2000 AD - October 1984.

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

***

I said I'd be back.

And I am.

But I'm not the only one.

Because we're about to dive into October 1984, and that month's cinematic claim to fame is it was then that The Terminator first smashed, drove and exploded his way into our cinemas. How we gasped as he chased Sarah Connor around for 100 minutes and then got squashed.

But he wasn't the only mechanical marvel making his debut. For, verily, it was also the month in which the first episode of Thomas the Tank Engine hit our TV screens.

Thomas or Terminator? Who'd win a fight between the pair?

Sadly, we shall never know, as it seems Hollywood will never get round to making the meeting we all demand.

But, speaking of things that can't be done without the aid of technology, October was the month in which Kathryn D Sullivan became the first American woman to perform a spacewalk, thanks to the Space Shuttle Challenger.

Things, however, were far less rosy on the planet below, as the BBC's Michael Buerk told us all of a famine in Ethiopia which threatened to kill up to ten million people.

Matters of life and death were also hitting India, as its Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh security guards, sparking anti-Sikh riots that left 10-20,000 dead in Delhi and surrounding areas.

When it came to the UK singles chart, just two records ruled the roost, that month. They were Stevie Wonder's seemingly interminable I Just Called to Say I Love You which then, finally, lost its top spot to Freedom by Wham!

Over on the British album chart, it was U2's The Unforgettable Fire that reigned supreme at the month's inception. That was then deposed by Big Country's Steeltown before that too was deposed by Paul McCartney's Give My Regards to Broad Street. That album proving to be more successful than the movie that spawned it.

But what of the galaxy's greatest comic? Could it match the drama of all those real-world events?

I've no doubt it made a serious stab at it, thanks to strips involving Judge Dredd, Nemesis the Warlock, Ace Trucking Co, Rogue Trooper and Tharg's Future-Shocks.

But of most interest was a brand new strip called The Hell Trekkers starring someone called Banjo Quint and brought to us by Alan Grant, John Wagner and Horacio Lalia. Tragically, I possess no recollection of it and, so, can offer no opinions on whether it was an offering that was worth the read.

November 18th, 1972 - 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. 

***

This week in 1972 was massive if you were a woman who wanted to play football.

That's because it was the week in which the England women's national football team played its first official game. It was against Scotland, in Scotland, and came almost exactly 100 years after the first playing of the equivalent men's match.

Meanwhile, several thousand miles away, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 1,000 for the first time. I don't have a clue what that means but I'll assume it was good news for all who do know what that means.

I do believe this reprints the tale in which, thanks to the scientific assistance of Rick Jones, the Hulk now retains Bruce Banner's intellect, in yet another attempt by Stan and Jack to find a formula that works.

No such problems for Peter Parker. His adventures have worked right from Day One but, in this issue, he finds his hands full when he must survive his first encounter with Dr Octopus.

Meanwhile, in another part of town, the Human Torch rage-quits the Fantastic Four, moves into a hostel and accidentally unleashes the Sub-Mariner upon humanity!

Whisper it quietly but I think this issue may also contain an advert for this year's Fleetway Marvel annual which will go on to become a legend among UK Marvel fans.

And because we all like to be kept in the loop, we're also blessed with a one-page pin-up of Peter Parker's classmates.

But that's not all. After all, this comic includes yet another clue to my free poster! They really are determined to drag this thing out, aren't they?

Speak Your Brain! Part 41. Pick a favourite!

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

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

Gadzooks! Can it be we've already reached the second half of a month?

No, it can't.

But we almost have.

And that means it's time to once more dust off the feature that's become a familiar hat and lay it upon our heads.

It's true, by crikey. It's the one in which the first person to comment gets to pick the topic of the day!

But what will it be?

For all I know, it could be art, films, flans, plans, books, bagels, cooks, nooks, crooks, ducks, drakes, pixies, rocks, socks, blocks, music, mucous, fairy tales, fairy lights, Fairy Liquid, fairy cakes, Eccles cakes, myth, moths, maths, magic, tragedy, comedy, dromedaries, murder, larders, Ladas, mystery, mayhem, molluscs, Moorcock, May Day, mangoes, bongos, drongoes, bingo, Ringo, Pingu, Ringu, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Doris Day, Marvin Gaye, Marvin the paranoid android, Brookside Close, Ramsay Street, Coronation Street, Albert Square, Scarlet Street, Dead End Street, chickenpox, the Equinox, parallelograms, rhomboids, androids, asteroids, The Good Life, the Next Life, pomegranates, raisins, grapes, currants, blackcurrants, figs, waves, granite, marble, marbles, maples, staples, fables, stables, sofas, eggs, pegs, legs, dregs, moons and supermoons, Supertramp, Supertrams, streetcars, desires, sodas, sausages, eggs, whisky, broth, Bath, baths, Garth Marenghi, Garth Brooks, Garth Crooks, Bruno Brookes, Bruno Mars, Mars Bars, wine bars, flip-flops, flim-flam, flapjacks, backpacks, see-saws, jigsaws, dominoes, draft excluders, blockheads, blackheads, dunderheads, deadheads, webheads, flowerpots, Bill and Ben, Ben and Jerry, Tom and Jerry, flour pots, bread bins, bin bags, body bags, body horror, shoddy horror, doggy bags, bean bags, coal sacks, cola, cocoa, dodos, Dido, Soho, Solo, silos, windows, day-glo, glue, Gloy, Bostik, pancakes, Eccles cakes, Bakewell Tarts, Fabulous Wealthy Tarts, Mr Kipling, Rudyard Kipling, pizzas, pastas, pastors, baking soda, sci-fi, Wi-Fi, Hi-Fi, sewage, saunas, suet, Tomorrow People, Forever People, Party People, Sheila Steafel, steeples, Silurians, Sontarans, Sea Devils, sins, suns, sans, sense, sludge, slumps, sumps, sunshine, slime, soup, sandwiches, servants, Sultanas, Santana, Sultans, grapes, grappling, grippling or sandcastles.

But what I know doesn't matter.

It's what you know that matters.

Or perhaps it's what you want to know that matters.

Whatever it is, feel free to post it in the comments section below and get that conversation off your chest.

The Marvel Lucky Bag - November 1982.

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

***

I can't say November 1982 spawned many great movies but it did, at least, release a number that I've heard of. Most prominent among those were Piranha II: the Spawning, Creepshow and Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.

Needless to say, of those, Piranha II is the one I'd opt to watch if forced to make a choice. And I do believe it was James Cameron's first full-length feature as a director. So, there's a bit of history in the making, for you.

Jim Starlin's Dreadstar gets its first-ever issue and it's under the Epic imprint which the cover blurb writer's clearly decided is big news.

Having said that, I've never read it.

However, from what the internet tells me, Oedi's origin is recapped, as Dreadstar and his crew steal a big satellite. Frankly, I don't have a clue who Oedi is nor why Dreadstar wants a satellite. But it's by Jim Starlin. So, I'm sure it's all worth a read.

Bill Sienkiewicz gives us a typically memorable cover, for a double-sized issue in which a man's sanity snaps and he decides to become an Anti-Moon Knight while also running to become Mayor of New York.

Marvel Team-Up gets its fifth annual when Spider-Man and friends unite to fight the Serpent Cult.

It's another one I've never read but, if the Serpent Cult's involved, I'm going to assume the Serpent Crown can't be far behind.

Meanwhile, here's a cover that guarantees I'll never want to play with a Rom action figure again, now that I know it's got an animated corpse inside it.

But wait. Does this mean Rom's technically a cyberman?

I must confess I've no clue what happens in this annual, other than what's depicted on the cover. I believe the villain may be called Stardust. Whether this is a tribute to Ziggy or Alvin, I cannot say.

Then again, it could be a tribute to the David Essex film of that name. Who can know?

Frank Miller provides an enigmatic cover for Wolverine's third issue, as Yukio kills Asano, forcing our hero to recognise her treachery, and set out to do something about it.

And, now, Cap joins the ranks of those granted their own annual.

In this one, the Contemplator gathers four men who've worn the mantle of Captain America, then sends them to an alternate world where someone called Adam II has seized control and turned all human beings into cyborgs.

Conan too gets his own annual. This is his seventh, which means that, curiously, he's had more than Captain America, despite that character having been a Marvel stalwart for far longer.

I know little of the contents but can guess that magic, monsters and maidens are involved. I do know, though, that the yarn within is entitled Red Shadows and Black Kraken! and adapts a tale by L Sprague DeCamp and Lin Carter.

For a moment, I thought Vizzie and Scarletty were up against Thoth Amon but it seems they're facing someone called the Living Druid.

After moving into a new house, the pair take delivery of an ancient tome from which emerges someone called Samhain who then mutates several trick-or-treaters into villains and has them attack our heroes.

Meanwhile, Robert Frank arrives, claiming he's Wanda's father.

Yet again.

If there's anything I don't like on the cover of a super-hero comic, it's a photo and, this issue, we get exactly that from Eliot R Brown. Still, at least he had the sense to turn the lights out when he took it.

Tragically, I don't know anything about this issue's contents, other than that they're called Alison Blaire, This Is Your Life.

X-Men Annual #6 hits our spinner racks and boasts another Bill Sienkiewicz cover.

Inside, Dracula's back and demanding Storm aid him in obtaining the Darkhold.

But that's when a dark and sinister Kitty intervenes.

Not to be left out of the fun, Thor too is granted his own annual. In this case, his tenth.

It would appear that, when the death deities of various pantheons band together, they accidentally release Demogorge, a wrongdoer who feeds on gods.

Surprisingly, it's taken until 1982 for Star Wars to get its second annual. And, when it does, it does so with an air of mystery, for I know naught of its contents.

However, I do know it's drawn by Carmine Infantino and written by David Michelini.

And features Star Wars characters.

November 11th, 1972 - 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. 

***

This week in 1972, the UK government, confronted by a cost-of-living crisis, introduced freezes on pay, prices, dividends and rents. A cost-of-living crisis? My, how the world changes.

The good news in all this was, of course, that the government's action meant we wouldn't have to worry about the price of The Mighty World of Marvel increasing anytime soon. And, indeed, it was still just 5 pence, a year later and wouldn't increase in cost until January 1974.

But before we explore that comic further, let's take a look at what the UK singles chart was up to, at the time.

Pianos and flat caps were all the rage because, hitting the Number One spot, for the first time, was Gilbert O'Sullivan with his not-at-all-sentimental hit Clair.

Over on the UK album chart, top spot was still being held by Various Artists' 20 All-Time Greats of the '50s.

I must confess to not being a huge fan of that Gilbert track, preferring the domestic discontent of Alone Again, Naturally and Nothing Rhymed but songs that I did approve of on that week's singles chart were:

In a Broken Dream - Python Lee Jackson

Leader of The Pack {1972} - the Shangri-Las

There Are More Questions than Answers - Johnny Nash

Crocodile Rock - Elton John

The Guitar Man - Bread

Crazy Horses - the Osmonds

America - Simon and Garfunkel

Back Stabbers - the O'Jays

Badge {1972} - Cream

and

House of the Rising Sun {1972} - the Animals.

Should you wish to investigate the topic in greater detail, that week's singles chart may be found here.

While the connected album chart is located here.

Judo Jim's still cranking out those covers.

And, inside, the Hulk must battle the mind-numbing threat of the Circus of Evil. How can even the world's strongest mortal hope to overcome such mighty opposition?

Spider-Man, meanwhile discovers that a trip to have a radio fixed can lead to a battle against alien invasion, when he encounters the Terrible Tinkerer.

And, finally, the Fantastic Four must overcome the non-existent threat of the Miracle Man.

We also get a feature that explains the powers of the Human Torch and Mr Fantastic.

And, of course, there's the Mighty Marvel Mailbag.

But, most excitingly of all, it seems we discover the secret of my mystery gift!

Forty years ago today - November 1982.

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

***

Once more, Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night are behind us and all we have to look forward to are lengthening evenings, increasing cold, and Christmas.

But what's that? We have something to look forward to that's almost as good as Christmas?

And that's a look at what Marvel was up to forty years ago?

Then what are we waiting for? Let's get cracking!

It's all drama, as the Falcon decides to run for Congress, and Cap intervenes between Neo-Nazi and Jewish protesters.

All of this means that, at last, Bernie realises Steve Rogers must be Captain America.

That's the Captain America who everyone's known for years is called Steve Rogers. Yes, I know he faked his own death to restore his secret identity but, as the new identity he adopted was also called Steve Rogers, it's hard to see how that tactic actually managed to work.

The Inhumans have safely moved their city of Attilan to the moon.

But, holy smokes, it's not so safe after all!

That's because a giant alien's now stolen that moon - including Attilan!

This can only be a job for Reed Richards!

Or is it?

After all, is everything as it seems?

The world can do nothing but watch, as the U-Foes vow to rid the planet of Bruce Banner, forever.

And only Rick, Betty and Bereet can stop them!

Will-O'-the-Wisp is back!

So is Lonesome Pinkus!

I don't know which of those announcements is the more exciting.

I wish I could say more about this tale but I'm seriously struggling to recall anything that actually happens in it.

No doubts about the contents of this one, though. Mephisto holds Darkoth, the so-called death demon, prisoner in his realm and then blackmails him into fighting Thor.

Fortunately, the thunder god instantly realises Darkoth isn't his true enemy and helps him thwart Mephisto's Satanic will.

The Black Widow's back!

And she's got a body filled with poison that'll kill her, within days, if she doesn't get help.

The problem is the one person who can help her is Daredevil but he's currently busy being overwhelmed by his out-of-control senses.

And only Stick can help him!

Strangely, in this issue, it's revealed that the radiation which gave DD his heightened senses wore off years ago and he'd never needed it because he'd always had those powers, even before the accident.

Conan gets press-ganged to be an oarsman on a pirate ship.

And it's not long before he and his new crewmates are having to fight giant spiders.

The X-Men are battling the Brood but most of them don't seem to realise it.

With only Wolverine having any real idea what's going on, how can they possibly hope to survive?

More importantly, I've always viewed the Brood as Alien rip-offs but this comic came out four years before Aliens, and the queen in it seems noticeably like the queen in that movie. Can it be the Alien franchise actually borrowed Brood-related ideas from the X-Men?

Dr Druid and the Black Knight show up to recruit most of the Avengers for a medieval battle with a bunch of Irish gods.

In chess-related villainy, the Bishop breaks the Knight out of jail but kills him because he's a failure.

This sends Tony Stark on a trip to a Scotland filled, as always, with kilts and castles.

And, now, Rhodey's been captured by the Laird and covered in deadly venomous spiders of the type that are, seemingly, all-too-common in Scotland!

It's a format-buster, as Spider-Man goes in search of Dr Octopus but finds himself battling a child who's pretending to be the tentacular terror.

Can our hero realise his foe's not the genuine article, in time to avoid accidentally killing him?

The Marvel Lucky Bag - November 1972.

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

***

Who doesn't love a good musical?

Me.

Unless it's Annie.

However, if I did like musicals, I'm sure I'd have been delighted with November 1972 because it was a month which unleashed not one but two major musicals.

Admittedly, when I say, "major," I've only ever heard of one of them.

Those two movies were 1776 and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

It has to be said that one of those films has a subject matter that seems to lend itself less well to the musical genre than the other. However, as I've never seen 1776, I cannot attest to that film's artistic success or failure.

Maybe it features Alex Harvey's Boston Tea Party.

I like to think it does. I suspect it doesn't.

Other notable films to escape from Hollywood's backlots, that month, were Daughters of Satan, Asylum and The Mechanic. I do believe I've seen all three of them, though I struggle to decide which is best.

Marvel's lurch into trying to get girls to read their comics smashes us in the face when the Cat makes her senses-shattering debut.

For reasons I can't remember, Greer Nelson agrees to take part in an experiment - and emerges from it with the powers of a cat.

However, all is not as it seems and it turns out the experiment's benefactor Mal Donalbain wants her to use her powers to commit robberies on his behalf.

Greer's not having any of that nonsense and soon disposes of the bounder before setting off to carve a new life for herself as a genuine super-heroine.

It's not a great comic but I have to say that Marie Severin/Wally Wood cover makes it worth buying.

Hooray! A new horror comic hits our spinner racks!

And, to my surprise, only one of its tales is a reprint.

In our first adventure, travellers encounter a man who's human at night but becomes a wolf by day.

In our second adventure, a sadistic prison warden faces an inmate uprising and attempts to flee downstairs. But can he survive the deadly fumes contained within the building's execution chamber?

In our third and final tale, a construction accident kills a passer-by but, before he dies, he dreams of performing heroic deeds.

That last one sounds a bit rubbish.

Stephen Strange is still going through his prolonged venture into the world of Lovecraftian horror but still escapes the threat of being sacrificed to Sligguth.

Only to discover the slumbering evil of Shuma-Gorath!

He thinks he's got problems? While all this is going on, the Ancient One gets carried away by the Shadowmen of sunken Kaa-U.

Marvel's Brand new humour mag's back, and supplies us with yarns entitled Tales from the Creep, Tarz an' The Apes! and Brawl in the Family. It all sounds like cracking stuff.

It's not just issue #1 of The Cat that's giving us female action, this month; as Night Nurse too makes its debut. Sadly, like that other book, it's doomed to survive for just four issues.

Linda Carter, Georgia Jenkins, and Christine Palmer are all studying to be nurses but Linda's boyfriend will only marry her if she renounces her medical ambitions.

Needless to say, when the city's power goes out and Georgia's brother tries to hold the hospital's generator hostage, Linda realises that becoming a nurse means more to her than marriage ever could.

I'm starting to get a feeling this could be a comic to rival the power and majesty of DC's Lady Cop.

And that's not a thing I ever say lightly.

My memories of this one are vague. I suspect that Subby encounters a giant sea monster that's awoken from wherever it's been for centuries.

It is also a speaking sea monster, which means it does an awful lot of boasting about how unbeatable it is.

In a shocking twist, it turns out not to be unbeatable.