Another three issues of The COMPLETE FANTASTIC FOUR for you to drool over, frantic ones, as we near the end of our series looking back at one of the more fondly-recalled titles of MARVEL U.K.'s 1977/'78 weekly output. Containing relatively more recent stories as well as LEE/KIRBY classic tales, this comic was more than worth the 10p cover price. Sadly, it folded with #37, which means that this series concludes after three more parts, so don't dare miss 'em!
I saw it too, in my local cinema. It was total p*sh! (The film, not the cinema) |
6 comments:
I didn't get this title. In fact I don't remember seeing it on the newsstand. Good to see and let's face it, the Lee/Kirby run was fantastic and the Thomas/Buscema run was pretty good too.
You missed a good little comic, Phil. Shame it never lasted more than 37 issues.
Complete FF was a book I rarely bought despite liking the FF and it being in most cases a really good comic, but I wasn't such a fan that I wanted to see a whole comic dedicated to them especially with the second feature being the Kirby FF reprints (that I already had in MWOM). I didn't think the FF had a strong enough brand recognition in the UK for a book all about them with no second (or third) different back up - ditto the recent Panini comic that was all FF (although this time I was buying it for the back up strips in colour) to me was doomed despite the films at the time - What do you think of the new FF film?
I hadn't kept my MWOMs, McScotty ('though I acquired replacements later), so it was a 'must have' for me as it reminded me not only of MWOM, but also Wham! Complete FF added The Invaders to it's line-up towards the end, but I doubt that they had any better brand recognition than the FF, so it was a bit of a redundant move. Haven't seen the new FF movie yet, McS, and I'm not sure I'll bother. Most of the reviews I've read have been pretty underwhelming.
Unlike Phil and Paul I had every single issue of The Complete FF and I enjoyed the original Lee/Kirby strips (which I'd never read before) more than the newer ones but what stands out in this selection are the ads for the Spider-Man "movie" and the 'Close Encounters' special - I also saw the Spider-Man film at the cinema and I quite liked it but you must remember that a) I was 12 and b) it was awesome just to see Spidey on screen - of course now I'd agree with you, Kid, that it was cr*p. As for 'Close Encounters' - on May 30th 1978 I went to see Star Wars and I bought 'Savage Sword Of Conan' #8 which I was reading while waiting in the queue and that 'Close Encounters' ad was on the back page of the mag - a boy walked by with a couple of his friends and saw the ad and said "I've seen that" in a show-offy way - always reminds me of the day I saw Star Wars. I didn't see 'Close Encounters' till years later on TV.
When I went to see the Spidey 'movie', CJ, I was around 19, but I remember well that even young kids were pretty soon bored with it, and started to run around the cinema in an attempt to amuse themselves. I seem to remember seeing Close Encounters in my local cinema years after the fact, with extra footage added. However, maybe I'm confusing seeing the original trailer there with a later TV 'director's cut' screening.
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