December 15th 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. 

***

No one loves science more than the owner of this website does.

Thus it is that I'm thrilled to report it was this week in 1973 that Brian Josephson shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for his theoretical predictions of the properties of a supercurrent through a tunnel barrier. In particular, those phenomena which are generally known as the Josephson effects.

Not only that but Geoffrey Wilkinson and Ernst Otto Fischer won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for their pioneering work, performed independently, on the chemistry of the organometallic sandwich compounds.

Much as I love sandwiches, I'm perfectly happy to settle for them being kept in shops. I see no reason why they need entire compounds to store them in.

Over on the UK singles chart, the battle for Christmas supremacy reached overdrive, as Glam Rock gargantuans Slade smashed their way straight onto the Hit Parade at Number One, with their classic party-pleaser Merry Xmas, Everybody. Off the top of my head, I do believe it was their sixth Number One. Though, sadly, and surprisingly, it also turned out to be their last.

Over on the accompanying LP chart, events were dominated by far less rowdy fare, as David Cassidy's Dreams Are Nothin' More Than Wishes climbed serenely to the pinnacle.

It's another Marvel masterpiece, as the aliens who created Umbu - the robot the Hulk destroyed, last week - visit Earth to find out just what kind of a being could stop their unstoppable creation.

They then make the mistake of taking him back home, where he can be recruited in a plot to destroy the Galaxy Master, a shouty, floating mouth who wants to rule the universe.

And, as we all know, if there's anyone who's never seen a gob he didn't want to punch, it's the Hulk.

But, after that tale, there's a shock.

And that's because this issue doesn't contain a Fantastic Four story.

Instead, it contains the true tale of the origin of Dr Doom, in which we learn how he started out as a poor young Romany boy, lost his mum, lost his dad, invented hair restorer, turned mud into gold, invented the bomb-proof caravan, blew himself up and ended up seizing the much-coveted throne of Latveria.

It's issue #13 and it's unlucky for some.

Those Some being fans of Iron Man, Giant-Man and Thor who all announce they're leaving the team they created.

Strangely, the cover blurb totally ignores the existence of the winsome Wasp who's also leaving. But how will the team ever survive without her?

Simple. It'll survive by recruiting a trio of well-known criminals.

Dr Strange, meanwhile, stars in a tale called Mordo Must Not Catch Me!

And I'm going to guess, from that title, that Baron Mordo's involved.

And it's another classic, as Peter Parker decides he shall no longer be Spider-Man.

At least, not until he sees a man who looks like Uncle Ben being put upon by robbers and, so, feels he has no choice but to intervene.

Not only does this story contain that historical event but I do believe it may very well be the first issue of any Marvel comic to feature the mountainous menace of the Kingpin.

Elsewhere, Thor visits the steel mills of Pittsburgh, to repair the hammer damaged, last week, by the Destroyer.

However, the thunder god's worries have only just begun, as he soon discovers Jane Foster's gone missing. 

And I do believe this is one of those very rare occasions when Marvel UK continuity stacks up because, at one point, he tries to contact the Avengers for help - only to discover that nearly all of them have quit and been replaced by new-fangled newcomers he doesn't like.

The Marvel Lucky Bag - December 1983.

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

***

A visit to the cinema in December 1983 was, most likely, a tense one, with the release of such knuckle-chewing thrillers as Christine, Scarface, The Keep, The Plague Dogs and, erm, Terms of Endearment... 

...and Yentl.

As far as I can remember; amongst those, Christine and Scarface are the only ones I've ever seen. I will, therefore, go for Christine as my pick of the bunch, even though I suspect it's nothing like the best of them.

Everyone's favourite dark night detective gets a second special edition, although it's not that special, being made up entirely of reprints. This time, from the late-lamented Hulk magazine.

In it, Moon Knight and his friend Jason set off to watch a total lunar eclipse, to discover what effect such a phenomenon will have on his powers and, as far as I can make out, they bump into the Hulk while they're at it.

Nick Fury's SHIELD gets its million-and-oneth book.

However, it's made up entirely of reprints from Jim Steranko's 1960s run.

More specifically, tales involving such rogues as Scorpio and Centurius.

Power Man and Iron Fist may not be able to sustain a comic of their own, as individuals, but, as a team, they must be doing something right because they've managed to hit their hundredth issue!

And, to celebrate, Marvel grants them a double-sized comic. One in which we're retold the origins of the dynamic duo.

And, given the embiggened page count, I'm sure there's plenty more happens in it besides that.

Not wanting to be left out of all these special-issue shenanigans, Spider-Man gets his 17th annual.

And it's built around a brand new adventure from Bill Mantlo, Roger Stern, Ed Hannigan and Jim Mooney. However, I can shed no light upon what actually happens in it.

It would seem the villainous Louie Minelli makes his debut but I don't have a clue who he is.

The nature of this comic is still a mystery to me but, this month, it has a pleasant cover. Therefore, I shall include it.

And, good Lord above, even the Micronauts have a special edition!

Again, it's just reprints. This time, recycling tales from the first three issues of their monthly mag.

But, at last, a genuinely new mag hits our spinner racks!

And it happens when Storm and Illyana team up to do something or other!

All I know of this book is Illyana's trapped in Limbo, with the X-Men from an alternate timeline.

The world's most inquisitive comic demands to know what would have happened had the Invisible Girl died.

I assume they would have buried her or cremated her. Hopefully, they wouldn't have got the Human Torch to cremate her, as that would have been, frankly, tasteless.

Beyond that, I cannot speculate as to what would have transpired.

The war of the stars gets its third annual. And, to my surprise, it appears not to be made up of reprints.

However, that's all the light I can shed upon the subject of what occurs within, because neither my personal experience nor Googling provides me with ready answers.

Forty years ago today - December 1983.

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

***

One of the stars of this week's comic book cavalcade is travelling forward in time.

We, however, will only be heading in one direction.

And that's towards yesteryear.

Cap flings himself into the far-flung future of 1993, to find a world where all super-heroes have been bumped off and a cyborg called Hellinger is planning to wipe out what's left of humankind.

Needless to say, it only takes America's greatest hero about twenty minutes to track down and stop the villain.

With a massive amount of aid from Deathlok, of course.

With Daredevil's activities severely hindered by his recent injuries, the Black Widow decides to chip in and help out when he wants to track down the mystery man who tried to assassinate Foggy Nelson.

I seem to remember the hero doing a lot of whining, about being useless, in this one.

Oh my God! Now what are we going to do? Someone's kidnapped Reed Richards, with the aid of an outer space beam!

Needless to say, the rest of the gang waste no time in looking for him; even seeking aid from the Watcher, along the way.

But, when they find their missing leader, it turns out he's been put on trial for saving the life of Galactus. An act that's directly led to the destruction of the Skrull homeworld.

With no doubt at all that Richards did it, it seems to be an open-and-shut case.

Surely, his execution can't now be prevented.

I've not one millimetre of recollection about what happens in this one but I gather the instoppable menace that is the Frog-Man is involved.

I do, however, recall what happens in this book.

Because yet another fight breaks out between Spider-Man and the Hobgoblin.

And, now, the villain's got super-strength!

But the good news is our hero doesn't have to fight alone, as he now has the Black Cat on his side.

Or is that good news? Because all she manages to do is get in the way.

Now that Beta Ray Bill has Thor's hammer - and his powers - there's a pressing need to decide which of them is most deserving of that hammer and those powers.

Thus it is that Odin sets up a contest between them to decide just who is the noblest warrior of them all.

And, quelle horreur, the sheep-faced alien wins it!

Hooray! Romance is in the air, as MODOK transforms SHIELD agent Katherine Waynesboro into a female version of himself and, inevitably, they fall in love with each other.

Or do they? It's not long before they're at each other's throats and trying to kill each other.

Out of work since Obadiah Stane's takeover of the Stark business empire, Rhodey decides to hire himself out as a bodyguard to the rich and powerful.

But that brings him into direct conflict with the awesome foe that is the Flying Tiger.

Luke Cage and Iron Fist put in a guest appearance, thanks to their ability to give Rhodey advice on how to become a hero for hire.

Tony Stark, meanwhile, is making some kind of move towards drying out.

The Vision finally awakes from his coma.

But that's where the good news ends, as, thanks to a link-up with Titan's controlling super-computer ISAAC, he's now smarter and more powerful than ever.

And determined to make full use of his new abilities, whether other people like it or not.

Some of us thought we'd never live to see Conan riding along on the back of a giant dragonfly but we were wrong.

All I remember of this one is the barbarian meets a woman with the unlikely name of Alhambra and she has wings. What she does with those wings and for what purpose, I cannot say.

It's a departure from the norm, as the issue mostly dwells on Cyclops and his wife taking a boat trip. One on which they find themselves attacked by a giant octopus.

Elsewhere, beneath the streets of New York, Callisto's moving pieces into place in her bid to gain vengeance upon Storm for deposing her as leader of the Morlocks.

December 8th 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. 

***

This week in 1973 held bad news for you if you were a fan of driving fast, because the speed limit on UK motorways was suddenly slashed from 70 miles per hour to a mere 50. This was done in an attempt to deal with problems caused by the fuel crisis.

Clearly, not so bothered about wasting fuel was NASA because it was merrily flying Pioneer 10 around the universe, possibly at a much faster pace than 50 miles per hour. And so it was that, this very week, the craft sent back the first-ever close-up photos of Jupiter.

Bringing everyone back down to Earth, it was also the week in which the United States' House of Representatives voted to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States. Not that they were in any kind of hurry but he was sworn in on the very same day.

While that was happening, on the UK singles chart, the Number One song was still I Love You Love Me Love by Gary Glitter.

And the accompanying album chart found its top slot occupied by Roxy Music's Stranded.

Obviously, subsequent events have robbed me of all ability to approve of that Number One single. However, the tracks I did approve of on that week's chart were:

My Coo-Ca-Choo - Alvin Stardust

Lamplight - David Essex

Roll Away the Stone - Mott the Hoople

Photograph - Ringo Starr

Amoureuse  - Kiki Dee

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day - Wizzard

Mind Games - John Lennon

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John

Showdown - Electric Light Orchestra

and

Dance with The Devil - Cozy Powell.

Should you wish to peruse the matter further, that week’s UK singles chart can be found here.

While the associated album chart resides right here.

Judging by that cover, I can only conclude this one contains the Earth-rattling conclusion to the Hulk's clash with Umbu the tuning fork-wielding giant robot from space. It's the tale in which our anti-hero saves the whole planet from a severe case of climate change; which only goes to prove that, despite his lack of social graces, the Hulk is as green as anyone.

Unfortunately, in the process, Bruce Banner gets zapped by a bucketload of radiation, collapses, face-down, on the floor and is immediately declared dead, by Ka-Zar who gives us a perfect demonstration of why he's not allowed to practise medicine.

As if that's not thrilling enough for any discerning reader, we also get the climax of Diablo's debut clash with the first family of Marvel, as the Thing finally comes to his senses and helps the Fantastic Four defeat the antagonistic alchemist before putting him back in the very hole from which he emerged.

It's a case of double trouble because Kraven the Hunter's so miffed that the new, unimproved Vulture's defeated his nemesis Spider-Man that he feels he now has no choice but to fell the feathery fiend, in order to prove who's top dog.

Of course, it turns out that neither of them is, as Spidey interrupts their fight and leaves them both in a pile on the floor. I do recall, especially that the wallcrawler decks Kraven with the sudden use of his, "Sunday Punch."

It's clearly a week for conclusions because we're also supplied with the end of the Thor story in which he must stop the Destroyer.

Fortunately, despite having a broken hammer, he proves more than up to the task and everyone will, no doubt, live happily ever after.

Wouldn't you know it, the Avengers are, yet again, forced into battle with the Masters of Evil, while Cap tracks Mr Zemo down to the jungle hideout in which he's holding Rick Jones.

According to the Grand Comics Database, the villain tries to bring an avalanche down on Cap but only succeeds in killing himself. Thus is the death of Bucky Barnes finally avenged.

Or is it? After all, is this the original Zemo? Or is this his son or nephew or whoever it was the fake Zemo was?

And it's a big day in the life of Dr Strange when he gets to have a scrap with Loki, who, being a god, proves to have noticeably more magic than the supernatural surgeon can comfortably handle.

The Marvel Lucky Bag - December 1973.

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

***

I don't know what Hollywood was on in December 1973 but it was clearly working. It was, after all, a month which saw the release of more memorable movies than you could shake a stick at.

Not only were we treated to such films as Serpico, Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World, Fantastic Planet, The Wicker Man, The Three Musketeers, Papillon, Sleeper, The Day of the Dolphin, The Sting and Magnum Force, we were also subjected, for the first time, to the legendary terror of The Exorcist.

Of those films, I've seen Serpico, Digby, The Wicker Man, The Three Musketeers, Papillon, Sleeper, The Day of the Dolphin, The Sting, Magnum Force and The Exorcist. To be honest, I couldn't choose a favourite from that lot but, being a horror fan, I'm always going to have a leaning towards The Wicker Man.

But I must confess that, in my head, I always get Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World mixed up with One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing.

The Living Colossus may not be one of Marvel's great characters but it seems you can't get him to stay away.

In this thrilling adventure, special effects man Bob O'Bryan's legs are broken by a vengeful actor. Fortunately, he then discovers he can mentally control the gigantic body of our main character.

But that's not all we get. We're also treated to a Lee/Ditko reprint titled The Man Who Captured Death! in which a dying man traps Death, in order to save himself but, holy smoke, he then discovers Death brings peace to us and is needed to keep things running smoothly.

Hold on. Isn't this basically the plot of the first dozen issues of Neil Gaiman's Sandman?

Now that they've finally got that bothersome clash with the Avengers out of the way, Marvel's non-team are free to get on with the task of revivifying the Black Knight, following his unfortunate descent into petrification.

Thus it is that they travel back to the crusades, for reasons I can't quite remember.

Put out the bunting because a brand new mag hits the shelves!

Granted, it's not that new. A quick glance at the cover will alert sharp-eyed readers to the fact it's a reprint book. 

Inside, we encounter The Other Iron Man which I believe to be the one in which the Mandarin abducts Happy Hogan, thinking him to be Iron Man - not realising he was just wearing the armour to enable Shellhead and Tony Stark to be seen by people in two separate places at the same time.

And then we get the Captain America tale in which the Adaptoid becomes the Super-Adaptoid.

That doesn't of course, prevent the star-spangled shield-slinger from spanking his bottom.

But, let's face it, this is what all sensible people came here for, as Fu Manchu's son makes his sensei-shattering debut.

After assassinating the unfortunate Dr Petrie, Shang-Chi feels bad enough about it to kung-fu his way past super-apes and sumos, for a confrontation with his malevolent father.

But that's enough of the new, because another reprint mag's turned up in our lives.

In this one, we find The Thing That Devoured a Planet, Enter: the Machine Age!, It Came From Beneath the Earth! - and The Eye of Doom in which floating eyes from Venus invade the Earth. All of these tales are 1950s reprints.

Interesting that, in that first story, a professor postulates the existence of a giant being who roams through space and eats planets.

There's no news of whether it's been seen in the company of a man on a surfboard.

And yet another new title enters our lives. Even if that title's taken from a 1940s movie.

Inside can be discovered such treats as The Ghost Still Walks, House of Fear!, My Brother... the Ghoul, and He Dwells in a Dungeon! which doesn't seem like the best place to dwell. Whoever he is, he really ought to consider moving to somewhere nicer.

Yet again, these are all reprints from the 1950s.

Knock me down with a feather, it's yet another new book launch. And guess what? It's filled with 1950s reprints.

This time, we're supplied with Like a Chicken Without a Head!, Rudolph's Racket, Propaganda! and Time Marches On!

Sadly, Rudolph's Racket doesn't appear to involve any red-nosed reindeers.

There've been plenty of first appearances, this month but there's also a final one, as Millie's rival meets her Waterloo.

All the tales in this are reprints as well but, this time, from 1970.

Amongst them are Soak It to Me, Time for a Sit-In, Groovy Southern Styles for Chili, More Money, Honey? and One Redhead Too Many.

Fifty years ago today - December 1973.

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

***

I may not wish that Christmas might occur on an endless 24-hour loop but, this month, exactly fifty years ago, I did because it was the month in which Wizzard's I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday and Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody first hit the charts, and Yuletide in Britain would never be the same again.

But what of the Marvel comics which bore that date upon their very frontages?

Would they ever be the same again?

I sometimes get the feeling nobody but me likes this tale.

Not that I care. I am, after all, pathologically incapable of hating any story from this era.

And this one brings high drama to our lives, as we get the gravity-thwarting return of the Vulture, intent on snuffing out Mary Jane Watson before she can dob him in to the cops, over a murder she's seen him commit.

But, is everything as it seems?

Also, judging by the cover, we're going to be getting more of Harry Osborn's descent into madness, mayhem and menace.

The Evil Eye saga hits its thrilling climax, as the Avengers and Defenders enter another dimension to confront Loki and Dormammu, while any super-doers who've been left behind on Earth - even the bad guys - get to battle the chaos and confusion the villains have created there.

I do have to announce that Cap looks strangely unbothered by the prospect of being both boiled and zapped at the same time.

All I know of this one is Baron Zemo's demented son's started calling himself the Phoenix and is out to inflict his own brand of vengeance upon the star-spangled superstar.

It's another one I know little of, but that cover makes it clear our hero's going to have to face the Gauntlet of the Seven Deaths which is six more deaths than most of us would bother having.

Judging by the absence of the obligatory cowering blonde on the cover, I can only assume it must be her month off. It seems that even cowering blondes must take a break sometimes.

Daredevil and the Black Widow find themselves up against the menace of Terrex who I assume to be no relation to Terrax.

It's a packed tale that features such luminaries as Kerwin J Broderick, Moondragon, the Dark Messiah, Ramrod and Angar. Not to mention Daredevil and the Black Widow. And, of course, Terrex.

I do believe this is the one in which Hornhead's given his sight back by Moondragon but then demands she send him blind again, as he's no good at fighting when he can see what he's doing.

 

Is this the one where Reed Richards does whatever it is to his son that Fantastic Four fans have been complaining about him doing, ever since?

As you can tell, I remember it all very clearly.

It's another classic - and a strange one, at that - as the Hulk finds himself up against an island full of monsters and a Betty Ross who's still not quite the full shilling.

At last, Iron Man has the sense to do what I'd do if I had a suit of armour. He goes on a murderous rampage.

Apart from that, Dr Spectrum's prism convinces the villain to let Iron Man in on their origin.

But the prism has ulterior motives. You see, it plans to use the distraction created by the story to abandon its current host and take control of the armoured Avenger.

Is this the one where Thor and his mates come up against a giant planet populated by giant people with a giant Hoover?

I'm never sure about this era of Thor. He and his sidekicks seem to spend all their time on quests into deep space; when they could be on Earth, bashing up top-notch foes like Mr Hyde and the Cobra.

Hooray! It's one of the rare stories featuring the Original X-Men that I actually like, as our heroes find themselves confronting the mysterious menace of the Mutant Master and Factor Three!

Sadly, I seem to remember the next issue failing to live up to its standards.

Well, that's Marvel's big-hitter taken care of.

But what of that company's Distinguished Competition? Just what was it producing in the tales that wore the month as their cover date?

The Black Orchid gets her second-ever adventure. And how great is it?

I've no idea. I must confess I can't remember a thing about it.

I've no doubt, though, she'll be up against common, everyday hoods who prove unsuited to tangling with a woman whose powers rival and replicate those of Supergirl.

But not only do we have the adventures of a woman named after an exciting flower, we also get a backup strip featuring Colonel Strong. And, no, I don't recall what happens in that one either.

Can it be? An epic collision between the Justice League, the Justice Society and the Freedom Fighters?

Too right it can, as the three teams split up to tackle machines controlling the Earth. Machines created by the Nazis.

However, those machines turned on their creators - and Adolf Hitler - seeing them as inferior.

Hold on. This is the plot of 1975's Genesis of the Daleks. Could this be mere coincidence?

This is it, my favourite issue of Secret Origins, when we're treated to the grave-defying truth of how the Spectre came to be. And just in time for his impending return, in the pages of Adventure Comics.

Cop Joe Corrigan's killed by hoods. But it takes more than that to stop him, as he's sent back to Earth by a higher power, who's clearly God, in order to put paid to all crime on the planet.

That might seem like a tough ask but Jim now has the power to kill criminals in every conceivable way. Including simply reducing them to skeletons where they stand.

The Original Captain Marvel gets the 100-page treatment - and does so with a batch of yarns that include such fare as A Twice-Told Tale!, The Original Captain Marvel Introduces Mary Marvel, The Mighty Marvels Join Forces!, The Vest Pocket Levitator, Mary Marvel and the Dog-Nappers, The Adventure in Time!, The Talking Tiger and The Return of Mr Tawny.

The Vest Pocket Levitator is the one I most want to read. They don't come up with titles like that anymore.

Holy walking heaps of vegetation, Robin! The Swamp Thing only goes and meets Batman!

It all happens when Alec visits Gotham City to rescue his friends, and stumbles across the location of the Conclave, the organisation to blame for him having become the Swamp Thing in the first place.

And, of course, there's no way someone who looks like him's going to blunder around that city without attracting the attention of the caped crusader...