Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Amazing Adventures #16 (1973)


This is one of those fun old Marvel issues where Bullpenners got to show up as comic characters. Gerry Conway and Len Wein get to ride along with the Beast as he takes on the Juggernaut. Steve Gerber has used this odd little town a few times now, mostly in Defenders. He clearly likes it, even though it gets a bit smashed up during the Juggernaut's rampage.

It's interesting, Juggernaut is almost a supernatural villain here, powered by his helmet. My default is to think of him as an X-villain, so I forget that he could take on Dr. Strange in a totally logical conflict. Most of the issue consists of Juggernaut chasing Beast through the town. I loved the sequence where Beast tries to swim and get away, but Juggs' magic helmet helps him float. I will never understand why Beast thought it was a good idea to go hide out at a party, he must have known that would put all those civilians in danger. Beast does win in a neat way though, since this is right after his transformation into the blue Beast, when he reveals himself as a monster, Juggs is so frightened Beast is able to knock his helmet off. It would only work once, but it is a believable way for the Beast to win that fight.

Bob Brown draws one wide Juggernaut and one horrific Beast. Beast isn't a smiling ape-man here, he's a fanged monster. It's an interesting look, but I think I prefer George Perez's amiable goofball.

Good

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