Defenders #33 (March, 1976)
Fifty years ago, behind a cover by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia (and maybe Mike Esposito), the latest chapter of the “Headmen” saga opened upon a sight that was strikingly bizarre, even for this series: Read More
Gil Kane
Astonishing Tales #34 (March, 1976)
As regular readers of this blog might recall, we ended our October post about Astonishing Tales #33 with the observation that with that issue, Marvel Comics seemed to have finally found a solid creative team for “Deathlok the Demolisher”, with the feature’s primary creator, plotter, and artist Rich Buckler now supported by Bill Mantlo as scripter and Klaus Janson as inker and colorist. Meanwhile, Buckler’s frequently meandering plotline seemed to have found some new forward momentum as well. Was it possible that this series — which, to be sure, had still generally been entertaining in (mostly) bi-monthly doses, where one might simply enjoy the gritty atmosphere and violent action without being overly concerned with the incoherence of the overall story arc — was finally on the verge of realizing its considerable potential? Read More
Avengers #144 (February, 1976)
As regular readers of this blog may have noticed, I tend not to talk very much about the covers of the half-century-old comics we discuss here; unless they’re really strikingly good, my tendency is simply to note who drew them — to the extent that that’s known, anyway — and then move on. (And just this week, in writing about Defenders #32, I forgot to do even that much; my thanks to reader Ben Herman for stepping into the breach.) But I’m going to make an exception this time, simply to express my disappointment with this particular job by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia. While there are aspects of the composition that work well, the central figure of Hellcat — a significant new character (OK, technically a new combination of two pre-existing characters) whom readers are seeing here for the very first time — is almost painfully awkward, at least to my eyes. Kane was a great talent, but among the very many (probably too many) covers he cranked out for Marvel in the 1970s, it stands to reason that there’d be at least a few clunkers; and for me, this is one of them. (Naturally, your mileage may vary.) Read More
Howard the Duck #1 (January, 1976)
What a difference a couple of years can make.
From Fear #19 (Dec., 1973). Text by Steve Gerber; art by Val Mayerik and Sal Trapani.
From Man-Thing #1 (Jan., 1974). Text by Steve Gerber; art by Val Mayerik and Sal Trapani.
In the autumn of 1973, Howard the Duck’s debut in the last few pages of the “Man-Thing” story in Fear #19 had been followed just one month later by his apparent demise in the first few pages of Man-Thing #1. Marvel Comics’ editor-in-chief at that time, Roy Thomas, hadn’t thought that the publisher’s readers were ready for a “funny animal”-style character in what was at least ostensibly a horror comic, and had asked Man-Thing writer Steve Gerber to get Howard out of the book as quickly as possible. But Thomas turned out to be wrong; the fan response to the acerbic waterfowl was overwhelmingly favorable, and Gerber was eventually given the go-ahead to resurrect Howard in his own solo backup feature in Giant-Size Man-Thing. After two such stories had appeared, and were again well-received, the author pitched Marvel publisher Stan Lee on the idea of giving Howard his very own solo title — and Lee, who not all that long before had reportedly been utterly bewildered when attendees at his college campus appearances quizzed him about when Howard the Duck would be coming back, immediately said yes. And thus it came to pass that in late October, 1975, Howard the Duck #1 — featuring a guest-appearance by Marvel flagship character Spider-Man, no less — was hatched into the comic-book-buying world. Read More
Avengers #143 (January, 1976)
The cover of this issue, pencilled by Gil Kane and inked by Frank Giacoia (and maybe Mike Esposito), might fairly be called a bit misleading. Sure, the Avengers fight a big scaly monster inside, but not these Avengers — Captain America, Iron Man, the Beast, the Vision, and the Scarlet Witch — who, setting aside the whole monster business, show up for only two of the story’s nineteen pages, besides. On the other hand, the promises made by the cover’s blurbs are right on the money: these five Avengers do indeed “break loose” from the confinement we saw them trapped in back in Avengers #142; plus, this issue also features “the final battle against the power of Kang!” — or, at least, a final battle, since, then as now, nothing lasts forever in Marvel superhero comics. Read More
Defenders #31 (January, 1976)
Back in Defenders #21 (Mar., 1975), which was published ten months prior to the comic book we’ll be discussing today, writer Steve Gerber had introduced Marvel Comics readers to a new alliance of would-be world-conquering villains called the Headmen — or, if you prefer, reintroduced them, as all three of these bad guys — Dr. Nagan, Jerry Morgan, and Chondu the Mystic — had been plucked from a trio of one-off, completely unrelated comic book stories of the late 1950’s and early ’60s (recently, and randomly, reprinted together in Weird Wonder Tales #7 [Dec., 1974]), before being set to collectively become a major new adversary for Marvel’s premier non-team. Read More
Captain America #193 (January, 1976)
In July, 1975, Marvel Comics readers who turned to the Bullpen Bulletins page running in that month’s books were greeted by the following banner headline:
Assuming you weren’t a Marvelite of especially recent vintage, “‘Nuff said!” was pretty much on the money, at least in regards to the identity of “The King”. In the context of Marvel comics — and maybe of American comics, period — there was only one person that phrase could possibly be referring to. Still, if any confirmation was needed, it was immediately forthcoming via the latest edition of publisher Stan Lee’s monthly column: Read More
All-Star Comics #58 (Jan.-Feb., 1976)
In October, 1975 — just a little less than a quarter-century since their last headlining appearance in All-Star Comics #57 (Feb.-Mar., 1951), and about half that time since their revival in Flash #137 (Jun., 1963) — the Justice Society of America finally returned to newsstands in their own book. The premiere superhero team, not just of DC Comics but of all comics, was at last back in full force, ready to reclaim its former glory.
And it had Marvel Comics to thank for the opportunity. Read More
Avengers #142 (December, 1975)
Last month we took a look at Avengers #141, which, as regular readers of this blog will remember, ended with three time-travelers — the founding Avenger named Thor, the would-be Avenger known as Moondragon, and their temporary ally, Immortus — touching down in the American West of 1873, just in time to be startled by someone coming up behind them… a someone, or someones, whom our travelers could see, but whose identities remained unknown to us readers…
…at least until the cover of the next issue — the subject of today’s post — where the illustration by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia (with a likely assist from John Romita) rather gives the game away ahead of the book’s opening splash page… Read More
Avengers #141 (November, 1975)
The main topic of today’s post is Avengers #141, which kicked off the last major story arc of one of the series’ defining writers, Steve Englehart — and also featured the debut on the series of one of its most celebrated artists, George Pérez. But given that the last issue of the title we looked at on this blog was #137, back in April — and that that one ended on a fairly large cliffhanger, with the Wasp having just been seriously injured by the enigmatic alien known as the Stranger — we’ll have some catching up to do in regards to the three intervening issues before we can move on to the latest doings of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, circa August, 1975. Read More