Week Ending March 9, 1974

Some weeks when I sit down to do this, I wish I was a couple of years older and that this was the week I jumped on the Marvel UK bandwagon. This is definitely one of those occasions, not that we have any flat out classics this week, but we do get some good covers and a feel to the stories and line-up that pushes my buttons. If you were picking one or all of these issues up at the time, I envy you.

Mighty World of Marvel #75

Herb Trimpe can usually be relied upon for realistic military guns and hardware, possibly a result of his time in the USAF. It is interesting then to see him go all futuristic on the army rocket launchers for this cover. Also for the UK version of this cover we receive the slightly clunky speech balloon for the Hulk, all this aside, still a great cover.

The Incredible Hulk: On The Side of The Evil Inhumans! Reprinting The Incredible Hulk #120

Two things that will never cease to amaze me in early Hulk tales: how easy it is for the bad guys to get Hulk on side and Betty Ross' ability to get past any level of military security in order to put herself in danger. Both of things occur in this story, beautifully drawn by Trimpe in such a way that Stan's dialogue is rendered almost redundant.

Daredevil: In Mortal Combat With The Sub-Mariner! Reprinting Daredevil #7

Now that Namor has stopped hogging the rest of MWOM, it is safe for Daredevil to skip backwards through continuity to show the story we probably should have seen on his return to Marvel UK's flagship comic. Regal Namor The First, prince of Atlantis, emperor of the deep, lord of the seven seas and supreme commander of the undersea legions decides to conquer the surface world via the United States judicial system, the first step in this plan is to retain the legal services of Nelson and Murdock attorneys at law. It is a daft concept but Stan and Wally Wood commit to it admirably.

The Fantastic Four: Calamity On The Campus! Reprinting Fantastic Four #35

Reed and Ben return to their alma mater accompanied by Sue and Johnny for some dysfunctional family hijinks. There are surprise guest cameos for Professor X and Peter Parker, the return of Diablo and the origin of Dragon Man, so lots to enjoy here. Stan delivers some restrained storytelling while Jack gives us his take on Ditko's Parker and has fun with the low stakes set-up.

Spider-Man Comics Weekly #56

With the Spider-Man stories now broken up into smaller weekly chunks, someone on the Marvel UK editorial team is having to make the decision about when to use the original ASM covers and when to call Ron Wilson and Mike Esposito to fill in the gaps. Whoever responsibility that was, they made the right call this week, we get a cover that works for the contents and save the original US version for when it can be viewed in context. Not a bad cover either.

The Amazing Spider-Man: The Brand of The Brainwasher! Reprinting Amazing Spider-Man #59

Aside from my memories of the original cover to this story, I have no idea what happens in it. So it is quite nice to experience it for the first time. Peter Parker finally gets around to seeing his Aunt May after his protracted period of amnesia and absence, he explains this away by claiming he was kidnapped by Spider-Man. Not sure this is the smartest excuse ever but it does serve to introduce him to Captain Stacy. After a few weeks with limited appearances from Petey's supporting cast, we get to catch up with some of the groovy gang and witness MJ's audition at a go-go club, I'm sure this will all work out fine... Worth mentioning that Don Heck seems to stop fighting Romita's style this week and the art is all the better for it.

Iron Man: vs Kala, Queen of The Netherworld! Reprinting Tales of Suspense #43

If there is one thing that Stan Lee is utterly powerless to resist in his early stories for his new heroes, it is a threat from an underground civilisation. Iron Man has done well to avoid such a threat from the clearly overcrowded subterranean World thus far, but his luck runs out this week. Aside from the wrinkle of a female antagonist this time, it is all standard fare, though having Kirby back on pencils at least brings some texture to this latest underground kingdom.

The Mighty Thor: Whom The Gods Would Destroy! Reprinting Thor #126

This story comes from Thor's first eponymous comic, the Journey into Mystery title has been dropped and the god of thunder is freestyling it. What a start to his own title it is, from the upclose and personal splash page on, it is just a non-stop brawl between Thor and Hercules as only Jack Kirby can deliver. Even Vince Colletta's inks can't spoil this. 

The Avengers #25

This isn't the greatest Jack Kirby/Frank Giacoia cover ever, but I love it because the Avengers are getting very close to the line-up of my childhood. With Giant Man/Goliath in an outfit that no more says "getting big is my jam" than any of his older costumes, but it does kick me square in the old nostalgia-plums. 

The Avengers: Among Us Walks... A Goliath! Reprinting Avengers #28

Following on directly from last week's aquatic adventure, the Wasp is missing and Henry Pym is keen to enlist the Avengers' help in finding her. Only the Avengers don't know Pym's secret identity and seem determined to be dicks about the whole thing. Even Captain America, who is repeatedly stressed to be 'born to lead', is an absolute arse. Subtle tension was never Stan's forte. Someone who does display a heretofore unknown skill though is the Scarlet Witch who seems to spend her downtime making costumes for former Avengers she has never met. Misogynistic writing of its era or super creepy behaviour, I'll let you be the judge. The actual story revolves around the Collector seeking to add some mint condition Avengers to his nerd cave, the team avoid being bagged and boarded but at the cost of Goliath seemingly stuck permanently between sizes.

Dr. Strange: When Meet The Mystic Minds! Reprinting Strange Tales #137

When everyone else might have been doing the comic book equivalent of Dragnet or Star Trek, Steve Ditko was banging out some Twilight Zone style stories like this, entirely made up of pages of Dr Strange probing the mind of the Ancient One, and experimenting with his art style every month. Kudos Mr Ditko, I didn't appreciate your work as a kid but I was clearly a complete idiot.