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Sunday, 11 June 2023

Forty years ago today - June 1983.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon
***

As the temperatures outside soar, let us, instead, plunge.

Plunge into the icy depths that are The Past.

The Avengers #232

It's thrilling news for us all, as Eros joins the Avengers and, at the same time, changes his name to Starfox!

Other than that, I'm struggling to recall what happens in this one. Is there a boat involved?

Conan the Barbarian #147

I do believe Conan sets off in search of old flame Pelija Lon but, when he finds her, she's been mesmerised into acting as a high priestess by a villainess who wants to unleash the vile hordes of Set's underground kingdom upon the world.

Needless to say, it's going to take more than the underground hordes of Set to prevent everyone's favourite brawler from getting his leg over.

Fantastic Four #255

In the rooms and corridors of the Baxter Building, Alicia confronts her captor Annihilus who's not feeling too well.

Meanwhile, in the Negative Zone, the Fantastic Four free Reed's captured psyche from the clutches of Taranith Gelstal who's been using it to power his spaceship.

The Spectacular Spider-Man #79

In a saga that seems to be going on forever, Doc Ock's still out to kill the Black Cat who's still hospitalised.

Fortunately, Spider-Man's on hand to put a stop to his deadly plans.

Daredevil #195

When mayoral lackey Tarkington Brown discovers he has just weeks to live, he recruits a bunch of cops to form a criminal-killing murder squad.

That might sound like trouble but that trouble gets even worse when a drunk Heather Glenn tells him that Matt Murdock is Daredevil!

But, hold on. Didn't a drug-addicted Karen Page also once tell someone that Matt is Daredevil? I'm starting to spot a pattern here.

The Uncanny X-Men #170

Below the streets of New York, Storm reveals what a badbottom she is by beating Callisto in a knife fight, to become leader of the Morlocks.

Above ground, Scott and Maddie begin their romance, despite - or possibly because of - her uncanny resemblance to Jean Grey.

And, somewhere else altogether, Rogue abandons the care of Mystique and sets off in search of the X-Men.

Thor #332

Jane Foster's gone missing - and Don Blake is prime suspect Number One.

Elsewhere, Dracula's showed up and decided that what he most needs to drink, in order to raise his power levels, is the blood of a god.

And, fortunately, for him, Sif's around to provide it.

If Sif at no point declares, "A pint? That's very nearly an armful!" I shall be highly disappointed.

Iron Man #171

With Tony Stark still a raging alcoholic, Rhodey's having to learn how to use his boss's armour.

And he's having to learn fast because Thunderball's on the loose!

The Incredible Hulk #284

The Leader's still causing major problems for the Hulk and his Avenger buddies but I'm struggling to recall just what those problems are and what his plan is.

The Amazing Spider-Man #241

The good news is that, after a very lengthy absence, Mary Jane's back in town!

The bad news is the Vulture's back too.

And he's still seeking vengeance upon the man who double-crossed him in his pre-Vulture days.

Captain America #282

Cap, captured and drugged by Viper, is perturbed by imaginary visits from his father. 

Having now adopted the guise of Nomad, the 1950s Bucky sets off to rescue our hero but is, instead, flattened by him.

23 comments:

  1. Charlie digs the covers big time! Most he’s never seen! For sure he would have grabbed the Hulk with that parade of characters assuming there was sufficient smash and bang in interior.

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  2. Anyone else feel like Eros on the Avengers cover vibes a Legion of Superheroes character???

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  3. Charlie - it's just Eros's fox head resembles Timberwolf's wolf head!

    Phillip

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  4. Thanks Phillip! Btw inintend to watch that Michael Caine criminal flick based in Newcastle asap!

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  5. Charlie - Get Carter's (the Film's) most famous line: "You're a big man, but you're in bad shape. With me it's a full time job. Now behave yourself!"

    Phillip

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  6. Matthew McKinnon11 June 2023 at 21:10

    I have that Daredevil and the X-men.

    The Daredevil is another one of those bleak post-Miller Janson numbers, Denny O’Neill seeing how far he could push things into moral grey areas. I can’t remember if he carried on doing it so hard after Janson left - I remember the long boring Japan story and the tedious return of Bullseye for the non-event of issue 200…?

    Can’t remember what happens in X-men but I was just looking at the art anyway.

    I think I had the Iron Man as well, but I bought it half price as a back issue.

    That Hulk cover is bonkers.

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  7. Funny you should mention the Legion of Suoer-Heroes, Charlie, as the double size #300 came out this month, and Adventure Comics #500 with a 150 pages of enjoyably daft old 60s Legion reprints (although tbh that's probably at least 100 pgs more than anyone would actually need).
    And on top of that, DC also marked 45 years - they were doing a lot of anniversary issues in '83 - of Action Comics, with the 64 page #544 drawn by Curt Swan and Gil Kane. Its a pity people forget Kane was a regular Superman artist in this era, because he did a great version of the character. Especially in that issue, introducing the new Brainiac.

    I just bring all that up, because Marvel were obviously boring this month.

    -sean

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  8. I think Milgrom’s PETER PARKER cover is by far the best of this lot. The rest are all “Mediocre” to “Poor” in my book.

    b.t.

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  9. I also had both X-men and Daredevil but was rapidly losing interest. Phillip, while many remember that 'Get Carter' line most forget that it was Alf Roberts, from Coronation Street, he was addressing. I quite like both Spidey covers, riffing on Ditko and Miller respectively.

    Interesting others released this month include Cerebus #51 the (long time non-reprinted) story between High Society and Church and State, and Love & Rockets #3.

    DW

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  10. That Cap cover caught my interest, the Constrictor being one of my fave villains. However, I think I've read that Cap comic, as a back issue, and it was disappointing.

    Phillip

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  11. If anyone's interested, here's some early 70s tv footage of the late Roy Budd playing his brilliant theme from Get Carter -
    www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtnXlG_zWVY

    -sean

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  12. Ummm… help out ole Charlie please. Is Get Carter more than a one-shot movie which is how I currently perceive it? The various remarks around have me thinking it was a series of books, or the character was in various other movies like a james bond?

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  13. Charlie, GET CARTER didn’t spawn any sequels but it was re-made as a blaxploitation film called HIT MAN (with Bernie Casey in the Michael Caine role) and again decades later with Sylvester Stallone. I think Soderbergh’s THE LIMEY with Terence Stamp was somewhat inspired by CARTER but isn’t considered an actual remake.

    b.t.

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  14. Pedants corner: the Jack Carter character did also appear in Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century, b.t.

    Charlie, to clarify, the tv thing I mentioned was just a promo performance of the theme, which was released as a single around the time the original film came out.
    Fun fact: a decade or so later the Human League did a short version on 'Dare'.

    - sean

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  15. Charlie

    Also, in a Steve Does Sheffield way, The Human League covered the original theme on Dare. Avoid the Stallone remake.

    DW

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  16. Bugger. Sean's post wasn't there when I made mine...

    DW

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  17. I always thought that Starfox (Avengers) looked more like a DC Legion of Superheroes character as well. I think by this time I was only picking up Conan from the above list preferring Cerebus and Love and Rockets etc

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  18. Why would Human League do a 0 second song Get Carter? Was it part of the movie? I do remember thinking this when I bought the album 40 years ago, lol. So, at the time, I had no idea who get Carter was. Charlie.

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  19. Charlie - It's a synthesizer take on the Get Carter movie's musical refrain!

    Phillip

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  20. I love crime movies from the U.K. The Limey, Get Carter, Sexy Beast, Gangster No. 1, the Guy Ritchie stuff...
    I think it's at partly because of the language, particularly the insults. The English, and the Irish and Scottish too for that matter, seem much better at the art of the insult and sarcasm than we Americans are. But then, you guys have been doing it for a lot longer. It's an art.
    If we ever encounter an advanced alien race, I suspect they will have perfected the art and we're gonna get an earful.

    M.P.

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  21. Ok… as dense charlie wrestles with all this info… i should take away that Get Carter was a popular film, so popular that Human League put a take of the theme song on their wildly popular Dare album?

    Anyohow i should be able to see Get Carter on Kanopy, streaming to me house for free courtesy of our local library!

    Charlie is excited! Thanks All!

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  22. DW, Dave Sim seemed a bit unsure of where to take Cerebus in the first few post-'High Society' issues - understandably, given that he'd just finished an unprecedented, highly original 25 part story - and iirc #51 in particular was not a good one. It isn't hard to understand why it hasn't been reprinted.

    -sean

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  23. Colin - That's interesting. I remember Planet of the Apes started you off, in November, 3 years before me (roughly), but, with Spidey, I didn't know where you started.

    I've now remembered, an attention-grabbing Johnny Romita Sr cover (on Super Spider-man & CB # 247) kicked off my entire Marvel journey (albeit the interior was Ross Andru!)

    To go off at a tangent, the Usborne Book of the Future, which you've previously mentioned, has been re-issued!


    Phillip

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