September 14th 1974 - Marvel UK, 50 years ago this week.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

This week in 1974 wasn't a good one for people with sizeable egos who wanted to keep their jobs.

That's because it was the week in which Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia was deposed by the Derg, bringing an end to the Solomonic dynasty's near-700-year-long reign and launching a civil war.

Similarly, Brian Clough was dismissed after just 44 days as manager of defending league champions Leeds United, thanks to a disappointing start to the season. Fortunately, that didn't kick off a civil war.

There was good news for one man, though, as it was also the week in which, brand new President of the United States, Gerald Ford signed Proclamation 4311, gifting a full and unconditional pardon to his predecessor Richard Nixon.

When it came to the UK singles chart, that roost was still well and truly being ruled by the Osmonds with their latest platter that mattered Love Me for A Reason.

Change was, however, afoot on the corresponding album rankings, thanks to Mike Oldfield's Hergest Ridge entering at Number One. This meant that, with Tubular Bells still riding high, Oldfield was occupying the top two slots on the British LP chart.

I must confess the Osmonds single isn't one of my favourite tracks of the 1970s but songs I did approve of on that week's UK Hit Parade included:

Kung Fu Fighting - Carl Douglas

Annie's Song - John Denver

When Will I See You Again? - the Three Degrees

What Becomes of the Brokenhearted? - Jimmy Ruffin

Mr Soft - Cockney Rebel

Rock the Boat - Hues Corporation

Rock Your Baby - George McCrae

I Shot the Sheriff - Eric Clapton

I've Got the Music in Me - the Kiki Dee Band

Pinball - Brian Protheroe

Band on the Run - Paul McCartney and Wings

Long Tall Glasses - Leo Sayer

and

Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot.

It is strange and bizarre to see that Rock the Boat, Rock Your Baby and Rock Me Gently were occupying the Numbers 24, 25 and 26 positions, respectively, while Number 27 was held by Mud's Rocket. Why do I get the feeling people were going into their local record shop, asking for, "That song that starts with Rock," and being given a random selection from one of those four releases?

Whatever the truth of the matter, should one wish to investigate things in more depth, that week's UK singles chart can be found here.

While the accompanying LP chart resides within.

It's almost as bad a week for the Hulk as it is for Brian Clough.

First of all he gets swatted away, like a mere flea, by the gigantic Klaatu. Then he gets knocked out and captured by Xeron the Star-Slayer. Then he wakes to discover he's a prisoner on a spaceship.

And then, to top it all off, he discovers his old foe the Abomination's also on board - and outranks him!

Elsewhere, John Romita's stint on the Daredevil strip comes to an end - and does so with our hero getting the better of the Gladiator and Masked Marauder, with the puddle-headed pair finally realising Foggy Nelson isn't the man without fear.

Meanwhile, the Fantastic Four and runaway Inhumans are all in the Great Refuge where Maximus unveils his genius plan to annihilate every human being on the planet by using his machine that will only kill people who are not Inhumans.

Is there any hope for humanity?

And for inhumanity?

Out to clear his name, after hanging around with Magneto for longer than any sane PR man would recommend, Quicksilver decides the best way to do it is bring the fugitive Spider-Man to justice.

How can a man, even one blessed with spider-powers, possibly hope to stop a foe who can literally run rings around him?

Very easily, it turns out, as Quicksilver has the brains of a rocking horse, and Spider-Man has very strong arms.

The Unicorn's still causing trouble at Tony Stark's factory. He kidnaps Pepper Potts and threatens to blow up the plant unless Iron Man comes out to fight him.

Therefore, Iron Man fights him.

I can't help feeling the Unicorn's plans would be better if they didn't all involve him fighting Iron Man.

Thor, meanwhile is getting a good battering from Ulik but is saved when the king of the Trolls shows up and gets in the way of things.

What's this? Shang-Chi's strip has disappeared from the pages of our favourite comic dedicated to the Avengers?

But not to worry. His absence is only to give Marvel UK breathing space until new Shang-Chi stories are created for it to reprint.

In the meantime, a brand new strip's here to keep us thrilled, as I: Ron Fist smashes its way into K'un-Lun and, no doubt, into our hearts too, thanks to Ron's unique third-person narration and his one-trick-pony fighting technique.

Elsewhere, the Avengers are off to the Iron Curtain to rescue the abducted Black Widow.

But to do that, it looks like they're going to have to take on the Soviet Union's answer to Captain America - the Red Guardian!

And, very, very elsewhere, still trying to find Victoria Bentley, Dr Strange has entered a surreal world where he encounters the super-scientist Yandroth.

From what I remember, Yandroth has Victoria but isn't in the mood to give her up.

The Marvel Lucky Bag - September 1984.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

It feels like you had to be a bit cultured to enter a cinema in September 1984.

It was, after all, a month which saw the release of both Amadeus and Carmen.

Fortunately, for those whose tastes weren't quite so high-brow, the month also saw the unleashing of The Brother from Another Planet and Irreconcilable Differences.

I must confess that I've never seen any of those four movies. My opinions on them are, therefore, completely without value.

The official Marvel news magazine is back to thrill us with all the latest goss on all the firm's latest happenings. 

Which means that, among other items, we're treated to an interview with Denny O'Neil, a look at Marvel's Coming Attractions and all the facts you need to know about brand-new book Questprobe.

Not only that but there's even info on how to submit your samples. 

I'm assuming that means your artwork and writing samples and not any other samples you may happen to have in your possession.

Marvel Fanfare heralds its return, with a cover that looks like it's doing all it can to channel as much Golden Age magic as is humanly possible.

What I do know is it gives us a World War Two yarn involving someone called Sky-Wolf, which the GCD tells me is in the style of Blackhawks.

That's followed by A Fable. Otherwise known as a ten-page Sub-Mariner tale from Bill Mantlo and Mike Mignola.

A stylish cover by Mike Kaluta introduces us to an issue in which Conan searches for Taurus, with the help of Dexitheus and his Black Dragons.

Following that, Prince Conn's headed for the gallows after supposedly murdering a wealthy merchant. However, just as he's about to hang, the prince vanishes and reappears in a forest!

What can it all mean?

I haven't the foggiest.

I admit it, I've included it for its Bill Sienkiewicz  cover.

But it turns out he also draws the insides, as well.

Thanks to Chris Claremont's script, Danielle Moonstar's fighting for her life in surgery while Warlock and Magus encounter the Starjammers in space.

Elsewhere, Magik starts to manifest armour.

And, as if we could ever forget, the Demon Bear attacks again. This time, transporting the New Mutants - and two others - to its own dimension!

All I can say is it's teleportier than the average bear.

It's the last-ever Marvel Team-Up Annual and the book bows out in the only way any good comic should - with heroes in turmoil, a giant snake and a man on a flying carpet!

Frankly, I don't have a clue what's going on but it seems Spidey and someone called Marrina have attracted the attentions of the Collector. The cosmic kleptomaniac wants to nab Spidey because of his alien costume, and Marrina because she's a Plodex.

I have no idea what a Plodex is.

Meanwhile, in the issue's second tale, Arthur Berman finds himself haunted by the violence super-heroes bring into people's lives.

It's the book that had to happen, as Marvel gives us Part One of its three-part adaptation of the movie the people in cinema queues are all talking about.

And David Michelinie and Butch Guice are the men bringing it to us.

The company which gave us comics devoted to the Micronauts and ROM bows to the inevitable and delivers unto our laps the Transformers who, as we all know, are robots in disguise.

I must confess that, despite having sat through many an advert dedicated to them, I'm no expert on the Transformers but my understanding is that, on the planet Cybertron, war has raged for far longer than is healthy, between the Autobots and the Decepticons.

But now, that war has arrived on Earth!

So, basically, the plot of Galactica 1980.

It's the mystery that's haunted many of our childhoods. Why do all super-heroes live in New York?

And does that mean there are no super-villains outside that city either?

Now, at last, we're going to get an answer because the West Coast bags its very own branch of the Avengers.

Will there be anyone for them to fight?

Or will the team's presence magically attract a whole bunch of trouble-makers to the region?

But, first, a team as to be assembled - and that task is left in the hands of Hawkeye.

Given his character, this news would make me suspect the team will, therefore, be made up entirely of the man himself and whatever half-dozen nubile young women want the job.

Forty years ago today - September 1984.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

I feel this is a feature that needs no introduction.

But that won't prevent me from trying to think of one.

Now things get magicky and enchanty because, as far as I can remember, Thor and his new friend Roger travel all the way to England to rescue Lorelei from Malekith, with the thunder god still blissfully unaware that she's not what she claims to be.

Meanwhile, still in search of a reason to live, Balder bumps into a Norn.

Meanwhiler, ever the optimist and never short of a reason to live, Surtur eagerly makes preparations for his latest attempt to lay waste the planet Earth!

Can it be? Does that cover mean what it threatens to? Has Tomazooma returned from his robo-grave to torment Wyatt Wingfoot's tribe?

No, he hasn't. Instead, it's an alien called Terminus who's out to strip the Earth of its natural goodies.

Needless to say, the two members of the FF who've turned out to stop him aren't going to put up with those sorts of shenanigans.

Meanwhile, back in New York, Johnny Storm's hormones are starting to notice that Alicia isn't just a friend of the Fantastic Four.

She's also a woman.

A luscious and gorgeous woman.

Which is a bit concerning to some of us, bearing in mind it's already been established that she looks exactly like his sister.

Following her raid on SHIELD's Helicarrier, the US government's determined to stop Rogue, by whatever means necessary.

And, seemingly, those necessary means include shooting Storm with a gun that removes its victim's super-powers!

As the cover makes plain, Cloak and Dagger are back on the scene. Despite that, I don't recall just what it is they're up to.

I'm going to guess they're still waging a remorseless war on drugs and that Spider-Man still doesn't approve of it.

In other news, I do recall the Kingpin's decided to turn Silvermane's corpse into a cyborg assassin and let it loose on the streets of New York.

Spurred on by Nightmare's psychic proddings, the Hulk finally finds Dr Strange, in an attempt to get aid with whatever it is he needs aid with. But it seems that, in his near-mindless state, the beast is beyond the help of even the Sorcerer Supreme.

Captain America breaks the habit of a lifetime by going on and on and on about the death of Bucky.

But it's all down to a plot by the Red Skull, Baron Zemo and Mother Superior.

However, not all is well in Camp Evil, as Mother Superior and Zemo are increasingly at each other's throats and the Skull displays his epic parenting skills by favouring the Baron over his own daughter.

The Eternals, and the odd Avenger, gather together for the latest revival of the Uni-Mind.

But all is not as it seems and, somewhere in Olympia, lurks a villain who's out to use the situation to his own advantage.

Meanwhile, in Europe, a talking cow has died and this causes Quicksilver much anguish.

We also get confirmation that the inhabitants of Titan, including Thanos, are Eternals and originated on the planet Earth.

Daredevil's creative team launch their latest brave attempt to make Micah Synn be a thing.

I predict that, at the end of it all, he will still not manage to be a thing.

This time, the reprehensible rain-forest rotter takes out a restraining order against Daredevil and teams up with Crossbow before realising the man without fear is none other than blind lawyer Matt Murdock. 

But it's not all good news for tinpot Tarzan - because, in another part of New York, the Kingpin catches Synn's men trying to steal his stock.

And I suspect that can bring nothing but trouble to his front door.

From my hazy recollections, the demon Jergl Zadh lures Conan and Fafnir to his temple, looking to gain revenge for previous setbacks at the Cimmerian's hands.

Needless to say, luring a barbarian into your lair always proves to be a fatal mistake.

Fed up of our hero ruining his plans, gangland boss the Rose hires wealthy assassin the Puma to kill the web-slinger.

Surely, this no-mark can't bring down everybody's favourite arachnid flavoured do-gooder.

Or can he?

Of, I suspect, longer-term importance, Spidey's alien-built costume is exhibiting increasing signs of having a mind of its own.

A fact that its wearer seems to be all-but oblivious to...

Our gang of hi-tech buddies set about the business of setting up business in California.

But, first, an increasingly paranoid Rhodey is going to have to stop a man called Vibro who was the mildest of men until his jerk of an employer nearly got him killed with inexcusable health and safety lapses.

September 7th 1974 - Marvel UK, 50 years ago this week.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

They claim that time waits for no man but I've just had a look at the past and it's still sat there, right where I left it, exactly 50 years ago.

Greatness yet again enters our lives, through the medium of a Hulk story, as we encounter the first part of the cosmic melodrama in which Xeron the Star-Slayer visits Earth, in search of the gigantic Klaatu - and launches us into a retelling of Moby Dick.

But set in space!

Elsewhere, it's double trouble for the man without fear when the Masked Marauder breaks the Gladiator out of jail and the two villains agree to combine their mighty intellects.

And that's also trouble for Foggy Nelson because the boneheaded blunderers both think he's Daredevil!

Meanwhile, the Fantastic Four finally get to the Great Refuge and encounter the egomaniac menace that is Maximus the Mad. At which point, the Inhumans' introductory story stops making anything that resembles sense, but still remains historically awesome.

With tensions still simmering over that pesky ancient tablet that brings nothing but trouble, Spider-Man has yet another run-in with the Kingpin who, like the Gladiator, has freshly escaped from jail. But, this time, at the crucial moment, a car pulls up, bearing a mysterious driver who whisks Fisk off to places unknown.

It's at this juncture that our hero decides to confront the ranting J Jonah Jameson and manages to give him a heart attack. Can it be true? Is Spider-Man really the menace JJJ always claimed he was?

In a scenario that'll feel very familiar to Iron Man fans, the commies give an agent a gadget-infested costume and send him off to America to slap the armoured Avenger around.

This time, it's the Unicorn who gets set that thankless task.

And, this time, it's the Unicorn who fails miserably.

But a moment of great import arrives in the annals of Thor when not only does he reacquaint himself with the lovely Sif but her abduction by trolls forces the thunder god into combat with Ulik, the one troll who just might be able to make mincemeat of him. 

My memories of this week's Shang-Chi tale are vague but, from that cover, I'm going to assume Fu Manchu and his lackeys have abducted Denis Nayland Smith. I also assume they're going to blow him up.

I also have a feeling that feat will involve blowing up Mount Rushmore because that's where they're holding him prisoner.

I do believe the Avengers wrap up their battle with Diablo. Mostly, courtesy of Hercules defeating Dragon Man, and the villain possibly blowing himself up.

And, to finish off with, still on the hunt for Victoria Bentley, Dr Strange is stuck in the middle when Nebulos and the Living Tribunal clash over a big stick they both want.

The Marvel Lucky Bag - September 1974.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

It's the Marvel Lucky Bag but just how lucky are we going to be?

Conan lands his first giant-size comic - and does it with an adaptation of Robert E Howard's Hour of the Dragon, as rendered immortally by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane.

That's followed by a trio of articles/features entitled Acheron: A Revisionary Theory, The High Point of the Empire of Acheron and Conan the Unconquered. Clearly, good news for all fans of Acheron there.

And we finish off with a reprint of Thomas and Smith's The Twilight of the Grim Grey God!

In news that could make any man rise from his coffin, Dracula gets his second giant-size offering!

And so it is that, in this issue's 68 pages, Chris Claremont and Don Heck treat us to a thriller titled Call Them Triad... Call Them Death!

Strangely, the rest of this issue consists of non-Dracula reprints from the 1950s and early 1960s, as conceived by Stan Lee and various artists. Those yarns bear such titles as The Girl In the Black Hood!, On With the Dance!, The Sweet Old Ladies, Vampire at the Window and Drive of Death!

But what's this? The Human Torch gets his very own mag?

But which Human Torch is it?

It turns out it's both of them!

In our first adventure, Johnny Storm must tackle a villain called the Destroyer who's determined to ruin an amusement park.

But why would he want to do such a thing?

It would appear to all be part of a plot by commies.

And that revelation may have tipped you off that this is a reprint from the early 1960s.

We then encounter the original Human Torch in Horror Hotel! A tale centred around an establishment terrorised by a, "Man-killing beast."

This one is, of course, reprinted from 1948's The Human Torch #33, though whether the man-killing beast turns out to be a bunch of commies, I cannot say.

There's no stopping the march of the merry Marvel martial arts mania.

Thus it is that the Deadly Hands of Kung Fu gets its own Special Album Edition.

I get the feeling this may be the one in which Shang-Chi, Iron Fist and the Sons of the Tiger all find themselves playing their part in foiling a UN based plot by Fu Manchu, without ever realising they are and without ever encountering each other.

On top of this, we find articles with such titles as The Rising and Advancing of a Spirit, Kaii-Yaaahhh!, Fu Manchu, Sax Rohmer and Shang-Chi, The Chinese Mechanic and Shaolin Flashback.

History is made, as the first-ever Marvel Treasury Edition hits our spinner racks.

And what a way to do it, with a John Romita cover and a string of tales that include the debut of the Green Goblin, John Jameson getting uncontrollable super-powers, Ross Andru's first-ever stab at the character, the death of George Stacy and the time Spidey came to blows with the Human Torch after gatecrashing Dorrie Evans' birthday party.

Not to mention more pin-ups and featurettes than you can wobble a web-shooter at.

Neal Adams provides an action-packed cover for a mag which suffers the production issues that often seem to befall Marvel's black and white publications.

As planned, we get the first part of a story called The Damnation Plague but, if I remember correctly, illness striking one or more of its contributors necessitates the rest of the issue being padded out with reprints including a Jann of the Jungle yarn and that tale in which a woman who looks like Mary Jane Watson tries to tempt our hero with her body, having failed to flatten him with her tank and to frighten him with her husband.

There's also a tale called Dragonseed, starring someone called Marok the Merciless.

After 72 issues, the Sub-Mariner's comic hits its final instalment and does so in unlikely style when it functions as Part Two of the tale begun in Aquaman #56.

It involves our hero going blind while encountering an alien made of slime.

Can even the avenging son overcome such odds?

And will he even need to?

For those who just can't get enough Shang-Chi in their lives, the master of kung fu also gets his own giant-size book.

In it, we discover Death Masque, Frozen Past, Shattered Memories and Reflections in a Rippled Pool.

I can provide no facts about what happens in any of them but I wouldn't be surprised at all if every single one of them involves assassins trying to kill our hero.

And, for those whose need for Chinese villains can never be satiated, we're also granted a reprint of The Coming of the Yellow Claw from that fiend's 1956 eponymous debut issue.

I don't know anything about this one but I know it's called Deathwatch! and I like the cover.

Fifty years ago today - September 1974.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

1974!

I remember it well!

Sort of.

Unless my ever-loving memory deserts me, this is the first half of the two-parter that sees Crystal marry Quicksilver.

Needless to say, it's not long before the Human Torch is wanting to smash him in the face.

But let's face it, what girl wouldn't want to marry Quicksilver? He's quite the charmer.

Then again, Omega and the Alpha Primitives may not agree.

After all, they're doing everything they can to wreck proceedings.

I've never seen the inside of this comic but, apparently, in the city of Zamor, Conan fights a gargoyle and saves someone called Arlinna.

So, just another day at the office, basically.

Unless my ever-loving memory deserts me again, this is the second half of the two-parter in which Crystal marries Quicksilver!

However, from that cover, I'm assuming Omega turns out to be Ultron in disguise.

It's one of my Hulk favourites, as the Missing Link returns as a good guy and Bruce Banner gets a job as a miner.

Despite becoming friends, it's not long before the two monsters come to blows, each convinced the other is out to hurt the locals.

Hooray! Sunfire is back!

Are probably words no human being has ever uttered.

Still, I suppose he might come in useful, as Iron Man takes on the power of Ultimo.

However, the presence of Ultimo suggests to me the Mandarin may also be around.

This is what we want! The Green Goblin returns!

And, this time, he's Harry Osborn!

I think this is the tale in which Harry abducts a bunch of Peter Parker's nearest and dearest and straps a bomb to one of them!

But which one?

And can Spidey get to him/her in time?

With Firelord, Hercules and a living planet involved, it can only be described as a clash of egos.

DD's greatest foe is back!

Not only that but he kidnaps Candice Nelson!

For reasons I can't remember, this leads the man without fear to scour the Everglades for missing scientist Ted Sallis.

This all tells me we're about to get the nerve-shredding introduction of the hat-wearing fiend we can only refer to as Death-Stalker!

Never having read this comic, I can only wonder if this Lucifer is related to the one who appeared in an early X-Men story?

Then again, was there a villain called Lucifer who appeared in an early X-Men story, or am I just imagining things?

That's Marvel's big hitters attended to but even the house of ideas must be wary of its closest rival.

So, that in mind, just what's occurring in the pages of a random sample of its comics which bear that selfsame cover date?

I do believe this is one of those tales in which Wonder Woman must complete various missions in order to prove she's still worthy of being a member of the Justice League. 

Thus it is that the Flash sticky-beaks, as she tries to stop an alien robot built to bring peace to Earth but which, instead, causes nothing but trouble.

That was the amazin' Amazon as she is now.

But what about as she was then?

Here's where we find out, when DC treats us to one of her earliest adventures.

In that tale, she takes Steve Trevor back to America and adopts the identity of Diana Prince so she can remain close to him.

However, stalking Steve Trevor doesn't come free and, to earn the money she'll need to keep doing it, she begins to perform her bullets and bracelets routine for a living, not realising her naughty promoter's stealing all the profits!

Next, master of every field of human activity, Terry Sloane adopts the not-at-all self-satisfied identity of Mr Terrific in order to escape boredom. But he soon finds a better purpose in life. One that involves fighting crime!

Then, the ghost of an 18th Century earl possesses the newly-deceased body of Charles Collins, so he can be near the reincarnation of his lost love.

Next, First World War American ace Gunner Godbee and his buddy Nick encounter two German Heinkel aircraft.

Then, Tommy Rogers, Tubby and Toughy rescue a grocer who's been kidnapped by gangsters.

Finally, and more memorably, boxer Ted Grant kills the former champ in the ring and adopts the guise of Wildcat in order to clear his name.

Needless to say, all these adventures are reprinted from the pages of 1942's Sensation Comics #1.

It's another tale you'll never forget when the Phantom Stranger investigates the case of a man who never dies and is willing to kill whoever it takes, in order to preserve his secret.

Why he needs to keep it secret, I don't know. As far as I'm aware, there's no law against not dying.

And this issue's backup thriller is called The Crime of the Black Orchid.

From that title, I'm going to assume it's the Nestor Redondo drawn tale in which a young man and woman frame our enigmatic heroine for a string of robberies she hasn't committed.

Needless to say, it's not long before our mistress of mystery brings them to justice, thanks to her spectacular strength and extensive collection of rubber masks.

I don't have a clue what happens in this one but it's drawn by Mike Kaluta and features both the Shadow and a ninja. This all sounds like a winning formula to me.

Since the dawn of time, all intelligent humans have asked one question. "Who would win a fight between Superman and Popeye?"

Fortunately, we don't need to ask that question as it's already been answered in a previous issue when the man of steel encountered Captain Strong, the sailor who becomes incredibly powerful when he starts chewing on seaweed.

But, now, we need to know who'd win a fight between Superman and Bluto.

And we get our answer, this very month, when Kal-El encounters a brutish, bearded foe who turns out to be an alien stranded on Earth and transformed, for the worse, by his exposure to that aforementioned seaweed. Clearly, the only message we can glean from this tale is to stay away from the weed.

Needless to say, our hero defeats his foe and, having restored him to his normal amiable self, gets his spaceship working for him, so he can, at last, return home.

But I do detect there's even more because I do believe this issue's backup tale features the Atom encountering a villainous scientist who only exists in two dimensions. One who is shrinking with every day that passes!

I think this tale may have I introduced my ten-year-old self to the phrase, "Solar plexus." Yet again, comics prove to be a vital source of erudition and education.