DC Horror Showcase: Man-Bat

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. For years now we have taken a look at several Marvel horror characters and series like The Golem, Living Mummy, Dead Of Night and The Zombie up to this point, and I think that it’s time that we also showcase some of the characters that make up DC horror! Now DC horror is not as deep as Marvel’s, and while they have such titles as House Of Mystery and Swamp Thing, they have always mostly focused on their superhero comic lines like Batman and Superman with even many of the horror titles have that hero touch. One of those horror superheroes is the first topic for this DC Horror update, and of course it will be Man-Bat, that pain in the side of Batman who has been bad as well as good and has entertained comic readers for decades. So sit back, be ready to be scared and yet also pumped as this bat creature man is ready to deliver a heroic spooky good time.

Dr. Kirk Langstorm is a Chiropterologist who was working on a serum that would enhance humans senses like a bat’s sonar, and when using it on himself as a test, he turns into a bat creature that goes on rampages throughout Gotham City and has to clash with Batman as well as fellow superheroes over the years like Superman, Robin and Hawkman. From time to time Man-Bat would also find himself on the side of good and not be the monster the world sees him as but as a monster with the brain of the brilliant doctor. Man-Bat even has found himself discovering the Batcave and clashing with Batman in his own base and giving him a tough fight several times. By mistake, Man-Bat has infected his wife with the serum curse and turned her into She-Bat and once when losing control he believed that he killed his family, only for them to have survived. Man-Bat is dangerous and can fly and use his claws to rip flesh and can use his super sonar hearing to track his prey. He is also stronger than a normal man and is also super fast in speed making him a truly monstrous foe.

Man-Bat was created in 1970 and first appeared in Detective Comics # 400 with Julius Schwartz being his concept creator and Neal Adams being the artist to bring him to life on the comic pages. He was originally a villain for Batman and over the years would also have runs as a good guy helping Batman as well as other heroes and would even make appearances in DC Comics Presents teaming with Superman. At one time, he was a member of the Secret Society Of Super Villains and over the years has gotten his own comic mini series. He has also made the leap from comics to cartoons appearing in episodes of “Batman The Animated Series”, “Batman Beyond” and “Justice League Unlimited” but only in mention on the latter. He would also be in a few video games, mostly in the DC Lego series, and had many toys made of him from companies like Kenner and Mattel. And while Man-Bat never gained the following that other Batman villains did, namely The Joker, Catwoman, The Riddler, Two-Face and Penguin, he does have a cult following along the likes of Killer Croc, Killer Moth and Black Mask. He was always one of my favorites growing up as he looked cool and always seemed to be a threat to Batman, in fact he reminded me of the Lizard from the Marvel Comics series Spider-Man as many of the times both Batman and Spidey had to defeat their foes back to normal using science and both baddies are the way they are due to science. Say what you will, but if your read DC Comics and like your characters with a dash of horror then you know just how cool Man-Bat is!

Over the years Man-Bat has had his fair share of very cool figures come out and allow fans to have him go on adventures as well as fight the likes of Batman, Superman and even Killer Croc if they want to. And while not a ton of figures have been made of Man-Bat, the ones that have been are pretty cool stuff! Man-Bat has also graced other merchandise like posters, trading cards, shirts, stickers, toys and video games. While Man-Bat is a very cool looking character, he oddly does not get much merchandise and barely makes appearances in the games, movies and cartoons…I mean it would be awesome to see him in a future live action Batman film.

The Kenner Super Powers Collection was super popular with my brother and I growing up as we would collect all the ones we could get our hands on. Four figures I can remember getting the most as a kid were Superman, The Joke, Hawkman and Robin as they were some of my favorites but I also had The Flash, Aquaman, Penguin and Samurai. My brothers had Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Lex Luthor, Darkseid, Cyclorton and Steppenwolf. So as you can see, we had almost all of them. But sadly Kenner would pull the plug on the Super Powers Collection line before a series four could be released and over the years fans have uncovered the names that would have made up that series including Swamp Thing, Batgirl, Creeper, Catwoman, Blue Devil, Supergirl, Vigilante and many more, but most importantly on that list of planned figures was Man-Bat! That’s right, we almost got a Man-Bat figure by Kenner and that would have been awesome and would have been one that my brother and I would have harassed our parents to get for us as we both liked the character, and he would have been a great villain for our Batman and Robin Super Powers to have fought with. And with retro toy lines coming back I wish that Hasbro, who now owns Kenner, would get the DC Comics toy license once more and bring this series back and make them look just like they did back in the 80’s and that they would do the figures that were planned in the series that never got past the prototype and sketch phase and that would include Man-Bat…but sadly I think this will never happen.

Well now that we have taken a look at Man-Bat’s character and his history in comics and merchandise, I think that its time for us to get to the review part of this update. The Man-Bat series I chose to cover is the 1^st series that was released in 1975 and only lasted for two issues. I chose this series as I am a fan of the older comics from DC and plus these are the ones I remember owning and reading as a kid and would like to see if they hold up. I want to thank Bell, Book And Comic for having these issues in stock and making this update possible and I want to remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, the entertainment value and the art and story. So if you are ready, let’s see what Man-Bat has in store for us, will it be scary or will it be superhero like?

Man-Bat # 1  **1/2
Released in 1975     Cover Price .25     DC Comics     #1 of 2

Baron Tyme uses magic in order to turn Francine Langstorm into She-Bat with a mission to kill someone in Gotham City, and to his horror, Kirk watches as his wife flies away with a mission of murder on her mind. Kirk takes the serum and turns into Man-Bat as he needs to stop his wife from murdering a man, and while he looks for her, illusions created by Baron Tyme slow him down, but he is able to stop her just in time as she had found her prey. Man-Bat knocks out She-Bat and starts talking to the man who is Professor Raymond Arthur who works for a college and one of his co-workers is indeed Baron Tyme, but before he can get any more information to Man-Bat he is killed by She-Bat! The news breaks and now Batman is aware of the murder of Professor Arthur and hits the streets to find Man-Bat as it was clear that it was committed by a bat and he wants to stop him. Meanwhile Man-Bat uses the last of his powerful serum to turn She-Bat back into Francine, and as she changes back, someone cuts the lights and uses a sonar noise to confuse Man-Bat. It was Batman who set the trap and after a struggle, the two end up talking and Man-Bat alerts Batman that someone is using mind control on She-Bat and caused her to murder. Batman stays with Francine as Man-Bat heads to the college and comes face to face with Baron Tyme who uses illusions to keep our hero captive. Tyme then tells him that the murders are being done in order to please a demon and that he is going to also offer Man-Bat as well, but Man-Bat uses his low sonar sound to hurt the ears of Baron Tyme who ends up backing into an open flame and is caught on fire. As Man-Bat flies away, he wonders if his foes words of demons are true or if he was just a master of trickery who could use his hypnotizing ways to trick minds and mastermind murders.

This first issue of Man-Bat has more elements of superhero than horror but is still a very good read that features our creature hero on a quest to break a mind hold that a magical villain has on his wife, and with this mind hold he has her committing murder that gets the attention of Batman who gets involved. Man-Bat is in control and retains his smarts and is very angry that someone is using his ladylove as well as put doubt in the mind of Batman who knew that one of them had to be the ones committing the crimes. Man-Bat does his best to try and stop the super villains as well as at least one of the murders. She-Bat is out of control for most of the issue as she has a bloodlust and the want to kill and has to be knocked out in order to break those evil urges, and try to free her mind of these commands. Batman is around but besides having a brief fight with Man-Bat and staying with a subdued She-Bat he is not really a major player to our story. Baron Tyme is a man who is into black magic and can use it to control minds as well as create very realistic illusions, and he is doing all of this in order to send murdered souls to a demon that he has made a deal with. And while Baron Tyme is an interesting 70’s style comic book super villain, his motives are a little unclear and the way he is beaten in the end is a little rushed. But being set on fire and left for dead by the book’s hero does leave it open that his death could be one of his illusions so who knows maybe he will return in the next issue. The cover is pretty cool and eye catching as it shows not only Man-Bat but they also of course showcased Batman. The interior art is awesome as it is done by comic artist icon Steve Ditko! Over all this is a good read that did its best to try and make Man-Bat a hero when we all know he makes a better bad guy. With that, let’s see what the second and last issue in this series has in store for us.

Man-Bat # 2  **1/2
Released in 1976     Cover Price .25     DC Comics     #2 of 2

Man-Bat is flying around Chicago on a windy day when he is attacked by unknown person who has a jet pack and clearly has been hired to take down Man-Bat, but for what reason is unknown. The two fight in the sky for a few moments and Man-Bat decides to dive into a river and take the serum to turn back into his human self Kirk and swims ashore and takes a taxi home confused on why he was attacked. Once Kirk gets home he gets the surprise of his life as his apartment is filled with his friends as well as his sister who are welcoming him back home to Chicago as he and Francine have moved back to his home city. But Kirk’s nerves go crazy when he finds Francine in her room fighting off not turning into She-Bat and outside on the balcony is his unknown attacker. So Kirk slips away and takes the serum and turns back into Man-Bat, but the attacker has a weird power that he can see using his fingers and once more he and Man-Bat start fighting in the sky and the attacker sprays weird sticky latex in the face of Man-Bat who ends up knocking out the attacker by causing pain to his fingers. While Man-Bat gets the sticky goo off his face he figures out that his attacker is really The 10 Eyed Man a villain from Gotham who was taken out of jail by the CLA group and hired to kill him! But as The 10 Eyed Man wakes back up he sets a bomb that he hopes will allow him to capture Man-Bat instead the bomb blows up and blinds the The 10 Eyed Man who falls off the building to his death. In the end Man-Bat wonders why the CLA wants him dead and then remembers he has to return to his apartment for the party.

This second and final issue of Man-Bat is an okay superhero comic mixed with a dash of horror and continues Man-Bat trying to cure She-Bat of her vampiric ways but finds himself being hunted down by The 10 Eyed Man who was hired by a group called the CLA and this causes Man-Bat drama and action. Man-Bat uses his brilliant mind to try and outsmart and outstep his attacker and in the end does so and it leads to the death of the attacker and no real questions answered, and while Man-Bat is strong and skilled his weaknesses do make him on the defense more then the offense. And that’s a shame as I would have liked to have seen Man-Bat going crazy and allow the animal side of him to go off, like the lost control version of Man-Bat who wanted to shred The 10 Eyed Man! Speaking of The 10 Eyed Man he is a very cheesy villain who uses his fingers to see and has to have his hands out in order to see and fight, and as you would guess this makes him super easy to beat up as take away his finger eyes and he is a mess and will loose. I am not sure if I like that Man-Bat is no longer in Gotham City and is now located in Chicago as to me the character just don’t fit in the Windy City. The big story arch that is showcased in this issue is the CLA getting super villains out of trouble and sending them to attack and capture Man-Bat and it’s a shame as the series had to have been such a poor seller that this story just kind of ends here with only two issues being released. I think that DC should not have made the comic series a superhero book and really should have played off the Horror aspects of Man-Bat as by making him just another hero it just was lost in the shuffle of late 70’s main company Superhero comics that flooded the market. The cover is very cool and eye catching and looks like a Horror Comic and the interior art by Pablo Marcos is really great and I like the way he draws Man-Bat as he does capture the monster aspect of the character. It’s a shame that this series did not last that long cause I do think it had potential to become a very entertaining series, but fate did not have it in the cards to have Man-Bat become a long running series. Check out the art below to see they style of art used in this two issue run.

While Man-Bat’s first solo series was more superhero than fright it was still a fun read and really did live up to my memories of reading them as a youngster. And yes before we move on I will say I do wish that DC would have played more on the horror aspect, but I would guess they got cold feet and knew that superheroes were what sold for them more. But with that our first look at DC Horror has came to an end. For our next update, we will be heading back to the world of Pro Wrestling and back to the Rotten Ink Arena as we will be talking Mr. Wrestling II! So until next time, read a DC Comic or three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local Horror Host! And this next update is truly about a Wrestling Legend.

Marvel Horror Showcase – The Golem

In the 1970’s Marvel Comics unleashed a batch of Horror themed characters on readers as the comic code was loosening their grip on previously strict rules allowing horror and monsters to enter the inked pages of comics once more. They had such ghouls and creatures as Dracula, Man-Thing, Ghost Rider, Daimon Hellstrom, Frankenstein’s Monster, Living Mummy, Godzilla, Jack Russell the Werewolf by Night, Zombie and Golem to name a few, and while many of them had long lives in the pages of Marvel Comics, some of them only lasted a small handful and have faded away from the comic spotlight. Today for this update we are going to take a look at one of their Horror themed short lived characters, and I have chosen Golem as I think this hero monster needs his time in the sun and for a new generation of Marvel Horror Comic readers to discover or even think about once more. In fact I am thinking that this will be the start of a new themed update series I will call “Marvel Horror Showcase” and will allow me to breakdown a classic Marvel Horror character and share my connection to them as well as share some history about the character. So if you’re ready to be spooked by Marvel Comics, let’s take a macabre journey with the thing that walks like a man called The Golem.

The Golem’s origin in the Marvel Universe is as follows: in the city of Prague, the people were being oppressed by evil tyrants and wise man Judan Loew Ben Bezalel created a massive man shaped statue out of rock, clay and blood. The Golem was used to avenge the people and did just that. After his work was done for the people of Prague, The Golem wandered around helping the innocent against evil people. Once the massive creature did what he could for mankind, it walked its way into the desert and allowed the sand to cover him up hiding away from mankind. And once he is uncovered in modern times The Golem once more becomes a protector for innocent mankind and binds itself to the family who uncovered it and has awoken it from its long slumber. The Golem is mostly a protector, but in the wrong hands he can also be used for pure evil as it is a creature of emotions of those it’s bound to. While The Golem might not be a true icon of Marvel Horror, he has made his small mark in the Marvel Universe.

When I was a youngster some of the first Horror Comics, I ever read were the Marvel Horror books as well as a few of the Gold Key titles, and I would say Marvel was my introduction to Horror Comics over all and that is where I discovered the comic series Strange Tales and in those pages I discovered Golem. The Golem was one of those characters I can remember reading his adventures and wondering why he was not a fully fledged monster on a rampage, but learned to really enjoy his superhero adventures. One thing I always liked about Golem was that he always seemed one step away from going fully fledged rampaging monster as he can be controlled, and if the demons got ahold of him he would have become full evil and really scare mankind. I also have heard that The Golem has become a member of the monster team S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Howling Commandos alongside The Living Mummy, Frankenstein’s Monster and Zombie to name a few. Plus over his comic book run he even took on The Thing from the Fantastic Four!

I really owe a lot of my love for Horror Comics to the Marvel Horror as they were the first ones I read and can even say that I collected as I was obsessed with getting my hands on issues of Werewolf By Night, Godzilla and Tomb Of Dracula. But enough gushing about Marvel Horror, let’s get into looking at the Strange Tales issues that The Golem appeared in as well as the issue of Marvel Two-In-One he appeared in. I want to also remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So let’s take a look at the first Marvel Horror character I have chosen, the one and only The Golem!

Strange Tales # 174  ***
Released in 1974   Cover Price .25     Marvel Comics    #174 of 188

Professor Abraham Adamson along with his nephew Jason, niece Rebecca and his helper Wayne Logan are searching in the desert for a mythical creature called The Golem that is said to have been buried in the sand many decades back. And as Wayne and Rebecca are digging, they find the massive body of The Golem and with some chains and digging equipment they are able to bring it to the surface once again! But while they are happy to have found their discovery, a few miles away a war wages on and man is killing man all in the name of land. The next day Colonel Omar and his men ask to refresh at the camp of Professor Adamson who grants them shelter and a place to rest. But The Colonel and his men show their true colors as they are at the camp to loot it as they are deserters of the war and during the looting Professor Adamson is shot and killed. The rest are taken as prisoners, but the war criminals made a mistake as the soul of Professor Adamson finds its way into The Golem who once more comes alive. The Golem finds the soldiers and makes quick work of them ending their lives with ease and once done he finds Colonel Omar who has a gun to Rebecca’s head, and with speed The Golem crushes the gun and kills Colonel Omar as Rebecca, Jason and Wayne all notice a look in the creature’s eye that reminds them of Professor Adamson.

Strange Tales # 174 does a fantastic job of bring comic readers into the myth and horror world of the character The Golem! Our creepy tale has a Professor being murdered and his loved ones kidnapped and with his dying breath is able to call on the living statue The Golem who was created to fight evil to avenge him and save his family, and that’s what happens. Professor Abraham Adamson is a good man who loves the history of The Golem and has spent many years of his life to learn of the legend as well as find its location. But while he is super smart, he is a little too trusting as he allows soldiers to stay at his camp and they end up being the ones to end his life. Rebecca, Jason and Wayne are good people who are a part of Professor Adamson’s team to find The Golem and get a shock of a lifetime when they watch as the Professor is gun downed and The Golem walks and kills. Colonel Omar and his men are cutthroats who steal what they need and have no issues with killing as long as they are not caught. The Golem is a silent avenger who reacts and takes action when danger to the innocent is around, and it’s clear he only walks the Earth again due to the tear of the dying Professor. This comic has the Marvel Horror feel as it has deaths and a monster but does downplay the violence as the kills of The Golem are hidden in all panels. The story was written by Len Wein and edited by Roy Thomas, and to me that’s a great pairing for 70’s Horror Comics. The cover is great and eye catching for those who love the creature runs amok flare as it showcases The Golem smashing a jeep and reaching for a woman. The interior art is done by John Buscema, and all his work is fantastic. While the Horror for this character is downplayed, the macabre aspect is not, and this issue is a fantastic read for those of us who love classic monsters of myth and legend.

Strange Tales # 176  **1/2
Released in 1974   Cover Price .25     Marvel Comics   #176 of 188

Rebecca, Jason and Wayne look at The Golem in shock as the dead bodies of the soldiers are all around them, and decide that they need to get The Golem back to the University in Florida as that was their uncle’s wish. As they are loading The Golem onto a ship, they are visited by more soldiers who want to keep the statue in their country but they are attacked by The Golem who is about to kill them as well until Rebecca orders it to stop…and it does! As the soldiers run off, the Adamson family and The Golem hit the high seas set to return to America. Evil wizard Kaballa The Unclean and his winged demons has set their sights on The Golem as Kaballa thinks he can control the creature who can help him on his conquest to conquer the world and sends his wing demons to attack the ship and bring him The Golem. The wing demons attack, and The Golem once more comes to life and along with Wayne saves Jason who has heavy barrels fall on him, and Kaballa learns that The Golem needs to be on land to get his power, but when things get super bad The Golem powers up and tackles all the demons into the water and as they die one of them fires a bolt and blows up the ship and The Golem is forced to swim or sink and as he paddles by Rebecca, Jason and Wayne jumps on his back as they all end up on an island.

This second macabre tale has The Golem on his way to America on a ship, and we find out that a demonic wizard has his eye on controlling him and sends some demons to attack him and see what he is made off. In this issue we also learn a little more about The Golem as he understands English and can take orders from those it cares about. Plus we learn that it needs to be on land in order to have its full power and strength. We also learn that The Golem does not care and will kill if he feels that innocent people are in danger and in a rage almost kills more soldiers who really didn’t do much besides get upset that Americans are taking more of their culture away. Wayne Logan in this issue also shows he is a hero as he does what he can to try and bring down the flying demons and risks his own life trying his best to help The Golem. Jason is useless and causes The Golem to use up some of his strength in order to save him as when the demons attack he is in the way. Rebecca in this issue is kind of in the background but it is shown she can control The Golem as it listens to her. Our issue’s bad guy is Kaballa The Unclean who controls an army of demons and for some reason thinks that The Golem will make him more unstoppable, and all he really does is watch as his demon minions get their butts kicked. This issue brings in supernatural elements to the Horror and Superhero atmosphere this story has already delivered. I like the idea of The Golem being a killing machine that now must fight demons in order to protect its human friends, plus I feel that he is now facing baddies that are a challenge…but also I feel that adding the demons in also takes away the classic feel of The Golem myth and just turns it into a cheesy Doctor Strange style story. The cover for this issue has a classic 70’s Marvel look and is eye catching for readers like me. The interior art is done by Tony DeZuniga and has a more Horror Comic look. Over all this is a good issue that just took the story in a more cheesy supernatural mystic Marvel way. Let’s see what the third part of our story has in store for us and let’s see what island our heroes are on.

Strange Tales # 177  **1/2
Released in 1974   Cover Price .25     Marvel Comics   #177 of 188

Kaballa The Unclean is upset that his winged demons have failed him and decides that he will next send Fire Demons after The Golem as he really does think that with his power he will be able to conquer the world! Meanwhile at the University of Florida, a Dr. Yeates does not believe that The Golem is real even after his assistant Saudia Yamal shows her tests that prove The Golem is alive! Rebecca, Jason and Wayne all try to prove that The Golem is alive, and yet Yeates does not want to hear it and when he gets the chance he decides that he is going to use a blow torch and melt the monster just in case he is proven wrong and The Golem is alive and he is not able to fill the seat at the University left behind by Professor Adamson. But when he turns on the torch, he is greeted by the fire demons whose appearance makes The Golem come alive to protect Yeates as well as Rebecca and Wayne who mistakenly shown up at the lab. The fire demons are powerful and hurt The Golem with their extreme heat, but before The Golem goes down, he gets his second wind when he thinks about how much he loves his new human friends and with his bare hands he takes down the fire demons. And defeated again, Kaballa sits back on his throne and thinks of his next attack plan.

In his final appearance in the pages of Strange Tales our monster hero The Golem once more battles demons in order to protect humans from being killed and wronged and finds more about his own powers as it’s not only the land that fuels his power but also love. The Golem in this issue also shows that he is starting to share a mind link with Rebecca and Wayne as they can hear little of its thoughts. The Golem is also starting to learn who and what is a threat and when he should attack and when he should just remain solid like a statue. Dr. Yeates on the other hand is kind of a scumbag as he would rather destroy the creature instead of being wrong on his prediction that it’s all a hoax, as he does not care about The Golem nor the history of it; all he wants is to move up at the University. Jason, Rebecca and Wayne all kind of take a back seat in this issue as they are more just around at the university and are the ones who delivered The Golem there and are the ones it wants to protect. The Fire Demons are powerful and are good fighters as they almost bring down our living clay creature, and Kaballa once more just watches the battle and is evil and ate up with craving power. Once more this issue plays up on the mystic supernatural aspects and mixes in Horror slightly as it’s clear that comics like Doctor Strange was popular at the time for Marvel and they wanted to add it into this simple plotted Horror Comic. The cover for this issue is okay but does lose the Horror and is clearly more mystic looking. The interior art is done by Tony DeZuniga and is good and fitting for the direction of this series. In the letters section of this comic they talk about the fate of The Golem and the people of Marvel say that they could not figure out what to do with The Golem so they pulled the plug on him and his story in the pages of Strange Tales and decided to turn the comic over to featuring Adam Warlock instead. And we would have to wait a little time to get an end to The Golem’s tale and it would come in the pages of Marvel Two In One and that’s what we will take a look at next.

Marvel Two-In-One # 11  **1/2
Released in 1975     Cover Price .25     Marvel Comics   # 11 of 100

The Thing and his girlfriend Alicia Masters are rushing to the train station so they can get to Disney World in Florida for their vacation, and everything seems to be working against them as the cab driver who took them to the station argued with The Thing for a short time and even the train almost left without them! And once on the train the other passengers treat The Thing like he is a monster and even all sit away from him and Alicia. Meanwhile at Sam Pedro University in Florida’s Ancient Cultures Department, a small group is meeting next to the Golem with Professor Yeates who is arguing with Jason Adamson about if the stone statue can indeed come to life and fight, and this spins the wheels of both who view the Golem differently as Jason knows it is a protector against evil and believes his uncle’s spirit is inside the stone statue. Meanwhile Kaballa The Unclean has figured out that he can take control of The Golem by separating him from Rebecca and Jason and allowing his own evil will to be what guides him. Kaballa also uses the weather to his advantage and uses water to separate the kids from The Golem and unlucky for The Thing, he must tangle with The Golem who is more powerful and more brutal than the Fantastic Four member and is able to knock the hero around. As The Thing tangles with Golem, it gets flashes in his mind that his foe is sending him and risks it all to build a bridge to the college so that Rebecca and Jason can be near Golem and try and get him back under their control. As The Thing builds the bridge our of cars, poles and what ever he can get his mighty hands on he must also fight off demons who are attacking trying to keep him from his goal as Kaballa only needs a few more minutes before he takes over totally! The Thing is able to build the bridge and Rebecca and Jason rush to their monster friend and as they try and get Golem under control Kaballa attacks them and this forces the Golem to use his powers and vanquish Kaballa! In the end The Golem is now frozen in place as Jason and Rebecca plan on watching over it and The Thing and Alicia can now start their vacation.

The Golem in his final appearance in a classic Marvel Comic has our monster going on a rampage as well as once more being brought in by the power of love form his human friends. In this issue Kaballa The Unclean almost gets full control of The Golem and uses weather and demons as his defense to try and keep his control for the time that’s needed to become it’s full master, but what he didn’t count on was that The Thing of super team the Fantastic Four being in town and helping the Adamson family regain control. In this issue Jason and Rebecca are helpless to help The Golem and spend most of the issue arguing with Professor Yeates and being stuck at the college and watching as their friend and protector is being possessed and going on a massive rampage! The Thing is a hero that is lucky or unlucky depending on how you look at it to be in the area as this is going on as his power is what saves the day for the world as if Kaballa would have gained total control everyone would be in some serious trouble. Kaballa The Unclean is as sinister as ever and in this issue before he is defeated is so close to getting what he wants and starting his take over of the world, but as always his ego and self titled nature lead to his defeat. The Golem in this issue starts out being the stone protector the world needs to being a rampaging monster that Horror Comic readers want, to ending up a frozen statue that is stuck in the middle of Florida. This final story in the classic arch of Golem seems a little rushed and to be honest The Thing and him really don’t fight as much as they should, showing Marvel really just wanted to end Golem and his comic run. In fact Golem really brings down Kaballa pretty easy and it would have been great if they decided to have Golem be a ramping monster by the end of the story and not just a good guy statue frozen until a later date. I mean as a bad guy it would have been great to see him tangle with Man-Thing who is also set in Florida or even do battle with The Hulk, Thor, Werewolf By Night and Luke Cage to name a few. While after this appearance Golem would go on to make cameos in a few other issues this really does mark the end of his comic star. The cover for this issue is fantastic and captured my attention when I seen it as a kid, and the interior art is top notch and done by Bob Brown and has that Marvel flare. Over all I would have loved to seen more of the Golem in comics and really wish they would have left him bad for awhile to allow the above mentioned battles before having Rebecca and Jason once more get him under control. If you like Marvel Supernatural Horror, then I would say give this a read, as it’s a fun one. Check out the art below to see some of the styles used for this series.

So as you can see, Golem was and is a pretty cool Marvel Horror monster that had a short run that delivered some scares but mostly supernatural action. While Marvel seemed to really give up on the character and never allowed him to fully live up to his potential of becoming a good Horror Comic character, he still was able to leave his bloodstain mark on it no matter how small it was. And while writing this I also thinking about the next character I would like to cover for next Marvel Horror Showcase and I am happy to say that I have chosen IT The Living Colossus to be the next Horror subject! But enough of talking about a future update, let’s talk about the next one as I will be taking a look at Horror Hosts Iris & Retina from Mondo Smash A’GO-GO! So until next time, read a Marvel Horror Comic or three, watch a classic Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. Join me next update as it will be a blast talking about these Dayton, Ohio Hosts!