Week Ending May 25, 1974
This is one of those weeks in Marvel UK that if your pocket money did not cover the required 21p to get all three weeklies, it must have been tough to choose how to spend your limited funds. You may have been collecting one or two of the titles regularly so you automatically picked those up, but the great covers this week would probably have had me digging down the back of the sofa or looking for 'deposit bottles' to run down the local off-licence to make up the cash so I could complete the set.
Mighty World of Marvel #86
Looking at this Herb Trimpe cover, I assumed that it was taken from a internal panel and enlarged because of the blurriness of the detail. It would seem that is actually from the US original with extra width added to the sides (at the same time giving the damsel in distress, Barbara Norriss, a weird three fingered hand, which judging from the internal art, may have been Trimpe's original intention) the lack of refinement is probably down to the less sophisticated UK colouring. Even so, it is an eye-catching cover.
The Incredible Hulk: If A Cosmos Should Die! Reprinting The Incredible Hulk #126
This story seems to function as a way to conclude an unfinished Doctor Strange story, was his own title cancelled at this point? Though interestingly it actually does a lot of work to set up a future Defenders storyline, with the unnamed woman, who I previously assumed to be an alien, eventually turning out to be Barbara 'Valkyrie' Norriss. Hulk merely shambles into the plot as a means to tie up the mystic Doctor's loose ends. Despite missing a lot of context (and a few panels I believe) it is enjoyable if only for stirring memories of the later stories that will branch out from it.
Daredevil: Enter: The Plunderer! Reprinting Daredevil #12
Poor old Daredevil, Stan really didn't seem to know what to do with the character in the early days. I guess a contrived, melodramatic Matt/Karen/Foggy love-triangle where two thirds of the protagonists don't have a clue what is going on, seemed like as good a plan as any. So far, so early Spider-Man, I'm not convinced that sending Matt Murdock on an ocean cruise to encounter pirates and the Lord of The Savage Land was the plot development required to lift the title from mediocrity. That aside, we do get art from John Romita over Kirby layouts. Which if memory serves, was his try-out for his stint the following year on Amazing Spider-Man.
The Fantastic Four: The Frightful Four... Plus One! Reprinting Fantastic Four #41
The previous week's story once again saw a recently human Ben Grimm transformed back into The Thing to tackle the threat of Dr Doom. Which, as sure as night follows day, means we now get a storyline where Ben cops the hump about his situation and storms off the team. Rather than a solo adventure that eventually brings him back to the fold of the Fantastic Four, the Ever Lovin' Blue-Eyed Thing is brainwashed and recruited into the ranks of the other, more nefarious FF. I may have mentioned in previous posts, I'm a bit of a sucker for a Frightful Four story (even one where Paste Pot Pete tries to rebrand himself as The Trapster) so I am keen to see how this pans out next issue.
Spider-Man Comics Weekly #67
The Amazing Spider-Man: Bust-Out! Reprinting Amazing Spider-Man #65
Spider-Man is still leading a mass jail-break in order to save the hostage Captain Stacy, this provides the set up for Spidey to pull of a John McClane and take out the convicts one at a time stealth-style. The action is actually a lot more gripping than most superhero battles. Meanwhile back with Peter Parker's supporting cast, JJJ is grumpy about Pete's absence, Aunt May is worried, Harry is concerned about his dad's mental health and Mary Jane is desperately trying to make her new haircut work while speaking in hipster tongues.
Iron Man: Master of The Demon Dolls! Reprinting Tales of Suspense #48
It is hard to believe now that Iron Man is a global cinematic phenomenon, but back in the early days he started out as one of Marvel's most 'pulpy' written characters with a feeble rogues gallery. Case in point this story, which features the debut of his iconic red and gold armour facing off against a Poundland Puppet Master, who he defeats via Stan Lee's belief that stopping your heart is a bit like holding your breath and a 'remote clay modelling transistor force ray'. On the upside I am enjoying the combination of Ditko and Heck on pencils/inks as they curb and compliment each other's excesses.
The Mighty Thor: The Galactic Colony! Reprinting Thor #131
Thor is still dealing with Tana Nile and the Rigellian colonisers, in a story that gives me some real Star Trek vibes, one of those episodes mid-season where the budget is tight so they set it in present day New York. Ms Nile is handed the keys to the planet for her efforts in taking over the Earth, while Thor is kidnapped and taken to Rigel for examination. I can't wait for him to get all Captain Kirk on their alien asses next week.
The Avengers #36
The Avengers look on from the imprisonment of the corner box as Gil Kane and Tom Palmer use the appearance of Man-Thing to ramp up the kung-fu violence on their cover. If you don't like a Gil Kane cover, then it is probably you who deserves to be kicked through the thigh by an angry Shang-Chi.
Master of Kung Fu: Retreat Reprinting Master of Kung Fu #19
Shang-Chi is still ripped to the tits on his dad's narcotics and foolishly takes a detour through the everglades to recover. In a very short time he finds himself pulled through the mossy body of the Man-Thing by a character who is clearly David Carradine's Kwai Chang Caine from the TV series Kung Fu, and I thought last week's episode was peak 1970s weirdness. Paul Gulacy continues to develop his art style here, it is a little rough but still a breath of fresh air.
The Avengers: The Light That Failed! Reprinting The Avengers #35
Stan Lee and Don Heck are still phoning it in for The Avengers conflict with The Living Laser, Heck's unclear visuals forcing Stan to do a lot of heavy lifting with the exposition. The story does include a couple of noteworthy points though; Goliath is now in what I consider his definitive blue and yellow outfit (this may have happened weeks ago and passed me by) we also discover that Captain America's shield can be destroyed by lasers, but he does keep spares back at Avengers Mansion.
Dr. Strange: The Origin of The Ancient One! Reprinting Strange Tales #148
Bill Everett continues to do his best Ditko impression in a tale nobody asked for. We get to see a young, toned but still bald Ancient One (The Youthful One?) as his older self relates the story of his connection to the bad guy Kaluu. The unnecessary backstory trots along well enough, were it not for the nagging feeling Ditko would have probably done it better.
Bullpen Bulletins
Stan outdoes himself with a classic, and sadly timeless, soapbox.
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