Kid Colt Outlaw # 138 (Marvel/1968)

Kid Colt Outlaw# 138 (Marvel Comics Group)

Denny O'Neill/Gary Friedich (w) Werner Roth (a)

Western comics were once a mainstay of the comics industry, in America at least. Even as a child I was less keen on them despite rather liking "westerns" on film & TV. Even had toys based on the "Wild West" and the American Civil War. Remember those 1:72 packs of plastic figures produced by Airfix?

Only one or two westerns made it m Yet these comics sold well enough to last, and Kid Colt Outlaw was certainly one of the ones that lasted. Published from 1948 until 1979 the Kid managed a grand 225 or so issues, though many from the late sixties were reprints apparently.

I picked this one up just for a change and it's not a bad comic if you like westerns. Two Kid Colt stories The End of an Outlaw and The Avenging Son, the latter being the better tale as it focused on racism towards American Indians.

Not one I will be collecting but an interesting diversion from the plethora of horror and mystery titles I have been reading of late.

 

The Flash #227 (DC/1974)

The Flash #227 (DC)

Cary Bates (w) Irv Novick & Frank McLaughlin (a)

A dramatic cover from the early seventies introduces us to a story Flash This is Your Death, a parody of the long gone TV show,  This is your Life older readers may recall. DC loved trying to attract it's readers with this kind of cover (see the gallery below) which "sort of" gave us the story line inside.

We meet the very dangerous Aussie villain, Boomerang who is sprung from incarceration by none other than his own father. Digger and his dad then go on a mission to wipe out the Flash in a plot that involves a giant boomerang (not entirely unexpected) and a journey through a scary dimension.

Do you really need a plot spoiler. The Flash escapes and brings the perps to justice!

DC was struggling during this period as Marvel gained ascendency as can seen by the Green Lantern appearing as a "co-feature" in The Flash, his own title cancelled.

In My Ring, My Enemy a strange yellow force (GL's weakness at this time was anything coloured yellow) Hal Jordan is forced to balance of good with an act of evil.

To be continued.....

 

 

Marvel Preview #12 (Marvel Magazine/1977)

This issue of Marvel Preview was a one shot highlighting some of the characters from the company's now defunct horror line. Haunt of Horror in its original incarnation had only lasted 6 issues and with the exception of Dracula none went past eleven editions.

The problem was that there were too many titles competing in what was a niche market and combined with delays all the horror titles folded. They are fondly remembered as there is some good material in them. What's more they were far more "edgy" than the colour comics that we were used to.

Lilith, Dracula's daughter appeared in Vampire Tales whilst Dracula himself had his own mag. The editorial suggested that these characters should share a mag but alas it was too late. The horror boom was at an end and only Savage Sword of Conan would survive as a black & white magazine in the long term

The Lilith story, Profits Are Plunging  by Steve Gerber, Bob Brown & Frank Springer combines horror and environmentalism as Dracula's daughter takes on a multi-national corporation to not just save her lover but the seas of Earth itself.

Slinking Through the Psycho-Ward is up next in a one of tale of a cleaner and his woes at work with lunatics abounding around him.

The Eternal Warrior, the third story is the weakest tale in the book featuring Gilgamesh in an entirely predictable tale set in the jungle.

However the best is saved for last as Doug Monech & Sonny Trinidad tell the tale, Picture Of Andrea, with a detective standing in a victim's room alone at 4am in the morning trying to figure out what happened. Was she murdered and more importantly where is the body?

 Oh and there's Dracula to take into account with a twist I didn't see coming.

 

Weird War Tales #12 (DC/1973)

Weird War Tales #12 (DC Comics)

Various (w) & (a)

One of the more interesting war comics was the mystery anthology Weird War Tales launched by DC in 1971 and ran for 124 issues until 1983 when the age of such comics was coming to end. Like all anthologies the stories could be a mixed bunch but then there's always a surprise or two worth picking up a copy for.

This issue features three stories, two of which revolve in different eras around the Egyptian God Anubis. God of Vengeance leads off with the tale of a High Priestess urging her God to avenge her untimely and unjust death at the hands of a lecherous Pharoah. What happens next. Let's just say the jackals have a feast

The some 3,000 years later two American prisoner and yet another Priestess get killed by a fanatical Nazi.  Herr Krantz should have heeded the words of the Priestess as he falls in battle at the direct hands....of Anubis in Hand of Hell.

The last adventure, The Warrior and the Witch Doctor sees a Roman soldier transported to the future, for us the present day at the hands of a British Druid. With this he is able to change history and save his army from ambush.

An entertaining read. Pick up a copy or two.

 

Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos #54 (Marvel/1968)

Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos #54 (Marvel)

Gary Friedrich (w) Dick Ayers (a)

One of the amazing things about the on-going adventures of soldiers in war comics (whether US or British) you'd find that they managed not just fight the Nazi's in Europe, whether on D-Day, Italy or even North Africa, they also found time to fight the Japs.

Captain Hurricane (Valiant), Sgt Rock (DC) and of course Marvels Sgt Fury also managed this amazing feat. And nay a casualty in sight. Oh well these are comic books and these are "fantasy" adventures as the editor responds to one critic in the letters page of this issue.

I think that's why overall I preferred those pocket books, the War, Battle and Commando picture libraries when it came to this genre. The characters depicted were usually "one-off" appearances and they didn't all make it. Which made these tales more realistic.

Still I can't say I didn't (and don't) find Sgt Fury entertaining.

In this story the Howlers are in re-education camp following the apparent death of Izzy fighting the Japanese. Except he isn't but might soon be but we all know he won't and will in some future issue be reunited with Fury and the rest.

No spoilers.

 

Tales of Suspense #69 (Marvel/1965)

Tales of Suspense #69 (Marvel Comics)

Iron Man: Stan Lee (w) Don Heck (a)
Captain America: Stan Lee (w) Jack Kirby/Dick Ayers (a)

From the early days of Marvel, Tales of Suspense featuring two of their best known heroes, Iron Man and Captain America.  In the mid-sixties Marvel was still a fledgling company with the number of titles they could publish restricted by their distributor (owned by their arch-rivals, National/DC) as a result Tales of Suspense was one of three comics which were "shared" by different super-heroes.

Many people have fond memories of these comics which are a joy to read but it was not so much for me as I could never find or afford to buy the continuing stories every month. However some did fall into my small hands and I picked this up because I had this and the conclusion (in 71) as a child. Now is maybe the time to actually get a copy of #70 as well as #71 to get the full story.

Iron Man faces the Titanium Man in a story that was very much a product of the Cold War which was still at it's height in 1965 and would continue for another two decades. A battle between West and East that took three issues to resolve. On and the commie cheats by the way.....

Meanwhile a traitor is at work in Greymoor Castle in England where Dr Rawlings plans to shrink  both Captain America and Bucky with a new type of radiation. His direct master? The Red Skull. However Cap (as Steve Rogers) heads off in a raid on Nazi occupied Europe leaving Bucky alone, who inevitably gets captured leading to Cap deserting his platoon to rescue young Bucky Barnes.

Meanwhile Panzers are closing in on his comrades.....

 

Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction #1 (Marvel Magazine/1974)

At long last I have managed to get hold of the first two issues of this short lived black & white magazine published by Marvel in the mid-seventies.  There were just six editions plus one "special" published as part of Marvel's entry into the magazine market aimed at older readers.

Like all anthology titles the content varies but whilst the majority of material is great to good there are some duff stories in this comic. The highlight of this and the second issue is an adaptation of Day of the Triffids by Gerry Conway with art from Ross Andru & Ernie Chua.

A View from Without is next, which I ended up skipping over as the format did not appeal, but Smash Gordon which follows is a very poor show. Fortunately the mag picks up with Savage World by Wally Wood with art from Al Williamson and Hey Buddy, can you lend me a ...

The moral being always carry a dime!

The whole magazine is framed by the on-going saga of Slow Glass which has a complete feature at the end in a nice little story Light of Other Days by Tony Isabella with art from Gene Colan & Mike Espsito. Nobody ever seems to want to purchase this "slow glass stuff" despite its wondrous properties.

An interesting series well worth a dip. I'd recommend the Special if you don't fancy collecting the lot. It has the best stories!