An Octopus's garden in the shade!

 Week Ending 21st April 1973

A quick bit of house work before this week's look back at Marvel UK from 50 years ago, last week I asked did anyone know where the artwork for that weeks Marvel Mini-Poster came from? Both Alan Russell from UK Marvel in the 70's Facebook group and Rod Tough from commenting directly to the blog page got in touch to inform me it was adapted from the cover of Tales to Astonish #68. Power of the Beesting No-Prizes to both of them for that, if they want them. PotBeNoP make great book marks from all those graphic novels you never get round to finishing. 

The Hulk half of the cover was drawn by Jack Kirby with Vince Colletta adding the inks. I'm really kicking myself over that because while writing the blog for the Hulk story in MWOM #21 I saw that cover numerous times during my research, I knew I'd seen it very recently. For those wondering who drew the Giant-Man top half of the cover it was Bob Powell with Colletta again inking the finished artwork. Alan also pointed out that Joe Sinnott had done other pencil artwork for Marvel before the Thor strip that appeared in SMCW #9, in fact he'd done loads of Sci-fi, western and horror work dating back to the 50's. I stand corrected and edited last weeks blog, noting that the Thor Strip was his first super-hero pencil work. (Until someone points out he did others.) Rod also made a point about a Stan Lee/Steve Ditko goof, were Spider-man earthed his body to defeat Electro, Rod is totally right and this wouldn't work and probably kill Spider-Man in the process. Rod also said that subsequent reprinted edited the scene out. I would love to see how they did that. Any one know which versions? Thanks to both Alan and Rod for their input. Now on to this weeks weeklies.

You can see the two copyright boxes for MWOM #29 and SMCW #10, the first thing to notice is Pippa  M Melling is no longer the UK based editor after she has finished her six month contract. Pippa having worked at Odhams on their Power Comics line in the 60's (Smash, Wham, Pow, Fantastic and Terrific, basically they were prototypes for MWOM and SMCW as well as future Marvel UK comics.) was the  ideal editor to launch Marvel's new UK branch. Both comics were a success. Her UK replacement was Peter L. Skingley in SMCW and Peta L. Henley in MWOM, except it wasn't. Peter and Peta were one and the same. Petra Skingley became Marvel UK's second UK based editor and also its second female editor. She used the name Peter to better fit into a "boys" comic world, which was a shame as there has been five female editors at Marvel UK and I can without doubt say that the comics they oversaw have been favourites of mine during their time in the hot seat. Who are the five I can hear you thinking, Pippa Melling, Petra Skingley, Maureen Softly (who is better remembered as Matt Softly,) from 1972-1976, Sheila Cranna (Doctor Who Magazine 1985-1988,) and  Bernie Jaye (various Monthly titles 1980-1983,). Tony Isabella from the US still held up the American side of the editors roll, but working closely with  Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Sol Brodsky. In truth I don't feel there was any change in over all editor style, the only thing that I personally felt may have been a change in policy is the will to stop editing out unknown guest stars. But this may well have been because new comics were being planned to feature them or simply it was becoming an impossible task with the shear number. 

I also noticed while reading the MWOM copyright box they spelt Daredevil's name wrong, adding an extra "e". What a mistake, I'd never make a mistake like that (well only now and again, maybe once or twice a week.).

The Mighty World of Marvel #29

Dick Ayers draws and inks this weeks cover which showcases all but one story from this issue, that fourth story doesn't get a mention anywhere on the cover. It's quite a strange main panel, the Puppet Master seems to be controlling both the FF and the Sub-Mariner with his marionette controller crosses, it's symbolic I know so I'm not going to dwell on it. It's a busy cover with Daredevil and the Hulk having their one sixth of cover to entice the comic reading public.

The Incredible Hulk "I, against a World!"

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Jack Kirby, Gil Kane

Inker: Mike Esposito 

Originally published in Tales to Astonish #76

Cover date February 1966

(Published in November 1965)

Another week another penciler, this time its veteran artist Gil Kane following the layouts drawn by Jack Kirby. Like any good jobbing artist Kane follows the layout and the style of Kirby as to not rock the boat. From this story there is little difference to spot between this weeks and last weeks art. At least not to my untrained eye. Gil Kane's artwork is well known and very easily recognised but sandwiched between Kirby's layouts and the ink pot of Mike Esposito he seems to be happy to follow the line. The seamless transition in artists allows this story to flow, the Hulk trapped in a distant future fighting against this Earths armies, while in the present timeline General Ross and Major Talbot try to work out where the Hulk has gone to. 

Future humans have become warlike under the leadership of King Arrkam, but for possible good reason as the fate of humanity in under threat from unknown forces that attack in what looks like H. G. Wells War of the Worlds inspired Tripods. When the Hulk attacks one of those Tripods a hatch opens to reveal the Asgardian known as the Executioner. At the time the Executioner hadn't appeared in the Thor strip from SMCW, his appearances in early Avengers stories, in their own Marvel UK comic was months off (Avengers #1 was to be launched on the 22nd September 1973, so stick with the Power of the Beesting and we'll hopefully get there.). A bold move to use a character that would have lots of story yet untold, they could have edited him out or possibly changed his name to distance his part in this story from that character like they have done with cameos from Captain America, Iron Man or other well known names. May be they thought it wasn't as necessary as it was those times. May be it was a policy change to make the whole thing easier in the long and short run. Skurge, the real name of the Excutioner, would die before this future could occur, so may be this future timeline was an alternative timeline. Possibly from Earth-691 where octopus-like Martians invaded the Earth in a story based on the H. G. Wells novel to be defeated by the common cold virus, only to have them return in 2006 and enslave the planet. Jonathan Raven also known as Killraven banded together the free men of Earth to form a resistance group. This is not what happened but it would have made a fitting alternative plot line. 

The Mighty Marvel Mailbag

 Roy Jefferys from Ilford wants to know who pilots the Fantasti-Car when its four parts are together? I always thought that the front compartment was the pilot seat, which in general would be piloted by Mr. Fantastic, but the answer given from the editor is a belter, "usually Reed, although any of the four can handle it!" and by that I take it they mean that it can be flown from any seat. Dale Rutternberg from London thinks that the Hulk should have a costume as this would make him look better. I'm incline to disagree with Dale, ripped purple pants are cool, a visual sign that the Hulk is a savage monster. Anyway they're a head of their time, Kids buy jeans with wholes in them all the time these days, it's a fashion statement. Don Thomas from Norfolk admits after reading "A visit with the Fantastic Four" in MWOM #22 he has made a mistake about the roll Sue Storm makes in the Fantastic Four, in his opinion she was just a damsel in distress. He has seen the error of his view and now appreciates the Invisible Girl more. Finally Shawn Hoadley from London writes that Daredevil is a smashing character and thought his origin story was great (didn't we all,) but he can't wait for the man without fear to be pitted against super villains. Hopefully he enjoyed DD encounters with Electro, the Owl, Killgrave the Controller and the Masked Matador.

Daredevil "The last bullfight!"

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Wallace Wood

Inker: Wallace Wood 

Originally published in Daredevil #5

Cover date November 1964

(Published in September 1964)

 

This opening splash page is an adapted cover from Daredevil #5 by Wallace Wood. It even uses the text box and text "star" from the original, including some of the text. The artwork for the original cover was stolen from the Marvel office so, in the 1990s John Romita (and his "Raiders") had to recreate the cover for reprints. Could it have been lost when it was copied and used for this splash page? Who knows? But if other than the original Daredevil comic, this is only place you'll see it, although sadly only in black and white. That might have just increased the value of your copy of MWOM #29. 

This tale concludes with Matt Murdock after doing some research into bullfighters that Manuel Eloganto was the Masked Matador after reading newspaper reports from 6th April 1972 (the year changed for Marvel UK readers,) about his last bull fight when disaster struck and he was charged down by a ranging bull. The crowd had cheered for the bull as Eloganto was always extremely cruel to the animals. It's an amazing jump to go from one injured bullfighter story to identifying the villain.  Murdock calls the Matador out by telling the press that Daredevil is really the Matador, to get him to come to Murdocks office. I would never print something on a hunch (alright maybe a little sometimes,). But DD is right and the story ends with a battle between the two of them. Yeah you guessed it Daredevil wins.

Stan Lee Sounds Off about the growing membership of FOOM from all over Britain, thanking all the "True Believers" who have responded with congratulatory notes, comments, suggestions and good wishes. Answering a frequently asked question "how we feel our stories relate to the real world, You've been inquiring how we feel about our characters, whether we take them seriously or just treat them as patently pointless put-ons!" Stan answers in his wonderfully charming way by saying "So just for the record, we really believe in our costumed cavorters After all, we created them! We really live with their adventures, their hang-ups, day after day. We know them as well as we know our families -and even better than we know our local politicians! No, literature-lover, our fearless little fables are not put-ons. To us they're factual, they're relevant, they're now! It's the real world we have our doubts about!" I'm sure he doesn't mean that they're real in the physical sense but is implying that they are more real than the fake people who inhabit the real world like some politicians I could but won't mention. 

This weeks Marvel Mini-Poster is of Doctor Doom, taken from the cover of the Fantastic Four #116, cover dated November 1971 by John Bucema with inks by Joe Sinnott. The opposite page advertises this weeks Spider-man Comics Weekly #10 with repurposed cover artwork from that issue. And of course there's the standard FOOM advert too.

The Fantastic Four "If a mind be slave..!"

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Jack Kirby
Inker: Dick Ayers

Originally published in The Fantastic Four #14

Cover date May 1963

(Published in February 1963)

This opening splash page is an adapted cover from the Fantastic Four #14, most notable difference in the removal of the Invisible Girl from the right of the artwork, due to her incarceration in a octopus held sphere at this point in the tale. It fits in with the rest of the artwork as you would expect, being drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Steve Ditko. The three male members of the Fantastic Four take on the Sub-Mariner one at a time, which leads me to wonder what's the point in being a team if that's your plan? The Torch goes first but is no match for the undersea creature used by Namor, known strangely as the Flame eater. 

It looks like two sea anemones on either end of a staff, basically a giant mop! Next it's the Thing's turn. Ben goes with a plan old fashioned hand to hand fight. More difficult than it looks, Namor is as slippery as an eel, then he uses a razor sharp dagger-needle coral to attack, then sea fungus that grows around the Thing until he is smothered. Ben flexes and the fungus shatters. Reed orders Ben to see to Sue while he takes on the Atlantean with a net made out of his rubber arms. The Thing finds the octopus tank, dives in to rescue Sue and hurls the monstrous cephalopod upwards later shattering Namor's palace dome, gifting itself freedom. Now the team are united against the Prince, the Puppet Master takes a heavier hand in events, forcing Namor to use a deadly undersea plant that will release toxic fumes. Namor fights the Puppet Masters control and at that point the now freed and very angry octopus attacks the Puppet Master's submarine. You would have thought that Stan Lee would use the presence of Alicia Masters, as a plot line to make a Puppet Master change his plans, but no she's kind of forgotten about, Kirby still draws her in many scenes but she takes no major part in the plot.  

 We're left with the assumption that seemingly the puppet master perishes during the octopus attack, but what do you think? Namor comes round to his senses, not knowing how or why the Fantastic Four are in his aquatic palace. Even being as bold to suggest that Sue had come to share his undersea kingdom. She replies that she has no intension of doing so, (well kidnapping and holding her a prisoner tends to put people off,) saying that her loyalties lie with Reed, but one day her heart may make a choice. She still hedging her bets there. 

Speaking of hedging your bets, Namor lets them go in peace but warns them that someday he will find his vanished people and then he will see to whom the planet rightly belongs.

"I used to be...human!"

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Steve Ditko

Inker: Steve Ditko

Originally published in Journey into Mystery #92

Cover date May 1963

(Published in March 1963

Five pages left over in this weeks issue, so they could have filled it with posters or puzzles but no it was the perfect space to use one of Marvel's classic sci-fi fillers. 2000AD would use space left in that thrill pack prog with cool short sci-fi stories under the title Future Shocks or Time Twisters, but the likes of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and a host of brilliant bullpenners were churning them out in the 60's. This one is a cracking little gem. Steve Ditko's art is beautiful and Stan Lee crafts a tale that may seem like an Adam and Eve rip off but has more to do with inner peace and contentment. 

A space pilot has to make an emergency landing on the planet Rrorgo, the most dangerous planet in the galaxy. A rescue ship is despatched immediately but will it get there in time? The inhabitants of RRorgo are peaceful, simple creatures who tell the pilot that some of them were born on Rrorgo, while others were transformed into them after eating the strange plentiful fruit that grows on the planet. Can the pilot survive on space rations before the the rescue ship arrives? 

Spoilers: The pilot soon reaches the point of starvation and gives in to the forbidden fruit, instantly transforming into a Rrorgoian and also gaining telepathic abilities that allow him to  share with the other Rrogoians a new sense of empathy and peace. The twist in the tale is that the rescue ship was delayed as their scientists were working on a serum to reverse the effects of the Rrorgoian fruit. However the pilot chooses to remain in that form as he has found a transcendent state free of suffering, illness, worry, and endless toil. A perfect nirvana. 

This tale may be a little too New Age for some peoples tastes, I count myself as a super-hero genre fan, but I do enjoy other comic genres too. It's a  superb story, wonderfully written, exquisitely drawn and it's my favourite story this week. 

At last the Football contest we were promised two weeks ago. You could win a Chopper bike as the star prize, followed by ten runner up prizes of a pair of tickets to watch England play Scotland in an international schoolboys match at Wembley (with second-class rail transport for two ticket holders payed for,) on the 9th June 1973! While the next five hundred correct answers would win a Model Luna spacecraft kit each!

 

You had to answer five questions,  then finish the sentence "I make mine Marvel because..." in no more than twelve words and collect 2 entry coupons. 

It's a bit late now so don't enter! 

So just for fun try these questions.

1. Spidey sells photographs to:

Morning Post 

Daily Bugle 

Clarion 

2. The Human Torch and Sue Storm are:

Cousins 

Good Friends 

Brother and Sister 

3. England won the World Cup in:

1962 

1966 

1970 

4. Anfield is the Home ground of:

Leeds

Liverpool

Wolves

5. The last team to do the Cup and league double was:

Arsenal 

Manchester United 

Spurs 

I knew the first 4 and guessed the fifth one correctly, I'll print the correct answers in a later blog when they the winner are mentioned in future issues.

 Spider-man Comics Weekly #10

"Presenting: The epic conclusion of Spider-man's greatest adventure as he battles..Alone against the Sinister Six!" Doc Ock and his sinister chums should have considered attacking Spider-man all at once like this cover shows, they might have been more successful if they did. Dick Ayers pencils this stunning cover with Mike Esposito adding the inks. They're also responsible for the less than stunning lower panel featuring Thor and his mischievous half brother Loki. I think that Spider-man and the Sinister Six were plenty enough to sell this comic.

Spider-man "Alone against the Sinister Six!"

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Steve Ditko    

Inker: Steve Ditko 

Originally published in The Amazing Spider-man Annual  #1

Cover date October 1964

(Published in June 1964)

The opening splash page is a repurposed cover fro the Amazing Spider-man Annual #1 cover by Steve Ditko. It's a stunning piece of art in itself and is a shame that it wasn't use as the cover artwork for either last weeks cover or this week's but it's great that it was featured inside. The story continues from were it finished last week, Spider-man had pick pocketed the card from Kraven the hunter that had the next address in a chain of battles with Spider-man's deadliest foes, that he hoped would lead to the location of the kidnapped Peter's girl friend Betty Brant and his aging Aunt, May Parker. 

Before he can rest to read the card a circle of flame appears under his landing site. The Human Torch has finally found him to offer any help he might need. A nice gesture from the hotheaded teenager but after an impromptu fight between the two young heroes Spider-man apologises for his reaction and tells Johnny that this fight is personal, so he will handle it alone. That might be seen as silly but that's how he wants to play it.

Doctor Octopus seems to be monitoring Spider-man's progress, I assume that because he picked the sites where the battles take place he has fitted CCTV at all the locations. 

Although Betty and Aunt May are held hostage at Doc Ock's secret base the Doctor is a delightful host. Apologising for the urgent matter he had to attend, he offers his guests fresh coffee and Danish pastries, much to the delight of Aunt May who finds him a good mannered  and charming host. 

The next location leads Spider-man to an encounter with three strange looking fellows who uncannily look very similar to the Beast, Angel and Cyclops from the X-men! The reason why they look the same is because they should have been just like the X-men but robot versions created by Mysterio as part of his plan to defeat Spider-man. They could have kept the artwork the same as the X-men hadn't yet been introduced to young British Marvel UK readers and it would have been a nice teaser to what might be coming to British shores if the readers demanded it and sales were good. Yeah as ever the mutants hadn't appeared in the UK, apart from the times they did in Odhams Fantastic comic in 1967 and any imported US comics from 1963 onwards, but apart from that they didn't. 

  

Spider-man defeats Mysterio's robots very quickly, they virtually fall to pieces, I guess Mysterio isn't the best robot builder in Marvel. Probably not a bad job for the limited time he had.

Another classic splash page from Steve Ditko. He really was an incredible craftsman who knew how to fill a page.

Marvel UK policy of not showing or mentioning any character who hasn't appeared in a regular strip is again shown here. Jonah Jameson spies a spider on his window and wonders if it can send Spider-man a message. To British readers that must have looked like the angry publisher had gone insane! But to the reader of the unedited strip Jonah recalled that Ant-man could communicate with ants and wondered if Spider-man could do the same. If you think about it either way it's pretty much insane, but that's comics for you. Much like 53 year old men who love reading comic still. Insane but mostly harmless. 

The next villain in his quest to rescue Betty and Aunt May from imprisonment by tea and danish pastries is the Sandman. As seen in another classic Ditko full page splash. I'm not sure what sound a fist thrown at full force against a chin made of sand makes but Steve Ditko does love a good "WHAP!" sound effect. Or did Stan get Sam Rosen, this stories letterer to add it? Sandman isn't the most brightest criminal, to stop Spider-man from escaping him he conducts his brawl with him in an air tight iron cell. But the Sandman's exertions cause him to run out of breath very quickly. Spider-man takes the note for the next location and leave Sandman. Now does he trap the villain inside the cell, webbing the door shut off page, as the Sandman is seen later on in prison? He must have surely left enough of a gap for air to get in but small enough for Sandman to not escape through.

Next is the high flying Vulture in a gravity defying splash page beautifully drawn by Steve Ditko. Spider-man has got this villain off to a tee, as he has already defeated the villain twice before. Four times if you were to count the two extra times he defeated him in Untold Tales of Spider-Man #5 and 12, a US comic published in 1996. Marvel timelines are a nightmare so for the minute I'll stick to the Marvel UK timeline. Anyway Spider-man gets to Doc Ock's castle, after a complete page is edited out showing just how Spider-man defeats the Vulture and leaves him webbed up on a flag pole. I said last week and I'll say it again, you can really do yourself a massive pleasure if you read this story in full in either its original format or pick up the Marvel UK the Amazing Spider-man Summer special from 1980. It might be black and white but it's a belter of a comic.

Yeah I did mention Doctor Octopus's castle, it's a 1960's super villain thing. They must rent then from "Secret Villain Lairs 'R'us". Anyway Spider-man confronts the Doctor, who has removed his mechanical arms, possibly to appear more friendly to his houseguests. I think he has a thing for Aunt May. But the villain can still control the arms remotely and sets them on to Spider-man making him take a temporary retreat. Spider-man falls into a trap where the now eight limbed fiend engages the teenage web head in a giant goldfish bowl! He must have got that from the same place as the Sub-Mariner got his from when he used it to imprison the Invisible Girl in a air bubble held by a giant octopus, as seen in this weeks Fantastic Four story from MWOM #29. Is that shop called "Super Villain Giant Goldfish Bowls 'R'us"? 

Spider-man defeats the final villain, rescues the two (not so much in distress but well catered for,) damsels and finishes off the day by gloating over the now not so sinister six inmates. How Kraven the hunter was captured is anyone's guess. Maybe the Human Torch circled back after meeting Spider-man and arrested him. It's a pretty shoddy prison, it's six to a cell, no sink, no wash basin and no beds. A positively deprived penal institution but with only one guard I bet they won't stay incarcerated for long.

From the same bullpen that brought you Spider-Man Comics Weekly comes an advert for this weeks Mighty World of Marvel and another advert for FOOM. Coupon number 8 is the Sandman, a photo that possibly came from his prison photo, or may be not! The following page teases that the sensational free gift will be a Spider-man photo but not wallet size, not table top size (which I think means A4 size,) but a poster size! I can't place the artwork that advertises the the free gift, so I'll open it out to the incredible knowledgeable Power of the Beesting readers who might recall where they've seen it before.

The Web and the Hammer

It's a short but sweet letter page this week with just four letters, the first from Terry Austin, not the uncanny inker of 70's X-men fame, no this correspondent comes from Cardiff and wonders would in future issues Thor be battling with some really weird villains like the Fantastic Four's Impossible Man? Well I have to agree with the reply from the editor when they say the Carbon Copy Man certainly rates as a weird super-villain, although I would use the words like rubbish and bland instead. They also tease a strange foe coming next week who goes by the name of the Radioactive Man. Sandy Light from Edinburgh writes saying that some of his friends think Spider-man should join a team, however Sandy thinks that that would be as good an idea as Jonah J Jameson dated Aunt May. Another Terry this time Terry Fairbanks from Lincoln thinks that the Enforcers who appeared in SMCW #2 were the greatest villains Marvel UK has presented so far and when will they appear again? Well they had also appeared in #6 working for the Green Goblin but the Ox would appear in a story in MWOM soon. Finally Don Richler from Fulham praises FOOM, saying everything from the stickers to the poster and the badge are magnificent. He adds that Marvel "comics are okay in my book too!" I presume that the FOOM magazine was great as well. I've only seen, as I own it, issue 18. I would love to have read the other issues. They should do a collection edition of them. I'll buy it.

The Mighty Thor "The day Loki stole Thor's magic hammer!"

Writer: Stan Lee and Robert Bernstein 

Artist: Joe Sinnott

Inker: Joe Sinnott

Originally published in Journey into Mystery #92

Cover date May 1963

(Published in March 1963)

Not the most eye catching title but it sums up the plot really well. Loki is imprisoned in Asgard with chains made from the magic metal Uru, the same metal that Thor's hammer Mjolnir is made out of. This is the first time the name of the metal Uru is used. I think the name of Thor's hammer hasn't yet been mentioned in his strip so far, but I could be wrong, that's always very possible. Loki uses magic to attract Thor's hammer to his chains by a magical form of magnetism, in doing so the hammer shatters Loki's bonds, freeing the God of Mischief in the process. The magnetised hammer and chains stay in Asgard.

Loki wants to lure the Thunder God to Asgard, so he sends a mental suggestion to Thor which causes him to call Odin and relate his plight. Odin transports Thor to Asgard as he is unable to perform the task without the aid of his hammer. Thor recalls that Odin's presence on Earth causes time to stand still, giving Thor the extra time needed to remain in his God persona even after his sixty second limit is up when not holding the magical mallet. Apparently while on Asgard Thor will always remain in his God form, even without his magical mallet. Which is dead handy for the purpose of this tale. 

Thor fashions two mallets, one out of wood to defeat tree giants and another from a rock cliff face to fend off a hoard of dragons. Stan Lee or Robert Bernstein wrap up the tale by adding the rocks that he made his second hammer from contained Uru metal, so using it like a tracker he locates his own hammer, leaving Odin, Heimdall and Fricka to find Loki and imprison him again. Fricka also known a Frigga (or even Freyja Freyrdottir, Norse mythology is really complicated,) is the wife of Odin, the step mother of Thor, the mother of Balder and the adopted mother of Loki, among many more, like I said Norse mythology is really, really complicated. 

This weeks back page is the same as MWOM issue 29 with the football contest questions, so I won't show you that again. Sadly my copy of Spider-man Comics Weekly #10 has a rip down the lower half of the page. But it doesn't spoil the story inside, that's just the price you must pay for having well read vintage comics. So next week more of the same.

See you in seven.

Make Mine Marvel.