taigtUltra to Spider-Man. , The flexible cast, which included morethanja'few occult or oth- erwise bizarre figurés;allowed for some of Marvel’s most off-the¢Walkstories, such.asthe menace-of Nebulon’s, GeléstiaN uit Gontest Movemefit (a cult-whose-deyotees-dressed like clowns", Order O\ some to) forms vith. the ‘‘bOzos’’ Within themselvgs) and serial “aticp elves TheDefenters' adventures ranged froth. the ridiétlous (Coping \with'a hupe Influeef' prospective memberstafter an-unauthorized PV dogitiietitary-on the nosi-team)t6 the-sublime. (thwarting an attempt by Satan and ther Six Fingered-Hand to bring aboiit.Hell on Earthy written by such diverse scripters\ as Steve Englehart, Steve Gerber, Daye. Krafte, Ed Hannigan, and J. M . DeMatteis (whose stintion theDefenders yielded some-of the mostimpres- siveane thotshtprovoking: stories/evemdene forseomiesupto that point): Unforttnately, it coutdit last’ The book had a reasonably steady, longtim¢’ following, but the team’s Core\cast (Doc Sttange,/Walkyrie, Hellcat, Nighthawk, and cpiipahyy lacked “mega-popular ‘drawing cardswithy Which to attract a\wide altdiende (thodgh/d few Deferiders,-such as. Hulk and Silvér Surfer, Have nrore.recently become hot prépettiesy’ The book strhegled-financially (3 sitegtfon not-h¢ipedby—a.eenéraiabserice of; impres@iye,attwapk fPihe-book’s-latér Years), and ‘fhe \end begai-inDefeidars #125, when, moshoPthe core members of the Defenders left thegtoup wand the-remaining-characters. were organized -into/an= official? croup Consisting of Valkyrie Gar goyle/ Moolidragen, and thtee defectors from Manvel’ s popular-x-“Men \Beast,) Angel, adid¢iceman.”, Fhe-charige efieant \f0 increas¢ feadetsmip, faitedmigerably dhe book still JAckedGimpressivewrtwork aid extremely poplar characters -atid’atibe sae time lost most/oe its fottowingiwith) the departing Slits. key/Chamacters andthe trans forin ation —ofuthe group intojustanother-superttam, Phe book led bland, quiet/existence untiiAt mercifully expixed ‘with #1] S2/aBoursiwo years” later, at whith titneitheshortelived<‘offieral”’ Asfend- ers-di Shamdeds Asprevious|¥ noted) however, revivals ane bigbusimess Comics these dayseiie Defend: ers HAS beth Cancetledwfor yearsabul neither fans@iopy comic creators have-fermatien the legm’Sincé theroriginal Defendesspwere neyef: Teally anoffigial team, you Could sayihey néver teally broke up, and‘Marvel hasteyed with thie idea ofrevivingthe erpnip bY havingiDoe Sitanige Tound wip somié of hig old tronies on e¢caSton (stoh as for inStapl ed) ithe cmmbpammasain 81 yb Retum Of thé Defendets’ storyline thattagtam 4striesx of Mayvét Annuals Jast yoat ahd breily ‘united Strarge, Nair, the HiK,/An@ the Silvet Suffer)? The phdstrecént rection game in Doctor Stange #59, whiereitt Dog, who 1S die Katly suffering frpm a major reduetion Of fus uct power, mecruited he Halk, the Silver Urfer and h¢ Gheist=Ritldptfo_help battle_the Sad Dormayhintk—Atthe donctusion of that

advestire, Do@pets to thinking: as détailed in Marvel’s recént ‘‘Midnight Sgns’’ series/@fene aré’more thaff a*few mysticalanenacesdurkmg aboutthe Earthly platieMitese days, and Doc cant handledt ai-byybimsetiespeeially infiis Gurrsnt Weakened state, ScitisthatDec Hits uponthe1ded/or reviving the old Defenders team 4s Earth’ sldstlineofdeferise,and ites here thatthe new Secret Defenders sérieSbegifis. Inv esSenge; the'new-team_stems from very. much thie sam¢/premise as the Original Defend- ets, an informal group offfieroes Who team up only wherlfaced with a threat that requires their combined abilities to oppose it; however, there’s 4 bit of dtwistthis time. Doc Strange istheonly regular member. Mostorincold Defenders. and Many other-hetoés can’t conimit t6caxfullstime Opgahization, and Noc-Sttangehassio -desire-to Greate a highly visible and éasily targeted super Group ahyway,qinstead, whenever Dogsenses-a Rey mehace/growing he uses- mystical antui- Mon (and a/tarot-deck) to/ instinctively select heroes who are available \and) whosc.abilities suit the given situation/ Merce the Defenders’ membership -will literally, charge with every CaSe/for which the Dor assembles tiie teain, ahd virtually anyoné cowed bedratted infomember- ship so long as they areiwitlific .AVoreover Nhe group's exidtenceis secren(hence then ew title). In-general,) The Secret Defejidersis an ap> pealing and innoyative teworkisig-OMthe origi- nal Defenders’ concépt,, DdesStrange’ new revMitment, methodutconceived by \Dann Thomas,-wife andicoMaBorator‘of series: writer Roy Thomas) is Very-ortginal and holds-virtuz ally unlimited potefitial for) avarietyof cast méembers-withont-being 100-contrived-or Cum- bersmiesAs the writer himselidéscribedit/ the hew title's shifting jine.up resembles old,-con= wivedfeantaip titles likes Mave} jFeam-Up, where/Spidet-Man joimiedforces Withee differ- ents Sviper-héro\or herdesseach month,/but, the difference hereiis that there is/ar ongoing con- tinhity with aventral Tipare (Doc Stharige) who. has a Wefinite, Sontinuing role 43/q oefitrejof, alliancée! While this tetids to ensnfea dynanie and varied caSt,\there-are.some potential weake fessesefor One, ifDec Strangeremdins the only corénrember of fhe Defendersitmay behardte establisha speeitic Seer? tebe fendersfollowang. beyond fans of Doc Strange in-other Words,the Kovk’ scontiuéd-health may depend largely on fais Of team-ups-alt-guest/stars rather than the Defenders-per-se-Suctrfans tend to have siort andAickle attentiongSpams, and one hop¢s that the creative teant Handling Secret Defenders Will ¢oncentfatéonproducing good stories rather than) catering’ Soletystomdemand for populat chatactets(Somendds forthe! book have |béen! proup-pictines dominatedby.such fan-faves as W olverine-tohnny BlazesGhost/Rider;-ete. )( it's-pfobably-dangerousty tempting for Marvel to-eonsillet doing, lots\of Wolverine/Punisher/ Ghost Rider/Cablé/teamups and such, alt the ultratviolent vigilantes who sell so well-thes¢ days \For/the first issue of the new series}

though, at least some restraint was shown in assembling a reasonably varied cast of charac- ters. The first new lineup Dr Strange recruits consists of Darkhawk (a fairly popular, flying, armor-clad, urban teen crimefighter who has his own book), Nomad (a wandering,sometime crimefighter who also has his own book and who goes into action with his shotgun in hand and his baby girl Bucky strapped to his back), Spider-Woman (wall-crawling, web-spinning single mother who is an active member of Avengers West Coast), and, to ensure brisk sales, the ever-popular Wolverine (the feral, adamantium-clawed star of X-Men, his own book, and Marvel Comics Presents, and occa- sional guest star in just about everything else Marvel publishes). While Wolverine’s there to appeal to cut-and-dried (no pun intended) ac- tion fans, kinder and gentler characters like the down-to-earth Spider-Woman, the inexperi- enced Darkhawk, the philosophically cynical Nomad and thecerebral Doctor Strange provide a solidly balanced cast.

The initial.cast shows promise, as does the basicrevolving membership theme if done well, but the book suffers creatively at present. The problem i$ not the writing,’ While his dialogue can sometimes bea bitistiff or out-of character, Defenders co-creator and current scripter Roy Thomas turns in some of his usual good stuff. One of the shamefully few literate comics writ- ers of his generation, Thomas. brings to his scripts a wide knowledge of Marvel’s charac- ters and of people, places, and events outside of comic-book-land as well. The current plot, as one would expect from longtime Dr. Strange scripter Thomas, has some nice supernatural mystery elements and that touch of the bizarre and obscure that often characterized the old Defenders stories. Doc Strange senses evil brewing and, after recruiting his new batch of Defenders, mystically dispatches his associates to the heart of the trouble: Phoenix, Arizona, which has lately found itself overrun with teen- age bank robbers, one of whom dies of old age before he can be questioned. Something strange, sinister, and supernatural is going on...which makes this a job for the Defenders (insert dra- matic music here).

While the story is competent, the really disappointing aspect of this book is the art, if youcan call it that. Penciler Andre Coates is not the artistic find of 1993. He draws Doc Strange rather well, as in the moody opening scene with Doc’starot cards, but his renderings of the other characters range from competent to poor. His action scenes are not strikingly dynamic, and his layouts are by no means stylish or imagina- tive. His figure drawing could use some work, and his backgrounds are nothing to write home about either. At best, Coates’ work is competent...more than can be said for the inker, Don Hudson, who makes unimpressive artwork worse with consistently sloppy finishes through- out. The drawings have an unfinished, scratchy appearance with lots of unnecessary lines and

...continued on next page

il