Sunday 8 May 2016

May 8th, 1976 - Marvel UK, 40 years ago this week.

It's been an exciting week for all lovers of plucky underdogs, with Leicester City winning the Premier League for the first time ever. But how were the heroes of Marvel UK faring in their own battles against the odds in this week of exactly forty years ago?

Marvel UK, Avengers #138, the Black Panther

Argh! I so want to say what unlikely thing links this issue to the Captain America: Civil War movie but that'd be a spoiler, so I can't.

All I'll say is what a coincidence it is that the comic should have come out exactly forty years before the film is doing the rounds.

Marvel UK, Planet of the Apes #81

There's clearly plenty going on on the Planet of the Apes this week, although I'm not totally sure what.

That's a very Killravenesque monster. It makes me start to miss Apeslayer again.

Super Spider-Man with the Super-Heroes #169, The Hulk

Hooray! This is the issue that signalled the permanent  return of Spidey's mag to my local newsagents.

And what a way to do it, with our hero battling the Hulk, and me being exposed for the first time to the word, "Geodesic."

Marvel UK, Dracula Lives #81

Juno the Impaler is clearly still out to make sure that Dracula gets his point.

This is all highly odd. I have the feeling that I've read this tale, even though I never had this issue.

Does this mean it was reprinted in The Mighty World of Marvel when Dracula's strip moved to it from The Planet of the Apes?

Mighty World of Marvel #188, Hulk vs Man-Beast

I generally loved this Hulk tale, although I didn't like the fact that the Man-Beast looked nothing like Gil Kane's take on the character.

Admittedly, Gil Kane's take on the character looked nothing like Jack Kirby's original depiction. I didn't mind that though as I liked Kane's more wolf-like portrayal.

On other matters; at the time, I preferred the X-Men's, "New," costumes to their old ones, as they were a lot less dull but I must confess I have since come to prefer their original ones, as the newer ones weren't very good.

Marvel UK, The Titans #29, Fantastic Four vs Dr Doom

Dr Doom is still demonstrating why he'll never get a job with the NHS.

10 comments:

Dougie said...

Okay, this week was a double whammy: no Titans or MWOM. Also, seeing the FF / Doom cover reminds me of the day in 1969 when I first read Andrew Gilmour's copy. I got a barley sugar stuck in my throat and blonde Miss Morrison had to hold me by the ankles until it was dislodged.
I think James Snow across the road had that Dracula Lives issue. Juno was a strange not de guerre but Wolfman liked mythological names. Like Razor Fist one wonders how difficult personal care was...
I think the Dr. Sun story wrapped up in the MWOM/ POTA merger.

Steve W. said...

I had the POTA, MWOM, Spider-Man and Titans comics this week. After months of only getting POTA, it must have felt to me like a positive feast. Sadly, I have no dramatic anecdotes connected to reading any of them.

Was Razor Fist the bloke in the Shang-Chi strip who had swords instead of arms? It always seemed a somewhat impractical gimmick.

Anonymous said...

Don't know if that's right about Dr. Doom, Steve - its not hard to picture the current lot in charge deciding he'd fit in well!

And out of curiosity, have you - or anyone - ever come across the word "geodesic" without being followed by "dome(s)"?

-sean

Steve W. said...

I have never encountered the word, "Geodesic," without it being attached to a dome. "Geodesic trousers, geodesic niblicks, geodesic turnips," they just don't have the same ring to them.

Anonymous said...

It certainly seems like the words are inextricably linked, Steve.
A bit like "inextricably" and "linked".

-steve

Anonymous said...

Er... not sure how that comment ended up as signed I signed steve. Duuhh!
Maybe I read this blog too regularly for my own good

-sean

Anonymous said...

Razorfist did indeed have swords instead of arms. I don't even want to imagine what going to the bathroom would be like.
I think there were actually three of those guys. The first one got gunned down by his own boss. who was kind of a James bond-type villain.
M.P.

Anonymous said...

Steve, I've haven't seen the Civil War movie but are you hinting that Conan appears in it - hooray !!! By the way, Dracula only appeared in the first five issues of the merged POTA & Dracula Lives so I'd hardly say that Drac moved to MWOM "from" POTA - rather he rose from the dead after nearly a year.

Anonymous said...

D'OH - that first line should read "I haven't seen" NOT "I've haven't seen".

Steve W. said...

Colin, now that the Captain America movie's been out for a few days and everyone's now seen it, I can confirm that Conan and his garden of death are indeed in it.