May 29th, 1976 - Marvel UK, 50 years ago this week.

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

***

Fasten your seat belts!

Steve Does Comics is about to go supersonic!

And so was Washington, DC, exactly fifty years ago - because it was the week in which its Concorde service was launched!

Elsewhere, in the land that developed Concorde in conjunction with the UK, the so-called Judgement of Paris pitted French and Californian wines against each other in a blind taste-test. And, to the shock of all humanity, the Californian wines won! Sacré bleu! Not to mention Sacré Rosé

Speaking of the United States, President Gerald Ford defeated challenger Ronald Reagan in the Republican presidential primaries for Kentucky, Tennessee and Oregon.

It's the big one, as the FF move into a house designed to send the whole world blind!

Why such a machine is in the form of a house, I've no idea.

I also have no memory of the Mole Man's staff being cosmic. Is that just something made up for the front cover? Or is that a real thing?

After that, Captain America saves SHIELD's barbershop from an AIM android but receives no gratitude from Nick Fury who promptly sends him on a mission to rescue Sharon Carter from that organisation's clutches.

After that, Nick Fury's own strip sees the eye-patch-sporting super-spy deduce that Them and Hydra are the same organisation!

But, hold on. Didn't he previously deduce that Them was really AIM? And that Them is also really the Secret Empire? I'm struggling to keep track of which organisations are which.

Plantman's pitched the Sub-Mariner and Triton against each other while he sets off to destroy somewhere. Possibly London.

And I think the issue wraps up with Johnny Blaze still feebly opposing the works of Satan.

It's good to see Rick Jones throwing in the towel at the first sign of trouble, on that cover. It does make me wonder, has he ever been mentioned in any of the Marvel movies?

As for this week's Conan adventure, all I know for sure is it's called Statues of Terror. Gargoyle of Doom. I shall, therefore, assume it contains multiple statues of terror and just one gargoyle of doom.

In our main strip, Captain Marvel's been successfully drained of the deadly radiation he's been giving off. But, now, Ronan the Accuser sends a Sentry to abduct him from the hospital bed in which he's unconsciously recuperating from that ordeal.

And I think Shang-Chi and his friends are still on the island of top assassin Mordillo and are now in his deadly model village of death, packed, I have no doubt, with all manner of unlikely booby traps.

Yet again, a MWOM cover has us expecting a clash between Adam Warlock and the Hulk.

In fact, what really happens is things get properly Biblical, as Adam has the misfortune to be crucified on live television!

I would be shocked by his death but I have a strange feeling he may be coming back to life in three-or-so days.

Daredevil's still out to put a stop to the illicit activities of the man called Crime-Wave.

And to do that, he sneaks aboard the villain's gambling ship, disguised as a lackey in sunglasses.

But what happens when he's told to run the roulette wheel and he can't see the colours or the numbers on it?

The X-Men have only just got Frankenstein's Monster out of the way and, now, they have to deal with the "sub-human" Grotesk who's out to punish the surface world for destroying his underground civilisation, with nuclear tests. With a grudge of that nature, I can't help but feel he should team up with the Sub-Mariner.

When it comes to ape action, I do believe Alaric and Graymakin are about to meet an orangutan inventor who's built himself his own flying contraption, as seen on that cover.

And it's time to hang out the bunting because I think that, this week, we finally see the end of Ka-Zar's interminable Maa-Gor/El Tigre storyline with the latter plunging to his death and the other being reverted to his caveman form, by the machinery that made him super-intelligent in the first place,

The shrewd observer will note that, despite being the star of the strip, Ka-Zar had no involvement in the downfall of either of these villains. Almost as though writer Mike Friedrich was desperate to get rid of them.

Far more interestingly, Captain Marvel's strip sees the Controller invade the Avengers Mansion while Thanos continues to scheme his schemes.

To be honest, I'm not sure how dramatic, "The Ghost Rider shakes hands with Satan," is as a concept. Despite what it claims on the cover, it certainly doesn't instill a sense of horror beyond belief in me.

I am curious, though, about the fact that he still has a strip in two Marvel UK books at once. Nifty Neil Tennant really does seem to have faith in Blaze's ability to attract readers.

But it's not just Adam Warlock who's dying, this week. So is Dracula when Dr Sun's henchman rams a stake through his heart.

Is this the end for the lord of vampires?

I'm going to guess that he stays dead for even less time than Warlock will.

But it could be the end of the Ghost Rider because that fiery-faced fighter of fiends has run foul of a motorbike gang whose leader easily beats him up.

Until he's rescued by the Witch-Woman...

...who turns out to be Satan!

I'll just point out that the Son of Satan took on the same gang in his debut and totally marmalised the lot of them.

And what's this? Man-Thing too is up against a biker gang!

And he too is triumphant with ease.

But it's not all fun and games for the swampy sensation, because F A Schist has created a thing called The Slaughter Room which he's convinced will dispose of the creature forever!

An historic moment has arrived in the pantheon of heroes because I believe this is the first time I - and other Marvel UK readers - have ever encountered Luke Cage!

Needless to say, he makes such a big impact on me that I shall spend the next fifty years modelling my dress-sense on him.

And shouting, "Sweet Christmas!" at random moments.

I also suspect this is the story in which Peter Parker snaps his own pen in half.

Granted, that might not sound all that dramatic but, at the time, to me, it seemed incredibly potent and was a sight that burnt itself into my memory.

Speaking of sights that can burn themselves into your brain, after planting a story in the press about his amazing cosmetic surgery skills, Don Blake's kidnapped by Dr Doom and ordered to fix his face for him. But the physician takes one look at the Latverian ruler's visage and practically has a mental breakdown over it.

Needless to say, a bedside manner like that lands him in a dungeon.

And he doesn't even have his walking stick to hand!

Iron Man's having a tough time with the Controller who's absorbed the power of so many locals that even the armoured Avenger lacks the brute force to stop him.

Elsewhere, the Thing's about to have an encounter with a Golem now under the control of some villain or other.

And Dr Strange continues to have his hands full trying to stop both Umar and Dormammu who, I think, have now reached the feuding-with-each-other stage.

But can Clea's dodgy dad be the solution to all this?

Finally, as he was kind enough to give this site a plug on his blog, I shall remind everyone that those interested in the activities of Marvel UK, way back then, can find far more information about each issue than I could ever hope to provide, by visiting The Power of the BeeSting and discovering just what its proprietor Mark makes of all this week's mighty action.

Speak Your Brain! Part 125.

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

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

We've just come out of a bank holiday - and record-breaking temperatures for the time of year.

Hot stuff indeed.

But you know what else is hot?

This site!

And, in particular, one feature.

A feature that men, women, children and their pets can only speak of in hushed whispers.

Assuming, that is, that they dare speak of it at all and don't possess vocal chords paralysed by fear at the very thought of it.

That feature is the one in which you -  and you alone - can decide what is to be discussed.

It can be almost any subject beneath the sun, beside yourself or even over the moon.

Therefore, make sure to register your interest, in the comments section below and, when we sit down, we'll see just where we stand.

2000 AD - April 1988.

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

***

So eventful was April 1988 that it's a miracle we didn't all come out of it requiring more tranquillisers than Bruce Banner.

Not only did the Geneva Accords see the Soviet Union agree to withdraw all forces from Afghanistan, the USS Samuel B. Roberts struck a naval mine in the Persian Gulf, thanks to the Tanker War phase of the Iran–Iraq War, prompting retaliation against Iran by the United States.

And the world's longest skyjacking came to a close when the remaining passengers of Kuwait Airways Flight 422 were released by their captors.

But aviation wasn't finished with us yet. It was a month in which Aloha Airlines Flight 243 managed to land after losing its roof in mid-air. An event that killed a flight attendant and injured 65 people.

Fortunately, not all was melodrama and, in a far more sedate frame of mind, World Expo 88 opened in Brisbane.

When it came to movies, April saw the unleashing of such ne'er-to-be-forgotten classics as Bright Lights, Big City, The Seventh Sign, Appointment with Death, Brain Damage, Colors, The Blue Iguana, Lady in White, Return of the Killer Tomatoes, Two Moon Junction, White Mischief, Critters 2 and Powaqqatsi.

I believe that Critters 2 and White Mischief are the only ones of those that I've actually seen. Therefore, I shall nominate Critters 2 as my Steve Does Comics Film of the Month.

But what of music?

The spell kicked off with the Pet Shop Boys' Heart at Number One on the UK singles chart before that was forced to make way for Theme from S-Express by S-Express.

On the accompanying album chart, April was ushered in with Now That's What I Call Music! 11 ruling the roost before that was barged aside by Iron Maiden's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. But, then, even the mighty Maidens were forced to subside by the arrival of Erasure's The Innocents.

But what news of the galaxy's greatest comic?

Possibly to no one's surprise, it continued to feed us a diet of Rogue Trooper, Strontium Dog, Judge Dredd, Tharg's Future-Shocks and Tyranny Rex.

But there was innovation to be found in the form of Prog 571 introducing us to Summer Magic, a brand new strip by Alan McKenzie and John Ridgway.

Fandom informs me that it involved a boy called Luke Kirby who, in the summer of 1962, is sent to stay in the countryside with his Uncle Elias. A man he's never before met. Luke soon discovers the man is a practitioner of alchemy and, when a mysterious beast begins stalking the woods around the village, Elias announces the boy must learn magic, in order to defend himself!

May 22nd, 1976 - Marvel UK, 50 years ago this week.

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

***

I'm sure that football football football is all that's ever on our minds, round here, and it was even more on our minds, this week in 1976, when Liverpool won the UEFA Cup for the second time, thanks to a 4–3 aggregate victory over Club Brugge.

In a far more high-class vein, the Royal Charter was granted to the Chartered Society of Designers.

Granted, I've no idea what that actually means but I'm sure it's very fancy.

Speaking of being fancy, I do always wonder where super-heroes get those big hoops from, for each other to jump through. I have never yet encountered a shop that sells them.

But I do believe the Fantastic Four are about to get a shock when Sue decides to buy a house in the woods and it turns out to be booby-trapped up to the eyeballs!

Elsewhere, the Red Skull tries to steal America's latest nuclear submarine but, not for the first - and certainly not the last - time, causes his own death.

Speaking of blundering villains, the drones of AIM make a major goof when they steal what they think is a SHIELD LMD - only for it turn out to be Nick Fury!

The Sub-Mariner's about to encounter both Plant Man and Triton in a tale I have no doubt will be packed to the gunwales with drama.

It's a great week for fans of the Ghost Rider, as he doesn't only appear in this week's Dracula Lives. He also has a strip in this book.

And, this week, after an encounter with a bike gang, Johnny Blaze tells the story of how he became the flame-headed fright dispenser.

It's a striking cover, all right but, before we find out what's to do with the Avengers, Conan lands himself in a yarn called the Night of the Gargoyle.

But, now, hold onto your hats, pilgrim because it's the start of what was, at the time, the greatest super-hero epic of them all, as everyone's favourite Kree captain makes the mistake of using the most over-powered hairdryer in history.

And it all begins because he's giving off dangerous levels of radiation the Avengers need to set about draining, pronto.

Meanwhile, I do believe Shang-Chi and his friends have gone to the island of the assassin Mordillo, looking to bring an end to his murderous activities.

As that cover makes clear, there's plenty at stake for Dracula who, having gone to the lair of Dr Sun, must now survive a fight with the villain's blade-wielding lackey Juno.

In the Ghost Rider's strip, Daimon Hellstrom's still preparing to exorcise Linda Littletrees while Johnny Blaze must face the power of the Witch -Woman.

But forget about Kree/Skrull Wars, this is the big news of the month because I do believe the Man-Thing gets a Rick Jones of his very own when he encounters Richard Rory!

I'm sure that Alaric and Graymalkin are still splashing about on that big boat of theirs.

And, for what feels like the 300th week running, Ka-Zar's battling the malevolent machinations of Maa-Gor and El Tigre.

But the Black Panther finally brings an end to the Killmonger saga when he thwarts the homicidal plans of that malcontent's girlfriend and her leopards.

Despite what's claimed on the cover, I do believe that, inside the book, Adam Warlock and the Hulk are getting on like a house on fire, after encountering each other on Counter-Earth.

But tension's running high in Daredevil's strip when Crime-Wave sends the assassin known as Torpedo to kill Willie Lincoln for knowing too much.

And the X-Men are still in combat with Frankenstein's Monster but may have a solution at hand, thanks to its problem dealing with extreme cold.

And, in a separate strip, we discover the ocular origin of that team's man of action Cyclops.

But this is it, the tale that left me traumatised forever, as we get not just the death of Gwen Stacy but, also, the death of the Green Goblin.

In Dr Strange's strip, a crisis point's been reached, as Dormammu decides to liberate himself from the centre of the Earth and, once again, menace mankind.

Iron Man's still up against the power of the Controller.

And it looks like he might be all set to control Iron Man!

It looks like an even bigger clash of the titans is on the books because, upon discovering a French inventor's been kidnapped by Dr Doom, Thor decides it's time to pay a visit to Latveria and teach the maniacal monarch a lesson.

And, lastly, the Thing and Black Widow are in joint action when they attempt to prevent Agamemnon's terrorist organisation from detonating a giant nuclear bomb that will devastate the western world.

Speak Your Brain! Part 124. Sugar-filled snacks and the memories they bring back to you.

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

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

Who can know what lurks in the hearts of men?

Apparently, the Shadow can.

Sadly, he's not on speaking terms with me. Not since I pointed out to him that the weed of crime does not bear bitter fruit. That, in fact, it bears no fruit at all, as it's purely metaphorical and has no independently recognised horticultural validity.

Sadly, Lamont Cranston takes no subject more seriously than that of gardening and he left in a sulk.

And he took his wheelbarrow with him.

Fortunately, I'm not going to need him - nor his wheelbarrow - to tell me what lurks in my readers' hearts because, with any luck, they're about to tell me.

It can only mean one thing.

The jaw-dropping return of the feature in which our visitors get to reveal what's in their hearts.

And they do it in the comments section below.

Therefore, if you have something to get off your chest, be sure to make use of that facility. And I shall oversee subsequent events, from my eyrie on the 51st floor of a skyscraper that, officially, only has one storey.

The DC Lucky Bag - May 1976.

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

***

To be honest, not a lot leaps out at me from DC's comics bearing the cover date of May 1976.

However, the ones below seem more noteworthy than some.

Can it be? Can Hawkman now have the ability to fling his lower arms at everyone?

It surely can when a malfunction in the League's new teleport merges him, the Flash and an alien called the Dharlu into one being!

As for the popularity of this mag, the GCD informs me that this month's sales statement puts the average number of copies sold during the preceding 12 months at 166,000, and that the number reported for the issue nearest the filing date is 173,117.

And it seems Hawkman's not the only one losing body parts, because, now, Superman's joined in.

I know few details of what's occurring inside but it seems the man of steel must face several of his greatest foes, thanks to Xviar's master plan, in The Double-or-Nothing Life of Superman!

Not that I know who Xviar is.

I can report the average circulation for this comic is 644,000, with the most recent recorded issue coming in at 578,311.

Can it be curtains for the world's fastest human?

It seems so because the Mirror Master's used his mesmerising looking glasses to make the hero think he's a crook.

Thus, the Flash commits several robberies before someone called Dexter Myles shows him he's wrong to believe in his own light-fingered nature.

In red-hot back-up action, the Green Lantern's chasing the Ravagers who attempt to destroy the sun of another world but Greenie soon foils them by using a spaceship's nuclear reactors to ramp up the fusion activity of that sun.

When it comes sales, circulation is reported at an average of 169,000 per issue, with the most recent recorded issue achieving a figure of 166,866.

I know little of this one, other than that the adventure it contains is called Tarzan and the Champion: Conclusion which, to the shock of perhaps no one, seems to have been adapted from Edgar Rice Burrough's Tarzan and the Champion.

Sadly, I have no sales data to report.

Possibly, sales data is difficult to collect in the jungle.

We all like a special.

And this is a special.

Gasp as giant super-powered insects invade the Earth and it starts to look like even Superman can't stop them!

That's followed by the Green Lantern who, in an attempt to dodge a marriage proposal, creates a menace which then goes on a rampage!

That's followed by something called The Big House of Monsters!

And all of these tales are reprinted from the 1960s.

Meanwhile, the mag finishes off with a drama called The Marvel Family Reaches Eternity, as reprinted from the distant days of 1946.

However, that's not all we encounter, because, within this book, is also contained a two-page article called What Were the Dinosaurs?

And our answer is provided by none other than E. Nelson Bridwell himself.

It's another one I know little of.

But I do know its 18-page thriller is called Welcome Back to Life... Steve Trevor! and is brought to us by Martin Pasko and José Delbo.

I can shed no light upon whether the shock does indeed kill Wonder Woman.

May 15th, 1976 - Marvel UK, 50 years ago this week.

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

***

It's been a tumultuous week in politics for Britain and may well be followed by another one.

But things were fairly tumultuous, this week in 1976, with Jeremy Thorpe being forced to resign as leader of the Liberal Party, over allegations of his possible involvement in a plot to murder his former boyfriend.

And Keir Starmer thinks he has problems.

But what's this?

A, "Special bombastic action issue!"?

And also an ordeal?

I suppose that means I have to make this post a special bombastic action post.

And an ordeal.

I feel I can achieve one of those things better than the other.

Speaking of which, Conan's having trouble with deadly plants, especially one that creates a perfect replica of his current girlfriend.

Needless to say, that plant's not going to live for long.

Elsewhere, the Black Panther finishes telling the Avengers his origin tale. One in which AIM is trying to steal Wakanda's precious - and potentially dangerous - vibranium!

Then, Shang-Chi and friends set out to stymie the plans of top assassin Mordillo. An endeavour that necessitates the defusing of a bomb at Tower Bridge!

This is it! The big one! The one in which the Green Goblin abducts the lovely Gwendolyne and shocks the world by causing her demise!

Iron Man's strip's clearly never going to match that for epoch-making melodrama but it does, at least, set us up for a meeting between Shellhead and the Controller.

Next, Thor finally gets his own body back from Loki by tricking the villain into changing into Don Blake. An act that breaks his body-swap spell.

Then, the Thing and Black Widow must join forces to tackle a terrorist group led by a man called Agamemnon but only succeed in getting captured by them.

And Clea tries to get her father to help her and Dr Strange thwart Dormammu's plan to rudely burst out of the Earth's core.

Larking Bob Larkin gives us a cover of appeal when Marvel's Planet of the Apes strip gives us its take on the Captain Nemo legend, as an orangutan uses his submarine to sink other people's ships. I don't know about you but, to me, this sounds like a job for Alaric and Graymalkin.

Erik Killmonger may have bitten the dust but there's still the matter of his girlfriend who wants to avenge her lover's death, by bumping off the Black Panther!

And Ka-Zar continues to oppose the interminable schemes of Maa-Gor and El Tigre and now has to face a gang of resurrected ape-men!

Not content with this week's Avengers being a, Special Bombastic Action Issue, Marvel UK has decided to make this week's MWOM a Special All-Action Issue. Now I'm starting to wonder whether I should have made this a Bombastic Action post or just an All-Action post.

I do believe the Hulk is still on Counter-Earth and still fighting the minions of the Man-Beast - and that the Recorder's showed up in a bid to liberate Warlock from the clutches of President Man-Beast!

On the real Earth, Daredevil has a new threat to deal with, as the man called Crime-Wave is bringing fear and consternation to the streets of New York.

And it is, I'm sure, the highlight of all our childhoods, as the X-Men find themselves up against the unparalleled menace of Frankenstein's Monster!

I do believe the Fantastic Four have reached the end of their stay in Latveria, as Dr Doom refuses to fight them, in case it damages his precious ornaments.

Shock piles upon shock, as, alarmed by the sight of the villain trapping Manhattan in a big bubble, Captain America agrees to serve the Red Skull!

And we encounter yet more of the origin of the Sub-Mariner when we reach the part in which the Human Torch discovers him in a homeless shelter and restores his memory by dumping him in the ocean.

Elsewhere, AIM break into SHIELD's HQ, looking to steal an LMD while Nick Fury is under scrutiny from his superiors over his ability to do the job.

And Captain Marvel defeats the Super-Skrull before visiting the Avengers Mansion, in search of reinforcements for his upcoming struggle with Thanos.

It can't be a good sign for Dracula that he's reduced to secondary-feature status on the front of his own comic. Some might take it as a sign that his book's days are numbered.

Still, he's getting plenty to do inside the thing, as he recovers from his recent weakness, agrees to give an interview to Harold H Harold and then pays a visit to Dr Sun who's out to steal his powers.

In the Ghost Rider's strip, Daimon Hellstrom shows up, looking to perform an exorcism on the Satan-possessed Linda Littletrees.

And the Man-Thing, Howard the Duck, Korrek, Dakimh and Jennifer Kale are up to something in a tale whose plot probably defies description.

The Marvel Lucky Bag - May 1986.

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

***

Cinemas.

What places of magic they be.

Why, within them, you can experience a veritable smorgasbord of experiences you couldn't possibly get at home.

And the non-domestic smorgasbord presented to us in May 1986 included the release of such morsels as Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, No Retreat, No Surrender, Short Circuit, Top Gun, Crawlspace, Poltergeist II, Saving Grace and Blue City.

I must confess I've not heard of most of those films and have only seen Short Circuit and Poltergeist II. I shall, therefore, feel compelled to vote for Poltergeist II as my Movie of the Month.

I suspect others may disagree with me.

A brand new graphic novel enters our life when Marada the She-Wolf experiences the Chris Claremont and John Bolton created thriller in which something or other happens.

But wait.

What's this?

This is made up of stories that originally appeared in 1982's Epic Illustrated?

But, surely, that makes this a trade paperback? Not a graphic novel?

Regardless, the Grand Comics Database informs me the Marada series was conceived as a bunch of Red Sonja tales but had to be modified when Marvel lost the license to use the character.

However, no one's going to care about that.

We're all too busy reading the sensational new comic that's hit our local spinner racks, as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe get their very own comic and Prince Adam demonstrates he does indeed have the power!

However, I know nothing of this opening issue, other than that its contents are titled The Coming of Hordak!

I shall, therefore, assume it deals with Hordak, and his arrival.

Shockingly, as far as I can ascertain, this book will only last for thirteen issues.

And He-Man's not the only one making a Marvel debut, this month.

So is the all-new Ms Marvel when Sharon Ventura's transformed into the second incarnation of the heroine.

Alpha Flight have had their own monthly mag and, now, they bag their first annual, only to find their mansion possessed by the spirit of someone called Gilded Lily who, with the help of Diablo, is after a physical body to inhabit.

And that can only mean one thing.

That she kidnaps Aurora, for exactly that purpose!

But what drama greets us now?

After 20 issues, the latest Micronauts comic hits its final issue!

Does this mean we must abandon all hope of ever getting the Micronauts/He-Man crossover for which we were all so desperately longing?

That would appear to be the case.

As for what happens in this one, I have few clues, other than that it's called Worldhome! and delivered by the minds and fingers of Peter Gillis and Kelley Jones.

Arthur Adams and Bill Sienkiewicz produce a striking cover when Wolfsbane, Cypher, Magik, Karma, Cannonball and Magma join the Hellions.

Meanwhile, Magneto learns about Empath's attack on Tom and Sharon and decides to bring the team home.

A decision that causes Emma Frost to call the police on him.

Which seems a strange decision. Are the police really likely to be able to stop Magneto doing anything?

Also, she's never really struck me as being a, "Calling the police," kind of woman.

I know little of Balder's latest adventure, other than that he rescues Karnilla - and discovers he's been chosen as ruler of Asgard, as seen in Thor's comic, this month.

And, as our hero gets killed in that book, it's perhaps no shock that this proves to be the last appearance of his own mini-series.