CRIVENS! COMICS & STUFF!: THE THING IS BIG BEN COVER & IMAGE GALLERY

Monday, 14 July 2014

THE THING IS BIG BEN COVER & IMAGE GALLERY - PART ONE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

It lasted a mere 18 issues before being merged with SPIDER-MAN #595 (a U.K. weekly), but way back in 1984, The THING Is BIG BEN hit the shelves of newsagents across Britain. The main Thing stories were taken from MARVEL TWO-In-ONE, and back-up strips came in the form of IRON MAN and CAPTAIN AMERICA - plus the zany DONALD DOGFLY by the talented HUNT EMERSON.

To be honest, Donald was probably the best strip in the mag, and it's a shame it only appeared in the first dozen issues before being consigned to comic strip limbo. Time for a comeback I think - where are you, Donald? While I'm waiting for him to reply, the rest of you can get on with appreciating all the lovely piccies I've generously bestowed upon you. Don't forget to return for the second instalment.

(Incidentally, I've still got the free gifts which came with the first two issues [none in the third], but can I remember where on earth I've stashed them? [The answer's no, in case you were wondering.] Whenever I find them, I'll add them to this post - but that could be a long time.)

UPDATE: Here's the free gift from #1 - I'll add the one from #2 when I dig it out.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...: Poor Marvel UK - how could they be reduced to printing this tripe. Was this really the same company that produced MWOM, SMCW, POTA, the Titans and the Complete FF - the golden age for the weeklies ended with the final issues of MWOM and Super Spider-Man in January 1979 and then it was all downhill. It was despair at the new-look weeklies that caused me to switch permanently to U.S. imports.; 14 July 2014 at 22:27
Kid said...: Let's give them points for trying, CJ. The fact is, the material they were printing in these later mags just didn't have the magic of the earlier stories.; 14 July 2014 at 22:47
Unknown said...: I liked the US Marvel "Two in one" comic but I don't think the strips were strong enough for a UK weekly possibly with FF back up to round it off (then again tha might confuse readers with the Thing in some FF stories etc) - I suppose the "Big Ben" title was to make it sound more London/British - wasn't aware Hunt Emerson did anything for Marvel as always nice artwork from the lad; 14 July 2014 at 23:19
John Pitt said...: I preferred the 2-in-1 stories to the Thing solo stories, especially around the "project pegasus" era. As for this comic - one of the last decent Marvel weeklies, shortly before a time when the only weekly titles they put out were licensed titles- bleak years for Marvel UK. As for the title - well Dez Skinn had Big Ben- the man with no time for crime in Warrior just before, so draw your own conclusions....; 15 July 2014 at 14:01
Kid said...: I'd say the name was more to do with giving the comic a 'British' identity, JP, rather than cashing in on a rather obscure character aimed at a different age group. However, could it also have been used to take a little pop at Dez? Who knows!; 15 July 2014 at 14:49

About the artist:

From 1985 to 2000 A.D. (little joke there), I contributed to a variety of high profile comics and magazines for various companies.

For IPC/FLEETWAY/EGMONT, I freelanced as a lettering and logo artist on various weekly comics and monthly magazines, and also as a resize comic artist and spot illustrator on pocket books, summer specials and annuals.

For MARVEL U.K., BLACK LIBRARY, REDAN and USBORNE BOOKS, I again freelanced as a lettering artist, also working as a restoration artist for MARVEL U.S., restoring and re-creating certain pages of JACK KIRBY art for their MARVEL MASTERWORKS editions.

I also lettered the MARVELMAN sample pages submitted to MARVEL U.S. when they were considering acquiring the character, which - as we all now know - they DID.

Supplied comic strips, cartoons and illustrated advertisements for local business campaigns and newspaper publication on a professional basis since the age of 16. Did my first paid art job for publication at 14 or 15 for Lanarkshire Education Board.

Have also made TV appearances as a collector of memorabilia.

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Just some of the titles I worked on are:

2000 A.D. * JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE * DICEMAN * SONIC The COMIC * JUDGE DREDD, LAWMAN Of The FUTURE * CRISIS * REVOLVER * EAGLE * TIGER * BATTLE ACTION-FORCE * BUSTER * WHIZZER & CHIPS * WHOOPEE * NIPPER * SCHOOL FUN * ACE VENTURA, PET DETECTIVE * The REAL GHOSTBUSTERS * DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE * COUNT DUCKULA * RUGRATS * The TRANSFORMERS * DEATH'S HEAD * THUNDERCATS * GALAXY RANGERS * DRAGON'S CLAWS * SINDY * MARVEL MASTERWORKS * The TROLLS * LOADED * INFERNO * WARHAMMER * ROSE BLACK.

Copyright Notice:

Images remain the property of their respective copyright owners and are used here only for the purpose of review, promotion, and nostalgia.

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In the case of images culled from my own collection where copyright of an item isn't mine, I impose no copying restrictions on fellow bloggers.

(Although, if you don't allow copying on your own site, then you really shouldn't be copying from others, should you?)

And while you can credit this blog if you like, it's not mandatory. Who has time to make notes of every casually visited site during an idle browse of the internet?

In the case of anyone copying images of my own artwork and calligraphy, I affirm my right to be identified as the creator, and any such copying should not be for the purpose of monetary or material gain. (Unless it's mine.)

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Please also note that this blog is not sponsored by, affiliated with, or connected to, any organisation, business, or group, and is wholly independent.