Thursday 30 May 2019

May 30th, 1979 - Marvel UK, 40 years ago this week.

Everyone knows this is the site that spills over with the milk of human kindness but, in this week of forty years ago, it suddenly got a lot harder for anyone to spill over with milk, as the price of a pint of the white stuff rose by more than 10%, to 15 pence a pint. Now how were we all supposed to grow up big and strong?

People who clearly had grown up big and strong were the players of Nottingham Forest F.C. who, that same week, defeated Swedish side Malmö, 1–0, to become European Champions, with the solitary goal being scored by Trevor Francis.

Only two years earlier, Forest had been playing in the 2nd Division of English football and had only scraped promotion to the top flight with the fifth lowest points tally of any promoted team in history.

Not only was it an amazing rise to greatness but it's extremely difficult to imagine a 21st Century European Champions League final featuring two teams like Malmö and Nottingham Forest.

Another sign of just how much the world has changed since then came on the floor of the London Stock Exchange, where, on this very day of that year, B&Q was floated, valued at a whopping £10 million. As the company's current annual revenue is now £3.8 billion, I suspect it may be worth a little more than that these days.

Star Wars Weekly #66

I think Han and Chewie are still in that cave and still trying to stave off the attacks of Jabba the Hut. Will their torment - and ours - never end?

Elsewhere, the Micronauts are still having problems with H.E.L.L, Professor Prometheus and possibly the Man-Thing.

Warlock is still going through his latest death, in an attempt to prevent himself becoming the Magus. Why he can't just decide not to become the Magus, I've no idea.

Meanwhile, the Tales of the Watcher asks what would have happened if World War Two had been fought in space, via the medium of Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos. As it's a What If story, I'm assuming it won't have a happy ending.

Hulk Comic #13

The Hulk's still fighting Bigfoot.

Thanks to unleashing disease in a public place, Ant-Man finally thwarts the man who looks like Brian Blessed and can control people with the power of his voice.

The Greek-based Eternals are on a mission to rescue Sersi from the clutches of the Deviants.

The Black Knight and Captain Britain are still getting nowhere in particular in their quest for whatever it is they're on a quest for.

All I know is they're operating in an England that's filled with wolves, elves, giants, goblins and ogres. Reader, I have lived in England and I have never encountered any of those things.

Night-Raven's still trying to battle the criminal underworld, despite blundering interference from a reporter.

Nick Fury's up to something or other with SHIELD.

Marvel Comic #344, Godzilla, Isle of the Living Demons

It would appear that Godzilla's on an island packed with monsters belonging to someone called Dr Demonicus.

Let's face it, blessed with a name like that, he was never going to grow up to be a good guy.

Beyond that, I would assume Daredevil's still having problems with El Jaguar's attempts to abduct the Black Widow from Foggy's party.

Spider-Man Comic #325, Daredevil and the Masked Marauder

Spider-Man's blind, and Carrion's waiting in Peter Parker's apartment to grab Mary Jane and Betty Brant/Leeds who are engaging in the therapeutic pastime of mutually jealous bickering.

As for the rest of this issue's contents, I can say nothing.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Its not like you to go on about football Steve - are you feeling alright?

Warlock couldn't just decide not to become the Magus because it was up to the In-Betweener, surely?
Much as I liked the series, that did seem to be the weak point, that it switched from being about Warlock's state of mind to some cosmic force. But I suppose it was easier in a comic for Jim Starlin to draw another super-being than a philosophical analysis of free will.

-sean

Steve W. said...

Sean, I like to feel this site recognises excellence in all human endeavours, even football.

As for the In-Betweener, it's so long since I read the tale that I can't remember what he was actually there for.

Anonymous said...

He was a plot device Steve.

-sean

Killdumpster said...

I hope I come across a collected edition of the Warlock/Magus storyline.
I sold my individual issues a couple years ago.

That Marvel Comic cover featured one of the more artistically accurate portrayals of Godzilla.

Too bad Ant-Man had more lame adversaries than not. He's only had a few stories were he was able to show how formidable he could be.

Milk prices also went up here in the States during that time period. For years my family would get milk fresh from a man called Farmer Brown (no lie!). You had to bring your own milk jugs (we had 6 glass gallon jugs), pull into his farm anytime day or night, and get milk. There was a big shed where he had a giant vat that held the milk, very dimly lit inside.

We'd fill up our jugs and leave the money in a cigar box. Old school honor system, and only $1 a gallon! Pasteurized! Fresh, delicious and no hormones!

Well, all good things come to an end. Scumbags would get milk and steal all the money out of the cigar box. We were filling up our glass jugs one night when Farmer Brown came into the shed to inform us that he has to shutdown selling to individuals.

His eyes were kinda watery as he spoke. He really couldnt understand how people could do this to him. My mom gave him a hug, and us kids thanked him for all the good milk.

Now THAT'S, more or less, "crying over spillt milk", but for a reason.

Anonymous said...

I really liked the In-betweener tv adaption although it really focused on his school days, and didn't have any superheroes.









I'll get my coat...

DW

Killdumpster said...

DW-

In-Betweener TV show? When was that? Mid-eighties to 90's? British? Wow, I am intrigued.

During that time period I was working so much that I had no time for television viewing. Luckily I was adept enough to program my VCR so I never missed Le Femme Nikita, featuring Pets Wilson.

Killdumpster said...

Scuze, "Peta" Wilson.

Tho the spellchecker might have been a Freudian slip, lol.

Anonymous said...

Personally, I reckon we should keep DW's coat until he promises not to come up with anything like that again.

-sean

Anonymous said...

KD

There was a recent-sh TV series called the In-betweeners which was very popular (and spun into two cinematic movies and a US remake) but it was about a bunch of sex starved school boys. Very funny but nothing to do with the comic character.


DW

Steve W. said...

KD, it's funny you should say that. A bit back, I was at a bus stop in a noticeably urban area and the other people at the stop started talking to each other about the area and how it was all farmland when they were kids and that they'd go to a nearby farm to get jugs of milk and boxes of eggs from it. It was a fascinating insight into how an area can drastically change in the space of just a few decades.

DW is right, The Inbetweeners was great but was totally devoid of super-beings.

Killdumpster said...

I would guess then, the title of show "Inbetweeners" actually meant "in- between-her" legs. I gotta see this show. I'm a big fan of British comedy.

Killdumpster said...

Steve, that's a classic example of how "progress" isn't always beneficial. For the last decade farms in my area have been bought out to build housing developments.

Fresh eggs were easy for my family in the early 70's. When I was 14 I got a job at a chicken farm that was a little ways from my house. Ten minutes on my Yamaha dirtbike or 35 minutes on my bicycle. A couple nights after school, then 8 hrs Saturday & Sunday. On Sunday I ran the whole farm by myself.

Payday was every week, $2 per hr and 2 flats of fresh eggs (3 dozen eggs). That's a lot of eggs every week! Luckily my family liked eggs, and my littlest sister's hobby was baking.

I'd come home late from partying, and there would always be fresh sheet cake, brownies, cookies, or egg custard pie at home. Just the thing for the "munchies". Lol.

Killdumpster said...

It was during that time period when I started subscribing for comics, in the thought that I wouldn't miss any issues due to uneven excursions into civilization.

Killdumpster said...

Hokey Smokes, Bullwinkle!

I just remembered that a "flat" of eggs was 2 & 1/2 dozen. I brought home 5 dozen eggs every week. My dog had a very thick coat, though. He lived a long time, so cholesterol didn't give him any problems.

Anonymous said...

Did ya feed him the eggs, K.D. or rub 'em on him?

M.P.

Killdumpster said...

Ha! I fed him the eggs. MP.

My father would buy the cheapest dry dog food possible. I wouldn't be surprised if it was $1.99 a 40 lb sack. My dog wouldn't touch it.

When I started breaking 3-4 eggs on it, though, he'd huff it down like he was getting Thankgiving dinner.

Anonymous said...

I once walked in the house and caught my dad feeding our dog roast beef.
If he had caught me doing that, I woulda caught holy hell, he woulda yelled my eardrums off.
But he quickly tried to hide it. He tried to play it off. He couldn't have been more mortified if I saw him in drag.
I didn't say a thing, I let it go. After all, Pop had cut me some considerable slack growing up.
That dog was playing all of us, I tell ya.

M.P.

Killdumpster said...

MP-

After my father died I inherited the job of carving the holiday hams & turkeys.

My sister had a very very spoiled chocolate Labrador retriever named Abby. My dad would always feed her slices while he was carving, so I kept up the tradition.

My mom yelled " Don't feed her! She's on a diet! She's already too fat!!"
Told my mom that it's impossible with her sitting next to me, staring at me with her longing eyes.

I looked down at the dog, and said "Abby! Grandma said no more treats!"

Abby looked at my mom, and gave her a couple angry barks. We all burst out laughing.

That dog was pretty smart.

Anonymous said...

Labs are wonderful dogs, smart and nice.
Ours had some border collie in him. They're so smart they're neurotic. I think he was part border collie and part satanic imp.
I'm pretty sure he understood English perfectly well. Sometimes he would act like he didn't.
He keeled over from a stroke at 14, having survived a stormy youth in which he filled with buckshot by an angry farmer (he was chasing sheep) and later a glancing blow from a car. And he fixed it so he got human food handed to him on a regular basis on the sly. We sure do miss him.

One time when my aunts were over having coffee with my mom, he swaggered into the middle of the living room sporting an enormous erection.
My ma said in a urgent tone of voice, "Matt, take the dog outside for a walk."
I said, "I don't wanna go anywhere near him right now."
"Matt, take out the dog!!!"

Ah, dog stories.

M.P.