Week Ending Jan. 20, 1973
Mighty World of Marvel #16
It's mid January 1973 and your five pence pocket money is burning a hole in your corduroy bell-bottoms. What does your 5p get you? Well you could do a lot worse that what looks like a cracking Jim Starlin cover plus 39 pages of awesomeness.
Full disclosure here, I am going to admit that nostalgia is playing a big part in my enjoyment of this story, which includes the origin of the Leader and his bubblegum based creation the Humanoid. The Leader was always the perfect, if obvious, foil for the Hulk, and I can't help but be pleased to see him turn up here. The story is pretty standard fare, but the inclusion of a quality antagonist elevates it above preceding episodes.
While we are on the subject of villains with recurring longevity, Spidey is up against the recently escaped Vulture in his second appearance. Despite the fact that the Vulture is definitely no Leader, he manages to give Spider-Man a surprisingly hard time for someone who is basically a pensioner in a budgerigar costume. This week's art is thankfully not swamped by ham-fisted shading and we get some nice development of Peter Parker as the vulnerable, if still slightly irritating hero.
Rounding out our trio of improved episodes, we have the Fantastic Four's first run-in with the Puppet Master, which of course means we also see the first appearance of Alicia Masters, blind sculptor, love interest to Ben Grimm and possessor of some Daredevil-standard super senses in this story. We are introduced to the Puppet Master's mind-controlling radioactive modeling clay, a concept that shows both Stan Lee's slender grasp of the powers of radioactivity and limited understanding of health and safety in the workplace. Still, it's a nice set-up to introduce at least one character who will add to the soap opera nature of the FF stories in the future.
It's mid January 1973 and your five pence pocket money is burning a hole in your corduroy bell-bottoms. What does your 5p get you? Well you could do a lot worse that what looks like a cracking Jim Starlin cover plus 39 pages of awesomeness.
Full disclosure here, I am going to admit that nostalgia is playing a big part in my enjoyment of this story, which includes the origin of the Leader and his bubblegum based creation the Humanoid. The Leader was always the perfect, if obvious, foil for the Hulk, and I can't help but be pleased to see him turn up here. The story is pretty standard fare, but the inclusion of a quality antagonist elevates it above preceding episodes.
While we are on the subject of villains with recurring longevity, Spidey is up against the recently escaped Vulture in his second appearance. Despite the fact that the Vulture is definitely no Leader, he manages to give Spider-Man a surprisingly hard time for someone who is basically a pensioner in a budgerigar costume. This week's art is thankfully not swamped by ham-fisted shading and we get some nice development of Peter Parker as the vulnerable, if still slightly irritating hero.
Rounding out our trio of improved episodes, we have the Fantastic Four's first run-in with the Puppet Master, which of course means we also see the first appearance of Alicia Masters, blind sculptor, love interest to Ben Grimm and possessor of some Daredevil-standard super senses in this story. We are introduced to the Puppet Master's mind-controlling radioactive modeling clay, a concept that shows both Stan Lee's slender grasp of the powers of radioactivity and limited understanding of health and safety in the workplace. Still, it's a nice set-up to introduce at least one character who will add to the soap opera nature of the FF stories in the future.
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