Amazing Adventures #35



“The 24-Hour Man”
writer: Don McGregor
layouts: Craig Russell
pencils: Keith Giffin
inks: Jack Abel
letters: I. Watanabe
colors: Jan Cohen
editor: Marv Wolfman

grade: A+


Definitely my favorite issue of this series yet. While not a flawless execution, I felt the art was reasonably strong, the interpersonal characterization vibrant, and the plot brilliant. Essentially, our team comes across a symbiotic mutant pair including G'rath, a giant monster that inseminates women, and Emmanuel, the offspring of that insemination who lives for only 24 hours, using his biologically imprinted ancestral knowledge to find G'rath a mate prior to the extinguishing of his life.

It's a creative concept in its own right, but McGregor also draws a subtle parallel between Emmanuel and Killraven, both using their limited time on this planet to attempt to preserve their race, though, as Emmanuel points out, K.R. uses too much of his limited time to destroy rather than create. Of course, Killraven choosing to create and preserve his race does not carry with it any of sense of rape or wrongful conquest, as Emmanuel's does.

And the rape aspect is a powerful part of this story, especially when Carmilla becomes the intended victim. Russel and Giffin do a fantastic job depicting both her beauty and terror in these moments and, weirdly enough, both the script and art make you root for Emmanuel, wanting this to happen, which goes against all that we readers believe. What an odd and uncomfortable experience -- as if there could be such a thing as a noble, justified act of rape. Even our protagonists seem morally bewildered by the end, unsure of how to judge Emmanuel's motives. However, and conveniently enough, Carmilla does not weigh in.

As for characterization, there was quite a bit in this issue. The events of last issue go entirely unmentioned at first, with Old Skull seeming positively fine, thus leaving us to assume Grok and Hawk were our two deaths, and a passing reference is made to Old Skull still being a bit injured, but as the group enters the grave yard and finally gets some down time, M'Shullah is given an opportunity to reflect, confessing that, as a result of his death, he feels the true danger of the game the Freemen are playing against the Martians for the first time. He and K.R. also get an opportunity to discuss whether love for another person is a weakness that should be avoided or a courageous act that is vital to the survival of the human race. Finally, a debate is waged about whether K.R. was given his telepathic “power” by the scientists that raised him and whether or not he can train to control it. These characters still lack depth beyond their few surface qualities, but their interplay grows richer with each issue.

In the end, the message of this issue is somewhat confused and garbled, but it was powerful just the same. I don't think the story is endorsing rape nor claiming that the preservation of humankind somehow involves a rape-like offense, but there was still an unmistakable sense of noble, sympathetic yearning coming from Emmanuel's character that challenges us as readers and takes us into a kind of moral gray zone that is rarely found in comics. For once, McGregor doesn't appear to be moralizing or furthering an agenda -- he's merely entertaining a "what if?" in the best of sci-fi traditions.

Minor details:

The cover once again emphasizes “War of the Worlds” instead of “Killraven” for the first time in several issues.

not sure what impact McGregor was going for by ending with Oldskull considering what would have happened if G'rath's offspring had been a female instead of a male. G'rath was the inseminator, not Emmanuel. Was McGregor implying that the previous mother, shown at the beginning and end of the issue, was also an off-spring? She doesn't have green skin and clearly lived more than 24 hours.

Amazing Adventures #37



"Arena Kill"
writer: Don McGregor
pencils: Craig Russell
inks: Jack Abel
letters: Irv Watanabe
colors: Petra Goldberg
editor: Marv Wolfman

grade: B-


New Year's Eve, 2020. The freemen meet up with another group and find food, shelter, and company for the night, Carmilla and M'Shullah reflect on how the group has been trying to get to Yellow Stone for a full year and are now nearly there, and the stage is set for a perfect reflection on all that has happened to the band since their previous New Year's celebration back when McGregor first took over the series.

Unfortunately, that's not where the story goes at all.

Instead, this ends up being a cute telling of Old Skull's origin. I'm not opposed to cute. Many of you know that one of my all-time favorite comic books is X-men #153 ("Kitty's Fairytale"). Still, this tale felt, well, arbitrary. We see Old Skull taunted by peers as a child, misunderstood by his abusive cattle-ranching father, abused by his fellow gladiators, defended by Killraven, and finally teamed up with Killraven in a battle to the death for the pleasure of the Martians. There's no real theme, no real developing of character for Old Skull, in fact very little thread tying together the various stages of Old Skull's life beyond the fact that Killraven gives him what he never had otherwise, defending him from bullies and seeming to think he is wise (and, while I agree, nothing occurred in the flashback to have indicated this to Killraven). Essentially, the origin comes across as nothing more than, "No one understood me until Killraven came around," and even that central theme makes the final arena battle entirely superfluous.

Yeah, the story felt pretty arbitrary, which is sad considering how likable of a character Old Skull is. His origin story should have been full of more pathos and meaning than this.

Russell's art was definitely flawed in this issue, as well. It felt rushed and sloppy. For example, the big first panel of the arena on page 17 shows one of the lasers that is supposed to be marking the edges of the fighting space shooting under Killraven's armpit in a way that makes no sense. Then there's the climactic battle on page 30, which was really hard to follow and featured some really careless detailing (especially Killraven's face in the fourth panel). Considering how amazing the artwork looked last issue, this trade-up was hard to stomach.

And what's with Carmilla suddenly becoming such a secondary character? A formerly formidable presence is now just the resident nag of the group (as well as the potential rape victim last issue). Why haven't we even spent a moment on her reflecting on the fact that Grok has been dead for three issues now?

Really, there were only two things I found particularly enjoyable about this issue:
1. Russell accurately used Killraven's original dominatrix costume for the flashback
2. The drunken raccoon.

Otherwise, nowhere near as good a story as it should have been.

Amazing Adventures #39



"Mourning Prey"
writer: Don McGregor
pencils: Craig Russell
colors: G. Roussos
letters: I. Watanabe
editor: Archie Goodwin

grade: A-

Well, here it is. The final issue. And, contrary to what I'd hoped, McGregor and Russell were already pretty far into (or done with) this issue when they got the news. This story doesn't wrap up the saga, which means:

No getting to Yellowstone.

No Deathraven.

No final confrontation with the Martians.

No taking the fight back to Mars, as Killraven had dreamed of doing.

No answers as to the nature of his powers.

Still, all things considered, this was a strong ending point. Given last month off, Russell's art is everything it should finally be in this one, and he and McGregor take some bold experiments with the narrative, blurring past and present as Killraven and M'Shullah pursue Mourning Prey, the butterly/mutant woman who has abducted Carmilla and Old Skull, giving Killraven time to muse upon his fears and his weariness for the war they wage.

I'm still not sure I understand the full message of this story nor the symbols it uses (caterpillars and night time are the ugliness of war? Butterflies and morning are the freedom of an unknown future that somehow terrifies K.R. because he is not used to letting his guard down?). I'm not sure I get it, but it still impressed me.

And that ending, in which Old Skull's gentle loving nature wins out in contrast to Killraven's ability to wage war -- that was an excellent touch.

It's too bad. In many ways, I feel the series was just beginning to warm up over the past six months or so. However, it did take an unacceptably long time to hit such a stride. Fans were right to have turned away from the book, resulting in its subsequent cancellation. For the first year and a half of the run, it truly seemed like it wasn't going anywhere.


Fortunately, McGregor and Russell were finally given a chance to tell their last Killraven story nearly a full decade later. I'll be ending this review thread with that story tomorrow...

Marvel Graphic Novel #7



"Killraven: Last Dreams Broken"
writer: Don McGregor
art: P. Craig Russell
lettering: Tom Orzechowski
coloring: Petra Scotese
special help: Lousie Simonson & Laurie Sutton
editors: Archie Goodwin & Jo Duffy
editor-in-chief: Jim Shooter

grade: B+

As rarndt has pointed out, this was intended to be Killraven's second to last story, but it works quite well as the final one, resolving so much of what had been left hanging in mid-air. Instead of getting to Yellowstone, the stage is moved to Cape Canaveral, but Killraven still gets to meet Deathraven and Saunders there, get his final face-off with the High Overlord, and learn the true nature of his powers. All that was left was to take the battle to Mars.

That being said, there were problems with this story. On the one hand, the story was written to continue right where the old series left off, as if no time had passed, and even beginning with Martian data files to remind us of where we left off (though this would have been damn confusing and alienating to a new reader). On the other, there were a lot of changes, and I didn't enjoy most of them:

Killraven -- whereas he was once the post-apocalyptic barbarian on a revenge trip learning how to be more logical and empathic, he's suddenly far more of a kind of Christ figure here -- weak (aside from when he takes down the wolf), weary, and tormented for the sins of complacent humans. I actually like this approach, but it's not Killraven, and isn't that who we're reading this series for?

Carmilla -- I felt she was finally getting rounded out in the final few issues of the series, but here she's far more of a stone-cold bitch than she ever was before. There's nothing positive about her relationship with M'Shullah either anymore beyond the sex, and I found that very disappointing. Their relationship had previously been the basis for this band beginning to feel like a family.

M'Shullah -- A wimpy boyfriend and expert bowman, but really nothing more. Where's his humor? Where's that compassion that always shone as a sign of strength? Where's his comradery with Killraven?

Adult content -- When this was still a comic under the comic code, McGregor and Russell were really good at portraying adult subject matter in an appropriately subtle way. Now, without the code, we have to watch M'Shullah grabbing Carmilla's breast, have to learn that Killraven listens in on their love-making because it gets him horny, and have to hear Carmilla talk about her period. None of this adds to the comic in any way for me. Adding this kind of "reality" into a comic has about the same effect to me as watching a photo shoot of a supermodel crapping in a toilet. Yeah, it's real, but that doesn't mean I want to see it.

Russell's art -- Sorry to those of you who will disagree, but I think Russell does a pretty poor job of inking his own art. The painted chapter headings were gorgeous, but I really didn't enjoy the rest of his art, and it also lacked much of the ambition of his earlier work, often doing little more than furthering the story. There were a few shots where you could tell he really tried -- the JFK flashback, the two christ-like depictions of K.R., and the climactic moment between him and Deathraven, but the rest was pretty forgettable. And what the hell was up with Russell's depictions of Carmilla? She looked so uncomfortably manly and awkward in each shot that it was difficult to even look.

Jenette Miller -- What was the purpose of this late addition to the cast? What did she really add to the story or the team?


Finally, while I did not at all object to Carmilla being pregnant with M'Shullah's child, I felt it was a wasted opportunity. Where was that transformational moment when the two would realize that there was no one better equipped than the Freemen to bring a new human life into the world they were changing? Instead, Carmilla bitches and bitches, M'Shullah gets resentful and pouts, and this is all somehow reconciled by Carmilla becoming happy and mentioning that M'Shullah will be a father after blowing up Cape Canaveral.


There was a lot I enjoyed about this story, especially the pathos we feel for Killraven at the end and the sheer sense of power that comes from his final moment of triumph against Deathraven, but so much more was lost in this story than gained. Of all of them, I think I'm most bothered by what was done to Carmilla, both artistically and in terms of characterization.

Minor details:

- Just to make sense of Killraven's history with Keepers, we had Raker and Saunders (his original Keepers), Whitman (who he was sent to after showing signs of rebelliousness), and he later ended up with the Keeper who became Warlord (AA #20), ultimately escaping from him. I believe Whitman was first mentioned in AA #30. Ever since that moment, I'd always assumed that Whitman was the Keeper who became Warlord, but apparently this was not correct.

- Also worth clarifying: Jonathan Killraven clearly had no brother present when he was captured by Raker and Saunders in his origin story in AA #18. The idea of his brother having been present in that scene was first added by Killraven when he retold the story in AA #27.

- Why change the stage for this final battle from Yellowstone to Cape Canaveral? I assumed, at the beginning of the story, that this would allow the Freemen to take a ship to Mars and finally fulfill Killraven's dream of taking the fight back to the Martians, but they blow everything up in the end. And why would the Martians choose the Cape Canaveral site for their own space program? They're too technologically advanced to have found any aspect of the Kennedy Space Center or the Nasa fleet at all useful to them. Was it supposed to be a symbolic message to the humans? I thought the Martians were above such concepts.

- Why the passing reference to Killraven fantasizing about Volcana at the beginning? She's a total non-entity in this story and was long forgotten even before the series was cancelled.


In the end, and in many ways, this was a fitting conclusion to the story of Killraven, though it definitely felt like a Killraven who'd been growing and changing for a long while more than a month beyond the events of Amazing Adventures #39. It was also a story that did drastic disservice to our other main characters, leaving only Old Skull feeling just as endearing as he had in the old adventures. I'd like to believe the final planned but unwritten story, Final Battles, Final Lies, Final Truths, would have redeemed Carmilla and M'Shullah and better used their unborn child as a symbol of hope for the future. Maybe Russell would have stepped it up and used a better inker as well. Who knows?

And yet, with two final stories, neither one intended to be the last, the series still ends on a pretty strong note.