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Turn on your spotlights and fill up your tanks because we plunge, once more, into the Marianas Trench of History to see what strange fish we can encounter and annoy.
The team try to get things back to normal, after last issue's shenanigans with Ms Marvel and her brand new son/boyfriend.
Unfortunately, normal for the Avengers involves the Wasp getting abducted by a robot, and Wonder Man losing his job as Sideshow Bob.
As the cover suggests, however, the book's real highlight is Jarvis in solo action, sorting out riff-raff on the streets of New York.
Batroc breaks Mr Hyde out of prison and, now, the dastardly duo are planning to ram an oil tanker into New York and blow the place to smithereens unless the city pays them zillions of dollars.
Or are they?
It seems that, given the ruthlessness of his new partner, Batroc's already starting to have second thoughts about the whole thing...
After plenty of fighting, complaining and arguing, the dispute between the Hulk, Doc Samson, Betty, Rick, Woodgood and Thunderbolt Ross is finally settled, as the cloven-hoofed tamperer in genetics realises he's been tricked by his latest, blatantly evil, creations, and everybody gets to calm down and make friends.
Apart from Thunderbolt Ross who still hates the Hulk as much as ever.
Madame Web makes her sedentary debut and helps Spider-Man to deal with some crime or other.
If I remember correctly, I think it involves the kidnapping The New York Globe's owner who's been using a stand-in to attend board meetings, meaning no one will know when the real her's been murdered.
At last, Spidey thwarts Belladonna and her crimes against fashion, by doing something or other that I can't recall.
I do, though, recollect it involving him getting her and her sister mixed-up with each other.
And, also, getting the fake Prowler to shoot a dummy, in the belief that it's our hero.
Now the Celestials are out of the way, Thor sets about reviving Odin and the other Norse gods, which he achieves by getting all the other pantheons to donate a small portion of their life-force to the cause.
Unfortunately, one Indian god doesn't like the idea, so Thor has to fight him for it.
Kitty Pryde may join the X-Men this issue but the real news, for some of us, is Nightcrawler and Wolverine head off to Canada and find themselves having to deal with the nightmare menace of the Wendigo.
I've a feeling this may be the issue in which Nightcrawler first discovers Wolverine's real name, even though I think one of the leprechauns in that earlier story may have already mentioned it.
Daredevil encounters the Mauler who, despite that name, isn't a criminal wrestler but is an old man in a suit of armour, who's angry, with his former boss, that he's lost his company pension.
It's no hands on deck, as Tony Stark's latest girlfriend's kidnapped from a yacht, by Sub-Mariner foe-turned-pirate Force - and now only Iron Man can save her.
Assuming he can save himself.
It's a very strange tale, as Conan's captured by Arab slavers and ends up having to battle a pair of giant space-slugs to rescue one of them.
But it turns out he doesn't have to battle them at all, because they're not evil.
Sadly, he only discovers this after he's killed one of them.
I don't usually find myself getting excited by these 40-year old comics but Avengers and Cap both look good. While Mr Hyde was a joke going against Thor, Daredevil/Cap/Spider-Man will probably have wearing their brown costumes.
ReplyDeleteA quick check in a Marvel Masterwork reveals that Wolverine was indeed called Logan by Shaun's friends back around X-Men #102 +/- 1.
I couldn't be bothered with reading that ASM comic properly but just flicking through does look as if it's vaguely related to KJ Clayton of the Daily Globe.
And here's a weird thing about Madame Webb. While I quit reading comics in double quick time when Dez took over, when I came across her years and years later (maybe in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe?) I found that I did vaguely remember her. Maybe at some point in my Uni days I came across her while flicking through an American ASM comic in the newsagent?
Very black and white this month,with either great comics or...not!Avengers began its 4 year(yes 4)slump even with some lovely artwork from Colan over the next few issues.FF,Hulk, Amazing SM and Peter Parker all seemed bland but DD,X-Men,Cap and Ironman were all home runs with fantastic artwork,great stories and dream teams making those issues a must have.FF would soon join them but for me Spiderman was at its lowest point ever!!!!Only being rescued by The Hobgoblin and obviously Stern which was 3 years away.The Conan issue had(I think) that strange Adams/Buscema artwork which was ..diferent.Great memories and as usual I bought them all and loved them.
ReplyDeleteFor someone called Fantastic Four follower that struck me as a very restrained comment on FF #224, Jim; that sci-fi Viking story - and Moench's run in general - was a (then) new low point for the comic (and thats even after the Marv Wolfman era, which wasn't exactly one of the foursome's finest).
ReplyDeleteAnd much as I like Sienkiewicz, his work didn't fit the FF at all.
You're right about Nightcrawler finding out Wolverine's name in X-Men #139 Steve, but lets not get into the subject of the leprechauns again. Any excuse to bring them up, eh? (And as for dangermash - "Shaun"? Tsk tsk)
We also get to find out that Wolverine did dirty black ops for the Canadian secret service. Which I guess is supposed to add to his tough guy mystique, but c'mon - its Canada.
-sean
Sorry Sean. Can we call that my Peter Palmer moment?
ReplyDeleteNo worries dm, although I did wonder for a moment whether your evil twin brother Mike had somehow returned...
ReplyDelete-sean
Fair point of my restrained critique of FF #225.When Moench and Sienkiewicz took over in #219 I thought it was weird.Neal Adams had drawn the FF in Avengers #93 and it was off,brilliant issue but similar to Kirby on Spiderman,something was just not right.As that team progressed through a 2 issue fill in by Byrne and so on it just got worse.If Byrne had not taken over who knows where it was going to end up.I personally loved those Byrne issues with Sinnott and I would have preferred he would have inked Byrne but not to be.You are right that these were the worst FF's of all time up to this point.No arguement(though the book was poor when Byrne left in 1986).
ReplyDeleteFantastic Four Follower (can we just call you FFF for short? Typing is not my strong suit), while I have always found Byrne to be...ah, a difficult person to, er, like...I agree he saved the F.F. That comic was going nowhere when he took over. I became an avid follower. God only knows what it looks like now. The last time I set foot in a comic store I felt like an unfrozen caveman.
ReplyDeleteTrapped in a world I never made.
And as much of a pain in the neck that guy could be, he was doing a bang-up job illustrating Captain America at this point. Roger Stern was doing some great writing; one gets the sense that he was really enjoying himself.
I'd wager we all have our favorite villains. Either we love them or we love to hate them. I'll read anything with Mr. Hyde in it. I dunno why I find that character so compelling. Maybe it's that he's so obnoxious and vile I enjoy seeing him get his comeuppance at the end.
M.P.
Pretty much agree with everyone here. Avengers were about to sink far and fast. Fantastic Four was unremarkable. Amazing Spider-Man was at the lowest point in the series yet. I did find Spectacular Spider-Man to be better at that stage. But like you've all said, Cap, DD and X-men were top notch.
ReplyDeleteFFF- afraid I must respectfully differ regarding Byrne and Sinnott. Perhaps I was used to the inks of Terry Austin or Dan Green. I loved Byrne's work, and Sinnott's as well. But somehow Sinnott's strong style seemed to overpower Byrne's pencils, imho. Certainly was pleasant and well done, but I preferred Byrne's inks once he started his great run a bit later...
Well, even though Sinnott's inks were a little too smooth for my taste (which I strongly suspect is a minority opinion) I could see the sense in having him work on the FF when Byrne was just the new artist during Wolfman's run, continuing to provide some visual continuity for the comic as he had for years.
ReplyDeleteBut as M.P. says, whatever you think of him Byrne reinvigorated the FF, and it was fitting that when he was also writer that he did his own complete artwork. I loved the way his inking had a look that recalled the early Kirby era while also being fresh and distinctively itself (at least early on in his run - he started to lose it a bit during that extended sequence in the Negative Zone).
Not that I want to knock Moench and Sienkiewicz too much. The FF was/is a hard book to get right - hardly anyone's done it since Kirby left really - and their talents were much more suited to, say, Moon Knight #1 which also came out this month (or maybe the next one - I recall getting it around the same time).
-sean
I think that's right. I think the F.F. is a hard comic to write. How do you follow those first seventy issues or so?
ReplyDeleteHoly God, Sean and I are agreeing with each other. Again.
Frankly, I'm starting to get a little worried about him.
M.P.
And I seem to have been in agreement with Redartz and FF follower too M.P. It doesn't seem plausible, does it?
ReplyDeleteI suspect some sort of fraud and demand a recount.
-sean
Hah!
ReplyDeleteM.P.
Sean - as regards Marv Wolfman & Byrne's FF, I got FF #212 (Sphinx vs Galactus) on a family holiday as a kid, and thought it was absolutely brilliant - I side with Fantastic Four Follower on that point. Prior to that, I'd followed the Sphinx's long development, in Nova (Wolfman's brainchild), and to see him challenging Galactus - amazing! Sayge is a brilliant creation, too!
ReplyDeleteHowever, years later, when I got the finale (FF # 213), it seemed anticlimactic. That contrasts with the finales of Nefaria, Korvac, etc, which certainly weren't anticlimaxes. I suppose X-Men # 137 - which I got in Classic X-Men years later - well...sort of an anticlimax (I know, sacrilege!).
Obviously, Sinnott doesn't suit Byrne like Terry Austin, but he worked well enough in FF # 212.
Sean - Sienkiewicz. Sienkiewicz was a genius on Moonknight - and, like you say, Moonknight # 1 is an outstanding issue - but team books weren't his strong suit, at that point. You've almost certainly thought of this already, but...for a new, inexperienced (albeit very gifted) artist, drawing a team book is very different from drawing a single character (getting the right number of characters in a panel, for example).
If you think Sienkiewicz's FF story had shortcomings, look at his X-Men annual (that silly story with Dracula beating up Colossus). In some parts, it looks like, in a panel, Sienkiewicz has crammed too many characters together, so they are almost shoulder to shoulder. This may be inexperience showing - or rushing to meet a deadline (?)
As regards Moench & Sienkiewicz's FF story - well, it wasn't the greatest thing thing in the world (an understatement) - but it made a change. There was something slightly Moorcockian about it. The Vikings were a bit like 'The Land that Time Forgot', or is it 'The island at the Top of the World'? Also, Moorcock often has stuff like that sad, blind giant with the eye beams. The Sad Giant's Shield is a bit similar, maybe? Tenuous, I know!
Back to FF #212 - individual issues of Marv Wolfman's may have had a lot of Star Trek in them, but when they were good, they were very good!
Phillip
Wow, I haven't even thought about Island At The Top Of The World in years Phillip. You are a man of rare taste.
ReplyDeleteTrying to work out from your comment if you knew that Moorcock wrote the screenplay for Land that Time Forgot, Phillip. Seems quite likely you did...
As it happens, I dislike Marv Wolfman's superhero writing, and that awful Doom story that ended in #200 put me off the FF for a while. (Doom - who's absorbed the cosmic power of the Silver Surfer, and fights Mephisto every year - goes mad because he saw his own repeated reflection? Seriously?)
It put me off following the FF for a while, meaning I'm not much up on Byrne's first stint as artist; so seeing as I'm being agreeable at the moment I'll take your word for it on the Sphinx storyline.
-sean
*Apologies for some poor edits in that comment there. Duh.
ReplyDelete-sean
Sean - right on all counts!
ReplyDeleteMarv did some genius symbolism (although Sal could take credit, too):
Marv wrote a Nova story, based on the Star Trek episode, 'Metamorphosis' (seemingly), in which an overpowering alien female entity, selects a reluctant male companion.
In this Nova story, the reluctant/unwilling companion is the Mega Man. The Mega Man feels smothered by the overpowering entity, and want to be free of her. To represent this, the Mega Man's face is depicted as being totally blank (Sal Buscema drew it, but Marv must have thought it up), and devoid of any features. I think, as a piece of symbolism, this is brilliant, as it shows the Mega Man's loss of his individuality, as the attentions of the overpowering alien female entity smother him. No features/blank = no individual identity.
Marv seems to have borrowed the Sphinx idea, of a man who cannot die, and lives on for centuries, from the Star Trek episode, 'Requiem for Methuselah' - though I suppose it's a trope from literature, too ( 'The rime of the Ancient Mariner' & 'Melmoth'?)
The Doug McClure-type movies blend together somewhat, don't they? 'Warlords of Atlantis' influenced the Captain Britain story with a bathysphere (seemingly), and another Captain Britain story, with a robot octopus (both Ron Wilson, with fab Pablo Marcos inks). This was my start with Marvel comics, so these two are favourites of mine. Probably not your cup of tea, though.
I think we're all feeling more agreeable, now the U.S. election's over - but how long will it last?
Phillip
Looking at the dates, the Captain Britain stories with a bathysphere & a robot octopus were both in 1977, whereas 'Warlords of Atlantis' was in 1978 - so the movie can't have been an influence. Maybe it was the other way around, with Captain Britain influencing 'Warlords of Atlantis' - but that seems highly unlikely! Must just be a coincidence!
ReplyDeleteOh - and here's another boring observation - the Sphinx's adviser, Sayge, is similar to the Parsee/Fedallah, in 'Moby Dick'. Sayge/Fedallah are both hooded, mysterious figures, who tell the Sphinx/Ahab uncomfortable truths they don't want to hear (for example, that their death is a foregone conclusion.)
Phillip
Thanks for your comments, everyone. Of this month's issues, I'd say my favourites are Captain America, The Avengers and X-Men. My least favourite is The Fantastic Four.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to Doug McClure films, my favourite used to be The Land That Time Forgot but, these days, I've come round to preferring Warlords of Atlantis. I've always had a soft spot for At the Earth's Core too, especially since finding out it was meant to be a Doctor Who movie but Amicus had let the rights to make Doctor Who movies lapse and, so, had to disguise their true intentions with it.
Steve, The Land That Time Forgot is a favorite of mine too. I was a kid when I first saw that and dinosaurs or any other kind of monster enthralled me. I keep hoping they'll get around to showing that on Turnip Classic Movies, like they do with those old Sinbad movies.
ReplyDeleteDo you guys get that over there? If not, maybe write to your, uh,...equivalent of a congressman and demand it.
Every time I come across Doug McClure's name, I immediately think of Troy McClure. You may remember him from such movies as Meet Joe Blow and The Erotic Adventures of Hercules.
M.P.
I remember seeing clips of The Land that Time Forgot on Screen Time (with Michael Rodd) and built it up in my mind so much that when I saw the entire movie, years later, it was a bit of a let down.
ReplyDeleteSteve, where did you read that At the Earth's Core was intended as a Dr Who movie? As its also based upon an Edgar Rice Burroughs story I assumed it was simply another unofficial sequel to TLTTF. Was it that they already had Peter Cushing under contract? Given that it was 10 years since their previous Dr. Who movie, it seems odd. That said, Caroline Munro as an assistant would have been fab.
DW
Did anyone else catch a bit of the government briefing on tv earlier? Watching Boris Johnson with a scientific expert and a brigadier I felt like we were all trapped inside a particularly bad episode of Dr Who.
ReplyDeleteM.P., you will be pleased to hear that normal service is resumed and I disagree with you - the Land That Time Forgot is terrible. I thought it was ok as a kid when I first saw it, but watching it more recently... nah.
It was a real let down as I'd found out by then Moorcock wrote the script, so I was hoping for something better. Susan Penhaligon was no Caroline Monro, thats for sure.
The old Sinbad flicks are much better. And of course One Million Years BC is a classic for the ages...
-sean
Holy moly. Apparently, Michael Moorcock did write the script for The Land That Time Forgot. I just checked that out.
ReplyDeleteNot that Sean isn't the very soul of honesty, but...
That is weird. I did not see that coming.
Remember that scene where the pterodactyl carries that guy off? There's no way that pterodactyl is gonna be able to swallow that guy.
I guess I could imagine Moorcock writing that scene.
M.P.
Pretty sure Moorcock has confessed that James Cawthorn did most of the actual writing on the LAND THAT TIME FORGOT screenplay. FWIW.
ReplyDeleteRe: Sinnott over-powering Byrne on that earlier run of FF — I think it’s significant that Byrne was only doing layouts or breakdowns on those. If they’d been full pencils, I think it might have been a more satisfying blend of the two artists’ styles. In any case, I think they look pretty nice just as they are.
b.t.
Okay, b.t., but you still haven't explained to my satisfaction how that pterodactyl could swallow that caveman whole. It had a skinny neck.
ReplyDeleteM.P.
MP, I'm not aware of that Classic Movies channel being available in Britain, although there are so many channels these days that I may just have missed it. It sounds like the nearest free British equivalent would be The Horror Channel and TalkingPicturesTV which both show lots of old horror/sci-fi/fantasy films.
ReplyDeleteDW, I don't have a clue where I read that At the Earth's Core was an attempt to make a third Doctor Who movie by stealth but it is a claim I've seen in various places over the years. It would make sense, as it had the same producers as the previous two, the same star, and a plot that was basically a mash-up of those of the previous two films.
Sean, I didn't even know there was a government briefing.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't miss much Steve. It had someone from the army on who was a brigadier, to talk about the testing in Liverpool.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately Boris Johnson did not also introduce us to our new Cyberman overlords or pull off his face to reveal he was an alien, which was disappointing.
-sean