Maybe I didn't say every little word exactly right, but...

Of course I've seen the original 1951 the Day the Earth Stood Still, and I feel like I've seen the 2008 remake in passing; but this might be a more faithful adaptation of the original story! Despite the cover that makes it look like the army can't stop a big green robot from stealing a dame, who doesn't seem to be in a comfortable position for carrying. From 1973, Worlds Unknown #3, "Farewell to the Master!" Written and edited by Roy Thomas, from the original story by Harry Bates, pencils by Ross Andru, inks by Wayne Howard. Cover by Rich Buckler, with John Romita alterations: the soldier in the foreground feels definitely his.

The alien robot Gnut, eight feet tall and seemingly indestructible, now resides in a museum built around it and its ship. The ship had appeared out of nowhere in Washington D.C, and was quickly surrounded by the army; although a reporter asks if that thing could teleport, cordoning it off wasn't going to do much good...OK, that's more of a comment then a question. The next day, from the ship came Klaatu, a saint-like blond guy in a costume way too slutty for either the '51 or '08 movies, and Gnut. The army, surprisingly, seems pretty ready to accept that they had come in peace, but Klaatu is almost immediately shot anyway, by a crazed lone gunman. (All kinds of room for conspiracy theories there!) Klaatu is buried with honors, but Gnut (and the ship) remained immobile and immovable.

A reporter couple accidentally take pictures from the same angle twice, and realize Gnut was moving. Hiding in the museum after closing, they see Gnut moving, although it seems to pay them no mind as it goes into the ship. Strangely, a songbird flies out of the ship, but then dies; then a gorilla comes rushing out! Gnut stops the gorilla from hurting the reporters, but the gorilla dies shortly thereafter, as does the announcer of the museum exhibition--in fact, the announcer dies twice, as Gnut stacks up two bodies. The reporters bring in the guards, and the announcer, who was fine.

The authorities don't seem to believe the story, but are still confused by all the bodies; and encase Gnut in a "glasstex" block. Which Gnut smashes out of, then stomps past tank and bazooka fire to Klaatu's body...to recover a tape of their arrival. The reporters follow, and find Gnut had used an alien apparatus to reincarnate Klaatu--as it had the others--from sound waves. But, the recordings weren't perfect, so the recreations didn't last long. The reporters think, if Gnut used the original recording, maybe it would last longer? Gnut finally speaks, telling them to get that tape.

As Gnut is given the tape, and prepares to leave; one of the reporters asks the robot to tell his master all of Earth was sorry the original Klaatu got shot. But Gnut tells him, "you misunderstand, human...it is I who am the master." 

In the editorial on the letters page, Roy explains how the '51 movie had taken some liberties, including "...it was murked up a bit at the end (a la "The Incredible Shrinking Man" of a few years later) by a misbegotten 'message,' 1950's style." Despite having to make a few changes for the format of comics, and adding a second reporter so they had someone to talk to; it's probably still more faithful to the source material than either movie. But is the original the Day the Earth Stood Still best known for that "misbegotten message"? Would it be remembered at all if the twist was just the robot was really the boss? Also, I do like the next issue tease, that admits it'll either be "Arena," or "Black Destroyer," depending on which one was done in time for deadline!

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I don't see why Julian's so mad there's no "Father Christmas," it's not like he was told there's no Santa Claus.

We mentioned this issue not long ago, and it's entirely possible this was her best selling issue! And she spends a good chunk of it gagged and bound, but everyone was probably here for cover-boy Cable. From 1992, Motormouth & Killpower #7, "Return to Sender" Written by Graham Marks, pencils by Edmund Perryman, inks by Cam Smith and Bambos Georgiou.

Both of the regular leads spend most of this issue captured: Motormouth gets grabbed by the Bad Boys, and trussed up with a gag to counter her vocal powers; while Killpower had been caught by his old handler-slash-"mother" Mrs. Mullarky. Killpower's escape attempt fails, as two members of the Mys-Tech board knock him out; but Motormouth gets away in a walk after a boss removes her gag to question her, and she screams the flesh right off his skull! Neither of those plotlines get as much page space, as Nick Fury's latest attempt to get information out of Mys-Tech, with a ringer: Cable! Who's working his own mission, one he says he couldn't even explain to X-Force. Fury, Cable, and cyborg Badhand sneak into Mys-Tech Central: Cable doesn't want the other two to find out what he was up to, but also had someone on the inside.

Cable and Badhand end up scuffling with "Bysshe," who may have been a "grade-A whacko" and from another dimension, or both, but had powerful energy zaps. Cable beats her with a mirror, probably because they were running out of pages, and recovers "the Clavis Key," which had previously been brought back by the Warheads, but no one may have realized its power. It's implied Cable had been ordered, by someone, to return it; but we don't see that here. Nor do we see Fury's infiltration, but maybe that's for next time; although Motormouth was probably going in to get Killpower, and that seems like a lot of people in and out of Mys-Tech's base of power! Read more!

"Remember."

I am positive I bought...how is this Logan listed on the package? Huh, "Weapon of Vengeance." I think Daken has it now in the comics, but remember his claws are different than his dad's. Anyway, I think I got that figure specifically for this, since Logan has not showed up a ton. I'm not a huge Wolverine fan, although like Venom I seem to have accumulated more than a few of his figures... 

And this is a callback to when Satana first appeared in these strips--over a decade ago? How? There were several Ghost Riders in one of her early appearances here, although I wonder if I had Vengeance then: like I guess I mentioned yesterday, it's been mildly annoying me that I misplaced him, and I need to put all my Ghost Riders in the same bin. I think I have the most recent cycle that I haven't opened yet; I might've grabbed it for fear of missing out.

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It's not really a random MCP issue if it's the next MCP issue, is it.

I mentioned picking this one up the last time we flipped through an MCP, and figured we'd get to it in 2027. So, we're ahead of schedule, anyway! From 1994, Marvel Comics Presents #157, cover by Colin MacNeil.

I also thought the front cover had the bar code? Maybe not, judging from the text on the letters column on the inside cover, since a letter is continued on the other side; so maybe the Fury side is the front? "Jury of Your Peers" is an eight-pager, with Fury infiltrating a HYDRA base, to rescue agents captured by the sadistic "Number 16." With the Helicarrier bombing the base, it looks like Fury is trapped in the bad guy's dungeon...all according to plan? (Written by Mariano Nicieza, pencils by Kris Renkewitz, inks by Brad Vancata.)

The Namorita Kymaera serial continues with "Mother May I." Dehydrated and weakened, Kymaera has at least figured out she's on a sub, so hasn't given up yet; despite being grabbed by a guy in a powered armor with really weird tentacles. Seriously, like two launching from the nipple area and one from the gut; it's weird placement. (Story and pencils by Ed Lazellari, inks by Joe Rosas.) The Vengeance serial "Altered Spirits" also continues, as Michael Badilino wakes up in a homeless shelter, which comes as a relief: maybe all that stuff about being Bizarro-Ghost Rider was just a dream? Yeah, no such luck; and he realizes he's going to have to take his power back from Phantome, who's on a rampage, and memorably melts a guy's face off his skull, for holding her up in traffic. I feel like they were trying to work the formula to maybe add a female Ghost Rider-type, but she wouldn't stick. Also, Badilino helps restrain a homeless guy screaming "I am Kirok!" Hey, who among us... (Written by Chris Cooper, breakdowns by Reggie Jones, finishes by Fred Harper.)

Finally, the Shang-Chi serial also continues; as Shang discovers the "Midnight Slasher" that kidnapped his girl Leiko, was an old foe, Lazarus. It must suck in the MCU to meet and/or fight somebody named "Lazarus" because it all but guarantees they're going to come back after their "death," doesn't it? (Written by Karl Bollers, pencils by Cary Nord, inks by Bambos Georgio.)

Man, I wish I could find my Vengeance Marvel Legend figure: he's one of the very few from the Toy Biz days to not have gotten a re-do since! Read more!

"Lord Buddha, please let his neck be broken" isn't the most traditional of prayers.

All of the friends I had in school or before I got married have long ago moved away; and while I sometimes miss them, I think I miss stupid crap like getting trashed watching kung-fu movies more. Today's book, kinda the same experience? In that you can't be sure about the dubbing and you're going to lose the plot, but it's fine. From 1988, Oriental Heroes #5, art by Tony Wong, script by Mike Baron.

Pretty sure Tegan O'Neil brought up Jademan Comics on BlueSky the other week. It's apparently "Culturecom" now, but the rights to their books maybe might be locked up somewhere in the changes. I remember the Jademan preview issue, from back when a lot of manga--or in this case, Chinese manhua--hadn't yet reached the states; and creator/publisher Tony Wong wanted to be a Stan Lee/Walt Disney type; taking his empire global. It didn't really take, even after a run of a few years; but Oriental Heroes is still published to this day, although with new artists. (The "Tony Wong" art here is more of a studio production than just him alone, too: part 1 of a brief "How We Produce Our Comics" feature was on the back cover.)

Plotwise, uh, I'll let the recap page take it: "Gold Dragon fights for his life on Coffin Island, golden armor kung fu is his only weapon! Tiger Wong languishes in Crag Castle Prison, his nine suns kung fu is the only thing standing between him and death." And with that, you're off to the races! Although, the experience isn't unlike maybe your first X-Men comic or first Dragon Ball Z episode: you'll pick up enough. I don't think the character development or interaction was comparable to either of those, but the fights were nice and the book does look pretty.

Oddly, I checked Mike's for December 1988, but I didn't find this issue; or any Jademan searching the site! I was curious on the pricing: this issue was $1.50 cover price, and mainstream books around that time were probably $1 to $1.75. And this issue, anyway, was like 60 story pages! Also, I think for at least the early stretches of Jademan's books, Mike Baron might have adapted the scripts: maybe not straight verbatim translations, but not quite localized like some old Pokemon episodes were, either.

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I recently had to re-organize, um, about everything; but I found an entire longbox in my closet that I'd missed! Some good stuff in there, and a book I'd been coming to and am legitimately surprised I didn't have to buy again. From 1996, Aquaman Annual #2, "Legends of the Dead Earth" Written by Peter David, pencils by Ed Hannigan, inks by Steve Mitchell.

On a distant world, on a natural bridge over the chasmous "vale of tears," two travellers meet: with no room for them to pass each other, they both claim to be storytellers, and agree whoever tells the best story would be able to go forward and the other would have to turn back. (The set-up is supposed to be like maybe a gazillion samurai stories? But also makes zero sense: that looks dangerous as hell, but you should also notice someone else was on there? And where would something like that lead, and why would someone be coming the other way?) The first tells a story of his favorite hero, the great and wise Aquaman. King of Atlantis on a waterless old Earth, the assorting remaining nations and people of earth came to beg, buy, or bargain for precious water. His people had priority, but whenever he could, Aquaman would give what he could. But, he started to wonder, what the people really thought of him, and went incognito to find out. He's disappointed to find, he wasn't universally beloved. Did he lord his control of the water over them? After being discovered during a bar brawl, the people tremble at the thought of his vengeance; but a small child offers Aquaman his rag to clean himself...and probably saves them all. Later, when the city begs for mercy and water, Aquaman gives him all they can carry, but has to admit to himself, with his ego hurt he very nearly would have killed them all, if not for that child.

The other storyteller scoffs, calling that unrealistic, since Aquaman was a villain and oppressor, him and his no-good son Koryak. (Koryak's coloring seems to vary in this, but he has He-Man's Prince Valiant haircut.) Aquaman had the flying skull-shaped city Poseidonis, which cemented his control of the seas: the city could drop like a mountain on ships that didn't offer tribute, or shoot down anyone trying to fly over. The remaining heroes of the earth (nobody we know!) wanted to stop Aquaman, and Ocean Master offers his assistance...for a price. He's spurned, the first time anyway: after getting their asses kicked, they promise him and his partner Black Manta whatever they want. Riding in on a mutated flying manta, the pair call out Aquaman: Koryak wants to just shoot them down, but Aquaman refuses to harm even a monstrously altered sea creature. He may be hesitating, since his former lover (Blue) Dolphin warned him, he would fight his brother, but afterwards he would lose everything. Not knowing the prophecy (and he wouldn't have cared, anyway) Koryak leaps into battle, killing Black Manta, then dying from the mutant manta's sting.

Aquaman leaps into battle against Ocean Master, but it's a short fight, since the mystic forces unleashed dump the citizens of Poseidonis into the ocean and seemingly either destroys the city or launches it into space, where the two would battle forever. But, Ocean Master would be remembered for his heroism; according to the second storyteller. The first calls his story "calumny,' although I'd personally be more offended that it was anti-climactic. Both storytellers then claim to be descendants of Aquaman, hero or villain, and begin to fight it out, like brothers in that line forever.

So both Poseidonis--which looked like a stone version of Brainiac's ship--and Koryak would've been recent additions from David's run: pretty sure Poseidonis would be blow'd up in short order, but Koryak would be around a bit longer. Couldn't say if he's appeared anytime recently, though. 

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80-Page Thursdays: G.I. Combat #205!

I don't have a ton of these, but it was usually a bigger book, and at least eight were 80-pagers: from 1977, G.I. Combat #205.

Three more Haunted Tank stories this month, with them fighting in the Pacific for one, then two back in Germany: the crew nearly gets sent to the Japanese emperor as a trophy, Lt. Jeb Stuart nearly gets sent home on a section-8 for talking to ghosts, and a Nazi tank commander going Captain Ahab after the Tank nearly gets them. All close calls! I would hope this one would have put an end to Jeb's crew worrying about him talking to the ghost, but there were never a lot of continuity in these. (Three stories, all written by Bob Kanigher, art by Sam Glanzman.)

Then, two O.S.S. features: in the first, "Death is a Dummy," the spy agency is 0-for-2 in assassination attempts on Nazi Rudi "the Exterminator" Kelbst. You can tell he's evil, not just because of the name, but his raucous laughter at...a ventriloquist act. (Shudder!) Kelbst was like the ventriloquist's biggest fan; maybe he shouldn't have sent the guy's family to the gas chamber. (Written by Bart Regan, art by E.R. Cruz.) Then, in "60 Minutes to Massacre" an O.S.S. agent has to find out why a tribe on a small Pacific island resists Americans landing there--obviously, they know something of American history. No, a Japanese spy was trying to use them as a weapon; but I still think maybe the tribe shouldn't let anyone on the island? (Written by Bill Dennehy, art by Ric Estrada.)

Round out the book with two more shorts: "Soldier in Pigtails!" and "Stop--War Ahead!" The latter is about a cop turned M.P. but still all cop (grudgingly, in as good a way as possible) and the former a young woman fighting Nazi occupiers with a short, if successful, career as a sniper.

An aside: I picked up a fistful of Garth Ennis's War Stories the other day; I might have to scan those covers for the GCD. Annoyingly, that title was usually three issue arcs, and I don't think I completed a single one! But I would've loved to see Ennis redo that Haunted Tank one with the 'Ahab' commander after them, because he would probably go full Downfall there: "Our tanks are bigger, better armed, better armored. We know the area, the terrain. In a typical engagement, we outnumber our foe four-to-one. SO WHY (desk pounding begins) ARE WE GETTING--REPEATEDLY--CLOWNED BY THIS--THIS BABYTANK, FLYING AN ANTIQUE FLAG FOR FAILURES? HOW?" I'm also trying to recall if General Stuart ever gave, like legit intel, or just seemingly vague advice. Read more!

"Beams."

I'm positive Kurt's idea is from the Simpsons/Futurama crossover episode: in what passes for continuity, Bender is still in Homer's basement, going back to the 31st century the long way. I don't know if I've entirely figured out Death's Head's new career, but I might have an idea. Also, again like the third Doctor Who, whatever Mobius did to DH has him stuck in 2025: he can't steal or build a time machine, or at least that's what he thinks.  Read more!

Cease that infernal whistling!

I don't think I picked them all up at once, but I think I got most of Marvel's ninety-nine cent Over the Edge book--there's one with an Elektra cover and nice logo placement that I'll have to check for. This one's a little more basic, but fun for the price! From 1996, Over the Edge #3, "Toad's Night Out!" Written by Ralph Macchio, pencils by Stephen B. Jones (credited as J. B. Jones) and inks by Mike Witherby.

Although not written by Peter David, this is set during one of my favorite stretches of his run; where Betty and Bruce were living together incognito, and Bruce often wore head-to-toe bandages to move around in society. After their car breaks down on the scenic route (possibly from lugging the Hulk around!) they're forced to make a stop in a small town called Blackberry, and have to stay over night while parts are ordered from Mount Pilot...that sounds familiar somehow. A local, looking somewhat crazed, warns Betty that they should get out of town while they still could. Bruce shrugs it off as a nut, and anyway, he was the Hulk; what did they have to worry about? The locals creep Betty out, particulary a waitress that appeared to have scales; but Bruce ignores that to be polite, since she didn't make a scene at his (bandaged) appearance. But someone does see the Hulk unwrapped, as he reads a Stephen King story, "Rainy Season." Bruce seems to find it a bit out there, but it's also appropriate here.

After Bruce falls asleep, Betty sneaks out to investigate: she looks a bit too young here, but also super 90's. Far less 90's: the yokels at the police station, who are very obviously Andy and Barney Fife from the Andy Griffith Show. Betty lifts a gun, and goes back to tell Bruce something is up at the local steel mill: Bruce agrees to check it out, happy wife happy life, but only gets as far as the door before the Toad Men show up! They had first invaded, and hassled the Hulk, back in his second issue in 1962. The Hulk points out it was actually Banner that stopped them before, not the Hulk; but they were small and kind of silly looking and tough to take seriously, even if they were dangerous.

Despite a magnetic trap and the biggest, strongest Toad Man; they are again routed and driven away by the Hulk. But then the twist: the locals had wanted to go to Toadworld! Beats the heck out of wasting away in some nothing small town. And the Toad Men ladies were allegedly quite a draw. (Once you go toad, you never--no, I don't want to know.) Bruce and Betty leave after their car is fixed, but the emperor of the Toad Men promises they will return. They're possibly best known for also hassling She-Hulk in her second Byrne issue, and hey, they can't all be Kree or Skrull or Shi'ar. I kinda like the idea that the Marvel Universe is full of alien races like this, that maybe don't have the huge star-spanning empires, but are maybe technologically advanced enough or so inconveniently located that it would be a hassle for one of the big empires to take 'em. Also, I think I just remembered a long-forgotten bit of resentment I had for the Andy Griffith Show: decades ago on TBS, they ran Lost in Space Sunday mornings, immediately followed by Andy Griffith. So the Robinson family would face yet another cliffhanger ending...then that damn whistling! I associate that theme with the end of fun; but I'm pretty sure that's just me. Read more!

A tech billionaire that exploits people? Stop the press.

Despite reading a lot of Milestone, I've only read a bit of Hardware, but I love this issue: the cover was maybe the first time I realized, most superhero costumes do look better on a woman! From 1993, Hardware #9, "Software!" Written by Brian McDonald, pencils by Arvell Jones, inks by Denys Cowan.

Hardware, Curtiss Metcalf, had previously learned that his mentor Edwin Alva was not a benevolent philanthropist; but was in fact a predatory, credit-stealing bastard. He was also involved in organized crime and probably more than a bit racist; but maybe not quite the main bad guy like he would be on Static Shock: I want to say, think Lex Luthor, with more hair, and maybe more hands-on in exploiting his underlings. Curtiss created his Hardware armor to fight back, attacking Alva's illegal operations; and today was called into Alva's office to watch video of that. Curtiss thinks he's been found out, but Alva was instead giving him the assignment of defeating Hardware, which mainly seemed to be reverse engineering his tech. He's also given a research partner, the striking Tiffany Evans.

Curtiss sandbags, subtly sabotaging the project; although he struggled to do so in a way that Tiffany wouldn't immediately figure out. Still, she eventually did, and Alva threatens to sue Curtiss unless his performance improved. (Contractual agreements seemed to be Hardware's Kryptonite; I don't think he could just quit working for Alva.) Stymied, he presents Alva with a new design, which vaguely resembles the Robot from the 1998 Lost in Space movie with more guns. While Alva approves, Tiffany argues that was the wrong way to go, and they needed to go after Hardware's weaknesses: he was bigger and bulkier, but that flight gear would be far more efficient on a smaller frame...say, a woman's. Curtiss is then forced to help work on armor for Tiffany, and has trouble talking to her about it without seeming like an overprotective, sexist jerk.

When the Technique armor is ready, Alva has information leaked about a shipment from Columbia. Even knowing it was a trap, Curtiss still can't let Alva bring in drugs, but it was entirely a trap: the only cargo was Technique, who mops the floor with him for a bit. (Tiffany didn't know Alva was a louse yet, so he probably didn't bring in drugs to keep her on his side.) Hardware eventually knocks her out, or she's playing possum: when he tries to download her system, he gets a virus that activates his flight rig, launching him straight up! And at least in these early stories, fuel was a serious concern: while Curtiss manages to take back manual control and save himself, he also takes a big fall when the fuel runs out. Taking a couple days off to recover, he still has a note delivered to Tiffany, congratulating her for her success, and admitting she had a lot to teach him. 

The only trouble is, I think this was actually a fill-in issue: Milestone used to be strict about getting books out on time! Regular writer Dwayne McDuffie would be back the next month, so I'm not sure if Technique would return for some time. We saw a later Technique appearance some time back, but that would've been a couple years later.

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