FOR PART ONE OF BALLADEER’S BLOG’S EXAMINATION OF THIS OLD, OLD MARVEL COMICS STORYLINE CLICK HERE The revisions I would make are scattered throughout the synopsis below.
MARVEL TEAM-UP Vol 1 #45 (May 1976)
Title: Future-Shock
NOTE: Killraven meets the time-traveling Spider-Man in this story. Team-up titles, like Marvel Two-In-One and Marvel Team-Up or DC’s The Brave and the Bold were often considered non-canonical by comic book fans.
The purpose of such team-up books was largely promotional. A superstar of the respective publishing company – Spider-Man for Marvel Team-Up, the Thing for Marvel Two-In-One and Batman for The Brave and the Bold – would star in an often half-assed story. The high-profile character’s fame would, it was hoped, put more eyes on the less popular figure they were being teamed up with and increase that less popular figure’s sales.
Another purpose was to retain copyrights on characters in Marvel or DC’s vast, increasingly overpopulated shared universes. A long unused figure not popular enough to carry their own comic book could be used in a one-shot team-up story, thus satisfying copyright law without the expense of trying to use the superhero in another failed title of their own.
Given Killraven’s forever-struggling sales there’s little doubt this team-up story was done hoping Spider-Man’s fame would boost those sales.
Synopsis: August, 43 years in the future. The story is set in the war-torn No Man’s Land on the outskirts of New York City. This of course makes no sense since Killraven and his Freemen were at this point in America’s Deep South. (KR even refers to recent events so you can’t say this tale is set during the 3 years when Killraven and his rebel group were headquartered on Staten Island.)
Again, this reflects the “who cares about continuity” nature of many such team-up titles.
REVISION: That’s why I would have this story set in Troy, Alabama, with the Freemen still lost and wandering through the biologically mutated jungle which now covers much of the American southeast.
Back to the unrevised story: Spider-Man is using Reed Richards’ copy of Dr Doom’s time machine to leave 1600s Salem, where he and assorted guest-stars had just had an adventure.
Saddened that he could not save the victims of the Salem Witch Trials (well, duh), Spidey morosely tries to return to his own time, only to overshoot his mark and wind up in the New York of Killraven’s future. In that future, Earth is being ruled by its alien conquerors, Martians in the original story but Zetans in my revisions. Continue reading
Here at Independent Voter Site Balladeer’s Blog I’ve made no secret of the fact that I feel neither Bill Clinton nor Donald Trump deserved impeachment. The Democrats’ Kafkaesque distortion of all previous impeachment procedures is alienating Independent Voters, as is their ridiculous reliance on nothing but HEARSAY against de facto Third Party President Donald Trump. 
The Vanity Fair article was even headlined “‘It Is Hard to Read This as Anything but a Warning’: New Polling Suggests Democrats’ Impeachment Push Could Alienate Key Voters.” 
And let’s remember four crucial FACTS:
Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog will remember my review of three neglected swashbuckler novels by Alexandre Dumas. (For those three – Georges, Captain Pamphile and La Dame de Monsoreau click 
When I was a little boy thrilled with the Musketeers, Monte Cristo and Iron Mask I excitedly grabbed The Black Tulip to read, assuming it, too would feature derring-do and swordplay. Much to my disappointment the novel instead dealt with attempts to cultivate a black tulip, the mob-slaying of Netherlands politicians Johann and Cornelius de Witt, romance and the redemption of personal honor. 
PATRIOTS ON THE ROAD – The UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS PATRIOTS traveled to face the KEISER UNIVERSITY SEAHAWKS for their 1st Round game. A 7-0 1st Quarter lead for the Patriots became a 14-7 Seahawks advantage by Halftime. The 3rd Quarter ended in a 21-21 tie before UC went on to win the game 28-24. 
COUGARS WITH THE UPSET – The SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY COUGARS visited the NORTHWESTERN (IA) COLLEGE RED RAIDERS. The Red Raiders led 3-0 in the opening Quarter but the Cougars went on top 10-6 at the Half. Northwestern College pulled to within 16-13 in the 3rd Quarter before SXU went on to win it 25-20 in the 4th. 
ONE-POINT WONDER – In this 1st Round clash the GRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY VIKINGS welcomed the CONCORDIA (MI) CARDINALS. A 3-3 tie in the 1st Quarter was followed by the Vikings going out in front 17-10 by the break. That turned into a 31-24 advantage in the 3rd Quarter before Grand View held on tight for a 31-30 victory. 
MASERATI: A HUNDRED YEARS AGAINST ALL ODDS (2019) – This fascinating documentary directed by Philip Selkirk is so riveting it flies along like one of the automobiles in the Maserati line. 
We need Third Parties! Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard once again spoke for so many of us former Democrats during the recent presidential debate when she pointed out why the Democrats have driven so many of us to #WALKAWAY from that increasingly repulsive political party. 
Fresh off her trouncing of the execrable Hillary “Bugsy” Clinton, Gabbard pointed out the failings of the entire Democrat Party. Gabbard said during Wednesday night’s primary debate: “Our Democratic Party, unfortunately, is not the party that is of, by and for the people.”
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The number 1 team in the nation – the 
MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST BULLDOGS – will take on the number 2 LACKAWANNA COLLEGE FALCONS. 
SALT CITY BOWL – The country’s number 3 team – the 
HUTCHINSON COLLEGE BLUE DRAGONS – will do battle with the 18th ranked MONROE COLLEGE MUSTANGS. 
RED GRANGE BOWL – This Bowl Game will pit the storied 
COLLEGE OF DUPAGE CHAPARRALS against the ITASCA COLLEGE VIKINGS. 
“Welcome to the party, pal” as Bruce Willis said in Die Hard. The dangers posed by the modern-day Robber Barons called Techno-Fascists and Techno-Tyrants have been clear to the rest of us for years now. Amnesty International, better late than never, hopped on board recently – click 
THE TECHNO-TYRANTS OF SILICON VALLEY – The modern-day versions of the disgusting old Robber Barons might well be the corporate fascists aka techno-fascists in assorted tech industries, not just regarding Silicon Valley but also privacy-violating rich pigs at Facebook and elsewhere. 
In recent years outfits like Twitter, Facebook and others even made public noises about banning customers based on their conduct UNRELATED TO THOSE UTILITIES! Can you imagine the old, old Ma Bell monopoly cutting off people’s phone service because their operators caught those users discussing voting for political candidates disapproved of by Ma Bell’s upper echelons or expressing opinions frowned upon by Ma Bell? 
Richard C Meyer, the indie comic book legend best known for his mercenary superhero team JAWBREAKERS (3 volumes so far) has launched the second volume of his IRON SIGHTS series on Indiegogo. 
