THE REVENGE OF MARTIN: BLAZING BATTLE TALES

Atlas Seaboard comics lasted less than a year. No comic published under the suspiciously familiar red band trade dress of the company last more than four issues.

It may very well be the first comic book company founded solely on spite.

In 1972, original Marvel Comics publisher Martin Goodman left the company. He had sold it in 1968, but stayed on, intending for his job to be taken over by his son, Chip. When it became obvious that the new owners wanted to make Stan Lee publisher, Martin walked out of the Fifth Avenue offices of Marvel, walked up a few blocks and rented office space for a new comic publishing house. In 1974, he hired Stan's brother Larry Leiber and Jeff Rovin to head up the new line.

It should be mentioned that some people don't think Martin did this over Chip's not being installed...but the combination of the trade dress, the hiring decisions and the choice of material for the titles make me think this is the truth...

Except for our first title, because everything about the one and only issue of Blazing Battle Tales screams DC's then thriving war line. The cover is a very conscious take on a classic Joe Kubert Sgt. Rock cover by Frank Thorne (a veritable legend, which we'll discuss more fully two articles from now), including the dialogue. And even though Marvel had its own Sargent in Nick Fury, the opening story (all three stories were written by John Albano) is obviously aping Rock with hero 'Sgt. Hawk' being aided by an native American and a jewish soldier to free a hot blonde French underground leader from the titular Nazi toturer, 'The One Armed Monster.'

The problem with this story, as well as the one that follows (the third tale is a recounting of a story about a Bronze Star soldier, so it's more akin to the single page 'Did You Know' pages included between stories in Golden Age comic) is simply that there's no character to these characters. If it wasn't for the fact that some of these characters are named and some wear different uniforms, I'd have no idea who was doing what to whom. The first story is mainly narration, and Albano doesn't give us anything--not even vocal ticks--to tell the main heroes apart. Since our heroes rescue the woman very quickly then go on a personal mission to avenge some dead American soldiers they happen upon, the woman...seems sort of inconsequential to the plot. At least the following story, 'The Sky Demon,' has actual dialogue but the plot--a navy pilot is told to stop doing solo missions, the pilot stops, but is told to continue doing solo missions once they learn a train he wanted to attack had Hitler on board...well, it's not...much, is it? Albano's style is dry and without much personality, and the entire experience of reading this book is the epitome of flat.

If there is a highlight, it is the artwork. Pat Broderick, very early in his career, pencils the Sgt. Hawk strip and, even though it seems like he was told to consciously ape Joe Kubert, his storytelling comes through. 'The Sky Demon' is drawn by Al McWilliams, and the two page back-up is by John Severin, both of whom are legendary war comics artists. They all needed much better stories to illustrate.

Now, to be fair, there is the possibility that Albano was intending to actually introduce some character to Sgt. Hawk, The Sky Demon, et al...but this was the only issue of Blazing Battle Tales, and we will never know if that was the case. I cannot recommend this title.

Next time, we'll be looking in on one of the few Atlas heroes who survived beyond Martin Goodman's folly...in this case, a horror-themed hero who got on an airplane at the end of his first and only issue and got off that airplane in the middle of an issue of Marvel Spotlight under another name to fight Deathlok...and also showed up in an issue of Galaxina under yet another name! Join us for the one and only issue of Rich Buckler and David Anthony Kraft's Demon Hunter!

Until then, remember...Revenge is a Dish Best Served In Four Colors

WHEN WE WERE ULTRA: TICKETS TO OUR DEMISE (ULTRAFORCE, BLACK SEPTEMBER, ULTRAFORCE/AVENGERS, ULTRAFORCE/SPIDER MAN)

 I really expected this article to be more upbeat.

Ultraforce was created to seal the deal with Galoob for a line of Ultraverse action figures and/or an animated series--I'm a little hazy as to the exact details--so customers can buy a comic with all the characters featured in one place. After fielding proposals from several creators, Gerard Jones and G.O.A.T. George Perez were tapped to make the title happen. The line-up consisted of Prime, Prototype, Ghoul (from Steve Gerber's satirical take on the X-Men, Exiles), Topaz (created by Jones but debuting in a key storyline in Mantra*), Contrary and Pixx (both from Jones' Freex). The initial storyline was designed to position Atalon, the leader of a hidden civilization, as the Ultraverse's Big Bad...even though they tried to make that already with Rune and, later, Lord Pumpkin. Ultraforce was supposed to be the line's Avengers, taking the tack of this group being banded together to be a self-regulatory panel for ultras.

None of this ultimately happened. Because of timing, Ultraforce can be seen as a clear account of how the purchase of the company by Marvel strangled it to death.

The initial six issues are pretty good. It does take advantage of where the characters are at this time in the Ultraverse--when Hardcase suggests the idea, Prime and Prototype take that idea and go to blows over who gets to lead--and even though Atalon was shoehorned into places he didn't belong prior to those first six issues (Solitaire? Really, Mr. Jones?), there is a definite effort to give the character the sort of nuance that would have made him a credible big bad for the entire Ultraverse. The choice to pull a Thunderbird with Pixx is clumsily handled, although Jones manages to squeeze in a rather neat scene where Prime wants to counsel and console her but doesn't for fear of revealing he's a thirteen year old. Also, Contrary pretty much proves useless to the point where I suspect the other heroes put up with her because, well, she's the one with the ride. It's competent if not great, and I could see a way forward with this title that would have been interesting....

Except that the Marvel purchase went through, and after a decent Ghoul solo story the main thrust of the next storyline is 'Hey, look! The Black Knight just dropped out of the sky!' You would think that Hank Kanalz and Marv Wolfman would have made more of a plot by a sinister corporation, Metabio, to keep 'angels of light' captive or the addition of Kanalz's character Siren to the line-up...but the shift of the book is very noticeable to emphasize the Marvel elements. Issue #8 features not only the Black Knight on the cover, but also Sersei and an summary of the Avengers' history featuring cameos by a good dozen Marvel heroes plus Utau The Watcher and just-defeated villain Proctor. Slowly, over the next three issues, the story becomes less and less about Ultraforce and more and more about the Black Knight. to the point where they actually visit the place Avengers Mansion is supposed to be in issue #10. Hell, the Knight is prominently on all the covers until the sixth issue of Volume Two!

I understand that having a Marvel hero in your book is a big deal, but I am willing to bet that Prime was a bigger deal than the Black Knight circa 1995.

So...this leads us into both the Black September reboot event and the Avengers/Ultraforce miniseries. Black September is...well, a mess. The climax seems to take its cue from Crisis on Infinite Earth, with the Ultraverse rejiggered so that some characters no longer exist and others are given new identities. It's very, very incoherent in its attempts at being profound and sweeping, and I literally couldn't remember anything about it once I finished. The way it impacts the crossover depends on which creative team is in charge--the Marvel issue, written by Glen Herdling and drawn by Angel Medina, sees the two teams sucked into the typical one-on-one fight games that's a Gamemaster favorite. The only noteworthy thing about this issue is that Herdling forces Starfox on the Avengers team so he and Contrary can snog. It ends with the Infinity Gems, which had been bouncing around the Ultraverse for the last few months, combining with a heretofore unknown 'Control Gem' to create Nemesis, who promptly undoes and remakes the universes ...

...leading us into the Ultraverse side of the crossover, written by Warren Ellis and drawn by a returning George Perez and it...sure is lively. Most of it and the Infinity issue of Ultraforce Volume 2 are composed of scenes from the alternate reality that merges the two universes, with a focus on Janet Van Dyne, who became the Black Widow after her husband Hank died and is trying to cope with her PTSD by sleeping with Quicksilver. It's pretty decent in a grand guignol way, not much plot but some gleeful screwing with characters (it took this reread for me to realize that Alec 'Firearm' Swan is this reality's Black Knight). By the end of the crossover issue, Ellis must've had a ball giving Perez nuts things to draw, like the Catholic version of Thor flying with the aid of his crucifix Mjolnir. It's definitely a step up from the Marvel side, even if it is a little incoherent.

And then Volume 2 officially rolls around with the three part 'Wave of Mutilation,' where Ellis introduces the new status quo--a new headquarters in an ill-defined metahuman prison in Arkansas, Prototype now back to being Bob Campbell, the regulation rude Brit character that always marks Ellis' work at this time serving as a merger of Jarvis and Gyrich--and two new characters. Wreckage is an ex-cop who gets back alley cybernetics so he can break up the mob who wrecked his life, and Lament, a Native American bounty hunter with stealth powers. Even though Marvel was really high on Ultraforce being the centerpiece of the rebooted line, reprinting the first issue in the back of the second at no extra cost, the story is a little too heavy on the punchy-punchy-run-run and light on characterization. After that, we get a Black Knight solo story and 'Smoke And Bone,' where Ellis gives Ian Edginton that Jack Hawksmoor solo story of Stormwatch to expand and rewrite into a three parter that ends with Black Knight firing pretty much everyone except for Prime and Prototype. Edginton is joined by Dan Abnett and has the team fight Future Ultraforce before having Foxfire show up for literally two pages so she could decide to go back to the future.

During this period, we get Ultraforce/Spider-Man, a single issue where the team teams up with Spider-Man and Green Goblin.

No, not Peter Parker and an Osborn. Ben Reilly and Phil Urich. This was, after all, when Marvel was constantly shaking things up in the effort to make their demented owner at the time money. This is more a publishing gimmick than a story, with the same beginning and end being printed in both issues but with a different middle of each issue, one focusing on Reilly and one on Urich. I think the plot, with a mysterious third party trying to trick the Marvel and Ultraverse realities into thinking they're being invaded by the other, is tied into the Tulkan/Demonseed story that ends up being the back end of Volume Two's run, but it's very unclear.

And speaking of all this Demonseed talk, Len Wein and the Deodato Studio are brought in to ring down the curtain. Wein does take a moment to try and give Cromwell a personality other than Standard Warren Ellis Jerk, but spends most of his time cleaning up the place and closing the doors behind him. The last Marvel characters stuck in the Ultraverse are sent home, the line-up is revamped in time for Hardcase to show up and try to explain what the Demonseed actually is and lead the team into a Big Ol' Blowout fight. By this time, the line was reduced to just this book and Prime, and this book shuts down on an ambiguous note before what remains of the editorial staff just give up and walk away.

And that's why my reread of this title turned out to be so bitter. The first six issues of the first volume build up to a definite setting of a status quo that will effect the Ultraverse as a whole--finally, we have a credible Big Bad, a flagship superteam with a unique angle, and a way forward. But the minute that status quo is set up, Marvel is in the driver's seat and literally drops a Marvel character into middle of the series and makes it increasingly about the crossover with the Avengers. By the time the second volume comes along, all the Ultraverse characters are playing second fiddle to the Black Knight. Hell, BK is featured prominently on all the covers! It seems obvious that the people in charge at the time cared so little for the properties they purchased that it must have repelled Ultraverse fans while not attracting new readers. By the time the book is back to being more Ultraverse centric, the end is in sight and the book has only two more issues before being canceled. That promised direction for the line as a whole is just tossed aside the moment it gets to take its first breath.

Ultraforce deserved better. The Ultraverse deserved better

*--I wonder, given what Roland Mann said in my article on Mantra, if Topaz was created specifically to replace that hero. I also wonder if the resistance to Mantra from partner companies also inspired the creation of Contrary, given the blatant thirst-trappiness of that character.

WHEN WE WERE ULTRA: WORKING HARD FOR THE MONEY (THE SOLUTION)

One of the things I liked about Marvel hero teams as a youngster was that each one was unique onto itself. Sure, The Avengers was the classic super-hero team, but Fantastic Four was a family of explorers, The X-Men were a sort of civil rights movement housed in a school, and under Steve Gerber The Defenders was a wacky group therapy session barely held together by Doctor Strange.

The Ultraverse seemed to follow a similar tack. While their classic super-team didn't come together until late in their second year (and we'll get to Ultraforce next time), The Strangers was an affiliation of people brought together by a traumatic experience, Freex was about a makeshift family of runaways, and The Exiles was Steve Gerber mercilessly making fun of X-Men circa the 90's.

The Solution seemed to be a mercenary group on the surface...but James D. Hundall had something more...all over the place in mind.

In the wake of her father's death, Lela Cho is pushed out of the family business by the Shadow Clan. Determined to get what's rightfully hers, Cho gets a wetware makeover from J.D. Hunt to gain control over technology, then forms an outfit to take down the Clan. To keep themselves financed, the group--now called 'The Solution'--hires itself out as troubleshooter. But some of their biggest problems come from the two non-human members, the monstrous warrior Outrage and the albino sorceress Shadowmage and their connection to the Godwheel.

I liked a lot of this series. I really did. While that characters are sort of stock heroes--the technomancer, the general cyberninja, the man who turns into a battle monster, and the hot girl sorceress--the thing that makes this works is the characterization, especially in the relations between them. While I'm sure the 'no one gets along' dynamics of a lot of 90's super-teams, these four characters are tangibly friends, and genuinely like being with each other. I particularly like the relationship between Tech and Dropkick. While the tendency would be to ship them, Hundall gives them an intimate friendship that is close but never acting on the obvious path.

Unfortunately, this is one of the titles where the feature is actually a bug. A large chunk of the series is taken up by having the main thread of the team's story sidelined in favor of Godwheel Shenanigans. Yes, two of the characters come from the Godwheel, but the tale gets molasses slow as Hundall has to stop and explain all this lore about the various races and their culture while also introducing the menace that will lead us into the Godwheel mini--which the Solution plays no part in. I found it very frustrating, as there's a definite forward momentum in the Dragon Clan story that's suddenly put on hold so we can get all this set up for an entirely different storyline the four characters have no representation in.

Then there's the thirstiness that wrecked some of the other Ultraverse titles I've covered. Every time the Dragon Clan mentions their ouster of Lela, they have to also mention they want to assign her to either a low-rent brothel or--god help me--a snuff film producer. And there's just an overall cheesecakiness in the art that makes me uncomfortable--especially in regard to Shadowmage, whose costume must require a ton of boob tape, even though she's dressed in other scenes in some rather attractive outfits. And we will not mention Casino, who is a compellingly fun villain in a compellingly uncomfortable and revealing outfit throughout.

Artwork is initially provided by Darick Robertson and is, not surprisingly, exceptional even if seems he's trying to emulate some serious Image vibes. However, the Ultraverse merry-go-round starts when we get to the story that sketches in the origin of the group, with Alan Jacobsen (#5), John Statema (#6-8, 10-12, #14, 17), Tim Divar (#9), Scot Benefiel (#13), George Dove (#15) and Daerick Gross (#16) each pitching in. More remarkable during this post-Robertson period are the covers, some of which are done by Kevin Maguire and Dan Bereton. While all of the post Robertson artists are adequate, they're nowhere near as spectacular as Darick.

Much like with Hardcase, Hundall brought The Solution to a conclusion, although the last issue promised that the quartet would be back. I have to wonder if this was an indication of his not being willing to continue under the supervision of Marvel that was on the horizon. It is sort of sad that none of these characters appeared to have survived the 'We Have Crisis on Infinite Earths At Home' reshuffling that was Black September, as they were all proven to have decent staying power. Even Shadowmage made a real impression when she became something of a supporting character in Hardcase and was allowed to wear something other than that Spirit Halloween Vampirella knockoff she wore through most of the series.

I may not have liked The Solution as much as a I liked Hardcase, but I liked it good enough. I think that the constant artist switching didn't help it much, and that it might've come out more vibrant if it didn't get sucked into the whole Godwheel thing. As a whole, I can recommend it.

Next time, it's the big one--the title that existed to close a deal on a toyline and a cartoon, and ended up being the most obvious evidence of how the Marvel sale affected the entire line. Join us as a disparate group of characters from the entire Ultraverse line come together to be a self-policing authority for the entire Ultra community and...chaos ensues. We're definitely in the final stretch as we tackle...Ultraforce!

Until then....why be meta when you can be ultra?

WHEN WE WERE ULTRA: BAD CODENAMES AND COMRADERIE (THE STRANGERS)

Not only was The Strangers one of the three initial publications in the Ultraverse, it could said to be the central text. This series begins with the inciting incident that kicks off the entire universe, even though there is info on events happening prior to that incident in the first issue of Hardcase.

...and I think it might also be a reaction from Steve Englehart to the troubles he experienced in his second tenure at Marvel Comics, which saw one of his books taken away from him abruptly, another book taken away from him before he even began on it, and a third being so interfered with by editorial that he ultimately ended up writing the last few issues under the name 'John Harkness.' And it might explain why The Strangers abruptly ends as the Ultraverse is firmly under Marvel control.

Really abruptly. I mean, the last issue has a 'next issue' caption and covers for the next three issues printed alongside goodbye messages from Englehart and artist Rock Hoberg!

A blast of light? Energy? from the moon hits a cable car in San Francisco full of passengers. Six of the passengers gain super powers, and start investigating first the mysterious magical woman who shows up at the accident site, then whether the other passengers have been similarly changed. Since one of the 'strangers,' a Latina fashion designer who now has a sort of aiming/homing sense, has resources and connections, she forms the group into a marketable Ultra Group...emphasis on the marketing.

I never read The Strangers when it was coming out, although their images were plastered prominently on those Ultraverse subway posters. Back then, unaware of the editorial problems that plagued Englehart over at Marvel, I assumed that it was going to be severely lacking. Visiting it now and I was really shocked at how much fun I had with this title...even though I sincerely winced at some of the character's codenames. Just like with Night Man, the nuts and bolts of living the superhero lifestyle plays a part in the title, but what really is refreshing is how character driven the narrative is.

And make no mistake--the characters are the strength, as Englehart takes what on the surface are stock types and gives them interesting new angles via interacting with each other and other heroes in the Ultraverse. Just look at Grenade, who is introduced as a stereotypical meatheaded jock who naturally gravitates to the hottest woman (kinda...she's actually a custom-made sexbot that gained sentience and electrical powers from the jumpstart and is now having a ball with being alive)...and yet shows true affection towards her and grief over what happens to his best friend. There's also Zip-Zap, who looks on the outside to be a kid that's been beaten down by the streets...and yet is very perceptive, is proud of how he comes up with new stunts with his super-speed, and creates a genuine bond with another member that draws her out of her shell. These are genuine narrative hooks in all of these stereotypical types that drive the title in interesting and intriguing direction, while also providing some nice story beats for the Ultraverse in general. Seeing the one gay character discussing sexual identity with Mantra during a crossover may be one of my favorite moments in the whole line so far.

The book is broken into two major arcs, with a third arc kind of cut off mid-stream by the book's cancellation. The first, where our heroes explore their origins, is episodic but tons of fun, especially in regard to the character interactions. The second arc, 'The Pilgrim Conundrum,' has its moments (issue #13, introducing Powerhouse, a Superman analog who got his powers back during the Golden Age and was promptly sent to an insane asylum for bragging about his abilities, is amusing and issue #17's encounter with Rafferty are both standouts)...but I can't help feeling that the big resolution in issue #18 was a rather big letdown, even if Englehart planted all the clues in the issues leading up to it. Englehart was still in the middle of putting his third act in motion starting with issue #21, but considering it involved a character called Taboo that skirted being a racial stereotype joining enemy super-team TNTNT, it wasn't off to a good start.

Art through the first 19 issues and both the Annual and the Night Man Annual it crossed over with was by Rick Hoberg. I first encountered Hoberg in the 70's when he was providing pencils on both Ms. Marvel and Savage She-Hulk and wrote him off as a mediocre artist...but man, did he improve by the time he started working on this title. Throughout his tenure, his work is fluid, dynamic and a lot of fun. And he manages to pull off some nice moments for these character beats Englehart loves.

Strangers is simply fun. None of the edgelord stuff that sometimes interferes with my enjoyment of other titles. An emphasis on character interaction. Fun set pieces. These all work to give me a fluid, consistent and high energy read even with the less-than-vibrant bad guys that sometimes mar the show. It's a real shame that this title didn't get at least a second volume, because it emphasized what the company insisted the line was all about. At the very least, they should have let those three issues get published as a miniseries.

Now granted, Englehart did try to put together another Strangers series, but we're going to get to that after we finish looking at all the titles. Next time, we'll be looking at the last super-group before we cover the Ultraverse super group as James Hundall puts corporate intrigue, magic, other dimensions, and some perviness into a blender to come up with The Solution!

Until then....why be meta when you can be ultra?

WHEN WE WERE ULTRA: MY HEALING IS QUICK (SOLITAIRE)

I think I can safely say that Gerard Jones, as problematic as he has become, had the largest 'footprint' creatively in the Ultraverse. In addition to the three titles I've covered previously, I'm going to be looking at Ultraforce fairly soon, and we're not even counting the number of stories he wrote for the various anthology titles.

And even I didn't remember this title.

Considering how many people called Night Man the Ultraverse's Batman, I'm shocked no one called Solitaire the Ultraverse's Batman....although I could see people also comparing him to the Punisher. But after reading the twelve issues that make up the series--there were two miniseries promised, but only one surfaced as a three-parter in the second volume of Prime--I think Jones' influences reach further back. While Nicholas Lone has experienced the same kind of loss Bruce Wayne and Frank Castle went through, the whole rest of the premise is pure pulp hero. A little bit of The Shadow, a little bit of The Spider, a dollop of Doc Savage and Fu Manchu...that's our guy.

Nicholas Lone is the son of Anton Lone, a black marketeer/crime lord disguised as a generic industrialist. He witnesses his mother's murder as a child, and learns of his father's scummy evil nature as he comes of age. Rather than live with the knowledge he's the son of a monster, Nicholas drives his car off a cliff in a suicide attempt...but Anton brings him back using nanotechnology, giving him enhanced abilities and highly accelerated healing. Nicholas takes off on a worldwide tour of debauchery--but it's all a ruse, Instead, he builds a network of operatives and trains to take on his father's criminal empire as Solitaire...you know, because he has to always be alone.

This is the most 'meh' of Jones' titles under the Ultraverse banner. I can see what he's doing, attempting a modern take on the classic pulp hero that pre-date comics while also attaching tropes from more modern 'men's adventure' heroes (think Don Pendelton's Executioner or Warren Murphy's Destroyer). And in most cases, he sticks to his guns--no pun intended. For the most part, the stories are the kind I would expect to come across in such media with an emphasis on action and detective work. Even the villains, while somewhat exaggerated, would fit into these lurid boundaries--a sex trafficker in issue #1, a moon worshipping cult in #2 and an arm-dealer with some...borderline racist overtones and an affection for monkeys in #3 and 4. And when Solitaire turns his attention to his father, he deals with the most intriguing antagonist in Jinn, his father's right hand man who partially trained Nicholas. Later in the series there's The Degenerate, a nihilist anarchist who's building a child army and an agent of Aladdin named Serena who is teased to be a love interest.

Where the series falls apart is when Jones brings Solitaire into the mainstream Ultraverse soap operatics. This begins when our hero encounters the sword wielding vigilante Double Edge, who feels he has to balance his every good deed with a bad one in issue #7. But then we get Anton Lone trying to cut a deal with Atalon of the Fire People from Ultraforce and it just goes off the rails. By that time the series starts to lose its grit and film noir trappings, bringing in villains from Prototype, some weird cult(?) of nanotech designers responsible for the tech that gives Nicholas his abilities and secretly reprograms his personality, and a plan by Anton to bring his boy back to him. And I think it's telling that once this stuff's going down the series starts being numbered as "__ of 12." Now I don't know if Solitaire was always meant to be a maxi-series or not, but it certainly makes it clear that an endpoint was on the horizon beginning with issue #8.

The art is mainly by Jeffs Johnson and Parker. I had first encountered--and fell in love with--Johnson's pencils when he and Jones had teamed up on the 90's Wonder Man series, and if anything his minimalist, sparse linework fits what this series is trying to achieve. Parker's work is a little simplistic and not really to my taste, but I do appreciate how he gave a continuity; yes, the change still could be noticeable, but I suspect you'd have to be looking for it. Both artists are very good at action sequence choreography, something brought home by the stunt of having the covers of the first six issues being put together to make the opening action sequence of issue #7.

In the last issue of Solitaire, two minis are announced that will continue Nicholas' story. Solitaire: The Perfect Man, which saw him encounter a cult led by a woman named Agave, never saw light of day. However, Prime and Solitaire: Exordium did show up as a three issue arc in the second volume of Prime. But, barring a short from Ultraverse Double Feature that I've already discussed that seems to more successfully capture what I think Jones intended for the character and short cameos in some other titles, that was it for Nicholas Lone's career...

...and that might be for the best. Throughout my reading of Solitaire, I felt this was another title that didn't feel like it quite fit in the Ultraverse. The concept of a pulp/men's adventure hero dressed up in super-hero mufti had potential (Hell, it worked out pretty well for the Punisher, didn't it?), but the more Jones leaned into the 'super-hero' part of the equation, the less engaging it became...and considering how it wasn't all that engaging to begin with, I'm not surprised it didn't go any further.

Next time we finally come to the last of the initial three titles that ushered in the Ultraverse, the one that acted as the centerpiece of the line's lore. Join Steve Englehart and Rich Hoberg in San Francisco as the Jumpstart affects 52 people on a cable car, granting them amazing abilities (and in the case of some, awful taste in codenames) and making seven of them...Strangers!

Until then....why be meta when you can be ultra?

WHEN WE WERE ULTRA: The Difference 25 Years Make, Steve (SLUDGE, SLUDGE: RED X-MAS)

Supposedly, Steve Gerber had no idea for what he could write as his contribution to the Ultraverse. Sure, he was doing Exiles, but that was a short term stunt designed to let readers know that no character was safe. And according to our dear friend Roland Mann:

"The idea was that he should write something along the lines of Man-Thing or Swamp Thing and he wasn't for it. So Chris Ulm said something like "Yeah, you probably couldn't think of anything new to do anyway. So--Sludge. "

And, yes...on the surface, Sludge is Swamp Thing relocated from the swamps of Louisiana to the sewers of New York City. But in its twelve issues and a special, it rapidly became something more--and easily lies alongside Firearm as my favorite Ultraverse title so far.

Frank Hoag is a a crooked cop doing tasks for the Marcello crime family. But one task he won't do is murder a fellow cop. So Frank is shot down in the middle of a chemical lab and dumped in the sewer. The mix of the chemicals he was bathed in and the sewer detritus transforms Hoag into a hulk blue goo monster with an addled brain and a serious case of malapropism...who's still stuck in a conflict between three...unusual gangs.

The thing that I love the most about Gerber is his strange combination of misanthropy, social concerns and humor...and given how light the reins were held on him, Sludge is magnificent. Even though you can see he is taking inspiration from his previous works, he manages to improve upon the original. You just have to look at Bloodstorm, who appears sporadically after being introduced in the second issue--there are elements of Man-Thing villain Foolkiller as well as his recurring motif of a fat kid's bullying ending up tragically (something he did in issues of Giant Size Man Thing and Omega The Unknown in the 70's) in this hitman...and yet his nihilistic worldview makes him compelling and his emotional arc is darkly entertaining. Making one of the other gangs a Triad that owns 'Paygo' (read 'Nintendo' or 'Sega') Electronics has echoes of both Howard The Duck and The Defenders. One of my favorite supporting characters is investigative reporter Shelly Rogers, who artist Aaron Lopresti explictly makes the niece of one of my favorite fictional characters of all time in a Easter egg in issue #4 and serves as a platonic Beverly Switzer to provide commentary as the story gets more and more absurb.

And then there's Pistol and his boss...

Lord Pumpkin is not Gerber's creation, according to Mr. Mann:

"I think, though, that Lord Pumpkin was the brainchild of Dan Danko. Gerber ran with it, but I think Danko is the one who came up with the nuts and bolts."

--and boy, did Steve run with it. In earlier articles, I've discussed the later appearances of this character and expressed some confusion as to why so much emphasis was put on it in the post-Marvel buyout world. In reading these early appearances, I certainly now understand why fans were so enthusiastic about him. Lord Pumpkin in Sludge is as charismatic a villain as can be, putting on a gentleman's demeanor and acting as a surrogate father to his bodyguard, an adolescent hitman. Both dress in classic 30's gangster style, and there seems to be an actual affection between the two of them. And when we do get some of Pistol's backstory (we'll get to that in a minute), we understand the dynamic even more. I get the impression that the duo's plan, involving marketing a magical drug called Zuke, was supposed to be bigger and somehow connected to Godwheel and Prime, but this was never expanded upon fully because the book was canceled after twelve issues.

Apparently Gerber's trouble keeping deadlines, which led back in 70's to such things as the 'Dreaded Deadline Doom' issue of Howard The Duck*, continued in the 90's which led to artist Aaron Lopresti plotting a handful of issues, all containing weird monsters like a giant crocodile man, a Frankenstein satire and an evil witch that spurs on a fight between Sludge and Prime in the last issue. Other than the inclusion of these monsters, they fit seamlessly into the series and not just because Gerber contributes dialogue. This may have been a case of writer and artist having such similar semsibilities that they create exactly what they had in their mind. Lopresti's artwork is moody, dark and distorted...which makes it perfect for this series.

After the end of the series, Sludge did pop up in an episode of the Ultraforce cartoon as well as an issue of Foxfire. But his last significant appearance may very well have been his best--and Mr. Mann seems to agree:

"I think Sludge was our best title. Sludge Red X-Mas being the single best book we did. "

Not surprisingly, Sludge Red X-Mas was a Christmas special that reunited Gerber with one of his key collaborators on his classic run on Man-Thing, Mike Ploog. It focuses on, in addition to Sludge, some minor characters from the main run as well as Pistol and ties them up in a plot about a union leader who's not as heroic as he seems. It's a wonderful story, especially in regard to how it makes us see Pistol from another angle, making him more than a weird sidekick to become a sympathetic character. I don't know if I can say it is my favorite single issue story given I still have a number of titles to read...but it certainly is one of my favorites.

It's a shame that Sludge is long out of print, especially given how there is so little crossover that it can be read as a standalone. I know that Marvel is highly reluctant to even acknowledge the Ultraverse's existence, especially now that they're owned by Disney, who might be nervous about what happened to one of the imprint's founders...but surely it's worth it to have this prime example of Gerber's later work to fans like myself who love his quirky and weird world view?

Next time, I'll be looking at an Ultraverse title I literally didn't even recall until I started this project. It's the third title by the problematic Gerard Jones, and it's may be more the Ultraverse's answer to Batman than Night Man was...mixed in with some pulp and film noir tropes. It's time to put on the purple and blue and walk down these lonely streets as we examine Solitaire!

Until then....why be meta when you can be ultra?

*--This famous illustrated text issue pretty much inspired Vinegarette, a character who pops up in the later half of the book and resembles the Vegas chorus girl and ostrich fighting a lamp in one memorable double page spread in the Howard The Duck issue. 

WHEN WE WERE ULTRA: What Was I Made For? (SIREN, SIREN SPECIAL, ERADICATOR)

Siren is pretty much the last character to hold down her own series who debuted before the Black September reboot.  She shows up in the background of Eradicator, a miniseries that spun out of Ultraverse Premiere*, interacting with the hero only long enough to ask if he is her father.  Her appearance isn't heralded by the trumpeting that preceded the debut of characters like Hellblade and Foxfire, but according to Roland Mann, Siren's appearance was intended to be a 'back door' pilot:

"Eliminator was a bone thrown to us, made ever sweeter because Mike Zeck was drawing. So we worked Siren in because that was one of the projects Hank had pitched and was working on with Chris Ulm. He (and I agreed) thought that might help to kickstart Siren--and it did."

 

Her next appearance, in Ultraforce #8, was overshadowed by the cover-touted appearance of The Black Knight.  She's a minor part of the next two issues, leading to Ultraverse/Avengers and Black September, after which she gets her own series and a follow-up special.

And that might be why this series lasted only four issues before she was shuffled back into the Ultraforce line-up...she's being overshadowed constantly in issues where she's supposed to be front and center.

You see, Siren Infinity literally dumps Siren into the Marvel Universe and onto Taskmaster's bed, where she insinuates herself as a prospective student and ends up paired with Diamondback, a character from Mark Gruenwald's Captain America run who's looking to destroy Taskmaster's operations.  They're both assigned to kill James Rhodes--at the time running Worldwatch Inc. and rocking a goofy alien armor--and ends up failing on purpose, but also picking up a really, really annoying teleporting kid called Kyi**  During the course of all this runaround and intrigue, Siren discovers she is an hydrokinetic and learns how to use it to her advantage.  By the end of the series, she's dumped back into the Ultraverse in the middle of the desert.

This led to Siren Special #1, which finally lets us know what the origin of the character is.  After she's abducted by Aladdin for wandering near their Groom Lake facility, she learns that she's really Jennifer, one of three genetic experiments using DNA from Rick Pearson.  Rick goes on to become Eliminator and Jennifer ended up in care of her aunt before deciding to be a thief with make-up that disappeared when she sprayed something on it.  Aladdin intends her to become one of their black ops agents and sics her on Shuriken, leading to a fight with her and Juggernaut before Jennifer returns to Aladdin, plants a virus provided by Shuriken that makes its computerized leader believe he controls her.  She has the doo-hickey that Aladdin put in her neck that coerces her to obey removed and...that's it.  She returns to the pages of Ultraforce, where she hangs around long enough to fight some alien invaders and disappear.

Siren was the creation of Hank Kanalz .  If there's one thing that her solo adventures show, it's that (and I suspect it's the fault of the Marvel takeover) no one could decide upon what the character was.  Throughout these few issues, I got a sense of what she could be--at times she looks like she's being set up as a Gambit-like ambivalent hero, a Green Hornet-esque 'hero pretending to be a baddie to fight crime from within', a sassy bad girl ala' Harley Quinn, or a rogue spy ala' Black Widow.  But they don't ever stay with any one character take for very long.  It also doesn't help that her powers and abilities change from moment to moment.  Hell, there's a moment in the special where Jennifer appears to use mind control on Juggernaut, and it felt like that ability was added suddenly when someone remembered her name was actually, you know, Siren.

The artwork is pretty excellent--Mike Zeck does the Eliminator issues, and Kevin J. West (whose style seems even better suited here than it was on Foxfire) did all her solo issues save for the special, which was done by John Fang.  All of these pencillers are very action-oriented, and some of the set pieces are exceptionally fluid and kinetic.  I really thought much of it worked visually.  I just wish it was in service of a series that was more focused than what we ended up with.

After finishing all the issues, I wonder if Siren's development couldn't have been better handled by putting the special in between Eliminator and her initial appearance in Ultraforce.  There's this nagging feeling that all the adjustments and readjustments poor Jennifer went through in her main series wouldn't have occurred if Kanalz had cemented her origin and powers before Marvel gained majority control.  But as it stands, the constant course correcting coupled with the forced Marvel connections obscures what could've been an interesting heroine.  The series and the special are readable and has good looking art, but I would not call it recommended.

We're ramping up to the grand finale of my journey through the Ultraverse.  Coming up next is Steve Gerber's other regular Ultraverse series, in which takes he one of his most celebrated Marvel characters, relocates him to New York City and drops him into the middle of a noir crime epic where one of the gang bosses is...Lord Pumpkin.  Be sure to wear full protective covering when we make the acquaintance of Sludge!

Until then....why be meta when you can be ultra?

*--This was the second series I read during this project.  It made no sense to me then. I figured at the time that the series, a strange fusion of martial arts, cyborg and Stephen J. Connell-style characterization, would make more sense as I got deeper into my re-read...and here, over halfway through, I still don't know what that was all about.  And by now, I understand the first book I read, Break/Thru...I think.

**--For some reason, the Ultraverse was all in on the kid sidekick trend.  At least Kyi wasn't a speedster like Prime's Turbocharge or Rush, who was tacked on to the later half of Mantra volume two.