Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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What was happening atop the twin peaks of UK record sales, this week in 1975?
I'll tell you.
The Number One spot on the British singles chart was held by the Bay City Rollers, still triumphant, thanks to their motivational ballad Give a Little Love.
While, on the accompanying album rankings, the Carpenters reclaimed the crown from Wings, thanks to their LP Horizon.
Blow me down if Marvel UK hasn't gone full-on British.
It's true. Spider-Man's finally seen sense and ditched the skyscrapers of New York for the charms of Merrie Olde Londone.
But it's not that charming, as he must thwart a gang of would-be terrorists before he can even think of seeing Gwen Stacy, the woman he came here to visit.
Half a world away from all that, Iron Man's encountering the Secret in the Castle of Terror! which I believe means he's still having his first run-in with Half-Face.
And Thor's on his way to Rigel to help the Colonisers avoid being eaten by Galactus.
As for that cover, I have noticed that, on the original US version of it, the Houses of Parliament were on display in the background, while, on this UK reprint, they've mysteriously disappeared.
I suspect this may be because someone feared UK readers would know the Houses of Parliament are not next to Tower Bridge.
But who can really know what leads to editorial decisions at the venture?
The Swordsman's back - and still, no doubt, using the flat of his blade!
But before we get to read the tale, we deal with a man who would never use the flat of his blade; Conan.
And I do believe this issue kicks off with the sequence in which the battling barbarian's bezzie brother in brawling - Fafnir - loses his arm.
Following that, the Swordsman sets out to prove he's Clint Barton's superior - even though Clint is now a giant as well as a master bowman.
Dr Strange, meanwhile, has been captured by the followers of Sligguth and even manages to get into a punch-up with the fiend itself, before going for a quick explore around the tunnels beneath the local town.
I do believe this is the one in which Dracula and Rachel van Helsing must work together to survive the Alps, after causing a helicopter crash.
Also struck by aviation misery, are Jack Russell and Topaz who, I think, are stuck at an airport in France, with Jack due to become a werewolf at any moment!
And, like Dracula and Rachel, Frankenstein's Monster and the Berserker robot are getting to know each other in the wilderness.
This time, by having a stroll together in the forest while discussing the nature of life, the universe, and everything.
I don't like to be critical, but how on earth are Brent and Nova not noticing those apes? They're not even trying to hide.
Regardless, at a nearby fountain, Brent is subject to a perplexing mind-control that makes him want to drown Nova. Then, he encounters a man worshipping an atomic bomb. It seems that strange things are afoot.
Speaking of strange things - although, this time, without feet - we find homicidal daffodils when we greet the opening chapters of Marvel's version of Day of the Triffids, as brought to us by Gerry Conway, John Wyndham and Ross Andru. Which is odd, as I always, for some reason, remember it as having been drawn by Rico Rival.
The alert reader will have noticed that Adam Warlock and this comic would appear to have now parted company.
The Defenders make their dynamic debut - with the help of a Neal Adams cover!
And it all happens because the Hulk, Sub-Mariner and Dr Strange must stop someone called Yandroth from destroying the Earth, with his deadly Omegatron!
Then, weirdness is afoot in the life of Daredevil, as he gets exposed to radiation and decides it'd be a blast to punch-in the head of Captain America at a charity boxing match.
Following that, we find our first-ever meeting with Psycho-Man in an adventure reprinted from Fantastic Four Annual #5. I remember reading part of this epic, on a coach, on the way to Blackpool and feeling it didn't seem to be up to the strip's usual standards.
Could it be? Could the Fantastic Four's golden age under Stan and Jack be coming to an end?
Poor old Silver Surfer. He spends all this time pining for Shalla-Bal and, then, when she finally grows some gumption and visits Earth, she finds him in the arms of another woman!
Meanwhile, the X-Men continue their run of encountering foes who can't be physically hurt. First, it was the Blob. Then, it was the Juggernaut. And, now, it's Unus the Untouchable!
After being attacked by a mutant-hating crowd, the Beast quits the X-Men and becomes a wrestler.
But, that leads to a meeting with a mutant who can't be touched.
And he's looking to join the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants!
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23 comments:
No doubt Spider-Man encounters a London full of cobbled streets and gas lamps where chirpy cockneys say "Cor blimey guvnor - fancy a jellied eel?" while doin' the Lambeth Walk.
Liz Truss was born on July 26th 1975 so the 50-day Prime-Minister reaches 50 years this weekend and when she's 90 she'll still be claiming the dastardly establishment/civil service/deep state brought her down.
COLIN - per my Dandy’s Beano’s etc. they were saying “cor blimey guv” in the mid—1970s which is when the Spidey is being published in the UK, they granted it appeared around five years earlier in the United States.
MCSCOTTY! how was the bbq last weekend?
"Cor blimey!" = God blind me!
Phillip
Phillip:
Thanks for that translation — I had no idea that’s what ‘Cor’ and ‘blimey’ mean. So, I’m guessing ‘Gor’ is also slurry slang for ‘God’, as in Barry Smith’s Gorblimey Press?
b.t.
Yes - it's the same. Also, "Z'ounds!" ( an exclamation in medieval films ) = God's wounds! Thor & Hercules said it too, sometimes, I think! "Goodbye" is God be with you. But enough of this!
Phillip
'Cor blimey guv' isn't so much English speak as working class London (Barry Smith being from Forest Gate). Posh English people talk differently -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQWPR9TM0Gk
Northerners are of course different again -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY4tD2Hbg_A
-sean
She’ll be claiming those things but also still claiming her massive salary provided by same ‘deep’ state. Notice she hasn’t shunned that aspect of ‘the blob’.
(I recently read ‘Truss at No.10’ so I’m particularly ill-disposed to her right now)
Steve - aren’t we in the Neil Tennant Marvel years now? He would be the culprit who actually know his London geography.
Matthew, I don't know exactly when Tennant took over but I do know it was sometime around this period.
With the passing of Hulk HOGAN (Ozzy who?) Charlie started reminiscing about watching the first wrestlemania match that took place 40 years and four months ago in Madison Square Garden.
Hulk, Hogan, Mr. T, and Cyndi LAUPER wrestled against Paul Orndorf and rowdy Roddy Piper.
My housemates and I watched it live, I think on MTV. It was classic watching Paul Orndorf dropkick Cyndi Lauper about 10 feet (seemingly ] across the ring lol.
I have to say, that thepreceding year’s “brawl to end at all” and “the war to settle the score” where nowhere near as satisfying as this match! It’s worth a look!
UK gents – do you have similar wrestling entertainment in your land or is it mostly in American phenomena?
UK gents! Charlie is retiring in 15 months. However, he just heard that king Charles is offering a job paying 32,000 pounds a year to be in charge of something like 39 acres of gardens at the palace or one of his palace‘s. Would that be a worthwhile career change? I’m kind of tired of sitting at a desk indoors and might appreciate sitting on a riding lawnmower outdoors I’m thinking?
Charlie - Traditionally, UK wrestling was broadcast at 4pm, every Saturday, with commentating by Kent Walton. However, that no longer happens! The UK's most famous wrestler is the late 'Big Daddy'.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Daddy_(wrestler)
Phillip
Phillip, Giant Haystacks was also very famous! According to Wikipedia he also appeared in the USA and Canada under the name Loch Ness Monster (despite not being Scottish).
Wrestling (both the British and American versions) was the subject of 'Ashley Blaker's Hyperfixations' on Radio 4 just last week (other subjects in the series include tattoos and Orthodox Judaism).
Colin - I hadn't forgotten Mr.Haystacks, but he's remembered as a "villain"
( heel ), so comes second! That Hyperfixations sounds worth adding to my night-time listening list! Thanks for the tip.
Phillip
Yes, 1975 was the year when Neil Tennant became the production editor at Marvel UK so he could have been responsible for removing the Houses of Parliament from the Spider-Man cover (but at least the original cover didn't show STONEHENGE next to Tower Bridge!!)
Charlie, only a couple of days ago a British right-wing YouTuber was claiming that King Charles pays his gardeners very poorly so I'm interested to hear that KC is offering £32,000 for a gardener and yes, you should go for it :D
(The right-wing YouTubers hate Charles because he's woke and he might even have secretly converted to Islam).
Matthew, 'Truss At No.10' sounds like a short book!
50 years ago this week on the Hot 100:
After just one week at #1, McCartney and Wings’ “Listen to What the Man Said” fell to #5, replaced at the top spot by Van McCoy’s “The Hustle”. 10cc’s “I’m Not in Love” moved up to #2.
b.t.
When it comes to British wrestlers of our childhood, who could forget Mick McManus, Jackie Pallo, Cry Baby Jim Brakes, Pat Roach and, of course, Kendo Nagasaki, the authentic Japanese Samurai from Shropshire?
Jimmy Brakes was strange. His most frequent opponent was Johnny Saint, I seem to remember ( against whom Brakes usually lost ). If not an out-and-out "villain", Brakes was sneaky/underhanded. Nevertheless, he had a signature move named after him, the "Jimmy Brakes special" !
Phillip
I read 'Johnson At No.10' and the author said he intended to write about Truss as a short preface to his book about Sunak. But I guess there was a market for sticking the knife in with Truss. It was slightly padded.
But she's an idiot though. That comes through clearly.
My favourite UK wrestling "baddy" was the mad Welshman, Adrian Street who adopted a "glam rock/ effeminate" style . I recall he had a fake match with Jimmy Saville, who he dislikes ( he had heard rumours) and he didn't hold back during the " fight " hurting Saville pretty badly.
Charlie: The BBQ went well thank you lots of corn and chicken.
Being from Chicago, my two favorite wrestlers were the cousins “bruiser and the crusher,” naturally. Favorite villains were probably the “blackjacks Lanza and Mulligan.”
And there was nothing like watching a good tag team cage match on Sunday mornings, right before we went to church, lol.
We could also watch “Mexican “wrestling in black-and-white on Saturday afternoons for one to two hours on the Spanish channel. It was similar to the over the top United States wrestling.
Worth mentioning is that the bombastic behavior of Muhammad Ali was learned from the wrestler “gorgeous George. “. Float like a butterfly sting, like a bee, the great smell of brute and the punch of Ali!
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