SKYWALD:
DC's Swamp Thing and Marvel's Man-Thing burst on the comics scene at roughly the same time, but little is ever heard about the muck-monster which predated them both: Skywald Comics' The Heap (SEP 1971). I plucked mine out a bargain bin somewhere. The cover of my copy is detached but intact, and the comic itself is slightly water damaged. The price is 25 cents four 48 pages, including four unidentified "Heap Tales of the Unusual." The package itself reminds me very much of the comics which would be published a few years later by Atlas/Seaboard. Issue #1-and-only is scripted by Bob Kanigher with art by Tom Sutton and Jack Abel. The editor is Sol Brodsky. For more information on Skywald Publications, click here.
I don't usually like writing summaries, but I am going to enjoy this one.
The story opens with a blind girl in a field of daisies being stalked by an escaped circus lion. She runs and trips over the titular Heap. while the girl, Sybl, lies unconscious, Heap breaks the lion's neck. When the girl awakens, she doesn't quite twig to the fact that Heap is a monster, despite having touched his face and putting her head to his chest to hear his heartbeat. (I mean, there's blind and there is blind.) She also has the annoying habit of speaking in questions: "I've never touched a face like yours before?"; "Let me help you?"; "I've heard [those sounds] before?"
Three men with rifles from the circus appear looking for the lion and fire on the Heap. He dispatches them quickly, then leaves the girl behind. "Let me take you to my guardian?" the Girl asks. "We live near her, on the moors. He's a famous scientist. He'll heal you!" As he is walking away and Sybl is yelling, "Stranger--wait! Wait! Please?" in the very same panel he thinks, "Somewhere... somehow... there must be a scientific genius who can reverse the chemical anarchy that has taken possession of my body--and change me back into a whole man again!"
This retreat gives him the opportunity to review his origin. He was a crop duster named Jim Roberts who lost control of his plane and crashed into "USA Chemical Warfare Depot X-G." Presumably it is the mixture of herbicides which transforms him into the Heap. "My pores are like suction pads!" he realizes as he shimmies down the side of the tank. He then wanders into a cemetery where he encounters Master Scythe ("Sinister Scythe" on the cover) and his band of "Satan's shadows, the freaks!"
After he defeats them he realizes that Sybl's scientist guardian might be just what he needs after all, so he makes his way to the castle on the moor. The scientist is Dr. Frankenstein, an actual descendant of the Baron Frankenstein. He has a painting (which looks like a movie poster) of his ancestor and the monster hanging in his lab. He has promised to cure Sybl of her blindness, but not until he duplicates his ancestor's feat of creating life. The Heap makes himself known, and Frankenstein makes a deal: "Let me present you to the world just as Baron Frankenstein introduced his monster--and I will cure Sybl's blindness! After the world has applauded my achievement--I will treat you. Is it a bargain?"
"It's a bargain," Heap responds, "if you cure Sybl first!" Frankenstein agrees and, "in keeping with tradition," locks the Heap up for the night, "just as the Baron chained his monster!" The next night, the procedure begins: "My surgery is completely automated and computerized! My assistants are robots! My operating technique decades ahead of its time! My anesthesia works!" It's a good thing his anesthesia works because he sutures the corneal transplants in place. His "robot" assistants look more like zombies, but at least they are wearing surgical masks while he himself is not.
When Sybl awakens she can see... and immediately (and predictably) screams in horror at the sight of the Heap, who breaks his bonds and races out into the stormy night. He is struck by lightning and immediately disintegrated, but soon rises from his own ashes. "I'm doomed to live on!" he laments. But why? For what purpose? Whose instrument am I? Who's hand is moving me? God's or the Devil's? When will I find out? When? When? When?"
"Don't miss the eerie enigma's next startling adventure" the blurb advises us, "in his agaonizing quest to find... A Way Back to Mankind!! THE END -- of the Beginning!" (Actually, it turned out to be "THE END"... full stop.)
Replies
"DC's Swamp Thing and Marvel's Man-Thing burst on the comics scene at roughly the same time, but little is ever heard about the muck-monster which predated them both: Skywald Comics' The Heap (SEP 1971)."
Richard Willis said:
Working from memory (as I usually do), I see I confused the publication date of House of Secrets #92 with that of Swamp Thing #1. (Although a September 1971 cover date still probably predated Fear #10.) Waitaminute, though... Fear #10 was the start of Man-Thing's series, but his third actual appearance. His first appearance was Savage Tales #1 (cover-dated May 1971). Nevertheless, all of these characters came out right around the same time, in any case.
Richard Willis said:
Incidentally, Skywald's "Heap" is a different character from Hillman's "Heap" (and Harvey Kurtzman and will Elder's as well).
These two may be of interest
Jeff of Earth-J said:
Incidentally, Skywald's "Heap" is a different character from Hillman's "Heap" (and Harvey Kurtzman and will Elder's as well).
They had the name "Swamp Thing" (see above) in the early 50s!
An interesting history of Skywald, particularly the "demise"
Skywald Publications - Wikipedia
"They had the name "Swamp Thing" (see above) in the early 50s!"
"Glob," too, for that matter.
HILLMAN:
For all the complaining I have done about PS Artbooks, my complaints are about their customer service, not their products. They have three HC volumes reprinting every "Heap" story from December 1942 through May 1953. I have read v1 and hope to get to v2-3 soon. Heap's first four stories were as a guest-star in the Sky Wolf feature in Air Fighter Comics (#3, 9, 22, 27). During that time, his appearance was very much in flux. He/it was often depicted as hairy and white, more like an abominable snowman than a swamp creature. He was finally awarded his own feature in #32 (a.k.a. v3 #9) in which he was given a kid sidekick named Rickie Wood. This exact version of the Heap was brought back by Eclipse Comics in 1986 for their revival of Airboy. The first three pages of the first issue provide a succinct (re)introduction to the character.
I bring this up now because both the Hillman and the Skywald versions of the character will unofficially cross over into Swamp Thing #47 as members of "The Parliament of Trees" (which I plan to deal with tomorrow in the "Swamp Thing" discussion).
Eclipse Comics was an interesting publisher. They used The Heap a lot more than one would expect. Even his reintroduction was not with Airboy or Sky Wolf, but rather a new, little-known team called "New Wave".
Funny you should mention New Wave, which was written by Mindy Newell who also wrote a critical letter regarding Alan Moore's story "The Curse" in Swamp Thing.
"I'm telling you, Scully, that creature they call 'The Heap' is around here somewhere. I can almost smell it!"
"For once, you might be right, Mulder."
Luis Olavo de Moura Dantas said:
I did not know that (and I just finished sorting my Eclipse boxes a few days ago). Now I should say, I have never actually read New Wave, but i did pick up most of the issues at a quarter sale once. Still, I am missing #8, 10 &13. Heap did appear in #8, but that did not pre-date Airboy #1, so I did a little further digging.
It turns out "New Wave" first appeared in a preview in Miracleman #8, which I do have, and which does feature the Heap, and which does pre-date Airboy #1. I may not learn something new every day, but I did learn that today.
Here is yet another Heap, also from 1971.
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