Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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Strap yourself in. We're on a journey - and we're not stopping until we plough into 1974!
The Celestial Madonna Saga rumbles on, and on, and on - although I'm not sure when the Vision developed the ability to fire force blasts from his hands.
It's one of my favourite Conan tales, as he and Red Sonja find themselves in a tower inhabited by a pair of sex-mad sorcering siblings who haven't failed to notice that their new guests are on the attractive side.
And it's one of my Daredevil faves, as the horny hero finds himself facing a Death-Stalker who comes to a rather unfortunate ending, thanks to the forces of gravity and a vat of acid.
Or does he?
I don't think I've ever read this issue but I have reason to believe Mahkizmo is the villain responsible for our quartet's dreadful plight.
I don't think I've ever read this issue but I have reason to believe Mahkizmo is the villain responsible for our quartet's dreadful plight.
I have, however, read this issue. And I should have because history is made when Wolverine makes his full debut.
But, as he battles both the Hulk and Wendigo, unknown to the three of them, plans are afoot, to transfer the curse of the Wendigo onto the Hulk.
Maybe it's just me but it sounds like a perfect moment for an act of self-sacrifice by a supporting character.
But forget Wolverine. Iron Man's so tough he can smash through paper!
Other than that knowledge, I possess near-total ignorance of what occurs in this one.
I do, though, know that that pound-shop Mandarin, the Yellow Claw, is involved.
The Mindworm makes his debut and is out to take control of an entire community, including Flash Thompson!
I've always liked this tale.
No one else seems to.
What kind of madness has afflicted mankind?
I've genuinely not got a clue what happens in this one - and the cover's furnishing me no hints.
Scooping deep into the depths of my memory, I'm going to guess Steve Rogers has decided to give up being Captain America.
But he then has to foil a master criminal who's handy with a bow and arrow.
Who then turns out to be Hawkeye who adopted the guise in order to convince Steve to go back to heroing.
That's Marvel's big hitters triumphantly dealt with.
But what of that other body? The body the world knows as DC? Just how would a random sampling of its output that bears the cover date November 1974 look?
I must confess my memory of these masterpieces is sketchy but I do know the final one features both Dracula and Quasimodo and is, possibly, a light-hearted yarn.
Come to think of it, I feel like they might all be light-hearted yarns. I suspect light-hearted yarnery may be the USP of this particular title.
Inside, we encounter the melodrama of a glamorous Broadway star, a possessive mobster, and a hunchback blessed with zero intelligence and an urge to protect our acting sensation.
All are 1950s reprints. The last one is by Simon and Kirby, and the middle one features a detective and an evil twin.
No wonder I bought it. It all sounds more than worthy of my 20 cents.
Yes, it's true. Fresh from making Zardoz, the uniquely-dressed Scot decides to murder Lois Lane!
But wait. What's this? The comic's trying to disguise the fact that he's Sean Connery? By calling him Vartox?
I don't care what lowdown tricks DC pulls. I know who he really is.
It does make me wonder why Deadie doesn't just contact Jim Corrigan to do it. I can't help feeling that particular detective would solve the case very very quickly.
Anyway, despite me claiming that no one could forget this tale, I'm struggling to recall what happens in it, other than that the vengeance-happy ghost keeps flitting from body to body, and suspects a gangster may be the guilty party.
And, also, that the Stranger keeps randomly appearing to lecture him, while making no effort whatsoever to help him.
While I remember the Robin story pretty well, I must confess I recall nothing at all of the Aquaman tale. In my head, it's exactly the same as the origin of the Sub-Mariner, although I suspect it's not, in reality.
Regardless, this would appear to be the last issue of this mag.
We've followed the Manhunter's progress through the last few months of this mag but, at last, that progress comes to an end, as the huge-sleeved adventurer finally stops the secret organisation that revived him.
Unfortunately, he stops himself as well.
Explosively.
This time, it's the granddaddy of all super-heroes who gets the treatment, thanks to a bunch of reprints including The Origin of Superman.
There's also a look at Superman on the Screen, a guide on How to Draw Superman and the obligatory table-top diorama.
And we finish with a book that allows us to re-experience the joy of reading 1940's Whiz Comics #2.
Strangely, as well as the original Captain Marvel, this book also contains a Dan Dare adventure.
Although I suspect it's not the same character as the British Dan Dare.
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21 comments:
Steve-o! What a masterful meandering down memory lane!
What’s so weird for Charlie is he thought he’d thrown in the towel for all but comics with a little something different like art by Fr@nk R@bbins or 100 pages. . Yet, Charlie had several of the marvels though certainly not Spidey.
And of course the Shadow, The Phantom Stranger, the big Whiz treasurey edition, and an assortment of 100
Pagers
Many thanks, Steve, for another fine dose of the wonderment that was comics in 1974! The year just kept giving, and giving, leading irresistably to the complete emptying of my allowance. Not that I minded, of course.
Starting off with a bang, that Avengers story is a gem; the "Celestial Madonna " arc remains a favorite. A nice cover, too; even with Vision's inexpli. able blast.
And I totally share your fondness for that Conan issue, Steve. A very enjoyable tale, had Red Sonja, plus it had Neal Adams (Crusty Bunkers) inks over Buscema's pencils. Quite a visual treat..
On the other hand, that Fantastic Four storyline seemed a bit flat, albeit enjoyable enough.
For today's heretical opinion- Hulk 181 is overrated. Yes, it's a huge intro for a huge character, but the story itself seemed rather ordinary at the time (to be fair, I haven't read it in 45 years, so my memory might be off).
Spidey was an odd story, one of the oddest in the whole series. Anyone know if the Mindworm ever appeared again?
Of the books you've shared today, the only DC I had was Detective. But that was certainly a winner! You can't go wrong with Batman and Manhunter by Walt Simonson...
Yep- a nice batch of books this week!
Steve-
The Phantom Stranger lecturing people, saying cryptic $#!t and not doing anything at all to help-that's what he does! His modus operandi. He's almost more a pain in the ass than anything else, which John Constantine has pointed out more than once....
As far as Wolverine...we've all seen that comic. I will never understand his appeal.
Some pretty good comics here though. I always loved Captain Marvel's origin story. The writing and the art were so stark and simple.
The huge underground vault, the statues, the big block of stone crushing Shazam, thus turning him into a ghost...
That first issue was kinda spooky.
M.P.
I think Mindworm does pop up again years ne years later but not in ASM.
But I'll take the easy point and say that he pops up in one of those multiple villain Mysterio illusions in just a few months' time. Or was it Doctor Faustus' doing? Hold on…
Got him. Part of Mysterio's illusion in ASM #142 but not part of his illusion in #141. And he's not in the Doctor Faustus illusion in #170.
Does MINDWORM seem like the potential final panel in a story entitled MODOK
UNMASKED?!
If only 28 babies have been named NIGEL in the UK since 2015, and zero in 2020, should we assume no one is busy making plans for them?
Did XTC’s song from 1979 kill the name kind of like TINY TIM playing TIPTOE THROUGH THE TULIPS kill the UKULELE for 3 decades?
CH-47
Charlie, the most famous Nigel in the UK nowadays is Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, a right-wing political party which got 14% of the votes in our recent general election. Nigel Farage is a Trump supporter even though most British people don't like Trump so you can see where Nigel F stands on the political spectrum - quite far-right. The name Nigel was already regarded as extremely nerdy in this country but Nigel Farage has reduced its' popularity a lot further I'd say!
1974...best year ever..but you already know that.Avengers were the most consistent Marvel title during 1974 with much improved artwork,Buscema,Cockrum,Staton etc and superior story telling by Englehart.For me the FF had peaked and issues around this time were disappointing, poor artwork,rushed artwork and reprints with the exception being #155-157 Dr.Doom /Silver Surfer story which I think was originally slated for Giant Size #5!Spiderman story is a personal favourite,bonkers but brilliant.I read somewhere that the artist Ross Andru took photographs around New York as guidelines for his drawing of fantastic rooftop shots etc.Very impressive.However the house in this story which he had photographed was identified by fans and the owner made a complaint to Marvel!(Now that I have written this it does sound like a made-up story but plausible).Strange issue but memorable.Loved the Wendigo in the Hulk issue and always thought Wolverine was a bit of a rip-off of DC's Timberwolf.Poor potential!!!!!!!What do I know.Curiously my interest in Conan basically was ending at this point and this issue,lovely comic signalled the end for me.How Marvel stretched Conan to 275 issues was remarkable(plus 100-200 Savage Sword of Conan....very hard to read multiple issues.Thors artwork remained strong but the stories lost any originality,in my opinion.It had all been done before.Daredevil was about to enter a slump for a few years until Miller turned up in 1979.And my beloved Giant Size comics would go complete reprint in 1975.End of an Era.
Steve, I liked AMAZING SPIDEY 138 too. Although I must admit, I never once in my life ever said, “I sure wish they’d bring back that Mindworm guy”.
AVENGERS 129 — the Buscema /Staton art was continuing to be a quirky breath of fresh air in this title, and I found the Swordsman/Mantis/Vision/Scarlet Witch soap opera stuff compelling. I particularly liked the scene where Viz told Mantis she was barking up the wrong tree.
John Buscema’s CONAN THE BARBARIAN 44 cover is easily the best one here. I like Frank Robbins’ THE SHADOW 7 cover a lot too (I choose to ignore the lady’s miniature hand). The interior art on both of those comics is also great. The Conan/Red Sonja story is pretty creepy — there’s a memorable sequence where Conan is seemingly gang-raped by a bunch of ethereal witch-ghosts (though it might all be just a drug-induced hallucination). In any case, I’m still surprised the Comics Code allowed it.
IIRC, IRON MAN 71 is the start of the “War Of The Super-Villains” storyline which turned out to be a perfect example of “Don’t Make Promises You Can’t Keep”.
THOR 228 — my takeaway from that issue was that Rich Buckler’s “Xerox Kirby” style only (kinda/sorta) worked when Joe Sinnott was inking the pencils. With Chic Stone on the inks — nuh-uh.
b.t.
I try very hard to restrict my whining about the whole “Cover Date vs On Sale Date” thing — in this case, I totally think of these Avengers, Captain America and Conan issues as being “Summer of ‘74” comics, so it feels just a tiny bit odd to be discussing them here in chilly November of 2024. But also, I feel compelled to mention that the most memorable thing about “On Sale Date” November 1974 for me was the debut of the first wave of the Atlas comics titles. Sorry, had to get that off my chest. I know we’ll have a chance to debate the pros and cons of The Destructor, The Grim Ghost, The Scorpion and all their pals in just a few months, so I’ll try harder to be a good boy and not rudely bring up this subject again.
b.t.
Wolverine's adamantium claws couldn't penetrate the Hulk's hide, yet the Wendigo's long finger nails scratched the Hulk. The Wendigo's a magical creature - so the usual rules don't apply. Could Wendigo have scratched his way through Ultron's adamantium shell? Answers on a postcard. Also, the height given for Wolverine in this story doesn't agree with Claremont & Byrne's height for Wolverine, in the tale in which a diminutive guardian of the M'kraan crystal knocks Logan into orbit.
Phillip
I too recall reading Hulk 181 directly off the spinner. I was not overwhelmed, is my general recollection.
And it was only a few years later that I actually cut the cover up, along with many other eventually-valuable comic books, to make a poster or collage.
So when and how did WOLVERINE catch fire? Was it instantaneously???
CH-47
Charlie - I don't remember when exactly it happened. But he stopped wearing his mask, and started chomping on cigars all the time. I preferred Wolverine before all that schtick began. Then all that stuff about Japan, and Sabretooth. 'Over-characterisation' might be a term for it.
Phillip
Charlie, your comment about destroying your copy of INCREDIBLE HULK 181 in order to make a collage project reminds me that in the late 70s / early 80s, there was a guy who made these really elaborate 3D shadow boxes out of comic book covers and sold them through various comic book shops in the San Fernando Valley area. Since this was in the days before high-quality color xeroxes, he had to use actual published comics for his raw materials, and he would usually need a minimum of 20 copies of a given comic to make just one shadow box.
One side effect of his process was that the artist would recoup a tiny bit of his costs by selling the now coverless comics to stores in the Valley. It was pretty common to find 2O coverless copies of a single comic for sale all over the Southland. My copy of DEFENDERS 53 was one such — I think I paid a dime for it.
Anyhow — I remember seeing one shadow box that had been made of HULK 181 covers in my LCS. This was around 1980 when Wolverine was just starting to get popular and the back-issue price of that comic had begun to climb. The store owner told me the artist had fortunately made the thing years before, so it didn’t cost him an arm and a leg to buy 20 copies of the comic. But we both agreed that the artist was probably kicking himself now — if he’d just bagged and boarded those comics at the time instead of cutting them up, he could have sold them for an easy COUPLE OF HUNDRED BUCKS.
b.t.
Uh, apropos of nothing, on this election eve...
MORGOTH-SAURON 2028
Let's solve the elf problem!
Make Middle Earth safe for Orcs again
M.P.
Did you at least save your Marvel Value Stamp from Hulk #181, Charlie?
Btw, Wolverine becoming a popular character was a bit of a slow burn, I suppose like the All-New All-Different X-Men generally. Apparently Chris Claremont was planning to write him out of the series, but before that happened John Byrne became the new artist, and insisted on keeping him around. It was some sort of Canadian thing.
-sean
Steve, Weird Mystery Tales didn't have a USP compared to the other DC mystery books, not that I can remember anyway (unless you count the first few issues featuring material by Jack Kirby originally intended for the ill-fated Spirit World #2).
The highlight of #14 is The Price, about a head hunter in the pre-WW1 Pacific, with typically excellent artwork by Alfredo Alcala. It is not light hearted yarnery, and could easily have appeared in, say, House of Secrets or Witching Hour.
As could the blandly generic Blind Child's Bluff.
The only thing that really distinguished the mystery books from each other was the hosts that introduced the stories. Which in the case of Weird Mystery Tales were Destiny and Eve, who both later reappeared as characters (the latter with a bit of a makeover) in Neil Gaiman's Sandman.
-sean
Vote for the Irish woman to be President, M.P.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_people_in_Jamaica#Notable_Jamaicans_of_Irish_descent
Btw, I got the collected first half of Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers of Victory from my local library, and am about to embark on the M.P. Challenge (although I will have to read the second half - and his JLA comics - online on some dodgy site).
I shall report back here on my findings (probably in a Speak Your Brain later this month).
-sean
I think Thor might take a bit of a back seat in #229, and its more of a Hercules story, Steve. Although about what exactly I don't recall.
-sean
Great flashback month!
Had so many of those. Wasn't a Mindworm fan that issue but he did return in what seemed like a fill in issue in Peter Parker #35. I liked it, a touching story.
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