April 5th, 1975 - Marvel UK, 50 years ago this week.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

Comedy rocked our world, this week in 1975, when it saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail released in UK cinemas.

In the world of sport, Manchester United clinched promotion to the First Division, just one season after having been relegated from it.

You'd never know it from that cover but this issue features the second half of the tale in which our hero gets the Prowler to pretend to be him, so that Peter Parker and Spider-Man can be seen in the same place at the same time by the same people and, thus, dispel his friends' suspicion that Spider-Man and Peter are in reality the same person.

This is, of course, in the wake of Peter having, last week, declared himself to be Spider-Man.

But, despite that cover, I can confirm that, at no point in this tale is Gwen Stacy in any kind of danger.

Elsewhere, Iron Man's getting a good thumping from the Sub-Mariner. And, so, he locks himself in a room to buy himself time to recharge his batteries.

Meanwhile, feeling a bit rundown himself, Subby takes a dip in the ocean, in order to recharge his own batteries.

In no need of recharging any batteries at all is Thor, who's in Karnilla's house and having yet another punch-up with Ulik.

Gwen Stacy may be in no danger but Shalla-Bal certainly is.

And that's because it's time for Marvel UK to publish my favourite Silver Surfer story of them all, as the menacing Mephisto makes his diabolical debut and attempts to tempt the pewter powerhouse.

The X-Men, meanwhile, are having their first clash with the Blob who they try to recruit to their ranks and, when he spurns their offer, they wipe his memories.

Seems a bit extreme of them.

Are they sure they're the good guys?

I've no idea what's going on on this cover but it certainly looks striking.

Inside, his fight with Batroc successfully concluded, Iron Fist now has his first encounter with a woman called Misty Knight.

I do believe the Avengers conclude their run-in with the Scarlet Centurion and successfully put right the timeline that had seen them become a menace to humanity.

And Dr Strange must defeat a Nightmare who's made a terrific job of ruining everyone's New Year celebrations.

And what's this? More thrills from Marvel's greatest foiler of simians?

Too right it is!

This week, we discover yet more of his origin, as we see just how he came to be a gladiator in the apes' games and just how he escaped to become their greatest nemesis.

After that, there's even more cause for celebration because we encounter the UK debut of the Guardians of the Galaxy, as a bunch of highly modified humans - and Yondu - rise up to fight the rule of the evil alien Badoon.

And, finally, we blunder upon Lee and Ditko's The Secret of the Black Planet.

That's the one in which an escaped convict on another world decides to escape in a conveniently-placed rocket ship.

Only for it to turn out to be a living creature that he's only just gone and climbed into the mouth of!

I do believe this is the one in which the Hulk lifts up an entire cliff in one of the most memorable comic book panels of my childhood.

He is, of course, doing this because he's in conflict with Havok over Lorna Dane who he's mistaken for Jarella.

And Daredevil's still in Canada and fighting a Beetle who's determined to unmask him, thanks to the machinations of Stan Lee and Gene Colan.

Meanwhile, Reed Richards continues to be trapped in the Negative Zone and on collision course with a planet that's going to disintegrate him on contact.

Can no one save him?

I have a suspicion a certain aquatic Inhuman may be able to do just that.

And I do believe this may be the story which sees the finger-blasting debut of none other than Blastaar himself.

In a twist we never saw coming, the lord of vampires travels to America and has the misfortune to feed on a man who's a drug addict. Does this mean Dracula will now also become a drug addict?

Only time - and the rest of this story - will tell.

The werewolf by night continues to be on show in a carnival. Needless to say, fighting's broken out.

And, like Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster is in modern day New York.

But it's not drug addicts he has to worry about. No, he has to worry about street gangs!

It's the first Conan story I ever read, as Zukala and his transformational daughter make their first appearances, and our belligerent heads off to their castle to tackle them, having been promised a big fat reward by the local peasants.

Meanwhile, in the backup strip, I'm assured that Kull's arrogance sees the release of an ancient menace he's barely able to thwart.

Fifty years ago today - April 1975.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

British Summer Time's arrived!

And that means we've had to fling ourselves one hour into the future.

But now let us fling ourselves fifty years and one hour into the past!

After what feels like centuries, the Celestial Madonna Saga still rumbles along.

And, this time, we discover the senses-shattering truth of the origin of the Vision - and how it ties in with the disappearance of the first Human Torch!

Isn't this the flashback tale that reveals how Conan got his cherry popped by a mysterious woman in a log cabin?

And she turned out to be a wolf-fixated witch?

Then again, maybe I'm just imagining that story ever existed.

And maybe Conan's just imagining it ever happened.

I don't think I've read this one but I take it Sharon Carter's still not dead by this point?

Clearly, someone's been to the same tailor as Kraven.

More importantly, Matt Murdock gets the Black Widow to attend a party thrown by Foggy Nelson.

And, with the sort of luck that only people who hang around with Foggy Nelson can know, they're promptly attacked by Hydra and El Jaguar!

I recall nothing of what occurs in this one but, judging by that cover, it's all kicking-off as the brand new Doomsman makes his presence felt.

Much as I love this era of the Hulk, I can't claim the Devastator's one of Marvel's greatest villains.

In fact, so far away is he from being one of Marvel's greatest villains that I remember nothing about him, other than that he's Russian.

And that he's dead by the end of the issue.

Speaking of not being Marvel's greatest villain, here comes the Cyclone, the only super-menace ever to be defeated by an electric fan.

Still, it does give Spidey, JJJ and Joe Robertson a chance to visit France for reasons I don't recall.

Nope. I have no idea at all as to what happens in this one.

I'm assuming Thor and Loki have a fight.

I would also assume that Firelord puts in an appearance.

That's Marvel's main superstars. more or less, dealt with but we should never forget they aren't the only people we'll encounter should we enter our local vendor of quality reading matter.

We'll also encounter the denizens of DC.

Therefore, for contrast and comparison, let us see what a random sampling of that company's product bearing the same cover date looks like.

Limited Collectors' Edition #C-35 brings us the original Captain Marvel - and a cover of somewhat doubtful aesthetic appeal.

But, inside, we discover 68 pages and a string of yarns reprinted from the 1940s and '50s.

Not to mention such features as Shazam! The World's Mightiest Family, Shazam! Puzzle Page, How to Draw Cap's Friends and Foes, Shazam! On Television!! and the obligatory table-top diorama these projects always seem to include.

That cover can only mean one thing.

We're about to encounter a reprint of the whole of 1942's Wonder Woman #1.

Brace yourself, then, for action, as the amazing Amazon bondages her way through a string of uplifting adventures, including the origin story in which she first meets Steve Trevor.

We also meet a 4-page biography of Florence Nightingale, A Message from Phil, Sweet Adeline, The Greatest Feat of Daring in Human History!, Little Oscar's First Air Raid - and an ad encouraging America's children to buy at least one 10-cent Savings Stamp each week, in aid of the war effort.

It's always exciting when a new comic hits our spinner racks and that's exactly what happens with the launch of 1st Issue Special.

And its debut appearance stars none other than Atlas himself.

Not that I know anything beyond that, other than that it's written and drawn by Jack Kirby.

The gravely grim ghost of retribution is back.

But he's not drawn by Jim Aparo!

He's drawn by Ernie Chua, with Aparo on inks.

And Jim Corrigan's alter-ego must halt the lunatic practices of a museum curator who has people delivered to his workplace where he plans to make an exhibition of them.

Following that, we find the launch of a Seven Soldiers of Victory series which sees a septet of Golden Age heroes on a mission to do something or other in a tale that I think was written in the 1940s but never drawn and published until now.

What's this?

A mystery person trying to join the Justice League?

One who appears to have wings?

And has already been a member?

Who can it be?

Well, obviously, it's Hawkman!

And he re-enters the mix when the gang help him thwart the plans of the Equalizer.

And I don't mean Edward Woodward.

I mean an interplanetary villain who's unleashed a plague on the people of Thanagar. One which makes them all equal in physical and mental capabilities.

And then the crafty crook does the same with the JLA!

In our brand new opening tale, the dark-night detective must do something about The Scarecrow's Trail of Fear!

Then, we receive reprints of The Round-Robin Death Threats and Where There's a Will-- There's a Slay!

But, also, there are various short features of interest to the dedicated Batfan, including one about strange old laws.

It's  a comic that only a mad thing wouldn't want, when the Legion prepares to give a peace negotiator a big trophy.

But, before it can happen, Superboy, Mon-El, and Ultra Boy are attacked by their parents! 

It can only be the work of our heroes' crime-packed counterparts the Legion of Super-Villains!

And, when it comes to reprints, the publication offers us the always endearing Lana Lang's Superboy Identity Detection Kit! and The Evil Hand of the Luck Lords!

The horror comic that never seems to take itself too seriously gives us Magic by Moonlight Only..., Satan's Revenge and The Hanging Man. All narrated by Eve.

Off the top of my head, I only recall the cover story which I think involves a battle of witches/sorcerers within the confines of a pharmacy and is drawn by Ruben Yandoc.

This month, the world's spookiest dispenser of tales of conflict gets 64 pages.

And it uses those pages to deliver such nightmares as Escape, The Moon Is the Murderer, The 13th Man, The Pool..., Monsieur Gravedigger, Bloody Halloween, The Day after Doomsday, Colonel Clown Isn't Laughing Anymore!, Death-Gram and The Deadly Seeds.

Not all of which are reprints.

March 1985 - Marvel UK monthlies, 40 years ago this month.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for Their Sponsorship of This Post, via The Magic of Patreon. 

***

A multitude of unforgettable events were occurring in March 1985.

For a start, the UK saw the end of the miners' strike, following a year of turbulence, rancour and turmoil.

Also, Mohammed Al-Fayed bought the world-famous London department store Harrods.

And, of course, Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and, thus, leader of the Soviet Union.

But the news that really mattered was that March saw the launch of Australia's greatest and longest-running soap opera Neighbours which made its debut on the Seven Network and would go on to make international showbiz sensations of Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce, Natalie Imbruglia, Margot Robbie and numerous others.

When it came to the UK singles chart, the month kicked off with Dead Or Alive's You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) at Number One before that had to make way for Easy Lover by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins.

On the accompanying album chart, March began with Phil Collins' No Jacket Required on top until it was forced to subside before the might of Paul Young's The Secret of Association.

I somehow sense we have an issue dedicated to TV shows like Star Trek, The Tripods, Doctor Who, Doomwatch, the Outer Limits and Adam Adamant Lives.

But that's not all because we also encounter an interview with movie director and future BBC Two Moviedrome presenter Alex Cox who, to the surprise of absolutely everyone, talks about his film Repo Man.

To celebrate the arrival of The Two Doctors, the magazine dedicated to the universe's favourite busy-body interviews Frazer Hines about his time in the show.

There's also a preview of the serial Timelash.

And there's a look back at the 1960s story Enemy of the World which was, in 1985, believed to be forever lost.

A simple but effective cover heralds the arrival of this mag's third issue.

And, in it, Slaymaster delivers the defeated Captain Britain to Vixen. But, hooray, the good Captain manages to escape!

But it does raise the question of did Captain Britain in this era ever actually manage to win a fight?

Next, we find John Tomlinson and Jeff Anderson's Paragon of Painthorpe Street: Episode 3.

That's followed by Night-Raven's encounter with Gang Rule.

And that's followed by Dalek killer Abslom Daak in Deathwish.

While the Freefall Warriors complete the issue by starring in a tale called Recruitment.

Inside this barbaric publication, we encounter Part 2 of Marvel's take on Conan the Destroyer in which our hero escorts Jehnna to retrieve the horn of Dagoth. An act which leads to all kinds of bother for all concerned.

Then, there's the 3-page text article The Art of a Warrior, brought to to us by Pete Scott, featuring images by Frank Frazetta, John Buscema and Barry Smith.

Next, we discover the latest instalment of Magik in which Belasco trains Illyana in magic.

Marvel Showcase brings us a five-page Simon Jacob short called There's a Demon in Wardour St.

The ever-busy Night-Raven's up against The Visitor.

And King Conan finds himself confronting The Black Sphinx of Nebthu, thanks to the talents of Thomas and Buscema.

March 29th, 1975 - Marvel UK, 50 years ago this week.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

Let us see just what comic book majesty Marvel UK has in store for us this week.

I never had this issue and, yet, somehow, I know what happens in it.

Which is that Peter Parker catches a cold and, suitably delirious, turns up at Gwen's birthday party, declaring himself to be Spider-Man!

My main memory of this, from reading it in the Essential Spider-Man books, is that, even though it was produced by the familiar team of Mooney and Romita, it looks drastically different to other stories produced by Mooney and Romita.

Elsewhere, Tony Stark's back in America but there's a warrant out for his arrest.

And to make matters worse, in his guise as Iron Man, he bumps into Atlantis' Warlord Krang who's fulfilled his obligatory function of kidnapping Lady Dorma.

And that can only lead to Shellhead having an encounter with the Sub-Mariner.

And that can only lead to a fight with the Sub-Mariner because any encounter with the Sub-Mariner instantly turns into a fight with the Sub-Mariner.

Thor's problems with the Destroyer are over, thanks to Karnilla releasing Sif's spirit from it.

But that only leads to our hero having to confront Ulik in Karnilla's kingdom. I tell you what, there's never a quiet moment when you're a god of thunder.

Is that a Bill Everett cover I espy?

And one that reveals nothing at all of what transpires within this epic tome?

It certainly is. In fact, within these pages, the Hulk concludes his meeting with the Inheritor who ultimately reverts to the cockroach he always was.

Daredevil's still in Canada and still battling the deadly Beetle. 

Given those two tales, it would be appropriate if the Fantastic Four are also up against an insect-themed foe.

But they're not.

In fact, their Baxter Building HQ continues to be invaded by the Sandman, and Reed manages to get himself sucked into the Negative Zone where he faces annihilation at the hands of a nearby planet.

It does have to be said that Reed does have a remarkable knack for being sucked into the Negative Zone and facing annihilation at the hands of a nearby planet. Just how many times has that happened to him, over the years?

Zut alors! It's the fight that had to happen! Fists vs feet! American vs Frenchman! Good guy vs bad!

Let's be honest, if Danny can't beat Batroc, he doesn't deserve to have his own strip.

Elsewhere, I think the Avengers are still battling the Scarlet Centurion and their corrupted earlier selves, in an attempt to save their world from their own tyranny.

And I do believe Dr Strange is in Times Square, having to fight all manner of menaces unleashed upon it by Nightmare who's somehow managed to take Eternity prisoner.

But this is it!

This is what we all came here for!

Marvel UK's first-ever creation makes his debut, as the totally original Apeslayer is born.

It takes a certain kind of nerve to get round a shortage of simian-based material by pretending Killraven stories are Planet of the Apes adventures but blow me down if the imprint hasn't only gone and done it!

Within this gripper, thanks to the pencils of Neal Adams and A N Onymous, Apeslayer goes in search of a man called the Keeper who raised him as a gladiator on behalf of his ape masters. And we get a potted history, from Howard Chaykin, of just how the apes and their tripods managed to gain mastery over mankind.

Following that, we find a report from the set of Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Sadly, that film lacks tripods and is, thus, not highly regarded.

Then there's Gil Kane's adaptation of He That Hath Wings which is about a youth what hath wings. 

Also, there's the Sid Check drawn Enter: The Machine Age in which descendants of survivors of a nuclear war are killed by their own machines who rise up, from underground bunkers, to take over the world.

Dracula's still being a pain in the neck and I do believe he's out to deliver as much suffering as he can upon the biker gang and man in an iron lung who caused him annoyance last issue.

Meanwhile, I suspect Jack Russell's still a captive in a travelling freak show.

And Frankenstein's Monster's a captive of a block of ice, having fallen into frozen waters at the end of his last adventure.

But he's done a Captain America and been in that block for decades - meaning it's no longer the 19th Century but the 20th!

What kind of madman wouldn't want this issue? It's a straightforward rule of drama that you can never go wrong with giant spiders.

Not only that but I believe it heralds the presence of Roy and Barry's take on Robert E Howard's Tower of the Elephant in which Conan scales the outside of building and, therewithin, encounters a mysterious prisoner from outer space!

Following that, we encounter a Kull thriller which bears the title Wisdom from the Grave.

And I do have to say I'm generally a defender of the use of speech balloons on front covers but even I can't claim it was a good idea to have them on this one.

I'm going to assume this issue features the second part of the Surfer's battle with the Badoon.

To some degree, I can't help feeling the Badoon are to Marvel space aliens what Batroc is to Marvel martial artists.

Regardless, after that, the X-Men must do battle with the Vanisher who's turned up at the White House for reasons I struggle to recall.

Speak Your Brain! Part 99.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

As the world's most revered internet feature approaches its 100th edition, an awestruck humanity can only stand back and gaze in wonder at just what it will throw up next.

Personally, I can't say what it'll throw up next.

Because I won't be the one throwing it up.

You will.

And so will everybody else who occupies the worldwide web the world knows only as The World Wide Web.

But just what subject matter do you wish to become entangled in your World Wide Webbing?

As history has taught us, there's only one way to find out.

And that's for you to suggest a topic for debate in the comments section below.

2000 AD - February 1987.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

Judging from my in-depth research, I'm not sure there was much reason to enter a cinema in February 1987.

As far as I can see, the only films I've ever even heard of which came out that month were Black Widow, 84 Charing Cross Road, Mannequin and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3. To be honest, the lure of none of them would be sufficient to get me to hand over my money for a ticket.

But what of music? Could it impress me more than that, as February progressed?

Well, let's see. The month ushered itself in with George Michael and Aretha Franklin's I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) lording it over the UK singles chart before being dethroned by Ben E King's Stand by Me.

Oddly, that latter single achieved its top spot by fending off a strong challenge from Percy Sledge's almost as elderly When a Man Loves a Woman.

Clearly, nostalgia was very much in vogue at the time.

But no such retrospection held sway on the British album chart. The month entered with Paul Simon's Graceland in top spot before that gave way to Phantom of the Opera performed by a group of people credited only as, "The Original Cast."

The original cast of what?

It didn't say.

I can only assume it was the original cast of The Phantom of the Opera.

Otherwise it would have been a major disappointment.

And what of the galaxy's greatest comic?

To the surprise of perhaps no one, it was providing us with Bad Company, Judge Dredd, Sláine, Strontium Dog and Tharg's Future-Shocks.

However, Prog 508 gave us the start of a series called Ulysses Sweet which I couldn't claim to be familiar with but seems to star an interplanetary assassin of that name and was brought to us by Grant Morrison and Colin MacNeil

And Prog 510 delivered the beginnings of a strip called The Dead by Peter Milligan and venerable 2000 AD warhorse Massimo Belardinelli.