Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
***
I never lived through the Korean War but feel like I did, thanks to the existence of the TV version of M*A*S*H.
And that existence began in September 1972 when the sitcom first aired on CBS. I do believe the show would go on to run for three times as long as the war itself.
But that wasn't the only big TV event of the month. For, that September, BBC One launched its quiz programme Mastermind, bearing the most ominous theme tune of any TV quiz and making a household name of its host Magnus Magnusson. That show's still going, fifty years later. Although, sadly, without the now-late Magnus.
Mastermind always seemed cerebral but there was even more brainpower on display in Reykjavík, as Bobby Fischer defeated Boris Spassky to become the first American world chess champion.
Over in Britain, the school-leaving age in England and Wales was raised to sixteen, consigning the nations' children to an extra year of homework.
And hypermarkets made their debut in the UK when the French retail giant Carrefour opened one in Caerphilly, South Wales.
The Sentinels are back and hiding out in a big anthill in Australia.
I think they've also kidnapped the Scarlet Witch!
That's the bad news. The good news is this storyline leads to Quicksilver and Crystal meeting each other, leading to romance and marriage.
We know something's up when the Falcon finds Cap assaulting people in the street, based purely on their skin color.
And, if that's not strange enough, that's when Bucky shows up!
I struggle to recall anything about this tale but it seems to feature a monster, a temple, and a damsel in distress. So, all in a day's work for our brawling barbarian.
This one is, however, drawn by Gil Kane, with no sign of Barry.
The Black Widow hunts down Danny French, convinced he's the cause of her recent panic attacks. However, to the surprise of not a single reader, it turns out Mr Fear's the culprit.
And he's out for revenge!
Strap yourself in because I do believe this is the one that retells the FF's origin!
I also recall its cover appearing as a pin-up in one of Marvel UK's Titans annuals; with Agatha Harkness added to it, for no noticeable reason.
The Shaper of Worlds makes his first appearance, as the Hulk touches down in yet another sub-atomic realm and must confront a wannabe Nazi superman.
What's this? Our idol struggling to survive an encounter with a refugee from the Circus of Crime? Never has the Invincible Iron Man seemed more vincible.
Is this the one where Ego Prime creates a new race of gods from a trio of humans, as part of some baffling Odin master plan?
Knowing the usual quality of Odin's master plans, it's a miracle the entire universe doesn't end up destroyed.
That's Marvel taken care of.
But what of the Distinguished Competition? For context, let's observe a random sampling of what that company is offering that bears a September 1972 cover date.
Sadly, I can't say anything about the storyline, as I've never read this one.
This time, it's a digest comic with a massive 164 pages - and it would appear to reprint old newspaper strips!
We get an adaptation of At the Earth's Core and action from John Carter of Mars.
Despite his appearance on the cover, Tarzan plays no great part in the contents of this book.
DD # 91
ReplyDelete(and # 90's cliffhanger!)
A review derived from MWOM # 271-275, the original DD # 91 being unavailable.
This terrific story needs resurrecting – so let's do it, right now!
Mr. Fear's skull-face scared me, as an 8 year old. Not like Carrion – a couple of years later – but scary, nevertheless! And, this month, Mr.Fear makes his dramatic entrance!
But first, let's remember what happened before...
In DD #89, I speculated whether – prior to Killgrave & Electro - the Black Widow had already ingested Fear gas.
Now, in Daredevil # 91, Natasha confirms this. Or seems to !
Natasha confides one-on-one to the reader, in a monologue in the privacy of her own room, that her nerves have been playing up “ since I came to San Francisco” :
“That accident last night- -that instant of insufferable fear just a few moments ago - - and yes, even the way I've been acting since I came to San Francisco- -”
“since I came to San Francisco” ! Those are the operative words!
Mr.Fear's been in the wings for some time, it seems! Conway's text needs close reading.
The art. In Natasha's monolgue scene, with a lesser artist, for her thoughts, a “think bubble” is all you'd get. But Gene Colan's at the top of his game...
ReplyDeleteIn two panels, Natasha's monologue reveals her thoughts – and, in both, mirrors frame her! The mirrors add intimacy, to the scene – it's a private moment - whilst also increasing the “interiority” - is that a word? - of Natasha's reflections (pun intended), in her monologue!
Artistically, it's a clever idea.
( Is a “fly on the wall” scene, what this is? I'll leave that to wiser heads!)
To Natasha, her panic attacks are Danny French's doing. He's the only man who can control her will, like that! ( Damon Dran controls Natasha's will too, next issue – but let's not split hairs. )
No, Natasha, you're wrong - it's not Danny, but Mr. Fear!
To discuss things, she locates Daredevil on the rooftop of a famous downtown San Francisco hotel.
Hearing the Black Widow alight on the rooftop, Daredevil recognizes her footstep, and turns round. To Matt's super hearing, each person's footfall's as individual as their fingerprints.
Last issue, Gene Colan showcased San Francisco's Golden Gate bridge & Chinatown.
Now, our hotel's rooftop views San Francisco's Telegraph Hill, & Coit Tower (made famous by Clint Eastwood & Tyne Daly's innuendoes, in ' The Enforcer' ) And - later - San Francisco's cable cars appear, too!
I hope Colan & Conway got commissions from the San Francisco tourist board!
The art – with Colan at his best, it's the details – the little touches – that distinguish him from lesser artists. The following being a case in point...
ReplyDeleteFor Matt, Danny French is a sore spot – for obvious reasons ( No, not his turtle-neck sweaters – but, I'll admit they get annoying! )
For Matt, it's Natasha's 'mentionitis' over Danny - she never shuts up about him! And, on the hotel rooftop, as Natasha - head tilted - discusses Danny with Matt, her long hair's a barrier, hiding her expressions – her true feelings. So, Gene Colan, during Daredevil & Natasha's tete-a-tete, has Matt gently move Natasha's long hair aside.
– A tiny detail, expressing so much!
Colan's virtuosity here, as an artist, is clearly demonstrated But is this - fundamentally - a glaring error, too? For a sighted man, Natasha's expressions would reveal her feelings, but Daredevil is blind. Moving Natasha's hair aside, to observe her expressions, is something Matt's unlikely to ever do! He uses his radar-sense / hearing, to monitor heart beats, etc.
Next, a flashback explains Danny French & Natasha's Project 4 Globe theft, from a secret installation. To signal it's a flashback, 'wavy lines' frame panel boxes, not straight lines. ( Colan's used this shorthand, in previous issues, too.)
The flashback ends with Danny French's poisoned gas grenade ( Gas, again? How many times is that, now? Killgrave's purple mist; Mr. Fear's fear gas; and now Danny French's poisoned gas! Less is more, Mr. Conway! ) killing Project 4's technicians.
For gas, it's more prolific than Spidey's Cobra/Prowler/Belladonna stories!
As regards the art, Colan's dynamism – vibrating flagpoles & 'split-scene' effects – have already been highlighted. But Colan does emotions, too.
ReplyDeleteDuring the Black Widow's flashback, Colan depicts Natasha's face, as she thinks outloud to herself, with a pensive expression. It's only in the next panel, as Natasha detaches from her thoughts, and the flashback ends, that her expression changes, with a sidelong glance to Daredevil ( Colan's skill in conveying emotion, through facial expression, is something we'll see again, when Natasha gets hypnotised by Damon Dran, in 'A Power Corrupt!' - MWOM # 279. )
Now, the Black Widow saves superheroes' lives – frequently! In Daredevil # 81, she rescued a drowning Daredevil, whilst Spidey's life was saved twice by Natasha's karate – or rather Nancy Rushman's – despite a humble schoolma'am being her persona/occupation!
( Incidentally, Natasha also avenges superheroes, too, after mistakenly believing they've died! - c.f. after DD was “shot dead”, by the Man-bull's goon – and also Kraven getting his comeuppance from Natasha, after throwing DD off a cliff edge, seemingly killing him! )
And, as this story starts, Black Widow is saving Daredevil's life, yet again!
How so? Well, Daredevil decides Natasha & himself should pay Danny French a visit, when - swinging through the air, holding Natasha's hand - suddenly, Matt consciously uncouples from the Black widow, and cries out: “No—what are we doing? We're—we're going to get killed! We—we can't try it--we can't!”
Daredevil's having a mid-air panic attack – for the second time!
Daredevil's first panic attack was last month when, after crashing through a window - Venetian-blind and all – Mrs.Mop found him, followed by Daredevil fan-boy, lieutenant Paul Carson ( 'nice guys finish last' Paul Carson being the polar opposite of bad-boy, Danny French!)
ReplyDeleteNatasha – having been let go by Daredevil – doesn't fire her widow's line, but instead grabs onto a skyscraper ledge, halting her descent.
Daredevil, unfortunately, carries on falling - plunging down the 'concrete canyon' !
Deja vu, here – as the Black widow's 'concrete canyon' plunge, was only 5 minutes ago, with her own panic attack!
The art – how does Colan add dynamism, as Daredevil plunges downward?
Well, Colan draws an 'S' shaped billy-club line - then one looped over on itself (in contrast to the straight line readers usually see) - to indicate Daredevil's line's been unhooked at the top, so Matt's in free fall!
Like the “vibrating” flagpoles – these little effects, of Colan's, add dynamism.
Luckily, this time, Daredevil's not on his own...
And, the Black Widow saves Daredevil's life again – for the umpteenth time.
Natasha, on her ledge, doesn't grab Daredevil's line, as he's falling. To Colan, she'd overbalance,
so that's unrealistic. Instead, Natasha hooks Daredevil's line over the ledge – somehow – then arrests Daredevil's descent.
Now - after the Black Widow's saved his life - an ungrateful Daredevil calls her 'Kid', once again ( a nasty habit Peter Parker acquired, too, in respect of Deb Whitman! ) This time Natasha blows her top, and gives a patronizing Daredevil a well-deserved tongue-lashing! 'Kid', indeed!
The art – Colan's viewpoints / 'camera-angles' are noteworthy! The Black Widow saves Daredevil, and the 'camera' looks up at Natasha – catching her breath on the ledge. This viewpoint is Matt's perspective, from just below her. Next panel, when Matt calls Natasha 'Kid' and she storms off, the 'camera-angle' immediately switches from below, to high above. The scene changes to a 'high shot' looking down – a 'bird's eye' view - as if the pair are being watched - objectively - from above.
ReplyDeleteAnd Mr.Fear – as well as the reader – may be watching. Who knows? With Mr.Fear, paranoia is a continual mood, in this story (he's spying – unobserved - on Daredevil, later on.)
Next, this technique, as one panel follows the next, of 'opposite camera angles', immediately happens again. This time, the 'camera' is behind a hurt & angry Natasha, as she's descending the stairwell, in front of Daredevil – only for the 'camera' to be re-positioned in front of Natasha, next panel!
Daredevil's hypersenses hear heartbeats, giving Matt advance notice of people's reactions, as we discussed last month. Daredevil thinks, “No good! Her heartbeat's racing...she must be close to tears. It doesn't take a pair of eyes to tell me I've blown it...really blown it, this time.”
However, identifying someone's physiological reaction, isn't putting yourself in someone else's shoes – having empathy, in other words. This distinction's important to make.
Daredevil says: “Natasha...talk to me. Tell me what I did wrong.”
From Matt, this sounds like “playing dumb” !
To Natasha, Daredevil's taken her for granted, and never thanks her ( I never remember Natasha thanking Matt, for saving her life, last month – unless it happened off camera!)
Then, next panel, the 'camera' switches to being in front of Natasha, with Matt behind her, as the scene changes, and they enter a study, of some kind.
Finally, whilst the Black Widow berates Matt's chauvinistic behaviour, the 'camera' looks over Daredevil's shoulder, casting the reader as an eavesdropper – a Sydney Pollack shot!
(Colan, with this viewpoint switching technique, is acting like a virtuoso concert pianist, crossing his hands over, and playing all possible variations at the same time! But, make the most of this genius stuff, as the art nose dives in a few issues time!)
Exiting the building, feeling Matt's taken her for granted, Natasha hears some office girls praising her as a woman who knows her own mind, and as “the Gloria Steinem of the jump-suit set” ! The contrast between her own self-image – in that moment – and other people's view of her, raises a smile on Natasha's face!
Aged 8, Gloria Steinem being a feminist icon was lost on me!
To the Black Widow, her & Daredevil's panic attacks are Danny French's doing, and – passing a few cable cars - she decides to beard French in his lair – a sub-basement beneath an underground parking lot (a fitting rat-hole, for a twerp like French!) When Danny charges, Natasha does a fireman's lift throw, just like Byrne's Iron Fist did on Chaka's goon, a few weeks back! And, she never trained at K'un Lun, either!
ReplyDeleteA few karate chops later, and - as Natasha grabs Danny by the scruff of the neck – French confesses he didn't do it (in Daredevil, being scruff-of-the neck-grabbed prompts confessions!) Nevertheless, like Matt (& later Ivan), Danny still gets away with calling Natasha “kid” ! She's heartily sick of this, by now!
I think, as Natasha holds Danny by the scruff of the neck, his face – with its small mouth & teeth – is drawn from Robert Redford. Seeing as the Ramrod resembles Robert Loggia, maybe a double act of movie star lookalikes could be formed!
Back to Daredevil...
The art – more dynamism from Colan. As Daredevil crosses in front of some cable cars, we get a “split scene” effect, before Daredevil springboards off a flagpole, with Colan's familiar recoiling effect!
According to Daredevil, it's the wrong tree Natasha's barking up, with Danny French - as the man responsible for their panic attacks is dead! So, to start with, Matt thinks it's Zoltan Drago?
Matt – as Daredevil - approaches the building housing Sloan & Cranston's law-firm, entering via a window. To Mr. Fear, watching Matt's approach, he's one step ahead of Daredevil. More paranoia, with Daredevil – like Natasha - constantly being watched/stalked, unobserved ( But, doesn't Matt's radar-sense mean this is virtually impossible? )
Next, Fear exits the roof - “swallowed by stairwell shadows” ( like last issue, the text is licensing Tom Palmer to work his magic with shadows, creating atmosphere & drama! )
In reality though, the hunter's actually the hunted! Daredevil's increasing his visibility deliberately, to draw Fear out. Not quite yet, though!
Viewed from inside, silhouetted against the window, there's Daredevil, with – as a backdrop, behind him - wait for it... San Francisco's Golden Gate bridge! Well, it had to be, didn't it?
A quick costume change, and a secretary ushers Matt through into Jason Sloan's law firm, where Larry Cranston warmly greets his old law-school classmate. ( Remember, Larry's had to shed his Mr.Fear costume, seconds before greeting Matt – Cranston must have got back to the office with seconds to spare!)
“There's a trick Matt Murdock knows—a trick of the mind. Sometimes, when the answer to a problem is so near--so near he can almost touch it--He sets that problem aside--and lets his subconscious file the clues and equations—until the answer finds itself.”
“Clues” ? So, Daredevil's the World's Greatest Detective, now? Surely not!
Like last month, when senior partner Sloan enters, he again humiliates Larry in front of Matt, ordering him to “go file case sheets, or something”. Matt being the 'golden boy', combined with these repeated humiliations from Sloan, motivated Cranston to resurrect Mr. Fear, in the first place!
As Daredevil departs, ready to continue “baiting” Mr. Fear, the reader gets a short bit of text – some very slightly purple prose, declaring how “the twilight breeze whips off the quiescent bay”. It's “twilight”, so the long shadows – beloved by Palmer – will manifest themselves !
Like last issue, text & art blend together, for mood & atmosphere. Again, this month, the text licenses Tom Palmer's inking to work its shadow magic!
ReplyDeleteBesides, twilight's a liminal time – a 'never-never ', dividing line - perfect for the paradoxes of a lawyer's justice attained outside the law.
Hunting Mr. Fear, Daredevil declares: “I've made a prominent target of myself these past few hours - - but it looks like my gambit's failed.”
In recent Daredevils, the hero as “bait”, to draw the villain out, is a familiar device. For Gerry Conway, Black Widow used herself as “bait” too - for Electro - sitting around like Little Miss Muffet – repeatedly - in Daredevil # 89. The reader's getting deja vu, yet again!
Suddenly, as Daredevil's throat gets the unmistakable constriction fear gas induces, Mr. Fear makes his dramatic entrance - finally!
Daredevil, however, is unfazed - as he's prepared a gaseous antidote to Mr.Fear's “fear pellets”.
Now I'm confused – Peter Parker's a scientist, so obviously antidotes are a cinch for him. But Matt's a lawyer, so how the hell does he prepare antidotes? Also, if Mr. Fear used fear gas, Daredevil's nostril protectors for Killgrave's purple mist could have been recycled. But Mr. Fear 's using pellets, now? I suppose it explains roof-top swinging superheroes getting a dose, when Mr. Fear's nowhere in sight!
Daredevil, protected by the antidote, pushes Mr.Fear backwards, whereupon Fear uses Daredevil's favourite move – the 'monkey climb' - against him! ( c.f. DD #87, featured in Paul's blog, months ago: (https://twthen.blogspot.com/2022/01/) So, can Mr.Fear out-Daredevil Daredevil?
Are Daredevil & Mr.Fear counterparts, then?
What's a Man Without Fear's antithesis? Why, Mr. Fear, of course!
What's 'golden boy' lawyer, Matt Murdock's opposite number? Well, a lawyer who isn't a 'golden boy', having inferiority/ persecution complexes, like Larry Cranston!
( They're both quick-change artists, too – entering the building?- but that's tenuous!)
Admittedly, for Daredevil's villains - in the Gerry Conway era - inferiority complexes weren't uncommon. Recently, Electro was sick of “people laughin' at me 'causa the way that I talked”, so adopted grandiose 'supervillain speak'. Maybe Murdock should be a psychiatrist, not a lawyer!
ReplyDeleteLarry Cranston, overshadowed by Matt Murdock – the golden boy lawyer – stole Zoltan Drago's costume & weapons, to become Mr. Fear! Also, the Prowler should have been warned by Daredevil, that other people might dress up in his costume, & use his weapons, as Cranston did with Zoltan Drago's!
In round one, Mr.Fear defeats Daredevil, knocking Matt unconscious with a karate chop to the skull. Yet Larry Cranston's a flabby, bespectacled, middle-aged man – he's much shorter than Matt, too. So how does Cranston beat Daredevil, who's a highly experienced fighter? ( It's Stick – he must have secretly trained Cranston, too – when him & Matt were in college!)
Conway's being 'exposition light', again. A scene about Cranston's years of resentment fuelling karate training – or something – would make his prowess more credible. Unfortunately, the reader gets no such scene!
Matt, regaining consciousness, resumes his battle with Mr.Fear on another skyscraper roof, where Cranston has taken off his jet-pack.
Again, Mr. Fear has the advantage over Daredevil. And Matt – unable to break Cranston's strangle hold - is blacking out!
Suddenly, as the stairwell door opens, Fear's momentarily distracted, ( Cranston summoned Jason Sloan to the rooftop, on a false pretext!) This momentary diversion distracts Larry, wherupon Daredevil tears Mr. Fear's mask off !
Noticing Cranston unmasked, Sloan declares his Fear costume looks ridiculous, sending Larry berserk! As Cranston charges, Daredevil trips him, then knocks Sloan unconscious, before Larry spills the beans about Matt Murdock being Daredevil's secret identity.
Suddenly, as Daredevil grabs Cranston by the scruff of the neck, Larry realizes his old pal Matt knew he was Mr.Fear - even before his mask came off. So, Larry sings like a canary ( grabbing someone by the scruff of the neck has this effect, in Daredevil! ) A flashback (with the obligatory wavy panel box lines) then shows Cranston – unobserved - watching Starr Saxon shoot Zoltan Drago – the original Mr.Fear ( to Larry Cranston, spying on people's almost a hobby, it seems!) What's more, Drago's end of life confession allowed Larry to steal the Mr. Fear costume & weapons. ( Hobie Brown could empathize with Drago, as his Prowler costume & weapons were nicked, too!) And Cranston didn't even have to grab Drago by the scruff of the neck, to get that confession!
ReplyDeleteLarry explains that when Matt Murdock & Madame Natasha moved to San Francisco, as did Daredevil with the Black Widow – well, putting two and two together wasn't difficult ! ( The ridiculous obviousness of this – to everybody – blowing Daredevil's secret identity wide open - necessitates some fancy footwork next issue, with T'Challa dressed as Daredevil - albeit that becomes even more ridiculous!)
Next, Matt asks Cranston why he did it, whereupon Larry explains he despised Murdock, for always being the 'golden boy' ( c.f. Paul, on 'Ever Decreasing Circles' !), whose shadow he always had to walk in. Then – suddenly – Cranston sucker-punches Daredevil, and leaps off the roof-top, vowing to return! Matt desperately calls Larry back - reminding him his costume's jet-pack isn't attached, being slung on the roof-top, behind Daredevil's shoulder !
Unfortunately, for normal humans – unlike Daredevil - the 360 degree coverage provided by a radar-sense, is sadly unavailable – and Cranston plunges to his doom, down a concrete canyon! Ironic - because Mr.Fear did that to the Black Widow, and Daredevil, but isn't so lucky himself !
With this parallelism, underscoring the point might have been useful, for younger readers' benefit. But would the scene's poignancy have decreased, by doing so?
Is Mr.Fear forgetting his jet-pack an unlikely ending? Not necessarily. Larry Cranston's a very insecure man – an amateur supervillain, at best. Mr. Fear was powerful, confident – an alter ego possessing person qualities insecure Larry Cranston wished he had. So, when Jason Sloan saw Mr. Fear unmasked, as Cranston...is it any wonder Larry's supervillain acumen deserted him?
In terms of pacing,the story's ending happened a bit too quickly. More tension needed, before the final denouement? You decide! Anyway, soon Matt rings Ivan, who tells him Natasha's vanished – and Ivan's calling her “kid” now, too – sheesh!
Phillip
Man, the pressure's on as Phillip walks off the stage to a standing ovation and I shuffle on trying to beat the performance of a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteThe ASM you're thinking about, Steve, is ASM #99.
But what about ASM#112 though? Well, Spider-Man spends most of it hunting for Aunt May who disappeared after getting a mouthful from Gwen about being too clingy. Pot…kettle…. While he's searching, he passes on a couple of opportunities to foil robberies because Aunt May is his number one priority and the Daily Bugle makes a big thing about it.
But what about the important stuff? Well, this is the first comic in a four part story that introduces Hammerhead and sets him up as a big rival to Doc Ock. I think it's the first of three Doc Ock vs Hammerhead storylines. But this story has some great cliffhangers:
- Doc Ock doesn't appear until the last panel of this comic
- Hammerhead first appears in last panel of part 2
- Aunt May revealed as Doc Ock's housekeeper in last panel of part 3
A cracking start for Gerry Conway as ASM writer.
Thanks, Dangermash!
ReplyDeleteHammerhead makes your post interesting to me, as he's a villain I remember from the Marvel 1977 playing cards, but who pre-dated my original Spidey-reading era.
I remember reading - in relation to the Tom Petty song - that 'Mary Jane' was code for marijuana. Aunt May would not approve!
Gerry Conway was so prolific - Daredevil, ASM & Thor - all in the same month! Conway's output was to writing, what Sal Buscema's output was to art!
Phillip
I thought - for once - I'd managed to write a review without any typos. Now I've noticed I typed "person qualities", instead of personal qualities! Damned typos!
ReplyDeletePhillip
Gerry Conway just started on Spidey...? Charlie will be thrilled.
ReplyDeleteIts a notable month for writers starting on A-list Marvel comics, as I believe Cap #153 is Stainless Steve Englehart's first issue - with 50s Cap and Bucky making America great again by smashing commies and black people - and FF #126 is the first by HouseRoy Thomas, taking over from Stan the Man.
Which doesn't change the fact that - trigger warning: Marvel zuvembies stop reading now - DC are still doing the better comics.
Thats inevitable of course if only because they have Jack Kirby working for them. The Fourth World might be nearly over, with just one more issue of Forever People (and New Gods) to go after this month, but he's already bouncing back from being too far ahead of his time with the brilliant Demon #1.
And soon, the first issue of the even more awesome Kamandi...
-sean
Completely agree about that Batman cover being a classic Steve, even if it is a bit contrived that he still has his mask on.
ReplyDeleteAlthough as Ra's al Ghul seems to have most of the costume in his hands I tend to assume it was the colourist that made it look like Batman has leggings on, and Neal Adams actually drew him wearing nothing but his mask and underpants. Which does maybe suggest a sense of humour at work there, under the hyper-realism...
Anyway, its obviously cover of the month.
Although there might have been a bit of competition if you'd included House of Secrets #100, which had a striking image by Berni Wrightson.
-sean
*Correction: ok, Ra's al Ghul doesn't actually have Batman's costume in his hands - that was a poor choice of words - but you know what I mean. He's holding it.
ReplyDeleteFunny — I’ve seen that Batman cover dozens of times and never noticed that strange detail. Why in the world IS Ras holding Batman’s costume? Is that supposed to represent some strange kind of symbolic Alpha Male ritual, like Tarzan’s bull-ape yell? ‘I have defeated Batman in battle and stripped him down to his underpants! VICTORY!’ Pretty odd.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I refuse to believe that’s really Batman’s actual outfit in Ras’ hand. It’s like a Halloween costume onesie, with the panties stitched in — and the gloves AND the utility belt. Also, check out Batman’s hairy chest and arms. If Neal had meant for his legs to be bare, he surely would have scribbled lots and lots of hairs on ‘em.
And yes, I definitely am a Marvel Zuvembie, i admit it. A face-frontin’ True Believer. And i too love The Demon and Kamandi. (And Mr. Miracle, too, which was still hanging on by one testicle for another few issues). But DC making better comics than Marvel during this period? Um, no.
Phillip — that was quite the epic. Makes me want to go back and re-read the comic.
b.t.
Thanks, b.t. - As regards writing a lot, few comics motivate me. It's mostly only the early ones.
ReplyDeletePhillip
Well b.t., I would say that since Steve started including DCs in this feature I've found them more appealing than the Marvels.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do think we're at a tipping point where thats changing, with Marvel starting to put out more interesting second tier titles - see recent Lucky Bags - which I generally preferred to their (post-60s) A-list.
-sean
I've just been reading that Tarzan digest online.
ReplyDeleteAs DCs regular Tarzan included (seriously abridged) old newspaper reprints by Hal Foster as back-ups early on, I was hoping for more of that. But its old stuff by Russ Manning which looks like it must be from old comics - presumably Dell/Gold Key - rather than strips.
Anyway, its not really to my taste, certainly not compared to the kind of thing Joe Kubert was doing in the regular series at this point. Or even Frank Thorne in Korak.
-sean
Sean:
ReplyDeleteY’know what — I just checked out the month’s comics at Mike’s Amazing World and I can kind of see your point. Especially if you factor in the Non-Superhero books (I still think Marvel’s superhero titles of the period were stronger overall than DC’s). So, let’s take a look….
Barbarian / Adventure Fantasy titles:
DC has Jungle Joe Kubert on Tarzan, Feral Frank Thorne on Korak, Mighty Mike Kaluta on Carson of Venus, plus Murphy Anderson (John Carter) and Alan Weiss (Pellucidar) in WEIRD WORLDS. Marvel has Kane/Adkins on Conan, The Severin Sibs on Kull, Kane, Wayne Boring (!) and Jim Mooney on Gullivar of Mars. Close, but I think DC narrowly wins this round.
Horror / Mystery / Supernatural titles:
Marvel has Werewolf By Night by Conway and Ploog, Tomb of Dracula by Goodwin, Colan and Palmer, a very Lovecrafty Dr. Strange by Goodwin, Smith and Brunner, plus a few uneven reprint mags. DC has Phantom Stranger by Wein and Aparo, plus six All-New anthology mags, which are a mix of good, bad and mediocre stories and art, as usual. I think Marvel takes this round.
War Titles:
DC has Bob Kanigher and John Severin on The Losers, Kanigher and Russ Heath on Sgt. Rock. Marvel has Gary Friedrich, Dick Ayers and Vince Colletta on Sgt. Fury and the Howlers. Hell, it’s not even close — DC wins, obviously.
Westerns:
DC’s WEIRD WESTERN with Jonah Hex has a skip month, so Marvel has the Cowboy market all to itself for 30 days, with the All-new Red Wolf plus a handful of reprint books like Kid Colt and Rawhide Kid. Marvel wins by default.
Romance:
Marvel’s two books have been All-Reprint for awhile. DC’s four remaining Romance titles are still mostly All-New — but are they any good? Dunno. Maybe call it a draw.
b.t.
Jesus, Phil! I'm lucky if I can manage to cobble one coherent paragraph together.
ReplyDeleteI don't what you're on that focuses your brain, but I could use some.
I am in agreement, though, Daredevil was an interesting comic well before Miller showed up. I get the sense Marvel didn't quite know what to with the character. Hense, there was a lotta experimentalism going on. There were even a few issues where Starlin's Thanos arc creeped in there. And then the Man-Thing showed up!
I'm all about 70's comic book weirdness, but I gotta say, Deadman showing up in The Forever People took me by surprise. Kirby must have taken a liking to the character and decided to throw him into the pot, so to speak, apropos of nothing.
I haven't read that yet, BTW, but I'm gonna get around to it.
M.P.
Thanks, M.P.! That DD # 91 review wasn't coherent to start with - it was a mess! I had to shuffle things around a lot, both between paragraphs, and within sentences. Also, make the sentences shorter & punchier, as people can't be bothered reading long sentences; check for typos, etc. Plus, leave it for a week, before going back to it with fresh eyes (several times over the month), etc.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of writing, you're better at humour than me!
Yeah - I liked the Thanos stuff, in Daredevil, too - where Captain Marvel turned up & trashed the Ramrod! Oh, and the "Egg of Life" breaking - incredibly surreal!
Charlie's been unusually silent...
He may make some profound comment!
b.t. - Conway was writing Werewolf by Night, too? 4 titles in a month!
Phillip
So the ghastly Mrs O' Leary becomes PM but at least it's good riddance to Alexander Boris de Pfeffel.
ReplyDeletePhil, that's not a comment it's a novella!!
ReplyDeleteThat explains quite a bit about his writing Phillip.
ReplyDeleteb.t. re: the horror/supernatural titles - Its worth pointing out that House of Secrets #100 includes a story drawn by Alfredo Alcala. Not sure if its actually his first for DC, but I do know a couple of months earlier House of Mystery featured the first US credit for the mighty Alex Nino.
Meanwhile at Marvel, Werewolf By Night is so-so, and the Premiere-era Dr Strange doesn't get consistently good til Englehart... but you're right about Tomb of Dracula giving them the edge. Its still fairly new though. Like I said, things are changing at this point.
M.P., from an interview with Mark Evanier - "We were ordered to put Deadman in New Gods, but we slipped him into Forever People instead, where he was a little less intrusive. Jack didn't like the character and didn't want to do it"
-sean
*That was of course a reference to Gerry Conway at the start of that last comment.
ReplyDeletePrime minister Liz Truss, eh? You've got to laugh.
-sean
Holy cow, Phillip; when you post a comment you don't kid around! Most impressive! It would have taken me two weeks to put down that much over at BitBA...
ReplyDeleteB.t.- nice genre comparison! I'd pretty much agree with your assessments, especially regarding the war books. DC really had those nailed. Especially in the Silver age; I was at a flea market yesterday and was admiring some early 60's covers. Some of those are stunning, beautifully dramatic and magnificent color...
PHIIIP!
ReplyDeleteIs that your pen name and your real name "Son of PROUST???" What an excellent review. I actually ran (well jogged with this knee of mine) to the library to get that issue of Daredevil in a trade thanks to your write up! But, b/c it's Memorial Day weekend, the Library is closed!
So, I'm contented with your writeup and you point on some great aspects of Colan's art... the reader often feels like a secret observer of intimate moments or self reflection. Well said.
HELP!
ReplyDeleteCharlie literally have not seen nor read any of these Marvel but for Spidey.
How could Charlie have nearly every issue Steve put up last month (but for the 2nd-banana titles) and none this month?
So what the hell was Charlie doing in July of 1972??? He was all of 11 years old and still has incredibly strong memories of purchasing various titles but this month is a total blank?
Had Charlie been abducted with Barney and Betty by aliens in New Hampshire?
TARZAN.
ReplyDeleteSeems "the world" was going Tarzan gaga?
I mean, DC was pumping out Tarzan and at the same time HOGARTH's beautiful hardbound of Tarzan was released in the UK? (I know which I prefer to this day, lol. BURNE BABY BURNE!)
SEAN, B.T.
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting discussion about Marvel v DC.
I can say that I was seriously into the JLA-JSA team up happening at this time. And though I have zero recall of any of the Marvel titles I DO recall getting the DC JLA-JSA issue. Just had to have it.. in part due to this crazy desire to see the WW2 heroes.
In brief, I have to say DC was leading in terms of unique titles (Forever People), war titles, and nostalgia (JLA-JSA, 100-page reprints).
In terms of men in tights, still have to give the nod to Marvel.
Hard to believe chess championships were once major international events!!
ReplyDeleteColin - Unbelievably - there was stuff I deliberately omitted (e.g. Conway making Natasha a fashion artist/designer, etc). The demise of televised chess - whilst Love Island, etc, thrive - a sad indictment of dumbing down!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Redartz - Bitba's still missed!
Charlie, much appreciated - I'm trying to stay off the Madeleine cakes! Maybe, it being July, you could have been on a family holiday, it disrupting your usual comic buying routines.
Phillip
Colin and Phillip, chess may have died a death on TV but it's big on YouTube.
ReplyDeleteSean, Red, Charlie and Bt, of the above offerings, I'd favour the Marvel ones, with the Avengers and Hulk being my standouts.
Charlie? Barney and Betty Rubble were abducted by aliens?
Phillip, thanks for the positively mountainous DD summary.
Dangermash, thanks for the Amazing Spider-Man clarification.
MP, I agree. Daredevil was usually a good read, even before Miller showed up.
Steve, MP, Phillip — I agree about the general worthiness of Pre-Miller Daredevil. Before I started buying and collecting comics on a regular basis in the Fall of 73, I only spent my allowance on comics five times that I can remember. Four of those were issues of Daredevil, all of them drawn by Gene Colan — 75, 78, 85 and 97.
ReplyDeleteb.t.
STEVE - I have to assume you folks have heard of Betty and Barney Hill, lol, who claimed alien abduction. Became fairly famous... at least among those who watched a lot of TV back in the day.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteCharlie, every time you mention Betty and Barney, I think you’re going to finish the sentence with the word ‘Rubble’ !
b.t.
Charlie, I've definitely heard of them but I can't speak for anybody else. Apart from their claim of alien abduction they were also a mixed-race couple which was pretty unusual back in those days.
ReplyDeleteYes - Betty & Barney are on Blaze tv's UFO shows regularly.
ReplyDeletePhillip
I stand corrected, Sean. I always assumed Kirby liked the off-beat character and decided to shoe-horn him in there, somewhere. Apparently, that was not the case.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt one of many reasons he got fed up at D.C.
As for Betty and Barney Hill, I vaguely remember seeing the T.V. movie about them back in the 70's, when I was a kid. Barney was played by James Earl Jones.
I confess, it struck me as memorable not only because of a UFO sighting but also because interracial marriages were relatively rare back then.
As for the Rubble connection, that's gotta be a coincidence.
Imagine Betty and Barny Rubble rolling down the road in their dinosaur-pulled vehicle, and seeing a weird light in the sky.
Only this time it's a comet that crashes into the Yucatan, which wipes out most of the Hanna Barbera characters on Earth at the time, with the possible exception of Mighty Mightor and his tribe.
M.P.
MP
ReplyDeleteLest we forget, Flintstones did have an alien star on the program for several (I think) episodes. It was Kazoo!
If I wasn't going to bed right now, and out of energy, I might google to see if the Betty and Barney Hill thing inspired HB to find an alien for Betty and Barney Rubble, LOL!!!
I haven't forgot about Kazoo, Charlie!
ReplyDelete...although upon further reflection, I think Kazoo was merely a symptom of Fred Flintstone's incipient psychosis. He was talking to people that weren't there.
Let's face it, Fred was stressed out and on the proverbial bubble for a long time; sooner or later they were gonna be fitting him out for a stone straitjacket.
It probably came as a relief to Wilma.
M.P.
Wasn't it "Gazoo" or "The Mighty Gazoo". I thought Barney and the kids saw Gazoo as well I wasn't aware it was in Fred's imagination.
ReplyDeleteI was aware of Betty and Barney Hill as well their story has been well documented all over especially on that daft "Ancient Aliens" TV Show.
McScotty- quite right, "The Great Gazoo" was visible to Fred and Barney.
ReplyDeleteAlso the kids, and Dino. Voiced by Harvey Korman. I remember him well. Now if only I could remember where I left my phone...
Mary O' Leary (or "Liz Truss" as she prefers to be called) has officially become Prime-Minister.
ReplyDeleteBoris was just the opening act but the Brexit fruitcakes have now taken to the stage.
Our new PM does like to frequently pause for applause during her speeches. Everyone's noticed this now, so they like to return the compliment by leaving an uncomfortably long pause before applauding.
ReplyDeleteFor the benefit of our American friends, here's a great example https://youtu.be/gxG8lzRA1ZA
The more emphatic Liz Truss is, the less important her point - e.g. "3/4 of our cheese comes from abroad. THAT IS A DISGRACE!"
ReplyDeletePhillip