Friday, October 19

My Birthday Books - 7

Thanks for checking out my blog folks, here's another of my regular weekly looks at my birthday books. That is books that came into the world at more or less the same time as I did, that being September 1969.


Captain Marvel #16
 Grade - Fine
Cover - Don Heck/Syd Shores/Sam Rosen
Story - Archie Goodwin
Art - Don Heck/Syd Shores

Behind the Mask of Zo!
Mar-vel is trying to destroy Tam-bor a magnetic device that is threatening to destroy the Universe. Ronan the Public Accuser turns up and tries to execute him for crimes against the Kree. Mar-vel manages to destroy Tam-bor but is helpless and about to be executed when he is saved by the Supreme Sentry sent by the Supreme Intelligence himself to bring him to Hala. Mar-vel is informed that he was the pawn of Zo who is really Zarek and has instigated a plot along with Ronan to overthrow the Kree Empire. Zarek tries to kill the Intelligence with a Negatron Sphere but Mar-vel jumps on it taking the blast himself. Miraculously he survives and the Supreme Intelligence rewards him for his bravery by giving him a new uniform and powers and allows him to return to Earth to get revenge against Yonn-rogg, however he some how ends up in the Negative Zone.

Iron Man #17
  Grade - VG
Cover - George Tuska
Story - Archie Goodwin
Art - George Tuska/Johnny Craig

The Beginning of the End!
Returning from Africa, Iron Man is struck by fake lightning by agents of Madam Masque in the employ of Mordecai Midas, he crash lands to Earth. Meanwhile Masque destroys a Stark Industries lab with explosives which triggers a Life Model Decoy (robot) of Tony Stark to reactivate. Masque takes Tony's cousin Morgan to meet her boss Midas, a greedy villain who wishes to be the richest man on Earth, he wants Tony's wealth and Morgan is helping with insider information. However Midas is not happy with Morgan and threatens him with death if he doesn't start providing better intel. Iron Man recovers from his crash landing and returns to Stark Industries where he soon discovers that he's been ousted from his own life by the LMD. It takes him out when he tries to tackle it and finds himself thrown from his own facility with only his life-preserving chest plate to his name. He discovers that the LMD has been busy undermining his life, his credit cards don't work, his signature has been changed on records and with The Avengers away Jarvis their butler won't allow him access without the new security codes. Tony is reduced to charging his chestplate by plugging into a parked car which draws the attention of the police. Running away from the law he is captured by Madame Masque. I'm not sure how Midas's plan to rob Tony will work when he's already had it stolen by the LMD!!

As I said in the video this is the 1st appearance of the villain Midas and the 1st full appearance of Stark's Secretary Ms Greer. Also there is a character named Vic who we see in 1 panel reporting to the police that Stark is breaking into a car to use it's battery. He gets subdued many years later by Daredevil for operating a fake cash machine!!
  G.I. Combat #137
 Grade - VG- (3.5)
Cover - Joe Kubert

The book doesn't contain credits for art or writer and even the DC wiki does not say. I got artist info on each story by signatures within the books pages.

The Haunted Tank in: We Can't See!
Story - ?
Art - Russ Heath
Jeb and the crew of the Haunted Tank are in North Africa and help a local boy Ali who is being bullied by thugs. As a matter of honour he gives them his only possession a song bird. Later they take out a Nazi plane that had downed a British pilot. The British flyer dies but tells them of his mission to destroy a poison gas dump before he passes. They decide to complete his mission and manage to do so, however the dump also has magnesium in it and the resulting flare blinds them. Ali becomes there eyes but they are attacked in hand to hand combat by pursuing Germans with Ali directing their blows in their blinded state. He keeps them in the fight long enough for their eyesight to clear and they defeat the Nazis. They return Ali's songbird to him who says "He sings of happiness that is found when friends help one another" to which Reb replies "Maybe-- some day-- the whole world will discover your bird's secret-- and they'll be no more war ever again!"

The Haunted Tank was created by Russ Heath and debuted in G.I. Combat #87. (1961)  

Battle Album
Centre spread about the machines of war, this week it's the Sherman and Panther tanks.

The letters page features a letter with a writer complaining about how the comic cover does not match the interior story.

There is a 3/4s page G.I. Jinx humour cartoon.

Story of a Boot!
Story - ?
Art - Joe Kubert
In this quirky story a war correspondent asks a soldier his story he answers that there's a story in his boot and produces a button, a map and some plaster dust from it but the exhausted GI conks out before he can talk. We then get to see what story the boot would say 'if it could talk' and it tells how the items managed to get into it during the taking of the town. The soldier wakes up to continue his slog and the reporter is left thinking that he must be combat-happy to say such a strange thing about their being a story in his boot! It's a pretty normal battle action story just told in a most unusual and entertaining manner.

The next issue of this book #138 features the debut of The Losers!


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My wants list

I just thought I'd put this online so I can check it on my phone if I ever need to. Also if anyone is looking to trade or anything. ...