Grab A Bowl of Cereal for a Saturday Morning Adventure! “Spaaaaaace Ghoooooost!” I love Hanna-Barbera Superheroes! Space Ghost! Herculoids! Birdman & the Galaxy Trio! Mightor! Samson and Goliath! Those shows were what first turned me onto comic books as a kid. Indeed, part of the appeal of collecting comics at that time was that they reminded me of those animated adventures that were long gone from the Saturday mornings landscape by the early 70’s. Why am I bringing thi

Leaving My "Endangered" List! Iron Man #70 is a clear improvement over the past several issues if for no other reason than there is a whole heck of a lot that occurs between its covers. You’ve got the Mandarin versus The Claw with a fatal outcome for the loser. Then there’s the return of Ultimo - the blue robot with serious dental issues. By the issue’s end, Sunfire exchanges “Gullible” for another word to go in front of “Jerk. Then there’s an increasing intrigue for Marty

Meet ...The Nose!! The Avenger’s Mansion sometime after this issue… “Hey, Thor? Do you have a minute?” “Certainly, Iron Man. What is it that thou wish to discuss?” “Well, it seems that none of the Avengers want to make eye contact with me and when they start to, they suddenly start coughing and make an excuse to leave the room. Any idea what’s going on?” “Ah, mine noble comrade-in-arms, does thou not knowest that thine latest renderings of that awe-inspiring armor hath put

Worst Armor Revision Ever...By A Nose! While I like to have fun with my reviews, there is a serious topic we need to first discuss. The upcoming issues of Iron Man feature a villain who at that time was called “Yellow Claw.” Based on Fu Manchu, this villain has a long history at Marvel that predates 1961's Fantastic Four #1. I consider the name “Yellow Claw” to be both offensive and racist. Because of that, the character will be referred to solely as “The Claw” in this an

Iron Man Moves to My “Endangered List”! Iron Man #67 proves a sad, and in many ways, needless disappointment. Sad because we see the return of a villain no one - not even his mother - wants to see return to these pages. But in my mind, the greatest shortcoming for this comic is the failure of the writer to drop any hints as to what's coming for this title. No, I don't mean that starting next issue Iron Man's armor will include that damned nose. What I do mean is that #68 i

We Visit A Courtroom in 1974… “Your Honor and members of this jury, I will show to each of you how Marvel Comics violated the copyright and licenses of my client’s character, The Green Lantern. Furthermore, it shall also be made equally clear that this was not a haphazard or careless accident, but instead a totally flagrant disregard of law as their version of the Lantern was prominent in not one or two, but four consecutive issues of Iron Man. Once I have shared with you a

A Painful Crash Back to Bi-Monthly Status Bi-Monthly. Don’t ask me why I looked at the fine print below the splash page of Iron Man #65, but I did and immediately saw that it was now published “bi-monthly.” My favorite hero who I’d started collecting just as he’d crawled out of that poor sales quicksand had stumbled right back into it. Was I all that surprised as a kid? Not really. Collecting a number of Marvel comics by that time, I grimly realized the threat of Dr. Spectr

We Interrupt this Blog to For a Special Treat! I can already hear your questions. “What the heck?” “Where’s our review of Iron Man #65?” Rest assured, I’ve have a written review of Iron Man #65 ready to go. Next Friday. But let’s be honest. This Dr. Spectrum story isn’t all that exciting. So I thought I’d give us all a break so that we can enjoy another comic from August 1973 that included Iron Man. Keeping this one “in the family,” we also have Mike Friedrich as the wr

Stuck Between a Rokk and a Rotten Comic! “Mommy! Rick said a bad word! I saw him reading a comic book and then saying the “s” word!” Having heard my younger sister calling out from the bottom of the stairs, I know what’s next. “Is that true?” Since I’m in my upstairs bedroom, I don’t have to look my determined mother in the eye for what I’m about to say next. “Of course not. What I actually said about this new issue of Iron Man is that it’s an absolute hit.” Knowing that

Blame It on the Booze! At least that’s the story behind Roy Thomas (Marvel) and Denny O’Neil (DC) coming up with the idea of having an unofficial crossover between the Avengers and Justice League of America. What originated at a party with liquid refreshments flowing like the Mississippi spilled over into both series in 1969. Although the JLA was more subtle about it, Roy Thomas dove in headfirst, creating the “Squadron Sinister” to challenge the Avengers. Without going too

We Guys Can Be Such Idiots! “Welcome to tonight’s episode of ‘We Guys Can Be Such Idiots!" Our guests are Mark Scarlotti (AKA Whiplash) and Happy Hogan, husband of Pepper Hogan. We’re here to talk about their actions in Iron Man #61 and #62. “I’m going to start with you, Mark. In issue #62, you’re working under the alias of Mark Scott, having a high-paying position at Stark Industries’ Cincinnati facility as well as being engaged to the plant’s manager, Vicki Snow. Yet yo

Was This Issue Created to Drive Readers Away? Ow! Cramp! Cramp! Oh my! It’s been too many issues since I had to go that deep into the well for a criticism. I’m out of shape. Let’s try a few stretches. Ahh.. That’s better. Where was I? Oh yeah. I was just getting started my review of Iron Man #61. It’s part two of the Masked Marauder’s battle with our hero. I didn’t like either part of this story when I read it as a 12-year-old and it hasn’t aged any better. Not the

Are They Deliberately Trying to Tank this Book? Dreadfully atrocious? Or should I go with atrociously dreadful? Oops. Excuse me. I didn’t know we were live. I’m still working on adjectives that best describe how pitiful the Masked Marauder is as a villain. I mean if Daredevil - who at this time is dealing with the likes of The Black Messiah and Angar the Screamer - hasn’t wanted this guy back in years, what in God’s name is he doing in Iron Man? Did Mike Friedrich lose a

Iron Man's Most Overrated Villain? Does anyone remember looking really forward to meeting someone only to have them truly disappoint you? That was me with Firebrand in the early spring of 1973. I mean, when I rejoined this book, it seemed that his name came up every other panel. “Firebrand knocked out the FM reception in my armor” or “I now only eat my steaks well-done after facing the intense heat from Firebrand.” Our guy seemed to be going through PTSD because of this dud

“Mandarin and the Unicorn: Double-Death!” I Dare You to Say "The Unicorn" Three Times Without Laughing! Before I start this review, let’s get all the laughing and snickers out of our system. Yeah, I know one of our villains is called The Unicorn. But I’ve got an entire issue to cover. So, I’m going to say “The Unicorn” several times and wait until we’re all done laughing before moving on. Done? Hold it! I see you, Greg. You’re still chucking over your coffee in Pewaukee,

Now For More Mediocrity! "C’mon Rick. It’s time to go work on your blog." "Don’t wanna." "But everyone’s waiting to hear your thoughts on Iron Man #57." "Don’t wanna do that one." "Why not? It has the Mandarin in it. That’s Iron Man’s number one villain." "Big deal. He’s stupid. I hate him. I wanted Controller, Moondragon and Thanos with Jim Starlin’s art." "Rick, we don’t always get what we want in life. You have a responsibility to those three people who have signed

Jim Starlin...You're Fired! "You're travelling through another dimension, whose boundaries are that of imagination. You've entered... The Twilight Zone! In this world, people are still talking about a movie called “The Infinity Endgame” which featured Darkseid’s attempt to take over the entire universe with the Infinity Lanterns, opposed by the Justice League and their remarkable allies, Gamora and her rather unsavory, but ultimately affable colleague Pip the Troll. This mo

Thanos and ...Lurch? Does anyone remember Ted Cassidy? Big guy who played Lurch on the Adam's Family back in the 60's? Had various roles on Star Trek? Used his voice for oodles of cartoon characters in the 60’s and 70’s? Reason I ask is that from the first moment I came across Thanos in this comic book, it was Ted Cassidy’s deep, somewhat unsettling voice that I heard in my head with the evil Titan’s every utterance. That remained the case until the first Guardians of the

A High-Water Mark Thanks to The Sub-Mariner & A Hot Bald Villainess ! Who knew that a comic book could be a “gateway drug?” That’s exactly what Iron Man #54 was for me. Once I plunked down my two dimes for it back in late 1972, I unknowingly started down a path that became a bit more than a hobby for over four decades. It started simple enough. Later that month, I grabbed the latest Amazing Spider-Man off the rack. Another month, Fantastic Four joined the party. By that

Iron Man's "Lamest" Villain & Some Guy Named Jim Starlin “Good morning, Marvel. I’m the agent for the Black Lama and here to say that I think you really need to put him into one of your comic books. And let’s face it, you owe me after what you did to my client, Cyborg Sinister. That guy had potential and you know it.” “Alright, so what’s this Black Lama’s schtick? “He’s the leader of a mystic cult with followers around the world, trained to channel their emotions to gene