The Mighty Thor #198

Cover date: April 1972

Writer: Gerry Conway

Artist: John Buscema

Inker: Vince Colletta

Returned to Asgard from his quest for The Well At World’s End, Thor must now do battle with the mighty Mangog. So there be plenty of pulse pounding action, ‘till the near- death Odin revives and puts an end to the Mangog before collapsing (again). This time, Odin be proper dead methinks... but hark? Thor doth realise that Hela hath yet to claim his soul; so he freezes time about Odin’s sacred form, denying Hela’s cold hand once they reach their own dimension.

Elsewhere, and more interestingly, Sif and Hildegard (accompanied by Silas Grant) are still on Blackworld – a strange planet that keeps shifting from one Earth era to another – where they run into the Rigelian Coloniser Tana Nile. Tana appears to be in a bit of a flap about “HIM”! Or as Hildegard puts it...

“By the stars! It can’t be! It can’t BEEEEEEE!”

This was a lot more fun than previous issues, now that Thor’s boring old quest is over; and Colletta’s inks are a lot more sympathetic to Buscema’s pencils than usual. I’d like to see Gerry Conway write more Earthbound adventures, though, as the contrast between gods and humans is always more interesting than adventures set in Asgard alone.

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The Invincible Iron Man #45

Cover date: March 1972

Writer: Gary Friedrich

Artist: George Tuska

Inker: Vince Colletta

The story opens half way through a fight between Iron Man and The Night Phantom, an indestructible android controlled by the ‘mysterious’ Mr. Kline. The same Mr. Kline who, erm, met his demise in last month’s Daredevil. I’ll get to that in a bit....

Also present is some gal named Marianne, who is apparently in love with our hero (and as it turns out, he with her) and has E.S.P.

After Tony Stark/Iron Man recovers from his usual heart seizure, he takes down The Night Phantom easily enough, just in time to cut away to some board room antics at Stark Industries with the other board members plotting to oust Stark. This meeting is being watched by Mr. Kline, which prompts a footnote;

“*Actually, nothing figures in Mr. Kline’s master schemes any longer since he perished in the climax of Daredevil #84. ..Stan.”

Holy interrupted sub-plot Batman! I guess, as reader Rick Kopesky puts it in the letter column, “This Mr. Kline mystery is overdone, and does not have me, for one, the least bit curious as to his secret identity.” And Marvel apparently listened, which explains that bizarre issue of Daredevil. Pity editorial forgot to inform Gary Friedrich, though.

After a brief scene of Young Iron Men in Love, and some guy named Kevin who’s got the hots for Marianne (and is jealous of his best friend and employer, Tony) we head back to Stark Industries, whereupon another boardroom meeting is crashed by The Guardsman. It turns out The Guardsman is Kevin (O’Brian), wearing a suit or armour designed by Stark.

Phew! We’re still not into Chapter Two.

Anyway, a bunch of student protesters turn up at Stark Industries to stick it to the man, and the boardroom members sic The Guardsman onto them...not a good idea, as he inadvertently injures three of them with a Repulsor Ray blast, inciting a riot as Iron Man appears. The Guardsman slinks away, and Iron Man flees the scene to avoid injuring anyone else and to keep the peace. He confronts Kevin in The Guardsman armour and disables him, before returning to the protest outside, just in time for the police to show up.

Continued next issue...

There was a lot going on here, which would probably have flowed easier without the Mr. Kline shenanigans. The soap-opera with Marianne also seemed out of place, but was well drawn by George Tuska, with some not unsympathetic Colletta inks. I’m certainly interested enough in where Tony’s proposal to the psychic Marianne goes.

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The Mighty Thor #197

Cover date: March 1972

Writer: Gerry Conway

Artist: John Buscema

Inker: Vince Colletta

Thor and his Warrior’s Three have reached the Well at the Edge of the World, so it’s time for a fight with “yon craggy giant”. Kartag (for that is his name) and Thor take a head dive into the Well, which shows Thor various visions, including the low down on why Odin sent Thor on this sorry arse quest in the first place. So it’s back to Asgard for Thor and the Warrior’s Three (accompanied by Kartag).

Sif and Hildegarde are still on that other planet, where everything appears to be not quite right; a steam boat shows up and Sif and Hildegarde are met by one Silas Grant.

Back on the Rainbow Bridge, Thor and his companions discover that Asgard is no longer in situ, but with some water from the Well - and Mighty Mjolnir – that’s not a problem. Once they locate Asgard, it’s time to fight Mangog!

This is really hard work, basically because Thor has the personality of a turnip. How did he ever get both Jane Foster and Sif interested?

I can only recommend this comic for the art of Buscema - despite the thin, scratchy, inks of Colletta.

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