Speak Your Brain! Part 111.

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

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

What can it be?

That thing that's rapidly approaching us, like a thing with a mission?

Why, it can only be our old friend the last day of the month.

And that means there's just time to squeeze in another visit from the feature that just doesn't know when to stop visiting and wouldn't stop visiting even if it did know how to stop visiting.

It can only be the one in which you The Reader get decide just what the topic of debate shall be.

It may be something that's only just occurred to you or something you've been tortured by for many decades but, whatever it is, you can register it for discussion in the comments section below.

September 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. 

***

I bet James Cameron was getting excited, this month in 1985. It was, as I'm sure you know, the month in which a joint French-American expedition located the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic, followed - just days later - by the shooting of the first photos and moving pictures of the boat taken since its sinking, 73 years earlier.

The UK, meanwhile was being stricken by far worse news, as September witnessed a BSE outbreak following the first confirmed case of the disease in British cattle.

Also, riots broke out in Handsworth and Brixton.

But Mexico too was stricken by ill-fortune, its capital rocked by an earthquake that registered 8.0 on the Richter Scale and killed 5,000-45,000 people, injuring another 30,000 more.

Elsewhere, 60-year-old Welsh fashion designer Laura Ashley was injured in a fall at her daughter's home and died from her injuries, ten days later.

And 62-year-old Scotland national football manager Jock Stein collapsed and died from a heart attack, at the end of his team's 1–1 draw with Wales in Cardiff. A draw which had secured his country's place in a World Cup qualification play-off.

But there was at least some good news to be had because the month also saw the opening of the UK's first three Toys R Us stores, and the first Super Mario Bros was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

When it came to music, September arrived with David Bowie and Mick Jagger's Live Aid propelled Dancing in the Street atop the UK singles chart before that had to make way for the equally Live Aid propelled Midge Ure with If I Was.

Meanwhile, on the accompanying album chart, the period began with Now That's What I Call Music 5 reigning supreme before it was pushed aside by Madonna's Like a Virgin which was then smashed ruthlessly in the face by the arrival of Kate Bush's Hounds of Love.

But what's this? Starburst gives us a cover reminiscent - to those of a certain vintage - of the frontages which once adorned the the late and lamented TV21 comic.

No signs of any Gerry and Sylvia Anderson inside, however. Instead, our main event is an interview with Roger Moore who talks about his latest cinematic smash A View to a Kill.

We also receive an interview with director Tobe Hooper, as regards his upcoming films Lifeforce and Invaders from Mars.

And, after that, Colin Wilson talks about his novel The Space Vampires, upon which Lifeforce is based.

But there's also an analysis of the failure of the V television series to set the ratings alight.

And we also discover a preview of the Cambridge Animation Festival.

It's a very pleasing cover but is the inside of the book as pleasing as its outside?

Well, as far as I can determine, it seems Giggles has led the offensive by manipulating light energy patterns and that the warp children are being offered refuge at Braddock Manor.

Then we encounter the four-page Thicker Than Water by John Tomlinson and Jeff Anderson.

Next, Night-Raven appears in The Pay-Off.

Following that, Abslom Daak headlines a tale called Instant Harma.

And we conclude the issue when the Space Thieves experience a yarn enigmatically labelled PARTS vs. Everybody.

The front cover may be dominated by Cybermen but our big news is an interview with the show's producer John Nathan-Turner and its script editor Eric Saward. The two men most responsible for the ever-upward trajectory of the show in the mid-1980s.

As if that wasn't enough of a thrill for us, we're also treated to a look at the role comedy's played in the show, and a look at Doctor Who on the radio. Assuming, that is, that you can look at things on the radio.

We also find a selection of readers' drawings, news of the the show's former actors and a look back at the magnificently insane serial Kinda.

September 27th, 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. 

***

Everest. It's not just a brand of double-glazing. It's also a mountain.

And, this week in 1975, it was a newsworthy one because it was a week which saw Dougal Haston and Doug Scott become the first Brits to climb it.

Almost as historical was the opening of the National Railway Museum in York, making it England's first national museum outside London.

This claim does lead me to want to discover just when the National Pencil Museum opened in Keswick, Cumbria.

I have now checked, and the Internet informs me it opened in 1981.

I do believe this is the launch of the six-armed saga that's long divided fandom.

Personally, I loved Spidey having six-arms and think he should have kept them.

As for Tony Stark's opinion on the matter, I cannot say and, right now, he's probably too busy to express a preference, as he's still lumbered with Whiplash on the Maggia's gambling ship which may now be under attack by the forces of AIM and under imminent danger of submersion.

And Thor is about to have his first encounter with Him whom has taken a shining to Sif. A decision that's in danger of getting a hammer wrapped around Him's head.

We encounter a pivotal moment in the life of Conan the Barbarian, as John Buscema takes over from Barry Smith on the pencilling chores, in order to unleash a thriller called The Mirrors of Kharam Akkad!

The Avengers, on the other hand, find themselves dispersed to the four corners of the world, in a bid to prevent the Grandmaster's Squadron Sinister from destroying such landmarks as the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben, the Taj Mahal and the Egyptian pyramids!

And Dr Strange finds himself up against the horror of Dagoth thanks to the words of Gardner F. Fox and the pictures of Craig Russell.

While it's nice to be treated to so much concentrated Lovecraftian goodness, it is hard to avoid the feeling that this Shuma-Gorath-related serial is starting to grow a little repetitive.

It sometimes seems like life is one long, non-stop fight, for the Hulk who arrives back from Counter-Earth - only for the Abomination to finally recover from his plunge from space - during the Klaatu storyline - and be instantly recruited for Thunderbolt Ross' latest doomed scheme to tackle the Hulkster.

Daredevil concludes his encounter with Willie Lincoln, by helping the blind ex-soldier to thwart the evil intentions of Biggie Benson and his henchman Whitey Barton.

This involves both a court case and a punch-up. Whether Whitey is any relation to Clint and Barney Barton, I cannot say.

The Thing, meanwhile, has finally overcome his desire to be evil.

But it will it be in time to save Sue from an attack by one of the Mad Thinker's androids?

I assume this is a reprint of the Drac adventure that owes more than a small debt to The Legend of Hell House, with added Aleister Crowleyness thrown in for good measure, which sees he and a young woman having to survive a night in a domicile that wants them dead.

Elsewhere, the Living Mummy concludes his fight with the Living Pharaoh. Strangely, he seems to have less difficulty against the Kemetic committer of criminal misdeeds than the X-Men did.

Werewolf by Night gives us the origin of Tigra, revealing her to have once been the super-heroine the world would have known as the Cat had she been around for long enough for the world to have known of her.

And we wrap up the issue with a short tale called The Monster in the Mist! followed by the single-page yarn Peter Snubb: Werewolf!

It seems we're still aboard that Tom Sutton pencilled apes-on-a-ship tale and about to meet a man called Alaric who just can't wait to lead the local humans into conflict with their ape masters.

Elsewhere, fresh from his encounter with Counter-Earth's heroic version of Dr Doom, Adam Warlock now has a meeting with its incarnation of Reed Richards.

Only to discover he's a monstrous villain called the Brute!

And Captain Marvel's still battling the Super-Skrull!

This cover does look weirdly like it was coloured in with a felt-tip pen. I suspect, though, that that was not the case. Even Marvel UK's ofttimes idiosyncratic approach to reprinting probably didn't extend that far.

Rather more importantly, I have a suspicion this may be the Surfer's last appearance in this book.

Also in danger of making their last appearance are the X-Men. Thanks to their clash with the Sentinels, Hank and Bobby are hospitalised, while the others find themselves attacked by a mysterious stranger at their mansion.

It's only when the Angel's parents drop in for a visit that we discover the mysterious assailant is none other than that ferrous-fondling felon Magneto!

Speak Your Brain! Part 110. Films you've been watching, of late.

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

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

It's Tuesday. The only day of the week where I'm not sure who it's named after.

More importantly, it's the day of the week when -  if it's the second half of the month - we collide once more with the feature that could fill a month of Sundays and still not be exhausted.

That's right. It's the one in which you, and you alone, get to decide just what the topic of debate shall. be.

That topic may be almost anything under the sun or even over the moon. Therefore, hesitate ye not and make sure to register that topic below, before it's too late.

2000 AD - August 1987.

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

***

I think every single one of us was overwhelmed with excitement in August 1987.

How could we not be? It was the month in which Apple introduced Hypercard which, as we all know, was a precursor to the World Wide Web, meaning we were drawing ever-closer to the creation of Steve Does Comics!

Clearly not feeling the excitement was Rudolf Hess who was found dead in his Spandau Prison cell, at the age of 93. He was believed to have committed suicide by hanging and had been the last remaining prisoner there.

When it came to movies, more cinematic treats were released than a human could shake a stick at or that a stick could shake a human at. It was during that period that we first cast our eyes upon Stakeout, The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland, Who's That Girl?, The Monster Squad, No Way Out, Dirty Dancing, The Garbage Pail Kids, The Fourth Protocol, Hamburger Hill and House II: The Second Story.

But, of course, the big news for all lovers of fine cinema was that it was a month which saw the unleashing of the big-screen version of Masters of the Universe, starring Dolph Lundgren as the man who has the power!

When it came to music, August entered our lives with Los Lobos at Number One on the UK singles chart, thanks to their cover of La Bamba. That was then dislodged by Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett's I Just Can't Stop Loving You which then had to subside before the absolute behemoth that was Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up.

Over on the associated album chart, the month began with Various Artists' Hits 6 on top before that had to make way for Def Leppard's Hysteria which was then vanquished by the return of Hits 6 to the top of the rankings.

As for 2000 AD, historic events were afoot  there too because, as far as I can make out, Prog 537 was officially released under the aegis of Fleetway Publications, after years of the title being credited to IPC, and I'm sure that will have made a huge difference to the contents. For instance, we now got Strontium Dog, D. R. & Quinch's Agony Page, Tales from Mega-City One, Judge Dredd, The Mean Team, Tharg's Future-Shocks and Nemesis.

Prog 535 saw the launch of Zenith, in an episode called Prologue: Ground Zero, as can be seen on the cover.

And Prog 537 saw the birth of a series called Universal Soldier, thanks to Alan McKenzie and Will Simpson.

September 20th, 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. 

***

Is there anything good that can be said about bad hotels?

Yes, there is. If not for them, we'd never have had John Cleese and Connie Booth's sitcom Fawlty Towers. And then where would we have been?

We'd have been watching a channel other than BBC Two.

But, as it was, we were watching BBC Two because it was this week in 1975 that saw the channel broadcast the first-ever episode of that show. 

This week's cover is not very useful to me, as regards revealing what occurs within this particular publication but I do believe Spidey's still inhabiting the tale in which he stops a prison riot and then talks about prison conditions, on a chat show.

And I think Iron Man's still on that Maggia gambling ship and still trying to survive his first encounter with Whiplash.

But, hooray! It looks like Thor finally defeats Pluto and his mutates on a far-flung future Earth!

Which means he can now get on with meeting Him.

Unless I miss my guess, this issue sees the conclusion of The Song of Red Sonja in which Conan and the Sonj get to fight a giant snake that used to be a diadem, before the Titian-tressed tormentor of fighting men goes her own way.

Following that, the Avengers are set up for the fight of their lives when taken to a distant tomorrow in which Kang has made a bet with the Grandmaster. A bet that requires the team must battle the Squadron Sinister if the Earth is to survive.

Dr Strange, on the other hand, is in Cornwall, looking for the undersea city of Kalumesh and has to confront the terror of Dagoth in a tale that I suspect has drawn as much inspiration from the Vincent Price movie City Under the Sea as it has from The Shadow Over Innsmouth.

The Hulk gets to visit Counter-Earth and encounters an alternate version of Bruce Banner who has a wife and kids.

But Hulkie, perhaps, has more to worry about on the original Earth where, in our hero's absence, Betty Ross is marrying Glenn Talbot!

Following that, the man without fear visits Vietnam, in a bid to entertain the troops, and meets a man called Willie Lincoln whose war wounds promptly send him blind.

That man then has to return to America where he falls foul of gangland bounder Biggie Benson who wants him dead.

And the Fantastic Four are still trying to put a stop to the Thing's latest rampage!

What's this? Drac shows up in London and somehow manages to gain diplomatic immunity?

Well, he might do but I doubt he's got immunity from the attacks of his own daughter Lilith who I think may be making her first appearance in this mag.

And, speaking of early appearances, we get one from Tigra, as she and the Werewolf by Night must take on the hordes of Hydra for reasons I'm not sure about.

And I do believe the Living Mummy's been sent to Egypt, by evil Elementals, to retrieve an ancient artefact that will, doubtless, make them all-powerful.

But it's an act that may bring the Living Mummy into conflict with none other than the Living Pharaoh!

Forget snakes on planes, Doug Moench and Tom Sutton are giving us apes on ships!

This week, while the orangutan elite are feasting to celebrate an impending peace deal with the gorillas, an assassin kills an orangutan. I can't help feeling this is all going to lead to plenty of sea-going melodrama.

And Sutton inks Gil Kane for this week's dose of Adam Warlock, as Him and Dr Doom find themselves in an adventure called Death Sting!

Captain Marvel, meanwhile, is still on Earth and battling the Super-Skrull.

Galactus is looking somewhat worried there. Just what can the Surfer be up to that could cause he and Mephisto such consternation?

He could be up to deciding to ask the Fantastic Four for their help in getting him off this planet.

And, because everyone in the Marvel universe has a short fuse, that, inevitably, leads to a scrap with the Human Torch.

Speaking of having a scrap, the X-Men continue to battle the Sentinels but are saved by the intervention of Professor X and the self-sacrifice of Dr Trask!

Speak Your Brain! Part 109. Nostalgia! Is it what it used to be?

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

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

Can you hear it?

That faint rustle in the hedgerow?

The delicate pitter-patter of tiny little feet that are not quite human and yet so much more than human?

It can only mean one thing. The return of the feature that has all but taken on a life of its own.

But that life is nothing without you because it's a feature in which only you can decide just what is to be discussed.

Therefore, feel free to post a topic of your choice and we shall discover down which long and winding pathway it takes us.

The Marvel Lucky Bag - September 1985.

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

***

Cinema. What a thing it is.

Granted, it wasn't too much of a thing in September 1985. After all, there weren't too many high-profile movies released that month but it did, at least, see the unveiling of such experiences as After Hours, Death of a Salesman, Plenty, Agnes of God and Invasion U.S.A.

Of those, After Hours is the only one I've ever seen, and that was so long ago that I have almost no recollection of it and tend to get it mixed up, in my mind, with Desperately Seeking Susan.

Meanwhile...

...Marvel Fanfare's back to thrill, delight and enchant us.

And, this month, its thrilling, delighting and enchanting us with a tale of something or other.

Whatever that something or other is, it clearly involves Dr Octopus, the Grey Gargoyle, Electro and the Sandman.

And, judging by that cover, I'm going to guess they're out to gang up on poor old Iron Man.

I'm also going to guess it's the Rhodey version of Iron Man they're ganging up on and not the Tony Stark one.

But what's this? We also receive seven pages of pin-ups of our favourite Marvel heroes?

How many times has the Squadron Supreme guest-starred in the comics of others?

But, now, at last, it has its very own vehicle. One in which the team decides it needs to seize control of the Government if it's to resolve all of humanity's problems. Which does, I must confess, seem like a Squadron Supreme kind of thing to do.

However, there's always one dissenter in any group and so strongly does Nighthawk disagree with the idea, that he goes right ahead and quits.

After just six, monthly, issues, Web of Spider-Man receives its first annual and plants our hero in a 37-page epic labelled Give Me a Hand, Future Max!

What all that involves, I've no idea but, apparently, this tale introduces us all to someone called Future Max. A feat for which I'm sure we're all grateful.

And, now, refusing to let Conan and Kull steal the limelight any longer, Solomon Kane gets his very own comic!

And it's another one about which I'm woefully ignorant. But I do know the story's called Red Shadows and is adapted from the story of the same name by Robert E Howard.

Secret Wars II hits its third issue - and does so with a dramatic cover which heralds a drama in which the Beyonder follows in the footsteps of the Fantastic Four's Infant Terrible and falls under the influence of a mob boss.

However, he goes far further with it than that juvenile alien did - by taking over the Kingpin's operations, the United States and then the whole world!

Anyway, he quickly gets bored with that and decides to have a chat with Daredevil instead.

Bret Blevins produces a cover you have to love, for an issue that presents us with such things as a French explorer getting lost in Africa, peasant resistance to Genghis Khan, a gypsy encountering Napoleonic forces, and barnstorming in the early days of aviation. On top of that, there's a multitude of pin-ups.

I've no knowledge of the contents of this one, other than to be able to reveal it's the brainchild of Alan Zelenetz and Chris Warner and is called A Madness of Dreams!

A brand-new hero enters our lives, as the perma-lucky Longshot leaps through a portal and arrives on Earth, with no memory of who he is or whence he originated.

Fortunately, he's befriended by the dog-like creature called Magog and a human survivalist called Eliot. 

If that cover's to be believed; this issue, the Defenders gain the assistance of Sgt Fury and his Howlin' Commandos.

However, I'm not sure that cover is to be believed and that it's not, instead, an illusion they find themselves encountering.

September 13th, 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. 

***

Do you know where I wish I was?

I wish I was here.

Which is good news  - and an incredible coincidence - because I am here.

And you know who else wishes I was here?

Pink Floyd. 

I know that because they said so, on September 12th, 1975, when they released their new LP of a similar name which was, I'm sure, destined to sell a billion-and-onety copies.

And that sounds like a good cue for me to talk about the charts.

And more specifically, the UK singles chart.

In fact, it was a week of little change because not only was Rod Stewart's Sailing still top of the main mast on that Hit Parade, he was also king of the waves on the accompanying album rankings, thanks to his latest vibrant vinyl Atlantic Crossing.

Sailing is, of course, a beautiful song beautifully sung but there other tracks I also approved of on that week's UK singles chart. Among them were:

Moonlighting - Leo Sayer

That's the Way (I Like It) - KC and the Sunshine Band

Pandora's Box - Procol Harum

Fame - David Bowie

If You Think You Know How To Love Me - Smokie

Do It Again - Steely Dan

and

Hold Me Close - David Essex.

Should one wish to investigate the matter further, that week's British singles chart can be found here.

While its parallel album listings dwell within.

Spidey must wish he was somewhere else, as a prison riot breaks out and it's Gil Kane up-the-nose-action-a-go-go.

The good news is it all gets him on television where he can tell the nation about the plight of prisoners and the urgent need for penal reform.

In other matters, Iron Man's trapped on a Maggia casino ship and having to survive an assault by the villain they call Whiplash.

And I do suspect Thor's still having far-flung-future fisticuffs with the fiendish forces of Pluto and is unknowingly heading towards an encounter with Him that'll go on to become Adam Warlock!

Despite that cover, the Avengers do not yet face the Squadron Sinister.

Instead, they're in hospital, visiting Tony Stark after another of his famous heart attacks, when they're accosted by Kang's Growing Man who's out to abduct the helpless arms dealer.

Needless to say, our idols are not going to let that sort of thing happen.

And, so, they all get abducted by the Growing Man!

But, before we reach that story, Conan experiences the second part of The Song of Red Sonja and gets to climb a big tower containing a sinister diadem.

Dr Strange, meanwhile, manages to see off the challenge of the Lovecraftian N'Gabthoth, and it's next stop Stonehenge!

As for the blurb at the top of the front cover, I'm not sure what the Hoardes of Hell are but I can only assume they do a Hell of a lot of hoarding.

It's all high-drama in Draculaville when the lord of the vampires encounters a vampire he can't control.

That vampire being the mysterious Gorna.

I do believe Jack Russell's alter-ego is still at Mallet Studios and combating two horror actors turned vampire.

But, this time, he has the aid of his next-door neighbour!

And the Living Mummy comes under the influence of evil Elementals.

Unless I miss my guess, it's the start of that Tom Sutton drawn tale where there's a bunch of apes living on a gigantic ship. I seem to recall it with fondness though my memories of it are vague.

However, it would appear that an orangutan's killed by a gorilla, causing everything to kick off.

Following that, Captain Marvel must fight the Super-Skrull whose plans are not at all clear to me. I do believe it's in this tale that we first discover the Kree and Skrulls are ancient and bitter enemies. I predict the phrase "Uni-Ray" will feature in this tale.

And, following that, after several weeks' absence, Adam Warlock is back to team up with Counter-Earth's Dr Doom when he encounters The Day of the Death Birds!

There's something very odd about this week's cover, and a great big Steve Does Comics No-Prize goes to the first person who points out what it is.

Admittedly, I'm about to give 50% of the answer away by saying that, within this issue, the Hulk and Rhino inadvertently travel to Counter-Earth where our hero encounters the High Evolutionary's New-Men.

Elsewhere, strangely mirroring our Spider-Man tale, Daredevil breaks out of prison and goes on national TV. In his case, however, he's disguised as the Jester, in order to lure the real villain out into the open.

And the FF are still having trouble with a rampaging Thing.

I can sensationally reveal that, no matter the impression given by this cover, the Silver Surfer is not teaming up with the X-Men to fight the Sentinels and Human Torch.

In fact, it would seem the Surfer's up against the diabolical peril of the Doomsday Man.

Elsewhere, the Brothers Link find themselves by This Badge Bedevilled!

It all happens when Damian Link tries to foil a robbery but he and his twin Joshua become linked by experimental rays which cause Damian to gain super-powers whenever Joshua's energy enters his body. This all sounds suspiciously like it involves that astrological terror the world knows as Gemini.

And, of course, the X-Men are still gamely battling the Sentinels.