Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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Some events in human history are so pivotal that, like a dam filled with water, they cannot be held back. And so it is that I shall dive straight into my look at what's destined to be the most important event since the Big Bang itself!
It's October 1972 and, for far too many years, it's been the case that any Brit who's wanted to catch up with the history of the Marvel universe has had to read reprints contained within Alan Class and Odhams comics. Or even the Silver Surfer and Spider-Man strips in TV21.
But, suddenly, and with a fair amount of ballyhoo, there is, at last, an official outlet for our favourite heroes, as Mighty World of Marvel #1 hits our shops - and things will never be the same again!
What strange beings are introduced into our lives. The Hulk! The Fantastic Four! The Amazing Spider-Man! Stan Lee!
Three of those get their origins reprinted in this issue. The fourth gets to deliver a message to us about this thrilling new era in comics.
And, within all those tales, all reference to commies has been excised!
That alone would be enough to make anyone's head explode. But there's more!
We also get a free Hulk iron-on transfer!
And we can cut out a coupon, as part of the process towards acquiring a free poster and destroying the value of our new, treasured possession!
Could any experience be finer?
Nay, it could not!
But, before we leave - in order to compare and contrast - let's take a final look at the weekly books Marvel UK would be putting out exactly one decade later.
When it comes to drama, this issue features a reprint of Lee and Kirby's origin of the Fantastic Four, so that new readers can get a handle on who this odd quartet really is.
But we also get a more modern adventure, as we're presented with a reprint of Fantastic Four #105,
the Lee/Romita tale in which Crystal collapses and a monster stalks the streets of New York, with only Sue Richards on hand to confront it.
I know little of this issue's contents but I do know we get the chance to win a free badge and, judging by that cover, the Circus of Crime would appear to be on hand.
I like to think that's how Scooby would have wanted us to depart this post.
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44 comments:
So... are you planning to do the weeklies both 50 and 40 years ago concurrently then, Steve? That makes sense I guess, as there weren't too many at first in '72, or it seems by '82.
But no monthlies?
Ah well, never mind. I remember being surprised when you started this feature, thinking - wow, is he really going to go through these comics regularly EVERY WEEK? So I'm impressed you kept it going as long as you have.
Don't take that the wrong way - its been a while. You've been doing it since before the UK decided to leave Europe, through the rise and fall of Theresa May and then Boris Johnson (and, any day now, probably Liz Truss).
Well done.
-sean
A Fantastic Four weekly from Marvel UK? Reprinting the first Kirby/Lee issue, together with a more modern story? And a rubbish free gift?
https://stevedoescomics.blogspot.com/2017/09/september-28th-1977-marvel-uk-40-years.html
If it didn't work once...
-sean
Please allow king Charlie of the Bolshevik People’s Republic of the east side of Chicago to ask a question. Those origin stories, reprinted in 1972, did they originally reference communists?
Sean, the inclusion of the 40-years-ago weeklies was just a one-off.
The monthlies will have their own dedicated feature, which will appear later this month.
Charlie, from what I can remember, in FF #1, Sue's determined that America mustn't be beaten into space by the commies.
In Incredible Hulk #1, Bruce Banner's assistant - Igor - shocks us all by turning out to be a commie saboteur.
I remember no mention of communisn in Spidey's origin.
Thanks for the info on the feature Steve.
Strange that back in August 1961 the FF wanted to go into space before the commies, as comrade Yuri Gagarin had already beaten them to it earlier in the year.
How rubbish a space scientist must Reed Richards have been not know that?
-sean
What would a MWOM # 1 cost on ebay uk?
I was only 6 when MWOM #1 came out and I didn't discover the joys of Marvel comics until November 16th 1974 which is the day I bought Planet Of The Apes #5 (OK, my mother actually bought it but we won't quibble over trivial details). But inside the pages of POTA #5 were ads for other strange new comics - Mighty World Of Marvel! Spider-Man Comics Weekly! The Avengers! Dracula Lives! So for me it was bye, bye to The Topper and The Beezer and hello Marvel.
This week is also the 60th anniversary of the Beatles' first single, Love Me Do.
And today (October 7th) is Vladimir Putin's 70th birthday. He's planning to celebrate with a cake and 70 mushroom clouds.
If he gets a birthday cake, Colin, he might wanna employ an official food taster.
His throne is looking a bit wobbly these days.
M.P.
Parallel to Colin, I was 5 when this came out and my first Marvel comic was Planet of the Apes #4 (which wasn't as good as #5, as it turned out). I don't remember the paper (rather than glossy) covered issues, at the time, but was given a copy of # 3, complete with the free stickers, a few years later, and it was probably my most treasured comic for years. Given how often I criticise Marvel Uk's commercial decisions, you have to hand it to them with this launch. The Hulk, Spidey and the FF was a great combination, even if they did dilute it over time. Did anyone iron the transfer to a t-shirt? I can see this may be a better idea in principle than reality.
DW
I also bought the first few issues of this new FF weekly, my first since Hulk weekly #5. I had read the reprint of FF#105 in the Titans but hadn't read any further stories until the FF commenced in Captain Britain #1. I know the past Kirby issues aren't remembered particularly fondly, but I have a soft spot for them. But, this short lived second crack at an FF weekly wasn't great. Half a US issue (already reprinted) and the third or fourth showing of the origin stories. albeit with four pages in colour, seemed another backward step. At beats Complete Fantastic Four gave us a new (to the UK), full US issue plus the reprint. Even the Mick Austen poster was a bit ordinary.
DW
At *least*
To think of all the opprobrium we heaped on paper weeklies, at the start of the so called 'Marvel Revolution' - when paper weeklies - not glossies - was how it all started!
The Planet of the Apes TV series freaked me out, as a kid - particularly when the silhouettes on horseback were revealed to be gorillas!
Phillip
Phillip, it was the Planet Of The Apes TV series that drew me to the comic. I was a huge fan of the TV series and when I saw POTA #5 on sale I just assumed they were connected so I was very confused by the comic's contents which didn't feature any of the characters from the TV show (I'd never heard of the apes movies at that point). But I was intrigued by the ending of the story when the apes are shocked that Taylor can speak so I wanted to know what happened next!
Colin - I suppose, being 3 years older, seeing humanoid gorillas riding horses was less disturbing!
Phillip
3 years and 7 months older!
Steve! (Anyone?) is it possible to get live updates on the World Championship of Conkers taking place in Northampton Shire this Sunday? (Asking for a friend…)
Did any of you take in The World’s Championship of Bog Diving in August in Lanwyrtyrd Wells??? (By default “y” must a vowel in that city?)
Phil, Colin
The Planet of the Apes Tv intro remains my favourite. Brilliantly establishing the plot and visually disturbing (to its pre-teen audience). Perfectly matched to the audio (can't really call it a theme song).
DW
DW, the POTA TV intro was indeed terrific and I've just watched it on YouTube to remind myself of it. I was reading the comments underneath and one said "Every kid in the USA knew this show sucked" so it seems not everyone was a fan like us!
And while on YouTube I discovered there's a new apes film going into production called "Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes" but so far there's very little information about it other than a publicity photo showing a gorilla on horseback with a large bird hovering above and some ruined skyscrapers in the background.
Colin
I always thought the show was well received but solid, rather than strong, in the ratings. Fox dropped it because it was too expensive for those (solid not spectacular) ratings. Given the volume of merchandise and how, anecdotally, well remembered it is, I reckon those youtube comments are just keyboard warriors.
My personal drama with the show was that it was on at the same time as The Brothers (on BBC) which my mum liked. We therefore alternated weekly and so I originally only saw half the episodes. That was tough for a five year old. No one ever mentions The Brothers on here, and so clearly I had the better taste ;-)
DW
DW, my father quite liked sci-fi so he was happy to watch POTA. My mother preferred the radio.
Charlie, it's Llanwrtyd Wells but I haven't heard about bog diving!
What did you guys think of Kamandi? The comic I mean.
Yeah, it was clearly something of a rip-off of Planet of the Apes, but I dig that series.
Of course I'm partial to all things Kirby, but the comic had a goofy charm about it.
My introduction to it was as a very young kid. My Ma bought me that issue where Kamandi, Dr. Canus (the dog-guy, obviously) are taken by an alien (!) to a Soviet satellite for some reason.
There they battle an undead, mutated cosmonaut. I was maybe five and it spooked me good.
On another note, one of the funniest scenes ever in the Simpsons was Planet of the Apes: The Musical.
Troy Mclure's finest hour. You may remember him from such films as Meet Joe Blow and They Came to Burgle Carnegie Hall.
M.P.
MP, I loved Kamandi. Easily my favourite Kirby comic of the 1970s.
Anonymous, Mighty World of Marvel #1 is currently available on eBay UK for £475. However, £30-£45 seems to be the price people are actually willing to pay for it.
Anonymous, I know of no means to access updates for the World Conker Championship.
DW, we always missed the first 15 minutes of the POTA TV show because my dad insisted on listening to a radio sitcom called The Family Brandon instead. All I remember of The Family Brandon now is that its star (Tony Brandon) was doing a blatant Tony Hancock impersonation in it.
He later had another radio sitcom called Wally Who? in which he also did a blatant Tony Hancock impersonation.
DW - Ha! The Brothers - that brings back memories! I remember my mother telling my brother & myself to be quiet, in no uncertain terms, each week, because 'The Brothers' was on!
M.P. - I remember Dr.Canus, not from Kamandi - which I've never read - but from Karate Kid # 15 (the final issue). Didn't Canus have a Sherlock Holmes Deerstalker hat (& maybe a pipe?) & was part of a duo (with another similar character called Julius? I forget.)
DC did many surreal comics, but Karate Kid # 15 was off the scale. Talking lobster-men surfers, looking for "the ultimate wave" ! Whatever the writers were smoking, it must have been strong stuff!
Phillip
Phil, I gotta admit I was a little dubious when you wrote that the good Dr. Canus showed up in Karate Kid 15#, of all places.
But I checked it out and he did. You described it very well!
Holy moly. You're right about that comic; clearly, it had veered into some sort of experimental storyline, what we might now call "meta", which I find to be a rather annoying term. But it might apply here.
I might have to explore this further, now that it's lodged in my brain.
What the heck was going on with that comic, anyway?
M.P.
M.P. - Yeah, I totally agree! Karate Kid # 15 needs exploring - I might try and find it, tonight!
Phillip
I think I was ten when I read Kamandi #35, 'The Soyuz Survivor', M.P, and it still freaked me out. Kirby isn't much associated with horror, but he was really good at disturbing stuff like that (and sneaking it past the comics code).
When it comes to solo Kirby, the Fourth World tends to get most of the attention but awesomely brilliant as that was, its Kamandi and OMAC that really do it for me.
Btw, on the subject of Kirby faves, looking at up other comics from October '72 in connection with Steve's last two posts I noticed this month is the 50th anniversary of DC's Weird Fantasy #2, featuring 'Toxl, the World Killer'.
Definitely one to look for if you haven't read it.
-sean
Back on topic, my earliest Marvels were US imports, but I vaguely recall the paper covered MWOM - the only one I can remember reading had the first appearance of the Frightful Four. Although when the Complete FF reprinted that Planet X story in the late 70s it seemed familiar, and I can't think where I would have seen it other than an early MWOM.
-sean
M.P. I also like Kamandi which was my favourite Kirby DC comic ( along with his Jimmy Olsen book) at the time. I still have a few of those early issues.I
Sean, Some of Kirbys early Demon comics were quite horrific as well. Did you mean XXx Weird Mystery Tales Sean, regardless sadly I don't have that comic and don't recall reading it :(
Sean, the Planet X story was also reprinted in Fleetway's 1972/73 Marvel Annual. Did you read it there?
You're right Paul, I did mean Weird Mystery Tales #2. Duh.
The first three issues had Kirby stories originally intended for his amazing Spirit World mag which those plonkers at DC cancelled after #1.
I suppose at least it did actually appear - his Soul Love was too awesome and far ahead of its time to even be published at all til the 21st century (in a book with the Dingbats of Danger Street no less!)
Yeah, the Demon is a bit twisted in places, and a good one too.
-sean
Steve, I only knew I'd seen the Planet X story before the Complete FF because it looked familiar, so I just assumed must have been an issue of MWOM.
I never had any Marvel UK annuals in the 70s - how deprived, eh? - but I guess I could have seen it in someone else's, which might explain not recalling it well.
Not sure how much it matters at this point though...
-sean
Sean: That "Planet X" Fantastic Four story was indeed printed in an early MWOM (paper cover) issue. It was also reprinted in "Marvels Collectors Item Classics" issue 4 from 1969 and you may have picked it up at some point after that. It probably also appeared in an Alan Class (Creepy Worlds etc) reprint. I can't remember when the Marvel UK pocket books came out but it was al.ist certainly reprinted there . I never had a UK Marvel annual either despite buying the weeklies ever week for years.
Frankly Paul, judging from Steve's posts at Christmas I don't think we missed much - the Marvel UK annuals sound a bit rubbish really. Until the early 80s, when they became 'Collector Editions', and I actually got the Captain America one with the Steranko stories.
I never saw an Alan Class comic until after moving to England in '74, by which time my memory about what I read is much clearer, and none of them featured any Marvel characters. I specifically recall being a bit baffled at first, because they sort of looked like Marvel comics - I could recognise some of the artist styles (especially Ditko) - but they obviously weren't.
Has anyone ever had consecutively numbered Alan Class comics? Or even two with the same title?
-sean
Sean:Alan Class comics were everywhere (especially holiday towns and larger train station newsagents in the UK) around the period 1968 to 1975. I never bought a specific title (Creepy World etc) regularly but picked up any issues that had Marvel or Tower (THUNDER agents etc) strips. I have a couple of consecutive issues of some titles but I think your right it wasn't common for me at least, to see this although there were always bundles of them in shops. A strange thing about some of these Alan Class comics is the high price they can demand for what is in effect a poorly printed non US reprint book
They go for a bit of money? That doesn't surprise me too much Paul - I expect they're hard to find intact, they have that nostalgic connection to childhood, and a kitsch value.
Plus, the earlier ones with Marvel characters are interesting curios, more so than Marvel UK reprints. I mean, check out the four included here -
https://13thdimension.com/13-covers-steranko-around-the-world/
I'm not one for paying collector prices for old comics, but I can see the appeal of Secrets of the Unknown #106.
Btw, are we to believe that there were a 105 issues of Secrets of the Unknown before that one? I'm not even convinced there were a 106 different Alan Class comics.
-sean
PS Paul, I'll take your word for it that you have consecutive issues of some Alan Class comics, but all the same - it doesn't surprise me the four in that post, which all feature SHIELD covers, have different titles!
-sean
Today we are commanded to "Go forth and Conker!"
Sean, Alan Class reprinted many of their comics ( some with a story missing) and simply renumbered them , the same stories could appear in different title etc. For example Creepy Worlds issue 67 and 133 are almost the same ( they dropped one story from 133).Theres a wee post on my blog about them here :
https://twthen.blogspot.com/2022/06/gone-but-not-forgotten-alan-class-comics.html
Great, very interesting a few years before my time.
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