One of the best Atlas/Seaboard comics was Demon-Hunter #1-and-only (July 1975). Creator/plotter/artist Rich Buckler, along with scripter Dave Kraft produced one of the most fun, cool, and original comics of the whole A/S line. Demon-Hunter was probably supposed to be a Dr. Strange rip-off, with bits and pieces of the then-popular occult characters like Ghost Rider and Son of Satan tossed into the mix, but like the best A/S comics, the creators went beyond publisher Martin Goodman's demands to create Marvel clones and created something fresh and unique.Rich Buckler has been unfairly criticized as being not much more than an above average swipe-artist. While he has, indeed, been known to do very good imitations of artists like Jack Kirby and Neal Adams (most likely at editorial behest), when he cuts loose, as he did in Deathlok and does in Demon-Hunter, he synthesizes the best of Kirby, Adams, Jim Steranko, and John Buscema into a dynamic style of his own. He had some pretty wild ideas of his own, too! Just dig Demon-Hunter's cape. Yeah, we've seen capes that could lead to other dimensions (Cloak, Obsidian) and capes that seem to be alive (Spawn), but Buckler's Demon-Hunter did it first--and best! And how many super-heroes (supernatural or otherwise) do you know of that were (at least partially) inspired by the music of Blue Oyster Cult? Huh? Huh? Okay, enough yappin'! On wit' da comics!
Buckler and the editorial powers-that-were knew a cool concept when they saw one. After Demon-Hunter's mag bit the dust after one issue, Buckler brought him to Marvel as Devil-Slayer, complete with origin, a very similar costume, and his crusade against Xenogenesis (shades of Howard Chaykin's Scorpion/Dominic Fortune!). Devil-Slayer appeared in several Marvel comics throughout the 70s and 80s, especially Defenders and Captain America. When Buckler self-published his black and white comic mag, Galaxia, Demon-Hunter was resurrected as Bloodwing, complete with his Gideon Cross persona. Marvel recently "re-imagined" Devil-Slayer, but from the looks of it the mag didn't have a whole lot in common with Buckler's creation. (I'm sure a more with it Groove-ophile will correct me if I'm wrong about that!)
