Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 2, 2024 9:54:54 GMT -5
In July 1984 I was already buying fewer comics, and mostly out of habit or out of loyalty; luckily, there were still a few good eggs here and there in the lot.
So on that sunny month, 40 years ago, I bought...
Arak Annual #1 : definitely a loyalty buy. The Lord of the Serpents, who had been introduced as basically Satan (albeit in a Native American context) is here confirmed to be just a magician with horns. One wonders why the change... was Roy feeling skittish about using actual religious figures in his stories after all? Anyway, the good guys win in the end. Lord of the Serpents? Lord of the Wet Petards is more like it!
Conan #163: no recollection, except that the cover is a pin-up by Ernie Chan that was most definitely not meant for this issue. Before the arrival of Jim Owsley, the book would be essentially a succession of fill-ins.
Conan the king #25. More intrigue in Aquilonia! I believe this is the issue where assassins try to poison the king. Meanwhile, his neglected queen spends more and more time with a noble named Lysander, who clearly means to make a Lothario of himself. At the other end of the world, in Khitai, Prince Conn meets his illegitimate brother Kang Sho. The two look like twins, a plot point that was clearly meant to be very important at the time but was totally dropped in following issues when the writer was replaced. (And when he came back dozens of issues later, the plot he had doubtless been setting up had been rendered moot).
Kull #6: I remember really liking the title "Goblin Moon". Another nice Michael Golden cover, another good story by Alan Zelenetz. That short-lived Kull series was always a pleasant read.
Machine Man #2: Barry Windsor-Smith coming back to comics, even if it's just to ink Herb Trimpe's pencils? I'm so there.
Secret Wars #7: Was this series *really* critically acclaimed? Apart from a few notable moments (and, admittedly, one of the best Doctor Doom scenes ever), it was mostly a slog. The art also felt rushed, which is probably was. ("Quick, guys! You have to complete this new issue by... last week!")
New Mutants #21: Introducing the new Warlock, a sentient machine who can infect living things with a virus turning them into machines and drain them of energy. I was a bit annoyed at Marvel using the name "Warlock" again, since it meant Adam Warlock was going to stay dead for a while... but this new addition to the New Mutants' roster offered all sorts of possibilities. He tested Xavier's principles, as he was clearly someone in need despite being insanely dangerous; he would give the team much needed hitting power, and Bill Sienkiewicz drew him in a very intriguing way. (Few people ever managed to draw Warlock properly).
Sadly, Warlock would suffer the same fate as many other menaces turned allies: über-powerful when villains, but always hampered and inefficient as heroes. *Cough* Magneto *Cough*.
New Teen Titans #2: I gave the new Titans book a try, mostly for Perez' art, but the script made me think that Wolfman was just writing a "Dark Raven" storyline. I didn't read issue 3.
Sub-Mariner #2 and 3: they were at the newsstand so I bought them. I remember they had Bulanadi inks, but even that didn't stop me.
Savage Sword of Conan #104: the guy on the cover has a zipper on his vest!!! Conan meets the Brotherhood of the Falcon again, a group that was initially meant to be *another* scary order of assassins but eventually degenerated into a farce. Even writers realized it after a while.
Savage Sword of Conan #105: NOW you're talking!!! Under a striking Michael Golden cover, we get writer Don Kraar's first contribution to the mag (at least as far as the main story goes). Kraar did not refer to Howard's writings per se, but he wrote actual Conan stories. No flying cities. No long-lost brother. No other-dimensional twins. No ninjas. But proper references to the Hyborian world, believable conflicts and down-to-Earth drama!
In this story, Conan and the survivors of a defeated band of mercenaries find refuge in a large mill, in the middle of winter. Conan is not above eating the miller's family's food, but he draws the line at hurting them for no reason; his comrades, though, are intent on raping the women and murdering the rest. The Cimmerian, needless to say, is moved to interfere. The ensuing fight is long and brutal, because even Conan should not be able to get rid of five opponents easily. As a reader who had suffered light comedy-adventure since the departure of Roy Thomas in issue #60, I was delighted!
Thor #348-349. I was a big fan of Simonson's Thor at first, but his run was starting to run out of steam... and I thoroughly hated the character of Malekith.
X-Men #186. Barry Smith once again, with the classic, beautifully-drawn Lifedeath. Forge's home had an incredible design that must have taken forever to draw. I don't think I had seen the female Dire Wraiths up to that point; they sure looked scarier than the shmoo-like ones we had met in Rom.
So on that sunny month, 40 years ago, I bought...
Arak Annual #1 : definitely a loyalty buy. The Lord of the Serpents, who had been introduced as basically Satan (albeit in a Native American context) is here confirmed to be just a magician with horns. One wonders why the change... was Roy feeling skittish about using actual religious figures in his stories after all? Anyway, the good guys win in the end. Lord of the Serpents? Lord of the Wet Petards is more like it!
Conan #163: no recollection, except that the cover is a pin-up by Ernie Chan that was most definitely not meant for this issue. Before the arrival of Jim Owsley, the book would be essentially a succession of fill-ins.
Conan the king #25. More intrigue in Aquilonia! I believe this is the issue where assassins try to poison the king. Meanwhile, his neglected queen spends more and more time with a noble named Lysander, who clearly means to make a Lothario of himself. At the other end of the world, in Khitai, Prince Conn meets his illegitimate brother Kang Sho. The two look like twins, a plot point that was clearly meant to be very important at the time but was totally dropped in following issues when the writer was replaced. (And when he came back dozens of issues later, the plot he had doubtless been setting up had been rendered moot).
Kull #6: I remember really liking the title "Goblin Moon". Another nice Michael Golden cover, another good story by Alan Zelenetz. That short-lived Kull series was always a pleasant read.
Machine Man #2: Barry Windsor-Smith coming back to comics, even if it's just to ink Herb Trimpe's pencils? I'm so there.
Secret Wars #7: Was this series *really* critically acclaimed? Apart from a few notable moments (and, admittedly, one of the best Doctor Doom scenes ever), it was mostly a slog. The art also felt rushed, which is probably was. ("Quick, guys! You have to complete this new issue by... last week!")
New Mutants #21: Introducing the new Warlock, a sentient machine who can infect living things with a virus turning them into machines and drain them of energy. I was a bit annoyed at Marvel using the name "Warlock" again, since it meant Adam Warlock was going to stay dead for a while... but this new addition to the New Mutants' roster offered all sorts of possibilities. He tested Xavier's principles, as he was clearly someone in need despite being insanely dangerous; he would give the team much needed hitting power, and Bill Sienkiewicz drew him in a very intriguing way. (Few people ever managed to draw Warlock properly).
Sadly, Warlock would suffer the same fate as many other menaces turned allies: über-powerful when villains, but always hampered and inefficient as heroes. *Cough* Magneto *Cough*.
New Teen Titans #2: I gave the new Titans book a try, mostly for Perez' art, but the script made me think that Wolfman was just writing a "Dark Raven" storyline. I didn't read issue 3.
Sub-Mariner #2 and 3: they were at the newsstand so I bought them. I remember they had Bulanadi inks, but even that didn't stop me.
Savage Sword of Conan #104: the guy on the cover has a zipper on his vest!!! Conan meets the Brotherhood of the Falcon again, a group that was initially meant to be *another* scary order of assassins but eventually degenerated into a farce. Even writers realized it after a while.
Savage Sword of Conan #105: NOW you're talking!!! Under a striking Michael Golden cover, we get writer Don Kraar's first contribution to the mag (at least as far as the main story goes). Kraar did not refer to Howard's writings per se, but he wrote actual Conan stories. No flying cities. No long-lost brother. No other-dimensional twins. No ninjas. But proper references to the Hyborian world, believable conflicts and down-to-Earth drama!
In this story, Conan and the survivors of a defeated band of mercenaries find refuge in a large mill, in the middle of winter. Conan is not above eating the miller's family's food, but he draws the line at hurting them for no reason; his comrades, though, are intent on raping the women and murdering the rest. The Cimmerian, needless to say, is moved to interfere. The ensuing fight is long and brutal, because even Conan should not be able to get rid of five opponents easily. As a reader who had suffered light comedy-adventure since the departure of Roy Thomas in issue #60, I was delighted!
Thor #348-349. I was a big fan of Simonson's Thor at first, but his run was starting to run out of steam... and I thoroughly hated the character of Malekith.
X-Men #186. Barry Smith once again, with the classic, beautifully-drawn Lifedeath. Forge's home had an incredible design that must have taken forever to draw. I don't think I had seen the female Dire Wraiths up to that point; they sure looked scarier than the shmoo-like ones we had met in Rom.