Week Ending May 26, 1973

It is 1973, a time when newsagent shelves were bursting at the seams with comic titles, unlike now where they are equally stressed, but mainly due to the fact that every modern comic aimed at kids comes in a plastic bag filled with half a dozen toys and a selection of sweets. Forty seven years ago you might have got a crappy free gift with issue one, but after that you had to put up with stories and art to keep you interested. 

I am starting to think the lockdown is bringing out my inner grumpy old man.

Mighty World of Marvel #34

Another week, another Buckler/Esposito cover, although it is well done, it isn't particularly exciting, with what seems like a strange focus on characters giving non-consensual hugs. Also, at least with my copy, my joy at last week's stapled cover was somewhat premature, with the staple count reduced to one for this issue as the notorious spectre of 1970s British quality control rears its ugly head.

After the underground adventures of seven days ago, Hulk is transported back to the surface world, and immediately shot at by the US Army. General Ross jumps to the conclusion that Hulk is obviously tied into the kidnap of his daughter Betty by the Australian-Indigenous-Throwing-Weapon for hire Boomerang and shenanigans aplenty ensue. We have a small interlude with the Secret Empire, where their aggressive internal promotional ladder climbing is demonstrated by the mysterious Number Nine, but then it is back to the action as Hulk crosses paths with Boomerang. It has to be said the the hurler of antipodean curved sticks puts in a pretty good showing for himself, before giving up his hostage and making good his escape.

Our second Hulk episode sees a moment of King Kong tenderness between old purple pants and Betty as they shelter from the elements in a cave. Not that it lasts long before the army are bombarding the Hulk in short order once again. Not that the military don't have their own problems with Boomerang attempting to return to the good graces of the Secret Empire by stealing the top secret Orion missile. Elsewhere, Number Nine is climbing the greasy pole of management by tossing a grenade into the Secret Empire AGM. Back in the desert, Rick Jones talks the Hulk out of squashing General Ross with a Jeep, with the Hulk even obligingly taking Ross to Betty before leaping away to sulk on a mountain. 

These were actually a fun couple of stories with some effort to create a longer narrative with the Secret Empire, added to that we have Bill Everett experimenting with a slightly more angular look for the Hulk. A welcome pair of interesting directions as far as I am concerned.

The Fantastic Four bid goodbye to Ant-Man and then bizarrely embark on a recap of the last issue's events that takes almost as many panels as it did the first time around. No sooner are we all caught up, than the FF spend three pages being frankly useless as they hunt for the escaped Dr Doom. Abandoning the search, the team get dressed up to go out for the evening before falling foul of Doom's fiendishly complex and multilayered plan. A plan made all the more impressive by the fact that he put it together in less than an afternoon after fleeing the Micro-World. The full horror of the armoured tyrant's scheme is revealed when he kidnaps Thing's girlfriend Alicia Masters and demands a cabinet position in the US government. Not for Doom the small-minded goal of world domination, when the thrill of governmental bureaucracy is tantalisingly within his grasp.

Spider-Man Comics Weekly #15

Now, there is nothing particularly great about this cover, which I assume is the work of Rich Buckler and Mike Esposito again, but it does feature The Beetle. I will concede that he is probably nobody's favourite villain, but I can't help but have a soft spot for him, so as far as I'm concerned this issue is a winner already.

Yet another week featuring the Human Torch as co-star, it really feels like we only just missed a permanent team-up between our two teenage Marvel heroes. The Beetle is released from prison and eager for revenge on Johnny Storm. For some reason I have always (probably wrongly) associated Beetle with Daredevil, so it was quite a surprise to find out that he started his career as a foe for the Human Torch. The Torch himself has bigger problems, as his girlfriend Doris is less than impressed with his superhero vocation and threatens to dump Johnny unless he can avoid flaming-on for 24 hours. Stage set, we veer immediately into farce as a chance meeting between Doris and Peter Parker leads to a mistaken love triangle. What follows is an entertaining mix of teen romance, superhero action as well as Parker and Storm being insufferable dicks. 

The recent Thor stories have really been quite poor, but Jack Kirby is back on art, and while this is still no classic, it does show the importance of the artist in the 'Marvel Method' of comic book storytelling. Thor is having a busy morning rescuing jet pilots and being lovesick over nurse Jane Foster. So much so, that he puts in an Asgardian phonecall to Odin for permission to marry Jane, only to be told no and sent to his room with no tea. Meanwhile Loki is taking advantage of the recent sudden appearance of a Lava Man from a volcanic eruption, though confusingly seeming to take credit for his appearance at the same time. Thor is dragged away from painting his bedroom black to engage in five pages of solid Kirby action battling the Lava Man, while the Loki connection is almost completely forgotten. Lava Man is sealed back in his volcano and Dr Donald Blake returns to his office in time to see Jane whisked away Dr Bruce Andrews, a man so clearly a cad that he will have to be portrayed by a CGI Terry Thomas should his character be introduced in the MCU.