Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
***
This week in 1981, the word "plonker" entered your vocabulary.
I know this because it was the week in which BBC One broadcast the first-ever episode of the sitcom Only Fools and Horses. The saga of two brothers in eternal pursuit of get-rich-quick schemes struggled, at first, to gain traction with viewers but would go on to become, possibly, the most popular sitcom in British history.
And that wasn't the only major event occurring on the channel, that week.
For, on this very evening, BBC One was broadcasting the final part of the Stephen King vampire mini-series Salem's Lot, starring David Soul as the one who's not the vampire, and a bald bloke as the one who is the vampire.
If that wasn't terrifying enough for us all, BBC Two, on the same evening, was showing something called Spine Chillers. I don't know what that was but the title alone tells me it's a thing I have to see.
Then again, it was broadcast at 7 pm. So, it probably wasn't that terrifying.
A thing that could strike terror into the heart of any music lover is the release of a new Meat Loaf album and, in this week in 1981, his album Dead Ringer smashed onto the UK album chart at Number One, forcing the Rolling Stones' Tattoo You to only enter at Number Two.
There was no such drama on the UK singles chart where Soft Cell's Tainted Love calmly retained its place at Number One.
It looks like everything's hitting the fan in the tale about the Black Widow losing her memory and thinking she's a schoolteacher.
Is that the Boomerang I detect on the cover?
And the Silver Samurai?
It looks like it's going to be so crammed with action, the comic'll practically burst at the seams.
But Spidey's not the only one who's got more going on in his life than he'd like, as the Hulk finds himself caught up in a fight between Avalanche and that lackey of the Mole Man who has the same powers as Avalanche. Can the Hulk possibly prevail?
And, more urgently, what will become of the airport they're all in the middle of wrecking?
I don't have a clue. I don't know what the challenge is.
Then again, I suspect he probably will survive it.
Whatever it is.
You know what else I don't know?
Anything at all about the contents of this comic.
Other than that Captain America, Thor and the Dazzler are in it.
Like the old romantic he is, Daredevil's in Los Angeles, trying to find Karen Page.
Unfortunately for him, that's when he runs into the Stunt-Master!
Meanwhile, the Black Panther's entangled in a symphony of chaos.
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50 comments:
Only four strips in Marvel Action when there were five last week? Looks like the FF have been dropped. I can't believe that they’d be benched by Marvel U.K. or that (sharing a comic with four other strips) they've caught up with the US comics. So I'm expecting them to turn up somewhere else. And I've no idea where.
I've no idea either, Dangermash. I shall keep my eye out for developments.
Cover of the Week: Marvel Action. Because, when I was a kid, that cover would have made me desperate to read the story inside to find out why Iron Man is getting attacked by lasers, two of which seem to have caught him straight in the unmentionables.
Dave S - Thank you for mentioning the unmentionables. It is a subject which deserves greater scrutiny. Errr... Red Sonja's not Conan's.
Like riding around in a chain mail loin cloth? How the heck does that not create a hardship on the various unmentionables?
In my opinion 'Only Fools And Horses' would have been a classic if only they'd ended the series when Grandad died. I thought his replacement, Uncle Albert, was just irritating and don't get me started on the bloody girlfriends Raquel and whatsername. But the scene where Del, Rodney and Grandad plan to clean the chandelier is one of the funniest moments in sitcom history :D
OMG 'Salem's Lot' scared the living daylights out of me and Mr. Barlow is still the most terrifying vampire I've ever seen on screen!
Steve, whatever happened to your promised verdict on the new ABBA songs? We are all waiting with bated breath for the official Steve Does Comics reaction - especially Sean as he's a huge ABBA fan ;)
Colin - I thought it was baited breadth not bated? Are you sure?
Ole Charlie was wondering...
You blokes had Marvel Action.
Us blokes had Marvel Triple Action.
I never understood why it was "triple" b/c they would, say, feature the Avengers and then point out three names like Cap, Thor, Iron Man on the cover though the cover might show 5 - 6 Avengers. Me thinks it was an arbitrary title. So, I don't understand why not just call it Marvel Action in the US as well unless Marvel Action was already copyrighted in the UK? Marvel Treble Action started like 1971-72 IIRC.
B.t.w... was there ever a Marvel Double Action? There was Marvel Two in One which is sort of synonymous?
Charlie, "baited breadth"??? It's definitely "bated breath" and we've all got it :D
Colin, Salem's Lot scared the crap outta me too when I was a kid.
First Bigfoot, now vampires, I thought. What else do I gotta worry about?
...Has anybody noticed how Rudy Giuliani bears a startling resemblance to Max Schreck in Nosferatu?
It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't kinda act like him too.
M.P.
MP, the image of Giuliani ranting like a maniac as hair-dye dripped down his face was the stuff of nightmares.
...or shaving in a restaurant over a bowl of soup.
Klaus Kinski would be the obvious actor to play him, if he wasn't dead.
Kinski, I mean, not Giuliani. Although to be honest, I'm not sure who's dead and undead.
But that scene in Salem's Lot, where the dead kid is floating outside the other kid's window...yeesh. I had nightmares about that.
M.P.
Colin, I preferred Uncle Albert to Grandad but, for me, the show died when they got married and started having kids.
I must admit I totally forgot to listen to the ABBA songs. I shall do so within the next 24 hours and give my verdict.
Dave, I'm not sure any of this week's covers would make me feel desperate to hand over my money.
Charlie, I would assume it was called Marvel Triple Action to make you feel you were getting three times as much for your money.
Colin and MP, I'm proud to say Salem's Lot instilled no fear into me. I think I'd watched too many vampire films by that point. Have either of you seen Shadow of the Vampire which purports to tell the true story of the making of Nosferatu? That's a good fun film.
You're right Steve, Shadow of the Vampire is an enjoyable film, although - pedant alert! - it was of course historically inaccurate.
Max Shreck was in a number of films after Nosferatu that included scenes shot in daylight, so as well as surviving it he was also verifiably not a vampire.
You appear to be suggesting in the post that "plonker" was coined in 1981 by Only Fools And Horses, but the OED dates its earliest known use to the 1860s.
Admittedly it had a different meaning then, but theres early 60s tv footage of John Lennon using it in the modern sense -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS-mzQl2Ra0
Its pretty funny that the kid Lennon calls a plonker went on to be the drummer in loveable '80s spikey-tops Crass...
-sean
Colin, thats right, I'm not much into Abba. The recent news of their return has underlined how society seems to have got to a point where - as with the Beatles - not liking them has become publicly unacceptable (or at least impolite).
-sean
Sean, I think you're exaggerating a bit - it's perfectly OK to not like ABBA but those people who claim to HATE them are rather overdoing it. What's to hate? I don't particularly like hip-hop but I don't HATE it. I don't call myself a fan of ABBA (or anybody else) but they were a perfectly decent pop group and their return after 40 years is an interesting development.
Steve, yes I have seen Shadow Of The Vampire but I can't recall much about it.
It's my birthday today, so I've taken Colin's advice, and treated myself to Fortean Times's 'Arthur C Clarke's Mysterious World' special.
I was going to say, "TV's crap on Friday night, so it'll give me something to read", but it seems there's Frankenstein (Ken B version), Dr.Who & the Daleks, & Dracula. So, bearing in mind the current discussion, Friday night tv's not totally devoid of content.
Since the Fast Show, Nosferatu & Kinski cannot be thought of without "Monster! Monster! Monster!" springing to mind, usually along with a tip for Kempston, etc.
Does anybody remember a horror film about somebody invading people's dreams, and killing them there, as a dream monster called the Snakeman? Was the film called 'Dreamscape?' I thought it was pretty good.
ABBA & the Beatles are similar. With both, it's hard to pin point your favourite song, there being so many great ones. Also, both bands have a sound which evokes nostalgic melancholy.
Phillip
Happy birthday, Phil!! - I'll buy that issue of Fortean Times when I'm in Tesco on Monday. I'm currently reading the new issue of SFX magazine which tells me that 1) Frank Herbert's 'Dune' has been adapted for a new movie due for release next month 2) the cartoon 'Battle Of The Planets' is being made into a movie and 3) Isaac Asimov's 'Foundation' trilogy is now a TV series on Apple TV - I bought the Foundation trilogy when I was 12 but I never read it.
Colin - Thanks!
This month's Fortean Times is a strong issue. Next month's FT features Frank Herbert's 'Dune' too!
'Battle of the Planets' was okay, but I preferred 'The Space Sentinels'. The Anubis episode was a standout, with Anubis being like the Super Skrull, having the powers of all 3 sentinels.
I read one out of the Foundation series, but I can't remember which one - it obviously didn't make that big an impression on me!
Phillip
Happy birthday, Phillip. :)
Phil, I don't remember 'The Space Sentinels' at all I'm afraid. The Foundation Trilogy that I bought was three paperbacks in a slipcase and I must admit that I only bought the set because of the gorgeous paintings of spaceships on the box!
Thanks, Steve!
Colin - Yes, whatever happened to those 3 books in a cardboard slipcase deals? My dad had Thor Heyerdahl's trilogy in a slipcase, and another different slipcase trilogy, one book of which was named, 'King Arthur's Avalon'. As a kid, I, myself, bought 3 Richard Adams books - Watership Down, Shardik, & The Plague Dogs. Those books weren't collected together in a smart slip case - but they damn well ought to have been! ; )
Phillip
I've now listened to the two new ABBA tracks.
I'd say Don't Shut Me Down is easily the strongest of the two.
I Still Have Faith In You is competent enough but doesn't seem particularly inspired, either in terms of songwriting or performance.
Don't Shut Me Down feels noticeably more fluid and assured and gets closer to recapturing the ABBA magic of old.
Happy birthday Phillip. Always good when a birthday lands on a Friday.
Funnily enough Phillip, I can't think of a favourite Abba or Beatles tune either...
Happy Birthday.
I take it you're not affected by this recent mast fire up north then? Apparently a lot of Yorkies and Geordies haven't had any tv for weeks now.
-sean
Phillip- I have that Thor Heyerdahl slipcase that you mentioned! I reread those 3 books (Kon Tiki, Aku Aku and Ra) during lockdown last summer and loved them as much as ever.
Thanks, Dangermash! I celebrated with a curry, from the same place as last year. If there's any after effects - too much information - well, there's the weekend to recover!
Sean - thanks! Not having a Beatles favourite may cause Charlie to take umbrage! I could maybe whittle it down to 3! Luckily, the mast fire was further north than my Yorkshire branch of the family - and further south than the Geordie side!
Dave - You got it in one - that's the exact 3 volumes to which I was referring!
Colin - Forces tv's going to show Blake's 7 from the beginning, on Tuesday nights!
Phillip
Happy Birthday, Phillip!
Those cardboard box sets of books were pretty popular in the late 70s. Walden Books and B. Dalton usually had a table display of them near the front of their stores around Christmas time. I remember seeing sets of those James Blish Star Trek books, Doc Savage, Lord of the Rings, etc.
Slightly embarrassed to say I asked for a Gor box set one year — and Santa delivered! They’d just been re-issued with new covers by Boris Vallejo, looked like sexed-up Edgar Rice Burroughs-type adventures, and I thought I’d give ‘em a try. I had no idea at the time just HOW sexed-up they were, especially the later books apparently, with all that ‘Women WANT to be dominated by Men’ nonsense. Anyhow, I thought the first one was decent-ish Burroughsian pastiche but a bit too slowly paced, got bored and bogged down about halfway through the second one, and dumped the lot during one of my periodic/ culling purges.
b.t.
Santa's Elves of Gor - now thats a paperback cover I'd like to see.
On the subject of covers Steve, I believe the one for Meatloaf's Deadringer was done by the late Berni Wrightson.
I'm usually of the opinion that a record with a cover by a comic artist is worth listening to, but Meatloaf is of course the exception that proves the rule.
-sean
b.t. - Thanks! What's strange, over here, is those slip cases seemed to disappear in the late 70s (?) So they still survived in the states somewhat later? That being said, in the UK, I think Wordsworth classics - or a similar company - lumped together some children's classics - or something - in some kind of slip case (?) - maybe - a few years ago.
Phillip
Talking of Abba, it was a few (2-5?) years ago and it was Mike Parry (Inthink) having a conversation with Dean Saunders (definitely) about Abba on TalkSport, the radio station that taught Charlie all he knows about the British.
Dean: Oh, Abba. I used to really fancy the blonde one.
Mike: Agnatha?
Dean: Benny
NEWSFLASH: ABBA's 'Don't Shut Me Down' is at #9 in the new Top 40 and 'I Still Have Faith In You' is #14 (Ed Sheeran is #1 if you're desperate to know). So ABBA have their first UK Top 10 hit since 'One Of Us' in late 1981.
Sean, you don't like Meatloaf either?? You are hard to please!
Happy birthday, Phil!
And many happy returns, amigo.
Steve, I have seen Shadow of the Vampire and it is weird. I think it's what they call "metafiction". I was somewhat startled when I realized part-way through that it was apparently occurring in an alternate universe. At least I hoped so. In this film Max Schreck, whilst acting in the scenes for Nosferatu, gets it in his head that he is an actual, gosh-darn no foolin' vampire and starts biting people to death.
Or maybe he is a real vampire in this movie. I'm not quite sure what I saw. I hadda look it up on Wikipedia to assure myself that what I saw didn't actually happen. I'm easily spooked.
I wouldn't mind seeing it again, now that I am prepared for the weirdness.
I'll watch anything with Willem Dafoe in it.
M.P.
Dangermash!
Greetings from Chicago where we still blather on about the Stones and their visit to Chess records in June 1964...
I have heard that Abba joke mentioned on Talksport more than a few times on H&Js show at 13:00 your time. (I catch it driving to work at 07:00.)
FWIW - my understanding of the UK has 3 primary sources in no order of preeminence:
1) Talk Sport
2) Steve Does Comics
3) Oor Wullie and Beano and Dennis the Menace and Dandy and The Broons!
I quite feel that, in the aggregate, I know all there is to know about the UK.
I mean, last week I heard over and over about Farmer Macdonald's Alpaca having to be put down, on Talksport.
And then this week the UK Government has given the OK for the world Gravy Wrestling championships to commence again in Lancashire!
Me thinks Charlie has a true understanding of the UK!
It's just, and I admit it, I can't come to grips with eating meat pies with gravy at sporting events.
If its not covered in the SteveDoesComics comment section its not worth knowing Charlie.
-sean
Well said, Sean.
Y'know, the return of ABBA has been a hot topic here on SDC, but I can't bring myself to check it out on You Tube.
What if I am disappointed? That could well prove devastating to my psyche.
There's few things sadder than when a classic band comes back and they now suck. Their new music is lousy.
It makes one consider one's own mortality.
M.P.
Don't worry, MP, the new ABBA tracks are perfectly proficient. They're not peak ABBA but they don't let the side down.
Hello Folks,
May Charlie ask a comic related question? Charlie is doing his homework for upcoming SDC and just read FF 113 - 116 featuring the Overmind.
Here goes:
1) The Overmind is the sum of all Eternals. Is this the same bunch of Eternals who got a comic mag? I suppose not all died when Gigantor destroyed them??
2) The Stranger is the sum of all Gigantors, destroyed by the Eternals. Do any Gigantors make future appearances?
3) Did the Overmind ever escape his "mote of dust" to which the Overmind banished him?
Until Jaques DuTronc does a duet with Plastic Bertrand, make mine SDC!
Charlie, as far as I'm aware, the Eternals who came up against the Stranger are nothing to do with the Earth-based Eternals.
I cannot shed any light upon the later activities of the Gigantors or of the Over-Mind.
Colin, YouTube frequently recommends JT Reacts videos to me. I'm not convinced he's as ignorant as he claims to be. I think there may be a little play-acting going on there.
Charlie, the Eternals in the FF are not the same as Jack Kirby's Eternals of a few years later!
Phillip, I haven't got Forces TV - the only TV I watch is streamed to my laptop from BBC iplayer.
M.P. - Thanks! I suppose, as ABBA's ladies are now in their early 70s, they can't 'belt it out', anymore, or hit the high notes (unless with some kind of auto-tune), so may stick to safe ballads, within a particular range of notes. The new songs may not be the greatest they've ever done but, like Steve said, they're still well worth a listen.
Charlie - If Mangog has the power of a billion, billion souls - is he tougher than the Overmind? Exactly how many Eternals are in it?
Colin - My capacity for tv watching's greatly diminished, from when I was younger. I mostly only watch between 9pm & 10pm - and, often, only trash UFO/paranormal shows on Blaze tv. Apart from that, I have the News - which is often rubbish - on as 'background'. For this reason, I can understand your decision not to have a tv.
That being said, a few weeks ago, on Forces Tv, I watched the Karate episode of CHIPs: 'A Threat of War', & thoroughly enjoyed it. That episode completely lived up to my childhood memories of it. The best piece of dialogue was when Andy Macedon told Ponch he (Andy) should have won their previous Karate fight, as "I was the better technician."
That episode was about Andy Macedon's redemption, with him turning into a good guy. As a kid, I liked the theme tune to CHIPs, but didn't have the concentration span to watch it all the way through - except the Karate episodes - which had lots of action!
The actor who played Andy Macedon also played Jon Sable (an enigmatic former African mercenary/Marc Spector/Dominic Fortune type), and the baddie in Airwolf's Moonraker episode, in which the helicopter must shoot down lots of missiles, coming down from the upper atmosphere - the standout being one missile spectacularly shot down over the Washington monument! Incredibly far-fetched, but fun!
Charlie, strap some missiles on your Chinook, and - on a 1980s tv show - you could have done just as well!
Phillip
The Marvel Greatest Comics #94 reprint of that FF story has a footnote that says the Eternals of the Over-Mind are not the same Eternals as the ones who "so recently were involved in the mighty Thor mag".
Readers should have known that anyway, as the sum total of those Eternals was of course the Uni-Mind! Don't you know nuthin' Charlie?
Just kidding... actually, I probably don't know nuthin' either really - not long after Roy Thomas bought Kirby's series into the Marvel universe with all that Thor nonsense some other joker decided the Titans (Thanos, Eros, Mentor and that lot) were actually Eternals.
So how tempting would two lots of Eternals be to those predictable plonkers who write for Marvel?
It'd be surprising if some story in the decades since the 70s hasn't retconned the Overmind Eternal as one of THE Eternals...
-sean
Charlie - Like yourself I, too, confused the Over-Mind & the Uni-mind - sackcloth & ashes time!
I, too, will soon start my SDC homework, making notes for next month's summaries/reviews!
Phillip
Write out "I must not get the Over-Mind mixed up with the Uni-Mind" a hundred times before then Phillip.
-sean
-
Sean - The misdemeanour wasn't mixing up the two up - it was thoughtlessly copying Charlie's work. Hence, the lines should be: "I must not thoughtlessly copy another pupil's work".
I hereby sack you, Sean - for professional incompetence!
Phillip
Oh - also the misdemeanour of typos - "up the two up". Perhaps, the thought of putting two fingers up, may have been behind my words, too!
Phillip
I will say this. Rascally Roy writes the dialogue for fantastic for 115 because Stan is taking a break that month. And then Stan comes back to write the dialogue for fantastic four 116. I must say that Stan outshines Roy when comparing these two issues. His writing is far more dramatic it seems.
I remember the Overmind coming back in the pages of the Defenders (actually that was the first time I ran across the character, I didn't pick up the reprints of him in the F.F. in Marvel's Greatest Comics till years later) and the guy was basically a reanimated corpse in a weird costume. His body had been possessed by Null the Living Darkness, for some reason.
It gets even weirder after that. I think the ghost of some woman possesses his body. It gets awkward.
But I agree with Sean (it pains me to no end to admit it, he's clearly unhinged) that sooner or later some clown at Marvel retcons it so he's related to the Eternals of Earth.
I hated it when they did that to Thanos.
"Geez" I thought. "He's one a' those clowns now? Good grief."
And then there's Marvelman, from the 50's, I think, who somehow had something to do with the Uranian Eternals.
Why were there Eternals on Uranus?
I ...I just don't know anymore.
M.P.
Marvelman from the 50s...?
You had me confused there for a minute M.P. - eh? Miracleman is an Eternal?!? - but then I realized it you meant that Quasar kid.
As it happens, in Quasar's late 80s revival Eon gave him cosmic awareness, which does suggest he might be tied into all that Starlin/Titan stuff. So... it makes sense there are Uranian Eternals. Oh dear.
Proliferating Eternals were inevitable once they were moved into the Marvel universe. I recall reading an interview with Roy Thomas, where he was asked why he did that; to which his answer was that if he hadn't, someone else would have done it anyway (as dubious justifications go, thats on a par with I was only obeying orders).
Fwiw, my theory is that the Eternals film will have more to do with Thanos/Titan (and the Avengers when Sersi was in the line-up) than the original Kirby series.
-sean
OMG, Sean, you're absolutely right.
I meant "Marvel Boy." Who, yes, was created in 1950 by Stan Lee and Russ Heath.
And yeah, the new incarnation of the character is "that Quasar kid."
Eon might have given Mar-vell and Quasar cosmic awareness, but he certainly didn't give me any. If he had I might actually know what the heck I am talking about.
And yes, I think Roy Thomas has a lot to answer for.
The more he tried to clear things up the messier they got. Remember what he did with Thor?
On another note, in this new Eternals movie, I assume there's gonna be a Sersi.
She was the coolest one!
M.P.
(somewhat abashed and packing it in for the evening)
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