A local police chief wants the Brute dead. Wait. No. No, he doesn’t. Oh. Stop. Yes, he does. Also: supervillain. This final issue is a mess of stereotypes masquerading as a story, from the team of Gary Friedrich, Alan Weiss and Jack Abel.
READTigra recruits the Thing’s help in her battle against a “null-band”-empowered villain known as the Cougar. An utterly average, mid-Bronze-Age outing from the creative team of Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema and Don Heck.
READUlysses Solomon “U.S.” Archer sets out with his CB-radio skull replacement and souped-up eighteen-wheeler to hunt down the maniacal Highwayman. This debut issue from Al Milgrom and Herb Trimpe isn’t as full-out awful as one might expect.
READDisco singer Alison Blaire teams with superheroes, tries to find a job and wins a sing-off against the Enchantress. Not the historic stinker some recall, but this debut issue by Tom DeFalco, John Romita Jr. and Alfredo Alcala isn’t very good, either.
READA new generation of the Strikeforce team suffers a tragic blow during its showdown with Contessa Del Marco. A not-quite-ready-for-prime-time outing from future pros Fred Schiller and Tom Morgan.
READWhen Kip Burland is drafted to foil the Death-Monger’s plan, it’s The Black Hood who answers to call. Red Circle’s attempt to relaunch its longtime hero falls short of exciting, with art by Gray Morrow, Doug Wildey and Al McWilliams.
READOn Christmas Eve 1976, the Avengers are attacked and defeated by a stone ghost of the Black Knight. An odd little story from the team of Gerry Conway, Don Heck and Pablo Marcos.
READMiracle Man converts an American Indian reservation into Bethlehem in a plot to one-up God in the Immaculate Conception department. This typically madcap Steve Gerber outing fails to suspend readers’ disbelief, while the journeyman art from Sal Buscema and Mike Esposito does little to raise this Christmas tale out of the eggnog.
READA Christmas-Eve appearance by the Watcher sends Spidey scrambling to save a young woman from the mob. A ho-hum-but-not-bah-humbug outing from J.M. DeMatteis, Kerry Gammill and Mike Esposito.
READDuring a layover in what was once West Virginia, Killraven discovers a society of African-American separatists living underground. This strange mix of racially charged dystopian tropes is a tough read from today’s vantage. From the fill-in team of Bill Mantlo, Herb Trimpe and D. Bruce Berry.
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