Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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The summits of the UK music charts were looking decidedly becalmed, this week in 1973, with Eye Level by the Simon Park Orchestra still dominating the singles listing, and Sladest by Slade untoppled atop the album rankings.
Eye Level is, of course, a pleasant piece of music but the tracks that most appealed to me on that week's singles chart were:
My Friend Stan - Slade
Ballroom Blitz - the Sweet
Nutbush City Limits - Ike and Tina Turner
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
Rock On - David Essex
Angie - the Rolling Stones
Knockin' on Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan
and
Showdown - Electric Light Orchestra.
Interesting to see those evergreen novelty songs Monster Mash and David Bowie's Laughing Gnome battling it out with each other at Numbers Five and Six respectively.
While the corresponding LP chart dwells here.
Regardless, the thick-headed thief attempts to kidnap John Jameson, in order to supply him to foreign powers who seek access to US space programme secrets. Needless to say, everyone's favourite man-spider is on hand to give him a patriotic punch in the gob.
Following that, Thor liberates Jane Foster from Loki - but Odin appears and tells him off for bringing her to Asgard. This can only lead to one thing. A trial of the gods between the thunderer and Loki!
But, first, there's the small matter of the Absorbing Man to be dealt with.
Finally, in this week's Tale of Asgard, Odin must appoint a sentry to guard the Rainbow Bridge.
But who shall he hire? Shall it be Agnar, Gotron or Heimdall?
I'm also going to assume, from that cover, that the thunder god falls under the Enchantress' spell and goes into battle against the gang.
Meanwhile, In England, Baron Mordo lures Dr Strange into a trap but our hero defeats him with the help of Victoria Bentley, a young woman blessed with the world's most English name and a smattering of mystical gifts.
In New York, the Hulk's still battling the Missing Link while Nick Fury and SHIELD move in to capture the duo.
However, a Russian ship nips in first and captures them.
Even more however, it all climaxes with the Missing Link inconveniently exploding - as missing links are prone to do, thus explaining why they're all missing.
Meanwhile, the Fantastic Four are still failing to stop the Infant Terrible, and things get so bad that they have to call the parents in!
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43 comments:
Is this the Avengers issue where the senses -shattering Wonderman is created?
No – two weeks to Wonder Man and the first of what might be the worst ever run of three Marvel comics. I think it's probably at that point when Kirby stops doing layouts and Heck goes it alone.
Yeah Kirby stopped drawing \ doing layouts on the Avengers after the next issue (#5) featuring Kang the Conqueror when Don Heck did indeed take over art chores. I have to say I though the Spider-Man run (at least) was pretty good at this point with the Lizard, Shocker, Kraven the Hunter stories still to come. Mind you Marvel UKs use of grey tone was getting seriously annoying.
Zemo, Steve - I think I mentioned last week he was just Zemo at this point, and didn't become a Baron til later.
The Dr Strange story is the one from Strange Tales #114, his third appearance I think? He's still looking east Asian.
Victoria Bentley was a posh English woman with a bit of an aptitude for magic - or possibly Magick, who knows? - that became a semi-regular character in the series a bit later on. Possibly there were plans to make her Doc's disciple and/or love interest that got lost during the turnover of post-Ditko creative teams, and were dropped by the time Roy Thomas became writer and Clea got both gigs.
Instead, it was revealed she lived next door to the Black Knight, but that didn't go anywhere either. Her next appearance was a fair while later in (somewhat surprisingly) the Moore/Davis Captain Britain run, where she turned up at the end to take care of Betsy Braddock after Jim Jaspers' concentration camps were closed down. Which seemed like a cue for a storyline, but as far as I'm aware Ms Bentley hasn't been seen since.
Instead Betsy Braddock briefly became a Captain Britain who wasn't very good at the job (women, eh?) and then Chris Claremont did a reverse-Strange with her, and she became east Asian. A mutant ninja east Asian.
Although as it happens, recently Betsy became white and a new Captain Britain again. I don't know how that happened. A benefit of Brexit maybe?
-sean
According to Wikipedia the LP 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' was released on October 5th 1973 so I assume it'll enter the album chart at No.1 in next week's '50 Years Ago' post. I bought that album on CD around 1997 so I'm now more distant in time from buying that CD than the CD was from the original LP in 1973. 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' is the only Elton John album I've ever bought.
On the singles chart Rod Stewart is at #13 and by coincidence I heard Rod's 'The First Cut Is The Deepest' in Tesco just a couple of days ago.
Talking of Tesco, my local store has just installed CCTV on all the self-service checkouts because theft has become such a big problem but will it deter the shoplifters?
This is gonna sound goofy, but I always loved that effect, like in that Avengers comic up there, where Thor swings his hammer around in a circular arc and it's like a blur. It's purely Kirby, of course, but maybe the first time I saw it was Thor #227. Rich Buckler was the penciler, and he was clearly channeling Kirby, but he had Thor, confronted by Ego the Living Planet, swinging his hammer around himself in various circles and it looked exactly like one of those old models of an atom.
Y'know, with electrons and protons spinning around a nucleus. Like he's got atomic powers.
It looked like he was pissed and about to put down some hurt on Ego.
I was maybe eight years old or so and didn't really understand the comic but I became a Thor fan at that very moment.
Still am!
M.P.
Infant Terrible's ending (summoning the parents) sounds a bit like Star Trek's 'The Squire of Gothos' !
Phillip
Oh - and the same trope (summoning an alien's parents) was also used in the 1978 2000 AD Annual's token colour story!
Phillip
Buckler was channeling Kirby, M.P.?
Thats one way of putting it I suppose.
Steve, I see 'The Laughing Gnome' wasn't in the list of singles you found appealing.
Fair enough. You have to wonder what Bowie made of its sudden latter day success. Although I suppose he probably paid more attention to having five of his lps in the albums chart at the same time.
After Bowie it seems the next biggest act this week - with three albums in the chart - was... Max Bygraves. Who knew, eh?
It looks like sales of 'SingalongaMax Vol 4' have reactivated 'Vol 3' and the first one. So presumably 'Vol 2' was a bit weaker than the others? That difficult second album I expect.
He had a hit single too, 'Deck of Cards', although personally I much prefer the Prince Far I version -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvOzib9jL70
Sorry, but it seems to me that Max just wasn't as in tune with the spirit of Rastafari and the conquering lion of Judah. Just an opinion, not knocking anyone else's.
-sean
Today is exactly 49 years since the first episode of Planet Of The Apes was broadcast on ITV in the UK (except Scotland).
And yet they say Scotland benefits from the Union...
-sean
Sean, I'm now curious as to how Zemo became a baron. Did a government make him a baron? If so, which one, and why?
Colin, I remember that POTA broadcast well. Or, at least, the last half hour of it. I missed the first fifteen minutes because my dad insisted we listen to a Radio 2 sitcom called The Family Brandon instead; a long-forgotten clone of Hancock's Half Hour. Total insanity.
Phillip, MP, McScotty, Anon and Dangermash, thanks for your comments too. :)
Steve - Maybe Zemo & Strucker were made barons by the same authority!
Phillip
Theres not many countries that were still ennobling people in the 60s or later, Steve.
Perhaps Zemo donated to the Tory party at some point...?
-sean
British coins are getting a big makeover! The monarch's head will still appear on the reverse but the obverse will ditch all the usual symbols of royalty and state power (heraldry, lions, crowns, Britannia etc) in favour of images of British nature such as a dormouse, a red squirrel, a capercaillie and a bee. I very much approve of this long overdue change but unfortunately it's happening at a time when I don't use cash anymore!
Phillip, don't forget Baron Mordo!
How do we know Zemo is even a real baron? Perhaps he just adopted the title of baron because it sounded better than plain Zemo and who could stop him doing it?
Wouldn't the real Zemo have used Feiherr rather than Baron. Who knows who's actually under that mask. He's probably not even German. If I didn't know better I'd think Stan was just making this up as he went along.
DW
“Cor Blimey” means “May God Blind Me”? Wow…
DW, I always assumed Zemo was some old Cap villain from the 40s, like the Red Skull, but as I think I mentioned last week, his first appearance was in the Avengers. Apparently he was pretty quickly retconned back to WW2 in an issue Sgt Fury around the same time. So clearly Stan had it all planned out, you cynic.
Presumably you're back in Oz? In time for the referendum today... Hope you get a sensible result.
-sean
Colin - I also forgot to mention Baron Brimstone and Baron Blood! Oh - and the Barron Knights!
Phillip
I think - probably - with German villains, prefacing their name with 'Baron' made them sound harder - and more formidable. Also, for an aristo, being able to conscript an army of flunkies would be a prerogative! I feel, for Erich von Stalhein, in Biggles, Baron von Stalhein might have worked. Then again, that's perhaps too much like the Red Baron. And there we have it - perhaps Manfred von Richthofen was the inspiration for Zemo, Strucker, Blood & all the rest!
Phillip
You forgot La Formule du Baron, Phillip, of rare 1971 eponymous French concept album fame.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKc-cmTpg1A
(One for the Serge Gainsbourg fans there)
Also, I feel the Baron of Brightside and Hillsborough should get a mention here, seeing as he's a south Yorkie.
-sean
Sean - I also forgot Keith Barron, the actor. Serge Gainsbourg? Suits you, Sir!
Phillip
Shame on you, Australia!!!
Phillip, there's also:
Baron Frankenstein
Baron Karza (from The Micronauts)
Baron Samedi (from Live And Let Die)...
...and most evil of all - Baroness Thatcher!
..
Don’t forget the notorious sock puppet “publicist” (and future POTUS) John Baron…
b.t.
And his sprog, b.t.
-sean
As a Christ's Boy I have to throw my fellow alumnus Sacha Baron Cohen in the bowl.
So Charlie wonders if the “Baron” title is more impactful on us yanks, given we dont have royalties with titles?
But why not give the Red Skull a bit of Baron? That said Skill was created around 1941 so surely no way for Marvel to change history that old. Yep.
Sean - thanks for Gainsbourg tip. The French movie about him from about 10 years ago is worth a look. Really. But you need to know his back story /timeline as it may not be totally obvious which female celebrity he is “charming” at any given time, lol. The actor does have an uncanny resemblance to Serge.
Lastly wasnt there a brit annual/comic entitled Cor? That would mean “May God” in a literal translation of Cor Blimey?”
What about the 1960s tv series, entitled "The Baron" ?
Phillip
Baron Von Trapp in The Sound Of Music.
Charlie, the comic was called COR! but it doesn't mean "May God" - it means something like WOW!
Charlie - You mean like " 'Struth!" means God's Truth! and "Zounds!" means Gods Wounds! Also, "Goodbye" means God be with you. I think there's some others, too!
Phillip
PHILLIP - "Gods Wounds?" That is an odd expression to my ears in 2023!
COLIN - Thanks!
Ole Baron von Trapp and his family. They ended up running a ski resort in Vermont IIRC, and the Sound of Music was allegedly dissed by all the critics; only the viewers like it!
I'm still astounded that Ray Rayner worked on the actual "Great Escape" while POW in Germany. Cor!
Charlie
Gordon Bennett, Phillip!
Dangermash - Was Gordon Bennett a horse racing guy? I'm unsure.
Phillip
Don't know, Phillip, bit I was told by my Dad years ago that swearing Gordon Bennet was a contracted form of God & St Bennet
There is also Baron Von Struker (HYDRA) Baron Brimstone (Machine Man),Baron Macabre (Black Panther) and Baron Greenback (Danger Mouse).
Cor! I'm relation to the old UK comic probably meant surprise, interesting or wonderful.
Who to trust - dangermash's old man, or the wiki?
The latter suggests 'Gordon Bennett' derives from the name of the founder and publisher of the New York Herald - which seems odd if it isn't also an expression in American (although I guess it could have disappeared there?) - or its a mangled form of 'Gorblimey'. Or possibly comes fromthe name a salesman from south Yorkshire, who used to shout it out when doing his rounds on a bike.
I know which of those theories I'm opting for! Apparently theres a Gordon Bennett memorial hall near Rotherham...
-sean
*the name of a salesman...
Apologies for the typo.
-sean
Charlie, haven't seen the Gainsbourg film, but I did once check out a French talk show clip of him - obviously somewhat tired and emotional (as they say) - trying to er... 'charm' Whitney Houston. She did not seem impressed. At all.
It wasn't ol' Serge's finest hour.
-sean
I think I'd go with the wiki entry Sean.
The old man had form. He used to tell me that when the ice cream van chimes were going it meant they'd run out of ice cream.
Huh. Are you saying it doesn't, dm?
-sean
Sean
Yes back in Aus. Sad, but predictable, outcome given how poorly conceived the approach. A clear, well defined policy would likely have passed easily.
DW
SEAN - yes, the Whitney Houston interview with Gainsbourg also there is the stuff of legend, Clearly inappropriate and over-the-top. But, when you make a living in part by being provacative…
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