When I was a wee lad, first sampling the comic book universe there came into my ken the title Tower of Shadows. It was a mighty thing indeed, the first time I'd read a comic book of this kind with small creepy tales presented by an even more creepy host. I liked it immediately though circumstances prevented me from getting more issues for some years. A lot of great artistic talent appeared in the pages such as Jim Steranko, Johnny Craig, John Buscema, Don Heck, Neal Adams, Gene Colan, Marie Severin, Barry (Not-Yet-Windsor) Smith, George Tuska, Tom Sutton, Wally Wood, Bill Everett, Syd Shores, and Bernie Wrightson among others.
Digger was a depraved fellow for certain, but he told a good story. Eventually I'd learn that Digger was replaced by the members of the Bullpen itself, but that didn't stop some of these yarns from being really nifty little visits to a really horrifying places. Digger eventually ended up as a part of the Marvel mythos properly when he was introduced as a small-time villain in the pages of Captain America and elsewhere as part of the Night Shift.
Eventually the noble Tower of Shadows became the more vital Creatures on the Loose and began to be a comic which showcased weird barbarian heroes in the vein of Conan. We get Kull the Conqueror's comic book debut which is quickly followed by Gullivar of Mars and Lin Carters's Thongor Warrior of Lost Lemuria. Ironically it was Thongor Roy Thomas was thinking to bring to comics form when he learned he could instead get hold of the original Conan. The series wrapped featuring a spin-off from Spider-Man, the Man-Wolf.
Tower of Shadows had a sister comic book amigos!
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| (Thanks Groove! It was a timely addition.) |
More on that tomorrow. For more Marvel fearsome wonders today see this Groovy Link.
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