Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
***
A brave new year has dawned upon us.
But, try as it may, it can never be as brave as the heroes of Marvel Comics.
So, let us see just what courageous exploits they were up to in the books that bore the cover date of January 1973.
The Grim Reaper's back - and causing yet more trouble for our heroes.
Despite what the cover tells us, I'm pretty sure he hasn't been drinking Hank Pym's size-changing formula.
I do believe, though, that the bounder is trying to get the Vision to betray his teammates.
The Smasher's proving to be anything but smashing, as politics enters the world of Spider-Man, thanks to Richard Raleigh deciding he wants to be the mayor of New York. And, frankly, Raleigh doesn't care what he has to do to achieve it.
I don't think I've ever read this one.
Nor have I ever heard of the Viper
He sort of looks like the Eel. I shall, therefore, assume he is the Eel, until someone points out to me that he's not.
It might be The Shadow of the Vulture on the cover but that's not what we get inside, as the loss of Barry Smith's artwork in the mail forces Marvel to reprint issue #1, instead.
I'm sure readers'll be delighted.
Hooray! Man-Bull's still throwing his weight around!
This time, he's escaped from a New York prison, and heads for San Francisco, to seek revenge on Daredevil.
It's a fact that there's no such thing as a bad Hulk tale from the early 1970s. And issue #159 keeps up the good work, as the Abomination's back and confused about what time it is.
Needless to say, Thunderbolt Ross is happy to take advantage of this confusion and recruits the reptilian rapscallion to take on the Hulk.
As if that wasn't enough for our hero to worry about, Betty's married Glenn Talbot, and the pair are currently honeymooning at Niagra Falls.
Apparently, this cover's by Jim Steranko, though you have to stare pretty hard at it to notice.
John Buscema provides the pencils inside the book, as the FF battle to survive against the Frightful Four and their powerhouse new member Thundra.
Subby takes on Iron Man but the big news of the issue is that it sees the debut of Moondragon - but in her original guise of Madame MacEvil.
Who on Earth ever thought "Madame MacEvil" was a great name for a super-villain?
Apparently, Bill Everett and Mike Friedrich did, because they're the ones who wrote this issue.
We're in Vermont.
And that can only mean one thing.
It's Halloween.
And that can only mean one thing.
That Steve Englehart, Gerry Conway, Len Wein and Glynis Wein are on the loose!
In Vermont.
In this story.
And Glynis is dressed as Supergirl.
Meanwhile, Loki and the Absorbing Man are also on the loose.
What is this madness that assails my senses?
Mike Kaluta gives us a stylish cover, as Adventure Comics dumps Supergirl and gives us a flying horse.
Of course, Supergirl has a flying horse too but I'm sure this one's even more magical.
Inside, we get tales that wear such titles as The Wings of Jealous Gods, Prior Warning and Sword of the Dead! while Captain Fear completes the issue, thanks to the skills of Robert Kanigher and Alex Niño.
If you've ever wanted to know what Batman would look like drawn by Mike Kaluta, here's where you find out. For, it is indeed he who created this month's cover.
I do believe this is Captain Fear's first-ever appearance, making it a, no doubt, memorable issue.
The insides are drawn, however, by the ever-dependable Irv Novick who serves up a tale called This Murder Has Been Censored in conjunction with Denny O'Neil.
And we also discover a yarn called Crime on My Hands! starring someone called Jason Bard.
But all of these tales are advertised as being true. So, we'd best all remember to be scared.
And, in it, she takes her college professor to Kandor to try and cure him of his obscure brain malady.
Unfortunately, that's when she discovers the cure's set to make him grow until he's too big to fit inside the bottled city without destroying it!
Elsewhere, Zatanna's having problems with the Pied Piper.
Can you guess the shock endings of these new tales of the unexpected?
Possibly.
But can you guess them purely from the titles? Those titles are Fear Is a Nameless Voice, What Evil Lurks in the Night? and Panic Grips Manhattan. If you can, you're probably psychic.
Posts
51 comments:
Daredevil # 95
Here's a DD review, hurriedly cobbled together (from MWOM # 285-287!)
For me, this comic reads differently from when I was 8 years old. Hardly a surprise, I suppose!
As a child, this story was incredibly powerful. Daredevil, shot at almost point blank range, with the Black Widow vowing to avenge him – what an ending!
Natasha told the Man-bull, “If Daredevil dies, then so do you. This, the Black Widow swears!”
….Only she didn't utter those words. Re-reading the story, it's a 'false memory' ! The Man-bull actually tells the Black Widow “This isn't a game”, wherupon Natasha replies, “...If Daredevil dies, you're going to wish it were! This the Black Widow swears!”
Less impactful. My false memory provides more powerful dialogue!
Of course, as a child, this heartrending scene was taken at face value, whereas as an adult, I know it's merely a 'cliff-hanger', and Daredevil will spring back to life, next issue!
What else is unusual, here?
Well, most villains pride themselves on overcoming superheroes, through their own villainous resources, declaring things like: “Doom is always your master, dolt!”
In contrast, the Man-bull's own his size & brute strength are barely employed. Instead, Man-bull merely distracts Daredevil (yes, I know, this should be impossible), whilst his goon guns down the Man Without Fear. So, to the Man-bull, process is irrelevant – the end result's all that counts.
Other villains also espouse pragmatism, like the Taskmaster & Jack O'Lantern, but what the Man-bull does to Daredevil is vicious & nasty beyond belief.
Worse still, the Man-bull's mind concocted this horrible act, courtesy of a chance remark Natasha made to him. A fact he reminds her of, just to rub salt into the wound! To reiterate, the Man-bull is plain vicious and nasty!
How does this all come about?
We start with the title, “To Stalk A Devil!” Well, familiar ground greets us! In Gerry Conway's Daredevil run, the “stalking” motif, & “the hunter becoming the hunted”, arise repeatedly, as I've discussed in previous reviews.
Sometimes, newspaper front pages are 'framing devices' for stories. We've seen this before, many times (e.g. Moon Knight # 3, Batman # 363, Blockbuster # 4, Spidey & Hulk Weekly # 413.)
In such cases, the newspaper's from the superhero's perspective – even if he's made to look incompetent !
This Daredevil story's different, however – as the newspaper front page adds to the villain's narrative, not the hero's. Kind of a role-reversal!
It's visiting time, in jail, and Bull Taurus's goon, “Itch”, brings ' The Daily News'. Its date's been cleverly altered for 1978 Marvel UK (like Danny French's tombstone.) Anyway, the paper explains how Daredevil's moved to San Francisco. Bull Taurus replies that whether Daredevil's moved to New York or Katmandu, he's still a dead man!
How to break Bull Taurus out of jail ? Well, Taurus's goon uses a high-powered rifle to shoot, through the cell window, a syringe of the chemical that transforms Taurus into the Man-bull ( Taurus seems similar to Mr.Hyde, his transformation being chemically induced.)
Let's pause momentarily. Throughout this run, Gerry Conway's showcased San Francisco's landmarks – the Golden Gate bridge, cable-cars, Coit tower, China town, etc. So why not have Man-bull imprisoned in Alcatraz - San Francisco's most famous landmark of all ( behind the Golden Gate bridge) ? Plus, an island prison escape – like in ' The Count of Monte Cristo' – would be exciting!
Well, I suppose Alcatraz prohibits the Man-bull's goon firing syringes through his cell window, as Alcatraz is an island, with no high buildings around it!
But – wait a minute! Speaking of Mr. Hyde, he was incarcerated in New York's prison for super-villains – Ryker's Island! So, why's the Man-bull not in Ryker's Island, too? Was Ryker's only built in about 1979, perhaps? Answers on a postcard! Anyway, Batroc's assault squad used a “sapper” to drain electrical power from Ryker's, before penetrating Hyde's cell, with a fancy bazooka. More complicated – and exciting? - than merely firing a syringe through the cell window!
After the Man-bull breaks out, there's a big close-up of Coit tower's ( made famous by 'The Enforcer' ) top, with Daredevil swinging past – in case you're forgetting whose book this is!
The scripter/editor apologises for Coit Tower being drawn incorrectly.
Daredevil swings over some cable-cars before entering Jason Sloan's lawfirm, through that hatch/ sky-light we saw before, in the Mr.Fear story.
After bantering with the secretary, Matt meets Jason, who, once again, hints that Matt join his firm, filling the spot vacated by Larry (Mr.Fear.) Cranston
Suddenly, Matt hears a car, careering out of control, in front of a cable-car, outside of Sloan's office building. We're not told Matt's excuses, but he suddenly appears as Daredevil, to wrest control of the car!
This scene again demonstrates Colan's good at drawing car chases. Something we've seen many times before.
Daredevil swings into the runaway car, getting behind the wheel, to get it back under control. But how can Matt drive? If his radar-sense has trouble identifying Natasha, at close range,
how's Matt control a car?
Well, admittedly, Daredevil's driven vehicles on plenty of other occasions!
In Spider-man & Hulk Weekly # 412, ( Daredevil's David & Goliath contest, with the Hulk), a single decker bus is commandeered by a bloodied & injured DD, who drives it into old Jade Jaws!
Another single decker bus DD commandeered, was in the Beetle & Gladiator story! (Mighty World of Marvel Annual 1979).
Did this earlier Man-Bull story, by Conway & Colan, set a precedent for Matt's later driving capers, in spite of him being blind!
You decide!
It turns out, nobody's in the car – the gas pedal's been wedged to the floor!
Daredevil declares he'll get behind the careering car's wheel “If I don't break my back in the process!” This is a phrase Conway's had Daredevil use before (his battle with a hypnotized Black Widow), to remind the reader that Daredevil, with his physical limitations, needs to be braver than Spider-man, for example.
(As regards car chases, wasn't Steve McQueen's Bullitt, filmed in San Francisco? But, I digress...)
The car plunges into the bay, and Daredevil swims out of it, underwater. (Incidentally, DD practised his breast stroke a lot in DD Annual # 4 / 1979 MWOM annual, too! ) Swinging back to the rooftops, Daredevil feels he's being surveilled – and wishes his radar-sense could tell him by whom!
Some distance away, the Man-bull's goon's watching Daredevil, through binoculars. In previous issues, we've noted that villains carrying out “hostile reconaissance” on Daredevil, at close range, should be impossible, because of his radar-sense. Conway's improved on this, as the villains now use binoculars, implying greater distance.
What is the limiting range for Daredevil's radar-sense? Whatever the story needs it to be!
The careering car was a ruse by the Man-bull, to flush Daredevil out into the open. In previous issues, both the Black Widow & Daredevil used themselves as “bait”, to draw villains out (with Electro & Mr.Fear, respectively.) In contrast, villains drawing superheroes out, with “bait”, is another role-reversal ( in addition to the newspaper perspective, mentioned earlier!)
The Man-bull asks his goon where Daredevil was heading, whereupon the goon replies, “Towards the north shore.” Taurus decides it's time he switched his focus to the Black Widow (c.f. Natasha's 'north shore mansion'. )
Crosscut to Ivan & Natasha (who's shedding tears at Danny French's grave.) Danny's inscription dates have been altered to 1937-1977, for the benefit of 1978 Marvel UK.
As Ivan & Natasha drive off, the Man-bull's truck side-swipes Ivan's Corvette Stingray, whereupon the Black Widow piles out of the sports car, immediately ducking as Taurus lunges at her.
The Man-bull remarks that the Black Widow's faster than Daredevil ! This is an important point, which Conway could develop more. The Black Widow is more than a glorified gymnast, trained in martial arts. Later, she carries Ivan (her burly chauffeur) on her shoulders, all the way across town, when he is unconscious. This, despite her being depicted as a small woman (no Thundra or She-Hulk), being maybe 5ft 3, at the most. Enhanced speed &strength?
Ivan delivers a violent 'haymaker' punch to the Man-bull's goon, telling Taurus to keep his hands off Natasha, or he'll end up the same way!
The Man-bull, however, with his hulking size, and strength, isn't impressed by Ivan's bravado, and easily defeats him.
The Black Widow removes her coat, waving it in front of Taurus, like a matadore's cape. The next chapter, with its title, 'Bull Fight on the Bay', might have been a better episode, to write this cape waving strategy into the battle!
Natasha then tells the Man-bull, that if he's injured Ivan, she'll destroy him (this foreshadows her later blood-vow, over Daredevil's 'corpse'.)
Taurus tells Natasha that if you're not strong, you get stepped on (like Ivan.) The Black Widow replies that wit & skill overcome strength, covering Taurus's eyes with her cape, and dodging, sending him crashing into a wall. Finally, Natasha's tells Taurus his approach to life is fascinating, but she has to go – and blasts him with her Widow's sting, at close range! She then swings off, carrying Ivan (who's unconscious) on her shoulders.
Natasha's remarking how “wit” trumps strength (and her humiliating Taurus, thereby), is what prompts him to sadistically shoot Daredevil, next issue, using animal cunning, rather than brute force. For Natasha, the law of unintended consequences applies here. Conway's exposition could have been greater here, pointing up how Taurus's male ego suffered, being defeated by a woman. But this point isn't developed.
(Incidentally, a superhero here making a philosophical reply to a villain's ranting, rather than the usual Spidey-type wisecracks, anticipates Captain Marvel vs the Ramrod, in Steve Gerber's Daredevil.)
Matt's strolling in the north shore mansion's grounds, and we get the usual stuff about it being an autumn evening, so Palmer can ink shadows, for atmosphere. Suddenly, Natasha appears, hauling Ivan on her shoulders, in a 'fireman's lift'. She recaps, and Matt 'costumes up', ready to face the Man-bull.
With a splash page depicting Daredevil & the Black Widow's departure, from her north shore mansion, on a (giant) moon-lit night, the art & inking seem to be back on track (except the Widow's line resembles a piece of string/wire, in proportion to her hands' size – but let's not nit-pick.)
Daredevil & the Black Widow swing towards San Francisco, with a suspension bridge providing a backdrop (I'm guessing it's the Oakland Bay bridge, not the Golden Gate, as the pair are coming from the 'north shore' !) At this juncture, Natasha reminds Matt that he's never told her who or what the Man-bull really is, prompting a recap, for the reader's benefit (who says Conway never does expository dialogue!)
Bull Taurus was merely a brutal thug for hire, until he met Mr.Kline – whereupon Taurus found himself a pawn in a deadly game of chess. After Bull Taurus kidnapped some kids to use as guinea pigs, Kline made Taurus himself the guinea pig, transforming him into the Man-bull.
Taurus blamed Daredevil for the transformation, and having rediscovered the transformation formula, has vowed revenge on Matt.
This makes little sense. If Taurus hates being the Man-bull, why take the formula, to trigger the transformation? Okay, it empowered Taurus's jail-break but, after that, why stay as the Man-bull, if he hates it so much? After all, Taurus isn't going to use his bull-strength, to defeat Daredevil – he's going to get his goon to shoot Matt !
Crosscut to a female reporter (named Lucretia Jones), sick and tired of getting “puff pieces” & human interest stories, rather than hard journalism – who finally lands the story of a lifetime! ( Conway should have made this the same female tv reporter used in the Black Panther/Blue Talon story, for continuity & “over the horizon” storytelling! ) Nevertheless, Conway's trying some feminist stuff, long before Chris Claremont took things further.
The Man-bull's hold up of the Harris Jewel Exchange is interrupted by Daredevil & the Black Widow, and a fight ensues – reported by none other than tv newswoman, Lucretia Jones!
Suddenly, a shot rings out, and Daredevil falls, seemingly dead, his prone form cradled by a heartbroken Black Widow. The Man-bull had planned this all along, using the jewellery heist to draw Daredevil out, then distracted Matt, so his goon could shoot him. This heart-rending scene culminates with the Black Widow's blood-vow to avenge herself on the Man-bull, if Daredevil dies! What an ending, for an 8 year old reader!
For the Man-bull, is this 'double-revenge' (not only on Daredevil, but also the Widow)? Distraction, followed by a point-blank shot, as the Black Widow did this to Taurus, with her 'matadore's cape' distraction, followed by a point-blank blast, with her Widow's sting? Poetic justice – or rather injustice! Conway doesn't verbalize this, for the reader – but maybe his creative subconscious saw the parallels.
(But how did Daredevil's radar-sense fail to detect a goon, aiming a gun at him? Probably for the same reason it failed to detect Damon Dran alive, under the rubble, after Dran's lab/mansion exploded!)
Regardless, aged 8, I was incredibly disappointed, not to get the follow-up issue to this cliff-hanger. So unfair! However, when I did get the concluding part, about 17 years later, it was absolutely terrible – so I hadn't missed much!
In the follow-up, Taurus puts Man-bull serum in San Francisco's water supply ( reminds you of 'Joker-fish', doesn't it?)
Moreover, in the conclusion, Tom Palmer is replaced as inker, by Ernie Chua (Chan?), who did a terrible job. Now, I can't, for the life of me, understand this - as Ernie Chan is one of my 3 favourite inkers; but - for Daredevil – he wasn't good at all. Even Colan's pencils seemed worse, too – with
limbs being foreshortened, etc. Maybe Colan knew he'd be kicked off the book soon, and decided he couldn't be bothered for the final issues. Who knows?
Another strange thing is that, whilst in 'Mighty World of Marvel' Daredevil was inked by Tom Palmer, only to be replaced by Ernie Chua (Chan), in the Hulk – coversely - Ernie Chan was replaced as inker, by Tom Palmer ( halfway through Hulk vs the Jack of Hearts, & then through the Quintronic Man story.) Odd, to say the least!
Anway, my disappointment at missing this Daredevil story's conclusion was unsurpassed, until I missed the finale of the Dark Phoenix Saga! Still, as regards Dark Phoenix, every cloud has a silver lining, as I got to read (Mary) Jo Duffy's superior conclusion! I'll get my coat....
P.S. Gerry Conway figuring so prominently, over the last few months, here's a link to an interview,
courtesy of Scott Edelnan's 'Eating the Fantastic' :
https://www.scottedelman.com/2019/07/05/lunch-in-l-a-with-comics-legend-gerry-conway-on-episode-99-of-eating-the-fantastic/
Phillip
The start of three unsatisfying ASM issues. They're reprints of Spectacular Spider-Man #1. SSM, not to be confused with PPtSSM, only ran for two issues somewhere around ASM #67-68. Issue 1 is reprinted here with some Captain Stacy panels redrawn as Joe Robertson, some panels with eyes showing through Spider-Man's mask and some extra panels showing Spider-Man nicking his mask back from JJJ so he can throw away the one with the see-through eyes.
The unsatisfying aspect is that one of these two versions must be canon and one apocryphal. But which is which? The second version has the stuff about the costume shop mask but on the other hand the relationship between Harry and Mary Jane matches that around ASM #67-68 and definitely not that around ASM #116 after MJ dumped Harry in ASM #97.
In other news, some terrible covers this month. Gil Kane pencilling Iron Man and Thor just doesn’t work for me but the Hulk cover is a something starting with a, can’t think of the word. Those two shades of green just don't belong together. Abomination looks like he's fading away into fog.
Dangermash - No matter where the light source is, I don't see how exactly half the Hulk's lower fist can be yellow, like that (even if the Eel suffers from 'yellow fist syndrome', too!)
The upright wings on Gil's Thor's helmet remind me of Lion Annual's Phantom Viking:
http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/p/phantvik.htm
Phillip
Steve, that is indeed the Viper on the cover of Captain America issue 157. Strangely enough the Eel soon joins the story ( over 3 issues) as part of one of the dumbest teams of super villains ever put together with Plantman, the Porcupine and the Scarecrow. Saying that it was an interesting and fun story with Steve Rogers old Sergeant in the Police (Muldoon) being the cowled leader of this band of baddies
Oh, its a different Viper. I was just thinking Madame Hydra looked a lot more muscular on that Cap cover than I remembered her...
Anyway, good to see you start the new year with a Sunday post that includes Supergirl Steve. Well done, keep it up.
Adventure #425 is great, the kind of mixed genre anthology comic the mainstream American biz sadly stopped producing later in the 70s.
Captain Fear packs a load of story into seven pages - about Haitian slaves rising against the Spanish and how one of them comes to be captain of a Chinese pirate ship - and of course Alex Nino's artwork looks fantastic.
On top of that, you also get Alex Toth drawing the cover story 'The Wings of Jealous Gods', and Gil Kane (doing his own inks) on the early medieval fantasy 'Sword of the Dead'. Admittedly the writing on those two could be better, but still - that wasn't bad for your 6p back in the day.
Out of a relatively disappointing field for the time, House of Mystery #210 is my cover of the month.
Worth having a look inside too, as you get the US debut of the brilliant Rudy Nebres, drawing 'The Exterminator' - a pretty stupid story (and not in a good way) by Michael Fleischer - and some nice work by Gerry Talaoc on a period piece, 'The Immortal', about some dodgy mate of Marco Polo's.
-sean
*Obviously there should be a comma between Supergirl and Steve above.
Duh.
-sean
Marvel must really have wanted Barry Smith on Conan, letting him send work from Britain in those days. It was only a few years after Kirby was able to move to the west coast.
Also: whats with Kaluta's one-armed Batman?
-sean
Super girl, yank me out! 😂
Punctuation is your friend, kids.
-sean
Phillip, whenever you mention MWOM I try to figure out when it was published. The final issue of MWOM was #329 dated January 17th 1979 (exactly one month before my 13th birthday) so MWOM #285-287 must have been around April 1978.
'The Shadow Of The Vulture' was originally one of Robert E. Howard's non-Conan historical tales. It's set at the Siege Of Vienna in 1529 when the Turkish sultan Suleyman The Magnificent was prevented from advancing into Europe. The story introduces the character "Red Sonya Of Rogatino" who was later transformed into a certain ass-kicking warrior-woman in the Hyborian Age courtesy of Marvel. I'll never understand why Marvel didn't just use Valeria from the Conan story 'Red Nails' as Valeria was a genuine ass-kicking warrior-woman from the Hyborian Age.
Planet Of The Apes (1968) was on BBC2 on New Year's Day if any UK SDC readers are interested and it's available on BBC iplayer for a month.
This has been my first Christmas without the 'Radio Times' since about 1974 so it's interesting to note that 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of that famous listings magazine (in September to be precise).
Phil, I grew up in farm country and the idea of somebody injecting "Man-bull serum" into a water supply, or any place other than into the business end of a cow strikes me as a waste of good Man-bull serum. Things are pretty scientific on farms these days, I'm told.
But I get what you're saying, I always liked that character myself. He was a good Daredevil enemy. As far as rogues' galleries go, D.D. always had a light bench. But Marvel did come up with a bunch of colorful goofballs for him to fight. They needed a Hulk-type character Daredevil could beat.
As always, I enjoyed your comments! You had me laughing out loud, there.
I needed that.
On a completely different note, apropos of nothing, I've been watching this old Don Knotts movie on TCM (Turnip Classic Movies) and I realized that Don Knotts and Mick Jagger are pretty much the same guy, physically speaking. They are like peas in a pod.
I can picture Jagger as Barney Fife quite easily, although imagining Don Knotts singing "Sympathy for the Devil" requires a bit more imagination.
Still, I can picture it.
His version would be much scarier and diabolical, I think.
M.P.
Colin, 'Red Nails' is later in the Conan timeline, so it wouldn't make sense to include Valeria this early on in his younger days.
If Roy Thomas wanted a female character that could recur throughout the series - rather than just around the time of her appearance in Howard's stories, like Belit - she'd have to be an 'original' one.
-sean
Colin - Checking those MWOMs, they're dated weeks ending the last 3 weeks in March, so you were almost spot on!
M.P. - Thanks for the kind words. Writing longer pieces, of particular interest to me, I sometimes worry others SDC members might be bored by them, if they are titles they didn't follow, at the time. So, it's nice to learn someone else enjoyed it, too. You make a good point about DD's rogues' gallery. It's easy to forget that, to a certain extent, heroes are defined by their villains.
I think Family Guy spoofed Don Knotts, a couple of times. The UK equivalent of Three's Company was Man About the House, with George Roper (played by Brian Murphy), being the Don Knotts character. Roper later had a spin-off comedy, named 'George & Mildred'.
Phillip
Phil-
Au contraire, mon frere, I enjoy your "longer pieces" as you would put it.
I dunno if anybody pays attention to my posts either. I almost hope not. Maybe that scoundrel Sean does, but he's been questioning my logic and yea, even my very sanity for years.
He needs a new hobby. Pay him no mind!
M.P.
I obviously need a new life M.P.
But still, don't worry Phillip - I just didn't have anything to say about that issue of Daredevil.
-sean
Sean, 'Red Nails' is the first Conan story in which Valeria appears but it's clear from the dialogue between them that Conan and Valeria have known each other for a long time so Marvel could easily have introduced Valeria much earlier in the Conan timeline. In 2019 Marvel gave Valeria her own mini-series so she did finally get some recognition.
Phil, believe it or not before reading your comment mentioning 'George & Mildred' I'd been on YouTube looking for the 1978 Christmas episode of that very sitcom - and yes, I found it. The final episode of 'George & Mildred' was broadcast on Christmas Day 1979 but it wasn't a Christmas-themed episode (apparently another series was planned but Yootha Joyce died before filming began. There was also a 'George & Mildred' film released in 1980 but Yootha Joyce had already died before its' release).
Oops, according to Wikipedia Yootha Joyce died four weeks AFTER the film's release.
Colin - Yes, I vaguely remember the 'George & Mildred' film. I seem to remember that, like the 'Rising Damp' film, it wasn't as good as the series. In the series, George & Mildred's opposite numbers (the snobbish bank manager & his more pleasant wife) were interesting choices, as actors. The wife was from the Likely Lads, but - in 'George & Mildred' -
hadn't even the faintest hint of a Geordie accent!
Phillip
THOR 207 was in that Stack of Misfit Comics that I acquired from the Neighborhood Kid Who Didn’t Want Em No More, so I have a strong nostalgic attachment to it. When I think of The Absorbing Man, dynamic and rugged Buscema/Colletta drawings are what pop up in my mind’s eye.
I agree with Dangermash that Gil Kane’s lean, lanky Iron Man looks a bit odd to me, too. But I don’t have a problem with his Thor. Also, I quite like Happy Herb’s Hulk cover.
The Supergirl cover isn’t one of Oksner’s usual GGA / Leg Art stunners, but still quite impactful. Kaluta drew several really nice Batman covers, but I think the Caped Crusader looks a bit dorky on this one. His HOUSE OF MYSTERY cover here looks much better (the coloring really helps it pop too).
Philip : I agree that Ernie ‘Chua’ Chan wasn’t a great inker for Colan. And as for DD’s history of Driving While Blind — he’s been doing it since way back in DAREDEVIL #8 in which he steers a runaway convertible packed with explosives into Hudson Bay.
Happy New Year, y’all (a day late)
b.t.
Another thumbs up here for a Phillip's posts.
And Daredevil drives a lorry in FF Annual #3 and pi¿o5s and lands a rocket in Daredevil #2. Driving a car should be easy 8n comparison. He probably even has a license.
Thanks, Dangermash.
By way of comparison, I'm trying to think of instances when Spidey's been behind the wheel (apart from the infamous 'Spidermobile', created by Johnny Storm!)
Maybe intercepting/comandeering John Jameson's capsule, in mid-air, counts for something!
Phillip
Phillip, thanks for the DD summary and for the Gerry Conway link.
Dangermash, thanks for the Spider-Man info. I've always wondered in what ways the Amazing Spider-Man reworking of that Spectacular Spider-Man story differed from the original.
McScotty, thanks for the Eel info.
Sean, thanks for the Adventure Comics and House of Mystery info.
Colin, I made a mental note to watch that BBC2 broadcast of POTA.
And then forgot to watch it.
MP, I had to Google Don Knotts to find out who he is but, once I saw his face, I recognised him, even though I'm not sure where from.
Bt and Dangermash, I love that Gil Kane Iron Man cover. I would say the Thor one's a bit of a duffer, though.
I'm not sure the space capsule counts as John Jameson was doing all the piloting. All Spider-Man did was plug in a missing component.
Apart from the Spider-Mobile, the only driving experiences for Spider-Man that spring to mind are the motor bike that he had in the late Ditko to early Romita era and an apocryphal newspaper strip storiy where he and MJ hire a car to head out to Hollywood, taking on Ronan The Accuser on the way with help from Rocket Racoon.
Hi Steve
If you want the Full Monty, and let's he honest, everybody in Sheffield does, Big Al Sjordsma listed in red font all the differences between those two Spider-Man stories in his reviews of ASM #116-118:
Here - https://spiderfan.org/review/comics/spiderman_amazing/116.html
Here - https://spiderfan.org/review/comics/spiderman_amazing/117.html
And here - https://spiderfan.org/review/comics/spiderman_amazing/118.html
I'm pretty sure he'd be deserving of an F.F.F. for this research.
Oooh, don't mention the Full Monty here, dangermash.
(I did once, but I think I got away with it)
Hey, while you're here, and on the subject of films - as a Spidey enthusiast, whats your take on 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'? I thought it was (surprisingly) ok.
Btw, when Daredevil flew a plane in DD #24, Stan Lee helpfully included the following footnote: "To save you the trouble of writing letters to us, we'll explain here and now how the sightless DD can pilot a plane! He feels the vibrations of the needles and dials within the instrument panel, and his own natural radar sense takes care of the rest!"
So there you go. It was all carefully thought out.
-sean
I'm not into all that Spiderverse stuff to be honest Sean. I've seen No Way Home and those two episodes of the Fox cartoon but that's all.
Might make an interesting one-off story if it was the first time seeing all these alternative Spider-Men, although it would work better with Reed Richards and I think that's happened? In a story like that I can be rooting for my one favourite Spider-Man without needing to invest in all the rest of them. I can watch other versions in their own films or TV cartoons but they're like a separate investment.
I'm not bothered by DC though. A Batman multiverse film would suit me if they could find a decent Adam West substitute and someone that could fit with certain unintentionally funny comic panels from the 1960s/60s.
Phil, I thought the 'Rising Damp' film was OK but it didn't feel right without Richard Beckinsale who had died before filming began. The 'Rising Damp' TV series ended in 1978 so I don't know why they waited until 1980 to release a film version and they really shouldn't have made the film without Richard Beckinsale. All through the '70s there was a fad for making film versions of successful sitcoms but I think the 'George & Mildred' and 'Rising Damp' films (both released in 1980) were the last of such films. I can't think of any '80s sitcoms that were turned into films.
Charlie has dug out of the long boxes what he could find. Just FF and Cap and Avengers. Given it was October 1972 when these were on the spinner, perhaps Charlie was too busy with school work.
Some points of interest:
1) The Soap Box and the letters pages are pushing MONSTER MADNESS, a new Marvel mag. Maybe Steve can throw it up on the next posting?
2) There are several references to the upcoming November elections (Nixon v. McGovern). Hard to imagine the approaching political sh!t storm.
3) The FF story is quite good as the art is superlative. Big John is really nailing it. Not sure I can identify any uniquely STERANKO in the cover? Love the SANDMAN running his mouth about how they can't have THUNDA going soft, like Medusa who turned traitor.
4) After speed reading FF, the art in CAP is very, very bland even by Sal's standards. The dialogue is interesting though. FALCON threatens to pound a black body guard into "A PILE OF PEPPER!" Also the VIPER says the FALCON won't understand his plans "GIVEN HIS DEMOGRAPHIC." I had to chuckle as I am too old to cry over this, lol.
5) PHIL - awesome review as always! Plugged the gap in my long box! If I knew how, I'd print it and stick in the long box in its own bag!
CHARLIE says...
1) That ADVENTURE cover is iconic. Like SEAN mentions, DC had a thing going with Adventure, Action, Detective having so many different features / characters. Can't recall anything comparable from Marvel?
2) My earliest recall of KALUTA on BATMAN was BATMAN 253 which also featured THE SHADOW. Great cover and of course KALUTA is the standard by which all other SHADOW artists are judged? OK... Frank Robbins is commendable on his SHADOW work too... but they are soooo different in styles.
As Charlie trolls a bit of MIKES AMAZING WORLD OF COMICS,
1) It is interesting that DD, HULK, IRON MAN, and KID COLT have two issues on sale in OCTOBER 1972? Geeze... a year and two earlier there were holes in the distribution system.. what's going on?
2) MARVEL is still releasing new titles.
3) One of the new titles is reprinting STERANKO's SHIELD run. It is entitled "NICK FURY AGENT OF SHIELD." The cover ain't bad.
4) What is amazing is the lack of super heroes at DC? Besides the SUPERMAN titles, a couple of BATMAN-related and The FLASH, there is only JUSTICE LEAGUE. The rest is Kirby's stuff, westerns, war, spooky stuff... IS DC IMPLODING HERE???
Colin, Although not a traditional sitcom, there were 2 "Inbetweeners" movies around 2011
Charlie, about the publishing dates, I've always had the impression that things were pretty disorganized at Marvel in the early-mid '70's.
I always thought that was part of the charm and humor, even when they had to sheepishly roll out a reprint or a back-up stand-alone issue because of the Dreaded Deadline Doom.
Or the No-Prize, when they were caught goofing up! (I woulda loved to have gotten one of those. Was it an empty envelope or what? Geez, I dunno.)
All that goofy, sloppy charm went away in the '80's, I'm sorry to say. All those hippies on the staff got haircuts, probably.
I agree that was a pretty good issue of the F.F. I love Thundra! She made all the male characters so uncomfortable, particularly the Thing. It was hilarious.
How's the weather over there, Charlie? We are getting nailed yet again. Cripes.
M.P.
Hi MP! We got grey skies and 40 +/- for a week now. I don’t know how you handle living out there on the plains of the Dakotas! You sure you ain’t in witness protection?
Nobody is gonna come lookin' for me here.
M.P.
...That's a little funny, though, in a way. One of my neighbors is an old Russian ex-pat who thinks
Putin is coming after him. How he ended up here I have no idea, it's hard to understand what he's saying most of the time.
I've told him that he probably has nothing to worry about, or tried to tell him, but that guy is paranoid.
Sometimes it's Putin, sometimes it's the FBI. I dunno.
Personally, I think Alaska would be a better place to hide out.
Or Nebraska. There are places there that are as deserted as the Moon.
M.P.
Colin - 'On the Buses' had a movie version, didn't it? But that was earlier, I suppose.
Charlie - Thanks! As regards the reviews, my brother says I should correct the typos, then make a book out of them, to "monetize" the time I spent writing them. However, the money from books is tiny, these days - but, maybe...
As regards this month's haul, I've got the FF (Essentials), & Iron Man (which I bought, based on a Daredevil flashback of Subby vs Iron Man). It's somewhere in the (cold) garage.
M.P. - The thing about deadlines being missed is discussed in Scott Edelman's latest interview (Al Milgrom). Marvel's expansion of titles was so rapid that new young guys had to be hired who - initially - couldn't keep up with the pace. You already know this, I'm sure. Al Milgrom comes across as an interesting guy, and there's lots of good stuff, with discussions relating to Jim Starlin, Jim Shooter, Rich Buckler, Mike Vosburg, etc. Here's a link, if you get the time:
https://www.scottedelman.com/2022/12/30/al-milgrom/#more-29406
Phillip
I should have written "some of whom couldn't keep up with the pace", as, apparently, Jim Starlin was very fast, and never had problems meeting a deadline!
Phillip
Charlie, you're right about Fr*nk R*bb*ns being very different to Kaluta.
And yet... they both have styles that hark back to an earlier era, so were both suited to the Shadow. Well, insofar as R*bb*ns was suited to anything (obviously I'm using the term loosely).
Interesting you should think DC are kind of already imploding, because they're not producing so many superhero comics. Whereas to me it seems like the opposite, a more varied line suggesting vitality.
But as history shows, clearly I'm the one who's wrong.
-sean
Phillip, yes 'On The Buses' was from the early '70s and there were THREE 'On The Buses' films. There were two 'Steptoe & Son' films but every other '70s sitcom had just one movie version I think.
Paul, there was an Alan Partridge film too from a few years ago.
I was in Tesco this morning and yes, they had Easter eggs on sale. Who would buy an Easter egg on January 3rd?
It's not even officially the end of Christmas yet but Tesco is selling Easter eggs!!
I will have no decent, Frank Robbins was a genius that was unappreciated in his lifetime ! 😁
Hi Sean! Honestly (!) i figure DC, Marvel, et al. were/are in this business to make $ or Pounds. When one looks ar the sales figures (which www site?) through the early 70s, men in tights and funny books had the overwhelming majority of sales. War and horror and cowboys are so low down the totem pole… It makes no sense to me for DC to be bathing in those waters while the entire JLA and JSA (minus Supes, Bats, and SA Flash) sit on the beach watching the sunset?
Eeer sorry i meant "dissent" , 😔
Post a Comment