Marvel Comics Presents #4 (Man-Thing)
"Elements of Terror, Part 4 of 12: Rage and Design"
Writer - Steve Gerber
Art - Tom Sutton
Letters - Bill Oakley
Colors - Petra Scotese
Assistant Editor - Michael Rockwitz
Editor - Terry Kavanagh
Chief - Tom DeFalco
Welcome to this late-afternoon visit with Marvel Comics Presents. The morning sort of got away from me.
--
We open with a bit of a reminder of what we've read up to this point... and it's all horribly purple. When we finally get with the "now", we see that our investigative reporter, Mr. Ditillio has been picked up upon arrival in Florida... by those two goofballs from the first chapter of this feature. They push him into a car, and take him far away to "deal with him". When we rejoin them, they're way out in the swamp... where this whole story began. Looks like that house they were hangin' out in has been burned down. They baddies assume that the "Demon" had something to do with it. Just as they're about to "off" Mr. Ditillio, our mild-mannered reporter socks 'em in the face and runs away. Our "heroes" ain't too frazzled, however, as they're sure if the gators don't get the guy... the Swamp Devil will.
We shift scenes to Maryland, and the home of our "Freedom, Rah Rah" strawman, Mr. Jody Choate. He's meeting with a fella named Bressack... and he's got a plan. It's a plan that might get him in trouble... ya know, if he wasn't working in the name of FREEDOM. That's about all we get.
From here, we visit the Freedom Science Studies Institute. Hrmm, I wonder if that's the "freedom" Choate keeps talking about. Anyhoo, they're still experimenting on our sweaty Senatuh friend from Chapter Two... and, they've evidently transformed him into a super soldier. That is, until he pops.
We now rejoin Dumb and Dumber, as they're trying to track down the Devil Woman who they believe burned down their shack. They head into a... I dunno, dilapidated mansion or something... and are told that she's there... but, she's not looking to be bothered.
Our men ain't about to take no for an answer... which prompts Voodoo Mama Juju to show her face and tell them herself that she wants to be left alone. When our heroes try to press the issue... we come to learn that she actually isn't alone... there's a (Giant-Size?) Man-Thing in the house.
--
Welp, if you ever told me I'd be pining for another story featuring the Feral Man, I'd have laughed in your face. And yet, here we are!
This is... kind of a bore. A pretty weak outing, perhaps compounded by the knowledge that we know what Gerber is capable of with this character. Well, I don't personally... but, I have heard good things. Lots of good things, in fact!
I always worry when I start seeing writers rely on strawmen... though, I am hopeful that the "freedom" that big-bad Jody Choate is talking about is that Freedom Science joint... and not just the good ol' American jingoism that writers seem especially keen on deconstructing time and again.
The art, I will say, is still top-notch! Tom Sutton is doing all of the heavy-lifting here... and is really pulling out all the stops when it comes to the gore. Not my cuppa tea to look at, but I can't deny that it looks pretty much exactly like it ought to. Disturbing, dark, gross... just perfect. If only he were drawing a better story...
Tomorrow: Shang-Chi, back again... Whoomp, there he is.
Marvel Comics Presents #3 (Man-Thing)
"Elements of Terror, Part 3 of 12: Ritual and Belief"
Writer - Steve Gerber
Art - Tom Sutton
Letters - Agustin Mas
Colors - Petra Scotese
Assistant Edits - Michael Rockwitz
Edits - Terry Kavanagh
Chief - Tom DeFalco
Dunno what it is... but I feel like I need to get something of a "running start" each time we have a Man-Thing feature here in Marvel Comics Presents. It's just so daunting... and, in that sorta-kinda "try-hard" way that really makes it a chore to push through.
Let's see what we see...
--
We open with a small plane arriving at the Freedom Science Studies Institute that we learned a little bit about last chapter. A gurney is rushed off the rig and rolled into a waiting ambulance. On the gurney? Well, it's our believed-to-be-dead Senatuh Wycombe... and he don't look all'at hot. In fact, he's about to be injected with a shot of whatever the hell "Project: Glamour" is all about. Meanwhile, in the swamp... Man-Thing is absolutely smothered in precious narration panels. Woof. He's trying to cope with his new lot in life. If you recall (though, I might not be the best "tour-guide" for this story), our hero "merged" with one'a dem crispy critters... and was left looking much worse (and weaker) for wear.
Now comes... well, a lot of exposition... not all of it interesting. First, we meet a reporter named Mick Ditillio who is interviewing another Senator about Wycombe's "murder" and the nebulous "Project: Glamour". This new Senator (Miller) doesn't have much of a comment... but hopes Mick uses a bit of discretion when it comes to putting together tomorrow's newspaper headline. We follow Mick home, where he's trying to connect the dots... while his very, uh, "perky" girlfriend tries to entice him into maybe putting work aside for a bit. They must keep the apartment pretty chilly, I tell ya what.
Next, we meet Colonel Jody Choate, who is on the phone being sinister as all get-out... talking about a Demon (that he's totally not scared of!) and everything. His wife pops her head in to check on him... and we learn that he's doing... whatever it is he's doing... for "freedom". So yeah, it looks like we might be getting one'a those stories.
Back to Man-Thing. He shambles through the swamp, before coming upon a... I dunno, witch's house? Whatever the case, she's just about to sacrifice a puppy dog when our Muck Monster bursts in the place.
The art doesn't really convey this... nor, unfortunately, does the story (unless I'm just completely dense), but I believe this scene wraps up with Man-Thing and Voodoo Mama Juju making a "deal". She'll fix him up in exchange for a "path to Hades". Alrighty then.
--
Y'all remember that little run on Swamp Thing that Alan Moore had back in the long ago? Ehh, probably not... it's kind of obscure and nobody ever talks about it. It certainly didn't inspire a whole crop of writers to explore deconstructing superheroes or anything. Of course, I'm being facetious...
I remember the first time I read that stuff. Sure, there's a whole lot of "heady" concepts in it... but, it never felt (to me) like it was trying to be smarter than I was. It was just a well-told story, that felt accessible and inviting, regardless of how "heady" the concepts became.
Gerber's Man-Thing? Not so much. This is a story that is begging you to tap out. It wants you to know that it is so much smarter than you (or at least, me). The storytelling is really weird... and, at the risk of sounding like a complete jackass, "insists upon itself". The precious and few scenes where our titular hero actually shows up are the worst of all! I think I'd have gotten more out of his scenes if they were completely "silent"!
As for the rest... ehh, government conspiracies... some "good ol' boy" doing what he's doing in the name of "freedom". A reporter hot on the trail of the hoo-doo. Nothing we haven't seen before, and presented here with the subtlety of a sledge hammer.
The art still continues to impress! Really excellent stuff here... even if, in more esoteric scenes, it's really hard to follow.
Tomorrow: Fuhgeddabout Shang-Chi fish "references", this story's just called "Fish"!
Marvel Comics Presents #2 (Man-Thing)
"Elements of Terror, Part 2 of 12: First Witness"
Writer - Steve Gerber
Art - Tom Sutton
Letters - Agustin Mas
Colors - Petra Scotese
Assistant Edits - Michael Rockwitz
Edits - Terry Kavanagh & Michael Higgins
Chief - Tom DeFalco
Hey, hey, hey... WHAT is going on here? < / belding > We're only one issue in, and Doug Moench and Steve Gerber have already swapped features???
Okay, okay... as some eagle-eyed readers have already noticed, there was a bit of a goof-up (on Marvel's end) on the credits page of MCP #1. The Shang-Chi story is incorrectly attributed to Gerber and Company, while Man-Thing was credited to the Moenches. I chose to "play along" with the goof last issue, though I was tempted to tip my hand... I mean, if there's a Man-Thing story, in an anthology with Gerber-involvement... that's sort of a no-brainer, right?
I played along for a simple... silly, and probably a little bit precious reason. If you're following us over on Morituri Mondays, and really... why wouldn'tcha be... we're currently covering issues of Strikeforce: Morituri that hit the shelves right around the time of the launch of Marvel Comics Presents. There's a big push for this book in the house-ads and Bullpen Bulletins... so, MCP is like a big-deal (newish-EiC) DeFalco project. Another big DeFalco project at the time is something along the lines of an "Editor Bootcamp", where he and his right-hand Mark Gruenwald are making sure their editors are on top of things.
Welp... it feels like ever since they made this proclamation in the Bullpen Bulletins, more and more errors have begun to surface... where there weren't all that many before (especially under the prior regime). Looking at a "current year" Marvel Comic, which is rife with basic spelling and grammatical errors (not to mention continuity errors, ay yai yai)... it feels like the DeFalco/Gruenwald Editor's Bootcamp might've been the "beginning of the end" of quality control!
So yeah, that's why I didn't "fix" the mistaken credits last issue. No-Prizes are being sent out to the eagle-eyed readers who did catch the error before I "lifted the veil"!
And now... a properly credited, Man-Thing!
--
We open in a Washington, D.C. courtroom, where General Selbert (that fella from last issue who met up with those geeks in the swamp) is being grilled by a bloated, slow-tahkin' Suthin' Senitah. He's being questioned about possible involvement in the Colombian Drug Trade... and some nebulous book-keeping involving a Swiss Bank Account... which, is like a sure-sign of not being on the up-and-up in the 1980's, right? Selbert manages to "massage" an explanation that almost makes sense (if you squint). All the while, there's a drug-deal going down in a parking structure. It's cash-for-coke... and then a car explodes. Okey doke.
The Senitah keeps Selbert on the hook for a bit... almost as though he knows more than he's letting on, and might just be giving the General enough rope to hang himself. The line of questioning shifts to a facility called the Freedom Science Studies Institute... a place where General Selbert sits on the Board. The Senitah inquires about the goings-on inside, to which, we learn that they're working on your run-of-the-mill super-soldier studies. Our man is very nonchalant about this... could you imagine someone coppin' to this in real-life? It might come as no surprise, but these "super soldier" rejects look a whole lot like those abominations we met last issue.
As the courtroom back-n-forth continues, we a page featuring the one and only Man-Thing crawling from the muck. Senator Wycombe changes the subject to the matter of something called "Project: Glamour"... which, I believe is those pictures they take of you at the mall after coating the camera lens in copious amounts of Vaseline, right? Welp, Selbert plays ignorant... and so, the line of questioning ends. Now, this entire proceeding has been televised (which is friggin' nuts... I mean, they're casually talking about human experimentation and super-soldiering here). One fella (maybe the General?) who is watching the trial looks to have placed a target on owa ahn'able Senitah.
Later that night, we catch up with Wycombe... who is still trying to get to the bottom of the Glamourshots gambit. Unfortunately for him, an assassin (I assume) bursts through his window... and kills him! Well, maybe kills him... for all we know, it might've been a bloody abduction. The front page headline the next day attributes his murder to a "Cult"... though, it confirms that no corpse was found at the scene.
Speaking of the next morning, we next arrive at Sunshine Air Cargo in Florida, where a gawky burnout called "Skinny" has arrived... and he might have a package? Or he might've just done something bad? Or... who the hell knows... he's here, and he's greeted by another bloated fella who sticks a pistol in his face.
We wrap up with a preciously purple page of Man-Thing... still crawling outta the muck. He feels feels, sees memories, hears laughs... yadda, yadda, yadda. Hopefully we'll find out a little bit more... next time!
--
Well... I didn't love this, and I didn't hate this. I swear, this story in particular is really giving me Action Comics Weekly flashbacks. I feel like we're reading a blend of the first arcs of Deadman and Secret Six. Story, art, and that odd feeling of "what in the world are we reading?"... just so reminiscent of those two features!
So, we've got a trial... we've got ties to the Colombian Drug Trade... we've got a weirdo Science Institute trying to concoct Super Soldiers... we've got a Murder Cult... we've got Man-Thing being all goth and poetic... izzit me, or are we perhaps trying to cram a little too much graham into this little cereal... err, serial? We've seen that sort of thing before... Black Canary, we're lookin' at you! Though, in fairness... I do have a great deal more faith in Steve Gerber's ability to pull this all together than I did Sharon Wright.
The art here continues to impress... and now, I can finally give credit where it's due... to Tom Sutton! I'm still getting some underground comix vibes from his style... which feels very much right for a story of this tone.
I'd have liked our titular Man-Thing to do a little bit more than repeatedly rise out of the muck... but, I suppose I can give 'em a pass due to the "world-building" Gerber's engaging in during this early chapter. One of the reasons I'd started this project was to better familiarize myself with the "fringe" Marvel characters. So far, and yes... we're only 16-pages in... I'm not feeling all that confident. I'm optimistic this will pick up over the course of the next ten (ten???) weeks.
Tomorrow: Izzit Shang-Chi... or Bruce Lee?
Marvel Comics Presents #1 (Man-Thing)
"Elements of Terror, Part 1 of 12"
Writer - Doug Moench
Pencils - Tom Grindberg
Inks - Dave Cockrum
Letters - Agustin Mas
Colors - Petra Scotese
Assistant Edits - Michael Rockwitz
Edits - Terry Kavanagh & Michael Higgins
Chief - Tom DeFalco
Now here's a character I'm kind of excited to learn a bit more about. Covering Marvel Comics Presents this way affords me (and us) the opportunity to spend some time getting to know a who's who of the B, C, and D-List of the Marvel Universe. Man-Thing, outside of an odd appearance here and there, is a pretty big blind spot for me. Outside of a couple "dur-hur, Giant-Size Man-Thing" issues, I doubt I even own anything else with his name on it!
Welp... let's see what get here! I'm getting Secret Six from Action Comics Weekly vibes here.
--
We open with Man-Thing rising from the muck, aware that something sinister this way comes. These narration boxes are a little too purple for my tastes... really feels like they're chasing Swamp Thing here. Then again, I'm not much of a Man-Thing aficionado, so for all I know folks who write this character were always a bit too pleased with themselves. Anyhoo, this dark and desperate being draws near... and, it's a weird fibrous-looking fella. Man-Thing bonks him on his head putting the creature down. Suddenly a pair of men enter the scene... they're looking for this fibrous fella, as he was a "test subject" of sorts. Upon finding what's left of him, this guy Zahner attempts to cut an implant out of the "corpse". This does not go well, as when Zahner makes skin-to-yuck contact with the beastie, he gets a rather awful burn on his hand.
Man-Thing watches this entire deal unfold... and kinda just lingers. Zahner and his partner Monteiro report in to a General that their subject went berserk and got away. The General notices the burn on Zahner's hand, and is given a quick-n-dirty explanation how it came to be. In learning this, the General suggests that this mission wasn't such a failure after all. He excuses himself, as he has a meeting with the Senate in Washington, D.C., leaving our two heroes behind with a whole lotta... COCAINE. Too bad "Dave Chapel" is in the Wolverine story and not this one!
Zahner and Monteiro load the coke on a boat... making sure to keep a little for themselves, before being attacked by... another weird shambling corpse just like that crispy critter from before! They open fire... naturally, this winds up being quite futile. At this point, Man-Thing (annoyed by all the FEAR in the air) decides to intervene... and winds up getting shot full'a holes himself... not that it matters all that much.
Man-Thing and the Subject wind up getting sorta intertwined... with the former actually winding up impaled on the latter. Man-Thing considers this the worst pain he's ever felt. Amid the skirmish and confusion, our two heroes make a break for it.
We wrap up with Man-Thing and the Subject briefly merging... before Man-Thing expels the strange creature, seemingly killing it... while perhaps absorbing a bit of it as well. The victory does not appear to be without injury, however... as it looks as though our Muck Monster is barely holding himself together!
--
I dunno.
This wasn't a bad story... but, man... those narration boxes. Are Man-Thing writers always so up their own butts? I mentioned it in the synopsis, but it really feels as though they're trying to keep up with what Alan Moore was doing with Swamp Thing over at DC. Trying to make this more "sophisticated" than perhaps it ought to be? I dunno. It's only one chapter at this point, but... this did not win me over. We've got time though! God help us, we've got another eleven weeks of this!
So, whatta we got? It's, say it with me, a "Chapter One"... which, for me, says we shouldn't be expecting all that much. We meet our bad guys, we meet the even badder guy they're working for... and we get a bit of an idea as to what they're trying to do. Well, maybe not exactly what they're attempting to accomplish, but we know it involves test subjects! That's something, right? Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll learn more as we go.
I think, if not for the very flowery narration... I probably would have enjoyed this a whole lot more. Not a deal-breaker by any means... but, just kinda cringy... and, if it is chasing Alan Moore, it's not doing all that great a job (in my opinion).
Let's look at the art. I really liked it! Tom Grindberg is an artist who, for the longest time, I assumed was a pen-name for a fill-in penciller. I mean, "Grindberg" just sounds too much like a name you'd give to a fill-in artist who's in a rush, doesn't it?
Anyhoo, the art here was pretty fantastic... it almost gave me an R. Crumb/underground comix sort of vibe. Really great stuff. Probably the best part of the story, if I'm being honest. I do look forward to future installments, and am optimistic that it'll all come together (famous last words).
Tomorrow: Mastering Kung Fu, the Shang-Chi way!
