Here’s Part Eight of Spider-Man 1970s Classics. For Part One click HERE.
SPIDER-MAN Vol 1 #134 (July 1974)
Title: Danger is a Man Called Tarantula
Villain: Tarantula (first appearance)
Synopsis: As Spider-Man, Peter Parker swings along, hurrying to catch a Hudson River cruise ship that he, Mary Jane Watson, Flash Thompson and the newly returned Liz Allen are taking for a few hours of fun. As he switches back into Peter Parker he notes that he’s down to his last current cartridge of web fluid in his web shooters and makes a mental note to pick up more the next time he’s at the apartment he shares with Harry Osborn.
As the ship sails along it is hijacked and held for $1,000,000.00 ransom (equivalent to $5,581,387.00 today). The hijackers are the brand new Hispanic villain Tarantula and his two costumed sidekicks. While the villain and his aides rob the passengers of all their valuables, Peter grabs the first chance he gets to become Spider-Man and saves a sailor knocked overboard in a scuffle with one of Tarantula’s men. Continue reading

MUSICAL MUTINY (1970) – Halloween Month continues here at Balladeer’s Blog with a Barry Mahon movie that’s more frighteningly bad than it is frightening. I’ve recently become obsessed with this made in Florida wonder that features the ghost of a long-dead pirate, the deskbound narrator from Blood Freak and a mad scientist intent on taking over the world with his new beverage which gets drinkers higher than marijuana. There are also three on-stage performances by Iron Butterfly (yes, really), including the full-length version of In A Gadda Da Vida.
Perhaps most importantly for me and my fellow Bad Movie geeks, this is the earliest movie release done as a promotional piece for Pirates World, the long-defunct Florida amusement park featured in notorious Grade Z films like Jack and the Beanstalk, Thumbelina plus Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny (reviewed in 2010 here at Balladeer’s Blog). In fact, Musical Mutiny is so obscure that as of this writing there are only five user reviews at IMDb.
Balladeer’s Blog remains the only site on the web that equally criticizes both Democrats and Republicans, depending on which party has been committing greater offenses at the moment.
THE FREMEN – These are American VOTERS who heroically endure the harsh, ugly conditions that the hopelessly corrupt and outdated Houses have imposed on the nation.
“LOOK AT ME”, Jill Biden was forced to say into the blank, uncomprehending face of her husband, the head of the Biden Regime. Jill was – like so many times before – trying to get the attention of her corrupt, inept and increasingly demented spouse Joe Biden and get him to stop making a public spectacle of himself. (Too late!)
NCCAA 1. CONCORDIA (MI) CARDINALS ### 2. OTTAWA UNIVERSITY (AZ) SPIRIT ### 3. STERLING COLLEGE WARRIORS ### 4. GREENVILLE UNIVERSITY PANTHERS ###
5. WARNER UNIVERSITY ROYALS ### 6. SOUTHWESTERN ASSEMBLIES OF GOD UNIVERSITY LIONS ### 7. KENTUCKY CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS ### 8. GENEVA COLLEGE GOLDEN TORNADOS ###
YEGOR’S PORTRAIT (1897) – Written by George Hepworth. A well to do Russian named Yegor was killed in a horse riding accident. A portrait of the man haunts those who remember him. By night the Yegor of the portrait emerges from the work of art. 
However, corporate media shill Kelli Stavast, scrambling in 1984 fashion to protect Joe Biden as Big Brother, claimed that the crowd was really shouting “Let’s go Brandon!” Not even Biden supporters were stupid enough to believe that, and so things snowballed to the point where “Let’s go Brandon!” became a way of saying “Fuck Joe Biden!” while simultaneously poking at the slavish political bias of the corporate media.
NUMBER ONE TAKES A FALL – In NCAA Division Two the 15th ranked UNIVERSITY OF WEST GEORGIA WOLVES visited the number 1 team in the nation – the defending champion UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA ARGONAUTS. The Wolves led 17-9 at Halftime but the Argonauts pulled to within 24-23 to end the 3rd Quarter. In the 4th, West Georgia won out 30-26.
SPIRIT OF EIGHTY-FOUR – Over in the NAIA the number 3 MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE MUSTANGS traveled to take on the BRIAR CLIFF UNIVERSITY CHARGERS. The Mustangs seized a 28-0 lead in the opening Quarter and never looked back from there. When all the dust settled they had folded, spindled and mutilated the Chargers to the tune of EIGHTY-FOUR to SEVEN.
TAKING DOWN NUMBER FOUR – Back to NCAA Division Two for this clash between the WASHBURN UNIVERSITY ICHABODS and the visiting 4th ranked NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS. The 1st Half was a defensive struggle, with the Ichabods on top by just 3-0 at the Half. That became a 10-7 edge in the 3rd Quarter and ultimately a 17-16 Upset triumph in the 4th.
TALES OF THE ZOMBIE Vol 1 #1 (July 1973)