Issue(s): Marvel Fanfare #19
Cover Date: Mar 85
Title: "Such sweet sorrow.." / "Dancin' the night away!" / "Dagger's light"
Credits:
Bill Mantlo - Writer
Tony Salmons / Rick Leonardi / Kerry Gammill - Penciler
Tony Salmons / Terry Austin / George Freeman - Inker
Pat Blevins - Assistant Editor
Al Milgrom - Editor

Review/plot:
This issue is a Cloak & Dagger story split into three parts, with three different art teams. It seems Al Milgrom originally intended to run the three parts as back-ups, but for last issue he couldn't find the first Tony Salmons part. And, according to the Editori-Al cartoon, that was because Tony Salmons apparently snuck back into Milgrom's office and took his pages back. But Milgrom has the pages again and runs the entire three-parter in a single issue.

The Tony Salmon part of the story has Cloak & Dagger attacking a drug dealer and curing a user...

...and then Dagger decides that she needs some time to herself.

Notice the narration saying that Cloak knows that Dagger will return because they are dependent on each other.

For the Leonardi/Austin portion, Dagger goes to a club to dance...

...and is discovered by a mobster that has been having trouble with his drug trade due to Cloak & Dagger's activities. He approaches Dagger, who is burning up with light and oblivious to everything but her dancing.

He leads her out of the club and to his uncle, who is higher up in the mob chain.

Meanwhile, Cloak starts attacking well-to-do drug users.

In the Gammill/Freeman portion, Dagger wakes up and starts attacking the mobsters.

Cloak, attracted by her use of her light powers, arrives there as well. At this point it's said to be confirmed that Dagger "hungers" the same way he does.

It seems like a pretty important revelation to relegate to what was going to be a string of back-up features in Marvel Fanfare, but i guess Cloak & Dagger were in between books at this point. This does therefore work out to be one of the better issues of Marvel Fanfare. It's got some impact or development, and it's a good basic Cloak & Dagger story with them in their element of the gritty city. Seeing the different takes by the three art teams was good, too. The Leonardi/Austin team (who were responsible for their mini-series and the initial art on their upcoming regular series) is of course nice, but i enjoyed the Gammill/Freeman art, as well. Tony Salmons is of course a matter of taste.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: The MCP place this between Cloak & Dagger's appearances in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #96 and New Mutants #23. The story is context free, although i'm not sure exactly when the idea that Dagger is as dependent on Cloak as he is on her becomes apparent in their regular appearances.

References:

• There's a non-footnoted flashback to Dagger's origin, from Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #64.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A