Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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It's time to put on your mirrored top hat and stamp your feet because September 1972 saw the UK singles chart dominated by Slade, thanks to their monster smash hit Mama Weer All Crazee Now.
Could nothing stop the world's least glamorous glam rockers?
Yes. One man could.
And that man was David Cassidy because, at the month's very death, his latest platter How Can I Be Sure? finally dislodged them from the top spot.
Over on the British album chart, the month began with Various Artists' 20 Fantastic Hits on top before Rod Stewart's Never a Dull Moment dethroned it. But then, just as the month came to a halt, even he had to make way, as 20 Fantastic Hits reclaimed the top spot.
Not too many memorable films came out that month but it did see the release of Solaris and Dracula AD 1972. Critics will tell you Solaris is the better of those two movies but, personally, I'd rather sit through Dracula AD 1972.
I do know, though, that it's brought to us by Gerry Conway and Wayne Boring.
Instead, he finds himself surrounded by the distinctly Lovecraftian cult of Sligguth!
If Strange's luck is out, we can at least view ourselves as blessed, as this month's tale's brought to us by both Barry Smith and Frank Brunner.
If so, your dreams have come true, as that's exactly what we've got. Granted, I'm not sure it's what could be called a seamless fit.
Regardless, inside the book, Dracula kills Ilsa and makes her a vampire but she's shocked to discover the transformation doesn't restore her lost youth.
I'll be honest, I don't know who Ilsa is.
It would seem that he and Buck make off with The Darkhold but are pursued by Miles and Marlene Blackger who are determined to get it back.
This thrilling debut issue reprints a whole host of no-doubt hilarious tales from the 1950s. Most of them the product of writer/artist Howie Post.
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17 comments:
Was the main character in LIL' PALS called Buck The Duck? I read one of his comics in a dentist office in the 60's. Harvey Comics probably saw no threat from Marvel for kiddie books back then.
At one time having the complete run of CAPTAIN MARVEL, I too can't remember what happened in that issue, Steve.
The featured Subby issue was provided to me by Charlie H47, Thank you so much, oh my brother, and for the other issues I missed.
-Killdumpster
So…Neal Adams (with Tom Palmer inking, I think) drew the two victims and Jazzy Johnny did pretty much everything else? Really makes you want to see what it looked like before Romita had to ‘fix’ it. Could it really have been THAT bad?
I don’t know why exactly, but I really dig that WHERE MONSTERS DWELL cover.
Steve, I’ve never seen SOLARIS, at this point probably won’t get around to watching it in my lifetime. I HAVE seen DRACULA A.D. 72 a number of times, and wouldn’t mind watching it a few more.
b.t.
You're missing out b.t. Against my better judgement, I have a soft spot for 'Dracula AD 1972' - as admitted only the other week in the Speak Your Brain thread - but 'Solaris' is definitely a much better film. Theres no comparison really.
Each to their own I guess.
That Where Monsters Dwell would be my favourite cover here, although I expect that Tomb of Dracula is the best comic. Its not quite the classic series yet, but Gene Colan and Tom Palmer are already doing great work.
Other than that, its a bit of a disappointing B-list this month. Marvel Premiere #4 is ok, but a real comedown from the previous issue with Nightmare. Its interesting to see some of Frank Brunner's early work for Marvel but the whole Doc-goes-Lovecraft thing just doesn't work for me.
-sean
Slade? Come on Steve - how could they be proper pop stars when they didn't even have their own comic?
A shame you don't go beyond selections from DC in the Fifty Years Ago Today feature, as you could have included Charlton's David Cassidy #6 in the last post. Or Partridge Family #12.
Heres a quick look at one of Charlton Comics' less remembered titles -
https://www.misterkitty.org/extras/stupidcovers/stupidcomics365.html
E-Man it ain't.
-sean
I haven't seen the original Solaris either but I have seen the remake starring George Clooney and there was also a Radio 4 version from a few years ago so I'm familiar with the plot.
That Dr Strange story is basically a rip-off of Lovecraft's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" which he wanted to publish as a novella in 1936 but it didn't see publication until 1941 in 'Weird Tales' magazine, by which time Lovecraft had died. "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" is one of Lovecraft's best stories, if not THE best - really creepy with a mounting atmosphere of dread and menace, and with a great twist ending too.
Again, ole Charlie has no idea what the hell he was doing in June 1972 that he only bought a couple of these off the spinner but to this day he remembers Subby! It's a good little run with Sunfire and Big Bill Everton's art. Highly recommended.
I had to visit Mike's Amazing World of Comics to see what else was on the spinners in June 72. I thought for sure Steve would be posting a Hero for Hire but #3 was not published until next month.
There is a very well known cover from Marvel Feature and I am curious how many of you know if off the top of your head? Egghead's big head dominates the cover with a pistol pointed at the mighty midget known as Antman!
What else is cool is that there is a butt load of reprints Marvel is putting out on the spinners! Steve - if one of those strains of UK comics is dying out (I thought you said something was coming to an end) you could dedicate a column to the reprints! We could ruminate on the cover artists if nothing else, lol, comparing it to the original covers?
Charlie, 'Marvel UK 40 Years Ago' is ending soon but it'll be replaced by 'Marvel UK 50 Years Ago' beginning with the weekly comic 'Mighty World Of Marvel' #1 which was launched on September 30th 1972.
Charlie, I totally know that Ant-Man / Egghead MARVEL FEATURE cover. That comic was in the pile I got from the Neighbor Kid Who Didn’t Want ‘Em Anymore. Love that comic, and the cover too. Other comics published that month, that were also in The Pile: OUR ARMY AT WAR 249 , BRAVE AND THE BOLD 103 and PHANTOM STRANGER 21.
As For Marvel’s various Superhero reprint titles, MARVEL SUPER-HEROES 32 was NOT in The Pile, but there was a house ad for it in one of the comics that was, featuring a shrunk-down reproduction of the excellent cover. I was very excited to find and purchase a copy of that comic years later — and probably just for a buck or two. Remember when Bronze Age reprint books were considered worthless junk and could be had super-cheap? I honestly don’t recall the Hulk and Subby stories that were printed therein, but it’s absolutely worth having just for the cover.
b.t.
So, as Sean says, Captain Marvel's written by Gerry Conway. And, after checking, Marvel Team up's written by Conway, too! That's at least 6 titles written by Gerry Conway, this month! (admittedly, some may be bi-monthlies) I bet Conway didn't know if he was coming or going!
Phillip
Charlie. I recently bought a copy of the issue of Marvel Feature (issue 5) for the cover alone (link below). I like Ant-Man as a character but east overly enamoured by this series.
Colin: Might World of Marvel issue 1 coming up for 50 years ago, that makes me feel so old as I vividly recall buying that comic after school like it was only a few years ago. I'm away for a lie down!
https://www.marvel.com
Oops sorry link below to Marvel Feature 5
https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Marvel_Feature_Vol_1_5
I bet Egghead doesn't actually just shoot Ant-Man inside though Paul, am I right?
American comics always had deceptive covers...
Phillip, not sure who said Conway wrote that Captain Marvel issue, but it wasn't me.
You're right about him being prolific back then though, even by the standard of the times when the regulars all seemed pretty busy every month. I think that contributed to the somewhat haphazard nature of comic book writing, and falling back on formula and pre-existing ideas.
Like Roy Thomas on Dr Strange. Although to be fair I think its legitimate to consider Marvel Premiere #4 a Lovecraft 'homage' - rather than a rip off - as I've little doubt he (and Archie Goodwin) would have expected older readers to recognize the source.
That would have been ok as a one-off, but falling back on that as a direction for the series was a mistake imo.
And handing it over to Gardner Fox didn't help. As with giving Wayne Boring work on Captain Marvel you can appreciate the gesture, but neither were really in touch with the newer styles that were emerging in the early 70s.
-sean
Apologies, Sean - it was Steve who said it! I somehow conflated this with an earlier discussion we had - ages ago - about Megaton.
Phillip
You're right Phillip, it was Steve. I looked through the thread to see who it was, and forgot to check the post. Duh.
-sean
KD, sadly my knowledge of Li'l Pals is pretty much non-existent and I can shed no light upon whether its star was indeed called Buck the Duck.
Bt, I have the idea in my head that I once saw Adams' original version of that Dracula cover but it was a long long time ago and I could be imagining it.
Sean, I remember seeing Solaris on BBC2 in 1980. Sadly, I struggled to say awake. Then again, it was on fairly late at night...
I agree about the Where Monsters Dwell cover. It's the colour scheme that does it. Sadly, the Grand Comics Database offers no information about who the colourist was.
Thanks for the David Cassidy link. That's one magnificent comic.
Colin, I agree about The Shadow Over Innsmouth being one of Lovecraft's better tales. I would say The Whisperer in Darkness is my favourite.
Charlie, don't feel guilty about only buying two of the above comics. I didn't have any of them.
Phillip, Marvel was clearly determined to get its money's worth out of Gerry.
McScotty, my first issue of Mighty World of Marvel was #4. Opening it for the first time and seeing Bruce Banner stood in the wreckage of the Toad Men's crashed ship is a moment I shall never forget.
While varying in degrees of quality in terms of script, there is virtually NO completely BAD Christopher Lee DRACULA film.
THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES would've been bumped-up a few notches if he would've done the Dracula cameos in that movie.
-Killdumpster
Sean:
I quite like the Lovecraftian Dr. Strange run. MARVEL PREMIERE 6 was one of the comics I got from The Neighbor Kid Who Didn’t Want ‘Em Anymore. It was my first Dr. Strange comic, and also my first exposure to Lovecraftian concepts (despite the billing block claiming ‘Based on concepts created by Robert E. Howard’, several fans helpfully called ‘BS’ on the Letters Page, in particular singling out ‘Shadow Over Innsmouth’ as the true inspiration).
I thought that issue was pretty great, with genuinely creepy atmosphere and excellent art by Frank Brunner and Sal Buscema (and Ralph Reese on the first couple of pages). I would admit that the Lovercraftian angle likely wasn’t sustainable for long, but it worked for me at the time.
b.t.
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