The Human Fly #17-19

HUMAN FLY #17.
COVER TITLE. Murder on the Midway!
INSIDE TITLE. Photo-Finish!
COVER DATE. January 1979
COVER PRICE. 35¢
COVER ARTIST. Un-credited
NUMBER OF PAGES. 18
WRITER. Bill Mantlo
PENCILLER. Bob Lubbers
INKER. Don Perlin
LETTERER. Clem Robins
COLORIST. Ben Sean
EDITOR. Bob Hall
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF. Jim Shooter

The scenario of the adventure is the Union County State Fair in Elizabeth, New Jersey. A girl named Rachel was taking pictures and a thief steals his camera. The Human Fly is preparing his stunt; being cannoned into a Flying net hanging from a helicopter.
The thief (named Buddy) runs towards a companion (whose name is Ace) with a motorcycle ready. The escape route leads right by them and the Fly has an idea. He will use a loading ramp, but behind them there is a mother with a baby carriage.
The Human Fly changes the ramp trajectory and says “so long” to them. The motorcycle takes off over the woman and her baby, over a wall and landing on a pork swamp.

A lot of publicity come to the Human Fly. Police and the Human Fly develop the film. Rachel took the photo while they were monkeying with the cannon he will be using in his stunt. Buddy was messing with the trajectory calibrations. Ted would check it.

Some time latter, everybody is ready for the show (where is Arnie? Ted had to present the show.) The Fly gets shoot and weave through the sky and hits the high tension wires surrounding the fairgrounds in a shower of electrical sparks!!!

At the same time, two men break into the Elizabeth Bank by blasting the wall. They are the other part of the Buddy and Ace show. The dead of the Human Fly is the decoy to be used as a way to cover the robbery. When they open the vault door, a glare from television floodlights records the moment the police (and the Human Fly) apprehend the burglars.

Everything is solved and a new camera is given as a gift to Rachel. The Fly performs his incredible stunt with any annoyance and the issue finish. A real minor chapter in the Human Fly saga.

No Fly Letters in this issue.

HUMAN FLY #18.
COVER TITLE. A Gathering of Vultures!
INSIDE TITLE. A Gathering of Vultures!
COVER DATE. February 1979
COVER PRICE. 35¢
COVER ARTIST. Un-credited
NUMBER OF PAGES. 17
WRITER. Bill Mantlo
PENCILLER. Lee Elias
INKERS. Ricardo Villamonte & Tex Blaisdell
LETTERER. Diana Alberts
COLORIST. Elaine Heinl
EDITOR. Mary Jo Duffy
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF. Jim Shooter

The classic “Pietà” cover is a presage of a death in the family. This time is the Swan Song of our hero. “A Gathering of Vultures” is a two part ending of this great saga. Lee Elias comes back as the closing artist of the series. A good choice. Harmony Whyte serves as a linking force that will tell us the last story of the Human Fly. The time she became a Human Fly believer, his part in the story were deluded and turns her into a forgotten character. As we would see in this story, a strong critic character is a necessity.

We go to visit South-Western American Indians, in the Hopi Indian Reservation near Las Cruces, New Mexico. In the van, Ted Locke goes over his calculations of the next stunt. Everything seems to be OK, but something troubles him.

Now we can see, for the first time, the Fly in “civilian” outfit. Boy, the shirt is so seventies that it shines in the dark! The Fly also feels what he calls “premonition of disaster”. The van has to stop. A kid is carrying an old man that happens to be dead. Ted thinks that they must alert the authorities and Arnie says “I can imagine the joy they’ll receive that news with”. Racism seems to feel the air. The kid, whose name is Nakwach, is devastated and considers our crew of friends to be menacing “white men” (Blaze was there too, therefore the enemies must be foreigners).

Running away from the Fly’s Crew, the boy faces the Human Fly. He stands first with hatred and fear, but after a few moments, the emotions change to trust. The boy collapses and sobsin the Human Fly’s arms. A car has killed his grandfather while the old man managed to save the child. Back in the van they drive towards Las Cruces Pueblo.

The Hopi peaks the body and some of them take care of the child. Then a girl called Cha’tima steps forward them. Strong censuring words about their place in their sacred celebrations should be answered by the Fly defending themselves as being invited by the Tribal Council to perform at the Pueblo Carnival.

We then get to know that the council is a corrupted one and that the old man that died early on this story was the only one that stood up to the businessmen that turns their village into a tourist attraction. The Human Fly believes Cha’tima and goes to the bar where the elders of the hopi stay drunk all day.

In Frank’s Bar, the council is the make-laughs of the other guys. Frank Sturgis handle all their business for them. The Fly wants to break the contract and let the sacred festival aside the tourist. Sturgis will be making a lot of money by selling his lousy liquor and his imitation of jewellery. Sturgis has “borrowed” from the Indians more than $10.000. The Human Fly gets infuriated but there is nothing he can do. He must perform his stunt if he wants the money to come back to El Pueblo.

Outside, the Fly, the Indian girl and his crew are surrounded by thugs, but Nakwach alerts them…

The bottom line prepares the readers. Next issue will bring an special announcement (and a bad one, there is).

First a common regarding of the readers that didn’t understand why the letter page drops so easily from the final copy. Marvel explains the reasons a page already assembled did not get to print because of their printer’s schedules.

Nobby Woo congratulates the first year run and praises issue twelve as does Fil Arzola. There is a “but” in Ben Firth letter. Mount Whitney is a very tall mountain in California, but the tallest Mountain in the United States is Mount McKinley in Alaska (and the tallest in the world is Mt. Everest, of course!). He is pleased with the good intentions both Mr. Braden an Ms. Whyte have for the Human Fly. Mary Jo Duffy explains the change of locations. There is people who tried to perform the stunt in Mt. Everest, but Bob Hall thought that this stunt will harm the believability of the series.

David Zakss asks if the Fly ever considered to make an auditory in any of the foundations he donates the money. Johnny Ros wants a No-prize because he founded a mistake (a silly one, the Fly refers to Blaze as Ted) and Mike Kane considers that the Human Fly works better without the Marvel Universe and remembers Mr. Martinet as a character that should come back to the pages of the magazine.

HUMAN FLY #19.
COVER TITLE. Highwire to Heaven!
INSIDE TITLE. Highwire to Heaven! (A Gathering of Vultures part two)
COVER DATE. March 1979
COVER PRICE. 35¢
COVER ARTIST. Bob Layton
NUMBER OF PAGES. 17
WRITER. Bill Mantlo
PENCILLER. Lee Elias
INKER. Ricardo Villamonte
LETTERER. Diana Alberts
COLORIST. Elaine Heinl
EDITOR. Allen Milgrom
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF. Jim Shooter

The last issue. Harmony serves again as a linking point that connects all the scenarios. We let the whole crew, Cha’tima and Nakwach being attacked by a bunch of villagers under the orders of Frank Sturgis. Sturgis has stolen ten grands from the Hopi.

They fight like lions and win. The thugs run away and the Human Fly follows the advise of the kid to talk to the respected elders. This one is called Ahote and reveals the way the Hopi believe the Earth was created by their gods.

A strong statement against racism is presented in this panels. The enemy is greed and avarice. And the Human Fly will be side by side with the Indians to stop Strugis, that is really infuriated.

The next day the Indian Fair is tense. Tourist walk among the two factions and the Hopi mourns for Nakwach’s Grandfather while the thugs of Sturgis laughs at them. The Fly has to defend Cha’tima. The Human Fly and Sturgis has a verbal rattle about each other.

Then the time for the stunt has come. The Fly will ride a rocketcycle across the bottomless Misty Gorge and there would be plenty of opportunities to attempt against the Human Fly’s life. The Hopi don’t know that the Fly is doing his stunt to help their economy and think that it is a sacrilege while the white people consider the Fly a menace. The Human Fly is ready to perform the stunt anyway.

Nakwach regards that a man is hiding a gun and follows him and Cha’tima has a projector with a Film School of her own on Hopi Miths. The Fly watch the projected images with awe and understands why Cha’tima does that.

Nakwach, at the same time made the shooter (named Hankus) miss and the sniper’s bullet cuts the wire in two. The Human Fly rides his jet Backwash up out of misty Goge. The motorcycle explodes, but he escapes unharmed. Cha’tima explains that now her tribe understands that they must work with good whites and fight Sturgis, literally.

All is well that ends well. The Human Fly avoids the mêlée and goes with his crew and his new friends to enjoy the Sacred Festival, but this time in Indian Style.

Harry Kastrinakis earns a No-prize because he points a mistake related to the baton in issue thirteen. Rescue Boy comments the effect the Human Fly letter had in him and Matt Kaufman considers the efforts of both Mantlo and Robbins to put such a nice issue as issue thirteen and wants more confrontations against the Human Fly and Braden-types.

The hapless hero praises issue thirteen and ask for a battle of the Fly and villains in the future. A possible confrontation against the villainous Fly? Felix Martínez praises the issue and asks for a Human Fly Treasury Edition. Roger Smith also praises the issue.

As a curiosity, it seems that Allen Milgrom and Mary Jo Duffy are not informed of the cancellation of the book, but we can see clearly that Bill Mantlo next project is Micronauts (stay tuned to Tonnerre de Brest!)

Harmony Whyte finishes the series making this special report. Marvel announces now that this is the last issue of the Human Fly. The Human Fly Stunt Contest also ends abruptly. There was five winners that received an autographed page of original artwork. I would like to know their ideas, so please if anyone knows this people, tell them to share with us their stunts. They are Hwai-Li Yang, Joe Dunn, Steve Kimos, K. Alan McDougall and Frank Pelligrino.

Well, that’s all. Thank you for being there all this weeks. I’ve being thinking about a little thing to add to my Human Fly series of post as an extra. I’ll try to post it next week.

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The Human Fly #13-16

HUMAN FLY #13.
COVER TITLE. Chasm of Fear!
INSIDE TITLE. Slope of Death!
COVER DATE. September 1978
COVER PRICE. 35¢
COVER ARTIST. Bob Lubbers & McLeod
NUMBER OF PAGES. 17
WRITER. Bill Mantlo
PENCILLER. Frank Robbins
INKER. Frank Springer
LETTERER. D. Wohl
COLORIST. G. Roussos
EDITOR. Bob Hall
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF. Jim Shooter

It starts with a nightmare by new Human Fly believer, Harmony Whyte. The Fly will perish performing a stunt in a snow jump. She tells the man his dream but he is not frightened. He deals, as he says, with technology, skill and luck, and could no be delayed by a vague foreboding.

Then he inform us where the money he raises go to. It feeds a foundation that proves new frontiers of science in an effort to discover a way to regenerate damaged organs, muscle and bones.

The stunt consists of being the first man to ski America’s tallest mountain, Mount Whitney. The entire crew is wearing oxygen helmets to breath the rarified air. They are connected by open-channel radios. Bellow, Arnie, as the Fly’s public relations man, reports to the newsmen that come all around the world. He remembers Yuiciro Miura, the man who skied down Mount Everest in 1970 and shows the reporters the parachute that will slow the speed before he reaches the ravine at the bottom of the slope.

Harmony will monitor every word that the Human Fly and his crew (she is now one of them) speak from the beginning to the end. New equipment will be proved, like the piton-gun and a telephoto tape-camera.

Another expedition, leaded by Carl Braden, owner of West-TV, the broadcast that Harmony worked for, is there to shoot footage. He is so mean that he is there to expose the Fly as a Charlatan. The Fly skis towards Braden to return him a microphone he has found. He will not be bugged. But Braden is not so easy to tire, and he kept recording all the stunt. They wear a similar equipment than the Fly’s crew. Raf Abrams is the second unit cameraman.

Ted cameras are synchronized with monitors and whatever happens will be recorded for posperity. Now we can see the effords the Human Fly is taking. We can see him slipping and Blaze being pulled loose herself while Ted holds them on. With the piton-gun, they recover a safe slope and resume climbing.

I really love the way Mantlo describes this issue. He uses the cameras of the characters as a narration tool. From one angle to another because the cameras have zooms. It is like a movie on paper. Harmony follows both signals, so she is the point of view we can relate to.

Harmony gives the signal (is that a finger??!!!) and the Human Fly starts the descent. Braden runs along the Fly in his snowcycle. Too close for the Human Fly’s comfort. He is putting both of them in danger. Braden is so single minded that did not listen to the Fly’s warnings.

The Fly swerved away from Braden just in time, but Braden is headed directly for the ravine. The Human Fly races to Braden, but Ted activates the parachute (in fact a dragchute). Our hero cuts himself loose of the tires of the parachute and both of them are headed for the cliff, just as in Harmony’s nightmare. Down the reporters receive the flash news. This could be the story of the decade!

The Human Fly stopped right at the edge of the ravine. Harmony faints. The Fly intercepts Braden, grabs him and shoots his piton-guns. They are safe!

Much later, the Human Fly and his crew visits Carl Braden in the hospital where he is recovering from his injuries. He is sorry and re-contract Harmony, but in her own terms.

This issue is one of the best of the series. The outfit, the action and the values presented in this adventure are an epitome of the Human Fly character. If issue eleven was so great, this one shines with his own light. A jewel to be remembered.

Ah! I almost forget that the cover art will be taken by the same artist. The hand of Shooter is well noticed. Continuity is the best argument a series could present to his readers.

First a letter from our hero himself. He is thankful for the great response the comic book has received and the appreciation of the Human Fly. He was writing from a hospital bed, recovering from the injuries produced in the Montreal accident that is a remembrance of the 1971 accident in Ashville, North Carolina. But fret not, he is not discouraged. He goes ahead with his hopes of becoming the world’s greatest philanthropic daredevil.

Then we get to know that he has a musical career and now is returning to a recording studio to tape his first album. It would be the Human Fly Rock Show! Stunts and Rock and Roll, great!

Alex McCort ask for a Marvel Treasure Edition devoted to the Human Fly. PMM Matt Kaufman concerns about the accident in Montreal and Steven Allan Bennett praises issue eight because the Fly thought and acted like the Human Fly would do, not as a crime-fighter. He considers the Human Fly a man of positive action, who responds to duty with great integrity.

HUMAN FLY #14.
COVER TITLE. Fear Over Fifth Avenue!
INSIDE TITLE. Death Rides the Big Balloons!
COVER DATE. October 1978
COVER PRICE. 35¢
COVER ARTIST. Bob Lubbers & McLeod
NUMBER OF PAGES. 17
WRITER. Bill Mantlo
PENCILLER. Frank Robbins
INKER. Steve Leialoha
LETTERER. Rick Parker
COLORIST. Don Warfield
EDITOR. Bob Hall
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF. Jim Shooter

New York is the city that will sponsor the First International Airship Race and the Human Fly will perform a stunt in his flagship. But no one has seen the to kids that come into one of the balloons. They are Paul and Marissa and they are escaping the horrors of a Juvenile Home to find a distant aunt in California. They are speaking-impaired and use the hand signal language. The balloon they step into is a pilotless drone. Arnie is visiting his parents, so he will not appear in this issue.

Back to the race, dirigibles come from all over the world. The Fly will walk a Highwire between two moving blimps hundreds of feet above the Hudson River. The Human Fly is doing the stunt without any difficulty (aside the almost impossible task he is performing). Children want to listen to the transistor and enjoy the broadcasting of the stunt (remember, they can hear). Radio signals cuts the control of the drone leaving it free.

The Fly grabs the wire and gazes at the sigh of the two kids in the gondola and the radio in their hands explains to him why the dirigible is on the loose. The static must have jammed the signal to the drone. They can not hear him.

Blaze adds an extra tension to the highwire and moves apart from the drone in a desperate attempt to cut it into two and set the Human Fly free to go to the drone and take control of the situation.

The problem now seems to be the skyscrapers. The Human Fly must elude them while climbing into the gondola. They are headed for the Empire State Building and Blaze runs to help them while fighting against the radio interference that overruns the drone. The Kids listen to the radio and understands that it is the radio signal that is producing the static that cuts the radio controls. The transistor goes under the panel and they can not reach it to shut it off.

The Human Fly them notices the antenna on top of the building. The tower is a radio transmitter. Blaze can boost her signal via the tower’s transmissions. The incredible reduction of speed makes the Fly loose the wire. He uses his baton to get back to the gondola.

Speaking to the kids is futile. The Fly notices that they use the hand alphabet. He learned the language back at the hospital. The Human Fly speaks (because they are not hearing-impaired) to them an reads the hand motions. The drone is now in control, but the Fly has never pilot one of these things in his life.

The dirigible lands smoothly and the Human Fly comes out of it with both children in front of the reporters. The City of New York has agreed to send them to their aunt in Los Angeles. Aside the good news, the Human Fly learns a lesson. He must check out a stunt an extra time for unforeseen occurrences.

No Fly papers in this issue.

HUMAN FLY #15.
COVER TITLE. War in the Washington Monument!
INSIDE TITLE. War in the Washington Monument!
COVER DATE. November 1978
COVER PRICE. 35¢
COVER ARTIST. Bob Lubbers & McLeod
NUMBER OF PAGES. 15
WRITER. Bill Mantlo
PENCILLER. Lee Elias
INKER. R. Villamonte
LETTERER. C. Robins
COLORIST. Michele W.
EDITOR. Bob Hall
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF. Jim Shooter

This is the shortest of the stories of the Human Fly, but we must race, because in this issue Marvel started a contest to give ideas for the comic book and there is a photo-show of the real Human Fly.

Ted brings the Fly and company to Washington D.C. to visit his old army colleagues at the Potomac Hospital (V.A. Hospital) and the issue begins with a great mêlée. The guards go crazy the minute Ted asked for Slick Gordon. The Fly hates violence and wants it to stop, but Ted is a little less sorry for the fight. Blaze is being hold hostage and they must surrender to the hospital security guards.

Everyone of them are herded down the hospital’s empty corridors and forced into a disused operating theatre that is soundproof. The door is shut and locked while they run off with the records.

The Human Fly suspects that they may be misusing the veterans’ benefits. They must get out of the facility. Ted shows us the content of his prosthetic arms. Special tools that were unnoticed by the guards would help them to exit the room by using the Fly’s cape as a trampoline. The Human Fly gets out and reduces a guard, recovering his baton, and freeing his crew. He listens to the radio and learns that there is two veterans armed in the Washington Monument protesting for the inhuman conditions in the hospital. They had forced tourist and guards out at gunpoint. They have threatened that they will destroy the monument if their demands remain unanswered. And they want the President to be informed in person.

When they are safely free outside the hospital, the Human Fly calls the police before the administrators of the hospital make off with the records. While the police handle the hospital, they are headed for the Washington Monument.

The Fly and his crew are not allowed to come into the Monument. Everything is wired to explode if anyone comes into and tries to go up. But the Human Fly will come into using the elevator shaft. Meanwhile, Ted Locke tries to send a message to Slick Gordon but to no effect. Larry, the companion of Slick will not be dissuaded so easily. He considers that doctors are getting rich off their disability checks.

The Human Fly has reached the elevator and is making a way out through its floor. Then he goes through the roof and Larry starts firing at him. The elevator goes down and the Fly grabs the wire that goes up and reaches the same room were Larry and Slick are. Larry is point the gun and takes the baton off the hands of the Human Fly.

Now for a silly ending. Larry tries to push the detonator with the baton and it fires so uncontrollable that bounds him. The End… Come on, man, this ending stinks.

The human Fly visits the Marvel Bullpen! With a commentary by Bill Mantlo and photos by D. Jon Zimmerman.

This is so unreal that I must post it in its integrity. Stan Lee, Archie Goodwin, John Romita, Jim Shooter and Bill Mantlo are showcased with the real Human Fly and his sidekick? Mercury in this set of pictures. All to announce the Human Fly Stunt Contest. Readers are to design a stunt and how the Human Fly can do it and survive. Ideas should be send to Marvel Headquartets in 575 Madison Avenue, NY. by October 31, 1978 (a time machine will be OK now)

The problem was that the magazine was not to survive itself. Winners would had seen his story published and receive a page of original artwork signed by the Fly. It was a good idea, but in a long forgotten contest.

Don Collins considered the irony of issue ten (the one with the miners) being released at the same time a one hundred-plus coal strike. He also points the likeliness of Dukas’ face to that of Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man). Bob Hall announces that Frank Robbins is off on a vacation and that Lee Elias will be working in Power Man. A new artist, Bob Lubbers, whose work could be seen in the covers of the magazine, will be the next penciller and Frank Springer as his inker. But, in fact, the inker will be Ricardo Villamonte.

Peter Borli presents several logical mistakes about issue ten, but minor ones. Bob Hall defends the logic of the issue as a good attorney. Dan Caillier tells us that he always plays the roll of the Human Fly when he plays superheroes with his friend (a young reader that now could be about forty years old).

Commander Quotey comes back. He considers that if issue ten where published in the fifties, Marvel would had problems with the FBI. He mentions the documentary “Harlan County, USA”, that could be seen by Bill Mantlo as an inspiration. C. Quotey criticizes the quick ending of the comic as a bad one. The end of the letter denounces the unsafe mining conditions.

This last two letters represents what I consider the effect a comic book has in his reader. First we read about a child who loves and enjoys his comics and then an intelligent commentary by an adult that gives an insightful point of view. In the end they are both enjoying their reading. To me that’s reason enough to be a comic book fan.

Oh! And in the Bullpen Bulletins an announcement: Bill Mantlo is working with Mike Golden in a new project called Micronauts… Stay tunned to Tonnerre de Brest!

HUMAN FLY #16.
COVER TITLE. Niagara Nightmare!
INSIDE TITLE. Niagara Nightmare!
COVER DATE. December 1978
COVER PRICE. 35¢
COVER ARTIST. Un-credited
NUMBER OF PAGES. 17
WRITER. Bill Mantlo
PENCILLER. Bob Lubbers
INKER. Ricardo Villamonte
LETTERER. Novak
COLORIST. D. Martin
EDITOR. Bob Hall
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF. Jim Shooter

The first of the two issues pencilled by Bob Lubbers. I think they look great, putting aside some anatomic imperfections and a little reduction of detail in the Fly’s outfit. Oh! and Blaze turns to be a really gorgeous woman. The finishing touches works really smooth. Lubbers could had become the regular penciller of the series, but it turn to be a guest penciller.

This is the Blaze issue. The Fly and Blaze are making a recognition flight over the Niagara’s horseshoe falls because the next stunt will be to waterski over the Niagara’s Falls! He will be in the water skiing and being pulled along by the sea-plane’s tow line from the Canadian part of the fall to the American part, where the sea-plane takes off. Then the Human Fly will be on his own.

There is a mysterious house at the edge of the falls…

The money raised will go directly to the funds of the Candus Hospital. Arnie talks to Dr. Kaity, a young paediatrician in charge of the handicapped boys and girls section. We get to know that the hospital will be fore-close if they don’t satisfies its mortgage payments. Meanwhile, Blaze, who is transporting the toys donated by Canadian and American businessmen, is being intercepted by a pickup van. She is being kidnapped!

The Fly, who is giving toys to the kids, wonders where Blaze is. A phone call threaten him not to perform his stunt or Blaze will be killed. She gives him hint of where she is. She is “on the edge of death”. The Mysterious house will be investigated.

With the stunt postponed, Arnie, riding an ambulance, infiltrates as a member of the Candus Hospital into the doors of the mansion to divert the guards. Inside, Blaze fights to free herself and the owners watch a slide-show where they present their plans of turning the hospital into a Honeymoon Haven Resort. It will cover other activities.

For the first time, Ted pilots a plane. The Fly waterskiis and uses a hang-glider that directs him towards a skylight on top of the house. The surprise takes the captors umbalanced and the Fly reduces them without effort. He uses gas to put them (including Blaze) to sleep. The RCMP is ready to proceed with caution into the house.

Just outside, Blaze recovers consciousness in the arms of the Fly (how manly of him). That is a seventies comic, and the rol played by women in this adventures where really to be revised.

So the story ends, but it is too short. And it is so weak that we don’t get to know the villain and his reasons. Mantlo adds a second part that has nothing to do with the kidnappers. Let’s start anew.

The stunt goes nicely but a camera cable gets stuck with a wheel-chair wheel and child is carried towards the guardrail and the boy falls into the river.

The Human Fly ignites his rocket-pack (an idea from Ted, of course) and flies toward the kid. The device is not enough to carry all the weight but the Fly fires the baton bola-line directed to a support beam bellow the spectators’ stand.

The strain is so great that he must go over with the waterfall. He uses the momentum of the fall itself to turn on again the rocket-pack and shoot them downwards out of the torrent, past the rocks bellow and skim them safety in the calm waters beyond.

No Fly Papers in this issue.

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The Human Fly #9-12

HUMAN FLY #9.
COVER TITLE. Doomsday Dawns at Night!
INSIDE TITLE. …And Daredevil makes Three!
COVER DATE. May 1978
COVER PRICE. 35¢
COVER ARTIST. John Byrne and Terry Austin
NUMBER OF PAGES. 17
WRITER. Bill Mantlo
PENCILLER. Frank Robbins
INKER. Mike Esposito
LETTERER. John Constanza
COLORIST. Mary Titus
EDITOR. Archie Goodwin

Let’s finish the story the begun in issue eight. The Human Fly was leading a group of children, a curator and his crew far away from the shooting that Copperhead was producing. The White Tiger was fighting him. As we could notice, the Human Fly is no crime-fighter. He is a rescuer. The problem is, they are going directly to the center of the action and they must run away from the trap bellow the Greek Amphora and away from the flood of water from the Hudson River that awaits them!

The waters rise in the tunnel bellow the Metropolitan. The only light comes from the Human Fly’s baton. With the help of the adults in the group, the children are put to safety up to the dais upon which the Urn rests. But the water keeps rising.

Copperhead has left the White Tiger unconscious and the two members of the security police from the Museum keeps firing at him with no result. The armor of Copperhead is bullet-proof. The White Tigers chages back to his human self and the venom injected with the Copperhead’s darts is being neutralized.

Bellow, the Human Fly takes the only possible solution. They must get into the Urn. In no time, the Amphora is moving with the flood to wherever Copperhead planned on delivering it.

A new superhero comes in scene. It is the Daredevil. It is a logic option. First, is the superhero with enhanced senses and a great physical shape. No superpowers involved. Second, the uniform is the same as those of the Human Fly. They wear red and masks. I think this condition of likeliness would be a nightmare to Frank Robbins, John Costanza and Mary Titus, because one could have problems recognizing them.

Daredevil has sensed a dozen of New York’s hottest art smugglers watching the Human Fly in previous issue. He has followed them to the Zoo in Central Park where they gather around an open-shaft construction site, part of the new subway extention. He must wait.

Back to the combat between the White Tiger and Copperhead, Hector Ayala has returned to his amulet induced powers. Both of them parry and fall down into the hole where the urn was. They are swept along through the subterranean tunnel.

Just a little further up the flooded tunnel, the Fly and his friends reaches the end. Then the crooks and the Human Fly are face to face.

Daredevil intervenes, firing starts and the people into the urn ducks. The Fly does not gets involved in the fight. The superhero is doing just fine all by himself. And he does! Several pages of action follow this Human Fly’s statement and Daredevil gets rid of the smugglers. Meanwhile, the Human Fly rescues the children, the curator and his crew.

When everything seems to go smoothly, the Copperhead reappears and points a gun to the curator, Margarita Mercado. He is discovered. His real name is Reynolds, his former employee. He helps restoring the urn to his glorious beauty. The former Copperhead, Lawrence Chesney pass away and Reynolds knew where the armor were. Along with the outfit, was the master plan to steal the urn.

The new Copperhead is ready to shoot the curator and them both the Human Fly and the White Tiger interfere with him, but the armor is more than they can chew. Daredevil gets to know that the Copperhead (a new one) is behind all of this and runs to oppose him. Meanwhile, with the Human Fly and the White Tiger lying on the floor, Cooperhead means to kill the children and Margarita, but the smugglers shoot at the villain. They are no kid-killers.


Then the Human Fly hits Copperhead and leaves him off-balance and the White Tiger ends the action by letting the villain fall into the waters. He will sank like a stone. But he will escape, of course.

I don’t think this two issues were that great, and the Human Fly will return to his Stunt adventures after this super-heroic adventure. In the end, the resolution of the Fly, being not a superhero, was forgotten, because his final stroke were decisive. The White Tiger was something close to inefficient and Daredevil guest starring was un-called for.

Steve Peters praises the magazine and considers that being a no-crime-fighter could be something that could be out-ruled once in a while. As a response to his interests in subcribtion, Marvel announces the creation of a Human Fly Fun Club. Alan Snider questioned the art in issues three and four.
Commander Quotey writes a very long letter. Some critics about the art, the two-dimensional supporting crew of the Human Fly. He considers the importance of Harmony as a character and the idea of a no-superhero series. He critics the clichés used in the series. Tom Hall praises the whole creative team.

HUMAN FLY # 10.
COVER TITLE. It’s Dark as a Dungeon Down in the Mine!
INSIDE TITLE. …Dark as a Dungeon Down in the Mine!
COVER DATE. June 1978
COVER PRICE. 35¢
COVER ARTIST. Un-credited
NUMBER OF PAGES. 17
WRITER. Bill Mantlo
PENCILLER. Lee Elias
INKER. Mike Esposito
LETTERER. Pete Iro
COLORIST. Francoise M.
EDITOR. Archie Goodwin

Back to the origins. The Human Fly is a dare-devil and a rescuer. Nothing more, nothing less. In this adventure, he will perform a stunt similar to that we could read in the second issue of this series.
The action takes place on Harlan County, Kentucky. The United Mine Worker’s Fair is the place where the Human Fly jumps to dive into a pool full of water. Then he strikes the base of the tank with all his strength and a powerful spring coils tightly and the Human Fly is shoot up out of the tank like a human rocket, back to the platform where the jump begun. The device designed by Ted Locke work. The crowd is overwhelmed by the surprise.

But, what is a comic if we don’t have a villain? This time is a big boss, owner of the company that manages the mines. Mister Dukas is the name. The Union fears that every man in this county will be ruined, because a mine will be closed. The Union thinks that that’s only the beginning. Dukas knows that the representative of the Union, Joe Shields, will be listen and followed by the miners, because everyone of them respect him.

Dukas has hired a thug by the name of Maddox. From the stage, the Fly watches Joe Shields and his son being followed by Maddox and the gun he has in his hip pocket. The whole Human Fly hurry up. Maddox is driving a cab full of dynamite, following the Shields’ and into the mines.

Father and son have in mind to report the conditions of the Sutter Mine. With the report the think they will stop the company in its runaway. Dukas will pick and move, leaving the miners to starvation. With this ideas, the come into the mine. Maddox has them the perfect excuse. He will say that he didn’t know they were there and that in fact, they were trespassers. And that he has his orders to seal up the mine.
Maddox prepares the charge while the Shields’ document the bad conditions of the shorings of the mine. So many safety code violations could be found that they could stop Dukas. Junior is sceptics, but his father knows that this will be enough to keep the miners together.

Just before Maddox uses the detonator, Ted jumps to intercept the thug and the Human Fly runs to alert the man inside. Blaze, Arnie and Ted fight Maddox, but and accident threw Ted on the detonator, activating it. The tragedy could not be averted. When Blaze and Arnie get to the shovels to dig them out, Dukas appears with an army of bad guys.
In the darkness of the mine, the Fly recovers from the shock and finds a dim light (the baton is back in the van). This light come from the Shields’ helmet beams. They are both trapped and pinned by crossbeams.

Joe Shields senior is in critical condition, barely breathing. His son remembers that there is a way out, a tunnel, that the Human Fly must find to send help back for them. But the Fly knows that he must not leave. The old man will not survive that long.

Outside, Dukas and his thugs pretend to kill the Human Fly crew. Blaze fools the men and switch on the radio in hope that someone is listening. Well, there is many people hearing them. And the miners run to their cars to stop the killing.

The Human Fly has an idea. He will use the physics of the stunt that opens the book to jump, hitting the crossbeams to get the leverage needed to lift the lower beam and extricate the trapped miner.

They are all free and helps the father along the tunnel, but there is water ahead because it is flooded. The three of them dive. The water that appeared in the stunt, appears again now.

While Joe Junior leads the way, the Human Fly gives air to Joe’s father. They succeed.

Outside the mine, the miners arrive just in time to save our friends. Dukas and his men suffer the consequences of being bad guys and they pay for their actions. The police will take care of them.

The Human Fly and the Shields appear in scene. Old Joe has beaten the company and his son informs that the blast has opened up a whole new seam of coal. The miners get Joe senior to the hospital.

First, an announcement. Issue eleven will tell the story of the jump over twenty six buses. In that issue, the Real Human Fly will make a startling announcement. Thirdly, the photos will appear on the magazine. It was true, but in issue fifteen.

Rob Fagerlund emphasizes the compassion for other people of the Fly. Harmony is remembered. Marco Favasoli praises issue seven points a mistake. Issue five takes place in Quebec, but it is mistake by Ontario in issue seven. Bill Mantlo wrote the adventure to be set in Ontario, but Roger Stern suggested that it would be better set in Quebec, showcasing French speaking children. But the episode was already in print.

Joe Murphy comments that the distance between the Evans and the bear in issue seven varies from one panel to the other. It was a decision made by Lee Elias, Mike Esposito and Patterson.

HUMAN FLY #11.
COVER TITLE. Legends Die Hard!
INSIDE TITLE. Silver Charity, Sudden Death!
COVER DATE. July 1978
COVER PRICE. 35¢
COVER ARTIST. Un-credited
NUMBER OF PAGES. 18
WRITER. Bill Mantlo
PENCILLER. Lee Elias
INKER. Mike Esposito
LETTERER. I. Watanabe
COLORIST. G. Roussos
EDITOR. Archie Goodwin

This comic is gold! An impossible issue that came to reality in those impossible seventies. So good, so groovy, so amazing and so freaky that it should be considered one of the best of the decade. Or one the worst, but, who knows? Looking back at it, I can not believe this was a common issue. The hippie era of thought and the glam rock collides in this pages!

The Human Fly playing the guitar? This is the first page of the issue eleven of this great series. If I am not wrong, he is playing an Epiphone. I love this guitar and a friend of mine has one from that era. I must say this guitar tone is amazing. The captions are poetics, perhaps not really inspired, but poetics in the end.

I have a problem here. Playing guitar with thick globes? No way. That is impossible. But it doesn’t matter, this is a comic book and this is the outfit of the main character. Does Spiderman has problems with his globes when he is climbing a building? Then, Why could not the Human Fly play a guitar while wearing with globes?

The Fly is moody after the accident in Montreal (as you all know, he failed attempting the world record of a jump over twenty six buses, and that was in real life!). The cover of this issue shows the moment of the accident.

I love this panels. The story of Harmony Whyte is as interesting as those of a Lois Lane. We can see in a flash back the accident. Blaze is really mad at Harmony. And Harmony feels sorry, but no one would understand her. Phisically, the Human Fly healed, but he barely accepts the fail.

Now we are in St. Louis. Beneath the Gateway Arch, Willie Silver, the rock star that leads the band “Silver Charity” has a rattle with his road manager, “Candy” Mike Flynn. Willie does not want to sing his hit song, called “Death of a Superstar”, because every time he plays is, something bad happens and he doesn’t want to die like the rock star in his song. Remember that the risk of electrocution with an electric instrument was higher them than now.

Meanwhile, the Human Fly prepares his next stunt. A dangerous ride with a motorcycle all along the Gateway Arch. And he will ride with Death of a Superstar being played at the same time. Isn’t it morbid?

But there is no action without a villain. And Candy Mike is! Silver Charity’s broke because he has been embezzling the profits. So he though, a death rock star is more profitable than a live one. Candy Mike is the owner of all the rights, the insurance of the band. So he fix a device that would kill Willie Silver on stage.

Harmony is threaten again by her boss, Mr. Braden. He wants results of her exposé of the Human Fly. Harmony states that the Fly is no fraud, but is the Human Fly or her job.

Then we go to the stage under the Arch. The band is going to play with all their hearts for charity and the crowd is ready to enjoy the music and the musicians they love. But before the show, the Human Fly performs his stunt and, perhaps, renews his faith in himself. Harmony is with Mr. Braden, who is infuriated and she quits! What a girl!

This page is really special. Here we can see what this series is for. The Human Fly gives hope and shows the World that his message is real. With tears in his eyes (nice rendition by Elias) he is full of gratitude.

Willie Silver is full of joy, too. The music show begins and Candy Mike activates the device that will electrocute Willie. The Human Fly sees the guitar shorting out and reacts. Riding the motorcycle he races into stage and cuts the current before Willie Silver is burned to death. The Fly knows it was a murder attempt.

Harmony has spotted Candy Mike plugging the device and gives him a strong hit that crashes the microphone into the manager’s face. Police take care of him. She has quitted and leave his boss and the camera man behind.

Willie is burned so bad that the Fly takes his guitar and plays (again with his globes) the song with a new lyrics: the Birth of a Superstar! We don’t know if Willie Silver will recover (I hope he will!), but this is clearly a message to the World. Mantlo, the human rights activist, the Public Defender, is writing his heart out.

This issue reminds me of those old TV movies with stories of people surviving and living their lives after an unfortunate event. So seventies, I said.

No Fly Papers in this issue.

This is the last episode with Archie Goodwin as Marvel Editor. The end of a golden era…

HUMAN FLY # 12.
COVER TITLE. Suicide Sky-Dive!
INSIDE TITLE. Arnie’s Story!
COVER DATE. August 1978
COVER PRICE. 35¢
COVER ARTIST. Un-credited
NUMBER OF PAGES. 18
WRITER. Bill Mantlo
PENCILLER. Lee Elias
INKER. F. Springer
LETTERER. Joe Rosen
COLORIST. G. Wein
EDITOR. Jim Shooter

… and the beginning of a new golden era. Hello, Jim Shooter! The Human Fly lasted only eight issues in that era, but this could be considered a logic movement. Marvel was the house of Goodwin and many series had to go and give room to the new editor. And the Human Fly was among them. I think it didn’t matter much at the time, because the real Human Fly schedule become more and more unnoticed by the general public and the real time of the character, the seventies, were singing their swam song. I am grateful because there was a Human Fly comic book after all and the nineteen issues run was short but wonderful.

We start the issue reading about the craziest of the stunts ever produced by Ted and the Human Fly. The story is a minor one, the fleshing up of a secondary character, Arnie Berman. After to issues of Human Fly glory, a low fly story. It does not matter. I think it was an answer to a real need. To give a depth origin to the supporting crew while developing the Human Fly personality. The problem was that the series was close to cancellation.

Back to the stunt, the Fly is on a rocket-chair moving at 300 miles per hour, down a track and towards a concrete and steel target. To Arnie, this is certain death (and to me). He has half a minute to set him free. The money raised with the spectacle will go directly to the Special Transportation Coaches for the Handicapped, sponsored by the Southwestern Railroad Company.

The Human Fly takes off and escapes death. He them punch the seat-ejector, gains altitude and lands in front of a group of fans (anyone who did not admire him, now will be a die-hard follower).

Our friends get into the train nearby and prepare the next feat and Arnie takes his turn to eat at the Dining Car. Harmony Whyte approaches him and, although Arnie is a little unfriendly, they begin talking. The revelation that Harmony is not already a newscaster softens the situation a lot. As Arnie says, “people don’t lie about believing in the Fly!”

A little chat and Arnie explains that he is an unpaid promoter. He work for a small San Diego Newspaper. He had no confidence in himself and that resents his work. He quitted his job before they fired him. He stutters and is not taken seriously by no-one. Then he saw an advertisement of a Human Fly show at San Diego Beach. He proposes himself to unmask the Fly and earn the money and fame that will come out of it.

While the Fly goes out to the Main Gate to greet the crowd, Arnie runs to the plane where the Human Fly will perform the jump and hides himself aboard in the cargo. He hides behind a pile of spare parachutes and waits.

What Arnie admires about the Human Fly is his self-esteem and the closeness to his friends. The stunt-plane leapt forward and they are airborne. There was no turning back. The Human Fly takes off his mask because the air in the plane become a bit stuffy. Arnie can see now the face of our hero. He did not know who the Fly was, but it was love at first sight. His face was honest, strong, decent and courageous and inspired hope, trust and belief. If Arnie could match the face with an archive and identify him, that would make him famous as a top-flight investigative reporter.

The plane kept gaining height till they raise to an altitude no one has ever attempted a sky-dive. Arnie then noticed that the parachute strap is torn and he has no time to alert the Human Fly.

Arnie wouldn’t let the Fly alone. He appears in front Blaze and Ted, grabs a parachute and jumps after the Human Fly. For the first time in his life, he did not feel fear at all.

The strap broke and the Human Fly parachute was flying off. There is no way to survive but the Fly sees Arnie and guesses right that his intentions were to save him. He manoeuvres in a way that slows his fall so Arnie can draw near him.

The Human Fly grabs the hand of Arnie and they get the parachute on. Now Arnie has found something worth living for. The Fly pulls the rip-cord and the parachute opens. Arnie becomes the new member of the Human Fly’s team. He left stuttering since then.

Then the whole crew appear and Harmony Whyte is accepted. Great. But now Harmony has loosed some of his appraising glamour and has become one more of the crew. I don’t think I like that, being this a comic book, but in real life, as this comic pretends, that would be for the best.

No letter page on this issue.

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