The Marvel Lucky Bag - May 1981.

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

***

May 1981 was not a classic period in the field of Cinema.

It was, however, the month which saw the release of such gems as Lady Chatterley's Lover starring Sylvia Krystel and nobody else I've ever heard of and, also, a film called Polyester. I dread to think what that's about.

I was going to claim I've never heard of this comic before, despite it being issue #26 but it turns out I highlighted issue #25 in March's Lucky Bag. That was the one which featured the Black Widow and the Daughters of the Dragon.

This issue's made up entirely of Kull adventures drawn by John Bolton and scripted by Doug Moench and I don't know what happens in any of them.

There's so much concentrated Kullness in this book that I wonder if the tales were originally intended for a monthly comic that never happened and were then collected here, in order to make use of the material?

I must confess I've included this one purely because it's such a bizarre cover.

I'm suspecting it may have been inspired by the front of Fantastic Four #37, the one in which the FF invade the Skrull's homeworld in search of the scoundrel who killed Sue and Johnny's dad.

Whatever the case, it would appear this tale's set on Earth where a bunch of criminals have added a hallucinogen to Chicago's water supply.

I remember reading an article in the Fortean Times, once, which claimed that, in the early 1970s, the US military experimented with the idea of pouring LSD into reservoirs to make it easier to invade other people's countries but the plan had to be dropped when it was realised it would require all the LSD on Earth to even have any effect on just one reservoir.

It's a thrilling time for us all, as ROM meets the X-Men!

Granted, it's not that thrilling for ROM - because the instant they set eyes on him, they assume he's an evil mutant and attack him.

Then, they accidentally fire him into Limbo.

What a bunch of morons.

It had to happen! Spidey meets the Mole Man!

I say it had to happen but I can't remember it ever having happened before, which is a remarkable thing, given that both characters have been around since the early 1960s.

Apparently, our hero also encounters Blizzard in this one.

Master of Kung Fu hits its 100th issue, even though, as Colin's pointed out previously, it's not really the 100th, thanks to Marvel's liberal approach to numbering some of its comics.

Either way, it's been around for a long time and that's a serious achievement for a comic launched as an act of bandwagon-jumping.

We get a mighty 52 pages, this month, as a new Jack the Ripper goes on the rampage.

The spirit of Neal Adams is strong on that cover by Brent Anderson.

Exactly what happens in the story itself, I've no idea but I wouldn't be surprised if pterosaurs are involved.

Hooray! Night Rider's back!

I say hooray but I don't have a clue who he is or what he's doing.

I do know he bears a remarkable resemblance to the character I created for that Marvel UK design-a-super-hero contest, which can only prove I wuz robbed in not winning it.

Admittedly, my character was called The Masked Manhunter and was dressed all in black but, that aside...

Forty years ago today - May 1981.

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

***

Like a siren in the night, the past beckons me onto its clashing rocks.

And, once more, I must heed that call...

Conan and his mostly-silent friend stroll into a town where time has been made to stand still.

Needless to say, a sorcerer's behind it all.

Also needless to say, a good stabbing soon sorts out that problem.

From what I can remember, some ex-lackeys of Baron Zemo decide to kidnap Bruce Banner (so they can create an android as strong as the Hulk) and, also, Captain America. I don't have a clue what they want Cap for.

Inevitably, taking the Hulk and Captain America prisoner turns out to be a terrible idea and the villains promptly get a good smacking.

The, "Hulk-powered," android also turns out to be a bit of a pushover - to such a degree that even I'd fancy my chances against it.

Nostalgia fans will be delighted that Zemo's magic glue puts in an appearance. No doubt, Paste Pot Pete can only watch in envy.

The human black hole's still blundering around New York and being unstoppable. I think Reed Richards sorts it all out by draining his powers into the Negative Zone, or something.

The Avengers show up but, in one of the most pointless guest appearances ever, I don't think they actually do anything.

At last, Bruce Banner and the Soviet Super-Soldiers discover it's Dr Phobos - and not The Presence - who's their enemy, which means everyone teams up to thwart the doctor and restore niceness to Siberia.

But, holy Darth Vaders, Batman, not before two of the Super-Soldiers discover The Presence is their long-lost father.

Whiplash is back!

And he's renamed himself, "Backlash," which is such a 1990s super-villain name.

Not only that but he has a new and better whip.

And, what's more, he's out to kill Tony Stark's head of security, for reasons that are not yet made entirely clear.

Spider-Man spends twenty pages whining about everything while also striving to prevent the predicted murder of a competitor in a New York based marathon.

It then turns out it's not a competitor who's under threat of assassination but a politician who's handing out prizes at the end of it.

Regardless, thanks to most of the runners being hopelessly accident-prone, Spidey gets to save a whole bucketful of lives, along the way.

Our hero's on a floating restaurant, trying to rescue the original Power Man from a bunch of gangsters and their samurais.

Spidey makes short work of the samurais, as he and Power Man unite to finish off the villains.

Then it all ends with a round of arrests for drug possession.

Hooray!

The Kingpin may have retired to Japan but that hasn't prevented the New York mob from putting out a contract on his life, via the medium of Bullseye.

When Kingie hires Matt and Foggy to be his lawyers, and then his wife gets kidnapped, it can only be time for a whole heap of trouble to descend upon the city.

An experimental machine manages to turn the nightmares of New Yorkers into a seemingly unstoppable monster. One that Thor stops by wrecking the machine.

When an island mysteriously appears in the middle of the Mediterranean, the Avengers decide to respond by beating up the stranger who rules that island.

Except he's a good guy.

And now he's dead because of the Avengers.

And now they have to face whatever menace it was that he was trying to warn them about.

I hope they feel suitably ashamed of themselves.

That bounder Dr Doom's kidnapped Arcade. So, the X-Men set off to rescue the not-so-fun-filled assassin from the Latverian troublemaker.

Of course, it's all a trap and, now, Doom has the mutants where he wants them.

The weirdest thing about this story is Storm has the hots for Doom.

Seriously, woman, sort yourself out. He's a hideously disfigured killer in a metal mask, whose only topic of conversation is world conquest and who crams the word, "dolt," into every sentence. There should be enough clues in there that one shouldn't entertain thoughts of romance with him.

May 6th, 1981 - Marvel UK, 40 years ago this week.

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

***

There aren't many things in this world that revolutionise the way we consume media.

And the videodisc certainly didn't.

However, on this night in 1981, BBC One's The Risk Business was looking at the device's impending launch and asking if it was really going to catch on.

It didn't.

Straight after that, Sportsnight was looking forward to something that certainly had caught on.

And that was the FA Cup. For we were mere days away from the competition's 100th final, contested by Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. My awesome mastery of maths tells me that means this year's final will be the 140th. 

When it came to music, the UK singles chart had a brand new Number One. And that was Adam and the Ants' highwaymantastic Stand and Deliver.

There was also good news for the band when it came to the British album chart, as Kings of the Wild Frontier still held sway on that listing.

What's that, Marvel UK? It's weeks since you last launched a new comic? So, It must be time for another one?

But this one's a book with a difference. In a stunning volte-face from the days when Dez was in charge, this publication contains just two strips; Daredevil and The Black Panther.

And it's not just any old adventure for Wakanda's finest. It's the start of Jack Kirby's King's Solomon's Frog, the tale that outraged me as a youth, after I'd become accustomed to Don McGregor's vision of the character.

But the issue's main tale deals with the first-ever clash between Daredevil and the Jester, an encounter Marvel UK had first reprinted in the mid-1970s. 

I do wish I'd known this book existed, at the time. With its concentration on just two strips, it would have given me hope for the future of Marvel's weeklies.

Spidey and the Daughters of the Dragon combine to battle that bloke whose name I can never remember. The one who's, basically, an evil Iron Fist.

In his own strip, the web-spinner's set to trade blows with the Sub-Mariner who's busy wrecking surface-dwellers' vessels and blathering on about war, as always.

In the Hulk's strip, I would assume Bruce Banner's still trying to get to the bottom of what's going on with The Presence and Dr Phobos in Siberia.

It's the least likely super battle ever, as the Dazzler tackles Dr Doom.

Apparently, Doom's out to steal the Latverian Crown Jewels from where they're on display at the United Nations.

I do have to say it, if Doomy loses to the Dazzler, it really is time for him to hang up his cloak.

The star of the book, meanwhile, has been chained to the front of an oil tanker, by Mr Hyde and Batroc who've decided to use him as a hostage in their extortion plot against New York.

Elsewhere, Iron Man's taking on a zillion-and-one super-villains in Justin Hammer's secret base.

And the Defenders are back from Asgard and about to engage with the return of Lunatik.

Baron Karza's back!

But he only seems to have two legs. Didn't he have four, at one point?

Wasn't he some sort of cross between Darth Vader and a horse?

We also get adventures for Conan and the Star Trek gang but I don't know what adventures.

It's the one where the Fantastic Four must stop a giant robot, thus tying-up loose ends from that cancelled giant robot comic whose title escapes me.

Meanwhile, the Watcher's still asking what would have happened had Dr Strange become a disciple of Dormammu.

And Thor's up to something but I don't know what. Whether he's disposed of the Grey Gargoyle's space pirates yet is a thing I can neither confirm nor deny.

It's a Paul Gulacy cover which, dare one suggest, isn't amongst his best work?

Amongst this month's savage actioning, we get adventures for Blade, the Black Widow and the Punisher.

We also get the arrival of a column called Inside Comics which sounds intriguing. No doubt, by the time we've finished reading it, we'll have far greater knowledge of the art form and be all set, ready to forge a career in the industry we all love.

Not too long after the mag's Tom Baker dedicated issue, we get one devoted to his predecessor and the Unit years.

And I'm not sure I can say much beyond that.

Blow me down with a feather because this issue also includes the Inside Comics column.

We also get news, reviews and a comic mart, not to mention a distinctive Howard Chaykin cover.

This month's main story appears to be the Treasure of Trancos which the cover declares to be one of the most famous Conan epics ever. I must confess I've never heard of it. I'm not sure if the fault is mine or the story's.

Regardless, this, like Savage Action, boasts of being one of Marvel's New Direction monthlies. I am intrigued by this description, even though I don't know what it means.

Thanks to Judo Jim Starlin, the Avengers, Warlock and Captain Marvel take on the forces of Thanos - in outer space!

We also get more of that Inside Comics column.

Luke and Leia are on some planet or other, being menaced by a huge, shaggy beast.

Killraven's still in the Herb Trimpe era and about to have trouble with someone called The Warlord. Is that the man with the metal arm and the bionic eye?

This would appear to be the story in which Killraven dumps the Zardoz look and adopts the outfit we more usually associate him with.

And it's exciting times for all fans of Ray Harryhausen, as we get pretty much the whole of Clash of the Titans adapted in just two pages of artwork. It has to be the most efficient comic book adaptation of all time.

Frantic tackles Benson and Apocalypse Now, as well as, seemingly, Australia.

You just can't get away from Thanos, this month. Not only is he taking on the Avengers in Marvel Superheroes, he's also tackling the Thing and Spider-Man in Rampage. He must be the hardest-working villain in the cosmos.

And, as if to prove it, the Titanic fiend's out to extinguish the sun, as a gift to Death.

I predict he will fail in this ambition.

In the X-Men's strip, believing his mutant charges to be dead, Professor X looks back to the events which led to him creating the group in the first place.

It's a dramatic cover for Britain's leading sci-fi mag, as Starburst reviews the head-exploding excitement of Scanners.

Margot Kidder provides an allegedly controversial interview.

And we get a history of the Bond flicks, a look at Popeye the Movie and The Bride of Frankenstein.

Unless I miss my ever-loving guess, this issue, we get the first-ever meeting between the Hulk and Hercules, after the Hulk interferes with the train on which Herc's riding.

I do remember that the tale takes place during the middle of the multi-part Thor epic in which Hercules is tricked into taking up residence in Hades, by Pluto who's disguised as a film producer, and that Herc's on the train because he's en route to that fateful meeting.

Seeing as Hercules guested in both Thor and the Hulk books at the same time, I do wonder if Stan was considering giving the Olympian his own series and was using the strips of existing Marvel stars to establish him with readers?

I don't know much about the contents of this one but I do believe Man-Thing's up against the Foolkiller.

On second thoughts, that seems like it'd be quite a one-sided fight. Therefore, I'll assume it's more likely that it's Richard Rory who's up against the Foolkiller.

Barry Smith takes a rest, as Gil and Roy deliver Conan vs the Gods of Bal-Sagoth, a tale which sees Conan and Fafnir fight a bunch of demons, on an island, then do a runner when its volcano erupts.

If I were Conan, I'd sue that travel agent.

It's just occurred to me; is the existence of this book the reason Savage Sword of Conan no longer claims to be Britain's Number One Sword and Sorcery comic? After all, it might not be good marketing for Marvel to imply this one is second-best.

That cover tells me we've reached the story in which the Silver Surfer decides to unify mankind...

...by becoming a threat to it.

I'm not convinced this is the greatest plan of all time.

Fortunately, the Fantastic Four and the Watcher are here to sort it all out.

Not to mention the Sonic Shark Missile.

As if that wasn't enough excitement for us, we get an epic clash between the FF, Thor, Spider-Man and Daredevil when the team becomes convinced Daredevil's actually Dr Doom in disguise!

Spider-Man faces his least deadly threat yet, as the Enforcers return.

If I remember right, the Enforcers and Sandman have abducted the Human Torch - and only Spidey can save him.

I can offer no specifics about the contents of this issue but have no doubts at all that heartbreak is everywhere to be found.

It's all go for Iron Man, as he finds himself trapped in the lair of the Mandarin.

I'm fairly certain this is his first encounter with the ring-happy Fu Manchu wannabe who's so confident of victory that he can't even be bothered to get up out of his chair to achieve it.

Elsewhere, Thor takes on the menace of the Carbon-Copy Man and, for some reason, the book prints the first page of the story twice.

Is this a mistake by the publishers? Or is it a clever joke based on the fact the villain of the piece is called the Carbon-Copy Man?

And will we ever know the answer to that question?

The X-Men graduate from Professor X's academy but they have little time to celebrate, as Cyclops announces he's quitting, and the Blob is back to do whatever it is he's out to do.

Not only that but, in the issue's other tale, the gang have to tackle Unus the untouchable.

I'm pretty sure both these adventures end with the villain of the piece retiring from his career in crime and deciding he'd rather just go back to everyday life, which is quite an unusual way to end a super-hero battle and one I approve of.

The Marvel Lucky Bag - May 1971.

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

***

You know what? There are days when all I do, from dawn to dusk, is rise up out of the floor, manically playing my pipe organ.

And, fortunately, I'm not alone because the Abominable Dr Phibes likes to do the same thing.

And the time when he first started liking to do it was May 1971.

For that was the month in which the movie which bore his name was first unleashed upon cinemas.

That May also saw the release of Escape from the Planet of the Apes, a film which I always feel is terribly underrated.

Then again, I always feel Battle for the Planet of the Apes is underrated too. To this day, I've never understood the hate for it.

Over on the UK singles chart, the month was initially dominated by Dave and Ansel Collins' Double Barrel but that was almost instantly deposed by Dawn's Knock Three Times which spent the rest of the month at Number One.

I'm pretty sure there's an issue of Amazing Spider-Man in which Aunt May declares her love for the works of Tony Orlando and Dawn. So, I'm sure she'll have been delighted by that development.

The UK album chart, meanwhile, kicked off with the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers in top spot - and it looked like it was going to be there for the whole month but, just at the very end of May, it was dethroned by Paul and Linda McCartney's exercise in delirious creativity that the world knows as Ram.

Maximus is causing trouble but I'm not sure what kind of trouble, as I've never read this one.

I'm assuming, though, that it ultimately leads into the events of the Kree/Skrull War.

The Black Widow also has trouble in her life but, yet again, I don't know of what nature.

I do know we get to see the first appearance of Eddie.

No, I don't have a clue who Eddie is.

It's the comic which leaves you in no doubt that Moomba's here!

Not that you could fail to notice, judging by that cover.

What's going on is an explorer discovers that a bunch of wooden statues are an advance guard of aliens, led by the dreaded Moomba.

Fortunately, magic saves the day and the Earth is rescued.

In this month's other story, a neglected comic book artist has a chance to achieve fame and fortune.

But, of course, there's a catch...

It's here! The first issue of the magazine no lover of loincloths would go without, as Savage Tales #1 hits the spinner racks!

First, we get Barry Smith's adaptation of The Frost Giant's Daughter.

Then there's The Fury of the Femizons which I think is a Lee/Romita tale about a warrior woman who discovers love conquers all.

Next, we get what I believe to be the first-ever appearance of the Man-Thing.

After that, there's Black Brother!

I don't have a clue what that's about - and, with a title like that, the mind boggles - but it's, apparently, the only ever appearance by the character.

Anyway, it's brought to us by the epic team of Denny O'Neil, Gene Colan and Bill Everett.

And we finish off with Night of the Looter in which a Mary Jane Watson lookalike turns up in the Savage Land, looking to steal Ka-Zar's Vibranium, with the aid of a tank and her majestic rack.

This is the Big One, and a pivotal moment in the history of comics.

Not only does Namor get his "marriage" to Llyra instantly annulled but the foul machinations of Attuma get Lady Dorma killed. Can comic books get any more tragic?

It's the only monster ever to be named after an Albanian king, as Zog returns to life.

Personally, I didn't even know he'd been ill.

In fact, Zog turns out to be harmless. This we discover after a scientist decides to free him from the block of ice he's trapped in, in order to show people they're foolish to be afraid of him.

I have to say that's one hell of a risk that scientist was willing to take with everybody else's lives.

After that, an art thief pays a high price for his criminality, in a tale called The Painting.

Next, a space explorer sells the seeds of an alien plant - only to discover they're in the habit of spawning monsters!

And, lastly but not leastly, we get the tale of a man who needs money for his brother's medical bills and, so, agrees to be a guinea pig for a scientist who wants to test out a shrinking ray.

I think we can spot that one's not going to end happily.

In our main story, when he's killed by lightning, explorers discover African witch doctor Bombu is actually an alien.

Next, a man adjusts his TV and finds it's now showing live footage of a battle between two sets of aliens on another world.

Except it isn't. It's actually a fight between two sets of ants, right outside his window.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that doesn't sound like the greatest story of all time.

After that, a man convinces his wife to use magic to become young again.

Having done so, she promptly takes advantage of her regained youth, by running off with another man.

Finally, a scientist sets out to discover if his time machine sends things into the past or into the future.

The problem is that, when he reaches his destination, he can't tell which of those it is, as the primitive wasteland he encounters could be either.

Fifty years ago this month - May 1971.

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

***

What's that you ask? "Is there life on Mars?"

I don't have a clue but, in May 1971, we, no doubt, felt we were about to get an answer, as NASA's Mariner 9 was launched on a one-way mission to that very world.

Would green things with tentacles and cold intellects vastly superior to our own be waiting for it?

Or would it just be rocks and a place that looked like a gravel pit in Surrey?

Stan Lee and Gil Kane smash down the doors of the Comics Code and give us an anti-drugs message to rock the world.

Even more importantly than that, Mary Jane Watson gets to dance in some kind of stage show, and Norman Osborn suddenly remembers he has an alternate identity.

One that involves sitting on a flying broomstick!

You can't accuse Marvel of short-changing us.

It's one of my favourite Avengers tales, as the action-loving assemblers brave giant caterpillars, swamps, Shazam references and voodoo rites, to prevent Psyklop from doing the work of the Elder Gods.

But the heroes don't arrive in time to prevent him shrinking the Hulk to the size of an electron.

I do believe this was my first-ever exposure to the work of Sal Buscema, and I have to say it was quite an introduction.

I know little of this tale but am led to believe it involves the Falcon trying to break free of Cap's shadow, by capturing Spider-Man.

I suspect that idea doesn't end up going to plan.

It's the first Conan tale I ever read; way back, in that legendary Fleetway 1972/1973 Marvel Annual of which UK comics fans still speak in hushed whispers.

Our battling barbarian strolls into town and is promptly attacked by a tiger who's actually a beautiful woman who can change shape.

This leads him to confront her not-so-beautiful father Zukala, and the prerequisite punch-up breaks out.

It would appear this is the issue in which Daredevil helps bring El Condor's revolution to an end.

That does pose the question, is that bird on the cover supposed to be a condor?

Because it really doesn't look like one.

It just looks like a crow.

And not even a very impressive one.

It's deus ex magica, as Agatha Harkness is brought in to weave the spells that will enable Reed Richards to flee the Negative Zone without leading Annihilus back to the Earth.

It's all good dramatic stuff from John Buscema but I'm not sure what that look on the Thing's face is about.

For that matter, what are he, Johnny and Sue actually looking at? They seem to have their backs to the scene Agatha's helpfully casting for us.

How could anyone not love this tale, as the rascally Leader decides the best way to beat the Hulk is make him fight all his foes, one after the other?

Needless to say, thanks to Jim Wilson, things quickly go wrong for the villain who's as high-handed as he is high-headed.

It's one of those Iron Man tales I've no recollection of ever having read, even though I'm certain I must have.

I'm assuming the man with the beard is Kevin O'Brien who I recall ending up with his own, green, suit of armour.

Ramrod's in this one but appears not to be the same Ramrod who once fought Daredevil.

Things are coming to a head because Odin's still managing the unique feat of possessing himself.

I am, though, struggling to remember just how Infinity's defeated.

I do recall Hela nearly ageing Thor to death at the tale's climax and The Silent One intervening to save him but that doesn't explain how Infinity's thwarted.

That's Marvel looked at but what of DC? Is Marvel's deadly rival up to anything interesting this month?

Not as far as I'm concerned, it isn't but these are the two books from it I'd probably snatch from the spinner rack, had I pocket money to spare.

Admittedly, I'm singling out the first of them purely because it's the Phantom Stranger and I could never resist buying his comic.

Also, this one has a cover by Neal Adams and interior artwork by Jim Aparo.

Quite frankly, if a combination of Adams, Aparo and Strangeness of Phantomness doesn't make you want to buy a comic, there's no hope for you.

Hooray! It's one of the first American comics I ever bought, as the Teen Titans return from the past, with a caveman in tow.

Needless to say, they then set themselves the task of civilising him and helping him adjust to the groovy present in which he finds himself.