Mountain Comics #35 – Marvel Two-In-One Annual #6

Rob welcomes Dallan Baumgarten to the cabin to discuss "An Eagle From America" by Doug Moench, Ron Wilson, and Gene Day fromMARVEL TWO-IN-ONE ANNUAL #6!

Check out images from this comic by clicking here!

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14 responses to “Mountain Comics #35 – Marvel Two-In-One Annual #6

  1. This sounds like a fun story, but I have to admit that I have some difficulties with American Eagle’s depiction here. Creating an Indigenous American superhero is great. I’m all for increasing cultural diversity in comics. Unfortunately, dressing him in the colors of the flag of the people who drove his own people from their lands, and naming him after the national symbol of those same people who murdered and oppressed his own people seems problematic to me. Does anyone know if these sorts of issues were ever addressed in any of American Eagles later appearances?

    Full disclosure, I’m writing this from the perspective of a middle-aged male of Western European decent with little knowledge of Indigenous American cultures.

    Thanks for another excellent episode. It was great to hear from Dallan again.

  2. Another great episode!

    Some quick thoughts:
    Which group of comics? Thinking as young Anj, I would probably opt for #2 just because of Shogun Warriors #1. Throwing in a Star Wars book would probably seal the deal.

    The Tootsie Roll ad – growing up it was considered good luck if you got a wrapper with the ‘Indian’ so I want to know the legend! I really love Tootsie Roll pops, specifically raspberry ones. They give them out in the hospital when you get your flu (and later COVID) vaccines. To this day, I hope to get the Indian for luck.

    Spider-Woman did have striking covers but I rarely bought the book. I did get the photo cover … that was worth the money.

  3. This was the comic that introduced me to Ka-Zar and The Savage Land. (As well as American Eagle of course). As a kid I was always willing to invest the extra money on a double sized book, because I knew I’d be getting a full and complete story. Annuals and double-sized books often tender to be their own thing. You usually didn’t need to be following the book to enjoy the annual. American Eagle was another addition to the Marvel’s expansion of heroes from all cultures and countries. Fortunately in murdering times he has ditched the rather garish and stereotypical costume and wears regular clothes. He’s often seen riding a motorcycle patrolling the land and people he’s sworn to defend.
    She-Hulk and Wyatt did date for a period of time during her membership with the Fantastic Four during John Byrne’s run in the title.
    C.H.iPs did ave 3 3/4 sized figures, as did Daisy Duke. You could get her jeep as well!

  4. Nice episode fellas!

    Slightly off topic, but I must say I wonder about something every time a new “Mountain Comics” appears: Other than reading comic books, what exactly do people do “in the mountains”? Camping, fishing, swimming? My family never went away to the mountains, or the beach, or wherever when I was a kid. We would take trips, of course, but never were the outdoor-types. As Woody Allen said, “I am two with nature.” I do recall, however, buying some comics on road trips.

    1
    1. My family would often rent a cabin in the mountains of Maine. Swimming in the lake was often how my siblings s and me I spent those summer days. There were other cabins and campgrounds nearby so there wasn’t a summer where there wasn’t other kids our age to play with. Games of tag and kickball could easily be put together when we’d get tired of swimming. The n days when the weather was lousy a short distance away was a small town that had a video arcade. (I think every town had one in the 80s)
      The comics I were bring were strictly for the long ride to the mountains and back home, or for rainy days. Otherwise I was expected to be outside enjoying the great outdoors.

  5. Love this concept. My family would go to Rice Lake in Canada to fish(yawn) almost every summer. I soon learned to bring a stack of comics from home because I wasn’t able to find much around the lake except things like Super Goof and The Black Hole movie adaptation. I remember bringing a lot of Green Lantern/ Arrow and Worlds Finest. I did find an Aquaman mini comic on the way north one year and I pretended to be AM swimming in that nasty lake. Lol.

  6. Hmm. I have to say that two separate lines of thought emerged as I was listening to this show. The first echoes pretty much of what Brian said above, about the troubling aspects of American Eagle as a character – I thought he was cool when I was a kid, but later it occurred to me just how problematic he is (I would add that using the war bonnet as a component of his costume was also a questionable choice).

    However, my second line of thought is more positive because this issue really does jog some pleasant summertime memories. This is a case in which I specifically remember where I purchased it: in a cigar & tobacco shop in downtown Portland (OR) that also carried a huge selection of newspapers, magazines and, yes, comics. As noted, the cover is so eye-catching, so it made the choice to buy it easy. (There were, by the way, a lot of ‘big’ books I remember getting that month – not only annuals, like Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #1 and – my favorite of these – X-men Annual #5, but also X-men #150 and Defenders #100).

    On the topic of Richie Rich: yes, something that has always fascinated me ever since I discovered Mike’s Amazing World and its newsstand page is the immense number of Richie Rich titles that were mass produced during most of the 1970s and into the early 1980s. There were never less than ten of them in any given month, and as Dallan noted, their number sometimes surpassed twenty.
    By the way, it would appear Dallan is exactly one month younger than I am – so I have to say I’m a bit surprised to hear that he was already ‘too old’ to be watching the Spiderwoman cartoon. I watched it regularly, and wouldn’t stop watching Saturday morning cartoons until about a year or two later…
    In conclusion, though, I must second Dallan’s assertion that you’re doing God’s work, Rob.

  7. Hi Rob, as requested, I’m here to set you straight! Mego did indeed make 3.75″ CHiPs figures, in addition to the 8″ versions. “Super Foe” was apparently one of two made-for-the-toyline villains for Jon and Ponch to arresst. Mego reused the upper bodies of two bad guys from their squatting “C.B. McHaul” with new legs. http://www.megomuseum.com/galleries/chips/#375

    The beautiful thing about this ad (which I remember well) is not only does it have Kubert or Kubert School art, and mixes characters from different properties, it mixes offerings from Mego (Super Heroes, CHiPs, Dukes – and they did make a Daisy in that scale), Kenner (Star Wars) and Remco (Universal Mini-Monsters).

    Just FYI, I saw that Dukes/General Lee set at an antique toy mall a few weeks back, and the price on it was $450.00! So $11.99 is a real steal! I have a set…but not in the box!

  8. I think you’d made that Ron Wilson point on FW Team-Up (Thing/Doc Savage). Anyway, some anecdotal Harvey info:

    I read a TON of Richie Rich etc as a kid, and in fact learned how to read English with them and Archies. See, my aunt bought all those comics, and then dropped these massive stacks of books (like 2 feet high, several times) when she was done with them. The ppl who bought Harveys (and Archies) were those who didn’t care about superheroes, and just wanted the humor, and were sold in venues that supported that public, like many convenience stores, tobacco stores and grocery stores. Probably decisions made by personnel who didn’t like superheroes, or thought it was for kids and maybe thought supers were too violent.

    Yeah I think I’d read a book about this. You listening TwoMorrows?!

  9. Rob asking if cost was any consideration to buying a comic is the most Richie Rich thing he’s ever asked.

  10. Great visit to the cabin, guys. MTIO was really a great book in this era, and Dallan, I too was enthralled by the Pegasus Project storyline. And I think Ron Wilson was one of the underrated talents of the Bronze Age for sure!
    And I laughed out loud at the reference to all the Richie Rich books! Shawn and I have also been amazed at the amount of them. They were just out! But as Siskoid points out above, there must have been an audience. I bet Richie Rich drank Yoo Hoo whenever he wanted….

  11. Vacation comics was what got me hooked on buying comics avidly. I had been buying comics here and there since I was 4. Now 40 years later still reading but way more picky on what I buy.

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