Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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November 1976 was a great month for fans of aquatic cake holes, as it saw the discovery of the first known megamouth shark.
But enough of that. Let's see what the big mouths of Marvel are getting up to.
Given that the Whizzer is about eighty, by this point and has been established as having a bad heart and possibly died at the end of the first Nuklo story, it is surprising that he seems to be causing the Avengers so much trouble and that he's even declared to be capable of killing them.
But enough of that. Let's see what the big mouths of Marvel are getting up to.
Given that the Whizzer is about eighty, by this point and has been established as having a bad heart and possibly died at the end of the first Nuklo story, it is surprising that he seems to be causing the Avengers so much trouble and that he's even declared to be capable of killing them.
Regardless, it seems that he goes on the rampage in the Avengers Mansion and that the Living Laser is also in this mighty melodrama.
It's the clash we've all been waiting for when Conan meets Kull and, oddly enough, it all leads to a fight between them.
It's the clash we've all been waiting for when Conan meets Kull and, oddly enough, it all leads to a fight between them.
And, as far as I can recall, a sneaky wizard is behind it all!
Needless to say, the tussle ends in a draw, with Conan and Kull going their separate ways after thwarting evil.
Needless to say, the tussle ends in a draw, with Conan and Kull going their separate ways after thwarting evil.
Now it seems we'll never know which is the best barbarian.
I must confess I've no idea what's going on here but, given the cover's mention of the Alamo, and the issue's year of publication, I shall assume it's somehow tied in with the Bicentennial celebrations.
I must confess I've no idea what's going on here but, given the cover's mention of the Alamo, and the issue's year of publication, I shall assume it's somehow tied in with the Bicentennial celebrations.
Regardless, the GCD informs me that Cap must visit another dimension, in order to look for the Falcon and Leila.
It looks like the man without fear has his hands full when not only does he have to find the junkie wife of the mad bomber who's attacking the city, he must also locate a runaway boy with haemophilia.
Hooray! Having reappeared last issue, the Impossible Man is still with us!
Granted, I may be alone in being pleased about that.
And definitely not pleased about it are the staff of Marvel Comics because, no sooner has he arrived on Earth than he decides to invade the company's offices and demand it launch a new comic in his honour.
I struggle to recall; is this Crypto-Man the same one who, several years earlier, appeared in Thor's strip?
More importantly, I do believe this issue sees the death of Jarella when she and Bruce take a trip into town and run across the metal menace robbing a bank!
All I know of this one is the Melter is back and it features a character called Krissy Longfellow.
It also seems to feature a second Iron Man!
I still, to this day, am not sure if there really are cable cars in New York City. I can't say I've ever seen them in any TV show or movie. So, I'm still not certain if they weren't just made up for this thriller.
I still, to this day, am not sure if there really are cable cars in New York City. I can't say I've ever seen them in any TV show or movie. So, I'm still not certain if they weren't just made up for this thriller.
All that aside, Spidey, the Punisher and Night-Crawler join forces but that's somehow not enough to prevent Jigsaw from capturing the wall-crawler!
But what's this? Things are afoot, elsewhere, as J Jonah Jameson recruits a scientist called Marla Madison to his crusade against our hero?
That's what you probably want me to tell you.
But I don't know what's going on in this one.
I do, though, note that it features a character called Trogg. I shall, therefore, assume he's the, "Most awesome monster of all," mentioned on the front cover.
And that's not all, because there's also a 5-page Tale of Asgard from David Anthony Kraft and Pablo Marcos. One which would appear to involve Thor and a storm giant.
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20 comments:
One of the best issues of FF! So much fun and expertly drawn by a young George Perez
And yes that tramway still exists. It’s one of a few ways to access Roosevelt Island which is next to Manhattan.
Joe - Yes, I remember that FF story, from MWOM # 309. I'm glad you were a George Perez fan, too. ( I felt the odd man out on SDC, regarding Perez, in a recent discussion of his work! ) In that FF tale, the Impossible Man almost resembled the Super-adaptoid, cycling through different Avengers' powers ( albeit, unlike the adaptoid, he only used them one at a time.) As a kid, I thought if Impossible Man's arm became the real Mjolnir, the Thing would have suffered a lot more damage being hit by it, at full force!
Phillip
Ah yes, FF #176, the Impossible Man visits the Marvel offices, and much hilarity ensues. "'Stan'? What is a 'Stan'?"
I think my favourite part is where Roy Thomas, George Perez and Stan Lee are having a meeting, worrying that no-one has been able to get hold of the FF so they don't know what the next issue will be about, and Jack Kirby - somewhat implausibly present, in 1976 - suggests they make a story up.
Come up with an idea...? "Nice try, Jack... but that just isn't done" lol.
-sean
Anyone else feel that Kirby’s FF cover is a whole lot less Kirby-esque than the very Kirbyesque Avengers, Cap, and Iron Man? Id have guesses Johnny B?
Also, any recommendations for a melting-Iron Man cover? I cant recall any thet seemed to really nail it?
Charlie Horse 47
Charlie. What about Iron Man issue 48 where Firebrand melts his armour?
https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Iron_Man_Vol_1_48
Hi McS! That is the one cover that always comes to mind, for me, of melting armour and it just doesnt seem quite right to me.
McS - Fwiw - that was just about the last Iron Man i ever bought off the spinner! Maybe the Super-Adaptoid which ran nyol the mid-50s? Long time ago… 55 years when I was like 10 years old. CH
Joe - On the Avengers cover, compared with his hand, Cap's shield is far too small ( a particular bugbear of mine), almost Frisbee-like, in fact! On Kirby's Cap cover, in contrast, his shield is the correct size, large enough to do some damage, on hitting a villain!
Phillip
Today is 50 years since Jimmy Carter was elected President of the United States.
Some pretty good books here! Enjoyed that Avengers tale, although I too thought that the Whizzer was really no match for even Cap alone. Seems like this book led into the 1976 Avengers Annual...
Joe, Phillip and Sean- was, that FF story is a favorite of mine too. It was a kick trying to identify all the Marvel-ous cameos. And any appearance of "Impy" is a win I'm my book. Still laugh recalling his shenanigans in that X-Men Annual some years later...
Then there was Amazing Spider-Man. Another favorite; a standout in a time when the book was about to suffer a creative decline, imho. We'd soon be treated to such timeless foes as Rocket Racer, Big Wheel and White Dragon. Not exactly the "Sinister Six". That said, this tale with such a cool batch of characters was a definite winner!
Redartz - Spidey's declining soon....The Avengers, however, are going stratospheric, next month, with George Perez' art on Tyrak's issue, being absolutely outstanding. The Golden Age of the Avengers begins...!
Phillip
Phillip- quite so! Avengers was top notch pretty much for the remainder of the decade. Both in story and art; between Perez and John Byrne the book was a must read for years...
Yeah!
The Avengers were starting to get pretty good.
I was just a kid, but it was hard to find that mag on the spinner racks.
I know it wasn't Perez, it was Sal, but remember that drag-out fight between the Vision and Wonder Man?
Heck, I wasn't sure who either one of those guys were back then, but I was hooked.
M.P.
I think sunrises are overrated when we change the clocks in fall. Time to stop this malarkey. That was a great topic.
M.P. - Yes - Wonderman vs the Vision ( Sal & Marcos) is an absolute classic. I'd never seen the Vision's "disruption technique" before ( very disturbing, to a kid! ), and the floor sinking, with Marcos's inks, really conveyed the Vision's density massively increasing. Not only did Wonderman survive "disruption" - something nobody had ever done before - supposedly - but we were told his fists "hit like Thor's hammer". This is poked fun at in some places, nowadays, but what it implied, to the kid reader, was that Wonderman was actually stronger than Thor, without his hammer - absolutely incredible! Later, Marvel stepped back from that claim. Also, we learned Wonderman never tires ( each of his cells being like a miniature fusion reactor, a subsequent issue explains.) One of Marvel's greatest superhero battles, to me, without a doubt! A characteristic of Marvel's top battles being, your estimation of the loser's powers was also raised, even though they "came second". I'd never realized the Vision was so powerful, before ( even though Wonderman beat him! ) I'd also put the Silver Surfer vs the Human Torch in that category. After all, although the Surfer defeated the Human Torch with almost negligent ease, as a kid, that battle also raised my estimation of the Torch's powers. I never knew the Human Torch could follow the Surfer to the edge of space, nor that the Torch's nova burst could destroy an entire city block! Hence, as a little kid, Wonderman vs the Vision, and the Surfer vs the Torch were two of my top superhero battles!
Phillip
Phil-
Yeah, that was a good one, Big John Buscema. The art was fantastic,
Hey, speaking of classic fights remember that F.F, issue from way back when the Thing and the Torch take on Sandman and Blastarr?
I think you might be right...they didn't always give the Torch his due. Blastarr was fireproof! Him and just about everybody else. I guess they couldn't really show the Torch broiling somebody alive. But Ben Grimm is one of my favorite characters....I always enjoy seeing him punch somebody out.
M.P.
What is thw Wonder Man - Vision battle? What issues? Might checkout over xmas… when I am not drinking egg nog listening to Andy Williams.
M.P. - No, I think I missed that one! Being close to Thor's power-level, Blastarr, even without Sandman - presents quite a challenge for Ben & Johnny! Yes, before Marvel Universe, a Thing or Hulk battle, was how you positioned superheroes, in Marvel's rankings. Quantifying everybody's strength, as MU did, made it cease to be fun! That other ranking system, of light-weights, middle-weights, heavy weights, and super-heavy weights was better, but some stupid stuff - unsurprisingly - got put in it. Like ranking the Silver Surfer low! The Surfer vs the Thing - now that was a classic battle, too! The Surfer using the Power Cosmic to increase his strength, like Iron Man overloading his armour, for short bursts...
They don't make stories like that anymore!
Phillip
Joe - Avengers # 158!
Phillip
Thanks Bro! Joe
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