelous monsters that gathered together?

Man-Thing

"Whatever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing's touch!".  That was the tagline for the series featuring the muck monster of the swamps of the Florida Everglades  that was the guardian of the Nexus of All Realities within...

...bio-chemist Dr. Ted Sallis was working to recreate the "Super-Soldier serum" which created Captain America, but A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics) tries to get the formula, but he escapes with it, injects himself with it and crashes in the Florida Everglades where the formula (and mystical energies of the area) transform him into the mindless monster...the Man-Thing. 

Created by Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway and Gray Morrow, Man-Thing first appeared in Savage Tales #1 (May, 1971), went on to guest star in Ka-Zar's Astonishing Tales series for 2 issues (#12 and 13, which would have introduced Barbara "Bobbi" Morse, but due to publishing delays, she was introduced earlier, and later became Mockingbird), before receiving his own feature in Adventure Into Fear (#10-19), as well as a few of his own series (and many guest appearances, meeting with Marvel regulars, like the Hulk, the Thing, Spider-Man, Shang-Chi, Doctor Strange, the Defenders and oh so many more, as well as having the series which introduced Howard the Duck thanks to writer Steve Gerber!).

Morbius

"The Living Vampire".  Dr. Michael Morbius was trying to cure himself of a rare blood disease, and the formula he took (along with electro-shock treatments) turned him pale, gave him strength and speed and the ability to fly...
...as well as vampire like traits including the need for blood and a more nocturnal lifestyle. 

Morbius faced the six-armed Spider-Man and the Lizard in his first appearance (that of Amazing Spider-Man #101, written by creators Roy Thomas and art by Gil Kane in October, 1971), but soon went on to menace Spider-Man, the Human Torch and the X-Men in the pages of Marvel Team-Up (#3 and 4), before displacing Man-Thing from Adventure Into Fear, starting his own run from issues #20 to 31 (during which he also faced Dracula foe, Blade, as well), as well as a run in Vampire Tales, and turning John Jameson back into the Man-Wolf!  For a time, Morbius was cured (and ended up helping the She-Hulk and the Fantastic Four), but his abilities (and problems) returned again, with his own series (and it put him at odds with heroes like Dr. Strange and the Ghost Rider, as well as Spider-Man and Blade again, even with Deathlok all with a more goth look!).

Werewolf By Night

"By the light of the full moon, it is the Werewolf By Night".  Young Jacob Russoff came to America from Transylvania  after the death of his father, and his mother Americanized his name to Jack Russell, and learned of his lycanthropy on his 18th birthday as his mother died from wounds from a car crash, Jack became a Werewolf by Night, losing his control with the moon and becoming a wild animal, with claws and a desire to kill!

Over time, Jack began to get some control over his transformations (so things weren't as bad as his first appearance in Marvel Spotlight #2 of February, 1972, by Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog), and even worked with heroes like Spider-Man and Iron Man, as well as meeting other monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster and Morbius during the course of his 43 issue series (that also had 5 Giant-Size issues, though the first was Giant-Size Creatures, and changed the Cat into Tigra, all while facing Hydra).  The series even introduced Moon Knight, as well as other demonic menaces, and killers like the Tatterdemalion and the Hangman and even Brother Voodoo.  For a time, he hung out with Spider-Woman as well, joining another band of monster themed heroes called the Night Shift under the leadership of the Shroud (and facing the West Coast Avengers, who were being led by Hawkeye at the time), and aided Dr. Strange and Captain America...as well as Ghost Rider. 

Ghost Rider

"Is He Alive Or Dead?"  Johnny Blaze lost his parents, and was raised by Crash and Mona Simpson, who were a circus stunt cycle team.  Johnny joined in, taking a more active role, and when Crash was diagnosed with cancer, tried to save him via occult methods, making a deal with the devil (Mephisto, foe of the Silver Surfer, though he didn't know it then), was bonded to the demon, Zarathos, turning into the demonic Ghost Rider, who manifested at night and had the power of hellfire!

Created by Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich and Mike Ploog, this motorcycle riding hell-blazer took over Marvel Spotlight from the Werewolf by Night (with Marvel Spotlight #5, August, 1972, his first appearance), and stayed there until issue 11 (and he helped the new star, the Son of Satan as well), after which he got his own series which lasted 81 issues.  Along the way, Johnny helped a lot of people travelling across the American southwest, helping to found the Champions (with Angel, Iceman, Hercules and Black Widow), working with Hawkeye and the Two-Gun Kid, facing the Hulk, Daredevil, Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, Dr. Druid, the Thing, and even meeting the previous Ghost Rider (a western hero, who also went by the name of Night Rider and Phantom Rider), all while, quite literally battling his inner demon, as well as menaces like Fantastic Four foe the Trapster, the motorcycle riding Orb, and sorcerers like Moondark!

More Monsters

The Legion of Monsters was also a Marvel Magazine, that came out in September, 1975, with separate stories of Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster, as well as the introduction of the Manphibian (by Marv Wolfman, Tony Isabella and Dave Cockrum) who was like the Creature From the Black Lagoon....a real Universal Monster mashup, all under a cover by Neal Adams! 

Sadly, there was only one issue of this magazine (though all the characters in it continued on at Marvel...even meeting with some of the monsters mentioned above!).

While the Legion of Monsters isn't as well known as the Avengers, this team did make a mark all over the Marvel Universe including the Avengers!

You can even find the Marvel Premiere issue reprinted in Marvel: Legion of Monsters (2011), along with a few more recent stories (and stories from the Marvel magazine, Legion of Monsters!).