⭐ Issue Number 9 - Dated 7th September, 1991 ⭐
A GLISTENING FULL METAL JACKET ISSUE!
- Police psychologists suggest that the creature is the product of mass psychosis, and is actually nothing more than an urban myth. -
☆ Deathlok: Jesus Saves: Part One ☆
Script: McDuffie / Wright | Art: Guice / Williams
The quote above is from The Daily Bugle, Marvel's most used fictional New York newspaper. Events in part one of a new arc for Deathlok take place on the streets of Coney Island, Brooklyn. The 'creature' referred to is him.
Even if his presence on the streets hadn't been reported on page one of the tabloid, his appearance would be a dead giveaway, even from afar. To maintain anonymity he moves in the shadows, incognito, in a long coat and hat.
For the average citizen the streets of Coney Island are dangerous after dark. But for the cybernetically enhanced anti-hero it's an opportunity to do some good, to use his skills to protect the innocent from the aggressors.
Once again, a resemblance to how Todd McFarlane's Spawn would develop is unmistakable. It's possible that some ideas were 'borrowed' from Deathlok's evolution.
It's unclear thus far if being a protector of the innocent on city streets is to be his eventual true calling, or if it's a temporary occurrence that gives him a feeling of necessary purpose before moving onto his ultimate goal of stopping the Roxxon Corporation making more cyborgs.
I can't discern exactly what's happening to Deathlok on the cover art, but it's got nothing to do with the story.
There's a lot of RoboCop in the issue. Before his strip begins there's a feature on the RoboCop 3 (1993) movie that was due to be released the following year, but didn't appear until 1993 in the US and 1994 in the UK. After that there's a feature on the comic book version of the character, including the original movie's adaptation.
The second part of the Vigilante storyline kicks off with thugs on hovering motorbikes searching for a victim to terrorise. It's a microcosm of what's happening in the wider Detroit area. With multiple gangs spreading fear and assaulting citizens, and the police nowhere to be seen, it's no surprise that masked vigilantism is on the rise.
TV news reports reinforce (and therefore exacerbate) the situation. While they're no doubt vying for viewing figures above all else, the focus is a response to the lack of confidence in the city's police force by its citizens. RoboCop does his duty, but he's just one guy, and the top brass don't always see things the same as the man on the streets.
Afterwards there's a third Robo related feature, this time on the strip's primary illustrator, Lee Sullivan.
Is it referring to the literal dark, as in the absence of light, or the dark that resides in men's hearts? I don't know. Maybe both. But the story is one of violence and vengeance, so tonally is pretty darn dark.
The gang that stole the briefcase (The Cypress Pool Jokers) flee on foot, while the villains pursue in cars - life is like that. When Ghost Rider appears, it's in style. Penciler Javier Saltares splits the page vertically down the middle, with the entire left side devoted to just one panel. It's in that space that the transformed Danny Ketch explodes into the story. The right side of the same page is five variously sized smaller panels showing the villains' frenzied response.
The barbarian's new female friend continues her fireside story, and the reader learns both the truth of the gem and why the Falcon Brotherhood want to get their hands on it so badly. There's a lot of dialogue in the strip, which is unusual, but I can't recall the last time I saw the word "prognostication" used in a comic book, so credit for that.
Thereafter the clichés stack up: events move to a bawdy tavern, which is a staple of Sword and Sorcery world-building, there's a beautiful woman with hips to die for, some secret dealings, and a fierce tavern brawl. Nevertheless, it manages to be entertaining in a very genre-specific way. Although it ends in an atypical one.
Part Nine is mostly a giant space battle, which could've been tedious to read, but Simonson's creative use of panels continues to elevate the Star Slammers story. The text panels are localised, but the pictures reach beyond its central characters, showing the entirety of the battle, capturing the chaos of war - in space, that means an enemy can come at you from all sides, including above and below. There's a nice balance of Close Ups and Long Shots and the action is explosive. But there's a feeling that even if they win the battle, it may not mean ultimate peace for the Slammers.
Sadly, Issue 09 was the last ever issue of Havoc; the publication folded leaving its featured strips unfinished, meaning UK readers never found out if Deathlok achieved his personal mission, if RoboCop was able to rid the streets of vigilantes, if Barb ever recovered in Ghost Rider or what was in the mysterious canisters, if Conan ever did anything that wasn't Conan-esque, or, most annoyingly for me, if The Star Slammers managed to defeat their long-time enemy.
The usual NEXT WEEK panel was present in the letters page, suggesting that the cancellation was decided upon at short notice. With no notice given, I travelled to the store as normal to buy Issue 10 but it simply wasn't there. Nor was it there the next day, etc. And with no internet in those days to report on the demise, I'd no way of knowing what had happened. I still don't know, but I'm okay with that. (By the way, it mentions that the T-shirts were sourced from Titan Merch, so I was probably wrong about them being the comic's own logo. Oh, well.)
Revisiting the comic's entire run hasn't been as much fun as I thought it might be, but I enjoy the feeling of nostalgia and it's good to see that Marvel UK was trying to do something non-spandex for its audience. That last remark is probably Havoc's best legacy.
It's unclear thus far if being a protector of the innocent on city streets is to be his eventual true calling, or if it's a temporary occurrence that gives him a feeling of necessary purpose before moving onto his ultimate goal of stopping the Roxxon Corporation making more cyborgs.
I can't discern exactly what's happening to Deathlok on the cover art, but it's got nothing to do with the story.
☆ RoboCop: Vigilante: Part Two ☆
Script: Alan Grant | Art: Sullivan / DeMulder / White
There's a lot of RoboCop in the issue. Before his strip begins there's a feature on the RoboCop 3 (1993) movie that was due to be released the following year, but didn't appear until 1993 in the US and 1994 in the UK. After that there's a feature on the comic book version of the character, including the original movie's adaptation.
The second part of the Vigilante storyline kicks off with thugs on hovering motorbikes searching for a victim to terrorise. It's a microcosm of what's happening in the wider Detroit area. With multiple gangs spreading fear and assaulting citizens, and the police nowhere to be seen, it's no surprise that masked vigilantism is on the rise.
TV news reports reinforce (and therefore exacerbate) the situation. While they're no doubt vying for viewing figures above all else, the focus is a response to the lack of confidence in the city's police force by its citizens. RoboCop does his duty, but he's just one guy, and the top brass don't always see things the same as the man on the streets.
Afterwards there's a third Robo related feature, this time on the strip's primary illustrator, Lee Sullivan.
☆ Ghost Rider: Do Be Afraid of the Dark ☆
Script: Mackie | Art: Saltares / Texeira / Wright
Is it referring to the literal dark, as in the absence of light, or the dark that resides in men's hearts? I don't know. Maybe both. But the story is one of violence and vengeance, so tonally is pretty darn dark.
The gang that stole the briefcase (The Cypress Pool Jokers) flee on foot, while the villains pursue in cars - life is like that. When Ghost Rider appears, it's in style. Penciler Javier Saltares splits the page vertically down the middle, with the entire left side devoted to just one panel. It's in that space that the transformed Danny Ketch explodes into the story. The right side of the same page is five variously sized smaller panels showing the villains' frenzied response.
☆ Conan: Barbarian Death Song: Part Two ☆
Plot + Art: Buscema / Gil | Dialogue: Fleisher
The barbarian's new female friend continues her fireside story, and the reader learns both the truth of the gem and why the Falcon Brotherhood want to get their hands on it so badly. There's a lot of dialogue in the strip, which is unusual, but I can't recall the last time I saw the word "prognostication" used in a comic book, so credit for that.
Thereafter the clichés stack up: events move to a bawdy tavern, which is a staple of Sword and Sorcery world-building, there's a beautiful woman with hips to die for, some secret dealings, and a fierce tavern brawl. Nevertheless, it manages to be entertaining in a very genre-specific way. Although it ends in an atypical one.
☆ The Star Slammers: Part Nine ☆
Script + Art: Walter Simonson
Part Nine is mostly a giant space battle, which could've been tedious to read, but Simonson's creative use of panels continues to elevate the Star Slammers story. The text panels are localised, but the pictures reach beyond its central characters, showing the entirety of the battle, capturing the chaos of war - in space, that means an enemy can come at you from all sides, including above and below. There's a nice balance of Close Ups and Long Shots and the action is explosive. But there's a feeling that even if they win the battle, it may not mean ultimate peace for the Slammers.
The usual NEXT WEEK panel was present in the letters page, suggesting that the cancellation was decided upon at short notice. With no notice given, I travelled to the store as normal to buy Issue 10 but it simply wasn't there. Nor was it there the next day, etc. And with no internet in those days to report on the demise, I'd no way of knowing what had happened. I still don't know, but I'm okay with that. (By the way, it mentions that the T-shirts were sourced from Titan Merch, so I was probably wrong about them being the comic's own logo. Oh, well.)
Revisiting the comic's entire run hasn't been as much fun as I thought it might be, but I enjoy the feeling of nostalgia and it's good to see that Marvel UK was trying to do something non-spandex for its audience. That last remark is probably Havoc's best legacy.
- End -
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