After the culmination of Warlock’s battle with the Magus, in Warlock #11, the title moved to telling other stories, before the return of Thanos and Gamora. Sales suffered, and Warlock was cancelled with issue #15. Starlin was obviously not enamored with Marvel’s editorial at this point, and I think his work suffered a little. The stories here are good enough, but they’re so far apart from the Marvel Universe that they could have been published by some independent company – and Steve Leialoha’s inks do not help matters. Some of the art in these books looks like it should have been in the back of Dragon Magazine as opposed to in a Marvel Comics publication.
Warlock #12 (April 1976) “A Trollish Tale!”
Jim Starlin (Writer/Layouts), Steve Leialoha (Inker/Colorist), Tom Orzechowski (Letterer), Marv Wolfman (Editor)
Warlock and Pip are in a pub called “Mama Alpha’s Cabaret” on the world formerly known as as Homeworld, now called “Sirius X. Pip is sitting on the lap of Mama Alpha and Warlock is in a sour mood, still having memories of the acts he’s committed over the last few days (that didn’t happen). He decides that he can’t get answers to his questions in that bar, so he departs for the stars. Pip is worried about having to pay for all their booze and fun.
Mama Alpha tries to console him, but he tries to back out by telling her that he was drunk and didn’t mean everything he said. It’s not working, so Pip starts a bar brawl, hides behind the bar, and leaves when it all comes to an end. Outside, a caravan has pulled up with a beautiful woman inside. Her name: Heater Delight. She takes him to her place. She asks of his origins, and he tells her.
He was once a human prince, Gofern of Laxidazia, 260th in line for the throne. To pass the time, he did a lot of painting. On one of his escapades, he came across some trolls, took part in a massive feast, and woke up a troll. He was expelled from the court a week later for decadence and has been wandering ever since. Heater wants him to cut the cable that binds her to her pleasure cruiser.
Meanwhile, Warlock is trying to make sense of his life when he notices that the stars are disappearing.
Back on Sirius X, Heater tells Pip about how she’s a slave to the Pleasure Cruiser and its owner, Pro-Boscis. She tells him that if he frees her, she will reward him with unbelievable pleasure. Pip has her drop him at the nearest electronic shop, where he distracts the owner and steals some wire cutters. Soon, he returns to the cruiser and clips the wire, setting off an alarm. Pro-Boscis arrives, and he looks ridiculous.
I can’t truthfully describe him. Black hair in a ponytail, a flower in his lapel, platform shoes. It’s so baaad. He tries to blast Pip, but Pip manages to avoid him. We see a shadowy figure watching on, who can’t intervene until the right moment. Pip tries to push a rock formation onto Pro-Boscis, but the cliff face falls instead. Fortunately, the falling rocks take out his pursuer. Heater gifts her pleasure cruiser to Pip, who is not exactly excited about it. Our mysterious observer is revealed: Eros, brother of Thanos. He gathers up Heater and leaves for the stars. Pro-Boscis starts digging himself out, so Pip hops in the Pleasure Cruiser and leaves.
Warlock #13 (June 1976) “…Here Dwells the Star Thief!”
Jim Starlin (Writer/Layouts), Steve Leialoha (Finished Art), Tom Orzechowski (Letterer), Petra Goldberg (Colorist), Marv Wolfman (Editor)
Chapter I:
“Here Dwells the Star Thief!”
On Earth, in a hospital in New England, the staff is wary, even fearful of the patient in room 18-A. The patient, young Barry Bauman, has a brain disorder. His brain is not connected to his central nervous system, so he’s without his five senses and is deaf, dumb, and blind, without any sense of smell, taste, or touch. Barry’s father, the Chairman of the Board of the Hospital, has hired a male nurse to sit with Barry, and the attending physician thinks the nurse might be insane.
In another galaxy, Adam Warlock is investigating the disappearance of stars. His Soul Gem is pushing him to get involved. As he explores, he comes across a planet in a now sunless system, frozen. Its inhabitants are all dead from the cold, so Warlock uses his gem to probe the source of the disappearances. It comes back to him with a revelation: the Star Thief is a lone earthman.
Chapter II:
“The Bizarre Brain of Barry Bauman”
Starlin has this annoying glitch where he doesn’t label all the chapters as chapters. Like the first part of the story is the main title, then BOOM it’s time for chapter 2. Kind of annoying. Anyhow, Barry Bauman has been trapped in his own mind since birth, but managed to gain mastery over his potential, eventually taking over the body of his nurse, Tom Vocson, and using it as a proxy to explore. He then developed telekinesis, then affecting the emotions of those around him, causing a massive traffic accident, and finally destroying a small town in Nevada with an earthquake.
Later, he’d float among the stars and get his revenge on the world that let him be a vegetable instead of spending some money to fix him. He decided to venture out among the stars, snuffing them out one by one, to cause panic among earth’s population before he snuffs them out. He senses something interfering with his plan, and while this happens, his control over Tom Vocson begins to fade.
Warlock, rocketing toward Earth, fears that it will take him too long. He thinks that he will let his Soul Gem steal the life force of Star Thief. Star Thief suddenly appears and lets Warlock know that he won’t “become fodder for some jade succubus”. Star Thief says that he and Warlock are similar, both creations of man, with the differences being that Warlock is trying to protect man while Star Thief is trying to punish them. Warlock states that he is a force for life while Star Thief is Anti-Life (Is this Kirby’s Fourth World influencing Warlock?). Star Thief creates Golems out of the very asteroid that Warlock stands on. Warlock is not able to overcome them physically but manages to evade being crushed. He comes up behind them and wrecks them. Star Thief asks how he was able to deceive him, and Warlock states that he is a “true Warlock” and is one with the elements. Star Thief says he loves a challenge and won’t attack Warlock with anything other than a physical attack until he gets to Earth.
On Earth, at an observatory, astronomers note that stars are disappearing. News gets out and riots break out – obviously the end is near.
Warlock #14 (August 1976) “Homecoming!”
Jim Starlin (Story and Layouts), Steve Leialoha (Finished Art and Coloring), Tom Orzechowski (Letterer), Marv Wolfman (Editor)
Warlock, during his travel to Earth, is attacked by winged demons that pop up out of nowhere. He’s able to hold them at bay with his Soul Gem, but he can’t destroy them with it. He’s able to beat them with physical strength, then Star Thief shows up again. He congratulates Warlock on beating another challenge, then pisses him off by saying how amusing his testing of Warlock is. Warlock does a quick recap for us, then when Star Thief probes him again, he vows to come to earth to destroy him. Star Thief sends a space shark at Warlock, who again can’t destroy it with the Soul Gem.
After defeating the Shark, a fire golem erupts from the ground. Warlock blasts it with a boulder to the brain to defeat it. Havin proven himself a true Warlock, Warlock departs, using a space warp to get to earth. While he’s traveling, Tom Vocson manages to free himself from Star Thief’s influence, knowing he must act. When Warlock comes out of the space warp, he’s lost his connection with our reality and is so large he dwarfs our sun. He’s become a phantom, unable to affect either light or gravity.
While Star Thief tells Warlock what’s happening (Warlock has been away from earth and his atoms have spread at a faster rate than those closer to Earth have. Expanding Universe theory at work.) Meanwhile, Tom Vocson pulls a gun and shoots Barry in the face, killing him and eliminating the menace of Star Thief.
Warlock is despondent, as he cannot return home.
Warlock #15 (October 1976) “Just a Series of Events!”
Jim Starlin (Writer/Penciler/Inker), Tom Orzechowski (Letterer), Michelle Wolfman (Colorist), Archie Goodwin (Editor)
Warlock is looming over our solar system, distraught over his situation. He’s unable to return to Earth, or even Counter-Earth for that matter. He cannot get the help of the High Evolutionary, so he departs, searching for a new home.
Elsewhere, Thanos has rebuilt his ship, Sanctuary I. Gamora tells Thanos that she’s bored, so Thanos sends her to be Warlock’s bodyguard. Gamora is interested in Warlock because she considers him an enigma, and she loves a good mystery. Thanos reveals his true plan to us: total stellar genocide, with Warlock being the one who can make it all possible.
Warlock has stumbled across trouble – three big, brutish guys are pulling a third out of a small spacecraft. Warlock intervenes, trashing the thugs. When he questions the victim, he’s interrupted by a talking broccoli stalk named Marr Gar. He works for a company called Interplaneteur, Inc., an intergalactic corporation that has loaned the man 5,000 credits. He’s put his ship up as collateral, and since he didn’t pay, they’re repossessing it. They won’t take the guy with him, so Warlock tells him to get to his destination and pay the company. He assures him that they won’t hinder him, then laments that heartless moneylenders are infesting the galaxy,
Elsewhere, Gamora travels to find Warlock, wondering what Thanos is up to. She doesn’t get far when something approaches her ship, moving REALLY fast – it’s Drax, the Destroyer, and he’s come to kill her, then Thanos.
Marvel Team-Up #55 (March 1977) “Spider, Spider on the Moon!”
Bill Mantlo (Writer), John Byrne (Penciler), Dave Hunt (Inker), Susan Fox (Letterer), George Roussos (Colorist), Archie Goodwin (Editor)
This is a continued story from MTU #54, where Spider-Man and the Hulk had beaten Woodgod. This is very early John Byrne, when he was cutting his teeth on some of Marvel’s lower-tier books, of which this was one (along with Iron Fist, Champions, and some others). Spider-Man is trapped in a rocket that is heading into space. Hulk has had enough of puny humans, so he leaves. Woodgod is almost indecipherable, but I think he wants to destroy humanity. In the spacecraft, Spider-Man is about to pass out due to lack of oxygen.
A comet appears in the distance, drawing closer and suddenly a giant Adam Warlock appears! He detects Spider-Man’s fading life inside the rocket. Warlock thinks to himself that warping through space has caused him to grow smaller and smaller, until, after grabbing the rocket and transporting it to the Blue Area of the moon, he’s returned to his normal proportions. The rocket crashes, with his Soul Gem disobeying his commands, possibly from an outside force. He tears open the hatch, finding Spider-Man.
He lets Spidey know that he’s on the moon, and while they debate how Spider-Man will get back to Earth, the Stranger appears! He’s tracking Warlock’s gem, since he wants to collect them all. Warlock attacks him, but Strangers blasts him with his own gem, knocking him out. Spider-Man webs up Stranger’s eyes, but that’s pretty ineffective and Stranger tosses him away. A plant reaches out to grab him, then gently lowers him to the ground.
The battle between Stranger and Warlock continues, with Stranger levitating a chunk of the moon and detonating it. Warlock plummets back, unconscious. Stranger moves in to get the gem, and we cut to Spider-Man being awakened by the Gardener, who says that he’s been, er, gardening, on the moon, to great results. They avoid the Stranger, who has Warlock strung up, helpless. He wants Warlock’s Gem, and Spider-Man swings away from the Gardner, who vanishes. Spidey webs the Stranger up, but he easily escapes. Gardner wills the land and environment to attack the Stranger, and Spider-Man uses a boulder to shatter Warlock’s prison.
Warlock and Gardner use their gems together to vanquish the Stranger, who leaves to fight another day. Gardner departs as well, and Spider-Man hitches a ride back to Earth with Warlock.
NEXT: The Warlock/Thanos War!
From some other planet... 