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Stronguy Reviews The Marvel Bronze Age

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chrisco37

chrisco37

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GREAT thread! Please keep them coming and if you get a chance some Marvel Premiere would be cool. (thumbs u

 

He's going in alphabetical order, so he'll get there. But many titles to go before MP comes up.

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Stronguy

Stronguy

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Click here to add this thread to your watch list

 

Astonishing Tales

Issue 1-36

August 1970 - July 1976

 

Rating:

Issues 1-8, Ka-Zar: 3/5

Issues 1-8, Dr. Doom: 6/5 (Doom will tolerate nothing less than perfection)... ok, 2.5/5

Issues 9-20: 3/5

Issues 21-24: 1/5

Issues 25-36: 4.5/5

 

Summary:

What started out as another one of those b-rate character, double feature books turns on the heat and ends strong. The first 20 issues are worth reading but I don't know if I would actively seek them out. But I wouldn't pass them up if they were priced right. You should pick up every issue of 21-24 you can find and burn them. For 25-36... you can't call yourself a true bronze age collector if you don't have these.

 

Issues 1-8, Ka-Zar and Dr. Doom double feature

Ka-Zar, Issues 1 and 2... Kirby art, Kraven kidnaps Zabu from the Savage Land. Ka-Zar goes after him and gets his butt kicked off the ship by the man in the furry vest (how come I always think of Mr. Burns singing, "See my vest, see my vest, made from real gorilla chest", every time I see Kraven). Ka-Zar swims to NYC where he fights Kraven for Zabu and wins this time. The Petrified Man shows up at the end of issue 2 and tells him the Savage Land is in danger if he doesn't return.

Ka-Zar, Issues 3-5... Barry Windsor Smith takes over the art and kicks some major butt... no suckage here. Ka-Zar learns the origin of the mysterious Petrified Man. He goes back to the Savage Land only to find hottie wearing a circular saw blade for a helmet (think Blackie Lawless from WASP) and commanding the Lizard-Men, who are flying on some ptaradactal looking creatures to fight in the name of Garokk -- The Sun King. Ka-Zar tackles a spotted unicorn, rides off after them and starts dealing out the pain. Petrified Man reveals himself to be the Sun God and throws a beat down on Zaladane, the hottie in the blade helmet, but in defeat she, and her trained pterodactyl, snatch up Ka-Zar and fly away. Ka-Zar breaks free, talks to the hottie and realizes she's not all bad (for someone wearing a saw blade on her head). Meanwhile Petrified Man starts going nuts because of all the power he has in him and starts setting things on fire. Ka-Zar shows up and kicks his butt... Petrified Man dies.

Issues 6 and 7... BWS keeps rockin' it on art. A firey guy dressed like Zeus flies out of the sky, name's Damon. He tells Ka-Zar his origin and starts threatening people. Herb Trimpe takes over on issue 7... not bad but not BWS. Ka-Zar and Damon fight. Kz-Zar kickes his butt and Damon takes off in a spaceship... um, ok.

Ka-Zar, Issue 8... This is one of the 25¢ 48 page, square bound issues. A plane crashes in the Savage Land. The pilot stays with the plane and the female passenger bails out into a lake. Bad things happen, a sea serpent attacks, Ka-Zar fights some gorillas (he does that a lot)... blah, blah, blah. Trivia: Herb Trimpe told me the plane in the opening page was his plane. He also said, with the money he made off Crest and The Cavity Creep, he bought another one some time later.

Special, Issue 8... The 2nd story is a Damian Link origin story (1st appearance?). Damian makes some appearance hear and there throughout the bronze age.

 

Dr. Doom, Issues 1-3... Wally Wood art. Doom takes over Latveria from Prince Rudolfo. Doom creates a super robot, the Doomsman, and tries to transfer his mind into it. Instead of helping Doom the Doomsman takes off leaving Doom to fend off a coup by Prince Rudolfo. Note: Buzz Aldrin makes a cameo, on the moon in his space suit, on the 2nd page of this story. The Faceless-One shows up, looking a lot like Mysterio, and aids Prince Rudolfo only to reveal his master plan... taking of the mind of the Doomsman. Of course the Doomsman asserts as a free mind then takes off his mummy bandages revealing that he looks like Doctor Mantattan without the glow blue . The Doomsman helps Doom create more androids but, of course, this is all a ruse. He attacks Doom when he's "asleep" but, as you know, Doom is always ready and he teleports the Doomsman off to another dimension.

Dr. Doom, Issues 4 and 5... The Red Skull makes a play for Latveria. He and Doom fight and, of course, Doom kicks his butt.

Dr. Doom, Issues 6 and 7... Doom totrures the secret about Wakanda's Vibranium out of a poor sap wearing a loincloth. Then, in order to gain the precious metal, he tunnels his way from Europe to Africa in something out of Journey To The Center Of The Earth. There he is met by the Black Panther. Doom captures him but BP escapes and foils Doom's sinister plans.

Dr. Doom, Issue 8... This is the last Dr. Doom issue. Gene Colan turns out some decent art like he did in issue 7. Apparently every year Doom can try to get his mom out of hell. He goes into the basement and there's a giant pot of boiling, magic soup. He fights some dudes then the devil kicks him back to reality. Now a sad Doom goes to his mother's grave and vows to try to free her again next year.

 

Issues 9-20, Ka-Zar

Issues 9-15 art Picture Frame issues (white, red, white, black, white, blue, white).

Issue 9... John Buscema art. :applause: Also, reprints 6 page Lorna The Jungle Girl story.

BWS returns on issue 10 and the story picks up from issue 8.

Gil Kane provides rough pencils and lots of nostrils in issue 11. Plus we get the origin of Ka-Zar and Zabu.

Big John's back on the stick in issue 12. Ka-Zar travels to the Evreglades and runs into Man-Thing (2nd appearance... first in a comic). You get a great 6 page black and yellow reprint of Savage Tales #1.

Issue 13... Rich Buckler, who later does all of the Deathlok stuff, does his first art on this title.

Issue 14... Reprint of a 6 page Jann Of The Jungle story.

Issue 15... Ka-Zar's adventures in NYC begins and so does his fight against costumed villains.

Nick Fury and SHIELD appearance in issue 17.

After starting to really go down the path of suckage, Ka-Zar finally ends in issue 20 before reaching full suckatude.

 

Issues 21-24, It! The Colossus

Here's how it breaks down for the next 4 issues. IT! The Colossus, from Monster On The Prowl #25, is needed as space filler. Basically there's this really bug Colossus thing and he goes around breaking stuff. People get mad at him. He fights Fin Fang Foom in the last 2 issues so there's that.

So...

Tony Isabella on words... suck!

Ayers (God love him) on the stick... suck!

These 4 issues... suck!

 

Issues 25-28, 30-36, Deathlok The Demolisher :headbang:

Now to the reason this title existed in the first place... Deathlok The Demolisher. No suckage here. As I kid this was the first anti-hero character I remember. I loved Deathlok and still love these stories to this day.

 

Rich Buckler created and drew these issues. You have a cyborg, killing machine who hates his programming so he busts out of the program, heads out into the post-apocalyptic world and kicks everything's butt. Eventually he returns to face his maker and... well... kick some more butt. That's all I have to say about it because you really need to pick up this run and read it for yourself.

 

Issue 25... There is a 2 page back up story with George Perez' first professional art in it.

 

Issue 29, Guardians Of The Galaxy

I guess they were running behind on issue 29 so they filled it with the origin of the GoG from Marvel Super-Heroes #18. meh

 

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Sal

Sal

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As much as I love both the concept and the execution behind this thread - really great work there, big fella - I am feeling it for you. I think by halfway, you're going to be like Bernie Wrightson at the halfway point of his Frankenstein plates - wishing you never started this thread

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Stronguy

Stronguy

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It's actually much easier to read these than write the reviews. But reading them is a goal I've had for some time and this is a way to be accountable (it also forces me scan my books). I love campy BA stuff. It's like watching kung fu movies on a Sunday afternoon.

 

One thing to note is I'm currently unemployed. I'm sure the frequency of my posts will drop off when my employment status changes. My goal is to get caught up with reviews up to the point where I'm currently reading... just finished Chili so I've got about 140 issues to scan and write reviews on.

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Stronguy

Stronguy

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Reading, reviewing and scanning 140 issues of Chili !!! - I bow down to your dedication!

 

No, I have 140 issues to scan/review between Astonishing Tales and Chili. Chili only has 19 bronze age issues.

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