March 1985 - Marvel UK monthlies, 40 years ago this month.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for Their Sponsorship of This Post, via The Magic of Patreon. 

***

A multitude of unforgettable events were occurring in March 1985.

For a start, the UK saw the end of the miners' strike, following a year of turbulence, rancour and turmoil.

Also, Mohammed Al-Fayed bought the world-famous London department store Harrods.

And, of course, Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and, thus, leader of the Soviet Union.

But the news that really mattered was that March saw the launch of Australia's greatest and longest-running soap opera Neighbours which made its debut on the Seven Network and would go on to make international showbiz sensations of Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce, Natalie Imbruglia, Margot Robbie and numerous others.

When it came to the UK singles chart, the month kicked off with Dead Or Alive's You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) at Number One before that had to make way for Easy Lover by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins.

On the accompanying album chart, March began with Phil Collins' No Jacket Required on top until it was forced to subside before the might of Paul Young's The Secret of Association.

I somehow sense we have an issue dedicated to TV shows like Star Trek, The Tripods, Doctor Who, Doomwatch, the Outer Limits and Adam Adamant Lives.

But that's not all because we also encounter an interview with movie director and future BBC Two Moviedrome presenter Alex Cox who, to the surprise of absolutely everyone, talks about his film Repo Man.

To celebrate the arrival of The Two Doctors, the magazine dedicated to the universe's favourite busy-body interviews Frazer Hines about his time in the show.

There's also a preview of the serial Timelash.

And there's a look back at the 1960s story Enemy of the World which was, in 1985, believed to be forever lost.

A simple but effective cover heralds the arrival of this mag's third issue.

And, in it, Slaymaster delivers the defeated Captain Britain to Vixen. But, hooray, the good Captain manages to escape!

But it does raise the question of did Captain Britain in this era ever actually manage to win a fight?

Next, we find John Tomlinson and Jeff Anderson's Paragon of Painthorpe Street: Episode 3.

That's followed by Night-Raven's encounter with Gang Rule.

And that's followed by Dalek killer Abslom Daak in Deathwish.

While the Freefall Warriors complete the issue by starring in a tale called Recruitment.

Inside this barbaric publication, we encounter Part 2 of Marvel's take on Conan the Destroyer in which our hero escorts Jehnna to retrieve the horn of Dagoth. An act which leads to all kinds of bother for all concerned.

Then, there's the 3-page text article The Art of a Warrior, brought to to us by Pete Scott, featuring images by Frank Frazetta, John Buscema and Barry Smith.

Next, we discover the latest instalment of Magik in which Belasco trains Illyana in magic.

Marvel Showcase brings us a five-page Simon Jacob short called There's a Demon in Wardour St.

The ever-busy Night-Raven's up against The Visitor.

And King Conan finds himself confronting The Black Sphinx of Nebthu, thanks to the talents of Thomas and Buscema.

March 29th, 1975 - 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. 

***

Let us see just what comic book majesty Marvel UK has in store for us this week.

I never had this issue and, yet, somehow, I know what happens in it.

Which is that Peter Parker catches a cold and, suitably delirious, turns up at Gwen's birthday party, declaring himself to be Spider-Man!

My main memory of this, from reading it in the Essential Spider-Man books, is that, even though it was produced by the familiar team of Mooney and Romita, it looks drastically different to other stories produced by Mooney and Romita.

Elsewhere, Tony Stark's back in America but there's a warrant out for his arrest.

And to make matters worse, in his guise as Iron Man, he bumps into Atlantis' Warlord Krang who's fulfilled his obligatory function of kidnapping Lady Dorma.

And that can only lead to Shellhead having an encounter with the Sub-Mariner.

And that can only lead to a fight with the Sub-Mariner because any encounter with the Sub-Mariner instantly turns into a fight with the Sub-Mariner.

Thor's problems with the Destroyer are over, thanks to Karnilla releasing Sif's spirit from it.

But that only leads to our hero having to confront Ulik in Karnilla's kingdom. I tell you what, there's never a quiet moment when you're a god of thunder.

Is that a Bill Everett cover I espy?

And one that reveals nothing at all of what transpires within this epic tome?

It certainly is. In fact, within these pages, the Hulk concludes his meeting with the Inheritor who ultimately reverts to the cockroach he always was.

Daredevil's still in Canada and still battling the deadly Beetle. 

Given those two tales, it would be appropriate if the Fantastic Four are also up against an insect-themed foe.

But they're not.

In fact, their Baxter Building HQ continues to be invaded by the Sandman, and Reed manages to get himself sucked into the Negative Zone where he faces annihilation at the hands of a nearby planet.

It does have to be said that Reed does have a remarkable knack for being sucked into the Negative Zone and facing annihilation at the hands of a nearby planet. Just how many times has that happened to him, over the years?

Zut alors! It's the fight that had to happen! Fists vs feet! American vs Frenchman! Good guy vs bad!

Let's be honest, if Danny can't beat Batroc, he doesn't deserve to have his own strip.

Elsewhere, I think the Avengers are still battling the Scarlet Centurion and their corrupted earlier selves, in an attempt to save their world from their own tyranny.

And I do believe Dr Strange is in Times Square, having to fight all manner of menaces unleashed upon it by Nightmare who's somehow managed to take Eternity prisoner.

But this is it!

This is what we all came here for!

Marvel UK's first-ever creation makes his debut, as the totally original Apeslayer is born.

It takes a certain kind of nerve to get round a shortage of simian-based material by pretending Killraven stories are Planet of the Apes adventures but blow me down if the imprint hasn't only gone and done it!

Within this gripper, thanks to the pencils of Neal Adams and A N Onymous, Apeslayer goes in search of a man called the Keeper who raised him as a gladiator on behalf of his ape masters. And we get a potted history, from Howard Chaykin, of just how the apes and their tripods managed to gain mastery over mankind.

Following that, we find a report from the set of Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Sadly, that film lacks tripods and is, thus, not highly regarded.

Then there's Gil Kane's adaptation of He That Hath Wings which is about a youth what hath wings. 

Also, there's the Sid Check drawn Enter: The Machine Age in which descendants of survivors of a nuclear war are killed by their own machines who rise up, from underground bunkers, to take over the world.

Dracula's still being a pain in the neck and I do believe he's out to deliver as much suffering as he can upon the biker gang and man in an iron lung who caused him annoyance last issue.

Meanwhile, I suspect Jack Russell's still a captive in a travelling freak show.

And Frankenstein's Monster's a captive of a block of ice, having fallen into frozen waters at the end of his last adventure.

But he's done a Captain America and been in that block for decades - meaning it's no longer the 19th Century but the 20th!

What kind of madman wouldn't want this issue? It's a straightforward rule of drama that you can never go wrong with giant spiders.

Not only that but I believe it heralds the presence of Roy and Barry's take on Robert E Howard's Tower of the Elephant in which Conan scales the outside of building and, therewithin, encounters a mysterious prisoner from outer space!

Following that, we encounter a Kull thriller which bears the title Wisdom from the Grave.

And I do have to say I'm generally a defender of the use of speech balloons on front covers but even I can't claim it was a good idea to have them on this one.

I'm going to assume this issue features the second part of the Surfer's battle with the Badoon.

To some degree, I can't help feeling the Badoon are to Marvel space aliens what Batroc is to Marvel martial artists.

Regardless, after that, the X-Men must do battle with the Vanisher who's turned up at the White House for reasons I struggle to recall.

Speak Your Brain! Part 99.

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

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

As the world's most revered internet feature approaches its 100th edition, an awestruck humanity can only stand back and gaze in wonder at just what it will throw up next.

Personally, I can't say what it'll throw up next.

Because I won't be the one throwing it up.

You will.

And so will everybody else who occupies the worldwide web the world knows only as The World Wide Web.

But just what subject matter do you wish to become entangled in your World Wide Webbing?

As history has taught us, there's only one way to find out.

And that's for you to suggest a topic for debate in the comments section below.

2000 AD - February 1987.

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

***

Judging from my in-depth research, I'm not sure there was much reason to enter a cinema in February 1987.

As far as I can see, the only films I've ever even heard of which came out that month were Black Widow, 84 Charing Cross Road, Mannequin and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3. To be honest, the lure of none of them would be sufficient to get me to hand over my money for a ticket.

But what of music? Could it impress me more than that, as February progressed?

Well, let's see. The month ushered itself in with George Michael and Aretha Franklin's I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) lording it over the UK singles chart before being dethroned by Ben E King's Stand by Me.

Oddly, that latter single achieved its top spot by fending off a strong challenge from Percy Sledge's almost as elderly When a Man Loves a Woman.

Clearly, nostalgia was very much in vogue at the time.

But no such retrospection held sway on the British album chart. The month entered with Paul Simon's Graceland in top spot before that gave way to Phantom of the Opera performed by a group of people credited only as, "The Original Cast."

The original cast of what?

It didn't say.

I can only assume it was the original cast of The Phantom of the Opera.

Otherwise it would have been a major disappointment.

And what of the galaxy's greatest comic?

To the surprise of perhaps no one, it was providing us with Bad Company, Judge Dredd, Sláine, Strontium Dog and Tharg's Future-Shocks.

However, Prog 508 gave us the start of a series called Ulysses Sweet which I couldn't claim to be familiar with but seems to star an interplanetary assassin of that name and was brought to us by Grant Morrison and Colin MacNeil

And Prog 510 delivered the beginnings of a strip called The Dead by Peter Milligan and venerable 2000 AD warhorse Massimo Belardinelli.

March 22nd, 1975 - 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. 

***

Brahms, Mozart and Beethoven could only eat their hearts out with envy on the 22nd of March, 1975.

That's because it was a night which saw Ding-a-dong by Teach-In win the 20th Eurovision Song Contest, for the Netherlands. Amazingly, none of the above composers ever won the competition. They clearly just didn't have the musical chops for it.

And the week saw more history being made in the world of music, as the Bay City Rollers hit the tippermost of the toppermost of the poppermost of the UK singles chart, thanks to Bye Bye Baby.

Thus was a legend born.

One that would overshadow even the works of Schubert.

Speaking of legends, it was also a week which saw Tom Jones' 20 Greatest Hits claim the pinnacle of the British album chart.

The Black Widow's still tangling with Spider-Man who's still under the weather and, therefore, struggling to teach her the lesson he'd normally be able to teach her.

Elsewhere, Iron Man defeats the Mandarin's giant android Ultimo - with a fair amount of help from a volcano.

However, no sooner does our hero return to the States than he discovers there's a warrant out for his arrest!

And, lastly, Thor's still battling the Destroyer, still unaware it's being powered by Sif's life force and even less aware that, while all that's going on, Ulik and his Troll colleagues are invading Karnilla's castle!

It's the cover that infamously redraws the Vision as Thor because UK readers are, as yet, unfamiliar with the android.

And that can only mean one thing. The concluding part of the tale in which the Avengers and Dr Strange must combine to prevent Ymir and Surtur from destroying our planet.

Except it isn't. That story ended last week.

Instead, we get the second part of the gang's battle with the Scarlet Centurion while, in his own strip, Dr Strange goes in search of Eternity but finds only Times Square and Tom Wolfe.

Still, at least the cover's right about us getting martial arts action from the Sons of the Tiger.

No.

Wait.

It's not.

Instead, we get martial arts action from Iron Fist who gets the honour of being kicked in the face by Batroc Ze Leapair, making him the first Marvel hero to be kicked in the face by Batroc within the pages of a Marvel UK mag.

 
From all this, I get the feeling there's been a major cock-up in the front-cover-planning department.

It's an event to remember, as Jim Steranko's artwork for the cover of Hulk Annual #1 makes its Marvel UK debut.

And does so with the original head on it, rather than the one redrawn by Marie Severin for the front of that US mag.

But what's this? The lower lettering's been altered to tell us it's the Inheritor who's in this issue and not the Inhumans?

Can even the world's mightiest mortal hope to thwart that cockamamie cockroach?

And speaking of insects, Daredevil finds himself up against Spider-Man's old foe the Beetle when he heads north to Canada.

Elsewhere, there's bedlam in the Baxter Building when the Sandman, armed with a new costume and a bunch of chemicals, breaks into the Fantastic Four's HQ, looking to steal some of their inventions and sell them.

My knowledge of this issue is spectacularly fuzzy but I do believe Drac's confronted by a man in an iron lung - and the power of voodoo.

Not to mention men on motorbikes.

The Werewolf by Night is on display in a travelling show.

And I do believe Frankenstein's Monster falls off a cliff and inadvertently waves goodbye to the 19th Century.

But not to life.

I never had this issue but I have read this tale reprinted in an issue of Guardians of the Galaxy. I can only assume that, on that occasion, the dreaded deadline doom must have stricken them.

As for what happens within, I do believe the Badoon come to Earth, with an eye on conquest but decide there'll be more fun to be had in hunting the Silver Surfer.

I suspect it won't be as much fun for them as they'd expected.

And speaking of hunting for people; fresh from their victory over Magneto, the X-Men must try to keep track of a brand new foe.

The one that humanity - and he himself - calls the Vanisher!

My memories of this one are hugely vague but it seems clear that the brawling barbarian encounters the menace of the Grim Grey God.

And I suspect he'll make that god a fair bit grimmer by the time he's finished with him.

I also predict he'll rescue a young woman while he's at it.

In the issue's other story, Kull has an adventure called The Shadow Kingdom.

Covers commissioned for Marvel UK books often tend to be less than stellar but I've always liked this one, thanks to its high level of melodrama. 

Inside, I do believe we're blessed with the conclusion of the morality tale in which an injured man and  gorilla must work together if they're to survive in a world which seems to want nothing but their deaths.

Following that, we find an interview with Mark Lenard, otherwise known as Urko in the Planet of the Apes TV show - and as Spock's dad in Star Trek.

And we finish with a short called Dig Me No Grave, which I believe is a bit Lovecraft about things.

Speak Your Brain! Part 98. Your favourite freebie.

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

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

Can it be?

Can it, yet again, be a Tuesday in the second half of a month?

Yes it can.

And all determined followers of this site know that can only manifest itself in one possible direction.

That's the return of the feature in which the topic of debate is left entirely to the determined followers of this site.

I am curious as ever to know just what the grand maelstrom of humanity has on its mind. Therefore, if you have a topic you wish to be discussed, remember to post it in the comments section below and we shall see just what transpires...

Atlas/Seaboard March 1975.

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

***

After last month's almost melodramatic increase in output; this month, the company settles down a bit and gives us just five books.

But what will those books be?

The Grim Ghost gets his 2nd issue and does so by foiling a high-seas robbery before hosting a house-warming party, before protecting a Police Commissioner from murderous kidnappers.

You've got to hand it to Grimmy. He might dress funny but he takes his job seriously.

There's also a 2nd issue for Ironjaw when the brutal barbarian blunders, battles and bludgeons his way out of his latest bout with danger.

But not before he's had the chance to slaughter yet more innocents and guilty, including the odd bear or two.

And we're on a hat-track of characters enjoying their 2nd-ever adventure, as Phoenix joins in the fun.

Having said that, I'm seriously struggling to recall what happens in this issue. I do suspect, however, that he's temporarily reunited with his wife before butting heads, once more, with those pesky aliens.

Not everyone, it seems, is on their 2nd issue. Take John Targitt, for instance. He's only on his first.

From what I can recall, the hard-bitten government agent is out for revenge when someone explodes his wife.

The other thing I recall is that, despite the script's Dirty Harry vibe, Howard Nostrand draws the tale in a style more suited to something published by Archie Comics.

It's time to hide behind the sofa because Weird Tales of the Macabre returns for what will prove to be its last-ever issue.

And in that issue, we encounter:

The Bog Beast.

Dr. Mercurio's Diary.

Carrion of the Gods.

The Films of Edgar Allan Poe.

Who Toys With Terror!

and

The Staff of Death.

Masterpieces all, I have no doubt.

March 15th, 1975 - 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. 

***

Change was not to be found atop the UK singles chart, this week in 1975.

And that meant good news for those who like songs to be spoken, rather than sung.

And that's because If by Telly Savalas was still ruling the roost.

Change, was, however, being visited upon that week's British LP chart, with Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti entering at Number One.

Following that thrilling summation of the mid-1970s music world, let us see just what our favourite weeklies are offering us.

They're offering us the Black Widow in a brand new costume when Madame Natasha goes full-on Emma Peel and decides to celebrate by tackling her male counterpart.

Meanwhile, in China, Iron Man's got plenty on his plate, thanks to having been abducted by the Mandarin and having to tackle the towering terror of Ultimo.

And not only that. Back in America, Senator Byrd's shut down Tony Stark's factory, having decided the billionaire's in contempt of Congress by not showing up to an official hearing.

On the streets of New York, Thor's battling a Destroyer reanimated by the spirit of Sif.

The good news is Odin's finally seen sense and restored the thunder god to full power.

The bad news is that's likely to do him a fat load of good against the Destroyer.

From that cover, I do suspect we're encountering the first part of the story in which the Avengers return to the present day, after their trip to the 1940s. Only to discover they're now in a timeline in which the original team have wiped out all other super-doers, on behalf of a mystery benefactor called the Scarlet Centurion!

And it's double trouble for them because, this week, they're also in action against Ymir and Surtur, thanks to having received an invite from Dr Strange to help him tackle the antipodal giants.

I do believe this tale redraws the Vision as Thor, in order to avoid confusing UK readers who've not yet been introduced to the amazing android.

Sadly I'm not totally sure just what Shang-Chi's up to this time round.

I'm sure, though, that it'll involve assassins.

And Fu Manchu.

And philosophising.

Blade gets his first cover appearance.

And, as we can tell, he's confronting the king of the vampires on a cruise ship.

Elsewhere in the world of monsters, Jack Russell's captured by someone called Swami Rihva and put on show in his travelling circus.

Then, Frankenstein's Monster is cheated of his revenge against the last living Frankenstein.

And, finally, this issue, George Alec Effinger and Billy Graham present a one-off thriller in which the best athletes of Westfield Heights High School are struck down by an unknown illness.

This is, of course, reprinted from the pages of 1972's Journey into Mystery #2 and I'm going to guess the mystery "illness" is none other than vampirism.

I do believe we're set to discover, within, the latest instalment of the thriller in which an injured gorilla and human must team up if they're to survive the harsh environment in which they find themselves.

That's followed by an interview with Dan Striepeke, head of 20th Century-Fox's Make-up Department, about his role in the making of the Apes movies.

And that's followed by Marvel's adaptation of Theodore Sturgeon's Killdozer in which a humble earth-mover gets ideas above its station and goes on a homicidal rampage across an obscure island.

I could be wrong but I suspect Jarella doesn't really die in this tale. Sadly, I don't think her would-be assassin is quite so fortunate as her.

Elsewhere, Daredevil's still blind and still having to thwart the threat of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

And I do believe the Fantastic Four finally win their tussle with the Cosmically-Powered Dr Doom, by tricking him into flying into the invisible barrier that prevents the Silver Surfer from leaving this planet.

As we can see, we're offered yet more of the origin of the Silver Surfer. How we shall gasp, as he saves his world from Galactus, only to become the herald of that very being.

And the X-Men must confront Magneto for the first time, thanks to him having taken over the missile base he took over last week.

Conan looking a bit ineffectual on that cover.

Thankfully, he's far more potent inside the book where he leads a group of humans in a rebellion against their ape-like masters.

Kull's also up to something but I'm not too sure what.

I do, however, know the story's called To Kill a King. So, from that, I shall assume someone's out to kill him or that he's out to kill someone else who happens to be a king.