THE ESSENTIAL KILLRAVEN

So, I just finished reading KILLRAVEN, all the KILLRAVENS from the 70's. 

And I enjoyed myself, but still don't kind of get it.

I think the basic concept of it is this: if H. G. Wells decided to write a sequel to his WAR OF THE WORLDS, he'd probably put CONAN in it, and have Conan go on these KAMANDI like adventures, all the time having Conan speak as if he were SPARTACUS. 

I think that's the basic premise to KILLRAVEN.

Personally, I think a real opportunity was lost here, that Marvel dropped the ball on an interesting concept---What if Earth were conquered by another planet, and how would mankind have survived and thrived after that? Killraven talks a lot about "freemen" and "freedom", but more often he kills rat-people, and fights lots of things with tentacles.

But I'm glad I read it.

It was one of those Marvel Comics from the 70's that always creeped me out a bit. It seemed a little TOO adult (actually, it's pretty darned juvenile). 

But the art's real pretty, through most of it. I've always liked Craig Russell's artwork, and it's fun to see him grow in the book's pages, from someone trying to draw like Steranko to an artist with pretty much his own style. 

What'll I read next? 

I don't know.

I want to read all of the OMEGA THE UNKNOWNS, but honestly can't get behind Jim Mooney's artwork. It's, I'm sorry, it's just too dull to me. 

Likely I'll take on THE ESSENTIAL POWERMAN next. Sweet Christmas! 

Does anyone have any other recommendations for good, weird 70's Marvel, other than that?

I'm all ears, dudes.

BILLY QUIZBOY AND PETE WHITE

Another commissioned piece I drew recently. 

I'm still available, if anyone's interested.....

THE OTHER HALF OF THE UNIVERSE

Similar to my recent post about meeting Jack Kirby, I also have a STEVE DITKO Story.

So I'm 16 years old, right, and I'm working for the second summer in a row at DC Comics. This time I'm in the export department, and I'm really fucking up at the job, but no one's bothering me about it, and in fact, I'm getting good, free, old comics left and right, because acting department chief JACK C. HARRIS says I can go through the export stash of comics, and if I find doubles they're mine to have. You can believe I found doubles. Anyway, Jack was a good guy to me, the first dude I ever saw who wore blue jeans together with a buttoned shirt and tie that wasn't Billy Joel, and he was also still doing a little comic book writing on the side in addition to running the export department.

One day it's lunchtime, and Jack's out. This little fellow comes looking for him. I remember him as little, maybe he wasn't. But he looked kind of like this:

A guy with a kind of working class build, sporting a short-sleeve shirt and simple trousers. He seemed quiet. I told him Jack was at lunch, and he said he'd wait in Jack's office, and I'm like "okay". He stays a while, I remember passing him by once or twice, and finally Jack returns from lunch and the two of them are talking. 

Then later the guy leaves, and Jack's all like "You do know who that was, right", and I'm all "no", and he says it was Steve Ditko.

I was young, but I knew that was pretty impressive. Not only did I know Steve Ditko was important, I was also a big fan. I mean, yeah, I liked Greg LaRoque back then, but I also knew the work of a true genius when I saw it. Afterwards, it hit me that even just SEEING Steve Ditko was a bit of a big deal, and I wished I'd taken a better look at him. He just seemed like a guy, a small working class guy.

Steve, to me, is the other half of the Marvel Universe. If Jack is all that's powerful and heroic, the true Wagnerian noise of Marvel, Steve is the dark undercurrent, the dissonant tone. The truly human tone. I should get that new Fantagraphics book about him. I should've gotten a better look at him back then.