To say that I was excited when I first saw the above cover to Astonishing tales issues 25 by Rich Buckler and Klaus Janson would have been a massive understatement. I was 14 going on 15 years old at the time and was looking for a different type of comic from the traditional superhero, something that was more gritty and I found that in this issue featuring Rich Buckler and Doug Moench’s reanimated cybernetic character. Even the name “Demolisher” screamed excitement and originality to me.
In hindsight of course I probably overestimated the originality of the character as Deathlok owed a great deal to other pop-culture trends including Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein”, the 1970’s horror revival, the violent dystopian SF novels of the pulp era and the cybernetics of the then hit TV show “The Six Million Dollar Man” (based on Martin Caidin’s “Cyborg” novels). But at the time (and even now looking back) there was a lot to like about these early tales of Colonel Luther Manning who loses his humanity in a post-apocalyptic science experiment and finds himself trapped in a nightmare amalgam of flesh and circuitry.
The 2 pages below featured an interview between Roy Thomas and Rich Buckler and Doug Moench on the creation of Deathlok, which just added to the excitment of the comic. This issue also contained a fun 2 pages cartoon strip written by Doug Moench with some of G
eorge Perez's eariest Marvel art (inked by Mike Esposito)
While Doug Moench’s early scripts were insightful in highlighting the struggle between Manning and his cybernetic onboard computer the stories seemed to lose their appeal as the series progressed unable to hold onto the promise of the first issue. With Astonishing Tales issue 36 the Deathlok series (and Astonishing Tales itself) ceased publication leaving Deathlok’s appearances to that of a team up guest star.
I was probably about seven years old when I walked into my local newsagents in Cambuslang (near Glasgow) with my pocket money firmly he...
Following on from my last post featuring some of my favourite Marvel comic book covers from 1973, I thought I would show some of DC's ...
Nearly a half-century on I still consider 1973 to be the year that cemented my destiny in becoming a lifetime comic book fan. It was a yea...
Deathlok had so much potential as shown in that debut issue. But for whatever reason Buckler didn't seem capable of keeping up the pace. But the glory of what might have been is intriguing.
ReplyDeleteDespite the lost potential of the character his first appearance was so fresh and exciting to myself that this issue still remains one of the core comics from my teen years, that got me "hooked".
ReplyDeleteAs a single issue it is magnificent.
DeleteThe way Deathlok interacted with his computer later reminded me of the way Rogue Trooper spoke with his bio-chips. I wonder if 2000 A.D. 'borrowed' the idea, even though it wasn't exactly the same?
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point Kid it is indeed similar I never thought of that.
ReplyDeleteLooking at that page of Deathlok shooting someone in the back, it’s a wonder that the Comics Code Authority approved the book, although by that time I think that it was an organization whose time had passed.
ReplyDeleteReading the comic now, it does make me recall how TV in 1974 was becoming dominated by cyborg series and films that integrated high tech with human action (Six Million Dollar Man,The Questor Tapes and Probe/Search Control come to mind). Plus as a 15 year old I was itching to see the heightened action and brutality of Dirty Harry and Magnum Force, so Deathlok fit right in with that moment in pop culture history.
I wonder if Disney/Marvel will take a pass at integrating Deathlok into the MCU on film.
I think a version of Deathlok has been used in the Agents of SHIELD tv series and a film was proposed, but was scrapped. Personally, I would love to see a real Deathlok movie.
ReplyDeleteI think this issue certainly played a major roll in putting the final nail in the coffin of the Comics Code Authority and paved the way for the more gritty/violent comics of the 1980s