Black Goliath and the Champions

The letters page of Champions #6 noted that Black Goliath was originally considered for membership in the Los Angeles team. Instead, the hero with the power to grow 15-feet-tall received his own solo series, which ran for five issues. Meanwhile, Hercules became the Champions' resident strongman. Although Black Goliath would never join the Champions, a guest appearance in #11 established that he had designed the team's sky-car.

Oddly enough, Black Goliath #3 introduced the supervillain Vulcan. In spite of his name, the criminal appeared to have no connection to the Roman god Vulcan (a.k.a. Hephaestus to the Greeks) or the Olympians in general.

Marvel Subscriber's Club

One of my favorite ads for Marvel Comics was the subscription page that appeared in issues with cover dates of Nov. 1981, Dec. 1981, and Jan. 1982 (Defenders #101, #102, #103). While the titles listed on the subscription form included science fiction, jungle adventure, and sword and sorcery themes, the illustration accompanying the ad was a superhero sight gag reminiscent of the humor magazines that Marvel would publish at various points.

Pictured in the ad, a tiny Ant-Man tries to outrun the Hulk, who has just stepped on Iron Man. Meanwhile, Giant-Man busts through the roof of the heroes' comedically overcrowded clubhouse. Several other characters are only partially visible yet still recognizable by their claws, tail, winged ankles, or other identifiable traits.