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Marvel Premiere #31

Aug 1976
Bill Mantlo, Keith Giffen

Marvel Premiere #31 cover

Story Name:

Birthday


Synopsis

Marvel Premiere #31 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 3.5 stars

Woodgod, a half-man half-goat creature resembling a satyr, walks the desolate streets of Liberty, New Mexico, calling for his father. He encounters a man who, shocked at Woodgod’s appearance, hurls a rock at him, hitting him in the head. Woodgod realizes this is not his father, only another man bringing pain, and throws him through a shop window. He continues his search for his father….

Woodgod is the creation of David and Ellen Pac, born of a clone-graft of human and animal DNA and growing quite rapidly, reaching an adult appearance in only two days. David and Ellen treat it as their own child to help his mental and emotional development. But the local townsfolk become aware of the “monster” in their midst and an armed mob goes to the farm and ends up smashing open a vat of nerve gas David was preparing for the government. Woodgod is the only survivor and learns to associate the word “scream” with fear, pain, and death, dashing into the town where everyone else has died from the gas….

Woodgod is attacked by a dog but he manages to kill it. Soon he realizes that “man” has killed his father and mother so he seeks revenge. He finds a man sitting at the bar in a tavern and attacks him but the man is already dead. He drinks water but it is contaminated and he spits it out….

The disaster in Liberty comes to the attention of the National Guard. Major Del Tremens begins an investigation; the source of the disaster is traced to the nerve-gas at the Pace farm and the parameters of the deadly leak are determined. Then Woodgod is detected in the town. Tremens and his men don hazmat suits and fly two-man “floaters” to the town, Tremens waiting until he has more information to let anyone know about this….

Woodgod sees the three floaters coming toward him and associates them with “scream” and the men who killed his parents. He picks up a mailbox and hurls it through the air, shooting down one craft. The second floater comes too close and Woodgod is able to tear it from the sky with his bare hands and slam it into the ground. Tremens’ floater opens fire on Woodgod who uproots a telephone pole and hits the floater, hurling Tremens’ partner, Doc, to the ground where Woodgod kills him. The creature seizes Tremens but decides not to kill him, waiting for Scream to take him too. Tremens realizes Woodgod was created by Pace and vows to make Woodgod pay for Pace’s sins….


 

Review / Commentaries


Marvel Premiere #31 Review by (March 22, 2023)

Review: A typical entry in the Misunderstood Monster sub-genre of horror/sci-fi has an innocent creature wandering through the world, encountering fear and hatred when all it wants to do is live in peace. Woodgod fits all of these tropes, with what appears to be an anti-war/weapon message underlying it, and isn’t bad but…where were they planning to go with this? Woodgod’s second appearance has him meeting Spider-Man and Hulk and there is no hint in this story that Woodgod was intended to be merely another quirky guest character in the usual superhero mix. And I realize that the Comics Code was a bit strict but why, in a town where everyone has been killed by nerve gas, do we see only one dead body? So…an odd new hero with no particular place to go. See you in MARVEL TEAM-UP #53.

Comments: First appearance/origin of Woodgod; he next appears in MARVEL TEAM-UP #53-55. Major Del Tremens looks as though his name is short for delirium tremens, a symptom of alcohol withdrawal. First page lettered by Gaspar Saladino.



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Main/1st Story Full Credits

Keith Giffen
Klaus Janson
Petra Goldberg
Jack Kirby (Cover Penciler)
John Verpoorten (Cover Inker)
Unknown (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Karen Mantlo.

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