This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at the Marvel Comics heroine Venus, from back when they were known as Timely Comics.
VENUS
Created By: Stan Lee and Lin Streeter
Secret Identity: Vikki Starr
First Appearance: Venus #1 (August 1948) Her final Golden Age appearance came in 1952.
Origin: The Golden Age Venus was the alien ruler of the planet Venus. For centuries she ruled over a planetary paradise protected from human eyes by the perpetual cloud cover of that planet. Wearying of being revered, adored and obeyed she decided to start dividing her time between her home world and Earth, where she hoped to try leading a simpler but more challenging life.
She teleported to the Earth, where her beauty made her such a sensation that she was hired as a model and editor for Whitney Hammond’s fashion publication called Beauty Magazine. Venus had a series of adventures ranging from mild fantasy to world-saving as she learned Earth ways and battled sci-fi and horror menaces. Continue reading
ASTONISHING TALES Vol 1 #25 (Aug 1974) 
RED NAILS – I always like to emphasize that – despite the way Marvel Comics’ 1970s and 1980s Conan stories kept the character’s name alive and introduced new generations to him – the Cimmerian was not a mere comic book figure. Iconic author Robert E. Howard introduced Conan on the printed page in his 1930s stories featuring the character. 
I. This first installment introduces readers to a blonde female pirate – Valeria of the Red Brotherhood. She is the only female pirate among them and is as notoriously deadly as the others. NOTE: Yes, this is the character that Sandahl Bergman played in the 1982 Conan the Barbarian film. That movie made her a standard thief instead of a pirate and – sadly – gave her the “ghostly return” scene that actually belonged to Conan’s true love Belit (Bay-LEET) from 
DEFENDERS Vol 1 #12 (February 1974)
Dr Strange, Hulk and Valkyrie are the only Defenders available who can be rallied to save the world from Xemnu. (I’d have thrown in Clea, too, myself.) Our heroes battle the alien, who is defeated and again seems to be destroyed in the explosion of a spaceship he made the enthralled citizens of Plucketville construct for him. 
This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog looks at Marvel’s 1973 combination of its licensed War of the Worlds rights with its original IP Killraven (1973-1976). It was similar to how Marvel combined their licensed Fu Manchu rights with 
WAR OF THE WORLDS – Jonathan Raven, rechristened Killraven in the gladiatorial circuit of Earth’s alien conquerors of the “future,” leads a group of Freemen in an attempt to retake the planet. CLICK 
THE WARLORD STRIKES – On the run after the destruction and genocide of their Staten Island rebel colony, Killraven and his Freemen run afoul of the Warlord, a human quisling who has wanted revenge against the rebel leader ever since he escaped from the gladiatorial pens. CLICK 
AVENGERS Vol 1 #115 (September 1973)
Synopsis: The Avengers fly in a Quin-Jet to Garrett Castle in England to check up on their British member the Black Knight (Dane Whitman). He has been out of touch for an alarmingly long time. 
FANTASTIC FOUR Vol 1 #81 (Dec 1968) 
The team’s old foe the Wizard invades the Baxter Building to keep his recently confiscated Power Gloves from being reverse engineered by the Fantastic Four. 
MARVEL FEATURE Vol 1 #1 (December 1971)
AVENGERS Vol 1 #100 (Jun 1972) 
He and the Enchantress are about to unleash armies of monsters from Greek myths to conquer the Earth first and then Asgard. Thanks to 
SILVER SCORPION 
Powers: The Silver Scorpion was in peak physical condition and excelled at jiu-jitsu and other martial arts. In addition, she was as agile as an acrobat. 
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