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.

June 30th, 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. 

***

Do you know how to please me?

Too right you do.

Do you know how to squeeze me?

Not half.

Because you've heard Slade's track Skweeze Me Pleeze Me and you've heard it because it's Number One, right now, in this week in 1973, giving the Wolverhampton rockers their fifth UK Number One and cementing their position as the biggest band of the era.

But, of course, when it comes to albums, there's no band bigger than Various Artists and, right then, they were doing it again by hogging the top spot, with their LP That'll Be the Day.

Outer space looms heavily in this week's Mighty World of Marvel. 

First, the Hulk encounters what seems to be a flying saucer but it's actually the Silver Surfer - and the big green galloot decides to try to force the former herald to take him to another planet where he can escape the attention of the puny humans.

Then, the Hulk does indeed find himself in space, where he encounters the High Evolutionary's New New Men who're starting to go the way of his old New Men and are out to kill their creator. Can the Hulk stop them before it's too late?

But outer space also comes to us, as the Skrulls send their greatest-ever agent the Super-Skrull to battle the Fantastic Four. How can the FF ever hope to defeat a foe who has all their powers and more?

But that's not all. We also get a four-page Lee/Colan epic called The Last Rocket! in which the only two people left on Earth, after everyone else abandons it, are revealed to be called Adam and Eve.

It's double trouble for everyone's favourite web-slinger, as the Crime-Master and Green Goblin are out to take control of the New York mobs - with Spidey stuck in the middle of them.

I believe this is the one in which the Crime-Master's revealed to be a total non-entity we've never seen before, possibly leading to the myth that Steve Ditko left the strip because he wanted to reveal the Green Goblin to be an anonymous nobody we've never seen before.

Speaking of nobodies, Thor's still having trouble with Zarrko the Tomorrow Man.

Speak Your Brain! Part 56. Bad movies you love!

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

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

It's certainly been a memorable time, of late, with a coup almost being carried out in Russia and then not being carried out at all.

But there's one place where you don't need to enact a well-staged military putsch to have your voice heard.

And that's Speak Your Brain.

Yes indeed. It's the return of the most anticipated feature on the internet. The one in which the first person to comment gets to decide the topic of the day.

But what will that topic be?

And will that person be you?

I can't say.

Only you can do that.

And you can do it in the comments section below.

June 1983 - Marvel UK monthlies, 40 years ago this month.

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

***

Do I have a cunning plan?

And is it more cunning than Kenny Cunningham the cunning king of Cunningland?

Too right I do.

And that's because this month is the fortieth anniversary of the launch of classic sitcom Blackadder, the show that blew the lid off history and revealed, at last, the true story of Britain. 

Over on the UK singles chart, just two songs ruled the roost in June 1983. The first was the Police's Every Breath You Take which was then supplanted by Rod Stewart's Baby Jane.

Likewise, two LPs ruled the roost on the British album chart. The first was Michael Jackson's Thriller which was then succeeded by the Police's Synchronicity.

Hold on to your horses because the nation's favourite sci-fi mag offers us an interview with Jessica Harper.

Admittedly, at first, I got her mixed up with Rhoda star Valerie Harper and felt she was an odd choice as an interviewee in a sci-fi mag but it seems Jessica Harper is the star of such films as Suspiria, Phantom of the Paradise and Shock Treatment. She, therefore, does make sense as an interviewee.

And there's a look back at Rollerball, a look forward to Return of the Jedi and a look sideways at Things That Go Bump in The Night.

The power of The Force tells me this issue features everyone's favourite bounty hunter Boba Fett.

Why he's everyone's favourite bounty hunter, I have no idea. Does he even have any lines in any of the films? And does he ever do anything apart from falling into that big mouth in the sand?

The only other thing I know about this issue is it has an advert for an ET watch on the back cover.

Conan enters a small kingdom whose princess is about to marry some ruler or other.

Thus is our hero hired as her bodyguard.

But it turns out an evil wizard's out to marry her and take over the kingdom.

I've no doubt Conan puts a stop to that and probably gets his leg over with the princess while he's at it.

By the looks of that cover, he probably kills a Yeti too.

All in a day's work when you're a barbarian.

The magazine dedicated to everyone's favourite space malcontents refuses to die.

For now.

To be honest, the fact that it's still being published and is about Blake's 7 is just about all I can reveal about this issue.

Oh, yes, and it contains a picture strip, plus a text story.

And it costs 60 pence.

I have far more knowledge of this one, though.

For instance, I'm aware that, in this issue's picture strip, the Doctor finds himself trapped in The Lunar Lagoon.

Elsewhere, there's a review of the recently broadcast serials Mawdryn Undead and Terminus.

The mag also tries to come up with a workable chronology of the Daleks. Good luck to it with that one.

And we should acknowledge that it presents an overview of the demise of the British police box.

Hold the front page because a brand new magazine hits the UK spinner racks!

And it's one with a very familiar name, as the latest incarnation of The Mighty World of Marvel is launched upon the world!

In our main tale, Rachel Summers sends Kitty Pryde back in time to warn the X-Men that the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants is set to launch a chain of events that will spell doom for mutant-kind.

We're also treated to An Abbreviated History of the American Comic by Frank Plowright.

Then we finish off with a Scarlet Witch and Vision adventure called Trick Or Treat!

And, of course, we shouldn't overlook that we're given a free sticker that the cover describes as, "Fantastic!"

But what's this? Marvel Super-Heroes is no more and has been swallowed up by The Daredevils? What kind of shenanigannery is this?

Whatever it is; inside, Captain Britain's up against something called Judgement Day.

Alan Moore's still casting his beady eye over sexism in comics.

There's also a look at Chinese comics.

And, in our other big story of the issue, Daredevil tangles with Dr Octopus and is lucky to come out of the encounter with his life still intact.

Finally, the indefatigable Alan Moore returns to give us a picture strip he calls The 4-D War.

But, frankly, I've no idea what that's about.

June 23rd, 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. 

***

Load up. Load up. Load up with rubber bullets.

No. Steve Does Comics hasn't decided to dramatically change tack and head off down the path of mindless violence. You'll be pleased to know this site's as peace-loving as it's ever been.

I'm merely acknowledging that, fifty years ago this week, 10cc's song that bore those lyrics hit the Number One spot on the UK singles chart. I do believe it was the first time they'd managed the feat and they'd go on to have a total of three chart-toppers in the space of five years.

On the British album chart, however, it was those Various Artists who were again proving indomitable, thanks to their latest offering Pure Gold which sat proudly at Number One.

But what's this? The Stranger decides to abandon Earth but leaves behind the rampaging Hulk to wreak destruction on his behalf? What a dastardly plan.

However, it's foiled by our hero reverting to Bruce Banner.

Still, the threat isn't over, as a spy uses Banner's Gamma Gun to transform himself into the Abomination, a monstrous entity even more powerful than the Hulk!

In our second tale of the issue, having been beaten up by the Abomination, Hulkie's revived by Thunderbolt Ross's men.

But can his scientist alter-ego concoct a plan that can stop the villain and liberate Betty Ross from the villain's clutches?

In the Fantastic Four's tale, the Sub-Mariner - upset about damage done to his undersea kingdom - is still planning an attack upon the dwellers of the surface world.

It's thrills galore, as J Jonah Jameson gets his hands on the first-ever Spider-Slayer and sets out to destroy our hero. 

Needless to say, that plan fails miserably and the puffed-up publisher will have to go back to the drawing board.

Elsewhere, Thor must deal with the sensational return of Zarrko the Tomorrow Man.

This is because Loki's restored the villain's memory. And, now, that villain builds a robot so powerful that even the god of thunder can't defeat it!

But who cares about that? All we really care about is that, according to the front cover, we have a chance to win another great football competition!