Taking aim on Targets

Perhaps you don't know about the 1968 film Targets. It was the true directorial debut of Peter Bogdanovich... and it's possible you don't know who he is either, since although he's still making movies, he hasn't been a big name since the 1970s.

Targets was a low budget film from Roger Corman's stable and when Corman gave the assignment to Bogdanovich, the infamous B-movie king didn't expect too much out of it. However, Bogdanovich had an interesting idea for the film and the support of Boris Karloff.

Targets tells two stories which collide in the climax; the first is the story of aging horror film star Byron Orlok (Karloff), a one-time cinema great who now appears in cheap movies; the second is the story of Bobby Thompson, a Vietnam War veteran who snaps one day and goes on a killing spree. The stories cross paths at a drive-in where what Orlok intends to be his final film is making its debut.

The second half of Targets is where the film becomes tense, where Bobby's rampage begins. It's an immensely terrifying premise because Bobby is shooting people in a dark drive-in while they sit in their cars; the sound of his rifle is drowned out by the motion picture itself.

As great as the premise for Targets is, it could have been simply an exploitative B-movie, but Bogdanovich was young, hungry, and eager to show what he could do behind a camera; the film is full of interesting photography which keeps the visuals from seeming flat. One of Bogdanovich's tricks to avoid expensive bullet effects is to zoom-in when people are shot, which gives the impression of the bullets striking targets without actually having to spend the money on make-up.

When I first came across this picture on cable I was mesmerized; despite being a Karloff fan, I knew nothing about it and the climax - when Orlok faces off against Bobby - was absolutely riveting. I'm petty enough to wish this was Karloff's last picture, but of course he went on to make a few more cheap-o horror flicks; at least Targets gave him one last great picture before the end.

I rewatched Targets to celebrate Halloween this year and it holds up. Check it out if you can.

Creator credits for Daredevil season 3

Hey, do you like Frank Miller & David Mazzuchelli's 'Born Again'? Great. Interested in a filmed adaptation of the story? Fine, fine. How about stretching it into 13 episodes, adding Bullseye in a manner mostly reminiscent of other half-baked villains like Typhoid Mary in the most recent Iron Fist season and mostly fumbling every single moment which made 'Born Again' so great?

The Marvel Netflix shows are dying, and I can't say I'll miss them very much.

Frank Miller: creator of Elektra, Matt's lover, an assassin dressed in red (Daredevil #168, 1981); of Bullseye going insane (Daredevil #169, 1981); of Wilson Fisk's name; of Wilson Fisk as Daredevil's primary enemy (Daredevil #170, 1981); of Stick, Matt's mentor (Daredevil #176, 1981); of Bullseye using the name 'Benjamin Poindexter'; of Elektra dying; of Daredevil breaking Bullseye's back (Daredevil #181, 1982); of Matt distraught over Elektra's death (Daredevil #182, 1982); co-creator of Josie's Bar, a dive bar in Hell's Kitchen tended by the titular Josie (Daredevil #160, 1979); of Jack Murdock's name; of Hell's Kitchen as Matt Murdock's childhood borough; of Urich becoming an ally of Daredevil (Daredevil #164); of Melvin Potter's name; of Melvin's lady friend Betsy; of Melvin's mental problems (Daredevil #166, 1980); of Wilson Fisk controlling the police and using the authorities to wreck Matt Murdock's life and target his allies; of Fisk learning Matt Murdock is Daredevil; of Karen Page having a drug problem; of Karen inadvertently giving away Murdock's secrets to the Kingpin (Daredevil #227, 1986); of Murdock wearing stubble in both of his identities; of Murdock being isolated from his friends and suffering from hallucinations when he tries to fight the Kingpin; of Fisk trying to kill Murdock by sealing him inside a yellow taxi cab driven into the river; of Fisk stunned when Murdock's body isn't found in the taxi; of Felix Manning, one of the Kingpin's top operatives (Daredevil #228, 1986); of Sister Maggie, a nun who cares for Daredevil in a church shelter; of Matt Murdock being believed dead (Daredevil #229, 1986); of Sister Maggie tending to Matt after he was first blinded; of Matt Murdock's mother being Sister Maggie; of the Kingpin threatening Betsy in order to get Melvin Potter to make a duplicate Daredevil costume (Daredevil #230, 1986); of the Kingpin sending a psychotic man out in a Daredevil costume to discredit Matt Murdock; of Murdock fighting the impostor (Daredevil #231, 1986); of Murdock wearing black costume while operating as anonymous vigilante (Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #2, 1993);

Stan Lee: co-creator of the Kingpin of Crime, a mob boss dressed in white who organizes the disparate underworld elements under his leadership from the heart of Manhattan (Amazing Spider-Man #50, 1967); of the Kingpin's wife, Vanessa Fisk (Amazing Spider-Man #69, 1969); of Matt Murdock, a lawyer who also fights crime as Daredevil by using his superhuman sensory powers; Murdock blinded as a child while saving a man from a truck carrying radioactive waste; billy club as Daredevil's primary weapon; Murdock as son of the boxer Battling Murdock, who rasied him alone and wanted him to gain a superior education; the elder Murdock dying after crossing a crooked boxing promoter and refusing to lose a fixed fight; Fogwell's Gym as Murdock's training place; Murdock partnered with his college friend Franklin "Foggy" Nelson at Nelson & Murdock law firm; Karen Page as Murdock & Nelson's secretary and object of affection to both men (Daredevil #1, 1964); of Daredevil's ability to detect lies (Daredevil #3, 1964); of Daredevil's red costume; of Daredevil's gimmick billy club (Daredevil #7, 1965); of Gladiator, a costume designer who makes a Daredevil costume and fights Daredevil with a saw weapon, wear's a yellow shirt with a 'V' (Daredevil #18, 1966); of Foggy Nelson running for district attorney (Daredevil #36, 1968)

David Mazzucchelli: co-creator of Wilson Fisk controlling the police and using the authorities to wreck Matt Murdock's life and target his allies; of Fisk learning Matt Murdock is Daredevil; of Karen Page having a drug problem; of Karen inadvertently giving away Murdock's secrets to the Kingpin (Daredevil #227, 1986); of Murdock wearing stubble in both of his identities; of Murdock being isolated from his friends and suffering from hallucinations when he tries to fight the Kingpin; of Fisk trying to kill Murdock by sealing him inside a yellow taxi cab driven into the river; of Fisk stunned when Murdock's body isn't found in the taxi; of Felix Manning, one of the Kingpin's top operatives (Daredevil #228, 1986); of Sister Maggie, a nun who cares for Daredevil in a church shelter; of Matt Murdock being believed dead (Daredevil #229, 1986); of Sister Maggie tending to Matt after he was first blinded; of Matt Murdock's mother being Sister Maggie; of the Kingpin threatening Betsy in order to get Melvin Potter to make a duplicate Daredevil costume (Daredevil #230, 1986); of the Kingpin sending a psychotic man out in a Daredevil costume to discredit Matt Murdock; of Murdock fighting the impostor (Daredevil #231, 1986)

Bill Everett: co-creator of Matt Murdock, a lawyer who also fights crime as Daredevil by using his superhuman sensory powers; Murdock blinded as a child while saving a man from a truck carrying radioactive waste; billy club as Daredevil's primary weapon; Murdock as son of the boxer Battling Murdock, who rasied him alone and wanted him to gain a superior education; the elder Murdock dying after crossing a crooked boxing promoter and refusing to lose a fixed fight; Fogwell's Gym as Murdock's training place; Murdock partnered with his college friend Franklin "Foggy" Nelson at Nelson & Murdock law firm; Karen Page as Murdock & Nelson's secretary and object of affection to both men (Daredevil #1, 1964)

Gene Colan: co-creator of Gladiator, a costume designer who makes a Daredevil costume and fights Daredevil with a saw weapon, wear's a yellow shirt with a 'V' (Daredevil #18, 1966); of Foggy Nelson running for district attorney (Daredevil #36, 1968); of Paxton Page, Karen Page's father (Daredevil #56, 1969); of Karen Page learning Matt Murdock is Daredevil (Daredevil #57, 1969); of Blake Tower, New York district attorney frequently embroiled in Nelson & Murdock's affairs (Daredevil #124, 1975); of Ben Urich, an aging reporter with a relentless dedication to the truth (Daredevil #153, 1978)

Roger McKenzie: co-creator of Ben Urich, an aging reporter with a relentless dedication to the truth (Daredevil #153, 1978); of Josie's Bar, a dive bar in Hell's Kitchen tended by the titular Josie (Daredevil #160, 1979); of Jack Murdock's name; of Hell's Kitchen as Matt Murdock's childhood borough; of Urich becoming an ally of Daredevil (Daredevil #164); of Melvin Potter's name; of Melvin's lady friend Betsy; of Melvin's mental problems (Daredevil #166, 1980)

Marv Wolfman: co-creator of Blake Tower, New York district attorney frequently embroiled in Nelson & Murdock's affairs (Daredevil #124, 1975); of Bullseye, an expert assassin who can turn any object into a lethal weapon, battles Daredevil; Bullseye as former baseball player; of Bullseye with a target on his forehead (Daredevil #131, 1976)

John Romita, Jr.: co-creator of Matt Murdock going to regular confession (Daredevil #267, 1989); of Murdock wearing black costume while operating as anonymous vigilante (Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #2, 1993); of Rosalie Carbone, an Italian mob princess (Punisher: War Zone #2, 1992)

John Romita: co-creator of the Kingpin of Crime, a mob boss dressed in white who organizes the disparate underworld elements under his leadership from the heart of Manhattan (Amazing Spider-Man #50, 1967); of the Kingpin's wife, Vanessa Fisk (Amazing Spider-Man #69, 1969)

Bob Brown: co-creator of Matt Murdock's Catholicism (Daredevil #119, 1975); of Bullseye, an expert assassin who can turn any object into a lethal weapon, battles Daredevil; Bullseye as former baseball player; of Bullseye with a target on his forehead (Daredevil #131, 1976)

Dennis O'Neil: co-creator of Dr. Oyama, a physician who tends to Bullseye's broken back (Daredevil #196, 1983); of Bullseye's back being reinforced with metal by Dr. Oyama (Daredevil #198, 1983)

Kevin Smith: co-creator of Matt Murdock wearing red-tinted sunglasses (Daredevil #1, 1998); of Bullseye fighting Daredevil in a church, trying to kill Karen Page with a billy club (Daredevil #5, 1999)

Joe Quesada: co-creator of Matt Murdock wearing red-tinted sunglasses (Daredevil #1, 1998); of Bullseye fighting Daredevil in a church, trying to kill Karen Page with a billy club (Daredevil #5, 1999)

Brian Michael Bendis: co-creator of Jessica Jones, a superhuman private investigator (Alias #1, 2001); of the FBI investigating Matt Murdock and Daredevil's connection (Daredevil #31, 2002)

Lee Weeks: co-creator of Bullseye disguising himself as Daredevil (Daredevil #288, 1991); of Daredevil bringing down Fisk's criminal empire (Daredevil #300, 1992)

Roy Thomas: co-creator of Paxton Page, Karen Page's father (Daredevil #56, 1969); of Karen Page learning Matt Murdock is Daredevil (Daredevil #57, 1969)

Ann Nocenti: co-creator of Matt Murdock going to regular confession (Daredevil #267, 1989); of Bullseye disguising himself as Daredevil (Daredevil #288, 1991)

D.G. Chichester: co-creator of Daredevil bringing down Fisk's criminal empire (Daredevil #300, 1992); of Daredevil wearing body armor (Daredevil #322, 1993)

Len Wein: co-creator of Blake Tower, New York district attorney frequently embroiled in Nelson & Murdock's affairs (Daredevil #124, 1975)

Steve Englehart: co-creator of Ben Donovan, an African-American lawyer who works for criminals (Hero for Hire #14, 1973)

Billy Graham: co-creator of Ben Donovan, an African-American lawyer who works for criminals (Hero for Hire #14, 1973)

Larry Hama: co-creator of Dr. Oyama, a physician who tends to Bullseye's broken back (Daredevil #196, 1983)

William Johnson: co-creator of Bullseye's back being reinforced with metal by Dr. Oyama (Daredevil #198, 1983)

Tom DeFalco: co-creator of the Kingpin continuing his criminal activities from his cell (Spider-Girl #1, 1998)

Alex Maleev: co-creator of the FBI investigating Matt Murdock and Daredevil's connection (Daredevil #31, 2002)

Jeff Christiansen: creator of Penelope Page's name (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #3, 2006)

Ron Frenz: co-creator of the Kingpin continuing his criminal activities from his cell (Spider-Girl #1, 1998)

Michael Lark: co-creator of Matt Murdock being caught inside a prison during a riot (Daredevil #86, 2006)

Wally Wood: co-creator of Daredevil's red costume; of Daredevil's gimmick billy club (Daredevil #7, 1965)

Marc Guggenheim: co-creator of Brett Mahoney, a police detective (Marvel Comics Presents #1, 2007)

Chuck Dixon: co-creator of Rosalie Carbone, an Italian mob princess (Punisher: War Zone #2, 1992)

Ed Brubaker: co-creator of Matt Murdock being caught inside a prison during a riot (Daredevil #86, 2006)

Dave Wilkins: co-creator of Brett Mahoney, a police detective (Marvel Comics Presents #1, 2007)

Michael Gaydos: co-creator of Jessica Jones, a superhuman private investigator (Alias #1, 2001)

Jim Shooter: co-creator of Hell's Kitchen as locale patroled by Daredevil (Daredevil #148, 1977)

J.M. DeMatteis: co-creator of Foggy Nelson learning Murdock is Daredevil (Daredevil #347, 1995)

Gil Kane: co-creator of Hell's Kitchen as locale patroled by Daredevil (Daredevil #148, 1977)

Ron Wagner: co-creator of Foggy Nelson learning Murdock is Daredevil (Daredevil #347, 1995)

Joe Orlando: co-creator of Daredevil's ability to detect lies (Daredevil #3, 1964)

Scott McDaniel: co-creator of Daredevil wearing body armor (Daredevil #322, 1993)

Tony Isabella: co-creator of Matt Murdock's Catholicism (Daredevil #119, 1975)

Richard Starkings: creator of Daredevil logo (Daredevil #1, 1998)

My Incredulity Concerning Avatar

From time to time I've mentioned that I enjoy the 2009 film Avatar. It's definitely not fashionable to admit it, considering the plethora of online articles I see which are incredulous that the film was the #1 box office success of all time. I've heard the criticisms and don't much care for them; I like the film and watch it about once per year.

Where the sequels are concerned, I'm a little skeptical - it's unproven whether the concept of the film can sustain itself over multiple pictures. Maybe it won't - maybe Avatar II: Na'vi Boogaloo will be the franchise-killing flameout much of the internet would like it to be - but then again, maybe it will work. I'm skeptical but optimistic.

This, on the other hand...

Next January, Dark Horse Comics will begin publishing the mini-series Avatar: Tsu'tey's Path, celebrating Avatar's 10th anniversary. Incredibly, Avatar II has been filmed but isn't scheduled to debut until 2020! You could see this comic book as an effort by the filmmakers to keep the Avatar property in people's consciousness, but...

...Look, I don't see myself buying this comic - no offense to the creators involved, but I don't typically buy comic books which are adaptations from another medium. If you put 10 people who like Avatar in a room and asked them, "Who's Tsu'tey?" I think you'd be lucky if half of them remembered: "Oh yeah, the guy who lost his girlfriend, mantle of leadership and life within a week all thanks to Jake Sully."

This is a prequel to Avatar telling what Tsu'tey was up to prior to the first film. If this had been released around 2009-2010 that would be a pretty good hook for your typically-inconsequential Dark Horse film tie-in product, but 10 years out? At this stage, who is interested in a prequel about one of the film's second-tier characters? This would be like Dark Horse putting out an Aliens prequel in 1996 which told us Hudson's very interesting backstory (please don't tell me if Dark Horse did this).

On some level, I feel like the primary reason this comic book exists is because Dark Horse has been steadily losing the licenses which used to be their bread and butter (Star Wars, Conan) and are flailing about for something which has a built-in following.

They weren't called 'Atlas' because they held up well.

I've been reading a lot of 1950s Atlas Comics from the war/spy genres recently and have begun to notice some peculiar recurring ideas. Perhaps it shouldn't surprise me that much to find similar ideas repeated again and again in the comics, but these four tropes were a bit surprising.

Trope the first: Women Must Die!

This one came specifically from reading a bunch of issues of Kent Blake of the Secret Service back-to-back. Kent Blake's stories were usually set in Washington DC but would send him all over the world to ferret out communist spies. Sometimes the stories were established as a mystery to make the reader guess which suspect might be a commie. Frequently, the spies would die in the climax.

What's amazing about the Kent Blake series is how often the spies turn out to be woman and that the series almost always kills them. If the spy is a man, he might die or he might be captured. If the spy is a woman, statistically she is almost certain to die (so far I've read only one story where the woman spy is taken alive). It's not that the character of Kent has a thirst for women's blood - they tend to fall off roofs or be murdered by their male associates. There was something which convinced the Kent Blake creators that women were soft on communism and therefore deserving of death.

But even the women on Kent's side tend to be picked off, be they Iranian women or Korean women, simply associating with Kent is a good way for women to enter an early grave. In one story, Kent has a girlfriend named Gale who invites him her to home for a vacation (which naturally leads to a "find the commie" plot that ends with a woman spy dying). Gale wants to marry Kent; that's enough to make Kent want to get as far away from her as he can. Totaled up, Kent Blake has a pretty strong misogynistic streak within it. It makes you wonder if Mickey Spillane were still writing for Marvel in those days.

Trope the second: Peace Is Hell!

Now and then a character in a war comic might wistfully wonder, "can't we give peace a chance?" The plot will almost always demand, no, you cannot. There are some stories set during the Korean War where communist soldiers realize "the American way" is superior and will defect to the other side (usually executing a few of their fellow commies to prove themselves), but usually when a soldier in one of these stories thinks something outrageous like "communists are people too," the story will go out of its way to prove him wrong, wrong, wrong by having the communists commit terrible atrocities, disobey the rules of war and prey upon the soldier's weak-minded egalitarianism. By the climax, the peace-minded soldier will have learned his lesson (the only good red is a dead red) and will probably die in a suicidal strike against the communists.

Trope the third: We Have Met the Enemy!

It would be wrong to think the Atlas Comics glorified war. I mean, they did, but some of the time - particularly pre-Code - they told a number of "war is hell" stories where good men die senseless deaths, sometimes killed by munitions dropped by their own side. Still, you almost never saw a story where the United States Army were the bad guys...

...Unless you count stories set during the US Civil War. The one time where it is acceptable to depict the United States as an unjust aggressor battling a noble people? That would be the time they had to fight their own rebellious citizens, y'know, the ones who believed in racial superiority and the principle of owning other men as property; that never comes up in the Atlas stories, as you can well imagine. Virtually every Civil War story is some variant on "Lost Cause" hogwash and ends up taking the centrist position of, "gosh, there were very good people on both sides." There's something very unsettling about the one scenario where the US Army are allowed to be the bad guys is when they were battling a tyrannical slave state.

Trope the fourth: Yellow Fever!

Atlas Comics had a whole cottage industry of war comic book features starring a pair of vitriolic best friends, two manly men who would always be bustin' each other's balls while going on consequence-free adventures in the middle of a war zone. That is, they were basically rip-offs of the characters Flagg & Quirt from the film What Price Glory? and were often written by Hank Chapman.

Within those stories there were a number of notable female villains - Asian women often dressed in military garb (but just as often showing off their cleavage) whom our heroes would spar with time and again, never killing them despite their deadly possibilities. They were essentially ersatz Dragon Lady copies. Some of these ladies appeared so frequently they would fight the heroes in more than one story per issue!

Combat Kelly and Cookie Novak had Yalu River Rosie, the Panther Lady, Muktong Molly and Korea Katie; Battle Brady and Socko Swenski had General Olga; Iron Mike McGraw and Gunny Gorski had Chee; Battleship Burke and Salty Smith had Hungnam Hannah (I commented about her before). That's everyone I've found so far. Obviously there was a bit of the ol' fashioned western interest in Orientalism, particularly on the exoticism side. It also seemed to provide a means to belittle the USA's communist adversaries: "Hey, dem commie dames jus' wanna tough 'Murican guy tah put 'em in der place."

The Great Marvel Hoax

Currently I'm reading the book Bunk: The True Story of Hoaxes, Hucksters, Humbug, Plagiarists, Forgeries, and Phonies by Kevin Young and it is quite a fascinating read as the author attempts to connect the various kinds of frauds people perpetuate. I thought of this book when I recently bought an issue of Marvel UK's Planet of the Apes magazine featuring Apeslayer.

You know, Apeslayer! That great Marvel science fiction hero Apeslayer! Surely every Planet of the Apes fan remembers Apeslayer?

Marvel's weekly comics in the UK always had a conundrum - how to fill their pages every week when the US comics they were publishing only came out once a month? You might be able to divide a monthly comic into four issues (filling up the rest of the book with text features or installments of other Marvel characters with a similar audience), but it would take just one month with five shipping weeks to throw you off your schedule. Therefore, the closer the UK's first issue release date was to that of the original US first issue, the quicker they'd exhaust their supply.

In the late 1970s when Marvel UK faced this issue on Star Wars they simply published original material. The audience for Star Wars was so vast - and so instrumental in Marvel staving off the market implosion of the late 70s - that they could justify the expense. But two years earlier in 1975 when Planet of the Apes ran low on US material there was just one thing to do: hoax their way out.

The editors of Planet of the Apes took Marvel's hero Killraven and edited his name into 'Apeslayer' then darkened his hair and modified all Martians/Martian slavers into apes. Frankly, they spent so much time touching up the art and text they might almost just as well have printed new stories! But at least it meant they didn't have to plot any new stories.

"...The War of the Worlds-- I mean, Apes!" This hoax was a pretty flimsy one and I have to assume a number of UK readers didn't fall for it. I mean, the kind of Martian technology seen in Killraven was a lot more advanced than what the Planet of the Apes apes were utilizing. Also, if they were an astute Marvel Comics fan, they'd already read those Killraven stories on first publication and would have put two and two together pretty fast.

Apeslayer! When your comic must be delivered in 30 minutes or less!

Creator credits for Iron Fist (Season 2)

Hey, that was an improvement... is the very least you can say.

Roy Thomas: creator of the title "The Fury of Iron Fist" (Marvel Premiere #15, 1974); of the title "Heart of the Dragon" (Marvel Premiere #16, 1974); co-creator of Turk Barrett, a gangster (Daredevil #69, 1970); of Luke Cage, a Harlem-based hero with unbreakable skin (Hero for Hire #1, 1972); of Iron Fist, alias Daniel Rand, orphaned at the age of ten and raised in the city of K'un-Lun, where he trained in the martial arts to become their greatest warrior, passing every test and trial before him until gaining the power to channel his chi into his fist, making it superhumanly powerful; Iron Fist called a "living weapon"; Wendell Rand and Heather Rand, Daniel's parents who perished nearby K'un-Lun; Harold Meachum, Wendell's business partner who betrayed him and had Wendell and Heather killed; K'un-Lun, a hidden city found in the Himalayas which exists within another dimension and only connects to Earth at intervals spaced years apart; of the Iron Fist costume with open chest, green garments with yellow mask; of Yu-Ti, the ruler of K'un-Lun who oversaw Danny Rand's trials (Marvel Premiere #15, 1974); of Daniel Rand fighting the dragon Shou-Lao the Undying, an immortal dragon, and received a dragon-shaped brand on his chest from the dragon along with the power of the Iron Fist; Lei Kung the Thunderer, Daniel's K'un-Lun mentor in the martial arts; of the Thunderer's insignia (Marvel Premiere #16, 1974)

Chris Claremont: creator of the title "A Duel of Iron" (Iron Fist #1, 1975); of the title "The City's Not for Burning" (Iron Fist #3, 1976); of the title "The Dragon Dies at Dawn" (Iron Fist #9, 1976); of the title "Target: Iron Fist" (Iron Fist #13, 1977); of the title "Morning of the Mindstorm" (Marvel Premiere #25, 1975); co-creator of Colleen Wing and Misty Knight as allies (Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #32, 1977); of Davos, a resident of K'un-Lun; of the Steel Serpent brand; of Misty Knight's background as a police officer (Iron Fist #1, 1975); of Daniel Rand being disliked in K'un-Lun as an outsider; of Daniel's K'un-Lun surname 'Rand-K'ai' (Iron Fist #2, 1975); of Davos working with Joy Meachum; of Misty Knight's bionic right arm (Iron Fist #3, 1976); of Colleen Wing following the path of bushido and wielding a katana (Iron Fist #7, 1976); of the Golden Tigers, a Chinese-American street gang which engages in gang wars and battle both Iron Fist and Davos; of Chen Wu, one of the Golden Tigers (Iron Fist #8, 1976); of Davos siphoning the Iron Fist from Danny Rand into himself (Iron Fist #14, 1977); of Davos as Lei Kung's son; of Davos nearly killing Iron Fist by draining his chi (Marvel Team-Up #63, 1977); of Davos training alongside Daniel Rand to become the Iron Fist; of the Iron Fist as a title which many have held over the centuries (Marvel Team-Up #64, 1977)

John Byrne: co-creator of Davos, a resident of K'un-Lun; of the Steel Serpent brand; of Misty Knight's background as a police officer (Iron Fist #1, 1975); of Daniel Rand being disliked in K'un-Lun as an outsider; of Daniel's K'un-Lun surname 'Rand-K'ai' (Iron Fist #2, 1975); of Davos working with Joy Meachum; of Misty Knight's bionic right arm (Iron Fist #3, 1976); of Colleen Wing following the path of bushido and wielding a katana (Iron Fist #7, 1976); of the Golden Tigers, a Chinese-American street gang which engages in gang wars and battle both Iron Fist and Davos; of Chen Wu, one of the Golden Tigers (Iron Fist #8, 1976); of Davos siphoning the Iron Fist from Danny Rand into himself (Iron Fist #14, 1977); of Davos as Lei Kung's son; of Davos nearly killing Iron Fist by draining his chi (Marvel Team-Up #63, 1977); of Davos training alongside Daniel Rand to become the Iron Fist; of the Iron Fist as a title which many have held over the centuries (Marvel Team-Up #64, 1977)

Gil Kane: co-creator of Iron Fist, alias Daniel Rand, orphaned at the age of ten and raised in the city of K'un-Lun, where he trained in the martial arts to become their greatest warrior, passing every test and trial before him until gaining the power to channel his chi into his fist, making it superhumanly powerful; Iron Fist called a "living weapon"; Wendell Rand and Heather Rand, Daniel's parents who perished nearby K'un-Lun; Harold Meachum, Wendell's business partner who betrayed him and had Wendell and Heather killed; K'un-Lun, a hidden city found in the Himalayas which exists within another dimension and only connects to Earth at intervals spaced years apart; of the Iron Fist costume with open chest, green garments with yellow mask; of Yu-Ti, the ruler of K'un-Lun who oversaw Danny Rand's trials (Marvel Premiere #15, 1974)

Ed Brubaker: co-creator of Iron Fist taking the place of Daredevil (Daredevil #87, 2006); of Orson Randall, Danny Rand's predecessor as Iron Fist; of the Crane Sisters, allies of Davos (Immortal Iron Fist #1, 2007); of the Iron Fist's chi being channeled through different weapons; of Orson Randall's trenchcoat and chi-firing pistols; of Wu Ao-Shi, a female Chinese Iron Fist called 'The Pirate Queen of Pinghai Bay (Immortal Iron Fist #2, 2007); of the Iron Fist called an Immortal Weapon; of Wu Ao-Shi falling in love with a fisherman (Immortal Iron Fist #7, 2007)

Larry Hama: co-creator of Daniel Rand fighting the dragon Shou-Lao the Undying, an immortal dragon, and received a dragon-shaped brand on his chest from the dragon along with the power of the Iron Fist; Lei Kung the Thunderer, Daniel's K'un-Lun mentor in the martial arts; of the Thunderer's insignia (Marvel Premiere #16, 1974); of Joy Meachum, Harold's daughter (Marvel Premiere #18, 1974); of Ward Meachum, a relative of Harold and Joy; of Colleen Wing, a Japanese woman, ally and sometimes love interest of Iron Fist (Marvel Premiere #19, 1974)

Matt Fraction: co-creator of Orson Randall, Danny Rand's predecessor as Iron Fist; of the Crane Sisters, allies of Davos (Immortal Iron Fist #1, 2007); of the Iron Fist's chi being channeled through different weapons; of Orson Randall's trenchcoat and chi-firing pistols; of Wu Ao-Shi, a female Chinese Iron Fist called 'The Pirate Queen of Pinghai Bay (Immortal Iron Fist #2, 2007); of the Iron Fist called an Immortal Weapon; of Wu Ao-Shi falling in love with a fisherman (Immortal Iron Fist #7, 2007)

Doug Moench: creator of the title "Citadel on the Edge of Vengeance" (Marvel Premiere #17, 1974); co-creator of Joy Meachum, Harold's daughter (Marvel Premiere #18, 1974); of Ward Meachum, a relative of Harold and Joy; of Colleen Wing, a Japanese woman, ally and sometimes love interest of Iron Fist (Marvel Premiere #19, 1974)

Len Wein: co-creator of Daniel Rand fighting the dragon Shou-Lao the Undying, an immortal dragon, and received a dragon-shaped brand on his chest from the dragon along with the power of the Iron Fist; Lei Kung the Thunderer, Daniel's K'un-Lun mentor in the martial arts; of the Thunderer's insignia (Marvel Premiere #16, 1974)

David Aja: co-creator of Orson Randall, Danny Rand's predecessor as Iron Fist; of the Crane Sisters, allies of Davos (Immortal Iron Fist #1, 2007); of the Iron Fist's chi being channeled through different weapons; of Orson Randall's trenchcoat and chi-firing pistols (Immortal Iron Fist #2, 2007)

John Romita Jr.: co-creator of Typhoid Mary, Mary Walker, a woman with multiple personalities who wields a machete; Typhoid Mary sent to monitor a super hero, her 'Mary' persona develops a crush on him (Daredevil #254, 1988)

Ann Nocenti: co-creator of Typhoid Mary, Mary Walker, a woman with multiple personalities who wields a machete; Typhoid Mary sent to monitor a super hero, her 'Mary' persona develops a crush on him (Daredevil #254, 1988)

Travel Foreman: co-creator of Wu Ao-Shi, a female Chinese Iron Fist called 'The Pirate Queen of Pinghai Bay (Immortal Iron Fist #2, 2007); of Wu Ao-Shi falling in love with a fisherman (Immortal Iron Fist #7, 2007)

Jason Henderson: co-creator of Colleen Wing as a member of the Hand (Shadowland: Daughters of the Shadow #1, 2010); of Colleen leaving the Hand (Shadowland: Daughters of the Shadow #3, 2010)

Ivan Rodriguez: co-creator of Colleen Wing as a member of the Hand (Shadowland: Daughters of the Shadow #1, 2010); of Colleen leaving the Hand (Shadowland: Daughters of the Shadow #3, 2010)

Tony Isabella: co-creator of Misty Knight, an African-American detective who encounters Iron Fist (Marvel Premiere #21, 1975)

Arvell Jones: co-creator of Misty Knight, an African-American detective who encounters Iron Fist (Marvel Premiere #21, 1975)

Jay Faerber: co-creator of Iron Fist battling the Hand; of the Hand seeking to control Iron Fist's power (New Warriors #7, 2000)

Jamal Igle: co-creator of Iron Fist battling the Hand; of the Hand seeking to control Iron Fist's power (New Warriors #7, 2000)

Charles Soule: co-creator of Sam Chung, a Chinese-American man (All-New All-Different Marvel Point One #1, 2015)

Ron Garney: co-creator of Sam Chung, a Chinese-American man (All-New All-Different Marvel Point One #1, 2015)

Archie Goodwin: co-creator of Luke Cage, a Harlem-based hero with unbreakable skin (Hero for Hire #1, 1972)

George Tuska: co-creator of Luke Cage, a Harlem-based hero with unbreakable skin (Hero for Hire #1, 1972)

John Romita: co-creator of Luke Cage, a Harlem-based hero with unbreakable skin (Hero for Hire #1, 1972)

Bill Everett: co-creator of Matt Murdock, alias Daredevil, a costumed crimefighter (Daredevil #1, 1964)

Frank Miller: creator of the Hand, a clan of evil ninjas who battle Daredevil (Daredevil #174, 1981)

Stan Lee: co-creator of Matt Murdock, alias Daredevil, a costumed crimefighter (Daredevil #1, 1964)

Marshall Rogers: co-creator of Colleen Wing and Misty Knight as allies (Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #32, 1977)

Travel Foreman: co-creator of the Iron Fist called an Immortal Weapon (Immortal Iron Fist #7, 2007)

Brian Michael Bendis: co-creator of Typhoid Mary wearing black leather (Daredevil #46, 2003)

Marco Checchetto: co-creator of Bakuto, a member of the Hand (Daredevil #505, 2010)

Kurt Busiek: creator of the title "This Deadly Secret" (Power Man and Iron Fist #99, 1983)

Antony Johnston: co-creator of Bakuto, a member of the Hand (Daredevil #505, 2010)

Michael Lark: co-creator of Iron Fist taking the place of Daredevil (Daredevil #87, 2006)

Andy Diggle: co-creator of Bakuto, a member of the Hand (Daredevil #505, 2010)

Jo Duffy: creator of the title "War Without End" (Power Man and Iron Fist #83, 1982)

Alex Maleev: co-creator of Typhoid Mary wearing black leather (Daredevil #46, 2003)

Gene Colan: co-creator of Turk Barrett, a gangster (Daredevil #69, 1970)

RIP: Marie Severin

When it rains, it pours.

I can't say I ever followed Marie Severin's career closely, but she was a talent I took notice of primarily because she was one of the only female comic book creators of the 50s/60s who people remembered, spoke of, and was still in the business. Much of her early career was spent as a colorist and she became not only one of the few lauded female comic book creators, but one of the few lauded colorists in the business. Her work coloring for EC Comics in particular has been lauded again and again. I certainly appreciated the effort she went to recently to recolor some of her early work for the Bernie Krigstein collection Messages in a Bottle (that's Reed Crandall art above, colored by Marie Severin).

Marie Severin put in a lot of time as an artist on Marvel's Sub-Mariner and Incredible Hulk, although she seemed most pleased to tackle humour. Above is a cover she drew for Marvel's Tower of Shadows, one of the earliest places I saw her artwork.

Her brother John Severin was one of the greatest inkers comic books have ever produced. There were a few times where the siblings were privileged to team up on projects, such as the Kull comic above, penciled by Marie & inked by John. In interviews, Marie would frequently call those Kull issues her favourite experience working at Marvel because was working with her brother. She was a talented woman and by every account an extremely likeable person. Rest in peace, Ms. Severin.