Marvel; March 1977
Cover by Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott

Title: “A Ghost of Stone!”
Synopsis: On Christmas Eve 1976, the Avengers are attacked and defeated by a stone ghost of the Black Knight.

Writer: Gerry Conway
Penciler: Don Heck
Inker: Pablo Marcos

Review: This is an odd little story from Gerry Conway: Odd villain, odd setting, odd payoff. The villain is an automaton that thinks it’s the Black Knight turned to stone, out for revenge against his old allies. Confused? Several flashbacks help little – but do hinder the dramatic pacing of the story. The Christmas Eve setting also fails to add much, as Conway does little to develop it. The payoff offers some nice character moments for the Vision, though the Monty Python-esque self-destruction of the villain limits those moments’ power. This one’s not horrible, but it’s not very entertaining, either.

Grade: C

Cool factor: The best part of this issue? The way Wanda’s hand drapes over the Vision’s leg on the cover. It’s a nice character touch from Jack Kirby.
Not-so-cool factor: Don Heck’s art (though, to be fair, inker Pablo Marcos has it looking better than usual here).

Character quotable: “Why don’t we adjourn to the kitchen, and have Jarvis heat up some mugs of Yuletide …” – Iron Man, thirsty as usual

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