Amazing Adventures #18 (May 1973)

When I started writing about comics on this blog, I eventually realized that one of the things I wanted to do was show off something: my love of obscure and lesser-known characters. I can't really say why I like such characters, I just do. I want to expose people to the lesser-known characters of superhero comics, so this week, I thought I'd tell the origin tale of a character from the 1970s: The Bane of the Martian Masters. The Man who Helped Free Earth. Jonathan Raven, aka Killraven.

The character was originally conceived by the late Neal Adams. Adams's original conception for Killraven was that he would be the son of a Doc Savage-type character. Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway would help retool the concept and tie it into H.G. Wells's 1898 novel The War of the Worlds. 

Killraven himself never had an ongoing title, his original 1970s adventures being chronicled in the anthology title Amazing Adventures. Thomas, Adams, and Conway didn't stay with Killraven for long. Starting from Amazing Adventures #21 (November 1973) to its final issue, Don McGregor would take over writing duties for the gladiator-turned freedom fighter. He did work with several artists, but most notably P. Craig Russell. Their work on the character is considered a hidden gem of Marvel's 1970s output. The series became notable for showing color comics' first dramatic interracial kiss, shared between the white Carmilla Frost and the African-American M'Shulla Scott.

Killraven would remain a cult character in the Marvel Universe in the decades since. He's met the mainstream Marvel heroes a few times (His home timeline is designated Earth-691), and has been given a couple reboots over the years. But how did it all start for the redheaded bane of the Martian Masters? Let's look at Amazing Adventures #18!

The cover is a John Romita Sr, Tony Mortellaro, and Gaspar Saladino piece. It's a pretty basic cover, showing our man Johnny Raven himself front and center, angry-faced and ready to fight. He's got sword and blaster in hand, ready to rock. He's standing in front of a devastated landscape that is being attacked by Martian tripods. What's interesting here is his costume. This is actually his first costume. He would later adopt the iconic blue chainmail. His first outfit makes him look like he's auditioning for a Magic Mike movie.

"The War of the Worlds!"
Writer: Roy Thomas, Neal Adams, Gerry Conway
Pencilers: Neal Adams, Howard Chaykin
Inker: Frank Chiaramonte
Colorist: Petra Goldberg
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Roy Thomas
Editor-in-Chief: Roy Thomas

The story begins with a man fighting his way through some marauders. A man who hungers for blood, blood that runs as red as his hair. He is after a mysterious being known as "Keeper", and he will let nothing stand in his way. This man is known by one name: Killraven. And he will not rest until his sword tastes the Keeper's blood. Killraven slinks his way through the remains of New York City's Grand Central Station.

He goes through some mutated monsters, creations of the Keeper. He must be a desperate man at this point, as unlike his human minions, the Keeper values these creatures. Despite their strength and power, Killraven is able to get past them. The Keeper taunts him, but Killraven's only answer is blasting the door open. 

"This gun is weird."

The Keeper fires at him, noting that the warrior used up the energy in his blaster making his way in. But Killraven does not care. He doesn't need a gun to kill this man. The Keeper blasts away at the redheaded vengeance-seeker, but Killraven grabs a piece of sharp metal and tosses it like a spear. He hits his target.

"Agh, my heart! MY POCKET PROTECTOR!"

Yeah, that's gonna hurt.

The redheaded fighter stands over the dying Keeper. Killraven was a man on a mission. And now he has accomplished it. But he feels no satisfaction, no joy. Instead, he feels...empty, like he has no reason to exist anymore. The Keeper speaks up, and thanks Killraven for this. 

Thanks to the redheaded warrior, the Keeper is now free. After all, death is the only way out for him from his masters. He opts to tell Killraven a tale. A tale that started in the year of 1901, in a field outside of London. 

A strange light beamed from the sky, a light that revealed a menacing war machine on three legs.

The Tripods had arrived. The First War of the Worlds had begun. The Martian machines were able to easily trounce their way through humanity and its defenses. However, the Earth did have one saving grace: germs. The little microbes that humanity had long been used to were a bane to the Martians, having no such immunity themselves. But some of the Martians observed this and prepared for another invasion. In the year 2001, they returned.

Humanity tried using nuclear weapons and biological warfare to fight the Martians, but they didn't work. 

Humanity fought desperately, but in the end...it was all for naught. As the Martians wrecked the cities, people tried to flee. One of them was this woman.

Meet Maureen Raven, Killraven's mother. She and her two sons, the elder Joshua and the younger Jonathan, flee to Welfare Island. She gets attacked by two crazed men, but she has a guardian angel.

Dr. Ann Carver here was a doctor at a mental hospital when the Martians invaded. She saved Maureen and her sons from a pair of crazed patients. She lets Maureen and her boys stay with her. For two weeks, the four stayed on Welfare Island, scrounging for food and water. The two notice a chopper arriving, containing a pair of humans. One of them was a young Keeper. He and the other man kill Carver and Maureen. The Keeper tells the other man to do what he wants with Joshua, it's Jonathan the Martian Masters want. So, what do the Masters want with Jonathan? Well, the Martians have taken a lesson from Ancient Rome, and started themselves some gladiator games.

Jonathan was trained to fight from a young age, and he became one of the best gladiators out there. His skill as a gladiator earned him the name Killraven thanks to the chants of the Martian crowds: "Kill! Raven! Kill! Raven! Kill! Raven!"

As a young man, Killraven managed to do the impossible: escape the gladiator pens. He always wondered how he was able to escape when others could not. The gladiator spent the next year foraging in Queens. He would also spend time in wrecked libraries, learning all he could about the pre-Martian Invasion world. The warrior found ways to survive and escape the various traps and hazards around the cities, most notably the Sirens, enhanced women the Martians used to lure men to their doom like their mythical inspirations. 

He would make his way to Staten Island, where he spent the next six years with a cell of resistance fighters, eventually becoming their leader. On New Year's Eve, the cell welcomed the year 2017 by attacking a ferry that had some human slaves as cargo. The ferry also had New York's Martian puppet mayor on board. This made Killraven famous.

The mayor's public attack on Killraven made him into a legend. He unwittingly turned the man into a symbol of hope for the people of Earth. But Killraven isn't interested in that. He's not after fame, power, or money. He's after revenge. And that's how we got here. Before finally dying (took a long time to do so), the Keeper hints that Killraven is special. That Killraven has the power to destroy the Martians once and for all. This befuddles the redhead. As far as he knows, he's just a warrior. A good one, but still an ordinary man. But before he can ponder this any further, he gets attacked by a mutated being. Thing is, Killraven's had his fill of fighting today, so he tries to end this quick. However, the story ends with Killraven encountering a new problem he really did not need today.

The Sirens of 7th Avenue are here, and they're here to give our man some brand-spanking new headaches. 

Ehhhhh, I have to admit, I didn't think too much of this story. It's a basic origin story. We don't really get to learn much about Killraven the man himself. What I mean by this that I didn't really get much of a bead on Killraven's personality. He himself just comes off here as just a dude who wants a man dead, and is really good at fighting. There is a hook, though. The post-apocalyptic setting was rather new for the time, and the implication that ol' Johnny Raven is special in some way is rather intriguing. This is a basic story, but our man K.R. will reach some great heights, especially once he starts getting some fellow Freemen to hang around with.

I admit, when I first read the comic, I was surprised to learn that Adams didn't draw the whole thing. Howard Chaykin steps in for Neal Adams in the final few pages. It is noticeable when I reread it knowing that. Adams's style is pretty distinct. I thought it did a good job.

If you want to read this story for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2021 trade paperback Killraven Epic Collection Vol. 1: Warrior of the Worlds. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!