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It's June 1983 and you're going to be spending a lot of time in the cinema.
That's because it's a month that sees the release of virtually every film you associate with the 1980s. The cinematic onslaught includes The Man with Two Brains, Psycho II, WarGames, Trading Places, Octopussy, Superman III and Twilight Zone: The Movie.
It's a terrible admission but I'd have to say that, of those, Octopussy is probably my favourite. Not that I have a high regard for the thing. It doesn't even have a theme tune anyone can remember. It's just that I prefer it to those other films.
That's an even more remarkable feat when it's remembered the character was created purely to cash in on a fashionable craze.
But, at last, even the Rising Spirit has to run aground and so it is that this is his final issue.
Does he go out in style?
I don't remember but I do know it's a book with 52 pages. So, I assume there's plenty going on in it.
I'm assuming that cover's a tribute to John Romita's legendary panel from Amazing Spider-Man #50. If so, the lack of a dustbin seems an egregious oversight.
Yet again, we get 52 action-packed pages. This time, the Thing travels to an alternate reality where he cured his other self - only to find it's been taken over by the Red Skull and his Nazi hordes!
But, this time, there's no cancellation in sight.
What there is is the question of what would happen if Thor battled Conan.
I think all common sense suggests Thor would flatten the barbarian in less than a second but this is a Marvel mag. So, I've no doubt it'll somehow be contrived to be a draw.
It'll probably involve Conan having a magic sword or an amulet, or something.
And so it is that her book too gets cancelled this month.
Sadly, all I know about the contents is there are 52 pages and the tale inside is called Lifeline.
However, after numerous, "accidents," there, it becomes clear that someone's out to kill her.
But who?
Who?
But will this piece of luck last?
Of course it won't. Barely has it arrived than his new body begins to deteriorate.
Meanwhile, Quasimodo possesses Rom's empty armour and launches into battle with the Wraiths he's, until now, been allied with.
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31 comments:
Well Steve, it seems I've never read any of this week's comics! Perhaps I was too busy reading Cerebus, Journey and E-Man.
Or maybe I was too busy at the cinema; I saw all those films with the exception of Psycho II. War Games was fairly entertaining, if memory serves. Oh, those ever-more-common computers; little did we suspect how much more common they soon would become...
Saw Superman III but can't remember anything about it. Actually, your take on these films is mine: "Octopussy" would be my favorite too. One of the better Roger Moore offerings; and the climactic circus train sequence is pretty good. And it's theme: Rita Coolidge's "All Time High", was a decent tune. Of course, finding a way to use the word "octopussy" in a title (or even a lyric) apparently proved impossible...
I never read any of those. But they are all quite 'second-tier', aren't they? I looked up that Krull adaptation to see if anyone decent drew it [they often had good people grafting on those books], but no. Bret Blevins and Vince Colletta.
Those films - at the time I only saw Superman III, as I was a huge hug fan of the first two as a kid. And boy oh boy was I disappointed. What a piece of shit movie. Cheap, stilted, unfunny, real Sunday-evening-TV-movie-quality stuff.
Trading Places is my wife's favourite film, so I have seen it A LOT. Luckily I think it's the best of the bunch - it really makes me laugh, despite it being the film John Landis made straight after being recklessly responsible for two deaths on the Twilight Zone set. Though I have even more loathing for producer Frank Marshall who skipped three different countries in succession to outrun a subpoena in the subsequent court case and avoid testifying.
My wife also really likes 'Man With Two Brains', but I've found I'm allergic to Steve Martin - something that's become more pronounced the older I get. I've tried watching his edgier mid-late 70s stuff, but even that just reeks of cocaine and breathless desperation.
I never saw War Games, though I should get around to it as I think John Badham is a pretty nifty mainstream director, and is under-rated.
I've never done Bond. I think I've seen Psycho II, but it was so long ago I can't even remember the Meg Tilly bits.
I also haven't read any of those comic's but I saw 3 of the films mentioned at the movies. WarGames was an excellent movie with a great performance by Matthew Broderick. Although there was a teen drama element to it the film was a highly suspenseful thriller. The Man with two Brain's was fun but Trading Places was my favourite of those noted. Rom's covers always looked interesting but I only ever picked up oneissue - I assume Rom was based on a toy?
I can understand why you're not sure if you've managed to sit through Krull, Steve - I hear its easy to get the film mixed up with Hawk the Slayer because Bernard Bresslaw was in both.
Anyhoo... unlike the rest of the SDC cognoscenti that have commented so far, I have actually read one of these comics, Marvel Two-in-One #100.
Its a sequel to an earlier story from MTIO #50, in which Ben used Dr Doom's time machine to travel back to the early years of the FF, when as the Thing he was still lumpy rather than rocky and Reed's latest cure would work. That one wasn't too bad, but it suffered from John Byrne's tendency to feed off (often minor) details of Marvel Universe continuity and definitely didn't need a follow up.
The 'theorizing' about the metaphysics of time travel/alternative universes in particular was annoying.
-sean
Of these, the only one I bought and read was INDIANA JONES 6, which had stylish art by Howard Chaykin and Terry Austin. Nice cover too.
b.t.
PS Marvel Two-in-One was only technically cancelled. It was replaced in the schedules - the following month I think? - with The Thing #1, by the same creative team (Byrne writing, Ron Wilson drawing).
In an earlier era, the numbering would have stayed the same. And not that much earlier - see for instance Master of Kung Fu #17, following on from Special Marvel Edition #16.
In theory it was a good idea to drop the need to come up with a different co-star for every issue of a Thing comic, but in practice I don't recall the couple I read as being any good. Mind you, to be fair regular Marvel super-hero comics in general weren't that interesting to me at this point.
-sean
McScotty, Rom was indeed based on a toy.
As for the movies — oof, that’s a pretty tepid kick-off to a Summer of Would-Be Blockbusters. Closest thing to an actually “good” film is probably WAR GAMES, the crappiest is probably SUPERMAN III.
I like George Miller’s segment of TWILIGHT ZONE THE MOVIE, think Joe Dante’s segment is garish and shrill, find Spielberg’s almost unbearably sappy, and Landis’ merely mediocre — until you factor in that Vic Morrow and two young children died unnecessarily during the making of it, which pushes it into “travesty” territory.
b.t.
What a month. Terrible films, boring Marvel comics... and on top of that, Thatcher got re-elected ):
-sean
Fear not because Shang-Chi is currently back at Marvel but he looks a bit different nowadays - he has short hair and he's ditched the headband and pyjamas.
That's a horrible cover with which to end Spiderwoman's 50-issue run but the new-look masthead and corner-box image were horrible too so the comic's cancellation can be seen as a mercy killing. I'm glad to say that Spiderwoman's original classic masthead has been revived in modern-day Marvel Comics.
The only good bits in the Twilight Zone film are the opening scene where the two men are driving down the highway ("Do you want to see something really scary?") and the section with the gremlin on the plane.
It’s being reported that Jazzy Johnny Romita Sr. passed away yesterday. Not entirely a shock (he was 93) but still very sad news. I sure loved his art.
b.t.
Aww that's a shame about John Romita senior one of my all time favourite artists.
My first Johnny Romita Sr issue was a 1975 Spider-man Comics Weekly (# 101 - Electro), that I bought in a junior school sale. It certainly made a big impression. According to Marvel UK, Romita's art was best, being the most 'Spiderish'. Tonight, I think I'll search for that old issue, and have a lot at it, in memory of Johnny Romita Sr.
As regards Steve's pick...
Marvel Two-in-One's (& Marvel Team-up's) USP is the reader got 2 superheroes for the price of one. As a kid, I read one of those Byrne modern Thing vs original Thing stories in Rampage Monthly, and felt distinctly short-changed. To end a great title, like MTIO like that is dumb!
Likewise Shang-Chi - another great title. The cover should have ended on a high note, not having the reader looking at the back of Shang's head, as he walks off into the distance!
The House of Ideas seemed to have run out of ideas, as if it were ready to throw in the towel.
Phillip
With hindsight, the house of ideas had just lost Frank Miller and despite employing the likes of Bolland, Gibbons, Moore etc via Marvel UK, managed to miss out on the key talents that will flourish over the next half decade. They retained the backward looking Byrne, but other than (perhaps) Simonson, didn't really hold any major talent. No-one had their eye on the ball.
DW
In fact, I'd suggest the most 'Marvel' title then being published was, ironically, New Teen Titans.
DW
Johnny R!!! So much a part of my Marvel life of some truly superior comic runs: spidey, cap… RIP.
DW - Yes, with TNTT, DC did to Marvel, what Marvel did to DC with the New X-Men!
Phillip
RIP Jazzy John
Greatly saddened to hear about the passing of John Romita sr. An incredible artist, everything he drew just looked...right. His covers on Spider-Man grabbed the attention of little Redartz and led to a lifetime of comics fandom. Rest well, JR; and thanks....
Phillip, my first John Romita Sr issue was just two weeks after yours, Spider-Man Comics Weekly #103, but I got mine at the time it was published and I became a regular Spidey reader from then on.
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
Phil, I can remember the exact day that I bought the Usborne Book Of The Future - Saturday, October 20th 1979. It was a fascinating book at the time but its' predictions seem rather dated nowadays - no mention of the internet but the 2020 Olympics would be staged on the moon!
I've been watching the film 'The Death Of Stalin' on BBC iplayer which I'd assumed was a comedy but it was actually quite dark and disturbing. My father always said that Stalin was a psychopath and clinically insane and I think he was right!
It could be worse Colin. At least they didn't predict the moon would be blown out of orbit before the end of the 20th century.
-sean
'The Death of Stalin' takes too many liberties with the historical facts. Artistic licence is all very well, but making stuff up strikes me as a big problem for a critique of Stalinism.
And anyway, you can't make an omelette without wiping out millions of kulaks.
On the more important subject of comics -
DW, Marvel didn't really have any major talent from about mid-83 on, other than possibly Simonson?
Er, just of the top of my head, what about Sienkiewicz? John Bolton? David Mazzucchelli? The returning Barry Windsor-Smith? And indeed Frank Miller?
-sean
I think I said Marvel missed out on the key talents that will flourish over the next half decade. I don't think Sienkiewicz or Mazzucchelli flourish until they collaborate with Miller (which is admittedly closer to three years rather than five years from this date). I didn't like Sienkiewicz on New Mutants because, well it was a dumb match, and the art worked against the type of stories Claremont plotted. Mazzucchelli certainly demonstrated flair on his pre-Born Again Daredevils, but they certainly didn't sign post the heights to which he would rise (both for Marvel/Dc and then independently). Without checking, didn't Bolton mainly provide X-men back-ups, during the mid to late 80's? He probably illustrated new stuff for Epic but didn't follow them. Likewise, I only remember a couple of X-men fill in issues, from Smith.
DC will soon publish Ronin, Dark Knight and Watchmen, which must have stung Marvel. Not to mention the various titles that will become Vertigo. BTW. I was Marvel fan at this time, and rarely sampled DC until Miller and the 2000AD/Warrior crowd took over. Still, its all subjective.
RIP the Jazzy one.
DW
DW -
Sienkiewicz started to mature at the end of Moon Knight. Then you've got the Dune adaptation, and of course the stunning New Mutants run for 1984-1986. All of those predate his work with Frank Miller.
DC had Ronin up their sleeve from 1983, but that was a direct market title. TDK and Watchmen aren't out for a few years yet.
And if we're talking DM then Marvel have their Epic line up and running and there was a lot of well-liked stuff on that label.
I always felt it was a fairly evenly balanced marketplace. I bought a fairly equal amount of Marvel & DC at the time.
I'm closer to Matthew on this, but tend to think DC negotiated the new direct market a bit better, mainly because they had the big crossover successes of Dark Knight and Watchmen.
But that doesn't equate to Marvel dropping the ball at all, and the only key talent they missed out on was Alan Moore. Obviously he was more of a game changer than any artist, and Jim Shooter deciding his work wouldn't fly in America was clearly a big error of judgement.
Although to be fair in mid-83 it wouldn't have been unreasonable to question whether the fella who wrote Marvelman and Captain Brexit was a good fit for the US mainstream. And anyway, Marvel had Chris Claremont!
Btw, Ronin #1 has a July '83 cover date - as does the double-size Brave & the Bold #200 (the Earth One Batman/Earth Two Batman crossover drawn by Dave Gibbons) and Camelot 3000 #6 - so we can get into this more under next month's 40 year Lucky Bag, see how Steve's Marvel selection compares...
-sean
Its a fair point that Sienkiewicz was a dumb match with New Mutants. I liked it a lot!
-sean
Sean -
It's a bit of a daydream now, but I wish Archie Goodwin had pushed harder and got Alan Moore some work on the Epic line.
Moore did one very disturbing story for the last issue of Epic Illustrated before he closed his doors to the company, but if Goodwin had gotten to him before then...
I can see there isn't really anywhere for him to fit in on the Marvel newsstands assembly line, but a DM release would have been a winner.
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