Monday, November 23, 2015

Makin' Chaykin: "Fangs of the Gorilla God!" by Howard, Thomas, and Chaykin

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! With Thanksgiving coming up in a few days here in the U.S., Ol' Groove thought he'd spend this week looking back at some November-released mags that he's thankful for! (Don't worry, this is all leading up to our annual Thanksgiving Feast on Thursday, baby!) So how 'bout let's truck on back to November 1976 for a look at Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin's take on Robert E. Howard's immortal Solomon Kane! (Two of my fave creators on one of my fave characters--something to be thankful for, right?) "Fangs of the Gorilla God!", which appeared in Marvel Premiere #34, was based on Howard's story "Red Shadows", and it's a doozy! Because it appeared in a Comics Code approved comic (instead of the b&w Savage Sword of Conan), this version isn't as gruesome as Howard's original, but it's still gritty, spooky, and action packed! Chaykin's art here, to moi, is stunning with its bold use of blacks and lively layouts. Kane's outfit is a bit bizarre for a Puritan, but hey, Howard had to have some fun, right?

















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4 comments:

  1. Mike MikulovskyNovember 23, 2015 at 8:18 AM

    Always love Howard & Roy's work! Rasally Roy turned the big 75 yesterday!! Happy Birthday Roy!!

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  2. J_D_La_Rue_67November 24, 2015 at 12:44 AM

    I swear I read "Gorilla Grodd". Can't think clear this early in the morning.

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  3. Edo BosnarNovember 24, 2015 at 4:37 AM

    Yep, love this - and it came on the heels of my favorite single issue of Marvel Premiere ever, the one that gave us Chaykin's Monark Starstalker.
    In this issue, I love how Chaykin's vision of Kane looks absolutely nothing like the way he was envisioned by Howard. Still, the art is so damn good you just don't care...

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  4. Dave RyanJune 18, 2019 at 11:35 PM

    This is part 2 (of 2 parts) from MARVEL PREMIERE 34.

    Here is a link to part 1 from MARVEL PREMIERE 33:
    http://drmonkeyretroblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/marvel-premiere-33-mark-of-kane.html

    This was also collected (along with the 6-issue 1985 SOLOMON KANE miniseries) in a nice CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON KANE trade paaperback by Dark Horse, collecting all 8 of the Solomon Kane color comics (released in 2009). 204 pages

    All the black and white material from Marvel Magazines was collected in another Dark Horse black and white trade, THE SAGA OF SOLOMON KANE (also released ion 2009). 410 pages

    A godsend for a Robert E. Howard and Solomon Kane nut like me, to have all these stories spread out across 8 different Marvel magazines and many years, all canonized in two volumes. Even the Solomon Kane articles on the chronology and continuity background are included, particularly in the latter black and white volume.

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