Invoke The Planes of Pohldahk At Your Own Risk

 

Mid-1984 saw the first volume of Doctor Strange arguably at the height of its acclaim and pivoting toward a new chapter in its run, with writer Roger Stern continuing in the series after taking a two-issue break (which, for a bimonthly comic, worked out to four months) following an ambitious storyline which saw the eradication of all vampires from the Earth. Joining Stern again would be artist Paul Smith, who contributed a one-shot issue previously profiled in the PPC and who would remain with the writer (with the exception of a single issue in October) until they would both depart the book near the end of '85. Leading off their collaboration was what appeared to be an understated story involving a man who wanted to stake his own claim as a practitioner of the mystic arts--but as we'll see, the danger he posed went beyond the threat he represented to the Sorcerer Supreme.

"Come Into My Sanctum, Said The Sorcerer..."

 

OR: "Second Time's The Harm"

Previously we were witness to a Stan Lee/Steve Ditko tale from 1966 which featured a life-and-death struggle between the Master of the Mystic Arts, Dr. Strange, and the minions of Baron Mordo--a trio of sorcerers who assumed the worst when they could no longer contact their master and set out to assassinate Strange by use of a conventional explosive device hidden in his own sanctum. The attempt failed, but led to Strange's captivity, and a lopsided battle where Strange was limited to the use of his astral form against three powerful foes who were determined to prevent his escape. As villains go, these nameless minions--consisting of a sorceress who acted as Mordo's deputy, a one-time foe of Strange's who called himself the Demon, and Mordo's disciple--were a surprisingly viable and well-coordinated threat who also had the manpower available to hunt down Strange, with the ambitious deputy assuming the role of their ringleader. But through resourcefulness and perseverance, Strange was able to turn the tables on them and reclaim his physical form, finally casting a spell of forgetfulness upon them which would deal with them indefinitely.

Which serves as our segue to December of 1982, where Strange now holds the distinction of Sorcerer Supreme and is currently scheduled for, of all things, a television interview to be conducted by his good friend and love interest, writer Morgana Blessing. The appointment has come as something of a surprise to Strange's manservant, Wong, who never imagined his master would be so forthcoming with the news media; but to look at Strange's calm demeanor, it's obvious he's not only comfortable with the idea but also eager to begin. That is, if we don't think to read between the lines of his greeting to Morgana which assures her of his readiness.

And if we do so read, we must ask:  Just what is it he's ready for?

Birth Of An X-Man!

Once the decision was made to admit Rogue to the X-Men on a probationary basis--over the strong objections of none other than the X-Men themselves--there was nowhere to go but up for the young mutant, who had come to Charles Xavier seeking help not only in controlling her power to absorb the abilities and memories of those she came into physical contact with, but also in dealing with the anguish she suffers from wrestling with the memories of one woman in particular. Prior to this point, Rogue was persona non grata with those unfortunate enough to cross her path--with the Avengers, for instance, who barely survived her ambush when she fought with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants... and certainly with the X-Men, whose friend Carol Danvers was also ambushed and suffered the loss of her abilities as Ms. Marvel as a result, as well as any feelings of familiarity with what memories were left to her.

And so when the X-Men arrive in Japan to attend the wedding of Wolverine and Mariko Yashida, Wolverine--who had history with Carol and knew her the best of all the group--has already made his decision of how welcome he plans to make her.

And yet, judging by the cover of the following issue, writer Chris Claremont has made an interesting decision regarding the development of these two characters--the results of which may surprise you, and them.

The Curse Of The Black Blade!

Often the best Dr. Strange stories are those where Strange's confidence in his abilities works in tandem with a methodical investigation to unravel a mystery that ends with his satisfaction as well as our own. One classic example would be "The House Of Shadows!" from 1964, but there are a number of others--including "Sword & Sorcery," a 1984 tale which featured Strange's reunion with Dane Whitman, the Black Knight, following the Knight's return to the 20th century at long last (capping a series of events set in motion when he crossed paths once more with the Enchantress).

But this is a very different Black Knight--and Strange may not live long enough to solve this mystery.

Written by Roger Stern, with artwork by Paul Smith and Terry Austin, Strange at last delves into the curse of the Black Knight's ebony blade--one that began with his ancestor, Sir Percy of Scandia, and which now haunts the very disturbed Dane Whitman.

My Betrothed--My Killer!

It took just a little over three years after her death for Uncanny X-Men to start the ball rolling with bringing the character of Phoenix back in one form or another--that is, if you don't count earlier issues that teased readers with the possibility. Unfortunately, the book's twentieth anniversary issue takes that sort of bait-and-switch treatment and this time applies it to its story's main plot.

Here, the team firmly believes that Jean Grey has returned, and obviously as Dark Phoenix, the character's ruthless, take-no-prisoners manifestation--reincarnated through the form of Madelyne Pryor, Scott Summers' fiancée, a woman whose own resemblance to Jean is uncanny and whose life offers disturbing parallels and coincidences in regard to the woman whose likeness she bears. Not only was Madelyne the sole survivor of a plane crash that occurred at the instant of Jean's death on the moon--but Scott has also found no evidence of her existence prior to the crash, while Madelyne avoids the subject in conversation. Conveniently, Madelyne also seems to be one of those rare humans whose thoughts are closed to Prof. Xavier. All more than enough to raise the suspicions of the X-Men (and certainly Scott) to an alarming agree; but in a Chris Claremont story, people tend to talk a lot about things which should be looked into, and then look the other way until it's too late and the crisis is upon them.

That point comes when Scott can no longer bear the thought of not knowing the truth about Madelyne, and bluntly broaches the subject during an intimate celebration of their engagement in Anchorage.

More Bang For Your Buck--At Least On Paper

Marvel Fanfare, the 1982-91 anthology series, was first described on the Bullpen Bulletins page as "Comics the way you always dreamed they'd be presented--with no ads, in vivid colors, on slick, high-quality paper." That really did little to give you an idea of just what kind of comic you're going to be reading--but given its $1.25 price tag, over twice the amount you'd pay for a regularly published Marvel comic, your expectations would understandably be high. Yet the reality was that your money was paying for the high-quality paper, more detailed coloring, and of course the lack of advertising in the book--not necessarily for story and artwork that were above the norm. I don't know of any comics reader who browses the store racks while breaking down cover price allocations in their head in such a manner, or any manner--which may help to explain why "Marvel Fanfare," despite its elevated production values, met with relatively little fanfare.

The book published new stories (either fresh from the drawing board or non-released inventory material) featuring both high-profile and under-the-radar characters--a description which could also be applied to the wide array of writers and artists which Editor Al Milgrom brought aboard to contribute and to showcase their work. Yet it was a rare day when you'd put down a Marvel Fanfare issue and feel as if you'd just read a future classic or an otherwise exceptional piece of comics work. On the other hand, if you were looking for something a little more out of the ordinary featuring Marvel characters, you would likely have been pleased by the format of the series.

The original volume of Marvel Fanfare lasted 60 issues, its almost 10-year run explained by its bi-monthly publication schedule (on occasion even taking several months to release an issue). Five years after its initial run ended, the title would receive another opportunity to catch on with readers, this time at a substantially reduced price than comparable titles on the sales rack and produced on less expensive paper. Published monthly, the book closed shop after just six issues.

If nothing else, Marvel Fanfare can be remembered for some work that was off the beaten path from that which appeared elsewhere in Marvel publications. (Picture an entire issue by Barry Smith featuring the Thing falling victim to an elaborate April Fool's Day prank by the Torch, for instance.) Following are a few of the more eye-catching covers from the series, with work by Dave Cockrum, Paul Smith, John Byrne, and John Buscema--as well as a Spider-Man/Silver Surfer insert by Byrne.

THIS POST RATED "G" (For "Grisly"!)

THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS VIOLENT SCENES THAT SOME READERS MAY FIND DISTURBING. VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED.

Man, what a warning to slap on a comic book post--but I had no choice! Because we're about to see how obsessed Marvel has been with creating villains who go by the name of:

Limited Engagements

Welcome to Marvel's late 1980s period, where no Limited Series stone went unturned:

These particular four are only the tip of the iceberg, as the concept went well beyond the '80s, but they give you a good idea of how Marvel was embracing the concept of the "limited series." Supplementing and often offering tie-ins with their regularly published host titles, they perhaps proved to be not only excellent marketing tools but sales successes in their own right. Readers were provided with a nice, compact adventure, knowing exactly when it would be wrapped up and not made to feel like they needed to invest time in the regular title in order to get a sense of what was going on; and since the various series were at times a grab-bag of characters from different titles (a feature the Secret Wars limited series took to the, er, limit), they could broaden their appeal on the rack to a wider range of readership, as well as introduce readers to characters they might not otherwise plop down change to read. Think Marvel Team-Up with more room and scope to work with.

So if Marvel could somehow devote the creative staff necessary to produce limited series on a semi-regular basis, the company could in essence increase its output of "new titles" and thus experience an increase in monthly sales (or at the very least, use the profits to make up for poor sales for any given month), without taking on the risk of sustaining a new regular monthly title featuring a concept or character that failed to catch on (of which I can think of no better example than the New Universe stable of titles, also appearing during this period).

Though you can't help but wonder why a title's annual, "king-size special," having something of a similar concept--a self-contained story using sellable characters in a greater number of pages--often phoned in a story of poor quality, or, even worse, went to press with nothing but reprinted material. If staff came up short with only one story per title per year, how was Marvel going to maintain production of a number of limited series? Annuals were even a better deal for readers, price-wise--and there was only one to buy, vs. an investment of several issues for a limited series. If quality wasn't up to par, limited series would develop a rep that would have readers shunning them across the board.

Yet with the exception of one, I very much enjoyed the series pictured above. Each had its good points; the stories managed to fill out the expanded format decently; and the creative teams, whatever their workloads on their other titles, stepped up to the plate and delivered some excellent product. Let's briefly touch on each.