Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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Things were livening up in the world of American politics, this week in 1973 because it was the week in which former White House aide Alexander Butterfield told the US Senate's Watergate Committee that President Nixon had secretly recorded potentially incriminating conversations.
News that was almost as big was happening on the UK singles chart, that week. Because, in a pleasing development for all lovers of musically unchallenging duos, the top spot was suddenly claimed by Welcome Home by Peters and Lee, a pair who've been the subject of much debate on this site in the past couple of weeks.
Me, personally, I've no great opinion on the song, as the only thing I can remember about it is the first line of the chorus. Which is probably not a good sign.
Also, the only things I remember about Peters and Lee themselves are that one of them was a man and one of them was a woman and one of them was blind and one of them wasn't.
Over on the British album chart, that duo were having to settle for second spot, as the Number One position there was still being gripped tight by Various Artists' That'll Be the Day.
For once, we don't get a cover from the likes of Rich Buckler or Jim Starlin.
Instead, we get Mirthful Marie Severin's original cover for the tale within. And what a striking image it is, even if the reproduction here doesn't do it full justice.
Inside, with Thunderbolt Ross's base under control of the Lord of the Living Lightning and the threat of a missile barrage looming, it's down to the Hulk and Glenn Talbot to save the day.
But here's an oddity. Instead of another story from the Severin era, this issue's second Hulk tale is no less an epic than Heaven is a Very Small Place! the Roy Thomas/Herb Trimpe yarn in which our hero's fooled into thinking he's found a town that happily accepts his presence, only for it to all have been a mirage.
Someone at the company was clearly proud of that tale, as I remember Mighty World of Marvel reprinting it on at least two other occasions after this one.
On top of that, this week, we get the second part of the Fantastic Four's first encounter with Rama-Tut.
But all that pales into insignificance beside the news that we have the chance to win £1 week for a year. Which, by my reckoning is £52.
According to the Bank of England's inflation calculator, that's £538.14 in modern money!
By the way, that means this 5 pence issue of Mighty World of Marvel would cost 52 pence at 2023 prices.
Unless I miss my guess, we're getting the tale in which Spider-Man helps Dr Strange tackle the sneaky sorceror Xandu who has the Wand of Watoomb.
In the issue's other masterpiece, if Thor thought he had problems when he had to fight the Cobra and Mr Hyde individually, now he has to fight both of them at the same time.
In all honesty, that really shouldn't be a major problem for him. Even Daredevil managed to beat them - and DD was distracted at the time by trying to figure out if he should marry Karen Page as Matt Murdock or as his own non-existent twin.
But who cares about that? What really matters is that in this mag too we can also win ourselves £1 a week for a year.
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26 comments:
Hang on. So Dr. Strange is fighting for his life against the Wand of Watoom, and Spidey is — running away? I don’t remember that happening in the story. And y’know, even if it did, does showing your hero acting like a yellow-bellied coward seem like a good way to entice readers to part with their cash?
b.t.
Years later, we learn a bit more about Mr Hyde. How he liked to vary how much of the potion he drank and how this affected how powerful he became. Presumably thus was in response to letters from loads of readers wondering how he could be up against Thor one week, giving Spider-Man a difficult time the next, and then getting his ass handed to him by Cap or Daredevil another week.
I suspect I've made that comment here before. Or maybe it was on PPC.
Steve, the Hulk tale 'Heaven Is A Very Small Place' also appeared in the 1975 Giant Superhero Holiday Grab Bag which is where I first read it.
Bt, Spidey is clearly a man aware that discrection is the better part of valour.
Dangermash, that would make sense. Although I'm not sure why he'd choose to vary the amount of potion he'd take. If I were him, I'd take as much of it as I could.
Colin, Marvel was clearly determined to get as much use out of it as possible.
Good god! We are driving to Boston and i woke up from a nap in time to see the exit sign for Chelsea and Manchester in Michigan! Is that weird or what?
Simon & Garfunkel's lyric: "Michigan seems like a dream to me, now!" springs to mind. I hope someone else was driving, and you didn't fall asleep at the wheel, Charlie!
Phillip
According to Wikipedia 'Welcome Home' was originally a French song!
Uk Gents!!! Are you familiar with Lions brand of licorice from UK? Me missus amd me are in Niagara on The Lake in Canada and this candy store is full of UK stuff. We got all excited because Lions licorice had no wheat i.e., it is gluten free (me missus has celiacs). But it has beef gelatin?
Licorice is one of those things that you either like or hate. Like rhubarb pie. Yikes.
Gluten-free or not, personally I think it is the Devil's chewing gum. He came up with it, no doubt, that evil rubbery candy.
Like chewing on an old bicycle tire, except it doesn't taste as good.
M.P.
Charlie, I love liquorice but I haven't heard of the Lions brand.
My local Tesco supermarket sells only their own brand of liquorice plus Bassetts Liquorice Allsorts which is the UK's most famous liquorice product.
My first ever Uni lecture was by a Doctor Lickorish. Enthusiastic and entertaining but he had trouble pronouncing the letter R which didn't augur well for a course on convergence of series. He's still around somewhere at the age of 85.
Charlie, other than Bassetts, I can't name any brand of Liquorice. I'd struggle to think of the names of any companies that make it.
Charlie - My town's liquorice central. Dunhills, & Wilkinson's, were taken over by Haribo (& other multinationals) - capitalism! Also, the rhubarb triangle's not far away, either. As a kid, I loved my mother's rhubarb crumble, with custard. Middle-aged, however, small portions are advisable. With liquorice, or rhubarb, a nearby toilet is a necessity! I'm going out for food, today, so I'll check liquorice brands, on the packets.
Phillip
What rhubarb, cyme, or what purgative drug
Would scour these English hence?
Macbeth
Phillip
Beef gelatin's one of those nasty "Don't learn how the sausage is made" ingredients, that's in a lot of sweets. I was going to say it's made from boiled down horse hooves - or something - but "beef" implies it's cow-extracted. I suppose it's also in Jelly Babies, and those jelly- interior Allsorts, with blue bits stuck on top of the jelly!
Phillip
on top of = all over
Phillip
Charlie - I've just returned from food-shopping. The only liquorice brand ASDA has is Maynards Bassett. I didn't look elsewhere, as it's pouring with rain. Enjoy your beef gelatin, guilt free!
Phillip
Tesco used to sell a brand of liquorice that I've been trying for hours to remember but it completely escapes me. Anyway this particular liquorice was soft and delicious but Tesco's own brand is a bit harder and not so nice but beggars can't be choosers I suppose. I avoid Liquorice Allsorts because I'm not keen on the coloured fondant stuff that is attached to most of the liquorice pieces.
Phillip, my mother made rhubarb pie and custard which I loved but my father wouldn't touch it as he only liked apple pie - he was a very fussy eater! My local Tesco used to sell rhubarb pie made on the premises in their own bakery and they also made apple & blackcurrant pie but now they only sell apple pie.
Years later - in 2015 - that Alexander Butterfield fella also revealed the 'zilch memo', a note Nixon wrote to Kissinger early in '72 about how carpet bombing Vietnam and Laos had obviously achieved #@√∆ all. Some might think that was a good reason to stop doing it - if only to save a bit of money - but they decided it meant they obviously weren't dropping enough bombs on the Vietnamese (I suppose to be fair to Nixon, he did have re-election to consider!)
The memo's existence had been rumoured for some time, but never came to light... until Butterfield was interviewed for a book eight years ago. Apparently when he left the White House in '73 he just took a load of boxes of secret classified papers and stuff with him.
What a way to run a super-power!
www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/10/11/secret-archive-offers-fresh-insight-into-nixon-presidency/
-sean
I researched Lion Licorice Gums on Amazon. 4.5 / 5 stars! Along with Beef Gelatin they have Carnauba Wax. Yum?
Nixon was caught by the CIA / FBI pre-election 1968, negotiating with South Vietnam to reject the impending peace treaty with North Vietnam. Nixon advised SV he wiuld “get them a better deal;” just wait until I am president!
Well the a-hole lied / failed, the war dragged on another 5 years.
LBJ talked with Senator Dirkeson IIRC telling him this was treason and that Dirkeson needed to have the Republicans reign in Nixon.
You can hear a recording of the conversation between LBJ and Dirkeson.
But Nixon, like Reagan, would stoop to anything to get elected. Reagan, pre-election, got Iran to delay release of our hostages, until he took office. This too is attested to by the former president of Iran.
But the goo-goobling republicans still lionize these two.
That's true about Reagan. I think he was a rather cold, callous man, but empty-headed jingoism can take a person pretty far in American politics.
A lot of other places too, apparently.
M.P.
MP, here in the UK empty-headed jingoism led to Brexit.
The brand of liquorice I was trying to remember is called Henry Goode's and it was sold in Tesco until about a year ago when it disappeared from the shelves leaving only Tesco's own inferior brand.
I meant pure liquorice rather than liquorice allsorts.
M.P., jingoism and right-wing idiocy plays well in British elections too (mainly with the English to be fair).
Even with the current state of things, the tory party actually managed to win in Boris Johnson's old seat the other day and hold onto it. Count Binface's voteshare was up on last time, but still not by enough to beat either of the joke parties.
-sean
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