Marvel Years 10.06 - June 1970

Silver Surfer #17

Title: The Surfer must kill!

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: John Buscema

Villain: Mephisto

Regulars: Shalla Bal

Guests: Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm, Tony Stark

The Silver Surfer has promised to destroy SHIELD in order to get Shalla Bal back from Mephisto. Unknown to the Surfer, Mephisto has retrieved Shalla Bal from the snow storm and has placed her in a hypnotised state as a secretary in SHIELD headquarters. Mephisto wants the Silver Surfer to despair when he discovers that he's killed his lover.

In turn, the Silver Surfer wants to betray Mephisto by destroying SHIELD as an organisation without killing anyone. He gives SHIELD a warning and asks them to evacuate their buildings, but they don't obey his requests. Nick Fury and other agents attack him, but he reacts gently, defending himself without hurting them. This gives SHIELD the advantage. Using a new Z-Gun (TM) invented by Tony Stark, they weaken him enough to take him captive.

Mephisto is furious. He places Shalla Bal within arm's reach of the Silver Surfer, then takes her away again. The Silver Surfer strikes helplessly at Mephisto, who is invisible to everyone else, so Nick Fury thinks he's gone mad. The Silver flies away weakly.

This is yet another powerful story by Stan Lee. But really... a Z-Gun? Stan must be running out of good names.

---

The Avengers #77

Title: Heroes for hire!

Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: John Buscema

Avengers: Black Panther, Goliath, Vision, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch

Villain: Kronus, Cornelius Van Lunt

Guests: Tony Stark

After highly praising Roy Thomas last month for his six-year run on the Avengers, this is one of his weaker stories.

Until now we've assumed that the Avengers Mansion belongs to Tony Stark. Now we find out that the building is only rented, and the landlord is a wealthy man called Cornelius Van Lunt. The rent is $2000 per month, and now the arrears are $120,000. I don't understand that. How could a millionaire like Tony Stark forget to pay the rent for five years? Doesn't he have a secretary to deal with stuff like that? Now Stark Industries is going through a bad phase and doesn't have much cash, and Van Lunt is demanding his rent. The Avengers could become homeless!

The Avengers offer their services for hire to pay the bills. Cornelius Van Lunt himself hires them to demolish a newly acquired building. While they're working a bank is being robbed by a costumed criminal called Kronus. Based on his physique, the Avengers suspect that he's Van Lunt. In actual fact it's one of Van Lunt's employees who wants to frame his boss.

The Black Panther gets a job as a history teacher, using a civilian name not mentioned in this issue.

---

Thor #177

Title: To End in Flames!

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby

Villain: Loki, Surtur

Regulars: Odin, Balder, Sif, Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg

Unable to stop Surtur, Loki flees to Earth. Thor leads the rest of Asgard in battle against him, but they are unable to stop him.

Balder retrieves Odin from the Sea of Eternal Night at the risk of his own life. When Odin awakens he imprisons Surtur once more.

---

Fantastic Four #99

Title: The Torch goes wild!

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby

Fantastic Four: Reed Richards, Susan Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm

Regulars: Black Bolt, Medusa, Crystal, Gorgon, Karnak, Triton

In Fantastic Four #95 Johnny Storm's lover Crystal returned to the Inhumans. Johnny kept his cool for a few months, distracted by various battles, but now he snaps. He's certain they must have kidnapped Crystal against her will, so he flies to the Himalayas to free her. He fights against the combined might of the Inhumans, until the other members of the Fantastic Four arrive to tell him to cool down. Crystal says she went back voluntarily. At first he accuses her of not loving him. Then it's explained that she was needed, because only her elemental powers could save Black Bolt's life.

There's a mistake here. Triton calls Black Bolt Crystal's brother. The exact relationship between the two has never been disclosed, but that can't be right. Crystal is Medusa's younger sister, and Medusa is Black Bolt's lover, which couldn't be possible if they were brother and sister. Could it?

---

Amazing Spider-Man #85

Title: The Secret of the Schemer!

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: John Romita

Villain: Schemer (Richard Fisk), Kingpin

Regulars: Gwen Stacy, Captain Stacy

This beautiful splash page drawn by John Romita gives a recap of what happened last issue.

The Kingpin is jealous, because his wife Vanessa (who looks remarkably similar to Dormammu's sister Umar) has helped the Schemer escape. Does she love him?

Captain Stacy visits Peter Parker with his daughter Gwen to ask him how he gets such good photos of Spider-Man in action. Fearing that George Stacy is getting close to discovering his secret identity, Peter makes an excuse to leave the room, then returns as Spider-Man, angrily demanding to see Peter because he owes him money.

Spider-Man captures the Schemer and brings him to the address where the $5000 reward was offered last issue. It's the Kingpin's apartment. Spider-Man is trapped while the Kingpin and the Schemer argue, with Vanessa in the middle. The Schemer unmasks himself and reveals that he's the Kingpin's son, Richard Fisk. Spider-Man escapes and slips away unnoticed.

---

Captain America #126

Title: The Fate of the Falcon!

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Gene Colan

Villain: Maggia

Regulars: Falcon

The Falcon is on the run from the police. He's been framed for murder by a black supremacist gang called the Diamond Heads. Captain America helps him escape, and then goes after the gang. He finds out that the black supremacy is just pretence to make people more scared of them. They really work for the Maggia.

We'll be seeing a lot more of the Falcon in the coming years.

---

Daredevil #65

Title: The Killing of Brother Brimstone

Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Gene Colan

Villain: Brother Brimstone

Regulars: Karen Page

Gene Colan delivers yet another masterpiece this month. It's difficult to say which of his panels is the best. They're all brilliant artwork.

Daredevil is still in Los Angeles searching for Karen Page. She has a small role in a television show called "Strange Secrets", which obviously refers to "Dark Shadows". One of the show's lead actors, Ross Archer, who plays Brother Brimstone, is due to be written out of the show. He tries to take revenge on the cast and crew, but Daredevil stops him, only to find that the person dressed up as Brother Brimstone isn't Ross Archer after all.

---

The Incredible Hulk #128

Title: And in this corner, the Avengers!

Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Herb Trimpe

Regulars: General Ross, Major Talbot

Guests: Avengers (Goliath, Black Panther, Vision, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch)

The Hulk is still underground, walking through the Mole Man's tunnels across America. He's heading towards the San Andreas fault. General Ross fears an earthquake, so he asks the Avengers for help.

Goliath is as macho as they come. He doesn't believe in taking a woman's advice.

The Avengers fight with the Hulk, but even their combined strength is no match for him. They lure him towards a Gammatron Bombarder (TM), which is supposed to change him back into Bruce Banner, but it doesn't work. The Hulk leaps away, and the Avengers let him go, because he's now above ground and the San Andreas fault is safe from him.

---

Sub-Mariner #26

Title: "Kill!" cried the Raven

Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Sal Buscema

Villain: Red Raven

Regulars: Diane Arliss

Prince Namor is hiding in New York in disguise. He sees a newspaper report about a costumed man found unconscious at sea. Namor recognises him as a potential ally in his fight against the surface world. The readers should recognise him as well, because it's Red Raven, who we last saw in X-Men #44. He put himself into a 20-year sleep, but now he's been found after only two years.

Namor finds where Red Raven is being held and revives him. Red Raven is so full of seething hatred for the surface dwellers that Namor considers him unsuitable as an ally. After a brief fight, Red Raven escapes and returns to the place where the rest of his people are in suspended animation. He tries to revive them, but they're all dead.

An explosion kills Red Raven. Supposedly.

---

Iron Man #26

Title: Duel in a Dark Dimension!

Writer: Archie Goodwin
Artist: Don Heck

Villain: Collector, Shar-Khan

Regulars: Happy Hogan, Pepper Hogan

Pepper Hogan has been kidnapped by the Collector, who we last saw in Avengers #51. He tells her husband, Happy Hogan, that he will only free her if Iron Man delivers to him the Freak, who we last saw in Iron Man #4. Iron Man refuses, because he knows that the Freak is really Happy Hogan, a secret he's kept from him.

Iron Man talks to the Collector and asks him if there's anything else he wants instead. The Collector says he wants something called the Solar Sword. Iron Man is sent to a place called the Dark Dimension, not to be confused with Dormammu's dimension. The Solar Sword is being wielded by a hero called Val-Larr, and it's the only weapon that can protect the innocent people from the demons of Shar-Khan.

First Iron Man aids Val-Larr in  battle, then he steals his sword and takes it to the Collector. This prompts Shar-Khan to begin an all-out assault. The Collector accepts the sword and honours his promise to free Pepper, but the sword begins to glow, threatening to do super-nova. It gains its power from light, so it's too powerful to be used in any world with normal light.

Iron Man returns the sword to Val-Larr. Together they defeat Shar-Khan.

---

Captain Marvel #20

Title: The Hunter and the Holocaust

Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Gil Kane

Villain: Rat Pack (looters)

Regulars: Rick Jones

Guests: Hulk

Captain Marvel returns after a six-month break. I'm glad that Roy Thomas was given another chance with this comic series. The stories are outstanding, even more cosmic than the Silver Surfer comics. Sadly, the series is still ahead of its time. It will only be back for two issues before taking another two-year break.

After Rick Jones performs another small gig before an adoring crowd, Captain Marvel complains that he's been left floating in the Negative Zone for months. That's six months, as we already know. Rick doesn't allow Captain Marvel to come back until he needs him, when he sees an old man being mugged in the building where he lives.

Rick suggests that they visit Bruce Banner to find a way to bring them both back to Earth at the same time. Rick directs Captain Marvel which way to fly to go to one of his hidden laboratories. On the way he's slowed down when he sees a tornado hitting a village and wants to help. He's further slowed down by a gang of looters calling themselves the Rat Pack. When he finally arrives at Bruce Banner's laboratory, his three hour time limit runs out and Rick Jones falls unconscious at Bruce Banner's feet.

This takes place shortly after this month's battle with the Avengers in this month's Incredible Hulk #128. Bruce Banner thinks that Rick might have led the Avengers to him, and the stress makes him turn into the Hulk. The Hulk is in a rage and prepares to kill Rick Jones.

---

Other comics published this month:

Millie the Model #183 (Stan Lee, Stan Goldberg)
Mad About Millie #12 (Stan Lee, Stan Goldberg)
Chili #14 (Stan Lee, Stan Goldberg)
Our Love Story #5 (Stan Lee, John Buscema)
Rawhide Kid #77 (Larry Lieber, Larry Lieber)
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #79 (Gary Friedrich, Dick Ayers)
Chamber of Darkness #5 (Jack Kirby, Jack Kirby)

Off-Topic: Psychics

When it comes to psychics, I'm a sceptic. They're all a bunch of fraudsters who read your mind by guesswork and suggestion. However, I had a strange experience in 2009 which I still can't explain.

At that time I almost never visited my bank. I did everything by online banking. One day I made an exception, because I wanted to deposit some cash. I went to the Small Heath branch of Nationwide. When I walked up to the cash desk, the girl behind the counter said, "Good afternoon, Mr. Hood".

That surprised me, so I replied to the girl, whose name was Ayesha, "Oh, so you remember me? It's been a long time since I was last here".

To which she said, "No, I've never seen you before".

That was weird, but I went on with my business and pulled my wallet out of my pocket. Before I even opened it she asked, "You want to deposit £200?"

"How did you know that?" I asked in return.

Her colleague at the next cash desk laughed and said, "She's psychic. Test her".

That was a challenge I couldn't resist. I asked her my date of birth, and she gave me the correct answer. But then I said, "You probably have that in front of you on your computer screen".

The colleague was leaning over and said, "Yes, she does. Ask something else".

It took me a few moments to think up an impossible question. "Where did I go on my honeymoon?" I thought to myself that there was no way she could possibly guess that I went to Brighton.

Ayesha stared at me for a few seconds, then asked me, "Where's the Black Isle? I don't know it".

That totally freaked me out. I went to Brighton on the honeymoon of my second marriage in 2002. That's the answer I was fishing for, but I went to the Black Isle on the honeymoon of my first marriage in 1982. How could she possibly know that? I wasn't even thinking about the Black Isle when I asked her. Another question I asked myself later was, if she's psychic enough to know I went to the Black Isle, why wasn't she psychic enough to know it's in Scotland?

I went home in a daze. I told my daughter, and she said, "I don't believe you. You're making it up". I was annoyed that she didn't believe me, but then I realised that if she'd told me the same story I wouldn't have believed it either.

I've kept this story secret for the last 10 years. I don't want people to laugh at me or accuse me of lying. Only my daughter knows about it, and if she hasn't forgotten it she must still believe I was lying. Was I hallucinating and imagined it all? Maybe I was. To a sceptic like me, a temporary loss of sanity is a better explanation than a Moslem bank clerk who can read minds.

Official Secrets (3½ Stars)

"The truth is always the first casualty of war".

I immediately liked the film's tag line, which is super-imposed on the film poster. It wasn't until I sat down to write this review that I questioned whether it's a true statement. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. It varies from case to case, so I would definitely strike the word "always". A lie might be told to justify a war. That was possibly the case in the Iraq War of 2003, when it was claimed that the Iraqi regime was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. I say possibly, because it's impossible for me to decide after all these years whether it was a lie or a mistake.

It's more often the case that lies are told after a war has ended. It's said that after a war history is written by the winners. If the other side had won, the history books would tell a different story. My favourite example is the statement that World War Two was started by Germany invading Poland. That's something that people in England, America and most other western countries repeat without thinking, but it's only one way of interpreting the facts. It could also be claimed that Germany didn't invade Poland at all; German troops entered German territories that were being occupied by Poland. If Germany had won the war, the "invasion of Poland" would have been called the "liberation of West Prussia and Posen".

Those are interesting topics worth discussing some other time in greater detail. For now, let's stick to the film. It deals with the true story of Katharine Gun, an employee of GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) in 2003. She intercepted a message from America to the British government asking for the non-permanent members of the UN Security Council to be put under surveillance to find a means of persuading them to vote in favour of a war against Iraq. The suggestion that diplomats should be blackmailed shocked Katharine so much that she leaked the memo to a friend who was an anti-war activist. The memo found its way to the British newspaper, The Observer.

An investigation was made to find the whistleblower responsible for the leak. At first Katharine denied it was her, but she eventually confessed in order to protect her colleagues who were the main suspects.

This is a fascinating story told with documentary precision. If anything, it's too close to being a documentary. The opening scenes show the actual footage of interviews with politicians like George Bush and Tony Blair. This slows the film down, and it needs at least half an hour to get moving. For me it only became interesting when it focused on the personal drama in Katharine's life. Keira Knightley plays the role perfectly, displaying the emotions of her character while attempting to keep them under control. It's a subtle but very effective performance.

The most shocking part of the film is the way the detectives talk to her about her legal rights. Katharine is allowed to speak to a lawyer, but as an employee of GCHQ she had signed an agreement to adhere to the Official Secrets Act by not talking about her work to anyone. This meant that if she discussed her work with her lawyer, including any details of the case against her, there would be additional charges against her. That makes a mockery of the whole British legal system.

The Shining (5 Stars)

All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy. All work and no play makes Dancer a dull boy.

Success Rate:  + 0.3

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Word of the Day: BULL

The word of the day is BULL.

Usually Ifrit Aeon wears clothes that show off her butt, but today she's wearing a skirt that covers everything. Just about. The only way I can see her butt is by lying on the floor at her feet.

"What are you doing down there, Dancer? Are you trying to look up my skirt?"

"Aren't you ashamed of yourself, crawling on the floor like an animal?"

"No, you don't need to stand up. I'm glad you know your place".

If you like her photos, please click here to subscribe to her YouTube channel.

To see more of her, click here to visit her Patreon channel.

Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (5 Stars)

This is a documentary about Jim Carrey's 1999 film, "Man on the Moon", a film I love but for some reason haven't watched for a long time. It's common knowledge that he's a method actor who completely immerses himself into his roles. Many also know that his method acting for "Man on the Moon" was so extreme that the press accused him of having a mental breakdown and being unable to distinguish himself from Andy Kaufman. Even I didn't know just how far he went until I saw this documentary today.

It was a dream role for Jim Carrey. He had always admired Andy Kaufman. He had no trouble copying Andy's voice and mannerisms after hours of watching his videos. For the role, Jim didn't just play Andy Kaufman, he became Andy Kaufman. On set he was only addressed as Andy or Tony (Tony Clifton was Andy Kaufman's alter-ego). He didn't react to the name Jim, and he went into periodic rants about how bad Jim Carrey was. This led to amusing scenes like him constantly annoying Jerry Lawler on set, trying to provoke a fight. He was also thrown out of the Playboy Mansion. Possibly the creepiest thing that happened was when Andy Kaufman's daughter, Maria Colonna, visited the film set. She was born out of wedlock and never met her father. When she met Jim he acted like her father, comforting her and telling her how much he loved her. Looking back 20 years later, Jim says that this meeting helped her and gave her closure. To me this is where he went too far. But he couldn't help it. The Jim personality was buried and he was only capable of being Andy.

I admit that the documentary overwhelmed me. There's so much packed into 90 minutes. I need to watch it again, preferably back-to-back with "Man on the Moon".

The documentary is only available on Netflix.

Word of the Day: BEET

The word of the day is BEET.

It might be raining in England, but Ifrit Aeon has to put up an umbrella to shield herself from the sun.

She's having trouble with the pole. However much she shakes it, it won't go up.

Finally the umbrella is up. I would have helped her, but I preferred to watch.

If you like her photos, please click here to subscribe to her YouTube channel.

To see more of her, click here to visit her Patreon channel.

Green Book (5 Stars)

Racism plays a major part in this film, but it isn't a film that supports racism or criticises racism. People might read into it the message they want to see, but it's just a film that portrays racism as it was in 1962. When the most blatantly racist scenes are shown towards the end of the film you can either think of the racists as quaint or stupid. Make up your own mind how you want to see it. "Green Book" isn't a film that takes the moral high ground.

It's the story of two men who come from different worlds who become unlikely friends. They both have different problems in their lives, and it's these problems that draw them together. They can recognise one another's problems easier than their own. Tony Vallelonga is an uneducated but streetwise Italian bouncer who's struggling to make ends meet. Dr. Don Shirley is a man with three PhD's who speaks (at least) three languages fluently, but he feels lonely and cut off from the world. When I first watched the film I immediately felt drawn to Dr. Shirley as a man I could relate to. After watching the film again today I can finally see Tony's qualities, things that I unfortunately don't have.

Tony Vallelonga was a racist, but it was out of ignorance. He led a secluded life, not mixing socially with black people. After spending two months with a cultivated, highly educated black man he came to see that the generalisations and prejudices that he had against black people were wrong. But that's just a message I take from the film. You're free to interpret it however you wish.

Success Rate:  + 12.0

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Word of the Day: MILK

The word of the day is MILK.

Ifrit Aeon is showing off her cooking skills in the kitchen. That's something I can stand and watch for hours.

Ifrit has to clean up afterwards. Did she spill milk on the floor? It was probably me.

If you like her photos, please click here to subscribe to her YouTube channel.

To see more of her, click here to visit her Patreon channel.