Duke “Destroyer” Duck travels across nega-space to avenge the death of The Little Guy at the hands of Godcorp, Ltd. Steve Gerber + Jack Kirby + Righteous Anger = A pretty solid debut issue. (All this, plus the first appearance of Groo the Wanderer, too!)
READStrontium Dog joins Judge Dredd in this excellent sampler of the British Bronze Age. Creative talent includes future comics legends Alan Moore, Alan Davis, Brian Bolland and others.
READThe kidnapping of an Atlanta businessman brings four super-powered heroes together to become the Crusaders (soon to be known as the Southern Knights!) This debut issue from Henry Vogel, Audrey Vogel and Jackson Guice is flawed but still quite fun.
READA poor-man’s trio of EC-inspired tales from writers Russ Jones and Jack Younger and artists Jerry Grandenetti and Mike Sekowsky.
READSeries hostess Countess R.H. Von Bludd gets an origin story in this horror anthology debut. Unfortunately, none of these tales – from Charlton regulars including Joe Gill, Nicola Cuti and Joe Staton – offer much in the way of originality or artistic execution.
READDespite some supernatural or sci-fi elements, this issue’s tales hardly live up to the monster mayhem promised by the cover. The four main stories in this anthology are all written by artist Gray Morrow. Perhaps not surprisingly, his rendering and layouts prove more accomplished than his tales.
READOn a stormy night, a young man hitches a ride from a vampire – and lives to tell the tale! The lead feature is one of four sub-par stories from the likes of Enrique Nieto, Dick Piscopo and, thankfully, Tom Sutton (who also crafted that excellent cover!)
READWith Weird Tales of the Macabre, Atlas (Seaboard) was clearly looking to emulate Warren’s Creepy-and-Eerie formula. The short-lived company actually did a pretty good job of it, with nice art here from the likes of Jeffrey Catherine Jones, Pat Boyette, Ernie Colón and others.
READSeries host Colonel Whiteshroud explains the Monster Hunters Club to the visiting Countess Von Bludd. While a better debut than sister series Scary Tales, this first issue by the likes of Nicola Cuti, Joe Staton, Wayne Howard and others lacks any real creative spark.
READIn a dystopic future, warring factions fueled by black arts and souls of the dead lead to a zombie apocalypse. This early effort from brothers Tom and Rick Veitch is actually more sci-fi than straight-up horror. It’s raw, but shows potential.
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