Spawn of Frankenstein, part 4

At long last: Part 4 of my 4-part look at future Seventh Soldier



When we left Spawny, at the end of Phantom Stranger 25, he had decided to try and resurrect the man who had revived him, Victor Adams. His plan hit a temporary snag when he ran afoul of devil worshipper Mordecai and his brutish manservant Mammon, who had kidnapped Adams' widow Rachael in order to use her as a sacrifice to open a gate to Hell, so Mordecai could go be with his master, Satan. But thanks to Spawny's interference, their plans were scuttled and they ended up as a devil worshipper barbecue as the perished in the supernatural flames they had conjured. But.

And before I go any further, an apology: last time, I said that the SoF back-feature never returned to the "Resurrection of Victor Adams" after the big crossover story with the main character, the Phantom Stranger. Problem is, #26 is a direct continuation of the "RoVA" story, and I just plain ol' forgot, not having read the comic for quite some time. I was right in one thing, though: the plot was never resolved with any finality, to the best of my recollection. So, onward to the contents of Phantom Stranger #26- script co-credited to SoF writer Marv Wolfman and then-PS-scripter Len Wein, with art by the up-to-then regular PS artist, Jim Aparo. Regular SoF artist Mike Kaluta did get to do the striking cover, with its unusual-for-1973 color scheme, and the only time Spawny ever got on the cover. And we begin right where we left off in #25.

The monster doesn't know this, but the gateway that Mordecai and Mammon tried to open stayed open long enough to let two demons emerge, and they head straight for Spawny and possess him as he makes his way to the university hospital to get the equipment he needs.



Meanwhile, Dr. Thirteen continues his hospital vigil over his comatose wife, Marie, and receives an unexpected visitor: The Phantom Stranger. Now, these two go way back, and Dr. T does his usual "What the heck do YOU want, you fraud" schtick, and the Stranger says "Yo, foo, why you frontin' wit' me?" or something like that. Anyway, they bicker like old women until the Stranger hears a racket somewhere else in the building, and he interrupts Spawny, apparently undeterred by the pair of demons now squatting inside him, in the act of boosting the equipment he needs. Now, the Stranger has a lot of amazing qualities, but he's never been much in the fisticuffs department, and the Monster quickly overpowers him- and decides to zap him with the scale model laser he has stolen. At this time, Dr. T bursts in, and recognizing the creature he holds responsible for Adams' death and his wife's coma, typically tries to reason with the creature...nah, he does what he always does, charges irrationally, shouting "I'll kill you!", and Spawny throws him out the window for his trouble. The Stranger, having recovered somewhat, immediately dives out after the hotheaded Doctor.



By now, we, the readers, have glommed on to the fact that Spawny is not just in a bad mood but is being influenced by his demonic bodysquatters. Of course, Dr. T and the Stranger don't know this yet. Well, the Stranger would say that he knew all along, of course- he's kinda like that sometimes- but he doesn't really know.



In fact, for reasons unknown, the demons force Spawny to kidnap Marie Thirteen before he leaves the hospital, while Doc T and PS are occupied. When he returns to Mordecai's lab, where he's stashed Victor's body along with his widow Rachel, who was awake and screaming at being in the room with the corpse of her late husband in the last panel of #25 but has apparently passed back out, no doubt tuckered out by all the screaming. The demons try to get him to kill Rachael by zapping her with the laser. When he refuses, the pissed-off demons decide to leave him and possess Victor and Marie's bodies.



The demonic duo, which go by the names Pornipus and Flagermot (they probably bailed outta Hell because all the other demons made fun of their names), try to kill the SoF (so that another demon, presumably with a less stupid name, can possess it) by animating some suits of armor, and when this doesn't work, they cause him to be encircled by flames, which burn through the floor, causing him to be trapped in the basement or cellar of the house.



Spawny manages to escape his pit prison, and leaps out, slamming Victor's body with a devastating feet-first blow, which stuns the demon, but doesn't harm Victor's body (the funeral home guys must be proud at the enbalming job they did), which prompts Spawny to think that if he can smack up enough on the bodies, the demons will bail. As he proceeds to throw Marie/Flagermot out the window (he likes this method of fighting, apparently), the Stranger and Doc Thirteen arrive at the house.



Dr.T manages to catch Marie/Flagermot, and brings her inside as the Stranger confronts the Monster. M/F revives, and much to Dr.T's dismay, zaps a chandelier over his head. The Stranger, by now (I'm sure) getting annoyed at having to save Doc T's bacon yet again, uses his cape to magically deflect the heavy fixture. Dr. T whips out a pistol, and begins to fire at Spawny- and it's obvious that Thirteen never watched horror movies when he was a kid because OF COURSE they have no effect. The SoF throttles Dr. T, but by now the Stranger's beginning to catch on, and reasons with him.

Flag and Porny decide that they don't want to tussle with the Stranger and the Monster anymore, and fly up in the air, calling upon the Moon to blast the house with a magically enhanced moonbeam.

Fortunately, they took their sweet time about it, and the Stranger and company are able to get out of the house before the moonbeam zaps it to dust. Porny and Flagy swoop back down, and try to moon-blast them again, but this time the Stranger is ready for them,



And uses his medallion to zap them with their own moonbeam...which causes their demonic adversaries to cease to exist. Which brings us to the end, and the status quo is preserved.



The equipment that Spawny stole was, I assume, vaporized with the house, so I suppose that was the end of the "Resurrection of Victor Adams" notion.

Of course, as I've written before, after this Wein, Wolfman, Kaluta and Aparo moved on to Swamp Thing and The Shadow and Marvel Comics and Phantom Stranger #27 brought an all-new art team to both the lead and the backup as Arnold Drake and Gerry Talaoc took over the Stranger's adventures, in which he became more of a passive participant in his own stories- often to the point of being merely a narrator- and the Spawn got Steve Skeates as a scripter, and the Golden Age Spectre artist Bernard Baily as illustrator. The story, as it was and to the best of my memory (I don't own Phantom Stranger #'s 27-30 anymore), wasn't all that bad- Spawny ran afoul of a Charlie Manson-style cult and its leader, but that's about all I recall. But Baily had nothing left in the tank, and his art was awful, to put it mildly. The story wound up in #30, after which the Black Orchid took his spot in Phantom Stranger, and the Spawn of Frankenstein was seen no more. Or if he was, it was just a cameo or appearance in some kind of reference book...I don't remember seeing the character again, but it's entirely possible he was in something I didn't buy in the last 30-something years.

Anyway, that's it for my look at the Spawn of Frankenstein. Hope you've found it enlightening and useful. If I should ever acquire those Skeates-Baily issues again, perhaps I can post a breakdown of them like I have these. So bring on Seven Soldiers: Spawn of Frankenstein!- later this year!

All of these concepts, characters, and art are ©2005 DC Comics, Inc.

Spawn of Frankenstein, part 3

Continuing the look back at the most obscure of the Seven Soldiers...


If you recall, last issue the Spawn of Frankenstein had decided to try and revive the man who had recently died bringing him back to life, Victor Adams. As part 3 begins, in Phantom Stranger #25, we see artist Mike Kaluta indulging himself in a little Charles Addams-by-way-of-Alberto Vargas pinup art featuring Victor's widow, Rachel. As Rachel fumes about the death of her husband, she is approached by a huge lout wearing some sort of odd Egyptian-style, or Cimmerian-style, or something clothing. The man demands that Rachel go with him, and Rachel refuses.


Then, of course, the big lout (name of "Mammon", by the way) takes Mrs. A by force, like any loutish flunky worth his salt is wont to do. Meanwhile...


Later that evening, Spawny digs Victor up and carries him off, looking for somewhere to stash his body and begin the restoration process. As fate would have it...


...he comes upon the very same menacing-looking towered structure to which Mammon has carried Rachel, in order to truss her up on a big wooden cross and be used as a sacrifice which will open a gate to Hell so that Mammon's master, a shriveled-up little bald fella named Mordecai, can be reunited with his master Satan.


As the ritual proceeds, Spawny arrives just in time to break it up, free Mrs. A and brawl with Mammon. The Mam man gets in a lucky punch or two, and knocks our "hero" out. Mordy decides that the only way they can ensure that the SoF doesn't interrupt the proceedings again is to sacrifice him instead of the woman. Problem is...


Spawny's not down with that plan at all, and breaks free- slugging Mammon with a hunka hunka burning wood. Mordecai, for his part, is lying in the pentagram on the floor, and is "almost there", and Mammon, again like any good lackey, offers to throw himself into the hellfire that has magically sprung up, to complete the ritual. Of course, the big dumbass jumps in too late, and they both get burned to ashes for their trouble.


Spawny takes Rachel downstairs, and parks her passed-out body in the same room as Victor's corpse, much to her displeasure when she revives. The SoF, in the meantime, leaves to get the necessary equipment to perform her hubby's resurrection.

Which we never get to see, because next issue is the crossover with the Phantom Stranger, then a new creative team assumes the reins in #'s 27-30, conveniently ignoring the "Resurrection of Victor Adams" plot. Not exactly up there with Buckaroo Banzai vs. the World Crime League when it comes to unresolved storylines, but hey. Wolfman's writing is as overwrought as ever, but actually I kinda liked the idea behind this one; it has a very strong pulp magazine flavor. I never realized until many years later how inconsistent the coloring was in comics in those pre-Photoshop days...last issue Spawny had a dark blue cape and brown pants, in this issue he has on blue pants and a purple cape. He lost his hat somewhere down the line. His skin color so far has fluctuated from yellow-blue to blue to yellow to, in this chapter, green. Oy. Kaluta, for the most part, doesn't seem to be trying very hard either but it was still early in his career. If I recall correctly, he was beginning to do the Shadow at about this time as well, and was probably rushing through this anyway.

Next up, Phantom Stranger #26 and the big crossover teamup! And lots of scans, so it will be this weekend sometime. Stay tuned. All images © DC Comics.

Spawn of Frankenstein, part 2

PART TWO! from Phantom Stranger 24, Mar.-Apr. 1973, by Marvin Wolfman and Michael Wm. Kaluta.



The second chapter opens with Dr. Thirteen and Rachel swearing vengeance on the monster, who they blame for the death of their friend and husband, Victor. Unbeknownst to them, the object of their hatred is nearby and is eavesdropping. He also overhears another conversation, between the gravediggers:






Even though the monster hates this man for bringing him back to life, he has no desire to see his grave and body desecrated. He plans to deal with them, but first he needs clothes, because let's face it- an eight foot tall bluish-green skinned naked man is a bit conspicuous, but perhaps a clothed eight foot tall bluish-green skinned will be a bit less so. Anyway, later that evening he breaks into an Army-Navy surplus store, and while he's rummaging around looking for something that fits him, he is interrupted by a couple of policemen who happened to be driving by and heard the noise.



Needless to say, they get the worst of the encounter.

The monster heads back to the cemetery now, all decked out in a stylin' Zorro hat, khakis, and a black cape, but no shirt. He makes short work of the grave robbers-



So much for you, "Gink"-and then Spawny gets an idea: if Victor can bring him back from the dead, then why can't he bring back Victor using the same technology that his original creator used?



Next issue in two months!

But fear not- you won't have to wait that long. I'll try to get it scanned and posted later tonight. All images © DC Comics; all are scanned from my personal collection.

Spawn of Frankenstein, part 1

I'm sure most of you are familiar with many of the major players in Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers event; Klarion the Witchboy has made several past appearances, as has the Guardian in whatever incarnation, and I dare say that there are very few comics fans alive that aren't aware of Our Lady of the Fishnet Stockings and Top Hat, Zatanna. One player you may not be all that familar with, however, is the Spawn of Frankenstein. Now, I know, who hasn't heard of the Frankenstein Monster, one of the oldest and most durable fictional characters ever? Well, not too many people, that's for sure. But I'm thinking that not too many people are all that familiar with DC's version of the Monster, which appeared as a back feature in eight issues of the Phantom Stranger comic back in 1972-1974. As the Comics Code relaxed, both Marvel and DC went monster-happy in the early 70's; there were very few of the classic archetypal monsters (and other, less derivative beasties) that both companies didn't rethink and present in updated form. DC had been featuring horror and supernatural stories in its anthology comics like House of Mystery and House of Secrets since the late 60s; they had been publishing the adventures of a character first introduced in a short-lived title, the Phantom Stranger. Another character that had been appearing here and there, and was eventually worked into the Stranger's comic as a supporting character, back-feature and foil was Dr. Terrence Thirteen, a professional skeptic and debunker who was totally convinced the Stranger was a fraud and a charlatan, and was determined to expose him as such. This went on and off and on for the first twenty-odd issues, but writer Len Wein had seemed to grow a bit tired of the cat-and-mouse game, because Dr. Thirteen found himself a non-participant in the big "Stranger vs. the Dark Circle" arc that had begun sometime around issue 19 or so. After a couple of non-PS related Dr. Thirteen backup stories, it was decided that with issue 23, the Stranger would get a new backup feature, with an all-new character of sorts:



What I hope to do is provide an overview, with scans, of the first four Spawn of Frankenstein appearances, from Phantom Stranger #'s 23 through 26. There were four more SoF stories, in issues 27 through 30, by a different creative team which I don't own. The first three were written by Marv Wolfman and illustrated by Mike Kaluta, the next one, a crossover event with the Stranger and the Monster, was written by Wein and illustrated by PS's regular artist at the time, Jim Aparo with a Kaluta cover. The last four stories were written by Aquaman and Hawk and the Dove (among others) scripter Steve Skeates and illustrated by Bernard Baily, the artist and writer of the Golden Age Spectre in what surely must have been his last work in comics, because his skills had eroded significantly- and the last story arc suffered because of it.

In the first appearance, in Phantom Stranger 23, we are taken to the Arctic and introduced to someone named "Victor", no last name given, who makes the discovery he's searched for for five years- the frozen body, preserved in a block of ice, of the Frankenstein Monster. In the caption, we are informed that this is August 6, 1972, so we know right off the bat that this is taking place in the modern day. When Victor returns to the university where he works, where he confronts a review board about his experiments in the duplication of cellular structure, and presents his discovery. The Board doesn't see how his ambition to revive the monster coincides with his cloning experiments, forbids him to continue, and Victor quits in a huff.



He goes home to his wife Rachael, angry at the pigheadedness of the University suits, and informs her that he's going to the lab despite her pleas to stay home tonight. Frightened, Rachael phones the one person she believes will listen to her story and be able to speak to Victor- Dr. Terry Thirteen. Dr. Thirteen and his wife Marie agree to travel to Victor's lab, in a "crumbling manor", and talk to him. When they arrive, they're unsure where Victor's lab is- Rachael has never been there, even though she knows where it's located- so they decide to split up and look for him. Victor, unaware of the new arrivals, continues with his experiment, and bombards the creature's body with "modified laser beams" to bing him to life 70's style. Problem is, Vic needs more power, and as it occurs to him to harness the lightning from the convenient thunderstorm outside, lightning obliges and strikes a lightning rod on the roof, sending a power surge into his laser cannon, which causes it to overload- electrocuting Victor and jumpstarting the monster enough to enable him to sit up and break his bonds. And it's at that precise moment that Marie Thirteen enters Victor's lab.



Victor's dead body, slumped over the laser cannon, causes it to swing over and zap Marie. The Monster sees her pain, leaps off the table, hits the cannon and causes it to shut off. It's at this time that Doc Thirteen and Rachael, hearing the commotion, find Victor's lab and see the Monster standing over Marie's body. Dr. Thirteen, erroneously assumes (as he so often did) that Franky has harmed his wife and attacks him with a steel bar. Rachael, for her part, assumes the Monster has killed her husband.



Even though Dr. T is whaling away on him with that rod, Franky looks up, sees the ceiling is collapsing, picks up a steel grate, and holds the ceiling up until the Thirteens and Rachael can get away.



Dr. Thirteen, ever the stick, vows vengeance on the creature he believes responsible for the death of his friend and the injury to his wife, who is now in a coma. And so, we're off! Next issue: the SoF goes clothes shopping! I'm not kidding!

All in all, a not-bad opening chapter despite Wolfman's often florid prose (in all fairness, this was the style the Stranger was written in as well, and Wolfman went on to take the same approach in his run on Tomb of Dracula) and some classic comic-book science. Kaluta's art was kinda rough in places, as this was still early in his career, but he was proving as suited for gothic stories as we was the sci-fi of DC's Burroughs books of the time where he first got noticed. I hope to do these as soon as possible, as fast as I can scan the panels anyway- so the plan is to get chapter two posted today. Stay tuned!

This is all ©DC Comics, by the way. Pages scanned from my personal collection.