Unca Cheeks the Toy Wonder's Silver Age Comics Web Site!
RAISING A LITTLE HELL WITH
The Son of SATAN
(This page is dedicated to T.S. Hughes; Ken Jobe (again); and Allen Steele: The Three People I'd Most Want Watching My Back, The Day One [Or All] Of Us Is Forced To Swap "Noogies" With The Infernal One.)
70's Marvel Comics scribe Steve Gerber will (doubtless) ultimately be noted, in the annals of comics lore, for the lunatic creation of HOWARD THE DUCK, as well as his seminal tenures on both the MAN-THING and DEFENDERS titles of the period. This is, I hasten to add, only right and proper; all three of these were (and remain) outstanding exemplars of intelligent and heartfelt comics craftsmanship, and I'll be the very last guy standing in line to gainsay the merits of any of these, either singly or in the collective.
Having granted that much, however: none of the aforementioned rank as
my very favorite all-time Gerber "works."
For the proper awarding of that particular loving cup, one would have to unearth the relevant back issues of a really, really obscure comics series of said epoch: the little-heralded MARVEL SPOTLIGHT, showcasing the singularly charismatic (well... in a really naughty sort of way, I mean) "Daimon Hellstrom"... a.k.a., The Son of Satan. [See cover reproduction, accompanying]
The half-human, half- infernal scion of You-Know- Who, and Heir Apparent to
You-Know-Where, Daimon Hellstrom dedicated his manic-depressive existence to
the seeking out and elimination (via the vested powers and authority of the
Catholic Church's Roman Ritual of Exorcism) of various and sundry members
of Big Daddy's thanatopian underworld "court." (This character and
series, you see, having been hastily minted anent the worldwide cinematic
smash that was William Friedkin's The Exorcist, as based upon
the equally successful and influential novel of the same name. Can you
say "bandwagon," boys and girls...?)
In the hands of virtually any (lesser) comics scrivener, such a nakedly calculated and opportunistic attempt to "cash in" on the mass market "fad" of the moment would, of a virtual certainty, have amountedto drear little.
The estimable Mr. Gerber, however, was anything but a "lesser scrivener."
you see.
Rather than attempting to vitiate the essential "allure" of so darkling a character conception by rendering him more "sympathetic" to the readership of the day... Gerber made good storytelling advantage of every opportunity possible to emphasize Hellstrom's preternatural arrogance and inability to "work and play well," vis-a-vis the central tenets of human social intercourse.
Not that Our Little Daimon was any more successful, by and large, at getting
along with
his inhuman peers, either.
His sultry succubus of a half-sister -- the shockingly amoral Satana
-- counted herself as one of Daimon's most remorseless and implacable of foes,
after a wee, teensy-tiny li'l "misunderstanding," during the particulars of
which the relentlessly strait-laced and unyielding exorcist attempted to murder
his hell- spawned half-sibling.
Not exactly a "Hallmark Cards" sort of moment, in retrospect.
Gerber also seamlessly incorporated the surly Daimon into the crazed storytelling gestalt that was his concomitant DEFENDERS "run," as well. The troubled (and troublesome) exorcist first encountered Marvel's self-described "non-team" in the course of GIANT- SIZED DEFENDERS #2, as gorgeously rendered by master penciler Gil Kane .
(The title "Giant-Sized Defenders," incidentally, should not be
misconstrued that the heroes comprising the line-up of same were... you
know... all suffering from particularly pronounced pituitary problems, or some
other rare form of gross glandular imbalance. It was the comic
which was "giant-sized," in this instance. Please, please don't
force me to explain this all over again, should we ever find ourselves discussing
the lasciviously- titled GIANT-SIZE MAN- THING comic. I'm just sayin',
is all.)
The great storytelling "extra" afforded by Daimon's (often quite reluctant) inclusion in the more "traditional" affairs of his fellow Defenders was in their unfailingly shocked reactions to some of his more studiedly theatrical and/or anti-social "moments," overall.
Even the jaded, "streetwise" likes of a Luke Cage or a Daredevil often found themselves taken aback by the character's unfailingly narcissistic self-absorption; as well as a truly horrific tendency towards bloodletting and savagery overall, in the heat of battle. So far as the young exorcist was concerned: any opponent rated the same harsh, unforgiving "treatment" as might be afforded even the lowliest member of His Father's court.
Steve Gerber's standout, star-making handling of the "Son of Satan" character (both in the pages of DEFENDERS and those of MARVEL SPOTLIGHT) quickly proved popular and profitable enough towarrant granting Daimon his own ongoing solo title... which promptly fell back out of favor with the readership, in turn, when said title was awarded to the (comparatively) drab former comics scribe John Warner.
Limping along, thus (creatively) hobbled, for an embarrassing grand total of eight issues (!!), the series during this unfortunate period distinguished itself but little, save for an extremely odd and unsettling (but gorgeously rendered) "Christmas tale," of sorts, in the eighth and final installment.
(Said artwork, in fact, is so lush and evocative, throughout -- courtesy
of longtime horror- and war-comics veteran, Russ Heath -- that I simply
can't resist the impulse to provide a nicely representative sampling, thereof.
The character of Daimon Hellstrom, alas, has -- save for a brief, intelligent "turn" at the hands of writer J. M. DeMatteis, in the pages of (yet again) THE DEFENDERS -- fared poorly of late, creatively-speaking.
Various ill-starred attempts to "update" the character (whether he actually needed it or not), a la DC Comics' excellent line of more "realistic" Vertigo horror titles, have proven a tough "sell" over the last few years.
The quaint little notion, of course, that the character might jolly well prove decently salable, once again, "As Is" has -- as of this writing, in any event -- failed to occur to much of anyone in a position of editorial authority, over Marvel Comics way.
Here's hoping that this vital (and endlessly fascinating) addition to the
Marvel canon is provided something appreciably better than the proverbial snowball's
chance in A Really, Ummm, Tropical Locale to strut his moody, self-obsessive
"stuff," once more.
"MORE COMIC BOOKS," YOU SAY...?
The DC Comics Sub-Directory
The Marvel Comics Sub-Directory
The Miscellaneous Comics Sub-Directory
The "Gotta Find That DC Character" Menu
The "Gotta Find That Marvel/Miscellaneous
Character" Menu