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| Superhero images copyright MARVEL COMICS |
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.
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| BATMAN & ROBIN copyright DC COMICS |
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To be handled with extreme care! The cover on my copy started ripping along the spine to the staple all by itself!!
ReplyDeleteI've got two copies. JP. One to read, and one to keep safe. What you should do is buy some thin surgical tape from Boots. Then carefully remove the staples, run the surgical tape down the middle of the spine from the inside of the cover, reinsert staples, result - almost as good as new.
ReplyDeleteHow many times was Spider-man introduced to the British Public?
ReplyDeleteWell, Phil, not counting the original American comics on sale over here, he first appeared in British b&w monthly reprint mags by Alan Class, I believe - then in Pow!, then in TV21 (but not from the beginning of his adventures, it was the Romita ones), then in The Mighty World Of Marvel, before moving over to Spider-Man Comics Weekly. He's appeared in other mags down through the years of course, but the ones I've listed were his 'significant' early appearances in the U.K., I suppose.
ReplyDeleteSo it's entirely possible his origin and early adventures were published 4 times in British comics. It's quite curious to me that a publisher would stick with it four times but then MWoM continued Spidey's adventures without reprinting the origin again. Plus it was marvel UK. But that means three different companies tried to start Spidey off but failed. I wonder why the market conditions didn't allow Spidey to survive before ultimately surviving with Marvel UK.
ReplyDeleteHis origin was published by Alan Class, but Pow! (by Odhams) started from #1. TV21 started with some John Romita tales, and MWOM started from AF #15. SMCW started from the first Electro tale, and Spidey's origin has been reprinted quite a few times down through the years. A Marvel U.K. monthly mag from the early '90s also reprinted a lot of the Ditko tales from the beginning. Spidey's mag was Marvel U.K.'s longest lasting weekly comic (666 issues), and Spidey has been regularly published in some form or other almost continuously in Britain since 1972, when MWOM made its debut. Phew!
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