First of all I’d like to say how excited I am to be able to report that someone at Dark Horse finally came around to my point of view and changed the paper of their Gold Key reprints (this one, anyway) to a stock that better showcases the original coloring! Before I even slit the shrink wrap I could tell be the heft of it there had been a change for the better!
The post-apocalyptic story itself is nothing original, nor was it in 1964. In addition to Samson, supporting characters are his girlfriend Sharmaine and her scientist Mindor. The action is set in N’Yark, and each issue pits the cast against a new threat, such as the people of “Jerz” across the “Huzon” river. Later DC series, such as Hercules Unbound and Jack Kirby’s Kamandi especially, would bear a strong resemblance to it, except instead of intelligent animals, The Mighty Samson mutant hybrids, such as a liobear (which claims Samson’s eye in the first issue), a dinosaur crossed with an octopus, perhaps the very first mutant turtle in comics, and my personal favorite, a gorilla with antlers.
The stories are written by Otto Binder (of Captain Marvel fame) and drawn by Frank Thorne (who first came to my attention in the ‘70s as the artist of Marvel’s Red Sonja). Thorne was already a comics veteran by 1964, but The Mighty Samson marks a artistic turning point in his career. The best description of the contents of this edition can be taken from the volume’s introduction by Dylan williams: “What I am getting at is that these pages contain, first and foremost, a ripping good yarn that’s beautifully illustrated, well made, well written, well drawn, and well packaged! They may not contain Pulitzer Prize-winning material, but I’m here to tell you that sometimes comics are actually meant to be fun, escapist action that transports you to another world. Sometimes they are actually meant to be entertainment. And Mighty Samson is the height of the entertaining comic.”
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I L-O-V-E me some goofy post-apocalyptic fiction. Planet of the Apes, Kamandi, Thundarr the Barbarian. I sure hope Dark Horse intends to (eventually) publish this material in TPB form, as it (allegedly) will be doing with Doctor Solar and Magnus, Robot Fighter.
... and my personal favorite, a gorilla with antlers.
Please tell me there's a partially submerged Statue of Liberty...
Of course there is! What kind of "goofy post-apocalyptic fiction" would it be without a story set at the ruins of the Statue of Liberty? I mean really! The action in this volume is limited to the island of Manhattan, however, so no moss-covered Lincoln Memorial. All of of Manhattan's bridges have been destroyed (although at least one of the tunnels is still navigable), but one story each has used the George Washington and Brooklyn Bridges as backdrops.
I was just looking through the new Previews catalog and saw that Dark Horse is going to be launching a new Mighty Samson ongoing series by Jim shooter and Patrick Olliffe on December 15. the first issue of the new series will feature a reprint of the first issue of the original, so here's your chance to sample the archive cheap (well, as cheap as it gets nowadays, anyway).
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... and my personal favorite, a gorilla with antlers.
Oh, my, Yes!
Infallible indicators of quality entertainment!
Of course there is! What kind of "goofy post-apocalyptic fiction" would it be without a story set at the ruins of the Statue of Liberty? I mean really! The action in this volume is limited to the island of Manhattan, however, so no moss-covered Lincoln Memorial. All of of Manhattan's bridges have been destroyed (although at least one of the tunnels is still navigable), but one story each has used the George Washington and Brooklyn Bridges as backdrops.