Eerie #96 (Warren/1978)

Eerie #96 (Warren Publishing)

Various (w) & (a)

One of Warrens three main successful titles, Eerie is always worth picking up occasionally . If you just want horror then go for the earlier issues ans this title started publishing a lot of continuing stories about various characters, some great like The Rook who has his own comic for a while. This one feature MacTavish: Robot Smasher which is a sort of Magnus Robot Fighter/Star Wars mash up.

However the comic also features several short stories featuring a group of fallen angels who repented after the fall and were left on Earth to earn their way back to heaven. We catch up with them in their latest incarnation as a group of avengers inside Harlem.

The Fallen Angels are a dwarf known as "Hot Chocolate", a bruiser known as "Knuckle", theres the honey trap "Marlene" and the giant "Tic-Toc" who brutally intervene on a number of occasions to send the evil to hell and avenge their victims but after being told they are far too harsh they are to stay on Earth.

McTavish: Robot Smasher is not quite the hero one expects. Lazy and self centred comes to mind and is his mate Spider Andromeda looks a bit like a Wooky and he has a plan to free his planet with a group of droids. No not those droids but lookalikes. They attack a giant spacecraft that is a weapon in itself with a fleet of fighters and find it's weak spot..shades of Star Wars or what? The story is to be continued. Not sure about this strip I have to say. I'd need to read more.

The Ark: a short story by Roger Mckenzies with art from Carmine Infantino & Walt Simonson rvives interest as the rains come to the west and one man has built a ship, all Noah like and as the floods rise other locals try to smash their way in. There is a nice little twist even if it isn't entirely logical.

The Shining Sea by Nicola Cuti (who works on the modern day Creeps Magazine) sees a sole human live with erm... sort of dolphin and other sea creature heads but human bodies. One day he seeks his origins and returns to the poisoned sea and discovers a dark secret.

I might pick up up the following issue one of these days but will probably stick to the horror for the moment. Mind you there's the Corben attraction....