October 6th, 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. 

***

If you were in a hurry, this week in 1976, you were likely to be happy indeed.

That's because it was the week that saw the introduction of British Rail's InterCity 125 high-speed train, initially serving London Paddington, Bristol and Cardiff. Obviously, it went nowhere near the north. Such a thing would have been madness.

When it came to the charts; for what seems like the millionth week running, the UK singles top spot was being held by ABBA's Dancing Queen.

But there was change atop the neighbouring album chart - and a surprising one for a man like me who always assumed the band were a bit niche - because leaping seven places in a mighty bound to seize the Number One slot was Stupidity by Dr Feelgood.

But here's a thing. On October 6th, BBC One was broadcasting legendary children's series Fingerbobs. The show that introduced me to the word "scampi."

As we all recall, the Bob Harris-esque presenter was always introduced by a name that was never totally clear and might have been Boffy but might not have been.

However, thanks to a fit of investigative journalism that Woodward and Bernstein would envy, I've discovered his real name was Rick Jones.

And that's the kind of place the 1970s was. We had Peter Parker in charge of the railways and Rick Jones in charge of the Fingerbobs.

As with last issue, I possess little knowledge of our main strip which, this week, goes by the title of Trek to a City of Ashes!

I'm going to assume it involves a visit to whatever's left of either New York or Los Angeles, following the ape uprising.

Following that, Ka-Zar and Tongah are still trying to rescue the captive Zebra-Men while the villainous Sheesa is still deploying her army of the dead against them.

In the Man-Thing's strip, Manny and F A Schist continue to be ensnared in the affairs of La Hacienda and its Fountain of Youth.

But none of that matters.

All that matters is that, this week, Dracula tells us the story of Sporr! The Thing That Could Not Die! in which a scientist moves into Frankenstein's castle and creates a gigantic amoeba that promptly smashes its way out of his lab and onto a route that will take it straight towards the nearest torch-wielding villagers!

And I do believe the latest instalment of Marvel's adaptation of the first Apes movie sees Taylor on trial for the crime of speaking.

That cover can only mean the Gremlin's back!

But what of his father? Has the Gargoyle ever returned from the dead?

These are things I need to know.

In this week's thrilling Hulkisode, Bruce Banner, Thunderbolt Ross and a bunch of SHIELD agents invade Siberia, in a bid to rescue Glenn Talbot from the clutches of the aforementioned villain.

The Avengers, on the other hand, are zooming around in space and attacking the Skrull fleet while the far more important Rick Jones is headed for an encounter with the Kree Supreme Intelligence.

Conan exposes the demonic origins of Phalkar’s ruler Unos and, somehow, this all leads to a happy ending for Stefanya. Hooray!

And the Stilt-Man's still giving Daredevil problems in Hollywood.

It never fails. Every time Mysterio shows up, Spidey starts to doubt his sanity. You'd think he'd have realised by now that it's all done with trickery.

Regardless, this issue, our hero's plagued by visions of his worst enemies and of Gwen Stacy.

And it's all caused by a former cellmate of the late special effects genius, who's now adopted the deceased villain's alter-ego.

Thor's not having much success against Durok the Destroyer. A fact that prompts Balder and Karnilla to visit a mountaintop and seek the help of the Silver Surfer.

After many weeks of scheming, plotting and adventuring, Iron Man finally defeats Midas.

But, almost inevitably, the strain on his new heart fair threatens to kill him.

Behind enemy lines, the Invaders battle Norse gods who turn out to be aliens controlled by the Nazi scientist Brain Drain.

And Spider-Man and the Torch must battle Morbius after the fiend creates another vampire by the name of Jefferson Bolt.

It's that bizarre FF story Stan Lee Frankensteined together from unpublished art by Jack Kirby and newly drawn panels by John Buscema.

It'd be nice to say it's a ploy that works but reading it is a somewhat jarring experience.

In other news, Captain America battles Batroc, the Swordsman and Living Laser in a bid to defuse a seismo-bomb hidden in Manhattan. It all leads him to recognise that his all-action lifestyle could lead to the death of Sharon Carter.

Deep in the past, the Inhumans discover their extraordinary abilities came from a Kree experiment to genetically enhance primitive humans.

Namor chases after Karthon who delivers the Serpent Crown to someone called Naga.

And it all leads to the death of Lady Dorma!

And the Ghost Rider battles the One Man Zodiac, a former member of that gang who's sold his soul to a demon in exchange for the powers of every member of that gang.

Hold on. What powers?

Wouldn't it make more sense to sell your soul for the powers of every member of the Squadron Supreme?

The Marvel Lucky Bag - October 1976.

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

***

All moving pictures contain pictures but not all moving pictures are moving.

And shall we be moved by the films that were released this month in 1976?

That depends on how we feel about such offerings as Marathon Man, Alex & the Gypsy, A Matter of Time, Burnt Offerings, Car Wash, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution and Carry On England.

I must confess to only having seen Marathon Man and Carry On England, which are, of course, remarkably similar films investigating similar themes. However, tempted as I am to claim that Carry On England is the superior of the pair, sanity obliges me to declare Marathon Man to be my Steve Does Comics Film of the Month.

However, given that I know so little of the other movies, visitors to this site are free to express alternative viewpoints.

This is the sort of thing I want to see in my local newsagents, as Marvel gives us its adaptation of Jules Verne's Mysterious Island.

I can announce that I've never read the book but I have seen the film and that's enough to make me intrigued by the comic.

Between them, Jules Verne, Otto Binder and E. R. Cruz build a 48-page tale in which a bunch of people from the United States' Civil War end up on a strange island with giant crabs, giant chickens, giant bees, giant octopuses, the woman who did Anita Pallenberg's speaking for her in Barbarella, and Captain Nemo.

Granted, I don't know for a fact that any of that stuff's in the book or in the comic but it's in the movie and we all know that movies are always the real version of things.

I've no idea what The Red Badge of Courage is but those people on the cover look like they could be in Mysterious Island and, whatever it is, it gets its very own adaptation, courtesy of Irwin Shapiro, Stephen Crane and, again, E. R. Cruz.

After giving us its take on Dracula, for several years, Marvel finally gives us its take on Dracula.

But, this time, it's Bram Stoker's Dracula. The book made famous by Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Bram Stoker, Naunerle Farr and Nestor Redondo are the people responsible for this and I'm going to guess it tells the tale of a Transylvanian count who decides to move to Whitby and hang out there with all the Goths.

Can it be true?

Has it really taken all this time for Dr Strange to get an annual of his very own?

Yes it can when Marv Wolfman and Craig Russell supply us with the 35-page adventure ..And There Will Be Worlds Anew! in which something happens but I don't know what.

It's the team-up that probably no one saw coming, as Bashful Benjy unites with the company's latest team.

And it all happens when, in 1942, the heroes battle a horde of super-powered Nazis out to recover a canister of vibranium that I'm assuming could change the course of the war!

Dr Strange may have an annual but Howard the Duck has a Treasury Edition.

And does so with such offerings as Five Villains in Search of a Plot!, The Duck and the Defenders, The Way It All Began!, Frog Death!, Hellcow! and Howard the Barbarian.

Needless to say, most of this material's reprinted from other sources.

However, there is some new content in that lot.

And the Sorcerer Supreme's not the only one blessed with an annual - because Marvel Team-Up's also landed one. One in which Spidey and the X-Men are attending a secret summit about man-made mutation, when their plane's brought down by a bunch of researchers transformed into Hindu gods!

It's not a first issue but it is, as far as I'm aware, a first appearance for Howard Chaykin's Monark Starstalker, in which the interplanetary bounty hunter's tracked a deadly criminal to the world of New Canaan and tries to bump off his quarry.

I do recall this being one of the few comics I didn't get along with in my childhood.

At last, we're going to get the answer to the question, "Who'd win a fight between Iron Fist and Shang-Chi?"

And it happens when the pair are are separately lured into the London sewers by messages from Fu Manchu.

But because even that might not be enough for lovers of martial arts mayhem, we also encounter Rip Off at the O.K. Box Office, an article by none other than dauntless Don McGregor.

And truly our cup is spilling over because there's also the presence of the Sons of the Tiger epic Flesh of My Flesh!

The Champions never do much to attract my attention and I don't know if this issue's any different.

However, I do know Rampage stops by the Champions' office - looking to deliver a message about the Black Widow - but his exo-skeleton explodes!

And then a press conference by the Angel's gatecrashed by the Griffin, Titanium Man and Crimson Dynamo!

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!