Released?
It was so mighty it probably escaped, tearing apart the bars of its cage and overturning cars as it went.
It was so mighty that it would go on to achieve platinum sales in both Britain and Canada, which isn't bad for a debut album.
Clearly, with sales like that, it would soon be surging up the UK LP chart but, for now, it would have to settle for watching Rose Royce claim the honours, as their Greatest Hits album stood astride that very chart, at Number One, like a Colossus.
Actually, I've never heard that Iron Maiden album. It might be rubbish, for all I know.
I'm going to make a magnificent guess as to what happens inside this comic.
The Hulk's trying to retrieve the body of Jarella, so he might return it to its rightful home - but Glenn Talbot's in a Mandroid suit and is out to stop him.
Valkyrie's enrolled at college and is being given a lesson in film history by Dollar Bill.
The Silver Surfer's still trying to stop the big indestructible mutant who's ruined the universe.
The Black Knight and Captain Britain are still fighting big statues at a stone circle in somewhere or other.
The Beast's trying to protect his secret identity from a female work colleague.
And I'm certain that Iron Man's still battling the Mandarin's Hulkbot.
I can be less guesstastic with this one, though, as I don't have a clue what's going on inside it.
However, the cover tells us we're going to get Spidey the way we like him.
I'm not sure what that means.
Up until now, have they been giving us Spidey as we don't like him?
And just what is Spidey as I don't like him?
From that cover blurb, it looks like it won't be long before Marvel UK's best-selling book has a title change.
But it looks like that's the least of concerns for C-3PO, R2-D2 and an unidentified female friend because they're clearly destined to be slaughtered by what I'm assuming is a murderous robot.
Meanwhile, we're getting more of Monark Starstalker's first appearance.
And, for some reason, Deathlok's floating around in space.
And he seems as bemused by that turn of events as I am!
Meanwhile, I've no idea what the Watcher's up to this week.
He's probably in Space, watching Deathlok and wondering what he's doing there.
It's good news for the Jagaroth, as their man Scaroth takes a break from stealing the Mona Lisa, to pose for this week's cover.
Inside, the Doctor's up against someone called the Dogs of Doom who seem like very unpleasant neighbours to have.
Rather more pleasantly, the comic gives us the chance to win a trip to the Doctor Who studios and be blinded by the shirts of John Nathan-Turner.
Elsewhere, the first men in the moon have been captured by the Selenites and are, no doubt, even as I type, being taken to meet their leader.
Finally, we get an Abslom Daak tale called The Star Tigers which involves the Draconians and drunkenness, in that order.
Iron Maiden's first (and second) album has an almost punk vibe to it with Paul Di'Anno's vocals. Stands up better than some of their later stuff.
ReplyDeleteYou bringing up Iron Maiden reminds me of that comment thread not so long ago when we discussed the whole mythology of punk Steve, and how it wasn't as big as culture vultures often like to make out.
ReplyDeleteBy contrast, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal - as Sounds used to call it - seems like it really was massive, but with not much media coverage at all. At least, thats how I remember things.
Metal's never been my cup of awful racket though. Too camp for me.
-sean
I think I always get Iron Maiden mixed up with AC/DC.
ReplyDeleteAh well Steve, thats not surprising - with Cabaret Voltaire, the Human League, Def Leppard (eh? what went wrong there?), Clock DVA and all that to choose from in the Peoples Republic of Sheffield, music from anywhere else must have sounded quite mundane.
ReplyDeleteExcept for Throbbing Gristle, obviously.
-sean
Sean - why must you always forget Heaven 17 and ABC from Sheffield? I mean... it's OK to provoke me, because I am an officer and a gentleman.
ReplyDeleteBut if you continue to provoke Charlie, well he is an adult and accountable for his own actions. But don't come begging me to pull him off yer back! He's the original bete noir!
You've been warned!
Hi Chaps,
ReplyDeleteColin you just put a thought in my head, that I never had. I hope it goes away!!!
What the heck is homoerotic exactly. I shall not google it less Charlie be tracking me key strokes and, well, then stuff happens.
But if you are going to chat on that subject, I would ask if Blazing Combat # 1 is homoerotic?
It certainly is a feast for the eyes. And it is Frazetta. But is it homoerotic Frazetta since we don't see the Micheal Angelo-esque muscles?
There is as a certain, sleek je-ne-sais-quoi about this deadly cover. Love it! In a non-homo-erotic way!
Iron Maiden's first two albums did indeed have a punk feel to them, due to Paul's guttural vocals. They are favorites of mine.
ReplyDeleteI returned the L.p. "Number Of The Beast", which featured Bruce Dickinson's intro to the band. It was such a disappointment. I couldn't listen to it again.
Its sad that DiAnno's solo efforts were so weak. With better production they may have been better.
Apologizing for being repetative, but the Iron Maiden/White Snake/Judas Priest concert at the Stanley Theatre in the 'Burgh was the greatest live music experience I've ever had. Believe me, that says alot.
Iron Maiden was the opener. Paul DiAnno came thru the curtain, wearing a "Eddy" mask, with the band behind slowly boiling. The yells, cheers, and screaming were deafening. People were lighting fire crackers!!
When the curtain opened, it was full-force metal extascy. It was their "Killers" tour, so they had plenty material. After playing for an hour & 1/2, they did 5 encores, by intense demand! They all came out and saluted us.
Then Whitesnake came out, that was when they were still in Deep Purple/Rainbow mode. Ugh. They tried to have a rockin' intro, but the band just was too mild compared to Maiden. Having the old school organ didn't help.
After 2 songs, they went into a ballad. That's when chaos ensued. Chants of "YOU'RE TOO MELLOW!!" were followed by a hail of frisbee raining at the band, as well as a barrage of M-80 firecrackers thrown from the balcony!
Their set was less than 20 minutes. They literally ran off the stage.
Took a little while for the stage crew to set up for Priest, as I suspect they were caught off-guard with 'Snakes early exit.
Priest was excellent. They played for almost 2 hours, plus encores. There was an old German lady dancing in the aisles, and me & my buddies got her into the orchestral pit where we were seated. She almost fainted after shaking Rob Halford's hand.
A kid brought in a giant reproduction of the razor from their British Steel album cover. After waving it around during the show, K.K. Downing grabbed it, and raised it in the air while the band came out to thank us.
More fireworks burst in the air from the balcony. Amazingly no one was injured. As I was leaving the theatre I noted that I've never seen so many people with smiles in my life.
It took me, at 19 years old, a week to recover from that show.
Steve, While I like both AC/DC (Bon Scott version) & Maiden (Paul DiAnno version), they are soooo apples & oranges.
ReplyDeleteMight be like comparing Abba to the Starland Vocal Band.
Or either of those guys to Throbbing Gristle. Lol.
Charlie, I didn't forget Heaven 17 and ABC, I just didn't mention them.
ReplyDeleteNo offence intended, I just prefer the awful racket side of that electronic stuff to the poppier end (admittedly I did include the Human League, but thats just because I was caught between the past and the future; no ideological position on the split with Heaven 17 should be inferred from this).
-sean
Sean baby! You, me, and Sheffield! Caught between the past and the future with no where to go! What say we start our own Republic!
ReplyDeleteWell, thats very kind of you to ask Charlie, but I reckon all of you would outnumber me and I'm already part of an oppressed minority in the UK as it is, thanks.
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough, I was just watching the Heavy Metal Britannia doc on Youtube - various Brummies explain how their music came from growing up in a city with a steel industry and drop forges everywhere, on the cusp of change.
Thats EXACTLY what they said in Synth Britannia about electronic noise wonks from Sheffield!
I'm starting to suspect the BBC don't know what they're going on about...
-sean
Charlie, speaking of Frazetta, remember those awesome album covers he did for albums like Nazareth and Molly Hatchet? I first saw them as a kid, and would later find out there was some degree of false advertising going on. ("Disclaimer: this scene might not be mentioned in the lyrics")
ReplyDeleteOn those old Frazetta Ace paperback Conan or Tarzan covers generally referred to something that happened in the book.
I'm not knocking Nazareth, though. They put out some decent bluesy heavy metal.
M.P.
M.P. Oh yea! I remember the Mollie Hatchett Frazetta album covers! I had a poster of his pinned up on the wall. It was this hot female barbarian with like 2 huge tigers called "The Huntress!" Make's me nostalgic for when women were women!
ReplyDeleteSean - I think ever since that Pink Floyd "Animals" album cover the industrial background for tough and gritty has become the standard context for "success out of adversity." And the only reason that comes to mind is b/c this week, bored, I listened to president bonespur speak and it made me put on "Sheep" on the youtube, LOL! Man, talk about tangential thinking!
MP, KD - I ain't much of a heavy metal dude. To me, it meant Led Zepp or Black Sabbath or AC/DC. The other stuff that folks call Heavy Metal just couldn't find any space in neither mine nor Charlie's cranium.
ReplyDeleteThank god the Brit Synth Sound, pioneered in the People's Republic of Sheffield due to free bus fares, came along and buried heavy metal and kool and the gang in one fell swoop!
I'm on the same page, Charlie. Those were some good bands you mentioned. But I was never much of a metal head.
ReplyDeleteThese days M.P. is more of a mellow cat. I'm trying to get into jazz.
I remember in Germany my roommate and I went to an Anthrax/Suicidal Tendencies concert in Nuremburg. We were boozing it up, and there was a mosh pit. Unfortunately, the next day the whole battalion had to give a parade for Franks or some other a$$hol@ general and we had to stand at attention on a parade field. For hours.
As soon as we were released, we both staggered into a clump of trees, threw up, and passed out.
That guy was a bad influence on me.
M.P.
Charlie, I'd never heard of Blazing Combat but I just googled it and I'm not sure if the cover of #1 could be described as homoerotic or not. You asked what homoerotic meant but then you summed it up perfectly by mentioning "Michelangelo-esque muscles". But that cover of Epic Illustrated #1 with the Roman soldiers was blatantly homoerotic and could have been a poster for Derek Jarman's 'Sebastiane' (I assume you've never heard of Derek Jarman or Sebastiane so you'll have to do some googling - I can't do all the work).
ReplyDeleteAnd Sean is right about the homoeroticism of sword & sorcery and especially Conan - I own a complete collection of Robert E. Howard's Conan stories and I can't help noticing how R.E.H. lingers over the description of Conan's muscled physique in every story...
I remember reading in 'Star Wars Weekly' that the comic's title definitely wouldn't be changed to 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Weekly' but that's exactly what happened!
Fascinating discussion about Conan and homoeroticism. It never really occurred to me, especially due to the inevitable presence of a scantily clad woman in distress on those same covers. Learn something new every day...
ReplyDeleteRegarding metal- not a fan. Just never interested me, more into pop,jazz and blues. In youth, when I wanted a bit of harder edge musc, I'd turn to the Clash,or Richard Hell, or Runaways...
I could definitely see someone with the look of that geezer from the Blazing Combat cover - bare chest, GI helmet, bullet belt - in a Village People line up. Or possibly even Judas Priest.
ReplyDelete-sean
Colin, yours seems to be the only comment so far thats actually managed to refer to one of the comics in Steve's post. Well done (;
ReplyDelete-sean
Sean - that's why we love SDC so much! He brings us all together and then allows the story to play itself out! For that, especially now, I am grateful!
ReplyDeleteSPeaking of homo-erotica (Thanks Colin)...
WHat is your opinion of Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #11?
I reference if for two reasons:
1) Many of you are not familiar with Billy Jack! The movie is worth a look!
2) Does Billy, and the dude receiving Billy's foot in his throat, convey sufficient "masculinity" to quality?
I guess I find the Blazing Combat and this cover "sexy" in their own way...
Sean, you're right, the conversation here gets way out into outer space. I although I don't know what Steve looks like, I can picture him sighing and shaking his head.
ReplyDeleteTruly he has the patience of Job.
It's around this time that many of us here in the colonies have been pulling a cork for a while, which makes us talkative.
And often incoherent.
On a different note, I've always thought Judas Priest stood head and shoulders above other metal bands. I dig 'em! There's a thing on You Tube where this school band of young kids does an amazing version of "Victim of Changes", kinda like in School of Rock. That kid that's singing has a set of pipes you wouldn't believe.
M.P.
Steve- ok, here's a comment on one of your posted books! :)
ReplyDeleteThat Spider-Man cover you discussed, makes me wonder which story it contained. The cover blurbs are reminiscent of those on the US printing of Amazing Spider-Man 38 from 1966, Steve Ditko's last issue. "Spidey as you like him", and all that. Actually, the cover you present is rather similar to the original one as well. A larger figure placed above several smaller vignettes. Hmmmmmmmm.............
Well, I just consulted the Grand Comic book Database. Even they have no information on that issue. The mystery deepens...
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I have never heard about any "Grand Comic Book Database."
ReplyDeleteWhy was I not informed?
I hold everybody here responsible. Throw me a bone once in a while, people!
M.P.
Red, I'm pretty sure the Spidey story this week is from Amazing Spider-Man #201 in which our hero teams up with the Punisher who realises there's a link between Peter Parker and Spidey and confronts him about it. Where the main cover image itself comes from, I have no idea.
ReplyDeleteMP, click on this link for The Grand Comics Database:
https://www.comics.org/
It's had quite a few mentions on here over the years.
Many thanks, Steve, I will check that out.
ReplyDeleteBut fair warning: I reserve the right to bitch and complain about it.
Cheers! ;) M.P.
I’ve just checked and can tell you that all four images on that Spider-Man cover have been taken from the inside of ASM #201, the first part of that Punisher story.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting homage to the cover of ASM #38. I can almost forgive Dez for his tinkering, just this once.
But why didn't he like the cover off ASM #201? Was it a guns thing? Or did he just not like the garish pink circles?
Sorry - I seem to have ruined Colin's monotony on comic-only related comments.
Dangermash, the previous issue had already used the cover for Amazing Spider-Man #201, so they had to come up with another one for this issue.
ReplyDeleteAlmost forgive Dez? Becoming the new Artistic Actuary appears to be having an effect on dangermash - everything we thought we knew about the SteveDoesComics universe was wrong!
ReplyDeleteWhere will this lead?
-sean
Ah, so I see Steve. Maybe this means that Dez is getting so close to catching up with the US comics that he's needing to go back to spreading originals over two weeks after going through complete US issues in a single week for a while (quite possibly with some panels left out). It might mean that this is the first in a series of ASM #38 cover homages.
ReplyDeleteAnd, Sean, Dez will never be forgiven for alienating all Marvel UK's loyal teenage readers by trying to nostalgically turn the comics back into 1960s crap like Pow, Fantastic, Valiant and TV21. But if I vent about him creating a homage to a Lee/Ditko cover then I'd be well into bitch eating crackers territory.
Ah, I was only kidding dm. Plus, you're actually ok because Dez left Marvel UK the previous month, so presumably someone else was responsible for that cover.
ReplyDelete-sean
You know... I lived through my version of "the decline of Marvel" in the mid 70s when letters pages, the marvel checklist disappeared. Prices rose and kept rising. Numerous marginal artists on an explosion of marginal titles.
ReplyDeleteI can empathize with you "chaps."
in my opinion, Marvel's great period in the 70's had it's last hurrah with Starlin's two Warlock/Thanos annuals.
ReplyDeleteAfter that all the mystery and funkiness went out. Maybe it was Shooter, maybe it was the times, I dunno. They started over-explaining everything.
Sure, they put out a few good comics here and there, like Miller's Daredevil, but it seemed like the magic had drained out. And I hated those damn X-Men. Claremont's dialogue caused me psychic pain. I bought two issues and said "no more of my hard-gotten shekels for this crapola."
M.P.
Charlie, M.P., possibly you might have been growing up?
ReplyDeleteNot saying a good comic can't be enjoyed at any time in life... but maybe our enthusiasm for the average Marvel and DC mag increasingly falls off after a certain point?
-sean
Sean - For sure "maturing" is part of this issue. I've always wondered if comics would have survived longer being written as they were in the 60s, for 12 year olds, rather than dragging us through the dark stuff in the 90s and onward with drunks, wife beaters, socio-pathic behavior, etc.
ReplyDeleteWho knows... the train left the station a long time ago. All we can do is wave farewell and enjoy these moments where those of us share our appreciation of those experiences a long time ago.
So thanks Steve for letting us "free flow" on your blog!