Obsessively putting our comics in chronological order since 1985.
| 1969-12-01 00:04:10 |
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Captain Marvel #19
Issue(s): Captain Marvel #19
Cover Date: Dec 69
Title: "The mad master of the murder maze!"
Credits:
Roy Thomas - Script
Roy Thomas & Gil Kane - Plot
Gil Kane - Penciler
Dan Adkins - Inker
Review/plot:
I like the basic idea of this issue, which is that a behavioral psychologist (although he's called a sociologist) named Dr. Cornelius Webb is tired of using rats, and so he lures human subjects to his "murder maze" with the promise of jobs and free apartments. But it doesn't really go anywhere interesting and even the psychologist's thesis, which can be summarized as "people can be scared" is a bit of a letdown.
Webb goes catatonic when he learns that one of his subjects, a holocaust survivor that was instrumental in stopping the experiment, is dead.
Rick Jones is of course among the unwilling subjects. He doesn't want to go to the Avengers for help, but can't otherwise find a job right now.
He's still in better shape than poor Captain Marvel, who Rick forces to says in the Negative Zone for "days" while Rick chums it up with his new neighbors, hanging by the pool and just having a grand old time. Rick and Marv need to work out a time-share schedule.
I guess i ought to include a scan of CM himself.
Quality Rating: C-
Historical Significance Rating: 1
Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A
References: N/A
Crossover: N/A
Continuity Insert? N
My Reprint: N/A
| Previous: Iron Man #20 | Up: Main 1969 / Box 5 / Silver Age | Next: Daredevil #59 |
Comments
That Auschwitz-style tattoo in the last panel makes a nice point, but this is still a half-baked mess. Could we build up some supporting cast for Captain Mar-Vell, who's only the star of the book, instead of wasting time on Rick's angst, please?
And it's a total shame that Gil Kane's first full-length Marvel work (he did some Hulk stories in TTA, back when) is being wasted on this death spiral. Damn.
The letter column in this issue mentions that Gil Kane plotted this issue. The note even speculated that Gil might go on to become the writer/artist of this book, which of course didn’t happen thanks to the hiatus.
Thanks, Jesse. I've added a plot credit for Gil Kane for this issue and #18. I've left Thomas with a co-plot credit for this issue just as a hedge.
I love Gil's anatomy...it was wasted on this book. He should have been left on the Hulk. He and Marie Severin would have rocked the house!
