Strange Tales – Volume 04 Issue 01

The Florida everglades – 1998, the secret location known as the Nexus of All Realities has been damaged. The swamp lands surrounding the portal have begun to decay quickly as the powerful energy vortex sends shockwaves across the parallel universes. The monster who protects the gateway is nowhere to be found.

The Man-Thing and his estranged wife Ellen Sallis have been hurtled across the cosmos insearch of a stone rumored to be powerful enough to mend the damage. The Nexus Fragment seems to be nearby according to a magical staff wielded by Ellen. The true location is only known by a cosmic entity which heralds the world eater Galactus. 

Will the Silver Surfer hear the call of the Nexus guardian before zero-hour arrives? Has the mystic powers of the staff corrupted Man-Thing’s mind? Can the Power Cosmic stop the destruction of the paradise held within a crystal city?

Jack Russell awakes to the sounds of passing automobiles high above his head. The pungent smell of the cold water flowing through the New York sewer system is the key to his consciousness. Beside him, floating face in a pool of blood and muck is his acquaintance Lumpy. The homeless man has been shredded from head to toe. How can Jack have done this? The wolf demon was removed via an exorcism.

Elsewhere at police headquarters, detectives Phil and Lenny are in the middle of a verbal smackdown brought by fellow detective O’Reilly. Word had gotten out of the two visiting a local fortune teller named Mariana. The reading they received was dire indeed. O’Reilly has attracted a large crowd of fellow officers as his mock seance builds to an unbearable ball-busting. 

As Phil wades into verbal combat near the detectives desks, a call is patched through from dispatch. There has been another murder in the Lower East Side Sewer system. A Con Ed worker stumbled across the grizzly scene earlier that morning. The laughter dies as Phil and Lenny race out the door. It looks like Mariana’s “visions” were legitimate after all.

Is Jack Russell responsible for all the deaths under the streets of New York city? Why is a cell of cyber Vampires turning on their leader? Can Phil and Lenny sweet talk the homeless into giving up the whereabouts of a known associate called Lumpy?

The smile on Papa Nebo’s face was intimidating. No it was down-right sinister to the young Narcisse. All the man wanted was a simple love potion to win back his childhood sweetheart. What he didn’t know was the intentions of the Voodoo priest. Papa Nebo wanted Angelina Beliard for his own slave.

St. Louis Cemetery – 3:10am, the corpse of one Simon Garth is on the move. No one is carrying him, the undead walks on his own. A golden medallion glints in the moonlight as it sways back and forth across his decaying chest. Simon was once alive, sure, but he was unfortunate in life. His soul has been bound by a Haitian Voodoo curse. The caster now beckons his services through a powerful call. This call can not be ignored. It is an order to kill. Revenge will be had by a friend of a friend.

Who is the more feared practitioner of the Voodoo arts, Papa Nebo or Donna Garth? What causes a simple love potion to ferment into a killer poison? When will Simon Garth be released from his necromantic servitude? Collect the series to find out!

Last year I read the 1998 six-issue Werewolf By Night series and I was a little disappointed when it was canceled so quickly.  From my research the “Strange Tales” label was Marvel’s attempt to produce a new line of comics targeting a more mature horror audience. Did Marvel executives pull the plug after losing faith in the adult themed stories and amplified gore? I’m not 100% sure, all I can say is these books were not your father’s Werewolf By Night.

I thought the storylines were abandoned and tossed aside for the latest Wolverine craze. Then two months ago my local comic book shop turned me on to Strange Tales Volume 04. These two books are a small continuation of the Jack Russell story left for dead earlier that year. To be honest I bought these solely for the Werewolf By Night, but Man-Thing is cool, so bonus!

I have no idea where the broken Nexus storyline begins but what is written here is pretty interesting. I’m not a huge fan of some of the late 90’s art; in Man-Thing’s case, I’m glad the whole airbrush art style was left in the midst of the Grunge era. To be fair, when I originally criticized the Werewolf By Night Volume 02 series on the Comic Book Geeks website I did not like the dark colors and tones of these books either. It seemed too muddy for me. In issue number one of Strange Tales Volume 04 is seems a bit cleaner.

Overall, the coloring of the book was my biggest dislike. Other than that, the production on these books are top notch. From the foldout front page introduction to the last page of the zombie storyline, this book was packed with entertainment.  I’m going to give this one four out of five stars. I’m just glad to see Jack Russell back in action on any level.

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