Meanwhile, Back in Helium!

Books: John Carter, Warlord of Mars and Machine Man

Published: August 22, 1978

Titles: “Meanwhile, Back in Helium!” and “Super-Escape”

Cover Price: 35¢

Format: Original paper copies

(Since I didn’t do a Marvel Time Warp post last week, I thought I’d make up for it by covering two comic books in this week’s post. A Marvel Time Warp Two-in-One as it were!)

When I started reading comic books for Marvel Time Warp, I figured I’d just read digital copies of all the books from 1978, since most of them were readily available via the Marvel Unlimited app. But I had so much fun reading digital comics, I started scouring back issue bins for original copies. At this point, I’d guess I own paper copies of the majority of the books I’m reading for Marvel Time Warp. If I don’t have an original copy of a 1978 Marvel book, it’s either because I already read it digitally or it’s outside my price range (usually five or ten bucks). And I’ve even gone outside my price range for a few of my favorite books — I am kind of obsessed with Marvel’s Godzilla book and have managed to track down all 24 issues of that series.

Before I started Marvel Time Warp, I had picked up a few issues of John Carter, Warlord of Mars whenever I came across them at comic cons. John Carter was one of those books I never read as a kid, but I was always interested in it. And most of Marvel’s old John Carter books can be picked up pretty cheap.

But when I started looking for John Carter issue no. 18, I noticed, on the rare occasion I would see a copy, that it was pricey. A little research revealed that Frank Miller was the penciler for the issue. Miller is a big name, so the high price made sense. Then a little more research revealed that John Carter issue no. 18 was Miller’s very first work for Marvel. Oh! Yeah, I guess that’s kind of a big deal.

Some time after I gave up on finding an affordable copy, I found an affordable copy. In pretty good shape! I think it was eight bucks at the Great Escape in Nashville.

Reading this issue of John Carter, I was reminded that Chris Claremont took over as writer a few issues back. I guess that makes Miller’s work here even more noteworthy, as Claremont and Miller would work together a few years later on the first Wolverine mini-series. I think it’s fair to say that Wolverine book is one of the iconic comics of the 1980s.

Given that this book features a guest artist, I’m assuming it’s a planned fill-in issue. The story’s subtitle is “The Master Assassin of Mars — Chapter 3,” and it does continue the story from the previous issue, with John Carter and his lady love Dejah Thoris being held prisoner by the winged people of the Martian city of Karanthor.

But most of this issue is a one-and-done side story about Carter’s pal Tars Tarkas. Tarkas is a leader of the green Martians, and one of his old friends, Barak Sol, has challenged him to a duel. Because Sol doesn’t approve of Tarkas’s making peace with the red Martians. (As you might recall, the red Martians look basically human, and the green ones are tall and have tusks and four arms.) As often happens in these sorts of stories, the mano a mano duel is interrupted by a common enemy, and Tarkas ends up saving Sol’s life. Sol feels it wouldn’t be honorable to continue the fight at that point, so he leaves, promising to return and resume his feud with Tarkas at some later date.

While Frank Miller was getting his start at Marvel in the pages of John Carter, Warlord of Mars no. 18, another comics legend was wrapping up his time at Marvel in the pages of Machine Man issue no. 8. That legend was Jack “King” Kirby, one of the architects of the modern Marvel universe. According to the Fandom.com Marvel Wiki, after this issue of Machine Man, Marvel would only publish two more Kirby books — Devil Dinosaur no. 9 and Machine Man no. 9.

Considering it’s Kirby’s penultimate Machine Man story, there’s a good amount of wheel-spinning happening here. Some goons who work for “the Corporation” have abducted Machine Man (a sentient super-robot) with plans to make copies of him and sell the counterfeit Machine Men to the highest bidder. Machine Man proceeds to make a dramatic escape — he’s trapped in a missile silo, and he basically converts himself into a missile and launches himself out of the silo. But then Machine Man gets recaptured and has to escape again. And, honestly, the second escape isn’t as dramatic. For that one, Machine Man fits his feet with some wheels and rolls himself down an underground train track.

The story does end on a dramatic note, though. Dr. Spalding (Machine Man’s friend) and Colonel Kragg (Machine Man’s frenemy) are flying around in a jet hoping to find Machine Man and rescue him — they don’t realize he’s in the process of making his second escape from the Corporation guys. As the jet nears the Corporation lair, boom — a nuclear bomb goes off. So we’ll have to wait till next issue to find out if Machine Man, Spalding, and Kragg survive the blast.

Next time — Iron Man versus the Ani-Men!