Marvel Firsts: The 1970s, Volume 3

The 1970s was my favorite time period for Marvel. Stan and Jack had finalized the groundwork for the creation of the Marvel universe. Now, more diverse and unusual characters were coming on the scene. Plus, we started getting true horror titles and movie/TV tie-ins added to the mix. Toys and film icons like Rom and Godzilla became albeit temporary canon as they interacted with Power Man, Doctor Strange and others. 

If the 1970s were such a big deal to me- why did I start with volume 3? That's easy. This was a gift. Until just recently, I didn't really even conceive of this book's existence. Sure I have a couple of Marvel Firsts from other decades. But until I got this as a gift, I didn't really have a plan in my head to get these records of my favorite decade of Marvel- until now!

This volume explores a number of new characters, first issues and first appearances. Some are good. Some are quite bad. 

The good include the first issue of She-Hulk, written by Stan Lee, the first ever What If... story, Jack Kirby's Machine Man, and Carol Danvers as Ms. Marvel. I loved getting to re-read the first issue of Devil Dinosaur and Skull the Slayer is something I want to collect as an entire set. I was also interested in Omega: The Unknown about a strange kid and the link he has with a futuristic warrior. And who knew that Nova was so good?

Though thankfully there's not a lot; there is some stinkers here. The joining of the Champions make me wish that they had stayed apart. Ulysses Bloodstone's first appearance should have been his last. (It might be the case, as the character is killed at the end of the story.) 

And then we've got this Moon Knight story from the pages of the Hulk magazine. I do not know why people like this character so much. This story was terrible. Maybe the first B&W appearance of Moon Knight isn't the best introduction. It sure didn't win me over. 

There's also a couple of mixed-bag adventures here. Black Goliath's first issue was pretty good. But having known how much of his story later plays out in the pages of Marvel Two-In-One, I don't feel like I need to get those filler issues. Eternals was a good intro into the Kirby realm of Marvel gods. But I feel like I need more data in order to tell if I like the series or not. Then we have 3-D Man.

3-D Man was created by Roy Thomas and his 3-issue origin played out in the pages of Marvel Premiere. I'm trying to collect all of those series either through first runs or reprints. So, I need that 2nd and 3rd issue. But, I really hate the concept of a character that appears or disappears when somebody goes to sleep. I didn't like it with Captain Marvel and Rick Jones and I didn't like it with Sleepwalker. And I do not like it now. But I really liked the Cold War 1950s style of the book. 

A really awesome grab bag of late 1970s Marvel books. Some real money savers here. I need the rest of the series and I am talking about the books of the 60s, 80s and 90s too!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.