Fantastic Four #113
Title: The Power of the Over-Mind!
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: John Buscema
Fantastic Four: Reed Richards, Susan Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm
Villain: Over-Mind
Regulars: Agatha Harkness, Franklin Richards, Alicia Masters
Guests: Bruce Banner (Hulk)
The Thing was left dead after his battle with the Hulk. Seemingly. Reed Richards remembers that the Thing's heartbeat can never be heard through his rock skin, so he carries him back to the Baxter Building, gives him an electric jolt, and he's back to normal. Even the mean personality that he's had since his transformation in Fantastic Four #107 is gone. It's not explicitly stated, but we can assume that his ability to change back to Ben Grimm at will has also gone.
Bruce Banner staggers away, remembering his battle with the Thing. This is inconsistent with his other stories. Usually he can't remember what he did as the Hulk.
The Watcher comes to the Baxter Building and warns them about the coming of the Over-Mind.
The mayor of New York orders the Fantastic Four to disband. They grudgingly obey.
The mayor is under the control of the Over-Mind. He's not named in the comic, but his face looks like John Lindsay, who was the mayor of New York from 1966 to 1973. I wonder if Stan Lee asked permission when he used real life characters in important roles.
Amazing Spider-Man #99
Title: A Day in the Life of.....
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Gil Kane
Villain: prisoners
Regulars: Gwen Stacy, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson
Peter Parker is considering proposing marriage to Gwen Stacy, so he needs to earn money. He finally stands up to J. Jonah Jameson and demands a job.
Frame this page. Call it "The Defeat of J. Jonah Jameson". Look at how happy Joe Robertson is. He's never seen anything like it in his life.
Spider-Man breaks up a riot in the local prison. On his way home he's stopped by Johnny Carson, who offers him an appearance on live television. It would have been nice to earn some money, but the police break up the show. They say they have a warrant for Spider-Man's arrest.
In many ways this is a low key issue. It doesn't have any super-villains, but it's a great story. It's Stan Lee at his best.
The 100th issue of Amazing Spider-Man is announced for next month. Since Spider-Man first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15, this is really his 100th issue.
Thor #191
Title: And so, to die!
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: John Buscema
Villain: Karnilla, Loki, Durok
Regulars: Odin, Sif, Balder, Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg
Loki is wearing the Odinring and rules Asgard. He orders Odin to go to sleep, and he obeys.
Thor fights with Loki, but while he wears the Odinring he has the full power of Odin. With the help of Karnilla Loki creates a powerful creature called Durok. He send Durok to wreak havoc on Earth. This is a ploy to lure Thor away from Asgard.
Captain America and the Falcon #140
Title: In the Grip of Gargoyle!
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: John Romita
Villain: Grey Gargoyle
Regulars: Sharon Carter, Sgt. Muldoon, Leila Taylor
Guests: Nick Fury
Captain America battles the Grey Gargoyle. When the Falcon arrives, the Grey Gargoyle flees.
Captain America returns to the police precinct, while the Falcon begins a search for the Grey Gargoyle.
Of course I remember the exact issues. The Grey Gargoyle battled Thor in Journey Into Mystery #107 and #113. He battled Iron Man in Tales Of Suspense #95 and #96.
A few pages later Stan Lee gives a partial answer to the question himself, but he gets it wrong. There's no such comic as Thor #107.
Steve Rogers looks for the Falcon. He asks Leila about him, and she's not very helpful.
Black people can be just as racist as white. I know some people might say "The whites started it". That's true, but there's no excuse for racism.
The Grey Gargoyle has turned the Falcon into stone, not by touching him but by using the original fluid that turned him into the Grey Gargoyle. Now he's looking for something called Element X (TM), an element so unstable that one drop would destroy the whole planet Earth. What does the Grey Gargoyle want to do with something like that? If he destroys the Earth, where can he spend his stolen money?
The Avengers #91
Title: Take one giant step backward!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Sal Buscema
Avengers: Vision, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Goliath, Yellowjacket, Wasp
Villain: Ronan the Accuser, Sentry 459
Guests: Captain Marvel, Rick Jones
Yellowjacket has devolved into a brute, but he has vestiges of humanity that prevent him killing the Wasp.
The Vision and Scarlet Witch are trapped side by side. The Scarlet Witch attempts to kiss the Vision. This is the first sign of romance between them.
Quicksilver frees them, and the battle commences. Then Ronan is summoned back to the Kree Galaxy, because the Skrulls are attacking. Without his assistance the Sentry is destroyed.
Yellowjacket reverts to his normal human form.
The Incredible Hulk #142
Title: They shoot Hulks, don't they?
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Herb Trimpe
Villain: Enchantress, Valkyrie
Regulars: General Ross, Major Talbot
The Hulk swims to Liberty Island and falls asleep on top of the Tower of Liberty. General Ross pleads with him to come down, but he doesn't apply force for fear of damaging the statue.
A rich couple, Reginald and Malicia Parrington, want to help the Hulk, so they arrange a fundraising party to buy him a small island.The Enchantress, who we last saw in Avengers #84, casts a spell to give their daughter Samantha Parrington the power and appearance of the Valkyrie. We saw the Enchantress using this power herself in Avengers #83.
As a young woman Samantha Parrington believed in women's liberation. As the Valkyrie she has the power to bring it about by force.
She uses the same slogan as the Enchantress in Avenges #83: "Up against the wall, male chauvinist pig!" I like her.
It doesn't last long, unfortunately, but I like this scene in which Valkyrie drags the unconscious Hulk by his hair.
When the Hulk wakes up, the battle resumes. Valkyrie's human spirit prevents her committing murder, so the Enchantress takes her power away.
Sub-Mariner #40
Title: Under the name of ritual...
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: Gene Colan
Villain: Turalla
Guests: Spider-Man
This story continues from Daredevil #77.
Spider-Man and Namor are carried to another world by the mysterious woman, who says that her name is Princess Tuvia. She takes them to an underwater kingdom called the Black Sea, a people to whom the Atlanteans are indebted because of injustices centuries ago. Tuvia is forced to marry a usurper called Turalla, unless she can find a champion to defeat him. Namor is her choice, but under the rules of combat he may be aided by someone else.
Together Namor and Spider-Man defeat him. Then Turalla cheats. He uses mind blasts, which are forbidden in this ritual fight. The mind blasts immediately knock Namor and Spider-Man unconscious. Then Turalla himself is knocked unconscious by a more powerful mind blast from an old man sitting in Boston.
What? This is a major case of deus ex machina. Gerry Conway should be ashamed of himself.
Sam Rosen should also be ashamed for writing a plural with an apostrophe.
Princess Tuvia returns Namor and Spider-Man to Manhattan. Without a spaceship. Just by waving her hands. So why did she use a spaceship to fetch Namor?
Daredevil #79
Title: "Murder!" cries the Man-Bull!
Writer: Gerry Conway, Gary Friedrich
Artist: Gene Colan
Villain: Man-Bull
Regulars: Foggy Nelson, Karen Page
Guests: Stan Lee, Joan Lee
Daredevil fights and defeats the Man-Bull.
Foggy Nelson is being blackmailed by someone called Mr. Kline.
Karen Page returns to New York. She goes to Foggy's apartment to ask where Matt is.
In the streets, Daredevil bumps into this wonderful couple: Stan Lee and his wife Joan. They've just had a disappointing evening at the theatre. Now Stan is in a hurry to get home and write Spider-Man. Daredevil recognises Stan immediately and calls him Fearless Leader. Nuff said!
George Alec and Diana meet their friend Gardner Fox.
This is better than the recent Daredevil issues, despite having a bland, generic villain.
Iron Man #40
Title: Night Walk!
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: George Tuska
Villain: White Dragon
Regulars: Kevin O'Brian, Marianne Rodgers
Guests: Nick Fury
Tony Stark is confused and doesn't understand what's been happening to him over the last five days. Kevin O'Brian tries to calm him. He cancels his upcoming speech at the United Nations. This angers White Dragon, because he wanted Tony Stark to present a faulty new weapon at the UN, which would explode and kill thousands.
To make up for this, he plans to detonate a nuclear device underwater. Iron Man fights and defeats White Dragon and his organisation.
Artie Simek has slipped up. Polluted is spelt with two L's.
This is yet another poor story from Gerry Conway. I don't know how Stan Lee puts up with him.
Astonishing Tales #7
Title: Deluge!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Herb Trimpe
Villain: Damon
Ka-Zar fights against Damon, but can't defeat him. A girl in Ka-Zar's tribe finds Lelania's lifeless body. She allows the body to absorb her life force, and Lelania lives once more.
Damon and Lelania leave the Earth in their space ship.
Despite the credits on the splash page, I don't believe that Roy Thomas wrote this story. It's Gerry Conway's style.
Title: And if I be called traitor!
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: Gene Colan
Guests: Black Panther
Doctor Doom fights and defeats the Black Panther in order to get Wakanda's Vibranium for himself. Interestingly, he has respect for the Black Panther as a fellow king. As Doctor Doom's excavator nears the Vibranium, an earthquake shakes the country. Doctor Doom considers it wise to leave and return at a later date.
Other comics published this month:
Conan the Barbarian #8 (Roy Thomas, Barry Smith)
Millie the Model #191 (Stan Lee, Stan Goldberg)
Our Love Story #12 (Stan Lee, Stan Goldberg)
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #90 (Al Kurzrok, Dick Ayers)
Rawhide Kid #90 (Larry Lieber, John Tartaglione)
Monsters on the Prowl #12 (Stan Lee, Manfred Sommer)
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