Marvel has released yet another b/w magazine for 75 cents, which was a lot of money for a young comic book fan in 1974. The first issue contains a story about Shang-Chi, which could just as well have been included in Master Of Kung Fu, and the introduction of a new fighting team, the Sons of the Tiger. In addition, the issue contains articles about Bruce Lee and the Kung Fu TV series.
This will go on to be the most successful of the Marvel b/w magazines, as a result of the kung fu craze of the mid-1970's.
This month the comic Special Marvel Edition is renamed after its lead character, Master Of Kung Fu, retaining the numbering.
Master Of Kung Fu #17
Title: Lair of the Lost!
Writer: Steve Englehart
Artist: Jim Starlin
Villain: Steve Englehart, Jim Starlin, Al Milgrom
Regulars: Denis Nayland Smith, Black Jack Tarr
New York City is a dangerous place. Three Marvel employees, Steve Englehart, Jim Starlin and Al Milgrom, the writer, artist and inker of this very comic, attack Shang Chi in the street.
Steve and Al get the beating they deserve. Jim flees for his life.
This is disgusting. Marvel should pay them more, so that they aren't forced to resort to robbery on the street! Or maybe they're just high after doing LSD all night.
Meanwhile, Denis Nayland Smith has moved from London to Rye, New York. I'd never heard of it, but it's a pleasant little town in Westchester County, on the border of Connecticut. He wants to be closer to Fu Manchu, so he can take revenge on him before he dies. He's accompanied by a fighter called Black Jack Tarr, formerly a member of the British Foreign Service.
Shang Chi has a bad conscience after killing Dr. Petrie in Special Marvel Edition #15. He wants to ask Nayland Smith whether he should confess his crime to the police. When he enters Nayland Smith's home his intentions are misunderstood, and he has to fight his way through security guards, finally fighting Black Jack himself. When he finally faces Nayland Smith, he doesn't ask the question, he just tells him that he can stand up from his wheelchair if he believes he can do it.
Man-Thing #4
Title: The Making of a Madman!
Writer: Steve Gerber
Artist: Val Mayerik
Villain: Foolkiller
Regulars: Richard Rory, Ruth Hart
We're told the origin of the Foolkiller. He used to be a preacher, saving souls through preaching the Gospel. He became disillusioned that he couldn't stop the evil in the world by preaching, so he made himself a fancy costume, called himself the Foolkiller and set out to kill everyone who's evil or foolish or both.
Man-Thing was seemingly killed last issue, but his body recovers after lying in the swamp for a few minutes.
The Foolkiller wants Richard Rory to die, because he was a disc jockey who played blasphemous music on the radio. He tracks Richard down and tries to kill him, but Man-Thing protects him. Man-Thing's touch kills the Foolkiller. Seemingly?
Avengers #122
Title: Trapped in Outer Space!
Writer: Steve Englehart
Artist: Bob Brown
Avengers: Iron Man, Thor, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Swordsman, Black Panther
Villain: Zodiac (Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra)
Regulars: Mantis
The Avengers and the rebellious members of Zodiac are trapped in a rocket disguised as a shed. At first they continue to fight against one another. Then they agree to help one another return to Earth.
Libra, who remained neutral last issue, turns against Taurus and goes into space in a second rocket to save the Avengers. Back on Earth the rebels join Taurus again, and the 11 Zodiac members (all except Libra) attack the Avengers. The Avengers win the battle, but a mystery arises: Vision is scared of water and doesn't know why.
Libra says it was a mistake that he rescued the Avengers. He wrongly thought that Mantis was with them. Mantis is his daughter.
Captain America and the Falcon #172
Title: Believe it or not: the Banshee!
Writer: Steve Englehart
Artist: Sal Buscema
Villain: Moonstone
Guests: Professor X, Cyclops, Marvel Girl
Quentin Harderman tells Moonstone to keep Captain America and the Falcon unconscious until the press can report them being handed over to the police. They wake up and escape. They travel to Nashville, suspecting that it's the place where they can find the moon rock that's given Moonstone his power.
In Nashville they're attacked by Banshee, who thinks they're criminals. We last saw Banshee five years ago in X-Men #60, but it's even longer since we saw him use his powers. Banshee is too powerful for them to handle, but they're saved by the deus ex machina intervention of Cyclops. Banshee flies away. Professor X tells them that it was a misunderstanding. Mutants are being kidnapped by a secret group, and he suspects that Moonstone is involved, so they should join forces.
The Incredible Hulk #174
Title: Doomsday down under!
Writer: Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway
Artist: Herb Trimpe
Villain: Cobalt Man
Regulars: General Ross, Betty Ross
Bruce Banner is about to drown, but the Cobalt Man rescues him. He delivers him to a rescue boat, then flies to Sydney, Australia. In his own twisted way, he wants to do good. He thinks that nuclear power is evil, so he wants to detonate himself as a nuclear bomb in Sydney to show the world that it should stop using nuclear power.
Bruce Banner is recovering in hospital. He's been tranquillised, so Betty Ross gives him tablets to help him recover. He becomes the Hulk, and he attacks the Cobalt Man while he's building up his nuclear power. The Cobalt Man flies with the Hulk into space, intending to let him drop, but the Hulk refuses to let go. The Cobalt Man explodes in space, killing himself (seemingly). The Hulk falls back towards the Earth.
Amazing Spider-Man #131
Title: My Uncle, my Enemy?
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: Ross Andru
Villain: Hammerhead, Doctor Octopus
Regulars: Aunt May, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Betty Brant, Ned Leeds, Mary Jane Watson
Wow! I was scared for a moment. I thought Doctor Octopus would really marry Aunt May, but the wedding was interrupted by Hammerhead. Just in time!
Was it true love that made Doctor Octopus propose to May Parker? They've always been attracted to one another, ever since they first met 10 years ago in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1, but there's possibly another reason why he's finally decided to tie the knot. Aunt May has inherited a Canadian island, on which there's a nuclear breeding reactor. That's far fetched, Gerry, but I'll let it go.
Doctor Octopus flies to the island in his private jet, pursued by Hammerhead. Spider-Man hitches a ride in Hammerhead's helicopter. At the island, Spider-Man grabs Aunt May and flies away with her. It's kind of funny. Last issue he didn't know how to drive a car, but this issue he's managing to fly a plane without having taken any lessons.
Hammerhead attacks Doctor Octopus and runs head first into the atomic reactor. There's an atomic explosion that kills everyone on the island. Seemingly. How will Gerry Conway or any other Marvel writer explain this one away?
Roy Thomas still lives in the future. He says that Gwen Stacy died in Amazing Spider-Man #221, which won't be released until October 1981. Surely he means Amazing Spider-Man #121. If I didn't know better I'd think that Roy Thomas has been dropping LSD and beating up Chinese immigrants with Steve Englehart.
Fantastic Four #145
Title: Nightmare in the Snow!
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: Ross Andru
Fantastic Four: Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm, Medusa
Villain: Ternak
Black Bolt summons Medusa back to the Great Refuge for something called Project Revival. She won't tell her fellow members of the Fantastic Four what it's about, but she asks Johnny Storm to accompany her. Their pogo plane is shot down over the Himalayas. They're attacked by Yeti-like creatures, led by Ternak. They drive the creatures away, but in the cold they become steadily weaker.
The creatures, who call themselves the Chosen, are highly intelligent. They used to be peaceful before Ternak became their leader. Johnny and Medusa are captured.
When they escape, Johnny Storm has the temerity to yell the Thing's battle cry: It's clobbering time! There will be a lot of arguments when they get back home.
Ternak himself overcomes them. He tells them that he has a Climate Cannon (TM), with which he intends to reduced the temperature to below freezing point on the whole planet.
Thor #222
Title: Before the Gates of Hell!
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: John Buscema
Villain: Ares, Pluto
Regulars: Odin, Sif, Hildegarde, Krista
Guests: Zeus, Hercules
Thor and Hercules duel for the right to face Pluto. Zeus tells them to stop fighting and go together.
Together they defeat first an army of Trolls, then Ares himself.
John Buscema doesn't do many two-page drawings, but this is magnificent. It reminds me of Jack Kirby in his better years.
The two Gods prepare to enter Hades itself to face Pluto.
Tomb of Dracula #19
Title: Snowbound in Hell!
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Artist: Gene Colan
Regulars: Blade, Quincy Harker, Rachel Van Helsing, Frank Drake
Guests: Werewolf (flashback)
Kills: One man (total 26)
Embraces: None (total 8)
This story continues from Werewolf By Night #15. At the end of that issue we saw Rachel Van Helsing fleeing with the diary of Jack Russell's father, though not knowing why it's important to Dracula. Dracula was flying in pursuit. In this issue he catches the helicopter and throws out the pilot.
There are several inconsistencies in this part of the story, possibly errors made by Marv Wolfman. At the end of Werewolf By Night #15 Rachel Van Helsing and Frank Drake faced Dracula together. She ran to the helicopter, leaving Frank behind.
Here's the scene from the end of Werewolf By Night #15. Dracula is standing between Rachel and Frank as she runs to the helicopter. On the following page we didn't see Frank, so I assumed that he managed to get past Dracula when the Werewolf attacked. Here we see that Frank was left behind, and she left with a pilot.
The question is, why did she have a pilot with her if Frank was able to fly? She didn't know that he would be unable to leave with her. Also, where did the pilot come from? When they arrived in Werewolf By Night #15 they were alone in the helicopter. He must have been a local pilot from Transylvania. This means his skin colour is a problem. Before 1989 there were almost no black-skinned Romanians, and even now the country is only slowly beginning to open up to foreigners. So was the pilot an American? That's highly unlikely, because the country's borders were closed from 1946 to 1989, and the Communist regime mistrusted foreigners, especially Americans.
On the other hand, Marvel comics often ignored the isolation of Romania and Transylvania behind the Iron Curtain, possibly because the American writers didn't know how difficult it was to get in and out of the country. Jack Russell and Topaz visited the country as tourists, which was permissible, but Romania's secret police would have been tracking them to make sure they went to the place they said they would go. As for Frank Drake, a foreigner, being allowed to fly a helicopter in Romania, that's highly unlikely. He would have needed a registered Romanian pilot.
Apart from that, the geography is in question. The helicopter departed from the grounds outside Dracula's castle, and it crashed at a far distant location in the mountains. Why so far away? Dracula obviously caught the helicopter soon after take off, and it wouldn't have travelled far after the pilot was thrown out. The crash should have been only a few miles from the castle, making it easy for Dracula to fly back. Instead of this he's stranded with Rachel Van Helsing in the snowy mountains. This lays the foundation for a good story, but the premise is unfeasible.
Dracula and Rachel Van Helsing cross the mountains on foot. Rachel's leg is broken, so Dracula has to assist her. He keeps her alive, so that he'll have blood to drink when he needs it. Eventually Frank finds them, and he carries Rachel away, leaving Dracula in the snow.
Werewolf by Night #16
Title: Death in the Cathedral!
Writer: Mike Friedrich
Artist: Mike Ploog
Villain: Hunchback
Regulars: Topaz
This story is a homage to Victor Hugo's novel, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".
Jack Russell and Topaz are in Paris after leaving Transylvania. This is one of the rare months with four full moons, so he changes again on the fourth night.
A plane is being kidnapped by a hunchback. The Werewolf attacks him, and he flees to Notre Dame Cathedral. Topaz follows them so she can attempt to control the Werewolf. The Werewolf throws the Hunchback to his death.
Iron Man #67
Title: Return of the Freak
Writer: Mike Friedrich
Artist: George Tuska
Villain: Freak (Eddie March), Dr. Spectrum, Sunfire (cameo)
Regulars: Happy Hogan, Pepper Hogan, Roxanne Gilbert
Guests: Thor (Donald Blake)
This is a very slow-moving comic. It spends the first 10 pages cleaning up from last issue. Mike Friedrich is doing too much of what Gerry Conway doesn't do enough of.
Dr. Spectrum is released, because he has diplomatic immunity. Eddie March is sent to hospital for treatment. The operating surgeon, Dr. Donald Blake, says he's too weak to survive. Tony Stark remembers the Enervator (TM) that he used to save Happy Hogan's life in Tales Of Suspense #74. There's just a minor risk that the patient will turn into a murderous monster called a Freak. We can already guess where this story is heading, can't we?
Eddie March turns into a monster. Iron Man fights and defeats him.
When Tony Stark returns to Roxanne Gilbert's apartment, he finds a note that she's gone to look for Eddie's brother Marty, who is MIA in Vietnam.
Power Man #18
Title: Havoc on the High Iron!
Writer: Len Wein
Artist: George Tuska
Villain: Steeplejack (Jack Mallard)
Regulars: Dave Griffith, Noah Burstein, Claire Temple
Luke Cage talks to his dead girlfriend Reva at her grave. That's something I never understood until my father died. I don't often visit his grave, because he's buried in another country, but every time I stand at his grave I talk to him. Do I think he's listening? Not really, but talking to him comforts me. He wasn't a very understanding person, so what I say to him now is more personal than anything I ever said to him during his life.
He's asking Reva for advice. Is she okay with him moving on now that he has a new love interest, Claire Temple? What should he do about his criminal record? He was set up, as we read in Hero For Hire #1, but that doesn't change the fact that he's an escaped convict, a criminal in the eyes of the law. The man who set him up is dead, so there's no way he can prove his innocence.
Claire is listening. She advises him to track down the supply of drugs that were used for the set up.
On the way home, Luke sees someone attacking a man on a skyscraper that's being constructed. Luke leaps into action to protect the underdog. Of course. A construction worker using the nickname Steeplejack is trying to kill Maxwell Plumm, the building's owner, because he blames him for the death of workers on the site.
After saving Plumm's life, Luke offers him his business card. Really! If he wants to be taken seriously, he should have new cards printed.
Plumm hires Luke Cage to protect the building. He doesn't have to wait long. In the evening Steeplejack returns to sabotage the building with a self-designed flame gun.
The flames can't kill Luke, but they hurt him. He makes a shield by wrapping a tin in asbestos.
And he calls himself Captain Afro-America. That's funny.
A girder that Steeplejack has already sabotaged gives way. He falls to his death.
Luke's informant Flea calls him, saying he has news about the stolen drugs. When he goes to meet him, Flea is dying. He says that Cottonmouth did it. Who's that?
Ghost Rider #5
Title: And Vegas writhes in Flame!
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Artist: Jim Mooney
Villain: Roulette, Satan
Regulars: Roxanne Simpson
Dude Jensen reveals that he's really a demon, Roulette, the Demon of Las Vegas. He surrounds Roxanne Simpson with hell flames. Then he tells Ghost Rider that he's about to burn Las Vegas to the ground. Ghost Rider doesn't think that Las Vegas is worth saving, so he rescues Roxanne first.
Roulette primarily wants revenge against six casino owners, presumably mobsters. As Dude Jensen he lost money in their casinos, and when he couldn't pay his debts they shot him and dumped his body in a quarry. Satan gave him back his life in exchange for his soul. Revenge on the six casino owners is his own business, but Satan has given him the job of defeating Ghost Rider.
Roulette has built his own casino. Wow! I'm impressed!
When Ghost Rider enters the casino, Roulette is waiting. He asks Satan for additional power to kill Ghost Rider. While Satan is increasing his power, Ghost Rider also increases Roulette's power. It's too much for his body to absorb, so he explodes.
I hope this isn't really the end of Roulette. He's way too cool to die after only one issue.
Adventure Into Fear #21
Title: Project: Second Genesis!
Writer: Steve Gerber
Artist: Gil Kane
Villain: Daemond, Balkatar
Regulars: Tara
Morbius refuses to kill the sweet little girl in the car. He intends to go back to Daemond, but then his bloodlust overcomes him and he returns to attack her. She defends herself with eye blasts. She generates a vision of the beautiful woman she will one day become. He fights and defeats the woman. He bites her, but the vision dissolves and the little girl collapses with bite marks on her neck.
Morbius wants to take her to hospital, but he's stopped by cloaked men who call themselves the Caretakers. They came to Earth 10,000 years ago, in the early stages of man's evolution. They acted as man's teachers. However, they've recently become disappointed with man. He's turned to evil, so they want to create new beings, the Children of the Comet, to mingle with mankind and lead them on the right path.
Reverend Daemond is their enemy. He wants mankind to continue on its path of evil. They ask Morbius to kill him, because they themselves are incapable of killing. Morbius returns to Daemond, who conjures up a cat demon called Balkatar. Morbius is defeated. He sees that Daemond's partner is Martine, Morbius' former lover who he killed in Amazing Spider-Man #102.
Non-Canon comics published this month:
Deadly Hands Of Kung Fu #1 (Steve Englehart, Jim Starlin)
Vampire Tales #4 (Don McGregor, Tom Sutton)
Monsters Unleashed #5 (Tony Isabella, Vincente Alcazar)
Marvel Team-Up #20 (Len Wein, Sal Buscema)
Astonishing Tales #23 (Tony Isabella, Dick Ayers)
Strange Tales #173 (Len Wein, Gene Colan)
Conan the Barbarian #37 (Roy Thomas, Neal Adams)
Kull the Destroyer #13 (Steve Englehart, Mike Ploog)
Worlds Unknown #6 (Gerry Conway, Dick Ayers)
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