PART TWO Of THOR The MIGHTY In A JOURNEY Into MYSTERY COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Strange as it may seem, I always preferred the original "star-kissed human" concept of THOR The MIGHTY over the idea of Dr. DON BLAKE being a construct of all-wise ODIN.  Maybe that's why I enjoyed Thor's Earth-based escapades more than his adventures in ASGARD (on the whole), because I could relate to them more.  After all, I could never have been born a Norse god, but there was always a chance (however slim) I might find an ancient and enchanted gnarled cane in a cave that would transform me into even more of a walking powerhouse than I already am!

However, enough of levity.  Here, not before time, is the second in our series of cover galleries starring ol' Goldilocks from the dawn of his career.  Ten JACK KIRBY mighty MARVEL masterpieces to astound you!

(BOND) BABE Of The DAY - LANA WOOD...

PLENTY O'TOOLE - named after

her father perhaps, as 007 dryly suggests

in the movie DIAMONDS Are FOREVER.

Of course, it was really LANA WOOD - and

there's a joke in her name too, but I ain't

gonna touch it, no sirree.

PART TWO Of DEATHLOK The DEMOLISHER COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

"A new beginning" proclaims the cover of ASTONISHING TALES #36, but (alas) 'twas not to be.  The comic was cancelled with this ish, and the new beginning ended in MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #33.  However, you can't keep a good man down, and LUTHER MANNING (the original Deathlok, there's been at least three more since) popped up as a guest star in various titles 'til his star faded in the Mighty Marvel firmament and he was eventually consigned to reprints in the MASTERWORKS and EPIC volumes.

But don't be downhearted, 'cos we have these cracking covers (Gromit) to remind us of when Deathlok kicked @ss.  Got a favourite?  Then tell us all about it in the comments section, frantic one!  This blog's nothing without you!

This would've been AT #37 had the mag not been cancelled - the cover was already prepared,
logo and all.  Luckily, with a bit of rescheduling and re-titling, it finally got the 'spotlight' it
deserved.  Ironically, this was also the final issue of MARVEL SPOTLIGHT

Cover production photostat of originally-scheduled mag

PART TEN Of The CRUNCH COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

It's been a while since we looked at any covers from The CRUNCH, DCT's late '70s comic for boys in the 2000 A.D. mould (The Crunch, not the boys), so let's rectify that by copping a gander at another quartet of captivating comic covers from this short-lived (just over a year) periodical from the publishers of The BEANO and COMMANDO.  Back then, of course, they had numerous comics on the go, but not any more, alas.

So let's turn back the clock, and live again those happy, heady, dying days of the '70s.  Now there was an era!

STRANGE TALES COVER GALLERY - PART THREE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Seven is a lucky number.  "And why's that?" you enquire.  Because here are seven covers from MARVEL's magnificent mag from the '60s - STRANGE TALES.  Two, count 'em, two titanic tales for the price of one, when comicbooks were unashamedly comicbooks, and not the slick, 'sophisticated' magazines they aspire to be today.

But don't let me get on my soapbox about modern comics.  Let's just enjoy these covers from a simpler age, when comic mags were fun, and entertaining the readers was the only aim of writers, artists and publishers involved in this crazy business called comicbooks.  Ready?  Then what are you waiting for?  The fun starts now!