December 16th, 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, humanity was about to wave goodbye to the moon, as the last-ever [so far] manned mission to that globe touched down and the Selenites breathed a sigh of relief that their underground city had, once more, remained undetected by the unsuspecting peoples of Earth.

But you know what was detected, that week?

Issue #11 of the UK's hottest new comic!

As we can tell from that cover, the Hulk finds himself confronting the outer-space menace of the Metal Master who magnificently predated the first appearance of Magneto by a full seven months.

Elsewhere, Spider-Man's still striving to win his first-ever fight with the Sandman.

And the Fantastic Four are still out to thwart the will of Dr Doom in their first-ever clash with him.

As if that's not enough for us, we also get a four-page Lee/Ditko feature that reveals the Secrets of Spider-Man.

And, by some means, we can all get to be a Marvel editor!

But the big news is that, at last, after eleven issues, the book has finally stopped going on about that poster!

The Marvel Lucky Bag - December 1982.

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

***

Film-goers had more options than they could shake a stick at when they looked at the cinema listings in December 1982.

Why, if you were willing to shell out the money, you could experience 48 Hrs, Gandhi, Airplane II, Sophie's Choice, The Dark Crystal, Tootsie, The Trail of the Pink Panther and The Year of Living Dangerously.

My pick of those would, inevitably, be Airplane II, even though I don't remember it being very good.

I am fascinated, however, to see that The Year of Living Dangerously featured Australian actor Bill Kerr, best known in Britain as Tony Hancock's slow-witted sidekick in Hancock's Half Hour. It does always seem strange to see him turn up in other things, especially serious dramas.

It's 37 pages of history being made, as Monica Rambeau becomes the new Captain Marvel!

I've not read this one but, according to the Grand Comics Database, Monica causes a fancy new weapon to explode and it gives her super-powers.

Weeks later, stricken by excess energy, she visits the Baxter Building to get Mr Fantastic's help but, upon learning he's away, tries the Avengers Mansion and recruits Iron Man's help, instead.

All of which poses the obvious question of where's Spider-Man in all of this, bearing in mind it's supposed to be his annual?

Now it's time to get excited.

Because Adam Warlock gets his own, brand-new, comic!

Granted, it's not that new, being made up entirely of reprints from his mid-1970s run in Strange Tales.

But you're never going to complain about a second chance to read those classics.

And it's not just Warlock who's getting his own comic this month.

So is Kull!

And the tale it contains really is new!

And it's 48 pages long!

From what I can make out, while rebuilding his city, after an earthquake, Kull breaks open a previously buried tomb that's covered by serpent-men symbols.

I think we can all guess that that's going to lead to nothing but trouble...

But the big news of the month is the Smurfs have their very own Marvel comic! I can't wait to see Roy Thomas' attempts to integrate the Smurfs into the Marvel Universe.

Sadly, Roy has no involvement in this mag. Instead, the writing is credited to a man called Peyo who also draws the tales contained within.

Marvel's most speculative mag asks what would have happened had the Fantastic Four not gained their super-powers?

Sadly, I can't tell you what would have happened, as I've never read it but, given how What If tales tend to turn out, I'm going to guess it would have spelt disaster for humanity, especially when Galactus shows up.

The back-up tale, on the other hand, asks us what would have happened had Nova not given up his powers.

And I can't answer that question either.

The Avengers get their 11th annual and it's another one whose contents are a mystery to me but it seems to involve a crossover with the Defenders and a battle with Nebulon and his mystery girlfriend.

I'm always happy to rush to the defence of Al Milgrom but even I can't defend that total mess of a cover.

Forty years ago today - December 1982.

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

***

England are, once more, out of a World Cup, sunk by the French and, so, we must turn our gazes away from plucky losers and move them toward a bunch of people who always win.

Marvel super-heroes.

But do they always win?

Will triumph accompany them, this month?

Or will they too know the bitter taste of defeat?

Marvel's answer to Superman arrives on Earth, as Gladiator aims to thwart a potential invasion but ends up mistaking the Fantastic Four for Skrulls, leading to a clash the team can't possibly hope to survive.

Or so it seems...

Yet again, Iron Man finds himself facing a foe who's good at melting things, meaning his armour's got a challenge ahead of it.

Along the way, Shellhead rescues Rhodey - who's been stricken by spider venom, thanks to the machinations of the not-at-all-cliched Laird of Glen Travail.

Things start to get complicated for Spidey, as the Owl elects to work with Doc Ock in a joint bid to dethrone the Kingpin as boss of the New York mobs.

And, just to add complications to those complications, Peter Parker gets a visit from Debra Whitman's psychiatrist, as regards her belief that our hero's really Spider-Man.

When thieves steal the Eye of Horus and try to sell it in Chicago, Egypt's Scarlet Scarab shows up and helps  Thor bring the men to justice.

I'm struggling to remember what happens in this one but I do believe that, now he has Bruce Banner's mind, the Hulk's pardoned by the President.

Clearly, from that cover, a whole heap of Marvel heroes are involved, as well, and I've a feeling they and Hulkie must thwart what seems to be a Krylorean invasion.

However, it's nothing of the sort. It's an illusion created by the Leader for who-knows-what nefarious purpose.

There's no shortage of incident in this one, as Stick brings the Black Widow back from the dead but is then killed by agents of The Hand.

That's followed by the Widow and Foggy setting about breaking up Matt and Heather's relationship.

And then it turns out The Hand are out to resurrect Elektra!

It's a cover that can't help but remind one of the front of Avengers #61 in which the gang had to battle Surtur and Ymir but the story inside this one's very different, as the world's mightiest super-team finally defeat the Irish gods they were battling last issue.

Don't ask me how they do it, because I don't know.

But I do know Dr Druid's involved.

It's bad news for the X-Men, as they discover the Brood Queen's had an egg implanted in each and every one of them.

But it's better news for Carol Danvers who, in the heat of battle, suddenly regains her super-powers and is reborn as the noticeably Phoenix-like Binary which is a terrible name for a super-doer.

Still, that is the most Dave Cockrum costume ever.

The Tarantula's turned into a human spider, and Will O' the Wisp's still getting in Spider-Man's way.

Sadly, that's all I can remember of this one.

Cap's childhood best friend's been captured, which means the star-spangled battler has to rescue him.

The only problem is Arnim Zola and Baron Zemo appear to be involved.

Also, Bernie Rosenthal still knows Cap is really Steve Rogers.

But, then, who doesn't?

I've no idea what happens in this one but I'm willing to bet that giant spiders, evil sorcerers and helpless females are involved.

Oh, yes - and pirates.

December 9th, 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. 

***

Here in the present, the World Cup is on and many triumphant players will, no doubt, claim to be over the moon.

However, this week in 1972, a trio of men were soon to be literally over that object.

Those men were the crew of Apollo 17, destined to be the last manned moon mission for many a decade.

But they weren't alone because the mission also included five mice. I'm not sure what those were there for but I fear they were doomed to be disappointed when they reached their destination and discovered it isn't made of cheese.

Also disappointed, that week, was Imelda Marcos who was stabbed and seriously wounded by an assailant.

On the UK singles chart, there was no change, as Chuck Berry retained his Number One spot, thanks to the awesome power of his Ding-A-Ling.

While, over on the British album chart, there was also no change, with its summit retained by Various Artists' 25 Rockin' and Rollin' Greats.

I may not be a huge fan of that Chuck Berry single but these are the tracks of which I did approve, from that week's singles chart:

Crazy Horses - the Osmonds

Gudbuy T'Jane - Slade

Crocodile Rock - Elton John

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

Nights in White Satin - the Moody Blues

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John and Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir

In a Broken Dream - Python Lee Jackson

and

C Moon - Wings.

For those who wish to research the subject in greater depth, that week's UK singles chart can be found here.

While the corresponding album chart resides right here.

Despite the cover's proud boast that the Hulk finds himself up against the might of Tyrannus and his subterranean hordes, he, in fact, finds himself up against General Fang and his Himalayan hordes.

Fortunately, being smarter than anyone else in the story, the Hulk soon defeats them by dressing up as the Abominable Snowman.

In the middle of the comic, Spider-Man's still waging his first-ever battle against the Sandman - and only Henry the Hoover can save him!

And, thanks to Dr Doom's quest for treasure, the Fantastic Four have been sent back to the days of Blackbeard.

They can easily deal with pirates but can they prevent the Thing from turning against them?

And, yes, ten issues into its run, the book is still going on about the poster it's been going on about since issue #1. I'm starting to wonder if the current issue of Mighty World of Marvel is still going on about it in 2022.

The Marvel Lucky Bag - December 1972.

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

***

Do you like riding on public transport?

You wouldn't have done after December 1972.

That's because the month saw the release of two films guaranteed to make you want to drive everywhere, from now on.

The first was perennial Christmas favourite The Poseidon Adventure, while the second was perennial Steve of Steve Does Comics favourite Horror Express which shows just what can happen when you let Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Telly Savalas get on a train together.

Elsewhere, our cinemas also saw the release of Bruce Lee's Way of the Dragon.

But perhaps the most intriguing title for a film released that month was The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. Despite having heard that title many times before, I don't have a clue what the film itself's about. And reading Wikipedia's plot summary leaves me none the wiser.

Because you The Reader demanded it, here's Hero for Hire #4, in which someone poses as a phantom.

Exactly why he does that, I can't claim to recall. I've a feeling it's all to do with cinemas and theatres but I can say little beyond that.

I remember this tale from when it was reprinted in Marvel UK's Planet of the Apes comic.

His adventure with the Man-Thing concluded, Ka-Zar finds himself in the concrete jungle of New York and caught up in a turf war. Needless to say, no mere street thugs can stop the man who eats live mastodons for breakfast.

Neal Adams provides the cover, as the Man-Thing encounters two kids who manage to summon Thog the demon and, thus, endanger the world itself.

Wait. Is that The Shadow I see on yon cover?

No, it's not. It's Jack the Ripper who, our first yarn reveals, has survived into the present day, thanks to performing human sacrifices.

In our second tale, the best athletes of Westfield Heights High School are struck down by an unknown illness.

And, in our third, a scientist manages to reanimate his dead lover who promptly kills herself. Some people have no gratitude.

A sensational new heroine smashes her way through a jungle near you, as Shanna the She-Devil swings in to tackle all enemies of wildlife.

Having said that, I'm struggling to remember anything that happens in it, though I do remember that she, at times, comes across as being totally unhinged.

Not content with already having given us Man-Thing and the Glob, Marvel gives us another murk monster, as Theodore Sturgeon's It stalks the swamps.

What it does while it's stalking, I can't say, as I've never read this one. I have seen the film adaption, starring Roddy McDowall but, as that features a golem and no swamps, I suspect it bears no resemblance at all to Sturgeon's story.

On a world very similar to our own, Warlock finds himself battling the New-Man known as Apollo and his tentacular submarine of terror.

I must confess I've only picked this one because the cover tells me Oog lives again!

Not that I know who Oog is but I do feel that any monster with a name like that deserves acknowledgement.

As well as that masterpiece, we get a tale in which a man finds a doll and gives it to his daughter. What he doesn't know is the doll's an alien child waiting for its parents to come and take it home.

There's also a tale in which an inventor makes time stand still for everybody else. He then takes the opportunity to rob the populace before restarting time but it turns out they could all see what he did and he's promptly arrested.

And we bow out with a yarn in which a mine foreman, concerned a robot might take his job, scrambles its wires, which turns out to have been a mistake when he's caught in a cave-in and the damaged robot's not able to rescue him.

Is this the one in which a bunch of homeless, red skinned aliens arrive on Earth, and Namor promises them they can live in Atlantis but the Atlantean guards take one look at them, decide they're up to no good and shoot them dead?

If so, it's that one. If not, I don't know which one it is.

Fifty years ago today - December 1972.

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

***

As you'd expect, I'm all excited by the ever-nearing approach of Christmas.

But will I be just as excited by the comics below?

Spider-Man comes up against his deadliest foe yet - Aunt May; as the wacky widow proves just how completely clueless she is, by siding with her new employer - and boyfriend - Dr Octopus.

I seem to remember this featuring the shocking return of the Space Phantom who's somehow managed to land himself a job as the Supreme Hydra.

Having said that, I can't recall exactly what his scheme is but I'm sure it's suitably nefarious.

I think it also involves flashbacks to the days when Rick Jones was Cap's sidekick.

I don't think I've ever read this tale but I'm fairly certain it features the showdown between the real Captain America and the 1950s imposter who likes nothing better than smashing up pinko commies like the real Captain America.

I'm not sure it's one of Barry Smith's better covers.  Conan's legs look too long for the rest of him, his sword and axe don't seem to be pointing in quite the right directions and the man he's resting his foot on doesn't seem to have a thick enough body to be real.

However, none of that matters. What matters is that, inside, our hero's taken captive in Makkalet and then has to fight his deadliest foe yet.

A big frog!

Daredevil and the Black Widow take on the might of the Indestructible Man but it's poor old Danny French who has to sacrifice himself to stop the villain.

The Frightful Four are back!

And, this time, they've got Thundra with them!

But who is this pulchritudinous powerhouse - and will she be too busy trying to snog the Thing to flatten him?

I genuinely have no clue what's going on here. I do know it features the first appearance of the Black Lama and also the death of Raga.

Sadly, I don't know who either of those people is.

The Absorbing Man's back! And Rutland, Vermont, will never be the same again!

I do believe this is another of those stories that features Tom Fagan and his Halloween activities.

And that means it must include a guest appearance from members of the Marvel Bullpen but I'm struggling to remember which ones. Are Len and Glynis Wein among them? And, possibly, Gerry Conway?

Before he goes mad and harasses the Hulk, the Cobalt Man goes mad and tries to make ex-men of the X-Men.

Sadly, his plan all goes wrong when his armour starts to be in danger of blowing up.

With him inside it!

It's another of my Hulk faves as, thanks to the Leader, he and the Rhino get a trip to Counter-Earth where he encounters the alternate Bruce Banner.

Meanwhile, on our Earth, Betty Ross is getting married to Glenn Talbot.

But that's enough of Marvel. We should never forget that, big as it is, it's not the only fish in town.

That in mind, let's peruse a random sample of what its closest rival's up to in the mags that bear a December cover date.

Neal Adams gives us a cheery cover but I'm not too sure the tale within is so cheery.

I've never read this one but it would appear that someone called Moe Malloy fishes a glowing gun and a pair of shoes from Metropolis harbour and promptly gains super powers.

Meanwhile, in our backup strip, the Human Target must pose as a business man, in order to prevent an assassination.

What's this? The Phantom Stranger? Confronting the Justice League of America?

It seems he's not just confronting them, he's out to recruit them to battle demons summoned during the Halloween Parade in Rutland, Vermont.

I'm assuming this means Tom Fagan's going to be showing up in this one, as well.

However, I can shed no light upon whether any Marvel or DC creatives enliven this one with a guest appearance.

It's certainly a Batman cover you'll never forget but what of the story within?

Sadly, I cannot answer that, as I've never read it. However, I can say that someone's demonstrating ways to kill Robin, via the medium of dummies.

But who can be behind it all?

And can Batman track them down in time to rescue the boy wonder?

It's a typically striking cover by Bernie Wrightson, although perhaps lacking his usual vigour.

As it turns out, none of the inside stories feature his artwork but we do get tales which boast such chilling titles as Waiting... Waiting... Waiting..., No Bed of Roses and The Village on the Edge of Forever.

Jim Aparo gives us another moody cover; this time, for a tale in which the Dark Circle captures Cassandra Craft, in order to lure the Phantom Stranger into a trap.

Elsewhere, Dr 13 has an encounter with a Creature of the Night.

But will even that be enough to dent his skepticism?

I know little of the contents of this one but I do know Tarzan frees a group of slaves who've been forced to work in a distinctly menacing mine.

And that there's a back-up strip called Beyond the Farthest Star which appears to feature both a merman and a script by Marv Wolfman that's adapted from a tale by Edgar Rice Burroughs himself.

My favourite war comic's back!

And, this time, we get tales that bear such chilling monikers as The Promise, Blood Brothers and The Last Battle, brought to us by the likes of Robert Kanigher, Alfredo Alcala, Gerry Talaoc and Alex Niño.

It's that legendary Samuel R Delany tale in which Diana Prince sets out to do something about a local businessman who's failed to have a suitable sprinkler system fitted in his factory in defiance of Subsection Something-or-Other of some civic ordinance or other.

I can't help feeling this isn't likely to be the plot of the next Wonder Woman movie.

I do recall that, despite it being a special Women's Lib issue, it's the one in which Diana tells us she can't stand women.

I suppose that would explain why she left Paradise Island, if nothing else.

More importantly, I've just discovered that my review of this issue was posted over ten years ago. What is this madness? Why does it feel like I wrote it just a few weeks ago?

December 2nd, 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 delivered bad news for Bjork and her fleet of Atlantic trawlers because the already simmering Cod War suddenly heated up with British Foreign Secretary Sir Alec Douglas-Home declaring that, from now on, Royal Navy ships would be stationed to protect British trawlers from Icelandic attacks. You can see now why she gave up on it and settled for a career in the recording studio instead.

But all of that pales into insignificance besides what's happening here. After all, my razor-sharp senses tell me the Hulkster's having his first run-in with Tyrannus, villainous ruler of an underground kingdom.

We also get a one-page explanation of Spider-Man's spider-senses, thanks to the words and pictures of Lee and Ditko.

And it looks like Webhead's going to need those senses, as, for the first time, he encounters the awesome getting-everywhere power of the Sandman.

Meanwhile, the FF are having a first-ever meeting of their own, as we're given the debut of the man who'll go on to become their greatest foe this side of Willie Lumpkin. Yes, it's Dr Doom!

And, yes, we're now nine issues in and the book is still going on about that mysterious poster it's been going on about since issue #1. Never has there been so much fuss made about one picture.