Mighty Samson was from Western Comics, a branch of the Western Publishing complex and producer of handsome, if not always thrilling comics. For that reason this young up and coming Marvel Zombie gave many of them the pass, much to his older version's lasting regret. That young man did later dabble, but it was after the heights of the series which showcased a "N'Yark City" after the apocalypse, a territory populated by regular humans scraping to get by and all sorts of mutated beasts and creatures left to prowl the streets. Standing against them, guarding the gate for humanity was Mighty Samson, a one-eyed blonde giant with (as the cover boasts) "stupendous strength" and even more courage.
Of course as deadly as the monsters of the future are, the real threats are other humans and such seeking to gain advantage and control over other humans. It's the oldest story, but one played out against a blighted landscape of the reasonably near future (at the time). Written by comics veteran Otto Binder who brought a legit sci-fi cache to the series and with art originally by Frank Thorne the series was a solid entertainment. Later less dynamic artists like Jose Delbo and Jack Abel stepped aboard, but the stories were still strong. The covers by Mo Gollub and George Wilson also went a long way to sell the series.
Samson was not revived when Jim Shooter created Valiant Comics did not stand alongside other Gold Key greats like Magnus and Turok, but Shooter did get his mitts on him at Dark Horse when he tried to recapture that Valiant magic. It was handsome and smart, but lacked the spark of novelty which had fueled the fire of Valiant,a company at the right place at just the right time.
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I'd hate to get slapped by that chimp.
ReplyDeleteHe does look like a cheeky little bastard don't he.
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