I was crazy about Morbius ever since he first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #101. I loved that costume, the way his white-pale skin contrasted against the blue, the fact that maybe it had shrunk in the wash a few sizes. Morbius is a scientific vampire, he drinks blood because of an experiment gone awry, yet he can fly because...his bones are hallow? A man of contradictions, that Morbius, but I love him.
Morbius' greatest adventures were in Vampire Tales, in a series of stories written by Don McGregor and Doug Moench. Adventures into Fear featured Morbius' full color adventures, which had a lot less blood and horror. But this cover for Adventure into Fear #23, by Gil Kane and Tom Palmer, has always been my favorite one featuring Morbius. The composition of the piece, with the viewer looking at Morbius from a slightly down angle, with the woman sprawled between his legs, is just terrific. That gaudy blood-red sunset behind him still sends a chill up my spine, even today.
Gil Kane did hundreds of covers for Marvel in the 1970s. I bet he banged this out pretty quickly, but that doesn't make it any less great. He had an instinctual knack for placing figures at dynamic angles. There's no one drawing today with Gil Kane's unique style or talent. Nuff said.
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