Tuesday 2 September 2014

Fifty years ago today - September 1964.

Shiver my shinbones; I've spent the whole of the last week repeatedly pouring buckets of ice cold water over myself.

It's not for charity. Steve Does Comics is far too evil to care for good causes. It's because it's the only way to diffuse the excitement I feel when anticipating what my trawl through the Marvel releases of September 1964 is going to reveal.


Avengers #8, Kang

He might not be a bucket of water but he can put a dampener on any occasion. Unless I miss my guess, Kang makes his debut in this issue.

More importantly, if the cover blurb's to be believed, we get to see the Teen Brigade in action. Let's be honest, that's the news we're all most excited about.
Fantastic Four #30, Diablo

It's one of my faves as the dastardly Diablo makes his first appearance and causes no end of trouble for our heroes.
Journey Into Mystery #108, Thor vs Loki

Loki's back. And if the cover blurb's to be believed, it would seem that someone's been trapped by the trolls.

Well, it's better than being gripped by the goblins.
Amazing Spider-Man #16, Daredevil and the Circus of Crime

Marvel's finest string-danglers finally get to meet, as Spider-Man and Daredevil team up to thwart the Circus of Crime.
Strange Tales #124, the Human Torch vs Paste Pot Pete

It's the news all super-heroes dread. Paste-Pot Pete is back in town.
Tales of Suspense #57, Iron Man vs Hawkeye

Hawkeye makes his first appearance, while the Black Widow makes her umpteenth.

I've recently been informed that Russian names that end with, 'ov,' should end with, 'ova,' when applied to women. Therefore the Black Widow's surname should be Romanova, not Romanov. Who says this isn't an educational blog?
Tales to Astonish #59, the Hulk vs Giant Man

Oh my God. They've pitched the man who struggled to beat the Human Top against the Hulk. He's doomed, I tell you! Doomed!
X-Men #7, the Blob returns

The Blob is back!

To be honest, this is news that awes me even less than the announcement that Paste-Pot Pete is back.

But I am impressed by the fact that the Angel is missing with his punch, the Beast is missing with his kick and Cyclops is missing with his eye-beam, despite the fact that the Blob is standing still. Clearly, all those hours in the Danger Room have really paid off.

11 comments:

Aggy said...

Worth noting that the appearance of the Thing has pushed back the rising encrouchment of Dr Strange to Strange Tales. But not to be defeated the Worlds Most Mysterious Mortal makes a play to take over Thor.

Can our hero succeed, check back next month, Same Bat time, same Bat... no wait... wrong guy sorry.

Steve W. said...

Every month when I do this, I expect to see Dr Strange has been promoted to the main feature. It's amazing me just how long the Torch managed to hang on for. And also just how long Ant-Man/Giant-Man hung on for.

Anonymous said...

Steve, I'm not sure but I think female Russian surnames ending in "a" means the woman is married and it applies to all surnames not only ones ending in "ov" - I remember reading back in the '80s that Mikhail Gorbachev's wife, Raisa, was Gorbachev-a not Gorbachev. Talking of Strange Tales - I bought a Marvel Essentials volume of the early Dr. Strange stories which also included the covers and it looked rather odd that the stories were all Dr. Strange but the covers all featured the Torch and the Thing.

Steve W. said...

Colin, I've just checked the Wikipedia list of female Russian tennis players and the vast majority of them have surnames that end with either, "a," or ,"o." So I'm assuming it's a rule that's applied to women in general, not just the married ones.

Anonymous said...

Yes, you're probably right - I was really only going on what I'd read about Raisa Gorbachev(a). I also remember watching the 1996 Olympics and there was a Russian married couple - he was "ov" and she was "ova". I seem to remember the commentator explaining the extre "a" as due to her being married but it was a long time ago.

Dougie said...

The Return of the Blob is one of my favourite Lee/Kirby X-Men stories. The X-men have a class photo; the Toad whines while Mastermind sleazes after Wanda; the alienated Blob calls everyone "rube" and displays his doughy flab.
Iceman is a goofy kid and the grotesque Magneto flees as usual in a highly- advanced magnetic vehicle. Perfect.

John Pitt said...

Getting SO close to my first ever Marvel comic now ( 2 months, I think! ). The anticipation builds!!

Steve W. said...

I hope it was a classic, John.

John Pitt said...

It was my first. They say you never forget your first!

Kid said...

Apparently, her first name, 'Natasha', while pronounced that way, is actually spelt 'Natasia'. Who knew?

Steve W. said...

Presumably it's translated from the Cyrillic alphabet, so I suppose one can spell it anyway one wants in English.