The Marvel Lucky Bag - September 1986.

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

***

It is time, once more, for me to cast a beady eye across the cinemas of the world, in order to ascertain just what was filling them exactly forty years ago.

And what was filling them was Restless Natives, Blue Velvet, The Name of the Rose, Crocodile Dundee, Half Moon Street, Avenging Force and 'night, Mother.

Of those, I've only seen Blue Velvet, The Name of the Rose and Crocodile Dundee. I'm going to assume The Name of the Rose was the best, although it's so long since I saw it that I can't remember if it was any good or not.

A brand-new graphic novel hits our lives - and our newsagents - when J. M. DeMatteis and Dan Green bring us a story so awesome that it can only be described by two words: Into Shamballa.

Granted, I don't know what actually happens in it but I do know that it's 62 pages long and features first appearances for someone called Maya and someone called the Lords of Shamballa!

But what's this?

We've reached the last-ever issue of Marvel's Star Wars comic?

What can be the explanation for such a cancellation?

Have the people of the world grown tired of the Wars that are Starred?

I have no idea but I do know the Alliance wages its last battle against the Tofs and that it's brought to us by Jo Duffy and Cynthia Martin.

Doc Strange isn't the only one who's landed himself a graphic novel. So has Daredevil, and 63 pages of Miller/Sienkiewicz drama await us when the Kingpin kidnaps a psychologist's wife, in a bid to force the man into helping the voluminous villain's own infirm spouse!

Excitement bubbles over with the arrival of a brand-new limited series containing The Evil Dr Frankenbeans and Cornered in which the Madballs are accidentally created after falling into RUIN Labs' toxic pond. And, then, Colonel Corn, a corncob mutated by that selfsame pond, kidnaps some children as part of his bid to take over the world!

All I can say is it sounds like a life-changing experience.

Web of Spider-Man gets its second-ever annual. One in which Warlock of the non-Adam variety visits New York and causes all sorts of TV-related chaos. I just hope he and the Impossible Man never encounter each other. I don't think the world's ready for that kind of anarchy.

The backup tale, meanwhile, is a thing called You're Lying, Peter Parker! A tale of which I know nothing.

You can never have enough X-Men comics in your life.

And - just to prove it - a new one has appeared.

But it's one that's got me confused. It appears to relate the tale of how the New X-Men were formed when the old ones were captured by Krakoa the Living Island, forcing Professor X to recruit a new team to rescue them.

However, it seems not to be a reprint; drawn, as it is, by John Bolton but with contributions from Dave Cockrum.

It all sounds a rum thing to me, and that's for sure.

Yet another of Spidey's books is demanding to know where the star of the show is.

At least there doesn't seem to be any mystery about where Peter Parker is because, in this one, he tells Mary Jane just how he got back from Appalachia.

But that's the end of his good news because he's later pushed in front of a subway train by an assailant who shall later be revealed to be Venom!

It's not just Star Wars that's about to shake off this mortal coil. Howard the Duck's mag has also hit its final issue.

And it does so with a 30-page epic in which we get to discover just how its star won $10 million and then blew the lot.

September 8th, 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. 

***

September 8th, 1976, was a night of note for all comedy fans, with BBC One showing both Carry On Up the Khyber and the first-ever episode of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.

In the real world, however, the week's events were dominated by flying machines, for good or ill.

It was the week in which Viking 2 landed at Utopia Planitia on Mars and snapped its first close-up colour photos of the planet's surface.

Soviet Air Force pilot Lt Viktor Belenko landed a MiG-25 fighter jet on the Japanese island of Hokkaidō and requested political asylum in the United States.

More darkly, a Lockheed C-130 Hercules belonging to the Venezuelan Air Force crashed in the Azores, killing all 68 occupants.

When it came to the UK singles chart, ABBA were still ruling supreme, thanks to their smash hit Dancing Queen, while the Beach Boys retained command of the neighbouring LP chart with their 20 Golden Greats.

Dancing Queen is, of course, a timeless classic and, even after all these decades, I can indeed still feel the beat from the tambourine but there were other tracks I also approved of on that week's Hit Parade. And among them were:

You Should Be Dancing - the Bee Gees

The Killing of Georgie - Rod Stewart

Blinded by the Light - Manfred Mann's Earth Band

Heaven is in the Back Seat of My Cadillac - Hot Chocolate

and

Sailing {1976} - Rod Stewart.

Should one wish to study the matter in greater detail, that week's UK singles chart may be found here.

And its adjacent album rankings dwell within.

It looks like it's all up for the human race - and for the Fantastic Four and Subby - when Magneto takes command of the Atlantean invasion of New York!

And he has Sue and Dorma hostage!

Still, there's always hope when Reed Richards is around.

Especially as he's built a weapon that could trap the villain in his own magnetic field!

Meanwhile, in his own strip, Subby battles Karthon the Quester for ownership of the Serpent Crown.

Elsewhere, Nick Fury escapes Baron Strucker’s Alpha-Ray execution machine, and the forces of SHIELD rush to locate a bomb that contains spores which threaten all mankind!

And it's big trouble for Captain America who - thanks to the Red Skull - has a tiny but mighty explosive device attached to the back of his neck!

Meanwhile, Ghost Rider battles the demonic Roulette while trying to rescue Roxanne Simpson from a burning building.

It's the story that had to happen! Conan goes to war with vegetation!

But, first, in the Hulk's strip, Glenn Talbot explodes!

Then, no sooner have the Avengers defeated the Mandroids than Triton asks them for help in combating the latest scheme of Maximus the Mad.

When it comes to Conan, not only does the barbarian have to thwart the ambitions of vegetables, he must also deal with the monstrous Pthassiass which, despite its name, isn't some sort of disease but is, instead, a giant monster living in a pool!

Daredevil's investigation into Brother Brimstone’s activities leads him to a design for an experimental exoskeleton, and a possible confrontation at a bunch of tar pits.

It would appear a brand-new tale has arrived on the Planet of the Apes, when Derek Zane returns to continue his search for the missing astronauts from the first movie.

This leads to an alliance with a chimpanzee version of Robin Hood.

But hold on. Is it my imagination or hasn't this tale already been published in this book?

Still, if that's a letdown, there are always the adventures of Ka-Zar to keep us thrilled and, this week, he, Zabu and Illyana escape the Temple of Ilak-Aron. However, I'm sure that won't be the end of their problems with that cult.

The Man-Thing, meanwhile, has troubles of his own when a frightened girl flings water from the Fountain of Youth at him. Just what consequences will that have for such a creature?

Dracula then presents us with a Lieber, Lee and Heck short story in which a sailor investigates a plea for help, in the form of a written message from a mysterious island.

But is the sender of that message as human as one might imagine?

Finally, the latest instalment of Marvel's adaptation of the first Apes movie sees Taylor manage to prove his intelligence to Dr Zira!

Hooray! It's the Mindworm!

Everyone else hates the Mindworm!

But I love the Mindworm!

And we get to see Peter Parker and Flash Thompson share a flat!

I don't know what more a human being could demand of a Spider-Man tale.

In Thor's strip, the thunder god's about to be killed by Hela when Odin steps in and kills her, thus bringing an end to death.

But is that the good news it might initially seem to be?

When it comes to the Invaders, the gang discovers a Nazi scientist has created the evil Master Man by using stolen Super-Soldier research.

A short story then reveals the origin of the Inhumans, featuring a guest appearance by a surprisingly friendly Sentry.

And the Thing gets involved in the activities of a haunted painting of a Scarecrow.

Tony Stark, meanwhile, is once more in the clutches of the villainous Midas and is developing a plan for overcoming the rogue LMD that's taken his place.

Forty years ago today - September 1986.

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

***

Just what does Marvel have to throw at us in the books it has chosen to cover-date "September 1986"?

The world's greatest barbarian gets into yet more bother when King Thamos and his men pursue him across the high seas.

To make things even worse, the Cimmerian and his crew are then, inevitably, captured by pirates!

And I suspect it won't be long before he's captain of that pirate ship.

All I know of this one is we get the return of Happy Hogan and, it seems, the return of Pepper Potts!

But it has just struck me that Marvel has a character called Hogan and a character called Hogun and one of them is happy and one of them is grim.

It certainly makes you think.

It seems there's nothing but trouble brewing for the world's most patriotic punch-up merchant when he dresses up as a member of Ultimatum, in a bid to take on Flag Smasher.

But what's this? Cap then accidentally shoots dead a member of Ultimatum!?!

Needing to raise funds towards Flash's legal costs, our hero's hired by Silver Sable who wants to put a halt to Jack O' Lantern's activities.

But the pair, instead, find themselves up against the Sinister Syndicate!

You might think there'd be more members of the Sinister Syndicate than there are of the Sinister Six but, in fact, there are fewer.

Meanwhile, Ned Leeds leaves Betty, and the Sandman's out for a stroll when he stumbles across the scrap between Spidey and the Syndicate.

But which side, if any, will the silica-slinging super-doer support? Spider-Man and the Silver Sable or the sinister Sinister Syndicate?

It's all hitting the fan now, with both the X-Men and Hellfire Club having to take on the might of Nimrod.

And it's all brought to us by the powerhouse pencils of P. Craig Russell!

While Balder becomes ruler of Asgard, Thor's on Earth where the recently released Thug Thatcher kills a man and becomes the new Zaniac!

I must admit I'm struggling to recall just who was the old Zaniac.

As for this month's cover star, it seems that Justice Peace is based on Judge Dredd.

There are high stakes at stake when Spider-Man tries to protect a runaway boy, with explosive powers, from the attentions of SHIELD and their Mandroids!

With Bruce in a hospital bed and the Hulk clobbered by the Avengers, the duo begin to expand and become intangible!

That sounds like a job for the Vision who, himself, becomes intangible and merges with Bruce before merging Bruce with the Hulk.

But holy horrors, having done that, the Vision then struggles to free himself from the Hulk!

It would appear the Fantastic Four enter the time-warped Central City where they're worshipped as gods!

Daredevil encounters the infuriating infamy of Madcap who, as Nomad once discovered, spouts nothing but cobblers and can't be harmed.

Captain Marvel discovers the Grey Gargoyle, Mister Hyde and Whirlwind have all been broken out of jail.

And then the Grey Gargoyle and Screaming Mimi attempt to break free the evil female version of Yellowjacket!

The Marvel Lucky Bag - September 1976.

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

***

A wise man - or, possibly, woman - once said, "Hooray for Hollywood!" and who am I to argue?

But not all films are made in Hollywood.

Then again, I suspect that all the films listed below were.

Regardless, September 1976 saw the unleashing of the following feature-length theatre-packers into the cinemas of the world. Bugsy Malone, The Front, Mad Dog Morgan, Vigilante Force, High Velocity and Norman... Is That You?

I can honestly say I've only ever heard of one of those movies, and I think you can guess which one it is. However, despite having heard of it and being able to hum the odd song from it, I've never actually seen it. I shall, therefore, have to forego my usual task of nominating a Steve Does Comics Movie of the Month.

You, however, may have your own thoughts as to which are triumph and which are tripe.

Marvel's big news, this month, is the arrival of a brand new hero. One like no other. Albeit one with certain alleged spiritual similarities to the likes of Spider-Man.

And it all happens when the injured Centurion Nova-Prime chooses a successor. And that successor is high schooler Richard Rider.

But, with great power comes great responsibility and, so, our hero then has to battle Nova-Prime's greatest foe, the dreaded Zorr!

As I'm sure we've all noticed, it's the United States' 200th birthday.

And who better to celebrate that than the man who literally wraps himself in its flag every day?

Gasp as, upon meeting the mystic Mister Buda, our hero finds himself sent back to World War II!

Thrill as he becomes Betsy Ross's inspiration for the American flag!

Shudder as he assures Geronimo of the American brotherhood to come!

Tremble as he finds himself in a World War I dogfight, boxes with John Sullivan, helps a fugitive slave, witnesses the first atom bomb test, helps victims of the Chicago fire, visits an undersea lab, finds himself in the middle of a war on the moon and then discovers just what the truth is at the heart of America!

The lord of the vampires' UK mag may have died an undeath but its US counterpart refuses to shake off this mortal coil.

Unlike one of Dracula's victims who comes to him, seeking death.

The world convulses with horror, as a new super-fiend appears in a bid to make all our lives - and especially Spider-Man's - worse.

I remember little of this tale but I do have a feeling the menace is created by the same process that created the Scorpion and that Dr Harlan Stillwell's involved.

It has always struck me as odd that we're expected to think that a man with the powers of a fly is a threat to a man with the powers of a spider. Isn't that rather like pitting a villain called the Antelope against a hero called the Lion?

We all love a good Treasury Edition and Giant Superhero Team-up gives us what we can all hope will be just that.

In our first tale, the Thing and Sub-Mariner battle it out for possession of the evil Serpent Crown, on the streets of New York. I'm not totally sure that qualifies as a team-up.

In our second tale, Daredevil's exposed to radiation, goes mad and takes it out on Captain America in a charity boxing match. That doesn't really sound like a team-up either.

In our third tale, when rival fan clubs discuss who's the stronger, Thor or the Hulk, the thunder god drops in to relate the story of the pair's epic clash in the pages of Avengers #3!

And, in our fourth tale, Laufey, King of the Giants, is killed in battle with Asgard, leading to his newborn son Loki being adopted by Odin.

Come to think of it, none of these stories involves a superhero team-up.

Talk about false advertising.

Union Jack gets centre stage on this month's cover!

Other than that, I'm struggling to say what happens in this one but I'm sure it'll all connect, somehow, with the presence of Baron Blood and his vampiric antics.

And I'm struggling to recall most of what happens in this one too. I am, though, aware that Sersi makes her debut in a yarn titled The Devil in New York.

From that title, I'm going to assume it involves the Deviants attacking New York City, and our heroes having to take action against them.

Everyone's favourite barbarian gets his second annual in 10,000 years and, in it, we encounter Marvel's adaptation of The Phoenix on the Sword, as brought to us by Roy Thomas and Vicente Alcázar.

The penultimate issue of Amazing Adventures brings us Keith Giffen and Bill Mantlo's contrivance for introducing a whole host of Marvel's most popular heroes into the strip without breaking continuity when Killraven enters an automated museum and becomes involved in the dreams of the man trapped in there.

September 1st, 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. 

***

Get down the disco and cover yourself in glitter because, as recently mentioned by Colin Jones, this week in 1976 saw ABBA's Dancing Queen hit the Number One spot on the British singles chart. A move which cemented their position as the late 1970s' supreme musical force. Was there anyone not excited by this development?

Of course there wasn't!

The album chart, however, was still being dominated by the Beach Boys, thanks to their 20 Golden Greats album.

It may have been a good week for those two bands but it wasn't so great for the people of Yorkshire who saw drought measures introduced in their county.

I do believe the FF have finally managed to convince Subby that Magneto isn't his friend and that invading the surface world on his say-so is a bad idea.

But it may be too late because the foul, ferrous-flinging, fiend of infamy has kidnapped Sue Storm and Lady Dorma and is now holding them hostage!

In Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze prepares for a demolition derby but someone called Dude Jensen - presumably no relation to Kid - has hired a killer to eliminate rival driver Red Thompson! Presumably no relation to Emma.

Elsewhere, the Red Skull's agents kidnap Sharon Carter, causing Cap to visit Exile Island, home, not surprisingly, to the Exiles. I am suspecting this is their first appearance in the pages of Marvel UK.

Speaking of geriatric Germans, Nick Fury infiltrates Hydra Island but is captured after discovering their leader is none other than his old World War Two adversary Baron Strucker!

And the Sub-Mariner returns to Atlantis - only to find his people worshipping someone called Naga and rejecting their prince as their rightful ruler.

And it's all the fault, I'm assuming, of the Serpent Crown!

I spot a cover by Happy Herb Trimpe.

It does strike me that having your eyeballs on stalks may do wonders for your image if you're trying to look disturbing but I can't help feeling it's a serious disadvantage in an actual fist-fight, making it far too easy for your foe to do you a mischief.

Elsewhere, Ka-Zar finds himself confronted by the Devil-God of Sylitha! although I suspect it may just be its cult of human sacrifice he has to contend with.

Deep in the Everglades, after a clash with rapidly ageing conquistadors, the Man-Thing finds a village built around the legendary Fountain of Youth.

The Steve Ditko short, Behind My Door Waits... Medusa!, sees a curio shop owner tell his customers that a strange statue is a burglar turned to stone by a Gorgon. Can such a claim be true?

And in the latest instalment of Marvel's adaptation of the first Planet of the Apes movie, Taylor finds himself Captive of Hate! Not to mention being a captive of Zira who starts to suspect he may have more smarts than the average human.

It's another classic issue, as the Inhumans get attacked by the Mandroids and then Triton shows up.

But, before that, the Hulk accidentally defeats Warlord Kaa when the setting sun and floodlights destroy the villain's shadow-based powers.

But what's this? The tale ends with Colonel Armbruster shooting Bruce Banner dead!?!

It's wolf-based action for Conan when a woman called Lupalina agrees to help him rescue Stefanya from Torkal Moh.

And Daredevil's still in Hollywood and trying to get to the heart of just which member of a TV show's crew is the murderous Brother Brimstone.

Drama hits ever-new heights, when not only does Harry Osborn kidnap Flash, MJ and Aunt May, he also straps a time-bomb to one of them and challenges Spider-Man to work out which one most needs rescuing!

But what's this? A brand new strip for us to peruse?

Sadly, it's just The Invaders in which Captain America, Bucky, the original Human Torch, Toro and Sub-Mariner must join forces to thwart the aims of Nazis everywhere.

And there's trouble for Tony Stark when he's replaced by an evil Life Model Decoy. An act that leaves Stark penniless, before Madame Masque shows up and captures him!

In the Savage Land, the human race is saved because the Thing and Ka-Zar defeat the man called Volcanus and his plan to devastatingly exploit the area's volcanic energy.

But it looks like it's game over for Thor, as Hela catches up with him and forces him to surrender to prevent her from ageing a bunch of firefighters to death!

Fifty years ago today - September 1976.

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

***

It seems that September 1976 was an exciting month for all lovers of talking frogs, amorous pigs and indeterminate crow-like creatures because it was the month in which The Muppet Show was broadcast for the very first time.

To be honest, I was never a fan of them. They were far too energetic and positive for my liking and kept bursting into song at every opportunity.

Fortunately, there was one group of characters in my life who could never be called a bunch of Muppets.

And those were the heroes of Marvel!

I genuinely have no idea what happens in this one, other than from the cover giving me the impression that a brand-new lineup of Avengers is being introduced - possibly to be selected by a mass punch-up!

Perhaps more importantly, the internet informs me that this tale contains the first appearance of Wonder Man since his death in the book's early days.

I believe this is the lead-up to the tale in which Conan, Red Sonja and Bêlit scrap it out for ownership of the dreaded Book of Skelos. Only for Kull to somehow get dragged into it all.

But that's for the future. I suspect that, right now, Conan and Bêlit get to fight each other. Presumably as a result of some sorcery or other.

I believe I've never read this epic and can, thus, voice no opinions upon it but I do know that Brother Wonderful is in it, even though I have no idea who that is.

Hooray! Torgo's back - and so are the Skrulls - as the Fantastic Four strive to find a planet for Galactus to eat instead of Counter-Earth.

And Psyklop is more than back in a tale that I suspect can only mean bad news for Jarella.

However, that is the total sum of my knowledge of this adventure.

And I know nothing at all about this one, other than it not only featuring the return of the Controller but, also, appearances by the Scrounger, the Blood Brothers, Harry Key and Michael O'Brien, which is more threats than you can shake a stick at!

The Tinkerer is back - and with a cover that clearly owes much to the front of Amazing Spider-Man #98, as we encounter the tragic demise of the Spider-Mobile.

Even more tragically, I do believe this issue claims the Tinkerer isn't an alien and that he was just pretending to be, during his first appearance.

Needless to say, this is a development of which I cannot approve.

I don't know what it is. The thunder god just can't stop getting into clashes with the goddess of death.

This time, it's down to him looking for the missing Odin in to a quest that leads him to the depths of Hel itself!

A threat on a much lower level is encountered by Daredevil when the Jester reappears.

However, not having read this one, I cannot say just what the villain's plan may be.

The GCD informs me that this issue features a letter from the Amazing Randi, claiming that Uri Geller doesn't have genuine magic powers!

And it also features a letter from Geller insisting that he does!

High controversy indeed!

Phantom Stranger #41. Will the Real Black Orchid Please Stand Up?

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

***

Those with keen memories will know that, just three months ago, I took a look at the last issue of the Bronze Age run of the Phantom Stranger's legendary comic.

But the fedora-flaunting downfall of fools and fiends wasn't the only star of that book, as there was also a backup strip. One that starred none other than the Black Orchid.

Or perhaps I should say it starred a whole gang of Black Orchids.

For in the mag's previous issue, heiress and Black Orchid fan Ronne Kuhn had been invited to join a secret society composed entirely of Black Orchids!

Yes, it was true. In a shocking development, there was never one Orchid. There were a whole bunch of them who worked together to fight crime. And so impressed by Ronne were they that they invited her to become a member of their team.

But it turned out she'd been duped. They weren't Black Orchids at all. They were a gang of criminals and had hoodwinked her into helping them commit their latest heist, the robbery of a bank vault!

Holey Moley!

Now, at the start of this month's instalment, they've tied her to that vault's door, along with a bomb that's all set to blow it - and her - to kingdom come!

Is it curtains for the woman dressed as a woman whose costume seems to have been made from curtains?

No, it isn't because, just as all seems lost, the real Black Orchid appears, tears the vault door off its hinges, with her bare hands and flings it into the sky where it won't do any harm to anyone apart from anyone stood beneath it when it showers a rain of deadly chunks of metal down on them.

That menace dealt with, the Orchid and Ronne quickly set about rounding up the wrongdoers, with Ronne capturing their ringleader Karen, via the judicious use of a fire hose.

Of course, job done, the Orchid disappears, as she always does, leaving Ronne to deal with the police who are convinced she's the real Black Orchid.

It has to be said it's a very simple episode, reminiscent of the Golden Age days of heroes who'd simply burst in and give the villains a good leathering with no difficulty at all. But, then, it never was a strip that had you worried about the survival chances of its heroine.

However, it's interesting to see the Orchid make reference to Batman, Robin and even the Justice League, even though I've always been under the impression that, like the 1970s Spectre stories, the idea behind the strip is that it takes place in a world in which super-heroes - apart from the protagonist - don't exist. I can only put this down to writer Michael Fleisher and his legendary continuity adviser Russell Carley possibly forgetting this.

Then again, I could just have always been wrong and maybe it is set on a world in which super-heroes exist.

Regardless, I approve of it being set in a world in which super-heroes exist.

And we should be honest about it, writing is for wimps. The appeal of the strip was always its art and it has to be said that this issue's penciller Fred Carrillo is no Nestor Redondo but he does, at least, give us a style that's in the same ballpark.

And so it's all over for the heroine and, as the book hits cancellation, she, for now, departs our lives, as big a mystery as she was when first she appeared. Was she a scientist? Was she a supernatural being? Was she - given the nature of her various powers - Supergirl in disguise?

It looks like, unless some fool brings her back and gives her an origin story, we shall never find out.

Just as long as she doesn't turn out to be a human/plant hybrid.

I don't think I'd ever get over that.