Fifty years ago today - September 1976.

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

***

It seems that September 1976 was an exciting month for all lovers of talking frogs, amorous pigs and indeterminate crow-like creatures because it was the month in which The Muppet Show was broadcast for the very first time.

To be honest, I was never a fan of them. They were far too energetic and positive for my liking and kept bursting into song at every opportunity.

Fortunately, there was one group of characters in my life who could never be called a bunch of Muppets.

And those were the heroes of Marvel!

I genuinely have no idea what happens in this one, other than from the cover giving me the impression that a brand-new lineup of Avengers is being introduced - possibly to be selected by a mass punch-up!

Perhaps more importantly, the internet informs me that this tale contains the first appearance of Wonder Man since his death in the book's early days.

I believe this is the lead-up to the tale in which Conan, Red Sonja and Bêlit scrap it out for ownership of the dreaded Book of Skelos. Only for Kull to somehow get dragged into it all.

But that's for the future. I suspect that, right now, Conan and Bêlit get to fight each other. Presumably as a result of some sorcery or other.

I believe I've never read this epic and can, thus, voice no opinions upon it but I do know that Brother Wonderful is in it, even though I have no idea who that is.

Hooray! Torgo's back - and so are the Skrulls - as the Fantastic Four strive to find a planet for Galactus to eat instead of Counter-Earth.

And Psyklop is more than back in a tale that I suspect can only mean bad news for Jarella.

However, that is the total sum of my knowledge of this adventure.

And I know nothing at all about this one, other than it not only featuring the return of the Controller but, also, appearances by the Scrounger, the Blood Brothers, Harry Key and Michael O'Brien, which is more threats than you can shake a stick at!

The Tinkerer is back - and with a cover that clearly owes much to the front of Amazing Spider-Man #98, as we encounter the tragic demise of the Spider-Mobile.

Even more tragically, I do believe this issue claims the Tinkerer isn't an alien and that he was just pretending to be, during his first appearance.

Needless to say, this is a development of which I cannot approve.

I don't know what it is. The thunder god just can't stop getting into clashes with the goddess of death.

This time, it's down to him looking for the missing Odin in to a quest that leads him to the depths of Hel itself!

A threat on a much lower level is encountered by Daredevil when the Jester reappears.

However, not having read this one, I cannot say just what the villain's plan may be.

The GCD informs me that this issue features a letter from the Amazing Randi, claiming that Uri Geller doesn't have genuine magic powers!

And it also features a letter from Geller insisting that he does!

High controversy indeed!

Fifty years ago today - August 1976.

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

***

Let's have some more nostalgia.

It's a, "Spectacular 150th anniversary special!"

It's amazing to think it means that, with this issue, the Avengers had been around for a hundred and fifty years. At the time, it must have seemed like barely more than ten.

It's just a shame the cover tells us nothing of what happens inside such a landmark publication.

But it doesn't need to.

Because, by crikey, I can tell us!

I can sensationally reveal that many are the comings and goings within the ranks of the Avengers, with Captain America taking over the leadership and Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch all rejoining.

However, because this is a team and not a legion, departing the gang are Thor, Iron Man, Giant-Man, and the Wasp.

All I know about this month's Cimmerian scramblings is that the battling barbarian battles the fearsome fury of the fang-flinging Feathered Serpent.

It can only be down to fate that Captain America celebrates his two hundredth issue in the year of his homeland's two hundredth birthday.

And it's bad news for that nation's enemies, wherever they may lurk, as Cap puts a stop to both the Elite and William Taurey while the Falcon destroys the Big Daddy Madbomb in Philadelphia!

Things are not looking good for everyone's favourite crime-fighter when the Jester pulls off the unlikely feat of faking a Presidential newscast in which Gerald Ford tells the public to kill all superheroes!

Logically, such an event would cross-over into all other Marvel super-hero comics, this month, but, to my knowledge, it doesn't.

It's building up to the fight we've all been waiting for - Galactus vs the High Evolutionary.

But, before that, the Fantastic Four try to find a planet to sacrifice, so that Galactus won't eat Counter-Earth.

But, surely, this quest is doomed.

After all, what kind of world would volunteer to be eaten?

Jarella's back!

And that's pretty much all I recollect of this epic.

However, the Internet informs me that this month's villain of the month is the God of the Mountain. A name that rings no bells, either for or with me.

Iron Man's still having trouble with the Blood Brothers.

But not to worry, because Daredevil takes a break from trying to avoid being killed by the public, and turns up to help out.

Apparently, the Controller's also in this tale.

I can only assume this all connects with Thanos in some manner.

Spidey remains at odds with Doc Ock and Hammerhead. The latter of whom is, clearly, no longer a phantom.

These are thrilling times for me because this issue was my first-ever exposure to the New X-Men!

I didn't have a clue who these people were or what was going on in it but I knew at once that I loved them in a way that I could never love the original X-Men.

That aside, it's a landmark 100th issue and the new gang find themselves having to fight the old one on a satellite, with a damaged space shuttle being the only way out of there.

One that lacks the shielding needed to exclude the deadly radiation that only space can inflict upon you.

Determined not to be left behind by the Avengers, Captain America and X-Men, yet another Marvel hero celebrates a landmark issue.

And it's his 250th!

Not that he has much to celebrate. I think this is the third time Mangog's been on the loose - and the third time he's tried to draw the Odinsword!

You'd think he'd have come up with another plan by now. Like getting his hands on the Cosmic Cube or the Infinity Gauntlet or both or something.

But, hold on. What would happen if someone with the Cosmic Cube got into a fight with someone who had the Infinity Gauntlet? Who'd win? And why has no one ever asked this question before?

Fifty years ago today - July 1976.

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

***

Hooray!

It's July!

Already!

And we all know what's significant about that month!

It's the first month of the year!

And that means it's the one in which we all rush out and buy ourselves a brand new calendar!

And what better one to buy, here in 1976, than the one that Marvel Comics has issued to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the United States of Statesland declaring independence from the United Britain of Kingdoms!

And what a publication it is, packed solid with images of our favourite heroes - and Toro - as, month by month, it takes us through significant moments in both the history of the War of Independence and the history of Marvel and its creators.

Granted, there are some strangenesses, such as its depiction of Conan and the Black Panther leading the revolutionary charge. I'm not totally sure just when either of them became American.

But the good news for those with fond memories of that calendar is that, once again, it can be yours - and in pristine condition because Marvel has reissued it to celebrate that nation's 250th birthday and the calendar's 50th - and that brand-new version of it is available from all good retailers, including the likes of eBay and Amazon.

So, that in mind, let's see just what that calendar tells us awaits us in this the month of July.

And, now, the regular stuff.

Isn't this the story in which our favourite team are having all kinds of trouble with Orka the human killer whale until Thor turns up and flattens him before revealing he normally doesn't hit his foes as hard as he could, for fear of hurting them?

Given the threat posed to him by most of his opponents, I find this claim very hard to believe.

Regardless, it starts to raise doubts in the thunder god's mind as to whether he's slumming it by hanging around with mere mortals.

As far as I can make out, June 1976 saw the launch of legendary ITV children's drama serial The Feathered Serpent, starring Patrick Troughton and Diane Keen as the world's most Anglo-Saxon Aztecs.

Meanwhile, Conan's comic that's cover-dated a mere month later shocks us all with its reference to the fiends of the Feathered Serpent.

How can this be mere coincidence?

Apparently, it can be.

As for what happens in it, it would appear our hero establishes himself as the Feargal Sharkey of his generation by saving a village from an evil wizard who's dumping toxic waste in its river.

I've not read this one but the internet informs me that someone called Professor Harding breaks his ties with the Elites and decides to help Cap and Falc do something or other.

Meanwhile, someone called Malcolm orders the activation of the Big Daddy Madbomb.

I do believe this is at least the second time Daredevil's been wrongly accused of murdering the Jester.

And I suspect the villain's ploy will be no more successful this time than it was the first.

As that cover makes clear, It's the one in which Galactus is using the Destroyer as a herald.

More urgently, golden gorilla Gorr's taken the gang to Counter-Earth where they have to quickly prepare for the arrival of the planet-eater himself. 

"The most unexpected barbarian of all!" declares the front cover!

I suspect that's because no one's ever heard of him.

But it would appear that this issue's Conan wannabe is someone called Kronak which is almost an anagram of Arkon and I can shed no more light upon him than that.

The Blood Brothers are back and that's all I know of this one - other than that it's brought to us by Archie Goodwin and George Tuska.

Aunt May's weak heart survives yet another incident that'd inflict total cardiac arrest upon the healthiest of people.

But, meanwhile, it would seem the currently spectral Hammerhead manages to trick Dr Octopus into returning him to the world of the solid!

Nope. No idea what occurs in this issue - but it does look like Thor's finally developed the sense to give Odin the slap he's been asking for ever since he first appeared in the strip.

Fifty years ago today - June 1976.

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

***

I'm going to see if I can launch straight into this, without an intro.

But, hold on. That was an intro.

And so is this.

And so is this.

What's up with me? I can't stop introducing things!!!

Unless my senses betray me, the Avengers have found themselves in a strange and alternate dimension. One which needs saving from a threat involving the Sub-Mariner's old enemy the Serpent Crown.

But who on Earth is the man in the yellow, doing the talking? I assume he's the Squadron Supreme's version of Hawkman but I have no recollection of him.

Also, where's their version of Hawkgirl?

Conan having a tangle with the man whose name he shall inherit.

A man who bears strong resemblance to both Tarzan and Ka-Zar.

But, before he can do that, he, Amra and Bêlit are going to have to defeat an army of underground goblins!

As far as I can make out, Cap and the Falc endeavour to track down the creator of the Madbombs.

But to add complexity to it all, our hero's developing a romantic attachment to the villain's seriously ill daughter.

I detect human drama incoming.

Not to mention a good dose of self-sacrifice by at least one of the characters.

I like that lettering at the bottom of the cover. It reminds me of those multi-coloured Polo mint things I've mentioned before but can never remember the name of, even though people keep telling me their name.

But I do suspect that one of the Torpedoes on that cover is, in fact, the Chameleon who DD and the real Torpedo are both out to get.

Hooray! It's the debut of Gorr! Which means our next encounter with the High Evolutionary can't be far away!

But, first, the Fantastic Four are going to have to burst into action when the glowing golden gorilla lands on our world, in a ship from Counter-Earth, and proceeds to go on the rampage and grow to huge size.

It's time for a celebration, as the Hulk's mag hits its 200th issue!

And I'm going to guess it's the one in which a dramatically shrunk-down Hulk's implanted into Glenn Talbot's brain. Inside of which, he fights imaginary versions of his old enemies.

I'm no doctor but I can't help feeling that can't be good for Talbot's brain.

The Blizzard is in this one.

That is all I know.

And that it's brought to us by the power-packed pairing of Bill Mantlo and George Tuska.

Spider-Man has problems with a Dr Octopus keen on revitalising his romance with Aunt May!

But that might be the least of Webhead's woes because I also believe this is the one in which Hammerhead returns as a ghost!

Not that the criminal's current state will matter much. I bet that Spider-Man still keeps trying to punch him in the head instead of the stomach.

I possess no knowledge of what happens in this one but I'm going to suggest the cover implies it may have a bit of a Jack and the Beanstalk vibe to it.

I must confess I was always on the side of the giant in that fairy tale, even though he kept saying he wanted to eat Englishmen.

Regardless, it would seem this issue introduces us to Brodag, Holvar and Cosak.

Not that I have a clue who they are.

We've got Sentinels! We've got outer space! And we've got Dave Cockrum! How could anyone not love the X-Men in this period?

It seems Stephen Lang may not. After all, the gang must assault his orbiting space station, in a bid to rescue their colleagues from he and his allies.

Those allies being the original X-Men!

Fifty years ago today - May 1976.

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

***

A new month has begun and an appropriate post is born.

The Vision, getting a bit defeatist there.

Also, he seems to be calling Captain America, "My love."

It seems a new era has begun in the life of everyone's favourite android.

But, then again, perhaps he's right to be alarmed.

After all, he and his gang have found themselves on the Squadron Supreme's world. The one that seems to be in a state of permanent existential crisis.

And the Serpent Crown seems to be involved!

Conan seems to have taken to riding around on a giant pig, which is an unlikely new look for him.

As for Dagon, I first heard of him in an HP Lovecraft tale whose title currently eludes me. I seem to recall it involving fish people and a mysterious island.

Come to think of it, that tale may have been called Dagon.

Then again, it might not have been.

I'm not sure I have total faith in a story guest-starring Uri Geller to be a literary masterpiece.

I'm also not sure the phrase, "Think Tank," strikes terror into my heart.

I do, however, like it when we get to see multiple Daredevils in one shot, in order to signify movement.

As regards plot, it seems the man without fear and the man without usable cutlery unite to take on the deadly scheme of Mind-Wave.

If Mind-Wave's plans depend on having straight spoons, he's in serious trouble.

All I know about this one is what's on the cover.

From it, I'm assuming Ben Grimm's now been given his Thing-like exoskeleton, so he can resume his crime-fighting career.

Doc Samson helps Clay Quartermain and Thunderbolt Ross capture the Hulk in an adventure I assume to be setting things up for the tale in which the sock-it-to-'em psychiatrist does some rummaging around in the Hulk's subconscious.

I've no knowledge at all of this one but am - based on no evidence but his powers - going to assume Blizzard is the early Iron Man villain formerly known as Jack Frost.

It's the Wedding of the Year, as a not-overly memorable villain makes his debut and tries to rob all the guests at Betty and Ned's big bash.

I don't like to sit in judgement but I can't help feeling that, when you can be defeated by a chandelier falling on you, you're probably not a top-drawer wrong-doer.

Then again, at least you're not a villain who can be defeated by a big fan.

I've no information as to what happens in this one. Therefore, I'm going to assume Thor and Firelord are in one of those mythical South/Central American countries that Marvel is so fond of.

No doubt, this means some low-down dictator's going to get a good slapping and a quick overthrow.

Jack Kirby again portraying Captain America on the brink of total hysteria.

As for what happens inside, Cap and the Falcon are victorious in the Elite's skateboarding contest from Hell but, holy smoke, the duo's refusal to accept the winners' pot of gold prompts the spectators to attack them!