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Post by Myke Gee on Apr 23, 2023 7:59:43 GMT -5
Part Two of my review of the Marvel Universe 1961 - 1973. I hope you enjoy it.
*** ORIGINALLY POSTED ON FACEBOOK ON DECEMBER 12, 2020 *** Good morning, everyone. Last week, I decided to post my opinions on Marvel’s individual series that I’ve read over the last three years. Yes. I’ve spent the last three years reading the Marvel Universe from FANTASTIC FOUR #1! So far, that’s August 1961 through December 1973!! This week, I’ll continue with a few more. Next up…
***** AMAZING FANTASY #15/AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1-130
Everyone likes Spider-Man, right? (At least, I think that everyone does…) Growing up, I was a huge fan of the 1960s cartoon. So, you would think that I would buy ASM, right? Wrong. I got my Spider-Man fix from MARVEL TEAM-UP because I’m a huge fan of super teams and team-ups. So, this series starts in early June 1962 in the final issue of what was called AMAZING ADULT FANTASY. Hmm…sounds a bit risqué for those days. With issue #15, the “ADULT” was dropped, and it debuted the Web-Slinger. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko just made history! AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 hit the stands in December of 1962 and that history continued. ASM #1-38 featured some of the most legendary Spider-Man stories ever. It is during this run that the greatest of Spidey’s Rogue’s Gallery was introduced. Dr. Octopus, the Vulture, Electro, the Green Goblin, Mysterio, the Sandman, and many others all debuted during this period. Spidey, also, had his first meetings with the Human Torch and Daredevil in these days. After #38, Ditko was gone and in comes, yet, another Marvel legend, John Romita Sr. This is why I say “go jump” to ALL the Stan-bashers who claim that he never wrote anything. He and Romita collaborated on some of the greatest Spider-Man stories ever told. The highlight, for me, was The Tablet Saga. Incredible story!!! What I’ve witnessed over 131 issues, plus a couple of Annuals, is the most consistently well-written series that, maybe, I’ve ever read. I am hard press to find a bad issue in this run!! (Well, there were the Kangaroo and the Gibbon stories, lol, and those weren’t really bad bad. Just not my favorites) So, up to this point, I’ve got to give this series a… Grade: 10
***** JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #83-125/THOR #126-221
If you had a quarter in your pocket on June 5, 1962, and you happened to pass a spinner rack on that day, you could have bought the first appearance of TWO Marvel mainstays: the Amazing Spider-Man and the Mighty Thor!! As legendary as the Mighty Thor is, his early issues were far from that. In fact, they were, nearly, unreadable. I understand that Marvel, as a company, was still finding its footing and that was never more evident than with this title. Stan, Jack, and Larry Leiber did JIM #83, and Lee and Leiber co-wrote stories up to issue #91 with Kirby drawing the book intermittently. Otherwise, Joe Sinnott, Don Heck, and Leiber would handle the artwork. Robert Bernstein (Under the name “Robert Bern”) co-wrote issues #92-96 along with Stan. Bottom line is that those were the issues that were hard to bear. A lot of DC Comics-like stuff going on. I’m still trying to get over the moment that Thor’s hammer “tingled” like a spider-sense, lol!! With issue #97, Lee took over the writing chores alone and the book got a lot better. Jack joined him permanently with issue #101. Chic Stone was the inker. Some really good stories came on this run, but the definitive creative team was Lee, Kirby, and Vince Colletta. Yes, I said Vince Colletta!!! LOL!!! My only gripe about the J.I.M. era was the number of times Thor fought Loki. Some great villains had been established during this era like the Growing Man, the Grey Gargoyle, Cobra and Mr. Hyde, the Radioactive Man, and others. That team continued the greatness in Thor’s own book, and they started doing multi-part mega epics that are some of the most classic Thor sagas. When Kirby left Marvel, Lee wrote a handful of Thor stories with John Buscema handling the artwork and they were all fantastic!! Again, that’s why I just roll my eyes at the Stan-bashers because he continued writing good stories even after he was separated from Ditko and Kirby. Next up was Gerry Conway with issue #193. Conway, by no means, is a bad writer, but something was missing with his Thor stories. Maybe it’s just that Lee, Kirby, and Colletta set the bar so high, that even good stories pale in comparison. I don’t know. This book, somewhat, parallels the FF series in that it had a rocky start, then achieved epic status, and finally, a drop in quality, but still consistently good. Honestly, I was never a fan of solo Thor stories, but this venture has changed my mind. Grade: 8.5
***** TALES OF SUSPENSE #39-99/IRON MAN #1-67
There was a brief discussion in the group (or somewhere) that, until the MCU, Iron Man was not an A-list character. Let’s examine that. Personally, I was stunned to read that. Then, I read his stint in TOS and, later, in his own book. Like a few Marvel books, back then, there was a huge anti-communism theme going on and Iron Man seems to be the hero created specifically to fight that threat. Some of his oldest foes were the Crimson Dynamo, the Red Barbarian, and his arch-nemesis, the Mandarin, who was such a goofy character, I had an awfully hard time taking him seriously. I mean, he had 10 enormously powerful rings, but always wanted to fight Iron Man with martial arts, lol!!! His stint in TOS was particularly good, but, outside of his epic battle with the Titanium Man, he didn’t have many epic stories, in my opinion. He did have some great supporting characters like “Happy” Hogan, “Pepper” Potts, and Sen. Harrington Byrd; somewhat of a precursor to Henry Peter Gyrich, but nowhere near as A-hole-ish. However, this series did give us Hawkeye and the Black Widow. In 1968, Iron Man graduated to his own series with Captain America’s series continuing the numeration of TOS. In his solo series, it was more of the same, in my eyes. A lot of good stories, and maybe a couple of great ones here and there. But nothing epic. I may even go so far as to say that the definitive Iron Man story wasn’t written until Michelinie/Romita Jr/Layton era. Apparently, the powers-that-be and the readers share this assessment of the series because, by the end of 1973, IRON MAN has been relegated to bi-monthly status. So, I guess, in those days, Iron Man, an Avengers mainstay and one of the team’s “Big Three”, was indeed not an A-list character and not an A-list series, as well. Grade: 7.5
***** AVENGERS #1-121
If ever there was a “highly anticipated” series, for me, this was it. THE AVENGERS was one of the books that made me fall in love with comics. As I delved into the beginning of this series, like the FF, I was a little disappointed. Again, once I got past the way comics were written back then, I realized that the stories were good, but quickly became formulaic. Gone quickly was the Hulk and in came Captain America. The team had some good adventures, but nothing that was mind-blowing. Then came Cap’s Kooky Quartet. This was a very bold move. The whole super-team dynamic was completely tossed out the window. No flyer. No strong guy. No energy projector. Nothing that the other current teams had. What they lacked in raw power, they made up for with teamwork. While this worked for a while, by issue #28, Giant-Man (now Goliath) and, eventually, the Wasp returned and added some much-needed power to the team. Even for a comic book, it was asking a lot to accept that Cap’s lineup could beat the likes of Dr. Doom, Attuma, and even boring ol’ Kang. Even Hercules and the Black Knight joined for short stints. More really good stories came with that lineup, but, they were quickly gone, and in came the Black Panther. In MY mind, the Avengers became THE Avengers when the Vision was introduced in issue #57. It was this lineup and this era that made the AVENGERS a great book. Further tweaks were Hank Pym adopting the Yellow Jacket I.D. and Hawkeye becoming the new Goliath. This led to fabulous stories that included the Squadron Supreme, Arkon the Magnificent, and the amazing and legendary Kree-Skrull War. Marvel’s milestone issues, obviously, were not a big deal back then and they left a lot to be desired (see FF #100, DAREDEVIL #100, etc.). AVENGERS #100 was no different. While not as bad as the others, it did subject us to Hawkeye’s new costume and the book seemed like it was looking for its new direction. The Sentinels, the Grim Reaper, and Magneto all provided great stories, but it was The Avengers/Defenders Clash that gave this book yet another epic, legendary tale. As the early 70s continues, so does the greatness as Zodiac proved to be a very formidable opponent for the team (although, I don’t know how, lol!!). Great stuff to end the year. Overall, the AVENGERS has been a great series. Having two legendary tales help and, honestly, since I’m writing this from memory, I probably forgot a couple. With that, I still give this series a…..Grade: 9.0
***** X-MEN #1-66
The X-Men’s original run was the very definition of “hit or miss”. Yet, another series that I genuinely wanted to love mainly because of my fondness for the “All-New, All-Different” team. The series starts off by introducing the team’s arch nemesis Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Such simpler times back then that a name like that would fly. Everything was so absolute. Black & white, good & evil. The series, also, introduced the not-so-evil Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. One more thing that it introduced was the easiest origin story that you can give a character. Mutants: people that were born with their powers. The fear and hatred of mutants were there in those days, but not at the level it was in the late 70s/early 80s. What struck me was the C-level list of villains that came through this book. When I read UNCANNY X-MEN #138, “Elegy”, I thought that those villains played a major role in the team’s lives, but some of them were seen only once. Magneto and the Juggernaut were, probably, the two with the highest profile. Others like Mekano and El Tigre were Snoresville. Grotesk had potential, I thought, but you don’t see him again until the MS. MARVEL series. Even the Steranko issues didn’t do much for me as I’ve concluded that he’s a far better artist than a writer (see next week’s TALES OF SUSPENSE/CAPTAIN AMERICA review for more on that). Truly, the highlight of this series was the Roy Thomas/Neal Adams/Tom Palmer run from issue #56 through #63. After suffering so many Werner Roth issues, Steranko and Adams were Godsends. Unfortunately (artistically for Steranko, at least), both runs were noticeably short. After #63, Adams left for an issue and we were subjected to Don Heck. Adams Returned the next issue, but Thomas was gone. Thomas was back in #66 and Adams was gone once again and, apparently, so were the fans and the powers-that-be’s patience. The X-MEN wasn’t canceled but it was relegated to a bi-monthly reprint book and that’s what it remains as of December 1973. Some really great moments in this series like the Factor Three story arc and the battles with the Juggernaut. Otherwise, it was an above-average series with rare moments of grandeur. Grade: 7.0
***** Next up: STRANGE TALES/DR. STRANGE VOL. 1, STRANGE TALES/S.H.I.E.L.D., DAREDEVIL, TALES OF SUSPENSE/CAPTAIN AMERICA, TALES TO ASTONISH/INCREDIBLE HULK and TALES TO ASTONISH/SUB-MARINER. See ya, then, and take care. |
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Post by Myke Gee on Apr 23, 2023 11:41:23 GMT -5
When I started this project, I would normally take a month off from reviewing before starting a new year of comics. I've always wanted to do a Year in Review post, but at this point, I was 11 years into the project. However, I decided to say to heck with it and review each series that I read up to this point. From here on, there will be a Year in Review post at the end of each year. For now, I hope that you enjoy my review of these series. This is Part Four. I hope that you enjoy it.
*** ORIGINALLY POSTED ON FACEBOOK ON DECEMBER 26, 2020 *** Good morning, everyone!!! I hope that everyone had an incredibly happy holiday!!! Here is Pt. 4 of my review of the Marvel Comics series that I’ve read since I started with FANTASTIC FOUR #1. These reviews cover the time frame of August 1961 to December 1973. I hope that you enjoy it.
*****
TALES TO ASTONISH #70-101/SUB-MARINER #1-69
First off, I’ve never been a fan of the Sub-Mariner. I never cared for his haughty and bitchy attitude. So, needless to say, this is another series that I was dreading reading as I got closer to it. Also, needless to say, his stint in TALES TO ASTONISH was another pleasant surprise. So much so that dread turned to anticipation every week as I was reading these books. While the Hulk was still being fleshed out in TTA, Namor was, pretty much, established. His many guest appearance as the bad guy took care of that. Yet, in those later guest appearances, he was being turned from the role of the heavy to that of an anti-hero. My only gripe with the TTA stories is that he constantly faced poor man’s versions of himself who were always after his throne. Characters like the warlord Krang and Lord Byrrah were ok, but I needed more in the Rogue’s Gallery department. Don’t even start me on bringing the Plunderer in as an antagonist. That guy’s been Snoresville from the start. Even still, it was a great run, and the character deserved his own title. I failed to mention this in the IRON MAN review, but the next appearance for Namor was the IRON MAN AND SUB-MARINER one-shot. Look at it like TALES OF SUSPENSE #100 and TALES TO ASTONISH #102, respectively, for those characters. Now that he’s in his own book, things started off fantastic! His obligatory origin story comes in issue #1 and the obvious team-up of him and Triton the Inhuman comes in the next issue, of course. Villains like Attuma and the introduction of one of my all-time favorite villains, Tiger Shark, get this series rolling with some great stories and ups the ante in the villain department. There’s even a Namor/Thing battle. Then, here comes the Karthon the Questors and the Krustatos’ of the aquatic underworld. Who the Hell are these dweebs?!! This was to be the staple of his solo book from this point. Some really great stories followed by some average to below-average tales. The absolute highlight of this series was the introduction of Llyra and the death of Lady Dorma in issue #37. That one still makes me grin it was so good. Afterward, it’s back to the doldrums. Even his battle with Dr. Doom and M.O.D.O.K. was just ok. Oh yeah, one of my other favorite things about this series is the introduction of Stringray. LOVE that character!! As of this writing, I’m up to issue #69, the book is bi-monthly with only 3 issues left until it’s canceled. Overall, despite the hit-or-miss title that it became in the end, this was a particularly good series. Grade: 8.0
*****
MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #12-20/CAPTAIN MARVEL #1-31
MARVEL SUPER-HEROES originally started as a reprint book called FANTASY MASTERPIECES. With issue #12, it turned into what I can only describe as a “try-out book”. This lasted for only 9 issues, and it introduced the Phantom Eagle (#16), the Guardians of the Galaxy (#18), Carol Danvers (#12), and, of course, Captain Mar-Vell (#12). Captain Marvel got a two-issue stay in the book before graduating to his own series. The other five issues featured lead stories with Spider-Man (#14) (which made no sense to me for obvious reasons), Medusa (#15), the Black Knight (#17), Ka-Zar (#19), and Dr. Doom (#20). The best of that lot was the Black Knight story which was another pleasant surprise because the Knight is another hero that does nothing for me. With issue #21, MSH became a reprint book again. CAPTAIN MARVEL hit the stands two months after his second appearance in MSH #13. Boy was the fleshing out of this series an extremely slow burn. The first four or five issues were decent, but this was a rudderless ship if I’ve ever seen one. They tried experimenting with his powers and even that wasn’t interesting. What was hilarious about that period was that he got those new powers from “the great and powerful OZ”, lol!!! Actually, the mysterious being was called Zo, but that was just a really lame period in this book. With issue #17 comes the new, iconic costume, but the same drab and dull stories. After issue #21, the book was either canceled or placed on hiatus for two years. Issue #22 comes, and the same old dull stories came with it. Then with issue #24…Starlin!!! The Thanos War begins this issue and, as a bi-monthly book, continues as of this writing. It’s a shame that Starlin has only three issues left because, as I said in the CAPTAIN AMERICA review about Steve Englehart, Jim Starlin wrote the definitive version of this character the likes of which were never seen again since he left the book. Starlin’s tenure ups the final grade some, but, overall, this book was the definition of dry. Grade: 7.0
*****
AMAZING ADVENTURES VOL. 2, #1-23
Just as THE SILVER SURFER was canceled and CAPTAIN MARVEL was put on time out, Marvel debuted four new series in two books. Yep, the split books were back! AMAZING ADVENTURES featured the Inhumans and the Black Widow and ASTONISHING TALES gave us Ka-Zar and Dr. Doom. However, both books dropped the split book format after eight issues. More on AT in a moment. The first eight issues of AA featured some rather unspectacular stories from both stars. The Black Widow, in particular, was quite the disappointment. I remember liking the first story, but after that, it was a dull affair, indeed. They just never seemed to know what to do with her and after issue #8, she was gone. The Inhumans weren’t that much better but enough to keep them on for a little while longer. “A little while longer…” meaning two more issues. I guess changing the featured characters’ title to Black Bolt and the Inhumans wasn’t enough. At least we got some Neal Adams art for a couple of issues. The next seven issues featured the bombastic Beast. This is the series where he mutated into the blue (originally black) and furry character that we all know and love. However, he was a bit different in those issues. He was a bit more powerful, complete with a healing factor that went away. (He was shot with rifles, and it just healed up.) Further fleshing out would have to take place in the AVENGERS because his tenure ended with issue #17. His tenure kind of reminds me of the original six issues of THE HULK, but in the opposite way, sort of. Both books constantly tinkered with the character’s abilities, but the Hulk got more powerful and the Beast less. Issues 18-23 feature the early adventures of Killraven, Warrior of the Worlds and he will remain its star until it is canceled. Set in a post-Apocalyptic future, Killraven fights to free Earth from the Martian takeover. A few different writers to start this has the book, somewhat, all over the place. But the arrival of Don McGregor will settle it down into a more cohesive series. Overall, this book tried some things that didn’t work out, but I applaud the effort to give some lesser-known characters the spotlight. Grade: 6.0
*****
ASTONISHING TALES #1-23
Like its sister title, AMAZING ADVENTURES, this book featured two characters: Ka-Zar, whom I feel that Marvel was really pushing in those days, and…Dr. Doom?!! Hmm…a villain as the feature character. Of course, my shock is feigned because I remember that DC Comics had THE JOKER and KOBRA; although, Doom’s feature was before theirs. Like the Black Widow, Doom didn’t last long in the book. However, his stories were much more interesting than the Widow’s. But that really isn’t saying much. Interesting to me that a character dripping with egocentric charisma would be so insipid as a headliner. At least his last story was really good. Ka-Zar was now the sole star of the book as of issue #9. Evidently, he was popular enough to remain and, eventually, be awarded his own title. While I’m, somewhat, enjoying his solo series, I was never blown away by his tenure in AT. There were some good stories, but nothing great, in my opinion. But I guess that the fans and the powers that be disagreed and, after issue #20, off to his own book he goes. The next four issues featured It, the Living Colossus. I remember having the first issue of that mini-run. Along with MARVEL TEAM-UP #25, it was one of the earliest comics that I remember owning and it was one of the books that made me love comics. Reading it and the next two issues, I came to realize that 9-year-old Micheal Graham was easily entertained, lol!!! They weren’t that bad, really, but the nostalgic 1950s sci-fi feel wears thin pretty quickly. As of this writing, there is one more issue of It, the Living Colossus, then it’s the debut of Deathlok the Demolisher. Overall, this book grades out slightly better than AMAZING ADVENTURES because Ka-Zar and Dr. Doom’s stories were slightly better than the Inhumans and the Black Widow’s. It, the Living Colossus nearly brought back down, though, lol!!! Grade: 6.5
*****
SGT. FURY & HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS
As I’ve said on numerous occasions: I read comics for superheroes. I make no apologies for this because, ever since I saw Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, and Aquaman on TV in cartoons, I’ve been in love with capes and boots ever since, lol!! So, this title was my first foray into war comics. Like the sword & sorcery, westerns, and horror/sci-fi genres, I had no interest in war comics. But this one had Nick Fury, so I had to, at least, check it out. I really tried with this series, but it just did nothing for me. I bailed on this series somewhere around issue 20-something. At the behest of Todd Taylor, I did read issue #75 which dealt with what we now call PTSD, and I loved that issue, but not enough to continue with the series. As of this writing, the book is up to issue #118 (shows how long ago I bailed) and is a bi-monthly book that alternates between reprints and new stories. This series just didn’t work for me at all. Grade: 4.5
*****
THE SILVER SURFER Vol. 1, #1-18
I was really curious about this series because I’ve never read one issue or seen anything from it outside of the covers; especially issue #4. That’s nearly a weekly posting in this group, lol!!! It was in this series that we learn more about the Surfer and how his servitude to Galactus came to be. Shalla Bal and Zenn-La were both introduced in issue #1. (For some reason, I thought that they mentioned them in The Coming of Galactus trilogy) This series was, also, very hit-or-miss. I think that’s because of what I feel was Stan’s biggest mistake: keeping the Surfer trapped on Earth. There’s not much here that could challenge his power. Since he couldn’t leave and face more worthy adversaries, worthy adversaries were brought to him in the form of Thor, the Stranger, and the introduction of Mephisto. If the Surfer had anything close to an archenemy, it would be Mephisto. Yet, Stan didn’t follow the previous pattern of having archenemies fight numerous times. Instead, he had the Surfer spend most of his time brooding and speaking in overly melodramatic soliloquies. I wanted this series to be much better than it was, but alas, it was just above average. Grade: 6.5
*****
CONAN THE BARBARIAN
I figured that I’d throw in my thoughts on this series as I really did give it a try. As stated ad nauseum, the sword & sorcery genre really isn’t my thing. But the Conan book is legendary. Iconic, even. So, I had to give it a shot, at least. Well, the only thing that was accomplished here is the re-affirming of the sword & sorcery not being my thing. For some reason, I had moments of “Wow!!! This is really good!!” to “*Sssiiiighh* I’m only on page three?!!”, lol!! All the weird names and characters rarely moved the needle for me. However, I really enjoyed the Elric story. Also, I got tired of seeing him fight a giant *insert animal here*. You name the creature; he fought a giant version of it. To end on a positive note, if there was one thing that I absolutely loved about the series is the incredible progression of Barry Smith’s artwork. It went from good to stunning rather quickly. He was, pretty much, the main reason that I lasted as long as I did. When he was gone after issue #18, so was I. Grade: 5.0
***** Next up: the conclusion featuring MARVEL PREMIERE, MARVEL SPOTLIGHT, MARVEL TEAM-UP, WARLOCK, Marvel Horror books, and a few others.
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Post by chaykinstevens on Apr 26, 2023 2:13:14 GMT -5
WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #11. “Comes the Hangman!” - Written by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Don Perlin. This not-so-special character is saved by an interesting story and nice artwork from Kane and Sutton. So was the inker Perlin or Sutton? |
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Post by chaykinstevens on Apr 26, 2023 14:26:03 GMT -5
FEAR #20.
Someone fact-check me if I’m wrong, but I believe that this is Gulacy’s first work for Marvel. This was Gulacy's first published Marvel work, but he said in an interview that he'd done some earlier work for the black and white magazines. A story in Dracula Lives #9 may have been one of these early efforts, unless it was just Mike Esposito's inking that made the art look rough. VAMPIRE TALES #3. "The Collection” Written by Bhob Stewart, pencils by Paul Reinman, inks by Russ Jones and Bhob Stewart (backgrounds). GCD says the last panel was re-written and re-drawn without consultation, and Bhob (short for Rhobert?) Stewart never submitted another story to Marvel after this. MARVEL TEAM-UP #18. "Where Bombs the Bomb!" - Written by Len Wein. Pencils by Gil Kane. Inks by Mike Esposito and Frank Giacoia. The actual title of the story was Where Bursts the Bomb, which was just as well, given Blastaar wasn't known as the living bombbomb. |
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Post by Myke Gee on Apr 26, 2023 18:15:21 GMT -5
WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #11. “Comes the Hangman!” - Written by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Don Perlin. This not-so-special character is saved by an interesting story and nice artwork from Kane and Sutton. So was the inker Perlin or Sutton? Sutton. Don't know why I wrote Perlin. |
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Post by Myke Gee on Apr 26, 2023 18:23:16 GMT -5
FEAR #20.
Someone fact-check me if I’m wrong, but I believe that this is Gulacy’s first work for Marvel. This was Gulacy's first published Marvel work, but he said in an interview that he'd done some earlier work for the black and white magazines. A story in Dracula Lives #9 may have been one of these early efforts, unless it was just Mike Esposito's inking that made the art look rough. VAMPIRE TALES #3. "The Collection” Written by Bhob Stewart, pencils by Paul Reinman, inks by Russ Jones and Bhob Stewart (backgrounds). GCD says the last panel was re-written and re-drawn without consultation, and Bhob (short for Rhobert?) Stewart never submitted another story to Marvel after this. MARVEL TEAM-UP #18. "Where Bombs the Bomb!" - Written by Len Wein. Pencils by Gil Kane. Inks by Mike Esposito and Frank Giacoia. The actual title of the story was Where Bursts the Bomb, which was just as well, given Blastaar wasn't known as the living bombbomb. So, this mistake I can explain, LOL!!! Most of the credits and issue blurbs are cut and paste jobs. That's what mycomicshop.com had as the story title. So, I guess I'm a bad editor, lol!!!
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Post by Myke Gee on Apr 26, 2023 18:25:19 GMT -5
*** ORIGINALLY POSTED ON FACEBOOK ON NOVEMBER 21, 2020 *** NOVEMBER 1973 (Cover Dated: February 1974)
Good morning, all!! It’s the penultimate month of 1973 and Marvel isn’t coming close to slowing down. Here are my thoughts on the Marvel Comics published the month of November 1973.
On sale October 30, 1973
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #129. "The Punisher Strikes Twice!" - Written by Gerry Conway. Pencils by Ross Andru. Inks by Frank Giacoia and Dave Hunt (backgrounds). Cover by Gil Kane and John Romita. One of the landmark issues of the bronze age! The Punisher, the legendary gun-toting vigilante, makes his first appearance in the Marvel Universe! And his first target...is none other than your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! But before Frank Castle can locate the web-slinger, he needs directions from a mysterious new super-villain called the Jackal! Once the dastardly Jackal tells the sharpshooting anti-hero where to find the wall-crawler, the inaugural battle between the Punisher and the Amazing Spider-Man erupts! The first of many classic confrontations! Another iconic story that I’m reading for the first time. Of course, I know quite a bit about the Punisher, but I know absolutely nothing about the Jackal aside from his true identity. Can’t wait for the next part because this was fun! Grade: 8.5
CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON #170. “J'Accuse” - Written by Steve Englehart and Mike Friedrich, pencils by Sal Buscema, inks by Vince Colletta. Gil Kane/John Romita Sr. cover. The Star-Spangled Avenger finds himself on the other side of the law in this issue! Find out why Captain America is a wanted criminal! Plus, the Black Panther helps design a spiffy new costume for the Falcon. I feel like this book is losing just a little bit of its steam. (Maybe it’s because Englehart is just plotting, now) Fortunately, it has some steam to give. No shame in dropping from an excellent book to a great one (according to my grading scale, anyway). So yeah, another great story from a book that I was about to drop. Grade: 8.5
THOR #220. "Behold! The Land of Doom!" - Written by Gerry Conway, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Mike Esposito. Cover pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Dan Adkins. Entering the chief planet of the Black Stars, which are greedily eating up galaxies for fuel, Thor and his companions must stop these destructive giant beings and free the androids that they have enslaved. Well, this was a letdown. Once again, Conway spends the previous few issues building up the drama for the big payoff. Only this time, it doesn’t come. Thor was barely a factor in this story’s outcome. That’s kind of refreshing, but at least, make the alternative interesting. A subpar ending to a fairly entertaining story. Grade: 6.5
• DEAD OF NIGHT #2
• KULL THE DESTROYER #12
• TWO-GUN KID #116
• VAULT OF EVIL #9
• X-MEN #86
On sale November 6, 1973
ASTONISHING TALES #22. “...We, the Gargoyles!” - Written by Tony Isabella, pencils by Dick Ayers and Jack Kirby, inks by Dick Ayers. Cover art by John Romita. Flashback story of Gorgolla reprised from STRANGE TALES #74 - “Gorgolla! The Living Gargoyle!!” Lord Granitor is finally able to leave Stonus Five and go to conquer Earth. Magnor, who is among a rebel group of Gargoyles on Earth, warns Bob O'Bryan of the coming invasion. Bob takes over the body of It, the Living Colossus to try to stop Lord Granitor. Editorial about the origins of It, the Living Colossus. Not bad. This series continues to capture the spirit of 1950s sci-fi films. I really want to like this series more because the 8-year-old me loved the last issue. However, the 55-year-old me thinks that it’s decent and nothing more. Grade: 7.0
AVENGERS #120. "Death-Stars of the Zodiac!" - Written by Steve Englehart. Pencils by Bob Brown. Inks by Don Heck. Cover by Jim Starlin and Frank Giacoia. The Gemini twins of the Zodiac use their joint powers to create a death ray that will kill every NYC citizen born under a specific star sign. The Avengers must stop the Zodiac crime cartel before it’s too late. I’ve never been a fan of this incarnation of the Zodiac Cartel. Honestly, I’ve never read many stories with them, but something about them activated my “cornball sense” because they just came off as corny, to me. I’ve got to admit, they were pretty badass in this issue. Definitely looking forward to the next chapter of this story. Grade: 8.5
FEAR #20. "Morbius the Living Vampire!" - Written by Mike Friedrich, pencils by Paul Gulacy, inks by Jack Abel. Gil Kane cover pencils. The first issue starring Morbius the Living Vampire! Now a vagrant wandering the streets of Los Angeles, Morbius is reminded of his eternal condition after feasting on a young woman. Cameos by Spider-Man and the Human Torch. Brief X-Men appearance. Reprint backup story: "Midnight in the Wax Museum!" with art by Richard Doxsee. Morbius takes over the series from the Man-Thing. Pretty good start even though I’ve read this before, but don’t remember a thing about it. Someone fact-check me if I’m wrong, but I believe that this is Gulacy’s first work for Marvel. Whether it is or not, he’s definitely not the artist that he will go on to be, at this point. I’ve seen him and Abel together on MASTER OF KUNG FU and this issue flashes some hints of what’s to come, but barely. Grade: 7.5
GHOST RIDER VOL. 2, #4. "Death Stalks Demolition Derby!" - Written by Gary Friedrich. Art by Jim Mooney and Vince Colletta. Cover by John Romita, Sr. The Ghost Rider is an unstoppable supernatural force, but at sunrise, he reverts back to Johnny Blaze and discovers that the injuries he sustained have returned. But he won't have long to dwell as the Spirit of Vengeance is needed to stop an assassin from taking the life of a Las Vegas demolition derby driver. One of the better Ghost Rider stories. These earlier issues really haven’t knocked my socks off, but this was pretty entertaining. Grade: 7.0
MAN-THING #2. "Nowhere to Go but Down!" - Written by Steve Gerber. Art by Val Mayerik and Sal Trapani. Young Richard Rory is down on his luck after facing a gator attack in the Florida swamps. But his innocence grants him the protection of Man-Thing! F. A. Schist advances his plan of building an airport- a plan that involves the destruction of Man-Thing. Kind of a goofy story that involves a loser, a biker gang, and a poor man’s version of Murderworld to kill the Man-Thing. Even the ending was kinda goofy, but believe it or not, I enjoyed the Hell out of this goofy story! 😆 Grade: 8.0
POWER MAN #17. "Rich Man: Iron Man, Power Man: Thief!" - Written by Len Wein. Art by George Tuska and Billy Graham. A man in a suit and tie comes as a representative for Tony Stark to hire Luke Cage to test the security at Stark International. This puts Power Man in direct conflict with Stark's bodyguard, the Invincible Iron Man. Plus, what happens when Shell-Head reveals that nobody at Stark International hired Cage? Can these two iron-fisted heroes stop beating on each other long enough to catch the culprit behind it all? NOTE: This is the first issue to be titled POWER MAN. Yet another comic that I owned as a kid and don’t remember much about it. I remember the broad strokes, but that’s it. At any rate, I’ve read it again and thoroughly enjoyed it. I got a superhero slugfest out of it, so of course I liked it. Grade: 8.0
VAMPIRE TALES #3. Painted cover art by Luis Dominguez. "The Kiss of Death” - Written by Gerry Conway, art by Esteban Maroto. Satana, the Daughter of the Devil, fights a group of people whose fighting against the cultists of Satan. "The Collection” Written by Bhob Stewart, pencils by Paul Reinman, inks by Russ Jones and Bhob Stewart (backgrounds). "Don't Try to Outsmart the Devil” Written by Stan Lee, pencils by Carmine Infantino. An evil man makes a bargain with Satan that his heart will never stop beating so that he will live forever, but Satan merely arranges it so that his heart continues to beat after his body has rotted away. "Bat's Belfry” Written by Don McGregor, art by Vicente Alcazar. Adapted from August Derleth's first published short story. "Vampires in Time and Space" one-page story, written by Tony Isabella, and art by Pablo Marcos. "Demon Fire” Written by Don McGregor, pencils by Rich Buckler, inks by Klaus Janson. Morbius fights a spider-demon that likes to suck out the insides of its victims. Fortunately, for Morbius, the pseudo-vampire disagrees with the spider-demon. It dies and the cult HQ it was living in collapses. This issue starts with an intriguing tale starring Satana. It’s a short teaser that’s longer than her introductory feature, but not quite a full-length story. Interesting enough to make you want more. Maroto artwork is stunning! Grade: 8.0. In between that and the Morbius story are 3 short stories with great artwork, but not my cup of tea. On to Morbius: I didn’t really pay attention to who wrote this, but about three pages into it, I realized something. So, I go back to the credits and, of course, it’s McGregor. The man does not believe in dialogue. Even still, his battle against the cult reached a satisfying ending. “Satisfying” is about the best compliment that I can give it. Grade: 7.0
• CONAN THE BARBARIAN #35
• MARVEL DOUBLE FEATURE #2
On sale November 13, 1973
DEFENDERS #12. “The Titan Strikes Back!” - Written by Len Wein, pencils by Sal Buscema (layouts) and Jack Abel (finished art), inks by Jack Abel. Cover art by John Romita. When Xemnu the Titan takes out the Hulk, it's up to the might of the Defenders to defeat the alien menace. Despite the incredible Avengers/Defenders Clash storyline, like IRON MAN, THE DEFENDERS is also a bi-monthly book, now. I know that both will return to monthly status and great stories like this will be the reason why. Grade: 8.5
FANTASTIC FOUR #143. "The Terrible Triumph of Doctor Doom!" - Written by Gerry Conway. Pencils by Rich Buckler. Inks by Frank Giacoia. Cover by Gil Kane and Joe Sinnott. Victor Von Doom crashes his college reunion and captures Mr. Fantastic and Medusa! And now the Latverian monarch is set to unleash Operation Babel (and the vibration bomb) on Earth's population! The rocket-launched bomb will destroy the personality of every person on the globe and transform them into a mindless subject of Doctor Doom! However, the FF's long-time foe may have made a critical mistake by bringing Darkoth and Ben Grimm back from the Balkans in order to witness his stateside triumph! Could there be a traitor in the midst? Meanwhile, in upstate New York, Wyatt Wingfoot and Johnny Storm run into trouble with the local police and end up in jail. Doom and his schemes...😂 While most of them are kind of hair-brained (like this one, lol), he always makes for a fun story. Only Thanos rivals him in arrogance, but that’s one of the things that makes him so likable. Grade: 8.5
MARVEL TEAM-UP #18. "Where Bursts the Bomb!" - Written by Len Wein. Pencils by Gil Kane. Inks by Mike Esposito and Frank Giacoia. Cover by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia. The Human Torch, Wyatt Wingfoot, and the Hulk battle Blastaar, the Living Bomb-Burst! This one was a lot of fun. It was good to lose Spidey for a month. As I’ve been on this journey, I’ve become less of a Human Torch fan, but I still enjoyed this story. Also, it’s always good to see Blastaar! Grade: 8.0
SPECIAL MARVEL EDITION #16. “Midnight Brings Dark Death!” - Written by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin (co-plot), pencils by Jim Starlin (layouts, credited as "artist"), Al Milgrom (finished art, credited as "co-artist"), inks by Al Milgrom. Cover art by Jim Starlin. Shang-Chi reunites with M'Nai, an old friend, but the circumstances are less than ideal -- M'Nai has been ordered by Fu Manchu to assassinate Shang-Chi! The final issue of the series. Story continues in MASTER OF KUNG FU #17. First appearance of the character, Midnight, he stayed in limbo for quite a while until Englehart dug him up for an AVENGERS story and, much later, resurrected him as Midnight Sun in SILVER SURFER, Vol. 3. He’s a really cool character and nearly a match for Shang Chi. An enjoyable story that still holds up. Grade: 8.5
STRANGE TALES #172. "Fiend in the Fog” - Written by Len Wein, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Dick Giordano. Cover pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Frank Giacoia. Outside his home in New Orleans, Brother Voodoo spots a young girl being swept away in the Mississippi River. Diving into the water, Voodoo manages to save the girl and bring her back to his home. There he learns that she is Loralee Tate, daughter of Samuel Tate the local chief of police. She tells Brother Voodoo that she has been stalked by a group called the Cult of the Darklord. 2nd Story: The reprint of a weird old story, "Voodoo” Written by Carl Wessler, art by Gene Colan. There’s a part of me that really wants to love Brother Voodoo. I don’t think that he’s a bad character, just a, somewhat, bland one; at least, as he’s being written so far in this series. The stories are good, but there’s something about him that only halfway works for me. Grade: 7.0
WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #14. “Lo, The Monster Strikes!” - Written by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Mike Ploog, inks by Frank Chiaramonte. Cover art by Mike Ploog. Jack and Topaz return the mind of Phillip Russell to his own body and defeat Taboo and Algon. Jack learns that Phillip Russell did not have Jack's mother murdered as he suspected. A really good conclusion to this two-parter. Taboo made for a great villain and Topaz continues to hold my interest. Also, more great artwork from Ploog and Chiaramonte, although, I still prefer Ploog inking himself. Grade: 8.0
• JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, VOL. 2, #9
• UNCANNY TALES #2
On sale November 20, 1973
DAREDEVIL #108. “Cry...Beetle!” - Written by Steve Gerber, pencils by Bob Brown, inks by John Romita (Daredevil figure on page 1) and Paul Gulacy. Cover pencils by Gil Kane, inks by John Romita Sr. Matt learns that Foggy has been shot and returns to New York without the Black Widow. Matt learns from the injured Foggy that he was investigating a plot called Black Spectre. Plus, DD stops the Beetle who is attempting to steal government plates but Black Spectre members interfere and make off with the plates. Welp! The “...and the Black Widow” is gone from the cover, but Natasha is in the corner box. She’s seen her last days as a co-star of this book. Although, at times, writers seemed to forget that she was the co-star. She’s a great character, but not so much these days because writers didn’t seem to know what to do with her. Rarely was she depicted as an equal co-star. It’s not until THE CHAMPIONS that she seems to hit her stride. So, farewell Natasha. Now, Daredevil is back in New York (thus, Matt Murdock is, too) and no one makes the connection!!! Anyway, a good issue if for no other reason than it’s the last time we see Moondragon as a likable character. Grade: 7.5
INCREDIBLE HULK #173. “Anybody Out There Remember...the Cobalt Man?” - Written by Roy Thomas, art by Herb Trimpe. Cover art by Herb Trimpe. Ralph Roberts stands in close proximity to a nuclear blast so he can once again have the power to become Cobalt Man. The Hulk battles Cobalt Man on board a ship but their fracas sinks the boat, just as Hulk begins to turn into puny Banner. I remember that the Cobalt Man debuted in the X-MEN, but I don’t recall a thing about that story. I like the redesign of the armor and he appears to be a pretty formidable foe. The type that I like to see the Hulk and his ilk battle, but again, this is one of those stories where something seemed to be missing. Maybe the next chapter will make up for it. Grade: 7.5
TOMB OF DRACULA #18. "Enter: Werewolf by Night!" - Written by Marv Wolfman. Art by Gene Colan and Tom Palmer. Cover by Gil Kane. It's the battle for the night as the power of Dracula is pitted against the savage might of the werewolf! Guest-starring Jack Russel (Werewolf by Night). Blade cameo. Story continues in WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #15. Wow! Reading this, I suddenly feel like I’m an 8-year-old kid watching Creature Feature on Saturday night TV, lol!!! Although Jack Russell isn’t based on the Lawrence Talbot werewolf from 1941, it was still great to two classic creatures go at it. Looking forward to the next part. Grade: 8.5
• KID COLT: OUTLAW #180
• MARVEL SPECTACULAR #6
• MARVEL SUPERHEROES #42
• MIGHTY MARVEL WESTERN #30
• MONSTERS UNLEASHED #4
• WESTERN GUNFIGHTERS #21
• WHERE MONSTERS DWELL #27
Nothing earned a 9.0/9.5 this month. Even still, this was a great month of comics! Shockingly, only THOR received a mediocre grade. The highlight of the month was, once again, the horror books. Having just recently watched “Abbott & Costello Meets Frankenstein”, seeing these iconic horror characters meet this month was a treat. Next week, it’s the final review for 1973. This continues to be a blast; especially as I get closer to my era of collecting comics. So, until next week, take care, everyone!
Grading Chart:
10.0 = Classic (rarely given)
9.0 – 9.5 = Excellent
8.0 – 8.5 = Great
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
Top 5 Books of the Month:
1. AVENGERS #120
2. TOMB OF DRACULA #18
3. SPECIAL MARVEL EDITION #16
4. FANTASTIC FOUR #143
5. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #129
Top 5 Covers of the Month:
1. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #129
2. CONAN THE BARBARIAN #35
3. POWER MAN #17
4. SPECIAL MARVEL EDITION #16
5. STRANGE TALES #172   |
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Post by chaykinstevens on Apr 28, 2023 5:40:42 GMT -5
FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER #9. "The Vampire Killers!" - Written by Gary Friedrich, pencils by John Verpoorten, inks by John Verpoorten. I think John Buscema pencilled this one. Mycomicshop.com strikes again. |
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Post by chaykinstevens on Apr 28, 2023 5:56:02 GMT -5
X-MEN #1-66Even the Steranko issues didn’t do much for me as I’ve concluded that he’s a far better artist than a writer (see next week’s TALES OF SUSPENSE/ CAPTAIN AMERICA review for more on that). Didn't Arnold Drake write both of the issues Steranko pencilled? After #63, Adams left for an issue and we were subjected to Don Heck. I wouldn't have minded being subjected to a few more issues by the Heck/Palmer team. The X-MEN wasn’t canceled but it was relegated to a bi-monthly reprint book and that’s what it remains as of December 1973. I think the series may have been cancelled then revived, as there seems to have been a gap of about eight monthes between #66 and #67. |
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Post by chaykinstevens on Apr 28, 2023 6:07:39 GMT -5
STRANGE TALES #110 – 168/DOCTOR STRANGE VOL. 1, #169 – 183 Dr. Stephen Strange debuted as a backup feature in ST #110. He next appeared in issue #114 where he remained the backup star to the Human Torch.
Doc also appeared in Strange Tales #111. DOCTOR STRANGE VOL. 1 was canceled after 18 issues. It lasted for 15 issues, #169-183. |
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Post by chaykinstevens on Apr 28, 2023 6:46:47 GMT -5
STRANGE TALES #135 – 168/NICK FURY: AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 – 18Replacing the Giant-Man series, this series brings Fury to the “modern-day” world of the Marvel Universe Nick Fury replaced the Human Torch. Issue #154 brought a, now, comics legend to the series with Jim Steranko. Steranko's first issue was #151, working over Jack Kirby's layouts. Sterranko sticks around for one more issue, then he’s gone. All we get are some cool covers from him and that’s it. Issues #4-15 feature some, mostly, forgettable stories, and the final three issues were reprints from STRANGE TALES. Steranko also wrote and pencilled #5. |
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Post by chaykinstevens on Apr 28, 2023 6:59:16 GMT -5
DAREDEVIL/DAREDEVIL & THE BLACK WIDOW #1 – 108 He did have a couple of cool bad guys like the Gladiator and the Purple Man, who were only used once up to this point, that I can recall. Gladiator had appeared several times and Killgrave had two stories, DD #4 & 88-89. |
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Post by kirby101 on Apr 28, 2023 8:37:19 GMT -5
THE SILVER SURFER Vol. 1, #1-18
I was really curious about this series because I’ve never read one issue or seen anything from it outside of the covers; especially issue #4. That’s nearly a weekly posting in this group, lol!!! It was in this series that we learn more about the Surfer and how his servitude to Galactus came to be. Shalla Bal and Zenn-La were both introduced in issue #1. (For some reason, I thought that they mentioned them in The Coming of Galactus trilogy) This series was, also, very hit-or-miss. I think that’s because of what I feel was Stan’s biggest mistake: keeping the Surfer trapped on Earth. There’s not much here that could challenge his power. Since he couldn’t leave and face more worthy adversaries, worthy adversaries were brought to him in the form of Thor, the Stranger, and the introduction of Mephisto. If the Surfer had anything close to an archenemy, it would be Mephisto. Yet, Stan didn’t follow the previous pattern of having archenemies fight numerous times. Instead, he had the Surfer spend most of his time brooding and speaking in overly melodramatic soliloquies. I wanted this series to be much better than it was, but alas, it was just above average. Grade: 6.5
*****
CONAN THE BARBARIAN
I figured that I’d throw in my thoughts on this series as I really did give it a try. As stated ad nauseum, the sword & sorcery genre really isn’t my thing. But the Conan book is legendary. Iconic, even. So, I had to give it a shot, at least. Well, the only thing that was accomplished here is the re-affirming of the sword & sorcery not being my thing. For some reason, I had moments of “Wow!!! This is really good!!” to “*Sssiiiighh* I’m only on page three?!!”, lol!! All the weird names and characters rarely moved the needle for me. However, I really enjoyed the Elric story. Also, I got tired of seeing him fight a giant *insert animal here*. You name the creature; he fought a giant version of it. To end on a positive note, if there was one thing that I absolutely loved about the series is the incredible progression of Barry Smith’s artwork. It went from good to stunning rather quickly. He was, pretty much, the main reason that I lasted as long as I did. When he was gone after issue #18, so was I. Grade: 5.0
***** Silver Surfer: It could not have been mentioned in FF because the Surfer, who was the singular creation of Kirby, with no input by Stan, was meant to be a being created by Galactus out of cosmic dust. It was through his contact with the FF and humanity that he learns to be compassionate and caring. This was Kirby's concept. Stan took it and made him a forlorn man who sacrifices himself for his planet and is forever separated from his love. Kirby was not pleased with Stan taking his character and changing what he was. Others can decide which idea is better, But the constant bemoaning of his plight in his own book did get tiresome. The latter series, where the surfer is free from Earth, worked better. The Buscema art though, is incomparable.
Conan: Smith returned after #18 and the art in 19, 20 and especially 25 and nothing short of spectacular.
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Post by Myke Gee on May 3, 2023 19:14:19 GMT -5
When I started this project, I would normally take a month off from reviewing before starting a new year of comics. I've always wanted to do a Year in Review post, but at this point, I was 11 years into the project. However, I decided to say to heck with it and review each series that I read up to this point. From here on, there will be a Year in Review post at the end of each year. For now, I hope that you enjoy my review of these series. This is Part Five. I hope that you enjoy it.
*** ORIGINALLY POSTED ON FACEBOOK ON JANUARY 2, 2021 *** Good morning, everyone. This is the final installment of my review of the Marvel Comics series that I’ve read since I started with FANTASTIC FOUR #1. The early 70s brought on a lot of new titles. So, I’ll try to make the reviews as short as possible. These reviews cover the time frame of August 1961 to December 1973. I hope that you enjoy it.
*****
MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #1-14 1971 was, nearly, halfway over before I got a new title that interested me. This was the year that gave us three “try-out books”; all featuring “MARVEL” in the title. SPOTLIGHT debuted with Red Wolf as the lead character. He lasted all of one issue before he was off to his own book. *Wait...what?* Next up was the debut of Werewolf by Night. He lasted three issues before he was off to his own book. More on that later. Now that he’s gone, debuting is the second and more well-known Ghost Rider. He’s here for six issues before…well…you know what happens next, lol!! The next lead character comes from GHOST RIDER VOL. 2, the Son of Satan. I mention all of this because, outside of the WbN, none of the other characters deserved their own title, in my opinion. (I will delve into each individual characters’ series later in this review.) Although, I have to admit that I’m enjoying the Son of Satan this time around far more than I did the first time I read this series. Yet, overall, it’s been just an above-average to good-at-times series. Grade: 7.0
***** MARVEL FEATURE #1-12
FEATURE started off by introducing The Defenders. I can only assume that this team comes to be because of the “Titans Three” story in SUB-MARINER #34. After three really good issues, the Defenders were off to their own book. They were replaced by the Ant-Man mostly written by Mike Friedrich. I don’t know why Marvel thought that the Ant-Man deserved a second chance, but he got it. His adventures were better than his stint in TALES TO ASTONISH, but as I said about Dr. Doom’s stories being better than the Black Widow’s, that’s really not saying much. After 7 issues, he was booted again. The next two issues were the precursor to MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE. Issue #11 featured yet another Thing/Hulk battle and the final issue featured the Thing and Iron Man in a Thanos War tie-in. The series was canceled after issue #12. This series started and ended strong, but those Ant-Man stories in between really take the overall rating down. Grade: 6.0 ***** MARVEL PREMIERE #1-14 I’ve always preferred PREMIERE over SPOTLIGHT. Originally, I didn’t start reading this series until the late 70s. The series starts with Warlock who lasted all of two issues before he was awarded his own series (see the WARLOCK review). Taking over at issue #3 is Dr. Strange written by Stan Lee and art by Barry Smith. Issues 4-8 were written by Archie Goodwin and Gardner Fox with various artists handling the artwork. Issue #9 is when Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner take over the book. Englehart, once again, crafts great stories and the artwork of Brunner was simply stunning. As of this writing, the book is up to issue #12 and Strange’s tenure ends just a couple of issues later. The Warlock and Dr. Strange stories were both new to me, but they were a strong beginning to this series. Grade: 8.0
***** MARVEL TEAM-UP #1-19 The beginning of one of my all-time favorite series. However, in the beginning, it was not yet the series that I would go on to love. That’s not to say that it was bad. Not at all. Just a little on the average side. The first three issues featured Spider-Man and the Human Torch. Nothing really special about those stories, but they were still good. Issue #3, in particular, was really good. The X-Men issue in #4 was pretty decent, but not classic. The first attempt at an epic tale came with issues #9-11. You would think that a story that features Spider-Man, the Human Torch, Iron Man, and the Inhumans taking on Kang the Conqueror and Zarkko the Tomorrow Man in a time-traveling tale would be one for the ages, but unfortunately(?), it was good and nothing more. As of this writing, the only thing worth noting is that, in issue #18, the Torch begins his, occasional, stint as the main star when Spider-Man was busy in GIANT-SIZE SPIDER-MAN even though GSSM hadn’t started when #18 was printed. Again, this series is one of my faves, but it’s not quite there yet. Grade: 7.5
***** DOC SAVAGE #1-8 I wanted to really like this series, but as I said before: I never really “got” Doc Savage. He’s not really a superhero, but more like an adventurer. Outside of standing with his legs spread as far apart as possible, lol, he doesn’t have superpowers, but he does some near-super things. As I read the series, he, sort of, reminded me of both Dr. Benton Quest and Race Bannon rolled into one. At any rate, I remembered that he teamed up with the Thing in MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE, so I decided to give this series a try. Nothing about this series worked for me. The stories were bland, his team of helpers was bland, and the art was bland. Well, I do recall giving one issue a high mark, but otherwise…“Meh”. Eight issues were more than enough. I was actually glad when this was canceled. Grade: 4.5
***** JUNGLE ACTION #5-8 The first four issues of this series were just reprintings of the 1950s comic of the same name. Issue #5 started the Black Panther as the featured character, but it was just a reprint of AVENGERS #62. Issue #6 was the beginning of the legendary Panther’s Rage saga from Don McGregor. It introduced us to Erik Killmonger, and it was the start of an epic. At this point, there were only two more issues of this great saga published bi-monthly. Issue #9 should have been published in December 1973, but the series won’t resume until February 1974. Despite the reprint to start, the Black Panther series has not disappointed. Grade: 8.0
*****
STRANGE TALES #169-172
Brother Voodoo was another character that I’m not overly familiar with. I remember reading a story with him in MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE and another in an issue of DR. STRANGE. I was beginning to think that his biggest claim to fame was the nonstop ridicule by Fred Hembeck. His debut in ST #169 was great, but the next three issues were above average and that’s about it. As of this writing, he’s due to star in one more issue in 1974 and he’s off to TALES OF THE ZOMBIE as a backup feature, I believe. I was hoping for more from this series. Grade: 6.0 ***** SPECIAL MARVEL EDITION #15 & 16 SME originally featured reprints of THOR, but in issue #15, it became a “try-out book”. Deciding to cash in on the current martial arts craze brought on by Bruce Lee and the TV show, “Kung Fu”, Marvel introduced Shang Chi. Of course, it would be Steve Englehart who kicks this off (no pun intended). Seems like he and Gerber were writing everything at Marvel in those days. It didn’t hurt to have Jim Starlin and Al Milgrom handling the artwork. Issue #15 gives us the origin and #16 gives us a classic battle with Midnight. Two great issues give this series a very high grade, so far. But again, it’s only two issues. Grade: 9.0
***** MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #1 & 2 A good, but not spectacular issue #1 features the Thing and the Man-Thing. I kind of hate it when they do that. Because the characters have similar names, they’ve got to meet. Wasn’t crazy about Iron Man meeting Iron Fist either. Those types of stories feel so forced. Issue #2 featured a great team-up with Namor the Sub-Mariner in an obvious attempt to capture a new audience for his soon-to-be-canceled book. Despite that, it was a better story than the debut. Grade: 8.0
TOMB OF DRACULA #1-19 The only reason that I gave this series a shot was because it was set in the Marvel Universe. Once again, horror comics aren’t my thing, but this series has been great. Like most series, it was struggling, a little, to find its footing in the beginning. But after the introduction of Frank Drake, Rachel Van Helsing, and Quincy Harker, not to mention Blade the Vampire Slayer, the book began to really take off. The only issue that I have with the series is that Dracula is so powerful that he could kill these people easily and at any time. But the writers (primarily Marv Wolfman) keep inventing reasons for him to spare them. Artistically, Gene Colan is a huge plus. I’m not the biggest Colan fan, but for this series, he’s absolutely perfect. One of the highlights of the series is the last storyline as of this writing. There’s a great crossover with the WEREWOLF BY NIGHT series. You can file this one under the “pleasant surprise” category as this series has been far better than I expected. Grade: 9.0
***** MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #2-4/WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #1-15 If nothing else, WBN and TOMB OF DRACULA revealed to me just how narrow-minded my tastes in comics were. Again, I make no apologies for this because I’m just a huge fan of superheroes. Just like the TOD book, I gave this series a shot because it was set in the Marvel Universe, and, again, that pesky ol’ “pleasantly surprised” thing happened. Unlike Red Wolf in issue #1 and Ghost Rider, which followed the Werewolf’s brief tenure, I could see why the Werewolf was awarded his own book. The SPOTLIGHT stories were great. As he gets into his own series, things get a little spotty, at times. For the most part, a really good series, it occasionally has a so-so issue here and there. It didn’t help that Mike Ploog was replaced by Tom Sutton as the artist. I like Sutton, but he's no Ploog. As of this writing, the crossover with TOD was the highlight of this series. Grade: 8.0
***** SUPERNATURAL THRILLERS #1-6 The first four issues of SUPERNATURAL THRILLERS featured adaptations of Theodore Sturgeon’s “It”, H.G. Wells’ “The Invisible Man”, Robert E. Howard’s “Valley of the Worm” and Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde”, respectively. I couldn’t even finish “It” or “Valley of the Worm” but enjoyed the other two stories. Generally, I wouldn’t have even bothered reading those, but for whatever reason, I gave them a shot. What I was really waiting for was the Living Mummy which I absolutely loved more than I thought that I would. After another adaptation based on “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in issue #6, the book went on hiatus. It won’t return until March of 1974. Unfortunately, that one great issue featuring the Living Mummy is not enough to raise the final of the series, so far. Grade: 5.5
***** FRANKENSTEIN #1-9 At this point, Marvel has a slew of titles on the spinner racks, but a lot of them are reprints of 1950s horror stories, which generally, I have no interest in. However, even with a newfound love for a couple of horror books, I was not prepared for this series. EASILY the biggest surprise of this journey!!! I absolutely love this series, so far!!! Although, as of this writing, it’s not yet set in the “current” Marvel Universe, this has been one of my eagerly anticipated titles since I read issue #1. It doesn’t hurt that Mike Ploog delivers his best work on this title. Grade: 9.5
***** TALES OF THE ZOMBIE #1-4 Yet another great horror series that I knew nothing about. The tale of Simon Garth was a big surprise. Again, Steve Gerber is changing my mind about him and the artwork from Pablos Marcos has been outstanding. If I have one “gripe”, if you can call it that, it’s that the Zombie stories and Gerber’s approach to writing them are quite similar to the stories that he writes in Man-Thing. Fortunately, he’s really good at taking characters that don’t speak and making them interesting. Grade: 8.5
MARVEL PREMIERE #1 & 2/WARLOCK #1-8
This series started with two rather unremarkable stories in MARVEL PREMIERE and transitioned into 8 rather unremarkable stories in his own title. Issue #1 was more of the same Biblical allegory which runs throughout this series. Issue #2 was absolutely fantastic, it immediately returned to its “unremarkable” status and remained there until its hiatus after issue #8. As I mentioned in my review of the series, I was amazed at how different a character he was from the Jim Starlin character that I read. He was more like an adult child with a messiah complex and all the Biblical allegory just didn’t work for me. “So, he hated it” may be what you all are thinking. “Not at all”, would be my answer. The stories ranged anywhere from average to good, for the most part. Most of my grades for this series were in the 7.0/7.5 area and that’s about where the final grade remains. Grade: 7.0
HERO FOR HIRE #1-16/POWER MAN #17 
This is a series that I was hot and cold with when I was a kid. I never read it when it was HFH. My first issue of the series was the last one as of this writing, POWER MAN #17. This book has been really solid since its premiere. The jive-talking dialog drives me up a wall, at times…most of the time, lol, but the book tells some really good stories. Roy Thomas starts the series, then Archie Goodwin writes issues #2-4. Guess who takes over the writing with issue #5? Steve Englehart, of course! The man is a machine, lol!!! While nothing compares to his CAPTAIN AMERICA, he continues churning out great stuff on each series he writes, including this one. The highlight story was Cage vs Dr. Doom. That one was a riot, lol!!! The art chores were handled, primarily, by George Tuska and Billy Graham. Tuska is one of my least favorite artists, but the Graham inks make the art tolerable. Graham, occasionally, pencils the book with mixed results. Great series, so far. Grade: 8.5
MARVEL FEATURE #1-3/DEFENDERS #1-12
The non-team started with three very good issues in MARVEL FEATURE before graduating to its own book. And with that star power, you knew that it was coming. While Roy Thomas got the ball rolling in FEATURE, Steve Englehart (who else but?) took over in their own book. The stainless one, as always, gave us some great stories, but everyone knows that the highlight of this series, thus far, is the fabled “Avengers/Defenders Clash”. No need to get into anything else because, as of this writing, there have been no bad issues. Well… issues #5 & 6 were a little on the mediocre side, but far from bad. Sal Buscema was the artist for this entire run with various inkers inking him. Sal isn’t the greatest, but he’s always great on the books that he works on. The book has, primarily, been a bi-monthly title, but went monthly for the Avengers/Defenders Clash, but it went back to bi-monthly status as of this writing. Grade: 9.0
MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #5-11/GHOST RIDER VOL. 2, #1-4
SPOTLIGHT #5 introduced the more well-known Ghost Rider and I was excited to finally get to read his debut. It was good, but it has been told so many times, I didn’t feel like I was reading it for the first time. The rest of his tenure in SPOTLIGHT was not that impressive. At this point, the character hasn’t been fleshed out yet and the result is a rather one-dimensional character that only becomes the Ghost Rider at night and is pretty useless if he doesn’t have a motorcycle. (He hasn’t learned to make one from his flames yet) His Rogue’s Gallery consists of Satan, a motorcycle gang, and Witch-Woman. Not very impressive at all. He stars in seven tedious issues and is awarded his own book. Unbelievable! The first four issues of his own title are, pretty much, more of the same. G.R. was one of my childhood favorites, but up to this point, he barely resembles the character that I loved. Grade: 5.5
SAVAGE TALES #1/FEAR #10-20/MAN-THING #1-3 
FEAR was, originally, an anthology book that reprinted horror stories from the 1950s (Marvel had quite a few of these books). With issue #10, the Man-Thing, who made his debut in SAVAGE TALES #1, became its star. Heading into this series, there were three reasons why I thought that I was not going to like it: 1) It’s a horror comic. No need to rehash my feelings on that. 2) It was written by Steve Gerber. As I was approaching this book, I had not yet turned the corner on him as a writer. 3) Like Ka-Zar, I always felt that the Man-Thing worked best as a guest star. I guess that you could add a 4th reason, because, as I think about it, I’m not a huge fan of characters that do not speak. Now, you can credit this book as the main reason why I turned the corner on Gerber. The stories kept me engaged throughout the 10 issues that the Man-Thing was the star and in his own book, as well. Issue #20 of FEAR began Morbius’ tenure in the book. *Sigh* He’s only been in one issue as of this writing. So, it remains to be seen whether my opinion of this character changes as it did with the Man-Thing. Grade: 8.5
THE CAT/NIGHT NURSE/SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL 
Three very short-lived series featuring female leads. Of the three, NIGHT NURSE was the one that I knew absolutely nothing about. The first issue felt like one of those teen romance comics which sent me into “WTF is this?!!” mode. The next three issues weren’t as sappy, and they had some intrigue to them. But after 4 issues, it was canceled, and I had no problem with that. Grade: 5.0. SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL was a bit more interesting, but once again, that’s not saying much. It was a series of five rather pedestrian stories with a couple of good moments. Its biggest claim might be the introduction of Mandrill and Nekra. Woo-hoo…. *sigh* This one made it to five issues before it was canceled. Grade: 5.5. Finally, there’s THE CAT. While it wasn’t perfect, I genuinely enjoyed the series. In fact, I found Greer Grant Nelson much more interesting as The Cat than I ever did as Tigra. There was potential there, but it was abandoned after 4 issues. Grade: 6.5.
***** So that’s the rest of the books that I’ve read since I started this journey around three years ago. I really hope that you all enjoyed it. Next week: the return of the monthly reviews starting with January 1974. See ya next week!!
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Post by EdoBosnar on May 4, 2023 4:42:00 GMT -5
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***** DOC SAVAGE #1-8 I wanted to really like this series, but as I said before: I never really “got” Doc Savage. He’s not really a superhero, but more like an adventurer. Outside of standing with his legs spread as far apart as possible, lol, he doesn’t have superpowers, but he does some near-super things. As I read the series, he, sort of, reminded me of both Dr. Benton Quest and Race Bannon rolled into one. At any rate, I remembered that he teamed up with the Thing in MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE, so I decided to give this series a try. Nothing about this series worked for me. The stories were bland, his team of helpers was bland, and the art was bland. Well, I do recall giving one issue a high mark, but otherwise…“Meh”. Eight issues were more than enough. I was actually glad when this was canceled. Grade: 4.5
***** Yeah, the color series was pretty uninspired, which is unfortunate, given that Doc Savage was an antecedent for so many tropes in superhero comics (the physically perfect man, the super-genius, the colorful team of assistants who are a super-team all on their own, etc.). Marvel later did a Doc Savage magazine under its Curtis imprint that was much better: the stories were longer and simply better written and the art was much better as well.
I've always had a soft spot for Greer, and very much liked her original outing as the Cat despite the many flaws. However, I also like her as Tigra and quite enjoyed her pre-1980s appearances.
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