The COMPLETE FANTASTIC FOUR COVER & IMAGE GALLERY - PART ONE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

September 21st, 1977 - five years after The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL #1 had gone on sale - and now The FANTASTIC FOUR were finally awarded their own U.K. magazine (dated 28th).  I was glad of the opportunity to re-collect the early FF tales published as back-up in the new mag, which, foolishly, I hadn't kept from their earlier '70s re-presentations in MWOM.  One good thing about the new weekly periodical was that the grey tones were less obtrusive than in previous publications, and now served the art in a sensitive way, rather than simply obscuring it.

The CLASSIC CONFRONTATION pages featured in the comic appear to have come from a colouring & activity booklet, hence the removal of detail in some areas to leave open for the appliance of colour.  I'd have preferred to see them all as originally inked, but younger readers were probably kept occupied for ages  - even though quite a few issues were doubtless vandalised in the process.

So here's the first instalment of The COMPLETE FF cover and image gallery to tempt you on a brief visit into the past.  Come along, and don't worry - the eternal present will still be here waiting for us when we return.  Ready?  Let's go!

     

WELCOME TO MY WORLD...

Here's JIM REEVES with an alternate recording

of his hit, WELCOME TO MY WORLD.  It's perhaps

not quite so polished as the better known version, but it

has its own charm, sure enough.  Enjoy.

(BOND) BABE Of The DAY - MADELINE SMITH...

Ah, MADDIE - now she's what I

call a woman.  Why none of the gals I

dated looked this good, I'm not quite sure.

(Though don't tell them I said so.)  So why

do I now feel I've missed out on something?

And where the heck's my magnetic watch

when I need it, eh?  Oh, well - better

   get ready for our hot date later. 

PART TWO Of The THING Is BIG BEN COVER & IMAGE GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Okay, gather 'round, fellow fans.  Here's another batch of covers and images from The THING Is BIG BEN, a U.K. MARVEL comic from 1984.  This time we have a couple of full-colour DONALD DOGFLY strips to amuse and entertain you, drawn by cartoonist HUNT EMERSON, a well-known name in the field of British comics.

To be honest, I wouldn't exactly claim that the comic's covers were absolutely the finest example of layout and design I've ever seen - or even the most effective in terms of enticing potential reader interest (it only lasted 18 issues, remember), but at least you were left in no doubt as to who the star of the book was.

So, whaddya say?  See you back here for part three?  It's a date!