Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
***
Make a stand for your man, honey. Try to can the can.
No. I don't have a clue what that means.
But I don't need to.
Suzi Quatro needs to.
And it seems she does because her 45 featuring those very words hit the top spot on the UK singles chart, this week in 1973.
Of course, that song also features the lines:
Well, you call your mama, "Tiger,"
And we all know you are lying.
And your boyfriend's name is Eagle,
And he lives up in the sky.
Words to make us all stop and think, I'm sure.
Sadly, Suzi's dominance of the singles chart wasn't, that week, replicated on the associated album chart. For, as it turned out, the Number One spot on that was held by Various Artists' Pure Gold.
As we might suspect, in our opening tale, that villain is back and, now that they've realised the Hulk's not a true villain, the President tells Thunderbolt Ross to pardon him.
Of course, the Boomerang picks that exact moment to annoy our hero, causing him to go on the rampage - leading Ross to once again see him as a menace.
Just to prove Ross right; in our second tale, the Stranger arrives on Earth and decides to use the Hulk to wipe out humanity!
And, speaking of wanting to wipe out humanity, in the Fantastic Four's tale, the Sub-Mariner's found Atlantis in ruins and decided this is a great time to gain vengeance upon the surface-dwellers.
It's the return of the greatest super-hero comic magazine of all!
At least, that's what the boast on the cover says.
Unless I miss my guess, this is the one in which Spider-Man thinks he's going mad and decides to visit a psychiatrist - only for his screws to become even more loosened.
Or has it?
I detect a trick by that foul supremo of special effects the world knows as Mysterio.
Thor, meanwhile, is still fighting the sinister Mr Hyde who still wants to kill Don Blake for not giving him a job.
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23 comments:
Well of course the Boomerang is back, Steve. After all, he is called the Boomerang!
Hard as it may to be believe, I swiped that joke from your last Marvel UK 50 Years Ago post. Terrible, isn't it?
-sean
*may be to believe
Duh. That went well...
-sean
In Marvel, Spidey's got no shortage of psychiatrists to choose from! Dr.Faustus, Michael Barnett (for Carol Danvers), Peter Spaulding (Machine Man's pal), creepy Dr.Barrow, in Omega - just to name a few!
Phillip
Oh - and how could I forget, Dr.Leonard Samson!
Phillip
Trying to impose reality on Spidey… all the trauma in his life would suggest he needs a team of psychologists and psychiatrists? Next month is “snap” at SDC 50 years ago.
Steve, apparently the phrase "can the can" means that it's hard for a lady to tame her man just like you can't put one can inside another...or something. Great title for a song though!
I've been watching the film 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' on BBC iplayer. I'd never seen this film before and it can only be described as totally batshit crazy but I did know the song 'Let's Do The Timewarp Again' because there was a version in the charts about 30 years ago. And the film featured Meatloaf and Christopher Biggins before they were famous!
Colin! You should attend a showing of Rocky Horror at a theatre! It’s a blast! Admittedly i was last at one around 1980 but still…. Bring some hotdogs/sausages to throw (Dr. Frankenfurter), some rubber gloves to snap the fingers, I forget what else. Vaseline or hand cream? It’s all sort of scripted. Hmmm… maybe i will find a showing! Charlie
Colin -
I keep meaning to watch Rocky Horror again: I grew up aware of its cult following (probably from an incident in the movie Fame) and eventually got to see a cinema screening when I was 15. It was a provincial late night double bill with Young Frankenstein and it was nuts. Also saw a stage performance in Liverpool which was very funny.
Then that cover version of Time Warp came out in 1988 or 89 and made the whole thing seem very uncool and the world seemed to consign it to the cultural dustbin.
But I’d like to see it again now with fresh eyes.
Colin- should you go, also remember to bring a slice of toast to throw. And some rice. I saw RHPS at an arty theater in college, and it was definitely an experience. A lot of fun; didn't wear fishnets though...
Matthew, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is available to watch on iplayer for another 25 days yet.
Charlie & Red, I'm not very likely to attend a stage version but I think I'll watch the film again. I was rather bemused by the first viewing but now that I know what to expect I can give it another go.
I've just discovered there's a documentary about 'Rocky Horror' on Radio 4 tomorrow at 8pm!!!
So, anyway back to the comics (I am one for staying on topic!) -
When Marvel claim SMWC is the 'greatest super-hero comic magazine of all' I'm guessing they mean in Britain, as the US FF monthly was the 'greatest comic magazine in the world'. Which, considering how many British super-hero comics there were in July '73 at the time, basically means they're saying its better than MWOM.
Do we agree with that?
I'm not sure. I mean, just looking at it logically, MWOM includes the FF who were from the greatest comic magazine in the world, which implies the Hulk is a bit rubbish (relatively speaking, compared to Spidey and Thor).
-sean
It's an interesting question, Sean. At this point in each comic's history, the FF is clearly a stronger strip than the Hulk, while Spider-Man is a much stronger strip than Thor.
That should make it a draw.
However, I think Spidey's strip is stronger than the FF's, in this era. Therefore, I shall concur with Marvel UK that SMCW is better than MWOM.
Colin Charlie, Matthew and Red, I think I managed to make it about twenty minutes into the Rocky Horror Picture Show before I gave up on it.
Phillip, There was also Harry Osborn's psychiatrist Bart Hamilton who adopted the Green Goblin mantle for a very short spell.
Colin, thanks for the Can the Can explanation.
Just to be clear, Charlie was more amused by the antics of the crowd during Rocky Horror, than he was the movie itself. Ms. Charlie found both aspects equally compelling. I would not go to a theatre now to see it, minus the antics, but would (and have) watched it over the past decade spontaneously while channel surfing.
MWOM was Marvel UK's flagship title, wasn't it? So surely it was MWOM that deserved the title of greatest comic!
But I remember reading somewhere that Planet Of The Apes was Marvel UK's best-selling comic of that era so, if true, POTA was the greatest comic at least in terms of sales.
I've just been watching 'The Exorcist' which is another film I'd never seen before though obviously I've heard lots about it over the years. It was an interesting film but at no point did I find it scary - maybe a film about demonic possession is more scary if you're religious?
If you’re feeling adventurous, you should give William Peter Blatty’s sequel novel ‘Legion’ a go - it is very strange but very compelling. And his feature film adaptation (as ‘The Exorcist 3’) is remarkable.
The Exorcist was a film of its time Colin, pretty tame by today's standards with special effects etc. but in 1973 for a mainstream picture , it was considered risky. When I first saw it around 1978 (18 years old) I didn't think it was scary. The Omen , just 3 years later did creep me out and was a far superior film.
On the MWOM v SMCW debate, once the Thor stories progressed under Kirby and with Romita on Spidey (and other artists and writers) and to a lesser extent Iron Man, there were times SMCW was the better comic for me, but MWOM was always my favourite for long spells with the Thomas, Severin, Trimpe Hulk , Kirbys FF and Gene Colans DD strips.
Yes McScotty, the Exorcist was definitely one of those "you had to be there" deals.
I saw it when I was pretty young, about 12, and I tell you what I had to sleep with the light on for a while.
You can still find footage from it's release with news teams at the theater as they watch fainting people being led out of the movie.
Then there's the oft told story by Ozzie, when he and the rest of Iron Maiden were told they needed to see the movie when they got to the U.S. on their first tour there. After seeing the movie the self proclaimed bad ass band had to huddle together in the same room and try to watch tv to forget what they just experienced.
No-one here into Exorcist 2: The Heretic then? I guess it is pretty what you'd expect from a director who'd previously made Zardoz, and the star of The Assassination of Trotsky.
Cool Ennio Morricone soundtrack though.
-sean
*pretty much
-sean
I feel I should see Exorcist II, just to tick the box. And I know it has a following.
But I kind of think it should remain Blatty’s thing in my mind.
And I only recently saw Zardoz, which made me feel life’s now too short for another cocaine-era Boorman movie in my life.
I do have the soundtrack though, and yes it’s great.
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