Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
***
It was John Lennon, on his final album and, this week in 1980, just three weeks after that LP was released, the claim was validated in the most dramatic of circumstances, as his comeback was brought to a permanent halt by his murder outside his New York home.
In a more cheery vein, on this night, that year, a repeat of BBC One's The Goodies reacquainted the world with the Lancastrian martial art of ' Ecky Thump, and black pudding sales would never be the same again.
Aside from their careers as comedians, the Goodies, of course, had numerous hit singles but, even so, they were mere sales pigmies before ABBA who celebrated another week of topping both the UK singles and album chart, with their platters entitled Super-Trouper.
Especially now that Serpentyne's showed up.
Not that I have a clue who Serpentyne is but he's named after a river in London, so he must be awesome.
Elsewhere, Nick Fury's busy liberating Treblinka.
And we get the chance to win 10 Kodak cameras, though, personally, I'll settle for winning just one.
Elsewhere, Spider-Man's hired as stage assistant to Mesmero who's turned his back on crime, in order to forge a new career, in showbiz.
Needless to say, Mesmero's back doesn't stay turned for long and, pretty soon, he's out to kill the critics who've dared to pan his performances.
Who that might be, I could not say.
Nor can I say anything about anything else that happens in this comic, other than that Ms Marvel, the Fantastic Four, Daredevil and Morbius all have contributions to make towards filling it.
Now we can travel the universe, at a snail's pace, from the comfort of our armchairs and not have to bother with that pesky cinema-thing everyone's talking about, these days.
Ant-Man's still out to stop Odd John's insect army, as led by a heavily evilised Bug.
Star-Lord's up against Shreen the Huntress.
And Adam Warlock's arrived on Counter-Earth, in his mission to stop the menace of the Man-Beast.
The only problem is he's now lost his memory, got himself lumbered with a bunch of teenagers, and the Man-Beast is about to set a giant rat on him.
Conan clearly has his hands full, protecting his adopted village from a tribe of vampires.
Even further into the past, having courageously seen off the attack of a herbivorous iguanodon, Devil Dinosaur sets off to rescue Moon-Boy from a tribe of ape-men who want to feed him to a giant spider.
I'm not totally convinced this is a strictly accurate portrayal of Stone Age life.
In the present, Dr Strange is still looking for the missing Clea but meets opposition from a bunch of Chinese gentlemen.
This week's tale of Asgard sees the youthful Thor rescue Sif from Hela and we're informed that Sif is Balder's sister.
But, hold on, didn't Stan the Man set up a romantic triangle between Thor, Balder and Sif, with Balder doing the, "If only she would gazeth upon me as she doth Thor," routine?
I'm saying nothing.
Far away from all that, Merlin still has his suspicions about the mystery visitor to King Arthur's castle.
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'Forces in Combat' # 31
Compared with 1979, 1980 seemed a new dawn - hypermodern new artists, like Frank Miller & Michael Golden, were cutting their teeth (in 1981, this trend continued!) To remind us we're entering this new dawn, ROM features a very 'modern' looking (for 1980!) Michael Golden cover. Unfortunately, no details of Kodak cameras to be won are provided inside - although there is a subscription form for 'FRANTIC'. A free gift, perhaps? I forget.
This week's contents. Any common themes? Well, both Kull & ROM battle soul stealing, black monsters, whose touch is all but deadly.
In ROM, the Dire Wraiths staged that fake funeral to discredit ROM in front of humanity, making him appear to have slaughtered helpless humans, whilst keeping the Wraiths' presence on Earth a secret. Yet, nevertheless, the Dire Wraiths fill the coffins with futuristic weapons, just in case ROM turns up. These two aims seem to be at cross purposes!
The Dire Wraith priest has summoned the winged black monster, Deathwing, to steal ROM's soul. But ROM grabs the priest, and threatens to feed him to Deathwing, unless he'll reveal the location of ROM's neutralizer! The Dire Wraith priest sings like a canary, but ROM still feeds him to Deathwing. Hardly fair!
As Deathwing takes the priest, it brushes against ROM, damaging the spaceknight, and causing him to fall into a newly dug grave, the bottom of which gives way, sending ROM down into the bowels of the Earth!
Serpentyne appears, annoyed ROM has robbed him of his vengeance against the Dire Wraiths (this is like Drax's reaction to Captain Marvel, over Thanos!) Turns out the shaft ROM has fallen down is the entrance to Serpentyne's lair - the plot thickens! Serpentyne declares that if ROM's neutralizer is such a fantastic weapon, he must have it for himself. Nefaria felt the same about Thor's hammer - and look how that turned out!
Kull. Something looks slightly 'off' about Kull, this week. The art is subtly different, with Kull's mystery lady having changed from being fair haired, to dark haired.
This week, two conflicts are going on simultaneously - Kull is facing the shadow monster, whilst the amnesiac mystery lady is fending off the dastardly hunchback. Battling the shadow monster, Kull's soul is being sucked away, but he nevertheless comes up with a plan! The dark monster was created from a shadow cast by a rock formation. So, Kull causes that rock formation to fall, which, in turn, destroys the shadow/monster!
Meanwhile the girl warns the hunchback that she vowed never to take a human life (like Storm & Brian Braddock - is there a Chris Claremont connection?) with her sword, but will make an exception in his case! Kull returns with the magic flower to the hunchback's cottage, but the mysterious girl has already killed the hunchback, and is pleased to discover Kull's still alive, too. A happy ending - as long as you're not the hunchback!
In Machine Man, MM rushes into a burning building, on a mission of mercy! Machine Man again demonstrates he can detach his limbs (last time it was his head!), detaching his calf to prop up a beam, so as to rescue two workers. The ingrates call Machine Man a freak, treating him like Spidey or the Silver Surfer. A brilliant female scientist has been transformed into a gaseous monster, named Ion. She wants Machine Man to put her out of her misery (Wolverine had this problem when Dark Phoenix turned back to Jean), and when he won't, she goes berserk, attacking him! After round one, Ion flees the building, leaving Machine Man badly damaged!
Weirdworld, with Tyndall the Elf, makes little sense. Tyndall goes to the sky island (no, this isn't a Graviton story!), where he finds a girl with pointed ears, like his own, being sacrificed by people without pointed ears. With whom do you think he sides? Tyndall rescues the girl, whereupon they are attacked by the dragon to whom the girl being sacrificed. At this point, the girl transforms into a swamp serpent! The two beasts kill each other, and Tyndall collects the dragon's blood the wizard Grithstane had sent him for. Tyndall returns to Grithstane's lair, to find him dead, killed by his own girl, who was also a shape shifting serpent. At this point, Tyndall walks off with his elf-girlfriend, who both decide they don't care if the world hates them! This all makes about as much sense as a Spider-woman story!
Fury & the gang tunnel to the admin office, disguise themselves as Nazis, then telephone for a lift out of the prison camp. They drive/break through a Nazi checkpoint, then catch a motor torpedo boat to a buoy with a transmitter. This they use to call some Brits with silly accents to pick them up in a sea plane. A lot of ME-109s attack, but are chased off by Hurricanes. Fury is smug that he's pulled off another successful mission, but doesn't seem to care less about all the prisoners he abandoned in Treblinka.
Unfortunately, I can't summarize any more weeklies, this week, as 'Forces in Combat' is the only one of this week's selection I've got!
Phillip
To correct any wrong impression, Nefaria thought Thor's hammer was 'the secret' to his immortality - that's why the count wanted it! I was just riffing!
Phillip
Thanks for the summary, Phillip. It really does sound like it was a terrible idea by Marvel to have Nick Fury blunder into the realms of extermination camps.
Steve, it's funny you mentioned the Goodies because last Monday night saw Tim Brooke-Taylor's final appearance on Radio 4's 'I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue' after 48 years. The show was recorded in March, just one month before Tim's death from Covid.
Steve, I liked Woodgod, but I can't see how they could do a lot with that character. He makes for a good guest-star, that is, anytime the main character of a comic finds himself deep in the woods.
Sorta like the Sub-Mariner; anytime the main hero of a comic falls into the ocean Subby's likely to show up.
But it's not like Woodgod is gonna relocate to NYC, enroll in college and get entangled in romantic relationships.
On the other hand, Alan Moore took over the Swamp Thing when that series was going under and he turned the whole concept on it's head. Why not? There was nothing to lose. Like Morrison did with the Doom Patrol, or Miller did with Daredevil. Or Starlin with Warlock, for that matter.
It would be interesting to see Moore's take on Woodgod. If Moore was writing it, I'm sure a lotta weird stuff would transpire.
M.P.
Gents - I understand the UK's World Pie Eating Championships are cancelled!
(They've been held for decades at Harry's Bar on Wallgate, Wigan, Greater Manchester.)
However, Harry has written Bo Jo for a reprieve. Do you chaps think that Bo Jo will grant said reprieve? Or Bo Jo can' be bothered?
I wonder how a UK meat-pie eating context compares to a USA hot dog eating contest.
Just like alot of folks on this site, I'll never forget where I was when I heard John Lennon died. I was just about to put the key to my apartment (which I shared with a fellow art student) door, when my roommate swung it open and screamed, "SOME A$$H*LE JUST SHOT JOHN!!!" He was a HUGE John Lennon fan. He had just purchased his last album (Milk & Honey, correct?), and wished record stores could carve grooves through tracks so the needle would go to the next. Guess who's songs he didn't like, Sean:-).
While I was shocked and upset, he was literally bouncing off the walls. He kept me up all night. I went to class the next day, but he stayed home.
Even though I never cared for Lennon's solo stuff, I love the Beatles. The Fab 4 are so much the soundtrack of my life, like many people. The needlessly abruptiveness of his murder should have given Marc Chapman the "chair". It was premeditated.
Sorry to be so morros, Steve. I know you like to keep your site fun-loving.
On the lighter side, in my teens I used to be able to eat bales of hotdogs. We had wiener-roasts outside all year round, as we lived in the sticks. After cutting down trees for firewood, wed have piles of branches to burn. We made great use of that to cook our own dinner, which my mother was happy about.
Nowadays I have a hard time finishing off a convenience store 2 for 99 cent hotdog special.
Years ago, maybe when I was 5 years old, I had mince meat pie. I didn't care for it.
On the plus side, at least Chapman waited til after the last session for Yoko Ono's "Walking On Thin Ice". Apparently Lennon had a tape of the final mix on him when he was shot (fortunately it wasn't hit).
Phillip, you've only got Forces In Combat this week? How did that happen?
-sean
Sean - I'm puzzled myself!
Phillip
Charlie, I would normally argue that a Prime Minister has bigger things on his mind than the World Pie-Eating Championships but, knowing Boris Johnson, there's a fair chance he'll personally intervene, demanding it must go ahead and citing reasons of national pride, then stand there singing Land of Hope and Glory. We live in unique times.
I didn't know that, Colin, thanks for the info.
MP, I suppose that Woodgod is, technically, a scientist, so I suppose they could build something around that. I've no idea what, though.
KD, I heard about Lennon's death, on a local radio station, straight after climbing out of bed. It was a genuine moment of disbelief.
Sean, I'm about to say words that no one ever says. I like the Yoko tracks on Double Fantasy and think the album works better for having them there.
I heard about Lennon's death when I woke up the next morning. Dudes were talking outside in the hall of my dormitory and had to tell me, being a big Beatles fan.
After viewing the "John in New York" documentary a few weeks ago (youtube it) I developed an appreciation for Ono. She loved him, he loved / needed her... that's not a bad thing.
Were I to reveal my real thoughts, I would say she probably gets a bad rap b/c she's non-European looking and perhaps not considered attractive to some degree or another.
More importantly I hope the Bo Jo allows the World Pie Eating competitions to proceed! What with the Manchester Darby tomorrow as well, it would be great PR!
I wonder if Bo Jo ever stayed in a Ho Jo? (B.t.w. nice of the Bo Jo to signal to the USA he things Biden is our new president, lol.)
Can someone tell me why Fury and his band of Merrill-Marauder wanna-be's went to Treblinka?
Dunno Charlie - same reason the Invaders went to the Warsaw ghetto I expect. Bad taste?
-sean
Charlie - I think rescuing a scientist was the objective, but I never really give Fury stories my full attention.
Phillip
Speaking of Scotched Eggs in your papers a few days back, I'm watching this Brit series called Durrells in Corfu (Greece) on our PBS station. (It's like 100% UK shows... we don't know how to do drama-comedy in the States, lol.)
A Brit family living in Corfu in the 1930s. Out of money, they hit upon the idea of selling Scotched Eggs to the locals in the middle of a hot summer and proceed to give them all food poisoning.
Have you UK gents eaten Scotched Eggs? Are they preferable to meat pies? DO they sell them at Soccer Games or the World Championship of Conkers? I don't think I recall Desperate Dan eating Scotched Eggs but he would di9g into pies. One even had a whole cow in it!
My brother won a pie-eating contest once!
Now he has a side gig as a currier in a black-market pie and banana bread operation.
Our Ma bakes 'em, he transports 'em. The IRS doesn't know anything about it.
I hope he don't get pulled over by a state trooper while driving with a trunk fulla baked goods.
"Is that blueberry pie I smell on your breath, sir?
I need you to step out of the vehicle."
M.P.
Ahhh... the mysterious, elusive MP has shimmied out for his evening stroll among SDC! Stalking his territory under cover of darkness like the elusive Florida puma!
I must say, SDC has made me more culturally aware. Last week Colin J was mentioning Andy Williams. And I'll be doggoned if an Andy Williams special is not chasing the the UK's The Durrells in Corfu! He looks awesome in the early 1970s in a purple suit and purple tie with shirt collars that could double for wings on a 747, lol.
I dare say that his version of the xmas song, "It's the most wonderful time of the year" is the gold standard for that song 60 years on!
I'm somewhat surprised we've made it this far into the comments without you asking any questions about black pudding Charlie.
-sean
Well Sean... I did see a special last night on a Yorkshire Pudding cooking contest. ANd then I started wondering if that would explain the disappearance of all those dogs and cats in Yorkshire or the Shire of York or however it is called?
I had assumed the pudding was a sweet, sugary concoction but then I saw they were incorporating meat into it and then I thought... hmmm... in Chicago the pigeons disappearing was due their to being sold in Chinese restaurants, horses were ending up in lasagna made in France, so, since Steve swears the biggest maggots he saw were in York then if seems logical the Yorkies are stuffing their pudding with dogs and cats?
Just a hunch...
Sean... I know I've asked before but forgotten, but what gets you up at 3:00 AM in the UK to sign on here? Colin says he doesn't sleep easily I think. MP - he's just a nocturnal cat roaming the plains of south dakota.
Sean???
Charlie, I swear to God...
...although I agree about Andy Williams. Who doesn't get a little emotional when hearing "Moon River".
M.P.
Charlie, I've had Scotch eggs many times. I would say they're on a par with meat pies, although very different from them.
Charlie, it's Scotch Eggs not Scotched Eggs and they are nothing to do with Scotland by the way - apparently the original producers of Scotch eggs just thought that Scotch eggs sounded like a good name.
Charlie, Andy Williams' "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" is currently at #28 on the UK singles chart. And who's at #1 you ask? Well, I'll tell you - 26 years after it was first released, Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" has finally reached #1.
Colin - Fascinating! Ole Charlie literally thought that Scotch eggs were from... duh... Scotland! The stuff I learn here.
MP - Moon River must have been Andy's signature song along with It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. His voice is perfect for those two songs.
Steve - Should I ever make to England, in spite of your well know anti-social preferences, I insist we go out and eat a meat pie and scotch egg. Maybe take in the Conker CHampionships, or Bogg Swimming Championships, or the SNooker Championships, or just roam the streets of Sheffield seeing where all those great New Wavers hung out. (Are any still about?)
Seems Scotch Eggs are now popular, with a massive sales boom since the end of the recent lockdown.
www.standard.co.uk/business/scotch-egg-substantial-meal-increase-demand-b260522.html
Charlie, some say the Scotch Egg has its origins in the gehaktbal kiekeboe ("peekaboo meatball") of the medieval Flems, others that its basically a kofta and came from India via Persia in the 18th century, but it was probably (inevitably?) invented in Yorkshire.
Whitby, apparently.
-sean
I hadda look up "Scotch Egg" because I never heard of it before. It doesn't sound half bad.
Some of the stuff you guys in the U.K. eat is bewildering to me. I'm not gonna bore everybody by going down the list; I figure you've heard it all before.
I think it's because you're on an island. That's why you eat weird shit sometimes.
On an island you gotta eat what's available. It gets pretty spendy to import stuff.
That's why the Japanese eat so much fish. And that's also probably why they tend to live so long.
M.P.
You can also buy a Scotch egg quiche - I tried one recently and it was quite nice.
My mom still makes this thing she calls a "Shepherd's Pie."
I don't think it really is a shepherd's pie. What it is, is meatloaf with mash potatoes on top and some cheddar cheese on top of that.
It's okay, I guess, but you're gonna need a lotta ketchup.
M.P.
It doesn't cost that much to import food here M.P. At least not yet, although I suppose that might change at the end of the month. We'll find out tomorrow, as apparently its the final deadline for reaching a Brexit agreement (yeah, right).
Still, you never know - maybe the Brits will be at war with the French by Monday.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/dec/11/four-navy-ships-to-help-protect-uk-waters-in-case-of-no-deal-brexit
-sean
Sean, I sympathize. I hope they get it sorted out.
Over here, we've been teetering on the edge of fascism for some time now.
The last couple weeks will be in the history books.
M.P.
Sean - LMAO... The Frogs and Limeys going at it again after like 200 years (Waterloo) over some cod.
My best guess is, should that happen, Iceland would attack from the rear, stealing all those cod, while the UK navy was tied up in the channel stopping the Frenchies from stealing cod?
Let's be serious, though (not sure why, lol)
All my dozens of trips in France for 2 - 3 weeks at a time and I never once ate cod. I ate Monkfish, Salmon, Sardines on the grill, even Mackerels (and rabbits and veal brains and goose livers as big as chickens) but I never had cod.
But nothing like cod ever crossed my lips in France so I am betting the Frogs ain't gonna invade the channel for cods. However, I suspect you being Irish would not mind a bit of schaden freude befalling the Brits? (I'm just speculating.)
MP - my french wife would make that ground beef, mashed potato, cheese dish often in the winter. It had a french name, too. THe family would demolish it in no time flat. I never even had no leftovers for work the next day.
Now I see expensive, organic frozen Shepards Pie in the grocery but it has corn in it. Who the hell ever heard of corn in a Shepards pie? I won't touch it.
My wife's cousin was a shepardess for a few seasons not so long ago. Stunning pictures of her and the sheep in the Auvergne in France. She also said it was pretty boring.
MP - I've come to the conclusion that there is a correlation between the country that invented Santa Claus and Rudolph having enough idiots to believe this election was somehow stolen.
Charlie-so maybe my mom's recipe had some sort of European backstory.
I always thought she just made it up. She made a lotta stuff up.
I agree with you, I don't see how corn fits into the equation. It doesn't sound good to me either.
I envy you your time in France. I wish I had seen it when I had the chance.
It's on my bucket list. That, and Greece and Iceland.
Boring is good! When I was a kid I thought the ideal job would be herding sheep in Switzerland. Or gravedigger. Lots of peace and quiet.
My grandfather, whose parents came over from East Prussia in the late 19th century, had a side-gig as a gravedigger. My mom told me that everybody who died on his watch went to their eternal reward with several empty Budweiser cans.
M.P.
You guys ever see that movie "Sink the Bismark!" When I think of the British Navy I think of that!
WHat else is really cool is that when the Bismark broke out into open waters she was with the Prinz EUgen a massive heavy cruiser.
Prinz Eugen was later towed to Kwajalein Atoll for A bomb testing. Ultimately it just rolled over on its side and is still there today! Google earth this. It's fascinating!
Anyhow, I would not recommend pissing off the Germans over some stupid cod. You know how they can get when they put their mind to something.
MP - I guess you ain't the only cat who shimmies out at night sometimes. Ole Charlie is on the prowl tonight as well. I suspect our territories don't overlap though.
I had to fill in a grave all by myself once, about 20 years ago. The mother of a moslem relative of mine (let's say "uncle's" mother) passed. Well, here in Chicago there is a whole cemetery full of Albanian muslims. THe funeral was interesting (e.g., her body was sponge washed by women, then placed in veils, and then this imam came with his gyroscope to make sure the casket was pointed towards mecca).
Anyhow, at the cemetery the tradition is that no one leaves until the grave is filled in. It was around 35 degrees, drizzling, the clay was heavy as shit. Being the only guy under 40 (all the men were over 65) it fell on me to fill that grave up while everyone watched. I was sweatin' like a muther... Not that I minded, I mean I was dressed for the occasion with a trench coat, suit and tiem and dress shoes having come over from work.
In some strange way I felt I would have looked appropriate crossing the street with the Beatles for the Abbey Road album cover.
Huh!
In my mother's family there seemed to be an obsession about graveyards. They would visit them every chance they could. They could name every name on every tombstone, and had a story about that person.
It's some kinda weird Gothic thing.
Personally, I try to avoid cemeteries. I figure, I'm gonna be in a graveyard for a long time. I don't need to go there while I'm still alive.
M.P.
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