One thing I've just noticed is that all their mags now cost a walloping eight pence, not just Dracula Lives and Planet of the Apes. I can remember when you could get Marvel comics for five pence. Where will this madness end?
Maybe it's me but I don't recall the Schemer ever managing to be this dynamic in the actual story.
For that matter, I don't remember him having any death-gas either.
I take it the Daredevil story's the one where Matt Murdock dresses as Mike Murdock dressed as Daredevil dressed as Thor in order to tackle the Cobra and Mr Hyde, before then walking around on a tightrope, hundreds of feet up in the air, in order to make it look like he's not blind.
I think we've all had similar experiences in our lives.
I loved loved loved this tale when I was a kid, especially the Sons of the Tiger segment, which was my first and last and only experience of them.
And let's face it, who wouldn't be drawn in by the tagline, "Fifty fingers of death!"? It's like the world's most kick-ass advert for Twix.
The Cowering Gil Kane Blonde makes what I believe to be her Dracula Lives debut.
What with appearing on all those Conan covers as well, she must be raking it in in overtime payments.
Hold on a minute. That's not the Lawgiver. The Lawgiver's an orangutan and that's clearly a gorilla. What are they trying to do - make a monkey of us all?
For that matter, those gorillas have remarkably hairless arms and legs for apes.
Death gas? His farts were lethal, man! (I've still got my original copies of those issues of SMCW & MWOM.)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDid they name Judge Dredd's gun after the Lawgiver or the Lawgiver after JD's gun?
ReplyDeleteWho's an expert in years?
I think I've mentioned before how dodgy some of those PotA covers were, Steve. One thing I've noticed is that gorillas generally seem to be coloured purple, so after what I learned from your last post, I'm going to venture the theory that cover apes are affected by passing gamma radiation which may make them look odd.
ReplyDeleteDo I get a SteveDoesComics no-prize?
-sean
No, I meant what Earth year did Taylor's spaceship land on the POTA and approx. what year is JD set in?
DeleteJohn, I seem to remember the Lawgiver being mentioned in Beneath the Planet of the Apes. He was one of the illusions the subterranean mutants conjured up to scare the attacking gorillas with. That came out in 1970. I think Judge Dredd first appeared in 1977, so POTA got there first.
ReplyDeleteSean, you do indeed get the No-Prize. Suddenly, the presence of the Forbidden Zone and its radiation, makes perfect sense.
The lawgiver is mentioned earlier than "Beneath" - in the first POTA film there's a statue of him and Cornelius tells Taylor "Our Lawgiver declared this whole area deadly" when they have escaped into the Forbidden Zone. It wouldn't be a proper Marvel UK POTA cover unless it featured a purple-faced gorilla saying "Now you shall DIE, human !!" :)
ReplyDeleteI'd totally forgotten about that scene, Colin. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteJohn, the first Judge Dredd story was set in 2099 while the first POTA film was set in 3978. Therefore Judge Dredd beat POTA to it by a good thousand years.
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve, that's it then! Definite PROOF that the Apes' Lawgiver was named after Judge Dredd"s gun!
DeleteJohn, Taylor's spaceship lands in the year 3955 which is the 40th Century - I don't know that much about Judge Dredd but I believe it's set around the 23rd Century. So in that sense JD's Lawgiver came long before POTA's Lawgiver.
ReplyDeleteSteve, you got in first :)
ReplyDeleteCheers Col, with TWO esteemed historians on the case, the evidence is irrefutable - the Apes are plagiarists!
DeleteJohn, I'm not sure how much good I am as a historian (future historian ?) - after Steve's comment I'm confused as to whether the first film took place in 3955 or 3978. I think the date changed from film to film - in "Escape" Dr. Hasslein gets Zira drunk and she says the world blows up in "thirty-nine-fifty-something"....apparently the apes were still dating the year from the birth of Jesus Christ !!!
ReplyDeleteI must confess I got my Apes date from Wikipedia, so don't have a clue if it's exactly right or not.
ReplyDeleteI loved that Sons of the Tiger segment too! Is it by Chris Claremont? He really seemed to have a cinematic sensibility in his early work. Still, all those stories set in airports also suggest he wanted to travel but might have been a little nervous...
ReplyDeleteDougie, I can confirm that it is indeed by Chris Claremont.
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, you're right, he did like airports. I seem to remember various early New X-Men tales occurring at airports.