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| Copyright MARVEL COMICS |
When Marvel 'officially' established itself in the U.K. with The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL in 1972, they had a good-looking product on their hands that readers responded to. 40 pages, 6 of them in full-colour, the remainder in spot-colour and/or Zipatone (as it was called in America, Letratone in Britain) - and all for only 5 pence. With issue #5, the full-colour pages increased to 8 per issue, which lasted until #19, with only 4 in #20 from then on.
Over the course of the first year, the spot-colour decreased as the use of Zipatone became more prevalent, until, eventually, the interiors of Marvel's U.K. weeklies became distinctly grey. Issue #42 was the last one to feature green spot-hues, and when the comic was awarded a glossy cover with number 67, the contents became little more than a muddy mess. This wasn't confined to just MWOM, but was also a blight on SPIDER-MAN COMICS WEEKLY and The AVENGERS. (Although, truth to tell, as the first British weekly Marvel comic to sport a glossy cover from issue #1, The Avengers had always been cursed with that affliction.)
SMCW, launched in February '73, only ever had 4 full-colour pages, the remainder featuring red and orange spot-colour - and Zipatone - until issue #23, which was the very last one to feature the crimson and amber hues. With number 24, the comic became all-grey (apart from the full-colour matte paper covers), but although the tones were a bit overwhelming, the art, for the most part, was still discernible. However, with issue #48, everything changed - and all for the worse. The comic was also given a glossy cover and, overnight, became one monumental murky morass of dark grey and pitch-black blotches. This deplorable situation lasted for months, and I'm amazed it was allowed to continue for as long as it did.
Theoretically, it shouldn't have been a problem. After all, as far as I can ascertain, the tones were applied to the pages by the same team responsible for Marvel's black and white U.S. magazines - and they turned out fine. It seems obvious, therefore, that the problem was a direct result of the cheap printing process utilised by the British printers responsible for producing Marvel's U.K. weekly output. For far too long a period, British Marvels were an unattractive and unappealing alternative to the much more popular, cleanly printed (by comparison) IPC and D.C. THOMSON periodicals with which they had to share newsagents' shelves. It was surely only the unswerving loyalty of devoted Marvel fans that enabled 'The House of Ideas' to turn any kind of profit. (Here's an idea - get your printing sorted out, you thickos!)
Perhaps you think I exaggerate? Take a look at the pages illustrating this post (especially the second Spider-Man one) and you'll see how bad it really was. In fact, it wasn't just the tones that were awful - so was the reproduction. Look at the Spidey splash-page - his webbing is practically invisible. Thankfully, things eventually improved.
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BEST LAID PLANS DEPT: When I first posted this, I thought I was being original. However, I've just been browsing on STEVE DOES COMICS blog and noticed that ol' Stevie-boy had already touched on this subject (and this very comic) some time ago. What's more, I'd even left a comment on it, yet I had absolutely no recollection of previously reading Steve's post when I came to write my own. Spooky, eh? Has such a thing ever happened to you?
It did seem to be worse in the Avengers, particularly as the Shang-Chi pages were clearly discernible but the Don Heck pages- like the first Living Laser story- were swathed in black.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Dougie - some pages weren't as bad as others, but few were as good as they should've been. However, when they were bad, they were VERY bad.
ReplyDeleteI remember finding some of these issues at a comic shop years back but never did buy 'em (just didn't seem worth it without color).
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that Marvel America okayed the proofs which would look ok but they never saw the printed comics perhaps?
ReplyDeleteThey were bad.
I think the current style of Marvel UK Collectors Comics is the best format and printing they've ever had. What say you Kid? (By the by, you have a letter printed in the latest MWOM!)
Chris, to be honest, I don't think they'd be collectable to anyone who didn't have a nostalgic attachment to them. Or just as an item of curiosity. The artwork was ruined.
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Kirbyfan62, I think it's unlikely that the British office wouldn't have sent issues over to the States - the U.S. overseer would've wanted to see the finished product.
Isn't it ironic that the collectors' editions we have today are what readers were calling for in the letters pages of the British weeklies back in the '70s? At that time the excuse was that they'd be too costly and that the U.K. market wouldn't support a monthly comic. Strange how times change, eh?
Yeah, I saw my letter - still gives me a thrill to see my name in a Marvel mag, especially MWOM.