Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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It takes money to see a film at the cinema.
But what if someone were to let us sneak in through a fire door?
Then we could see as many films as we liked!
But what would we like?
The only one of those films I've ever seen is Stardust and the only things I recall of it are that it stars Adam Faith and David Essex and closes with the song of the same name. However, I'm going to assume it doesn't end happily for the protagonist, as it's a 1970s movie about the music business, and we all know how those always end.
Erik Killmonger may have been finally disposed of - but now the Panther must deal with Erik's upset girlfriend Madam Slay who likes to kill people...
But what's this?
It's that rare thing, a sighting of Conan drawn by Jack Kirby.
A sight that, I suppose, brings back memories of Barry Smith's early, Kirby-inspired, days on the strip.
Speaking of which, in the following action-packed 68 pages, Conan reprints his way to glory, as he encounters Elric of Melnibone for the first time, thanks to the pencils of the aforementioned Barry.
But that's not all, because we also encounter The Blood of the Dragon! as first seen in Conan the Barbarian #12 and drawn by Garrulous Gil Kane.
Iron Fist finally gets a comic of his very own!
But he'll be lucky to survive to the end of the first issue, due to having to combat Iron Man; after breaking into Stark Industries, in search of Colleen Wing.
Does he find her?
No. He finds Misty Knight.
To be honest, I'd settle for finding Misty Knight instead of Colleen Wing.
Unfortunately, he also finds Shellhead's knuckles, which are rather less appealing.
...with leopards!
And it's brought to us by Roy Thomas, Alfredo Alcala and Mary DeZuniga .
Red Sonja leaps into her very own regular series, thanks to the launch of Marvel Feature.
Two stories make up this sword-shattering issue.
In the first, our heroine enters a temple and is promptly attacked by Satyrs!
In the second, she delivers a tiara to someone called King Ghannif but soon learns her reward is to become part of his harem!
That tale is, of course, reprinted from Savage Sword of Conan #1.
Is it the first story ever to feature her scale-armour bikini?
I have a feeling it may be.
There's a coincidence. Mere days ago, I remarked upon this month's launch of DC comics' Hercules series and, now, Marvel's version of the prince of power also gets his own solo outing.
And one in which he must take on the might of Typhon!
As we all know, a Treasury-sized adaptation of The Wizard of Oz was the first collaboration between Marvel and DC.
This time, however, we encounter an all-Marvel extravaganza, as something or other happens.
Whatever it is that happens, it takes up a massive 75 pages. So, it must be fairly substantial.
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19 comments:
A Kirby Conan is indeed a rare thing. Even rarer: a Kirby Elric ! And he’s wearing that tall pointy hat that Moorcock hated so much.
IRON FIST #1 — I’d been digging Byrne’s previous work at Charlton and was happy to see him moving up in the world by getting steady work at Marvel. I was less pleased that Marvel seemed to be deliberately trying to smother his naturally bouncy and somewhat cartoony style by having his first two Iron Fist issues inked with a heavy hand by old pro Al McWilliams. He was nearly unrecognizable under some thick Rudy Nebres inks in GIANT-SIZE DRACULA #5 too. Fortunately they let Byrne off the leash starting with IRON FIST #2.
Steve, I believe you are correct that the reprint from SAVAGE SWORD in the back half of RED SONJA #1 was her first published appearance in the controversial scale mail bikini.
I think that Hercules cover may be the last time Vince Colletta inked Kirby’s pencils.
b.t..
Charlie had Financial foresight, in terms of planning for retirement, and bought and still has the number one issue of IRON FIST and RED Sonja!
Alas, his dreams of financial freedom never panned out, and he is still schlepping at the office 50 years latet. 50 looong years later…
INVADERS 3 Was out this month!
Google tells me that the very enjoyable cover was done by Jack, the king KIRBY and jazzy Johnny ROMITA! .
To be sure, the insides did not reach the same level, having been done by fearless Frank R@bbins and Vinny Vince Colletta. That said, it is the most palatable work Ive seen by Frank.
One thing that seemed odd, because I read the issue last night, is seeing NAMOR and baby TORCH in trunks, only, while flying across the Atlantic and Neymar‘s special flying machine. I mean, it just looks really weird given the other invaders are fully clothed.
CH
b.t., I think that Jungle Action cover was surely the first time Klaus Janson inked Jack Kirby's pencils. And quite likely the only time.
That Red Sonja story looked really good in SSoC #1, drawn by Esteban Maroto and Neal Adams. Which is just as well, as it was a pretty boring story.
But with the use of grey wash in the original, I wonder how it came across reprinted in a regular colour comic.
-sean
Still no thoughts on Iron Man's nose, Steve?
-sean
A bit of history…
In Invaders 3, Boy Roy has the german U-231 torpedoing a cargo ship off the coast of Iceland. Subby, who with the others happened to be flying overhead, leaps out of his jet (Bucky is flying) to send the U Boat to a watery grave.
In fact the U-231 was sunk off the Azores in 1944 and had never sunk, nor even hit, a ship though it had been in 3 wolfpacks!
Also Roy had a long 2-page editorial which in my mind draws on false equivalents between the axis and allied forces e.g. “Germans bombed London but the allies bombed Dresden” type stuff. my guess is given it is 1975 and not long after Vietnam, Roy does not want to be too “WW 2 patriotic.”
Also there is a very cool - and very long - letter from none other than Jerry Bails who basically started comic fandom in the US of A.
CH 47
Steve, you've never seen One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest????
I mean seriously!
“A lttle dab’ll do you” Steve!
Sean- that Sonja story in Marvel Feature #1 still looks mighty good; although the reader does wish for greater size (and it's nicely colored, but still not as pleasing as the original b/w). BTW, the first story features artwork by Dick Giordano, and isn't bad either.
Now that we're getting Kirby Kovers back at Marvel, I must say that among those shown so far I really like the Marvel Two-in-One with Iron Man- Sinnott inks, perhaps? Bashful Benjy here looks like vintage Kirby from ten years prior. And incidentally, Iron Man's nose never really bothered be (neither by it's absence nor by it's addition).
Steve, of those films I've only seen "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". The story of how I managed to see that was shared a few years back at BitBA, but tha abbreviated version:
Up to that point my parents only allowed us to see "G" or "PG" films. We were on vacation and we youth got a seperate motel room with movies; and we watched it then. The parents had no idea we were watching an "R" rated flick (horrors!).
Colin, I can confirm that I've never seen One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Sean, I must confess that, until the internet came along and I saw people talking about it, I'd never even noticed Iron Man's acquisition of a nose.
b.t. - Yes, I also have fond memories of that Iron Fist, which I read about 5 years later, in Blockbuster!
Steve - In 'One Flew Over...' , the patients/inmates are arranged in a circle, with dominating nurse Ratchet, holding sway - a very powerful performance by the actress who later played Kai Wynn (?) on DS9. ( You know, the spiritual leader who patronized Kira Nerys, calling her "my child" all the time, despite her being about 40! ) In the end, a huge native American patient picks up a very heavy item of white goods (a vending machine/ or fridge freezer? - I forget), and throws it, so that Jack Nicholson & the gang can try - unsuccessfully - to escape! That's about it...!
Sal & Abel's Iron Man nose looked okay, at the Attilan wedding. Also Cockrum had a reasonable punt at it. Other artists, less so!
Phillip
Phillip, didn't the Native American pull the sink off the wall and throw it through the window and run away? I was going to mention Louise Fletcher as Kai Winn(?) in DS9 in which she played the "Pope" of Kira's planet - in Star Trek all alien planets have a monoculture where everyone acts the same, thinks the same, worships the same gods etc so Kai Winn was the spiritual leader of the entire planet! Anyway Kai Winn was bitter and jealous because the Prophets (the aliens who lived in the wormhole next to DS9) had chosen Commander Sisko as their emissary rather than her.
Phillip, according to Wikipedia the Native American in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is called The Chief and he smothers McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) with a pillow after learning McMurphy has received a lobotomy. The Chief then pulls up the hydrotherapy fountain and throws it through the window and escapes.
It's finally stopped raining so I hope it stays dry for the fireworks tonight!
I went to the post office this morning to buy eight Christmas stamps (four 1st class and four 2nd class) but the cashier thought I wanted EIGHT BOOKS of stamps, a total of 64 stamps!!
Colin - Hmm, my memory of OFOTCN specifics has been weighed, and found wanting! DS9's a character-driven showed, to a ridiculous extent, so plots - or attempts at plotting - never concerned me that much. That being said, using Earth terms like "Maquis", for Kira's resistance movement, jarred somewhat. Wouldn't alien races coin words of their own?
I'm sending as few cards as I can get away with!
Bah, humbug!
Phillip
character-driven show - Typo City, Arizona!
Phillip
That's gonna be a lot of licking... stay hydrated my friend!!!
Now push PUBLISH
Prowler joins with the reader in wish for greater size but Sonja still has to be able to swing a sword... so there's that.
Now push PUBLISH
Prowler, I don't know what American stamps are like but nowadays our British stamps are sticky on the back so they don't need licking - you just peel each stamp off a sheet (I bought a sheet of four 1st class stamps and a sheet of four 2nd class).
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