Armor Wants to "Disney+ and Chill" with Wanda
With the current Wandavision Disney+ series, the concept of the world not being exactly what we all think it is has become front and center. What is really going on? Is it Wanda's doing? Is Vision still alive? We have yet to discover the answers to this and many other questions, but us Marvel fans will keep watching with eyes glued to the screen for the easter eggs. All this reminds me of a story I wrote for this week's Continuity Comic artist that deserves more credit than he's gotten. A great guy named BRIAN APTHORP. He drew the original Armor #7 (the one where Armor gets his ruby eye), Deathwatch 2000 (#15...Armor #3) and Armor #11 (the original series). By far, however, my favorite Brian Apthorp job is part of the Rise of Magic. He drew Armor the right age and gave him the slim body structure of a martial artist. He knew about pacing and how to get the reader to focus on the important stuff. His women were pretty without being slutty and he understood my dry, scaracastic humor exceptionally well. His pencils were clean, clear and great for inkers. The best, I think, was Alberto Saichan who I have mentioned before. Brian was a quiet, laid back dude that could have been a superstar and when he penciled at DC, his work remained solid and well worth the read.
A teenage Jack Keaton makes the harrowing trip into Brooklyn to hang out with a pretty young thing named Monica (who later turns out to be the daughter of Magic himself...of course). Why is Brooklyn such a terrible place, you ask?
Quick Neal Adams story: When he was younger, Brooklyn was where the weak were killed and eaten. The way he described it, packs of wild dogs roamed the streets, when it rained it wasn't water...it was cheap bourbon. Gangs stole your car, your wallet, your wife and kids and even your clothes. "No, Pete, never live in Brooklyn," he would admonish. "You'll never make it out alive." So, when I needed a borough where magic and demons were everywhere...well, Brooklyn was perfect. Turns out I was already living there (for 20 or so years) and I never saw any wild packs of dogs.
Anyway, as Jack wanders through the (then) wilds of Brooklyn, inanimate objects come to life and try to kill him. Magic, dear Armor, is coming!! Shaman himself is there, trying to discover the secret of Monica's past and enlist Armor to his side against the coming Rise of Magic. It's a funny story since Armor really just wants to hang out with the blonde cutey Monica and stuff keeps trying to kill him. Like a cash machine. Maybe I can convince someone at Marvel to let Armor team up with Doc Strange. The Scarlet Witch or (haha) the other way around. I'm dying to write a scene with Wanda, Doctor Strange, Armor and Shaman all thinking the other ones are completely nuts. Maybe someday.
All this and a sweet Michael Golden Cover.
