Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
No. It's Steve Does Comics, which is neither real nor fantasy but, rather, inhabits a hinterland located exactly midway between those arbitrary poles.
More importantly, this week in 1975, Queen smashed their way to Number One on the UK singles chart, thanks to Bohemian Rhapsody forcing You Sexy Thing by Hot Chocolate to settle for second place.
I can forgive Queen for many things but how can I ever forgive them for keeping a sexy thing off the Number One slot?
When it came to the album chart, it was neither Queen nor Hot Chocolate who ruled the roost. It was Perry Como with his 40 Greatest Hits, although I'm willing to bet Perry Como never had 40 hits in Britain.
Hooray! After a couple of weeks' absence, The Avengers reappears in my local newsagents, meaning I actually get to read this issue.
And how impressed I am by the artwork of John Buscema and Tom Palmer.
More importantly, how struck I am by Arkon's resemblance to Conan, even if REH's battler never got to throw lighting bolts around!
Speaking of the Cimmerian; when it comes to his adventures, my knowledge of his comings and going, this issue, are vague but I remain convinced that sorcery will be involved.
And an attractive woman.
When it comes to Dr Strange, I do believe the spooky surgeon has problems with Shuma-Gorath trying to invade our Earth, via the mind of the Ancient One.
When it comes to Dr Strange, I do believe the spooky surgeon has problems with Shuma-Gorath trying to invade our Earth, via the mind of the Ancient One.
Or via his body.
Or via both.
Or something.
I never had this issue but, from that cover, I'm convinced it features the tale in which the Red Skull brainwashes Cap into trying to kill America's top general!
Elsewhere, in The Inhumans, the soft-hearted gang release Maximus from captivity - only for him to instantly rob Black Bolt of his memory and to seize control of the Great Refuge!
The Sub-Mariner, meanwhile, manages to rescue Lady Dorma from the Faceless Ones - and gets his hands on Neptune's Trident! Now can he use it to defeat Warlord Krang?
On land, Nick Fury's still battling whatever evil plan Hydra have come up with now.
And Captain Marvel's up against some dire menace or other.
The lord of all vampires is on a quest to find a missing statuette.
And it would appear he's about to get wet.
A, presumably, drier Jack Russell's still having trouble with Atlas, the Hollywood star who's miffed about having become disfigured.
And I have no doubt the Living Mummy's up to something thrilling, as well.
Now there's trouble for Zira and Cornelius, when their human hosts discover that, back in their own time, they were in the habit of experimenting on humans!
Now there's trouble for Zira and Cornelius, when their human hosts discover that, back in their own time, they were in the habit of experimenting on humans!
But this issue's even more thrilling news is that we see the arrival of two brand new strips!
Granted, the first one's not that new, as the adventures of Ka-Zar featured in the book's very earliest issues. But, now, the lord of the Savage Land is back with tales we have not yet read.
And, that means were about to encounter his first encounter with the Everglades, Man-Thing and the forces of AIM!
As for the other new feature, that's none other than Don McGregor's Panther's Rage, an epic drama worthy of the finest works of Shakespeare himself, as T'Challa returns to Wakanda to discover murder and rebellion are on the menu!
We even get a map of Wakanda thrown in. And Shakespeare never gave us a map of anywhere.
Speaking of Kevin Plunder, Spidey's still messing about in the Savage Land. But, at least now, he has the king of the jungle on his side, in his quest to prevent Kraven from taking over the world, with the aid of his humongous great Gog!
Elsewhere, Iron Man must deal with the return of the Unicorn.
On live television!
Having finally reached the end of Galactus' life story, Thor's sent back to Earth, by Odin, to deal with the threat of the Thermal-Man, a malevolent robot whose rampage across New York, the Warriors Three have signally failed to halt.
As that cover makes clear, the Hulk continues to encounter Captain Omen and his undersea kingdom - and finds himself trapped on the seabed, with nothing but an oxygen helmet for company!
As that cover makes clear, the Hulk continues to encounter Captain Omen and his undersea kingdom - and finds himself trapped on the seabed, with nothing but an oxygen helmet for company!
Meanwhile, the man without fear is trying to prevent Starr Saxon's robot from killing the incarcerated Biggie Benson.
And, in a bid to prevent Galactus from re-hiring the Silver Surfer, Reed Richards sends the pewter powerhouse into the sub-atomic realm we all know so well.
Hold on. Can it be? An Old X-Men story that actually looks interesting?
Admittedly, I only think that because the cover depicts them up against villains you wouldn't normally expect them to come up against.
In fact, that's one of the most random collections of super-criminals I've ever seen.
Apparently, it's all down to the machinations of Count Nefaria who's assembling a gang of lackeys and assumes the X-Men will be willing to join it.
Elsewhere, the Porcupine's out to revenge himself upon Giant-Man, having previously been thwarted by him in his Ant-Man days.
And the bounder drags the Giant-Man fan club into it!
But what's this? Marvel UK may have run out of Cat stories to use but that's not going to stop it.
No, it doesn't decide to redraw Killraven adventures as Cat tales. Instead, we're presented with a reprint of a Marvel Team-Up yarn in which she and Spider-Man must defeat a female assassin called the Man-Killer.
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28 comments:
Just to be clear, charlie feels that, like Colin, LAST CHRISTMAS “ is an xmas song but it is not a PROPER (traditional themes) one.
Does anyone have an opinion on CHRISTMAS WRAPPING by THE WAITRESSES?
Folks it is only 3 pm but Charles has a belly full of turkey, ham, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad, two glasses of sangria (???). He is entertaining a serious food coma and may not wake up until Friday!
Anyone else watch the Macy’s THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE today for old-times sake?
I know that running water is supposedly fatal to vampires, but Drac cowering back from a stream of H2O doesn’t make for a very dramatic image. Maybe Marv and Co. should have just avoided that bit of anti-vampire lore.
Also, does that mean you could just use a garden hose to repulse the Undead? Or even a Super Soaker? That would be a lot less trouble than carving wooden knives and definitely cheaper than forging silver bullets.
Charlie, I haven’t watched the Macy’s parade in probably 15 years. Just the other day I was wondering if it was still a thing.
Our Thanksgiving dinner is still cooking (and starting to smell wonderful).
Heard Andy Williams’ version of “Sleigh Ride” on the radio today. All in all, I probably prefer The Ronettes’ rendition, but the abrupt, unexpected key changes in Andy’s version are pretty nifty.
b.t.
Charlie, I like CHRISTMAS WRAPPING but on first hearing it I thought Debbie Harry was singing!
The over-rated Bohemian Rhapsody (9 weeks at #1. Really??) also blocked Greg Lake's I Believe In Father Christmas from reaching #1 but this festive masterpiece has a NEW official video released to celebrate its' 50th anniversary - I like the original video though, especially the scene where a line of camels walks in front of the setting sun and then at the end a returning soldier greets his young son (even though they are both probably Jewish and don't celebrate Christmas but never mind, it's the sentiment that counts!)
My father always said that Val Doonican was a rip-off of Perry Como.
Charlie- "Christmas Wrapping" remains a big favorite; first time I heard it I had to go out and buy the ep edition (it also featured the Waitresses' theme song from the tv series "Square Pegs". Played that record to a nub.
Oh, and yes, I did watch (most of) the parade this morning. Some old traditions die hard.
b.t.- fully agree with your assessment of the Ronettes and their version of "Sleigh Ride" (no disrespect to Andy Williams, we have his Christmas cd too). Actually, the entire album from which that song springs (sprang? sprung?) is matchless: "Phil Spector's Christmas Album". A masterpiece of holiday festivity; and perhaps my favorite Christmas album ever (it alternates with Vince Guaraldi ). Coincidentally, I'd been seeking that cd for several years, and finally snagged it at a local record show a couple months ago. Grinned all the way home...
That Avengers cover is a bit of a shocker. Surely Scarlet Witch could have hexed Arkon in the smalls and escaped? Meanwhile just as Quicksilver is giving it the biggun threat-wise, Captain America slings his shield straight into the back of Pietro’s head. And what are Goliath 2 and Black Panther thinking?
DW
Today is exactly 35 years since Maggie Thatcher left Downing Street in tears. THIRTY FIVE YEARS!
That Spidey cover was Charlie’s sweet spot for comics in 1971-ish. Starting with ASM 100 he bought ASM monthly (erratic distribution of comics not withstanding) until the death of G… (Charlie can’t bear to write her name…)
But imho this was Kane’s high point like Kirby’s was a few years earlier. Thoughts?
By the way, chArlie is uber-excited. He is spending 10 hours in a car driving from St Louis to about New Orleans and has ample to time to read!
In anticipation of, he grabbed ASM 271 and DD 128 from the long boxes! December covers of 40 and 50 years ago. Got to be ready for December’s STEVE DOES CHRISTMAS!
Charlie, yes. I would agree that the early 1970s were Kane's peak years.
I very much appreciate Christmas Wrapping and, like Colin, have noticed its Blondie-like nature. In fact, I'm fairly sure that, at the time, there was a strong rumour that the Waitresses were Blondie recording under a pseudonym.
Kraven had a thing about lifting superheroes of his head - he did it to DD too!
Charlie - if you are reading, I hope someone else is driving that vehicle!
Phillip
Over his head! Typo City, Missouri-Louisiana!
Phillip
Ms. Charlie does the driving because she hates sitting there. I merrily type away.
Yes, we are passing the cotton fields of south-east Missouri on Highway 55. The last time I remember cotton fields was the summer of 1967 and black folks were harvesting by hand.
https://www.streetdirectory.com/lyricadvisor/song/ejoool/pick_a_bale_of_cotton/
Phillip
The Waitresses track appeared on the Christmas Album from ZE Records, Charlie, along with seasonal music from the rest of the label's roster of dawn of the 80s post-modern Noo Yawkers, like Material, Suicide, and the great August Darnell, the artist formerly known as Kid Creole (with his Coconuts).
It's worth a listen, but if you don't know it if you're better off checking out their fantastic 'Mutant Disco' comp from around the same time -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXgrPXz0vpk
(That's from the expanded CD reissue that came out in 2003. It was a double, so you can find more of the same - including the Waitresses 'I Know What Boys Like' - on a second disc that's also been posted)
-sean
Boy oh boy… SDC is quiet! Everyone out Black-FRIDAYING???
Oh, that reminds me, Happy Thanksgiving, Charlie. And Redartz (and all the other north Americans here). We don't have it on this side of the Atlantic.
Although Black Friday seems to have become a thing in recent years anyway. I don't know why. Hype presumably, and corporations wanting to sell us stuff?
-sean
As chArlie does listen to french and german radio stations, he has observed huge hype in those two countries this year for BF which they call… BLACK FRIDAY lol.
But it mostly seems targeting is for “BLACK FRIDAY WEEKEND” (literally) presumably because today /Friday is not a holiday (duh) for them.
Adverts are same as here in usa: longer store hours, reduced prices, fun for the whole family.
Weird, isn't it? Because 'Vendredi Noir' sounds much cooler.
But apparently that's used as an expression for the attack on the Bataclan in 2015, so I suppose it's less confusing to call it 'le Black Friday'.
-sean
Fwiw Steve, I'd rather listen to 'You Sexy Thing' than 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.
Anyway, re: Dracula. That statuette was the Chimera, a magickal mcguffin that dated back to Atlantis - with continuity going back to Kull - that did something or other.
Drac was 'living' in Highgate Cemetery at that point, which suggests a certain amount of knowledge about London that was unusual in Marvel comics of the era.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highgate-Vampire
Tomb of Dracula was weird like that. You'd get elements of London that were a bit 'cor blimey, it's the blinkin' bible's , but mixed in with stuff that suggested someone involved in the series - Marv Wolfman presumably - was familiar with the city. Like for instance the presence of black and South Asian characters - Blade, Taj Nital - and in that storyline the character David being Jewish makes sense. Highgate isn't Stamford Hill... but it's not too far away.
As I recall, the attack by water turned out to be by Dr Sun, possibly one of the more implausible Marvel villains. Not because he was a brain in a box, but because he was based in Ireland. As I think I may have pointed out here before, there is no way a giant green pagoda full of Chinese communists could have been kept a secret in 70s Ireland. Especially not in the north.
-sean
If anyone's interested the original map of Wakanda - from Jungle Action - can be seen here -
www.alternate-timelines.com/thread/1805/maps-changing-geography-wakanda
That was back when Wakanda was in west Africa (and the 'T' in 'T'Challa was silent). These days it is further east, near Kenya. I suppose it does seem a bit unlikely that a hidden country would have an Atlantic coastline...
-sean
* 'cor blimey it's the blinkin' bobbies'
#@*%ing spellcheck!
-sean
That Wakanda map link doesn't work, Sean!
Phillip
It's my computer, I think - problems arising with other websites, too! Ignore my last comment.
Phillip
I can't access it either, Phillip.
LAST CHRISTMAS rises to #9 in the new UK Top 100 with Mariah Carey at #13, the only two Xmas songs in the Top 20 so far but Charlie will be ecstatic to learn that SLEIGH RIDE by The Ronettes has entered the chart at #49 while Andy Williams rises to #53. The only brand new Xmas song in the Top 100 so far is XMAS (what an original title!) by Kylie Minogue but Slade's MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY is at #99 so the Christmas season can officially begin now that Slade have arrived (and tomorrow is the first day of Advent which is appropriate).
There's an adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Fall Of The House of Usher" on BBC Radio 4-Extra at 4 pm today if any UK readers are interested. I love the film version with Vincent Price but I haven't seen it for a long. long time.
Apologies Phillip and Steve (and everyone else). I don't know why that map isn't accessible. I suppose there must be a mistake in the address. Duh.
If you Google 'Wakanda map Jungle Action' or something along those lines it shouldn't be too hard to find.
-sean
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