Monday, April 2, 2018
Marvel-ous Monday: "The Soft Parade...of Slow, Sliding Death!" by Moench, Buckler, Pollard, Jones, and McWilliams
Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Man, could author Doug Moench come up with some doozies for story titles? "The Soft Parade...of Slow, Sliding Death!" didn't sound like it was gonna be a Spidey or Millie the Model tale, does it? Nope, it could only work on a mag that featured Deathlok the Demolisher! (Come to think of it, chapter two's "Shootout at the Flesh Factory!" is pretty provocative, as well!) Also of great interest for this unforgettable ish of Astonishing Tales (#30, March 1975) is the art. Creator/designer Rich Buckler laid the tale out in his sizzling cinematic style, then penciled some of the pages, while a couple of his powerhouse pencil-pals, Keith Pollard and Arvell Jones, finished the pencils on the other pages. And while Al McWilliams, craftsman that he was, wouldn't have been Young Groove's first choice of inkers, his singular style certainly pulls the various artistic styles together into a cohesive whole. And maaaaan, is this ever an action-packed ish!
Alden McWilliams had too heavy an inking style which buried the pencils underneath him. His finished product really didn't look Marvel. It would have fit in fine at Gold Key. From here on until the magnificent AS # 33 - 35, the Deathlok title will meander around with inconsistant art teams, missed deadlines and a falloff in quality. Once Mantlo, Buckler and Janson take over in 33 Deathlok is restored to the promise he started out with. Unfortunately, by then there was only one issue left. Fortunately for us, the character has stuck around ever since and become a solid part of the Marvel Universe.
ReplyDeletePlease don't forget #29!
ReplyDelete#29 is a reprint of the original Guardians of the Galaxy story. It's been reprinted many times and still in print, so I'll skip it for now. There are places online where you can read it if you like. ;D
ReplyDelete