Week Ending September 1, 1973

 

Full disclosure before we start; my usual cool-eyed, cynical detachment is going to take a backseat this week. While I never owned these issues as a kid, there is much about them that stirs my inner child. Whole covers dedicated to the main stories, much improved colouring and best of all, corner boxes. Oh my, the corner boxes. Sure, there were the weird little logos in the corner prior to this week, but these are the real deal and I am more than a little taken aback by my emotional response to them.

Mighty World of Marvel #48

This cover is a lash-up from multiple sources, the distinctive styles of Sal Buscema, Neal Adams and Jack Kirby working surprisingly well together. A No Prize awaits anyone who can name the covers and interiors that gave up elements for the greater good.

As if the excitement of corner boxes were not enough, this week sees the UK debut of my all time favourite Iron Man armour. The Model 2 with its red and gold colour scheme and distinctive faceplate is my earliest memory of Iron Man, for me it is the most iconic. If he would just stop banging on about his 'transistors' during this period, he really would be perfect. This reprint of Avengers #3 has the team trying to track down the recently departed Hulk, however they are not the only ones hunting the former Avenger, Namor the Sub-Mariner is seeking him as a potential ally against humanity. Grudgingly, Hulk does team-up with Namor, which leads to a classic dose of Lee/Kirby period madness. The Avengers have a showdown in caves under the rock of Gibraltar, where the Hulk and Sub-Mariner await them armed with an abandoned WW2 howitzer. This would easily be the most bizarre thing to happen in most comics, but just a few panels later Namor is disabling Iron Man with his handy Emery Dust Pellet Gun. The 60s style craziness continues throughout the rest of the story, between the weird plot, rushed looking art and lack of any real resolution, this really feels like a filler issue, the team need to get their act together if they want their own UK title. Oh, hang on, the last panel says they are getting their own comic. Still they better watch it, or they will end up as second billing to the coming kung-fu craze.

A story in which the world's greatest superpowered family find themselves thwarted by a low wall. The Mole Man is back and he has obviously been raiding Dr Doom's stock of specific Fantastic Four traps that were discounted for being too useless. This does give Sue the opportunity to flex her newly discovered powers and Reed the chance to demonstrate what a closet psychopath he is when he blows up the Mole Man's island. Even the most optimistic of estate agents would probably see this viewing as a failure.

Spider-Man Comics Weekly #29

Purists will probably disagree, but this is another cover I feel is a better choice than the original. Rich Buckler and Frank Giacoia make great use of the new cover format. Had I not been four years old, I definitely wouldn't have been able to leave the newsagent without a copy.

The Molten Man is back and the inaccuracy of his name is still bothering me. Cast Man would be better, Plated Man perfectly acceptable, I would even accept the artistic license of Galvanised Man. Well the name is obviously not troubling Lee or Ditko, they seem more focused on a damning indictment of the US criminal justice system, as the Molten Man is released from prison because he has the funds to pay for the damage caused by his previous crime spree. This rich vein of storytelling is however largely ignored after page 2, as Ditko settles into the more comfortable option of multi-page fistfights. To such a degree that at one point Stan literally absolves himself from any duty to dialogue or exposition. The result is an enjoyable romp, free from most of the usual Peter Parker soap opera until the final pages.

With the clever skipping of a couple of issues of Journey into Mystery a few week's ago, we get to have the first proper Marvel UK crossover story. Thor comes across a bunch of teenagers arguing as geeks have done down the ages, about who would win a fight between Thor and the Hulk. Thor takes this opportunity for a teaching moment as he relates to them the untold events of the Avengers story in this week's MWOM. Thor relates his inconclusive battle with the green goliath to his young audience, making the point that it isn't always about strength. What is really surprising is the difference in art quality between the two stories, Kirby doing the pencils for both but Chic Stone taking care of the inks in this version, to much better effect.