Marvel Essential Warlock part 13

Marvel Team-Up #55, The Avengers Annual #7, Marvel Team-Up Annual #2

As with the last time around, Warlock is reduced again to conducting the final episodes of his story in the pages of comics. It begins with Marvel Team-Up #55. This is one of those books that takes a popular character and has a revolving cast of guest stars around them, in this case Spidey and in this issue Warlock. 

We still see this today at Marvel – Spidey is the sauce that goes with everything.

Marvel Essential Warlock - part 12

Warlock #12-#15

After defeating Magus, where next for Warlock? We find him (or Him) and Pip at a sleazy dive in downtown Homeworld, enjoying a bit of local colour. Pip’s clearly in his element, but Adam isn't in the mood for partying.

The events of the recent past are praying on his mind. Reciting his problems gives him a chance to provide the most concise recap we have yet seen. In fact, he decides he needs a little time to get his head back in shape so flies off into space and vacates the issue. 

What we get instead is an adventure of Pip the Troll. 

Marvel Essential Warlock - part 11

Warlock #10 and #11

Issue 10 gets straight into the action. The splashpage is a top down view showing as Black Knights flooding through a doorway towards Warlock, Pip, Gamora and Thanos.

It’s a great hook. It immediately suggests imminent violence and conflict, the few against the many. It makes you to turn the pages and find out what happens next. What does happen is an appealing few pages packed with fighting, shouting and frenzied narration. 

Marvel Essential Warlock - part 10

Warlock #9

This issue revives Warlock’s own title, so either his tenancy at Strange Tales was up or there was sufficient interest to keep the story going. It’s the big confrontation with Magus, so fans, however many they may have been, will have been waiting for this moment.

The Magus arrogantly believes his future knowledge guarantees his victory over Warlock, and so proceeds to act like a pulp movie villain.

This issue really belongs to him as he gloats over his victories – providing a handy excuse for this month’s recap – and tells the tale of how he became The Magus. 

Marvel Essential Warlock - part 9

Strange Tales featuring Warlock #181

Warlock wakes up from his stupor in a bizarre cosmic-Marvel weird-scape. He just has time for a quick recap page when he meets his foes.

Uh oh: clowns. Mad, evil clowns.

Marvel Essential Warlcock - part 8

Strange Tales featuring Warlock #180

This is the first issue of an American-style comic I can remember seeing. I think my brother brought it home from a trip in to London, perhaps with the scouts. I was used to typical British fare – Valiant, Lion, Whizzer & Chips and so forth – and I might even have seen UK Marvel reprints, but this just looked like something out of another universe.

Marvel Essential Warlock - part 7

Strange Tales featuring Warlock #179

We’re now into the second issue of the new Warlock, and the character’s beginning to get somewhere. The splash page features Adam Warlock posed on a slab of space debris glaring angrily at a giant spaceship hovering nearby.

“Death Ship!” it announces in shadowed block caps.

Straight in with the power chords.

This is more like it. If the original run felt a bit like a cosmic version of Jesus Christ Superstar, then this one is a like record by Yes, Rush or The Alan Parsons Project. In this issue we get to see that Warlock now has a much more of a heavy rock vibe to it than the worthy efforts that went before.

Marvel Essential Warlock - part 6

Journey Into Mystery #178

NB: Now my scanner's working I am not only adding images to new posts in this series, but I've updated the previous posts with scanned images. Wow! No expense spared!

Inevitably, Journey into Mystery #178 begins with a flashback. About a fifth of the total page count so far has been dedicated to flashbacks, so why not? It’s business as usual on that level, but there’s immediately something different about how the book looks.

The narrator never turns up again, by the way