Terrified (3 Stars)

This is the 25th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

This is an Argentinian film, made in Spanish.

A man in a small town hears strange noises in his house. He finds his wife floating in the air and being thrown across the bathroom, her head being slammed against the wall until she's dead.

A haunting? A supernatural film? Maybe. A team of paranormal investigators say that the house is at a close point to another dimension, so the inhabitants of the other dimension can cross over. They're almost invisible. They can only be seen if you look at them from the right angle.

For the rest of the films unusual things happen. The next door neighbour sees things in his house. The son of a policeman who lives opposite returns from the dead.

The film's atmosphere is effective. It's terrifying throughout, which is what the title promises. If that's good enough for you, go and watch it. I expect more from a film. I expect a film to make sense. One or two loose ends are forgivable, but at the end of "Terrified" we still don't know why anything happened. The film doesn't make sense. It's as simple as that.

Bomb City (4 Stars)

This is the 24th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

When she presented the film to the audience Ellena practically apologised for showing a true crime story in a festival that's all about fantasy. Did she forget that another true story, "American Animals", was shown on Friday? We shouldn't get too hung up on the name of the festival. This was a good film to show as a contrast to the other films in the festival.

This film tells the true story of the events that led up to the murder of Brian Deneke in 1997. It's the story of the persecution of a minority. It's difficult to understand why distributors didn't want to release the film. I would have thought it's a very relevant topic for today. Maybe it's because the victims weren't black. It's easy to say that black lives matter, but "White Lives Matter" doesn't sound as catchy.

It's the same sort of story, whatever the skin colour. The normal kids in the city of Amarillo, Texas didn't like the punks because they looked different. The all-white, all-normal jury found Dustin Camp not guilty, even though he deliberately ran Brian Deneke over and dragged his body across the parking lot. The defence lawyer defended him by saying that Brian was a vicious individual who deserved to die, so Dustin had done the right thing. The jury looked at the photos of a man with spiky hair and agreed with him. "Disgusting! We don't want anyone like that in our city!"

It's human nature to feel wary of people who look different, whether it's skin colour or clothing. I accept that. What I don't accept is people leaving it at that. First impressions might be right, they might be wrong. If I meet someone else who looks or dresses differently to me I should talk to them and find out what he's like. It doesn't matter what a person looks like on the outside, it's what he's like on the inside that matters.

That's something the good, decent jurors of Amarillo didn't understand. They were the worst type of bigots.

Elizabeth Harvest (4 Stars)

This is the 23rd film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

I sat through the first half of this film feeling confused, not knowing what was going on. Everything was wrapped up neatly at the end, but my overall impression is that "Elizabeth Harvest" is a film that needs to be watched twice to be fully enjoyed. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is a matter of your personal taste.

The film begins with a young woman called Elizabeth being taken home by a rich man, Henry, after their wedding. It's the first time she's been in his house. The only other occupants are his maid Claire and her blind son Oliver. He leads her from room to room, showing her his treasures, art paintings and jewels. She discovers that he won a Nobel Prize a few years ago. In the cellar they walk past a brightly lit room. Elizabeth asks Henry what's in it, to which he replies that the whole house is hers, but that one room is off limits.

You're probably thinking the same as me. Forbidding entry to just one room in the house makes it the most interesting room of all. That's the same story as in the Garden of Eden. God told Adam and Eve that they could eat the fruit of any tree except for one, so guess which fruit they ate first. That's human nature. Elizabeth sneaked into the room as soon as Henry was away on business. The night before Henry had enigmatically told her, "Every action is defined by its consequences". It doesn't matter what she found, what's important is the way Henry reacted to her curiosity. God punished Adam and Eve by throwing them out of the Garden of Eden. Henry doesn't throw Elizabeth out of his house, he hacks her to death with a machete. Claire and Oliver help Henry bury Elizabeth in the garden as if it's the most natural thing in the world.

So the title character's dead? This was the first moment of shock for me in the film. Others followed fast.

Next we see a young woman called Elizabeth being taken home by a rich man, Henry, after their wedding. It's the same Elizabeth. The dialogue as Henry escorts her through the house is almost the same. Is this a flashback? Is this an alternative reality like in "Run Lola Run"? As the film continued I slowly figured out the answers, and I was astounded.

This is a very good film, even though I don't like the over-reliance on flashbacks in the second half. I'm looking forward to seeing it a second time.

Valley of Shadows (4 Stars)

This is the 22nd Film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

The six-year-old boy Aslak lives in a house on the edge of a forest in Norway. The area is sparsely populated, and his only friend is Lasse, a few years older than him, the son of a nearby shepherd.

Sheep have been killed recently. The shepherds don't think that a normal animal has killed them, because they haven't been eaten. They say that they've been killed for fun. They suspect that a werewolf has killed them, but they don't want to start a panic, so they tell people a wild dog has killed them. Lasse tells Aslak the truth.

Aslak's dog disappears, so he goes deep into the woods looking for him. He finds a cabin inhabited by a mysterious stranger, who invites him to stay for the night.

The film excels because of its dreamy atmosphere. It's a slow moving film in which almost nothing happens. It's questionable whether it should be classified as a horror film. There's talk about werewolves, but we never see any.

This film is in complete contrast to "Prospect", which I watched yesterday. "Prospect" bored me because it was too slow. "Valley of Shadows" is even slower in its pacing, but the atmosphere fascinated me.

Under the Silver Lake (4½ Stars)

This is the 20th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

"Under the Silver Lake" is the film I was most looking forward to in this year's film festival. The trailer (which I'd seen at least five times in the cinema) fascinated me. The film almost lived up to my expectations. Almost, but not quite. I think the film has too much humour. I would have preferred it if it had been played completely seriously. That's the only reason I've deducted half a star.

Andrew Garfield plays Sam, a young man who lives in an apartment building in Los Angeles. He falls in love with another resident that he sees in the building's swimming pool late at night. They arrange to meet again the next day, but when he arrives at her apartment the next morning, only a few hours later, she's moved out. Her furniture and everything else is gone. Who moves out in the middle of the night?

Sam becomes convinced that there's a giant conspiracy going on around him. He thinks that there are secret messages being passed around that only a rich and powerful elite can understand. He finds clues in symbols scribbled on walls, in comic books and in song texts. Someone is killing dogs in Los Angeles in order to fulfil an ancient prophecy. A new rock band, Jesus and the Daughters of Dracula, seems to be involved. The prostitutes in an elite escort agency know more than they admit.

There's a parallel world in Los Angeles. While normal people go about their lives there are others who are living in a different world. Sam wants to find out the truth.

Prospect (2 Stars)

This is the 19th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

I'm not sure what happened here. I walked out of the cinema feeling disappointed, while my fellow members of the Stuttgart film group all told me that they enjoyed the film a lot. Did they see something that I missed?

The story is about a father (Damon) and daughter (Cee) who fly to a remote planet and back to salvage rare metals from a distant planet. Their space ship isn't in good working order, and it's due to be their last trip. Unfortunately they don't get very far and crash land on one of the planet's moons. Cee is in a hurry to get back home, possibly by hitching a lift from other miners, but Damon is taking it easy. He knows the location of a supply of valuable stones called Aurelacs which develop inside the stomachs of large worm-like creatures. He's determined to return home a rich man.

It's not so easy. All the miners are greedy and self-centred, so deals are broken and fights ensue.

Although set in space, this is a typical western adventure. It reminds me of the gold rush of the 19th Century. The space ships all look like they've been pieced together from scrap metal. It all looks very retro in its imagery. Most of the story takes place in a forest, which is an unusual setting for a science fiction story.

Two stars is the best I can give this film. It was far too slow to excite me. I was bored within the first hour. Maybe my readers will enjoy the film more than me. If you enjoy it, please leave your opinion in the comments box below.

Border (5 Stars)

This is the 16th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

Tina works as a customs official in the harbour of Kapellskär in Sweden. She has a special ability which makes her suitable for her job. She can smell evil in people and things. In the film's first few minutes she uncovers a paedophile when she smells illegal films on his phone's memory card.

Tina isn't in a relationship because she considers herself ugly. Does she even look like a woman in the photo? She's an outsider because she can do things nobody else can but also doesn't look like anyone else. That's what she thinks, anyway. A passenger called Vore arrives from Finland who looks and acts like her.

I daren't say any more for fear of giving away spoilers. All I can say is that it's a love story. It's a beautiful love story, but it's also a very unique story. It's Sweden's entry for next year's Foreign Language category. It really deserves to win.

American Animals (4½ Stars)

This is the 15th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

This film has already been shown in cinemas in most other countries, but since no official German release is planned it was shown at German film festivals instead. The film is a box office flop, which I consider surprising. It's very well made, highly entertaining, and even the critics like it.

At the beginning the film makes the statement, "This film is not based on a true story; this film is a true story". I assume that the director means that he has made an effort to tell the story as accurately as possible. The action in the film is frequently interrupted by the real life characters talking about the film. Sometimes they contradict one another, for instance, "That's Warren's memory of the event. I remember it differently".

In 2003 two students decided to steal several books from the Transylvania University's library, including a first edition of John James Audubon's "The Birds of America", allegedly the world's most valuable book with a value of $12 million. Realising the job was too big for them they added a third, then a fourth student to their number.

The film shows the mishaps that are inevitable when inexperienced criminals try to act as a team.

Overall this is an excellent film which I look forward to seeing again.

An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn (unrated)

This is the 14th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

I've made the unusual decision not to rate this film. I really don't know if it's a good film or a bad film. It overwhelmed me. When the film ended the audience broke out into loud applause, probably the biggest applause of the festival so far, but I just sat there in a daze. What had I just watched?

The plot itself is easy to describe. Shane Danger (Emile Hirsch) is the manager of a small cafe. He's told by the area manager that he has to reduce the staff, so he fires his wife Lulu. Lulu taunts her husband by telling him that her brother Adjay's vegan convenience store earns more money. Shane and his two remaining employees rob the store. Adjay hires a hitman called Colin to get the money back, but Lulu suggests that Colin should split the money with her, so they run away together.

Colin falls in love with Lulu, not realising that she's only using him. They stay in a hotel which is planning to host an event with a man called Beverly Luff Linn. Lulu recognises him as her ex-husband who she thought was dead. He was thought to have drowned when they were swimming off the coast of Aberdeen, but he had a spiritual enlightenment while he was swimming and decided to fake his death and return as a Scotsman.

The plot might sound straightforward, but the film is stylistically chaotic. There's an absurd humour created by repeating the same unfunny jokes over and over again until they finally become funny. A reviewer has described the film as a cross between the Three Stooges and David Lynch. That aptly sums it up.

What keeps you alive (2 Stars)

This is the 13th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

Jackie and Julie, a newly wed lesbian couple, go to stay in a lakeside house that belongs to Jackie. After a few days Jackie pushes Julie off a cliff for no apparent reason. Julie miraculously survives and crawls though the forest while Jackie hunts her.

The film starts off average and slumps towards the end. Admittedly, we don't need an explanation for Jackie's action. Saying she's a psychopath is enough. I'm more bothered by the way Julie acts. She runs away, and when she's finally in safety she returns. That doesn't make sense. And the film's conclusion, which I won't give away here in case any of my readers are foolish enough to watch the film, is totally illogical.

The film drags on too long. It seemed like it lasted over two hours, but at the end I realised it had only run a fraction over 90 minutes. There's a wise saying: "A good film is never too long, and a bad film is never too short". If you wonder who first said that, it was me. I'm not just a pretty face.

Marrowbone (2 Stars)

This is the 11th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

In 1969 the Fairbearn family emigrates to America from England. Rose Fairbearn's four children are Jack (20), Jane (19), Billy (18) and Sam (5). On moving into their house she changes the family name to Marrowbone to make a new start. Soon afterwards she falls sick and dies. Before dying she tells Jack that he has to keep her death secret until he's 21, otherwise he will lose the house. The children bury their mother in the garden and pretend that she's still alive.

A mystery unravels about the family's past and a ghost living in the attic.

First of all the film's positive features. The cinematography is excellent and gives the film a polished professional look that none of the previous films in the festival had. It looks and feels like a big budget Hollywood production. The acting by the young cast is also excellent.

The problems are with the story. For most of the film the mystery about the family's past is dangled in front of us, but I found it very dissatisfying. Mysteries are good, but I like mysteries where characters in the film are searching for the truth and the audience follows their search. In the case of "Marrowbone" the children all know exactly what happened in the past, it's just a mystery for the audience. I was impatient to find out what it was.

When the mystery is finally revealed to the audience there's a plot twist that's equally dissatisfying. I can't tell you what it is because I don't want to give away spoilers. All I'll say is that I was ready to give the film a three star rating, but after the plot twist I dropped it to two.

Heavy Trip (5 Stars)

This is the tenth film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

Ever since I saw the trailer for this film I knew it would be something special. I expected it to be one of the best films of the festival, and after seeing it I consider it to be one of the best films of the year, surpassing even "Mandy".

The film is about an amateur heavy metal band, in particular its lead singer Turo, in the remote Finnish town Taivalkoski. Their dream is to make it big, but after 12 years of practising in the cellar success seems to be far distant. By chance a Norwegian comes to the town to buy reindeer blood, and it turns out that he's the manager of the Norwegian heavy music festival Northern Damnation. This awakes hopes that they can play their first public concert.

The film is so funny that the whole audience was laughing throughout. I assume that there were few heavy metal fans in the audience, so it seemed ridiculous to them that there should be aggressive heavy metal in Finland. I know otherwise. Despite its relatively small population Finland has a large number of heavy metal bands, such as Korpiklaani and Children of Bodom.

The film might be funny, but the music is exactly what heavy metal fans like. They describe their musical style as "symphonic post-apocalyptic reindeer-grinding Christ-abusing extreme Fennoscandinavian pagan battle metal", but the name is the only thing that's comical about their music.

It's a brilliant film. I can't wait to see it again.

This is Ellena, one of the organisers of the Fantasy Film Festival. She's a nice girl, even though she's not a heavy metal fan. Or maybe she is. Appearances can be deceptive. Not many people know that I'm a heavy metal fan.

The Dark (5 Stars)

This is the eighth film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

This is a film that wasn't what I expected. The description in the film catalogue gave me the impression that it would be a zombie film. Even the picture shown above makes it look like a zombie film. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Mina is a teenage girl who lives in a woodland area called Devil's Den. After being sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend she retaliated and injured him badly. In revenge he buried her alive in the forest. He should have buried her deeper. She crawled out of the shallow grave, returned to her cabin and killed him. Then she killed her mother, because she knew about the abuse and did nothing. Ever since she has been living alone, killing and eating anyone who comes near the cabin.

The newest victim is a man called Josef Hofer who's being hunted by the police. He's kidnapped a blind teenage boy called Alex, although for some reason that I don't understand the boy is a willing prisoner. Stockholm Syndrome? Even though he's left lying in the back of the car Alex still says he wants to wait for Josef to return.

Mina discovers Alex in the car after killing Josef. Instead of killing him she feels affection towards him and wants to help him return to his mother. Alex is blind and doesn't realise how ugly and disfigured Mina is. A romance develops between the two.

The film leaves some questions open, but somehow it doesn't bother me. It says enough to make the story moving and emotional. As Todd Rundgren once sang, "Love between the ugly is the most beautiful love of all". This is a highlight of the film festival.

Climax (4½ Stars)

This is the sixth film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

No words I write can give an accurate impression of this film. I can describe the plot, but the film isn't about a plot. It's all about chaos.

A dance troupe has a private party. They dance. They talk. They drink. Then things get out of hand, because the punch has been laced with a psychedelic drug. The dancers begin to kill themselves and one another.

I strongly recommend that you watch this film on as large a screen as possible in a dark room to get the full effect. Turn up the volume as loud as you can. Even better, get yourself tipsy before the film starts. Don't get yourself drunk, just drink enough to give yourself a buzz before immersing yourself in the chaos.

At the end of this film the audience applauded. It was the first film to receive applause so far this year.

The Unthinkable (4 Stars)

This is the fifth film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

The film tells two stories. The first story is a family drama. Björn loves his son Alex but is unable to show it. As a result Alex runs away to Stockholm, leaving behind Anna, the girl he loves. Over the next ten years Alex becomes a world famous keyboard player. He returns to his home town Vanga to buy the piano from his local church, because he believes it has more soul than the expensive keyboards he already owns. He walks into the church and finds Anna, now married with a child, sitting and playing the piano he wants.

The second story is an attack on Sweden by Russia shortly after Alex's arrival in Vanga. At first it looks like terrorist attacks that are blowing up Sweden's power plants, but then there's an invasion of dark clad soldiers in helicopters attacking the remaining power plants in person. In addition, biological weapons are used that infect anyone who is caught in the rain.

The battles with the invading soldiers bring Björn, Alex and Anna back together.

The film effectively shows the terror and confusion of people caught in a modern war. Nobody knows for certain what's happening. In rural areas people aren't even aware there's a war and think that it's just an accident that has turned off the power.

At the end of the film there's footage of Vladimir Putin acting like he knows nothing about a war against Sweden.

The realism of this film is overwhelming. Vladimir Putin wants a war to extend Russian influence, but he's biding his time until he thinks the West is too weak to defend itself. After the Baltic countries have fallen, Sweden will be the first western European country to be attacked. No other country will defend Sweden if Putin can persuade them that Russia isn't doing anything.

The Cannibal Club (3 Stars)

This is the fourth film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

The wealthy married couple Otavio and Gilda host an elite club in their villa. They kill people, mostly their male servants, then cook their flesh for dinner parties.

It's an interesting idea, but the film seems too much like gore for the sake of gore. It's not a bad film, but it has nothing memorable. A year from now I'll have forgotten what happened in the film.

The only notable thing about "The Cannibal Club" is that it's the first Brazilian film I've ever seen.

Paradox (4 Stars)

This is the third film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film festival.

The Hong Kong policeman Lee Chung is devoted to his wife and his daughter Chi. After the death of his wife his daughter means even more to him. When she's 16 Chi travels to Thailand on vacation. After three days she disappears. Lee travels to Thailand and assists the local policeman Chui Kit in finding his daughter. Together they uncover a gang that kidnaps tourists to harvest their organs for illegal transplants. The investigations are hampered because corrupt policemen and senior politicians are also involved with the gang.

I don't usually like Chinese police stories, but this is an outstanding action story. There are some gunfights, but also many martial arts that were choreographed by Sammo Hung.

Mandy (5 Stars)

This is the first film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

Each year the Fantasy Film Festival organisers try to put an exceptional film at the beginning of the festival to encourage the visitors to come back for the (ahem) less exceptional films. Last year the opening film was "IT Chapter One", an outstanding film in every regard. "Mandy" is just as outstanding, maybe even more so. It's one of the best films I've seen this year.

I went into the film with false expectations. The description on the cinema's website made it sound like a science fiction film. It's actually a supernatural horror film.

Red Miller (Nicolas Cage) lives in a cabin in a remote forest where he works as a lumberjack. I'm not sure exactly when it's supposed to take place, but Ronald Reagan is president, so it's some time during the 1980's. Red loves heavy metal and his wife Mandy. His life is torn apart when Mandy is captured by a religious cult and burnt to death in front of his eyes. He sets out to get revenge with the help of an axe and a crossbow.

The revenge isn't just on the cult itself, Red also takes revenge on a demonic motorcycle gang that aids the cult. They look like aliens from outer space, which must be the reason for the false information on the cinema website, but they're human; deformed, but human.

The film is all about atmosphere. The music is haunting and intense. The soundtrack is a mixture of the music in Robert Fuest's films and Werner Herzog's early films. Visually the film reminds me of Robert Fuest again, while the plot has similarities with David Lynch's "Wild at Heart". There also seems to be a nod to Nicolas Cage's version of "Wicker Man".

There are other impressive details to the film. The title screen doesn't appear until more than half way through the film, and the word "Mandy" is in the style of a heavy metal band's logo. Nicolas Cage's mannerisms degenerate into total madness as the film progresses, especially in the final scenes. No other actor could have played the role. No other actor can look so insane.

To be fair, it's not a film for everyone. My fellow member of the film group, Jennifer, who was sitting next to me, told me it's one of the worst films she's ever seen. The film's sheer madness overwhelmed both of us, but it made me love the film while it made Jennifer hate it.

Marvel Years 04.08 - August 1964

Fantastic Four #29

Title: It started on Yancy Street

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby

Villain: Red Ghost

Regulars: Alicia Masters

Guests: The Watcher

The Red Ghost, last seen in Fantastic Four #13, captures the Fantastic Four and takes them to the Moon. He hopes that they will suffocate, but they find their way to the Moon's Blue Area, home of the Watcher, which is full of oxygen. The Watcher is forbidden to interfere, but he finds a loophole. Nobody is allowed to remain where he is, so he sends them back to Earth.

By the way, don't you think that's a beautiful cover?

The Crazy Credits subtly belittle Sam Rosen's talent.

---

Amazing Spider-Man #15

Title: Kraven the Hunter

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Steve Ditko

Villain: Chameleon, Kraven

Regulars: Aunt May, Flash Thompson, Liz Allan, J. Jonah Jameson, Betty Brant

The Chameleon, who fought with Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #1, returns to take revenge. He thinks he can defeat Spider-Man with the help of an old friend, a big game hunter called Kraven. He's no ordinary hunter, because an African witch-doctor's potion has given him supernatural strength and speed.

In this issue we have the first mention of Mary Jane Watson as the niece of Peter Parker's neighbour Mrs. Watson. Aunt May arranges a date because she thinks that Peter needs a girlfriend.

Doesn't Aunt May know what's going on in her nephew's life. He's having a sort-of relationship with Betty Brant. Liz Allen, Flash Thompson's girlfriend, also likes Peter, which makes Betty jealous.

Peter does his best to reassure Betty that Liz means nothing to him.

Now things get complicated. Peter Parker is supposed to go on a date with Mrs. Watson's niece, but she cancels because she has a headache. Peter rings up Betty to take her out, but Betty turns him down because she's still annoyed. Peter rings up Liz on the rebound to ask for a date, but Liz is going out with Flash. Teenage love is complicated.

In the Crazy Credits it looks like Stan Lee wants to put down letterer Artie Simek, but it backfires.

Maybe Stan should have made more of an effort to chide Artie Simek. Look at what Kraven says on page 20. It doesn't make sense. Did Stan Lee make a grammatical error? Or did Artie get mixed up and write "most" instead of "move"? I suspect the latter.

---

Tales to Astonish #58

Title: The Coming of Colossus

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Dick Ayers

Villain: Colossus (an alien from the planet Vega)

Guests: Captain America

Giant-Man and the Wasp travel to Africa to challenge a 30-foot being called Colossus by the natives. We find out that he's a scout from the planet Vega. Does that mean he's a Vegan?

This month's Crazy Credits box is kind to Artie Simek. That's only because Stan Lee couldn't think of an insult that rhymes with completely, neatly and discreetly.

---

Title: The Magician and the Maiden

Writer: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber
Artist: Larry Lieber

Villain: Magician

Regulars: Giant-Man

The Magician returns, who we last saw in Tales to Astonish #56. After being defeated by Giant-Man he thinks he can defeat the Wasp by herself. Big mistake! The Wasp defeats him easily. She's tougher than she looks.

---

Journey into Mystery #107

Title: When the Grey Gargoyle Strikes

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby

Villain: Grey Gargoyle (Paul Duval)

Regulars: Jane Foster

Paul Duval is a scientist who accidentally spills a potion on his hand which turns it to stone. Everything he touches with his hand turns to stone. If he touches himself, his body is a strong and flexible stone. Any other person that he touches becomes solid and immovable like a statue for 60 minutes.

In the Crazy Credits Stan Lee disowns Artie Simek. He shouldn't do that. Sam Rosen can't do all the work by himself.

---

Title: Balder the Brave

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby

Gods: Balder, Loki, Norn Queen

In the second story about Balder Loki seeks a way to kill him. The Norn Queen tells Loki that only mistletoe can harm Balder. This is a legend told in Norse mythology.

---

Tales of Suspense #56

Title: The Uncanny Unicorn

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Don Heck

Villain: Unicorn

Regulars: Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan

Guests: Thor, Giant-Man, Wasp

Tony Stark grows frustrated with being dependent on his chest plate to stay alive. He decides to give up being Iron Man. When the Avengers ring him to say they need Iron Man's help with a menace in New York he tells them that he has sent Iron Man on a long vacation.

A Communist villain called the Unicorn attacks Tony Stark's factory with a suit designed by the Crimson Dynamo. He kidnaps Pepper Potts and badly injures Happy Hogan. When he hears about this Tony Stark changes his mind and becomes Iron Man again.

Poor Sam Rosen is subjected to ridicule in the Crazy Credits.

---

Tales of the Watcher

Title: The Watcher's Sacrifice

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Larry Lieber

Guests: Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm

As in this month's Fantastic Four #29, the Watcher finds another loophole to interfere while doing nothing. He witnesses a battle and falls in love with Queen Kalthea, the leader of one of the armies. He appears silently, which scares her enemies away. The Queen declares her love for him, but he speaks coldly to her to prevent her getting involved with him.

In a brief epilogue we see the Fantastic Four discussing the Watcher's easy life.

This issue also contains a short anthology story.

---

Strange Tales #123

Title: The Birth of the Beetle

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Carl Burgos

Villain: Beetle (Abner Jenkins)

Regulars: Ben Grimm, Doris Evans, Alicia Masters

Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm take their girlfriends on a double date in the Fantasti-Car. They encounter the Beetle, a former mechanic who has super-human strength enhanced by a costume that also enables him to fly.

From this issue onwards the Human Torch and the Thing fight together.

This story was drawn by Carl Burgos, the artist who drew the original Human Torch in the 1940's. In the last panel he draws himself talking to Stan Lee. Supposedly. That doesn't look like Stan to me.

In the Crazy Credits Stan Lee is on his best behaviour. He doesn't want to say anything bad about Sam Rosen in front of Carl Burgos.

---

Title: The Challenge of Loki

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Steve Ditko

Villain: Loki

Guest: Thor, Odin

Loki tricks Doctor Strange into stealing Thor's hammer. When he realises he's been tricked Doctor Strange fights with Loki. Loki is much more powerful than Doctor Strange, unlike in the films, and only flees when Thor is about to arrive.

The Crazy Credits aren't too cruel to Artie Simek this month.

---

The Avengers #7

Title: Their Darkest Hour

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby

Avengers: Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Giant-Man, Wasp

Villains: Zemo, Enchantress, Executioner

Regulars: Rick Jones

Guests: Odin, Loki

The Avengers punish Iron Man for ignoring their call in this month's Tales of Suspense #56. The punishment is to suspend him for a week, which seems like an illogical punishment. "You didn't come to us when we called you, so you aren't allowed to be with us now".

In the last issue The Black Knight, the Melter and the Radioactive Man were arrested after being defeated by the Avengers. Zemo forms a new Masters of Evil team with the Enchantress and the Executioner, who have been banished from Asgard by Odin.

The Crazy Credits seem to be praising Artie Simek this month.

---

Daredevil #3

Title: The Owl, Ominous Overload of Crime

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Joe Orlando

Villain: Owl

Regulars: Foggy Nelson, Karen Page

A crooked millionaire businessman "whose name is long forgotten" has the physical appearance and powers of an owl. His jacket and cape allow him to glide like an owl.

Karen Page begins to notice similarities between Matt Murdock and Daredevil.

The Crazy Credits are relatively kind to Sam Rosen.

---

Other comics published this month:

Modeling with Millie #32 (Stan Lee, Stan Goldberg)
Patsy Walker #116 (Stan Lee, Al Hartley)
Patsy and Hedy #95 (Stan Lee, Al Hartley)
Rawhide Kid #41 (Stan Lee, Jack Keller)
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #9 (Stan Lee, Dick Ayers)

The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak (5 Stars)

If you thought "Barb Wire" couldn't be outdone in its camp nature, you were wrong. "The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak" – which I'll shorten to "Gwendoline" – outdoes it on all counts. It was made in 1984, and the main male character, Willard, is a shameless plagiarism of Indiana Jones. Gwendoline herself is based on the comic strip "Sweet Gwendoline" written and drawn by John Willie from 1947 to 1955.

The comics have been collected in a hardcover edition that can be bought from Amazon.com. Click here to buy the book.

In the film Gwendoline travels to China to search for her father, accompanied by her friend Beth. Her life is rescued by an adventurer called Willard, who's a gambler and a scoundrel. At first he refuses to give Gwendoline any further assistance, but she makes a bet with Willard, and if she wins he has to accompany her into the desert to the last known location of her father.

First they're captured by cannibals, but they manage to flee. The cannibals pursue them, but when Willard, Gwendoline and Beth enter a territory marked by large nets they're afraid to follow. They've entered the kingdom of the Yik-Yak, an all-female tribe who live underground and only go to the surface to hunt. They are only capable of bearing female children, so they capture men from the cannibal tribe for procreation. The Yik-Yak have evolved so that the women eat their mates after copulation.

There's a strict caste system in the tribe. The workers are topless, the warriors wear leather outfits and the ruling class wear long robes. Willard disguises himself as a warrior, but they soon recognise he's a man. Maybe he should have shaved?

Willard is tied up and prepared for the mating ritual. Why is he scared? There are much worse ways to die.

As I've already mentioned, the film is ridiculously camp, but the action is very well filmed. The comedy is low key, designed to make you grin rather than laugh out loud. The musical score is amazing. I was lucky enough to see it in the cinema when it was first released. The DVD release isn't perfect, but the picture quality is as good as can be expected for a low-budget film from the 1980's. I don't know if there's enough interest in the film for it to be remastered. I hope so.