Havoc 03

⭐ Issue Number 3 - Dated 27th July, 1991 ⭐

TRANCERS  ●  PREDATORS  ●  MOBSTERS  ●  CYBERNAUTS  ●  SPACE-CADETS

"Our bid to get in on Delta City depends on us getting the Nixcop onto the streets — and fast. Whoever can bring law to Detroit — will rule Detroit!"

☆ Conan: Cauldron of the Doomed:
Part One ☆

Plot + Art: Buscema | Dialogue: Fleisher

I like how the five strips aren't always placed in the same order; it makes it feel less predictable, somehow. It's Conan's turn to be first, with a new story arc that begins with him wrestling one-on-one a man that resembles an overweight executioner, complete with black hood.

The onlookers bet on who will be victorious, but Conan is there for himself, not them, and knows he will win.

His man-handling draws the attentions of an educated lady, who stands out from the crowd in a way that screams 'this one is bad news', but Conan has already shown that he'll walk into a trap if led by a beautiful woman (i.e. Havoc #1-2, The Frost Giant's Daughter), so we can expect no less of him now. Or is he being disingenuous, playing along so that he gets deeper to the truth? Time will tell - it's a four-part story.

Havoc 02

⭐ Issue Number 2 - Dated 20th July, 1991 ⭐

ROBOCOP COMPETITION! 20 VIDEOS TO BE WON!

"Everything’s going to be okay, Barb! I won't let them hurt you anymore! I'm going to make the bleeding stop."

☆ Deathlok: The Brains of the Outfit:
Part One ☆

Script: McDuffie / Wright | Art: Guice / Willaims / Wright

We don’t see Deathlok very much in the second issue. In fact, besides the opening picture depicting the previous brain being removed from the shell, he features just once, in a bold Jesus Christ pose, and even then he’s inactive.

Instead, we get a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes at Cybertek, and learn a little more about the folks that built (and hope to control) the deadly cyborg. Within that setting, the clever wording of the title is apparent.

Outside of that we meet Michael and Tracy, an adult couple with a young child (Nick) that enables the writers to introduce themes of morality and social values, which will no doubt play a greater role in future story lines.

A word of caution: after the Deathlok strip ends, there's a written Q+A with the creators. It's either taken from a different source, or the creators weren't told that it would be placed next to the character's origin story. As such, the answers assume a familiarity with how Deathlok develops later in his evolution. To say there are massive spoilers for what's to come is a major understatement.

Havoc 01

⭐ Issue Number 1 - Dated 13th July, 1991 ⭐
STARMEN  ●  HOT-HEADS  ●  ICE MAIDENS  ●  CYBORGS  ●  BARBARIANS

“Today’s test is a simple one. Twelve top mercenaries versus Deathlok. He will be carrying a gun that fires harmless paint pellets. To make things interesting, the mercenaries will be carrying real weapons."

☆ Deathlok: Test Run ☆

Script: McDuffie / Wright | Art: Guice / Wright

It begins with an origin story. The angry looking cover star Deathlok is referred to as the "ultimate war machine".

Like a walking corpse with metallic limbs, it's the brain of a respected Colonel housed inside a high-tech cyborg body.

Anyone who's ever read an action comic or watched a science fiction movie before will maybe have predicted by now that something happens to make the cyborg slave's programming go awry, leading to independent thought.

With just eight pages of story for the character in the first issue, we learn very little about the cybernetics program, its creators or controllers, and even less about the man whose brain sits inside the casing, Colonel John Kelly.

But it ends on a cliff-hanger, effectively setting a hook with the kind of bait that's served anthology comics well for years before Havoc came along, and still does today.