Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 79

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 79
Release Date: March 1979

Highlights

• First appearance of Charlie Snow
• Reference is made to Ms. Marvel 22, and Giant-Sized Dracula 2
• Mary Jane Watson is possessed by Red Sonja
• Fun story

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 78

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 78
Release Date: February 1979

Highlights

• Reference is made to Marvel Team-Up 38
• Retelling of Griffin's origin
• Griffin evolves into a full fledged beast, leaving his human side behind

Low Points

• None of these Marvel Team-Up stories are developing Spider-Man any further - He's just there to battle villains of the week

Oddities

• Spider-Man is on his way to chemistry class for a make up exam - Why? How many times do I have to keep saying that the only course he failed was gym?

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Retro Spins: Slade - The Amazing Kamikaze Syndome

Slade was all new territory for me in late 2018. Though they'd been around since 1969, and continued to release albums through 1987, I didn't come across them until hearing the song, Run Run Away from their 1983 album, The Amazing Kamikaze. Which for all you astute readers, brings us to today's Retro Spins.

What drew me to Slade was hearing someone in a high profile band saying that they were who they listened to. I honestly don't remember who said it. Anyway, a search on Google for "Slade hits", resulted in the usual results of list. On said list, I saw that some of the songs were from the 80's. It was these I chose to focus on, eventually landing on Run Run Away. It was a solid track, and the album was put on my list of albums to collect.

Fast forward, and today I'm firing it up for the first time.

It definitely has that hard rock / metal sound of the early 80's, reminiscent of early Ozzy Osborune / Mötley Crüe. Edgy, hard, but not excessively loud - Such as today's metal has become. Overall, it was a satisfying album to hear. Lots of solid guitar work and delightful backing drums and bass.

Though I initially started out with the aforementioned Run Run Away being the song which drew me to the album, I have to say that Razzle Dazzle Man may be my favorite. It starts out hard, rocking and thrashing, but then slows down with a haunting echo of vocals before kicking things back up again.

While I can't say I'll be rushing into more Slade in the near future, I will say that they're not a band I'll be forgetting. I'll definitely have to see what else they have going on. They are after all the group that originally brought us Cum On Feel The Noize, released in 1973. Granted, Quiet Riot's version is better, but still. Can't hate on the original.

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Christmas 2023, Part 3!

 

With family gone, my girl and I were able to sit down to a nice quite day after Christmas, watch a movie together, and open our gifts to each other. Well...So we thought.

Unbeknownst to us, we had created a monster over the years. He was hyper, ready for gifts, and tore them all open like a rabid stray going after a meal.

Despite receiving over ten gifts from us, this simply wasn't enough, and he soon turned his attention to helping us open ours.

Excuse me, that's mine!

When paper wasn't available, he took to chewing through boxes.

And when it was all said and done, whew...there was a mess.

We weren't upset by any of this, though. See, recently our pup went into a critical diabetic condition, and we thought we were going to lose him. This was how we learned he had the disease, and is now very diet regimented, as well as insulin dependent the rest of his life. We were glad to see him so energetic and happy. We know the reality of the disease, and the unfortunate "side effects" which can lead to other issues, so want to enjoy as much time as possible with him, and ensure he has a good life.

What I could wrestle from the dog, I found that I had received some great gifts from my girl.

Apparently, the Christmas elves were talking, because she got me a bunch of mylar bags to re-bag my comic collection. I used to use standard poly bags, but after seeing how much better they display in mylar, and knowing I won't have to change the bags again in my lifetime is necessitating the change. Plus, as I slow down from physical collecting, I'm finding myself just wanting to organize, and present my things in the best manner possible, while keeping them well protected. Mylar accomplishes all of this.

She also picked me up a (second) copy of the Fallout 4 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide. She had already bought me a copy of this last year for my birthday, but knew the used copy she picked up was missing a component that I really wanted.

That component is this map. I'm going to frame this bad boy, and hang it up.

She also got me a custom nuclear blast model which includes a miniature city. It lights up via USB.

Those of you who know me well, know I cook. I've been wanting a good salt and pepper grinder for a while, because I've had two which were made of plastic in the past, and broke them both. They would either fall and bust, or simply snap into pieces when unscrewing them. Hopefully, these wood ones are more durable.

Again the Christmas elves huddled, and I also got an additional case of BCW plastic comic boxes.

I got Weird, The Al Yankovic Story on DVD, and this was the movie we ended up watching. While I knew it was a parody of a biopic, it sadly wasn't as funny as I was expecting. You expect the unexpected from the artist, but this was so far out in left field that it actually derailed itself. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story definitely did parody biopics better.

In hindsight, it was rather stupid of me to go to Baltimore Comic Con this year, and buy Ultimate Fallout 4, get it signed by Brian Michael Bendis, and not pick up the other five issues in the series and do the same thing. Well, thanks to my girl, I at least have the books now.

In part 2 of my Christmas 2023 series, I stated that G.I. Jigsaw may have won best Christmas gift ever with his little people renderings of Spider-Man characters that he gave me. Well, sorry, George. You have been unceremoniously dethroned. As much as I love those little figures, and I'm still going to hit you up for a wave two...and apparently beyond with the 75 characters I wrote up yesterday...My girl has taken the title from you.

I have wanted something signed by Stan Lee for a very (VERY) long time. Even when he was still alive it was my goal to get something. Sadly, he never seemed to come to my neck of the woods, or even within driving distance. Then...well...he kind of passed away. Prices on his autographs skyrocketed, and though I still wanted something, couldn't justify the cost.

Well, now I don't have to. My girl took care of it for me, and presented me with this awesome 11 X 14 signed poster of Amazing Fantasy 15.

I went out frame hunting the next day, and after not being able to find one that suited my wants, specifically with the mat, I decided to do a little custom work with some red and blue paint, and a white and black gel pen. It turned out great! I mean, I like it.

Then I went back to bagging and boxing comics. As you can see from the pictures below, the upgrades make all the difference.

Before

After

And I'm only about half way...

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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 77

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 77
Release Date: January 1979

Highlights

• None - I wish this were a typo

Low Points

• Nothing here really advances the story of Spider-Man - Instead, it's more so about Doctor Strange, and I'm not too interested in his character or the mystic arts

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 76

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 76
Release Date: December 1978

Highlights

• Reference is made to Defenders 57, Marvel Team-Up 62, Doctor Strange 1 through 5, and Defenders 58 through 60
• First appearance of Ms. Marvel in her new costume in the pages of Marvel Team-Up - Spider-Man doesn't even recognize her

Low Points

• Lots of buildup, but very little action

Oddities

• Once again Peter talks about hitting the books and writing term papers - But, again, the only class he didn't pass was gym - What term papers are required?

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Retro Spins: Deee-Lite - World Clique

Back in the day, I had a co-worker who her and I thoroughly enjoyed phrasing questions with, "How do you say, de....<insert random word here>." We would then laugh at our inside joke as people stared at us like we were lunatics. All of this was derived from the music video of the only song I've ever known, until today, from house group, Deee-Lite.

Ever since seeing the video on MTV, I've been hooked on the song, Groove Is In The Heart. Everything about it was fun, from the music to the visuals. It was different from the emerging Seattle rock, and at the same time took me back to the 70's in a way. The inclusion of Bootsy Collins on bass only upped its charm for me.

As I listened to World Clique for the first time, what I found myself enjoying the most was the music itself. While Lady Miss Kier has an amazing and unique voice, it really wasn't the lyrics which were drawing me in, but rather the beats and melodies. I found this interesting since I'm really not into heavy beat and bass driven music. It had a lot of funky soul to it, and, for lack of a better word, was just groovy.

Unfortunately, it didn't hold my attention all that long, though I did get excited when Groove Is In The Heart finally came around. I also got giddy to hear What Is Love?, which features the spoken portions at the beginning of the music video for Groove. I didn't know this until today.

Overall, I don't see myself becoming a fan of Deee-Lite. I dig Groove Is In The Heart, and that's really enough for me.

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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 75

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 75
Release Date: November 1978

Highlights

• First appearance of Ken Jorgenson, and the Rat Pack; Sparks, Stitches, and Strafe
• Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 123, and Power Man / Iron Fist 48
• It's a story that honor's the risk that firemen (and women) take to fight fires and save lives

Low Points

• While commendable that Marvel wanted to pay homage to fire fighters, it's not what I want from my Spider-Man comics
• It's lacking any real villain or plot to call it a Spider-Man comic
• Too much reality in the comic makes it difficult to escape the real world for a simply moment of entertainment

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Defenders 61

   

Title: Defenders
Issue Number: 61
Release Date: July 1978

Highlights

• Reference is made to Defenders 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 60, and Marvel Team-Up 8
• Lunatik is stated to have caught a fourteen year old shoplifter...and killed her - Living up to the name for sure
• Lunatik says he's cuckoo for Coco-Puffs - Relatable!

Low Points

• Spider-Man feels shoehorned in, and an unnecessary MacGuffin

Oddities

• Editor's day off: Spider-Man's leneses are red in some panels, and the webbing design on his mask is missing in others

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Retro Spins: USA For Africa - We Are The World

It was one of the biggest events in music history. Considered a supergroup, USA for Africa featured the likes of Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Dion Warwick, Willie Nelson, Al Jarreau, Bruce Spingsteen, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Carnes, Bob Dylan Ray Charles and a slew of others.

What the heck, let's list them to. Give credit where credit's due. Dan Aykroyd, Harry Belefonte, Lindsey Buckingham, Mario Cipollina, Johnny Colla, Sheila E., Bob Geldof, Bill Gibson, Chris Hayes, Sean Hopper, Jackie Jackson, La Toya Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Randy Jackson, Tito Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Bette Midler, John Oates, Jeffrey Osborne, The Pointer Sisters (Ruth, Issa and Sadako) and Smokey Robbinson.

One of the most fun things to do when listening to the song, We Are The World, is to identify the singers as they appear. While this obviously gets easier with time, if you haven't heard the tune in a while, it can be quite entertaining.

Now, while the song is great, and certainly the spirit behind it, it's unfortunate that the rest of the record feels phoned in. None of the other tracks feel like they have the effort behind them that the title track does. As if they're there just to fill an album.

Excluding We Are The Work, of the remaining nine songs, only three really stand out. Those are The Pointer Sisters' Just A Little Closer, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Trapped and Prince and the Revolution's 4 The Tears In Your Eyes - The latter getting a pass only because of how much I like Prince. It's far from his best work.

Overall, it's just not a very good album. Disappointing considering the shear volume of talent behind it.


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Christmas 2023, Part 2!

As I was celebrating the holiday season, I came into an unfortunate scenario. My external drive, the one that keeps my history of photographs, recipes, Toy Box posts, and MP3's of CD rips flat out died. No warning. No abuse that lead up to it. It just stopped working. That is a ton of data lost.

Ugh...

Well, it sucks, but I'm not going to let it ruin my holiday. Instead, I'm gonna keep plowing forward, showcasing the gifts I got from friends and family this year, which were fortunately still on my phone.

From my mom, I got two cases of BCW short comic boxes. These are the hard plastic shell ones, which I've been wanting to upsize to for a while. In general, I'm looking to better protect my comics, and have been switching all the old poly bags to mylar. These cases were inevitable to happen, and I'm grateful to have received ten from my mom.

Mom also got me four 80's based cartoon DVD's. As I mentioned in part 1 of my Christmas 2023 posts, I have been grabbing the Hanna-Barbera manufacture on demand DVD's here and there. Adding The Biskitts, Monchichi's, Paw Paws, and Space Stars to my collection is awesome!

From my co-worker Pete, I got a set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirts. With the voice actors of the turtles, and April O'Neil coming to Big Lick Nova 2024, these are definitely a must for me to take with me, and get signed.

I also got a variety of gift cards from folks, which I'll probably be using to get more mylar bags and the remaining BCW storage boxes I "need".

I also got a sketch book and some art supplies from my girl as a Christmas eve gift. These will keep me occupied when I'm sitting in bed at night watching cartoons.

Lastly, and probably the winner of Christmas 2023, even though I haven't opened anything from my girl, is my gift from George of G.I. Jigsaw.

When I opened this box, I was like, "Are you kidding me?!?!!" I immediately walked away from everyone in the living room, and went upstairs. Christmas over, no need for anything else. Thank you all, good night.

Spider-Man, Symbiote Spider-Man, Green Goblin, Mysterio, Sandman, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, Vulture, and Doc Ock! That's a lot of the key Spider-Man cast right there in one box! Thanks so much, George! This truly was my favorite gift...maybe even ever.

I already asked him if I could start throwing out names for a wave two, which he was totally down with. I don't think he's realized the work he just created for himself. But, seriously. These are freakin' awesome! I can't wait for this whole shelf to be full of them all!

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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 74

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 74
Release Date: October 1978

Highlights

• First appearance of Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Laraine Newman, Gilda Radner, and Harry
• Stan Lee hosts Saturday Night Live
• A human Statler and Waldorf sit in the balcony seats of the Saturday Night Live studio - an obvious nod to The Muppet Show characters

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• The whole concept of the story

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 24

   

Title: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man
Issue Number: 24
Release Date: November 1978

Highlights

• First appearance of Hypno-Hustler, AKA Antoine Delsoin, and Mercy Killers
• Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 138, 180, 185, and 186
• The Mighty Thor in a Hostess Fruit Pie ad

Low Points

• Peter Parker dressed as John Travolta, and a story called Spider-Man Night Fever
• Throw away story with a poorly written villain of the week

Oddities

• Peter is headed home to hit the books so that he can finally finish college via making up classes during the summer - Except the only class he missed, and which prevented him from graduating, was gym - What is there to study?

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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