The terrible threat of the Living Brain!

The Mighty World of Marvel #18

Week Ending 3rd February 1973

Jim Starlin lets his imagination run with his interpretation of this weeks Hulk story by drawing an almost limitless supply of Humanoids to battle the green rage monster, when originally the Leader sent only around a half dozen into battle. It does look more impressive, I imagine Steve Ditko didn't have the time to draw all those figures, or just couldn't be bothered. Fair enough there's a deadline to work to! Starlin always liked to give more with his artwork and was clever enough to draw the hundreds of Humanoids very small in the back ground, then only a hand full at normal size. Frank Giacoio adds the inks to Starlin' work. A panel of floating heads from the Fantastic Four surround a Gene Colan Sub-Mariner on one side while a Steve Ditko panel, lifted straight from the Spider-man strip, on the other finish of the cover.

The incredible Hulk "On the rampage"

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Steve Ditko

Inker: Dick Ayers

"On the rampage" I feel there should be an explanation mark there, but there isn't so I won't add one! This story follows straight off from last issues battle against the Leaders horde of Humanoids, but Stan and Steve quickly push that encounter to one side with an onrush of US marines attacking the fighting mass of synthetic androids and the Hulk with a barrage of grenades which causes the cliff edge they where fighting on to collapse into the sea. Which was in some way good timing for the Hulk as he feels himself getting weaker (yeah he did that a lot in the earlier days, now he just gets angrier,) triggering his transformation back to Bruce Banner, only to be "rescued" by a Bodavian Submarine.  

The Hulk had already encountered Cold War enemies, like the Gargoyle (MWOM#2), Boris Monguski (MWOM#8) and General Fang (MWOM#10) but the use of Communist, Commie, Red, Russia or China was edited out for the more middle of the road Brits. A new nation was found to be used instead, Bodavia! Commie subs became Bodavian subs. Bodavia was made up purely for the British market, it would be used time and time again in early Marvel UK comics. Its only appearance in a US comic was in Marvel Premiere #49, where the Falcon was invited to a function at the Bodavian Embassy in a story published in May 1979, (cover dated August 1979) written by Mark Evanier. Evanier is well know as the writer on Groo theWanderer, he suggested the title of The Merry Marvel Marching Society for an early Marvel fan club and around 1969 he became a production assistant to Jack Kirby, so he could have suggested the name as a Russia replacement in 1973 to the US based Marvel UK editors but I can't be sure. What I do know is Evanier wrote a fantastic book on Kirby called "Kirby King Of Comics" which I'm presently reading and he also convinced Jack Kirby to stop using Vince Colletta as an inker on his work, for that we should be grateful, if not a little sad, it's never good when someone losses a job.  

Banner is taken unfed, in rages and chains to Bodavia to work in a prison camp with other scientists to develop weapons for the evil regime. The Russian (I mean Bodavian) Commandant is a heartless evil tyrant who drives his prisoner to insane despair. This of course sets off the incredible transformation from man to rampaging monster with obvious results. The Hulk escapes, attacks the Bodavian guards and befriends a fellow prisoner while a fanatical Commandant plots a plan to destroy the Hulk, more on that next week.

Spider-man "The Living Brain!"

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Steve Ditko

Inker: Steve Ditko

Right confession time, from the minute I first read this story, in the Marvel Annual 1974 (to be published around September of 1973)  I absolutely loved this story. I love the Living Brain, I love the action scenes, I love the comedy and I love Peter Parkers high school class scenes. It's perfect Stan Lee/Steve Ditko Spider-man. My everlasting memory of this story will always be from the 1974 Annual  where the full class room scene is played out.

Five original pages are condensed into two pages for this weekly comic, with most of the Flash/Peter confrontation missing and the back story behind the Living Brain shortened for no reason but to give Spider-man a "full" story in this issue, something of a teaser for things to come possibly. This spoils the story context somewhat. Peter looks in a bad light with him agreeing to a fight after just one incident with Flash, Thompson pushing Parker, causing his glasses to fall and break. While in the original Peter's temper takes multiple belittling comments to be ignited. It also removes the plot line that the Living Brain can answer any question, including "what is Spider-man's secret identity?" That's something that Flash wants to get his hands on. The Living Brain does answer it but in the form of a coded tic-a-tape message that Peter is asked to decode. He would conveniently loose in the final panel. I do like this edited version, just not as much as the original or the 1974 Annual version. 

The Living Brain is a beautiful design, I adore its cute head,  basic legs and powerful arms with delicate pincers. It's a classic from Ditko. There's a touch of Robby the Robot, Metal Micky and Doctor Who's Pyramids of Mars robots. The robots creator Mr Petty was never seen again but his creation was  in a poorly written story in Web of Spider-man #35 and later reappeared in Dan Slott's run on Superior Spider-man of which I haven't read so I can't comment on. 

    

This weeks strip is full of slapstick, whether it's either Peter knocking out Flash with the slightest of punches...

...the Living Brain knocking Spider-man down when coming through a closed door, then riding over it and him...

...quickly followed by two escaping reprobates who run over it and Spidey too...

...only to have Flash poleaxe them while tying his shoelaces...  

 ... which leads to making Flash the final joke as Peter nearly convinces him he really could be Spider-man.

 The final panel shows a happy hero in a classic Ditko half and half pose.

One last thing about this story, when reviewing issue 7, (MWOM#7) I mentioned that the Professor Warren made his first UK appearance in a pin-up page of that issue was the Jackal. That's not true, the Professor Warren of that pin-up and this story is in fact Professor Raymond Warren, the brother of Professor Miles Warren who will become The Jackal. A No-prize for all those who spotted that one. And a smackie-smackie-bum-bum for me making that howler! 

Two surprises this week, number one the "F" in FOOM stands for "Friends" and the second surprise is a brand new comic coming to the UK on the 10th February! They're really milking this FOOM day event. Mr. Fantastic won't tell us the name of the new comic, but there's a little clue to part of the new comic weekly title. More next week!

Heel and heart-throb features everyone's favourite secretary, Betty Brant and everyone's favourite cigar chewing publisher (no not Stan Lee!) J. Jonah Jameson. You work out which is which.

This weeks Mighty Marvel Mail Bag has poetry from Stephen Brailsford (from Willesden), Peter Gregg (from Northern Island) bragging about the size of his Marvel collection,  and Allen P. Moore (not that Alan, this Allen is from Lancaster not Northampton,) wants MWOM to feature Stan's Soapbox. The UK editor points out that Stan's specially written UK column, "Stan Lee Sounds Out" regularly features every four weeks. We also hear from Alan Hunt (from London) who's missing issue two of the Mighty World of Marvel and finally L G Goode writes that he reads his son's copy of MWOM. I say get your own Mr. Goode, 'cause "Marvel's are Goode Mr. Goode"! Sorry to the Shaman for murdering that lyric.

In the final strip this week we find Namor watching his water proof TV, (every undersea palace should have one! Is that a picture of Sue Storm I see? That's a bit creepy!) when news of the Fantastic Four's financial problems are mentioned on the news. By the next page we get to hear all about their money troubles from them, it seems that Reed didn't read the fine print, "Stocks and share can go down as well as up. Your money could be at risk." The stock market crashed leaving the FF penniless! But Good news is on the horizon, the FF have been offered starting rolls in a new movie! Let's hope Marvel Studios are making it and not Fox! The last one was terrible!

A star-struck Fantastic Four arrive in Hollywood at SM Studios (oh may be its a Sony/Marvel production,) withs its gates bulging with celebrities. Some may not be known to 2023 readers never mind 1973 readers, but here's a list of some you may have heard of, from right to left Amanda Blake, James Arness, Alfred Hitchcock, Charles Bronson, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dean Martin and Jackie Gleason. If you don't know who they are or what films they starred in just Google them, what else is the internet for?

It turns out that Namor, the Sub-mariner is the Studio producer, a Studio he bought with all the lost treasure he recovered from the ocean depths. He plans to make a film about the FF without a script, (now that does sound like a Marvel Studios project!) with each member of the FF going it alone in solo action before the big finale. 

First ups is Mr. Fantastic on the Island of the Cyclops! Reed believes he'll encounter a "King Kong" like movie prop, but he's in for a shock when Cyclops turns out to be real and very deadly as we'll all learn next issue.

See you in Seven!

Make Mine Marvel!

Correction! Matthew Finleyson pointed out that Tony Isabella should be given credit with creating Bodavia. Although I never claimed that Mark Evanier created the concept (he is credited as doing so on the Marvel Database wiki page,) I only mentioned the only recorded use of that country in a US comic. Matthew was absolutely right picking me up on that so I went right to the top to get the definitive answer. I Tweeted Tony Isabella about the subject and he very quickly replied. Here is what he wrote.

"It was me. With our UK partners bemoaning any use of Communist villains, I came up with this huge and very evil country that represent both Russia and China. I designed the thunderbolt in a circle emblem to replace the actual symbols of the real countries."

Thanks to both Matthew and especially the legend that is Tony Isabellafor putting it right.