“Sacred Is the Monster Kang!”, script by Arnold Drake, art by Gerry Talaoc. When soldiers of fortune take over an ancient temple where it’s followers have spent generations building a giant maze to apparently keep a demon at bay, they intend to sell the men off to slavery; However, one of these soldiers is an opium addict named Jones is visited by the Phantom Stranger, who tries to convince Jones to shake off his dependencey on the drug (which is the reason why he is part of this operation) and do what’s right before it’s too late.
Gerry Talaoc is a Filipino comics artist best known for his 1970s work for DC Comics’ war and horror anthology titles as part of the the vanguard of Filipino comics artists — including Alfredo Alcala, Nestor Redondo, Steve Gan, Ernie Chan and Alex Niño — recruited in 1971 for American comic books by DC editor Joe Orlando and publisher Carmine Infantino, following the success of the pioneering Tony DeZuniga. Joe Orlando was also responsible for plotting and contributing to scripts, making him an uncredited writer on most of the books he edited.
DC’s Bronze Age supernatural comics were massively influential upon the Copper Age Horror books that spawned the Vertigo line. Gerry Talaoc’s run on Phantom Stranger made such an impression on Alan Moore that during his run on Saga of the Swamp Thing he wrote a story that featured the Phantom Stranger as illustrated by fellow Filipino artist, Alfredo Alcala.
FANTASTIC FOUR #5 pg 9: Silver Surfer by Jim Lee (Joe Chiodo color guide)
