Thursday, 26 December 2019

December 26th, 1979 - Marvel UK, 40 years ago this week.

This week in 1979 was a week-and-a-half for British lovers of Americans in spandex because not only did we get to lay hands on all those lovely Marvel UK annuals of which I spoke in my last post but we also received a full complement of Marvel UK's regular weekly mags as well. Would life ever be this good again?

Yes it would - exactly a year later.

But, right now, it wasn't a year later.

It was right now.

And that's when I'm going to be taking a look at all those weekly books.

Right now.

Star Wars Weekly #96

Han and Chewie are trying to escape from a planet while concealing an unconscious Wookie in their cargo hold.

Well, they may be trying to escape from somewhere but Deathlok's doing the opposite. He's trying to get into somewhere, in his attempts kill Major Ryker.

The Guardians of the Galaxy are still battling the Reavers of Arcturus. This is all turning into an epic to rival the Kree/Skrull War itself.

Meanwhile, the Watcher's sharing with us the tale of how mankind discovers it can only flourish upon Earth and that it can like it or lump it.

Granted, the Watcher may not have used the phrase, "Like it or lump it."

Hulk Weekly #43

The Hulk's hanging around on Mount Rushmore and threatening to bump off the military, when the Goldbug shows up and offers him the treacherous hand of friendship.

We're still finding out why Captain Britain lost his memory.

Ant-Man's still fighting the Wasp who's now half-woman, half-insect and all angry.

The Surfer and Mephisto get properly acquainted.

And the female Defenders have their first clash with the Red Rajah.
Doctor Who Weekly #11, Silurians

Hooray! The Silurians make the cover of our favourite Time Lord related comic!

I do think the Silurian design's one of the greatest in the show's history and it's a shame it wasn't revived in the modern era.

Granted, they don't look anything like the reptiles they're supposed to be but who cares about that? You wouldn't want to bump into one in your living room and that's the acid test of a good monster.

Inside the comic, the Doctor's still having trouble with the City of the Damned.

Whether it's anywhere near the Village of the Damned is anyone's guess.

Marvel's adaptation of War of the Worlds reaches its finale. I predict the Martians will all die of a common cold.

There's also  a text retelling of the ancient William Hartnell story Planet of Giants and more of the tale of The Stolen TARDIS.

Spectacular Spider-Man Weekly #355, Mysterio

Mysterio's trying to drown Spider-Man in his nursing home's swimming pool.

That's quite a fancy nursing home, if it has a swimming pool.

I quite fancy living there myself.

Admittedly, I'd have to put up with Mysterio trying to kill me to get his hands on my life savings but, hey-ho, there's a downside to everything.

Anyway, it all turns out the water's not real. It's all an illusion and Mysty's up to his usual tricks of trying to confound and confuse our hero.

34 comments:

Killdumpster said...

Wonder what happened to the Goldbug.

Nevermind. I truly don't care.

Killdumpster said...

Since I was out-of-town at my mom's for Christmas overnight, when I left this morning, I thought I'd check out a few of the discount shops.

Primarily I look for DVD's. Older movies 40's to early 80's, mostly sci-fi & horror. Didn't find anything

One shop had 3 full racks of graphic novels & collected editions. Some fairly interesting stuff at $3 to $6, nothing real enticing.

A couple MAD magazine collections, one featuring Wally Wood. All the Marvel's were current storielines from the last 5 years, except the Complete Skull The Slayer. I leafed through it, and remembered why I didn't read his stuff after one issue when it first came out.

The DC stuff was all "New 52" related. Except they had Batman, Superman, & Wonder Woman hardback collections with material from the 40's to early 60's. I was juiced.

It was all their "War" Stories. While the art & stories were probably entertaing, if I don't get a dose of classic supervillians, I lose interest.

My Christmas gift to myself was used copies of Avengers Infinty War & Endgame on Blu-Ray. Hadn't seen them yet, but am watching tonight.

Hope Santa brought you some gifts yesterday, and you enjoyed time with your families, oh my brothers.

Charlie Horse 47 said...

Happy Boxer Day ALL!

Christmas was wonderful – a balmy 55 degrees in Chicago! (60 today!) Also got to watch Rudolph and The Little Drummer Boy with my now-adult kids and wife!

Son of a gun if Santa and the Reindeers are not a bunch of cruel, bigoted, dolts to Rudolph! It makes me wonder what folks were like in 1964. Glad to see that Montgomery Wards was out of business 20 years later after funding that!

As usual, Charlie broke out in tears during the Drummer Boy when boy’s camel was sold to the 3 wise kings. That music, the poor kid’s life being a mess, seeing the Christ child… The room was filling up with tears and tissues tout suite!

Charlie Horse 47 said...

The comics….

We are back to a one-wookie cover for star wars. What happened to the other wookie? Didn’t any of you UK chaps read AND recall this? I mean... I really want to know!!!

The Hulk is still no longer a TV sensation? The UK’s sensibilities obviously changed at this time!

Harpo- oops- Dr. Who is not even on the cover anymore! He went from full cover, to corner cameo, to disappearing all together! My oh my! This unequivocally reminds me of Captain America #73, from 1949, when Cap wasn’t even on the cover of his own mag! (I did try to acquire this since it was not drawn by Sal Buscema or Fr*nk R*bb*ns! Very hard to find!)

Charlie Horse 47 said...

Steve, et al!

Vampire connoisseurs - can you recommend a vampire movie truly worth watching? Something with plot? I don’t need the gore.

Oddly enough the first one from the 1930s (Bela?) was a thrill for my daughter and me being so old. There were some scenes which had us on pins and needles, for sure!

And that stage coach driver... SHeesh. This dude I played soccer with from Argentina is a dead ringer! One of the other players on our team (Peru) actually referred to him as "Dracula's Stage Coach Driver." (Only in private, natch!) LOL!

TC said...

Mark of the Vampire (1935) has a plot, and no explicit gore. It's really more of a murder mystery than a horror movie. Some people might feel that the ending is a cheat.

Return of the Vampire (1943) is pretty silly, but can be entertaining if you don't take it seriously. The same goes for House of Dark Shadows (1970).

The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) is intentionally campy.

The 1977 version of Dracula, with Louis Jourdan, is good, and the 1973 version, with Jack Palance, is not bad.

TC said...

I left out Horror of Dracula (1958) and The Vampire Lovers (1970) because they lay it on pretty thick with the blood and gore.

Steve W. said...

Charlie, I'm afraid Buffy the Vampire Slayer pretty much killed my interest in vampire movies. After a zillion episodes of it, I felt completely vampired out.

I think the only vampire movies I've seen since then that I've liked are Let the Right One In, which is a classic, and Shadow of the Vampire in which the film crew making the 1920s Nosferatu start to have suspicions that Max Shreck really is the vampire he's portraying.

Let the Right One In has some gore but it's not a major feature of the film.

Speaking of which, if you've not already seen it, the original 1922 version of Nosferatu is worth a watch.

The other Wookie is unconscious and hidden in the Millennium Falcon's cargo hold. Exactly why, I don't know.

KD, I hope the Goldbug turned into a creature of living gold at some point. If he didn't, I shall be very disappointed by his lack of adherence to traditional comic book logic.

Steve W. said...

Thinking about it, how old is your daughter? I wouldn't recommend either movie for a child to watch.

dangermash said...

Odd that the Spider-Man conic has a new cover in place of the classic Going, Going, Gone cover with its four comic panels. Maybe Dez just doesn’t like multiple panel covers as tnis is the second he's not used. We'll have to wait until the reprint of Spectacular Spider-Man #67 for the next one, if Marvel UK and this feature on SDC last that long.

Anonymous said...

I'd recommend the comedy vampire film 'What We Do In The Shadows' (2014) which is a spoof documentary about three European vampires sharing a house in New Zealand.

And you can't beat the two Hammer classics 'Dracula' (1958) and 'Dracula, Prince Of Darkness' (1965).

Steve, Charlie's daughter is about 21.

By the way, Charlie, December 26th is Boxing Day not Boxer Day.

Anonymous said...

I'm not overly familiar with modern Dr Who Steve, but a quick look online at a clip of the newer Silurians shows you to be right about the original design. The third eye may be a bit early 70s (maaan) but they don't look right without it.
On the other hand, I remember catching a twenty-first century episode with Elisabeth Sladen in it, and being amazed how little she'd changed since the 70s...

The Werner Herzog remake of Nosferatu isn't bad either.
Charlie, what are you after in a vampire film - some shlock, or something "better"?
Or possibly both at the same time? (In which case you're in luck, as Abel Ferrara's The Addiction is complete on Youtube; you can watch Christopher Walken hamming it up at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js1a1AR41FY )

-sean

Charlie Horse 47 said...

Hello Gentlemen!

Sean - I am looking for the equivalent of a Gene Colan Dracula, if that makes sense... Mysterious, intelligent beyond his passion, a plot... Kind of like in the book "The Historian" which is my all-time, and only-time, Dracula book!

Sean, KD, et al. I am going to eventually get down to watching "Flash Gordon Saves the Universe" with son and daughter. It was on the agenda this weekend but "true love" is getting in the way for this weekend! (She is 23 now and I am getting old!)

UK dudes - In a few minutes me and me family are off to visit our former neighbor in a nursing home. 98 years old. She was an England WW 2 bride. We are taking her coffee and pie. She, and her brother Bert when he would come and visit, loved to read my Oor Wullie Annuals! LOL! You guys should give Oor Wullie a chance if you've not read one in 40 years! With the perspective and maturity of age you might enjoy the innocent humor?!

Killdumpster said...

Charlie, that's a hoot! "BOXER Day!!" Maybe that would be a good thing.

Everybody duking it out with their relatives that annoy them during the holidays! Lmao!

I'll have a list of suspenseful "family-friendly" vampire films, in color, with minimal gore & light-to-zero nudity later today.

Charlie Horse 47 said...

Oops! Happy BOXING day! Charlie's friend Sergei is visiting and it's hard to concentrate around here!

Killdumpster said...

Hmm... BOXING day.. Throwing punches & kicks into people who deserve it, without getting charged with assault.

Sounds like the catalyst for THE PURGE, lol!

Killdumpster said...

I know what it is, oh my brothers. Just having a bit of fun.

Anonymous said...

I read once, in a strange case of life (or un-dead life) imitating art, that Gene the Dean modeled his version of Dracula on Jack Palance well before Palance ever played Dracula.
A lotta artists have done that, modeled certain characters on famous people. I've seen Norman Osbourne drawn as Tommy Lee Jones and James Caan.
Personally I think Caan would make a better Norman.
Tana Nile was clearly originally modelled after Elizabeth Taylor, probably after Jack Kirby saw "Cleopatra."
Sean, I also dug Herzog's "Nosferatu." It is genuinely disturbing. The fact that much of it happens in daylight somehow makes it worse.
He had difficult with relationship with Klaus Kinski, to say the least. That guy was a total loon.

M.P.

Killdumpster said...

Ok, Charlie, I'm going to shoot you a half dozen vampire flicks you can watch w/ your family, w/high impact but little gore or nudity. In alphabetical too, as that's your thing. Lol.

BLACK SABBATH- A trilogy starring Boris Karloff. The vampire tale is the last one, but the others are very chilling also

DRACULA- If you're looking for a TOMB OF DRACULA comics equivalent in film, this is it. Gene Colon had stated he modeled his Dracula from Jack Palance.

Some critics say it is the best Dracula portrayal ever. I'm popping it in after this post.

COUNT DRACULA- Chris Lee, Herbert Lom & Kinski. One of the few good films directed by Jess Franco. Lee had said this is his favorite Dracula film.

HORROR OF DRACULA- One of the films that put Hammer on the horror map. The Lee/Cushing battle towards the end is a great payoff.

HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS- Dan Curtis' feature length condensed version of his TV show. A bloody staking, though.

LEMORA, A CHILD'S TALE OF THE SUPERNATURAL- Surrealistic at times, but had loads of creepiness.

LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH- 3 friends (One that's recovering from a nervous breakdown) go to restart a farm. They discover a mysterious female homesteader living there.

NIGHT STALKER- First TV movie/ pilot for the Kolchack series. At one time the highest rated tv movie.

Ok, more than a half dozen.

I'm done. Gotta finish a quart of beer.







Anonymous said...

When I was a kid, the local movie theater would show old horror or monster movies on Halloween and Saturday matinees. It was great fun!
One flick I remember was Countess Dracula, with Ingrid Pitt, which was loosely based on Elizabeth Bathory. Brrr.
The original Fright Night, from the '80's, was a great tongue-in-cheek vampire movie.
I just saw The Hunger for the first time this past Halloween, when they show stuff like that on cable. Strange movie, but oddly compelling. David Bowie was a very convincing vampire.
And of course, what discussion of vampire cinema is complete with out a nod to What We Do in the Shadows? The T.V. series was hilarious too.

M.P.

Anonymous said...

To be fair M.P., Werner Herzog was a total loon too. Kinski might have been difficult on set, but the director did apparently try to kill him a couple of times...

Their best film film is Aguirre The Wrath Of God. Have you seen that, the one with Kinski as a Spanish conquistador? If not, the whole thing is posted on Youtube and well worth your time.
Funny to see a great film like that posted for free, while people pay Disney money to watch Herzog in some dumb Star Wars tv show (well, he turned up in the trailer)

-sean

Anonymous said...

I have seen it, Sean, a couple times, and it's a masterpiece. I've also seen Fitzcarraldo and Cobra Verde, both reuniting that dynamic duo of Herzog and Kinski.
One might say that Herzog was mentally unbalanced while he was contemplating murdering Kinski, but after seeing a documentary about the making of Fitzcarraldo, I'm not sure any jury would agree with that. Rather, I suspect they might come back with a verdict of justifiable homicide.
I hold Herzog in high regard! I thought Rescue Dawn was a good movie. It's hard to understand Krauts sometimes. I did live there for about two and a half years, and they can be a bit inscrutable.
Particularly their women...

M.P.

Charlie Horse 47 said...

Gents - Charlie and his buddy Sergei said I should apologize for talking about vampires during Christmas, that it is sacrilegious.

I do humbly apologize. Not sure what I was thinking. There is still a lot of Christmas left. We are still anticipating the arrival of the 3 wise men, for example. (Even if one of them did buy the Little Drummer Boy's camel, b/c his own dropped dead from exhaustion carrying gold and silver, driving the boy to near insanity.)

None the less I will copy/paste your recommendations into an email that I will forward myself weekly until I've seen the film(s).

Anonymous said...

This was why I didn't wanna get into a helicopter!

M.P.

Anonymous said...

Both TC and Killdumpster have referred to Hammer's 1958 film 'Dracula' as 'Horror Of Dracula' - is that the American title?

Charlie, there is certainly a lot of Christmas left. For centuries Christmas was a long holiday when nobody worked from December 25th to January 6th. Nowadays Christmas seems to end as soon as the presents have been opened.

TC said...

Yes, "Horror of Dracula" was the American title for Hammer's 1958 "Dracula" movie.

Charlie Horse 47 said...

KD - Thanks "oh my brother" in advance for the Dracula DVDs. You rock!

I can only guess at the reasons I am fascinated with Dracula. I think in part it is my Hungarian heritage. I recall driving out of Vienna towards Budapest and having this strong notion that I was leaving the West and entering the East. Nothing but tiny farming villages, eventually horses and wagons vice tractors, women working the fields with sickles and scythes... Seemed way more congruent with the Dracula mythology.

Charlie and his friend Sergei said I can't watch them until after we Catholics celebrate the arrival of the 3 wise men so as not to be sacrilegious.

What a weird world I live in...

Anonymous said...

Vlad Tepes' relationship with the Hungarians was, ah, rather complicated.
But the history of that whole time and place is endlessly fascinating to me. You would need a scorecard to keep the players straight. A lotta politics.
There was one constant: gruesome, violent death.

M.P.

Anonymous said...

To be fair to that part of eastern Europe M.P., gruesome violent death has been a constant in most parts of the world.
Its really only from the perspective of the developed world since the mid-twentieth century that it seems unusual... and even that was fairly lucky given how close we came to getting wiped out by "defensive" weapons of mass destruction.

-sean

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Sean, the 15th century A.D. wasn't a very nice time for anybody in Europe.
There was a bit of trouble in England, and northern France, as I recall. And the Byzantine Empire finally collapsed. There was religious conflict over the beginning of Protestantism.
On the plus side, the early years of what we call the Renaissance began.
One should try to see the bright side of things...

M.P.

Anonymous said...

And of course before the end of the 15th century Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World.
Er... ok, maybe thats not such a good example of the plus side (at least not from the point of view of the people who already lived there).

Some historians argue that the end of feudalism in Europe was basically caused by the Black Death. So yeah - every cloud...

-sean

Anonymous said...

I wonder what South Dakota looked like in the 1500's. But there are still some random pockets of wilderness around here.
I enjoy these debates, Sean! I'll holler at ya later.

M.P.

dangermash said...

I saw Countess Dracula on the TV when I was about ten, M.P. I seem to remember seeing a lot of naked flesh.

Dougie said...

Charlie talking about Oor Wullie, which is Dundonian in origin, made me think of Lobey Dosser, the Sheriff of Calton Creek. This 1940s newspaper strip is pure Glaswegian and there's a statue of Lobey and his cuddy, El Fideldo in Glasgow's Woodlands Road. You'll find it all on Google