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Marvel; July 1975
Cover uncredited

Title: “Is This the Day the World Ends?”
Synopsis: The Thing and the Black Widow team to stop terrorists from setting off a tidal wave with a massive bomb.

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Bob Brown
Inker:
Klaus Janson

Review: Given the modern penchant for deconstructed storytelling, the first thing today’s reader might notice here is Chris Claremont’s script. His writing is thick – in narration, dialogue and story. He packs a lot of material into a single issue, providing good bang for the entertainment buck. His choice of villains this time out is a terrorist organization known as the Sword of Judgment; can you really go wrong when your bad guys are Soviets and Islamic fundamentalists? Penciler Bob Brown is an underrated journeyman; he delivers a fine job here, with inker Klaus Janson adding a little grit and Zip-a-Tone.

Grade: B+

Cool factor: Let’s go with competence. While this issue is by no means a hall of famer, it’s a perfect example of a competent Bronze Age book.

Character quotable: “Could you peel the body mold off my back, please?” – The Black Widow (top that, James Bond!)

Copyright ©2017 Off the Wahl Productions, all rights reserved. Each week, T. Andrew Wahl offers up a Bronze Age Minute. For more, check out Wahl’s website, SequentialReaction.com.