#Denys Cowan Artist

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

THE DREAD FACE OF HIGH GRADE MILITARY SCI-FI IN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE.

PIC(S) INFO: Resolution at 1294x2000 (2x) -- Spotlight on a Deathlok color guide by Noelle Giddings, c. 2022. A xeroxed copy of Denys Cowan's original pencil and inks on paper mounted to a foam core board.

Source: www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1846078 (Comic Art Fans 2x).

[aboutzatanna]

'Daughter of the Golden Age'. Nice.

(Although there are more than a few characters who csn fit that title its still pretty cool.)

Daughter of the Golden Age

Denys Cowan

[longwuzhere]

For those in the US we got an election coming up and some people might think trump and the republican's project 2025 is not a big deal when in reality it is extremely problematic for everyone. Some of my favorite comic artists and writers like Greg Pak, Gene Ha, Cheryl Lynn Eaton, Cully Hamner, Denys Cowan, Scott Dunbier, Matt Fraction, Mike Henderson, Steve Lieber, Jeff Parker, Greg Rucka, and Lilah Sturges, have taken their time to make this comic project breaking down why project 2025's policies are not only fascistic, but also will strip away a lot of rights for everyone. please give this a read and with this link here if you are old enough there should be a button where you can register to vote so you can help stop trump, the republicans, and project 2025 from happening.

[forever-mandarina]

Some previews of the DC comics in December 2024 (Final Part).

Wonder Woman #16 Cover E: JeeHyung Lee Card Stock Variant

Wonder Woman Vol 6 #16 Cover A Regular Daniel Sampere Cover

Wonder Woman #16 Cover C Bruno Redondo Card Stock Variant

New Gods Vol 5 #1 Cover B Variant Evan Cagle Card Stock Cover

The New Gods #1 Cover C Pete Woods Card Stock Variant

The New Gods #1 Cover E Carmine Di Giandomenico Card Stock Variant

Milestone Universe The Shadow Cabinet #2 Cover A Regular Denys Cowan Cover

Little Batman Month One #2 Cover by Jon Mikel

Metamorpho The Element Man #1 Cover A Regular Steve Lieber Cover

Nightwing #121 Cover B Dan Panosian Card Stock Variant

Plastic Man No More #4 Cover A Regular Alex Lins Cover

Plastic Man No More! #4 Cover B Alex Eckman-Lawn Variant

Poison Ivy #28 Cover A Regular Jessica Fong Cover

Poison Ivy #28 Cover B Jenny Frison Card Stock Variant

Poison Ivy #28 Cover C Pablo Villalobos Card Stock Variant

Poison Ivy #28 Cover D David Nakayama Artist Spotlight Card Stock Variant

Power Girl Vol 3 #16 Cover A Regular Yanick Paquette Cover

Power Girl Vol 3 #16 Cover B Variant Miguel Mercado Card Stock Cover

Power Girl Vol 3 #16 Cover C Variant Terry Dodson & Rachel Dodson Card Stock Cover

Question All Along The Watchtower #2 Cover A Regular Cian Tormey Cover

Superman Vol 7 #21 Cover A Regular Dan Mora Cover

Superman Vol 7 #21 Cover C Variant Dave Johnson Card Stock Cover

Superwoman Special #1 (One Shot) Cover B Variant Dave Wilkins Card Stock Cover

Superwoman Special #1 (One Shot) Cover C Variant Elizabeth Torque Card Stock Cover

Superwoman Special #1 Cover E: Mark Spears Card Stock Variant

Titans #18 Cover C Vasco Georgiev Card Stock Variant

Two-Face #1 Cover C Chris Samnee Card Stock Variant

Two-Face #1 Cover D  Leonardo Romero Card Stock Variant

[thecomicsnexus]

THE QUESTION #17-18

June 1988 By Dennis O'Neil , Denys Cowan, Rick Magyar, Tatjana Wood, Willie Schubert, and Bill Sienkiewicz.

The Questions goes to Seattle, following some dangerous arm dealers, and crosses paths with Green Arrow.

SCORE: 6

Yes, this is the one where Vic reads the first edition of Watchmen (a book I used to own).

But apart from the homage to Rorschach in this story, it kind of feels like a fever dream, with Vic and Ollie exchanging quotes with each other.

The art is definitely the best part of this book, and I think Denys Cowan really knows how to draw martial artists.

But there is another surprise here, Willie Schubert. His lettering has a certain style that just screams comic books to me, and I really liked it.

In any case, while this book is generally speaking above average, this story felt below to me.

[dailyjsa]

All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant #1

Writer: John Ostrander

Artist: Denys Cowan

Inker: John Floyd

Colors: Noelle Giddings

[cantsayidont]

July 1983 to October 1986. In 1983, DC lured Doug Moench away from Marvel and books like MASTER OF KUNG FU and MOON KNIGHT to take over BATMAN and DETECTIVE COMICS under the editorship of Len Wein. Their run, which lasted 40 months, was the final phase of the Bronze Age Batman continuity; although it continued for some months after the end of CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, everything through DETECTIVE COMICS #566 and BATMAN #400 is functionally part of pre-Crisis continuity, in particular most anything to do with Jason Todd becoming the second Robin. (Jason debuted during the end of Gerry Conway's run in early 1983, but it was Moench and Wein who oversaw Jason's actually becoming Robin.)

From 1981 to 1986, there was a tight continuity between BATMAN and DETECTIVE COMICS: a story begun in one book would continue in the other two weeks later. This was something new for Batman; there had been occasional multi-issue storylines for years, and Steve Englehart and Len Wein had introduced a certain amount of Marvel-style continuity in the late '70s, but having around 40 story pages per month allowed more room for character-driven stories, supporting characters, and subplots. When Doug Moench arrived, a central focus was on leading up to Jason Todd becoming Robin, but there were also numerous other major and minor subplots, from Alfred's attempts to connect with his adult daughter, Julia Remarque (introduced by Conway in 1981), to Gotham's messy city politics and various deadly underworld power struggles.

In MASTER OF KUNG FU, Moench's signature storytelling preoccupation had been "kinky weirdos hurting each other's feelings," and his initial run on the Bat-books also featured a series of messy, sometimes bloody romantic triangles, the most important of which involved Batman; the now-reformed Catwoman; Nocturna (Natalia Knight), a pretentious Goth burglar who attempted to adopt Jason Todd; and Nocturna's adoptive brother Anton, who became a cat burglar out of deranged obsession with Natalia and later tried to kill her so no one else could have her. It was all very grandiose and inevitably somewhat florid, but then expecting gritty, understated realism from a comic book about a man who fights crime dressed as a bat is itself pretty silly.

The strongest story in this run actually has little to do with that soap opera: "What Price the Prize?" in BATMAN #372, is an intelligent, grounded drama about an up-and-coming young Irish boxer maneuvering for a bout with a Black champion obviously inspired by Muhammad Ali, featuring some of Don Newton's finest Batman art; the conclusion in DETECTIVE #539 isn't quite as sharp, but is still one of Moench's best. Other highlights include a clash with Catman (BATMAN #371/DETECTIVE #538) in which Thomas Blake's determined belief in the magical power of his costume nearly gets both him and Batman killed over and over; a wistful story about the private life and hidden depths of boorish Harvey Bullock (DETECTIVE #549); a delightful one-shot (BATMAN #383) in which Batman repeatedly tries and fails to get some sleep; the debut of Black Mask (BATMAN #385–386 and DETECTIVE #553); a comedic tale of Batman and Catwoman on an actual date, in costume (BATMAN #392); and a distinctly '80s-Bondian espionage adventure reuniting Moench and artist Paul Gulacy (BATMAN #393–394).

Artistically, the run got off to a good start with Don Newton on BATMAN (inked by Alfredo Alcala) and Gene Colan on DETECTIVE (generally inked by Bob Smith). Newton's departure in 1984 hurt, leading to a period of artistic musical chairs and some really bad early Pat Broderick art, followed by Tom Mandrake taking over BATMAN. Mandrake gets a bad rap in some quarters, mostly because his style is looser (and about two steps further in the direction of Gene Colan) than many comics fans care to tolerate, but his work here is mostly fine, and certainly an improvement over Broderick's. The Annual has some very nice early Denys Cowan pencils, inked by Alcala, and BATMAN #400 is an all-star extravaganza art-wise.

Maddeningly, DC has never properly reprinted a lot of this material, which I think is badly overdue. If it's not as epochal as some more familiar periods both before and after, the median level of quality is pretty decent (and certainly no worse than the 1987–1991 period, which has now been reprinted in its entirety); its emphasis on characterization wouldn't be matched again in the Batman titles for many years. Denny O'Neil supposedly hated much of what Moench had done (Moench has said O'Neil especially loathed Nocturna, whom he flatly refused to revive in any form), but Denny is dead now, and in any case, his Batman stories include their share of stinkers as well as gems. I don't know that DC has any kind of real reprint strategy anymore, but I hope they won't wait until Doug Moench is dead to properly remaster and collect these issues. Doing them all (BATMAN #360–400 and Annual #10, DETECTIVE #527–567) in something akin to Marvel's Epic Collection format would probably take four volumes — there's around 1,800 pages of material, more if you include Moench's Superman/Batman stories from WORLD'S FINEST — but why not?

[geekcavepodcast]

"DC Power" Returns for 2024

DC Power is an anthology from DC Comics that pays tribute to DC's black super heroes. The comic is a 104-page prestige format one-shot.

DC Power will contain new stories, as well as the epilogue to Far Sector from writer N.K. Jemisin and artist Jamal Campbell, which will show the first meeting between Green Lanterns Sojourner "Jo" Mullein and John Stewart. In addition to Jemisin and Campbell, other creatives for DC Power include writers John Ridley, Brandon Thomas, Lamar Giles, Shawn Martinbrough, Cheryl Lynn Eaton, and Alitha Martinez, and artists Edwin Galmon, Khary Randolph, Denys Cowan, Tony Akins, Asiah Fulmore, and more. Characters featured in the anthology include The Signal, The Spectre / Crispus Allen, Thunder and Lightning / Anissa and Jennifer Pierce, Bloodwynd, Val-Zod / Superman of Earth-2, Nubia, and more.

DC Power goes on sale on January 30, 2023. The comic features a card stock main cover from Chase Conley and card-stock variant covers by Jamal Campbell and Denys Cowan.

(Image via DC Comics - Chase Conley's Cover of DC Power)

[katesprince]

Renee Montoya|The Question reading guide

Gotham Central by Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker

The question by Denny O Neil and Denys Cowan

52 (not new 52) by various writers and artists

Crime bible five lessons of blood

The Question Blackest Night

The question pipeline (the best Renee story)

Convergence The Question

Lois lane by Greg rucka

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking down the comics: A New Past (Vol 3, Issue 1-3)

Marc Spector: Moon Knight Vol 3

So this follows right after the OG run. We left behind Moench and Zelenetz. 

Now we run into a new group of writers and artists. 

Writers: 

Chuck Dixon, Mike Baron, Howard Mackie, J.M. DeMatteis, Al Milgrom, and Bruce Jones

Artists: 

Sal Velluto, Bill Reinhold, Russ Heath, Mark Bagley, Ron Garney, J.J. Birch, and Denys Cowan. 

A whole group of names that aren't that common place. Which is a pity because they did an alright job! 

When you look at the Omnibus, you also get a content warning! 

"This content contains Depictions of racism, sexual assault and suicide. Reader discretion is advised. If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, please reach out to a counselor or someone you trust or Dial 988 for the suicide and crisis lifeline." 

A bit of history: The crisis line was created in January 2005. 

Since the first Marc Spector story came out in June 1989, it's safe to say this is a late Marvel addition. Hidden in moderate font on the credits page. This Omnibus book was published in 2023. A lot of new books that contain old content contain these new warnings. 

I highly respect the Marvel publishers for the singular reason that when they re-released older content, they recognized the problems in them and rather than correct, censor, or hide them, they kept it as a piece of history and slapped a content warning on there. 

ANOTHER interesting fact, when looking at the Omnibus, you get to see the dates. This series of Moon Knight ran from June 1989 through 1994. 

It was ongoing and takes place after the West Coast Avengers, which technically took place directly after Zelenetz left, but I'm going to skip over that for now. 

I doubt very much I will really cover West Coast Avengers (1987-1989, starting with issue #21 and ending with Issue #41). I might touch on it a bit later, but I was never really a fan. Plus he mostly just kinda pops in silently in the background with most of them. 

Now, this was an interesting time in the comics. The early 90s saw things take a drastic turn towards EXTREME. The 90s were a new target audience, a new decade, and the world was changing. 

The cold war came to an end at the end of 1991, but the Gulf War started in 1990. 

Comics were suddenly competing with and trying to get a foot in on Television, which was suddenly a household thing and latch-key kids wanted something to hold their attention. 

Now, the Marc Spector series has recently been released in Omnibus volumes. Vol 1 holds issues 1-34 with excerpts from Amazing Spider-Man #353-358 and specials including 'Divided We Fall'

Terry Kavanagh kicks off with Omnibus Vol 2 and that name should start to look more familiar. He worked on Spider-Man for a long time and X-men along with Avengers, Iron Man, and a lot of big crossovers. 

Vol 2 holds Issues 25-60, a Moon Knight special, more Spider-Man crossover "Web of Spider-Man #93-94, and some Moon Knight from 1998-1999!  (The Omnibus comes out this March 5th, 2024 if you're a collector!) Since it's not out yet, I'm going to be starting with Vol 1 for now. 

What's interesting is that the series 'Marc Spector' ends with Marc's 'death'. 

So what happens to Moon Knight after that? The king himself, Moench returns to resurrect Marc Spector for a second time in a 4 issue special. 

In fact, Moench returns for the whole Moon Knight Vol 4 and 5 (1998-1999) mini series, each one 4 issues long. 

Things had to be fixed after how it all ended, after all. 

I'll cover the Moench specials later. 

I’ll be honest. I’ve been putting off the 90s runs. The 90s were not exactly my cup of tea when it came to Marvel comics. I was more of a Batman fan (with a few notable exceptions). But as I’ve mentioned many times… My memory is pretty shit so maybe I’ll get into it and be happily surprised and enjoy myself more than I think I will.

 So let’s get into it! 

Let's start with Issue #1! 

Marc Spector: Moon Knight. Issue #1: New Moon. 

Written by Charles Dixon

Art by Sal Velluto

We open on Long Island. We see someone doing a 3am diaper run and stopping at an ATM first. 

Two thugs sit in a car on the corner waiting. They spot the poor sleepy dad and decide he'd make a nice cash grab. 

They hold him up at gun point and demand he take out the max. 

Well... One holds him at gun point. The other rips the door off the man's car for some reason. 

Hey look, It's our man! 

Now, remember, Moon Knight has been out of New York for a while with the West Coast Avengers. We're picking up here right after he left them. 

Moon Knight casts his shadow on the villains. 

"You boys forget your bank cards?" 

"It's a ghost!" 

"I've been away too long. You guys don't even recognize me." 

"It ain't no ghost, Rocket scientist. But he's gonna be one." 

Title card: NEW MOON. Beginning a new series chronicling the adventures of Marc Spector.

You know, the art here really brings to mind early Sienkiewicz Moon Knight. The dramatic leap that leaves his ass out. The awkward stances, the action kicks, the clenched fists... Maybe the poses are a LITTLE more awkward than Bill gave Marc credit for, but I'm loving the clean lines and shading. 

Plus, Do I spy a crescent dart upgrade!?

Marc quips “After all of the high-powered weirdos I fought with the West Coast Avengers… It's good to be back on home turf kicking the rear ends of a few AVERAGE lowlifes!"  

Marc has always loved beating on common thugs. He so often fights supernatural brutal muscle bound villains. When he gets a casual robbery, he’s almost giddy. 

Notice I’m saying Marc here a lot. 

When Moon Knight joined the Avengers on the West Coast, we did not see any sign of Jake or Steven. We know from the OG run that Jake doesn’t leave New York. And I suspect that Steven has never played well with the Avengers or team ups of that sort. 

Perhaps we had Moon Knight as himself, but it’s clear from the title of this series that we’re going to be getting Marc Spector himself and the writers that will be working on this are most likely not comfortable working with Friendly and Loving Jake and Generous and glitzy Steven. Of course the wild and extreme early 90s is going to focus on Marc. And thus we start down the LONG and drawn out Moon Knight tradition of forgetting that he has DID with other Alters and not just Schizophrenia with a ‘pretend’ identity crisis. 

But I’m going to take this down a different path and we’re going to look at this as Marc falling into the trap of his usual denial and trying to get his life together by holding front so hard that you’d have to literally pry it out of his cold dead fingers (ha ha, we’ll get to that later). 

Anyways, back to the comic. The thugs are subdued and the poor sleepy dad man thanks him "You're Moonbeam, aren't you?" 

"Moon KNIGHT, pal. I have been out of New York too long." 

Marc ties up the thugs and tells the guy to wait there for the cups. He radioed ahead to them before he dropped in. 

The chopper arrives and Marc gets on the ladder and takes off with the most awkward: 

"There they are now. Take it easy, Citizen." and he salutes. 

Yeah.... It's Marc. Without a doubt... No one could be that awkward but Marc... 

On the chopper, Frenchie has also taken note of the moment. 

"'Take it easy, Citizen?'"

"Aw, lighten up, Frenchie." 

Marc takes off the mask and relaxes back next to Frenchie in a really weirdly designed chopper that looks more like a hover car than anything... But sure. Upgrades! 

"Y'know, Frenchie... I think the guy I saved down there was more afraid of me than those hoods." 

"Is that not the reason for the costume?" 

"Sure. But I don't want the innocent to fear me." 

"The innocent will fear you most of all." 

"I should have shaved. This mask chafes my face something awful." 

Marc... 

It is very nice to see them actually talking, though. You never got to see Marc and Frenchie actually be the friends they were supposed to be. And Marc is never more relaxed than when he's with Frenchie and they can talk about the past without worry. 

"Crime fighting doesn't seem to suit you these days, frenchie." 

"It is a waste of our talents, Marc. We could have easily strafed those dogs out of existence." 

"We're not mercenaries anymore. We can't just make things up as we go along. We've got rules in this country, m'man." 

"Then I do not like the rules." 

"Live it or live with it, Frenchie." 

Now this is interesting because this is the first time that we really get a feel for what Frenchie thinks of all of this superhero business. 

We know Frenchie was a Legionnaire, we know he was a very GOOD mercenary that helped recruit Marc in the first place, and that his talents are with vehicles. 

We also know that Frenchie had strong opinions on the work he took (as seen in the very first issue when he came to Marc to complain about Bushman's sketchy business). 

But Frenchie ALSO was very attached to Marc and followed him without question. 

So here we have Frenchie noting that picking on thugs is far below what they are both capable of. 

Just an interesting tidbit. 

Another interesting tidbit is that we see the Mooncopter landing back at Grand Mansion and Marc notes that he was able to buy it back after returning from West Coast Avengers. 

"At TWICE the amount you sold it for, Marc." 

"You're on my case tonight, Frenchie." 

We get a little map of where the mansion is on Long Island and that the current Market Value is $5,890,000. Which.... In today's currency is: $14,649,807.50 today!!!!!! 

Here’s a pretty cool design of the mansion with fun facts! 

Now what's interesting is that we see Marc returning to an empty mansion. Just him and Frenchie. No Marlene. No Samules the Butler or Nedda the cook. 

The phone rings from an unlisted number and when he answers, no one says anything. 

Angrily, he hangs up and we get a view of a woman on the other line saying "He's home. We got the right number." 

This explains why we are getting blueprints of the moonchopper and the mansion and map of Long Island. Someone's looking for Marc.

Marc does Marc things and wanders the mansion a bit and starts talking to the Khonshu statue. 

It's time for the Marc Spector Recap of how he became Moon Knight! (remember, this is issue #1 so it's a good place for new readers to pick up a new comic. You'll often find recaps and deep character introductions in 1st issues.) 

"Past four in the morning and all the sane people are in bed. It's all YOUR fault, Khonshu. You got me into this. God of the moon, taker of vengeance.

Actually I got me into this when I hooked up with that crazy Bushman back in my mercenary days. Now THERE was a prime psycho.

Killing is a part of any war, but Bushman got off on it. I tagged along until he killed Dr. Peter Alraune, an American archaeologist, and it looked like his daughter was next. 

I helped Marlene escape and then challenged Bushman in hand to hand combat. Not one of my brighter ideas.

He left me for dead and he was just about right! Somehow I managed to make it to the digs that the doctor was trying to protect... The Shrine of Khonshu. 

Marlene tells me I 'Died' there and was revived by the spirit of Khonshu. 

I wrapped myself in Khonshu's shroud and, from that night on, I took on the mantle of Moon Knight." 

Oh Marc... You would tell it like that. 

Marc heads up stairs to bed (tossing his cape on the stairs as he goes) and when he enters his room someone jumps at him. 

Marc fends them off, elbowing them and then flipping them onto the bed. 

Oh hey! It's Marlene! 

And she's already half undressed. Welcome to the 90s! 

"You play a little rough, cowboy. I think you broke one of my nails." 

"What did you expect sneaking in here like that?" 

"Well, there was no one home. I thought I'd surprise you." 

"Mission accomplished, Baby." 

"Not so easy the way you have this place wired. But my sneaking skills needed a workout anyway, so...I thought I'd come see you. It's been so long, and I thought I'd take a chance..." 

And the two goof off a bit then we have implied hanky-panky as the scene cuts away. 

I have well known mixed feelings about Marlene. And with Marc now running the show, it's interesting that she'd come back, considering her feelings on Marc vs. Steven. More interesting that he left her behind. 

We cut to Manhattan and find two guys in Hawaiian shirts at a large computer terminal (gotta love those 1980s thick monitors). They're celebrating because: 

"We got this Moon Knight guy blued, stewed and tattooed! We know more about him than he knows about himself, Tector! 

Yuh done good, little brother. You worked some real magic with that keyboard. Our bossman is gonna be so proud." 

And the boss steps in, asking if they have found him yet. 

"Tector's digging up more data on his home security system. So far it looks like a hummer! Bet the Kremlin in Russia ain't got so fine a wire job, boss." 

And we pan out to find the boss: 

Alright, he’s upped his style and given himself a new title. I appreciate the new look. They kept it authentic to the original Bushman and also added in their own artistic style and I dig it. Not sure about the new outfit, but who am I to tell our delusional bad guy how to dress? 

"I want projections on the best way to approach Moon Knight. I want his weaknesses exposed to me. This information is vital to my nation's security, Lyle. You will have it by morning." 

Good to see he's still absolutely obsessed with Marc. 

And that since we are starting Marc Spector Issue 1, we are going back to the original with Marc's own personal villain, Bushman. 

I have a lot to say about Bushman, and I'll save it for the end. So stick around! 

Back at Spector Mansion...

It actually says "Spector Mansion." 

Another interesting detail because the OG ALWAYS called it Grant Mansion. 

Marlene wakes up to find Marc working out in his gym. 

"You know, Marc, I'm kind of surprised you're still doing the Moon Knight thing." 

"You have a problem with that, Marlene?" 

"Why do you do it?" 

"I want to do like that dog says on TV. 'Take a bite out of crime'." 

(Scruff McGruff. You were a weird part of my childhood). 

They argue about letting the police do the work and Marc argues that the police can't be everywhere and do everything. 

(That style though.) 

"You used to fight a more noble battle." 

"I was a Mercenary, for cryin' out loud." 

"Don't play the cynic with me. You weren't in it for the cash. If you were you wouldn't have pitched in on the losing side so often." 

"I LIKE long odds." 

"You're impossible!" 

"And YOU are getting more like Frenchie. I get the feeling I'm outnumbered around here." 

This is an interesting conversation we keep getting here from both Marlene and Frenchie. That they think he was better as a Mercenary but he argues that his Mercenary work was not good for him. 

Marc says he's starving but that he gave the cook the week off. 

Marlene asks how Nedda is. 

"Oh, I retired her to my condo in Boca Raton. I never go there anyway. Chloe's the new cook." 

"What's she like?" 

"Not terribly attractive. She's older than Moses and has a mustache that Frenchie's jealous of." 

"Marc, you're terrible." 

And then Chloe walks in unexpectedly. 

(Alright. It’s going to be like that. Welcome to the 90s.) 

Yep. 

Down in the chopper area, we find Marc now working on the chopper for once. 

Come to think of it, in the OG, it was ALWAYS Frenchie up working on the chopper. But then again, it was always Steven at the mansion. Now that Marc is out and about, he's the one tinkering about. 

"YOu're working down here late, Marc. Didn't I see Marlene earlier?" 

"Sure did, Frenchie. We have resumed our stormy relationship. She got an eyeful of Chloe and I sent her packing off to the mall with my goldcard to smooth things over." 

"Americans... You fight with your women because you don't know how to love them." 

Ah, Frenchie... 

They are interrupted by a frantic call on the radio from Marlene. She's driving on the highway and she's "Under attack"! 

I am pleased that the writers remembered that Marlene knows how to handle herself. She was trained by Marc, after all. She can shoot, fight, and drive. She’s no damsel in distress. 

Marc shows up and finds the car empty. He attacks the remaining gun-men and demands to know where Marlene is. 

"Spector, are you STILL parading about in that ridiculous costume?" 

"You're one to talk about taste in clothes, Bushman." 

"Amusing, Spector, you always were a glub one." 

Bushman holds Marlene at knife point (Speaking of damsel in distress) and demands that Marc meet up with him later tonight to find out what his demands are. 

He then shoots one of his own men just to prove the point that he's still a vicious cold blooded killer, then he drives off in a classy car with Marlene. 

Marc is...less than happy about this. 

"You're a dead man, Bushman. You just don't know it yet." 

TO BE CONTINUED. 

I’m not going to make you wait. Here you go!

Marc Spector, Moon Knight: Issue #2: Hunter’s Moon. 

Written by: Charles Dixon

Art by: Sal Velluto

Alright, Apparently Spider-Man is going to be in this one. This is going to be interesting. 

We open back up in Manhattan. 

We got three nerdy looking guys on a roof across from the Excelsior (Fancy hotel) with a telescope spying on the guests. 

While fighting over the 'scope, they happen to catch a glimpse of 'a ghost'. 

Yeah, he's being real sneaky there. 

So there he is... at the Embassy of the Republic of Burunda. This is Bushman's new country that he has made himself 'President' of. 

Marc notes the place looks pretty well armored and guarded. He has Frenchie up in the sky as usual. 

"I'm WAY behind on my current events. I didn't know that Bushman had set himself up as the strongman in Burunda." 

"I saw it on sixty minutes. Forgot to tell you." 

Frenchie suggests waiting for Bushman to call and tell him what he wants, since they aren't even sure if Bushman has Marlene in the embassy. 

Marc says Bushman enjoys always having the edge, including diplomatic immunity. There's no way he's going to wait. 

Hey look, the tech brothers from before are back! 

They have caught sight of Moon Knight on their CCTV cams. 

Bushman decides to send Marc a message. 

"Spector must be discouraged from coming near the embassy again. He must meet my demands without question. Is that CLear, Mister Glitch?" 

While Marc tries to track someone leaving the Embassy, Bushman sends his personal bodyguards after him. 

HEY. Remember the warning at the top of this collected run? The one about racism and other things? 

He puts up a fight, telling Frenchie to stay on the guy leaving the embassy. 

Marc puts up a fight and jumps around building to building until he gets ahead. 

Spider-man happens to be swinging by and notices Marc's group. 

"Now there's something you don't see everyday... A bunch of guys dressed like Tarzan extras running into central park after midnight." 

Spider-man follows and good ol' Peter Parker takes out the camera to catch some shots of Moon Knight in action. 

"They seem to be after the one in the cape. Might as well take some pictures to sell to the paper. This guy sure doesn't need MY help. Say "Cheese" everybody." 

Marc takes out the last of the group and continues his chase. 

"Moon Knight, huh? I thought he was in California. Well, off to the darkroom. And thanks for the help with the rent, Moonie!" 

And Spider-man heads out. 

(I've talked about 'special guest appearances' in comics before. It's a big show to get people to buy and read the comic and try to convince new fans to come in. You're lucky if they are in the comic for half a page.) 

Marc is back on the tail of the guy and he meets up with him. 

He tells the guy they need to talk and then...He knocks him out with knockout gas. Wh...Why? 

Maybe the guy wanted to talk? Why are you knocking out and kidnapping a guy before you even find out if he has the info you need?! 

....Back at the Embassy, we find Marlene is inside and not happy. 

People forget that while Marc has a grudge and hate of Bushman, Marlene is the one whose father was killed by him. 

He tells Marlene that he's a man of the people, HIS people, and unfortunately his people are very poor. It seems he expects Marc to fix that situation. 

Back to Marc and his poor decision making skills... 

We find the man he's kidnapped waking up... and dangling upside down from the moon chopper. 

Not going to lie, his little wave in that first panel is sending me. 

So it seems Bushman wants ten million dollars. Lemme just get the conversion calculator out: $25,456,099.59. 

Yeah. I'd want that much too. 

"He wants it in one week or he'll chop the girl to pieces." 

"And where am I supposed to get Ten Mill?" 

"Find a way! The General knows you've got the money!" 

"I don't like what you had to say, Buddy. Have a nice fall." 

And Marc pushes him out of the chopper. 

Lucky for the man, Frenchie had bought the chopper down and the man only falls a couple feet. 

He tells the man to tell Bushman that he'll be in touch. 

Next up? Marc goes to see his accountant! 

"You don't have ten million bucks lying around in 'sacks' somewhere." 

LOL Marc... 

"Your money's tied up in real estate and business interests and your art collection." 

"So SELL some of the paintings. Sell some of my business interests." 

"What wuld you like me to do? Hang a garage sale sign on the mailbox? 'Picasso for sale, CHEAP'? And as far as your business interests go, they're just that: INTERESTS. You have partners in these ventures that you would HURT by liquidating in a big hurry--Not to mention the employees." 

Steven is in there having a FIT right now. 

I'm dying right now because I was JUST talking to someone about how clever Steven was with their money and how Marc has no idea what he's doing with money and probably took two days to lose it all in the current run. I’d like to amend my statement to say he’d lose it in two hours. 

"I don't know what you need the money for, it can't be anything Kosher, Marc. But we just can't swing it." 

Marc apologizes for losing his temper. The accountant leaves and he tells Frenchie the bad news. "I'm what they call cash poor." 

Oh Marc... Is... Is that a Khonshu bust on his desk? Wh... 

"That's the bad news. The good news is that we get to do this MY way." 

Marc... 

"And this time I go alone." 

Back at the Embassy, we see a "Empire Cable commercial repair" truck pull up. A guy gets out and goes up to the gate. 

Oh no. Is he doing what I think he's doing? 

MARC. 

The guard says he can't let anyone in without varifying first. The General is busy and doesn't want to be disturbed so "I will call your company." 

So he calls the number on the truck, which would not verify anything if this was a guy trying to sneak in. But what's logic for you? 

And GUESS WHAT. The number goes to Frenchie putting on an accent. 

He verifies the job and sends the cable repair guy in with another guard. 

Once inside, Marc knocks out the guard with chloroform (Why does he had so much chloroform?) and rushes off, leaving the body in the middle of the floor. 

And the tech brothers sure as heck notice a strange guy running around on the CCTV cameras. 

They call the front gate and have a thing or two to say about a 'cable repair guy'. 

Marc starts just opening random doors looking for Marlene. 

A couple of guards spot him and Marc knocks them out. So much for his disguise. 

Back in Moon Knight attire, he runs down the hall. The tech guys decide to take off. They know a bad fight when they see one coming. 

Marc continues his quest of opening EVERY door he finds while yelling "MARLENE!" 

SIGH. Marc… This is why you need Steven and Jake. Just putting that out there. 

So Marc beats up all the big buff gym boys. 

I appreciate that they at one point get the upper hand and pin him down while beating him and Marc just goes "You'll have to do better than that" after taking a few hard hits. 

Marc really does not treat the body well. 

He asks the last guy where Marlene is before knocking him out. 

He busts in so hard that I’m tempted to count it on my “jumps through window” tally. 

(Look at this dramatic idiot. This is the biggest wet cat yowling energy I’ve ever seen.) 

SO he busts in and is met with a SAW-esque situation with Bushman on TV. 

Bushman tells him he had to fly back to his homeland on urgent business and he's taken Marlene with him. 

TO BE CONTINUED. 

At the end of the issue we have a "Let's meet the team" afterward and we get to learn a little about the new group working on Moon Knight. 

It's very brief. Mostly it's just how old they are, if they are married or have kids, and a few previous comic names they have worked on. 

I'm going to be frank with you here. If you've been reading my other reviews, you have an idea on what's been going on in Marvel during this time and WHY Moench isn't writing Moon Knight at this time. 

Marvel comics had just had a huge upheaval of all their major writers and artists due to disagreements with the editor in chief. So these are a lot of young guys that are coming in off of low name comics. 

ALSO none of them talk about why or how they got placed into the Moon Knight run. 

So my big question is why don't you think of these guys when you think of Moon Knight? I can name SO MANY writers and artists from may different runs that were amazing or terrible. Or even just mid. But these guys? Not even a blip on my chart. 

Clearly Chuck Dixon had Moon Knight for more than just a guest writer or special. 

Doing a little background look into him, he was best known for Punisher and DC comics like Batman, Nightwing, and Robin in the 1990s and 2000s. 

He got his start in the big leagues with Conan and worked his way up to Marc Spector: Moon Knight. After that, he started on Punisher and Punisher war Journal. DC got their mits on him and he became "DC's most prolific Batman writer in the 1990s". 

So yeah... Despite working on Moon Knight 1989-1992 for 25 issues... He just isn't a big name for the comic. 

And honestly, the Marc Spector Moon Knight run was often considered very MID. Not outright terrible, but very directionless. It existed and left very little impact on the series. 

I'll give it credit that it DID at least keep the series going and allow it to reboot again later instead of just disappearing forever. So thank you for that! 

But… I remember that Zelenetz had an interview where he talked about where he had wanted to take Moon Knight after Vol 2 ended, but he was no longer on the project. Now I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if he had been allowed to keep going. 

ANYWAYS… What issue are we on?

Marc Spector, Moon Knight: Issue #3: Butcher’s Moon

Written by: Charles Dixon

Art by: Sal Velluto

Oh boy. Where’s that Content Warning able? I have a feeling this is about to get dicey. 

WOW. Right out the gate! 

Alright so... We see an airport and someone is going through customs. 

We are now in Burunda. 

And a very uh... characture... fellow... asks to see this guy's passport. 

It's CLEARLY Marc in a disguise. He has a European UK Passport and is claiming to be Ian Waller, a photo journalist from Manchester sent to take pictures of how the country is doing under the new General leader Bushman. 

The customs officer keeps his passport, telling him that he will get it back when he leaves. (Not a good sign.) 

The town is "Freedomtown" and ....  

I'm going to make you squint at this picture. 

You got a clearly poor country depicted under the rule of a tyrant that rules through fear and violence. 

You got a car with the word "TAXI" spray painted on the side. He claims to be the only taxi in the country. 

Then you have several children running after the 'photojournalist' yelling "White man rich? White man have dollar?" 

Then on the corner you have what's clearly supposed to be a hooker and her pimp not too far away, though it's cleverly disguised as a bus stop and can be argued otherwise. Then you got homeless guys and bags of trash... There's a lot going on here. It's like a Where's Waldo of stereotypical poor African country depiction. 

He gets in the taxi and the driver takes off. 

"Driver? I didn't give you a destination." 

"Only ONE destination, Sah. Only ONE Hotel." 

(I am grinning at the idea of Marc putting on a fake Manchester Accent. Thank you Steven Grant MCU. He actually says "I guess it is, innit?" and I'm so happy). 

The 'photojournalist' goes to take a picture of some military group and the Taxi driver smacks his camera down. 

"No! NO picture without permission, Sah." 

How very North Korea of you. 

The Journalist gets to the hotel and starts to unpack. 

Would you look at that? It's Marc Spector in disguise! (Another mustache) He vows that once it gets dark he's going to go looking for Marlene and also take care of Bushman. 

We head over to the Presidential Palace. 

Out front we see a truck arrive full of people and a bunch of guards with guns offloading them. 

And in the back of the palace there is a large pool. So of course we see Marlene out for a swim in a tiny bikini. Getting back to the basics. 

She gets out of the pool and Bushman offers her a robe. They exchange a few quips. 

"What's your game, Bushman? What made you want to settle down and rule your own personal dungheap?" 

"I Feel compassion for my people. This WAS my homeland. The Tribe my family belonged to once ruled this land frm end to end until the Europeans deposed them. Now I rule. I am like a warming sun shining on my people. I am like the rain that nourishes the soil." 

"I can think of another thing that nourishes the soil, General. And you're full of it." 

While they talk, they are interrupted by gunfire. 

"You do amuse me. You find my ways harsh. I see them as direct. As sole ruler of Burunda, I face no opposition, no Bureaucracy. I am free to deal with my nation's problems efficiently." 

We cut to another panel where we see soldiers with smoking guns and a pile of dead bodies of men young and old. 

"Problems such as aids. I have found a cure for aids." 

HISTORY TIME: 

Alright. There is a LOT going on in that last panel. A LOT of history. A LOT of politics. a LOT of terrible things.

This comic came out in 1989. We are at the height of the Aids pandemic. I'm not going to get deeply into it, but if you have questions please feel free to ask. In America, it was seen strictly as a Homosexual disease and the people afflicted were written off, forgotten, and left to die alone and scared. In Africa, many places saw Aids as a sin-ful or taboo disease and they were cast out of their villages or outright killed. 

It was a disease that wiped out a generation of homosexual men and is the reason why there are so few older gays for younger people to learn from. It's... It's a whole thing and there are papers and books and documentaries on it. 

What I find interesting in relation to THIS comic in particular... 

We are in 1989, it's still killing gay men and a lot of people saw this as a good thing. The way this panel is done is to show how terrible this is. It brings humanity to the aids victims and shows that killing them is NOT a solution and is a terrible thing. ALSO considering the Marvel editor in chief that caused a lot of writers to leave was intensely homophobic, this may have been a sneaky jab. 

Take my word for it, there is a LOT going on. 

It's a beautifully sad panel. I'm not going to show it because it has dead bodies and depicts extreme violence and is just too depressing. 

Back to the comic! 

Marlene yells at Bushman, demanding to be let go. 

Bushman says that "Spector will come for you. He loves you more than he will ever admit to you, I know him. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants." 

Back at the hotel we see a bunch of guards knocking on the 'photo journalist's' door. 

They go inside only to find him gone! 

Up on the roof, we have Moon Knight holding a bow and arrow set. 

"Nobody in sight. Bushman probably has a curfew around here. Boy, is he strict. Hope nobody asks for my hall pass." 

I must say that the colorist really did a fantastic job on the night time shading and moon light glow. It's just very pretty. 

He climbs a bell tower to get a good view of the area and finds a military compound with a large fuel truck. 

Marc, of course, gets a bright idea for a diversion. 

One of the guards near the truck pulls out a cigaret and asks for a light. A note says "Translated from Domi, a local tribal dialect"

"I got your light, Pal." Marc says just before he lets loose an arrow. 

What I love about this is that Marc understands him. Implying that Marc understands the dialect. This is why he's such a good mercinary. He isn't just good at killing and fighting. He was amazing at learning everything about the places he went, including the language. 

The arrow hits the truck and BLAAAAAAAAAAM. 

Oh look at that. An Ammunition storehouse. 

Yeah, he blows that one up too. He's having a good time. 

"That should keep their eyes off the rooflines and their minds off ME for a while." 

We find Bushman in his private office wathing a women's fighting match. 

Someone interrupts him to tell him that the supply depot has exploded and injured many men, but somehow not killed anyone. 

"He is here." Bushman smiles. 

If you will think back to issue 1 of Moon Knight, Marc did the exact same thing when he came back from the dead and was sneaking back into the dig site. He blew up a truck to cause a distraction. 

I'm starting to think Marc might be a bit of a pyro. 

"We now head Several Hundred Miles South" where a bunch of men are sitting around a camp fire near a helicopter. 

And here we see Frenchie walking up. He starts in French, saying hello and asking if they speak French. Then English. 

"I want to buy your helicopter." 

"You are saying WHAT?" 

"The Huey. I want to buy your Huey." 

They laugh a little, thinking he is joking until Frenchie pulls out a suitcase full of money. 

....Now... I'd like to point out that Frenchie did just as much work as Marc, possibly more, and got paid a lot. He never really did much with it... He probably has a lot saved up. He ALSO probably had Steven invest for him. I would not be surprised if Frenchie is richer than Marc. 

So he takes off with the chopper and tosses behind the money. 

Back in town, we see the soldiers running around looking for Moon Knight. 

Up high, we see Moon Knight walking across the power lines towards the palace. 

He sneaks inside and takes out a guard. 

Elsewhere, we see two soldiers moving to retrieve Marlene for Bushman. 

They hear the shower running and go to get her (and take a peek). She opens the curtain and reveals she's in her bathing suit and ready to fight. She sprays one guy with hot water in the face then kicks the other guard. 

She manages to steal a fifle and takes off. "This is what Bushman calls an army? I might not even need this rifle." 

Marc is having a similar thought. 

Bullets fly all over as he runs down a hall. 

"These guys can't be this bad at marksmanship by accident. It's more like they're just chasing me somewhere. If it's closer to Bushman, then I'm happy to oblige." 

WINDOW! WINDOW! WE HAVE A WINDOW! 

Now, let me just say, I do love the Bushman design in this. This is how he SHOULD be. Not whatever that was that Bemis gave us. 

"Do you see this sword? It is the traditional weapon of my people." 

"Thanks for showing me the family silverware, Bushman. But I'm here for the woman." 

"Some things never change. You always did use snappy banter when you were most nervous, Spector. Defeat me and the woman's yours." 

Marc asks why Bushman became obsessed with him. 

"You represent everything I hate. A mercenary making his fortune from the miseries of the third world." 

"Cut the bull! You made millions and never cared where the money came from as long as you could spend it. I may have been a mercenary, but you were a butcher! I never shot anyone who wasn't pointing a gun at me." 

"It was just such softness that always got you in trouble!" 

They start the battle. Marc with his nun-chucks snaps takes their swings. Bushman draws first blood when he slices through Marc's mask. 

"It's not who bleeds first. It's who's left standing!" 

Another slice cuts into Marc's side, but he's had worse. 

Marc kicks him in the chest then smashes his face with the palm of his hand. 

Marc goes full ...Marc... on Bushman, fists and blows. It's his fighting style to take hits and keep going. 

Marc gets the upper hand and demands to know where Marlene is. 

Bushman calls out to his men to shoot Marc. 

"They shoot me, they hit you too!" Marc reminds him. 

But then bullets rain down around them, snapping Bushman's sword in two. 

And Frenchie comes in with the chopper. 

"Through playing the hero yet, Marc?" 

"Good to hear your voice, Frenchie. Put her down as close as you can. This place is HOT." 

Marlene wants to know why she can't just shoot Bushman and end it. 

Marc tells her not to. He fails to give her any good reason other than that they need to get out of there quickly. 

I have theories about this that I'll discuss in a moment. 

Marc releases Bushman as soon as they start to take off. 

"You walk away this time, General. THIS time!" 

Frenchie opens fire, scattering the men to prevent them from trying to shoot them down. 

What I love about this is that Marc is still the chaotic, bad decision making, single man army, and utter goof he has always been and will continue to be when written well. He has a strange but endearing sense of humor and he does not take it well when those close to him are at risk. 

So this story done, let’s address a few things! 

In this introduction to the new series, you’ll notice a lot of people are missing. 

Where’s Gena, Crawley, Samules, Nedda, Jake, and Steven? Why is this Marc Spector in title and the Spector Mansion? Why is Marlene suddenly addressing him as Marc and okay with dating Marc when she’s previously hated Marc and only wanted to be with Steven? 

No one addressed their DID better than Moench. With Moench out of the picture, who was very forward thinking in terms of this mental illness and its depictions for its time, we are now at the mercy of people who have not done their research and who have not kept up with the evolution of mental illness. We are now at the mercy of writers that follow Hollywood depictions. Sure, Moench based it off of Hollywood at first, but somehow, this man was in touch with modern issues, accurate depictions of DID, PTSD, depression, dissociation… He had a gift. 

With the upheaval at Marvel, they were more reliant on the reader and what the statistics told them readers wanted. Readers of the early 90s apparently wanted ACTION and HOT BABES and MANLY MEN. So guess what? Marc’s in charge and the others? They are going to be lucky to get any screen time. We’re going to start seeing more references to Marc ‘pretending to be other people’ and more references to Marc as being closer to Schizophrenia or ‘crazy’ than DID (or Multiple Personality Disorder, as it was known by at the time). 

And all those side characters? We’ve already seen that Nedda has been retired. Samules? Also probably retired and replaced by Chloe up there in her bikini. 

Gena? In the last run, Gena was talking a lot about leaving. She’d been through a lot and she, perhaps, was the first victim of being too close to them. She was beloved by Jake and she acted as a kind and nurturing voice with him. She brought out the best in him and he loved her boys like a doting uncle. And she was the first to get hurt. 

So will we see Gena in this run? We’ll have to wait and see. 

What about Crawley? An eccentric and useful man to Jake and Moon Knight. Here’s the deal on Crawley. Moench wrote him with such a unique way of speaking that other writers found it difficult to keep it going with him. Even his personality was pretty unique. So we aren’t going to see a whole lot of Crawley either, and he may change in how we see him. 

Now for Jake and Steven? In Moench’s run, Marc took the back seat. From this point on in Moon Knight history, Marc is going to sit front and center and the other two are going to be passing fancies. Perhaps I’ll make a different analysis on this later. What DOES happen is that we are going to start seeing more of WHO Marc Spector really is, and not just what Steven and Jake see. (He's kind of a goofy idiot with severe self loathing).

Bushman: I think I talked about this before, but in case I didn’t or you haven’t read it yet, here we go again (for the first time?).

Bushman was never meant to be the BIG BAD. He was the catalyst. When Marlene asks Bushman why he’s obsessed with Marc, Bushman notes that he created Marc’s need to become Moon Knight. 

In reality, he is the one that ‘killed’ Marc, which did take him to Khonshu’s temple and this made him take the shroud and become Moon Knight. He’s also the one that made Marc realize he had a conflicted code of ethics and morals. 

But when it comes to Bushman, Marc does not see him as ‘the big bad’. He sees a frustrating man that has an unhealthy obsession with him and often causes him stress. 

And we’ve seen time and time again that Bushman does not stand up to Marc’s fighting abilities. It’s why Bushman obsesses with him. He feels like Marc was just some random guy he found and somehow Marc is better than him. And while Bushman has set out to be the best, Marc doesn’t care. Marc just IS good at what he does. 

So why do fans and writers see Bushman appear and go “OHHH” and get excited? 

Because Bushman represents who Marc could have been. Bushman is a representation of Marc’s past. The violence, the killing, the coldbloodedness. He’s everything Marc was becoming but still fought against. Bushman is Marc’s inner struggle. He is what Marc rebels against but still turns to time and time again. 

When Marc spirals, he spirals with the image of Bushman. He was never that bad. He was never seen as being as ‘good’ as Bushman because he would not let himself become that far gone. But as Moon Knight, they have proven to be better. 

Of course then you have the writers that just have a thing for Bushman because he’s ‘badass’ (Looking at you Bemis) and don’t know how to utilize him properly. 

Anyways! This was the start of “Marc Spector: Moon Knight”. What do you think so far? 

I’m going to be taking these in batches and not one at a time. So expect longer posts when I get to them! (Unless you have a special single issue that deserves more time). 

…this was a long post.

[classicmarvelera]

Mary, Luke & Danny

Mary Jo Duffy's run on Power-Man and Iron Fist series is a significant contribution to the development of these two urban superheroes. Her unique perspective and storytelling style brought a fresh approach to the characters, making them more relatable to readers. Her work on these titles is still relevant and engaging for today's audiences, making it a must-read for any fan of the superhero genre

Duffy's run on Power-Man and Iron Fist began in 1979 where she took over where Chris Claremont had left off to focus on X-Men and lasted till 1982. During this time, she created a memorable cast of characters and storylines that explored the complex issues faced by the heroes. She also introduced new villains and allies that added depth to the series

One of the most significant contributions Duffy made to the Power-Man and Iron Fist series was the development of Luke Cage's character. Duffy explored Cage's past as a former criminal and how it affected his relationships and his superhero career. She also delved into his personal life which helped to humanize and flesh out the character

In addition to Cage, Duffy also developed Iron Fist's character by exploring his relationship with his mystical powers and his duty as a protector of K'un-Lun. She introduced new challenges and conflicts for Iron Fist, making him a more complex and layered character

Duffy's storytelling style was also unique and groundbreaking for its time. She incorporated socio-political themes into her stories with a lighthearted approach, addressing issues such as racism, poverty, and social inequality. This approach was considered daring and revolutionary at the time, and it helped to distinguish Power-Man and Iron Fist from other superhero titles

Her run on Power-Man and Iron Fist series was a significant contribution to the development of these two urban superheroes. Her original approach and unique perspective helped make the characters more relatable and engaging. Her work on these titles is still relevant and exciting for today's audiences, making it a must-read for any superhero fan

Mary Jo Duffy's run on Power-Man and Iron Fist is remembered more than her other works for Marvel Comics for several reasons. Compared to her other works, Duffy's run on Power-Man and Iron Fist was more consistent and had a greater impact on the characters. Her run on Power-Man and Iron Fist lasted for almost three years, during which she developed the characters and their relationships in a way that had lasting consequences. She introduced new villains and allies (El Águila, Señor Muerte / Señor Suerte to name a few)  that added to the richness of the series, and her socio-political themes and unique storytelling style helped to set the series apart from other superhero titles

In contrast, some of Duffy's other works for Marvel Comics were shorter and less impactful. For example, her run on the Wolverine series was only four issues long and did not leave as much of a lasting impression on the character or the series. Similarly, her work on the Fallen Angels series was relatively brief and did not have as significant an impact on the characters or the Marvel Universe as a whole

While Duffy's work on Power-Man and Iron Fist is undoubtedly her most memorable, her other works for Marvel Comics are still noteworthy for their unique perspectives and storytelling styles. In addition to the Wolverine and Fallen Angels series, Duffy also contributed to various other titles, including Star Wars, and The Defenders. Her contributions to these titles helped to shape the Marvel Universe and showcase her versatility as a writer

She worked with several talented artists during her run on Power-Man and Iron Fist, but two of the artists with whom she had the best chemistry were undoubtedly Kerry Gammill and Denys Cowan 

Cover Art by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson

Cowan worked with Duffy on several issues of the series, including some of the "Sabretooth" issues. His artwork perfectly complemented Duffy's writing, bringing her stories to life with dynamic action scenes, expressive character designs, and a strong attention to detail

Gammill's style was well-suited to the urban setting of Power-Man and Iron Fist, and he was able to capture the gritty, street-level feel of the series with ease. His artwork was also able to convey the emotional depth of Duffy's stories, particularly in scenes that focused on the characters' relationships and personal struggles

Both’s artistic contributions to Power-Man and Iron Fist helped to make Duffy's run on the series one of the most memorable and influential in the history of the characters

From Iron Man Vol. 1 No. 103

Overall, while Mary Jo Duffy's run on Power-Man and Iron Fist is remembered more than her other works for Marvel Comics, her entire body of work is noteworthy for its unique perspectives, socio-political themes, and groundbreaking storytelling style

If you want to experience Duffy's run on Power-Man and Iron Fist for yourself, be sure to check out Marvel Comics' collected editions, available now via Amazon.com Affiliate links. These collections are a great way to experience the entire run of these groundbreaking series and to appreciate the impact that Mary Jo Duffy had on the world of comics

[zahri-melitor]

DC Artists Tournament - Round 4

Fan submitted propaganda below:

J.H. Williams III:

He is iconic. The best. The way that he takes full advantage of the medium of comics in his art is wonderful. The layouts are gorgeous. Go read Batwoman and see how he uses the art to advance the storytelling in new and cool ways.

Because what would Batwoman have been without his layouts? So striking, so unique

Denys Cowan:

The Question (1987). My definitive Vic Sage artist. Everyone in this comic looks so good, and so aggressively from the 80s. I would like to give a special shout-out to the specific team of Cowan's pencils, Malcom Jones III's ink, and Tatjana Wood's colours making Shiva look insanely good in issue #29.

[scienceninjaturtle]

NEW TALENT SHOWCASE: THE MILESTONE INITIATIVE #1

Written by VARIOUS

Art by VARIOUS

Cover by DENYS COWAN and others

$3.99 US | 112 pages | One-Shot | Prestige

ON SALE 5/30/23

In May of 2022, 12 writers and 12 artists came to DC headquarters to hone their skills with some of the best comics creators in the business, and one year later, we’re showing the results of the cohort’s hard work!

This special showcases all 12 stories created out of the Ally-sponsored Milestone Initiative…If you don’t grab a copy, you’ll be missing some of the first published work of the stars of the future!

[judgeanon]

Which styles of Shiva do you love?

If we're talking artstyles, nobody has drawn her quite like Denys Cowan did in Question. She has a super coo aloofness to her that nobody's quite managed to replicate. But other good Shiva artists are Doug Braithwaite, Damion Scott, Ed Benes, Gleb Melnikov and Serg Acuña.

If we're talking styles as in clothes, the list is more or less the same, although Kevin Wada's pinup for the Festival of Heroes special deserves a mention 'cause hot damn:

That costume in particular also rules because it's a high fashion version of her Arkham Origins costume, which is probably my favorite modern design for her.

And if we're talking character styles, my favorite style of Shiva is the one that's completely, utterly and absolutely unburdened. The Shiva that lives free of regrets or anxieties, who exists purely in the moment, who has no past nor future because she doesn't need it, who follows her nature without question and shuns all outside distractions. My favorite style of Shiva is the one who has transcended the material world, but sticks around because, well, it's still pretty fun.

[dccomicsnews]

Review: BATMAN #150 [Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers] Writer: Chip Zdarsky Artists: Denys Cowan, Jorge Jimenez, John Stanisci, Mike Hawthorne, Adriano Di Benedetto Colours: Tomeu Morey, Romulo Fajardo Jr. Letters: Clayton Cowles Reviewed By: Derek McNeil Summary Batman #150: A milestone issue featuring art by the legendary Denys Cowan  and series regular Jorge Jimenez! When a two-bit crook uncovers Batman’s true identity, he becomes the most dangerous man in Gotham City! Can Batman stop him before it’s too late? Does he even want to? Plus, an Absolute Power backup story by Chip Zdarsky and Mike Hawthorne teaming Batman and Catwoman on the heist of their lives against Amanda Waller! Positives Way back in last October, in the pages of Batman/Catwoman: Scorched Earth #1, Chop Zdarsky planted a seed for a future story. In the epilogue to that story, we see a former student of Catwoman breaking into a house. He soon stumbles on some equipment and costumes that make it clear that the house's owner, Bruce Wayne, is the Batman. Now, several months later, Zdarsky has come back to address this hanging plot thread. We see this criminal, named Teddy, try to figure out what to do with this information. Should he keep the information to himself, attempt to sell it to one of Batman's major enemies, or should he find a more creative way to make use of it. It takes only a couple attempts for Teddy to learn that selling Batman's secret will only lead to Teddy being killed to keep the secret from being shared for someone else, which leads to the third option, which involves using Batman's secret as a shield. Teddy falls in with a gang who believe that Batman would look the other way, to avoid Teddy landing in jail and revealing Batman's secret during interrogation. Positives Cont. The only problem with that is that Batman cares more about his principles than he cares about protecting his secrets. One of those principles is fighting crime, but there's an even more important principle that Batman lives by, and this principle is the central theme of this story. Batman wants the citizens of Gotham (and the world) to "Be better". This doesn't just apply to the regular citizenry, but the criminals, the police, the heroes, and even himself. He wants everyone to be and do better, and his driving force is to help others do so. Batman doesn't just want to silence Teddy, but he wants to help Teddy fix his own situation, so that Teddy can be better. Out of all the people Teddy deals with, Batman is the only one who shows any interest in Teddy as a person, or any concern for Teddy's family. Most are only care about Teddy because of what he knows, but Batman shows concern despite what Teddy knows. And thanks to Batman #149 and the stellar previous issue, we can see that Zdarsky has been leading Batman himself to be better. Zdarsky and previous writers have put Bruce through the wringer, making his life fall apart in some ways, but Zdarsky has been putting Bruce's life back together. In recent months, we have seen Bruce rebuilding relationships, more willing to accept help from others, and generally become more human. And generally living up to the principle of being better. Positives Cont. The second story is a prelude to Absolute Power, giving us a preview of Batman's role in DC's summer event. The story starts with Bruce narrating about his first act upon gaining control of the Wayne Fortune. This was to buy the company that manufactured the gun that Joe Chill used to kill the Waynes and close it down. Of course, Bruce didn't want to put anyone out of work, so he offered all the employees other jobs within Wayne Enterprises. But there is a point to this story, as Bruce applies the metaphor of a gun to Failsafe. Bruce refers to Failsafe as a gun of Bruce's own creation. And with Amanda Waller using that gun to threaten the world, it's Bruce's identity to stop Waller and dismantle Failsafe once and for all. And doing so will be quite a struggle as we see that Batman and Cyborg together are outclassed by just one of Failsafe's Justice League-themed Amazo androids. I find it interesting that Failsafe is the mirror image of Batman right now. While Bruce has become somewhat more human, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, has done the exact opposite in merging with Failsafe and incorporating Amazo technology. Absolute Power is promising a rematch of a Batman that has reclaimed his humanity against a Batman that has completely purged that humanity, as if it were a weakness. Positives Cont. And the artwork has been superb this issue. How often is it that we get to see two giants like Denys Cowan and Jorge Jimenez working together on the same story? And Tomeu Morey's colours perfectly complements their artwork. Meanwhile, the artwork for the backup story is great too, but captures a different feel, marking it as separate from the main story. Also, I have to take a moment to praise the variant cover using the artwork of Jose Luis García-Lopez. This is based on his work for the 1982 DC Comics Style Guide, which is being reprinted next month. This was used a reference for artists to establish the definitive look for DC characters of the era. This is an absolutely fantastic blast-from-the-past for those of us who were reading comics during that era. Negatives I only have one problem, and it's more a general problem with the Absolute Power event as a whole than with this particular piece of it specifically. There is a triumvirate of villains in this event: Amanda Waller, Failsafe, and the Brainiac Queen. I really like that the groundwork for Amanda Waller's participation has been laid over the last few years. A lot of preparation has gone into that end of the story. However, Failsafe is being used again in this story almost immediately after his debut arc and defeat in Zdarsky's Batman. Similarly, the Brainiac event that introduced the Brainiac Queen has literally just finished in the Superman Family books. It seems odd to carefully set up the event carefully on one vector and rush it on two other vectors. The use of Failsafe is inspired, but perhaps a bigger gap should have been left between his defeat in Batman and his reappearance in Absolute Power. However, this is more of an issue with the entire event, so I can't hold it against this particular issue. In fact Zdarsky does his best to smooth over the quick reappearance of Failsafe with this well-written prologue of DC's summer event. Verdict I loved this issue, and I hope that other writers will take a cue from Zdarsky's direction when portraying Batman in the future. It would be disappointing to see this character development lost and have Batman backslide into the antisocial loner that some writers love to portray. Zdarsky's Batman shows that Batman can accept help from his friends and allies and still be self-sufficient. It's not just one or the other. I look forward to seeing what comes next as the title fully enters into Absolute Power, as well as seeing what Zdarsky has planned coming out of the event.

[dailyjsa]

All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant #1

Writer: John Ostrander

Artist: Denys Cowan

Inker: John Floyd

Colors: Noelle Giddings