Obsessively putting our comics in chronological order since 1985.
| 1986-11-01 00:07:10 |
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Cloak and Dagger #9
Issue(s): Cloak and Dagger #9
Cover Date: Nov 86
Title: "The lady and the unicorn"
Credits:
Bill Manto - Writer
Art Adams - Penciler
Terry Austin - Inker
Rosemary McCormick-Lowy - Assistant Editor
Carl Potts - Editor
Review/plot:
Well, Dagger has joined the circus, and found true happiness.
Cloak, on the other hand, isn't too happy about it.
But he promises Dagger that once they track down this particular group of smugglers that they are after, they can return to the US and find a way to get rid of their powers. Bill Clayton doesn't believe that, and given Cloak's maniacal grin, you figure he's probably on to something.
Clayton does realize this issue that Dagger also does what she does (by which i mean hunting drug dealers, not riding unicorns) out of a true sense of duty, not just because she's under Cloak's influence.
Meanwhile, back in New York, having been rejected by the Catholic elders and Daimon Hellstrom, Father Delgado decides to try a remote exorcism by himself. Mayhem shows up to tell him that he's crazy...
...but back in Europe, Cloak suddenly feels like someone is trying to steal his soul.
Cloak, Dagger, and Bill Clayton continue to travel with the circus and move from France into Germany, but they're spotted by agents of the mobsters. They are attacked at the circus, and as we all know, that is dangerous, because the most fearsome fighters of all are always just a "Hey rube!" away.
Dagger gets pretty violent during the fight, especially after her unicorn is mowed down, and then Cloak and Dagger teleport away and we're left with a preview of who they'll be dealing with next.
The thing about Art Adams's art is that it's so distinct that his characters tend to look a bit samey, but this book continues to be a nice showcase for various guest artists.
Quality Rating: C+
Historical Significance Rating: 1
Chronological Placement Considerations: Cloak appears here after Doctor Strange #78. Dr. Doom's appearance at the very end of this issue may just be conceptual, but i've listed him as a Character Appearing.
References:
- Cloak and Dagger came to Europe on the trail of smugglers in Cloak and Dagger #7.
- That was after stopping the smugglers from using Father Delgado's church festival to spread their drugs in Cloak and Dagger #6.
- Detective Brigid O'Reilly died and became Mayhem in Cloak and Dagger #5.
Crossover: N/A
Continuity Insert? N
My Reprint: N/A
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Comments
It's annoying that Delgado performing an exorcism on Cloak is treated like a betrayal since he's right that there's something demonic about Cloak, and it's encouraged him to feed on innocent people on several occasions. Everybody else seems content to bury their heads in the hand about Cloak's problems and Marvel's sorcerers- Strange, Daimon- have been no help at all.
A possible explanation why Mantlo wasn't fired from Marvel during the second half of the 1980s: In Comics Journal #112(11/86) it's reported that Mantlo accepted a settlement from Marvel due to contract violations earlier in the year. Supposedly, editors were giving him less work due to Shooter's dislike of his writing, and royalty payments were applied to make up the shortfall in guaranteed pages per month. Unlike virtually every other Marvel creative person, Mantlo did have a law degree and was able to get a settlement for that--presumably, one that made it a lot harder to fire him regardless of book performance.
Jim Shooter talks a little bit about the irony of the fact that Marvel paid for Mantlo to go to law school, only to have him use the degree to sue them.
Art Adams later stated in Comics Interview #46 that he hated drawing this issue because he couldn't stand the script.
