January 18th, 1975 - Marvel UK, 50years ago this week.

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

***

We may not have been rocking all over the world, this week in 1975 but we were, at least, rocking all over our living rooms, as unstoppable three-chord wonders Status Quo hit the top spot on the UK singles chart with their latest smash Down Down. I would tell you how that song goes but, if you're at all familiar with the Quo, I'm sure you can guess exactly how it goes.

Over on the UK album chart, there was no change at the summit, with Elton John's Greatest Hits still ruling supreme over all other LPs.

I have no great objection to that Status Quo single but there are tracks in this world that I like more, and among the songs I approved of on that week's UK Hit Parade were:

Streets of London - Ralph McTell

The Bump - Kenny

Stardust - David Essex

Juke Box Jive - the Rubettes

January - Pilot

Gonna Make You a Star - David Essex

Hey Mister Christmas - Showaddywaddy

and

Angie Baby - Helen Reddy.

Should one feel the need to explore such matters in greater depth, that week's UK singles chart can be found here.

While the corresponding LP rankings may be uncovered herewithin.

When it came to TV on January 18th, the two standouts for me are that, in the morning, BBC One was showing The Flashing Blade, that French serial about the War of the Mantuan Succession. Who would have thought that, in 1975, British children would be watching a drama about the War of the Mantuan Succession? Not me. Mostly because I don't even know what that was.

And, yet, still I watched it.

And BBC Two was, late that night, beaming Frankenstein Created Woman into our homes. A film I rewatched just the other day, thanks to the miracle of digital broadcasting.

Can it be? Must the Hulk combat the Sandman after the silicate psychopath has been transformed into some sort of pointy-eared pixie fiend?

No, it can't be.

From what I can recall, nothing at all resembling the events of this cover take place in this issue.

Instead, our hero's hanging around in a desert while, back in civilisation, Jim Wilson stumbles across a plot to replace major figures in the US military with robot duplicates.

But who could be behind that plot?

And why?

Meanwhile, round the back of a university and unknown to mankind, Daredevil's busy thwarting aliens who want to conquer this planet by using their blinding ray on us all.

Little do they suspect they've managed to come up against the one opponent their weapon can't harm.

And, inside the Baxter Building, the Fantastic Four bring Klaw's assault on their HQ to a haymaking halt when Reed gets his hands on a pair of vibranium knuckledusters sent to him, post haste, by the Black Panther.

Iron Fist is back - and with a cover drawn by Jim Starlin, no less.

Before we get to see just what he and his fist are up to, we must first survive a Dr Strange drama in which the Sorcerer Supreme must tackle the Sons of Satannish who look like they're going to succeed in kidnapping the hapless Clea.

And what's this? The Avengers are about to get a new member?

Or at least they will if the Black Panther can convince the police he's not the one who's just murdered them.

That was of course, a crime committed by the Grim Reaper, out to avenge the death of his brother Wonder Man.

Iron Fist, meanwhile, brings this issue to a close by surviving an assassination attempt and then landing a job as bodyguard to Professor Lee Wing and his daughter Colleen.

The action levels ramp up for Jason and Alexander when Brutus seizes power in the village and orders all humans be killed.

It seems our heroes are going to have to flee the scene.

And quickly.

Following that, we're treated to a two-page article which takes a look at the making of the Planet of the Apes TV show.

And, with the departure of Dr Doom's strip, a brand new series begins, as The Wonder of the Watcher! smashes its way into our unsuspecting brains.

Yes, it's the one in which that selfsame character stands around telling us all just what dread series of events led to his people's vow to never again interfere in the affairs of other worlds.

A vow that, as we know, he refuses to ever break, under any circumstances.

Ever.

Those cobbles. That fog. Those medieval buildings. It can only be one place.

1970s London.

And just how is Dracula coping with such untrammelled modernity?

The same way he copes with any kind of thing. by throwing evil at it. 

In this thrilling instalment Frank Drake's introduced to the Harkers while Dracula's on the roam, hypnotising children and ordering them to attack his persecutors.

Elsewhere, Jack Russell's still being captured by Mark Cephalos who still wants to make use of the energy released by his werewolf transformations.

And Frankenstein's Monster still believes he's found the last descendant of Frankenstein.

And is still wrong about that.

I do detect that Electro's back.

And that means this must be the one in which Spidey agrees to appear on a TV chat show but it only goes and turns out it's at a studio where the voltage-packed villain just happens to be working as an electrician!

Elsewhere, evil communist Boris Bullski wants to take on Iron Man. And, so, is Titanium Man born!

Now the hero of the West must combat the hero of the East in a battle broadcast live across the world.

Even though his opponent keeps cheating with hidden weapons.

And things seem to be looking up for Thor. He's been arrested for helping the Circus of Crime get up to their usual mischief but why should he care?

After all, some mysterious stranger has posted his bail for him and he can walk straight out of that police cell.

But hold on. Who is that stranger and why does Thor feel he's met him somewhere before?

You know? That mysterious stranger who looks and acts and speaks exactly like his evil brother?

The Marvel Lucky Bag - January 1985.

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

***

I can sensationally declare that I haven't seen a single film that came out in January 1985. I have, though, heard of most of the January 1985 releases I'm about to list. And those films are The Plague Dogs, Too Scared to Scream, Blood Simple and The Falcon and the Snowman.

Given my total ignorance, I shall make no attempt to rank them and shall, instead, get on with contemplating just what we'll find if we look at a random selection of Marvel mags bearing that month's cover date.

The sensational She-Hulk may struggle to sustain a comic of her own but that doesn't prevent her from getting an entire graphic novel in her honour.

In it, our heroine's captured by SHIELD who fear she'll become as big a menace as her less popular cousin. 

However, somewhere along the way, a bunch of intelligent cockroaches attack the Helicarrier, and She-Hulk gets exposed to enough radiation to prevent her ever becoming Jennifer Walters again.

The New Mutants get their very first Special Edition and it ties in with the below-mentioned X-Men annual.

It does that because the Enchantress sets out to capture them and they find themselves separated from each other on Asgard where they must reunite, find their bearings, defeat the villainess and set out to rescue Storm.

Speaking of which, from that cover, I'm going to assume this is the one in which Storm gets her powers back, thanks to the schemings and machinations of Loki. All of which necessitates a journey to the land of the Norse gods, for our favourite mutants.

If so, that's a bit of a shock, bearing in mind she only lost her abilities a couple of months ago. I'd always assumed she endured a substantial length of time before regaining them.

Not to be outdone by proper comics, Marvel Age gets its first-ever annual.

This thrilling tome seems to centre around chaos breaking out at the Marvel offices when a whole bunch of super-heroes and villains turn up and have a brawl.

On top of that, we find such features as Epic Comics Preview, Star Comics Preview, Marvel Goes Hollywood, Carl Burgos - A Memorial for the Man Who Lit the Torch and The Quotations of Chairman Doom.

Yet another graphic novel hits a retailer near us, thanks to the arrival of Raven Banner!

It seems to be an Alan Zelenetz/Charles Vess tale in which a flighty Asgardian must find his courage and retrieve a Raven Banner from the trolls who've captured it. If he doesn't, the whole of Asgard will fall prey to mighty giants.

I'm not sure why possession of a banner would make any difference to such a thing. But Asgardians, they're a strange bunch.

And here's another graphic novel. This time, starring She-Hulk, Storm, Tigra and the Wasp.

It seems the town of Venture Ridge has been isolated from the rest of the humanity, by a mighty forcefield.

But not to fear, because the wishes of Holly-Ann Ember are able to summon the above-mentioned heroines to the rescue.

Interesting to see Storm in her original costume. Can this have significance?

Blimey. Now Conan's getting a graphic novel!

I can shed no light upon the contents of this one, other than to reveal that its story's called The Witch Queen of Acheron.

But, then, you probably noticed that, from looking at the cover.

Back to the normal comics.

In this month's adventure, Selene and Emmanuel Da Costa join the Hellfire Club, Sunspot consumes Colossus, Aletys brings Magneto to his island, and Mirage and Cannonball discover that Wolfsbane and Sunspot have the powers of Cloak and Dagger!

You can't move for the New Mutants, this month. Not content with having their own Special Edition, having a monthly mag and guest-starring in the X-Men's annual, they now get their first-ever annual of their own. Clearly, someone at Marvel HQ likes them.

But will we like them?

It seems they attend a Lila Cheney concert. Only for Lila to be attacked by an alien who teleports her and Cannonball to a Dyson sphere.

But what's this? The devious Lila is trying to steal the Earth!?! You wouldn't get that kind of behaviour from Taylor Swift.

And that's why Taylor Swift doesn't have a Marvel comic.

At least, I'm assuming she doesn't.

Thinking about it, she probably does.

Forty years ago today - January 1985.

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

***

1985.

What will it bring us that 1984 didn't?

And are we going to like it?

The warriors of Asgard, and Earth's mightiest heroes, are tackling Surtur's demon hordes in the streets of New York. But is that where the important action is?

It seems not because the horn-topped giant has headed to Asgard for a showdown with Odin.

And the villain has only gone and shattered the Rainbow Bridge!

From that cover, I'm guessing the Thing is back.

And he is!

At least, he's back in the comic.

However, he's not yet back on our beloved planet.

He's still on an alien world where he encounters a version of Frankenstein's Monster and a werewolf.

Meanwhile, in New York, Spider-Man's alien costume escapes its solitary confinement in the Baxter Building...

The Hellfire Club are back.

And they have a new Black Queen.

Selene!

But that won't last for long because Rachel and Magma are out to put a stop to it, and the Hellfire Club don't seem as sold on Selene being their queen as she herself is.

Meanwhile, thanks to no longer having super-powers, Storm quits the team.

Can it be? Can the Kingpin have driven a fatal wedge between Spider-Man and the Black Cat? One that will end their romance forever?

The reader can only hope so.

Meanwhile, one of the Kingpin's scientists does some after-hours research and accidentally gains the power of polka dots.

I know. That doesn't sound like much of a power. But these are no ordinary spots and involve some sort of trans-dimensional weirdness that will, no doubt, go on to cause our superstar much perplexity.

It's a very odd story in which, as far as I can recall, the presence of the Hulk is all but irrelevant.

While the Gamma-governed galoot gets bullied by everyone in sight, some sort of princess tries to stop a bunch of ruffians from harassing and oppressing her people, using the power of a hedge, or something.

Thanks to the machinations of the late Red Skull, Captain America's on the brink of dying from old age - and only the Avengers and their miraculous technology can save him.

But will they get the chance? No sooner has the attempt to restore his lost youth begun than the Sisters of Sin show up to exact their vengeance upon Cap for thwarting their beloved mentor.

I'm struggling to recall what happens in this one but I do believe the Vision's having nightmares about whether he's machine or man.

And, apparently, Paladin puts in an appearance, this month.

At last, after what seems an eternity, we finally reach the end of the Micah Synn saga, with the jungle-raised aristocrat finally exposed to the world for the malevolent thug he really is and, with surprising speed, becoming a washed-up destitute on the streets of New York.

There's more of the usual trouble for Conan and his bezzie Fafnir when they discover that, once a year, a warrior may challenge the local Baron's champion for the right to rule the district.

Fafnir, reckless as ever, is convinced, by nogoodniks, to accept the challenge.

And it turns out to be a terrible idea.

What with that champion being twice his size and having twice as many arms as him.

I do believe the Hobgoblin's trying to make Harry Osborn hand over whatever documents he has that relate to the original Green Goblin, but Harry's not up for that sort of thing.

Sadly, that can only lead to one outcome. The villain kidnapping Mary Jane and Liz Allan and using them as a bargaining tool.

Rhodey may be taking on the Termite but his big foe is his own mind, as he becomes more and more unhinged, thanks to a mixture of paranoia and mysterious migraines.

Can it only be a question of time before Tony Stark is forced to don the Iron Man armour, once more, in order to stop his old friend?

January 11th, 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. 

***

No one knew it at the time but footballing history was about to be made, this week in 1975.

That's because it was the week in which, having been fired by Leeds United, Brian Clough was put in charge of Second Division strugglers Nottingham Forest. Within five years of his arrival, the club would win the English title, and twice become champions of Europe.

It's a moment humanity will never forget, as Spider-Man Comics Weekly becomes the second of Marvel UK's mags to hit the hundred issue mark.

And what a way to do it.

By battling the awesome power of...

...the Kangaroo!

That's right, the Antipodean antagonist makes his debut this very week. And I don't think anyone will ever forget it.

But that's not all. Thor and Iron Man have been dumped from this special issue, and so it is we have room for the concluding part of the thriller in which the Chameleon steals a priceless painting from an art gallery and frames George Stacy for the crime.

Can the webby wonder thwart the two-faced villain?

You bet he can.

And you can read my review of this landmark issue, right here.

Shang-Chi's up to something but I don't know what.

Meanwhile, the Collector's still out to collect the Avengers.

Needless to say, his attempt is unsuccessful. But a pleasing consequence of it all is that Hank Pym finally regains his  growing powers!

And Dr Strange is about to have an encounter with none other than Satannish himself!

An exciting new chapter begins for us all, as, Marvel's adaptation of the first movie now out of the way, the company's free to unveil the adventures of Jason and Alexander featuring fabby artwork by Mike Ploog and a whole new take on the secrets and weirdnesses of the Forbidden Zone.

After that, Rod Serling recalls highlights from his career, followed by a look at the sets used in the Ape movies.

But even that's not enough for us.

And, so, the issue closes with the latest trials and tribulations of Doctor Doom, as he must combat both the Faceless One and Doomsman, for control of Latveria. This is brought to us, of course, by Larry Lieber and Wally Wood.

The Hulk's arguing with a talking fist - and that can only mean trouble.

And it can only mean the concluding part of the tale in which our hero must fight a giant stone robot activated by aliens who double up as Egyptian gods.

Needless to say, such a foe proves no match for Marvel's mightiest mortal and it soon finds itself falling to pieces.

Elsewhere, Daredevil's strip goes distinctly atypical when, upon being invited to deliver a college lecture about aliens and the law, the man without fear must thwart an alien invasion that intends to send the whole world blind.

And what's this attacking the Baxter Building?

Is it Klaw?

Yes it is and, having survived his recent encounter with the Fantastic Four and Black Panther, he's now a creature of living sound!

Neal Adams provides a memorable cover for a tale in which Dracula and someone called Lenore return to 20th Century England, pursued by our regular set of vampire hunters.

Still, not to worry, fans of fiends, because Drac has plans for their disposal.

Sadly, for him, those plans are scuppered by the arrival of a deformed son of a nobleman.

When it comes to werewolves, Jack Rusell's captured by Mark Cephalos - a man who's out to use the energy released by his werewolf transformations for, no doubt, nefarious purposes.

And, finally, this issue, Frankenstein's Monster thinks he's found the last descendant of his creator.

Then it turns out he hasn't.

The Marvel Lucky Bag - January 1975.

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

***

Even the most easily-pleased of men would struggle to declare January 1975 to be a spell which conferred legendary cinematic releases upon the world.

It did, however, see the unleashing of Slade in Flame, as well as And Then There Were None. Both of which I have at least heard of.

It was also a month which saw the release of a film called Teenage Seductress but I suspect we'd probably best draw a veil over that one.

Marvel's second-best werewolf gets his third Giant-Size issue. And one thing's for sure, stuff happens in it.

Granted, I don't know what stuff but I do know it happens and the main tale's called Castle Curse! and drawn by dauntless Don Perlin.

We also get a bunch of 1950s reprints which flaunt such titles as The Visitor, The Man Who Went Back, The Man Who Talked to Rats! [I don't know if he did that before or after he went back], and The Hands of Death.

I would claim it's the team-up that had to happen. Except it didn't have to happen. And happen it doesn't, with Spidey and Doc Savage never making contact at any point in the tale and Savage never becoming aware of the wall-crawler's involvement.

It's the one in which a delectable woman from another dimension is being menaced by a giant, Pan-like creature, and Spider-Man must use all his wit to help her.

But should he help her?

And is everything as she's claimed it to be?

That's followed by a reprint of his first-ever meeting with Daredevil in which the pair must bring down the Circus of Crime, as depicted by Sawdust Stan Lee and Trapezial Steve Ditko.

It may not be a Giant-Size issue but that doesn't mean we can't admire and respect the latest adventure from Killraven and his war with the worlds. 

In this one, we're treated to the origin of Volcana Ash while our gang must stop the Death Breeders and rescue Adam 3,031, Eve 3,031 and a baby.

There's also a two-page tale titled Escape from Nowhere! reprinted from the venerable pages of 1957's World of Suspense #7.

Strangely, despite having read this comic on far more occasions than is good for me, I must confess to having no recall at all of that back-up tale.

Then again, forget Giant-Size comics completely. What all people with real sense most dig in life are the even bigger bounteous beauties that are Marvel Treasury Editions.

In this one, we get to see the Black Panther join the gang, the Vision join the gang, Yellowjacket marry the Wondrous Wasp, and the vituperous Valkyrie form the Lady Liberators. All drawn by the redoubtable pencil held in the redoubtable hand of the redoubtable John Buscema whilst sat at his redoubtable drawing board.

And Doc Strange too has tabloid treasures to bestow upon us.

This time with a cover by Frank Brunner.

Inside, we encounter a selection of mixed appeal, thanks to yarns like The End-- at Last!, The Origin of the Ancient One!, The End of the Ancient One!, To Dream-- Perchance to Die!, Face-to-Face with the Magic of Baron Mordo! and The Cult and the Curse. All reprinted from the 1960s.

But, from the 1970s, we also find Finally, Shuma-Gorath! which I'm thinking must bring an end to the whole Shuma-Gorath Shenaniganza.

It's a bit of an oddity, as Marvel gives us the Spider-Man Comic Book Reader which I'm going to assume is intended to help young people learn to read.

Never content with being smaller than anyone else, the Hulk also grabs himself a Treasury Edition of his very own.

In this Gamma-powered grab bag, the jade juggernaut has his origin retold by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, then gets to fight Hercules who's on his way to Hollywood, fights the Sub-Mariner while under the influence of the Puppet Master, has to defeat all his old foes in one day when they're recreated by the power of the Leader's mind, must stop Doc Samson from making moves on his girl, and battle the Thing when the Leader has a wager with Kurrgo about which of the two sluggers would win a scrap.

That Kelly Freas/John Romita cover may be the least accurate representation of Day of the Triffids I've ever seen but there's no denying it's the kind of image that'll get all sensible customers grabbing the mag from the nearest available spinner rack.

Inside, Gerry Conway and Ross Andru give us their rather more faithful adaptation of the John Wyndham classic.

And that's followed by stories and features such as A View from Without....., The Bradbury Chronicles, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Mongo!, Savage World!, Past and Present Master, Hey Buddy, Can You Lend Me a... and Light of Other Days.

A fair number of those are reprints, Almost all will go on to appear in Marvel UK's Planet of the Apes comic.

I know almost nothing about this but, apparently, it's a full-blown comic and not just a picture.

Clearly, it's designed to tie-in with the toy of the same name and is twenty pages long. It's also pencilled by John Buscema.

Fifty years ago today - January 1975.

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

***

The year may be new but the comics are still old.

Somewhere in the tunnels of Limbo, the Legion of the Dead leave the Avengers feeling mortified, as the Celestial Madonna Saga lumbers on and, hopefully, we get a little closer to the truth of what's going on with Immortus and Kang.

I'm pretty sure this is the one in which Conan defeats his foe by using his brain and dissolving his feet.

I do, of course, mean he dissolves the monster's feet. Not his own.

Dissolving your own feet, as a tactic, would be stupid and counter-productive.

Nor do I mean that he dissolves the monster's feet by rubbing them with his own brain.

I can reveal he doesn't rub anyone's feet with anyone's brains.

Just to get it straight, no one's brains rub anything in this story.

Judging by that cover, this one certainly seems action-packed.

Inside it, wearing the guise of Nomad, Steve Rogers battles the Serpent Squad and Krang to prevent them from using an oil platform to raise Lemuria to the surface.

I'm assuming this must be a big oil platform.

And, somehow, someone called Roscoe becomes Captain America!

Now there's trouble. The, "All-powerful," Owl's captured Daredevil and will siphon off his mind unless the Black Widow captures Shanna the She-Devil for him.

Needless to say, this leads to the villain having to fight three heroes instead of just two, and the Black Widow and Shanna help Daredevil take the fool down.

But it's not all good news because, when the scrap's over, our hero must return to New York without the Widow.

I seem to recall this issue featuring the return of a foe from the old Strange Tales Human Torch and Thing series.

But is it really him? I forget exactly what the shock reveal is as regards his true identity but I have it in my head that he's really Reed Richards in disguise.

I'm struggling to remember but I think Bruce Banner gets a job in a lab, by passing himself off as a skilled janitor but it all leads to Zzzax making an electrifying return in which he has the hots for a young woman.

In some ways, this issue does seem to serve as a prototype for the Incredible Hulk TV show and its protagonist's ability to land employment in any profession, anywhere, at will.

Iron Man becomes Irony Man - doomed to die at a comic book convention.

As well as George Tuska; Neal Adams and Frank Brunner seem to have a hand in the pencilling of this issue.

And the story itself features cameo appearances by Roy Thomas and Mike Friedrich.

The stakes get ramped up to 11 when the Jackal attaches a tracking device to Peter Parker's arm. One that will explode if he tries to remove it.

Not that the webbed wonder's going to let that prevent him from putting an end to the Grizzly's reign of furry terror.

Has Thor met his match?

I can't remember.

In truth, I can't recall anything at all about this one but I think his opponent may be called Armak and may be a caveman who's been revived and has, somehow, gained super-strength.

That's Marvel's big shots dealt with.

But what of DC comics?

What can we find if we open a random selection of its books which choose to  bear a cover date of January 1975?

Batman.

Who is he?

What is he?

Why is he?

It seems we may be in danger of getting an answer to all of that, thanks to him getting his very own Famous 1st Edition.

That's right. It's a reprint of 1940's Batman #1 in which the dark detective faces a new clown-like criminal who's killing celebrities and stealing their possessions, while, somehow, leaving them with a smile on their face!

In another tale, our hero faces a criminal who's invented a serum which creates giant monsters!

Elsewhere, Batman and Robin take a trip on a yacht, in an attempt to prevent the Cat from stealing a necklace.

Even more elsewhere, the Joker escapes from prison to resume his murderous rampage.

And we're treated to a Bill Finger article labelled The Legend of the Batman - Who He Is and How He Came to Be!

But DC are clearly determined to spoil us because we're also presented with adventures for Major Bigsbe an' Botts. Plus, Detective Terry Gallant and Lt Bill Wayne. Not to mention Ginger Snap and Uncle Zep.

And, in a one-page feature, we meet Batman "creator" Bob Kane.

The comic that only ever gives us true stories of the supernatural gets its reward for such honesty by being granted a Limited Collectors' Edition.

But what happens inside that dark and eldritch tome?

I can share few details. Mystery, of course, being an uncertain thing.

But I do know we find chillers which bear such titles as A Specter Poured the Potion, Death's Bridegroom!, The Horrors of Witchcraft, The Dark Goddess of Doom, Death, the Pale Horseman!, The Spectral Coachman!, The Crimson Claw!, Famous and Infamous Ghosts, The Fanged Spectres of Kinshoro, Death Awaits Me, The Diabolic Cult of Voodoo, Ghost Cargo from the Sky and Death Is My Mother, mostly reprinted from the very earliest issues of the monthly mag of the same name.

It's the big one, as our two favourite Jim Aparo drawn heroes get to join forces.

Frankly, I'm not sure why the Spectre would need to enlist the help of Batman. Then again, I'm not sure why Superman would either but, still, it keeps happening.

Bizarre murders are being committed by upstanding citizens who turn out to be impostors. They're then discovered to be possessed by the spirits of worshippers of Kali.

And they're out to enable that goddess's resurrection!

But, of course, there's more. For this is a 100-page comic and even the Spectre and Batman can't be expected to fill a hundred pages.

Therefore, the Teen Titans prevent an invasion from another dimension, an heir to a throne is assigned to deliver the Sun Ruby to a neighbouring kingdom and, as the Silent Knight, he surmounts all obstacles, Batman's pursuit of a new villain is complicated by Wonder Woman and Batgirl falling in love with him, and we encounter The Many Lives of the Spectre.

On top of all that, Bob Rozakis takes a look at DC heroes whose careers began with their death, or near-death. Off the top of my head, the only ones I can think of who fit that category are the Spectre and Deadman but I've no doubt there are many more where they came from.

It's the first issue of The Shadow I ever read!

And, needless to say, I was impressed.

Granted, not so impressed that I can recall exactly what happens in it but I do recall that it's all kicking off in Central America where people are being killed by a mummy, after disturbing its tomb.

Needless to say, it's all a ruse and the mummy's not the real deal.

Also needless to say, the Shadow knows.

Kirby and Simon give us a cover guaranteed to make sure none of us ever venture into our attic for as long as we might live.

In our first story, a man called Paul Darvas orders a new cloak - only to discover it's been cursed by Asmodeus himself.

Next, we sail into a single-page retelling of the mystery of the Mary Celeste.

Then, someone called Sylvia goes on a date with a Doctor Austin. But it's not long before Sylvia discovers his family's hidden secret.

Finally, while stricken with fever, a young boy describes life in ancient Rome.

And does it in perfect Latin, despite not even being Italian!

Needless to say, these chillers are all reprints. In this case, from the 1950s.

Luis Dominguez's frontispiece seems guaranteed to make even the most jaded of fans want to grab this comic from its position on that spinner rack and take it home with them. While, inside it, we unearth a trio of terrifying tales that boast spine-chilling titles like Doom On Vampire Mountain, Drive-in Death and Blood Moon.

All of them narrated, as we'd expect, by none other than Eve herself.