Action Comics Weekly #641 (Demon)
"Welcome to Hell"
Writer - Alan Grant
Pencils - Mark Pacella
Inks - Bill Wray
Letters - John Costanza
Colors - Tatjana Wood
Editor - Dan Raspler
Today we begin... the final week of the anthology. Friggin' nuts. Check out that cover... Superman stopping a train from running off the tracks. Gotta wonder if there's a deeper meaning to that? I suppose there's a deeper meaning to everything if you look hard enough...
Let's hit it and git it with the Demon!
--
We open at the stone circle site where Morgan LeFay had entombed Etrigan last week. Before she can, I dunno, land the "killing blow" Jason Blood hurls her own severed hand at her... and it actually sorta-kinda slaps her across her own face! Heckuva toss! Jason lunges toward her, but is shooed away with ease. This opens up the opportunity for Etrigan to reveal he was "playing possum". The Demon tackles LeFay, before burning her to a crisp. This is all being viewed by that creepy bastard (Asteroth) who is holding Merlin captive, while his manservant bathes him... with a pointy rod.
After being squeaky-cleanified, the creep heads off to bother Merlin some more. We learn that he's planning to conduct something called a "Five-Way Blood Sacrifice". I think the last time I read a five-way ritual, Norman Osborn came out of it thinking he was Spider-Man or something. Bad times...
Back topside, Etrigan and Jason Blood have a heart-to-heart. Jason learns that Asteroth is behind all the hijinks, and that Glenda and Randu are being used as pawns in whatever ritual he's got planned.
Back in the Wookey Hole, Glenda and Randu head down a flight of stairs leading to a pool of suffering souls. They reach out, begging for help. Glenda, proving herself to be a complete fool, extends a hand...
After we see her and Randu get sucked into Hell, we shift scenes topside. Jason Blood gets a ride outta Tintagel, and winds up sitting in a field naked as a jaybird. He conducts a ritual of his own (getch'r minds outta the gutter), and if I'm guessing right, sends himself to Hell in order to help his pals.
We wrap up with Asteroth preparing for his Five-Way Blood dealie, and the promise that this story will.............. be continued? Da hale? I thought this was the end?
--
Booooooooooooooooo.
What a let-down... not that I was expecting all that much out of this, I tell ya one thing I was hoping for: an ending! I mean, c'mon... this is kind of a slap in the face, we've been following this dull storyline for six weeks at this point, you can't even give us an ending? Was it a space issue? If so, did we really need that entire chapter of Glenda trying to pass the friggin' Philosopher's Stone through Customs?! C'mahnnnn.
In case you're curious, this storyline is continued in the Demon ongoing series that would launch over a year later. I'm sure everybody picking up a shiny new #1 issue in 1990 was keen to rush into the bins to pick up Action Comics Weekly to catch up! More likely, they explained away the entire build in a page and a half.
Not much more to say... after all this Morgan LeFay build, she's taken out without any fanfare... this Asteroth guy continues to be uninteresting. Really, a most unspectacular way to begin our final anthology issue! Oh well, at least it's over... for me anyway, I have no interest in seeing where this is (eventually) headed.
Tomorrow: Hopefully an actual ending for Phantom Lady!
Action Comics Weekly #640 (Demon)
"Abandon Hope"
Writer - Alan Grant
Pencils - Mark Pacella
Inks - Bill Wray
Letters - John Costanza
Colors - Tatjana Wood
Editor - Dan Raspler
It's time for the Penullllllllltimate Demon-ing.
--
Picking up where we left off... Morgan LeFay has been shifted from stone to flesh (give or take a hand), and is unleashing her "appreciation" on her resurrectors. Etrigan has a front row seat for the festivities... and, while he'd enjoy taking the heads off of some of these LeFay-ites, his focus is primed on the lady herself. He just so happens to be responsible for her one-handed-ness, and is quick to rub that in her face. She, as you might imagine, ain't pleased.
LeFay lashes out... proving her superiority to the Demon with the quickness. She even accuses him of being "all blow, no show", which... I'm glad didn't lead to a flashback scene. Before we know it, he's on his knees before her... being slowly turned to stone!
We shift scenes to the Wookey Hole, where Randu and Glenda are still following the Philosopher's Stone. It leads them to an innocuous-looking door... well, maybe not completely innocuous-looking... there is a creepy face on it. Anyhoo, this face introduces itself... looks like this is the literal doorway to Hell! It invites them to enter... and Glenda's all "Yeah... no thanks." She does change her tune, however, when the door reveals that Jason Blood is inside... and in a bad way.
The fact that the pair have willingly entered the doorway to Hell makes that one weirdo who's been holding Merlin hostage quite giddy! So giddy, in fact, that he calls his manservant to prepare a bath for him. The tub is full'a gross stuff, including a map of the Jersey Shore... talk about a reference that would work across generations. Probably not into our current generation so much, but... close enough!
We wrap up back at Tintagel, where Jason Blood is watching Morgan LeFay entomb Etrigan in stone. Knowing that if the Demon dies, so does he... our man figures it'd be in his best interest to get a move on, and try and save his "other half".
--
So unmoved am I by this story... I briefly considered filling the "review" portion of today's piece with assorted grunts. Not just to be a snarky jackass, but because grunts were my actual reaction reading through this thing.
Etrigan produces LeFay's hand? Hrrr. She turns him to stone? Hmm. Randu and Glenda spend a page talking to a door? Urmph. The cliffhanger ending? Sigh. I mean, this just isn't for me. I don't care about any of these characters... and the story is just uninspired enough not to change that fact in the slightest. It's not bad, per say... it's just not anything that's ever going to rock my socks personally.
Morgan LeFay's "all blow, no show" line was probably the highlight of the chapter... and actually serves to describe my exact feelings on the story as a whole.
Oh well, only one more of these to go!
Tomorrow: Wrapping up the Hero Hotline!
Action Comics Weekly #639 (Demon)
"Witches"
Writer - Alan Grant
Pencils - Mark Pacella
Inks - Bill Wray
Letters - John Costanza
Colors - Tatjana Wood
Editor - Dan Raspler
Happy Halloween, everybody! How fortunate for us that Halloween just happened to fall on Demon Day here at Action Comics Daily... it's not quite the return of #boohauntedblog, but we might get something Spooky (Wookey) out of it nonetheless!
--
We open with Glenda still peering into the Philosopher's Stone. What she sees inside is... the Witch in the Wookey Hole. Wookey Hole, it turns out is an actual place in England... whodathunkit? Anyhoo, Randu suggests she just ignore the lure of the Witch... and is, quite frankly, the only one talking sense in this whole feature. Naturally, Glenda insists they head to da Hole. They rent a car, and the car rental guy doesn't seem to have the foggiest idea where or what a Wookey Hole is. Oh well. The Gremlin/Goblin/Demon/Bad Guy who has been holding Merlin captive is watching the whole thing unfold... and seems pretty cool with it.
We meet up with Jason Blood, as his ride drops him off at Tintagel Castle. Being the cultureless doof that I am, I never know when things are references to the real world or not. Looks like Tintagel is now a sort of tourist trap. Jason walks through, and sees the statue of Morgan LeFay... only, he knows it's not just a statue... but the real deal, just turned to stone. He mentions that Glenda locked her away, and Etrigan bit off her hand. Meanwhile, G-n-R arrive at the Hole.
Glenda and Randu continue into the Hole and through the caves within, until they come across the stone figure she saw in her vision... it's calling to her, and Glenda ain't offering much in the way of resistance.
At that very moment (I think), there are some worshipers dancing around Morgan LeFay's stone figure... and chanting. Suddenly, she's brought back to life!
Mogan's back... in the flesh, only... ya know, still missing a hand. This, as you might imagine, peeves her quite a bit... and so, she takes it out on her followers. We wrap up with the revelation that Etrigan has watched this whole event unfold.
--
The funnest part of this entire bit is the way that it's facilitated my typing "Wookey Hole" over and over again. Other than that... I probably could do without this one.
I think I've made this same complaint/observation about this one before, but... if this is following up or building upon a past story, why aren't there any editorial footnotes? What harm would they do? You claim these stories happened before, and yet... no actual points of reference are provided! Not that I'd read any of them... nor would this story inspire me to, but still... they could have only helped.
We get some weird time progression here. We go from Jason Blood touring Tintagel during daytime, to a summoning circle at night. I mean, night obviously follows day... but it could've been clearer.
Overall... ehh.
Tomorrow: The Gal in the Icebox
Action Comics Weekly #638 (Demon)
"The Road to Hell"
Writer - Alan Grant
Pencils - Mark Pacella
Inks - Bill Wray
Letters - John Costanza
Colors - Tatjana Wood
Editor - Dan Raspler
Demon Day is here. Hey, he's on the cover too.
Yeah, don't have much more to say about that, pre-rambles can't all be winners (or izzit, can't ever)... let's just get into it!
--
We open with Glenda and Randu at the Gotham City Airport trying to board a plane with the Philosopher's Stone. Looks like the 1989-approximation of the T.S.A. has a bit of a problem with that, which strikes me as kind of odd. I mean, the "stone" is more like a little rock. I know plenty of people who would take home rocks and shells from the places they've been... nobody says boo! Maybe they'd be more trepadacious in the post 9/11 world... but, this just looks like an excuse to draw attention to it. Fine for what it is, I s'pose. Meanwhile over at the Hill, Jason Blood is attacked by that weird warrior. The Warrior himself summons Etrigan, which... gotta say, probably isn't in its best interests.
Indeed, over the course of the next handful of panels, Etrigan absolutely wrecks the dude!
The Demon then tells Blood that he's headed toward Tintagel, which is a place in England with ties to the Arthurian Legends. Stands to reason that Morgaine LeFey might just be lurking around there. When Blood wakes up, he hitches a ride.
We shift scenes to somewhere else, where Merlin has been strung up by a weirdo demon-beast... thing. The baddie drinks a big ol' swig of the Magician's blood, as he waits for their guests to arrive.
We wrap up at Heathrow Airport, where poor Glenda is still getting static about her "pet rock". With a wave of his hand, Randu gets the T.S.A.-adjacent fellow to back off. Kinda begs the question why he didn't just lead with that. Glenda peeks into the stone, and sees... a witch! Is it Morgaine LeFey? Is it someone else altogether?? Do we care either way??? I know the answer to at least one of those questions!
--
This feels like a chapter that could've been summed up in a single comics page. I guess that might be unfair, so many of these latter Action Comics Weekly stories feel the same way... but, it seems especially true here.
I'm really struggling to come up with anything to say. Can't say the story is bad, or even all that dull (which I initially feared), but... ehh, it kinda just "happened"? A stop-gap between last week's cliffhanger, and Jason Blood's trip to Tintagel... with a dash of getting Glenda and Randu into the playing field.
Not bad... serviceable. Art's nice!
Tomorrow: Operators are (still) standing by!
Action Comics Weekly #637 (Demon)
"Never Trust a Demon!"
Writer - Alan Grant
Pencils - Mark Pacella
Inks - Bill Wray
Letters - John Costanza
Colors - Tatjana Wood
Editor - Dan Raspler
Hey Gang, it's a travel day for your humble host. Going to be boarding a plane in a few hours, heading back to New York City for a few days. So yeah, to say that I'm a little "antsy" right now would be putting it mildly.
Maybe my nerves can be reined in... when we visit the Demon, Etrigan? That kinda rhymed, dinnit?
--
We pick up where we left off last week... Etrigan looks like he's about to make a snack out of the young boy that Jason Blood had just exorcised. Jason ain't digging this, and attempts to call the Demon off. I... hmm... I thought that this was a transformation-situation, and not a case of these two being actual disparate physical beings. Maybe I'm missing something... heck, I might just be flat-out wrong. I can't claim to be an expert in Demon-ology. There's a bit of a standoff... until Blood threatens to slit his wrists... so, maybe they do share a body and this "meeting" is more ethereal than it appears?
As the dust settles and the smoke clears, Blood informs the woman who hired him last issue that her son will be okay. He arrives back at his Sanctum Whateverthehell, and is informed about Glenda's vision in the Philosopher's Stone. He's not quite sure what to make of it, as, since Merlin disappeared... the Stone ain't done bupkis. She is finally able to convince him that she saw something... something having to do with the resurrection of Morgaine LeFey.
Blood springs into action... well, he books a flight to England anyway. We join him there as he drives by iconic locales like Stonehenge, the Chalk Horses, and Silbury Hill. He ponders just what Silbury Hill is all about.
And... as if on cue, the mound is struck by lightning! From it bursts... well, some helmeted-dude on a horse.
--
This isn't bad... I'm just having trouble bringing myself to care.
It's perfectly enjoyable, for what it is... and appears to be interested in telling a story, rather than meandering like so many of our ACW features have done during their earlier chapters.
I am a bit confused about the relationship between Jason Blood and Etrigan. I'd always assumed it was a Hulk/Banner sort of situation. Maybe it is? Maybe it, like the Hulk/Banner situation, evolves and changes throughout the years? I dunno.
That's one thing I feel like this feature could do better... provide context. Here, while Glenda, Randu, and Blood are chatting... there are callbacks to previous stories. At least I assume they are, it's not like we get any editorial footnotes to let us know where we might find those previous stories.
I guess the fact that I don't hate this is a good sign... sometimes that's all we can hope for!
Tomorrow: Operators are Standing By!
Action Comics Weekly #636 (Demon)
Writer - Alan Grant
Pencils - Mark Pacella
Inks - Bill Wray
Letters - John Costanza
Colors - Tatjana Wood
Editor - Dan Raspler
You know how I'll sometimes joke about there being three characters I really couldn't care less about? The Spectre, and our ACW pals Phantom Stranger and Deadman? Is it too late to add a fourth?
--
We open with... well, a page of sorta difficult to read text. It just lays down some foundational information about Etrigan... the story proper begins with Jason Blood getting a phone call from a frantic woman hoping he might be able to help out with her possessed son. Blood tells he that he no longer practices Demonology... and we find out this isn't the first time he's had to explain this to her. A woman named Glenda enters the room... far as I know, she's a regular cast member for the Demon. Whatever the case, she insists upon Jason that he help this woman out... and so, after a bit of prompting, he does.
We get a bit of information as to why Jason Blood no longer deals with the demons... something about having lost somebody, and this fella named Randu being blinded. There are no footnotes, so I haven't the foggiest if/when any of that occurred. Anyhoo, he arrives at the possessed boys' home, and draws a Star of Saint Michael on the wall before beginning his ritual. The boy begins vomiting... which is pretty much what we've all come to expect from an exorcism.
From that vomit, rises a gargoyle-looking critter... and this thing is ticked off. At that very moment back at Blood's place, Randu begins freaking out... prompting Glenda to reach for the Philosopher's Stone. I don't know what any of this means...
In the stone, an image forms... the image of, Morgaine Le Fey! I--I don't know who that is, but the very sound of it nearly puts me to sleep. Maybe I'm being unfair. Anyhoo, at this very moment Jason Blood summons forth Etrigan the Demon... who's looking quite a bit "beefier" than I remember.
Etrigan incinerates (and eats) the Gargoyle... before setting his sights on the young boy. We wrap up with Etrigan referring to himself as that boy's Uncle?!
--
Okay, this really wasn't bad at all! Ya know, just like Superman... I've got a weakness to magic and the supernatural, so anytime a character like Etrigan pops up, I just immediately glaze over. But... this one was alright!
I am quite ignorant of the Demon, his cast, and his trappings... so, all of the references went over my head. Thankfully, being overly knowledgeable about the fella wasn't really a requirement. Sure, had I known, it might have been a more satisfying read... but, I feel like not knowing didn't really hurt the way I received this.
I'm not sure what a Morgaine Le Fey is... but, doesn't Scarlet Witch have one'a her too over in Marvel? Seems like the sort of character that leads to several months of very boring-to-me stories. Guess we're about to find out!
Overall, I kinda dug this... and feel it was a strong opening chapter. Art was strong and suited the tone... I guess I can say I'm cautiously optimistic about this feature!
Tomorrow: The Penultimate Phantoming...
