Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
***
A member of the public would have noted that revolt was in the air, this week, fifty years ago. Not only did Argentina's military depose president Isabel Perón, a general strike broke out in the People's Republic of the Congo.
But also, it was a month in which Britain's General Bernard Montgomery died, aged 88, at his home in Hampshire.
And what of the music charts?
The Brotherhood of Man demonstrated the wisdom of mimicking Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree, when their noticeably similar Save Your Kisses For Me elevated itself to the top spot on the UK singles chart.
But the status quo was not disturbed on the accompanying album rankings, as the week saw Blur For You by the undisturbed Status Quo retain the Number One position it had seized the week before.
Arkon may be back but, far more importantly, this is the week in which we get to find out if we're Mastermind finalists!
As I've never entered Mastermind, I'm assuming I'm not.
But I do know what my specialist subject would be.
It'd be this issue of The Avengers, even though I've never read it.
And that's why I can tell you that Conan finds himself caught up in an adventure the world can only know as The Warrior and the Were-Woman.
Elsewhere, when the Black Knight's captured by the forces of Arkon, while trying to dispose of his cursed sword, the Avengers know they must visit Arkon's dimension and punch the perpetrator in the gob.
But can even they prevail against the man-manipulating prowess of the Enchantress?
Across the Atlantic from all that, Iron Fist lands at Heathrow Airport - only for it to be destroyed by a man who calls himself the Ravager.
Not only that, this is the week in which we discover Misty Knight has a bionic arm!
She certainly kept that one up her sleeve.
But there's more than even that because, as a bonus feature, the Phantom Eagle's in sensational World War One action, thanks to Gary Friedrich and Herb Trimpe.
Jason and Alexander are back and having a trip up a river, in the company of an ape called Gunpowder Julius.
Following his recent adventures abroad, Ka-Zar's back in the Savage Land.
But he's already attracted the attention of the red Wizard and his servant Maa-Gor the man-ape.
And, looking to foil Killmonger's latest plans, the Black Panther must fight a T-Rex!
But I do believe the lord of vampires is elsewhere engaged, after agreeing to kill a bunch of men, on behalf of a fashion designer who says she can help him find Dr Sun.
Elsewhere, a legend is born when a man called Moon Knight turns up at Jack Russell's home, looking to abduct him on behalf of someone called the Committee.
The Man-Thing finds himself in a narrative that seems strangely familiar when a space vessel lands in the swamp, containing a youth called Wundarr who's been sent to Earth because his scientist parents realised their world was about to be destroyed by a huge natural disaster.
And now he's dressed like an American footballer!
And it all starts when Bruce Banner stows away on a ship - only to discover it's on a deliberate collision course with a nuclear bomb test!
And it's all drama at Karen Page's family home too. No sooner has she got there than a brand-new villain called Death's Head shows up - threatens her and announces he's kidnapped her father!
Meanwhile, Crystal's still looking to become a member of the Fantastic Four, and gets her chance to prove herself when the Wizard attacks their HQ.
And, this time, it's serious! This time, he's got an improved pair of Wonder Gloves!
It's a terrible confession but I long ago discovered that, whenever I try to type, "Super-Spider-Man with the Super-Heroes," I always manage to manage to mistype it as, "Super Spider-Man with the Super-Herpes."
It's a terrible mistake but I remain convinced it's not as terrible as the one Spider-Man's making by swinging straight towards someone who's got a machine gun.
Regardless, what this cover tells us is that Hammerhead's made his UK debut - and has done so by getting himself into a war with Doc Ock!
Elsewhere, Dr Strange confronts Death and takes refuge inside the form of Eternity!
While, on a rather less grand plane of existence, the Mandarin hatches a plot to expose Tony Stark as Iron Man!
And things get tense for Thor when he finds himself on the Stranger's home planet and having to face the menace of the Abomination!
But, somewhere else entirely, the Thing, Captain America and Sharon Carter have travelled to the year 3018 and are now set upon helping the Guardians of the Galaxy free the Earth from the clutches of the Badoon.
When the Banshee's captured by factor Three's Spider-Bot, the X-Men wrongly think Spider-Man's to blame and, inevitably, a fight breaks out.
There's no rest for Captain America either. No sooner has he been attacked by the Adaptoid in the Avengers' Mansion than a villain called the Tumbler shows up and a three-way tussle breaks out.
Needless to say, Cap's more than a match for both his opponents.
Just as Subby's sure to be more than a match for whatever undersea menace he's offing this week.
I do believe Nick Fury and SHIELD enter a swamp, in a bid to find the HQ of Them.
And Captain Marvel and Rick Jones must survive an encounter with Dr Mynde and Madame Synn who have ambitions to take over the world.








10 comments:
In that Avengers story, the Black Knight's speech is one of Marvel's most blatant Moorcock rip-offs. His sword's cursed; it's black; it's struggling to take possession of him (I forget the exact wording). Why didn't Roy Thomas just call the Black Knight's sword "Stormbringer", and have done with it?
Could Hammerhead be an Edward G. Robinson pastiche?
Phillip
I've just checked - the Black Knight's trying to destroy his sword, in the Well of Time, but can't. Is he the master, or his sword - whose will rules?
Well, Elric's tried to cast away Stormbringer, but it came back. And it's black - and it's cursed.
That's my theory - and I'm sticking to it!
Phillip
I can honestly say I never noticed any similarity between Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree and Save Your Kisses For Me! Poor Brotherhood Of Man were constantly accused of being an ABBA rip-off (even though BOM existed before ABBA) and now they are accused of being a Dawn rip-off!
More importantly, was Save Your Kisses For Me the best UK Eurovision winner?
The other four UK winners being...
Puppet On A String - Sandie Shaw (1967)
Boom Bang-A-Bang - Lulu (1969)
Making Your Mind Up - Bucks Fizz (1981)
Love Shine A Light - Katrina & The Waves (1997)
Colin, of those I would say that Boom Bang-A-Bang is the best track.
Phillip, the antagonist in that Avengers story is a blatant Conan rip-off. Therefore, I'm sure you're correct in thinking rascally Roy was not above ripping-off Moorcock while he was at it.
Colin, I liked them all but I think my fav was "Making your mind up" . 1981 was around the last time I watched the show I personally find the music mostly bland then again I'm an old man it's not aimed at me.
Charlie just learned that his favorite mis- utilized character – Sunfire – had his legs cut off a few years ago. Was Conway the editor of that too?
All I have to say on the British Eurovision entries is 'Royaume Uni - nul points!'
Steve, my understanding is that the general strike in the Peoples Republic of the Congo is that it happened because the president was out of action after a helicopter crash, and it was part of an on going squabble that got out of control between two different factions of the ruling Labour Party - the pro-Soviet mainstream, and the Maoist lefties.
It all ended when the president was assassinated the next year, and it seems that actually whole thing might have been part of a plot by their former colonial rulers - the French - to seize the oil rich province of Carbinda, a non-contiguous part of Angola that was on the border between the Peoples Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (then known as Zaire).
Oil wars, eh? Wouldn't it be a lot easier just to pay market prices?
-sean
On the subject of imperialists, Steve, believe it or not I actually have a book about General Montgomery. Admittedly I got it for the pictures, seeing as it reprints a comic strip biography drawn by Frank Bellamy. Which is amazing.
Seriously, take a look at some of the artwork here -
https://www.frankbellamy.co.uk/2017/02/centenary-article-frank-bellamy-and.html
And thats from 1962! Bellamy has to be the greatest comic artist ever.
-sean
Man Sean - that Bellamy art is superlative!!! Was the writing good too? Is his work gathered in a reprint of some sort. No way Charlie’s gonna find all those Eagles on ebay!
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