Issue(s): Son of Satan #4, Son of Satan #5, Son of Satan #6, Son of Satan #7
Cover Date: Jun-Dec 76
Title: "Cloud of witness!" / "Assassin's mind!" / "House of elements!" / "Mirror of judgement!"
Credits:
John Warner - Writer
P. Craig Russell / Ed Hannigan / Sonny Trinidad - Layouts
Sonny Trinidad - Finishes

Review/plot:
This is some unreadable dreck, is what this is. Something about the Egyptian god Anubis empowering a crazy guy in a wheelchair who calls himself Mind-Star...

...and Mind-Star is supposed to capture the latest reincarnation of a guy that Anubis has been caring for or maybe keeping prisoner since ancient Egyptian times, but Mind-Star kills the guy instead, freeing the spirit to reincarnate elsewhere, so Mind-Star and Anubis get into a fight with each other.

All of this was prophecized by someone called Proffet.

I demand that someone give me a dollar if anything i just wrote is even close to accurate. Much caffeine was consumed to get through these issues. Despite some scratchy but interesting art, the issues are marred with mumbo jumbo mysticism, an inability to get to the point plotwise, and too many characters doing nothing at all. I honestly don't know how this book continued to get published. It is officially cancelled with issue #7, but they run an inventory story in issue #8.

Daimon Hellstrom is on the university campus where all of this is going down because he's interviewing for a teaching position.

Just looking for something to latch onto here, how about the fact that Daimon Hellstrom has a student named Amelia Sefton (any relation to Amanda?), and she's sensitive to the occult as well as a computer wizard that likes to dress up in old-timey clothing.

Or how about this guy? The issue #5's next issue blurb promised "a senses-shattering surprise guest-star and a startling guest-villain!". Whatever the plan was, it doesn't fall through. But that's the Bloodstone and there's Ulluxy'l floating around in his nightmare.

What's his role in the story? I couldn't really tell you. I think Anubis leads him to a piece of the bloodstone and turns him into a monster.

One more thing. As Michael notes in the comments, these issues are the first appearance of Saripha (later spelled Seripha) Thames. She's initially introduced as someone welcoming Daimon to the faculty of the Georgetown university. She's an albino (something that, along with the spelling of her name, gets forgotten in later issues).

After she shows him to his dorm room, he goes in and takes a nap, and has a nutty dream that is part of all the nonsense i don't want to talk about. But Saripha is incorporated into the dream.

She later reveals herself to be a Wiccan. And later in the story, she works with other members of her coven to send energy to Daimon while he's dealing with the nutty stuff.

When it's all over, they get together.

That's all i've got. Leave me alone. I don't want to talk about these issues any more.

Ok, fine. This is a cool opening splash:

Quality Rating: D

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Hellstrom says that "much has happened" since his battle with the Possessor last issue, which i'll allow to mean his appearance in Defenders #32.

References:

• Hellstrom makes a random reference to his fight with his own psyche in Marvel Spotlight #22.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Essential Marvel Horror vol. 1