I really shouldn't keep on at this, but I keep thumbing through—and here's Bizarre Adventures #25, with not one but two Claremont stories: one, the first-last-and-only appearance of Lady Daemon, answers the question: Just how fragmented and incoherent can a twelve-page story with only three characters get, anyway? The Old Religions, Stonehenge, magick-with-a-K, Lovecraftian Elder Gods, and the Hindenburg disaster, all in one indigestible lump—plus a leading man saddled with a horrific Scots dialect (another Claremont trademark). Nice art by Michael Golden, though—strong line-and-wash work pasted up with period photographs for a pleasingly experimental approach. These days, Golden is rehashing his former work, having been assigned as cover artist to a revamp of—gah!—Micronauts, which he co-created with—double gah!— Bill Mantlo!
An unpleasant, lurid Daughters of the Dragon story rounds it out. Unpleasant because of the blatant pseudo-lesbo titillation thrown in for the fanboys. Early in the story, the villainess is seducing one of our heroines, who protests, "I'm not—you know—that way..." The villainess, of course, is a vampire, and the nasty psychosexual angles are played pitilessly: shame and desire duke it out in a landscape of swoons and caresses as nipples poke against T-shirts.
The vamp is destroyed, of course, by penetration—but for the coda, our two triumphant, 100% heterosexual heroines are seen frolicking on a tropical beach together, in bikinis no bigger than handkerchiefs, off on a month-long vacation... with no guys in sight.
Mixed message? You tell me.
I'm off for a shower. Long and hot, with lots of soap.
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