Paint Monk's Library Referral

Thanks goes out to Paint Monk's Library for promoting The Defenders Fansite as a featured blog on their site. The accolade is much appreciated!

Shrouded Cover Versions

The cover of Marvel Team-Up #94 impressed me with its stylized black-and-white ink to depict the powers of Shroud, Master of Darkness. This is my favorite cover from the series, including all the issues that guest-starred members of the Defenders. A similar artistic treatment appeared five issues later on #99 but with less oomph than before.

Friends of Ol' Defenders

Short for Friends of Ol' Marvel, FOOM ran for five years in the mid-Seventies as a periodical for comic book enthusiasts.

FOOM #19 (Fall 1977) was a special issue devoted to the Defenders. Highlights included a history of the non-team written by Ralph Macchio, along with reflective essays by Roy Thomas, Steve Englehart, Len Wein, Steve Gerber, and David Kraft about their work on the series.

A detailed checklist included publication dates, page counts, and credits for Defenders #1-60 plus the giant-size issues.

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Holiday Grab-Bag

Promoted as a holiday grab-back, Marvel Treasury Edition #13 (1976) reprinted several superhero adventures, while integrating some new material with a Christmas theme.

The reprinted stories included the tumultuous first meeting of the Hulk and Silver Surfer from Tales to Astonish #93. Other reprinted stories showcased Spider-Man, Thing, Daredevil, and the Avengers.

The new material included a vignette with Dr. Strange, Clea, Nighthawk, and Valkyrie wishing Hulk a merry Christmas. The Defenders even gave Hulk a pair of mittens, a present he didn't need on a practical level but recognized as a sign of friendship just the same.

The Making of a Witch

Though her "hex power" could defy the laws of physics, there was nothing inherently supernatural about the Scarlet Witch or her mutant ability to alter probability. At least not at first.

That changed in Avengers #128 when renowned witch Agatha Harkness offered to help Scarlet Witch better control her power through the study of witchcraft.

Having recently been the target of a mystical attack, Miss Harkness (as Scarlet Witch called her) recited this magical verse for privacy and protection within her new guest room inside Avengers Mansion.

Storm-clouds above us
And hellfire below--
May we here between you
Serenity know!
Dark powers of midnight--
Dark powers of day--
Envelop this chamber
And seal us away!

A moment later, the evil Necrodamus materialized within the room. A servant of the Undying Ones from Defenders #1-3, Necrodamus mystically stunned Agatha Harkness and her cat, Ebony. Alone against the intruder, Scarlet Witch used her hex power to open a magic box in Necrodamus' hands, unleashing a maelstrom of evil spirits that subsumed him.

Agatha Harkness trained Scarlet Witch until Giant-Size Avengers #4 (June 1975). The element of witchcraft gave more creative license to the character's unpredictable mutant power.

Avengers. Vol. 1. No. 128. October 1974. "Betwitched, Bothered, and Dead!" Steve Englehart (story & color), Sal Buscema (art), Joe Staton (embellishment), Tom Orzechowski (lettering), Roy Thomas (editor).