tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post2349448688427034495..comments2024-03-29T08:31:38.748+00:00Comments on Steve Does Comics: Fifty years ago this month - May 1969.Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-20650236976493913072019-05-07T07:47:23.027+01:002019-05-07T07:47:23.027+01:00Redartz, you're right about that Spidey story....Redartz, you're right about that Spidey story. A number of the tales selected for the <i>Origins</i> books were odd choices. The Thor and Iron Man selections, in particular, made no sense at well.<br /><br />MP, I can confirm that those monkeys returned to Earth and are now involved in politics.Steve W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-85325331221532357272019-05-07T01:37:43.161+01:002019-05-07T01:37:43.161+01:00On the subject of space travel, there's someth...On the subject of space travel, there's something I've always wondered. Those monkeys they sent up into space, are they still up there? Or did they develop super-intelligence and mental powers, presumably from cosmic rays, as I've heard from some sources? <br />I've run across that scenario at least three different times in various places. That's sure some coincidence, is all I'm sayin'.<br /><br />M.P.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-52113765879466138202019-05-06T18:46:44.994+01:002019-05-06T18:46:44.994+01:00Of the twelve men to walk on the moon, only four a...Of the twelve men to walk on the moon, only four are still alive, aged 83-89. I'm feeling old right now.dangermashnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-53587092430151616722019-05-06T18:03:43.103+01:002019-05-06T18:03:43.103+01:00Of the three crew members in Apollo 10, two of the...Of the three crew members in Apollo 10, two of them (John Young and Eugene Cernan) did end up walking on the moon in later Apollo missions. Imagine that - visiting the moon twice in a lifetime, even if on one of those occasions all you did was drive around without getting out of the car.dangermashnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-64673187272050394342019-05-06T15:16:56.922+01:002019-05-06T15:16:56.922+01:00I picked up many of these books as back issues yea...I picked up many of these books as back issues years after the fact. The one I actually bought off the stands was Amazing Spider-man. I'd been following that "Stone tablet/Kingpin/Shocker/Silvermane story. Ultimately, due to the inconsistencies of newsstand distribution at the time, I missed out on the final issue in the story! It was only years later that I could read the conclusion. And Steve, you mentioned that book's inclusion in "Origins of Marvel Comics". Indeed; an odd choice for that honor, being smack dab in the middle of a multi-issue storyline. <br /><br />And regarding Apollo 10- one can only imagine the frustration of that crew. Soooooooo close...Redartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08221459636234713619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-49814122211527145302019-05-06T04:38:31.792+01:002019-05-06T04:38:31.792+01:00Smith's Conan run as a whole is great for just...Smith's Conan run as a whole is great for just that reason M.P. To go from the still fairly rudimentary work of the first issue to Song of the Red Sonja in a couple of years, while dealing with the daily grind of monthly comics and meeting deadlines (well, ok, mostly meeting deadlines) is seriously impressive.<br /><br />But for all Smith's enthusiasm I still don't think Daredevil #52 is a good comic.<br />True, his Avengers was a bit better, but thats not really saying much.<br /><br />-seanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-33755682970158037592019-05-06T04:07:04.746+01:002019-05-06T04:07:04.746+01:00Smith's stuff was pretty rough at this point, ...Smith's stuff was pretty rough at this point, but still kinda compelling. He was channeling some Kirby here, but he was a young artist and hadn't found his own style yet. He did a pretty good Ultron in an Avengers issue.<br />It's pretty bombastic, isn't it! But he got much more subtle during his tenure on Conan. There was a big difference between his first and final work on that series. His final issues were spectacular.<br />And his Red Sonja...holy moly.<br /><br />M.P.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-18058242392638444452019-05-06T03:30:03.521+01:002019-05-06T03:30:03.521+01:00I recall reading somewhere in an old interview wit...I recall reading somewhere in an old interview with Barry Smith that Starr Saxon was supposed to be gay, and because of the comics code that had to be implied in the artwork (but - somewhat fortunately really - he wasn't a good enough artist to manage it).<br />Maybe that explains why the figure on the right of that Daredevil cover looks a bit odd? Mind you, DD and the Panther look pretty strange too...<br /><br />A lot of people like that issue, but unlike Steranko I don't think that for all his enthusiasm Smith was able to transcend his limitations. Not quite yet.<br /><br />-seanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-40799881021496268732019-05-06T02:03:46.821+01:002019-05-06T02:03:46.821+01:00Ah, the Controller.
Bushwacker extraordinaire, and...Ah, the Controller.<br />Bushwacker extraordinaire, and rather unpleasant to be around generally. The guy really enjoyed sneaking up on people.<br />Here is a list, by no means complete, of people he's snuck up on:<br />Iron Man<br />the Vision<br />Sub-Mariner<br />Black Panther (!)<br />Captain America (unsuccessfully)<br />Magneto (also unsuccessfully)<br />Captain Marvel (ditto)<br />Thor (abortive attempt)<br />assorted minor characters<br /><br />Just a nasty person, all around.<br /><br />M.P.<br /> <br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-72456468197664682802019-05-06T00:58:35.044+01:002019-05-06T00:58:35.044+01:00Aggy, really?? That sounds like something Conan O&...Aggy, really?? That sounds like something Conan O'Brien would come up with! That is <i>hysterical</i>.<br />Comicsfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10064955427593820783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-65206908673300397102019-05-06T00:13:59.296+01:002019-05-06T00:13:59.296+01:00I seem to remember reading somewhere (maybe in Ste...I seem to remember reading somewhere (maybe in Steranko's History of Comics) that DC had a rule against using the word "flick" because the ink might run the L and I together. <br /><br />Dunno if Hawkeye's real name had any significance. Clint Eastwood was starting to hit it big in the movies in the mid-to-late 1960s, and Clint Walker had been very popular on TV a few years earlier.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13686814973788356726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-60235479894511468122019-05-05T23:50:19.741+01:002019-05-05T23:50:19.741+01:00Possibly an urban myth,or unique to British comics...Possibly an urban myth,or unique to British comics, but apparently the word flick was avoided in case the ink ran causing the l and i to merge into a saucy u. In the same way, I'm surprised Marvel were happy to have a character names Clint. Although given Hawkeye's initial personality, perhaps Stan was sending a hidden message.<br /><br />All together, this was a pretty solid month for Marvel. Kirby FF and Thor, Romita and Buscema Spidey, Adam's X-men and Steranko Cap.<br /><br />DWAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-23310894541223073422019-05-05T23:42:38.573+01:002019-05-05T23:42:38.573+01:00Favourite fact about Apollo 10 is that, even thoug...Favourite fact about Apollo 10 is that, even though it was a test run for Apollo 11 and identical, they short filled the landing modules fuel tanks. They were concerned the astronauts would "have a problem" and have to land on the moon. If they did actually have a problem that forced a landing they could not take off again.Aggynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-51884870244867847512019-05-05T23:41:36.942+01:002019-05-05T23:41:36.942+01:00All the issues presented today were missed by me w...All the issues presented today were missed by me when released, as for some reason I wasn't exposed to civilization that month. Eventually I did get to read most, thanks to Marvel's reprint titles.<br /><br />Sometimes I think the inspiration for the Shocker came from somebody staying at a cheap motel. They had coin-operated vibrating mattresses back then. That would explain the powers & costume.Killdumpsternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-18738430884251034322019-05-05T23:28:54.977+01:002019-05-05T23:28:54.977+01:00Thanks for the Starr Saxon info, TC.
I did have ...Thanks for the Starr Saxon info, TC. <br /><br />I did have it in my head that the original Mr Fear turned into Death-Stalker but it turns out it was the Exterminator who became Death-Stalker.Steve W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09191442559702617745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263300365798803459.post-90561045871260320012019-05-05T20:48:07.487+01:002019-05-05T20:48:07.487+01:00Starr Saxon was a robot-making villain who somehow...Starr Saxon was a robot-making villain who somehow found out Daredevil's secret identity and tried to blackmail him. So DD rigged a plane crash to make it appear that Matt Murdock had been killed. <br /><br />Saxon then adopted the identity of the villain Mr. Fear (after murdering Zoltan Drago, the original Mr. Fear), and was apparently killed when he fell off of a hovercraft while fighting Daredevil. (DD #55)<br /><br />In 1980, it was revealed (Captain America #249) that Saxon had survived. His mind had been transplanted into a robot or computer, and he became the villain Machinesmith. TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13686814973788356726noreply@blogger.com