Ghost Rider #4: "Death Stalks the Demolition Derby"

Probably the only comic-book hero inspired by the once popular crooner Vaughn Monroe, the original Ghost Rider first galloped onto the scene as a backup feature in ME's Tim Holt #11 in 1949. In reality he was Rex Fury, a federal marshal in the Old West who dressed up in a luminous white outfit that included a glowing cape and Stetson. Eventually he added a skull mask to his ensemble, and the sight of him mounted on his glowing white stallion was sufficient to scare even hardened owl-hoots out of their wits.

Marvel proved that bikers were more popular than cowboys with their next version of Ghost Rider. In 1973 they introduced a contemporary Ghost Rider who rode a motorcycle. Johnny Blaze was a clean-cut, blond young cyclist who became the unwilling host of a spirit named Zarathos. When Zarathos was in ascendancy, the hapless Johnny turned into a demon biker with a blazing skull instead of a head. When in this mode, much like the Hulk, he didn't take any crap from anybody. More successful than any prior Ghost Rider, he survived for eighty-one issues until the spring of 1983.

Script: Gary Friedrich
Pencils: Jim Mooney
Inks: Vince Colletta

Reprinted:

• in Original Ghost Rider, The (Marvel, 1992 series) #12 (June 1993).
• in ESSENTIAL GHOST RIDER (Marvel, 2005 series) Vol. 1 (September 2005).
  

Green Lantern #188: "Mogo Doesn't Socialize"

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Another British artist who made a name for himself in American comics, Dave Gibbons's first major attention-getting work was DC's twelve-part Watchmen series, which hit the stands in the summer of 1986. By then, Gibbons had been working, by mail for the most part, for DC for four years and drawing such dependable heroes as Batman, Superman, and the Green Lantern. It was Watchmen, however, with scripts by Alan Moore, that won him a much larger audience, considerable attention from his peers, glowing reviews in both fanzines and mainstream publications, and a variety of awards. For English comics Gibbons had done artwork for such titles as 2000 A.D. and Dr. Who.

Working in his assured illustrative style, Gibbons has continued contributing to American comics. One of his more ambitious projects in the early and middle 1990s was drawing the Give Me Liberty series of graphic novels published by Dark Horse and scripted by Frank Miller. Set in the near future, they deal with an American turned fascist and have an African-American woman named Martha Washington as the main focal character. Once again Gibbons did an impressive job in depicting an alternate world.

More recently he drew the Green Lantern issues in DC's Just Imagine series, bringing to life Stan Lee's take on the character. Working with such writers as Alan Moore and Frank Miller has apparently had an effect on Gibbons, and he has been doing some writing of late. He's scripted a World's Finest Batman and Superman team-up, drawn by Steve Rude, and worked with artist Andy Kubert on Batman Versus Predator.



Credits for Tales of the Green Lantern Corps back-up story:

Script: Alan Moore
Pencils and inks: Dave Gibbons
Colors: Tony Tollin
Letters: Dave Gibbons

Reprinted:

• in Best of DC, The (DC, 1979 series) #71 (April 1986)
• in Across the Universe: The DC Universe Stories of Alan Moore (DC, 2003 series) #nn
• in DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore (DC, 2006 series) #nn

Doc Stearn...Mr. Monster #3: "Case of the Recalcitrant Refuse"

Download Doc Stearn... Mr. Monster v1 #3







Mr. Monster chronicles the adventures of Doc Stearn, a man who tangles with any and every type of occult menace. Michael T. Gilbert is responsible for the art and usually the story, too, but Alan Moore guest writes this issue and a Steve Bissette cover rounds out the entire magazine.

"Now... let's get out there and blast those subhuman vermin to bloody gobbets!"

Case of the Recalcitrant Refuse
Script: Alan Moore
Pencils: Michael T Gilbert
Inks: Michael T Gilbert and William F Loebs



















Basil Wolverton is one of the few comic book artists whose work can legitimately be called unique. Although he created such serious adventure features as Spacehawk, he's best remembered for such non-serious and nonsensical inventions as Powerhouse Pepper, Mystic Moot and his Magic Snoot, and the grotesqueries he later drew for Mad and Plop!

One of the major appeals of Wolverton's space opera was the artwork. He was very good at gadgets, especially the kind that require lots of nuts and bolts. His spaceships had the bulk and feel of ocean liners, the control rooms were as cluttered with pipes and dials as an apartment-house basement.


Swamp Monster
Script: Basil Wolverton
Pencils and inks: Basil Wolverton

Reprinted:

• from Weird Mysteries (Key Publications, 1952 series) #5.

• in Doc Stearn...Mr. Monster (Eclipse, 1985 series) #3.
• in Tales Too Terrible to Tell (New England Comic Press Inc, 1989 series) #9.
• in Four Color Fear (Fantagraphics, 2010 series) #[nn].