Posted By Dan Greenfield on Nov 9, 2024 | 5 comments

The Web of Spider-Man #32 Facsimile Edition — featuring Part 4 of the classic storyline — is out Nov. 13…

By J.M. DeMATTEIS

The 1970s were an extraordinary decade for the comic book business, a cornucopia of new voices, new genres, new styles. We had Thomas and Smith on Conan, Wein and Wrightson on Swamp Thing, O’Neil and Adams on Green Lantern/Green Arrow. Jack Kirby blew the lid off the industry with his groundbreaking Fourth World books for DC, while, over at Marvel, young iconoclasts like Steve Gerber, Steve Englehart, and Jim Starlin were deconstructing and reconstructing the superhero genre. Not enough for you? How about Moench and Gulacy turning the martial arts craze into art on Master of Kung-Fu and the team of Wolfman and Colan doing the same for vampires with Tomb of Dracula? What a time to be a fan! Marvel and DC were both on fire.

Triumph Comics? Not so much. The truth is, I rarely read Triumph’s books, only when I was desperate, and, even in desperation, I found them to be consistently disappointing: watered down knock-offs of the Big Two’s best material.

So why did I pick up the first issue of The Legendary Lynx? Something about Doug Detmer’s cover, I suppose: The image of a powerful costumed woman staring down the barrel of a gun without a hint of fear grabbed me. And Detmer’s interior art—so fluid, so dynamic, oozing darkness, despair, and yes, hope—was even better. Nothing of his I’d seen before came close. The visual storytelling was unlike anything else you could find in the Triumph line and it was in perfect sync with the scripts by Triumph mainstay Harvey Stern, who quickly went from easily dismissed hack to a god in my writing pantheon.

The raw power of those stories was heightened by the fact that Stern died before they even saw print: I remember reading, and being shocked by, the tale of his murder in the New York Daily News. That loss, that tragedy, only underscored the sense of loss and tragedy that ran through the pages of The Legendary Lynx. But another tragedy was yet to be revealed:

Harvey Stern hadn’t written those stories. They were the work of a ghost writer, a young Triumph staffer named Carmen Valdez, and when, years later, the truth finally emerged, her imprint suddenly seemed obvious. First, there was nothing in Stern’s previous work that came close to the mood, texture, and careful craft of those Lynx stories. Second, the prevalence of female characters—heroes and villains alike—and the honesty with which they were portrayed clearly emerged from a woman’s perspective. Although she did it anonymously, Valdez paved the way for Ann Nocenti, Karen Berger, Gail Simone, and so many other talented women writers and editors who have left their mark on the industry.

But the impact of The Legendary Lynx went beyond even that: Alan Moore, not one to offer easy praise, often cites The Lynx as a book that opened his eyes to the comic book’s potential, and the somber visual tone, the grounded narrative voice, was clearly echoed in Frank Miller’s work (you can see the seeds of The Dark Knight Returns in these stories). As for me: Could I have written Kraven’s Last Hunt without having read The Lynx? I sincerely doubt it. Those stories embedded themselves in my young psyche, marinated in my unconscious, and rose up in my mind, a decade later, like Spider-Man rising out of the grave.

I’m very grateful that Carmen Valdez is finally being recognized and celebrated and that these wonderful stories are back in print after almost 50 years.

The Legendary Lynx lives again!

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NOTE FROM DAN: A hoax? An imaginary story? By now you’re asking, “What the hell is this? How come I’ve never heard of The Legendary Lynx?” Well, that’s because it didn’t really exist in the 1970s. But it does exist now. 

The Legendary Lynx, written by Alex Segura — an occasional 13th Dimension contributor — with groovy old-school art by Sandy Jarrell, who is also known around these parts, is a “collection” of four faux issues of the influential Bronze Age series that never was. It’s published by Mad Cave Studios and J.M. DeMatteis’ very real “column” above is actually the introduction to the book.

I give DeMatteis huge props for his commitment to the gag. Never forget: Comics are supposed to be fun, kids!

All of this is connected to Alex’s new noir mystery novel Alter Ego, sequel to his Secret Identity, both of which focus on the world of 1970s comics publishing and revolve around the secrets behind the publication of The Legendary Lynx.

The Legendary Lynx is out Nov. 12 through booksellers, and Nov. 13 at comics shops. Oh, and in a “mad” coincidence, the Web of Spider-Man #32 Facsimile Edition really is coming out Wednesday — the same day The Legendary Lynx hits your LCS.

Alter Ego is out Dec. 4. Click here to pre-order.

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MORE

— KRAVEN’S LAST HUNT: WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #32 to Get FACSIMILE EDITION. Click here.

— RETRO HOT PICKS! On Sale This Week — in 1975, featuring THE LEGENDARY LYNX. Click here.