Marvel NOW : May 1970

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I joined the mighty world of Marvel in late May 1970 at the age of nine courtesy of The Avengers #76. (Although comics were released with advance cover dates, shipping delays meant that here in New Zealand the titles generally hit the stands in the month of their cover date.) I had seen some Captain America and Sgt Fury merchandise elsewhere and Cap’s appearance on The Avengers cover drew my attention.

In 1970 there were no comic specialty shops and you picked up your weekly dose of Marvel at any shop that had a magazine rack. Almost all stores were supplied by importers Gordon & Gotch. Strangely not all titles seemed to find their way to New Zealand. Notable exceptions at that time were Iron Man, Silver Surfer, Captain Marvel and Sub-mariner. Also of note was that the only DC titles I recall seeing at that time were Green Lantern and The Justice League of America. Cover prices had recently risen from 12 to 15 cents US and they sold for the same in New Zealand. Annuals, specials and anthology reprint titles were generally 25 cents.

The Avengers #76 featured Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Goliath, Vision, Black Panther and Quicksilver rescuing The Scarlet Witch from the thunderbolt hurling Arkon The Magnificent, I was immediately intoxicated with the collection of gods, kings, androids, mutants, giants, and other heroes who dared everything for Earth … and for each other.

Roy Thomas’ plot and script was captivating, full of drama, and despite these larger than life characters, very human and real. John Buscema and Tom Palmer’s artwork meshed so beautifully full of grandeur, energy, and again this remarkable believability.

Blown away with what read, I went back the following week to look for more Marvel tiles that were listed in the marvel checklist that appeared in The Avengers #76. I soon learnt that the checklists didn’t always match perfectly with the release dates and that some of the titles in the Avengers #76 checklist, were June releases. 

I did manage to pick up three 25 cent titles. Marvels Greatest Comics #27, Marvel Super-Heroes #26, and Marvel Tales #26.

It was not until a couple of months later that I realised these were anthology titles reprinting adventures from the early to mid-1960s. So, despite only discovering Marvel in May of 1970 many of the first stories that I read for each character or team actually date from 1965/66.

The FF, Daredevil and X-Men stories were all great but Steve Ditko’s dramatic three pages in Marvel Tales from Amazing Spider-man #33 where Spidey frees himself from underneath tons of machinery was absolutely brilliant. Those pages, that story remains one of my all-time favourite issues.   

At this time the writing responsibilities of Marvel’s core titles were largely shared by Stan Lee & Rot Thomas. The art was more widely shared around Jack Kirby, Gene Colan, John Buscema, John Romita, Herb Trimpe and Sal Buscema  

My Mighty Marvel Checklist:

The Avengers #76 by Roy Thomas, John Buscema & Tom Palmer

Meanwhile, elsewhere in issues cover-dated May 1970:

• Spider-man vs. The Schemer vs. The Kingpin in Amazing Spider-man #84 by Stan Lee, John Romita Snr / John Buscema & Jim Mooney
• Cap vs. The Mandarin in Captain America #125 by Stan Lee, Gene Colan & Joe Sinnott
• DD meets The Stunt-Master in Daredevil #64 by Roy Thomas, Gene Colan & Syd Shores
• The Moon landing with the FF & The Sentry in The Fantastic Four #98 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby & Joe Sinnott
• Hulk vs. Mogol in The Incredible Hulk #127 by Roy Thomas & Herb Trimpe
• Shellhead vs. Namor in Iron Man #25 by Archie Goodwin, Johnny Craig & Sam Grainger
• The Surfer vs. Mephisto in Silver Surfer #16 by Stan Lee, John Buscema & Chic Stone
• Thor confronts Loki and Surtur in Thor #176 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby & Vince Colletta
• Sub-Mariner #25 by Roy Thomas, John & Sal Buscema, Jim Mooney & Joe Gaudioso
• Sgt Fury and His Howling Commandos #78 by Bill Everett, Dick Ayers & John Severin

Not to Mention:

Kid Colt Outlaw #146, Mighty Marvel Western #8, Rawhide Kid #76, Ringo Kid #3, Tower of Shadows #5, Where Monsters Dwell #3, My Love #5, Millie the Model #182, Chilli #13, Homer the Happy Ghost #4, Petey #4, Chambers of Darkness #5, Our Love Story #5  

And of course:

Marvel Super Heroes #26 containing reprints of:        

Daredevil v Mr Fear in “Trapped by The Fellowship of Fear!” from Daredevil #6 by Stan Lee & Wally Wood

The X-Men graduate in “The Return of The Blob” from X-Men #7 by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby

“Where Strides The Behemoth” featuring The Hulk from Tales to Astonish #67 by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko

Marvel Tales #26 containing reprints of:

Spider-man in “The Final Chapter” from Amazing Spider-man #33 by Steve Ditko & Stan Lee

Thor vs. The Absorbing Man in “The Vengence of the Thunder God” from Journey into Mystery #115 by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby 

The Human Torch & The Thing in “Paste Pot Pete” From Strange Tales #124 by Stan Lee & Dick Ayers