Amazing Adventures #5
Published and © by Marvel, March 1971
Title: “His Brother’s Keeper!”
Synopsis: Black Bolt leaves the Great Refuge on a scouting mission – and Maximus takes advantage of his absence!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Neal Adams
Inker: Tom Palmer
Review: Not many would want to follow Jack Kirby on the Inhumans, but Neal Adams makes it look easy. While the King’s installments had a Silver Age vibe, Adams and writer Roy Thomas take the Inhumans Bronze. A nice chapter of this serial adventure, with a strong cliffhanger ending.
•••
Title: “… And to All a Good Night”
Synopsis: A young man mixed up with the wrong crowd grows suicidal at Christmas. Can the Black Widow keep him alive?
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Gene Colan
Inker: Bill Everett
Review: Roy Thomas struggles with the noir tone, but delivers an excellent shock ending. The art is, not surprisingly, quite gorgeous.
Grade (for the entire issue): A-
Second opinion: “Adams’ art added to the verisimilitude with a series of portraits that expressed the full range of human emotions.” – Pierre Comtois, “Marvel Comics in the 1970s: An Issue By Issue Field Guide to a Pop Culture Phenomenon: Expanded Edition,” 2021
Cool factor: Great early Bronze art..
Not-so-cool factor: Roy Tomas’ “hip” dialogue can be painful at times.
Notable: The “Amazing Mails” letters page includes an LoC from future DC bigwig Paul Levitz.
Collector’s note: According to the Grand Comics Database, there is a 30¢ variant and a 1/- British variant of this issue.
Character quotable: “You would have bothered him with … trifles.” – Medusa, politically sensitive, as always
Editor’s note: This review was originally published by Comics Bronze Age on Dec. 21, 2009.
