Fifty years ago today - October 1976.

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

***

A new month is with us and the nights are drawing in.

But Marvel's artists are also drawing in.

They're drawing in comics.

And these are those.

Now the Avengers are in trouble - because it's the mind-melting debut of Chicken Man, or whatever it is he's called!

And, thanks to him, we encounter a tale of Voodoo that restores Wonder Man to both life and the pages of the Avengers and leads to all manner of internal and external conflict for the Vision.

Still, I suppose the Grim Reaper will be happy.

This is exciting for me. Not only did I have this one, I also had the next three issues!

And I do believe Conan takes a break from trying to beat Red Sonja to a page from the Book of Skelos, in order to free Yusef from prison, at the request of the returning but pregnant Tara.

I'm not totally sure what happens in this story but I do know it features Brother Inquisitor, Brother Wonderful and Texas Jack Muldoon. And, from that cover, it looks like it might all spell curtains for Cap and the Falcon.

Is my memory betraying me or was Death's Head's horse just a normal horse painted to look like a skeleton? If so, exactly how could that fool anyone standing within a hundred feet of it?

More importantly, it seems our hero's in San Francisco and looking for a kidnapped Karen Page.

Of course, that leads him into conflict with both Death's Head and the Smasher.

But why do I have no memory at all of DD ever fighting the latter of those two villains?

Also, what's the Smasher even doing there?

Not only did I have a run of Conans in this period, I also had a run of Fantastic Fours.

And thus did I have this one. One in which Galactus threatens to eat Counter-Earth, and the High Evolutionary must hold him off until the quartet can find a planet willing to become a meal.

And, as luck would have it, that proves a perfect moment for the return of the Impossible Man!

I possess no memory of this one but the internet informs me that Kronus sends Hulkie back in time to relive the events that transformed Bruce Banner into the monster, so that he can correct Banner's mistakes and make sure the Hulk never came into existence.

Of course, if that happened, the Hulk wouldn't be able to go back in time and prevent his own creation, meaning he'd continue to exist.

I remember Kang coming up with a remarkably similar plan, several years earlier.

I thought that one was stupid too.

More importantly, this issue sees the short-lived return of Herb Trimpe to the strip.

I'm certain I've never encountered this tale and, thus, know only that the Controller's involved and that the Blood Brothers also put in an appearance. 

You can never get enough of the New X-Men.

And that means you can never get enough of Nightcrawler.

At least, that's how I felt upon reading this tale for the first time.

And it's high stakes at the funfair when Spider-Man and Kurt Wagner both witness a shooting and each thinks the other's to blame.

I don't know. Will Marvel heroes never see sense?

And could it all set up a clash with the Punisher?

Not only was my youthful self always happy to see New X-Men, it was also always pleased to see Ulik, even if he always let me down by being too easily bested by Thor.

This was disappointing to me, given how dangerous the troll was portrayed as being in their first encounter.

But that's not all. Also in this issue, we find a seven-page Tale of Asgard called The Weapon and the Warrior!, as created by David Anthony Kraft and 

Pablo Marcos.

It's a classic cover to an epoch-making issue, as the X-Men return to Earth, with a splash and the Phoenix makes her universe-shaking debut!

And, of course, that's a cue for a holiday in an Irish castle!

September 29th, 1976 - 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. 

***

Nurse! Bring me my chart!

Thank you, Nurse. I see that ABBA are still holding sway over the UK Top 40, as they have been for several weeks, thanks to Dancing Queen.

But there's a new king on the neighbouring album rankings, courtesy of The Best of The Stylistics Vol. 2 seizing the Number One spot from the Beach Boys.

But man doesn't live by music alone. Sometimes, he needs to see grown men punching each other in the face. How fortunate, then, that September 29th 1976 sees BBC One broadcast the third encounter between Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton.

It's a truly groundbreaking storyline, as the Thing starts to turn towards the path of evil for only the nineteenth time in his career!

And it all happens because he was left in a chair for too long!

Captain America confronts Batroc, the Swordsman and the Living Laser, thanks to them having planted a seismo-bomb in Manhattan. Can America's greatest talisman defeat the villains and locate the device?

And will Batroc help him?

Far from there, Nick Fury defeats Baron Strucker and ensures that a Death Spore destroys Hydra's secret island.

But it's a bad start to the day for Prince Namor who's wrongly blamed for a torpedo attack while Captain Barracuda's trying to conquer the world with his newly acquired sonic weapon.

And the Ghost Rider - still on a quest to thwart the hordes of Zodiac - now comes up against Taurus!

Derek Zane having reached the end of his latest adventure, a brand-new series is launched in the UK's favourite publication about talking apes.

And that series is Quest for the Planet of the Apes. A series I possess no recollection of. But it seems it's a sequel to Conquest of the Planet of The Apes.

However, in a land far to the south of us, Ka-Zar and Tongah go to the aid of the imprisoned Zebra-Men. Only for someone called Sheesa to set an army of the dead on our heroes!

In the Man-Thing's strip, F. A. Schist tries to discover the secret of La Hacienda's Fountain of Youth.

And Drac is back!

But only to introduce the elderly short Gorgolla! The Living Gargoyle!! In which a student discovers that gargoyles are an alien race that's preparing to conquer our world!

Finally, Marvel's adaptation of the first Apes movie continues with an instalment called ...Run for Your Life!

From that title, I'm going to assume it covers the part of the film in which Taylor gets chased around Ape City by gorillas.

As we can guess from that cover, the Hulk quickly finishes off the Devastator.

More shockingly, an autopsy reveals that Glenn Talbot had fake fingerprints - meaning the man who blew himself up in a bid to rapidly disassemble the United States President was, in fact, an impostor!

No sooner have they liberated Attilan than the Avengers set off for the Andromeda Galaxy to rescue their friends from the Skrulls.

And, in a zone far more negative than our own, Rick Jones is about to have a run-in with Annihilus!

Readers will be relieved to hear Conan and Stefanya escape the clutches of Pthassiass!

Over in Hollywood, Karen Page has landed yet another of those acting roles that always lead to her near-death.

And, this time, it's going to be at the hands - or wheels - of the Stilt-Man who's decided it'll be a jolly wheeze to impersonate the Stunt-Master. 

More importantly, Karen chooses to pursue her acting career rather than return to New York with Matt Murdock.

Gerry Conway does like to revive old villains by having them be replaced by impostors. Hot on the heels of Fake Vulture and Fake Green Goblin, he's at it again, as Fake Mysterio seeks to succeed where the real one always failed.

Needless to say, he promptly fails where the real one always failed.

Also, this issue sees the seeming death of the Spider-Mobile.

Thor has no time to do anything about the fact that Loki's seized the throne of Asgard and wants to marry Sif, because the unstoppable Durok the Destroyer is rampaging about on Earth! And only the thunder god has any chance of stopping him!

I must confess that I do keep misreading "Durok" as "Derek." Somehow, Derek the Destroyer doesn't possess the same sense of drama.

And, speaking of drama, having survived a life-threatening heart operation, Tony Stark discovers that Madame Masque is, in fact, former Maggia boss Whitney Frost!

It's Teutonic torment for the Invaders when they must battle the Germanic gods Donar, Froh and Loga!

And those silly sausages the Frightful Four have accidentally opened Reed Richards' gateway to the Negative Zone. One which Annihilus plans to make full use of.

Fortunately, Spider-Man and the Human Torch manage to defeat the villains and prevent the insect from invading our world.

Speak Your Brain! Part 135.

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

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

Everyone knows that this is the site that likes to give you more!

And, as luck - and timing - would have it, that's what we're all going to get, as this month sees us experiencing its third edition of the feature that readers can't get enough of.

And that's the one in which you and you alone get to decide just what we'll be talking about.

Remember, no government, military force, intergalactic empire nor tech-bro billionaire can stifle your voice on this forum.*

Therefore, make sure to lodge your subject for debate in the comments section below, before the forces of government orthodoxy, military security, Silicon Valley and outer space put a stop to it, like they would if they only listened to the public or had the sense they were born with.

(*This claim may not be technically true. Always consult a lawyer before trusting legal advice from Steve Does Comics.)

The DC Lucky Bag - September 1976.

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

***

Colin Jones recently pointed out in the comments section that pub landlord and Philosopher Supreme Al Murray once declared that DC don't care about us.

But do we care about DC?

Here's where we find out.

As you would expect, Superman's not failed to notice that the country he lives in is 200 years old

However, much of the book is composed of reprints from the 1940s and 50s and we kick off with a short tale in which the man of steel uses a time projector to watch men called Tomahawk and Dan Hunter have their first encounter with George Washington.

That's followed by stories bearing such diverse titles as Adventure in New York!, The Magic Tomahawk!, The First Sub and Frontier Theater!

There's also a tale in which George Washington's men suffer through Valley Forge.

Then, Tomahawk and Dan Hunter are back. And, this time, they discover a friend has joined the British army, meaning they must engage in a battle of wits with him! Of course, they could just join the British army too and avoid such unpleasantness but that doesn't seem to have occurred to them.

We also encounter a bonus feature that showcases a newspaper from that war. One which covers various events from the conflict, including its conclusion.

There's also a Map of the Battle of Bunker Hill, a feature that tells us Who Were the Hessians and a page dedicated to the Presidents of the United States.

But it's not just Supes who's landed a Limited Collectors' Edition. So have his friends at the Justice League.

Not for them concerns about the Bicentennial. Instead, they kick off with a 24-page epic titled Decoy Missions of the Justice League! followed by The JLA on TV, The Deadly Dreams of Doctor Destiny! and a whole host of short features, puzzles and pin-ups.

Needless to say, most of this content is reprinted from the 1960s.

Can it be? Can the Swamp Thing have reached his final issue?

Yes he can and, judging by that cover, he gets a smack in the chops while he's at it.

I have read this book and I would tell you what happens in it but I can't recall anything that happens in it.

Obviously, there's a yellow man who likes wearing purple and he's got it in for our hero.

I do, however, know the story's called The Earth Below and is brought to us by the talents of David Anthony Kraft, Gerry Conway and Ernie Chan.

Swamp Thing may be saying goodbye to the world but Starfire's saying hello to it, as issue #1 of her comic introduces us to a plot in which she escapes from someone called the Mygorg, learns to fight, frees some slaves and starts building an army!

This busy woman's brought to us by David Michelinie and Mike Vosburg and is not to be confused with a whole slew of other comicbook characters who bear the same name.

And another new book arrives in our lives. This time, with a memorable cover by Joe Kubert, while Robert Kanigher, Kubert and the Redondo Studio unveil an adventure that reveals The Origin of the Tatterdemalion.

The Joker, meanwhile, has already reached the end of his road and the last issue of his book sees the clown prince of crime confront the feline femme of felony when each of them foolishly attempts to kidnap the same movie star.

This may not be a new comic but it has returned, following a four-year absence.

And it does so explosively when a nuclear test reveals a long-buried spaceship, causing our heroes to attempt the liberation of an alien from his captors.

But can it be that all is not as it seems?

And will the two men stand around having an argument about it that reflects their different outlooks on life?

I know little of the contents of this one but I do know that, thanks to Martin Pasko and Ramona Fradon, Wonder Woman helps the Freedom Fighters clear their name.

September 22nd, 1976 - 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. 

***

Marvel UK.

What craziness is it up to now?

John Romita's short run on the Fantastic Four reaches its dramatic conclusion with victory over the "monster" that's been rampaging through the streets of New York.

But that's nothing compared to the nightmare to come, as the Thing's been left in a high-tech chair in the Baxter Building with no one around to make sure it doesn't kill him!

When it comes to Captain America, still with Red Skull's nuclear tape attached to the back of his neck, the star-spangled Frisbee flinger's forced to return to Exile Island and combat the ageing war criminals after whom it's named. But not to worry. SHIELD is working on a way to help him.

Speaking of SHIELD; in his own strip, Nick Fury's still fighting Baron Strucker.

And Strucker has a Satan-Claw!

But who cares about that? Nick's got a face-changing gizmo. And that's a lot more use in a fight, it appears.

Subby's got plenty on his plate when Captain Barracuda sneaks into a naval base and steals its Sonic Magno-Directoid.

I have no idea what that is but have no doubt it's a thing you wouldn't want a man called Captain Barracuda to get his hands on. Frankly, I wouldn't even want Captain Haddock to get his hands on it.

And the Ghost Rider has more on his plate than even that when he discovers he's going to have to take on the whole of Zodiac. Frankly, given how useless he is in most of his fights, I don't fancy his chances.

Hooray! The Kree/Skrull War reaches the Great Refuge and I believe we're given the reason why Maximus went mad!

Needless to say, it's all the fault of that bounder Black Bolt!

But, before that, we have the spectacle of the Hulk vs the Devastator who I remember being some sort of Russian spy in a suit of armour and causing trouble on Gamma Base.

But, of course, no armour's going to protect him for long from the incredible one.

As far as I can make out, Conan's still stuck in the tale that humanity can only know as The Dweller in the Pool!

And there are more Hollywood woes for Daredevil when the Stilt-Man arrives in Tinseltown and disguises himself as the Stunt-Master, in a bid to catch our hero unawares!

From memory, I think his plan involves him attaching his stilts to the side of his motorbike and pretending they're super-fancy rockets intended to make the thing jump further.

Sadly, my knowledge of this week's issue is limited but, from that cover, I think it's safe to assume the reprint of Marvel's adaptation of the first Apes movie has reached the point at which Taylor gets caught in a net and blurts out his iconic line.

I'm also going to assume that we get the conclusion of Derek Zane's latest adventure.

I do know for certain that, after last week's absence, the Man-Thing is back and that ruthless businessman F. A. Schist has entered La Hacienda, in a bid to prevent the muck monster from inflicting damage upon its valuable Fountain of Youth!

And I'm going to guess that Ka-Zar and Tongah are having to assist the Zebra-Men who've been captured and imprisoned by a wrong 'un called Zaurai.

The tension's so taut that you could cut it with a knife and it would slap you in the face, like an over-tightened rubber band, as the Jackal attaches a spy device to Peter Parker's arm and declares it can't be removed without blowing his arm off!

Needless to say, Petey removes it without blowing his arm off and then polishes off the Grizzly too, for good measure.

Will the Jackal never learn that he'll never get one over on our hero?

When it comes to Thor, Loki has control of Asgard - thanks to now possessing the Odin-Ring - and he intends to marry Sif!

Thor's not big on that idea and neither is Sif but, then, to keep the thunder god out of the way, Loki creates Durok the Destroyer and sets him off rampaging away on Midgard!

Elsewhere, Tony Stark finally overcomes the cheeky LMD that's taken his place - but at the cost of a heart attack that may just claim his life!

Meanwhile, the Invaders live up to their name and invade a small part of Germany, in a bid to prevent the villainous Brain Drain from doing whatever it is he's planning to do. However, on their way there, they're attacked by three Teutonic warrior gods!

And Spider-Man and the Human Torch must team-up when the Frightful Four launch their latest bid to take over the Baxter Building. Unfortunately, the cloddish quartet then open the gateway to the Negative Zone and suddenly have to deal with Annihilus trying to enter our world and take it over!

Speak Your Brain! Part 134. Marvel vs DC!

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

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

If speech is free, this is a feature that, like Elsa the lioness, was born free.

Personally, I always preferred Clarence the cross-eyed lion and Flipper the friendly dolphin but that's a whole other topic.

But, speaking of topics, that's just what we're here for tonight, as it's one of those evenings in which you - not I - get to decide just what we must discuss.

Many and varied have been the subjects tackled on Speak Your Brain over the years and I have no doubt that many and varied will be the ones discussed in the years to come.

What I do have doubts about is just what today's theme shall be.

But that's as it should be, as only you can end those doubts. Therefore, whatever it is your heart burns to know, say, hear, contemplate or discuss, make sure to bring our attention to it in the comments section below.

2000 AD - August 1988.

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

***

Thinking about it, I'm fairly certain that every cinema I'd been in as a child was no longer standing, by August 1988, with Sheffield's Gaumont and ABC having recently gone the same way as the Classic, Rex and Odeon cinemas.

Still, that's not to say that picture houses didn't exist anywhere.

And that was good news because films were still being released and still needed somewhere to be shown.

Thus it was that the month saw the unleashing of such box office behemoths as The Last Temptation of Christ, Mac and Me, Young Guns, Married to the Mob, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4, Crossing Delancey, The Thin Blue Line and a remake of The Blob.

Of those films, I think the only one I've seen is the remake of The Blob which I don't remember anything about, apart from not liking it. I am, therefore, going to take a total stab in the dark and assume that Married to the Mob is the best of that bunch. I have no idea if it really is but that, regardless, is my verdict.

When it comes to music, I'm on firmer ground.

And I do know there was only one song in town, that August and it was the noticeably high-pitched The Only Way Is Up by Yazz and The Plastic Population which spent the whole month at Number One in the UK, meaning that, despite its title, it had no way to go but sideways.

On the accompanying album chart, August kicked off with Now That's What I Call Music! 12 hogging top spot before it was dethroned by that queen of Neighbours, Kylie Minogue, with her eponymous album of the same name.

And what of the galaxy's greatest comic?

As we might perhaps expect, it was serving up a diet of Nemesis the Warlock, Sláine, Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Tharg's Future-Shocks, Tribal Memories, Hap Hazzard and Strontium Dog.

But Prog 589 also saw the return of Grant Morrison's Zenith in a tale snappily titled Phase II/Prologue: Down Under.

But what's this? The front of that issue boasts that it contains more colour, more pages and more thrill-power than ever before! Can this be true?

While I can pass no judgement as to just how much thrill-power it possesses, I can confirm that it does indeed contain more pages, featuring, as it does, 36 of the things, instead of the usual 32. Truly, 2000 AD is destined to take over the universe!