Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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This week in 1981, just three letters were dominating the UK album chart.
And those letters were A, B and C.
No, it wasn't a certain band from a certain city.
It was ABACAB, the latest LP by Genesis, which had just smashed in at Number One on that very listing. How certain everyone had been the band would flounder after Peter Gabriel left.
And how wrong they'd been.
Meanwhile, over on the singles chart, there was no change, as Adam Ant's Prince Charming retained the top spot it had first claimed the previous week.
My eyes detect that Marvel Action Starring Captain America is now officially just Captain America, meaning the book's reverted to the title it had before it merged with Marvel Action all those not-so-many weeks ago.
And, just to celebrate his newfound dominance of the book...
...the captain doesn't feature on the cover.
Instead, it's Thor's turn to do so and, as far as I can make out, it's well-deserved because, inside, he sits around telling some children a tale about when he and Loki were challenged, as youths, by Utgard, Master of Utgartdhall.
Sounds thrilling.
Can't wait to read it.
Sadly, I can shed no light upon what Cap, Iron Man and the Dazzler are up to.
By crikey, it looks like the Watcher's going to be asking just what would have happened had Gwen Stacy lived.
Well, obviously, she'd have had the chance to see the children she had with Norman Osborn grow up to be super-villains and would have been able to introduce them to their auntie, the clone of her that Professor Warren created.
Tragically, I suspect that none of this is touched upon in this story.
The Hulk's activities, this week, are not totally clear to me. It's possible he's still at that airport and still trying to stop Landslide and Avalanche trashing the place.
I don't know what the Vibranium Beast is but I can't help feeling it's going to be a whole heap of annoyance for him.
Speaking of which, in Daredevil's tale, it would appear Brother Brimstone's inconveniently died.
And DD's out to uncover his murderer.
But is he really dead?
And just how does all this involve tar pits and stuffed mammoths?
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37 comments:
On that 'Marvel Super Adventure' cover, Jakarra's the Hulk's flipside - green trunks & purple (pink?) skin. However, the the real cover, the trunks are white!
https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Black_Panther_Vol_1_10
Why does Marvel UK keep messing with colours?
Phillip
'on the real cover' - not 'the the real cover' - damn typos!
Phillip
They probably just felt that green goes better with purple when it comes to super-villains, Phillip.
Steve - little did Marvel know how tangled a web Gwen Stacy wove.
My question about her relationship with Norman the Goblin was, was it consensual? Or was she in some sort of disable state of mind? Or was she tricked into it?
And where did she give birth to the twins? I mean, how did she hide that for 9 months from Petey and the gang.
Jakarra! That was the name I was trying to remember, Phil. Yeah, I got that comic. He got too close to the Vibranium mound and mutated into one of Kirby's relentless "doomsday" monsters. I am reminded of the final Sleeper robot, Mangog, and the "Cosmic-Powered Hulk." They just keep mindlessly coming and coming.
But there's something tragic about Jakarra. A Wakandan prince returning from exile after a power struggle in his home country, he didn't plan on being turned into a big purple radioactive monster.
Who does?
Is that kinda what happened to Klaw? I'm not sure.
M.P.
Bottom line, give the Vibranium mound a wide berth.
Otherwise, you're just rolling the dice, pal.
That's what I take away from this, anyway.
M.P.
Apparently 99% of lorry drivers are white men aged 55-57 which is eerily similar to the Steve Does Comics demographic.
I'll get me coat.
Steve Does Comics is so influential now everyone wants to relive the 70s Colin - there was even talk in parliament yesterday about the possibility of a three-day week this winter.
-sean
Sean, I'm stocking up on candles in preparation for the power cuts :D
Dave's Cover of the Week: Captain America, with it's nice (Neal Adams?) cover.
Btw, the title track of Abacab is a fantastic song! Apparently the title came from different melodies the band had that the referred to as A, B and C. They put them together in the order A-B-A again-C- A again- B again then used that as the title!
Dave - It can't be Neal Adams - b.t.'s wrist bands theory doesn't apply!
Phillip
Colin. get your coat!
I'm only 52.
A rather nice young lady working at the supermarket checkout told me today that I reminded her of her father.
I said, "Oh! So, your father is a handsome charming devil, is he?"
She said "No, not exactly."
M.P.
52...? You young whippersnapper M.P.
-sean
Dave, Philip that Captain America cover is by John Buscema\Tom Palmer it's from Thor 272
M.P. - You're not the only one who's 52! I suppose, being the group's young whippersnappers has its compensations. The older siblings, Charlie & b.t., have the responsibility of setting an example/blazing a trail for the youngsters. Sean's the "middle child" of the family, like Jen, in the Brady Bunch movie. Imagine getting it from both ends? - A tough job! Steve & Redartz stand above it all, like Odin & Zeus, in Asgard & Mt.Olympus, respectively. Colin's in between us & Sean. The rest? It's nobody's business but their own!
Phillip
Paul - b.t.'s theory is vindicated (in this instance)!
Phillip
It's always a strange thing when you hear yourself say ( or type) "I'm only 52" . Then again in now at the age where I say " I wish I was 52" 😁
Getting it from both ends is nobody else's business either Phillip!
-sean
Paul - It hit me I was getting older, on being told my blood pressure was high. Prior to that, I always associated high blood pressure with elderly people!
Phillip
The information about the lorry driver demographic comes from Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, and maybe he meant the AVERAGE AGE of lorry drivers was 55-57 but he actually said that 99% of lorry drivers were white men aged 55-57. As a white man aged 55 this statistic immediately caught my attention and it occurred to me that the demographic of lorry drivers (if true) is remarkably similar to the Steve Does Comics readership. But I'll amend it to:
99% (100%?) of Steve Does Comics readers are white men with an average age of 55-57 :)
Charlie feel really proud! He beats the average! He's 60!
He don't really enjoy being 60, though.
His stream is more like a trickle
His hair be falling out
His teeth turning yellow
Bags under his eyes
Charlie is going to join Ponce de Leon and hunt for the fountain of youth.
Or perhaps join in the gravy wrestling championships in England?
Charlie - the Beatles did a song about being 64; Simon & Garfunkel did a song referencing being aged 70 (was it "Old Friends"?). Why aren't 50 & 60 milestones worth a song?
Phillip
Wait - Charlie, is your quote from a song/poem?
Phillip
Abacab is one of those tracks that comes up quite often on my iPod. I have an app on there that plays random albums rather than random tracks, with all the tracks played in the right order for each album. But it has some sort of bug where sometimes it forgets the playlist of albums and instead reverts to playing all the tracks on the iPod in alphabetical order. Abacab comes up as the second and third track. There's something by Slade whose name starts with a punctuation mark that comes first.
But, more importantly, I can confirm that I'm white, male and aged 55-57. But you'd have worked that out when I told you I had that app.
No doubt Sean will groan at this comment but I've just been listening to Boney M's album 'Night Flight To Venus' on YouTube. It was released in 1978 and spent four weeks at #1 on the UK albums chart but I'd never heard the complete album before. My verdict: it was fab :D
Charlie was reciting Charlie.
Charlie loves Charlie.
Now Charlie goes to the Ukulele jam session in Westmont, Illinois. The Yardbirds played there, of all things, like 1967. Used to be known as Whiskey Hill by the youngsters, lol.
Muddy Waters lived here as well.
Amazingly we will play two Herman's Hermits songs today!
Colin - Had some Boney M tapes, myself. That one, and 'Oceans of Fantasy', too! Nothing wrong with Boney M! Rasputin, Ma Baker, Rivers of Babylon - also indirectly educational! Historical figures, etc.
Charlie - Can you play, "When I'm Cleaning Windows" ?
Phillip
Phil, I'll be listening to Oceans Of Fantasy next.
On Night Flight To Venus I especially enjoyed 'He Was A Steppenwolf' and there was also a version of 'King Of The Road' - I'm only familiar with the Proclaimers' version of that song so it was interesting to hear Boney M singing it!
Last Friday evening there was an interesting documentary on Radio 4 about the 30th anniversary of Nirvana's 'Nevermind' album. That's available on YouTube too so I intend to give it a listen - better late than never. One of the tracks is called 'Territorial Pissing' which is an interesting name for a song :D
So I've now listened to the 'Oceans Of Fantasy' album and it was excellent but I was surprised it didn't include 'Hooray, Hooray It's A Holi-Holiday'.
There's a place I know
Where we should go
Hi de hi de ho...
About getting older, sometimes I think it's like being a soldier in the Wehrmacht after 1943.
M.P.
McScotty- thanks for the info. I looked at a bigger version of the original Thor 272 cover and while Buscema and Palmer drew the interior of that issue, I'm not 100% convinced they done the cover together- Palmer has a very distinctive way of inking hair that I don't see on that cover. Its still a nice enough cover though!
Colin- I am a white male, but I'm dragging the average age down a bit, being only (!) 45!
Colin - My junior school memories are bound up with Boney M. Reading the 'Lord of the Rings' (apologies to Steve), I must have been listening to 'Sunny', & 'Heart of Gold', as these songs evoke the atmospheric early chapters & fleeing the Ring Waiths, etc. Strangely, 'Sunny' isn't on either of the albums we mentioned.
M.P. - Yes, like the Wehrmacht, we are realizing the jig's up/the writing's on the wall!
Dave - In Autumn/Winter 1981, my involvement with Marvel petered out. Maybe you can take things forwards!
Phillip
Dave: I only noted Palmer as one of the artists as it was noted as such on Mike's Amazing World of co.I've and Marvel.com. I think I it's by Buscema but agree I can't see a lot of Palmer in the inks. I have that issue and checked the interior art which to myself looked a bit rushed in places ( lovely others) so maybe the cover was a rushed job . Regarding your age, I now hate you 😉
Age is a state of mind M.P. Be positive, and you too can feel more like the Red Army!
-sean
Charlie, as far as I'm aware, Gwen's relationship with Norman was consensual.
I believe she gave birth when she was living with her aunt and uncle in London, following the death of her father.
Dave, I would say my cover of the week is the Panther vs Vibranium Beast one.
Colin, I've heard both Night Flight to Venus and Nevermind and can confirm that Night Flight is, by far, the superior album.
@McScotty. I wonder if it's been a generic cover sketch by Buscema that's been inked by whoever-was-in-the-office-and-not-busy to serve as a last-minute cover.
As for my age, I think I'm mentally much older: I enjoy Desert Island Discs and am constantly astounded by people who have watches which do things other than tell the time.
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