BRONZE AGE MINUTE: Amazing Adventures #29

Marvel; March 1975
Cover uncredited (likely Gil Kane and P. Craig Russell)

Title: “The Hell Destroyers”
Synopsis: Killraven, Volcana Ash, and the Freemen liberate human slave pens before destroying the Death-Birth citadel.

Writer: Don McGregor
Artist: P. Craig Russell

Review: Killraven finally gets to stretch out over the entire issue as the creative team continues to level up. Don McGregor still overwrites; there’s so much narration that some of the story must be told in small type instead of hand lettering. But that narration has a lyrical quality, and it’s in service to some excellent world-building and character work. The art is also quite lovely. P. Craig Russell continues his rapid improvement, with strong sequential storytelling and intricate linework. His coloring is quite nice, as well. Killraven is shaping up to be one of the premiere books of its era.

Grade: A

Second opinion: “3-1/2 out of 4 stars.” – Comics Buyer’s Guide #1655 (July 2009). “McGregor’s use of text blocks… added a whole new dimension to comics storytelling.”– Pierre Comtois, “Marvel Comics in the 1970s: An Issue By Issue Field Guide to a Pop Culture Phenomenon: Expanded Edition” (2021). Recommended by The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide second edition (2003).

Cool factor: No more short, Atlas era reprints as backup features. (Not that they were bad, it’s just that the Killraven saga deserves that editorial real estate.)

Collector’s note: According to the Grand Comics Database, there is a 8p British variant of this issue. According to MyComicShop.com, there is also a Mark Jewelers variant.

Character quotable: “Ah for the good old days of 2010.” – Killraven (just wait till he sees 2020)

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