Title:
West Coast Avengers 77
Synopsis:
”Hurray for Hollyweird!” Infamous Monsters of Hollywood Part 2 of 4. Script by Roy Thomas and Dann Thomas. Pencils by David Ross. Inks by Tom Dzon. Cover by David Ross and Tom Dzon. Three avengers are missing! And the golden avenger has a clever plan to find them! The Living Lightning and Iron Man help Digger escape from prison! And the daft member of the Night Shift inadvertently leads them right to the Tower of Shadows! Once inside Miguel and Shell-Head locate their teammates and then discover the ghoulish mastermind orchestrating the events: Satannish! Wow, what is Doctor Strange’s long-time foe doing in Los Angeles? The answer won’t matter if the Avengers can’t escape the Tower of Shadows alive! Flashback cameo by Jason Roland to recap the events of Tower of Shadows #5. Night Shift Roster: Hangman, Brothers Grimm, Dansen Macabre, Digger, Gypsy Moth, Misfit, Needle, Tatterdemalion, and Tick-Tock. 32 pages. Cover price $1.00.
Cover Date:
Dec 1991
Publisher:
Marvel Comics
Issue Number:
77
Year:
1991
Purchase Type:
Direct
Country:
United States
Cover Price:
$1.00
Cover Exclusive:
(Chrome Age, from 1992 to 1999) and (Modern Age, 2000 to present)
Era:
Modern Age
Genre:
Superhero
Show More
Language:
English
Type of Comic:
Magazine
Characters:
Satannish
Night Shift
Show More
Date Added:
2018-07-02 22:45:13
Story Arc:
Infamous Monsters of Hollywood Part 2 of 4
Issue(s): Avengers West Coast #76, Avengers West Coast #77, Avengers West Coast #78, Avengers West Coast #79
Cover Date: Nov 91 - Feb 92
Title: Infamous Monsters of Hollywood!: ”Make way for the Night Shift!” / ”Hurray for Hollyweird!” / ”There’s no business like...” / ”Fade out”
Credits:
Roy Thomas & Dann Thomas - Writer
David Ross - Penciler
Tim Dzon - Inker
Richard Ashford - Assistant Editor
Nel Yomtov - Editor
Review/plot:
It turns out that every member of Night Shift has been secretly harboring desires to be a Hollywood star.
So they agree to work for a new Hangman that promises to increase their power and help them get noticed in Hollywood.
While this motivation might not seem like too much of a stretch for some of the characters, i find it way off base for others, especially Tatterdemalion. He hates the rich. Whatever his past, i don’t see him caring about getting any kind of personal recognition at this point in his life. I didn’t really love his inclusion in Night Shift at all, but it could be explained when Shroud was in charge of the group and was kind of manipulating them to stay together so that he could keep an eye on them. But now that the Shroud (and Werewolf By Night) is gone, i don’t know what’s keeping him here, especially if that is the type of stuff the group is getting up to. And to various degrees, i feel that way about the group generally. But we can blame it all on demonic influence, since it turns out that the new Hangman is working for Satannish. This storyline is really about Hangman trying to get Night Shift’s fight with the Avengers broadcasted in a scheme to bring Satannish to Earth.
The plot of this story hinges on a horror story that Roy Thomas wrote in 1970 for Tower of Shadows #5. It turns out that the new Hangman is the actor from that story that got trapped in his demon ”make-up”. The Night Shift’s teleporting castle that they use as a headquarters here is called the Tower of Shadows in a nod to the series where that story was published.
Hangman powers up Night Shift (it’s actually a powered up Dansen Macabre that teleports their castle), but in the process steals half of their souls. Since the Avengers are dealing with a mystical threat, Iron Man logically flies across the country to get Dr. Strange, but Strange is distracted by the appearance of some new entities that he says shouldn’t exist.
So the Avengers have to fight Night Shift and Satannish on their own for a while...
...until Satannish lets slip that he’s been deliberately preoccupying Dr. Strange, and at that point the Scarlet Witch calls on her true magic (i.e. not her mutant hex powers) to summon Dr. Strange...
...who then realizes that the entities he’s been chasing are in fact Night Shift’s half-souls. He uses those souls to power up the Avengers, who can now fight Satannish.
Night Shift, realizing they’ve been duped, join them, but the Avengers subsequently arrest them. Dr. Strange also says that he’ll contact Scarlet Witch if he ever needs a disciple.
I don’t think that Roy Thomas expected anyone to have read Tower of Shadows #5 (although i admit that it moved up in priority on my want list after i read this). And it’s not really necessary to have read that story. It doesn’t close any loose ends from that plot (there weren’t any) or follow up on anything directly from that story. In fact, the best reason to read that story is to confirm that you aren’t missing anything while you’re reading this one. It feels like this story is a follow-up to that, but aside from the general idea of a guy having made a deal with the devil (or Satannish), there’s nothing you really need to know about that plot. The character isn’t even stuck in his demon make-up anymore.
It’s very odd as an Avengers story, and to the degree that it’s relevant at all, it’s about Wonder Man questioning his decision to be an actor in Hollywood, and in that regard it’s just stepping on the toes of his new solo series. The best part is when Wonder Man tries to pretend to join Night Shift, and USAgent has a classic Roy Thomas conversation with himself about whether or not Wonder Man is just acting.
Beyond that, this arc is mostly interesting for showing Hawkeye’s interest in Spider-Woman, to the point that when he’s telling his estranged wife Mockingbird that he’s going out on a mission with an Avenger, he uses the pronoun ”him” instead of ”her”. Which of course she finds out about and it just confirms that he’s got designs on Spider-Woman.
For her part, Spider-Woman didn’t even realize she was being hit on.
I guess there’s also a little focus on Living Lightning, who in addition to his superpowers is able to help the Avengers by translating the help. Offensively dumb on several levels (oh, rapido means quick, huh? Could have never guessed that!).
And i guess maybe he’s religious, because the idea of beings like Satannish seem to upset him, although as far as Hawkeye is concerned they are just aliens.
He also picks up a girlfriend, Mona. She’s part of a film crew kidnapped by Night Shift.
Miguel is a fast mover after getting dumped by his girlfriend Asuka in Avengers West Coast annual #6.
In light of the stuff that J.M. DeMatteis was doing in his Moon Knight and Spider-Man comics around this time, i wanted to show an example of how the ”bad childhood” motivation had become something of a joke at this point.
Also here’s some scathing political commentary. Well, not really.
I thought Roy and Dann Thomas’ Reaper and the Robot storyline made for a good plot (even if wasn’t executed all that amazingly), and the stuff prior to that was necessary clean-up work. Since then, though, the book increasingly feels directionless. This and the Pacific Overlords story in particular feel more like Roy Thomas tapping his forehead going ’west coast... west coast... what do i know about the west coast?’, which i think is an inherently limiting way to think about the West Coast Avengers. Better to just tell Avengers stories that happen to be set on the west coast than come up with west coast themed stories. Even beyond that, though, i’m not sure if Thomas really knows what to do with these characters, and i think the large cast is straining David Ross’ abilities. It’s not a good book.
Quality Rating: C-
Historical Significance Rating: 1
Chronological Placement Considerations: Wonder Man is using a jetpack in these issues, placing this before Wonder Man #3, when his jetpack is destroyed.
References:
Night Shift was last seen in West Coast Avengers #40.
Spider-Woman reflects on all she’s been involved in since joining up with the Avengers to help them against the Pacific Overlords in Avengers #70-74.
Gypsy Moth notes that she used to fight a different Spider-Woman, starting in Spider-Woman #10.
The Avengers bump into the Wasp, who is coming out of a script meeting. A footnote indicates that it’s the same meeting we saw in Avengers West Coast annual #6. Based on where i’ve placed the main story in that annual, i’m going to assume that the Wasp had a few follow-up meetings trying to get the producer to change his mind about the script changes, rather than break that story into its own entry. Living Laser also tells Iron Man about the death of his sister from another back-up in that annual.
This new Hangman assures everyone that he’s not the one that was reported to have died in Bizarre Adventures #31.
He is in fact the actor from Tower of Shadows #5.
Crossover: N/A
Continuity Insert? N
My Reprint: N/A
Inbound References (3): show
Characters Appearing: Brothers Grimm III, Consuela, Dansen Macabre, Digger (Night Shift), Dr. Strange, Gypsy Moth, Hangman II, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Larry Carpenter, Living Lightning, Misfit, Mockingbird, Mona (Living Lightning’s gf), Needle, Rachel Carpenter, Satannish, Scarlet Witch, Stella Houston, Tatterdemalion, Ticktock, USAgent, Wasp, Wonder Man, Wong
Previous:
X-Factor #75 Up:
Main
1991 / Box 32 / EiC: Tom DeFalco
Next:
Marvel Super Heroes #7 (Cloak & Dagger)
https://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/avengers_west_coast_76-79.shtml
Issue(s): Avengers West Coast #76, Avengers West Coast #77, Avengers West Coast #78, Avengers West Coast #79
Cover Date: Nov 91 - Feb 92
Title: Infamous Monsters of Hollywood!: ”Make way for the Night Shift!” / ”Hurray for Hollyweird!” / ”There’s no business like...” / ”Fade out”
Credits:
Roy Thomas & Dann Thomas - Writer
David Ross - Penciler
Tim Dzon - Inker
Richard Ashford - Assistant Editor
Nel Yomtov - Editor
Review/plot:
It turns out that every member of Night Shift has been secretly harboring desires to be a Hollywood star.
So they agree to work for a new Hangman that promises to increase their power and help them get noticed in Hollywood.
While this motivation might not seem like too much of a stretch for some of the characters, i find it way off base for others, especially Tatterdemalion. He hates the rich. Whatever his past, i don’t see him caring about getting any kind of personal recognition at this point in his life. I didn’t really love his inclusion in Night Shift at all, but it could be explained when Shroud was in charge of the group and was kind of manipulating them to stay together so that he could keep an eye on them. But now that the Shroud (and Werewolf By Night) is gone, i don’t know what’s keeping him here, especially if that is the type of stuff the group is getting up to. And to various degrees, i feel that way about the group generally. But we can blame it all on demonic influence, since it turns out that the new Hangman is working for Satannish. This storyline is really about Hangman trying to get Night Shift’s fight with the Avengers broadcasted in a scheme to bring Satannish to Earth.
The plot of this story hinges on a horror story that Roy Thomas wrote in 1970 for Tower of Shadows #5. It turns out that the new Hangman is the actor from that story that got trapped in his demon ”make-up”. The Night Shift’s teleporting castle that they use as a headquarters here is called the Tower of Shadows in a nod to the series where that story was published.
Hangman powers up Night Shift (it’s actually a powered up Dansen Macabre that teleports their castle), but in the process steals half of their souls. Since the Avengers are dealing with a mystical threat, Iron Man logically flies across the country to get Dr. Strange, but Strange is distracted by the appearance of some new entities that he says shouldn’t exist.
So the Avengers have to fight Night Shift and Satannish on their own for a while...
...until Satannish lets slip that he’s been deliberately preoccupying Dr. Strange, and at that point the Scarlet Witch calls on her true magic (i.e. not her mutant hex powers) to summon Dr. Strange...
...who then realizes that the entities he’s been chasing are in fact Night Shift’s half-souls. He uses those souls to power up the Avengers, who can now fight Satannish.
Night Shift, realizing they’ve been duped, join them, but the Avengers subsequently arrest them. Dr. Strange also says that he’ll contact Scarlet Witch if he ever needs a disciple.
I don’t think that Roy Thomas expected anyone to have read Tower of Shadows #5 (although i admit that it moved up in priority on my want list after i read this). And it’s not really necessary to have read that story. It doesn’t close any loose ends from that plot (there weren’t any) or follow up on anything directly from that story. In fact, the best reason to read that story is to confirm that you aren’t missing anything while you’re reading this one. It feels like this story is a follow-up to that, but aside from the general idea of a guy having made a deal with the devil (or Satannish), there’s nothing you really need to know about that plot. The character isn’t even stuck in his demon make-up anymore.
It’s very odd as an Avengers story, and to the degree that it’s relevant at all, it’s about Wonder Man questioning his decision to be an actor in Hollywood, and in that regard it’s just stepping on the toes of his new solo series. The best part is when Wonder Man tries to pretend to join Night Shift, and USAgent has a classic Roy Thomas conversation with himself about whether or not Wonder Man is just acting.
Beyond that, this arc is mostly interesting for showing Hawkeye’s interest in Spider-Woman, to the point that when he’s telling his estranged wife Mockingbird that he’s going out on a mission with an Avenger, he uses the pronoun ”him” instead of ”her”. Which of course she finds out about and it just confirms that he’s got designs on Spider-Woman.
For her part, Spider-Woman didn’t even realize she was being hit on.
I guess there’s also a little focus on Living Lightning, who in addition to his superpowers is able to help the Avengers by translating the help. Offensively dumb on several levels (oh, rapido means quick, huh? Could have never guessed that!).
And i guess maybe he’s religious, because the idea of beings like Satannish seem to upset him, although as far as Hawkeye is concerned they are just aliens.
He also picks up a girlfriend, Mona. She’s part of a film crew kidnapped by Night Shift.
Miguel is a fast mover after getting dumped by his girlfriend Asuka in Avengers West Coast annual #6.
In light of the stuff that J.M. DeMatteis was doing in his Moon Knight and Spider-Man comics around this time, i wanted to show an example of how the ”bad childhood” motivation had become something of a joke at this point.
Also here’s some scathing political commentary. Well, not really.
I thought Roy and Dann Thomas’ Reaper and the Robot storyline made for a good plot (even if wasn’t executed all that amazingly), and the stuff prior to that was necessary clean-up work. Since then, though, the book increasingly feels directionless. This and the Pacific Overlords story in particular feel more like Roy Thomas tapping his forehead going ’west coast... west coast... what do i know about the west coast?’, which i think is an inherently limiting way to think about the West Coast Avengers. Better to just tell Avengers stories that happen to be set on the west coast than come up with west coast themed stories. Even beyond that, though, i’m not sure if Thomas really knows what to do with these characters, and i think the large cast is straining David Ross’ abilities. It’s not a good book.
Quality Rating: C-
Historical Significance Rating: 1
Chronological Placement Considerations: Wonder Man is using a jetpack in these issues, placing this before Wonder Man #3, when his jetpack is destroyed.
References:
Night Shift was last seen in West Coast Avengers #40.
Spider-Woman reflects on all she’s been involved in since joining up with the Avengers to help them against the Pacific Overlords in Avengers #70-74.
Gypsy Moth notes that she used to fight a different Spider-Woman, starting in Spider-Woman #10.
The Avengers bump into the Wasp, who is coming out of a script meeting. A footnote indicates that it’s the same meeting we saw in Avengers West Coast annual #6. Based on where i’ve placed the main story in that annual, i’m going to assume that the Wasp had a few follow-up meetings trying to get the producer to change his mind about the script changes, rather than break that story into its own entry. Living Laser also tells Iron Man about the death of his sister from another back-up in that annual.
This new Hangman assures everyone that he’s not the one that was reported to have died in Bizarre Adventures #31.
He is in fact the actor from Tower of Shadows #5.
Crossover: N/A
Continuity Insert? N
My Reprint: N/A
Inbound References (3): show
Characters Appearing: Brothers Grimm III, Consuela, Dansen Macabre, Digger (Night Shift), Dr. Strange, Gypsy Moth, Hangman II, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Larry Carpenter, Living Lightning, Misfit, Mockingbird, Mona (Living Lightning’s gf), Needle, Rachel Carpenter, Satannish, Scarlet Witch, Stella Houston, Tatterdemalion, Ticktock, USAgent, Wasp, Wonder Man, Wong
Previous:
X-Factor #75 Up:
Main
1991 / Box 32 / EiC: Tom DeFalco
Next:
Marvel Super Heroes #7 (Cloak & Dagger)
https://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/avengers_west_coast_76-79.shtml
Date Added:
2018-07-02 22:45:13
Created By:
West Coast Avengers Creators Roger Stern & Bob Hall 1st App. West Coast Avengers #1 (May, 1984) https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Avengers_West_Coast_(Earth-616)
Show More
Writer:
Thomas, Roy
Show More
Artist:
David Ross
Show More
