Strange Tales #179
Strange Tales #179 is the second chapter of Jim Starlin's Magus Saga — one of the Bronze Age's most philosophically ambitious cosmic epics — and serves as the debut issue for Pip the Troll (full name Pip Gofern), the roguish alien companion who would remain one of Adam Warlock's defining supporting cast members for decades, eventually dying and being resurrected alongside Warlock in the landmark 1977 annuals. The issue also deepens the saga's central horror: that the Soul Gem is an independently hungry, predatory force, foreshadowing Warlock's doomed transformation into the Magus. As a narrative building block, it belongs to the four-issue Strange Tales run that collectively laid the conceptual groundwork for Marvel's entire Infinity Gems mythology, a thread that would not fully resolve until The Infinity Gauntlet (1991) and that shaped decades of cosmic Marvel storytelling.
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Writer-artist Jim Starlin revived Adam Warlock as the lead feature in Strange Tales beginning with issue #178 (cover-dated February 1975), after editor Roy Thomas offered him the character when a dispute over Captain Marvel prevented Starlin from returning to that title. Issue #179 (cover-dated April 1975, on sale late 1974–early 1975) was the second installment, with Starlin handling script, pencils, cover, and inks, joined by colorist Glynis Oliver Wein and letterer Tom Orzechowski. The cover carries a memorable production quirk: the standard Comics Code Authority seal was replaced with one reading 'Approved by the Cosmic Code Authority,' a substitution that slipped past Marvel's editorial team and the CCA alike — though whether the gag originated with Starlin or with Orzechowski remains disputed among those who were present.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Pip the Troll (Pip Gofern), the cigar-chomping alien troll who becomes Warlock's closest companion and later co-stars in Warlock and the Infinity Watch.
- First appearance of Autolycus, the blue-skinned Black Knights captain who commands Magus's flagship The Great Divide and whose soul is consumed by Warlock's Soul Gem during their battle.
- First appearance of the Black Knights of the Universal Church of Truth as an organized military force.
- The Matriarch — the Church's worldly leader — schemes to have Warlock killed by Autolycus, calculating that Warlock's death will eliminate the Magus and leave her in sole command of the Church.
- Story title is 'Death Ship!'; the entire issue — cover, script, pencils, and inks — is the work of Jim Starlin, with colors by Glynis Oliver Wein and letters by Tom Orzechowski.
- The cover's Comics Code Authority seal was covertly altered to read 'Approved by the Cosmic Code Authority,' passing unnoticed by Marvel and the CCA; responsibility has been attributed to both Starlin and Orzechowski in different accounts.
- This issue is part of the Strange Tales #178–181 run that, combined with Warlock #9–15 and the 1977 Avengers and Marvel Two-in-One annuals, constitutes the complete Magus Saga — the foundational narrative behind Marvel's eventual Infinity Gems/Gauntlet continuity.
- The story has been reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces #9 (August 1980), Warlock vol. 2 #1 (December 1982), Marvel Masterworks: Warlock Vol. 2 (2009), Warlock by Jim Starlin: The Complete Collection (2014), and the Adam Warlock Omnibus (2022).