Longbox Junk - Mark Hazzard: Merc (Part 3)

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Moving into the third part of my dive into one of the most unloved series to come out of Marvel's ill-fated New Universe experiment, it's been a bit of a strange ride.  And SPOILER ALERT, it's about to get stranger.

In Part One of this series review, covering issues 1-4 (FOUND HERE ), writer Peter David gave us a pretty good self-contained story of a broken man addicted to violence trying to reconnect with his family and the "real" world.

Part Two, covering issues 5-9 (FOUND HERE ), writer Doug Murray took the series on a swerve and basically gave us a soft reboot focusing on one shot stories leaning into the military action advertised on the covers and establishing a new supporting cast of characters.

Part Three?  Well, NOW we get one of the stranger endings to a comic series I've seen.  but I'm getting ahead of myself.  Let's crack open these final few issues of Mark Hazzard: Merc, shall we?  WE SHALL!

MARK HAZZARD: MERC

PART 3: ISSUES 10-12

Annual 1

MARVEL - NEW UNIVERSE (1986)

ISSUE TEN

Iran Slam

COVER: Mike Zeck

THE COVER:

A pretty good cover.  Not Zeck's best on this series, but still pretty good. A nice portrait of our new main character. I like the framing of looking up at Griffin from below as he jumps out of the plane. There's really not much more to say about it.  Let's get into the story instead.

THE STORY:

SCRIPT:  Doug Murray
PENCILS:  Gray Morrow
INKS:  Vince Colletta

After learning (in the previous issue) that Mark Hazzard has been captured by Iran, Lincoln (or Lin, as everyone calls him) Griffin hatches a plan to rescue his friend before he's executed.  He brings in most of Hazzard's available friends we've been introduced to so far including Sergeant Major, Mal, Treetop (who's now in a wheelchair since being shot up by Hazzard, but whatever, I guess), and Priestess. 

He sends Sgt. Major and Priestess to find some more men for the operation, Treetop is in charge of transportation, and he and Mal go to see an arms merchant (and also friend of Mark Hazzard) named Gar for some weapons.  Gar also decides to join the team.

In the meantime, Mark Hazzard is being brutally beaten on a regular basis, and after another escape attempt, the Iranians decide it's finally time for a public execution at dawn the next day!

They all meet back at a deserted airfield, where Treetop has secured an aircraft and we meet Kim Sum and Tony Panetta, two students of Priestess. . .who apparently is no longer just the owner of a martial arts school, but suddenly a trainer of ninja warrior assassins.  Okay, then.  Moving along!

The team heads out for Iran.  Lin, Priestess, and her students parachute into the ocean so that they can take over an Iranian patrol boat with NINJA SKILLS!  At the same time, Sergeant Major and his team of British commandos (the "Wild Geese") parachute in for a land attack on a port nearby the prison where Mark is being held.  They go in loud because they aren't ninja.  

Using Sergeant Major's distraction, Lin, Mal, and Priestess sneak into the prison and use explosives to blow a hole into Mark's cell.  When the enter, they find that Mark has already used the distraction as well.  He's killed the guard and is waiting for his friends.  But instead of leaving immediately, Mark insists on a change of plan. . .he wants revenge against the Iranian officer who executed Ritter (in the previous issue) and has been torturing him.

To be Continued.

 THE REVIEW:

Although this is a pretty decent, action-packed read, there are things that just bother me.  We've already seen that Doug Murray is willing to completely ignore most of what Peter David put in place, but in this issue, he sort of ignores his OWN continuity.

Treetop is in a wheelchair because of Mark Hazzard, but I guess that's okay because he's all in on the rescue plan.  Priestess goes from Mark Hazzard's lover and martial arts teacher to being a ninja assassin complete with throwing stars and katana.  Sgt Major is no longer just a lone mercenary, but now has a whole unit of British commandos under his command.

I know, I know. . .it's just a comic book.  But a little consistency doesn't hurt, even in a comic book.

NEXT!

ISSUE ELEVEN

Retribution!

COVER: Mike Zeck

THE COVER:

Here's a good one!  Featuring the new main character in full 90s gun rage!  If I didn't know better and saw this cover without the title, I'd think I was getting a Punisher comic.  I can see why people sort of thought Mark Hazzard: Merc was supposed to be the New Universe Punisher (even if it's not even close to true), BUT I DIGRESS!  Nice cover.  Let's get inside this thing.

THE STORY:

SCRIPT:  Doug Murray
PENCILS:  Gray Morrow
INKS:  Vince Colletta

Mark Hazzard is hell-bent on revenge.  His friends think he's crazy, but help him fight his way through the prison to the commander's office, where Hazzard kills the unarmed man in cold blood before finally allowing the rescue team to leave.

The team makes a desperate escape out of Iran with the help of Sgt. Major's Flying Geese unit and the British Air Force.  Once they've made it to safety, the team disbands.  Lin and Sgt. Major tell Hazzard that they're off to Afghanistan to help the Taliban Rebels fight the Soviets.  Mal and Treetop just sort of shuffle off to parts unknown, and Priestess joins Mark as he heads back to New York.

But before he leaves, Griffin gives Mark a note with some information.  Before they left on the rescue mission, he set some investigators on the job of finding out who pointed the Iranians at Hazzard during the arms smuggling operation (in issue #9) and got him captured.  

Griffin's information leads Hazzard to Long Island, where we follow him as he stealthily infiltrates a heavily-guarded mansion belonging to mercenary financier Henri Graymalkin (last seen in issue #2).  At gunpoint, Hazzard demands to know why Graymalkin informed the Iranians about the mission and who paid him to do it.  Graymalkin spills the information.  Hazzard is NOT happy.

We next find Hazzard sneaking into his ex-wife's house, where he wakes Joan and her new husband, Gordon (Both last seen in issue #2) up in the middle of the night, holding a gun on Gordon and demanding answers.

Gordon admits he's the one who hired Graymalkin to both try to kill him (in issue #2) and then later to get him captured by the Iranians.  Joan still loves Mark, Gordon will never be loved by Mark's son.  EVERYONE loves Mark Hazzard!  

Gordon pulls a gun and shoots Mark in the chest.  Even though he's badly wounded, Mark strangles Gordon to death before collapsing in a puddle of blood in front of his horrified ex-wife and son!

What happens NOW?  We'll find out in the Mark Hazzard: Merc Annual!

THE REVIEW:

Okay then.  Gordon. . .the mild-mannered lawyer we haven't seen since issue #2 is the mastermind behind all of Mark Hazzard's problems? Doug Murray was really sort of reaching on this one.  But as you will see when we get into the Annual, this was his way of finally getting to write the comic HE wanted to write.  

Unfortunately, there's just the Annual and one more issue left. I'm not sure if Murray actually KNEW that or not.  Once again, information on Mark Hazzard: Merc is a bit sketchy, to say the least.  From what I can see here and in the next couple of issues, it seems he didn't know the series was going to be cancelled.  After all, why give a cancelled series an Annual issue that sets up the story for a new long-term direction?

Basically, this whole issue was setup for what's to come in the Annual, so let's just go ahead and get into it, shall we?  We shall!

ANNUAL ONE

A Matter Of Lives And Death!

COVER: Mike Zeck

THE COVER:

More "Punisher" vibes from Zeck here.  Even so, I think this is one of the better covers of the run.  I really like the dark inks on this one.  Having Griffin be the focus seems like a bit of a strange choice, given the story, but I'm getting ahead of myself.  A very nice cover, though.  Let's go inside.

THE STORY:

SCRIPT:  Doug Murray
PENCILS:  Vincent Waller
INKS:  Fraja Bator

This issue is mainly a group of vignettes relating the various characters' first meeting with Mark Hazzard as Mark struggles to survive in the hospital after being shot in the heart in issue #11.

Starting in Afghanistan, where Sergeant Major and Lin Griffin are training a group of Mujahadeen rebels fighting the Soviet occupation of their country.  We learn that Sgt. Major became a mercenary after the war, and tried to get out of the game, but the married life wasn't for him.  Mark pulled him back in, not to fight, but to train others to fight. 

As far as Lincoln Griffin goes, we learn he was a Navy SEAL in Vietnam, where he met Mark when he rescued Griffin after a botched mission.  After the war, he drifted through different jobs, including Police Officer, before Mark got him into the mercenary game.

Back in New York, Mark's friends are at the hospital while he struggles to survive.  They also talk about how they met Hazzard. . .

We learn that Mal met Hazzard in Vietnam when they were both trapped behind enemy lines during the Tet Offensive.  After the war, Mal became a nasty drunk until Mark made him get off the bottle and into the mercenary business with him.  Things have been strained recently, but Mal still considers Hazzard to be his best friend.

Priestess met Mark when she ran away from home and ended up in New York, where he rescued her from falling into a very bad life on the street.  He put her up with a friend who owned a martial arts school that she inherited after he died.  Recently, they've become more than just friends.  Mark has been living with her.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

Treetop ALSO met Mark in Vietnam, where he was a helicopter pilot who pulled Hazzard and his men out of many a hairy situation.  After the war, Treetop dealt with racism and poverty until Mark showed up in his life again.  He became not only the pilot for Hazzard's mercenary team, but also took charge of the finances.  Eventually, they didn't see eye to eye on the kind of missions they should be taking on, and Treetop ended up in a wheelchair over it.  But Treetop now blames himself for pushing Mark to that point.

And finally, there's Joan. . .Mark's ex-wife.  She met Mark when he was a young man, trying to live up to the expectations of his overbearing military father.  She stuck by his side when he quit West Point and went to Vietnam for three tours.  But after the war, Mark wasn't happy, even after the birth of their son, Scotty.

Eventually, Hazzard found his way into the mercenary business.  He was happy and the money was good, but Mark was never home and not much of a husband or father.  The marriage just sort of quietly fell apart.

After everyone has told their tale of how they met Mark Hazzard, the surgeon lets them know it's time.  They gather in Mark's hospital room and the doctor informs them that their friend is brain dead.  The injuries were too severe and the only thing keeping him alive is the ventilator.

Mark's son, Scotty, insists that his father wouldn't want to be kept alive this way and that they should turn the ventilator off.  His mother agrees and the doctor disconnects Hazzard from life support.  

And that's it for Mark Hazzard.

The End.

THE REVIEW:

Like I said above, this issue is pretty much just a parade of little stories about how all the recurring characters met Mark Hazzard, leading up to the final page and Hazzard's death.  For what it is, I liked this issue quite a bit.  At least Doug Murray gave the title character a decent farewell. 

The ending is a bit abrupt, and it's strange to see Joan in the hospital pining over her ex-husband when the man had broken into her house in the middle of the night and violently strangled her husband in front of their son just a few hours beforehand.  I guess nobody cares about Gordon after all, so he WAS sort of right, when you think about it.

Obviously, the whole story arc leading into this Annual was setting up the series for ANOTHER reboot, but this time moving forward with a completely new lead character and in a direction Doug Murray wanted to take instead of having to spend time deconstructing a previous writer's work.

It's actually pretty ambitious to just kill the title character like this.  And also the way he killed Mark Hazzard is pretty interesting.  Instead of a dramatic death in some exotic location, he went out gasping on a ventilator after getting shot in the heart by his ex-wife's jealous husband.

All in all, I found this to be a surprisingly good issue.  Probably one of the best of the whole run.

But it ain't over yet!  There's still one more to go.  Let's check it out.

ISSUE TWELVE

Afghan Strike

COVER: Unknown

THE COVER:

I couldn't find an artist credit for this cover, but whoever drew it did a fine job!  It definitely leans into the "Gritty G.I. Joe" direction the series was heading in before being abruptly cancelled.  Lots of nice detail and a good sense of motion and action going on here.  Let's check out the story!

THE STORY:

SCRIPT:  Doug Murray
PENCILS:  Vince Giarrano
INKS:  Pat Redding

In a Northern Province of Afghanistan, near the border with the Soviet Union, we find Lincoln Griffin and Sergeant Major working with a group of Mujahadeen to ambush a Soviet patrol.  The ambush goes well, and back at the rebel camp, Griffon insists that the rebels are trained enough and ready to step up their efforts with a show of force through an attack on a nearby Soviet base.  The Mujahadeen leader, Kamal, agrees.

The Mujahadeen gather their forces and the attack proceeds as planned.  The Soviet forces are completely eradicated and their base is destroyed.  Back at camp, the rebels celebrate while Griffin convinces Kamal that their success will lead other rebels to join them in even larger attacks until the Soviets are driven from their country.

But the celebration doesn't last long.  That night, the Mujahadeen base is attacked by an elite Soviet Spetznaz unit, along with an NVD air assault unit.  The best the Soviet army has to offer.  Their surprise attack throws the rebel camp into disarray and the few survivors are forced to retreat into the surrounding hills.  

Sergeant Major is sent on a recon mission by Griffin, where it's discovered that the Soviets have captured the Mujahadeen leader, Kamal.  During a brutal interrogation, Kamal is killed by the Soviet commander.

The rebels, now led by Kamal's second in command, Babrak, join up with another rebel force and Griffon suggests an audacious plan.  Show the Soviets their terror tactics won't work by crossing the border into the Soviet Union itself and attacking the Russians in their own territory.  

Babrak, wanting revenge for the brutal death of Kamal, agrees to follow Griffin's plan.

To be continued. . .

Wait.  What?  That's it?  It's over?

THE REVIEW:

And so we come to the NEW Mark Hazzard: Merc.  This time titled just "Merc" and with Lincoln Griffin as the main character fighting the Soviets alongside the Mujahadeen in occupied Afghanistan.

THIS is what the last four issues of this series has been leading up to.  A fresh start.  A new main character. Pure military action.  And truthfully, it's pretty darn good! 

Doug Murray was the co-creator and writer for most of Marvel's eight year run of "The 'Nam".  This is the kind of story he does best.  He's FINALLY able to just write some good modern military action stories!

Unfortunately, from the looks of it, Murry might not have known he was only getting one single issue to do it in.  From the Annual killing off the original main character and establishing the backgrounds of the supporting cast, to this issue ending on a "To be continued" that was never continued.  Like I've said before, information on this title is scant.  So I'm not 100% sure, but the signs point to Murray not knowing this would be the last issue of the series.

And truthfully, it's a bit of a shame.  I would have liked to see more of THIS version of the series.  It's a pretty tight modern (Well, 1980s Cold War Modern) military story and I like the direction it was going.

But I guess it wasn't meant to be.  This was it for the series.  A sad, abrupt ending and nothing more.

Wait.  There's more?  

BONUS!

AMAZING FANTASY #18 (2006)

Untold Tales of The New Universe: 

Mark Hazzard: Merc

COVER: Lucio Parrillo

THE COVER:

I REALLY enjoy Parrillo's painted work, but his portrayal of Mark Hazzard sadly isn't great.  His Death's Head 3.0 portrait is on fire, though!  Too bad Mark Hazzard just looks like a grumpy dude who got woke up by a strange noise.  Let's check out the story!

THE STORY:

SCRIPT:  Tony Lee
PENCILS:  Leonard Kirk
INKS:  Kris Justice

Los Angeles, 1987 (shortly before the first issue of Mark Hazzard: Merc).  Mercenary Mark Hazzard jumps out of a perfectly good helicopter and crashes through the window of an L.A. skyscraper.  He's met by intense fire from multiple gunmen, even though his partner, Mal, had intelligence there would only be two guards.

Mark has his hands tied a bit because the mission is strictly NON-lethal.  Unfortunately, nobody told the guards this, and he's got his hands full just trying to survive.  He calls Mal for a distraction and his mercenary partner delivers. . .in the form of a rocket launcher blast to the building!

In the confusion and destruction of the explosion, Mark is able to make his way unharmed to the target, one General Luis Montoya.  He finds the General in bed with a woman.  After a short fight, Hazzard gets the upper hand and the General stands ready to meet his fate.

But Hazzard isn't there to kill Montoya.  Instead he serves him divorce papers from his wife, who he has been dodging for six months.  Treetop picks Mark and Mal up and they head out.  Another successful mission.

The End.

THE REVIEW:

This was a cool little story!  I liked the twist that Mark wasn't there to assassinate Montoya but serve him with legal papers.  It's short, it's sweet, it has great art.  There's nothing I don't like about this little story! 

It sort of makes me wonder what might have been.  Marvel did a weird reboot of New Universe ideas with their short-lived  (and failed) "NewUniversal" project under Warren Ellis around the same time as this story, but Mark Hazzard was left out of it.  I think that with stories and art like we see here, they could have at LEAST gotten a nice mini-series for Mark Hazzard out of it.  But I guess this is all we get.

And THAT, folks, is it for Mark Hazzard: Merc. 

CONCLUSION

One of the things I like about doing Longbox Junk reviews is that sometimes I'll be the ONLY person to have ever bothered to review a comic or a series.  This is one of those times.  You'll find some reviews of the first issue here and there, mostly on Youtube, but as far as getting into it all the way from issue one to issue done, this is it.  This is what Longbox Junk is all about.

The series itself was a bit of a strange read.  It starts off with a pretty good self-contained story, then abandons almost everything established in it for a short series of one-shot stories with a heavy Bronze Age military vibe, and THEN goes into a continued story moving the series in an entirely new direction, culminating with the death of the original main character and a whole NEW direction that lasted for exactly one issue.

If you're not counting, that's THREE reboots of the series in THIRTEEN issues.  I'm not sure if that's a record, but it seems to me like it probably should be.

But putting that aside, the series itself was a pretty good read.  Is it the best comic series I've ever read?  Not even close.  But it's also nowhere near the worst.  I like what Marvel was trying to do here.  I mean, they ultimately failed, but they were trying to give comic fans some gritty modern military action.  It was actually a pretty bold move to throw something like this into their big New Universe project.  Maybe a little TOO bold.  I don't think this was what people were expecting.

Overall, despite the constant change of direction and strange ending, I don't think this series deserves the scorn that's generally tossed in its direction. . .when anybody even thinks to mention it, that is.  It's a weird little experiment that was part of a weird larger experiment.  Both experiments failed, but Mark Hazzard: Merc was also pretty much forgotten in its failure.  Beyond the small number of actual New Universe Fans still out there, this series might as well have never existed.

It's a bit of a shame because the IDEAS behind Mark Hazzard: Merc are solid.  But like I said above, it wasn't what people were expecting.  I think this series might get compared to Punisher because THAT'S what people were expecting.  When they saw it wasn't a New Universe version of Punisher, they basically just ignored it until the series died a sad, quick death.

And so there it is. . .the one and only full review of Mark Hazzard: Merc.  Not a bad way to start off my return to Longbox Junk.  But where do we go from here?  Stick around and find out!

Until next time, remember that comics are worth more than money. 

Thanks for reading!