Issue(s): Power Man #26
Cover Date: Aug 75
Title: "The Night Shocker!"
Credits:
Steve Englehart - Writer
George Tuska - Penciler
Vincent Colletta - Inker

Review/plot:
A Steve Englehart plot showing up now is kind of a surprise and made me wonder if it was something left behind from his run on the series. It does have Cage and D.W. back in New York, and Claire is not included in the book, which is a little odd after their road trip that ended in Luke and Claire reconciling.

In any event it's a cute standalone story that has a couple, Rick Lambert Martinson and Hazel Doonovan, duping Luke into thinking he is hunting a vampire...

...when in fact they are trying to frame Janos Trevorik, an albino man so they can get at his collection of occult artifacts.

The guy dressed up like the albino is lucky he wasn't killed. Presumably Cage was not pulling his punches since he thought he was fighting a real vampire.

D.W. tries to help Cage regarding vampire lore, but he only knows about movie vampires.

The point is made that with Luke having seen so many strange things, there's absolutely no reason why he wouldn't believe that vampires could exist (and indeed they do exist in the Marvel Universe).

A letter in Fear #31 (of all places) accuses this of being an "inventory" tale and a rip-off of Carl Kolchak stories.

What's strange is that a lot of elements of this story are repeated in Power Man & Iron Fist #76, and it even seems to be the same character, except that time he's a real vampire.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• While chasing Martinson-disguised-as-Trevorik through D.W.'s uncle's theater, Cage thinks of all the renovation that had to occur after the fight with Erik Josten in Power Man #21.
  
• Among the strange things Luke has encountered are:
  • The Phantom of 42nd Street in Hero For Hire #4.
    
  • Lionfang in Hero For Hire #13.
    
  • Dr. Doom in Hero For Hire #8-9.
    
  • Black Goliath in Power Man #24-25.
    
  • Iron Man in Power Man #17.
    
  • Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #123.
    
  • Dr. Strange in Defenders #17-19 and Defenders #24-25 (on this last point, it's noted that Dr. Strange, like the albino Trevorik, lives in Greenwich Village).

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

The title refers to the hugely-rated 1972 TV-Movie "The Night Stalker".