Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.  *** The past is once more beckoning us to join it. And who are we to spurn a good beckoning? A brand new comic arrives in our lives and I could impress you by telling you exactly what happens in it. But that would be far too easy. Or it would be if I had the slightest idea what happens in it. However, from the title, I'm going to assume it's like some sort of mashup of Star Trek and The Legion of Super-Heroes. Whatever it is, it's brought to us by the team of Alan Zele ..read more

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.  *** I do believe this month is a huge one in the history of Marvel Comics and its biggest heroes. But how will that event impact upon the lives of those heroes in their everyday books? Rhodey's still in China and having to tackle the Mandarin without bursting out laughing at his terrible costume. Granted, it'll be fairly easy to avoid laughing, as the villain's using his mind-control ring to force the hero to slit his own throat. Also, the Manchurian mischief maker's out to s ..read more

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.  *** April Fools' Day is come and gone but what fools we would be to not investigate what our favourite Marvel heroes were up to in magazines whose cover date is exactly fifty years ago. The Avengers are still having ludicrous amounts of difficulty defeating Zodiac, despite the bad guys barely being able to muster a super-power between them. However, I'm sure the good guys will triumph eventually. But what's this? I do believe the cover image was also used on the fron ..read more

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.  *** If there's one thing visitors to this site can take for granted, it's that it will never be anything but topical. And so it is that, this Easter Sunday, it can be found reviewing that most Easterly of comics. Shazam #5. OK, I admit it. It has nothing to do with Easter. But, who knows? Maybe we can find a little of that Easter magic contained somewhere within its pages. I first acquired this comic in the early 1970s in a shop just beyond the city centre, before being dragge ..read more

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.  *** Have you ever wanted your own private army? If you so, you'll have to put some effort into it to get a bigger one than Qin Shi Huang the first emperor of China  Admittedly, his was made of terracotta and buried with him and, therefore, may not have been much use in an actual fight. But who cares about that? Not archaeologists. Not this week in 1974 because that's when members of that profession first impressed the world by unearthing it near Xi'an in the province of Shaa ..read more

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.  *** A wise man once remarked that, "Time marches on," while another claimed, "An army marches on its stomach." Clearly, that man had an army of slugs, as no human army would dream of marching on its stomach. However, right now, it's neither time nor slugs that are marching on. Instead, it is March who is marching on, progressing relentlessly towards a brand new April that will, no doubt, be somewhat like previous Aprils but also have an identity all of its very own. Wh ..read more

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.  *** This week in 1974 produced great news for anyone who likes to guzzle that gas, because it was the week in which OPEC's five-month long oil embargo against the United States, Europe and Japan finally came to an end and we could all get back to the hard work of driving up the world's temperature. It's a striking cover and one I remember well. Mostly because, one Sunday evening, as a child, I decided to get my pencil out and copy every fizzog on it, having decided it ..read more

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.  *** I possess zero doubt that February 1986 saw those of a superstitious persuasion anticipating nothing but disaster. The 9th of that month was, after all, the moment when Halley's Comet reached its perihelion. Also known as its closest point to the sun. Previous sightings of that body had coincided with such disasters as William the Conqueror smashing up a small town near Hastings. Serious stuff, indeed. As far as I'm aware, this time, global catastrophe never appeared - al ..read more

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.  *** As I stand haughtily atop the tallest buildings South Yorkshire can offer, and observe the witless follies of personkind, people often ask me, "Stevie-Pops, what was the first single you ever bought?" And I can sensationally reveal the answer is one that could cause even the gods themselves to crumble. Because that record was no less than Billy Don't Be a Hero by Nottingham's finest Paper Lace. Such was that record's impact upon me that, even to this day, I refuse t ..read more

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.  *** A veritable smorgasbord of celluloid greeted those who attended the picture houses of the world in March 1984. It was, it turns out, a month which saw the release of such never-to-be-forgottens as Romancing the Stone, Greystoke, Police Academy, Splash, The Hotel New Hampshire, Children of the Corn, Against All Odds, Repo Man and This is Spinal Tap. I would say the last of those movies stands out to me as being the one that stands out to me but other offerings may sta ..read more