Brace yourself for some two-fisted pulp-inspired action, as this week's contribution to Bahlactus's battle royale turns the spotlight on Dominic Fortune, Adventurer for Hire:
A repurposing of the Scorpion character Howard Chaykin created for the failed Atlas/Seaboard line of comics, Dominic Fortune was a 1930's pulp hero variant of the "square-jawed honorable rogue" archetype that Chaykin has shown a pronounced predliction for. (See also: Ironwolf, American Flagg!, Chaykin's Blackhawk stories, and American Century.) A mercenary who fights on the side of the angels, Fortune wasn't above throwing the occasional low blow while fighting the good fight...
When he wasn't tangling with thugs or tossing unconscious Axis ninjas to their deaths, Fortune spent his time gambling his earnings away on the Mississippi Queen, a casino ship anchored off the coast of Los Angeles, and flirting with the ship's owner, the savvy (and sexy) Sabbath Raven (because the name "Drusilla L'Gothique" was already taken, I assume).
Not a bad life, all in all, and a darn fine series that pretty much exemplifies my definition of "fun comics" -- great art, solid storytelling, and an interesting yet straightforward concept. Chaykin's Dominic Fortune stories were scattered across several Marvel titles, including a beautifully illustrated, and frustratingly unfinished, run in the Hulk magazine. While I'd love to see the entire run collected and reprinted into a handy trade paperback edition, I'm enough of a realist not to hold my breath in anticipation. I can dream, though.
Marvel did introduce (without Chaykin's involvement) an older incarnation of the character into its collective universe during the early 1980's, but the less said about that....
...the better.
I find myself faced with a musical quandry today. Django Reinhardt or Peggy Lee? The King of Gypsy Jazz or Miss Wonderful?
I guess I'll just have to go with both:
Django Reinhardt - Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (from Crazy Rhythm, 2001)
Peggy Lee - Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea (from ...Sings For You, 1954)
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3 comments:
That issue of older Dominic Fortune was one of my favorite re-reads in my youth. I think it was because he taught us to punch people while holding a roll of quarters.
I'm way sold on the graphic-novel-collection idea. Wonder who we can bribe?
Great post!
With Chaykin doing so much work for Marvel right now, I don't think it's outside the realm of possibilities for Marvel to do a collection of this stuff. They have been reprinting a lot of their stuff from the black and white magazines in the last few years, too.
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