Jack of Hearts 1

Jack of Hearts 1
Jan 1984

Murmur of the Heart..!
By Bill Mantlo, George Evans

Jack of Hearts’ life seems to be spinning out of control. For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, but might relate back to the events in Marvel Team-Up 134, he feels as though he is a danger to others. After unsuccessfully attempting to kill himself he lets SHIELD place him in a protective chamber (in his parents’ mansion) which is saturated with chemicals to keep his powers from flaring up.

Jack’s background leading up to this point is explained and explored. His parents are dead. The source of his powers is Zero Fluid, which Jack's father invented. Jack was accidentally bathed in Zero Fluid years ago. He has a bit of a history in the Marvel Universe. He has had encounters with White Tiger, Hulk, Iron Man, and (just before this mini-series) Spider-Man.

There are three supporting characters in this chapter: Agent Martins of SHIELD; Mr. Smythe, executor Jack’s father’s estate; and Marcy Kane, Jack’s former girlfriend who believes she can help Jack overcome the problems he has with his powers.

Martins is a scientist, a biochemist who treats Jack as a dangerous object. His approach to Jack seems very impersonal. Smythe's main concern is Philip Hart’s estate and the mental competence of Jack. Considering that he just attempted to kill himself, Smythe has his doubts about Jack’s mental health. Marcy is the only one of the three who seems to care about Jack. I know that she was a supporting character in Spectacular Spider-Man for a time and also appeared in Marvel Team-Up 134 but I don’t know anything else about her other than the fact that she and Jack were once romantically involved. She seems to feel that Jack’s powers could be of great use to humanity.

The chapter ends with flying saucers showing up. They seem to want to capture Jack. Agent Martins doesn’t want to let Jack out of the protective chamber but Marcy defies Martins’ orders and frees Jack. He fights off the UFOs and then flies off with Marcy.

This is great stuff. It holds up very well in my opinion. I love both the words and the pictures. Evans does a great job laying out the story, both in terms of panel arrangements and the way he fills in the panels. There is a fair amount of text but it doesn’t feel superfluous. I can see some people not digging the art as much as me, at least for the way Evans draws some facial expressions.

...

It occurred to me as I started reading this issue that I may not be starting at the right place. Maybe I should have started by reading Marvel Team-Up 134 which is an introduction of sorts to this mini-series. I own it. I’ve read it but unlike this mini-series I didn’t discover it until maybe 30 years after it was published.

Maybe I should have started with the earliest appearances of Jack of Hearts. I own a few of those but certainly not all of them. I’m not sure that they are all available on Marvel Unlimited. There’s some logic to starting with his earliest appearances and working my way forward. It would give me the chance to track the evolution of the character.

I started here because I have such fond memories of reading this story when it was first published and numerous times since. It is one of those little gems that I enjoy revisiting from my childhood. It is made that much more precious by the fact that it has never been reprinted and is not available in digital format.