Week Ending January 26, 1974

I'm sure all comic readers and collectors have a period or format that they consider 'just right' or that generates an optimal amount of nostalgia. This week, Marvel UK take a step closer to my personal version of comic nirvana with the addition of an extra strip in two of their weekly titles.

Mighty World of Marvel #69

Daredevil is back! Shouts the cover. Which probably comes as salt in the wound for the FF, who despite never going away, only get a rare cover appearance because of the return of Johnny-come-lately DD.

It's a mash up cover with elements of Romita, Kirby and Trimpe, with Mike Esposito papering over the joins.

The Incredible Hulk: World's End? Reprinting The Incredible Hulk #117

The Leader and his giant forehead are hell-bent on nuclear armagedon, while the Hulk is once again trapped in a large blob of bubblegum. This situation is not a sustainable one, and the green goliath frees himself with the aid of an attractive Herb Trimpe splash page. So as not to interfere with his plans for an afternoon holocaust, the Leader then transports both the Hulk and his own Super-Humanoid andriod to a far away island to kick the snot out of one another. Can Hulk beat the Super-Humanoid, and if he can, how will he thwart the Leader's plans? Find out next week, because for some reason this week's installment is a little short... 

Daredevil: As It Was in The Beginning... Reprinting Daredevil #53

I was deeply saddening when Daredevil was dropped from MWOM, his presence added some much needed variety to the title, but now he is back. It seems the price for that is skipping a lot of his history, but Marvel UK take the wise step of reintroducing him with one of the semi-regular retellings of his origin. This time round it is Roy Thomas and Gene Colan's turn to give us Matt Murdock's tragic backstory. The interesting choice is made to present Matt as a much older college student at the time of his father's death in this version, which doesn't feel right to me. I've never been a huge fan of Colan's art, but his heavy shadow and contrast style works well in black and white. Welcome back DD, you have been missed.

The Fantastic Four: Death of A Hero! Reprinting Fantastic Four #32

It's that time again, when big brain Reed Richards tries to return the Thing to his human form. As usual, failure awaits. Remember last week, when we met Sue and Johnny's dad? Well, after not hearing from the guy in years, he is turning up all the time now. Admittedly, it is only to be replaced by a mysterious alien force that wants to go by the name of the Invincible Man, who appears to have all the powers of the FF, what can this mean?

Spider-Man Comics Weekly #50

It might come as a shock to those who can't remember a time before Robert Downey Jr was Iron Man, that his Marvel UK solo strip was greeted with less fanfare than the returning Daredevil, but he does at at least make the cover. The ASM John Romita original gets a reframing and a more formal newspaper headline for the delicate grammar sensibilities of the British audience. 

The Amazing Spider-Man: Disaster! Reprinting Amazing Spider-Man #56

Our favourite web-slinger is suffering from a dose of amnesia, which has left him vulnerable to Doc Ock's suggestion that they are partners, despite Spidey's internal monologue constantly expressing his doubts about this. We have a truncated episode this week as Ock sends Spider-Man out on a mission to steal a MacGuffin from a military base. Romita's normally beautiful art is ruined by sloppy shading and heavy print ink, thankfully in giving up pages for the extra strip this week, there isn't too much of it.

The Mighty Thor: While A Universe Trembles! Reprinting Journey into Mystery #123

Harris Hobbs has convinced Thor to make him embedded reporter to the gods and take him sightseeing in Asgard. Which would be fine if the Absorbing Man weren't making an absolute mess of the place when they arrive. We also see the fate of the Norn Stone that Thor lost many issues ago as it finds its way into the hands of a witch doctor in Asia. Vince Colletta seems to be only using Kirby's pencils as the vaguest guide this week as he does his own sparse and scratchy thing with his inks.

Iron Man: Iron Man is Born! Reprinting Tales of Suspense #39

Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Don Heck deliver and origin story that has stood the test of time better than most. Sure, Stan takes the basic idea of what a transistor does and gets a bit excited about it, but when the time came to make a multi-million dollar movie and launch the MCU, the bones of the story needed little adjustment. Though I would have paid good money to see RDJ's cave-prison breakout end with a one on one wrestling match and Iron Man attacked with a filing cabinet full of rocks. After the disappointing work of Don Heck on the Avengers, it is a nice surprise to see him turning out some very decent art for this story. His take on the original armour is a bit more lithe than the Kirby style I'm more familiar with, giving a more direct connection with later versions.

The Avengers #19

Here is a Kirby/Wood cover that raises a question that has been bothering me for a while. Did Jack sometimes produce covers at a slightly smaller scale that were then enlarged for use? A few of his Avengers covers have looked like they were blown up from smaller images, which seems odd for an artist known for cramming insane amounts of detail into a single panel.

The Avengers: The Road Back Reprinting The Avengers #22

The Avengers find themselves disbanded by the authorities and after yet more infighting, go their separate ways. Three quarters of the team undergo a whole page of harrowing job-hunting before taking up an offer from the Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime. Thankfully this doesn't last long, but Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are back on the run again. The Enchantress and Power Man, convinced of their victory over the Avengers are visited by a press agent who suggests they take the positions vacated by the disgraced heroes, claiming that it was he who caused the downfall of the Avengers. When Power Man brags that it was he and the Enchantress who framed the team, the mysterious press agent reveals himself to be none other than Captain America, and this whole charade has been a sting operation. Cap battles the diet Masters of Evil and is soon joined by his erstwhile teammates and a happy ending is achieved. That is until the last panel, where Captain America announces he is quitting the Avengers for good.

Dr. Strange: The Hunter and The Hunted! Reprinting Strange Tales #131

Dr Strange continues his weird detour into mystical James Bond action thriller territory and it is clear Steve Ditko is having a ball with it. Had Ditko been permitted to draw Stephen Strange in a suit and fedora for as long as he wanted, I suspect we might have got thirty years of stories like this, and I'm not convinced that would be a bad thing. The story is unresolved this week so it will be interesting to see if this exciting new format continues.