This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero blog post will be in the style of the look at all of Marvel’s January 1970 publications. That post was popular enough to inspire this one.
AVENGERS Vol 1 #84 (January 1971)
Title: The Sword and the Sorceress
Avengers Roster: Thor (Donald Blake MD), the Scarlet Witch (Wanda), the 2nd Goliath (Clint Barton), Black Panther (King T’Challa), Quicksilver (Pietro), the Black Knight (Dane Whitman) and the Vision (not applicable)
Villains: The Enchantress and Arkon
Synopsis: The Black Knight, fearful that his sentient sword the Ebony Blade is infecting him with its bloodlust, uses the mystic brazier at Garrett Castle to find a way of destroying the weapon. This endeavor leads him to Polemachus, the parallel Earth ruled by the Avengers’ old foe Arkon.
While searching for the Well at the Center of Time, the only safe place to hide the Ebony Blade, the Black Knight is captured by Arkon and his new consort – the Enchantress, another old foe of the Avengers.
NOTE: The Enchantress actually wound up transported to Polemachus when she seemed to be destroyed during her most recent clash with the Avengers, in which she pitted the team of heroes against Ultron-5’s version of the Masters of Evil.
The Enchantress mystically sends a dream about the Black Knight’s capture to the Scarlet Witch, whom the villainess blames for thwarting her plans in the previous issue. Next, the sorceress teleports Avengers Mansion to Polemachus so that she and Arkon can kill their mutual enemies.
After a lengthy battle with the two villains, our heroes win out over Arkon and the Enchantress and return Avengers Mansion to Earth. Continue reading
For this weekend’s light-hearted, escapist blog post about superheroes, Balladeer’s Blog goes back to the Justice Society of America, this country’s very first superteam. Years ago, I covered the early years of the JSA, from their first appearance in 
ALL-STAR COMICS Vol 1 #28 (April 1946) 
AVENGERS Vol 1 #72 (January 1970) 
This leads to the Avengers learning that Scorpio is not alone – he is a member of 
POWER MAN Vol 1 #21 (October 1974) 
The hurt and angry Power Man returns to his Hero for Hire office above the Gem Theater. Luke gets attacked there by the original Power Man, a former operative of Baron Zemo who was given his super-strength by the Avengers foe the Enchantress. 
FANTASTIC FOUR Vol 1 #129 (December 1972) 
Crystal, Johnny Storm’s longtime girlfriend and former member of the Fantastic Four, was forced to move back to the Inhumans’ hidden city of Attilan due to her body’s negative reaction to air pollution in the human world. 
GRIPS 
As I indicated in the title of this blog post, I consider the Grips tales to be what low-budget, disreputable Grindhouse movies of the past were to glossy, professional films from major studios. The writing and artwork in Grips seldom approached the standards of the Big Two publishers, but the visceral violence, profanity and often taboo subject matter more than made up for the overall shoddiness of the finished product. 
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA Vol 1 #183 (October 1980) 
The remaining evil forces on Apokolips – led by Granny Goodness (a Kirby creation, needless to say) – have raided New Genesis and abducted most of the inhabitants, then taken them as slaves back to their own planet. They did it with the help of three Earth-Two villains – Icicle, Shade and the Fiddler – so the New Gods use the annual get-together of the Justice Society and Justice League to recruit the two teams to help them recover their kidnapped population. 
THE HERETIC 
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA Vol 1 #123 (October 1975) 
YELLOWJACKET 
Powers: Yellowjacket was a probable mutant with the power of mentally controlling bees. He used his armies of those insects to sting, distract or harass opponents in battle. In addition, this hero was in peak physical condition and excelled at unarmed combat. 
Balladeer's Blog 