|
|
Post by Farrar on Dec 15, 2022 11:05:06 GMT -5
*** ORIGINALLY POSTED ON FACEBOOK ON NOVEMBER 30, 2019 ***
AUGUST 1971 (Cover Date: October/November 1971) ....Actually there were no "October 1971"-cover dated Marvels on sale in August 1971. Comics were either cover-dated Nov. 1971 or--as in the case of the Annuals/Specials and the quarterly comic Western Gunfighters--Jan. 1972. This was the month that Marvel synched up the cover dates of its monthly titles. The result was the books that would have been expected to carry an October cover date--namely the Avengers, Thor, and Daredevil monthly comics--were instead cover-dated November 1971, thus matching up with the rest of Marvel's monthlies. You'll see there are no Oct. 1971 cover-dated issues for those three titles; they jump from a Sept. label in July to a Nov. label in August. This across-the-board November 1971 cover date for the monthlies (along with the increased page count & 25 cents price for this month) was a nod to the 10th anniversary of Fantastic Four #1 and its cover date of Nov. 1961. |
|
|
|
Post by Myke Gee on Dec 17, 2022 10:56:08 GMT -5
*** ORIGINALLY POSTED ON FACEBOOK ON NOVEMBER 30, 2019 ***
AUGUST 1971 (Cover Date: October/November 1971) ....Actually there were no "October 1971"-cover dated Marvels on sale in August 1971. Comics were either cover-dated Nov. 1971 or--as in the case of the Annuals/Specials and the quarterly comic Western Gunfighters--Jan. 1972. This was the month that Marvel synched up the cover dates of its monthly titles. The result was the books that would have been expected to carry an October cover date--namely the Avengers, Thor, and Daredevil monthly comics--were instead cover-dated November 1971, thus matching up with the rest of Marvel's monthlies. You'll see there are no Oct. 1971 cover-dated issues for those three titles; they jump from a Sept. label in July to a Nov. label in August. This across-the-board November 1971 cover date for the monthlies (along with the increased page count & 25 cents price for this month) was a nod to the 10th anniversary of Fantastic Four #1 and its cover date of Nov. 1961. Yep! You got me again, lol!!! I hadn't really noticed that. Thanks for the info!! |
|
|
|
Post by Myke Gee on Dec 17, 2022 11:57:48 GMT -5
As I read the opening paragraph of this review, I realize that a couple of those changes did not stick, lol!!! I went from calling them "reactions" right back to calling them reviews and, if memory serves me correctly, the "week-by-week" change never manifested. However, I did, eventually, break them down into bi-weekly posts. At any rate, while this looks like the same thing that I've been doing, changes are coming. With that said, let's get to it.*** ORIGINALLY POSTED ON FACEBOOK ON MARCH 7, 2020 ***
January 1972 (Cover Dated: April/June 1972)
Greetings, everyone! I’m back with another year of reactions (I’m no longer calling them “reviews” because when I get to the books that I’ve already read, I feel like those should be called reviews. *Other format changes coming*). Looking ahead, I see that 1972 is going to be a real treat. Along with the usual books, this year I’ll be saying hello to a bunch of “brand new” titles (RED WOLF, WARLOCK, LUKE CAGE: HERO FOR HIRE, THE DEFENDERS, WEREWOLF BY NIGHT, and much more). Also, old and new characters will find new homes in old and new feature books such as MARVEL FEATURE (Ant-Man), MARVEL PREMIERE (Dr. Strange), MARVEL SPOTLIGHT (Johnny Blaze: Ghost Rider), and JUNGLE ACTION (Black Panther). Trust me, by the end of the year, there will be so many books, I will be making another change. This reaction feature is more than long enough as it is. It’s becoming the equivalent in length of “War & Peace” 😏😂 To rectify that, I will probably be posting reactions from a specific week only. For example: when I post reactions on a Saturday morning, it will not be for an entire month, but for the first week of that month. Next Saturday will be for the second week of that month and so on. It won’t be happening initially, but as more books are released, that’s when I’ll start that format. Let me know if you like that idea or if I should just stick to one long post. Final change: I’ve given grades to each book and there have been more than a few times where I wished that there was a grade between A- and B+. Now, I will be grading on a scale of 1 to 10. That should eliminate my bitching because there isn’t a grade between A+ and B-, lol!!! So, with all that said, let’s get to the reactions!
On sale January 4, 1972 DAREDEVIL #86: So, at the end of the last issue, Matt and Karen bumped into each at the airport, ran to each other’s arms, and enjoyed a passionate kiss.....all in front of Natasha. This issue begins with the opening of Karen Page's new movie in New York, Matt, Karen, Natasha, Ivan, and Foggy are all in attendance and speak to the media. Also, as part of the news broadcast is word that "Karl Stragg" (who is really Raymond Bloch, aka the Ox, who has been stuck in Stagg's body since DAREDEVIL #15) is released from prison. Wishing revenge on those who trapped him in a weak body, "Stragg" suddenly undergoes a transformation that changes him back into his original form of the Ox. Wracked with pain and building up with radiation, the Ox blames Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson for putting him in jail, to begin with, and so goes on a rampage across the city. Matt switches to Daredevil, and he and the Ox fight. “Bonk! Thud! Pow” and we’re all done here. Also, the Matt/Karen drama comes to a close. Mediocrity lives on in this magazine. Grade: 5.5
THOR #198: Ever since this story started in issue #195, it has been an enjoyable read, but lacking...something. I used descriptions like “close, but no cigar”, “formulaic and unoriginal” and “wannabe epic” to describe how this story felt in comparison to other Thor epics. This somewhat-conclusion to this storyline follows the same pattern that Stan established in his run on the book. As always, there’s the extinction-level threat and there’s Odin playing chess and setting up moves long before the endgame happens. When it did happen in this issue, you’re not shocked, but nor are you overly excited either. It’s a satisfying overall story and ending, but it just feels like we’ve seen this movie before. Also, one of my gripes was that the use of the pseudo-Shakespearean dialogue has been ramped up since Stan left. This issue, it’s now a part of the narration. *Sigh* Anyway, I say “somewhat conclusion” because of the Lady Sif in Blackworld subplot. For four issues, there has been the mention of “He” or “Him”, but nothing has yet to be revealed. Just that he’s extremely powerful and everyone on Blackworld fears him. Even the Rigellians are involved now and Tana Nile has returned. That’s got to mean that one of my favorite characters, the Recorder, is returning. Greatly anticipating the next few issues. Grade: 8.0
• MIGHTY MARVEL WESTERN #17
• WESTERN KID #3
• MILLIE THE MODEL #195
On sale January 11, 1972 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #107: Spider-Man has finally been caught by Spencer Smythe in his new Spider-Slayer robot. Smythe gloats that, now after all the defeats at the wall-crawler's hands, he'll finally get his revenge against Spider-Man. He takes the defeated wall-crawler back to the assemblage of crooks at his hideout to show off his victory. Meanwhile, Gwen is later confronted by Flash who apologizes for how he acted last issue. When he tries to express his feelings for her she stops him and tells him that her feelings for Peter are real. She then confronts him with the fact that that is not the only thing bothering him, but Flash declines to talk about it. Back at Smythe's laboratory, Spider-Man breaks free of the Spider-Slayer's bindings and gums up the Spider-Slayer robot. He then escapes Smythe's lab and rounds up all the crooks in his employ who have been sent out on various jobs throughout the city. After which Smythe comes after Spider-Man in the Spider-Slayer robot. However, the wall-crawler makes short work of Smythe's robot and leaves him for the police to collect. Spider-Man then pays a visit to J. Jonah Jameson, fed up with Jameson constantly hiring Smythe to go after him with Spider-Slayer robots, Spider-Man cautions the newspaper editor to never try it again, a request the cowardly Jameson agrees to comply to in the future. On his way back home to switch back to his civilian identity, Spider-Man spots Gwen walking with Flash. What he sees next is sure to have repercussions for the three’s relationship. I’ve never been a fan of the Spider-Slayer. Just another RBR (Really Big Robot) to me. However, I truly enjoyed this storyline. Fast-paced in the Stan Lee style. Very good conclusion to the Spider-Slayer story. Grade: 8.5
AVENGERS #98: The Kree-Skrull War is over, and the Avengers are about to investigate what happened the Goliath. Once the decisions have been made as to how the search will be orchestrated, Captain America stumbles upon a brewing crisis on the evening news. A man called Mr. Tallon (who is actually Ares, the Greek God of War) and his group, the Warhawks, are instigating people to commit acts of violence against all foreigners. The people, including the Avengers except for Thor and the Vision, are under the spell of two flute players who are actually satyrs from Olympus. As Thor and the Vision fight to free the citizens and their teammates from their spell, Clint Barton returns as Hawkeye in one of the worst costumes ever. He also brings with him a former Avenger who hasn’t been seen in these pages for quite some time. After the Kree-Skrull War, this storyline seems rather banal. It barely kept my attention. However, the story continues next issue. Maybe it picks up. Grade: 5.5
CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON #148: This book has been on fire, lately! Interesting how when a book finds its footing, it no longer resembles the bland series that it previously was. This issue brings an end to the Hydra/Kingpin storyline. SHIELD found out that Hydra was back in business in Las Vegas. The new Supreme Hydra turned out to be the Kingpin’s son, formerly known as the Schemer. Cap, the Femme Force, and the Falcon all converge on Vegas to shut Hydra down which leads to a great fight between Captain America and the Kingpin only to be interrupted by the true big bad, the Red Skull, of course. After discovering that he was being manipulated by the Skull, the Kingpin joins forces with Cap and the Falcon to stop the Skull and the new Sleeper; one of a series of RBRs (Really Big Robots) from the TALES OF SUSPENSE days. One of the things that I really love about this series is the action sequences. There may be better artists, but no one draws comic book action sequences like Sal Buscema. Along with Gary Friedrich’s fast-paced script, this is nearly comic book perfection. Great stuff! (You know it’s great stuff when I didn’t complain about the Red Skull showing up again, lol!) Grade: 9.5
INCREDIBLE HULK #150: It would seem that, after two years of very little to nearly no activity, Marvel is blowing the dust off of its merry mutants, the X-Men. The Beast is currently headlining AMAZING ADVENTURES and the team will be making an appearance in MARVEL TEAM-UP #4. This issue, Havok and Polaris make a guest appearance in ol’ Greenskin’s life. The story starts with the Hulk being pursued by Gen. Ross and the military....again. (It just occurred to me that it’s no longer clear what branch he serves under. Initially, it was the Air Force. Now, I think it’s been changed to the Army. Maybe it’s just me. Gotta keep an eye out for that) Anyway, as the military press the attack, they are ordered to cease. Some big debate on Capitol Hill is the reason why. Later for that, I guess. Meanwhile, the Hulk is thinking of Jarella when he sees a woman with green hair being chased by a motorcycle gang. Assuming that it’s Jarella, he goes to rescue her. When he sees that it’s not Jarella, but Lorna Dane, he gets pissed. Fortunately, she was visiting Alex Summers, aka Havok, who comes to her rescue. The fight is not as one-sided as you may think thanks to some interesting interpretations of Havok’s power. Still, it was good to see him. I’ve always been a fan of the character. Grade: 8.0
SUB-MARINER #48: Last issue, an injured and amnesiac Namor was nursed back to health by a woman named Cindy Jones. Later, Dr. Doom arrived at her home and tricked Namor into helping him steal a weapon from a supposedly defunct A.I.M. base in New Orleans. For reasons that remain unclear (to me, at least) the two took Cindy with them aaaannnd it just happens to be her hometown. 🙄What’s significant about this is that the two begin to argue over how long she remains with the mission. 😏 Namor, not wanting to just abandon the girl, takes Cindy and flies off. Believing M.O.D.O.K. to be dead, an unsuspecting Doom attacks the A.I.M. base. He thinks that the base is programmed to deploy weapons to defend itself. Meanwhile, Namor and Cindy find themselves at one of her old friend’s apartment when a drug dealer named Johnny emerges from another room and shoots Namor twice. (huh??) I’m guessing that, because he’s been out of water for quite some time, he’s weakened and that’s why the bullet knocked him out. 🙄 Then, in another bizarre twist among bizarre twists, Doom has one of his henchmen kidnap Cindy so that Namor would be under his control. This started out as a pretty good story last issue and the first few pages of this one were just as good. Then, everything got...weird. The argument over why Cindy was there, the visit to the friend’s apartment that just happened to have a hippie drug dealer there, Namor getting taken down by a gun....these and other moments just make for a strange turn of events in a story that was coming along great. Oh yeah, one more bizarre moment: M.O.D.O.K.’s explanation of how he survived his last encounter with Captain America! Talk about strange....and hilarious!! 😂 Grade: 6.0
On sale January 18, 1972
MARVEL FEATURE #3: Two astronauts are in space when one of them encounters a strange white mist while performing a spacewalk. With the Hulk nowhere in sight and apparently not expected to be seen, General Ross, inexplicably, takes Jim Wilson to supervise a splashdown of the two astronauts returning from space. When their capsule sinks, it is saved by the Sub-Mariner. The Astronauts in question soon quit NASA in order to start their own television show called Astro-Nuts. One of the "Astro-Nuts" on the show is a giant woolly creature that wins the heart of children all over the world. However, what appears to be a lovable character is really Xemnu the Titan, an alien from outer space who has taken possession of the body of one of the astronauts, and plans on coercing the children who watch him on television to follow him to his home planet where he intends on converting them into members of his own race so that he may not be lonely anymore. Suspicious of Xemnu's intentions, Jim gets in touch with Dr. Strange who calls upon Namor and brings the attention of the Hulk after posing as the green goliath on a televised event. The three learn Xemnu's true plot and battle him when he is about to transport the children under his control into space. Hulk seemingly pounds Xemnu into non-existence, and when the battle is over, all parties depart when the military tries to take in the Hulk. Again, a good, but not great early Defenders story. Much better artwork from Ross Andru and Bill Everette this time. Issue #1 was a sketchy mess and #2 was inked by Sal Buscema. Grade: 7.5 • MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #35
• RAWHIDE KID #98
• X-MEN #75
On sale January 25, 1972 ASTONISHING TALES #11: This is the story of how Ka-Zar’s father stumbled upon the Savage Land and discovered its vibranium. Lord Plunder would return to England and his family only to witness the passing of his wife. The story goes on to tell how Lord Plunder gave his sons, Kevin and Parnival, two halves of a medallion that holds the key to finding and unlocking the vibranium. Lord Plunder, then, sends Parnival away with his manservant, Willis, and returns to the Savage Land with Kevin, where he is almost immediately killed by Maa-Gor of the Man-Ape tribe. As they are closing in on Kevin, he is saved by Zabu. The rest is pretty easy to figure out. Kevin grows up with Zabu and forms a bond with the tiger. He gets stronger and, eventually, gets even with Maa-Gor. Normally, I’m not blown away by origin stories, but this was enjoyable enough to hold my interest. Grade: 7.0
FANTASTIC FOUR #121: Here’s what I didn’t notice last issue: Stan Lee wrote this story (but, I guess the Stan-bashers will say that it was John Buscema or Joe Sinnott or Sam Rosen. Anyone other than Stan! *sigh*) Last issue introduced Gabriel the Air Walker; a character that has a lot of fans in this group if memory serves me correctly. Presenting himself as an angel and the herald of the end of mankind, we find that his battles with the FF and displays of incredible power were all to draw out the Silver Surfer. As the Surfer enters the fray, we learn the secret of Gabriel and his creator. For the 13 or so people that don’t know what those secrets are, don’t look at me. I made a promise last year of no spoilers. Loving this storyline, so far. Grade: 9.0
MONSTERS ON THE PROWL #16: In my brief exposure to him, I’ve found that King Kull has proven to be a most interesting character. For whatever reason, this character never seems to catch on as his many different series can attest. Marvel will start a new series and it gets canceled after a very short run. Case in point: there is currently (1972 time) a KULL THE CONQUEROR book being published. Hard to tell because the last issue (#2) hit the stands in May 1971. Issue #3 won’t be published until April 1972. Which brings us to this issue. MotP was the last place that I expected him to turn up, yet, here he is. Kull, along with his friend Brule and a group of Red Slayers enter the Forbidden Swamp, trying to locate the Temple of the Serpent-Men believed to be hidden within. They kill several Serpent-Men along the way until they finally see the temple on the other side of a large river. They fashion a raft out of logs and attempt to cross the river when they hear chanting from three Serpent-Men priests. The chanting brings forth a giant river monster, which nearly kills the group of adventurers. They manage to get across the river, however, and kill the priests with Kull proving immune to their weapons. Kull alone enters the temple where he encounters Thulsa Doom (1st appearance), who claims that he had come to the temple to rescue his beloved but was too late as her body lay prostrate across the altar. Kull invites Thulsa back to his city despite the protestations of Brule and the others who have heard rumors of the lord's evil ways. Kull dismisses their warnings, however, saying that he will be welcome until he does something to make himself unwelcome. I don’t know why, but I find Kull’s stories a little more palatable than Conan’s. This is not a knock on Conan because, despite my dislike for sword and sorcery tales, I’ve found quite a few of them really good. So, it looks like Kull will be taking up residence in MotP until he returns to his own book in April. Looking forward to it. Grade: 7.0
• OUR LOVE STORY #16
• SGT. FURY #97
So, my first month with the new format changes is complete. As far as the overall consensus of the books that I’ve read and reacted to, it was a pretty good month. I didn’t this notice until the last minute, no CONAN THE BARBARIAN this month. I guess it’s now bi-monthly like IRON MAN. Next month, I guess. Speaking of “next month”, RED WOLF #1!!! I’m so excited!! I wonder which version we’ll get. Can’t wait to see! Until then, take care, everyone!
Top 5 Books of the Month
1. CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON #148
2. FANTASTIC FOUR #121
3. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #107
4. INCREDIBLE HULK #150
5. MARVEL FEATURE #3
Top 5 Covers of the Month
1. MONSTERS ON THE PROWL #16
2. MARVEL FEATURE #3
3. FANTASTIC FOUR #121
4. ASTONISHING TALES #11
5. SUB-MARINER #48
|
|
|
|
Post by Myke Gee on Jan 7, 2023 13:54:00 GMT -5
I don't know who's still hanging in there with these, but I'll keep posting until someone says stop, lol!!!
*ORIGINALLY POSTED ON FACEBOOK ON MARCH 14, 2020*
February 1972 (Cover Dated: May 1972*)
Hey, everyone. Continuing my chronological journey through the Marvel Universe. My first-time reads this month for the books published in February 1972. Here are my thoughts.
On sale February 8, 1972 DAREDEVIL #87. Moving into a new home with the Black Widow in San Francisco, the two heroes end up battling Electro, who has come to San Francisco to make a new name for himself as a super-villain on the west coast and is sporting a new costume. While DD and the Widow are dealing with Electro, a man named Danny French has come looking for Natasha at their new place of residence. Meanwhile, gaining the upper hand against Electro, DD fights the villain into retreat, the police Commissioner "Iron Guts" O'Hare, decides that he is going to keep an eye on these heroes. Returning home, Ivan informs the Black Widow that Danny French had come by the house. This news is grim to the Black Widow, who turns away Matt and Ivan's offer for help. This one’s just a tad bit above mediocre. At this point, it definitely feels like a book heading in a new direction. It hasn’t quite gotten its legs yet, but I’m sure that it will. Grade: 6.5
IRON MAN #46. Simon Gilbert appeals to the board to help preserve the Guardsman's reputation by tying Tony Stark directly to the riots. At his penthouse, Tony discusses his problems with Marianne, but they are interrupted when more demonstrators arrive at the plant. Gilbert tells the Guardsman to attack the students, but Kevin sees that Gilbert is trying to get him to do his dirty work and refuses. Tony and Marianne are pleased that Kevin has come to his senses, but upon seeing them Kevin reverts and reaffirms his loyalty to the board. The Guardsman faces the demonstrators while Tony becomes Iron Man to prevent the damage from escalating. Iron Man tries to calm the crowd down, but the Guardsman insists that only violence will solve the matter and attacks Iron Man. The Guardsman ultimately gets into Stark's untested Aero-Tank to fight him. This is a bit better than the stuff we’ve been getting in this book, lately. The story is good, the action is good and it’s the first time it’s felt like a page-turner in a while. Not a classic issue, but pretty good. Grade: 7.5
THOR #199. The death goddess, Hela, arrives to claim the body of the fallen Odin but is met with resistance from Thor. Hela explains that her intentions are to keep the Greek god Pluto from claiming his soul and that her netherworld is a far better fate than Pluto’s. On cue, Pluto arrives to make his claim, and Thor and Hela team to fight off Pluto and his army. Meanwhile, on Blackworld, we learn that the mysterious “He” is Ego-Prime who is evolving the planet at a rapid rate. Back in Asgard, Hela and Pluto battle as Thor and Balder takes on Pluto’s demonic army. During the battle, Balder falls, but is revived by Karnilla. That’s when the Warriors Three enter the battle and, in an uncharacteristic move, Volstagg...yes, VOLSTAGG is one of the first to join the fray!!! 😅 I love it!!! Of course, Pluto just summons more demons which overwhelm Hela and she is forced to flee. Moving in on Odin, Pluto’s way is blocked by Thor. The two fight, but Thor is eventually outclassed. To be continued next issue. This one had me hooked from go. Highlights for me were Thor and Hela side-by-side and, of course, Volstagg! Grade: 9.0
• KID COLT: OUTLAW #159
• WESTERN GUNFIGHTERS #9
On sale February 15, 1972 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #108. Well, whadayaknow!!! Stan Lee is not only writing the FF this month (and the last two), but he’s writing ASM, as well. But.... I thought he couldn’t write anything without Kirby and Ditko? 🙄 Anyway, *sigh* last issue Spider-Man arrived at Flash Thompson’s place just as he was taken away by what was later identified as the MPs. Electing to follow, Spidey next witnessed the car being ambushed by two other vehicles. The ambushers fired smoke bombs to obscure everyone’s vision as they wore gas masks while attempting to take Flash. Not knowing the good guys from the bad guys, Spidey foiled the attempt and took Flash away from the scene altogether. Flash explains that the MPs were trying to protect themselves from the Vietnamese who were wrongfully trying to exact revenge on Flash for a perceived transgression while in the military. After hearing his story, Spidey returns him to the military police and goes home to meet Gwen. Pretending to know nothing, he listens as Gwen tells how Flash was taken. They both go to where Flash is being held to see if there was anything that they could do to help. That’s when the Vietnamese stuck again. After an explosion, Peter sneaks off, but in the chaos, he never has time to change to Spider-Man and he has to fight out of costume with no web-shooters. When all is said and done with this issue, Peter finds himself having to make a big decision in order to help Flash. Continued next issue. Another fast-paced tale from Mr. Lee with loads of action. Very good story. Grade: 8.5
AVENGERS #99. This issue was better than the first chapter, but not by much. The book starts with the team trying to restore the memory of Hercules who returned to the team (along with Hawkeye) with no memory and a warning of some vague impending danger. Hawkeye goes on to tell what happened in space with him and the Skrulls, his return to Earth, and his chance meetup with Hercules. Once he’s done with that tale, he decides that it’s time to express his feelings to Wanda not knowing what has been brewing between her and the Vision, lately. It didn’t help that the Vision overheard this confession. Soon after, the team is attacked by the Olympian gods, Kratos and Bia. Wanda suffers a minor injury during the battle and the Vision chooses to remain with her rather than help his teammates; a decision that has Hawkeye more than a little peeved. A little too much melodrama for my tastes. Still, there’s enough action and story to keep it interesting. I must say that one of the things that kept distracting me was the art team of Barry Smith and Tom Sutton. While Sutton meshed very well with Mike Ploog in AMAZING ADVENTURES #12, he and Smith were a huge mess as collaborators. It completely took away from my overall opinion of the book. Grade: 6.0
CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON #149. The Falcon overhears what he believes is a kidnapping. A van speeds off and he has Redwing follow it. Inside the van was a little VW bug which the kidnappers switched to. Redwing returns to the Falcon and, thankfully, we don’t have a Lassie moment as the kidnappers get away. Meanwhile, a very ticked-off Nick Fury approaches Cap at SHIELD HQ with an ultimatum: join up or get out. When Cap refuses to join SHIELD permanently, Fury really blows a gasket and tries to provoke a fight with Cap. When Cap refuses, Fury orders him out of the building and completely shuts off any further assistance from SHIELD and its agents, including Sharon Carter. A completely perplexed Cap just leaves. Then suddenly, Gerry Conway remembers that Cap still works for the NYPD, lol! He reports to work and spots Batroc the Leaper in civies while on patrol. He goes to the Falcon for help, but Sam is busy with the kidnapping case. The two tensely part ways only to have their separate cases overlap. The two fight Batroc and his brigade of thugs only to have the man pulling the strings arrive in the middle of the melee. I would have never guessed that it would be..... Well, we’ll talk about that next time. 😏 Initially, I thought that this was a pretty decent issue, but not as exciting as previous issues, lately, but still very enjoyable. The surprise villain at the end made up for it big time as it’s one of my favorites. Grade: 8.5
INCREDIBLE HULK #151. Last issue, a semi-conscious Bruce Banner utters the words “Jarella, I love you” to Betty. This issue she drives off with Maj. Talbot after Bruce awakens and explains; leaving him stranded in the desert. He becomes so mad that he changes back into the Hulk. He leaps off after them only to see her kissing Talbot and a heartbroken Hulk leaves without incident. Meanwhile, in D.C., Gen. Ross is called before Congress to justify continued funding for Project: Greenskin. Strong opposition comes from Congressman Dutton, but Senator Morton Clegsted is a huge proponent of the project, but for his own reason. It turns out that he has cancer and he hopes that the research at the project will also cure him. Skip ahead and Clegsted injects himself with a sample of Banner’s blood smuggled from the project by a scientist planted there by him. It turns him into some type slime creature capable of really hurting the Hulk. The two later fight and the Hulk only wins by dumb luck. These are the types of Hulk stories that really do nothing for me. My boredom sense kicks into overdrive when he fights the generic giant robot or forgettable bug-eyed monster and Clegsted’s transformation puts him in the latter category. Grade: 4.0
MARVEL TEAM-UP #2. Taking time to clear his head over his ended romance with Crystal, the Human Torch takes the advice of a drunk dock worker and tries to seek solace from his friends. However, when he tries to get Spider-Man to cheer him up, he is met with a less-than-warm reception. Meanwhile, the Wizard, Sandman, and Trapster have reunited and have begun looking for a new member to induct into the Frightful Four to get revenge on the Fantastic Four. Seeing Spider-Man swing by, the Wizard and his cohorts attack and put Spider-Man in a trance. Using Spider-Man as a means to get the Torch's guard down, the Frightful Four knock out the Torch and take control of the Baxter Building. Examining Reed Richard's devices, the Wizard accidentally opens the Negative Zone portal in such a way that it empowers Annihilus with enough energy to escape. On top of fighting the Frightful Four, the two heroes must find a way to keep Annihilus from escaping the Negative Zone. Considering the star power of this issue, you’d expect it to be a certified classic. However, what we get is a satisfying tale that doesn’t rise above that adjective. Falls short of being great. Grade: 7.0
SUB-MARINER #49. What an....odd chapter to the Dr. Doom/MODOK trilogy. Odd for one reason: Doom. He seemed very out of character in this issue. He was nearly likable in a... ”likable” kind of way versus likable as one of the greatest villains in comics creation. He was almost humble as he somewhat shed his “Doom needs no man” persona. He first starts speaking of loyalty to Namor as he’s captured by MODOK. His dialogue was more.... ”human” than I’ve ever heard from Doom. As Namor falls beneath the might of Modok and his androids, Doom is forced to confront MODOK directly. It is during this battle Namor manages to free himself and reach the Cosmic Cube. It is, also, during this battle that Doom continues to feel like a totally different character than the one we’re used to as he speaks to MODOK about being a man with feelings and loyalty. Afterward, Doom meets up with him, but Namor has secured the “destruction” of the Cube. They both flee as the Cosmic Cube's explosion destroys the A.I.M. base. Even after the adventure was over, Doom is advising Namor to look after Cindy Jones. The words were sincere and with concern. I understand that Doom has his own odd code of honor, but even then, it’s full of arrogance and, as I type this, I just realized that that’s what was missing from his personality this issue; the full-blown, megalomaniacal arrogance that makes him such a great villain. The story was pretty standard and that strange aspect nearly took away from it, for me. Even still, it wasn’t bad. Grade: 7.0
On sale February 22, 1972 AMAZING ADVENTURES #12. I’m pretty sure that I read this story years ago just like last issue. Although I don’t recall ever owning this book, I do recall the scene with Hank putting on the harness so he can stand upright and not crouched. So, with that being my only recollection, I’m calling this a reaction instead of a review. After the events of the last issue, the Beast is on the run from the soldiers assigned to the Brand Corporation and he manages to elude them. Back at his home, he creates a rubber mask and gloves that allow him to look as he does before he mutated. While in his lab working on a cure to reverse his mutation, his boss brings in Tony Stark and Marianne Rodgers. As the three were talking, Hank’s assistant, Linda (who is really an industrial spy), enters. Marianne senses via her esper powers that there’s more to Linda than meets the eye. After Linda leaves, Marianne makes her feelings known, and Hank, who is falling for Linda, storms off. Stark returns later to investigate as Iron Man only to end up in a free-for-all with the Beast. What really caught my attention was how different the Beast was in this issue. Much different from the character that I read in both the Avengers and, most recently, the early X-Men books. Not the fun-loving adventurer of the former or the super loquacious, stuffy guy of the latter. Here, he’s much more savage, which lends to my original theory that, maybe, they were trying to reinvent him as a horror-based hero. Especially with the newfound popularity of characters like the Werewolf by Night and Dracula. He also has a healing factor that seems to be ignored in the later Avengers stories. He’s shot multiple times and all the wounds healed instantly. I may be wrong, but I don’t recall reading anything from his Avengers days that suggested that that was possible. From what I’ve read, this is Steve Englehart’s first credited work at Marvel. So, I guess that explains why Hank ended up in the Avengers. Maybe he forgot about the healing factor. I don’t know. Still, it was a really good read; complete with three familiar faces appearing at the end. One last thing: I would be extremely remiss if I failed to mention the incredible artwork of Tom Sutton and Mike Ploog! Damn good stuff. Grade: 8.0
CONAN THE BARBARIAN #15. Conan, Elric, and Zephra approach the Sighing Lake where the other-dimensional city of Yagala stands. They are attacked by demons, but easily defeat them and make their way to the shores. They are forced to craft a boat from the ribcage of a giant skeletal creature while Sephra's father, Zukala, watches them through a magical portal. The three reach Kulan-Gath, who is attempting to summon the dread Terhali of Melniboné in order to gain supreme power. He believes the others were sent by Thoth-Amon, but before anything can be done, Prince Gaynor and his armies appear, and all hell breaks loose. Meanwhile, Kulan-Gath manages to complete his spell, and Terhali rises from the dead. Elric defeats but is unable to kill, Gaynor, and Kulan-Goth annoys Terhali to the point where she kills him. Afterward, Elric and Conan attack the witch-queen, but she knocks them both unconscious. Zephra, then, summons Arkyn, a Lord of Law and enemy of Terhali, and becomes possessed by him. The now powerful Zephra battles Terhali as Conan and Elric can only watch. Great ending to Barry Smith’s last Conan story. His work here, even the pages inked by the odd pairing of Sal Buscema, is light-years better than what he’s currently doing on the Avengers book. In the end, I found it very interesting that Zephra plays the most vital role in this story and neither Conan nor Elric was instrumental in its ending. At any rate, a fine send-off for Mr. Smith. Next month, Gil Kane takes over. See you then. Grade: 8.5
RED WOLF #1. The first of many new titles that debuted in 1972. White Ranchers try to chase some Indians off their land and end up killing them. One of those victims was the son of a Sioux Indian chief. Red Wolf goes to the town where the ranchers live and captures the murderer. He takes him to Fort Rango to stand trial. He promises the chief that the trial would be a fair one; especially with Col. Sabre, whom Red Wolf in his civilian identity of Johnny Wakely has befriended, handling the prosecution. However, the judge dismisses the only witness as inadmissible because he was an Indian and releases the murderer, much to Col. Sabre's dismay. Red Wolf predicts that these events will lead to war. I really wanted to like this story more than I did. I wanted this to be an underrated gem that many people slept on. Alas, it was just a decent start to the series. By no means crappy, but it still lacked something. Still, I’m looking forward to the next issue to see where this goes. Grade: 6.5
• MY LOVE #17
• RAWHIDE KID #99
• RINGO KID #14
• WHERE MONSTERS DWELL #15
On sale February 29, 1972 CREATURES ON THE LOOSE #17. In my reaction to the last issue, I erroneously called Gulliver Jones a “John Carter rip-off.” Of course, the learned members of this group set the record straight. Turns out, Jones predates Carter by a dozen years. (Love this group) Anyway, after receiving a medallion from a dying, golden alien, Gulliver Jones is transported to Mars during a civil war and, naturally, falls in love with an alien princess. After unsuccessfully trying to stop the kidnapping of the princess, Jones now finds himself unconscious and afloat on a barge drifting down a river. After regaining consciousness, he sees princess Heru being attacked by slug-like creatures. Only, it wasn’t really her. The creatures have the ability to make you see what you want to see. After escaping them, he is captured by “Men...pygmies, but built like spiders - with heads like bats!!” (his words, not mine 😏) He finds himself tied up alongside a wingman like the ones that kidnapped Heru and they’re both on the menu for a really huge creature. While I really enjoyed the first Gulliver Jones issue, this story is already starting to fade a little for me. From what I understand, Jones’ tenure isn’t long in this book, so I’ll tough it out. Grade: 7.0
FANTASTIC FOUR #122. A couple of issues ago, Stan Lee returned to writing FF stories. He introduced us to Gabriel the Air Walker...or rather an automaton of him. The Gabriel robot was here to herald the end of all mankind. So, powerful it was, the Silver Surfer was needed to end its threat. However, Gabriel wasn’t the real threat, but Galactus was. Now, Galactus, who once vowed never to attack the Earth again, has an offer: either the Surfer returns to his former master’s service, or the Earth will be destroyed. The Surfer vows to never be a slave again and he fights Galactus to maintain his freedom and save the Earth. Now, with the two heavyweights engaged in battle, Reed must reach Galactus’ ship to possibly put an end to his threat. I really enjoyed this story when the Air Walker was the primary threat and I’m not saying that it’s a bad story now that he’s been defeated. It’s just that I’ve seen the FF and the Surfer battle Big G more than a few times. So, it kinda feels like old hat. Still, I’m waiting to see how it all turns out. Grade: 8.0
*MARVEL PREMIERE #2. This is the last issue featuring Adam Warlock before he begins his own self-titled series and the only book that has a July cover date this month. Counter-Earth has always confused me. I was never sure if it was a man-made planet created to be on the other side of the sun or if it was extra-dimensional. Now, I know. At any rate, Warlock is now on Counter-Earth with no memory of who he is or his mission there. He’s found unconscious by four Mod Squad-like young adults living in something like a commune. When he comes to with no memory, he does recall that someone told him that he would one day be known as “Warlock”. The young woman in the group gave him the first name of “Adam”. Elsewhere, the Man-Beast sends the mutated Rhodan (basically, a mutated rodent, not a giant pterodactyl, just to be clear) to hunt down and capture Warlock. The fathers of the group hired a P.I. to find their kids and arrive at the commune to talk and, hopefully, convince them to return home. That’s when Warlock intervenes, and the parents think that he’s the reason that they left home. Amid all the arguing, Rhodan attacks and Warlock fights to save them all. Interesting enough story, I suppose. What I find even more interesting is that after two slightly more-than-average issues, the character is awarded his own book. And yes, I consider this a slightly better-than-average story. Enjoyable to some extent, but it seems better suited to “try-out books” like Premiere and Spotlight. Still, I’ll be there for WARLOCK #1 and beyond. Next issue, Dr. Strange returns. Grade: 6.5
TOMB OF DRACULA #2. My main reason for even reading this is because, unlike many of the reprinted horror tales in various books, this series is a part of the Marvel Universe. Still finding its footing, I imagine, the story starts with Frank Drake returning to Castle Dracula with a man-servant named Gort. He rehashes the events of issue #1 and while inside the castle, he finds Clifton Graves inside the pit that Dracula threw him in. Meanwhile, down in the village, Dracula stalks and kills a young woman, then finds Carl Von Harbou who was once his servant when he was much younger. After Von Harbou helps Dracula with concealing his pale skin, the vampire reveals that he knows that it was Von Harbou who betrayed him to the men that caused his latest death and kills him. Days later, Frank and Clifton arrive in London with Dracula’s coffin. There, they meet Jean, Frank’s girlfriend who was turned into a vampire last issue. The rest of the book is about Frank trying to put down Jean and Dracula, as well as Clifton who has been hypnotized by Jean. As I said, I imagine that the book is still trying to find its way. Gene Colan hasn’t even started drawing Dracula to resemble Jack Palance as he does later. Still, it’s a more than acceptable story that has its moments. Grade: 7.0
• SGT. FURY #98
• TWO-GUN KID #104
Mostly some good to very good books this month. Only one great one with THOR. Overall, the books averaged 7.1. Thank you Todd Taylor for giving me the idea to give the overall average. Next month, I’m going to try devise a chart that defines what these grades are. I can tell you now that the rarely given 10 = Classic! Also, next month: AVENGERS #100, HERO FOR HIRE #1, and COMBAT KELLY AND THE DEADLY DOZEN #1. Until then, take care, everyone!
Top 5 Books of the Month:
1. THOR #199
2. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #108
3. CONAN THE BARBARIAN #15
4. CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON #149
5. AMAZING ADVENTURES #12
Top 5 Covers of the Month:
1. AMAZING ADVENTURES #12
2. IRON MAN #46
3. RED WOLF #1
4. SUB-MARINER #49
5. MARVEL PREMIERE #2
|
|
|
|
Post by kirby101 on Jan 7, 2023 14:42:31 GMT -5
You keep writing 'em, I'll keep reading 'em.
|
|
|
|
Post by EdoBosnar on Jan 7, 2023 16:47:12 GMT -5
(...)
RED WOLF #1. The first of many new titles that debuted in 1972. White Ranchers try to chase some Indians off their land and end up killing them. One of those victims was the son of a Sioux Indian chief. Red Wolf goes to the town where the ranchers live and captures the murderer. He takes him to Fort Rango to stand trial. He promises the chief that the trial would be a fair one; especially with Col. Sabre, whom Red Wolf in his civilian identity of Johnny Wakely has befriended, handling the prosecution. However, the judge dismisses the only witness as inadmissible because he was an Indian and releases the murderer, much to Col. Sabre's dismay. Red Wolf predicts that these events will lead to war. I really wanted to like this story more than I did. I wanted this to be an underrated gem that many people slept on. Alas, it was just a decent start to the series. By no means crappy, but it still lacked something. Still, I’m looking forward to the next issue to see where this goes. Grade: 6.5
(...)
I acquired the whole set of Red Wolf (cheaply) in about 1981 or thereabouts. I'd first learned of his existence not long before in that issue of Hulk that introduced the Rangers and was intrigued to learn that he had his own series in the early '70s. However, I have to admit that the series left me pretty underwhelmed. Like you said, it isn't crappy, but as I recall it never rose above the level of average fare. And the initial run of issues set in the old West is better than the last few, which take place in modern times - and Red Wolf wears this ugly little cowl-like mask instead of the cool wolf's head. |
|
|
|
Post by kirby101 on Jan 7, 2023 17:06:25 GMT -5
The main thing about Red Wolf for me was that there was some Sydney Shores art in a few issues, a rarity of him pencilling and inking.
|
|
|
|
Post by chaykinstevens on Jan 8, 2023 8:26:51 GMT -5
AMAZING ADVENTURES #12.
From what I’ve read, this is Steve Englehart’s first credited work at Marvel. Englehart had a previous writing credit for Marvel on Terror of the Pterodacyl in Monsters on the Prowl #15 and pencilling credits in Our Love Story #15 and My Love #16, inked by John Romita in the latter. |
|
|
|
Post by Myke Gee on Jan 10, 2023 18:35:27 GMT -5
You keep writing 'em, I'll keep reading 'em. Thank you for the support, sir! |
|
|
|
Post by Myke Gee on Jan 10, 2023 18:37:49 GMT -5
(...)
RED WOLF #1. The first of many new titles that debuted in 1972. White Ranchers try to chase some Indians off their land and end up killing them. One of those victims was the son of a Sioux Indian chief. Red Wolf goes to the town where the ranchers live and captures the murderer. He takes him to Fort Rango to stand trial. He promises the chief that the trial would be a fair one; especially with Col. Sabre, whom Red Wolf in his civilian identity of Johnny Wakely has befriended, handling the prosecution. However, the judge dismisses the only witness as inadmissible because he was an Indian and releases the murderer, much to Col. Sabre's dismay. Red Wolf predicts that these events will lead to war. I really wanted to like this story more than I did. I wanted this to be an underrated gem that many people slept on. Alas, it was just a decent start to the series. By no means crappy, but it still lacked something. Still, I’m looking forward to the next issue to see where this goes. Grade: 6.5
(...)
I acquired the whole set of Red Wolf (cheaply) in about 1981 or thereabouts. I'd first learned of his existence not long before in that issue of Hulk that introduced the Rangers and was intrigued to learn that he had his own series in the early '70s. However, I have to admit that the series left me pretty underwhelmed. Like you said, it isn't crappy, but as I recall it never rose above the level of average fare. And the initial run of issues set in the old West is better than the last few, which take place in modern times - and Red Wolf wears this ugly little cowl-like mask instead of the cool wolf's head. Another example of wasted potential, in my opinion. The old west stuff was decent, but when the series shifted to "present day', they gave him a couple of new abilities, but it was too late by then. |
|
|
|
Post by Myke Gee on Jan 10, 2023 18:39:14 GMT -5
AMAZING ADVENTURES #12.
From what I’ve read, this is Steve Englehart’s first credited work at Marvel. Englehart had a previous writing credit for Marvel on Terror of the Pterodacyl in Monsters on the Prowl #15 and pencilling credits in Our Love Story #15 and My Love #16, inked by John Romita in the latter. That explains why this was my first time seeing his name. None of those are books that I would have read, lol!! |
|
|
|
Post by Myke Gee on Jan 10, 2023 19:09:57 GMT -5
*** ORIGINALLY POSTED ON FACEBOOK ON MARCH 21, 2020 ***
MARCH 1972 (Cover Dated: June 1972)
Good morning, everyone. I’m back with my reactions to first-time reads of Marvel Comics published in March 1972. Here’s what I thought…
On sale March 7, 1972 DAREDEVIL #88. As Black Widow tries to catch up with Danny French, Daredevil pays a visit to Commissioner "Iron Guts" O'Hara to let him know that he and the Black Widow intend to stay in San Francisco. Meanwhile, Daredevil's presence is detected by the Purple Man who has been laying low and planning an operation out of San Francisco. Back at their home, Matt once again offers his help to Black Widow, but she refuses him again and storms out. Ivan tells Matt about how he met Natasha; how he had rescued her as a child during World War 2 and how he saw to it she was raised into the woman that she is today. When Daredevil tries to trail the Black Widow in her next attempt to find Danny French, he has to stop when he detects a robbery in progress. This happens to be one orchestrated by the Purple Man which brings Daredevil into direct conflict with his old enemy and his goons. A gas that is based on Killgrave’s powers is used on DD which has him out of sync and unable to effectively fight. He’s captured but is rescued by Ivan. Natasha catches up with Danny French and the two decide to bring a close to their last mission together: Project Four. So far, the DD & BW partnership is barely that. So far, they’ve not fought a single villain together. It almost makes the book feel like two different books within the book. Looking forward to the day when they kick but together. Grade: 6.5
IRON MAN #47. At the funeral for Kevin O’Brien, aka the Guardsman, the authorities arrive to arrest Iron Man for his death. When they refused to wait until after the services as Iron Man asked, they decided to use force. Simon Gilbert and, even, Marianne Rogers pleaded with him to surrender. Taken aback by Marianne’s stance on the situation, he flees and focuses on the question she asked: “Why must there be an Iron Man?” Back at Stark Industries, that question begins the reverie of how he first became Iron Man, essentially a retelling of his origin. Once the flashback is over with, the next four pages are a monologue of him convincing himself of why he wears the armor; of why he is Iron Man. Yet another issue that has that inventory story feel that all comics use to catch up on a deadline or something. Nothing special to see here. Grade: 5.5
THOR #200. The three Norns, watching in the mystical Twilight Well, decide to save Thor from Pluto, since it is not yet his time to die. They conjure a vision of the prophetess, Volla, recounting the legend/prophecy of Ragnarok to Odin and the assembled leading men of Asgard. Loki feels maligned listening to the prophecy, which sees him leading an army against Asgard; the Rainbow Bridge is destroyed and Heimdall killed. Thor and Loki battle as the Midgard Serpent rears up and begins attacking everyone. In the end, Thor’s battle with the serpent to prevent Ragnarok ends up being the thing that destroys Asgard. In the Asgardian ruins rises Surtur to finish the job. Ultimately, Volla’s prophecy shows that life will regenerate, and gods will be born anew. Thus, confirming that Thor is not destined to die yet. As Stan Lee and John Buscema are the creative team for the prophecy and Gerry Conway is the writer of the framing sequence, I wonder if this was an inventory story as it is really a departure from what was happening in issue #199. It feels like that story that filled in the space between UNCANNY X-MEN #105 and #107, but much, much better. The tale of the death of the gods was engaging from beginning to end. This issue, also, confirms that it’s Conway who’s ramping up the Shakespearean speech patterns. Stan didn’t ham it up as Conway does. Also interesting is how milestone issues weren’t that big of a thing back then. I actually found that very refreshing. Grade: 8.5
• FEAR #8
• MILLIE THE MODEL #196
• THE WESTERN KID #4
On sale March 14, 1972 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #109. Last issue, Flash Thompson was kidnapped from a federal building where he was, supposedly, being held for his own protection from Vietnamese assassins. Peter and Gwen were there visiting when this happened and, under the cover of darkness, Peter went into action without changing into his Spider-Man costume. Once the dust settled, Gwen comments that she was glad that Peter didn’t disappear like he always does and that she was glad that he wasn’t the coward that people call him. That comment keeps him from going after Flash to rescue him. He comes up with an idea that allows him to go after Flash and, for spoiler’s sake, I won’t elaborate, but it’s one of the reasons Spidey is such a great character. His ability to think on the fly is incredible. Anyway, while searching for Flash via a spider-tracer that he stuck to one of the assailants, he hears the disembodied voice of Dr. Strange who directs him to his home where he shows that Flash Thompson has been brought before the leader of the Monks and is slated for execution. The Vietnamese hold Flash responsible for the destruction of a sacred temple and the death of its High Priest when, in truth, he was trying to save them. Meanwhile, back at Peter’s apartment, Gwen tells Harry about “Spider-Man” kidnapping Peter, and Aunt May overheard. When May says how she’s worried about “the boy”, next comes the highlight of the entire series, for me! Gwen tells that doting old bat off!!! 😅😂🤣 Of course, she apologizes, but it was worth the price of admission, lol!!!! Anyway, Spidey and Doc show up and put the kibosh on Flash’s execution, and Doc’s reason for even getting involved is explained. Another fantastic Stan Lee-written Spider-Man story. Grade: 8.5
AVENGERS #100. Before I get into the story, let me just say that after two issues of sub-standard (for Smith) artwork, he absolutely kills it this issue. Now, as for the story: not until Bob Layton did the Hercules miniseries did I find stories with the Olympian gods interesting. Aside from Hercules’ appearances in THOR, nothing has changed. Well, that’s not accurate either. See, this story picked up in the second half. The first half was all of the Avengers responding to a summons to the Black Knight’s castle. And I do mean all of them (except the Black Widow)! Even the Hulk showed up and stayed! They get the back story about why they were gathered from Sir Percy, the spirit of the original Black Knight. Let me, also, add that, aside from the one issue appearance in MARVEL SUPERHEROES #17, the Black Knight has never done much for me either. Moving on, once the recap is done, the Avengers split into teams with the most powerful (and the Black Knight) headed to Olympus to fight Ares, the God of War and the Enchantress, while the rest defended the Earth. And honestly, that’s about the gist of it. It was entertaining enough, I guess, but it does drive home the point that milestone issues really weren’t that big of a deal back then. Grade: 7.0
CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON #150. Batroc and his brigade of goons were being paid to kidnap several children. When Captain America and the Falcon investigated these disappearances separately, both trails led both to Batroc. As they were mopping up this case, the big man behind the scenes showed up and it was (OMG!!!) the Stranger!!!! I love that character!!! ....Excuse me, what was that? ...Really? Okay, so the joke’s on the reader! It turns out that this isn’t the Stranger, but Jakar who is of the same race from a different dimension, but obviously not as powerful because he got his butt kicked by Cap, the Falcon, and Batroc! See, it seems that Jakar (I keep wanting to put “Noir” behind his name, lol!! Old school cologne wearers might get that one) wanted to use the children to “jumpstart” his dormant (not dead) race. Once Batroc realizes why he wanted the children, he changes sides, and, eventually, the three glorified acrobats beat the space-faring demigod, lol!!! It wasn’t as simple as I made it sound, but, in the end, that’s what it boiled down to. It was a fun issue and storyline despite how far-fetched the conclusion was. (Yeah, I know it’s comics, lol!!!) Grade: 8.0
INCREDIBLE HULK #152. Last issue, the Hulk faced yet another generic bug-eyed monster and my boredom sense kicked into overdrive. This issue, he faces.... the legal system??? Oddly enough, I enjoyed this far more than the b.e.m. Nick Fury and Captain America are on hand as SHIELD LMDs capture the Hulk. Once captured, he reverts back to Bruce Banner and is heavily sedated. Gen. Ross gets direct orders from President Richard Nixon to bring him in to stand trial. Intent on curing Banner and not prosecuting him, Ross calls in Matt Murdock to defend him. En route to New York via airplane, Murdock tries to talk to his client but isn’t getting anywhere because of the sedatives. Despite Ross’ warnings of the obvious danger, Banner is given a stimulant and is now more coherent. However, Banner’s fear of turning into the Hulk while on a plane, plus the realization of the charges that he’s facing, triggers the transformation. Before he can go into a rampage, Murdock manages to talk him down just as the plane is landing. Once landed, Ross and his soldiers attack and, of course, the Hulk thinks that Murdock tricked him. Now, once again, the Hulk is on a rampage, but fortunately, the Fantastic Four are at the airport as well as Peter Parker, who is covering the event alongside J. Jonah Jameson. While not a lot happened in terms of action, I found myself engulfed in this story just over the legal ramifications. We probably won’t get to see that next issue, but it should be one big superhero slugfest. A big step up from the last issue, in my opinion. Grade: 9.0
SUB-MARINER #50. 50 issues in and Namor the Sub-Mariner is returned to the hands of his creator, Bill Everette. Still suffering from amnesia, Namor rescues a young woman he perceives to have drowned, but she surprises him and flees. He follows her and ends up in the Antarctic where he's attacked by giant crustaceans. He meets Salamar the Sustainer who shows him Namora's corpse and tells him of her daughter Namorita. Namor battles through the crustaceans which are revealed to be robots controlled by Prince Byrrah who has captured Namorita. As if Byrrah wasn’t enough, Llyra returns and, amnesia or not, he definitely remembers her. This issue is beautifully drawn, but the writing wasn’t as good. It was a good enough story, but what took away from the overall story was the dialogue; particularly Namor’s. It was so melodramatic to the point I almost yelled at a comic book “Oh shut UP!!!” lol!!! Hopefully next month or sometime soon, he’ll tone it down a bit. Meanwhile, another fair-to-middling milestone issue. Grade: 6.0
• MARVEL TRIPLE ACTION #3
• MONSTERS ON THE PROWL #17
On sale March 21, 1972 ASTONISHING TALES #12. Ka-Zar and Zabu leave the Savage Land with Paul Allen and Barbara Morse. As they land in Miami, Zabu escapes his cage and begins to attack until he is stopped by Ka-Zar. Deemed to be Zabu’s “owner”, the authorities want to arrest him, but Paul and Barbara whisk the both away from the scene. As they enter the Everglades, they explain that Ka-Zar was brought there to help them find Ted Sallis who, unknown to them, became the Man-Thing. The next segment of the book gives an account of the Man-Thing’s origin from SAVAGE TALES #1 and it also elaborates on events that happened since that issue. Once the recap is done, Ka-Zar hears something from outside. What he hears is the Man-Thing leaving. Unaware that it’s the Man-Thing, he goes out into the swampland to investigate and runs into a group of A.I.M. scientists who also looking for Sallis. Just a bit earlier, those same A.I.M. agents managed to trap Man-Thing in a pit. As they were about to shoot him with lasers, Ka-Zar stops them. He manages to fight off the armed agents until one hit him from behind and knocked him into the pit with the Man-Thing. Pretty good story. As a person who isn’t much of a fan of Ka-Zar or the Man-Thing, this one was pretty engaging. Of note, the framing story was written by Roy Thomas with art by John Buscema and Dan Adkins. However, the Man-Thing flashback was written by Len Wein and drawn by Neal Adams. I imagine that the character was being reintroduced to prepare the readers for his upcoming appearances in FEAR. Grade: 8.5
HERO FOR HIRE #1. Yet another greatly anticipated read. Although I’ve never read this one, pretty much everything in it was already known to me. Everything from the abusive prison guards to the story of how he was framed to Noah Bernstein’s experiment to his escape and, finally, to him fashioning himself with a new identity; complete with a “hokey” costume. The only thing that was new to me was how he got to New York from the south and how he got the superhero idea by stopping a robber. Man, his origin has been told on so many different occasions, it almost robbed me of the thrill of this first-time read. Almost. While nothing in this issue was new to me, I still very much enjoyed it and issues #2 - 16 will be all new material. So, I can’t wait to delve into it. Very solid start to the series. Grade: 8.0
• HARVEY #3
• MARVEL TALES #35
• RAWHIDE KID #100
• SGT. FURY #99
• X-MEN #76
On sale March 28, 1972 COMBAT KELLY AND THE DEADLY DOZEN #1. I figured that, despite my dislike (that word feels too strong, really) for war comics, I’d give this one a try. It wasn’t bad at all, but I doubt that I’ll stick with it. This book introduces us to Combat Kelly. A former boxer who was serving time for murder until he was recruited by Happy Sam Sawyer to lead a team of commandos who were also serving time. Two members of the Howling Commandos, Dino Manelli, and Percy Pinkerton are also on the team. They’re a very diverse group with two Black men, an Asian, a Native American, and a woman among its members. Their first mission is to destroy a jet engine plane and kidnap the scientist who invented it. Only, one member of the team, Ace Hamilton, is a bit psychotic and kills the scientist in cold blood. Dino and Pinky, used to the staunch leadership of Nick Fury, has their doubts about Kelly, but in the end, Kelly proves himself, and the mission is a partial success. Again, this wasn’t bad at all, but I just know that I’ll grow bored with this. So, I wouldn’t look for another reaction to this series. Grade: 7.5
FANTASTIC FOUR #123. The conclusion to the Air-Walker/Galactus story. Stan Lee’s return to the FF is a good one. The Air-Walker story has been a fun read since the first chapter. The Air-Walker has been defeated and Galactus reveals that he’s returned for one thing: the Silver Surfer. It’s a simple deal: either the Surfer returns to servitude or the Earth will be consumed. As always, Reed Richards has a plan. Last issue, he went to Galactus’ ship a brought it to Earth (although, I always thought that his ship was supposed to be the size of a small planet). For the sake of the planet, the Surfer agrees to go with Galactus, but Reed insists that he wait because, as always, Reed Richards has a plan. The military has been called in. President Nixon (a busy man in the Marvel Universe this month) orders Gen. Ross to attack, but Galactus easily repels their assault. Everything starts to hit the fan as the military attacks the team because Reed is trying to stop the Surfer from going with Galactus. The Surfer nor the President understands that, as always, Reed Richards has a plan, lol!!! I keep mentioning that because Reed is constantly assuring everyone of this, but no one is listening to him because he’s not elaborating. So, we have to wait for the 11th-hour revelation. It’s a pretty good solution, but, of course, we all know that it doesn’t stick. Ah well, a really good Galactus story...until the next Galactus story. Grade: 8.0
MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #4. Last issue before the Werewolf begins his own self-titled series. Awakening from yet another nightmare, Jack Russell hears a noise inside his home. When he goes to investigate, he finds a reporter named Buck Cowan snooping around. Cowan explains that he’s here to talk to Jack. He’s investigating the public’s new interest in the occult; particularly, the Darkhold. He further explains that it was last seen in his father’s castle which his stepfather sold to Dr. Miles Blackgar. The two concoct a plan to find the Darkhold and get Jack to the island where Blackgar had the castle transported brick-by-brick and rebuilt. Jack takes his stepfather’s boat but suddenly faces a rough storm. So violent it was, it tossed the boat and knocks Jack unconscious. He awakens on a smaller boat and finds Garth, Blackgar’s henchman, standing over him with a machine gun. He sinks Jack’s boat with his weapon and takes him to Blackgar and his daughter, Marlene. Later, Jack learns that Blackgar has been playing “Dr. Moreau” as he’s found horribly mutated people in Blackgar’s lab. While continuing to look for the Darkhold, Jack loses track of time and turns into the Werewolf. In one of his rampages, he finds himself face-to-face with Garth. I’m still really enjoying the WbN stories far more than I expected. As I keep saying, I’m a superhero comics nut. All other genres really aren’t my thing. However, this horror-based mag has me hooked…so far. I can see why this character quickly graduated to his own book. It makes better sense than Warlock getting his. Grade: 8.0
• LIL KIDS #6
• OUR LOVE STORY #17
• OUTLAW KID #10
Of the 13 books reviewed this month, the overall average grade is 7.61, which is good. For those that may be wondering what the numbers may mean, I thought that I’d include that this month.
• 10.0 = Classic (rarely given)
• 9.0 – 9.5 = Excellent
• 8.0 – 5.5 = Very Good
• 7.0 – 7.5 = Good
• 6.0 – 6.5 = Above Average
• 5.0 – 5.5 = Average
• 4.0 – 4.5 = Below Average
• 3.0 – 3.5 = Poor
• 2.0 – 2.5 = Very Poor
• 1.0 – 1.5 = Utter Shite
• 0.0 – 0.5 = Not worth the paper it’s printed on
Next month, the return of KULL THE CONQUEROR. Plus, Ant-Man and Dr. Strange return to headline a couple of existing titles. See ya then.
Top 5 Books of the Month:
1. INCREDIBLE HULK #152
2. ASTONISHING TALES #12
3. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #109
4. THOR #200
5. FANTASTIC FOUR #123
Top 5 Covers of the Month:
1. IRON MAN #47
2. AVENGERS #100
3. HERO FOR HIRE #1
4. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #109
5. CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON #150 |
|
|
|
Post by Myke Gee on Jan 13, 2023 12:45:15 GMT -5
*** ORIGINALLY POSTED ON FACEBOOK ON MARCH 28, 2020 ***
APRIL 1972 (Cover Date: July 1972)
Hello, everyone. This week’s reactions will be a little different. Thanks to feedback from Klaus Nordby and my desire to try to trim down the length of these reactions, I will no longer be giving in-depth plot summaries. Just a quick overall description and, at Mr. Nordby’s request, creator information, (which I should have been doing all along), as well as my opinion on each issue. So, with that out of the way, here are my thoughts on the Marvel Comics published in April 1972.
On sale April 4, 1972 DAREDEVIL #89. “Crisis!” - Script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Tom Palmer. Cover pencils by Sal Buscema, inks by John Verpoortan. The Purple Man convinces Electro to take on Daredevil once again. Featuring the Black Widow and Killgrave. This book is trying to get better, but, something about it keeps falling short. As always, it’s interesting enough to keep me reading, but not quite good enough to really “wow” me. If figured that, with both Killgrave and Electro, I’d finish with a big smile on my face, but alas, I’ve got my usual “I just finished reading Daredevil” face. 😐 Grade: 6.5
IRON MAN #48. "The Fury and the Inferno!" - Story by Mike Friedrich. Art by George Tuska and Vince Colletta. Cover by Gil Kane. The battle is still raging between Tony Stark and Simon Gilbert for control of Stark Industries! Tony fires the entire board of directors, but the chairman of the board, Simon Gilbert, is not going quietly. He arranges for an old enemy of Iron Man to attack the munitions plant. It's another great showdown: Iron Man vs. Firebrand! Now, here’s a villain whose return I’ve been waiting for. I’m starting to see that, to some extent, some books are only as good as their villains. (DAREDEVIL, SUB-MARINER, and IRON MAN, yes, I’m looking at you) Like the other two heroes, Iron Man has been facing some real lame-os, lately. Night Phantom, the Slasher and Demetrius, Mikas the Soulfather, and Mr. Kline aka the Assassin. Honestly, it wasn’t until Firebrand retuned this issue that I realized how lame, up to this point, Iron Man’s Rogues Gallery really is. As I wrote in his first appearance, until then, I never read a story with Firebrand in it. Yet, I’ve always been curious about him, and he hasn’t disappointed. As an anti-establishment villain, he’s far more interesting than Mr. Kline, the Night Phantom, and the like. The only other villain from Iron Man’s rogue’s gallery that is just as interesting to me is the Spymaster. These are the types of villains that this book needs. Hopefully, there will be more like those to come. Grade: 8.5
MARVEL TEAM-UP #3. "The Power to Purge!" - Script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Ross Andru, inks by Frank Giacoia. Gil Kane/Vince Colletta cover. This story starts shortly after Spider-Man’s first battle with Morbius in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #102, before skipping ahead a few weeks. Starring Spider-Man and the Human Torch. Guest appearance by the rest of the Fantastic Four. The best of MTU’s first three issues. A good story that was paced well and had no dull moments, in my opinion. Feels like one of the classic Team-Up that will come later. Grade: 8.0
• KID COLT: OUTLAW #160
• MIGHTY MARVEL WESTERN #18
• WESTERN GUNFIGHTERS #10
On sale April 11, 1972 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #110. "The Birth of the Gibbon" - Script by Stan Lee, pencils by John Romita, inks by John Romita and Tony Mortellaro. Cover pencils by John Romita, inks by Frank Giacoia. On the cover, it says: “Introducing: The Newest Mighty Marvel Superstar! The Birth of the Gibbon!” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and think that Marvel is really loose with their definition of “superstar” because there’s nothing about this character that makes one think of that word. But I’ll hold off until after I’ve read the story....... Inspired by Spider-Man's example, misfit Marty Blank dons an ape costume and plans to fight crime as the Gibbon, but Spider-Man mocks him, leaving him vulnerable to someone who plans to take advantage of the situation. First appearance of the Gibbon. I get that he’s played as a sympathetic character, here, but he still comes off a bit lame. Not Kangaroo-level of lame, but a little lame, nonetheless. Fortunately, the story itself wasn’t lame, but it wasn’t a literary tour-de-Force either. Very much on the average side, however, there is a little mystery at the end. Grade: 6.0
AVENGERS #101. "Five Dooms to Save Tomorrow!" - Plot by Harlan Ellison. Script by Roy Thomas. Pencils by Rich Buckler. Inks by Dan Adkins. Cover by Rich Buckler and Frank Giacoia. The first 100 issues of Earth's Mightiest Heroes are in the books! And the next one hundred begin with an original story from Harlan Ellison! The Avengers serve as honor guards for a special man vs. machine chess match! However, after the Eastern European grandmaster collapses during the match, chaos erupts and finger-pointing starts! Did someone poison the European champion? It appears an unassuming man named Leonard Tippett did. Why? What exactly is going on? The Watcher knows! And that means the Avengers' adventure is only just beginning! While a bit tedious in the beginning, it got better once the flashback explained why a nobody like Tippett was relevant. Apparently, this was based on a 1964 story by Harlan Ellison, who is credited with the story and plot. Roy Thomas writes the adaptation and, while I know nothing of the original story, this was interesting enough to make me want to read the original. Grade: 7.0
CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON #151. "Panic on Park Avenue" - Script by Gerry Conway, pencils by Sal Buscema, inks by Vince Colletta. Sal Buscema cover. This issue ties up a couple of loose ends from the Daredevil/Iron Man/Mr. Kline story arc. Cap and the Falcon battle Mr. Hyde and the Scorpion. Honestly, Hyde would be enough for both of them. Too much, probably. But it seems like his strength levels fluctuated in those days. Powerful enough to fight Thor one minute, defeated by Daredevil the next. Throw in the Scorpion, who has stood toe-to-toe with Spider-Man, and you would think that the heroes are outclassed. Cameos by Daredevil, the Black Widow, Iron Man, and the Owl. Brief appearances by Nick Fury and Sharon Carter. Still, CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON continues to be one of the better books of this period. Who doesn’t love an improbable, but fun story along with action-filled Sal Buscema artwork? Lots of fun, this one!! Grade: 9.0
INCREDIBLE HULK #153. “The World, My Jury!” - Script by Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich, pencils by Dick Ayers (pages 1-17) and Herb Trimpe (pages 18-21 and Avengers and Iron Man figures on pages 15-16), inks by John Severin. Cover pencils by Herb Trimpe, inks by John Severin. On a runway at JFK airport, Mr. Fantastic brings the Hulk down with his newly devised Nega-Gamma Gun; The Hulk is placed in heavy restraints and is put on trial for his crimes; After testimony in the case, both pro and con, Matt pulls a stunt out of his lawyer's bag of tricks and quickly proves that the Hulk is too mentally incompetent to stand trial; As the judge tries to figure out how to proceed, Reed shows up with his special gun and claims it will change the Hulk into Bruce Banner for good; Instead, it provides the Hulk with the strength to break free and escape. All of this, I found fascinating. Even more fascinating is what Reed Richards did to end the trial. Ballsy and irresponsible at the same time. Fantastic issue!!! Grade: 9.5
SUB-MARINER #51. "Armageddon At Fifty Fathoms Full!" - Script by Bill Everett and Mike Friedrich, art by Bill Everett. Cover pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Frank Giacoia. Prince Namor and his cousin, Namorita, face off against Byrrah and the Badoon!! Last issue, the Sub-Mariner’s landmark 50th issue was written and drawn by the character’s creator, Bill Everette. One of my complaints about that issue was the dialogue; particularly Namor’s. Well, I don’t know if it was a universal complaint, but Mr. Everette is here for the artwork only as Mike Friedrich handles the writing. (There’s a Mike and Gary Friedrich? Any relation?) The Defenders are coming next month and, although I’ve never read those issues, the Badoon return in those pages, if I’m not mistaken. Fun times ahead! As for this issue, overall, it was pretty good. That’s about it. Grade: 7.0
THOR #201. "Resurrection!" - Script by Gerry Conway, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Jim Mooney. Cover pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Vince Colletta. So, it seems that the story is back on track after last issue’s inventory-like tale. Odin has sent Heimdall and Kamorr on an unknown quest. Meanwhile, Hela helps revive Odin, who casts Pluto from Asgard. On Blackworld, Tana Nile tells of how Ego Prime came to be; the origin of Blackworld. Like most Thor stories, this has been just as grand in scale as some of his best stories and I’ve truly been enjoying it. However, this chapter has that “close, but no cigar” feel to it like the previous storyline. Maybe it’s because we’ve seen this quite a few times. Thor gets into this near-apocalyptic adventure where he and the big bad go toe-to-toe only to find that, despite all his power, it’s not enough. Then, Odin shows up with an 11th-hour rescue and explains that all of this was a part of some bigger plan. Odin is really an omnipotent jerk, at times. 😅 Yet, this story isn’t over and maybe it can be redeemed as the Blackworld/Ego Prime subplot kicks in the next issue. Grade: 7.5
• MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #36
• SPECIAL MARVEL EDITION #5
On sale April 18, 1972 AMAZING ADVENTURES #13. "Evil Is All in Your Mind!” - Script by Steve Englehart, pencils by Tom Sutton, inks by Frank Giacoia. Cover by John Romita. Mastermind, having gathered the Blob and Unus the Untouchable to form a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, has used his illusion-casting powers to convince the Beast that he had killed Iron Man, hoping that the horrified mutant would join their group under the impression that he is a murderer. Confronting the Beast as he flees the Brant Corporation headquarters, they are attacked by their would-be recruit. The battle ends when Beast finds himself outmatched and learns that Mastermind only wishes to speak to him. Appealing to the Beast's status as an outcast, Mastermind asks Hank to join their group. The Beast confused and unable to think straight thanks to a combination of his "murder" of Iron Man, and Mastermind's manipulations, agrees to join. This one didn’t go over as well as the first two Beast stories. Another story that’s not bad, but it was average, at best. Grade: 7.0
CONAN THE BARBARIAN #16. I was really confused when I started this because last issue the letter column stated that issue #15 was Barry Smith’s last issue. However, here he is in this issue and his artwork never looked better. However, it was strangely familiar. Then, I realized that it was the story from SAVAGE TALES #1, a reprint. Only, now it’s in color. No need to grade a story that’s already been graded.
MARVEL FEATURE #4. "The Incredible Shrinking Doom!" - Script by Mike Friedrich. Art by Herb Trimpe. Cover by Herb Trimpe. The Defenders are gone and soon to reappear in their own magazine. FEATURE is now the home of Henry Pym who is now the Ant-Man again. The Ant-Man is back and working on a new experimental drug with a university research assistant…Peter Parker! But the duo's science project is put on hold when low-life thugs kidnap Billy Connors! The son of fellow researcher, Dr. Curt Connors (aka the Lizard)! (Funny note: Once again, as in an earlier issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, Billy Connors is called “Bobby” and, poor kid, his own mother calls him “Timmy”. *Sigh*) Anyway, Hank and Peter are outraged and vow to save Billy! So, Ant-Man, Peter, and Orkie embark on a rescue mission to Eagleneck Point! However, these kidnappers are tough and push Hank Pym to the brink! Ant-Man needs help! And fortunately, there's a web-slinger close by! Hilarious moment: Ant-Man manages to rescue Billy with help of Orkie. Who the heck is “Orkie”? Orkie is Pym’s pet dog that is trained to specifically heed the sound of his voice. This means that the dog can operate the pedals of a Jeep while Pym, stuck at ant size, steers the steering wheel. ...😏🙄😀😅😂🤣 Man, I LOVE comics. 😂😂😂 Despite that extremely hokey moment, I enjoyed this issue. Like last month’s ASM, it had a MARVEL TEAM-UP feel to it. Grade: 7.5
RED WOLF #2. “Day of the Dynamite Doom” - Script by Gardner Fox and Roy Thomas, art by Syd Shores. Cover by Gil Kane. Red Wolf tracks a hand of outlaws who plan to steal a shipment of dynamite, and along the way, he tries to save a lost girl who resists his attempts to help her because of her prejudice against Indians. Like the first issue, this one lacked something to make it a great read instead of just a decent read. Note: Syd Shores did an exceptional job on the artwork in this issue. Grade: 6.0
• MY LOVE #18
• RAWHIDE KID #101
• RINGO KID #15
• WHERE MONSTERS DWELL #16
On sale April 25, 1972 CREATURES ON THE LOOSE #18. "Wasteland on a Weirdline World!" starring Gullivar Jones, Warrior of Mars. Script by George Effinger and Gerry Conway, pencils by Ross Andru, inks by Sam Grainger. Cover by Gil Kane. Last issue, Gulliver Jones and a wingman were sacrificed to a giant creature called Phra by the Noltoi aka the Spider-Swarm. The creature doesn’t harm them, however, but takes them to an underwater cavern where he binds them and.....falls asleep?!?!! Gulliver uses his great strength to free himself and the wingman whose name is Chak. While the creature snores, yes that’s mentioned in the book, lol, Gulliver and Chak find some type of oversized computer that gives the history of life on Mars and it came to its barbaric state. Once the creature awakens, he attacks Gulliver and Chak. I found this one a little more interesting than the last issue. I was preparing myself for a few more issues of tedium, but if the next few Gulliver Jones stories maintain this level of quality (not that it’s epic but enjoyable), then it will be quite a bearable read. Grade: 6.5
FANTASTIC FOUR #124. "The Return of the Monster!" - Script by Stan Lee. Pencils by John Buscema. Inks by Joe Sinnott. Cover by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott. As I’ve been on this journey, I’ve tried to keep track of odd little moments that start to form the Marvel Universe that I grew up with, but I missed one. Way back in FF #119, a small change in this book happened that I failed to notice until this issue. The FF got a new logo. Nothing major, but it’s significant to me because their original logo was long gone before I started reading FF stories and I was never really a fan of it. Anyway, the FF's cataclysmic confrontation with Galactus and the Silver Surfer is over! But on the way back to the Baxter Building, Reed collapses from total exhaustion. So, Ben, Sue, and Johnny rush him to the East Side Medical Pavilion for recovery! Ironically, just a few hours earlier a strange monster was reported inside the medical pavilion. Is someone or something stalking the hospital? After the Thing is knocked out and the Invisible Girl is kidnapped, it certainly appears so! Fortunately, though, the ever-present Human Torch is ready to challenge the monster. Three things bother me about this issue. The first one you can probably guess if you’ve ever read any of my reactions. I’m just not a fan of the generic monster that doesn’t speak; although, there is definitely an intelligence to this one. Still, these types of characters bore me. Second, Johnny does some of the dumbest things, at times. Like flying around a hospital to look for the monster. Fortunately, Stan realized this too, and had a doctor chew him out for that brain fart. Finally, the suspension of disbelief was really tested this issue. Johnny’s flagpole save of a falling Reed and Ben’s repairing a hole in the wall by pulling each side closer like elevator doors were ridiculous. Not as bad an issue as I make it sound, but not all that good either. Grade: 6.0
KULL THE CONQUEROR #3. "The Death-Dance of Thulsa Doom" - Script by Roy Thomas, pencils by Marie Severin, inks by John Severin. John Severin cover. The story continues from MONSTERS ON THE PROWL #16. Returning after nearly a year, Kull is back in his own book. Kull and Brule are engaged in a friendly battle as Kull and his subjects celebrate victory over the Serpent-Men. On hand to watch is Thulsa Doom who joined their group in MOTP #16. While Brule is suspicious of Doom, Kull heeds his friend but extends every courtesy until Doom gives him a reason not to. Brule’s people, the Picts, present a beautiful tiger to Kull as it is the Atlantean’s personal sigil. The well-behaved tiger, suddenly, attacks Doom at the sight of him. Kull and Brule kill the tiger, but it raises even more questions about Doom. What Kull doesn’t know is that Doom has one Eye of the Serpent and has plans to steal the other which Kull has. When Doom’s plan to acquire the Eye by using Shiva, one of Kull’s most trusted aids, fails, Doom reveals his true face and takes steps to take it himself. Again, I don’t know why, but I enjoy this book more than Conan’s. This was a really good story, and it shows how badass, both, Kull and Doom are. The Severins are just incredible. BEAUTIFUL artwork!!! Grade: 8.0
MARVEL PREMIERE #3. “While the World Spins Mad!” - Script by Barry Smith (plot) and Stan Lee (dialogue), pencils by Barry Smith, inks by Dan Adkins. Cover pencils by Barry Windsor-Smith, inks by Frank Giacoia. After two issues, Warlock has graduated to his own magazine and in this issue, Dr. Strange returns! Sensing evil, Strange is so focused on seeking it out he's almost hit by a truck. He calls upon The Ancient One, who warns him of the nature of the evil, but is still mystified. Then he finds himself confronted by someone (or something) who takes his own form and tells him he's "already defeated". After facing several maddening images and beings, Dr. Strange deduces that he’s facing his old nemesis, Nightmare. Only when he discovers his oldest enemy is at the bottom of it does he also realize he was hit by the truck--and has been in a hospital bed ever since! On recovering, he erases the memory of the night's events from the doctor's mind, as "Many things there are that mankind must not know..." However, Nightmare isn’t the man behind the curtain, and it appears that we’ll have to wait a while to find out who he is; although, I think I have an idea. Again, a cool story rendered beautifully by Barry Smith. I never knew that he ever worked on a Dr. Strange story and, once again, his style is slightly different from his Conan and Avengers work. Doc’s tenure in this mag is off to a great start. Grade: 8.5
TOMB OF DRACULA #3. "Who Stalks the Vampire?!" - Written by Archie Goodwin. Art by Gene Colan and Tom Palmer. Cover by Gil Kane. Frank Drake acquires new allies in his quest to destroy Dracula, but they will all soon learn that the Lord of vampires is no ordinary adversary. 1st appearance of Rachel Van Helsing. This is shaping up to be pretty good and the book still hasn’t hit its stride yet. I’ll definitely stay with this title as it is, so far, surprisingly better than I thought it would be. Grade: 8.0
• SGT FURY #100
• TWO-GUN KID #105
10.0 = Classic (rarely given)
9.0 – 9.5 = Excellent
8.0 – 5.5 = Very Good
7.0 – 7.5 = Good
6.0 – 6.5 = Above Average
5.0 – 5.5 = Average
4.0 – 4.5 = Below Average
3.0 – 3.5 = Poor
2.0 – 2.5 = Very Poor
1.0 – 1.5 = Utter Shite
0.0 – 0.5 = Not worth the paper it’s printed on
So, there you have it. The 17 books that I read have a 7.4 average which makes it a good month. Somewhat disappointing outings from FANTASTIC FOUR and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, books that usually grade high, brought the average down this month. I’m sure that they will bounce back next month. Speaking of “next month”, THE DEFENDERS #1, WARLOCK #1, and the debut of Johnny Blaze, the Ghost Rider!! As always, thank you for your support. Make sure that you let me know what you like, but more importantly, what you don’t or what you would like to see tweaked a little. Until then, take care, everyone.
Top 5 Books of the Month:
1. INCREDIBLE HULK #153
2. CAPTAIN AMERICA & THE FALCON #151
3. IRON MAN #48
4. KULL THE CONQUEROR #3
5. TOMB OF DRACULA #3
Top 5 Covers of the Month:
1. AVENGERS #102
2. MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #5
3. THOR #202
4. WARLOCK #1
5. CONAN THE BARBARIAN #17 |
|
|
|
Post by kirby101 on Jan 13, 2023 13:06:26 GMT -5
This really brings me back Mike. I am in my first year of reading almost every new Marvel off the spinner rack. I can't be objective due to the nostalgic joy every one of these issues gives me.
|
|
|
|
Post by Rob Allen on Jan 14, 2023 5:24:52 GMT -5
This really brings me back Mike. I am in my first year of reading almost every new Marvel off the spinner rack. I can't be objective due to the nostalgic joy every one of these issues gives me. I'm in the same situation. This was a great era to be a comics fan. |
|
