Roy Wood might want it to be Christmas every day but Roy Thomas clearly wants it to be King Kong every day as he sends Spider-Man off to the Savage Land to fight Gog, a giant alien who's been adopted by Kraven.
It's never been one of my favourite Spidey tales, being too far removed from the web-spinner's natural milieu, but you have to dig that Gil Kane cover. If that wouldn't make you want to buy the comic, what would?
Neal Adams' Kree/Skrull War rumbles ever onwards as the Avengers find themselves up against the Mandroids.
I believe it may be in this issue where Iron Man suddenly remembers he has roller skates, and we all discover that anyone can enter the Avengers Mansion any time they like, just by climbing up out of a man-hole.
Can it be true? Can Captain America and the Falcon really have broken up?
More importantly, can there really be a group of people who thought it was a good idea to call themselves "Femme Force"?
We might associate early Conan tales with Barry Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Smith but the cover of issue #12 shows just what Gil Kane can do when let loose on barbaric derring-doings.
It's Gil Kane again.
I love this cover. How great is the Scorpion on it? The thing that strikes me about all of Kane's covers this month is how stylishly he creates a sense of 3-Dimensionality with his compositional sense.
Given that, on his first appearance, the Scorpion nearly killed Spider-Man with his bare fists, I assume the Man Without Fear'll be the Man Without A Pulse by the end of the tale.
It's the return of one of my favourite villains of all time, as Diablo shows his class by taking over a Latin American country and getting Crystal to run around with not many clothes on.
It's the first part of that story where the Leader decides to replace politicians with evil robots that're up to no good.
No wonder no one could spot the difference.
Despite her supposedly being a fearsome warrior woman, Sif proves, as always, a total wimp, as Thor has to intervene to stop her meekly marrying Loki.
Get a backbone, woman!
It's the man called El Tigre!
I don't have a clue who El Tigre is. Frankly I don't have a clue who three of the seven people on this cover are. I also don't know where Marvel Girl is.
Gil Kane's covers of the early 70's will always be the defining image of marvel comics of that era.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the Falcon, I can't help thinking "ANGRY Birds". The diamond that Kirby added to the mask was actually an improvement on the Cat Ballou tin nose.
ReplyDeleteAh, December 1971. That was the month and year I bought Thunder Annual 1972 out of the Christmas tips from my paper round. I also got Smash Annual 1972 around about the same time. 40 years ago? Crumbs!
ReplyDeleteThe Gog/Kazar story arc of Amazing Spider-Man Nos 103 and 104 never lived up to the 'Extra Arms' trilogy of Nos 100-102, true; but those two issues are still worth owning for the impressive job that Kane did on the late-night scene at the Daily Bugle, scenes of Peter and Gwen at Pete's pad, and the images of Gwen in her two-piece bathing suit--which caused even J Jonah Jameson's eyes to bug out!
ReplyDeleteThat Daredevil cover is a cracker ! Who did the interior art? Is this the Bob Brown era?
ReplyDeleteHi, Ade. According to the Grand Comics Database, the interiors were by Gene Colan.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the following issue was by the one-off combination of Bill Everett inking Alan Weiss's pencils.
ReplyDeleteI think this is the first entry of the series that I have not read at least one comic ! Some Great covers though !!
ReplyDeleteYep, that issue of Fantastic Four was a lot of fun! ;)
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