Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
***
Mostly, he ignores those sentiments.
Usually, because he's too busy murdering the person who's said it to him.
But the man we know as Stalker's cut from a more obliging cloth, as he's the one hero who'll take you up on the offer.
That's because he's on the hunt for Dgrth, the demon-god of warriors, who gave him the supreme battle skills he's happily making use of.
As part of this quest, he decides to pay a visit to a priest of Dgrth, called Prior F'lan, who's the one mortal who knows how to get to Hell.
Stalker doesn't like that and, with an assist from the obligatory maiden, Merilla, who slips him a knife, escapes from the cell F'lan has put him in and tortures the villain to extract the necessary info.
But Stalker has no time for such pleasures. Instead, he simply puts her on a horse and sends it departing while he prepares to single-handedly invade Dgrth's realm.
And that sums up the main problem with the tale. No matter how you dress it up, Stalker is a very dull character.
So devoid of charisma is he that you actually end up wanting F'lan to bump him off. Having a protagonist without a soul may seem a compelling idea on paper but, in practice, it gives us a man devoid of any spark, warmth, style or social skills.
Not only that but he doesn't even seem that good at fighting.
Likewise, Paul Levitz's writing is also uninspired, offering no twists or turns, as one-dimensional characters do and say the things we expect participants in these kinds of things to do and say.
In truth, possibly the only thing memorable about the tale is its title Darkling Death at World's End Sea which feels like something Don McGregor would have knocked out for a Killraven tale. Sadly, this is no Killraven.
In the issue's editorial column, Levitz (or possibly editor Joe Orlando) talks about his excitement over what's coming up in issue #7 but, sadly, it was not to be. Stalker only lasted for four issues and, with its total inability to engage the reader, you can see why.
Posts
10 comments:
Steve - As always I salute you for branching out beyond Brand Echh and reviewing a DC now and then!
I do have a recollection of seeing this on the spinner and thinking something like, Spidey once had 6 arms, this dude only has 4. That was about the extent of my juvenile thoughts at the time, no doubt clouded by having just eaten some monstrous Charleston Chew candy bar, lol.
Or perhaps I was distracted by the [immature] adult magazines which were right next to comics at the News Agency in Crown Point, Indiana, LOL.
And I could not agree with you more about Ditko (and Wood). What they did was genius at early Marvel with Spidey and EC with Science Fantasy. But for some reason they never appealed to me beyond those particular mags, much. Ditko-quirky worked great for a kooky Spidey; it never worked for me with Captain Atom or Dr. Strange even at the same time frame or Daredevil.
Well, I love the mighty Ditko / Wood combo. I think that at this stage of their respective careers especially, the artistic partnership was beneficial to both of them. Woody on his own had become really stiff and lifeless, increasingly reliant on swipes and his own stock poses that we’d seen over and over. Ditko’s work had a tendency to look rushed and careless when he inked his own pencils — he was clearly uninspired by the scripts and plots he was getting from the likes of Levitz, Conway, Wein, et al around this time. But they complimented each other way better than they ought to have. With the two together, you got Ditko’s energy and more imaginative staging with Wood’s superior draftsmanship and polish (plus, Ditko’s girls NEVER looked as pretty as when Wood was inking ‘em).
So Steve, I just re-read STALKER #2 and though I agree with your assessment overall, I found it a bit more enjoyable than you did. You’re right — it’s all a bit basic. I appreciate Ditko’s odd take on Medieval costuming and architecture, and it all feels solid under Wood’s (and his merry band of assistants, most likely) finishes. And I really dig that “World’s Edge” setting, with the wraparound waterfalls, Woody’s patented zip-a-tone glow on the Way Too Close horizon, etc. It’s certainly a million miles away from the more “realistic” Barry Smith / John Buscema / Robert E. Howard approach to Sword And Sorcery. Feels kinda Jack Vance-ish (except that it’s almost completely devoid of humor). And yes, Stalker himself is pretty cardboard and personality-free — even by “comic book” standards — hell, even by “DC Comics standards”! :)
Compared to DC’s other “Adventure Line” Sword and Sorcery books, I rate Stalker higher than Claw but lower than Beowulf.
Charlie, you’re the rare Ditko fan who doesn’t dig his Dr. Strange. Me, I’m the rare Ditko fan who doesn’t love his Spider-Man!
b.t.
B.t. There’s no accounting for taste LOL! But OK! I admit it! I only like Dirko on Spider Man… in fact I love it!
Now that I think about it I wonder how Wood would have done on Captain Atom given his lush, gorgeous work on EC’s sci fi books.
I agree with you Steve, the art here is great and had it appeared before Smith, Buscema et al, it might have had more of an impact. I'm a big fan of Wally Wood, but I admit that in the 70's his work seemed a little quaint.
That sure didn't stop me from liking it, though. I first caught his stuff as a young kid when he was doing the pencils for D.C. Comics reboot of All-star Comics, inked by a young Keith Giffen. Wood's clean and simple pencils his solid-looking characters, while a bit old-fashioned, were perfect for a comic about the JSA. His aging Earth-2 Superman looked like Joe Shuster himself might have drawn him.
Even down to the squint. Remember how Shuster's Superman was always squinting?
Same with Beck's Captain Marvel, now that I think about it.
I have a few issues of this comic, and while the writing appears to be kinda dumb and going nowhere, the comic has a goofy '70's charm.
Y'know, when D.C. hauled up the JSA outta the grave and revamped them in the late '90's, they did a crossover event set in the '40's in which the Stalker was the main villain and was bent on universal destruction for some reason.
Don't ask me to explain it!
M.P.
For someone who claims not to know enough about DC comics to be able to blog about them, you're doing pretty well with the reviews of their more obscure titles Steve.
I'm not sure I'd say Stalker was uninspired exactly - there was more to it than just a Conan rip (like Claw or Wulf) - but it wasn't as well executed as it could have been. Perhaps thats not surprising as Paul Levitz was still in his teens when he wrote it.
A one-dimensional character isn't necessarily a problem - Killraven wasn't exactly a well-rounded individual you could relate to - but there does need to be something else to hold the reader's interest.
In comics, sword and sorcery is really all about the artist, but for all his qualities Steve Ditko was not well suited to the genre imo. Even with Wally Wood inking, his work was too cartoony, especially for a series with the basic concept of Stalker.
-sean
Sean, it has never occurred to me, but I think you're right--sword and sorcery comics really are all about the art. Or, mostly.
Or fantasy comics in general. like P.Craig Russell's Elric.
In the hands of the right artist, even a goofy or far-out premise might work.
I think Ditko was better suited for either horror comics or crime noir.
M.P.
Charlie, MP, Sean, Bt, thanks for your comments.
On the strength of what little I've read of both, I think I prefer Beowulf to Stalker, as Beowulf is so odd. Sadly, I've never yet read any Claw.
When it comes to Dr Strange, I'm definitely one of those who likes Ditko's work on it.
You've got me there, Steve! I forgot all about Ditko's Dr. Strange!
But, ya gotta admit, that was kinda close to being a horror comic. Like the stuff he would do for Charlton later on.
I still have a sentimental fondness for those Charlton horror comics.
M.P.
Charlie - That monster with 4 arms reminds me of the Green Men of Mars.
b.t. - Your inadvertently writing "World's Edge" reveals you're a former Elric man (c.f. Earl Aubec & Myshella) !
As regards Ditko, the origin of Spidey is an absolute classic, but my favourite Ditko is 'Shade the Changing Man' # 6.
Ditko's Dr.Strange, featured in Marvel Treasury Edition, is indeed good, and Ditko's Dormammu found its way into the 1977 Superheroes card game. So, I second M.P. on this!
Phillip
When I first started buying comics regularly, Ditko’s Spidey was largely Missing In Action. Ross Andru was currently drawing AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, Gil Kane and Sal Buscema were doing MARVEL TEAM-UP, Jazzy John Romita’s run was being reprinted monthly in MARVEL TALES (and Romita’s art was re-used on tons of merchandising). Ditko’s Spidey stories were later reprinted in the quarterly GIANT-SIZE SPIDER-MAN, but by that time the Romita/Andru/Kane/Buscema version had been firmly imprinted on my impressionable young brain as “THE Spidey”. Ditko’s Spidey looked weird and somewhat crude to me. I do appreciate his work on the character NOW, but it’s still not my favorite.
I’ve never warmed up to his Captain Atom stuff for some reason, but I absolutely love his work on Blue Beetle, The Question, The Creeper and Hawk and the Dove. I like his first 3 issues of The Destructor (the fourth is weak), his one issue of Tiger-Man, his one issue of Man-Bat (the only time he ever drew Batman, and he looks really cool). I like his Dr. Strange stuff a lot, but have never quite gotten into Shade, the Changing Man. He did a really weird, funny back-up strip featuring a character called Kilroy in 2 issues of E-MAN that I like a lot.
His horror comics for Charlton are kinda hit-and-miss, but mostly pretty good. Probably my all-time favorite Ditkos are the black and white jobs rendered in ink-wash that he drew in the early Warren mags.
b.t.
Post a Comment