Sunday Splash Page #8

"That's Death in the Big City" in Alpha Flight #31, by Bill Mantlo (writer), Mike Mignola (penciler),Gerry Talaoc (inker), Bob Sharen (colorist), Jim Novak (letterer)

I have one issue of Alpha Flight, and this is it. It's probably still here because it's part of the first batch of comics I ever received. And I figured I'd talk about it one of these days. The large fellow needing clothes is Deadly Ernest, and he can kill people with a touch. More accurately, he steals their souls. If you get the soul back to the person in time, they might live. Which is good, because otherwise about half the team would be dead after this issue. Puck chops up Ernest with a soul-drinking sword to recover their souls, all while engage in long internal monologues about killing, as well as his feelings for Heather Hudson. The kind of standard melodrama you find in a lot of '80s Marvel comics.

As I understand it, Mantlo's time as writer on the book is not well-regarded, generally. The next issue tells us Puck is short because he's keeping a demon with a different soul-drinking sword imprisoned inside, and it stole much of his soul before he managed that, so I can see why. That's not going down as one of his better creative choices.

Mignola's style hasn't developed into his trademark look yet; there's a big difference even from where it's at here in 1986, and where it'll be by the time Triumph and Torment comes out in 1989. He is starting to use heavy shadows selectively, over eyes, things like that. I can't really pin down who his style here reminds me of. My brain keeps saying "Michael Golden", but hell if I know his work well enough to figure out why. The way he draws musculature reminds me of John Buscema, a bit. In places, there's a very light touch, fine, thin lines, but clearly defined. Much more detailed, but not busy style here. With all the dialogue balloons, he's too constrained to get too detailed.