2000 AD - June 1985.

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

***

Do you like getting your kicks?

If so, June 1985 was a terrible month for you because that was when Route 66 - the only place you could officially get your kicks - was decommissioned. 

Granted, I don't actually know what, "decommissioned," meant but I would assume it meant you couldn't use it anymore.

Not that I knew why you'd use it, as I never had a clue where it started from and where it led to.

For that matter, I still don't.

A safe bet is it didn't lead to my local cinema.

Which is a shame because, lurking in that theatre was a whole feast of offerings, including but not limited to, The Goonies, Prizzi's Honor, Cocoon, Return to Oz, Pale Rider and St. Elmo's Fire. The latter of which featured a theme song which briefly made an unlikely US AOR star of John Parr from Doncaster.

Return to Oz made a star of Fairuza Balk and is one of those sequels they always say should never have been made. But it also happens to be one of those few sequels I prefer to its predecessor. Yes, I am the man who preferred Babe: Pig in the City to Babe.

It does seem weird to see that Pale Rider came out in the 1980s and not the 1970s. Then again, that could be because I always get it mixed up with High Plains Drifter which did come out in the 1970s.

The UK singles chart, that June, kicked off with Paul Hardcastle's 19 at the helm before it was dislodged by the Crowd's charity single You'll Never Walk Alone which was dislodged by Sister Sledge's Frankie.

The British album chart ushered the month in with the Style Council's Our Favourite Shop on top. But even that had to make way for Bryan Ferry's Boys and Girls which had to make way for Marillion's Misplaced Childhood which had to make way for Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA, rendering the LP chart's summit a veritable revolving door.

But what of the galaxy's greatest comic? What was that up to while all this churn was occurring?

As so often in the past, it was giving us a diet of Sláine, Tharg's Future-Shocks, Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper and Strontium Dog. While, less familiarly, Judge Anderson was still battling the Dark Judges.

But what's this? Judging by the cover to Prog 424, it would seem her colleague Dredd was about to come up against Mega-City One's answer to the Silver Surfer.

July 14th, 1973 - 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. 

***

There was no change at the top of the UK album and singles charts, this week in 1973, with 

Skweeze Me Pleeze Me by Slade and Various Artists' That'll Be the Day still reigning supreme.

Like anyone with any sense, I do, of course, love a good dose of Slade but other singles I approved of on that week's chart were:

Life on Mars - David Bowie

Albatross {1973} - Fleetwood Mac

Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting - Elton John

Live and Let Die - Paul McCartney and Wings

Stuck in The Middle With You - Stealers Wheel

Can the Can - Suzi Quatro

I Saw the Light - Todd Rundgren

and

See My Baby Jive - Wizzard.

Should you wish to peruse the matter further, that week's singles chart lives right here.

While the corresponding album chart resides here.

There's just no rest when you're the Hulk. No sooner has he returned to Earth than he's brainwashed by the evil organisation the world knows as The Living Lightning.

Or it would do if it had ever heard of it.

Under this mind control, our hero attacks Thunderbolt Ross and, while Ross is dealing with that, the Lord of the Living Lightning only goes and takes over his military base!

Elsewhere, the Marvel time streams are about to get a whole lot more complicated because, seeking a cure for Alicia's blindness, the Fantastic Four travel to Ancient Egypt and are promptly met by Rama-Tut, tyrannical time traveller from our distant future.

It's a pivotal day for Peter Parker because it's the day he graduates from high school.

But it's a big day for Mark Raxton, as well. Thanks to an experiment gone wrong, he turns into the Molten Man - and Spider-Man's just the kind of guy he'd like to take his frustrations out on.

It's all eventful for Thor, as well because Odin travels to Earth to stick his nose into the thunder god's relationship with Jane Foster.

But wouldn't you know it, the moment he's gone, Loki frees the malevolent giants Skagg and Surtur, in an attempt to hold on to power in Asgard forever.

That's the plan, at least. Sadly for Loki, Thor, Balder and Odin defeat the giants and that means there'll be no supper for Loki tonight.

The Marvel Lucky Bag - July 1983.

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

***

Plenty of famous films hit our eyes when we entered our local cinema in July 1983. Amongst other treats, we were blessed with such gems as Staying Alive, Zelig, Jaws 3-D, Krull and National Lampoon's Vacation.

I must confess the only one of those I've seen is Krull. Therefore I can pass no judgement upon which is best but, somehow, I have the suspicion it's probably not Krull.

Skeevo, Syzygy and Oedi take out advertising with the Commune but it's exciting times ahead because, as the Instrumentality tries to bushwhack them, they meet and battle Tuetun.

Frankly, I found all that out from the internet. I don't have a clue what any of it means. It's just a string of near-random words, to me.

And I know even less about what's going on in this one.

I do know that, in some way, it involves The Amulet of Ka.

And, obviously, it involves Kull.

In this thrilling issue, we get a Man-Thing tale called Rock 'n' Soul!

But we're doubly blessed because we also get an adventure called Mowgli's Brothers, adapted, as you might suspect, from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.

Hang onto your lily pads, tigers, because, this issue, Spider-Man teams up with Frog-Man!

I'm assuming he's not the Frog-Man who used to fight Daredevil?

Anyway, the White Rabbit's also involved.

Not that I have a clue who she is either.

I'm going to assume she's the villain of the piece.

Marvel Two-in-One may have died but you can't keep a bright orange rock monster down.

And so it is that the Thing gets his very own book in which he returns to Yancy Street to reminisce over his early years, including the death of his brother and the formation of the Fantastic Four.

To be honest, sitting around reminiscing doesn't sound like the most thrilling way to start a new series.

Then again, it's by John Byrne. So, I'm, sure he knows what he's doing.

Today's Marvel Universe is brought to you by the letter, "M."

And that means we get a whole string of one-page profiles of various super-doers whose names begin with that very character.

Bouncing Bill Sienkiewicz gives us a cover that I suspect is likely to be far more intriguing than the story within.

Then again, I know nothing of the story within, other than that it's called Fugitive and is brought to us by the team of Frank Springer and Vince Colletta.

It would appear that, In order to save Koth's life, Ogeode must discover more about the physiology of the Crystal warriors.

To do this, he sends his daughter into the Prism-Crystal, so that she, herself, can undergo the transformation.

We're on issue #3 now and I still have no idea what this comic's about.

I do suspect CB radio's involved.

It would seem we get coverage of Return of the Jedi - and we get Bob Layton being interviewed!

Granted, I only know that because it says so on the front cover.

We also get Rock and Rule but I don't have a clue what that means.

We also get Other Stuff.

That is good. It's always good to get other stuff.

Forty years ago today - July 1983.

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

***

Let us leap from the cliffs of Nostalgia and see what treats we bang our heads on when we land upon the beckoning shores below.

Daredevil teams up with Wolverine, in an attempt to prevent Bullseye being smuggled out of the country but soon finds himself repulsed by his new ally's eagerness to butcher his foes.

Things are getting so bad for Tony Stark - thanks to his drunkenness - that Rhodey tries to get Captain America to have a word with him.

Unfortunately, he might not live long enough to receive that pep talk, as Firebrand is back and has set fire to the building Stark's currently discombobulated himself inside.

From what I can remember, the Mad Thinker's still in jail and reached the conclusion that Spider-Man must have a special sense which warns him of danger.

Having decided this is the key to making his own predictions more accurate, the villain telepathically sets one of his androids on the hero, in an attempt to study him in action and learn his secret.

I do believe this is the one in which J Jonah Jameson goes completely mad and, in order to show Marla he still has the reporting instincts of his youth, investigates corruption down on the docks.

Needless to say, every man and his dog tries to kill him, along the way. Needless to say, Spider-Man secretly helps him out whenever he needs it.

I'm assuming this story was inspired by the Daredevil yarn, from not too long ago, in which Foggy Nelson went off to investigate New York's criminal underworld.

Not, of course, that I would ever accuse Spider-Man in this era of borrowing ideas from Daredevil.

Viper's captured Cap and Nomad and has a balloon-based plan to spread the Bubonic Plague across America!

Fortunately, the dynamic duo have an unlikely ally in the Constrictor who doesn't fancy living in a world ravaged by the Black Death.

It's good news for all X-Men fans, as Rogue joins the team!

It's not such good news for everyone else, as no one in the gang wants her near them - especially Ms Marvel who just wants to knock her block off.

Sadly, for them all, they're overruled by Professor X and, so, an X-Man she becomes.

Meanwhile, Storm's descent into darkness continues...

Can it be? Can Dracula have turned Sif into a vampire? And can the lord of the undead be a match for Thor, now that he has the blood of an Asgardian goddess in his veins?

Here's where we find out, although I must report that, even with the blood of an Asgardian in his veins Drac's still not a match for Thor, and the story does basically nothing with Sif having become a vampire.

Much as I love John Buscema, that's not one of the best covers he's ever produced.

Inside, the barbarian stumbles across a town where a plague keeps turning people into trees.

And it's not long before Conan himself becomes distinctly deciduous! However, I must confess I can't remember just how he turns himself back into a person again.

By all sorts of Reed Richards style scientific gobbledygook, the Fantastic Four escape death in the Negative Jone and inflict the fate upon Annihilus that he would have had befall upon them.

Sadly, it's not in time for Alicia who's had a good knocking about from the villain. And, meanwhile, just what's happened to Franklin?

It's a cross-over with this month's Fantastic Four, as the world's mightiest super-team battles to penetrate an energy-neutralising force field that's been flung up around the Baxter Building, by Annihilus.

They finally succeed in their efforts but it's an attempt that leaves the Vision in a seemingly lifeless heap.

Still out to rebuild his life as a scientist, Bruce Banner sets about constructing a new lab for Stark Industries but, unknown to anyone, one of the brand new parts contains Zzzax - and only the Hulk can stop him!

July 7th, 1973 - 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. 

***

OK, Nostalgia, show us what you've got!

Having brought the Hulk to his new kingdom on an alien world, the High Evolutionary's disappointed to discover he's lumbered, instead, with Puny Banner who's going to be a fat load of use in the battle with the increasingly bestial New Men.

So, he does what anyone would in that situation and decides to super-evolve Banner into a creature from a thousand years in mankind's future!

That plan goes tits up. So, the Evolutionary decides, instead, to super-evolve himself.

He then uses his future powers to devolve his New Men back into animals, before becoming a being of pure thought, leaving the Hulk alone on an abandoned planet.

Meanwhile, the Fantastic Four have no need of all that fancy space travel because outer space has come to them, with the arrival of the Super Skrull.

Don't they defeat him by trapping him in a volcano, in order to cut off the magic beam that powers him?

For that matter, is the magic beam that powers him ever mentioned again?

Now there's trouble because Spidey's caught in a battle for mob supremacy between the Green Goblin and the Crime-Master!

Needless to say, neither of the heels achieves that supremacy because our hero gains supremacy over the pair of them.

Elsewhere, Loki and Odin conspire to end Thor's relationship with Jane Foster, by sending the Enchantress to seduce the thunder god. But, of course, the block-headed Executioner messes everything up and the scheme is foiled.

But who cares about that? All that matters is that, at last, we discover the secret of Wordophobia!

No, I don't have a clue what Wordophobia is or why I should wish to know its secret but whatever the truth of the matter is, it may be found within this very issue.

The Marvel Lucky Bag - July 1973.

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

***

Let's see what some of Marvel's lower-profile stars were up to in comics that bore the cover date of July 1973. 

Killraven's still battling those Martians and is now captured by someone called Skarlet, then taken to the arena for a fight to the death.

Along the way, he encounters the Sirens of 7th Avenue.

It's clearly a landmark story because, as far as I'm aware, it contains the first appearances of M'Shulla, Hawk and Arrow.

It would appear our hero has to take on the might of the Super-Skrull!

And that's about all I know of this one, other than that it's set on Titan and, if the cover's to be trusted, various loser villains from old Hulk stories are involved.

Mike Ploog gives us an action-packed cover, while, inside, the monster's befriended by a friendly Arctic tribe, even though I'm not seeing too much befriending going on in that image.

Also, they seem a bit underdressed for the Arctic.

At last, the Panther gets his own strip!

Except he doesn't. The tale in this issue is a reprint of Avengers #62 in which T'Challa must battle Baku the Man-Ape to regain control of his kingdom. We'll have to wait for next month to finally get some actual Panther solo action.

Once again, the only Marvel character to have been at death's door more often than Aunt May is at death's door. And can Dr Strange save him again?

Also, has he ever considered consulting Dr Bromwell? Dr Bromwell's visits always work wonders for Aunt May.

From what I can make out, Strange follows the essence of Shuma-Gorath to the Crypts of Kaa-U where the Shadowmen turn up - and Shuma-Gorath emerges from the Ancient One's mind!

I'd have been more impressed if Shuma-Gorath had emerged from Aunt May's mind.

I'm struggling to recall what happens in this one but I do know Subby confronts Dr Hydro who's been turning surface dwellers into amphibians.

There's also a backup strip that tells a tale from deep in the history of Atlantis.

Worlds Unknown gives us its adaptation of L Sprague de Camp's A Gun for Dinosaur. For some reason, I always had it in my head the original tale was by Ray Bradbury. What a fool I've been.

There's also a tale called Doorstep. I must have read it because it was reprinted in Marvel UK's Planet of the Apes #29 but, based purely on its title, I've no recollection of it.

Hooray! The first Marvel hero to ever find cinematic success hits our eyeballs, as Blade debuts and then confronts the king of the undead on a cruise ship.

I don't know if it's the same cruise ship on which Spider-Man will later fail to confront the same villain but I like to think it is.

Fifty years ago today - July 1973.

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

***

Once more into the breach.

America goes mad, as people who don't like androids decide to blow up the Vision!

How can even the Avengers hope to triumph against the darkness in people's hearts?

I must confess this is one of my least favourite comic book covers of all time. The overwrought melodrama of it makes it more ludicrous than potent.

Then again, I've never been that big on the story inside either. Mostly because of the vaguely comedic detonation system favoured by the human bombs.

It seems the Serpent Squad is up to something but I don't know what.

Though, hold on, isn't that the Eel on the cover?

Are eels serpents?

No. They're not. They're fish.

So, why's he in the Serpent Squad?

Shouldn't he be in the Piscine Patrol?

With Attuma?

And Tiger Shark?

And Captain Barracuda?

Conan comes up against one of those pesky man-apes who seem to lurk in every Hyborean forest.

It all revolves around the Witch-Dancers of Zembabwei, and people with names like Zemba, Dalmoor and Helgi.

I have no doubt swords are involved.

Hooray! It's a Daredevil story I actually remember, as Angar the Screamer gets up to confused mischief.

Angar's mysterious boss sends him to drive Daredevil mad but Matt Murdock's smooth-talking soon changes Angar's mind. 

That doesn't last long, though. When the police show up and escalate the situation, Daredevil and the Black Widow are forced to fight him, all over again.

I have very few memories of this one

I think The Shaper of Worlds may give the son of Gregory Gideon the power to cause nothing but trouble for our heroes but I could be remembering totally wrongly.

Hooray! It's half man, half fish, all trouble, as Aquon makes his gluggery debut!

And it's all an attempt by Captain Omen to prevent his crew from journeying to the surface world.

I first read this tale in the 1975 UK Marvel Annual. A book I once reviewed, right here.

And, yes, it does have one of the most memorable endings to a comic book story, ever.

I don't like to knock but, to be honest, the promise of the Masked Marauder returning would rarely be enough to make me buy a comic.

It would seem that, here, the villain steals Tony Stark's first space shuttle and, somehow, Shellhead manages to lose his subsequent fight with the larcenous landlord.

The Green Goblin dies and, fifty years later, I still haven't got over it.

Is that a Jim Starlin cover I detect? Frankly, it's not his best.

Inside, Thor and his companions try to release the  Asgardians from their lizard captors but Odin's being too much of a sad sack for that.

Still, the thunder god finally manages to overcome the villains.

Now all he has to do is figure out where Sif's disappeared to...

That's Marvel accounted for.

But what of its biggest rival? What does a random sampling of DC's output that bears a July 1973 cover date look like?

It's the first time I've ever looked at Doom Patrol, in this slot and I must confess I don't have a clue what happens in it. I'm sure it's all dramatic, though.

It's definitely not the first time I've ever looked at The Phantom Stranger.

Having said that, I don't know what happens in this one either.

I do know the backup strip's The Spawn of Frankenstein as drawn by Mike Kaluta.

I deffo know what happens in this one. An evil villain's destroying the cities of Rann by blasting them with a giant, indestructible magnifying glass.

Happily, Adam Strange is on hand to thwart the villain's intentions and use his own weapon against him.

Determined to win the love of Iris West, Captain Cold freezes an entire city, in an attempt to make her accept his marriage proposal. I get the feeling romance isn't his strongest suit.

Fortunately, the Flash is on hand to thwart the lovesick crook.

Meanwhile, Dr Fate must stop the machinations of Mr Who, owner of a solution that makes things grow to giant size.

What's this? Princess Diana must fight her half-sister Nubia, in order to decide who's really Wonder Woman?

Actually, that may not be the plot. I don't remember the actual plot. So, I'm just making one up that sounds good.

Regardless, I'm sure that Mars, God of War, is involved.