Marvel Premiere #32 (October 1976)

In 1972, Marvel Comics' then-publisher and president, a Mr. Stan Lee, proposed a title called Marvel Premiere. In my review of Doctor Strange #1 (June 1974), I talked a bit about this anthology series. The comic would also be used a place for stories that fit nowhere else. The tale we're looking at here was one of them. A tale of a far future intergalactic bounty hunter. He is a space cowboy, he is the gangster of love, he is Monark Starstalker! And this is Marvel Premiere #32!

The cover is a Howard Chaykin and Danny Crespi piece. It's a well-drawn cover, if a bit basic. It shows our man Monark pointing a gun while proudly holding up a bird. You will admire his pretty bird, you will admire his pretty birdie! There's also a pretty woman at his feet. It feels like one of those old pulp novel covers. The comic promises "Savage Science Fantasy", although I think "Savage Science Western" would be more appropriate. You'll see what I mean.

"Monark Starstalker"
Writer: Howard Chaykin
Penciler: Howard Chaykin
Inker: Howard Chaykin
Colorist: Glynis Wein
Letterers: Annette Kawecki, Jim Novak
Editor: Archie Goodwin 

The story beings on the icy planet of Stormking. It's a frontier world that truly embodies the words "cold and remote". It only has one link to the rest of the galaxy: A starship called the Host of the Air, based out of Istanbul on Earth. It ferries supplies and tools to the inhabitants of this world. It rarely carries passengers, as nobody wants to go there. However, on this day, the ship does have a passenger. A very special one.

"God, I hope there's hot chocolate here..."

Meet Emanuel Shaw, the 3rd vice president of Triplanet Metals, Incorporated. He's accompanied by his aide, a Miss Brigid Siebold. The two of them are on their way to a town on Stormking known as New Canaan. Shaw is hoping that people will greet him like this.

However, the reality is...nope. You see, Stormking was one of the frontier worlds that fought for independence from some space-wide Federation. The fight resulted in a loss for the frontier worlds, and many sons of Stormking died because of the Federation's guns. As a result, the people of Stormking see Shaw as a representative of this Federation. So yeah, he's not popular there. The ship also has another passenger on board: our man Monark. 

Some wannabe tough guys try to pick a fight with him, but Monark shows that he is truly one of the more dangerous men in the galaxy. He gets into a brawl with the men...well, less a brawl and more Monark jobs the men out, to use pro wrestling parlance.

Monark Starstalker has a black belt in "Beat-You-Down".

A local sheriff ends the fight by using a vortex pistol, a crowd control weapon that causes temporary blindness and nausea. All in its range are affected...except for Monark himself. 

The sheriff introduces himself as Bob Hightower. After Hightower, Monark, Shaw, and Siebold do introductions, Monark reveals that he on this world for business. You see, he's a bounty hunter/vigilante, and his bounty is right now on Stormking.

"That looks more like his cousin, John Screwdriver." 

This is his target: Kurt Hammer. He murdered six people in a place called Tycho six weeks earlier, and then mooned a bunch of kids. Hightower likes things peaceful, so he wants to check Monark's weapons. Starstalker is cool with it, as right now, he just wants to have a hot meal. And the only restaurant in town serves some excellent mac and cheese. Mmmm, mac and cheese...

At the restaurant, Monark makes a new friend: a young lady named Robin Goodfriend. That sounds like the name of a character in a James Bond parody. Miss Goodfriend is in a rather unique position, as her mother was a native of Stormking, but her father was a member of the Federation. Love is funny like that. 

She knows Kurt Hammer and can believe he's a murderer. According to her, he's a sadist. Put him in a war, slap a few medals on him, and he's suddenly a hero. Robin also reveals that she is not too fond of her fellow New Canannites. A man walks up to Monark and asks if he's going after Hammer. Monark's like "Yeah", and the man sees that as fighting words. However, Monark doesn't fight drunken morons. The man doesn't care.

"IMMA FIGHTING GAWD OW MAH HAND!"

And we get a classic Western trope with a sci-fi twist: the barfight.

Robin and Monark take care of the brawlers. Bob Hightower has had enough. He wanted no trouble, and Monark brought some. As such, he tells Monark to get out of Dodge.

Robin has a cabin outside of town Monark can bunk in for a while, and they head there by "iceboat". She notices that Monark has a golden robotic falcon flying around him, and that it's an odd choice for a pet. To Monark, "Ulysses" is more than a mere pet. Seven years ago, Monark was once a "rigger", a ship pilot. His nervous system was hard-wired into his craft, making them one in a way. I can imagine that being very painful. And inconvenient.

He was attacked by hostile forces (He doesn't exactly say who), and tried to escape. However, the only way out was through a star that was going nova. The star's energies, for lack of a better term, fried him.

He was rescued, but the doctors on board thought he was a lost cause. However, the engineers created Ulysses for him. Ulysses functions as a nervous system for him, and the two are telepathically linked. Basically, he needs Ulysses to function. I wonder how that works? 

Anyway, the two make it to the cabin, where they beat the cold of Stormking by engaging in some hot lovin'...

The next day, Robin goes out to get some supplies from New Canaan. There's a storm coming, and she wants to make sure she has it ridden out. The people of Stormking are watching a dance performance by Brigid. Shaw takes this opportunity to talk to the people about the vast wealth of minerals and ores under Stormking's surface. Triplanet Metals, in exchange for the mining rights, will give the people of Stormking "Terranizers". Terranizers are presumably terraforming devices, allowing rough worlds like Stromking to support things like oceans and green grazing land for livestock. The crowd are infuriated by this, as they'd rather watch the dancing girl. Not to mention they likely fear this will put them under the thumb of the Federation. More trouble arrives...in the form of Kurt Hammer himself.

"Yes, I am the villain in this story!"

Hammer shoots Shaw and Hightower, then races off on a small hoverbike, Siebold his hostage. Robin witnessed this and gets her butt back to her cabin as fast as she can. She alerts Monark to what is going on. Monark grabs a horse and heads out to deal with Hammer. After all, he's got a bounty to collect.

Up ahead, Kurt is trying to call for a pickup, but the storm is screwing with his comms. It's revealed that Brigid is Kurt's lover.  

She asks him why he had to kill Hightower. After all, he was paid to kill Shaw, not the sheriff. Hammer reveals he shot the sheriff to give the citizens of New Cannan a scare. But who paid him to kill Shaw, you may ask? Well, Triplanetary Metals themselves.

Evidently, Shaw's bosses saw him as an incompetent moron, but they couldn't simply fire the guy because he supposedly knew too much. To me, this implies that Shaw was aware of some...under the table dealings, as it were. Triplanetary was hoping that Shaw being murdered would scare the natives of Stormking into giving them the mining rights. Yeah, we saw that the people of Stormking not take too kindly to Shaw's offers. I don't think this would discourage them. If anything, they probably were cheering Hammer for taking him out. 

The storm is also bad, but Hammer isn't worried. He and Brigid will make it. Hammer leaves his sled behind, hoping Monark will find it. After all, Hammer left it in a canyon. Monark can easily find it. Which will make him a sitting duck. And true to Kurt's prediction, Monark finds the sled. Kurt tries to snipe Monark, but Ulysses the robot falcon is able to alert the bounty hunter. Thanks to Ulysses, Monark is able to fire back at the assassin. Hammer realizes that Ulysses is warning him. He tries to shoot the robot falcon down but ends up causing an avalanche. Whoops.

Hammer thinks that the Starstalker was killed by the avalanche, so he tries to shoot down Ulysses. However, it'll take more than several tons of snow to take down Monark Starstalker.

Monark is like a horror movie villain: Unkillable.

Monark takes down the killer with one Mighty Punch. Hammer asks why Monark doesn't just put a bullet in him. After all, he'll presumably still get paid. Hammer doesn't have to be alive for Monark to collect his bounty payment. Thing is, Monark would kill Hammer, but presumably unlike him, Brigid Siebold would not make it back to New Canaan on foot. Not in this weather. And Monark is not going to carry her. Congratulations, Kurt! You are playing pack mule!

Three days pass. Shaw's body is sent home, and Hightower is buried. Monark arrives at New Canaan, carrying Siebold. She'll live if she gets some medical attention. As for Hammer? Well, pneumonia got him on the way there. Monark staked him out twenty miles north. With Siebold returned and Hammer dead, Monark decides to get his pay and take his leave. He asks the presumably new sheriff to send a thank-you message to Robin. The sheriff tells him that they can delay the ship's takeoff until tomorrow so he can go see her himself. He turns it down. The story ends with him heading out, saying Robin will understand. 

I enjoyed this comic, even if it is a bog-standard Western-style story. I wish that more stories could have been told with Monark, as I think there was some potential there with him, playing space bounty hunter and having his falcon. Chaykin's art helps give a moody vibe to the story.

Monark would fade into obscurity in the decades since. However, he would make another appearance, in the 2011-2012 miniseries Wolverine: The Best There Is. That miniseries would retcon that in reality, Monark was a living hive of nanobots (very tiny robots. As in, microscopic robots). He would also be shown to be romantically linked to another obscure Marvel sci-fi character: Mark Esterhase, aka Paradox. 

Sadly, this comic has never been reprinted in trade, to my knowledge. You will have to hope you find a copy in the back issue bins of a comic shop. I found my copy in a mall. 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!