Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
***
See these eyes so green?
The astute reader will recognise that as the opening line to a song by David Bowie.
As far as I can remember, the remake didn't prove to be as popular as the original. So, I shall use that as my cue to dive straight into what Marvel's less popular titles whose covers bore that month were up to.
Bizarre Adventures is back with more adventures that are, no doubt, bizarre.
Among this issue's collection of tales, we're treated to The Philistine, Dr. Deth with Kip & Muffy, Gore Galore, Violence Wears Many Faces, Recondo Rabbit, A Frog Is a Frog, Excursion to 1930 and Let There Be Life!
All brought to us by the likes of Denny O'Neil, Frank Miller, Larry Hama, Bill Sienkiewicz, John Byrne, Herb Trimpe, Steve Bissette and Steve Smallwood.
History arrives in more ways than one, as a new series of graphic novels is launched and we get the death of Captain Marvel.
Captain Marvel may have died but Dennis the Menace is still very much alive.
The Watcher's favourite comic hits the spinner racks, once more. This time, asking the question we've all, doubtless, pondered; "What if the Avengers had become pawns of Korvac?"
Tragically, I can't supply the answer to that but it seems to involve him destroying them, then recreating them to do his bidding.
Now Spider-Woman's in trouble. She's up against the Silver Samurai!
Not only does Dennis the Menace have one new comic, this month, he has two. Meaning he now has three books published by Marvel. I can only assume he's a very popular character, despite being a menace.
Among this issue's collection of tales, we're treated to The Philistine, Dr. Deth with Kip & Muffy, Gore Galore, Violence Wears Many Faces, Recondo Rabbit, A Frog Is a Frog, Excursion to 1930 and Let There Be Life!
All brought to us by the likes of Denny O'Neil, Frank Miller, Larry Hama, Bill Sienkiewicz, John Byrne, Herb Trimpe, Steve Bissette and Steve Smallwood.
I can't say I know too much about what transpires in this one but I'm sure that, after the obligatory fight scene, the two women will agree to combine their powers to take on the real villain of the piece.
Despite its fame, I know very little about the story itself, other than that Captain Marvel dies.
I, of course, do not approve of Marvel killing a man who was one of my favourite super-heroes when I was a child.
And, just to prove, it, he has a new comic launched in his honour.
I'm unfamiliar with its contents but, by its title, I'm going to assume the book is filled with reprints.
Tragically, I can't supply the answer to that but it seems to involve him destroying them, then recreating them to do his bidding.
And that means she's also up against Viper!
To be honest, that's all I know about the tale but it's written by Chris Claremont. So, given that it's Spider-Woman vs Viper, I assume it probably has some strange stuff going on in it.
Yet again, this is a reprint mag, with most of the tales being sourced from 1953 and 1954.
Fans of a certain age revere the Korvac Saga, point to it as a high point of the Late Bronze Age, and consider it one of the best Avengers story arcs ever, if not THE best. I read a few scattered issues of that run, don’t really remember anything significant about them, and didn’t even realize at the time that there was some kind of extended story happening. Here’s the craziest thing: for all that the name ‘Korvac’ has become practically a ‘Marvel Holy Word’ in the decades since, I couldn’t pick the guy out of a line-up. Seriously, I have no idea what the guy even looks like.
ReplyDeleteSo that’s all I have to say about the WHAT IF. As for the rest of today’s selections…
I have that BIZARRE ADVENTURES. It seemed to me at the time that the mag was like the Titanic with its ass jutting out of the water — that final plunge into oblivion was coming at any second.
I have that SPIDER-WOMAN too. I was buying it for Steve Leialoha’s art. I’m sure I read it at the time, but nothing comes to mind. You’re probably right, Steve : with Claremont writing, and Viper Vs. spider-woman, there was sure to be all kinds of sexually charged domination / submission shenanigans going on. Plus Silver Samurai, so throw in some fetishized Exoticism and yakking about Honor and Warrior’s Code etc.
I used to have THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN MARVEL. Culled it during a purge years ago. People made a big deal of it at the time, but can’t say I was ever a big fan. I preferred Starlin in his Widescreen Baroque mode. But hey, it DID launch the Marvel Graphic Novel Series, and God knows the world would surely be a poorer place without SUPER-BOXERS.
b.t.
I can't ignore the elephant in the room.
ReplyDeleteI don't know who that kid is on the front of those Dennis The Menace covers but it's not Dennis The Menace.
Charlie also cannot ignore the elephant in the room.
ReplyDeleteThe American Dennis the Menace is no menace. Perhaps we might think of him as a mirthful imp but he is certainly not a menace.
On the other hand, the United Kingdom’s Dennis the Menace is “Hell on wheels. “He should be feared. And, among Charlie‘s family and extended family, the United Kingdom‘s Dennis the Menace was by far the most popular and favorite of the DC Thompson annuals
It also is quite an amazing coincidence that the United States and the United Kingdom’s Dennis the Menaces were released on the same date in the 195O.
ReplyDeleteLastly, it is absolutely fascinating that DC Thompson is suing the UK’s member of parliament Rees-Mogg for copyright infringement because he dresses like Dennis the menace’s school chum Walter the softy!
ReplyDeleteBowie's 'Cat People (Putting Out Fire)' seemed ok at the time Steve, but it appealed to me more when Quentin Tarantino used it very effectively in Inglorious Basterds years later. Even though I wasn't actually too keen on the film as a whole - strange how music and images interact.
ReplyDeleteDon't you wonder sometimes, about sound and vision...?
Its not that surprising they killed off Captain Marvel as no-one ever seemed to have much of a clue what to do with him, except Jim Starlin (and he did it better with Warlock). Sadly, Judo Jim seemed to have lost his touch by the 80s, and 'The Death of Captain Marvel' was disappointing. It was a great idea, having him die from -
SPOILER ALERT (for anyone who hasn't read it)
- cancer, rather than epic cosmic super-villainy or whatever. But it needed at least better characterisation, which isn't really Starlin's forte.
Poor old Mar-Vell - even though he was a super-hero, he stayed dead.
-sean
b.t. Steve Leialoha is a curiously under-rated artist. Not someone who's work I'd look out for particularly, but quite enjoyable if you happened to get a comic he drew.
ReplyDeleteLike that Spider-Woman.
Besides the domination sub-text, didn't the Viper also turn out to be Spider-Woman's mother? Possibly demonic possession was involved.
Am I remembering that right?
-sean
If I might be allowed to refer to Mr Horse in the third person, Charlie has, after years of study, nailed not only the difference between the UK and US versions of Dennis but also the British sense of humour. While we're all laughing at the Rees-Mogg post, lots of Americans must be looking at it wondering whether it's a joke or a serious piece of news. While celebrating Charlie's achievement, we should all congratulate ourselves on our part in his success.
ReplyDeleteCharlie is proud to have achieved something noteworthy today!
ReplyDeleteAny of you UK Dennis fans recall your favorite scenarios of Dennis "getting Dad's slipper?"
Charlie's household's fav was the anaconda giving him a few. Also, using the fan blades, each with their own slipper mounted was a hoot!
Those authors / artists and DC Thomson were nothing short of genius in that department!
Regarding Rees-Mogg... How does one end up with a last name like that? Was it for sale like Valerie Giscard d'Estaing???
No, names like that cost nothing in the UK, Charlie. Its the titles you have to pay for (or, more often, everyone else pays for).
ReplyDeleteOf course, for a real laugh, lets not forget Rees-Mogg is actually a government minister. The British - the English mostly, to be fair - not only voted for him and people like him to run their country, they did it three times in a row!
(Four if you count the 2010 coalition)
-sean
Even most of the English didn't vote Tory, Sean. Blame the rotten voting system.
ReplyDeleteCharlie, Jacob Rees-Mogg is "Minister For Brexit Opportunities" which must be the easiest job in the world considering there aren't any Brexit opportunities. Rees-Mogg is a joke but so is the entire government he's part of.
What do you mean there are no Brexit opportunities Colin? People are getting their country back!
ReplyDeleteOf course those people are Irish rather than British...
Which you have to admit is pretty funny.
-sean
I prefer the album version of Cat People (Let's Dance) with the Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar intro. The original is probably more "Bowie" (although the music was obviously Moroder) but the commercial remake is a great bit of guitar based pop (pronounced in a Nicey voice). Earl Slick did a good job on this on the Serious Moonlight tour.
ReplyDeleteDW
Even though it premiered in April, I always associate CAT PEOPLE with that insane run of Sci-fi / fantasy blockbusters that dazzled the masses in the Summer of ‘82. There had been a lot of publicity about CAT PEOPLE in the various sci-fi film mags like STARLOG and CINEFANTASTIQUE, so me and my nerd pals were primed to see it on opening weekend. I think I may have even bought Giorgio Moroder’s soundtrack album before the premiere. Anyhow, loved the soundtrack (and the Bowie / Moroder single ‘Putting Out Fire’), but found the movie a fascinating, frustrating misfire.
ReplyDeleteCONAN THE BARBARIAN and THE ROAD WARRIOR (or as the rest of the English-speaking world calls it, MAD MAX 2) were next, premiering in mid-May. I like CTB less and less over the years, but MM2 still kicks all kinds of ass.
Then in June, the floodgates burst open, and it was one crazy Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Horror film after another, all summer long. STAR TREK II : THE WRATH OF KHAN, BLADE RUNNER, THE THING, TRON, POLTERGEIST, LIQUID SKY, THE SECRET OF N.I.M.H. and E.T.
Oh! And MEGAFORCE. Which, if you’ve never seen it, is an undiscovered Classic, a woefully under-rated cinematic masterpiece that somehow flew under everyone’s ra — naaaahhhh, just kidding, it’s total crap.
b.t.
Charlie must say, in all fairness, that he was alerted to the Reese Mogg/DC Thomson copyright infringement case, regarding Rees-Mogg looking like Dennis the Menace’s pal Walter the softy on these very pages of Steve does Comics!
ReplyDeleteThis can be googled though, for more information.
Indeed, there was a article in the UK about this potential copyright infringement case. I just wonder who published it and under what circumstance.
By the way, Dennis the Menace was a TV show for 4 years and 150 episodes from 1959 - 1963.
ReplyDeleteDid the UK Dennis ever make it into cartoons or TV? I'm not aware of that but would be curious.
I don't think Walter-gate went any further than a cease and desist letter, Charlie.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-43642564
-sean
Charlie, yes the UK Dennis had a TV cartoon show in the 1990s and another in 2009 and in 2017 (CGI) not sure if he still has a TV show though.
ReplyDeleteCharlie, the UK Dennis the Menace had his own TV puppet show in the early 1990s.
ReplyDeleteHe also had his own cartoon series in 1996, in 2009 and in 2017.
Boy -
ReplyDeleteCharlie be tempted to watch the UK Dennis cartoons but has to assume, having started in the 1990s, they are sanitized of all the "menace" LOL.
Indeed I recall reading something like "75 years of Beano" in which they reprinted some original Menace cartoons. They had (?) to print a disclaimer at the bottom of each, for Dennis, saying that his behavior was inappropriate, spanking is not acceptable, report it to the gendarmes, etc.
Which made me wonder why all the murder and mayhem in regular comics got a pass from said disclaimer? I mean, the first disclaimer should have been "don't ride rocket ships into space with girlfriends, their brothers, your old pals? Only consent to do this with qualified people! Or Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk."
Bt, I've never even read one issue of The Korvac Saga. Every time I see the word, "Korvac," I just get an image, in my head, of a vacuum cleaner.
ReplyDeleteSean and DW, I'm about to go on YouTube to see if the Sisters of Mercy have ever covered Bowie's Cat People. It seems like something that must have happened at some point. Practically their entire career just seemed to be them rearranging its notes into new tunes.
In other news, I've just realised I don't have a clue how to pronounce Leialoha. I'm going to guess it's Lay-a-low-ha.
I've just been on YouTube, and the Sisters of Mercy don't seem to have ever done a cover of Cat People. Some things in life defy all logic.
ReplyDeleteCan't say the Sisters of Mercy doing Bowie - or anything else really - is something I've given any thought to, Steve. But then I'm not a Yorkie.
ReplyDeleteFwiw though, I would pronounce Leialoha like that too.
-sean
Steve: Although the Sisters of Mercy didn’t record (as far as a I am aware) CAT people or any Bowie track, they did perform (well make that “destroy”) "Moonage Daydream" at a concert in Bristol in 2016 – a truly awful rendition of a classic song!
ReplyDeleteThe Sisters Of Mercy - Moonage Daydream/Bowie (Bristol 2016) - YouTube
Steve, Paul
ReplyDeleteWayne Hussey covering Ashes to Ashes (in more recent times I believe) and Bauhaus covering Ziggy Stardust tended to suggest that those Goth groups did borrow from Bowie. I was pretty sure Cat People remained in Bowie's live set until the mid 90s but google suggests he never played it live after the Serious Moonlight tour.
Memory, eh?
DW