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Post by berkley on Dec 24, 2020 21:03:01 GMT -5
Ron Wilson was under-rated. Very solid artist, especially when teamed with a sympathetic inker like Adkins here. His Ka-Zar above looks appropriately muscular and physically impressive. I think that when the "costume" is a loin-cloth, the artist has to give the character a little something extra to make it look like he or she can hold their own with whatever monsters or super-villains they're fighting and Wilson accomplished that with Ka-Zar in this issue.
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 26, 2020 22:42:45 GMT -5
Marvel team-Up #17.  Spidey & Mr Fantastic Ya know, it wasn't until the late 70s that I discovered that Reed Richards' code-name was Mr Fantastic? It wasn't until I saw the Pocket Books reprint of Fantastic Four #1-6 that I learned this. Every comic I ever saw referred to him as either Reed or Stretcho. Creative Team: Len Wein-writer, Gil Kane-pencils, "Everybody"-inks, Jean Izzo-letters, Glynis Wein-colors, Roy Thomas-editor. GCD identifies "Everybody" as Sal Trapani, Frank Giacoia, and Mike Esposito. Synopsis: Spidey is headed to the Baxter Building; but, eschews the front door and buzzer for the more direct approach, which leads to a lesson in home security...  Reed lets him out before he makes a mess of the place and tells him that Johnny, Sue and Ben aren't home and that the band has split up (see FF #144, per Roy). Spidey says he is there for Reed's help and explains what happened last issue, to Mar-Vell. Reed takes it all in and just sits there and mopes; so, Spidey tells him off...  Suitably chastised, Reed gets off his light blue butt and they use his handy-dandy Kree locator (like those beeping keychain fobs, though far bigger and more impractical) to....er, locate our favorite Kree. He says he is at the Center of the Earth: so, they head off to find David Innes and his digging machine. Or the Fantasticar....one of the two. They fly out and head for a metal tubeway that actual leads to the center of the Earth; or, more precisely, down into the Mantle of the Earth, where the Subterraneans live, along with the Mole Man...  The Subterraneans defend themselves and capture the invaders from above and drag them before MM. Well, that's what their official spokesmole said. The Mole Man shows off his new laser cannon, complete with Omega Stone focal piece, with Mar-Vell trapped inside...  All suitably Kirby! MM plans to use the cannon to "make them all pay," for daring to mock him. Say no to bullying, kids, or they might one day build giant laser cannons to get their revenge! Spidey and Reed are dumped into a lava pit, but Spidey does a Flash Gordon... and they bounce to safety. Mole Man sends his troops to attack, but they are blasted to pieces by...  The Basilisk!. he explains how he followed Spidey and Reed down there and demands the Omega Stone and Mar-Vell. Mole Man tells him to stick it where the sun don't shine (well, they are already there) and they go at it, as Mole Man sort of has a face turn. Spidey and Reed are left alone; so, they slip over to the stone and try to free Mar-Vell. Mole Man spots them and calls a truce with Basilisk, so they can attack the heroes. They blast them, then Basilisk turns on Mole Man (Who's booking this, Jerry Jarrett? This seems like every other week on Memphis wrestling! So, is Mole Man Jerry Lawler and Basilisk Bill Dundee?) Basilisk moves to the stone and Mar-Vell finally does something (no Wisdom of Solomon in this Captain) and switches places with rick jones, which causes the Omega Stone to reject him and shrink down. This causes the cannon to feed back energy to the magma and it goes all kablooey. Reed, Spidey and Rick bugger off and leave Mole Man to die, because they are heroes! They head upstairs and celebrate killing Mole Man, Basilisk and the Subterraneans!  Thoughts: Jeez, what a bunch of Richards! Hey, I get it, Mole Man is a wingnut, out to destroy everybody on the surface world, just because he was bullied by a few a-holes. We've all been there (if you read comics, you probably have, anyway); but, the Good Guys aren't supposed to leave people to die in molten rock! And, the Subterraneans are innocents, who were just protecting their homes. Then, some Imperialist "superheroes" turn up to seize their property and end up trashing the place and dooming them to molten death! I think the pair of Super-Nerds are overcompensating a bit! Seriously, apart from some warped moral lessons, this is all kinds of loopy fun, with Kane channeling a bit of Kirby, while Len tries to rationalize some things and books the story like he has been on a steady diet of pro wrestling angles. About the only trope he didn't use was the manager interfering from the outside of the ring. Taking the two issues together, this story makes absolutely no sense, which could be a problem with the team-up stories. They might try to use it as a linking device between two issues; but, you end up with two thin plots instead of one major through-line. I usually found these worked better when things were resolved in one issue (depends on the writer and how strong a plot they had). For a multi-parter, you need to have it planned out in advance and this reads like Len wrote one and then did other stuff and then had to pick up the plot and just kind of tap-danced. Think he needs to go back to Second City for a refresher on his improvisational skills. Aside from that, my only other quibble is that you needed to have been reading the FF to understand why Reed was all mopey, which used to drive me nuts, as I rarely had access to those comics. Sucks to live in an area without major newsstands and consistent distribution of titles. Visually, I have no complaints.
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 26, 2020 23:16:31 GMT -5
Sheesh, I forgot I had to read MTU #47, before covering MTIO #17, since they are linked; so, next review is MTU #47, then MTIO #17.
This may get confusing!
EDIT:
Even more confusing, thanks to bad copy at the end of MTIO 16, which says the story is wrapped up in MTU #47; it wasn't. It's wrapped up in MTIO #17, which leads into MTU #47, then the Thing continues on his own, while Spidey goes elsewhere. Marv was asleep at the wheel on the next issue blurb.
That's what i get from listening to a wolfman.
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Post by mikelmidnight on Dec 28, 2020 13:07:52 GMT -5
Ya know, it wasn't until the late 70s that I discovered that Reed Richards' code-name was Mr Fantastic? It wasn't until I saw the Pocket Books reprint of Fantastic Four #1-6 that I learned this. Every comic I ever saw referred to him as either Reed or Stretcho. He named himself that in a fit of being overly self-impressed by his new powers, but there was no way his girlfriend and longtime bro were going to take the name seriously enough to actually refer to him as "Mr Fantastic" (Oh, get over yourself, Reed), so half the time it fell by the wayside. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 28, 2020 22:20:12 GMT -5
Ya know, it wasn't until the late 70s that I discovered that Reed Richards' code-name was Mr Fantastic? It wasn't until I saw the Pocket Books reprint of Fantastic Four #1-6 that I learned this. Every comic I ever saw referred to him as either Reed or Stretcho. He named himself that in a fit of being overly self-impressed by his new powers, but there was no way his girlfriend and longtime bro were going to take the name seriously enough to actually refer to him as "Mr Fantastic" (Oh, get over yourself, Reed), so half the time it fell by the wayside. Yeah; but, EVERY single FF story I read in the 70s, there was no mention of that name; that's what always stuck me as weird, after the fact. I don't recall it even being in the masthead blurb, on the splash page, in the issues I read (which weren't a huge number, to be fair). |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 28, 2020 22:46:33 GMT -5
Marvel Two-in-One #17 This time for sure! Creative Team: Bill Mantlo-writer, Sal Buscema-pencils, Mike Esposito-inks, Jean Hipp-letters, Don Warfield-colors, Marv Wolfman-editor. This sort of carries on from Marvel Team-Up. In issue #41, Mantlo started a long saga of Spidey time hopping, which took him first back to the Salem Witch trials, to help out the Scarlet Witch, which raged across the book, through issue #44, with Vision, Doctor Doom and Moondragon joining the story. In issue #45, he takes the time platform forward, but ends up in Killraven's alternate future. #46 took him to Deathlok's alternate future (which predates Killraven's). Spidey takes the platform further back and meets up with Ben, in this issue. Synopsis: The portal disappears, after Spidey drops off, so it better be the present (well, now it's the past). Spidey goes slingin' away. Meanwhile, back in the Savage Land, Ben is climbing up a cliffside, after dumping Volcanus and his henchmen over the side. As he moves along a rock ledge, he misses a pair of glowing eyes (probably a cat). He gets startled by a huge bat thig and falls, but catches himself and works back up, finding a lava tunnel and he follows it and runs into Basilisk.  He's been bouncing around, since MTU #17. Ben gets all "Clobberin' Time!" and they fights and he gets frozen in place; but, is able to break free. Meanwhile, Peter Parker is trying to study for finals and is failing to concentrate. A series of shockwaves gives an excuse for a study break. His phone rings and it is MJ, checking on him and she tells him to look out his window, at the George Washington Bridge. Pete can't believe his eyes and tells MJ he is off to take pictures. She thinks he has gone nuts. He slings out there and we see what he saw out the window...  Spidey makes some web stepping stones to cross the water, as hot lava spews out, setting fires. He gets to the base of the volcano and sees a figure in the smoke, holding what looks like a body over his head. He moves closer and sees...  Basil tosses the unconscious Thing down and Spidey checks on him and then rushes toward Basil, as our story comes to an abrupt end and we are told to go to MTU #47 Thoughts: Not a fan of the Basilisk, so far, after his two appearances. His powers are kind of ill-defined and he is pretty generic in personality. Also, we have too many unrelated things going on, as Mantlo ends one linking device for another. Quite frankly, his writing chops aren't really up to his ambitions; but I give him points for experimenting and trying to give readers a reason to come back, beyond the guest star. The art is fine, though I'm not a fan of Esposito on Sal Buscema's pencils. I said it before; I hate multi-parters that occur for little reason and this seems like a case in point. I hated them in the 70s because I could rarely lay hands on the next part, either due to availability or funds. So, an unfinished story was a real pain in the tuchus. We'll have to see if the next part pays off some of this.
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Post by mikelmidnight on Dec 29, 2020 12:16:58 GMT -5
He named himself that in a fit of being overly self-impressed by his new powers, but there was no way his girlfriend and longtime bro were going to take the name seriously enough to actually refer to him as "Mr Fantastic" (Oh, get over yourself, Reed), so half the time it fell by the wayside. Yeah; but, EVERY single FF story I read in the 70s, there was no mention of that name; that's what always stuck me as weird, after the fact. I don't recall it even being in the masthead blurb, on the splash page, in the issues I read (which weren't a huge number, to be fair).
I liked the name that was used in iirc an Inferior 5 backup: MISTER MANPLASTIC (until Plastic Man showed up and beat the stuffing out of him for copyright infringement).
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Post by chaykinstevens on Dec 29, 2020 13:25:31 GMT -5
Even more confusing, thanks to bad copy at the end of MTIO 16, which says the story is wrapped up in MTU #47; it wasn't. It's wrapped up in MTIO #17, which leads into MTU #47, then the Thing continues on his own, while Spidey goes elsewhere. Marv was asleep at the wheel on the next issue blurb. I wonder if the stories in MTIO #17 and MTU #47 were swapped at the last minute when someone realised MTIO would be published first. They seem to have traded art teams for that month. |
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Post by MWGallaher on Dec 30, 2020 5:31:18 GMT -5
Even more confusing, thanks to bad copy at the end of MTIO 16, which says the story is wrapped up in MTU #47; it wasn't. It's wrapped up in MTIO #17, which leads into MTU #47, then the Thing continues on his own, while Spidey goes elsewhere. Marv was asleep at the wheel on the next issue blurb. I wonder if the stories in MTIO #17 and MTU #47 were swapped at the last minute when someone realised MTIO would be published first. They seem to have traded art teams for that month. This is indeed exactly what happened. Although they were sharp enough to swap the mastheads at the start of each installment to preserve the lead characters' positions (the MTIO issue opens with "Stan Lee Presents...the Thing and Spidey" while the MTU chapter bills the story as "Spidey and the Thing--Together!") they slipped up and left this as evidence, the final panel of what was published as Marvel Team-Up #47:  If this had been intended for MTU that final caption tease would have identified the next character due to co-star with Spider-Man (Iron Man); the Scarecrow was actually the guest-star of Marvel Two-In-One #18:  |
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 9, 2021 19:12:45 GMT -5
Marvel Team-Up #47 We are getting a lot of mileage out of a pretty mediocre villain, with a silly design. Creative Team: Bill Mantlo-writer, Ron Wilson-pencils, Dan Adkins-inks, Irv Watanabe-letters, Don Warfield-colors, Marv Wolfman-editor Synopsis: Spidey is fighting Basilisk on a volcano that has sprung up in the Hudson River and Ben is unconscious. We get several pages of recap as Spidey tries to duck Basil's eyebeams. Spidey dodges and gets Basil to blast the rock and bury himself. he then wakes up Ben and Basil reappears.  Basil goes off to wreak havoc on the city and ben and Spidey trail after. They eventually catch up and "It's Clobberin' Time!"  They spar a bit then double punch Basil into the volcano, which implodes as Basilk's eyebeams unleash their pent up power and the story comes to a merciful end. Thoughts: There wasn't enough story for one issue here, let alone 3 (4 if you count the Captain Marvel teaming). Nothing special here, nothing particularly memorable. Not much to really analyze.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 11, 2021 14:51:55 GMT -5
Marvel Team-Up #18 Human Torch and The Hulk. Johnny's trying to pinch Spidey's book! The splash page notes that Spidey has not been replaced; which suggests to me that this is either a repurposed story or a try out for a Torch team-up concept. Originally, the series was supposed to be a Torch & Spidey vehicle; but, the Torch went bye-bye rather quickly. Over at Supermegamonkey.net, it is mentioned that FOOM #3 said the issue was "an experiment in audience awareness." No idea if that means whether the audience was buying for Spidey or the guest star; or, if they would go for a different star or a rotating star. I don't have my files of FOOM handy and really don't want to go digging. Basically, the Torch is the lead and Spidey is back next issue. Creative Team: Len Wein-writer, Gil Kane-pencils, Frank Giacoia & Mike Esposito-inks, Jean Izzo-letters, Glynis Wein-colors, Roy Thomas-editor. Synopsis: Torch and Wyatt Wingfoot are flying above the Catskills (Wyatt on a jet bike) and they spot trouble below. Jackie Mason and Norm Crosby are getting into a fight. No, wait, a truck has crashed and the driver runs out warning them that it is filled with explosives and the area isn't safe. Wyatt gets them out and Johnny decides the way to make the place safe is to apply fire to explosives...  While you're at it, why don't you pour lemon on a paper cut! Oy, whatta schmuck! Anyvey...ahem, anyway, Torch acted like he planned for a fire dome to contain the explosion and he fuses the tarmac to cover the crater. he and Wyatt head out, when an alarm goes off, telling Johnny that trouble walks the Earth again. We cut to a lab, where some mad scientist has awakened Blastaar, the living bomb-burst.  Sounds like a third rate pro wrestler. Blastaar, the living bomb-burst vs Bullet Bob Armstrong, in a Tennessee Dynamite Hauling Match! Card subject to change. Dr Forrester tells Blastaar he has added a little safeguard, which gives him Excedrin headache No. 52. He then recounts FF #63 and X-Men #53. Blastaar asks if the mad raised him from the dead and he replies that he was only "mostly dead." Shows vhat chew know, Mr Bigshot! The scientist tells Blastaar he needs him to get revenge on a rival for stealing his adamantium automated factory, FAUST. Only Blastaar can challenge its walls. Meanwhile, Hulk smashes a construction site for being too loud and making his head itch.  Maybe if you bathed once in a while, the itch would go away. Blastaar blasts FAUST and Torch comes on the scene. Blasty absorbs the flame and responds with an explosion that knocks Johnny into next week, or at least the arms of the Hulk. Hulk complains about the itch and Johnny says he knows the source and tricks Hulk into following him...  Yeah, there is no situation that can't be improved by introducing the Hulk to it! The owner of FAUST turns up and recognizes the mad as a dude named Pentecost (looks more Presbyterian, to me) and they swap insults, then Pentecost sicks Blastaar on them. Pentecost's robot goons pull the rival inside and then Hulk and Johnny turn up. Johnny chases down Pentecost, while Hulk smashes Blastaar and Blasty blasts Hulk. Torch stops the misguided mad scientist, like he was in a Superfriends episode, and the big boys destroy the place.  Hulk tosses away the adamantium cocooned Blastaar and Johnny leaves the mad scientist to the authorities. Wendy delivers the moral of the story to Marvin, while Wonder Dog adds a comedic stinger. Hulk turns back into Banner and goes off to hitchhike, as the depressing music kicks in. Or, at least, he will, in a few years. Always amazed how many changes of clothes David Banner had in that backpack. Thoughts: Generic, but fun plot, resulting in mass destruction, which makes for a good random comic. Hulk and Blastaar shouldn't be able to affect adamantium, which is one of several things that led to the retcon of secondary adamantium, to explain away the times adamantium suffered damage, because the editor was asleep at the wheel (or editing too many books to pay close attention). The inking of Kane is not particular in synch and reduces some of the enjoyment. FAUST turns up again, in Thor #269-271, also written by Len (and drawn by Walt Simonson). Blasty is there, too.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 11, 2021 15:19:35 GMT -5
Marvel Two-in-One #18 Thing and Ray Bolger! Or is it Patrick McGoohan? Creative Team: Bill Mantlo-writer, Ron Wilson-pencils, Jim Mooney & Dan Adkins-inks, Ray Holloway-letters, Hugh Paley-colors, Marv Wolfman-editor. Synopsis: Ben and Alicia are at a party, at the loft of Jess Duncan, painter....  Also there is art critic Harmony Maxwell. Alicia tells Ben they are there because of harmony, who proceeds to speak of how Jess got the Scarecrow painting seen in the background (from Dead of Night #11) Jess beat out a rival for the painting, who came after it, complete with lunatic cult and was going to sacrifice Harmony, when the Scarecrow came to life, beat them up and saved Harmony. Harmony thought it was a dream, until Marvel Spotlight #26. Ben thinks it is hocum and rushes home to catch the last half of Space: 1999, which Marvel didn't have the rights to adapt (John Byrne was drawing it, at Charlton). Jess' brother David macks on Alicia, while Ben runs into Mrs Rittenhouse. Ben admits to himself he is a bit spooked and is still a bit jealous about the Son of Satan, from a few issues ago. Alicia talks to Ben and they leave David staring at the painting and the cult is seen watching mystically and an agent stabs David in the back and enters the painting...  Ben is about to leave after dismissing the story, when there is a scream, they run into the room and see the cult agent emerge from the painting as a reverse Human Torch, despite the BS you see on the cover. He burns off Ben's tux, even though it is made of unstable molecules and then Scarecrow turns up in the window. he throws a trident, from a statue, at the dude, who melts it. ben asks for info and is told that the Scarecrow is the guardian of the doorway into a dimension ruled by Kalumai, a lord of demons. Ben grabs a curtain and drapes it over yellow torch and snuffs him out, pounds on him, and basks in glory, then gets pearl harbored by the dude. Scarecrow summons rain, which puts out the fire...  The dude is still active and there is fighting, while Scarecrow becomes Starecrow, staring at the painting. Ben whoops the yellow dude, who turns back into the cult agent and Scarecrow re-enters the painting, which then appears destroyed. The comic ends, with Harmony asking about Dave. Dave's not here, man. Thoughts: It's okay. I'm not big on supernatural characters, like the Scarecrow, and this issue is a good demonstration, as there seems to be no rules to the demons or the fighting. I'm not a fan of mixing the Thing, a sci-fi character, with the supernatural. It just doesn't work, for me. The cover is pure bait and switch, as the cult agent is made to look like the Human Torch, complete with red coloring. Next issue blurb says we get Tigra and the letters page says there is an upcoming annual, with the Liberty Legion. Roy never was able to make them much of a thing.
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Post by badwolf on Jan 11, 2021 20:23:57 GMT -5
Meanwhile, Hulk smashes a construction site for being too loud and making his head itch. I know how he feels! |
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Post by badwolf on Jan 11, 2021 20:25:54 GMT -5
Marvel Two-in-One #18Thing and Ray Bolger! Or is it Patrick McGoohan? Neither, it's Jon Pertwee.
This issue made zero sense to me.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jan 12, 2021 11:13:27 GMT -5
Marvel Two-in-One #18Thing and Ray Bolger! Or is it Patrick McGoohan? Neither, it's Jon Pertwee.
This issue made zero sense to me.
Points for a Worzel Gummidge reference! |
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