Crimebuster
CCF Podcast Guru
Making comics!
Posts: 3,958 
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Post by Crimebuster on May 2, 2014 16:13:31 GMT -5
It's May! That means it's time for another installment of 40 Years Ago This Month. Here's a link to Mike's Newsstand, showing all the comics that were on sale in May of 1974. I turned one in May, 1974, so I didn't buy anything off the stands. But I have since collected a few of these bad boys. Comics I own that were on sale in May, 1974: Action Comics #438 Astonishing Tales #25 - first appearance of Deathlok! Avengers #126 Captain America #176 - The end of the Secret Empire arc! Conan #41 Doctor Strange #2 - the classic Silver Dagger arc continues! Ghost Rider #7 Giant-Size Avengers #1 Kull #15 Our Army at War #271 Our Fighting Forces #150 Phantom Stranger #32 Rima the Jungle Girl #3 Savage Tales #5 Superman #278 Superman Family #166 Thor #226 Wonder Woman #213 Comic from this month I wish I owned: Jughead #230. I'm missing three issues of Jughead between 1970 and 2012. This happens to be one of them. |
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Post by Cei-U! on May 2, 2014 17:43:25 GMT -5
So glad to see all these wonderful threads returning!
Now, let's see: May 1974. One month away from the end of my junior year in high school. I wasn't paying a lot of attention to comics at the time but a few found their way into my greedy little clutches anyway.
Comics I Bought Off The Stand But No Longer Own: Avengers #126, Captain America #176, Fear #23, Tomb of Dracula #22
Comics I Acquired Later But No Longer Own: Conan the Barbarian #41, Doctor Strange #2, Fantastic Four #149, Ghost Rider #7, Giant-Size Avengers #1, Kamandi #20, Kull the Destroyer #15, Limited Collectors Edition #C-29 (just gave my copy to Greg Hatcher for Christmas last year), Marvel Team-Up #4, Power Man #20, Savage Tales #5, Thor #226, Werewolf By Night #20
Comics Currently in My Collection: Astonishing Tales #25, Brave & Bold #114, Detective #442, Famous First Edition #C-30, Giant-Size Fantastic Four #2, Master of Kung Fu #19, Rima #3, Shadow #6
Cei-U!
I summon the flashback!
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Post by The Captain on May 2, 2014 17:51:41 GMT -5
I was only 9 months old, so I wasn't getting anything off the spinner rack quite yet, but I do have the following books in my collection currently:
Amazing Spider-Man #135
Avengers #126
Captain America #176
Daredevil #112
Fantastic Four #149
Iron Man #69
Man-Thing #8
Master of Kung Fu #19
Power Man #20
Supernatural Thrillers #8
Thor #226
Tomb of Dracula #23
Uncanny X-Men #89
Werewolf by Night #20
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Post by Hoosier X on May 2, 2014 18:51:59 GMT -5
The most insane thing about that list is all the Richie Rich titles. In a month when there was no issue of Batman (it was probably coming out ten times a year at this point), there are seven separate comics with Richie Rich in the title.
Also, no Flash and no Justice League.
And three Sad Sack titles! (I think I had Sad Sack's Army Life Parade #53. It sure looks familiar and I did read Sad Sack (and Little Dot and Baby Huey) before I started reading super-hero comics in 1975.)
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Post by Phil Maurice on May 2, 2014 19:10:47 GMT -5
I was only 9 months old, so I wasn't getting anything off the spinner rack quite yet, but I do have the following books in my collection currently: Amazing Spider-Man #135 Man-Thing #8 Master of Kung Fu #19 I have the dubious advantage of being slightly older, so ASM #135 (2nd Punisher appearance) resonates strongly with me. I think the cover art was reproduced on a lunchbox or something. Help me out here.
MoKF #19 was my intro to the Man-Thing (my mother refused to buy me the Power Records Man-Thing, "Night of the Laughing Dead," an adaptation of MT #5 by Gerber and Ploog, complete with the clown's suicide by handgun). That began my Man-Thing fanaticism. I won't say any more about MoKF #19 since Shaxper is in the midst of an engrossing review of the title, and that issue is coming up soon.
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Post by Hoosier X on May 2, 2014 19:17:42 GMT -5
I was only 9 months old, so I wasn't getting anything off the spinner rack quite yet, but I do have the following books in my collection currently: Amazing Spider-Man #135 Man-Thing #8 Master of Kung Fu #19 I have the dubious advantage of being slightly older, so ASM #135 (2nd Punisher appearance) resonates strongly with me. I think the cover art was reproduced on a lunchbox or something. Help me out here.
MoKF #19 was my intro to the Man-Thing (my mother refused to buy me the Power Records Man-Thing, "Night of the Laughing Dead," an adaptation of MT #5 by Gerber and Ploog, complete with the clown's suicide by handgun). That began my Man-Thing fanaticism. I won't say any more about MoKF #19 since Shaxper is in the midst of an engrossing review of the title, and that issue is coming up soon.
I seem to remember the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #135 being reproduced on a vinyl three-ring binder that you might use for school.
A friend of mine had Man-Thing #5. I stayed all night when I was 12 and he showed me his comics and I read Man-Thing #5 and I was somewhat unsettled by it. I was reading FF and Daredevil and Hulk, and Man-Thing was a little bit more than I was ready for. But just a little. I was reading Jungle Action by then. I didn't read the horror books for a few more years.
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zilch
Full Member
Posts: 244
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Post by zilch on May 2, 2014 19:32:51 GMT -5
So... as Summer '74 ramps up and i start to get more money mowing lawns, i start to get more comics per week.
Amazing Spider-Man 135 (i had/have this as a two-pocket folder of this cover. I still own my Avengers binder/folder with the cover of Ave 141)
Astonishing Tales 25 (DEATHLOK!!!!!!!! LOVED THIS SERIES!!!)
Avengers 126 (Englehart, Brown and Cockrum! Great Team!!!)
Brave and Bold 114* (Aparo fest with Batman and Aquaman!)
Captain America 176 (I was honestly stunned with this story! Great epilogue to the Secret Empire saga)
Dr Strange 2 (More Englehart and Brunner!!!)
E-Man 4 (had to go to a different drugstore to find this, as the usual stores didn't carry Charlton stuff)
FF 149
Giant Sized Avengers 1 (always loved learning backstories of characters and Golden Age stuff too!!)
GS FF 2
Kamandi 20* (i was very sad for him at the end of this story)
MTU 24
Our Fighting Forces 150*
X-Men 89 (reprinting the GOOD X-Men!)
* subscription copies, left over from my DC era!
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Post by Phil Maurice on May 2, 2014 19:51:56 GMT -5
I seem to remember the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #135 being reproduced on a vinyl three-ring binder that you might use for school. Yes! The three-ring binder! Thank you! That thing was inescapable in middle school, the void space in between the spider's legs showing the myriad of challenges facing our favorite web-slinger. I was in college before I finally found a copy at an LCS for $20 (which I had to borrow from a bud). Still have it. Good times. |
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Post by Prince Hal on May 2, 2014 21:57:59 GMT -5
DC: Solid month, at least for titles I bought regularly:
Detective 442 with Alex Toth and WWI planes, a Manhunter installment plus a passel of great reprints. What could be better?
Another 100-pager, Brave and the Bold 114, which had a Batman-Aquaman team-up, but for me, the highlight was the first B and B team-up: Green Arrow and the Martian Manhunter!
The Shadow 6: Kaluta, Ninjas, the Shadow: a big helping of way cool!
Plus the Sensation comics tabloid!
Marvel:
MOKF 19. I was hooked on this title pretty early
Savage Tales 5. Don't recall it specifically, but it was still so new that it didn't seem yet like the same story every issue.
War is Hell 8, which reprinted the Fury classic, "Killed in Action," which meant what the title promised, forever.
I often bought the tryout titles, which explains why I remember Deathlok's debut in Astonishing Tales.
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Post by MWGallaher on May 2, 2014 22:26:38 GMT -5
I remember buying:
Astonishing Tales #25: Deathlok debuted, and it felt somewhat more mature and literary than most of the Marvels I was reading at the time.
Brave & Bold #114 came as part of my subscription.
Captain America #176 drew me in with its "Cap quitting" cover, even though I never especially liked the character.
Detective Comics #442 was a highlight. I usually went for the Super-Specs, but this one was better than most: Aparo cover, Toth drawing Batman, the wonderful Goodwin/Simonson Manhunter, and a dynamite set of reprints: I loved every Newsboy Legion story I read, got a kick out of seeing Golden Age Black Canary and Doctor Fate stories, and kinda liked Hawkman and Elongated Man.
Doctor Strange #2 was a mandatory purchase because it cover-featured the Defenders, who weren't otherwise published that month.
E-Man #4 found its way into my hands.
Famous First Edition C-30 delivered a Sensation #1 reprint.
I got Fear #23 with Morbius, a character I really dug.
Marvel's hype over its Giant-Size line had me buying Giant-Size Avengers #1, G-S FF #2, and G-S Man-Thing #1. I remember that I really loved Mike Ploog's art on Man-Thing, especially on this issue's "villain", The Glob.
I also bought Haunt of Horror #2, but I remember not really liking it much. Gabriel the Devil Hunter never did anything for me.
I got Limited Collectors' Edition C-29 with some great Tarzan reprints.
Master of Kung Fu #19 wouldn't have been on my usual list of comics to buy, but I got it for Man-Thing (although I apparently missed buying M-T's regular-sized comic this month).
I stuck by my one-time favorite comic, buying Phantom Stranger #32 with its disappointing (at the time) Talaoc art, but I never saw this month's Phantom with its Jim Aparo cover. Got that one later, of course.
Rima #3 would be mine. I loved Rima.
Shadow #6 came folded as a subscription copy.
I got Superman Family #166, but amazingly, I did not get this month's Super-Spectacular issue of Superman (#278). I think this is the first time I've ever noticed that comic, and now I want it!
I'd been turned on to Tomb of Dracula for a few months now, so I bought #23. I'd be buying this one faithfully to the end.
Finally, I got Wonder Woman #213, part of the Twelve Trials. I didn't really like it much, though.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 2, 2014 23:52:28 GMT -5
Well,May 1974 I was 20 years old a very self-conscious about buying comics. All my friends at that point were no longer into them. I would hide the fact I was a comic collector/reader to any girl I was seeing. They were also getting expensive what with all the giant size Marvels,100 page DCs etc.Many of my old favorites I felt were past their prime like Spider-Man,FF,Flash,Thor,Superman etc.
Still there were a bunch I very much enjoyed and amongst this month's offerings I liked
Avengers
Captain America
Conan
Detective
Dr Strange
Man-Thing
Master of Kung Fu
Powerman
Shadow
I was a sick collector and was buying those as well as all the other super-hero and horror offerings even if my interests were waning. They all have been sold off,all except 2 items on the list
I still have Haunt of Horror#2, the Marvel Digest and Flashback #13,the All Star comic reprint. My collection sale did not include fanzines,undergrounds and other oddball items.
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Post by Action Ace on May 3, 2014 0:17:35 GMT -5
I'm four years old and watching Super Friends. My first comic purchase is still a few months away. There are pictures of me sitting in my dad's lap reading a few Silver Age comics, but he's about to move to another state and selling his collection. He kept one comic and it is still in my collection today, World's Finest #88.
The comics I currently own in some form include...
Action Comics #438
Amazing Spider-Man #135
Avengers #126
Brave & the Bold #114
Captain America #176
Detective #442
Fantastic Four #149
Marvel Team-Up #24
Superman #278
Superman Family #166
Wonder Woman #213
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Post by infobroker on May 3, 2014 17:15:47 GMT -5
May of 1974. The month prior I ran out of money and so I was doing drafting work for the local Ma Bell while I took a sabbatical from College. Most of my working class money was being saved, but it was also nice to have a reasonable budget for comical books again.
Here's what I bought from Read-More Bookworld's impressive comics and magazines racks:
Amazing Spider-man 135 - I really liked the creative and attention grabbing cover layout.
Astonishing Tales 25
Avengers 126
Brave and Bold 114
Conan 41 (2 copies) - This is a great cover. The interior story was a notch or two more interesting to me than surrounding issues. Probably because there was suddenly an array of Conan comics being published.
Creepy 63
Detective Comics 442 - Jim Aparo on Batman, Walt Simonson doing Manhunter, Archie Goodwin editing and writing both. How could a comical book fan NOT but this issue?
Doctor Strange 2 - (multiple copies) Yea Frank Brunner did some pose swiping. But the were GOOD pose swipes. Steve Englehart's writing was shiny too!
Famous First Edition C-30 - I LOVE this giant size format.
Giant Size Avengers 1
Giant Size Fantastic Four 2
Giant Size Man-thing 1 - Marvel had just jumped on the bandwagon of the Giant Size and King Size formats a month or two earlier. DC had their 100 page well established, selling right along with their 36 pages for 20 cents books. Marvel could longer sustain a profit on 20 cent comics and bumped the price a few months earlier to 25 cents. In a phone conversion with DC, Carmine Infantino made it clear that they could and would hold the line at 20 cents, amortizing more of their overhead to the 60 cent comics. The Marvel offices felt an imposing doom. They didn't think they could compete well head to head against DC comics selling at a lower price point and they had no higher price point comics to buttress against higher expenses. DC had their revenge on Martin Goodman abandoning the 52 pages for a quarter format of 1971.
Haunt of Horror 2
House of Mystery 226 - It's not a Mike Kaluta cover, but they sure try to make it look like a Mike Kaluta cover.
House of Secrets 122
Did not buy Journey Into Mystery 12. Marvel's mystery comics (mainly reprints) just didn't have the class of Joe Orlando's stuff at DC.
Kamandi 20 - multiple copies (I sent one of these to Kimosabe in a bundle several years ago) - The power of Jack Kirby's compositions are nothing short of stunning. What a compelling cover.
Kull 15 - things just weren't the same here after Kull was dethroned and made a destroyer. Already had Conan. Didn't need another.
Man-thing 8 - Mike Ploog!
Master of Kung Fu 19 - Man-thing and karate chops all mashed together. I wasn't buying it. Oh wait! I did.
Our Fighting Forces 150 - Joe Kubert artwork!
Phantom Stranger 32 - not Jim Aparo, but they did everything they could on the cover to make it feel like Jim's work!
Rima 3 - Joe Kubert Cover alone made it a good buy.
Savage Tales 5 - Great cover, cool that Conan was going to continue here and be in his monthly Comic, the King Size Conan (quarterly) and his own Savage Sword of Conan magazine. But the writing was on the wall (and the letters pages) that Savage Tales and Conan were not going to a couple going forward.
Shadow 6 - Kaluta masterpiece. This was his final issue doing interior artwork. The content of this issue was suppose to be in issue #5, but deadlines problems arose.
Strange Tales 175 - not sure why I bought this.
Supernatural Thrillers 8 - great title. I preferred it as an anthology though.
Tales of the Zombie 6
Tarzan 232 - was saddened that Kaluta's Carson of Venus series had stopped cold a few months earlier. But still wanted Kubert's stuff.
Tomb of Dracula 23 - This series was now on a roll. Had a great supporting cast and beautiful Gene Colan artwork.
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Post by The Captain on May 3, 2014 18:10:13 GMT -5
Can't believe I missed this when putting my list together, but I also have Dr. Strange #2.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2014 5:48:08 GMT -5
Well May's almost over and I never did post my list, so here goes....
as individual issues:
Conan the Barbarian #41
Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth #20
Kull the Destroyer #15
Master of Kung Fu #19
Our Army at War #271
Phantom Stranger #32
Savage Tales #5
and in collected form:
Amazing Spider-Man #135
Astonishing Tales #25
The Brave and The Bold #114
Dr. Strange #2
Star Trek #25
Tomb of Dracula #23
Wonder Woman #213
-M
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