I first read the above story “The Summons of Psyklop” when it appeared in the Mighty World of Marvel (issue 123) comic back in February 1975. Due to the popularity of the Hulk at this time and with old Greenskin being the headline act in MWOM this story was presented in the UK as a Hulk strip when of course it had originally appeared in Avengers issue 88 some 4 years earlier in 1971. Ever since I read this story it has remained a firm favourite of mine and as such, I have been on the lookout for a copy of Avengers 88…..last week after a mere 47 years I eventually found a nice copy for £5!
The story was scripted by Roy Thomas from an 1,800-word synopsis by SF writer Harlan Ellison which would span Avenger issue 88 (the aforementioned “The Summons of Psyklop”) and the Incredible Hulk issue 140 (“The Brute… that shouted love.. at the heart of the Atom!”) another favourite comic of mine. Of course, when I first read this strip, it was the wonderfully exciting art of Sal Buscema and Jim Mooney that attracted me as to be honest I wasn’t aware of Harlan Ellison’s work as a SF Writer at that time.
The story itself was best summed up in the original Marvel checklist at the time as “A monster from beyond time and space – the final caging of the Hulk and the eeriest war of the Worlds this side of H. P. Lovecraft! Like weird! All I can add to this is that 15-year-old me loved the excitement of Sal’s art, the action, the daft villain, that ruddy massive monster statue and of course that creepy slug. Rereading this comic some 46 years later I was for an all to brief moment in time reverted to my 15-year-old former self, and that slug still got to me! Below are some of my favourite pages from a time when comics could be exciting, fun and a bit daft and yet still be taken (kinda) seriously:
And as for part two of this Harlan Ellison classic story arc, well that's a comic that will no doubt appear in another of my ramblings at some point.
I was probably about seven years old when I walked into my local newsagents in Cambuslang (near Glasgow) with my pocket money firmly he...
Following on from my last post featuring some of my favourite Marvel comic book covers from 1973, I thought I would show some of DC's ...
Nearly a half-century on I still consider 1973 to be the year that cemented my destiny in becoming a lifetime comic book fan. It was a yea...
I remember the tale from MWOM, McS, and still have my original copy, but I might keep a lookout for the US version. Interesting to see that a couple of characters have been left out of the UK cover, but if I remember rightly, the MWOM pages showed signs of having been tampered with as well.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if by the time it was reprinted in MWOM if the costumes for Falcon and Clint Barton's Goliath were no longer operative, so they got chopped out. Are they present in the interior pages?
DeleteI think those are the very changes, RJ, though I'd have to dig out the comic to make certain.
DeleteI was wondering why Goliath and the Falcon were taken off the UK cover but that makes sense Rip. I certainly think Goliath in this costume et c may not have been represented in the Avengers weekly until a few months later.
DeleteYou say it well. This oddball two-parter featuring the concoctions of Harlan Ellison has long been on my all-time favorites listing. I own the originals, bought them in real time. I've since bought it in reprint several times over. The story never weakens on re-readings. The art by Sal is from his early period when he was just beginning to shake off looking a bit too much like his brother's work. Mooney's inks are not overwhelming which they can be sometimes. It's got the gold and green Falcon, my favorite look for Sam Wilson. And Psyklop is a genuinely creepy villain. Thanks for making me remember it all over again.
ReplyDeleteFor myself only Neal Adams at this time surpassed Sal's work for exciting action scenes. I read both tales (Avengers 88 & Hulk 140) in MWOM but I did manage to pick up a copy of Hulk 140 a couple of years later, which I still have. It's always nice when you remember comic book classics again.
ReplyDeleteSorry to nitpick, Paul, but MWOM #123 came out in February 1975 not February 1976. I'd only discovered Marvel comics in November '74 when I started reading Planet Of The Apes but Feb '75 was the month that I began reading Spider-Man Comics Weekly too.
ReplyDeleteGood catch Colin thanks. I've updated this and now feel even older.
ReplyDelete