Week Ending June 23, 1973

Well the shops have reopened in the UK, so I guess you have the choice between an orgy of pent up consumerism and seeing what Marvel UK was offering this week in 1973. 10p worth of comics or spend three hours queuing to buy a t-shirt from Primark that won't survive its first wash for probably the same amount of money adjusted for inflation.

Though I guess you could do both.

Mighty World of Marvel #38

Nice cover this week from Rich Buckler and possibly Frank Giacoia, one that isn't hurt by the usual simplistic flat colouring, though I'm less sure about the strange black framing.

The Hulk is on a rampage under the control of The Stranger, in order to soften up the planet for the alien superbeing to makeover as he sees fit. Though this doesn't last, as soon as Hulk returns to the missile base of his birth, he transforms into Bruce Banner and the thrall is broken. Banner realising that the threat to the Earth may return with the Hulk, quickly decides to off himself with his gamma ray machine. Making his way to his lab, the Bruce sets the controls for a fatal dose but is captured by MPs looking for a spy before he can sacrifice himself. It just so happens that the very spy they were looking for was observing these events from the shadows. Doing as any sane espionage agent would, our antagonist decides to pop himself in front of the giant death ray and give it a spin. The result is a transformation into The Abomination, who destroys the machine before the final fatal dose can be administered and proceeds to tear up the rest of the base. This turn of events attracts the attention of the captive Banner, who promptly becomes the Hulk and escapes to take on this new foe. The result of which is a surprising straight victory for the Abomination, who is even stronger than 'the strongest there is'. The Hulk is beaten and left for dead as the Abomination takes his leave and Betty Ross.

Hulk out for the count, Abomination escaped, Betty Ross kidnapped, these are desperate times, with only one of those things being business as usual. For the second time in only a few weeks we are treated to the sight of General Ross trying to save the Hulk, with limited success until Rick Jones (bane of security operatives everywhere) barges in and suggests using what seems to be the gamma nipple-clamps. The Hulk, suitably revived and/or stimulated, seeks to flee before an impassioned plea from Rick triggers his change back to Dr Banner. Cue deus ex machina in the form of one of Banner's seemingly endless weapon projects that fill up the warehouses of the missile base, which is capable of luring the Abomination back and potentially destroying him. Though the end result is just the reduction of his strength to sub-Hulk levels, I can't help feeling this was a mistake from Stan's perspective, a foe who could beat the Hulk with ease might have been useful from a storytelling point of view. After a short fight, the Stranger watching from afar abandons his original plan and transports the Abomination to himself for later use. 

Once again the status quo is altered, leaving the Hulk not quite a hero but not a villain to be hunted either, I suspect this situation will last a week at best.

It is definitely worth mentioning that the Gil Kane art on both these stories is great, the first chapter possibly misses the benefits of colouring, with Hulk appearing a bit smooth and featureless, but the second installment has much improved Zip-A-Tone shading that restores some character. I think this issue sees the end of Kane's short run, but it was an absolute pleasure while it lasted.

While the Hulk might be having something of a renaissance, the Fantastic Four are attempting larger scale stories that are not quite hitting the mark yet. After last week's strange set-up, the FF quickly dispense with the threat of Namor's army (Marines surely?) with a weapon that evaporates the water in their surface-suits, something that would cause head scratching at the Geneva Convention I am sure. This reduces the conflict to yet another episode of the Fantastic Three vs Namor to rescue the permanently kidnapped Sue Storm. Several pages follow featuring both sides using obscure and frankly silly aspects of their superpowers before Sue's life is threatened, causing the Sub-Mariner to return her to the safety of a New York hospital. 

The final coda shows Namor once again alone, abandoned by his people.

Spider-Man Comics Weekly #19

Another Rich Buckler and Mike Esposito cover, the more I look at these, the more I feel that the colouring and less than inspiring print reproduction might be the factors that let these covers down rather than the art itself.

Welcome to another episode of Awful Teenager with Superpowers. Yes, Peter Parker continues to be thoroughly unlikable and full of self-pity, which is a brilliant observation but a surprising format for stories aimed at kids. We do get to see the first iteration of the Spider-Slayer robot, though it is not yet called that in this story. Despite my new found appreciation for Steve Ditko's genius for illustrating human interaction, his attempts at technology always have the look of chewing gum on a hot pavement. I have to wonder how the Spider-Slayer would have looked in the hands of Kirby, probably no less crazy but definitely not as silly.

Peter Parker encourages J. Jonah Jameson to take up the offer of a mad scientist who arrives at the Daily Bugle with his anti Spider-Man robot, this is purely to make easy money from the photos that Peter can sell his boss. Not content with this mischief, Pete also manages to annoy Flash Thompson and the two girls in his life. It appears that with great power, comes an even greater ability to be a total dick. 

Parker's estimation that the Spider-Slayer robot will be a pushover turn out to be a touch optimistic and we get several pages of Spider-Man running away before he manages to outwit it and Jameson. As an introduction to a long-running series of robotic antagonists, it is not the most auspicious of tales, but we do get the first cameo appearance of Mary Jane Watson, although her face is strategically hidden and she has not received her hip 60s wardrobe yet.

Thor is back and still grumpy with his dad, also returned is Zarrko The Tomorrow Man. Which means that this is a tale barely worth reading and certainly not worth the effort retelling. What is interesting is the art, Kirby is credited with pencils and George Roussos takes care of the inking. While the visual cues of the King are there in some of the faces, poses and design of Odin and Asgard, other elements look totally redrawn or obscured. While Don Blake has a clear Kirby look, every panel featuring Thor looks like Kirby's input was little more than a stick-figure or has been erased and replaced entirely.

If anyone has any idea what might have been going on regarding the art in this story, I would be interested to hear it.