Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
***
Politicians' lies are all over the news, right now but you know what never lies?
My camera.
Or at least Bucks Fizz's camera never does.
And I know that because the band who'd shot to fame through winning Eurovision, just a year earlier, spent this week in 1982 at the top of the UK singles chart, thanks to chronicling their photographic equipment's integrity.
And they did so by pluckily holding off Chas and Dave who were having to settle for second place.
For now.
Over on the British album chart, it was 666 that held sway, as Iron Maiden's The Number of The Beast spent its second week at the top - once more holding off a powerhouse challenge from Barbra Streisand.
Tracks I approved of on that week's UK singles chart were:
Tracks I approved of on that week's UK singles chart were:
Ghosts - Japan
See Those Eyes - Altered Images
Layla (1982) - Derek and The Dominoes
Poison Arrow - ABC
View from A Bridge - Kim Wilde
Save It for Later - The Beat
Only You - Yazoo
and
Castles in The Air - Don McLean.
Castles in The Air - Don McLean.
Elsewhere, the company's still happy to cash in on the popularity of the TV show, which is now in the very latter stages of its run, to such a degree that it only has one month remaining before cancellation.
But if we're upset about that, there is some good news. For, contained within this comic is a chance for us all to become a Marvel artist.
At least, that's what it says on the cover.
And that's good enough for me.
And yet he's only just graduated college. Clearly, he must be a slow learner.
Despite that, it seems Marvel UK's decided it's cause for celebration, and so we get an anniversary issue, "Packed full of features."
Tragically, I've no idea what those features are.
But I do know we get a free colour poster.
And the chance to win a laser cannon!
A laser cannon?
Is that legal?
And, as so often before, I've not been able to find a cover for it anywhere. Nor any information about what's in it.
Tragically, it seems this post has been destined to fizzle away like the hopes of all those who've been thwarted by the activities of those pesky teenagers.
Posts
43 comments:
Sorry Steve, but that Spidey TV Comic cover declares he's 20 years old.
(If you hurry, you can change the bit about it being 30 before anyone else gets here - I won't tell if you don't).
-sean
Did you not approve of 'Papa's Got A Brand New Pig-bag' by Pig-bag then, Steve?
Or 'Just an Illusion' by Imagination? Come on, the singer was in Dr Who...
-sean
Charlie loved the Glob. Charlie, like Hulk, felt sorry for him (at least in their 2nd encounter.)
I'm kind of surprised Rascally Roy the Boy never tried to incorporate the Heap into Marvel given his Glob / Man-thing similarities at least superficially. (Heap was a pretty smart cat.)
Hillman Publishing's copyrights had all lapsed IIRC.
Airboy certainly got a few reincarnations. Heap not so much but there were truly more than a few decent Heap stories that came out of Hillman.
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is still pushing strong on the UK Hit List.
What is interesting (maybe to just some of us) is that in the French version they celebrate that the lion is dead in "Le Lion Est Mort Ce Soir!"
What do we make of this cultural differences?
Dans la jungle
Terrible jungle
Le lion est mort ce soir
Et les hommes
Tranquilles s'endorment
Le lion est mort ce soir
Owimbowé
Owimbowè
Owimbowè
Owimbowè
Owimbowè
Seems that it was (inevitably) Roy Thomas who suggested Skywald do a version of the Heap, Charlie. So I guess that means Marvel had enough sense to knock the idea back...?
Alan Moore - sort of - incorporated the Heap into the Swamp Thing continuity.
-sean
Sean - No kidding! SKYWALD did the HEAP? I didn't know... or forgot... lol.
Gents - EUROVISION 2022 is scant weeks away! me and the missus have been invited to watch the finals on May 14.
Having never watched any of EV before... what would we be in for? Should we take a change (Columbus did... look where it got him!)
Why is AUSTRALIA in EUROVISION? Has this always been the case?
Charlie, Skywald did TWO completely different versions of The Heap. First, a series in their b/w horror mag PSYCHO, in issues 2 thru 13 (drawn by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito) and then, a single eponymous issue of THE HEAP, in color, written by Bob Kanigher, with art by Tom Sutton and Jack Abel. It ain’t anything to write home about, but it’s stupid and fun in equal measure, and Sutton’s art makes it worth checking out. Scans of that one (complete) are at Tom Brevoort’s blog, if you’re curious. I think I’ve seen scans of the b/w Heap stories at several different Horror- themed blogs, too.
b.t.
Not that keen on Eurovision myself Charlie, although I can see the appeal of annoying the British. That never gets old.
Royaume-Uni - nul points!
Australia have been in it since... not long after 2000 I think.
As for why... they like it down under I guess, and asked?
-sean
And if Australia win Eurovision, do they get to host it the next year and everyone in Europe has to watch it on the Saturday morning?
Charlie
The Australian Johnny Logan won the Eurovision three times (as a ring in for Ireland), twice a writer performer and once as the writer, and the whole thing is quite a big deal down under (in a kind of campy piss-take way). I believe Australia were formally invited to participate, in 2015, as part of the deal for Britain to join APEC.
Ghosts and Only You are my picks from this weeks tunes. Both still sound great to date. Its a shame Vince Clarke didn't stick with Alison Moyet for another few years.
DW
By a weird coincidence I heard Yazoo's 'Only You' in Tesco yesterday.
Happy Easter Steve and everyone who reads Steve Does Comics!
Apparently if Australia wins Eurovision they won't be hosting it the following year.
I have to say I liked most of those song that were in the charts at this time, especially Ghosts by Japan. Castles in the air by Don McLean was a lovely tune that I have grown to enjoy more as I have gotten older. I'm not keen on Eurovision although its always fun to see how bad the UK entry is.
Charlie I also liked Skywalds Heap and Atlas' comics Bog Beast!
DW, you had me there - I actually checked to see if Britain was in APEC.
You'd think it was obviously ridiculous, but to be fair the UK is currently negotiating to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (which is even crazier, coming straight after leaving the EU - the Brits obviously need to work on their grasp of basic geography).
-sean
I'd never heard of APEC until now but a list of members doesn't include the UK.
If we ever join the Trans-Pacific Partnership it'll mean the UK is flooded with cheap foreign crap which will send a lot of British firms to the wall. Another triumph for Brexit.
Don't worry Colin - transportation costs mean cheap British crap will still be very competitive here.
-sean
Well, British farmers are dreading cheap imports from Australia following any trade deal, Sean.
(54% of farmers voted for Brexit by the way).
Sean, I can only blame reality for changing that banner from saying, "30 years," to saying, "20 years," when I wasn't looking.
Papa's Got A Brand New Pig-Bag never made any impact on me and Just an Illusion is a very boring record.
Charlie, I now feel sorry for that French lion.
Charlie, with Eurovision, you're in for about four hours of the worst music you've ever heard, followed by two hours of totally politically-motivated voting. I sensationally predict that Cyprus and Greece will give each other maximum points, Britain, Germany and Spain will finish in the bottom six and that Ukraine will win the contest.
Bt, thanks for the Tom Brevoort/Heap info.
Happy Easter to you too, Colin.
DW and McScotty, thanks for your chart picks.
Charlie, I'll go further than Steve and predict that the UK will come last at Eurovision. They hate us in Europe now.
By the way, Charlie, are you following the French election? Will Marine Le Pen win or will Macron hold on?
Steve, your list of songs didn't include 'This Time We'll Get It Right' by the '82 England team. I thought it was catchy.
Tonight on BBC One: 'Dinosaurs: The Final Day' presented by David Attenborough. Don't miss it!
In 1989 David Attenborough presented a TV series called 'Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives' about prehistoric life and in that series he was a bit dubious about the theory that an asteroid had wiped out the dinosaurs (the theory was still quite new at that time) so obviously he's changed his mind since then.
Steve, thanks for the link to the singles chart. That is an excellent feature of this website, I must admit.
As I was taking a look I noticed that Ebony and Ivory by Sir Paul and Jacko premiered 40 years ago this week. I must admit to having a certain affection for that song. And in a strange way I miss Michael Jackson and I’m very sure I will miss Paul McCartney
And Stevie Wonder, Charlie - although still with us, he doesn't seem to get up to much these days so we can miss him too.
Oh Colin, Europeans don't hate the British.
Not any more than they did before Brexit anyway...
-sean
Er, just to be clear, that last bit was a joke.
-sean
I'll re-phrase my comment, Sean...
They couldn't care less about us in Europe now.
My oh my… I could just go back and delete my last reference to Ebony and Ivory mixing up Stevie Wonder and Jacko. But it is a good teaching moment… Too much red wine the night before I can make you say strange things.
Colin, the first round of French elections seems more of a fashion statement to me than anything else, lol. I’m sure if my car takes the second run off seriously he will win reasonably convincingly. However, should he take the Hillary Clinton approach and simply bypass those large areas where he’s not popular it might not be a good idea. We all saw how Hillary Clinton managed to lose an election to Donald dump five years ago by 30,000 votes, and of course a piece of shit electoral process.
My car = Macron. Geeze… autocorrect!
Colin: I'm starting to not care about the British either , and I'm British. Cant believe our government flying refugees, asylum seekers (legitimate or economic) to Rwanda - regardless of many being here illegally this can't be right.
Paul, I agree with you about the government flying refugees to Rwanda. What a vile hypocrite Priti Patel is - her parents came to the UK as refugees after Idi Amin deported all the asians from Uganda.
Charlie, didn't Hillary Clinton WIN the popular vote by THREE MILLION votes? But America's crazy electoral college system gave victory to Trump. At least that can't happen in France.
Colin-
Don't get me started on the Electoral College.
Sometimes, especially in the last couple years, I think my country isn't all that democratic.
Jerrymandering, voter suppression...
Jim Crow ain't dead. They just got more subtle, is all.
M.P.
Charlie, yeah Macron should win, not least because the third largest bloc of votes in the first round were for the stylish choice, Melenchon, and its hard to see many of them going to a fascist (no matter how much she's tarted up her image).
But Macron does seem determined to encourage them not to bother voting at all, by pitching to the right instead - even though he's never going to be able to outdo Le Pen's appeal to the nutters - so I guess he could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Anyway, getting back to comics - well, sort of - I watched 'Professor Marston and the Wonder Women' on tv last night. Anyone else catch it, or seen it before?
Too many liberties with the facts for me, so a bit disappointing unfortunately.
-sean
Hi Colin, what I was referring to was Hillary Clinton lost Wisconsin Michigan and Pennsylvania by roughly 10,000 votes in each state. Thus, those electoral votes went to Donald Bonespur. And even though Hillary like Al Gore won the popular vote they lost the electoral vote.
Ah, late again.
Colin- how was that David Attenborough show? I'm trying to find a way to see it over here without waiting months for PBS.
Charlie and M.P.- oy, our political system. Between Electoral colleges, Faux News commentators, and much of the government itself, it's just getting to be too much. And now we're getting campaign commercials here along the mighty Ohio for proud Trumpists. Even mentioning it gives me a headache.
Sean- didn't see that Wonder Woman special, but a couple years ago I saw one similar. Told the story of her creation and the background of William Moulton Marston. A pretty odd situation, I must say...
Steve- enjoyed your post, even though I hardly referred to the comics. I salute your patience and open-minded approach!
Red, I've just finished watching 'Dinosaurs: The Final Day' and it was terrific. Is it possible you could watch it by downloading BBC iplayer? I have no idea if you can do that but I do know that Americans listen to BBC radio shows online because they sometimes contact the BBC to express their appreciation - and at Christmas 2020 I listened to an American radio station via the internet which broadcast an adaptation of 'It's A Wonderful Life' starring our old friend Humanbelly.
The BBC refers to Marine Le Pen as "far right" but her economic policies are left-wing and her anti-immigration stance doesn't seem any worse than the current UK government so why doesn't the BBC call the Tories far right too? And the US Republicans are only one step away from all-out fascism but the BBC doesn't call them far right either.
Le Pen doesn't have left-wing economic policies Colin. She pushes a protectionist state corporatism that wouldn't do anything for working people if she won (assuming she even means it).
-sean
On a somewhat lighter note, concerning that cover up there, I have never understood why the Glob would give the Hulk very much trouble. He's a mud guy.
Just point a high-powered hose at 'im, and he's done.
I'd blame the proliferation of swamp monsters solely on Theodore Sturgeon, except I happen to like swamp monsters.
Ever since The Legend of Boggy Creek.
Terrible movie, great poster.
I seem to remember legends of spectral beings haunting fens and marshes in the British Isles, like Will-o-the Wisp and such. Was that a thing?
I bet dollars to donuts the Native Americans had legends like that.
M.P.
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