Amazing Spider-Man #104
Title: The Beauty and the Brute
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Gil Kane
Villain: Kraven the Hunter, Gog
Regulars: Gwen Stacy, J. Jonah Jameson
Guests: Ka-Zar
Ka-Zar rescues Spider-Man from the quicksand. They agree to work together to free Gwen Stacy from Kraven the Hunter.
Kraven tells Gwen that Gog is the only survivor of a crashed alien spaceship. When Kraven found him he was a newborn baby, and now he serves Kraven unquestioningly.
Spider-Man distracts Gog, luring him away from Kraven, so that Ka-Zar can rescue Gwen. Kraven falls from a cliff and dies. Seemingly.
Gog is weakened by a battle with a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Spider-Man leads him to the quicksand, and Gog is sucked down and dies. Seemingly.
Peter Parker returns to the expedition with an excuse about having been unconscious while the fights were going on. He was successful in not being spotted as Spider-Man by anyone except Ka-Zar.
Gwen Stacy spent this entire issue in her sexy red bikini, but Gil Kane wasted the chance for a lot of gratuitous glamour pictures. I'd like a Gwen Stacy pin-up magazine, but I'm 50 years too late.
Captain America and the Falcon #145
Title: Skyjacked!
Writer: Gary Friedrich
Artist: Gil Kane, John Romita
Villain: Hydra
Regulars: Sharon Carter (Agent 13), Countess Valentina (Agent 14), Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan
This is a single story, separated into two parts. Gil Kane draws the first part, John Romita draws the second part.
SHIELD calls Femme Force into action against Hydra, led by Captain America. It's a pleasant surprise to finally see Countess Valentina again, this time called Agent 14. Her full name is Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, but I'll stick to Countess Valentina to avoid confusion. Her name is also misspelt from comic to comic, which causes even more problems. Anyway, we haven't seen her since Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #14. She used to be Nick Fury's girlfriend, or at least his employee with benefits, but now she's moved on.
Nick Fury is too much of a male chauvinist to fully appreciate the Femme Force. Countess Valentina needs to throw him on his back again, as she did so effectively in Strange Tales #159.
Naughty Countess! She flirts unashamedly with Captain America in front of his girlfriend Sharon.
If Nick Fury is a male chauvinist, Countess Valentina is just as much a female chauvinist. Does that expression exist? "Only men", she says, while rushing in to save Captain America, calling him a man in distress.
And she gives him a kiss in front of Sharon's shocked eyes. Careful, Countess... if you get Captain America so worked up, he won't be able to throw his shield straight.
Hydra succeeds in capturing Captain America and the Femme Force, with the help of a double agent in the Femme Force. Nick Fury asks the Falcon for his help, and despite having broken up his partnership with Captain America last issue he rushes into action. That's what super-heroes do.
Amazing Adventures #10
Title: In his hand, the world!
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: Mike Sekowsky
Inhumans: Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Karnak
Villain: Magneto
Magneto has a Universal Machine (TM) that creates monsters with super powers. He creates a monster with the power to drain Black Bolt's will and make him a slave. Magneto takes Black Bolt to an underground government research installation where a new source of cosmic energy is being developed. Black Bolt's vocal powers knock out the guards, and Magneto steals the vial containing whatever-it-is.
Meanwhile, the other Inhumans have escaped. They want to ambush Magneto when he returns, but he sees them immediately. Then Black Bolt attacks him; he was only pretending to have lost his will.
After the battle Magneto runs away with the canister. For some reason that Gerry Conway doesn't bother to tell us, the canister explodes, killing Magneto. Seemingly.
The orphan Joey is sucked into space by a menace called the Trikon. We're never told what the Trikon is. Furthermore, Joey reappears in this month's Avengers #95 as if nothing had ever happened. Am I the only person who's noticed what a mess Gerry Conway made with his stories?
Avengers #95
Title: Something Inhuman this way comes!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Neal Adams
Avengers: Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Vision, Goliath, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch
Villain: Maximus, Supreme Intelligence, Kree
Guests: Captain Marvel, Rick Jones, Nick Fury, Triton, Black Bolt
Triton arrives and asks the Avengers for help finding Black Bolt. They're reluctant, due to their bigger problem that Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch have been kidnapped by the Skrulls. Before they can decide, Black Bolt returns with his memory restored. He asks the Avengers for help overthrowing Maximus in the Great Refuge. The Avengers agree, not realising that their problems are related. Years ago the Kree came to the Great Refuge and asked Maximus to help them conquer the Earth. Black Bolt drove them away, but as their spaceship left he spoke for the first time, destroying their ship. This drove Maximus mad. Now that Maximus is ruler of the Great Refuge the Kree are with him as advisers.
When Black Bolt returns to the Great Refuge, the Inhumans recognise him as their rightful king. The Kree leave, but they take Rick Jones with them as a prisoner. Maximus is driven mad again by the shock.
Look at the final panels in the story. This is why Neal Adams is such a great artist.
Sub-Mariner #45
Title: And fire stalks the skies!
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: Marie Severin
Villain: Llyra, Tiger Shark
Regulars: Diane Arliss, Leonard Mackenzie
Guests: Human Torch
This comic contains excellent artwork by Marie Severin, and Gerry Conway's story is good as well. He's still erratic, but his writing is improving with time.
Diane Arliss tells Johnny Storm about Namor's search for his father.
She isn't fully informed. She calls his father Leonardo. She must think he's Italian.
Johnny thinks back to the time when he first discovered the Sub-Mariner in Fantastic Four #4.
Namor attacks the flying ship of Tiger Shark and Llyra. The Human Torch tries to help him, but he gets in the way, and Namor is knocked unconscious. The Human Torch rescues him from the water, and Llyra kidnaps Diane Arliss. She finds out about Namor's father through a mind probe. Tiger Shark takes Leonard Mackenzie prisoner. Llyra sends Diane to Namor with a message that he should give himself up to save his father's life.
Fantastic Four #118
Title: Thunder in the Ruins!
Writer: Archie Goodwin
Artist: John Buscema
Fantastic Four: Reed Richards, Susan Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm
Villain: Diablo
Regulars: Crystal, Lockjaw
This comic contains two stories. The first is 15 pages long, the second is a solo adventure with the Thing that's only six pages long.
The Human Torch destroys almost all of the fighter jets attacking the revolutionaries who are walking on foot. The last two planes are wrecked by a powerful blast from the ground. Johnny recognises Crystal immediately, but she doesn't recognise him, because Diablo has hypnotised her to believe that she's the Goddess Ixchel.
The other members of the Fantastic Four arrive and help Johnny in his battle against Diablo. Eventually Crystal's hypnosis is broken. Diablo scuffles with General Robles, and a vial with a potion is shattered. An explosion kills Diablo. Seemingly.
Title: What mad world?
Writer: Archie Goodwin
Artist: John Buscema
Fantastic Four: Reed Richards, Susan Richards, Ben Grimm
Regulars: Lockjaw
This story takes place at the same time as pages 12 to 14 of the main story. Lockjaw teleported with Ben Grimm into a parallel universe, in which Reed Richards became the Thing and Ben Grimm became Mr. Fantastic. Reed Richards in the alternate universe hasn't been able to deal with his change, so he lives as a recluse on a small island where he builds robots as companions. It's a sad life.
Ben Grimm of our universe teleports back to Terra Verde, sad to see that the other Reed Richards is so miserable.
The Incredible Hulk #147
What on Earth happened to Herb Trimpe? This month's cover is awful!
Title: The End of Doc Samson!
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: Herb Trimpe
Villain: Leader
Regulars: General Ross, Major Talbot, Betty Ross, Doc Samson, Jim Wilson
This comic contains two stories. The first is 12 pages long, the second is nine pages long.
The robot impersonating General Ross is waiting for the Hulk to arrive. In attendance are President Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew. The Leader's Mark Twelve Sonic Depressor (TM) is used to destroy the Hulk. Wow! Gerry Conway really outdid himself with that name! It doesn't succeed, just like no other weapons are effective against the Hulk.
The Hulk destroys the General Ross robot. The Leader is forced to reveal himself by sending an army of robots against the base. Doc Samson receives an overdose of gama rays intended for the Hulk.
President Nixon and Spiro Agnew appear throughout the comic, but this is the funniest dialogue. Nixon thinks Henry Kissinger can save the day? How? Should he write a peace treaty between the Leader and the Hulk?
Doc Samson doesn't die, as announced two issues ago. He merely loses his super-powers. The Hulk jumps away.
Title: Heaven is a very small place!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Herb Trimpe
This is a curious little story. The Hulk is wandering through the desert and finds an idyllic little town. He likes it, because nobody is afraid of him. When he tries to touch people, nothing is real. Everyone and everything fades away. The end.
Thor #195
Title: In the Shadow of Mangog!
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: John Buscema
Villain: Loki, Mangog
Regulars: Odin, Sif, Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg, Hildegarde
We find out, as the title already gives away, that the mighty being trapped in a distant world is Mangog. It's unclear how he came to be imprisoned, because he ceased to exist after being defeated by Odin in Thor #157. Gerry Conway obviously knew this was a problem, because it's mentioned twice in the story, but he made no attempt to explain it.
Thor is looking forward to marrying Sif in two weeks, but Odin sends him away on a quest to World's End to retrieve a secret from Kartag the Keeper. Accompanying him are the Warriors Three, who are always willing to go on a quest.
Sif is sent to Blackworld on an unnamed mission, together with a warrior woman called Hildegarde, who will become a regular in Thor's comics.
Thor and the Warriors Three battle with Trolls. Loki frees Mangog, and he attacks Asgard.
Daredevil #83
Title: The Widow Accused!
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: Gene Colan
Villain: Mister Hyde, Scorpion (corpse)
Regulars: Karen Page, Foggy Nelson, Black Widow, Ivan
Gene Colan is on vacation. Alan Weiss is standing in for him. It's his first assignment for Marvel, and I find his work magnificent.
The police want to arrest the Black Widow for the murder of the Scorpion. She runs away, but Daredevil catches her and delivers her to the police. He promises to find a good lawyer to defend her. We already know who.
First Matt Murdock asks Foggy Nelson, the district attorney, to drop the case. Foggy refuses, because Mr. Kline has already told him to prosecute the Black Widow. Matt says that he'll act as her defence attorney, pitting the two friends against one another.
Matt thinks there was something suspicious about the Scorpion, so he becomes Daredevil and visits the morgue at night. Mister Hyde, yet another servant of Mr. Kline, is waiting for him. They fight, but there's an explosion, destroying the morgue, including the Scorpion's body.
Foggy Nelson drops the trial after the destruction of the Scorpion's corpse. The Black Widow is thankful to Matt Murdock, but she says she has to leave to spend some time by herself.
Iron Man #44
This comic is split into two stories this month: a 13-page Iron Man story and a nine-page Ant-Man story. As an Ant-Man fan I hoped that this would be the regular format of the comic, but alas! It's just a one off.
Title: Weep for a lost nightmare!
Writer: Gerry Conway, Robert Kanigher
Artist: George Tuska
Villain: Mr. Kline, Night Phantom
Regulars: Marianne Rodgers, Guardsman
Guests: Captain America
In case you're wondering who the scripter Robert Kanigher is, he worked for DC Comics for more than 30 years. He's best known for writing Wonder Woman from 1947 to 1968. This issue is the only story that he ever wrote for Marvel.
The Guardsman aka Kevin O'Brian carries the badly injured Iron Man back to Avengers Mansion. That's strange. Why not to Stark Industries? I didn't think Kevin had ever visited Avengers Mansion before. And was the door left open for the Guardsman to waltz in with Iron Man in his arms? Robert Kanigher can be excused as an outsider, but Gerry Conway has made a massive blunder.
Captain America is on duty and attacks the Guardsman, thinking he's a villain who's just defeated Iron Man. That's an understandable assumption, which is soon cleared up.
Mr. Kline gives Iron Man nightmares about the Night Phantom, who fought him in Iron Man #14. Then he sends the Night Phantom himself to attack him, except it isn't really the Night Phantom, it's an android.
Title: Armageddon on Avenue A
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Ross Andru
Villain: Scarlet Beetle
The Wasp doesn't appear in the story, apart from the splash page. Hank Pym is flying around the city when he's attracted by a powerful psychic signal. Instead of fleeing he goes into a candy store to investigate. The Scarlet Beetle is waiting for him below the floorboards.
Stan Lee thinks everyone has forgotten the Scarlet Beetle's first appearance in Tales To Astonish #39. He shouldn't underestimate me.
The Scarlet Beetle intends to conquer the world with an army of insects. He wants Hank Pym's size changing formula to make his army larger than humans.
Hank escapes through the floorboards into the candy store, closely pursued by the Scarlet Beetle. The store's owner, Wilbur Grabowski, is in the process of setting the store on fire to claim the insurance money. He drops his canister on the Scarlet Beetle, killing him. Seemingly.
Wilbur is arrested as an arsonist, but without knowing it he's just saved the world.
After the messed up Iron Man story, the Ant-Man backup story is a pleasure to read.
Other comics published this month:
Conan the Barbarian #13 (Roy Thomas, Barry Smith)
My Love #15 (Holli Resnicoff, Gene Colan)
Rawhide Kid #95 (Larry Lieber, Larry Lieber)
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #94 (Gary Friedrich, Dick Ayers)
Western Gunfighters #7 (Len Wein, Dick Ayers)
Note: Steve Englehart, who had recently been hired by Marvel as a proofreader, claims that he rewrote Gary Friedrich's original script for Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #94. In his early years at Marvel he did several uncredited writing jobs, of which there are no records apart from Steve's own memories.
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