Greetings, Groove-ophiles! We're gonna kick this week off with a kind of a riddle. Are ya ready? Here goes: we know what happens when two Marvel heroes meet in a Marvel mag--they fight! Now, here's the riddle part: what happens when three Marvel heroes meet in a Marvel mag? You guessed it! They fight! In Daredevil #77 (March 1971), DD met up with Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner--and they fought! A little later in the story, Spidey enters the fray (just like the title, "...And So Enters The Amazing Spider-Man!" promised)--and more fighting! Of course in the end, Spidey and Subby team-up (and their adventure continues in Sub-Mariner #40--stay tuned, it's coming next month!) and DD goes on his own not-so-merry way. Along with all that action, courtesy writer Gerry Conway and art team-supreme Gene Colan and Tom Palmer, we also get some Groovy Age Marvel patented soap opera, and a couple of huge coloring gaffs on page 6 (Did Palmer color this? Except for aforementioned boo-boos, the coloring is gorgeous throughout). All this under a cover by Our Pal Sal Buscema! Dig it!!
Of course, fans of UK 80s music will recognise panel 2 of Page 17 as the source for the name of a certain group...who'd have thunk that Julian Cope was a Marvel Comics reader?
ReplyDeleteHe was and he did, according to a quick search on Wikipedia. Wow!
DeleteDD # 77 epitomizes what was great about the Groovy Age: fresh scripting from a young Gerry Conway, the always great Colan/Palmer team who were reaching a new peak artistically and the Marvel formula for fighting guest stars. This issue is one of my favorite from this era, along with the equally numbered Avengers # 77.
ReplyDeleteThese are fun fun stories. Gerry Conway's enthusiasm was at times greater than his skill in these early outings, but he always knocked out a story which caught my imagination. The oddball way stories of this era will tumble through the Marvel Universe because the writer might happen to be working on two series really added a level of cohesion to the whole thing.
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AWESOME!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAhhh, the joy of Colan and Palmer doing Spidey and Namor!
ReplyDeleteLoved this arc as a boy. I was a huge Spidey & Subby fan. But liked DD pretty well too. Marvel sure knew how make all us youngsters get us addicted to all their books.
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