MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #36

"A STRETCH IN TIME..."
Writer/Editor: Marv Wolfman | Artist: Ernie Chan
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: Michele Wolfman

The Plot: In the prehistoric river, Skull, Ann, Jeff, Doctor Corey, and the Thing escape from the angry brotosaurs, but find themselves pulled toward a waterfall. Skull saves Ann and Jeff, while the Thing saves Corey. The group continues on their quest to raid the crashed military transport for parts. once they have the equipment they need, they head back to the Thing's experimental craft and repair it. The group takes off, but they are pursued by the Jaguar Priest, riding a pterodactyl, with several more pterodons following. The Thing guides his craft through the time warp, back to present day Cape Canaveral, but the Jaguar Priest and his pterodons follow.

Mister Fantastic greets the group on the Cape's airfield and joins them in their fight against the Jaguar Priest's dinosaurs. The Priest's pterodactyl grabs Ann, but the Thing commandeers another dino and follows. While Mister Fantastic and Skull fight the pterodons on the ground, the Thing rescues Ann. The Jaguar Priest is taken away by the police, and Mister Fantastic suggests sending the pterodons to the Savage Land. Skull prepares to turn himself in to the police as well, to stand trial for the death of his brother.

Continuity Notes: There are three footnotes in this story; one to the last issue when Skull notices the Jaguar Priest, and one to SKULL THE SLAYER #1 when Corey mentions that Skull is still wanted for his brother's death. The third is a lengthy affair in which Marv Wolfman tries to explain how Mister Fantastic appears in this story with his powers intact (albeit weakening), when he had apparently lost them in contemporaneous FANTASTIC FOUR installments.

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #35

"ENTER: SKULL THE SLAYER AND EXIT: THE THING!"
Writer/Editor: Marv Wolfman | Guest Artist: Ernie Chan
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Michele Wolfman

The Plot: The Thing is summoned by the Air Force to Cape Canaveral, Florida in order to pilot an experimental plane into the Bermuda Triangle in search of a missing jet carrying a cobalt bomb. As he flies the craft, the Thing is attacked by a pterodactyl and pulled into a temporal warp. He crashes on an island in time to come to the aid of Skull, Ann, Jeff, and Doctor Corey, who are about to be executed by the Jaguar Priest.

The Thing, Skull, and company fight off the Jaguar Priest's minons and then escape into the jungle. They fight off a pterodactyl and then head to the Thing's crashed ship, but find it cannot be repaired. At Jeff's suggestion, the group heads out to find the Army plane that brought Skull and company to the island, in hopes of using some its parts to fix the jet. But on the way, they're attacked by a tyrannosaurus rex. The group escapes by jumping into a river -- but when they emerge from the water, they find themselves surrounded by a herd of brontosauruses.

Continuity Notes: The "missing plane carrying a cobalt bomb" thing was apparently a multi-title plotline! The Thing recalls that the Air Force thought it had been found in Chicago in POWER MAN #45, but that was a false alarm. Later when he crashes on the prehistoric island, the Thing compares it with an "other Earth" he visited in FANTASTIC FOUR #161. One panel later, a quick recap of Skull's situation references SKULL THE SLAYER #8. Leter in the issue, a footnote appears to SKULL #1 when Corey and Jeff discuss Skull's status as a wanted man.

Speaking of SKULL #8, it seems Captain Cochran was unceremoniously killed off since that issue ended. The revelation comes with a footnote from Marv Wolfman which seems to essentially say, "I didn't create that character and I have literally zero interest in writing him." It's kind of funny, though also a bit callous toward Bill Mantlo's storyline.

SKULL THE SLAYER #8

"RIDERS ON THE SKY!"
Writer: Bill Mantlo | Artists: Sal Buscema & Sonny Trinidad
Letters: Denise Wohl | Colors: George Roussos | Editor: Archie Goodwin

The Plot: In the golden city, the Incas celebrate Skull and friends surviving their test in the dinosaur pits. Captain Cochran, known to his people as Viracocha, the Feathered Serpent, explains to Skull and the group that he was stationed at a Miami navy base in 1945 when his plane was sucked into the Bermuda Triangle warp and he crashed on the prehistoric island.

Meanwhile, the traitorous Jaguar Priest escapes confinement in the city's dungeons with the aid of his secret followers. He arrives in Cochran's throne room in time to watch as Skull, Ann, Jeff, Doctor Corey, and Cochran are attacked by pterodactyl-riding knights from various time periods. Despite Skull's power belt, the heroes are overcome. Skull is knocked out and the Jaguar Priest orders his prisoners sent to the dungeons.

Continuity Notes: This is the final issue of SKULL THE SLAYER, with the "next issue" blurb (see below) advising fans to write to Marvel if they want to see the series revived.

Cochran was a topographer by trade, and has spent his time among the Incas mapping the world, noting that in this era, the continents have not begun to drift apart yet. (And not to beat a dead horse, but I still really don't think this is what Marv Wolfman had planned for the series. I'm pretty sure he intended the island to exist firmly in the present day, with the Tower of Time creating the illusion of a time warp for those who were sucked into it.)

SKULL THE SLAYER #7

"BURY MY HEART IN THE CITY OF GOLD"
Writer: Bill Mantlo | Artists: Sal Buscema & Sonny Trinidad
Letterer: Karen Mantlo | Colorist: Petra Goldberg | Editor: Archie Goodwin

The Plot: Skull, Ann, Jeff, and Doctor Corey are esorted by the Incas to their city of gold, where the High Priest, leader of the group's captors, presents them to their king. Meanwhile, in the United States, Senator "Stonewall" Turner meets with Freddy Lancer about Lancer's plan to head into the Bermuda Triangle and find Skull.

Skull and friends are dropped into two separate pits, where they find themselves up against hungry dinosaurs. In one pit, Ann, Corey, and Jeff fight two pterodactyls, while Skull battles a stegosaurus in the other. Ann stabs one pterosaur with a spear while Jeff shoots at it. When Skull's energy belt begins to glow, the High Priest turns on his king and throws the monarch into the pit with Skull. Nonetheless, Skull's strength belt allows him to kill the stegosaur. Meanwhile, Ann finds some grenades on a soldier's corpse and hurls one at the remaining pterodactyl, killing it.

In the aftermath of the fight, Doctor Corey captures the treacherous High Priest, while the king unmasks himself as one Captain Victor Cochran of the United States Navy, who has been trapped among the Incas for thirty years.

SKULL THE SLAYER #6

"SWAMP!"
Writer: Bill Mantlo | Artists: Sal Buscema & Steve Gan
Letterer: Karen Mantlo | Colorist: Petra Goldberg | Editor: Marv Wolfman

The Plot: Outside the Tower of Time, as Ann and Jeff watch, Skull removes an arrow from Doctor Corey's arm and does his best to treat the wound -- then the group moves along, Skull carrying the unconscious Corey. Inside the Tower, the Black Knight confronts and kills Slitherogue, but when the alien dies, the Tower collapses. Meanwhile, a survivor of the plane crash, Corporal Freddy Lancer, is found by a passing Navy ship. Aboard, Lancer meets with Jeff's father, Senator "Stoneface" Turner, and vows to find Skull.

Back on the island, Skull and company find the tail end of the crashed plane and gather supplies from within. Soon after, as they float down a river on a makeshift raft, they're attacked by a group of Inca warriors. But when a prehistoric ichthyosaur appears and begins devouring fallen Incas, Skull leaps atop the creature and stabs it repeatedly, his strength belt putting so much force behind his assault that the ichthyosaur explodes.

In the aftermath, as Ann embraces Skull, the Incas begin to chant -- words Corey translates as them calling Skull the "Son of the Sun" and beckoning him to follow them through the swap. Their leader points at a huge golden structure in the distance which Skull believes to be the legendary lost city of El Dorado.

SKULL THE SLAYER #5

"MAGIC, MYTH AND MADNESS!"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: Sal Buscema & Sonny Trinidad
Lettering: Karen Mantlo | Colors: Michele Wolfman | Editor: Marv Wolfman

The Plot: Demons, sent by Slitherogue and Morgan Le Fay, burst into Merlin's chamber to attack Skull, the Black Knight, and Merlin. The heroes fight off the creatures, but when Merlin casts a spell, he goes cataonic. Skull realizes that Merlin is a robot and smashes him to prove it to the Black Knight. Meanwhile, Slitherogue resurrects Ann, Jeff, and Doctor Corey, giving them to Morgan Le Fay as her army against Skull.

Elsewhere, the Black Knight brings Skull to the castle of King Arthur, where the Knight activates the robotic monarch to warn him of Morgan's attack. Moments later, Morgan leads a horde of demons, plus Skull's former friends, in an attack on the castle. Arthur's robot knights are activated and the battle is joined. Amid the chaos, Ann, Jeff, and Corey confront Skull, but Corey is hit by a stray arrow. This snaps everyone out of their blood-crazed stupor. As the battle winds down around them, the Black Knight finishes off Morgan. He approaches Skull and reveals himself as a robot too, then Skull and his friends head for the Tower of Time's doorway out of the Arthurian era.

Continuity Notes: There's one footnote in this story, referencing issue 1 when the death of Skull's brother is brought up. However there is also a non-footnoted flasback to last issue as Jeff, Ann, and Doctor Corey all recall their respective death scenes.

SKULL THE SLAYER #4

"TIME OUT OF MIND!"
Together again for the fourth time!
Author: Steve Englehart | Artists: Sal Buscema & Mike Esposito
Letterer: Irving Watanabe | Colorist: Don Warfield | Editor: Marv Wolfman

The Plot: In ancient Egypt, Skull and Doctor Corey battle the Pharaoh's soldiers, determining during the fight that the men are robots -- but the heroes are overwhelmed and captured. They are brought before the Phaoaoh himself, an extraterrestrial named Slitherogue, who explains that the "Tower of Time" is a creation of his people in preparation for conquering all of Earth's historical eras. Then, to demonstrate his power, Slitehrogue kills Jeff.

Skull, Corey, and Ann spend the night in a cell, and the next morning are sent to work building the pyramids, under the watch of Slitherogue's robots. When Skull sees an opening for escape, he, Ann, and Corey race off into the desert. But Ann falls and breaks her leg. Skull declares that she must be left behind, but Corey stays to defend her. Corey and Ann are both killed, while Skull tumbles into the time portal, falling to a new level. He emerges in the quarters of Merlin the wizard and the Black Knight. After a brief skirmish with Black Knight, Skull agrees to work with Merlin to overthrow Slitherogue.

Meanwhile, Morgan Le Fay summons Slitherogue and asks his help in slaying her enemies, Merlin and King Arthur. Sensing that Skull is in this time as well, Slitherogue agrees to aid her.

SKULL THE SLAYER #3

"TUMULT IN THE TOWER OF TIME!"
Writer/Editor: Marv Wolfman | Pencils: Steve Gan
Inkers: Pablo Marcos & Steve Gan
Letters: Irv Watanabe | Colors: Michele Wolfman

The Plot: Skull wrestles with a prehistoric beast until it bucks him off, after which he, Ann, Jeff, and Doctor Corey continue their exploration of the prehistoric world. After being nearly trampled by a herd of stampeding dinosaurs, Skull leads the group to see what spooked the animals. They come across a field of skeletal remains tied to posts. From there, they move on to a huge tower, which offers glimpses of various time periods -- a different one on each level.

As they gaze into the tower, the group is attacked by a T-Rex. Skull and Jeff fight the creature, while Corey slips away. Skull figure out that the Tyrannosaur is a robot, and destroys it. Then the group hears Corey scream. They follow him and find that he has stumbled into ancient Egypt, where he's been captured by a Pharaoh's soldiers.

Continuity Notes: Not many in this issue, though it should be noted that Skull's corpse-robbing ways have evidently rubbed off on Ann and Jeff. At Ann's suggestion, all three of them pilfer clothing from the skeletons near the tower. Doctor Corey, however, remains in his normal clothes.

As for the skeletons themselves -- they're from a number of different time periods, and there are extraterrestrials among them (and it is from the alien-but-humanoid bodies that our heroes procure their new cothes). Later, when the group finds the tower, Jeff notes that it is covered in alien writing identical to that which was in the cave where the primitive humans worshipped an alien corpse.

SKULL THE SLAYER #2

"GODS AND SUPER GODS"
Writer/Editor: Marv Wolfman | Artist: Steve Gan
Letterer: San Jose | Colorist: Michele Wolfman

The Plot: Jim Scully is dragged by his caveman captor to a primitive camp, where he's thrown into a cave with the other plane survivors: Ann, Doctor Corey, and a young man named Jeff. Revealing his nickname of Skull, Scully leads the survivors in an escape from the cavemen. But when a herd of rampaging dinosaurs storms through the camp, Skull commandeers one and leads the beasts away. This earns him the respect of the cavemen, who lead the survivors into another cave. There, then find the skeletal remains of an alien in a futuristic chamber.

As Doctor Corey, Ann, and Jeff study alien writing on the wall, Skull decides to pilfer the alien corpse of its skull-buckled belt. He takes and dons the garment, but the alien skeleton crumbles to dust, causing the cavemen to attack. Skull holds them at bay and then joins the other survivors in fleeing to the jungle. They attempt to cross a river to escape the cavemen, but are attacked in the water by a Brontosaurus. Skull begins to glow and somehow subdues the dinosaur. The survivors all make it ashore, where Jeff points out that the glow is coming from Skull's stolen belt.

Continuity Notes: For some reason, the cover logo from issue 1 has already been replaced. The new logo will carry through the remainder of the series, though the issue 1 logo does appear on the title page of this issue (but then never shows up again). I don't know why it was changed, but I liked the first logo a lot better. Its primitive look gave more insight into what the series was about.

Page 1 provides a brief textual recap of all the events in the prior issue, with a few illustrations.

SKULL THE SLAYER #1

"THE COMING OF SKULL THE SLAYER!"
Stan Lee, publisher, presents the beginning of an epic by:
Creator/Writer/Colorist: Marv Wolfman | Artist: Steve Gan
Letterer: Pablo Marcos | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: Vietnam veteran Jim Scully is aboard a military plane for extridition from Bermuda to the United States, where he is wanted for the murder of his brother. But en route to the U.S., the plane flies into a time/space warp in the Bermuda Triangle, then splits apart and crashes in an prehistoric world. Scully emerges from the front end of the plane, its sole survivor. Meanwhile a trio of additional passengers survives the rear segment's crash.

As Scully hunts for food, he is attacked by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Elsewhere, the other survivors are spotted by a group of primitive humans. Scully battles and eventually kills the T-Rex when he stabs it in the eye and sends it plummeting over a cliff. But as he recovers, he is struck in the head by a flung rock, and is surrounded by more primitive beings.

Continuity Notes: Our cast, at least as of issue 1, seems to consist of Jim Scully, and the three other survivors: a man called Doctor Corey, a woman named Ann, and a mostly-silent young man whose name is yet to be revealed.

Rather than recap Scully's backstory, I'll just mention that he was a special forces fighter dispatched to Vietnam and immediately captured, and then I'll let Marv Wolfman's ridiculous narration take it from there:

SKULL THE SLAYER

Back in my look at INVADERS #4, I called out a needless and convoluted plug for Marvel's SKULL THE SLAYER series. Then, in the comments to that post, I considered reading SKULL next after I finished with INVADERS. It is, after all, only an eight-issue series (plus a 2-part finale in MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE), and I unboxed the trade paperback collection way back in 2015, but I've never touched it since. So, why not? I've long had a curiosity about this series. Three writers over the span of eight issues feels like a trainwreck in the making (and yet is somehow not at all surprising coming out of 1970s Marvel), but there's something about the series' premise -- a puply, "Doc Savage" type having adventures in the mysterious Bermuda Triangle -- that speaks to me.

At nine or ten weeks (I'm not sure yet if I'll do the TWO-IN-ONE issues separately or as one single post), this will take us up into mid-late September, and serve to wrap up a solid year-plus of seventies Marvel (INVADERS began last September, and SONS OF THE TIGER before that started in May). After that, we'll move into something non-Marvel for the autumn months, and then I've got something very, very big planned for the remainder of the year, into 2023 -- and probably even beyond.

Be here next week as Skull's adventures begin!

Available from Amazon.

THE UNBOXING - MAY 2015

Four books comprise my haul this month, beginning with AVENGERS: ULTRON UNBOUND, a trade from Marvel which collects a few issues of the Roy Thomas AVENGERS WEST COAST run featuring Ultron, star of this month's summer blockbuster, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON.

Also from Marvel is the pulp-influenced SKULL THE SLAYER, a series which lasted eight issues in the seventies but somehow had three writers across that span. I've always wanted to read this short-lived series, given its influences from the likes of Doc Savage and Conan the Barbarian.