Astonishing Tales #5 - Marvel Comics

ASTONISHING TALES No. 5, April 1971

Gerry Conway undeniably gave his readers plenty to get their heart’s beating with his script for Issue Five of “Astonishing Tales”, thrusting the bi-monthly’s Lord of the Hidden Jungle into a seemingly ceaseless series of battles against the likes of Zaladane, a terrified pterodactyl, the ape-like Guardian of the Fire Pool and an utterly homicidal Petrified Man, and all within the space of just ten pages too. In fact, it’s arguably hard to imagine a more sense-shattering sequence of action-packed set-pieces than those a determined Ka-Zar faces during his mission to not only rid the Savage Lands of the High Priestess’ thirst for bloody conquest, but also the murderous insanity of his five hundred year old new friend, Garokk.

Fortunately, all these sensational shenanigans are dynamically drawn by Barry Smith, whose wonderful ability to imbue Kevin Plunder with all the natural athleticism one would expect from a man whose closest companion is a sabre-tooth tiger, adds even more vitality to an already hyper-active narrative. The London-born illustrator’s plethora of panels depicting Ka-Zar agilely back-flipping onto the back of an out-of-control flying lizard is particularly mouth-watering, and sets a staggeringly brisk pace which the penciller then continues to maintain once the eldest son of a British nobleman crash-lands back to the ground; “How forgetful of me, Ka-Zar! There’s one final detail --- The pool is most jealously guarded!”

Far less complicated, yet no less entertaining, is Larry Lieber’s storyline for “A Land Enslaved”, which features Doctor Doom returning from a sojourn on the French Rivera only to find his beloved kingdom of Latveria now under the rule of the Red Skull. Basically boiled down to the armour-clad monarch fighting an entire nation single-handedly, this quite silly caper still packs plenty of punch, as Victor confidently fights the swastika-loving invader and his goose-stepping goons one-on-one, in a string of confrontations which aptly demonstrate both the dictator’s much-hyped technological prowess and the whacky abilities of the Exiles.

Incoming artist George Tuska is equally up for the challenge of sketching Doctor Doom with all his infamous pomp and over-confidence. The American artist’s panels featuring the Latverian stomping through the underbelly of his castle are particularly impressive, as the tyrant’s green cape billows around the clearly angered-figure, and it’s incredibly easy to hear Victor’s metal clad feet clanking across the stone-floor in the character’s haste to navigate “this subterranean passageway [which] lead to the main power station!”

Writer: Gerry Conway, Artist: Barry Smith, and Inker: Frank Giacoia