SMASH! POW! IT'S FANTASTIC - AND IT CERTAINLY WAS...

Superhero images copyright MARVEL COMICS

In case you were wondering, ol' SPIDEY's web is attached to an overhead helicopter - unfortunately however, he's been hanging on since Glasgow and he's now over Blackpool, so his arms are tired.  What a great cover though, I'm sure you'll agree.

This was a cracker of a Summer Special, featuring SPIDER-MAN MEETS Dr. STRANGE, the origin of DAREDEVIL (abridged), The TORCH MEETS The ICEMAN, The CLOAK BATTLES The CRAFTY CROW, Mr. KNOWALL'S FUN PAGE, The SWOTS & The BLOTS, THOR vs HERCULES: WHEN TITANS CLASH!, SAMMY SHRINK, BRIAN'S BRAIN, full-colour pin-ups, plus a few other things I've doubtless forgotten.  I only have to look at this and I'm back in 1968.  Ah, happy days.

Unfortunately, though I little knew it at the time, the POWER era was coming to an end.  A mere three or four months later, FANTASTIC was incorporated into SMASH!, which itself only lasted in its then-present form for another four or five months - before being relaunched in March '69 as a more traditional type comic in the VALIANT vein.  That meant no more weekly MARVEL heroes (not counting TV21's dabbling with a few of them) until The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL was launched on the very last day of September, 1972.

Anyway, enjoy these awesome images from the only ODHAMS PRESS Summer Special ever to feature the sensational superheroes from the Mighty Marvel stable.  It's a genuine collectors' item.

BATMAN & ROBIN copyright DC COMICS

SMASH! - NOT JUST FOR MARTIANS...

Copyright relevant owner

Just for fun, I thought readers might like to see the cover and some interior panels from the 1969 SMASH! HOLIDAY SPECIAL.  Although I was disappointed when SMASH! stopped featuring MARVEL reprints, I have to admit that I liked the relaunched version almost as much.

A few years ago, GIL PAGE, who was the editor of the new SMASH!, wrote an article at my request about his life in comics.  It was intended for publication in The ILLUSTRATED COMIC JOURNAL, of which I was assistant editor, but the magazine changed hands and then faded into obscurity without the article ever seeing print.

Fortunately, CRIKEY! stepped into the breach and published the article in issue #5.  So, for an interesting read about the background of SMASH! (and other fascinating, never-before revealed reminiscences by Gil - who went on to become the executive editor of the FLEETWAY/IPC comics division), track down a back issue of CRIKEY! #5 as soon as possible.  Life's not complete without it.

RICH BEYOND The DREAMS Of AVARICE...

Image copyright REBELLION

Back in the 20th century - 1973 to be exact - an envelope addressed to myself popped through the letterbox one morning.  Being only 14 or so, receiving personal mail wasn't a regular occurrence for me, so naturally enough I wondered what it was.  I soon found out - a postal order for £1, along with a cover-note telling me that my "Creepy Creation" would be featured in the very next issue of SHIVER & SHAKE.

When the day arrived, I rushed out and bought a copy.  Nevertheless, thrilled as I was about my moment of fame (to say nothing of my untold wealth), I was surprised to see that it seemed to be my actual drawing that had been printed - albeit with a super-duper, touch-up inking job by the mighty KEN REID.  I'd hoped that my original drawing would be good enough to be published as is, but I was resigned to the likelihood that it would be completely redrawn by Mr. Reid himself.

But no - all the glaring imperfections of my original art were still all-too obvious - surely Ken would've fixed them if he'd completely redrawn my submission from scratch?  Honest - that really appears to be my basic drawing under the super-slick inking style of the artist of FRANKIE STEIN and FACEACHE and loads of other characters.  The wings are a bit more ornate than I would've rendered them, but what you're looking at is a genuine Robson/Reid collaboration.

Ken wasn't the only one to recognize quality when he saw it, though.  (Relax - my tongue is half in my cheek.)  A few years later, someone traced my character and submitted it to a competition in one of MARVEL's U.K. weeklies (I think) -  and was one of a 100 runners-up.  To add insult to injury, I'd also entered the competition and was amongst the top ten of those 100 runners-up, but my prize of a Treasury Edition must have been lost in the Twilight Zone because I never received it.

So feast your eyes - the only Kid Robson/Ken Reid drawing in existence.  (I suppose his name really should come first - but it's my blog.  And he got paid far more than a £1 for his share of the work.)

An AMAZING FANTASY...



Spidey's 1st appearance.  Art by Kirby & Ditko

You all know the story.  Or at least, you should - it's been repeated often enough.

Once upon a time, there was a comic called AMAZING FANTASY.  From issue #7 it was rechristened AMAZING ADULT FANTASY, but it reverted back to its original title on its 15th and final appearance.  And in that last issue was a 'throwaway' character called SPIDER-MAN, in an 11-page origin tale.

Publisher MARTIN GOODMAN had reluctantly allowed writer/editor STAN LEE to get the character out of his system, because it didn't much matter what the contents were of a magazine whose demise had been ordained months before due to declining circulation.  When that issue's sales figures came in, it was realized that Spidey was a surprise hit, and he was resurrected in his own comic.

And they all lived happily ever after.

Yep, that's the story, which has now passed into legend.  So what's wrong with it - apart from the fact that the first six issues of Amazing Fantasy were actually called AMAZING ADVENTURES?  Almost everything, as it happens; it's not a legend - it's more of a myth!

The proof of this assertion?  Amazing Fantasy #15 itself!  Read the final caption (deleted from most reprints until recently) of Spider-Man's origin.  "Be sure to see the next issue of Amazing Fantasy - - - for the further amazing exploits of America's most different teenage idol - - Spiderman!"

Spidey's first issue.  Art by Kirby & Ditko

Not yet convinced?  Read the "important message" (proclaims the cover blurb) "from the editor" inside the magazine for the clincher.  "As you can see, we are introducing one of the most unusual fantasy characters of all time - The Spiderman, who will appear every month in Amazing.  Perhaps, if your letters request it, we will make his stories even longer, or have TWO Spiderman stories per issue."

This shows that Spidey was intended as an ongoing character from the off, and that AF #15 was meant to be a new direction for the title.  The message goes on to say that the word "adult" has been dropped from the masthead to spare the blushes of teeanagers who felt "awkward" buying the mag.  There may be some truth to this; with diminishing sales, Marvel would certainly have considered this as a possible factor.  I suspect, though, that the main reason was simply that it would seem ridiculous having the word "adult" on the cover of a "long-underwear" character aimed at juveniles.

The lettering in the final caption has clearly been altered from Amazing Adult Fantasy to Amazing Fantasy, indicating that not only was the name-change a last minute revision, but also that the decision to cancel the magazine wasn't made until after it had gone to press and maybe even hit the stands.  Final confirmation is supplied by the new logo - why go to the bother and expense of designing a new masthead for a mag you knew was going to be the last issue?  The word "adult'" could easily have been omitted from the old logo with no extra work required.

It's fairly obvious what happened.  Goodman must have become aware of just how poorly previous issues had performed and wielded the axe, regardless of Stan's plans for the title.  Then, months later, when the higher-than-usual sales figures and positive feedback from readers came in, Goodman gave permission for Stan to continue on course.

Besides, a big, bold AMAZING SPIDER-MAN logo screaming from the cover of his own mag would have more impact on the spinner-racks and greater appeal to readers wanting in on the ground floor.  At that time, a restrictive distribution deal meant Marvel could only produce around eight titles a month, so what had been intended as AF #16 metamorphosed into The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1, with a potentially sales-boosting assist from The FANTASTIC FOUR on the cover.  (The main story was no doubt prepared for AF #16.  The cover-featured back-up story - and therefore the cover itself - were probably later developments to hook FF readers in a cunningly conceived sales ploy.)  It's clear, however, that Spidey's own title was, in content if not in name, exactly what Amazing Fantasy was intended to become.

Ditko's unpublished cover

So why, in the letters page of ASM #4, did Stan Lee give the following account of how Spidey gained his own title?  "We planned to present him in the final issue of AMAZING ADULT FANTASY, just to satisfy ourselves.  But the rest is history!  His surprise appearance jolted readers everywhere, and we were deluged with letters demanding  that he be given his own magazine."  One explanation is that perhaps he simply meant "We planned to present him in [what became] the final issue..."

Or, given Stan's notoriously poor memory and the seven month gap between AF #15 and ASM # 1, he probably just forgot the precise details.  Years later, when he came to write ORIGINS Of MARVEL COMICS, he simply recounted the story as he (mis-)remembered it from ASM #4, even though it didn't quite match up with the facts presented in AF #15 itself.

There!  Another Marvel Mystery cleared up for posterity.

If only it was always so easy!

(Originally published in slightly different form in COMICS INTERNATIONAL #148, August 2002.)