Sunday 4 October 2020

Fifty years ago this month - October 1970.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.

***

October 1970 presented us with both good news and bad news from the world of music.

The good was Pink Floyd released Atom Heart Mother which became their first Number One album in the UK, although it only peaked at Number 55 in the United States. It did, however, achieve gold status in both countries and went platinum in Italy. Those Italians clearly liked their Floyd.

Not so happily, Janis Joplin died from a drug overdose and became yet another rock star to die at the age of 27.

Still alive and well was the Soviet author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn who, in that month, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

For those who like to splash around underwater, there were exciting events, as October also saw the discovery of the wreck of Confederate submarine Hunley, off South Carolina. Hunley held the distinction of being the first submarine in history to ever have sunk a ship in warfare.

Avengers #81, the Vision and Scarlet Witch

It's, for me, one of the less memorable of this era's Avengers tales, as our heroes and Red Wolf find themselves up against that bloke with the Dutch name who'll go on to become the leader of Zodiac.

Given the presence of Red Wolf, I'm assuming the villain's inflicting serious ecological damage on Native American land.

In which case, it's a massive disappointment that Tomazooma doesn't show up to teach him a lesson.
Conan the Barbarian #1, Barry Smith

Mitra's teeth! Robert E Howard's greatest creation gets his own comic and Barry Smith gets his chance to shine, as a whole new era begins for Marvel Comics, that of licensed properties.

My memories of this are that there's a dead bigfoot at the beginning of it, a queen with slaves in the middle of it, and a shot of a space-walking astronaut at the end of it. How could you not love it?

And how could you not love that cover? Bazza may not have hit his peak yet but I do have to say that's an image that'd make me want to rapidly liberate a book from its spinner rack.

Captain Amerca #130, Batroc, Porcupine and Whirlwind

What's this? Batroc, the Porcupine and Whirlwind? How on Earth can even the walking flag possibly defeat all three of those at once?

Realistically, he couldn't.

But he does.

Because it's his comic.

If I remember right, there's some villain or other trying to stir up unrest on the campuses of America, and Cap has to deliver a speech to calm down the nation. One where, proving he's not the square we may all have suspected him to be, he declares there's nothing sacred about the status quo.

Either that or he says there's nothing sacred about Status Quo. In which case, he's wrong because there's nothing more sacred than Status Quo.

I have a feeling the promised appearance by the Hulk is a cheat and he's just appearing in a film Steve Rogers is watching in the cinema, just before he goes into another of his moans about being a man out of his time.

Daredevil #69, the Black Panther

This isn't one I remember but the internet informs me Daredevil and the Panther take on a gang called the Thunderbolts while a boy's life hangs in the balance.

Given the presence of street gangs, I shall assume this is another piece of social commentary, to rival that of this month's Captain America.

Fantastic Four #103, the Sub-Mariner

It's a major shock for readers, as Jack Kirby, the man who's drawn every issue of the book from #1 onwards, disappears without trace, to be replaced by the man who draws Spider-Man.

Yes, Jazzy John makes his debut on the strip. His run on it may not be long but some of us still recall it with affection.

Meanwhile, Magneto's scheme to manipulate Atlantis into waging war on New York progresses malevolently.

Incredible Hulk #132, Hydra

Those dastardly blaggards Hydra recruit the temporary services of Jim Wilson.

I'm pretty sure they do it in order to trick him into stealing some secret plans from under Thunderbolt Ross's nose.

And, of course, that, inevitably, brings them into conflict with the Hulk.

And, inevitably, he smashes them to pieces.

But we also nearly get the death of Jim.

And we get a short-lived truce with Thunderbolt Ross.

Iron Man #30

I'm struggling very badly to remember this one but I'm assuming Shellhead's in Japan.

I think there may be some sort of Japanese nationalist stuff going on and, possibly, a robot dragon and a nice old man and his daughter who help our hero defeat the forces of evil.

And computers.
Amazing Spider-Man #89, Dr Octopus

I do believe this is Gil Kane's arrival on the strip.

And, as far as I can remember, it involves everyone thinking Doc Ock's been killed in an exploding plane - only for him to turn up, alive and well, thanks to the protective power of his terrifying tentacles.


Loki's still in Thor's body and threatening the United Nations.

Meanwhile, the Warriors Three - and Sif - have ventured into Mephisto's realm, in order to free the real thunder god from the clutches of the Lord of Evil; possibly, after Odin's banished him there, thanks to Odin being a king-sized numpty who never listens to a word anyone says.

28 comments:

dangermash aka The Artistic Actuary said...

Yes - Romita takes a break from ASM one exactly the same month as he started on FF. Things are starting to make sense.

Also yes to Doc Ock and the exploding plane. The plane exploded last month. With the plane hijacking and Ock's arms escaping, fighting with.Spider-Man and freeing Ock, a lot happened in that issue. A lot less happens this month, with 11 of the 19 pages devoted to the fight and some big panels in places but it's a great exhibition of what Sugar Kane can bring to the strip. Given the right inker (Kane/Romita >>> Kane/Giacoia).

Simon B said...

Hi Steve! That's a cracking month for Marvel, and very momentous with the old guard ( Kirby ) moving on and the new boys ( BWS ) making a splash. That Thor issue is one of the first comics I ever owned so I have a real affection for it. So many images from that comic are burned into my brain - from Thor and his Asgardian buddies taking on Mephisto in the depths of Hell to that awesome splash page of Loki in Thor's body effortlessly lifting a huge earth-mover over his head to throw at his brother. Kids, eh?

Fantastic Four follower said...

Another great month for Marvel.Loved the Spiderman and Avengers issues and Conan was so strange,it did not look like a Marvel but it was,heralding the new era of the 70's!Cap and DD remain in the cycle of great art and humdrum stories with Ironman lagging well behind in both story and art.FF was in the transitional stage of Kirby to Buscema with Romita doing an admiral holding job but those issues have not aged well(but I loved them at the time.)Thor was....different,but I loved it and that image of Loki/Thor holding the excavating machine remains crystal clear.Superb.Hulk was great and I loved the street smart Jim Wilson character.Herb Trimpe was sensational on the Hulk but I never liked him on anything else!!!Strange.Keep up the great work.

Anonymous said...

Pink Floyd and Conan comics - the 70s are definitely kicking in, although I can't say I'm that keen on "Atom Heart Mother" or Barry Smith's first few issues respectively.
Still, a big part of Barry Smith's appeal was his determination to improve his work - plenty of artists get better a year or two on from their debut, but the development from Conan #1 to #24 is something else.

You're right about Cap #130, Steve - iirc, it was Modok and AIM behind the unrest, which is a shame as it does tend to undercut Cap's support for dissent. Still, its good to see him speaking up for change, which isn't that unexpected - after all, he was one of the original anti-fascists.

-sean

Anonymous said...

PS The social commentary in that issue of Daredevil doesn't come off well, as it conflates street gangs with the black power movement of the period.
And I never really liked US set Black Panther stories anyway - what is the king of an African country doing fighting street crime in America? That makes even less sense than Dylan being in the Travelling Wilburys.

-sean

Steve W. said...

Sean, I must confess I've never heard Atom Heart Mother. I think the only Floyd albums I've heard are The Wall, Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here. The Wall is my favourite of them.

FFf, I would say that, of this month's crop, my favourites are the Hulk and Spider-Man stories.

Hi, Cerebus. It definitely is a watershed month for Marvel.

Dangermash, the Spidey issue really is a masterclass in portraying motion.

Charlie Horse 47 said...

My recollection from listening to Ummagumma, Meddle, etc. from Pink is that you definitely see musical themes emerging and recurring that ultimately come together and work brilliantly in Dark Side of the Moon. That said I can't recall jack about Atom Heart Mother specifically. I hope no one takes umbrage at that.

Anonymous said...

Not me Charlie, but I'm not really an umbrage taker. Or much of a one for "classic rock" so probably not the best judge, but fwiw the pre-Dark Side album I actually like is the one before "Atom Heart Mother", "More" - its a nice mix of the pastoral and spacey without the boring over produced bits.
When it comes to the mega-stadium era Animals is the interesting one.

-sean

Anonymous said...

Sean, I no longer hold any of that umbrage. I took it out to the dumpster this morning with a bunch of empty beer bottles. Just like Buddha did.
Barry Smith was an interesting artist to watch. All artists evolve, I would guess, but his evolution strikes me as rapid and striking.
He started out as a Kirby clone with maybe a bit of Sterenko, but in a few short years, at the end of his run on Conan, he was doing his own thing.
I'm not knocking his early stuff, which I've also seen in Avengers and Daredevil. It was rough as heck and pretty wild, but definitely interesting to look at.
Yeah, I would agree that John Romita Sr. was at the top of his game, here. He was so meticulous in drawing people and faces he was the natural choice for drawing romance comics, which he did, but he could bring on the kinetic energy in these fight scenes was as good as anybody. The images of Doc Ock hurtling over rooftops or tearing up the masonry as his tentacles lunged at Spidey were pretty wild.
One scene I remember is him hanging, suspended (spider-like!) between two buildings in a full-page shot yelling at Spider-Man that he's about die. Yikes!

M.P.

Anonymous said...

It was interesting to see Barry Smith after his return to comics as a more accomplished artist go back to riffing on Kirby, with the Young Gods.
And also the Fantastic Four, although apart from a short Thing piece in Marvel Fanfare that wasn't published - apparently rather than do a proposal, Smith preferred to actually do the work on a story and then offer it to a publisher. What a nut case (in a good way).

-sean

Anonymous said...

I missed that Young Gods stuff. But that guy is definitely a character.
Maybe you gotta be a little nuts to be a good artist.
But the reverse is not true. One doesn't have to be artistic to be nuts!
...or so I'm told. I'm not speaking from personal experience (ahem)

M.P.

Colin Jones said...

Steve, I think you are confusing the "dead bigfoot" and the "queen with slaves" with events in Conan #2, a story called "The Lair Of The Beast-Men" which was the first Conan story I ever read (in Marvel UK's Savage Sword weekly #2). The dead bigfoot is, in fact, a dead beast-man who attacked Conan and got killed (offstage - we never saw the fight). Conan is then captured by some more beast-men and taken to their underground city where he joins the other human slaves. The "Queen" is the human consort/floozie of the Beast-men's king. Anyway, Conan leads a revolt and overthrows the evil regime of the beast-men, hurrah!

Steve W. said...

Thanks, Colin. I must confess my memories of Conan #1 are a little vague. :)

Anonymous said...

...there...there was a story where Conan fights a dead Bigfoot?

WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED?!?

Work with me here, people!!

M.P.

Anonymous said...

So, was it a Bigfoot in the story then?

For that matter, were there actually Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) in the Hyborian Age?
That seems like the kind of thing you'd know about M.P.

-sean

Anonymous said...

I guess it is. I have wasted a lotta time on this stuff.
There was Thak, from Rogues in the House, who was some kind of hairy semi-intelligent anthropoid.
There was a large white-haired man-eating apish creature in a later story, in a maze like the Minotaur, but I forgot the title of that one.
To anyone who was a kid in America in the '70's, Bigfoot was something to be concerned about. I avoided the woods and kept my head on a swivel. Especially at night.
Then the UFO's came.

M.P.

Charlie Horse 47 said...

MP, et al. I only remember Big Foot in context of 6 Million Dollar Man? Didn't he duke it out with one?

Charlie Horse 47 said...

Hey Folks,

Was the yellow, more yellow, back in the early Marvel days?

The yellow, like in ASM, it doesn't grab me at all. But the older Marvels, I recall finding the yellow a really rich, deep color! Yellow was especially attractive paired with green, like green Captain Marvel for instance.

Yellow and green seem like a natural combo like umbrage and the Traveling Wilburys?

Anonymous said...

Charlie, I grew up in the country. Trees, wilderness. You grew up where, Chicago? Do you think Bigfoot would show up in Chicago unless he wanted pizza or hookers?

M.P.

Anonymous said...

Come to think of it, now I wanna go to Chicago.

M.P.

Steve W. said...

Conan also fought a giant man-ape in Iron Shadows in the Moon.

MP. I didn't even live in America and I was wary of Bigfoot attacks.

Colin Jones said...

Like Steve, I was scared of Bigfoot even though he (they) lived thousands of miles away on another continent.

Conan also fights a man-ape in "The Hour Of The Dragon" - as I mentioned in the previous post, it was a story originally intended as a novel for the British market so Robert E. Howard recycled ideas from previous Conan stories with the assumption that his regular American readers wouldn't see the end result.

Anonymous said...

Do you not have pizza and hookers in South Dakota then M.P.?

-sean

Killdumpster said...

Gettin' in a little late, folks, so I'll do a quick barrage.

Sean, here in Pittsburgh we had a place called Anthony's Pizza & Go-Go. It was my favorites strip club. I don't know if the dancers were "working girls", but the pizza was delicious! Only 25 cents a slice!!

Romita drew a good Thing. That's how I gauge any artist that portrays the FF.

That issue of Cap is one of my all-time favorites! Silver-age villains, my boy Hulk (even if it was "fake), and social commentary that didn't slow down the action. Colan was great on Captain America.

The Hulk book was picked up out of habit, as I usually only picked up comics that had dynamic villains on the cover. Hense I didn't get the Avengers, DD, Iron Man, or Thor books.

As I've stated before, Spidey books were really tough for me to grab. They'd usually sold out before I got to go in town. That issue would've definety been a grab. Octopus & Gil Kane art? I would've been in fan-boy ecstasy.

Steve, Status Quo's music is indeed sacred.

Didn't get a Winston-Smith Conan till I think issue #3. I'm not going to comment on that till Steve features it.

Killdumpster said...

Steve, in the wilds of western Pennsylvania there were Bigfoot legends spoken of, but I think it was just to scare us kids to be good.

Parents would threaten us if we were bad, saying they'd feed us to them. Nothing like terrorizing children to tears.

Killdumpster said...

Yeah Charlie, Steve Austin fought Bigfoot, but he was a robot from outer space. Think I was in 3rd grade when it was broadcast, and everyone was really juiced for it.

Killdumpster said...

Later on in the series Steve had to battle Bigfoot and the Venus Death-Probe at the same time. Guess ratings were down, so they "jumped the shark".

Can't remember what happened in that episode, but I'm sure he could have used Jamie Summers' help.

Not sure if she was created at that time.

Steve W. said...

KD, we were threatened with the Bogeyman coming to get us.

But we were never told what the Bogeyman was, so it wasn't much of a threat.