Amazing Adventures #19



"The Sirens of 7th Ave"
writer: Gerry Conway
pencils: Howard Chaykin
inks: Frank McLaughlin

grade: D+

Whereas last issue functioned primarily as an origin story, this one feels like the true beginning of the series, with Killraven newly motivated by his learning that alien invaders are behind the subjugation of his fellow men. Additionally, we meet Killraven's band of comrades in this story. We also get our first real glimpse of the Martians (I wonder how this was handled in the "Apeslayer" version of this story). Surely, though, the power of the series at this early point is that the Martians have humans do their dirty work for them, and so Killraven's rage is compounded as he confronts Martian sympathizers who have sold out his race.

First appearances:
-Hawk
-M'Shulla
-Arrow
-(unnamed older comrade, only depicted on page 28 -- presumably Old Skull)
-Professor Kempleton
-Skarlet, Queen of the Sirens

We also learn a bit more about Killraven's "power" in this issue, namely that it hides him from robot scanners, allows him to resist the power of the Sirens, and (presumably) gives him super strength (see page 22, when he busts out of his steel restraints).

Finally, Conway reiterates the point made in the previous issue that all scientists are evil because their desire to pursue knowledge obscures their concern for anything else, causing them all to sympathize with the Martians in order to be able to continue their research. Riiiight.


Minor details:

- We see the statue of liberty, beneath water and missing her arm, on page 12. Considering that it's also surrounded by skeletons of skyscrapers, that makes it very difficult to jibe this continuity with that of Planet of the Apes. I must admit I'm becoming more and more curious to see how the UK Planet of the Apes magazine pulled off "Apeslayer." It doesn't seem all that doable with the material we've seen thus far.

- Chaykin's art on page 26 is maddening. I absolutely cannot tell whether the mutant is the same size as Killraven or four times larger than him!



Conway's scripts still aren't working for me, and the conflicts in this issue (fighting sirens, fighting slavers, fighting a master siren, fighting a mutant, fighting a tripod, fighting a giant lizard, fighting another tripod) felt forced, obligatory, and mindless. Fortunately, Don McGregor takes over soon and will hopefully find a center for this series sooner rather than later.

Amazing Adventures #21



"The Mutant Slayers"
writer: Don McGregor
pencils: Herb Trimpe
inks: Yolande Pijcke
letters: Artie Simek
colors: P. Goldberg
editor: Roy Thomas

grade: A


Generally speaking, when a new writer comes onto a book with ambitious plans for the future, he or she pretty much ignores most of what came before and starts laying groundwork for a new direction. What impresses me so much about Don McGregor's introduction in this issue is that he shows a thorough awareness of all that came before (and all that needed fixing) even as he lays groundwork for his own new direction for the series.

Case in point -- I whined last issue about Killraven and his men being taken back to the Arena, so McGregor circumvents this, beginning the issue with Killraven and the Freemen breaking out of the arena. No recycled storylines here!

Case in point #2 (and this is the biggie) -- I also whined last issue that the Freemen were becoming an amorphous cast of rotating faces, with no regular characters that we were given the chance to know. McGregor fixes all that this time, settling on a cast of four clearly defined Freemen. This, of course, requires the taking of some liberties, so Hawk, who looked clearly different in his first appearance, is now the Freeman with his hair up in a bun that we saw last issue, M'Shulla is now clearly said to be like a brother to Killraven (and I love that he calls Killraven K.R.), Old Skull is introduced (we briefly saw him last issue, and he may have been the very different looking old Freeman seen briefly in #19), and the remaining Freeman appears to be Arrow. Daggar, shown only in flashback in the first story, is the only Freeman we've previously seen who is thus unaccounted for. Perhaps he was killed prior to the events of the first story.

Case in point #3 -- Warlord, who seemed like an arbitrary one-time villain when he was introduced last issue, is fleshed out and given a compelling background, in which he was the Keeper who worked most directly with Killraven, saw his potential and danger even as a boy, and now seeks revenge on him for the years he lost having his body rebuilt. Essentially, Warlord has replaced Dr. Raker (killed in the first issue) as Killraven's chief antagonist. After all, a dead chief antagonist could do little for the series.


Of course, McGregor adds a wealth of other dimensions to Killraven's story in this issue:

- Carmilla Frost is introduced as a keeper who has turned sympathetic to Killraven's cause for reasons that remain unclear (hopefully not just the attraction factor. Her initial banter with Killraven is very rich and also provides some genuine personality for Killraven for the first time. He comes off as overconfident, stubborn, and very sexist:

Carmilla: Come on, you dumb savage. Let's get out of here. The Warlord isn't the only one that's got an attack squad in this place!

Killraven: I don't know who you are, siren or vixen, but Killraven doesn't need any female to tell him his place.

Carmilla: So that's why you're always lost!

Classic!



- It's also interesting that Killraven is no longer acting like a remorseless killer this issue. Whereas we've always seen him kill human traitors without a second thought in the first three issues, he never even considers killing Warlord once he has put a stop to him in this issue, and he clearly has more reason to kill Warlord than any other antagonist he's met in the past three issues (with the obvious exception of Dr. Raker). Is this a convenience, allowing Warlord to return as an ongoing villain, or does it reveal that Killraven is now being depicted as a different kind of hero?

- Grok, Carmilla's mutant pet/confidant is introduced. McGregor hints that there is something more to their relationship.

- Human minions are no longer attired in sweaters and slacks (which seemed weird in the previous issue). They are now armored and are heavily implied to be emotionless clones.


With all the excitement of this issue, Herb Trimpe seems to step up his efforts as well, giving us the unforgettable site of a post-apocalyptic Yankee Stadium on page 22, and then has some fun with having Killraven stand at home plate and point into the outfield like Babe Ruth (though for different reasons). Pijcke and Goldberg (both new to the book this issue) do a similarly strong job of inking and coloring. Apparently, McGregor's work has sent the message to everyone else working on the book that this is finally a project worth caring about.


Minor details:

- When Warlord slams his cybernetic fist into the back of Killraven's head four successive times after already doing this once last issue, how would that not shatter Killraven's skull? Is this part of his "power" that we haven't heard about since #19?

- So McGregor attempts to explain that the reason the Martians are so interested in augmenting humans with cybernetics is that they are trying to create viable host bodies for themselves since they are used to a gravitational pull 1/3rd the strength of Earth's. But why spend 18 years trying to find a way to augment the human body for this purpose? Why not just build robotic shells? After all, didn't we see them using robot servants in #18 and #19, or have those been forgotten by the writers by now?

- Killraven taking Warlord's arm away for a second time -- just awesome. Will Warlord remain a viable threat in this series and play the role of chief antagonist (as he seems built up to do), or will he be out of commission for years again as his arm is rebuilt?

- It seems that #18 and #19 were completely skippable stories. Anyone reading Killraven from the beginning could probably begin with #20, where Warlord is introduced and the plot for this issue is set up, missing absolutely no vital information to the series other than learning about Killraven's "power" (which hasn't even been mentioned in three issues).


Awesome story, all around, full of rich characterization, strong post-apocalyptic fantasy, and some intelligent universe building. I'm excited for more.

Amazing Adventures #22



"Washington Nightmare!"
writer: Don McGregor
pencils: Herb Trimpe
inks: F. Chiaramonte
colors: L. Lessmann
letters: C. Jetter
editor: Roy Thomas

grade: C+

Fascinating that, even as McGregor and Trimpe become fixtures on this title, the inkers, colorists, and letterers keep rotating. Of the three, I think I missed Glynis Wein's and Petra Goldberg's coloring styles the most this issue. Linda Lessmann's work is a little too bright and shiny for the tone of this series.

In my mind, one of the key ingredients in any episode of a post-apocalyptic thriller is that you get at least one awe-inspiring visual premise per issue. Take, for example, the demolished Yankee Stadium battle ground Trimpe gave us last issue, or any number of breath-taking scenes that Mike Ploog and Tom Sutton offered each issue in the Planet of the Apes review thread. But, this time around, Trimpe has little to offer us. A slave auction on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial is certainly ironic, but it isn't the kind of visual that can wow you -- at least not the way Trimpe did it. I'd hoped for more in this issue.

Additionally, another ingredient that should be present in any episode of a post-apocalyptic thriller is a purpose for continuing onward. If civilization is already lost, it should be clear to the reader what is left to be saved or gained. Killraven seems dedicated to reclaiming Earth for the humans, but, five issues in, he still lacks any kind of coherent plan for accomplishing this beyond performing minor acts of irrational terrorism. It seemed like Carmilla Frost was on the verge of forcing him to re-examine this approach at one point in this issue, but that conversation was diverted before it could even get started. Therefore, as fun as this series is at points, I'm left to wonder what the point of it is. What are Killraven and his freemen working toward?

That being said, this issue did offer some important contributions to the series:

1st appearances: Sabre the cavalier slave rustler (who reminds me far too much of Lando Calrissian six years before there ever was a Lando Calrissian), Mint Julep and her freewomen, and Abraxas the slave auctioner.

Romantic interests: It's heavily implied that M'Shullah and Carmilla Frost are attracted to one another, which must have been groundbreaking for 1973 since M'Shullah is black and Carmilla is white. Additionally, Killraven seems to have taken a liking to Mint Julep, though neither she nor the attraction he feels seem as substantive and fleshed out at this point.

Developing the Martians a bit more: If the Martians' being carnivores who feed on humans was mentioned before, it was only in passing. McGregor makes that their primary reason for having enslaved the planet in this issue.


What is, perhaps, the most notable about this issue, though, is that it appears the Killraven series isn't fairing that well with readers. The Killraven feature is shortened to 15 pages in order to make room for a poorly done four page sci-fi backup that barely gets started before it's finished, and Thomas dances around the subject when a reader writes in, requesting a Killraven monthly title. Sure enough, Killraven never moves over to his own book, even while he'll continue in these pages for an impressive 17 more issues. Of course, Marvel was launching all sorts of new titles at the time, creating stiff competition for itself.


So, not a fantastic issue, and the shortened page length was truly felt this time around. Hopefully, it will move back to being a full length feature next issue, and hopefully Trimpe will bring a more compelling visual premise to the next story as well.

Amazing Adventures #23



"The Legend Assassins"
writer: Don McGregor
pencils: Herb Trimpe
inks: Frank Chiarmonte
letters: John Costanza
colors: Petra Goldberg
editor: Roy Thomas

grade: D

Nothing to write home about as Killraven gets captured (this seems to happen every issue) placed in a situation in which he has an opportunity to free himself (this seems to happen every issue), and frees himself (this seems to happen every issue). Sure, we get Killraven being eaten alive by rats (which, I admit, was creepy), and we meet a badly drawn Martian Overlord wearing robotic armor, but this was still a predictable story without much else going for it.

Beyond the boring plot structure, the issue seems to contain a lot of moments that make very little sense. Let's have a go at them:

1. The title. Who are the legend assassins? Is this a clever name for rats that I'm not aware of?

2. The Martians strap him down in the middle of Rattack (the mutated rat king)'s lair without telling Rattack and without Rattack hearing them. Nevermind the fact that Rattack is a former FBI agent in a bunker beneath the White House. There certainly wouldn't be surveillance systems or anything, and Rattack certainly wouldn't be vigilant.

3. Come to think of it, why was Rattack even introduced in this story? What in the world was his purpose beyond being introduced and then stumbling out in the end and wondering what's going on? If McGregor plans to use him as a significant character for later on, he certainly didn't do anything to make Rattack seem significant here. And really, what a terrible terrible name!

4. So the plan was to have the rats eat Killraven alive but NOT eat the apparently chewable straps holding him down?

5. And, after the rats have chewed through, Killraven chooses to continue to lie there and get eaten alive until he can grab the nearby torch? Why???

6. I clearly missed something on page 15. The Martian Overlord is particular about having the broadcast of Killraven's death sent to someone named Saunders in Yellow Stone, and Killraven shouts out "SAUNDERS!!" with no further explanation nor mention of the incident. Who in the world is Saunders?

7. Once again, Killraven and his companions recall almost nothing about pre-invasion Earth, yet they jokingly refer to taking site-seeing tours and paying admission to see a show in this issue.


1st appearances: High Overlord, Rattack

At least the introduction of the High Overlord gives Killraven an opportunity to actually do some real damage to the Martian menace. An anonymous race of invaders is unstoppable, but a single tyrant overlord is a walking target.


The minor details:

- So the Martians have found a way to house themselves in robotic bodies (the letter column suggests that's what the High Overlord is).

- Old Skull is clearly incredibly strong, fiercely loyal to "Mr. Killraven," and a bit slow in the head.

- Arrow still hasn't spoken or been spoken to since issue #19. In fact, he doesn't appear in a single panel this time around. Trimpe never shows the full cast in one shot, so he could still be there, but McGregor clearly has no interest in the character -- especially since M'Shulla's specialty is now the bow and arrow. Consider yourself replaced, Arrow.

- The attraction between M'Shulla and Carmilla is again strongly implied.

- The relationship between Carmilla and Grok remains intentionally enigmatic, with Carmilla this time confessing that she is somehow responsible for Grok's suffering and implying that Grok was once more self aware than he is now.

- Grok has suction tubes at the ends of his fingers that eat flesh(?)

- The Killraven feature is still cut back to 15 pages in this issue and feels quite rushed at the end. Yet another four page sci-fi reprint appears at the end, this time "Face of Fear!" by Tom Coole and erroneously credited as having come from Marvel Tales (vol. 1) #128. Nice art, but it's a blatant theft of the "Eye of the Beholder" episode of The Twilight Zone.

- The letter column confirms that Yolande Pijcke is a real person and emphasizes the fact that a fan writing in mistakenly referred to her as a him. I wonder why she never worked again after AA #21.


Really not a great issue, though the being devoured by rats thing was pretty memorable.