Tuesday 22 July 2014

Random comics I have owned. Part Five.

A far wiser man than me once said, "Shut up!" But I don't listen to wise men. That's what's made me the man I am today. Therefore, here's the latest instalment in the stunning new feature that's inducing catatonia on a scale never before seen in the history of the World Wide Web, as I take another random look at the covers of comics I once owned.


Strange Tales #175, Torr

A crack team of hunters demonstrate the exact qualities you need if you're to catch your prey. Stealth, intelligence and razor-sharp alertness.

I acquired this comic on a Sunday morning. No comic acquired on a Sunday morning can ever be bad.
Adventure Comics #430, the Black Orchid

It's the third of the Black Orchid's original three appearances in Adventure Comics.  Sadly, it's another tale I can't remember that much about.

For those who've never read any of her original tales; blessed with invulnerability, super-strength and the ability to fly, she was basically like Supergirl but, for some reason, kept using a mastery of disguise to defeat her foes, when you would've thought she could have saved herself the trouble and just given them a punch in the bracket.
Justice League of America #128, Nekron

The Justice League come up against an alien called Nekron. I don't recall exactly what he was about but I do recall he was up to no good.

I'm not totally convinced Wonder Woman actually died in this tale.
X-Men #136, Child of Light and Darkness

If I remember right, this was the last issue before the X-Men all got dragged off into outer space for the trial of the Phoenix.

Needless to say, it was all cracking stuff and a highlight of its era.
Conan the Barbarian #69

The last issue of Conan I ever had.

From what I recall, Conan wanders into a village and it's not long before he's up against a deadly menace from the sea.

Poor old Conan, even a trip to the seaside turns into a life or death battle for him. I bet he couldn't even attempt to eat a toffee apple without it trying to kill him.

I always remember this issue as having great artwork but I can't remember who it was by.
Tomb of Dracula #16

Our third cover that involves a man carrying an insensate female.

One of my childhood faves, as our, "hero," finds himself up against a skeleton on a mission of revenge.

If you don't love that cover, there's probably no hope for you.

Then again, if you don't want to be a skeleton on a mission of revenge, there's probably no hope for you.
Prez #2

I really don't remember anything about this issue at all. I have no doubt though that it was all very strange.
Iron Fist #4, Radion

Having blown up half of London, Iron Fist is still having trouble with his nuclear-powered foe.

Is this the issue where Misty Knight gets her bionic arm, or did she already have it by this point?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I bought the Black Orchid comics when they came out but all I remember is they had very lovely artwork by Tony Zuniga

Aggy said...

Completely stumped by who drew this issue of Conan. Original issue is buried in one of the storage units. Looking it up the art team was Val Mayerik & The Tribe which means nothing.

The story is a flashback with a framing portion to set it in continuity. So I assume the art team is in house artists filing in.

And I'm pretty sure Wonder Woman did die in that issue. I mean if not she would of had at least one trilogy of movies by now...

Steve W. said...

Aggy, I'm pretty sure The Tribe were Tony DeZuniga and his studio-mates. The Val Mayerik thing makes sense in context of how I remember the artwork looking.

Anonymous said...

The cover image of a character carrying an insensate character (often a male carrying a female, but not always) was very common. It appears on Thor #127, Batman #156, Aquaman #37, and Lois Lane #102. Later, and most famously, it was used for Crisis on Infinite Earths #7. It appears to have been inspired by Michelangelo's Pieta (1499).

Unknown said...

I think the Tribe was just an informal name given to a team of predominately Filipino inkers that work for Marvel Comics which included Tony De Zuinga. Val Mayerik was the first artist on Howard the Duck and did loads of black and white Conan and horror strips at Marvel

Anonymous said...

That X-Men is indeed the one before the trial of Phoenix - I remember that month's batch of Marvel comics going on sale late and I was afraid I wouldn't get X-Men #136 or Thor #298 but I did get my hands on them two weeks late. I know this is heresy but when I finally got to read the trial of Phoenix (via mail order) I was rather underwhelmed by it and didn't think it was as gripping as X-Men #132-136 had been.

Anonymous said...

I've just noticed that the Strange Tales cover has no corner-box - how could they have overlooked such an iconic feature of Marvel covers ? And surely they missed a trick there - it should be "The Mighty Torr" :)

Anonymous said...

Reading what you have to say about the Black Orchid, Steve, I have to ask - whatever happened to Supergirl Sunday?

-sean

Steve W. said...

Sean, you've clearly been reading my mind because Supergirl Sunday may be returning to this blog sooner than you'd expect.

Ant Master said...

Although I love the cover Hawkman does not look to be supporting wonder woman's body half as effectively as his marvel counterparts carry their young ladies.

Steve W. said...

Thinking about it, Ant Master, you're right. It does seem a rather half-hearted effort from Hawkman.