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BABY BABY BAY-BEH!!!
Those three words can only mean one thing.
That, this week in 1973, a veritable wall of attitude greeted followers of the UK singles chart, as Slade's Cum On Feel the Noize smashed straight in at Number One, giving the lads from Wolverhampton their fourth British chart-topper. It was also the first single to enter at Number One since the Beatles' Get Back in 1969.
On the associated album chart, however, there was no change at the pinnacle, as Elton John's Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player retained its stranglehold on the upper reaches.
As you can probably guess from that cover, the Leader's out to get the Hulk.
Rather more concerningly for our hero, convinced that Bruce Banner's a traitor, Glenn Talbot orders his men to use deadly force on the scientist, and Bruce is promptly shot in the head.
Meanwhile, Daredevil must take on the shocking menace of Electro in a tale pencilled by Joe Orlando. Given his strong links with DC, it always seems strange to think of Orlando working for Marvel.
Even more strangely, I do believe DD turns out to be capable of piloting a space rocket, thanks to his super-senses.
And, speaking of things strange and spacey, the Fantastic Four must find a way to overcome the infuriating implausibilities of the Impossible Man.
Well, this can't be a promising development. Betty Brant's brother's gotten himself a whole heap of gambling debts and because of that, she's forced to help Doc Ock!
In Thor's strip, matters of great significance are also occurring, as the thunder god has his first-ever encounter with Loki.
At least, it's the first one we've ever seen.
Because it turns out he's had plenty of others in the past.
Even though we've been told, just two stories ago, that he's not the real Thor. He's Don Blake with Thor's powers.
How can any of this make sense?
It can't.
We're just going to have to wait for Stan and Jack to come up with an explanation for it all.
But who cares about that? What we care about is that, this issue, we get yet another free gift!
But what is it?
It's a coupon.
A coupon for what?
I don't have a clue.
But it has Spider-Man's face on it.
Posts
18 comments:
If Octopus had attacked Spidey during the clone-saga, Peter would have been able to match the good doctor, arm for arm!
On a more serious note, on that cover, Peter's spider-sense is tingling, but there's no explanation as to why (unless it's a warning that Betty's turned up, just to make herself a convenient target/hostage!)
Phillip
You've got me thinking now Phillip.
Does his spider sense only tingle when there's danger he can't see? Or does it tingle all the way through a Doc Ock fight? I thought I'd read somewhere that when Spider-Man dodges bullets it's because he uses his spider sense, which suggests it's the latter. But if it's the latter, he could be caught by surprise if a second antagonist peeps round the door with a gun.
dangermash - well, it's definitely the former, at the very least. After all, when the Masked Marauder blinded Spidey, & he teamed up with Daredevil, Spidey's spider-sense started to increase in power, to compensate for his blindness, eventually approaching the level of DD's radar-sense! I suppose - in a sense - dodging bullets comes under what Spidey can't see, as they're too fast for the human eye (admittedly, this tenuous, though!)
Phillip
"is tenuous" - damned typos!
Phillip
I always liked Doc Ock. A nut-job with glasses, a bowl haircut, and mechanical arms. Nothing else going for him. It was a perfect matchup for when Spidey was pushed to the limit by foes like THE ENFORCERS!
Yet 10 years on there he is sporting muscles! Look at that six pack! Clearly he’d been reading all those ads in Marvel Comics of skinny nerd kids getting sand kicked in their face and mailed in for Charles Atlas workout program!
Joe Orlando got a staff job at DC in '68, Steve, and before that he was a freelancer, so it only seems weird for him to be doing a bit of work for Marvel from a later perspective.
Daredevil began, what... sometime in '64? Work in the comic biz would have been picking up after the late 50s lull by then, and old pros were probably trying out new options. I tend to assume Wally Wood took over the DD job through Orlando, but it could just as easily be a coincidence.
Didn't Johnny Craig also do some Marvels in the 60s, like Iron Man?
-sean
PS I checked online, and the #2 single was 'Part of the Union' by the Strawbs. They also had the #2 album, which meant in the same week they were second only to Slade and Elton John... yet they hardly seem remembered at all these days. Funny how selective cultural memory can be.
-sean
In 1964 Joe Orlando would probably be best known for his nine issue run on Tales of the Black Freighter. I reckon Stan hoped he'd bring some of that titles record sales (which ironically increased after Orlando left the title). It was the mid-80s #D reprints which led to his inking issue 5 of Big Numbers.
DW
'3D reprints'
(d'oh)
DW
Very good, DW.
-sean
Sean, Johnny Craig did indeed do work on Iron Man, for a spell. And I've always loved the work he did on it.
I do remember the Strawbs resurfacing in the late 1970s as The Monks who had a hit with Nice Legs, Shame About the Face.
Really, Steve? Now you've mentioned it, I recall that 'Nice Legs...' record. So it was something to do with the Strawbs?
Well, well, you learn something every day. Not that I particularly know anything about the Strawbs, other than Sandy Denny was briefly in the group before she became better known. Her stuff is a musical world away from The Monks... although for that matter, she didn't seem to have that much in common with a record like 'Part of the Union' either.
-sean
Doc Ock, in appearance, always reminded me of Roy Orbison. Or vice versa. The haircut, the glasses...
That's nothing against Roy Orbison, I'm a fan!
I'm also a fan of the Impossible Man, whom you mentioned, Steve.
"We Poppupians don't have names; we know who we are!"
...or something like that.
It's my understanding he's something of a polarizing figure, you either like him or hate him. I like him for the simple fact that the Molecule Man can't mess with him. This is documented. The Impossible Man CONTOLS HIS OWN MOLECULES, thank you very much. I wish I could do that. My molecules and I aren't even on speaking terms right now.
It reminds me of that old song by They Might Be Giants, "Particle Man."
It might go like this:
Molecule Man, Molecule Man
Gets in a fight with Impossible Man
Powers can't affect Impossible Man
Nobody wins
Impossible Man
If you're not familiar with the song, that's gonna come off as pretty weird. It will anyway, I guess!
M.P.
Before getting a staff job at DC, Joe Orlando kept busy drawing a handful of stories for the early issues of CREEPY and EERIE, plus a ton of work for MAD magazine throughout the 60s. I seem to remember he either pencilled or inked a No-Man story at Tower too.
Johnny Craig at Marvel: spent most of his time there inking over pencillers Gene Colan, Marie Severin, John Buscema, George Tuska and Don Heck, but also pencilled and inked three issues of IRON MAN. I agree with Steve — I think they’re great.
b.t.
MP-
‘Particle Man’ is a big favourite in our household. We use it as a template for all sorts of silly songs about our lives.
Matt-
I'm glad somebody else likes that song.
I was worried that I might be the only one, and therefore possibly clinically insane.
M.P.
...and, I just realized, I've just set up Sean for a retort...
M.P.
You're doing ok on your own, M.P.
-sean
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