From: daikerjohnc@bvc.edu
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Rise of the Midnight Sons: An Overview
Date: 9 Oct 92 23:24:24 CDT
Organization: Buena Vista College, Storm Lake, IA

                       RISE OF THE MIDNIGHT SONS

    This series promised an exploration of horror in the Marvel Universe.
What it delivered...well, you be the judge. These are just my opinions on the
books involved. 


GHOST RIDER #28:
WRITER: HOWARD MACKIE
    
    What can I say?  As far as Ghost Riders go, this issue was good.  A new
direction, glimpses into Dan's 1/2 & 1/2 state of death, Ghost Rider's loss of
control, and a new character; The Caretaker. 
    Some pretty solid writing.  Kind of muddy in places, but solid all the
same.  But it's not horror.  Oh, we see glimpses of it here and there, such as 
Blaze and the Caretaker's journey through the graveyard via the graves 
themselves, but nothing riveting.  
    The foreshadowing by Doc Strange at the end was a nice touch.  Standard
Marvel fare, but a nice touch, all the same.         
    The Andy Kubert pencils and Joe Kubert inks were...pure Kubert. Nuff' said.
    
    And so, as far as comics go, I give it an "A".  As far as HORROR comics go, 
    however, I'll have to give it "C-" and maybe some after-school detention.

    
SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE #1:
WRITER: HOWARD MACKIE

    In this issue, and in each issue following, we begin to see Howard Mackie's
personal vision of horror; fears that CENTER around the family.  Some villians 
has a life away from Lilith, but lose it due to their family bonds, such as
Creed (issue #1) and Skinner(issue #3).  The new Steel Wind (issue #2) is
trying to gain revenge for her family's honor.  Blaze sacrifices being with 
his family for their own protection.  It seems he's now a "wierdness magnet"
(see any issue of the long lost and bemoaned "Blue Devil" series for references
to wierdness magnets). 
    "Family Ties" is the working terminology here.  And, for the most part, it
works.  Howard Mackie is now a family man himself, and these fears reflect his 
own.  He knows them, and can explain them better through his books due to his
first-hand knowledge.   
    But again, it's not horror.  The fear is there, and we can sympathize for
the character's feelings, but WE just don't share that fear.  
    Although much of it, like it's originator Ghost Rider, is standard Marvel
fare, it's still some pretty solid writing.  Actually less muddy than Ghost
Rider #28. 
    Adam Kubert does the pencilling, but this time, Gregory Wright does
the inking honors, giving an entirely different style to the art.  I couldn't 
believe Kubert drew it at first.  Wright has a style all his own, and one I 
wouldn't mind seeing more of. 
      
    As far as comics go, I'd have to give this issue an "A+". 
    As far as Horror comics go, I'll give it a "B-/C+".
    

MORBIUS:
WRITER: LEN KAMINSKI

    The preview sampler from Marvel promised "If you liked Anne Rice's 
`Interview With The Vampire', you'll love Morbius(tm)."
    Well, let me say that it fell WELL short of my expectations.  It just seems
no one can write a good vampire story anymore besides Anne Rice (do I sound a
tad BIASED to you?).  
    Anyhow, MORBIUS is standard Marvel fare.  The obligatory anti-hero(tm), his
female love interest(tm) who dies at the hands of the villian(tm), who is 
later killed by the hero(tm).  The plot twist; the hero's a VAMPIRE (Oooh,
scary!)!!  Add a few guest stars from another HOT title, and you have 
MORBIUS #1 in a nutshell. 
    Listen, I know I'm being hard on the title, but seriously, any book that
tries to compare itself to another book by another company had better live up
to the expectations it builds.  I read the `Vampire Chronicles' novels and
comics.  The "feel" of the books worked great in the adaptations, because the
company (Innovation, by the way) went out on a limb, basically, with both the
art and the plotting.  They took chances and they worked.  MORBIUS is the
classic example of a "Plot Formula".  No chances taken, and nothing special
really happens. 
    HOWEVER, I get the feeling that this title has the POTENTIAL to be better.
Through all the muck and mire on the surface, a nugget of potential does gleam.
And that "nugget" interests me.  It's about the only thing that I did like. 
Why does he have to HATE being a vampire?  There HAVE to be some advantages. 
Anne Rice's vampires were almost gods.  How about the Euphoria one feels when
drinking blood (hey, I don't, but why else would they ignore their human morals
and drink it in the first place?  I'd sooner starve than kill.  Sure he's
ashamed, but even a drug addict feels SOME "uplift" from the drug, or else they
wouldn't use it in the first place). 
    Maybe a deeper psychoanalysis of the character is warranted.  How about the
newly-ressurrected-and-TRULY-undead-Vampires? How do they feel about him?  Do
crosses hurt him?  Garlic?  Stakes?  
    And a more...well...existential/philisophical/self-analytical feel to the
writing would do this book wonders. Look what it did for Anne Rice. 
    This book is NOT horror, but it tries.  This book is the closest you can 
come to it with only barely touching it.  A Punisher with fangs is my best 
guess.  
    Ron Wagner is the penciler, and Mike Witherby does the inks.  Both do a
great job, but I can't help but wonder, what if they had someone draw it who,
well, drew NASTIER?  You know, darker, grittier, make him look more beastial
than he does now.  He's no longer human, draw him that way! 
    
    As far as comics go, I'd have to give this one a "C+".
    As far as Horror comics go, I'd have to give this book a "D-".
    So MUCH character potential, so FEW to properly exploit it.   


DARKHOLD:
WRITER: CHRISTIAN COOPER

    Well, I was willing to give this book a VERY large leeway WAY before the
MIDNIGHT SONS line was on my list, due to the fact my favorite 
Horror/Mature Readers artist Richard Case was taking over as penciler. 
Case, whose art appeared in DC's DOOM PATROL, won me over long ago with his
strange, exotic art. 
    In THIS book on the other hand.... 
    I can't help thinking this, but when I read the book, I couldn't help but
think, "What a waste."
    The storyline, basically the same format of any FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SERIES 
episodes, definitely did not exploit Case's talents as an artist. 
    Now, the premise, if I'm not mistaken, is how ordinary people deal with the
supernatural terrors unleashed by the reading of randomly distributed pages of
the Darkhold.  Well, if the first issue is any indication, they can't take it
at ALL without either a guest-star or an act from God.  Now, BIRDS saved the
day?!  OOOOOOOO!!!  What a concept!  How did she KNOW the birds would act? 
It said she made a PLAN.  How could you PLAN around BIRDS?!  Geez...
It's sort of like planning around having an army of frogs attack a man made of
a group of flies.  Or a man of sugar being attacked by an army of ants.
    BUT, as I said before, the title has so much POTENTIAL!  The entire book
seems to scream, "Hey, I'm trying!"  And, as plodding and clumsy as it seems in
some places, it looks as though it could possibly be a good title, if it's
willing to go on a limb every once in a while.  If it follows the standard
formula (see MORBIUS) it probably won't last very long.  If it takes some
chances and continues to expand upon the "good" elements in the book, throw in
some weird stories where nobody really wins, or the cast actually LOSES BIG,
and it would get better.  In other words, DARE TO BE DIFFERENT!  Don't follow
the "Marvel Way"(tm).  It's ruined more books than I can count.
    Plus, they have, IMHO, an awesome talent on their hands in the realms of
thr weird.  Richard Case has proven he can draw it on DOOM PATROL, but I'm not
yet certain Mark McKenna, who does the inking, is the right person for the job. 
Stan Woch's inking was excellent against Case's pencils.  But art teams need
time to mesh, so I'll wait. 
    This title will work, as long as they stay away from the Marvel Universe,
and stay out of the FRIDAY THE 13TH THE SERIES rut.  The same topic, over and
over.  Different stories, but the same old topic.  The rest will come in due
time. 
    As for the horror, it's a better try than the last issues, but it still
needs work.  But this one has a much better shot than the other titles under
the current writer. 

    As far as comics go, I give it a "C+".
    As far as Horror comics go, I give it a "C-/D+" for effort.
    As far as Marvel goes, I give it an "F" and a night locked in a closet with 
    Morbius for failing to exploit the talents of such a versatile artist of
    the weird.


NIGHTSTALKERS:
WRITER: D.G. CHICHESTER

    I didn't expect much from this book in terms of horror.  And well, there 
isn't much, to tell the truth. The image I expected was "Punisherized 
Ghostbusters." And, I was pretty accurate in that assumption.  But I was also 
surprised.  The characterization was excellent.  For the comic that was voted
"Most Likely To Follow The Typical Marvel Comic Format" it was great!  
    Blade's psychoanalysis, Drake's nightmares, King's "withdrawl symptoms".
Each was explored. We were given detailed personal accounts, solid REASONS for 
their motives and agenda. Great stuff.
    However, some things just didn't make sense.  Such as, Lilith going to see
the Agency as a client.  Why would the Queen of Darkness disguise herself as a
human?  Doesn't that seem...well...BENEATH her?  Why not have one of her 
children do it (the normal looking ones, of course)?  Plus, if Blade has such a
phobia about Vampires, why has he put up with his "friend" Hannibal King?
I mean, the guy can't even see a person with CANDY CORN FANGS and a stinking 
PAPER TABLECLOTH just PRETENDING to be a vampire without trying to IMPALE the
guy!  Why is he putting up with Hannibal King then?  It would be great to 
explore that.  
    Another thing that bothers me is the premier blurb on the last page. 
HYDRA?!?!  Making VAMPIRES?!?!?  Oy! 
    The boys are taking on HYDRA?!  Isn't that a bit...well...MUCH?  And it'll
be completed in 2 issues?  Oy.  This book has a habit of taking Horror and
draining the mystique.  It gets down-and-dirty with the occult, seeking and
UTTERLY obliterating it.  Usually, this would be insulting, but the book never
PROMISED horror.  Basically it's about three men, haunted by the occult so 
much that they decide to haunt it back their own way. Violently. 
And it's a solid story.  So...       



    As far as comic books go, I give it an "A+".         
    As far as Horror comics go, however, I give it an "F", but it doesn't
    really matter, the comic stands on it's own without.


And FINALLY...


GHOST RIDER #31:
WRITER: HOWARD MACKIE

    The Final Battle between Lilith, her Lilin, and the Midnight Sons.
Well, as far as all-out battles go, it was in many ways standard.  In others it
was original.

STANDARD- The obligatory summary of the main characters, their past, and their
          attitudes were given.  I wish for once they would assume that these
          we already KNOW who therse people are, and concentrated more on the
          battle.

ORIGINAL- Dan being used as a Lilin.  Nice.  I thought he would sit this one
          out.

STANDARD- Lilith surviving.  Standard "Villian secretly survives" plot ending.

ORIGINAL- Lilith EATING her CHILDREN.  Now THAT shocked me. That has to be the
          MOST horror shown in any of the books.
          Plus Blackout died!  Sure, he'll be born again, but in essence they
          actually killed him off! (Although there was no body...)

JUST PLAIN STUPID-  Dan being THROWN back through Lilith's portal.  Yeah. 
                    Yeah. Right.  She'd stand STILL enough to have a HUGE
                    monster HURLED at her.  I'd try to get out of the WAY,      
                    myself.  
                    Plus, which one was Blade and which was Doc?
                    In some scenes, I honestly couldn't tell.  
                    Plus, if there was Sunlight, how come Morbius DIDN'T FEEL
                    ANY PAIN?  I would've thought he'd be a Crispy Critter
                    by the end of the story.  Blackout felt it, why didn't he?

    Again it was Kubert family art, and although for the most part it was
good, some panels did look rushed.  But honestly, I can't complain.     
    All in all it was a good book.  It suffered from the usual sketchy plot
that plagues most crossovers, but it was still entertaining.  As I said about
the art, I can't complain.  

    As far as comic team-ups go, I give it an "A-", due to the twists and turns
    it took.
    As far as Horror comics go, I give it a "B-".  
  

IN SUMMARY: 

    Horror this isn't.
    Sure, the books revolve around supernatural characters, and a "dark feel"
is present throughout, but not ENOUGH to make a good impression.  As a friend
of mine said, it's not "Nasty" enough.  
    If you want actual HORROR, check out the old EC "Tales From The Crypt"
series, or ANY of DC's Mature Adults titles.  They, at least, stay away from
plot formulas, and take enough chances to make it interesting for the
reader.
    
 
    JCD
  
    


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