May 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. 

***

This week in 1976 saw disaster hit the Friuli area of Italy when an earthquake struck, killing more than 900 people and leaving another 100,000 homeless.

Things were lighter in Britain with Liverpool winning their ninth Football League title, thanks to a 3–1 away win over already-relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers.

And what of the UK singles chart?

At last, the Brotherhood of Man had been toppled from the pinnacle!

And what an irony that it should be by ABBA, the band they modelled themselves so closely upon. The sensational Swedes managed it with their latest platter that shattered Fernando.

The Scandinavians were also triumphant on the accompanying LP chart, thanks to their Greatest Hits album seizing the top spot.

Fernando is, of course, a classic but there were other tracks I also liked on that week's Hit Parade. Amongst them were:

S-S-S-Single Bed - Fox

All by Myself - Eric Carmen

Girls Girls Girls - Sailor

Arms of Mary - Sutherland Brothers and Quiver

I'm Mandy Fly Me - 10cc

Fool to Cry - the Rolling Stones

Hey Jude {1976} - the Beatles

Devil Woman - Cliff Richard

Blueberry Hill {1976} - Fats Domino

and

Show Me the Way - Peter Frampton.

Should one wish to further pursue the issues raised in this post, that singles chart can be found here.

While the corresponding album chart dwells within.

I know little of this week's Conan adventure, other than that the cover says he's in the Garden of Death.

I can only assume this means he must battle killer vegetables.

I have no doubt he defeats them.

Also as revealed on the cover, the Black Panther tells his origin story to the Avengers. And who would have guessed the forces of AIM were involved?

Meanwhile, Shang-Chi finds himself up against a robot created by someone called Mordillo.

And the Phantom Eagle's still doing something or other in World War One.

Unless I miss my guess, we've reached the return of the Tom Sutton pencilled saga set on a huge ship. And, this time, it encounters another huge ship. But, even more dramatically, it has to survive an encounter with a giant sea-monster!

Ka-Zar's still up against El Tigre and a super-intelligent Maa-Gor who continue to plan their takeover of the planet.

And I do believe we reach the senses-shattering conclusion of the Black Panther's battle with Killmonger, as a child comes to the rescue and some of us feel cheated that it wasn't the Panther who caused the villain's downfall.

Spider-Man wraps up his fight with the Hulk but, more importantly, this tale introduces me to the word, "Geodesic."

And to think they say comics aren't educational.

Thor's still trapped in Mephisto's realm, while Loki, in the thunder god's body, only goes and threatens the United Nations.

Iron Man's managed to convince everyone that one of SHIELD's LMDs is Tony Stark, in order to help protect his secret identity. But Jasper Sitwell's not bothered about that. He's more concerned over the disappearance of his beloved Whitney Frost.

Dr Strange is in the Dark Dimension, trying to put an end to Umar's latest plans. But, perhaps, more significantly, Clea discovers who her real father is!

And the Thing has plenty to worry about, with the mighty Thor under the spell of the Puppet Master and out to kill the other members of the Fantastic Four!

It looks like a lucky break for horror writer Harold Harold Harold who's promised his editor he can get an interview with a vampire and, wouldn't you know it, he then stumbles across a weakened Dracula. It seems Harold³ might just achieve his goal.

In a swampier vein, I believe the Man-Thing, Korrek and Howard the Duck are confronted by a bunch of unkillable demons before Dakimh the Enchanter gets involved.

And I think the Ghost Rider's heading towards an encounter with a mysterious exorcist called Daimon Hellstrom.

As that cover makes clear, the Hulk's managed to land on Counter-Earth, thanks to having been put on board the Inhumans' rocket.

And his arrival on that planet has attracted the attention of none other than the President of its United States!

Following that, Daredevil's promised Karen he's going to quit super-heroing but immediately has to change his mind when the Stunt-Master turns up at a parade he's attending and tries to kill him.

Meanwhile, the X-Men team up with a number of their own enemies to take on the Mutant Master who turns out to not be a mutant at all but a monster from outer space!

And we finish the tale with our heroes all getting brand new costumes, designed by Jean!

After that, we encounter a Roy Thomas/Werner Roth short which reveals the origin of Cyclops.

The Fantastic Four are still trapped in Latveria.

And now they have to bring a halt to a gang of rampaging robots, as Stan Lee's words and Jack Kirby's pictures start to increasingly deviate from each other.

On an island, somewhere, Captain America must face a Bucky furious with him for leaving him to die.

But is it Bucky?

Or is it all a plot by that bounder the Red Skull?

I suspect the Sub-Mariner's discovering more about his origins.

Nick Fury and his agents of SHIELD are doing something or other.

But hold the front pages!

The world's in serious trouble!

Because Rick Jones has been captured by Thanos!

Thankfully, the superstar singing sensation may be about to get some help - and exposition - from two men called Eros and Mentor.

The Marvel Lucky Bag - May 1976.

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

***

Guess how many of the following films I've ever seen.

Grizzly, The Missouri Breaks, Embryo, Drive-In, Mother, Jugs & Speed, Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood, Leadbelly and The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane.

That's right. I've not seen a single one of them. Although I have, at least, heard the Sad Cafe Song inspired by The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane.

Such filmic ignorance makes me wonder just what I was doing in May 1976, seeing as that was the month in which they were all released.

And not just those.

For it was also a period that unleashed a film called Hawmps! upon us. All I know of it is it starred James Hampton, Christopher Connelly, Slim Pickens and Denver Pyle, and the internet informs me it's an American Western comedy inspired by the United States Camel Corps. I can, therefore, only view it as the American equivalent of Carry On Follow that Camel.

But wait a minute.

I do know what I was doing, that month.

I was reading Marvel comics!

Melodrama hits heights never before dreamt of in human history, as the latest Marvel Treasury Edition reprints the whole of the original Mangog Saga!

Can human hearts withstand such a strain?

More to the point, can the mighty Thor withstand Mangog's knuckles?

We all love Gene Colan and Tom Palmer drawing Dr Strange.

We all love Gene Colan and Tom Palmer drawing Dracula.

Why not have them draw both in one comic?

That's exactly what we get when the lord of the undead comes up against the master of the mystic arts.

And, somehow, wins!

There's never a dull moment for Killraven - and, this month the defender of our world discovers a Martian nursery.

However, judging by that cover, it seems Carmilla Frost doesn't approve of his plan to kill all of its Martian babies.

The fight against bigotry continues, as the Panther decides to interrupt a Ku Klux Klan rally.

That memorable cover's credited to Frank Thorne although it's clear John Romita's done a sizeable amount of work on it.

As for the insides, the flaming-follicled foiler of fiends, foes, folderols, flibbertigibbets and reckless prestidigitators enters a town that's being pestered by a Gorgon!

It's the team-up that had to happen!

Said no one ever.

However, it's happened, nonetheless, as everyone's favourite web-slinger finds himself in the future, only to discover it's been invaded by Martians and, now, he must join forces with the man we all know as Killraven.

Malcolm McNeill produces a memorable cover before we enter the mag and encounter Society of the Psychedrome and SFX on the Planet of the Apes.

Not to mention Army of Slaves! which only happens to be Part 5 of Marvel's adaptation of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes!

Fifty years ago today - May 1976.

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

***

A new month has begun and an appropriate post is born.

The Vision, getting a bit defeatist there.

Also, he seems to be calling Captain America, "My love."

It seems a new era has begun in the life of everyone's favourite android.

But, then again, perhaps he's right to be alarmed.

After all, he and his gang have found themselves on the Squadron Supreme's world. The one that seems to be in a state of permanent existential crisis.

And the Serpent Crown seems to be involved!

Conan seems to have taken to riding around on a giant pig, which is an unlikely new look for him.

As for Dagon, I first heard of him in an HP Lovecraft tale whose title currently eludes me. I seem to recall it involving fish people and a mysterious island.

Come to think of it, that tale may have been called Dagon.

Then again, it might not have been.

I'm not sure I have total faith in a story guest-starring Uri Geller to be a literary masterpiece.

I'm also not sure the phrase, "Think Tank," strikes terror into my heart.

I do, however, like it when we get to see multiple Daredevils in one shot, in order to signify movement.

As regards plot, it seems the man without fear and the man without usable cutlery unite to take on the deadly scheme of Mind-Wave.

If Mind-Wave's plans depend on having straight spoons, he's in serious trouble.

All I know about this one is what's on the cover.

From it, I'm assuming Ben Grimm's now been given his Thing-like exoskeleton, so he can resume his crime-fighting career.

Doc Samson helps Clay Quartermain and Thunderbolt Ross capture the Hulk in an adventure I assume to be setting things up for the tale in which the sock-it-to-'em psychiatrist does some rummaging around in the Hulk's subconscious.

I've no knowledge at all of this one but am - based on no evidence but his powers - going to assume Blizzard is the early Iron Man villain formerly known as Jack Frost.

It's the Wedding of the Year, as a not-overly memorable villain makes his debut and tries to rob all the guests at Betty and Ned's big bash.

I don't like to sit in judgement but I can't help feeling that, when you can be defeated by a chandelier falling on you, you're probably not a top-drawer wrong-doer.

Then again, at least you're not a villain who can be defeated by a big fan.

I've no information as to what happens in this one. Therefore, I'm going to assume Thor and Firelord are in one of those mythical South/Central American countries that Marvel is so fond of.

No doubt, this means some low-down dictator's going to get a good slapping and a quick overthrow.

Jack Kirby again portraying Captain America on the brink of total hysteria.

As for what happens inside, Cap and the Falcon are victorious in the Elite's skateboarding contest from Hell but, holy smoke, the duo's refusal to accept the winners' pot of gold prompts the spectators to attack them!

May 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. 

***

This week in 1976 was not a happy one for fans of comedy, as it saw 62-year-old actor and Carry On mainstay Sid James die from a heart attack, on stage at the Sunderland Empire Theatre. An event most of the audience assumed to be part of the show.

It was, though, a far happier time for Southampton F.C. who won their first major trophy when a Bobby Stokes goal gave the Second Division club an unexpected 1–0 victory over Manchester United in that year's FA Cup Final.

When it came to music, there was still no change at the top of the singles chart, with the Brotherhood of Man's Save Your Kisses for Me continuing to rule the roost.

The accompanying LP chart, on the other hand, did see movement, as the TV soundtrack album Rock Follies reclaimed the Number One spot it had previously lost to Led Zeppelin.

As far as I'm aware, the issue kicks off with Conan trying to get his hands on a bag packed with priceless jewels - but a giant demon has other ideas.

Then, the Avengers are still on an alternate Earth and trying to help the Squadron Supreme put an end to the deadly antics of Brain-Child.

And Shang-Chi continues to be aboard a ship, with a mysterious blind woman who, I'm sure, will turn out to be more than she seems...

No sooner have the Fantastic Four flown the coop than the X-Men arrive to take their place.

And in their new costumes!

But, first, the Incredible Hulk's still in the Great Refuge and causing trouble for the Inhumans as they seek to launch themselves off in a rocket pointed at Counter-Earth.

It can only mean Black Bolt's going to have to use his secret weapon.

You know, the one he always uses.

When it comes to the life of Daredevil, not only does our hero reveal to Karen Page that Mike Murdock never existed, and that he faked the death of Matt Murdock, he also asks her to marry him

And, amazingly, after those revelations, she agrees!

As for the X-Men, it turns out they're not in their new costumes at all, despite what the cover suggests. They are, however, having to fight the members of Factor Three!

Jason and Alexander return to Ape City - only to find conflict is everywhere.

Conflict that's about to get a whole lot worse when someone shoots the Lawgiver, with a crossbow bolt!

And things are getting heated in Wakanda too, as Killmonger and his men attack the capital, aided by giant dinosaurs!

Speaking of men who know about dinosaurs, there's trouble for Ka-Zar, as, under instruction from Maa-Gor, El Tigre gains control of Zabu's mind and orders the sabre-toothed cat to attack his best friend, the lord of the Savage Land!

It looks like our hero's bitten off more than he can chew when a mysterious telegram sends him off to Canada and an encounter with a man you won't like when he's angry.

But, back home, Harry Osborn's not feeling very well...

Elsewhere, Dr Strange visits the Dark Dimension, in search of Umar but is drained of magical knowledge, by the G'uranthic Guardian.

Meanwhile, thinking him to be Loki, Odin's banished Thor to the realm of Mephisto - and now his friends have to get there and rescue him!

I know little of this week's Iron Man tale but I do know it's called The End of Tony Stark! I feel like I detect another of those stories in which the hero fakes his own death to fool the world into not guessing his secret identity. Like the one we've just had in Daredevil's strip.

And the Puppet Master's concocted his latest wheeze, which is using the power of Radion to super-charge his special clay and make the mighty Thor do his bidding.

I suspect the Thing is going to have to step in and do something about that little scheme.

In our main strip, while the lord of vampires is feeling weak - thanks to the machinations of Dr Sun - Brother Voodoo prepares to visit the United States where it can only be a matter of time before he comes into conflict with the star of this comic.

Then, we encounter more of the origin of the Ghost Rider - and how he came to have a flaming skull where his head should be.

And a moment of historical significance arrives in the Man-Thing's strip when, in the middle of the swamp, a talking duck appears...

What with Power Man and the Swordsman on the scene, it looks like Captain America's got his work cut out for him.

But, first, we must encounter the Fantastic Four who continue to be trapped in Latveria, as Dr Doom re-enacts the premise of The Prisoner for them.

Following that, the Sub-Mariner's having problems with Mentallo who, it seems, knew his father.

Then, when Captain America receives a distress call from Bucky, he has no choice but to go to the island where his supposedly late sidekick claims to be being held.

But is it a trap?

And who can be behind it all?

The Black Panther's not the only Marvel hero whose domain is under siege, this week. So is Nick Fury's when the colonel and his men must protect their barber shop from an attack by the forces of AIM.

And Captain Marvel battles the Thing, thinking him to be the Super-Skrull in disguise. But it all comes to a head when the Super-Skrull's mysterious employer shows himself.

And it turns out he's Thanos!

Speak Your Brain! Part 123.

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

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

Speke is a well-known suburb of Liverpool.

However, Steve Does Comics has no suburbs. So bustling is it that it has been officially designated 100% Central Business District.

And that business is chat. 

For it is not Speke of Liverpool that concerns us tonight.

Rather, it is Speak, of the, "Your brain," variety.

This can only mean one thing.

That we're witnessing the return of the feature in which you - not I - must decide the topic for debate.

And that can only be done by posting it in the comments section below.

Therefore, make haste to do so before the opportunity has passed.

The DC Lucky Bag - April 1976.

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

***

It's here!

As seen on TV! mentioned on this site, mere weeks ago, the launch of a brand new feature in which I take a look at a random selection of DC comics which boasted this month as their cover date.

What magical treats await us from the company that Marvel could never quite kill?

You've thrilled to his adventures with the Legion of Super-Heroes. Now thrill to his adventures without them, as the man so good they named a totally unrelated movie franchise after him abandons the two elements that gave him a reason to exist - the Legion of Super-Heroes and the future - and trails Nemesis Kid to the 20th Century before deciding to stay there.

How long can it be before he's bumping into Shang-Chi, Iron Fist and the Sons of the Tiger?

Quite a long while, I suspect, but I could be wrong.

The magnificently unpredictable 1st Issue Special brings us the Return of the New Gods in which Orion fights Kalibak, and the New Gods are attacked by Parademons on New Genesis.

Meanwhile, Orion visits Earth, in search of Darkseid - but finds just Kalibak and Granny Goodness!

It's not the most memorable cover for a man who's had plenty of memorable covers.

And, in truth, I know little of this one's insides, beyond them being labelled The Solomon Plague and being the handiwork of both David Michelinie and Nestor Redondo.

This month, Marvel brought us the distinctly retro Liberty Legion and, clearly not to be outdone, DC offers us The Freedom Fighters who move from Earth-X to Earth-1, in order to fight crime.

It would appear the Silver Ghost turns Doll Man, Black Condor and Phantom Lady into statues - and Phantom Lady begins to turn into a real phantom!

And yet another new mag enters our lives.

This time, being one devoted to reprints.

Within it, two Xelthunians secretly replace Ma and Pa Kent, to carry out a secret mission, without knowing the duo are Superboy's foster parents.

Then, Wonder Woman takes someone called Bobby to a zoo where they discover one of the lions can speak, which takes our heroine and Steve Trevor to Cairo for an entanglement with spies.

Speaking of the ancient land of Kemet, when Hawkgirl's teleported out of a museum, Hawkman traces the radiation to the Egyptian lair of the Criminal Alliance of the World!

And, at the annual meeting of The Liar's Club, Jay Garrick relates the unlikely tale of the Flash and his battle with sand!

And what's this?

Another reprint mag makes its debut when DC Super-Stars brings us Monster Bait and Skis of Death! Both reprinted from the 1960s.

But that's not all.

We're also treated to a brand new feature. One known as Introducing the Teen Titans.

Drama smashes us in the eyeballs when we have to survive a thriller titled The Real Batman Dies Next!

As far as I can recall, someone's killed while dressed as Batman, leading our hero to try and find the killer.

I think tattoos may be involved.

As if that wasn't enough, we also encounter Man-Bat in Peal of the Devil-Bell!

April 24th, 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. 

***

It was starting to look like nothing could dislodge the Brotherhood of Man from the top of the UK singles chart, this week in 1976, as their Eurovision-winning ditty Save Your Kisses for Me continued to see off all challenges - even that of ABBA's Fernando!

But there was change atop the corresponding LP chart, as a new record smashed straight in at Number One, in the form of Presence by Led Zeppelin.

That cover is a salutary warning to us all to never trust evil children who have gigantic heads, flying chairs and super-powers.

It's a warning I shall make sure to heed at all times.

When it comes to Conan, I do believe the scrapping Cimmerian finds himself up against The Fiend from the Forgotten City.

It certainly is forgotten. I have no memory of it at all. Nor of the tale that contains it.

Then, the Avengers are on an alternate Earth and having to battle Brain-Child in the thriller that Watchmen could only dream of being.

Back on our own world, Iron Fist is gone from the mag but Shang-Chi returns.

And does so in an adventure in which the master of the martial arts finds himself on a boat leaving Marseilles, with various other passengers, including a mysterious blind woman.

And, in World War One, the Phantom Eagle must prevent German airships from attacking the United States!

As far as I'm aware, in Ape City, while Jason and Alexander are off somewhere else, Brutus kills an ape called Xavier and the locals immediately assume he must have been killed by rebellious humans.

I suspect this can only lead to trouble for everyone.

In Ka-Zar's strip, Maa-Gor the ape-man has a spot of luck when he wanders into some mist and emerges from it, transformed into a super-intelligent being who instantly demonstrates his smarts by recruiting the services of the man called El Tigre!

And Venomm's snakes are on the brink of killing the Black Panther, before Taku talks their master out of it, with a philosophical debate about the value of revolutions.

Dracula's still causing trouble in the New World, while a horror writer promises his editor that he's going to get an interview with an actual vampire.

But what's this?

There's no Werewolf by Night in this issue?

Instead, we get the first appearance of the Ghost Rider?

And that means we get his origin.

And that means stunts, pacts and Satan.

And the Man-Thing finds himself in a strange world in which warriors from different eras must fight each other, for reasons that are not altogether clear.

It's the big one for all lovers of politics because, at last, the true identity of the Disruptor is revealed!

And it turns out he's exactly who we all thought he was.

Elsewhere, Umar the Unstoppable attacks Dr Strange, and Dormammu emerges from a big crack in the ground, planning to attack our lovely planet.

That's followed by a tale called Iron Man and Iron Man! I'm going to assume that's another of those tales in which the armoured Avenger must fight an inferior version of himself.

Well, there may be two Iron Men but Marvel's most inescapable character, right now, is the Ghost Rider who, this week, manages to be in not one but three Marvel UK books. He turns up in this one, courtesy of a team-up with the Thing and a tale called Christmas Eve Panic! In which I'm assuming the pair are still trying to bring a halt to the latest activities of the Miracle Man.

Meanwhile, Thor and Loki have switched bodies and, with his usual genius, Odin, unaware of this fact, banishes our hero to the realm of Mephisto!

But the bigger news is that Jack Kirby is gone from the strip and Neal Adams has arrived.

As that cover makes clear, the Hulk is back in the Great Refuge. However, the Inhumans have built a rocket to take them to Counter-Earth where, for some reason, they think they'll be happier.

But the Hulk?

And a space rocket?

In the same story?

With his reputation?

I think we all know how that's going to go.

And what drama hits us when it comes to the man without fear. Not only does he defeat Death's Head but, at the denouement, our hero reveals to Karen Page that he is, in fact, Matt Murdock.

Thank God that decision will never come back to haunt him.

And then we get even more of the Inhumans, as the Fantastic Four and their Himalayan allies derail Maximus the Mad and his plan to control everybody's minds.

But, hold on. Something odd is about to happen...

...and it does because, no sooner have they left the Great Refuge than the FF find themselves simultaneously teleported into The Titans where they'll have to deal with Dr Doom and his recreation of the Prisoner TV show!

More importantly, this issue also marks the return of this book to my local newsagents, meaning I'll miss none of the FF's adventures!

After that, the Super-Skrull tricks the Thing into a potential fight with Captain Marvel, as we discover just who that villain's employer is.

Captain America, meanwhile, has a big PR problem when the leader of a gang of crooks takes to wearing a replica of his costume during heists, thus causing everyone to think the hero's gone bad!

Subby manages to prevent a war between Atlantis and the surface world but it leads to his people thinking he's dead.

And, in Nick Fury's strip, the authorities still seem not to have realised that AIM and Them are the same organisation.