Sunday 26 July 2015

July 26th, 1975 - Marvel UK, 40 years ago this week.

I've recently seen the latest James Bond trailer. A fact which has nothing to do with the rest of this post but I can't think of a relevant introduction for it, so I thought I'd best mention something completely random and hope I can turn it into a viable link.

It looks like a very nice trailer, though I must confess I've still not managed to see any of the Daniel Craig Bond movies and therefore have no idea as to whether they're any good or not.

I've also never seen any of the Harry Potter films.

I can't help feeling I'm being remiss in my duties to British cultural imperialism.

There's only one thing for it. I'm going to have to take refuge in that other brand that's as British as fish and chips and look at what our favourite comic company was up to in this week of exactly forty years ago.

Good grief, I actually managed to turn it into a viable link. I'm starting to think there are no miracles I can't perform when armed with a keyboard.

Spider-Man Comics Weekly #128, London

And blow me down if Marvel UK haven't gone more British than ever.

Intriguingly, on the original US cover for this story, the Houses of Parliament were visible in the background, while, on this UK reprint, they've mysteriously disappeared.

I suspect this may be because someone feared that UK readers would know the Houses of Parliament are not next to Tower Bridge. But I could be wrong.

Marvel UK Avengers #97, Goliath and the Swordsman

The Swordsman's back - and still no doubt using the flat of his blade.

Someone really needs to tell him how you're supposed to use a sword. It's like the Punisher using a gun that fires nothing but ping pong balls.

Marvel UK Dracula Lives #40

Dracula's up to his usual villainy.

Marvel UK Planet of the Apes #40, Beneath the Planet of the Apes

How on Earth can he not see those apes? They're not even trying to hide from him.

The Mighty World of Marvel #147, The Defenders

The Defenders make their dynamic debut, with the help of a Neal Adams cover.

Marvel UK, The Super-Heroes #21, the Silver Surfer

I have no idea what happens in this one. Have we reached the story with the Inhumans in it yet?

6 comments:

TC said...

It was a convention back then that comic book characters who carried swords would only use the flat of the blade. So, wouldn't it have been simpler for them to carry truncheons instead?

The POTA cover reminds me of a lot of Silver Age DC covers where the heroes would be walking into an ambush that the readers could see, but the heroes couldn't. It was particularly common in their war comics: Our Army At War, starring Sgt. Rock, and Our Fighting Forces, featuring The Losers.

In the time it took the Surfer to say that he didn't have time to rescue both victims, he would have had enough time to rescue both victims.

Anonymous said...

I hadn't realised that the Defenders had appeared before Rampage weekly #1 (which a quick search confirmed that issue actually reprinted their third appearance). The things you learn.

Those two apes on the cover of this week's POTA had previously appeared on the covers of issues 11 and 16. They had a bit of a double act thing happening.

Daren

Dougie said...

Those comics are saying summer holidays to me! I didn't get SMCW that week- never seen that cover before. I think POTA was reprinting Marvel's Day of the Triffids adaptation.

I loved that MWOM: the beginning of the reprint of the FF/Psycho-Man annual, unless I'm mistaken.

I also think that the Avengers printed Barry Smith's map of the Hyborian Continent. I loved sword and sorcery maps and if I'm right, that was the first- but not the last- time I saw it. Just finished reading two Orion paperbacks of REH Conan stories yesterday.

Anonymous said...

The comic was called Planet Of The Apes so it was obligatory for apes to appear on the cover even though there weren't any apes in that scene - the same thing happens on next week's cover. Steve, you haven't missed anything by not seeing any Harry Potter films - I've only watched the second one, 'Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets' and the acting was so wooden it made Bill & Ben seem like Laurence Olivier.

John Pitt said...

Hi Steve, sorry I haven't commented for a while, been very busy working on house & garden, but I HAVE read & enjoyed ALL your posts since my last comment.

Steve W. said...

Thanks, John. It's nice to know you're still alive and well. And thanks to all of you for all your comments.