Tuesday, 3 March 2026

The Marvel Lucky Bag - March 1976.

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

Contrary to popular rumour, caves are not available to us all.

But there are things that resemble caves.

They call them cinemas.

And what shall we find if we enter the cinemas of March 1976?

We'll find such attractions as The First Nudie Musical, Black Shampoo, Creature From Black Lake, Robin and Marian, The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Slipper and the Rose and, of course, W.C. Fields and Me. For, it was in that month they were all first released.

Of them, I've seen only The Man Who Fell to Earth - but not for about 45 years and can, therefore, offer few cogent thoughts upon it.

But you know upon what I can be cogent?

Comics!

Omega the Unknown #1

A hero like no other makes his debut, as Omega the Unknown smashes his way into our lives.

Gasp as Omega does whatever it is that Omega does. And shriek as he doesn't do whatever it is he doesn't do.

I think I've only ever read one issue of his book and, thus, my knowledge and memories of him are fuzzy but I do believe he's from outer space and has ended up on Earth, whereupon he has immediately set about fighting crime, in a distinctly enigmatic manner.

Also, a young boy's involved but I struggle to remember just what he has to do with it all and why.

The Invaders #5

I've chosen this one because I remember its Jack Kirby pencilled cover appearing in an issue of FOOM, and liking it there.

But it's not whether you're beautiful on the outside that matters. It's whether you're beautiful on the inside. So, just how pleasing are the innards of this one?

Thinking about it, I don't know - and the internet's refusing to tell me - but I think it's a safe bet the Red Skull's involved.

And it seems the Fin, the Patriot and Miss America also put in an appearance.

Readers may be intrigued to hear that Rich Buckler and Dick Ayers provide the artwork.

Amazing Adventures #35, the 24-Hour Man

It's a tale we'll never forget.

And that's good news because it means I haven't forgotten it.

The gang are eagerly pursuing their long-term strategy of aimlessly wandering around, when they encounter a man who's only going to live for 24 hours and must find a mate in that time, or watch his species go extinct.

As Carmilla Frost is the only woman around, that means she finds herself getting volunteered for the role.

Needless to say KR and his mates are not going to put up with that kind of thing.

But can they stop the 24-hour Man's mother, who happens to be a giant, mutant-dragon thing?

Skull the Slayer #4

Skull the Slayer's still doing stuff that Ka-Zar could be doing.

This time, he's up against some sort of Egyptian type people and someone called Slitherogue who I suspect will be a victim of nominative determinism and will both slither and be a rogue.

But what's this? The Black Knight's also in action? I'm going to assume it's a reprint of a venerable and ancient tale.

The Defenders #33, the headmen

The world's greatest non-team continue their idiosyncratic lives, as they battle the Headmen, in a bid to rescue Kyle Richmond's all-important brain.

Only to see it fall into the hands of Nebulon!

Howard the Duck #2

I've never read this one. So, all I can announce is it's by Steve Gerber and Frank Brunner and guest stars the unstoppable horror that is the Space Turnip!

Marvel Feature #3, Red Sonja

And it's another one I've never read.

But I do believe that, in Bruce Jones' and Frank Thorne's mini-epic, Red Sonja must stop a mechanical man called Balek.

16 comments:

McSCOTTY said...

Of the above movies I have also only seen "The man who fell to earth" an interesting film but I'm not sure I would watch it again either, even although it starred Bowie.

I had all the comics above with Howard the Duck being my favourite, I loved Brunner's art on this title. Skull the Slayer was a fun title and I think Sal Buscema took over the art chores from Steve Gan with this issue . The Black Knight actually appears in this story Steve (not a reprint) its not the Avengers version but Merlins Knight . Ahhh Red Sonja by Frank Thorne was always a joy to behold old Frank did enjoy drawing buxom ladies

Anonymous said...

Robin and Marian's been repeated more than the News! ( Okay, I exaggerate, slightly. )

In Omega the Unknown, the boy's name is James Michael Starling - and he has a symbiotic/empathetic relationship with Omega.

The Headmen - c.f. Spock's Brain in Star Trek. Vince C style inking on the ape hair/fur, on that cover.

I've got the 24hr Man Killraven.

Skull the Slayer - Good for a read in Marvel Comic, but with tiny panels ( too small for middle-aged eyes! )

Definitely a Gerber month!

Phillip

Matthew McKinnon said...

I just re-read The Man Who Fell To Earth, it’s one of my favourite books. And I’ve also been dipping into producer Michael Deeley’s autobiography. So I’m quite keen to rewatch the film again.

I’ve seen Robin & Marion too, but a long time ago and I can’t really remember much. It’s quite highly regarded in certain circles. Pauline Karl gave it a great review, and Steven Soderbergh is a big fan.

I’ve only read that War Of The Worlds, in a reprint.

Redartz said...

Not having seen any of the mentioned films, I cannot venture an opinion. Must have been avoiding the theaters that month.
As to the comics, Phillip is correct: it was indeed a Gerber month. "Omega the Unknown" was a tryout book for me at first; but it instantly became a favorite. Gerber and Mary Skrenes concocted a strange tale (good title for a book, there) that dealt with the relationship between the alien Omega and the boy James-Michael (again, as Phillip noted). But what really grabbed me was the cast of characters, and the middle school drama of JM and his fellow students. I, at that time, had just finished middle school so it felt like familiar territory; albeit no drama such as he experienced!
"Defenders" was another full dive into Gerber weirdness. The Headmen will ever remain one of the oddest villianous groups in comicdom. Ruby was truly bizarre; and then there was the baby deer with Chondu's mind. What an imagination that Gerber fellow had.

Anonymous said...

I watched ROBIN AND MARIAN and MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH several times each in the early days of ‘Pay Cable’, on SelecTV. I liked ‘em both at the time but haven’t re-watched either one in years and years. I should really make an effort to re-watch ROBIN AND MARIAN one of these days.

Comics-wise, I got all of the comics listed here, hot off the spinner rack. I got a bunch of others too, including:

1st ISSUE SPECIAL #12 (Starman by Conway, Vosburg and Royer)
ADVENTURE COMICS #44 (Aquaman )
ALL STAR COMICS #59 (JSA / Super Squad)
ASTONISHING TALES #34 (Deathlok)
THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #125
DETECTIVE COMICS #457 (iconic Crime Alley story by O’Neil and Giordano)
MASTER OF KUNG FU #38 (superb Gulacy / Adkins art)
WARLORD #2

Plus the latest issues of POTA and DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU and two Warren mags, CREEPY #78 (with Toth, Wood/Severin, Alcazar) and VAMPIRELLA #49 (with Esteban Maroto’s only Vampirella story).

Guess I must have been busy boosting loose change from Mom’s purse to pay for all those. You know who else was pretty busy that month? Ric Estrada. He pencilled three books (ALL STAR #59, FREEDOM FIGHTERS #1, KARATE KID #1) and also did pencils and inks on the lead feature in BLITZKRIEG #2. And John Byrne pencilled and inked two Charlton comics that month , DOOMSDAY +1 #5 and SPACE: 1999 #3. I got all of them except the first FREEDOM FIGHTERS (I never saw that one on sale anywhere).

b.t.

Colin Jones said...

Let's be honest, The Man Who Fell To Earth is a boring film which is only remembered because Bowie's in it.

Colin Jones said...
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Colin Jones said...
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Anonymous said...

*Kael

Anonymous said...

BT - i cant believe you aren’t in the big house given your proclivity for finding spare change! LOL

COLIN - Ditto in the Bowie movie. And we still have homecoming Kings and Queens at the high school and university level. My nephas a king one year for Chesterton High School in Indiana.

CH

dangermash said...
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Anonymous said...

Thaks, Steve - I enjoyed the post.

The unstoppable horror that is the Space Turnip... and who was apparently based on Dauntless Don McGregor!
That's what I read online somewhere a while back anyway. Its why Howard the Duck #2 starts off with the Killmallard sequence, and Howard says "personally I think he tries too hard -- hits ya over the head with the message". Although frankly it's a bit of a ridiculous criticism coming from Gerber! The words 'pot', 'kettle', and 'black' spring to mind.

I mean, Howard the Duck consists of pretty much nothing but Gerber's opinions of this, that, and whatever else was on his mind at the time. And while I could believe he was a satirist wise in the ways of the world when I was 12, re-reading HTD in the 21st century a lot of it just seems like the ranting of a pub bore (with I have to say an unexpectedly reactionary undercurrent).
The irony is that for all McGregor's faults as a writer - also more obvious to me now than they were back then! - Amazing Adventures #35 is a much better comic.

Having said that, the best comic here is Omega the Unknown. I read the whole run - all ten of them - a few years back, and while the series went off the boil fairly quickly I was impressed by how good the first few were. That might sound like faint praise, but they were really distinctive.
I'd say they were convincing evidence that Gerber was Marvel's best writer back then. Except of course Omega was regularly credited to two writers. For all I know maybe Mary Skrenes was Marvel's best writer, and no-one noticed...

-sean

Anonymous said...

*Thanks, Steve...
I thought it would be nice to actually show a bit of appreciation for your efforts for a change, and I couldn't even get it right. Duh, apologies.

Anonymous said...

sean:
I think Gerber himself said Mary Skrenes was the driving force behind OMEGA THE UNKNOWN.

Re: HOWARD THE DUCK #2, I think I actually got that the Space Turnip dude was meant to be a swipe at McGregor when the comic was first published (FIFTY YEARS AGO, by gum). The details of his life and personality traits seemed a little too specific to be just random characteristics Gerber tossed off, so I began to suspect he was lampooning a real person. Towards the end, when he’s deep into his “heroic” mania, Bev hears music playing and says “Hang on — that’s the James Bond Theme!” At that point I realized, “Oh no, it’s gotta be Dauntless Don”.

b.t.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and the Killmallard thing, too (duh).

b.t.

Anonymous said...

b.t., I did not know Gerber acknowledged Mary Skrenes' efforts on Omega like that. Good for him. It seems in the first half of the 70s she worked as a writer at DC - on the romance, and mystery books - but never actually got a credit under own name. It's almost as if the comic publishers were a boys club.

Btw, I got Freedom Fighters #1 back in '76. I remember being stupidly excited to see it on sale, as the JLA 'Crisis on Earth X' crossover had been a fave of mine. But Steve often includes #1s in the 50 Year Ago feature, so I think I'll wait til next month to comment on it...
Spoiler alert: you didn't miss much.

Which reminds me - if anyone's interested - that March '76 was the month Gerry Conway became Editor-in-Chief at Marvel.
So: the DC editor who'd been coming up with all their new stuff back then - the Freedom Fighters getting their own book, Hercules Unbound, All-Star, the disco Blackhawks, the ill-fated Patchwork Man series etc - suddenly became head honcho at Marvel... and then three weeks later packed up, and went back to his job at DC. The comic biz, eh?

-sean