Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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This week in 1974 saw no change atop the UK singles hit list, with the Rubettes' Sugar Baby Love retaining its Number One status.
However, it was a case of normal service being resumed as soon as possible on the corresponding LP chart, with Rick Wakeman's reign at the summit being ended after just one week, thanks to the Carpenters' Singles 1969-1973 regaining the top spot it had ceded to him just the week before.
Holy smoke. It was starting to look like nothing could keep the silky-smooth siblings of soft-centred song away from the peak of the charts.
But is he friend?
Or is he foe?
And what is his shocking secret?
Meanwhile, I do believe Daredevil's currently blind, in the Savage Land and having his first encounter with a wannabe Tarzan called Ka-Zar.
But is he friend?
Or is he foe?
And what is his shocking secret?
Finally, I suspect the Thing has joined forces with the Frightful Four and now wants nothing but to destroy his former colleagues.
Well, at least we know if he's a friend or a foe.
But what's this? It seems that this week's back cover offers us the chance to win a fishing rod by the simple act of recognising the silhouettes of various boats from history. One of them is the Titanic and one of them is a Viking longboat.
And thus it is that here's another one I didn't have.
However, I do know Shang-Chi's still in the Everglades and still hanging around with both the Man-Thing and a David Carradine clone.
However, he's also hanging around with a couple of assassins who want to kill him.
That's assuming the Man-Thing doesn't kill them first.
I'm fairly certain the Avengers are, at last, putting a stop to the schemes of the Living Laser, especially the one that involves him taking over a South American country.
And Doctor Strange is up against the might of Kaluu.
Unless I miss my guess; this week, we get Part One of the thriller in which Mysterio abducts Spidey and convinces him he's trapped inside a model of a funfair, after being reduced to the size of a true arachnid.
Meanwhile, Iron Man must deal with his mightiest foe yet, the Scarecrow whose super-power is...
...crows!
Yes. He's a normal man with three pet crows. How can even a genius wrapped from head to toe in armour and equipped with repulsor rays, jet boots and roller skates hope to stop such an opponent?
Clearly, he can't.
And that's bad news for Tony Stark because the villain wants to steal some of his top-secret plans and sell them to Fidel Castro.
Elsewhere, space awesomeness awaits us because, as far as I'm aware, Thor's battled his way to Rigel or thereabouts but now must prepare himself for an encounter with Ego the living planet!
And we finish with a yarn called Super-Hero Daydreams, a Marie Severin spoof from the pages of Not Brand Echh. In its three pages, it tackles the subject of what it would be like if we could transform ourselves into our favourite Marvel heroes at will.
The keen-eyed reader will have noticed that this week's cover claims Iron Man is battling the murderous Mandarin.
He isn't.
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31 comments:
Oh, Steve. The Carpenters and their magically moody melodies of mellifluous melancholy seem to have inspired you to reach new heights of alliteration. Well done, sir.
b.t.
In my final year at junior school, that Mogol story resided in my class's rainy (and therefore indoor) break cupboard. Mogol seemed as strong as the Hulk, but - unfortunately - wasn't as invulnerable. Sadly, the Hulk tore Mogol into pieces, despite his insistence that he only wanted to be the Hulk's friend. Then again, the Hulk's suspicions were understandable. After all, in those days, villains pretended to be "Hulk's friend", all the time(the Abomination, the Rhino, etc.) The difference being, at the end, Mogol was genuine. Thus, a sad tale, indeed! Also, perhaps, an example of the robot not realizing it's a robot trope. Quite a good story (for a rainy break!)
Phillip
That Spider-Man Weekly cover's design and central figure are borrowed from that of Amazing Spider-Man 135- perhaps my all-time favorite Spider-Man cover! Even made use of the "Face it Friend" blurb. Romita at his best.
Thanks, Bt.
Phillip, I remember our school's rainy break cupboard had a copy of Mighty World of Marvel #4 in it which was quite a coincidence, as issue #4 was the first issue of that book I ever owned.
Red, it is indeed a classic design and one that I think Marvel UK used on more than one occasion.
Donald Trump found guilty on all charges. LOCK HIM UP!
Phillip, the Thor image on that SPIDEY WEEKLY cover is another Romita piece, from the cover of GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS 1. Not sure where the Iron Man image originated but it also looks like the work of Jazzy Johnny. Having all three of the main figures drawn by one person helps take the curse off of it being a cut and paste thing.
b.t.
Amen, Colin!
As a felon, he can run for president but can't vote.
What a country.
Phil, your remarks about Mogol made me think of this movie I saw the other day, "Robot and Frank". Set in the near future this cantankerous elderly guy who's not doing too good on his own (played by the great Frank Langella) gets assigned a helper robot thanks to his worried son.
At first he hates it and cusses it out but they become pals.
I want my helper robot!
Maybe not Mogol, though.
Something a bit smaller, that can't kill you if it has some kinda malfunction.
M.P.
Steve, Phillip
My school’s rainy break cupboard had the 1968 Pow annual which reprinted Amazing Spider-Man #1, in full color, no less. That really messed with my young mind. Spider-Man and Leo Baxendale. How?
It was years until I learned of the Power comics line.
DW
b.t. - Yes, I recognized Thor, having a copy of Giant-Sized Avengers # 1 somewhere (the interior art didn't live up to the cover, unfortunately!) That Giant-Sized Avengers cover also featured inside the 1978 UK Marvel Annuals (actually published for X-mas 1977), as an interior poster-page.
M.P. - "Robot and Frank" sounds interesting. Maybe Legend(a UK sci-fi/Horror channel) will show it, someday soon.
DW - I've got Hotspur/Hurricane/Lion annuals, some from that era. Nevertheless, for a 1968 annual to survive in school, the way kids mishandle books, is a miracle. Unless it was a recent donation, in your day. Amazing Spidey # 1 is quite a read - I first read it in a Marvel pocket book in 77 or 78. Story-wise, those Ditko ones were excellent, as Spidey was more powerful than in contemporary UK weekly comics. Also, Stan & Ditko provided long & sustained fights with villains, rather than merely a brief punch up, at the end (as happened with later creators!)
Phillip
features not featured (tenses!)
Phillip
Phillip
I should clarify this was probably around 1975. I’m guessing it was a donation, and was pretty tatty by then. I’m surprised I didn’t half inch it, given my then obsession with anything comics related. Thinking about it, there was also a copy of Planet of the Apes weekly #1, which lasted less than 24 hours before ‘disappearing’. That wasn’t me, but only due to poor timing ;-)
DW
Phillip, my junior school didn't have a "rainy break cupboard" but during my second year (September 1974 to July 1975) I found a copy of Planet Of The Apes #9 in a cupboard in my classroom and a few years later in secondary school I found a copy of Spider-Man Comics Weekly #105 in a cupboard.
Based on that Spidey's date (Feb 75), hopefully it was in better condition than DW's classroom cupboard finds!
Phillip
Sorry, that last comment was addressed to Colin. Amidst pegging out the washing, I didn't notice I'd sent it to anonymous.
Phillip
Do I detect a note of irony in your remarks about the Scarecrow, Steve, and that as a villain he does not 'make you gasp in wonder' (as the cover of the original Tales of Suspense #51 put it)?
Fair enough, three crows is not an impressive power. But good on him for his solidarity with Cuba back then. Maybe he was an Arsenal man too, like Castro.
-sean
Scarecrow was also a master contortionist. Not at a cobra level but good enough for him to be a circus act.
The two founders of D:Ream have said Keir Starmer can't use 'Things Can Only Get Better' if he asks this time. They said the song's association with New Labour backfired when everyone starting hating Blair and D:Ream got tarred with the same brush. Anyway they don't need to worry as there'll be no request from Starmer - he wants to distance himself from Blair as much as he wants to distance himself from Corbyn. This election is Year Zero as far as Starmer is concerned and Blair and his time in office won't even be mentioned.
Good morning Gents.
Whilst Charlie waits to see if Real Madrid will win yet another CL final he realized he has not participated in the merry mirth making that is SDC!
Anyhow, Charlie assumes the FF story is from FF 42 or 43? 43 is one of those rare covers where the word balloon AND art together compete with Muhammed Ali in terms of the powerful 1-2 punch! "LO, THERE SHALL BE AN ENDING!" King James could not have said it better!
Charlie has an bemusing story about how he first read this story, in FF ANNUAL #9 from 1971... perhaps for an SDC Open Mic Night!
SPOILER WARNING:
Btw... If you guys did not see in person, or at least Youtube, the 2024 Cheese Chasing Competition from Gloucestershire, a comely 22 year old co-ed from North Carolina won the women's competition for the 2nd year in a row!
Truly - watch these videos on Youtube. It's the height of folly! Utter Madness! (Stan the Man would have some words for sure!)
When interviewed by a UK News Person the young lass was asked if she was worried about her safety. Her reply was classic, "Well, I'm young and I figure I'll recover quickly."
Yes, Charlie is ecstatic Trump was convicted 34 times. It's times like these where we realize that "taking the easy way out" like Ford did with pardoning Nixon, has consequences.
I.e., everything about Trump's trials, indeed Trump himself, is "unprecedented." Had the nation gone through with prosecuting Nixon, well we'd be looking at the 2nd time at least (and perhaps a 3rd time given Reagan's treasons.)
Back to the show!!!
While Charlie swears up and down, left and right, that he had a Frank SINATRA "Strangers in the Night" record off a cereal box, he can't prove it via google. I did check and my brother remembers it.
However he said that the Sinatra was from something else, because it was higher quality. It was flexible and thin, kind of like an old floppy disk. (Assuming y'all remember the inside of the floppy disk!)
It was not a beat-up piece of cardboard cut out by an 8 year old off the back of a Super Sugar Crisp Box.
BTW, I e-bayed and the ARCHIE Record on the back of SUPER SUGAR CRISP box, with a totally intact, nice looking box, is going for $325.
Honest to pete, if Charlie still had a house he'd be tempted to get it framed. It's a true piece of pop art! Classic nostalgia!
3 Crows to take down Iron Man
A guy with a long scarf takes down Captain America, only to be rescued by the soon-to-be-Falcon's falcon! (Like Cap 116?)
Marvel got birds on their brains?
Charlie:
What you’re describing sounds like a flexi disc. I suggest doing a google search , see if it could be the low-grade record format you’re thinking of.
I also looked on eBay to see what various cereal box records are going for. Some folks were asking 25 bucks for one — which I thought was pretty reasonable. If I was interested in buying one for nostalgia’s sake. Which I’m not.
Frito Bandito erasers also go for around 20 bucks these days :D
b.t.
Hey BY! Thanks for the tip on “flexi-record.”
Yes, I was surprised at the number of cardboard records, cut out of the back of cereal boxes, for sale on eBay. And they were not particularly expensive, like you can get half dozen to a dozen of them for maybe $50 I think. And it is kind of interesting to see the varying abilities of people to cut round records out of the back of rectangular seal boxes, lol.
But I am actually intrigued with getting a mint cereal box with the record still embedded in it, lol. Alas, the super Sugar crisp are no longer in the cereal box, but after 50 years, I doubt they’re edible anyhow, lol.
Besides, when it came to cereal 55 years ago, Charlie’s fav was Quisp!
Interesting documentary on Radio 4 tonight about Rik Mayall - it's 10 years already since his death!
I'm gonna go full-comic book nerd here and point out that Quisp was also an Aquaman enemy.
Well, enemy is rather harsh. He was more like a pain in the ass.
Some sort of goofy sprite; much later Grant Morrison retconned him so he was a fifth-dimensional entity like Mr. Mxyzptlk. And a bit on the homicidal side.
I wonder which came first, the cereal or the character, but I don't care enough to look it up, I guess.
You gotta get him to say his name backwards to banish him. It's like "pisswok" or something similar.
M.P.
...do you think if somebody made Lindsay Graham say his name backwards, he would vanish?
He's either a malevolent sprite or a Chucky doll that got loose, one of the two.
M.P.
Lindsay Graham has spent the last 8 years of his life planting kisses Don Fraudelone’s over-stuffed ass. If you can see US programming, youtube Jimmy Kimmel’s show from Friday night. So so funny roasting Count Flatulence (keeping with the cereal theme heh heh)!
I've been watching the latest episode of Dr Who on BBC iPlayer and here are two things I've noticed...
1) The new series is using the same Who logo as the Tom Baker era in the '70s.
2) The new series is labelled as "Season 1" on BBC iPlayer even though it obviously isn't. WTF???
Colin, I think it's probably because it's being shown, globally, on Disney Plus and it's the first season that's been shown on that. Therefore, to keep the House of Mouse happy, it's been labelled Season One.
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