Forty years ago today - December 1985.

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

***

A wise man once said, "We can be heroes."

Clearly, he'd never met me.

But here are some people who can be heroes.

And often are!

From what I can remember, the Avengers hang around on an island, for reasons I don't recall, and Hercules decides to get into a scrap with the Sub-Mariner, in an attempt to cheer up the crown prince of Atlantis.

Speaking of people who need cheering up, the Vulture's depressed because he keeps losing fights with every good guy he encounters.

And that leads to him picking a fight with the man without fear - who he also loses to.

Meanwhile, the Nelson and Murdock law firm has gone bust.

It's an odd story in which the Human Torch decides to quit super-heroing after learning that a boy who idolises him has set himself on fire in an attempt to be like him.

Well, that's not depressing.

I do believe Iron Man spends this issue cleaning up the mess left behind by his fight with Iron Monger.

But what's this? Madame Masque is acting all strange and showing concern for Tony Stark's welfare?

While Bethany Cabe is acting all strange and is plotting his downfall?

Why, if I was a suspicious man, I might think some kind of body-swapping shenanigans are going on.

Sadly, Stark, despite all his experience of super-science villainy, fails to share my suspicions.

Thor and his army manage to spend an entire issue trying to leave Hel.

An attempt that sees a machine-gun-toting Executioner sacrifice himself, in order to save them all.

The world's most socially responsible mutants hit their 200th issue with a double-length tale in which Magneto's put on trial for his various crimes against humanity and he gets to argue his case.

A cover that brings back memories of Spidey's first meeting with Man Mountain Marko tells us we're about to encounter a ruthless fight manager called Manslaughter who loves to mistreat his employees.

Especially Crusher Hogan, the wrestler our hero fought, way back when he first gained his super-powers

Can the wall-crawler come to his assistance and can he convince everyone at the gym that he and Crusher are old pals?

Aunt May's boyfriend, meanwhile, gets hospitalised by assailants who are a mystery to us but are, clearly, well known to him.

Something or other happens involving a sorcerer.

I think a magic pit may also be involved.

And women.

And magic.

The Hulk's back on Earth - and Doc Samson's determined to administer some psychiatric care.

With his fists.

Obviously, this should be a one-sided fight but it seems Bruce Banner's subconscious is actively distracting the Hulk with hallucinations of his myriad foes.

And that gives the slugging psycho-therapist the chance he needs to deliver some knuckle-therapy to his patient's jaw.

Spider-Man's hot on the trail of Sin-Eater - not to be confused with 1980s pop star Sinitta - and it seems he gets his victory over the fiend.

Victory over Sinitta is, of course, impossible.

But, then, Daredevil shows up to tell him he's nabbed an impostor and the real deal's still on the loose.

And now he's about to kill Betty Leeds!

There's a man on the rampage who hates nationalism and has no time for flags.

Obviously, the man who wouldn't have a wardrobe if they hadn't invented flags, and is named after a nation, can't put up with that kind of un-American madness!

The Marvel Lucky Bag - December 1975.

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

***

I'm not sure anyone would label December 1975 a vintage year for movies but it did see the release of such never-to-be-forgotten offerings as The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother, Emmanuelle 2, The Man Who Would Be King, Carry On Behind, Breakheart Pass, The Hindenburg and Hustle.

I do believe I've not seen any of them. Not even Carry On Behind. Therefore, I shall leave it to others to pass judgement upon the status of any of those films in relation to the firmament of cinema history.

Covers that feature their star standing atop a pile of his foes tend to be reserved for barbarians, especially those of the Conan variety but, not to be outdone by the likes of them, Adam Warlock goes for that epic trope!

Exactly what happens inside, I'm not too sure but I do believe it to be the penultimate episode of his war with his future self.

Weird Wonder Tales brings us an Ed Hannigan cover we'll never forget, when The Totem strikes!

Which does raise the obvious question of who'd win a fight between The Totem and Tomazooma the living totem.

Personally, judging by that cover, I'd go for The Totem.

But, until we get the answer to that fateful question, I can tell you that, in this issue's lead story, the titular tower of timber terrifies two convicts into a state of shock - and then goes on a rampage through a reservation and its nearby town!

After that, we encounter Taboo! The Thing from the Murky Swamp!

And then we must survive a story called The Great Disappointment which I am sure will not live down to its title.

Especially as it involves a Soviet expedition to the moon, which ends with the cosmonauts being eaten by it!

And it seems American scientists knew all along that the moon is alive. And that's why they allowed the Soviets to get there first.

What a bunch of so-and-so's.

Needless to say, all these melodramas are reprints from Marvel's pre-Fantastic Four era.

Marvel Spotlight brought us the adventures of the Son of Satan.

And, now, Marvel Premiere brings us the adventures of his sister!

And it would appear this issue's main adventure involves our anti-heroine preventing someone called Dansker from destroying the world, in his attempts to escape from Satan.

Meanwhile, the backup strip is a reprint of her first-ever appearance, as sourced from 1973's Vampire Tales #2.

It's the only issue of the Inhumans' mag I ever owned.

But what an issue, as our idols must do battle with a bunch of ancient giant robots from space, which emerge from the ground and insist on swallowing members of their race.

Marvel has already given us its senses-shattering adaptation of The Golden Voyage of Sinbad.

And, now, it brings us its take on his earlier 7th Voyage.

As we all know, this involves a Cyclops, a Roc, a dragon and a living skeleton.

Not to mention an evil sorcerer, a beautiful princess and a sad genie.

I have to say, John Warner and Sonny Trinidad are going to do well to cram all of that into 20 pages.

Satana may have landed a starring role in Marvel Premiere but her brother only goes and bags himself an entire comic of his very own.

And in what style he launches it, as he pays yet another visit to Hell.

Only to discover it's not the happy and contented place it normally is.

And I close with a rare visit to Spidey Super Stories, as the web-headed wonder encounters Shanna the She-Devil who's dressed slightly more modestly than usual.

Beyond that, I can say little, other than that the pair encounter a villain called the Trapper.

From that name - and the presence of Shanna - I'm going to assume he's been poured from the same mould as Kraven the Hunter.

December 6th, 1975 - 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. 

***

It's like a living nightmare. Of this week's comics, I only had Planet of the Apes.

Will I let that put me off talking about what was in the rest of them?

Of course I won't.

When it comes to the Inhumans, Black Bolt still has amnesia and is now in San Francisco, getting caught up in a civil rights protest.

Prince Namor defeats Warlord Krang, saves Lady Dorma and reclaims the throne of Atlantis.

Only for it to be hit by an earthquake.

Nick Fury has plenty on his hands when Hydra decides to set off a massive bomb!

It's World War Two and Captain America and Bucky must spend a night in Greymoor Castle. A place in which I believe German spies to be operating.

And tragedy strikes Captain Marvel, when his beloved Una dies.

But he barely has time to mourn her before a being called Zo decides to give him a whole new bunch of super-powers!

The Avengers are up against Arkon who still has the Scarlet Witch captive.

And, if that cover blurb's to believed, Conan's up against the Devil-Bats of Nergal!

From that, I can only assume, he's having to survive an adaptation of Robert E Howard's The Hand of Nergal.

Sadly, I am having trouble recalling just what that tale actually involves.

And Dr Strange is, at last, battling Shuma-Gorath who I think has just burst out of the Ancient One's brain!

Dracula, looking like he's about to hit the world's biggest chord on his piano - just before discovering he's forgotten to bring his piano.

But, inside, he has better things on his mind, as he must escape a room that's rapidly filling with water - and then try to find the statuette that everyone's been going on about for the past few issues.

And the Werewolf by Night?

It seems his search for a cure is about to lead him into conflict with a mild-mannered scientist who accidentally drinks a formula that turns him into a Mr Hyde knock-off called DePrayve.

Meanwhile, the Living Mummy and friends encounter a bunch of the Elementals' lackeys on the streets of Cairo.

This week's thrilling instalment of Escape from the Planet of the Apes is called When the Calliope Cries Death.

What that title has to do with Escape from the Planet of the Apes, I have no idea.

Then again, perhaps it means this is the week in which the chimps are introduced to Ricardo Montalban's circus.

In his strip, Ka-Zar bumps into both the Man-Thing and agents of AIM.

And I do believe it means we experience that weird gear shift in which the art switches from being by John Buscema to being by Neal Adams and back again, with Adams' artwork suffering from some of the heaviest, scratchiest, awkwardest, obscuringest, inking I've ever seen.

Meanwhile, the Black Panther confronts his would-be usurper Erik Killmonger, at a waterfall, and gets flung off it.

This is the issue in which we get to see Gog beat up a tyrannosaurus but, also, the one in which we get to see him drown in quicksand.

I can't help feeling that's not really a happy ending.

Still, the good news is that it, at least, foils Kraven's plan to do whatever it is he was planning to do.

Next, the Unicorn's out to wreck a science convention, for reasons that escape me. And that can only mean it's a job for Iron Man.

Following that, Thor and the Warriors Three are failing to stop Thermal Man's rampage around New York.

But, fortunately for mankind, the Communist party of China is about to come to the rescue!

With a great big bomb!

Don't look now but it's Aquon!

Half man.

Half fish.

Half witted.

And all hissy

Yes, the Captain Omen drama rolls on, as the Hulk's recruited by Omen's crew, in the hope he can help them overthrow the ageing tyrant.

But, first, there's Aquon to be dealt with.

And a room full of water.

Elsewhere, Daredevil's still trying to prevent Starr Saxon's robot from killing Biggie Benson.

And still making a terrible job of it.

Never mind. There are always other people around to sort that kind of mess out.

And the Fantastic Four shrink themselves down to sub-atomic size, as they search the Microverse for the Silver Surfer.

But we get an extra treat, this week, thanks to a short tale titled Spell of the Sea Witch in which a bank robber's flight from justice leads him to encounter the ghosts of pirates.

Or does it?

It looks like it might be curtains for Giant-Man when the Porcupine discovers where he lives!

But, then, the prickly pilchard does a Stilt-Man and accidentally shrinks himself to sub-atomic size!

Which does make me wonder if he bumps into the Silver Surfer while he's down there.

Elsewhere, the Cat and Spider-Man are battling the Man-Killer whose mind snaps when she discovers she's, unknowingly, been working for a bunch of men!

And the X-Men must overcome a Count Nefaria who's assembled a crack team of villains that includes such heavyweights as the Scarecrow, Plantman, the Eel and Porcupine!

Clearly, if you're a fan of the Porcupine, this is the issue for you.

Fifty years ago today - December 1975.

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

***

Did you know that, in December 1975, George and Kathleen Lutz moved into a new house in Amityville, New York?

I think you can guess what happened next.

But what happened in the Marvel comics which bore that month as their cover date?

George and Kathleen need to take a leaf out of Conan's book. He'd just hack the house to pieces.

But, right now, he has other matters on his mind, as he begins an adaptation of Robert E Howard's Queen of the Black Coast. The fateful drama in which he first encounters Bêlit!

Hooray! Death-Stalker's always been my favourite Daredevil foe!

Admittedly, that's not much of an achievement, as, until that villain showed up, Hornhead's arch-enemy had been the Stilt-Man.

I must confess to not knowing what's happening on the cover but I do know that, inside, the bounder tries to zap our hero, with a gun made from stolen mirrors!

As for, "The most startling character in the annals of Marveldom!" I'm going to assume he's the Sky-Walker. A man of whom I know nothing.

The Crusader's still causing trouble.

But what dainty little blasts he's firing from his hands there.

I seem to remember the Locust being a less than classic villain.

I also seem to remember not being able to remember much of what happens in this one; other than there being a traffic jam involved and that this is probably the issue in which Sal Buscema replaces Herb Trimpe as regular penciller on the book.

I'm assuming, from the setting, that that character who looks like the Sub-Mariner isn't really the Sub-Mariner?

Whoever he is, I've not read this one and know nothing of it, beyond Firebrand being involved.

It's the cover you thought you'd never see! Spider-Man threatening a rat!

More importantly, this issue sees the return of the Shocker who plunges an entire New York city block into darkness for reasons I don't recall.

Regardless, it means Peter Parker must abandon a party thrown by J Jonah Jameson - and leave MJ fuming.

And it's not just the Shocker who's about to return to Marvelville - because the arrival of the Servitor can, surely, mean only one thing.

That Zarrko: The Tomorrow Man can't be far behind!

I first read this tale in the 1977 Titans Annual. A review of which you can read by clicking on this very link.

As we can probably guess from the cover, that psinister psychiatrist Dr Faustus is back - and has hijacked a passenger jet, with the aid of his men and a woman called Karla!

It was in this story that I first discovered the American emergency number is 911 and not the 999 we use in our very own land of mists and crumpets.

This looks suspiciously like the issue before the one in which the Avengers must fight Kang in the American Wild West, thanks to a quest to find Hawkeye.

The concluding part of that tale was, of course, reprinted in Marvel UK's 1977 Avengers Annual, with great chunks excised to make it fit the page count.

And I do believe It may have been the first time I ever encountered Moondragon.

This one didn't appear in any 1977 Marvel UK annuals, as far as I'm aware.

That's not to say it didn't deserve to.

It is, of course, a tale which manages the unique feat of owing a debt to both Night of the Demon and the Star Trek episode in which Captain Kirk emerges from an obelisk, starts calling himself Kirok and takes to living with Native Americans from outer space.

Anyway, it all kicks off when Cyclops, upset over the death of Thunderbird, destroys an ancient monument and inadvertently unleashes a demonic - and unkillable - entity from another dimension!

That's Marvel's big hitters dealt with.

But we must never forget the presence of another company. One that rivals Marvel itself in size.

And, therefore, I propose we take a look at what a random selection of titles from that company - and bearing the same cover date - resemble.

Comicdom's latest barbarian is back, and I've included him purely for the strangeness of Ernie Chan's cover.

I know little of the contents of its insides but am aware that, when Claw and someone called Ghilkyn save someone called Cybilyth from someone who's doing sacrificing, the local sorcerer opens a rift to another dimension. One which allows a bunch of hostile giants to show up!

I'm assuming that was his intention.

If not, that was quite careless of him.

The always idiosyncratic 1st Issue Special gives us what would appear to be Dr Fate fighting the Sphinx which has now learnt to fly!

Beyond that, I can say nothing of the events that unfold within the pages of this comic. Other than that they would appear to take place in Boston which is a city I was not aware existed in the DC universe.

What's this?

The Joker?

About to fling Diana Prince off a bridge?

To her doom?

Oh. Apparently, not. It would appear she's Dinah Lance, real-world identity of the Black Canary.

And it would also appear the fiend has kidnapped her!

And that only her boyfriend the Green Arrow can save her!

Jack Kirby's departing for Marvel - and it's the last issue of Justice Inc.

But do both creator and creation go out with style?

Sadly, I cannot say, having never read this issue.

However, I'm sure there'll be plenty of action for the Avenger to fight his way through.

Jack Kirby's departing for Marvel - and it's the last issue of Omac but do both creator and creation go out with style?

I don't have a clue.

But I can say that, according to the GCD, in his headquarters, Skuba's "children" show Buddy his Chamber of Monsters.

I've no idea what any of that means.

To be honest, my knowledge of Dick Tracy comes entirely from having once watched the Warren Beatty/Madonna movie.

And I don't remember anything about it.

Fortunately, DC hands us an entire Limited Collectors' Edition to bring us up to speed.

The core of the book is a 59-page epic, reprinted from the mid-1940s, in which our hero encounters characters with such names as Flattop, Tess Truehart and Vitamin Flintheart.

We're also treated to a two-page Rogue's Galley and many a one-page featurette about the great man himself.

But what's this? Is there no 3D diorama?

In a DC Limited Collectors' Edition?

Who are these publishers? And what have they done with DC?

Night of the Demon!

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

***

It's coming!

It's in the trees!

I think you know what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about the never-to-be-forgotten chiller It's Coming and It's in the Trees!

Fortunately, it had another, even more magnificent, title than that.

And that title was Night of the Demon.

In fact, it had two other titles than that. For, it was known in the United States as Curse of the Demon. Presumably, for the benefit of those who might not be able to guess that a film called Night of the Demon is a horror movie.

But is it a horror movie? 

I'll come to that later.

1957's Night of the Demon is, of course, an adaptation of the M. R. James yarn Casting the Runes and involves sinister cult leader Julian Karswell. A man who's in the habit of bumping off his foes by secretly handing them a runic parchment that will lure a homicidal demon to them.

Unfortunately for Karswell, Dr John Holden, a big-shot American psychologist, is in town, determined to debunk him.

And he has the assistance of the niece of one of Karswell's victims!

And that can only mean one thing.

It's demoning time!

The protagonists are played by Dana Andrews and Peggy Cummins. One of them a brick wall  of determined scepticism. The other, all too convinced that dark forces have been unleashed upon the world.

Dana Andrews was that thing which seemed compulsory in British horror films of that era, an American guest boozer struggling to find good work in his home country. And Cummins was the star of Gun Crazy. Somehow, such is the nature of the film that Cummins' instinctive believer comes across as more rational than ultra-rationalist Andrews. Just as Mulder always seemed more in touch with reality than Scully ever did.

But the true star of the film is Niall MacGinnis as Karswell. An opponent willing to do whatever it takes to maintain his sway over his followers. But one who's never too busy to throw parties for the entertainment of local children.

And there's the genius of his characterisation. A masterful portrait in the use of bonhomie to disguise malicious intent. A man who'll welcome you into his home, with an air of relaxed generosity but who'll have you leaving that selfsame home in fear for your life.

As for whether it's a horror story, it seems director Jacques Tourneur wasn't so convinced, as he didn't want the titular demon to appear on screen, preferring a more ambiguous approach that would have left the audience unsure whether any actual supernatural events had truly occurred or whether such activities were all in the minds of the characters.

However, all was not harmonious. Co-producer Hal E Chester insisted that audiences would want to see an actual demon in a film whose title promised them one and, to his director's disgust, inserted one at key points in the film.

While I'm all in favour of ambiguity - my favourite horror film being The Innocents - I can't help feeling the oft-reviled Chester made the correct decision. Leaving aside that the demon has become an icon, appearing on record sleeves, book covers, posters and gifs, Tourneur - the man who directed The Cat People, I Walked With a Zombie and The Leopard Man - had already made several films that refused to commit themselves about the existence of the supernatural, and I can't help feeling there's a limit to how many times you can perform that trick before it becomes annoying affectation.

But what of the film itself?

It is, of course, a classic, vaguely overlooked at the time of its release but garnering critical appreciation, as the years have passed. A beautifully shot thing, making use of lighting, camera angles and sound to unfurl a truth that our world is only one brooding night away from the barrier between it and a whole other, malevolent, reality breaking down to reveal that what's really out there in the dark is what our childhood selves always feared was really out there in the dark.

And, when it comes to the cast, we should also acknowledge the presence of Brian Wilde - later to find comedy immortality as Foggy Dewhurst in Last of the Summer Wine and as Mr Barrowclough in Porridge - in his role of the doomed Rand Hobart, a man so traumatised by his dealings with Karswell that he's been left in a catatonic state that can only be escaped by hypnosis.

And we shouldn't forget Kate Bush who used an audio clip from the film at the start of her 1986 single Hounds of Love.

And we shouldn't forget me. After all, I'm the one talking about this film, and that must make me the most important one of them all.

Amazingly, from what I can determine, it seems I only first encountered it in 1980, which, for a venerable thriller, is remarkably late in my development. Surely, BBC Two must have shown it in the mid-1970s, during its famous Saturday night spooky double-bills. But, it seems it didn't.

But, however late in the day it first entered my life, it can never truly leave it, being easily one of my favourite three or four horror films of all time and one I must always watch whenever it turns up on TV.

Which it does a lot.

Almost as though it's as inescapable as its titular star himself.