Time for another round of the 1970s Marvel Comics novels featuring a cavalcade of superheroes. I’d like to thank the owner of these books for letting me have the chance to finally read some of them. They definitely are a mixed bag. This time. we have the first family of Marvel, the Fantastic Four; your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man; and the big, green goliath known as the Incredible Hulk, who stomps right into action.
THE INCREDIBLE HULK: CRY OF THE BEAST by Richard S. Meyers — Why does Meyers’ name seem so familiar? Oh, I know: Because all the other books I’ve read by him were under his pen name, Wade Barker. Longtime BBB&B readers may be groaning, since Barker’s books are from the NINJA MASTER series, which truly scrapes the bottom of the barrel.
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Okay, another detour in my column. Once again, something happened which made me completely switch gears with my original plans, but this time for the better. There are some sellers and collectors who think they can charge ridiculous prices for books. That’s well-known and one of the banes of my column. There might be a book I’d love to cover, but I’m not paying over-the-top prices for what is essentially quick reading.
Thankfully, I was lent a stack of books I’ve wanted to read for years, so most likely they will all be reviewed over the next few weeks. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the first column of the old Marvel Comics paperback novels. Fuck you, eBay and price-gougers.
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My original idea for this column was to work around books that were part of British TV. But, as things happen, things change. So instead, it’s two-thirds British and one-third good ol’ American crime. We start things off with a book I’ve read many many many years ago — the early ’80s, to be precise. Cue the TARDIS noises, ’cause off we go to Loch Ness!
DOCTOR WHO AND THE LOCH NESS MONSTER by Terrance Dicks — Early in 2012, BBC Books reissued some of the old DOCTOR WHO Target adaptations with new introductions. The Target books, back in the day, were sometimes the only way a DOCTOR WHO fan could ever read one of the stories that either were lost in the great wipe the BBC did of old shows, or just episodes my local PBS would probably never air.
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Back from holiday hibernation, the mighty BBB&B column arises, sort of like the Kraken … or at least Kraken Rum. I recently ventured back into the book-buying world and found a few used treasures, one of which I’ve been on the hunt for.
So for those who have missed my finds, we’ll kick things off with a book that has its own theme song. All right, so it’s the movie they made from it that has its own theme song, but it’s a damn fine one.
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Welcome back, my friends, to the column that never ends. You’re in for a treat, because I finally got my hands on a book I’ve been on the hunt for, so I figured I might as well share my thoughts, while also revisiting two other authors of note. So let’s kick things off with that science-fiction author of note, Adolf Hitler.
THE IRON DREAM by Norman Spinrad — This 1972 book will definitely divide readers. There will be those who will see it for the brilliant satire that it is, while others will find the subject matter a bit disturbing. THE IRON DREAM is a book within a book. The basic premise is that it takes place in an alternate history, where instead of becoming dictator of Germany, Adolf Hitler moved to New York after World War I to became a painter for pulp magazines and then a much-loved sci-fi author.
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