Whatever Happened to Heroes Who Look Like Heroes? Man-Bat Meets the Demon

It's the final week of......and Ol' Groove is gonna be bringing out the best of the best! First up, two of DC's weirdest heroes ever--Man-Bat and the Demon!

Man-Bat debuted in Detective Comics #400 (March, 1970) under the combined talents of writer Frank Robbins and artist Neal Adams. Kirk Langstrom's furry alter-ego was an immediate hit, coming back quite frequently (Detective Comics #s 402, 407, 416, 429, and Batman #254) to plague the Caped Crusader. Part of what made Man-Bat so popular was the Marvel-esque take on the character; he wasn't really a villain, he was a victim of science-gone-wild a la the Incredible Hulk. In late 1975, Man-Bat was given his own title which sadly lasted only two issues (it didn't help that a different creative team handled each issue). He quickly rebounded, though, appearing as a back-up feature in Detective Comics (issues 458-459, January-February, 1976), and then gaining a regular berth in Batman Family the following month for the remainder of that books publication (issues 11-20). In September, 1978, Batman Family was absorbed into Detective Comics, taking Man-Bat "back home" so to speak for the remainder of his Groovy Age appearances (Detective Comics issues 481, 483, 485, and 492). During the Groovy Age, Man-Bat attracted some of the most stellar artists of the day, from co-creator Adams to Marshall Rogers to Michael Golden to Don Newton.

The Demon was created by the King of Comics, Jack Kirby as his legendary Fourth World series were winding down. The demon known as Etrigan enjoyed sixteen issues of his own mag, which ran from July, 1972 to October, 1974. Kirby combined the Arthurian legend with his own far-out imagination, creating a fun, creepy, and satisfying series that stands up very well next to his most well known work. Ironically, it was the Demon who pretty much squeezed Man-Bat out of several issues of Detective Comics as a Len Wein written strip starring Etrigan ran in that venerable mag from issues 482-485 (November, 1978-May, 1979). The art was by Michael Golden for the first issue, and handled by Steve Ditko for the rest of that far-too-short run.

Why did I say the Demon's upsetting Man-Bat's status in 'Tec was ironic? Simply because the "Demon revival" that led to his strip in that mag started when Etrigan guest-starred in Man-Bat's Batman Family strip in Bat-Fam #17. Ain't that a kick in the head? With that in mind, Ol' Groove figured you'd get a dig reading that little-seen story as we truck on down the home stretch of this year's Halloween Countdown. Was I right? Yeah, I knew I was. So, from Batman Family #17, here's "There's a Demon Born Every Minute" by Bob Rozakis and Michael Golden.

(Really) Weird Heroes Week Continues with: Morlock 2001

It's a superhero comic! It's a sci-fi comic! It's a horror comic! It's relevant! It's freaky! It's Atlas Seaboard's Morlock 2001, and it's the focus of today's adventures into the...Michael Fleisher was the master of weirdness during the Groovy Age. Not only did he give us the coolest and most vengeful Spectre ever, not only did he co-create Atlas' answer to the Spectre/Ghost Rider phenomenon with the Grim Ghost, but he also turned heads (and stomachs) with Morlock 2001. Atlas/Seaboard, always one to try to jump on a trend, must've wanted a Swamp/Man-Thing like character. Fleisher delivered one, blended with equal parts 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Captain America, and a dollop of Omega Man (I Am Legend/Last Man on Earth). To say the strip was freaky is an understatement of awesome proportions.

Allen Milgrom, the artist who created Morlock's look couldn't figure out how the strip was going to work. According to an interview with Milgrom in Comic Book Artist #16, the artist actually found the strip "unsavory". Why? Well, our hero, Morlock, is actually a laboratory-created creature. He looks human, but is actually a plant. Created as a "super-soldier", Morlock is quickly put to use as a government assassin. The government, however, is of the "Big Brother" variety, so it isn't long before the plant-man rebels against his masters. Got all that? Now, dig this: in his human form, his touch turns people into vegetation; in his plant form, he liquefies and absorbs people. Morlock has little control over his changes from human to plant (only a small sample of a serum can keep the metamorphosis in check), which makes him a danger no matter what his intentions. In issue #2, for example, the creature Morlock murders a blind girl. Small wonder this very cool but very disturbing mag didn't last. In Milgrom's words, "...I wasn't ready for an anti-hero who was so anti that he was eating blind girls." Neither, I suppose, was anyone else. 'Nuff said?

Nope! Morlock 2001 is a comic that has to be seen to be believed. So, my Groovy Ghoulies, here is issue #1 (November, 1974), along with Milgrom's original cover concept (before being revised and inked by Dick Giordano). Dig in!

If You Blinked, You Missed...Bloodstone

Yep, Ol' Groove is starting another semi-series (like Comics You Might Never See Again, the Grooviest Covers of All Time, Still Going, and Groovin' Back In Time--hmm, gonna have to assign a day for each of these topics or somethin'!). This series was suggested by my good buddy Jon Gilbert (whose E-Dispatches from the Great White North y'oughtta be reading!). Thanks, Jazzy One!

There have always been flashes-in-the-pans, whether it be comics, music, TV or whatever. Well, the Groovy Age had its share of flashes; some brilliant, some--uh, not so brilliant. So, from time to time, I'll be digging back in the mines and polishing off some gems that came and went so quickly you might not even know they existed.

First up: Ulysses Bloodstone. Bloodstone was the creation of former Marvel editors, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, and John Warner (best known for a stint editing Marvel's black and white mags in the mid-70s, overseeing classics like the legendary Chris Claremont/John Byrne/Terry Austin/Tom Orzechowski Star-Lord issue of Marvel Preview).

The strip was definitely an oddball one, debuting in Marvel Presents #1--and ending in issue #2. How oddball? It's hard to describe. It was a lot like a Marvel mag in some ways, and very unlike a Marvel mag in others. It seemed, in a way, to be an homage on the old Atlas/Marvel days of the late 50s/early 60s in that Bloodstone hunted (mostly) giant monsters. The strip was action oriented, filled with sub-plots, cryptically linked into the Marvel mythos (the Hellfire Helix and the Hyborian Age tie into his origins, f'rinstance), and sported a mysterious corporate-type criminal organization called the Conspiracy (whatta Watergate-era name, huh?). Y'see? All very Marvel-like. However, the first issue was split into two separate chapters/stories--one story was penciled by Charlton mainstay Pat Boyette--and Bloodstone carried a double-barrel shotgun. Only the Punisher carried a gun in the Marvel Universe back in those days! Also, since Bloodstone was essentially an immortal cave-man, he hearkened back more to classic DC villain Vandal Savage than Spider-Man.

In all honesty, Bloodstone felt more like something that was created for Martin Goodman's Atlas/Seaboard line (oh yeah, we'll talk about Atlas/Seaboard later!). It was, indeed, made-for Marvel, though. According to Warner, himself, the strip was created to run in Where Monsters Dwell as a ten page lead to be backed up by reprints. Where Monsters Dwell was canceled before Bloodstone saw print, but the strip was given a new lease on life as the headliner for Marvel Presents. Warner had planned a cosmic epic, but between issues 1 (which published what would have been the stories for two consecutive issues of Where Monsters Dwell) and 2 he was informed that Bloodstone would end with ish #2, forcing him to wrap his epic up in a mere 18 pages.

But you can't keep a good immortal cave man down!

The strip resurfaced about a year later in the black and white Rampaging Hulk magazine (it does pay to be an editor!), running in issues 1-6 and 8. It seemed that Warner would finally have the chance to do the cosmic epic as he intended. Things went gung-ho for the first six issues, and then a strange thing happened. Bloodstone didn't even appear in RH #7 (a Steve Gerber Man-Thing story took its place), and when the strip re-appeared in issue 8, it was written by Gerber, not Warner. I suppose Warner left or was given the heave-ho from the powers that be, because Gerber killed Bloodstone off, ending the strip once and for all.

Bloodstone wasn't completely forgotten by Marvel. He has appeared (via flashback) in a variety of titles, including Captain America and Marvel Universe. Recently, his daughter, Elsa Bloodstone, has replaced Ulysses as Monster Hunter supreme, appearing in her own mini-series as well as Warren Ellis' Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.