Sub-Mariner #48

Cover date: April 1972

Writer: Gerry Conway

Artist: Gene Colan

Inker: Mike Esposito

The quest for the Cosmic Cube has led Doctor Doom, Namor and Cindy Jones to the Mississippian Bayou, but Doom isn’t convinced that Cindy should accompany them any further. This does not sit well with Namor so he leaves, taking Cindy with him.

Landing in New Orleans, Cindy immediately recognises the dwelling where she once lived and hints at the unhappy reasons she left. We soon discover that this place is, in the words of her old roommate - hippy Johnny - a “happy little drug-pushing nest”, which seems a contradiction.

Johnny threatens Namor with a gun, which is never a good thing; in the confusion one of Doom’s henchmen appears and kidnaps Cindy, and as the police arrive so does Doom, to collect his ‘friend’ Namor. He makes it clear that Cindy is his hostage and will remain so until Namor has fulfilled his part of the bargain.

Sometime later, Doom’s jet is over the Gulf of Mexico and Namor is tasked with scouting out the underwater den of the criminal organisation A.I.M.

Doom believes M.O.D.O.K., A.I.M.’s erstwhile leader, to be dead - following the events of Captain America #133 - a mistake M.O.D.O.K. plans to use to his advantage with his Android Army.

It’s clear that Conway still doesn’t have a solid handle on the direction he wants to take this title, and the inclusion of Doctor Doom almost relegates Namor to a supporting role in his own comic. There are still some dodgy allusions to Doom’s nobility, especially in his prevention of the rape of Cindy by one of his henchmen, and the internal monologue he is given on page 10:

“Doom…you are a fool. Once more your clever manipulations have alienated a man who might have been an ally…a man you might have called your friend! Namor hates you now… and though it pains you to admit it, Von Doom – he hates you with good reason.”

Don’t you just feel sorry for the ol’ terrorist?

The interlude in New Orleans also came across as padding, adding nothing to the plot, but highlighting Doom’ stupidity; if he hadn’t demanded that Cindy go no further with them, then he wouldn’t have had to organise Cindy’s subsequent kidnapping to ensure Namor’s co-operation.

The art was disappointing, Mike Esposito not being a particularly sympathetic inker for Gene Colan, but Colan’s storytelling is, as always, clear and distinctive.

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Daredevil #86

Cover date: April 1972

Writer: Gerry Conway

Artist: Gene Colan

Inker: Tom Palmer

Natasha (The Black Widow) loves Matt (Daredevil), but Matt thinks he still loves Karen (the movie star), who doesn’t love Phil (her agent) anymore; and isn’t sure about how she feels about Matt, either!

Oh yeah, and The Ox too!

If you’re wondering about The Ox - who died some months ago - it involves transplanted brains and radiation and doesn’t bear much thinking about. The meat here is the cast’s complicated love lives, which wouldn’t be out of place in an issue of Our Love Story.

Thankfully, Gerry Conway wraps everything up in a final two page sequence that finally puts to rest the Matt Murdoch/Karen Page romance, and moves Matt onto a new relationship with Natasha with a symbolic passing of the baton between the two women. It’s beautifully illustrated by the art team supreme of Gene Colan and Tom Palmer.

Karen: “It’s all right Natasha, you’d better go to him now. He needs you. There’s nothing more I can give him.”

Exit Karen, and next issue: SAN FRANCISCO!

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R.I.P Gene Colan 1926 - 2011

It has been reported that Gene Colan, the artist who defined many a Bronze Age Marvel series - notably Daredevil, Tomb of Dracula and Howard The Duck - has passed away. He will be missed.

http://thecliffordmethod.blogspot.com/

Sub-Mariner #47

Cover date: March 1972

Writer: Gerry Conway

Artist: Gene Colan

Inker: Mike Esposito

Essentially, this book moves in an entirely different direction from the previous issue (in which Subby’s Dad died), and introduces a new cast member. I get the feeling Gerry Conway just wanted to move on from all that stuff, so he has Namor riding a freight train suffering from amnesia (supposedly from the shock of his Dad snuffing it) and fighting a few bums before ending up in Chicago.

There’s a brief interlude with Diane Arliss - Namor’s “true love” - and Walter (Sting-Ray) Newell, lamenting how Subby is just so cold and distant, and Senator Winters in Washington cursing the day he took up Namor’s cause, trying to establish him as an ecological symbol.

Back in Chicago, Subby encounters a young girl – Cindy Jones – before collapsing. Uh oh, Namor doesn’t realise he’s being shadowed by some cloaked figure.....

So, Cindy brews up some good herbs and things for Namor, and Namor makes some polite chit-chat about her book-reading prowess, when suddenly there’ a knock at the door. Any other night it might be the Avon Lady calling, but wouldn’t ya know it? It’s DOOM!

Time for a fight, and an amusing sequence in which DOOM! And Namor crash into another apartment, wherein an elderly couple wonder if they’re from the Census Bureau! Make no mistake though, this is NOBLE DOOM! who extinguishes a flaming sofa so his reputation won’t be tarnished by the death of the old couple.

We also get to see POETIC DOOM! :

“...THERE! The repelling rays from my finger-tips form a suitable cushion beneath us, waves of energy spreading rapidly outward...like the ripples in a stone-struck pool! Poetic, is it not, my loud and boisterous friend?”

Unsurprisingly, Namor doesn’t answer. He was probably too embarrassed.

Anyway, DOOM! is up to his old tricks, bamboozling Namor into believing they’re both cut from the same cloth, and with Cindy in tow they set off for an A.I.M base in New Orleans – in search of a fantastic weapon. I’m only guessing, but going by the final panel that would be the Cosmic Cube, and MODOK has it.

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Daredevil #85

Cover date: March 1972

Writer: Gerry Conway

Artist: Gene Colan

Inker: Syd Shores

Last issue Matt and Natasha were getting it on in Switzerland, this ish they’re jet-setting back from London – living the high-life in the glamorous 70s, eh Matt? Unfortunately The Gladiator (and gang) is on board for a spot of hijacking, necessitating Matt having to change into his Daredevil garb in the toilet. Not really the way to join the Mile High Club, ol’ hornhead!

I actually quite like this vibe – I can imagine Matt and Natasha hanging out at Studio 54 (a few years later) with the likes of Mick, Bianca, Liza and Jerry, indulging in a life of care-free hedonism.

Conway seems to be enjoying himself here, playing up the soap-opera between Matt, Natasha and Ivan – but what is going on with Ivan’s dialogue? I thought he was Russian? Does this sound like a Russian?

“Thanks for reminding me, sweetheart! Wouldn’t want to ruin baby-mouths complexion, would we?”

“Maybe you’d like to tell us what this stick-up’s all about, hey handsome?”

Conway also introduces a note of tension between his three principals, while cutting away to Karen Page accepting a proposal and heading for Los Angeles, and Foggy Nelson closing-up shop. He really was breaking up the old status-quo, and turning Daredevil into a sophisticated comic (despite the comic book trappings).

The Gene Colan and Syd Shores art is a pleasure – I especially enjoyed the opening splash-page with a symbolic Daredevil floating in the clouds above the 747; it set the mood wonderfully for a cracking good read

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Sub-Mariner #46

Cover date: February 1972

Writer: Gerry Conway

Artist: Gene Colan

Inker: Mike Esposito

Namor’s father, Captain Mackensie, has been captured by Tiger Shark and Llyra, prompting the Avenging Son’s rescue bid. Namor and Tiger Shark slug it out while Llyra pontificates on the side-lines, before both combatants are knocked out and strapped into some machine or other to leech energy from Subby to Tiger Shark. Meanwhile, Walter Newell - The Stingray - suits up to go to Namor’s aid. There’s some more fighting, Namor’s long-lost father ends up feeding the fishes, Llyra and Tiger Shark sneak off, and Namor has a bit of a mope about finding and losing his dear old dad.

Please note, contrary to Namor’s exclamation marked word balloon on the cover, Stingray didn’t do it!

Conway’s script is especially purple, none more so than when Namor laments in the last two panels, holding his father’s body before swimming away, “They? Who are they? They are but dream-like devils...of no lasting importance...gone...at the end...of an evening rest.”
I suppose a simple “They are of no importance” wouldn’t suffice.

I have to admit, I always thought Stingray had a particularly striking costume, but Colan and Esposito don’t do it justice here– his full page costume reveal is especially shoddy. In fact, I don’t think Esposito was particularly suited to inking Colan’s pencils at all based on this issue.

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Daredevil #84

Cover date: February 1972

Writer: Gerry Conway

Artist: Gene Colan

Inker: Syd Shores

A very dynamic Gil Kane cover; Daredevil bursting out of the ‘frame’ into the foreground is an exceptional use of the cover format.

Erm, I’m not entirely sure what was going on here – something to do with an android from the future called The Assassin, who’d been masquerading as someone called Mr Kline, working for some bozo called Baal to prevent some terrible future coming about. Apparently, so I glean from a couple of footnotes, this also ties into some stuff going on in Iron Man and Sub-Mariner. That’s alright then...!

In this ish, Matt (Daredevil) Murdoch and Natasha (Black Widow) Romanoff get it on in Switzerland while putting an end to this particular plot line; at least I think the story is concluded – I may be wrong. Gerry Conway’s script is OK, but I got the distinct impression that he was basically just tidying up some loose ends before moving on. Gene Colan’s art is superb, and I very much enjoyed the inks of Syd Shores (despite Fred Hembeck contradicting me on the attractiveness of the Colan and Shores' team in the letter column).

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