Here we go again with another look at a trio of my birthday books.
The Incredible Hulk #119
Grade - VG (4.0)
Cover - Herb Trimpe
Story - Stan Lee
Story - Stan Lee
Art - Herb Trimpe
At the Mercy of... Maximus the Mad!
Upon awakening on the island of Costa Salvador, Bruce Banner finds himself unable to think clearly, which turns out to be caused by a statue in the nearby village that emanates hypnotic pulses which subjugate the inhabitants to the will of the Great One. Angered Banner transforms to his great green raging counterpart and goes to the castle on the island to show that no 'great one' is mightier than the Hulk.
In the US President Nixon is informed that contact has been lost with Costa Salvador so tells General Ross and Major Talbot to stop their hulk-hunting and to go to the island to investigate what is happening there instead.
The so called "Great One" turns out to be Maximus, the exiled Inhuman prince, he is accompanied by his band of evil Inhumans: Aiero, Falcona, Leonus, Nebulo, Stallior, and Timberius. Having failed to rule the Hidden Land of the Inhumans, Maximus intends to slowly take over the entire world with similar statues put in strategic locations all over the world, slowly putting everyone under his control. The group fight to keep Hulk out but he proves to be a match for each of them. Eventually the military show up and Maximus tries to use Hulk's dislike of the military and their joint outcast status to sway him to join him. The last panel shows a frustrated Hulk fighting to make a decision, with the blurb promising next week, "The Dread Decision". Buy #120 to see how he goes with that, I will say that Betty Ross is with the army forces accompanying her father the General so she may well appeal to the jade juggernaut.
According to Marvel Wiki this book has the 1st appearance of Richard Nixon as a topical reference, haha that makes this a most unusual key if you ask me! Go HERE for more fun facts about Nixon in Marvel comics, including his time as a zombie would-be world destroyer!! Also this is the 1st time Costa Salvador is used.
Dr. Strange #182
At the Mercy of... Maximus the Mad!
Upon awakening on the island of Costa Salvador, Bruce Banner finds himself unable to think clearly, which turns out to be caused by a statue in the nearby village that emanates hypnotic pulses which subjugate the inhabitants to the will of the Great One. Angered Banner transforms to his great green raging counterpart and goes to the castle on the island to show that no 'great one' is mightier than the Hulk.
In the US President Nixon is informed that contact has been lost with Costa Salvador so tells General Ross and Major Talbot to stop their hulk-hunting and to go to the island to investigate what is happening there instead.
The so called "Great One" turns out to be Maximus, the exiled Inhuman prince, he is accompanied by his band of evil Inhumans: Aiero, Falcona, Leonus, Nebulo, Stallior, and Timberius. Having failed to rule the Hidden Land of the Inhumans, Maximus intends to slowly take over the entire world with similar statues put in strategic locations all over the world, slowly putting everyone under his control. The group fight to keep Hulk out but he proves to be a match for each of them. Eventually the military show up and Maximus tries to use Hulk's dislike of the military and their joint outcast status to sway him to join him. The last panel shows a frustrated Hulk fighting to make a decision, with the blurb promising next week, "The Dread Decision". Buy #120 to see how he goes with that, I will say that Betty Ross is with the army forces accompanying her father the General so she may well appeal to the jade juggernaut.
According to Marvel Wiki this book has the 1st appearance of Richard Nixon as a topical reference, haha that makes this a most unusual key if you ask me! Go HERE for more fun facts about Nixon in Marvel comics, including his time as a zombie would-be world destroyer!! Also this is the 1st time Costa Salvador is used.
Dr. Strange #182
Grade - GD (1.8)
Cover - Gene Colan
Story - Roy Thomas
Story - Roy Thomas
Art - Gene Colan/Tom Palmer
And Juggernaut Makes Three!
Dr Strange is in the Nightmare dimension where he is still trapped (from the last issue) by the Eye of Agamotto. He is facing his old foe Nightmare who has captured Eternity (in #180) and is using it's power to threaten the Earth by collapsing the past and the future onto the present! Whilst Nightmare was boasting Strange summoned Juggernaut who was trapped in the Dream dimension at this point and he turns up and battles Nightmare as he is sure that Stephen is the key to him getting back to the Earthly realm. With his enormous strength plus some eldritch talent he has picked up whilst in exile Juggernaut is able to distract Nightmare long enough for Strange to escape the Eye's hold on him. Seeing this the 2 battling villains strike out at him together as one. Strange has cast an illusion though instead of hitting him the blasts strike at the bonds that hold Eternity fast and it is free. It belittle Nightmare saying that the time he was held were as nothing to him, essentially saying that Nightmare was beneath his contemplation. He consigns the 2 villains into oblivion and ushers Strange back through the void between worlds to his Sanctum Sanctorum. There he discovers, (through the fact that his name changes on a telegram he received), that Eternity has rewarded him for his help by providing him with the new alias of Stephen Sanders. I'm not sure why, I guess it must be to do with other events that happened in Strange's life around this time. I'm also not sure why he wears a blue/black mask as well in this comic, I'd not seen that before.
As I was looking through this I wasn't aware of how fragile this comic was and the cover came off!! 😢
Star-Spangled War Stories: Enemy Ace #146
And Juggernaut Makes Three!
Dr Strange is in the Nightmare dimension where he is still trapped (from the last issue) by the Eye of Agamotto. He is facing his old foe Nightmare who has captured Eternity (in #180) and is using it's power to threaten the Earth by collapsing the past and the future onto the present! Whilst Nightmare was boasting Strange summoned Juggernaut who was trapped in the Dream dimension at this point and he turns up and battles Nightmare as he is sure that Stephen is the key to him getting back to the Earthly realm. With his enormous strength plus some eldritch talent he has picked up whilst in exile Juggernaut is able to distract Nightmare long enough for Strange to escape the Eye's hold on him. Seeing this the 2 battling villains strike out at him together as one. Strange has cast an illusion though instead of hitting him the blasts strike at the bonds that hold Eternity fast and it is free. It belittle Nightmare saying that the time he was held were as nothing to him, essentially saying that Nightmare was beneath his contemplation. He consigns the 2 villains into oblivion and ushers Strange back through the void between worlds to his Sanctum Sanctorum. There he discovers, (through the fact that his name changes on a telegram he received), that Eternity has rewarded him for his help by providing him with the new alias of Stephen Sanders. I'm not sure why, I guess it must be to do with other events that happened in Strange's life around this time. I'm also not sure why he wears a blue/black mask as well in this comic, I'd not seen that before.
As I was looking through this I wasn't aware of how fragile this comic was and the cover came off!! 😢
Star-Spangled War Stories: Enemy Ace #146
Grade - VG
Cover - Joe Kubert
Story - ?
Story - ?
Art - Russ Heath
Enemy Ace
In both the stories in this issue they are framed as tales told by Von Hammer, the 'enemy ace' to Klaus a new German pilot who is petrified of going up in a papier-mache' coffin.
In the 1st tale he tells of an American pilot newly arrived at a French air base during WWI, he is the 1st US pilot to fly with them and is determined to prove his worthiness in the air to show his gallic comrades that his countrymen can cut it in air battles. On his 1st night they play a game of darts with balloons tied to a board, he is able to hit the red balloon that symbolised 'Hawk' an enemy ace. His colleagues though fear that rather than bagging Hawk, he will just be a plump pigeon to be devoured by him. Next day on his 1st trip up he falls for Hawk's ploy and barely survives the ordeal and is grounded by his commander.
Sometime later he is incensed when the Hawk downs a comrade just as he was coming in to land. He leaps in a plane and gives chase unable to get a bead on Hawk who leads him a merry chase right back to his own airbase where he promptly shoots the yank down again. Hawk plans to keep the American Leutenant prisoner but he flees climbing onboard a hot air balloon on the base. He takes up the machine gun on board and miraculously takes out Hawk in an arial balloon vs fokker dogfight!!
Brother Enemy!
Klaus is still unconvinced so Von Hammer tells him another story, in it we hear of twin brothers Richard and Carl who were seperated when they escaped in different life rafts from a sinking ship in a disaster that claimed both of their parents. Adopted into different foster homes they lost touch till they were grown up and war was declared, now a pilot Richard is determned to meet Carl and asks all over for people to be on the lookout for his twin.
Soon he is flying into war and on a bomb run gets into a dogfight with an enemy ace, he cuts his foes oil line which clouds their goggles, he goes in for the kill and sees the enemy pilot is his twin! He can not kill him and his flight team can not understand why he didn't finish him off. He doesn't tell them his fantastic story and they are angry with him, then in a second attempt to bomb the same target they again meet in the air. This time Carl gets the drop on Richard and it goes the same way he's about to deliver the killing blow when he sees that it's his twin. He too can not kill his twin.
Before a 3rd sortie both brothers are called out by their commanding officers and ordered to show no quarter for the enemy. They take to the air and go at each other in earnest but neither are able to gain the upper hand until they run out of bullets and ram each other in the air. Carl is knocked out but Richard grabs him from the falling wreckage and I assume parachutes down to the ground safely with him. It looks more like they emerge from the twisted wreckage of the 2 planes actually and there's no sign of a parachute anywhere!? Maybe it's ghosts of the two brothers who greet each other face to face on the ground.
The comic ends with a few cartoons but there is no resumption of the framing story so we never know if Von Hammer's tales help to convince the cowardly (actually very sensible) Klaus to do his duty.
Enemy Ace
In both the stories in this issue they are framed as tales told by Von Hammer, the 'enemy ace' to Klaus a new German pilot who is petrified of going up in a papier-mache' coffin.
In the 1st tale he tells of an American pilot newly arrived at a French air base during WWI, he is the 1st US pilot to fly with them and is determined to prove his worthiness in the air to show his gallic comrades that his countrymen can cut it in air battles. On his 1st night they play a game of darts with balloons tied to a board, he is able to hit the red balloon that symbolised 'Hawk' an enemy ace. His colleagues though fear that rather than bagging Hawk, he will just be a plump pigeon to be devoured by him. Next day on his 1st trip up he falls for Hawk's ploy and barely survives the ordeal and is grounded by his commander.
Sometime later he is incensed when the Hawk downs a comrade just as he was coming in to land. He leaps in a plane and gives chase unable to get a bead on Hawk who leads him a merry chase right back to his own airbase where he promptly shoots the yank down again. Hawk plans to keep the American Leutenant prisoner but he flees climbing onboard a hot air balloon on the base. He takes up the machine gun on board and miraculously takes out Hawk in an arial balloon vs fokker dogfight!!
Brother Enemy!
Klaus is still unconvinced so Von Hammer tells him another story, in it we hear of twin brothers Richard and Carl who were seperated when they escaped in different life rafts from a sinking ship in a disaster that claimed both of their parents. Adopted into different foster homes they lost touch till they were grown up and war was declared, now a pilot Richard is determned to meet Carl and asks all over for people to be on the lookout for his twin.
Soon he is flying into war and on a bomb run gets into a dogfight with an enemy ace, he cuts his foes oil line which clouds their goggles, he goes in for the kill and sees the enemy pilot is his twin! He can not kill him and his flight team can not understand why he didn't finish him off. He doesn't tell them his fantastic story and they are angry with him, then in a second attempt to bomb the same target they again meet in the air. This time Carl gets the drop on Richard and it goes the same way he's about to deliver the killing blow when he sees that it's his twin. He too can not kill his twin.
Before a 3rd sortie both brothers are called out by their commanding officers and ordered to show no quarter for the enemy. They take to the air and go at each other in earnest but neither are able to gain the upper hand until they run out of bullets and ram each other in the air. Carl is knocked out but Richard grabs him from the falling wreckage and I assume parachutes down to the ground safely with him. It looks more like they emerge from the twisted wreckage of the 2 planes actually and there's no sign of a parachute anywhere!? Maybe it's ghosts of the two brothers who greet each other face to face on the ground.
The comic ends with a few cartoons but there is no resumption of the framing story so we never know if Von Hammer's tales help to convince the cowardly (actually very sensible) Klaus to do his duty.
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