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| Copyright MARVEL COMICS |
Life just isn't complete without a Marvel UK cover gallery - so, Crivvies, I give you The Complete Fantastic Four Cover Gallery Omnibus. No, not every single issue of every single mag of their own they've ever appeared in, but rather all 37 covers of their weekly periodical from 1977/'78, plus an Annual which, going by the contents, was a tie-in to the weekly in that it included The Invaders - just like the last five issues of the comic. I've also included the back cover of the final ish, so you know there was life for the FF beyond their own title, and that they didn't disappear from weekly comics with its demise.
I've shown these images before, along with pin-ups, puzzles, splash pages, etc., in an episodic series a few years back, but I thought I'd cut to the chase this time and just include the full-colour covers for your perusal. This was a great wee comic, as testified to by the fact that someone I knew back then who you'd never think would be into superhero comics, also bought it every week. You could've knocked me down with a feather when he happened to mention it one day. There's a possibility he first became curious as to what it was all about when he saw me buying it regularly, but I can't ask him now as he died a good few years back.
Anyway, any fond memories of this mag, Crivs, back when you were in the full flower of your youth? (H'mm, that sounds a bit pervy, but you know what I mean.) Reveal all in the comments section. (Gosh, that sounds a bit pervy too, unintentional as it was. My innocence has been corrupted by the age we now live in.)
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For some odd reason, back then I hadn't kept any of my Mighty World Of Marvel issues which had reprinted the classic '60s FF tales (obtained replacements years later though), so this comic was greatly appreciated by me as it gave me the opportunity to re-experience them, a mere five years after they'd appeared in Marvel UK's flagship title (MWOM). They didn't have the green spot colour or the occasional full-colour interior pages, but neither were any stories edited to cut them down to a more manageable length (apart from being split over two or three issues), nor were the tiers trimmed to make them fit slightly different dimensions.
It would be a good many years (decades in fact) before the FF were served in the way they deserved to be in a British periodical, with Panini's monthly Fantastic Four mag, all in full-colour throughout. Until then, however, The Complete FF was the first and best UK mag the Cosmic Quartet had solely appeared in. Whenever I browse through their pages today, I'm whisked right back to the '70s faster than a... (you know the rest, finish it yourselves).
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| This and another issue (#35) were nowhere to be found in any local newsagents in 1978, and it took me quite a few years to track them down. (Even my aforesaid pal couldn't find this one.) Therefore, my collection of The Complete Fantastic Four was incomplete for a good wee while. Ironic, eh? |
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| This was the other ish it took me years to find - got it eventually though |
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| This 1979 Annual would've been in production at the beginning of 1978 at the latest (possibly even near the end of '77) when the weekly was still being published, which is why I consider it a tie-in |
21 comments:
My abiding memory of the CFF was the awful free gift in issue 1. I had stopped buying most Marvel UK weeklies by this time ( only regularly buying MWOM and Spiderman) a bad choice as this was in hindsight probably the best weekly at this time. I only picked up issue 1 and a couple of other issue of CFF but issue 18 ( reprinting the original issue 150 of FF from 1974) was a big favourite of mine and I remember my dad, brother and myself had a nice day out when my mum was away looking after my gran ( who wasn't well and got better) the weekend my dad took my brother and myself out for a coke. We had a nice day and I bought this comic ( FF 150).
Yeah, those free gifts - whatever were they thinking, McS? They should've given us posters, like they did with The Super-Heroes, POTA, Dracula Lives, The Savage Sword Of Conan, etc.
Isn't it great when comics remind us of events like the one you describe! Sometimes, they're as good as a photograph and as effective as a diary.
90% of the reason I but old comics now is for those see memories .
Sometimes it's 100% for me. Comics like Yogi & His Toy and Hanna-Barbera's Fun Time - not great comics by any stretch, but a conduit to earlier and happier times.
Kid, you've missed out #35.
CFF #13 and #14 remind me of Christmas 1977 which was my first Christmas in secondary school. The story in those two issues involved the Torch and Medusa stranded in the Himalayas where they encounter a race of creatures who intend to turn the entire world into a frozen wilderness - the snowy Himalayan setting added to the Christmassy feel at the time. And the art in both issues was by Ross Andru, which was the only time he ever drew the FF I think - I much preferred his art to Rich Buckler's Kirby pastiche. I got CFF #14 on December 22nd which was the day we broke up for the Xmas holidays - and the BBC's adaptation of Dracula starring Louis Jourdan was on TV that very night.
All those memories tied in with two comics, CJ - great stuff. Dunno what happened to 35 - I'll add it shortly. Just off into my computer files to find it.
'As good as a photograph and as effective as a diary'.....could not have put it better!
My other 10% is for comics I wanted but missed , ones I couldn't afford at the time or comics that had art by my favourite artists like Neal Adams, John Romita, John Severin etc. Nice memories Colin I don't think I 've seen Andru art in the FF. I quite liked Rich Buckler's Kirby style art although I preferred his Adams "pastiche".
Thanks, but I'm sure you're being far too modest, Triple F.
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I remember Buckler drew a Superman issue, McS, and one of my mates at the time who read comics, didn't twig it hadn't been drawn by Swan until I told him. He obviously wasn't one who read the credits.
Quite the feast for the eyes, some great art there! Thanks for taking the time and trouble to put it all together for us mere mortals out here.
Just wondered; how do you store your, what must be, vast collection of comics?
Glad you like the covers, PC. To answer your question, some are stored in comic boxes, some in a bedroom chest of drawers, some in a large filing cabinet, some on shelves in cupboards, etc. I position every other comic face down so there's a spine on either side of a pile, as that way, it lessens spine curve and they stay in place better. I've got many thousands of comics, and that's not even including books on comics and collected editions. I'd be interested in how you store yours.
I think it's fair to say that I'd not have nearly as many comics as yourself, a recent tally came to about 320, but I also have a shelf full of Marvel Masterworks and another with various trade paperbacks, an omnibus and three Marvel Epic Collections.
But as for the comics themselves, they reside in three archive boxes, each box allowing for two rows of comics, stored upright all bagged and boarded. A situation I took some tome a few years back to bring about in order to protect these valuable (to me) artefacts.
I have some comics bagged and boarded, PC, but not the majority. In fact, more of my Facsimile Editions and True Believers reprints are bagged and boarded than original issues. Of those that are, it's a mix of value and sentiment.
I've mentioned this before but I remember reading CFF #18 by candlelight during a power cut.
I hated the addition of The Invaders - they were boring and they didn't belong in a comic dedicated to the Fantastic Four, plus it meant that the classic Lee/Kirby stories got fewer pages.
For me the saddest thing about CFF's cancellation was losing those classic stories. Because I missed the first two years of Marvel UK I'd never read them before but at least I got to see the very early days of the FF.
The addition of The Invaders was probably a last minute attempt to increase circulation by expanding the variety of characters in the comic, CJ, but, like you, I'd have preferred it to remain all FF. They were only in the mag for 5 issues before it was cancelled, meaning that their presence failed to revive the title's fortunes.
My local comics shop sells all its' comics bagged and boarded, including the newly released ones, unlike Forbidden Planet.
When we were kids we enjoyed comics simply for entertainment but now they are often treated like holy relics, or valuable artefacts as PC put it.
Does that mean they cost more, CJ, or are the bags and boards free?
I suppose that's because of their potential future worth, though there is also something aesthetically pleasing about having a comic in pristine condition.
I think the bags and boards are free but I'm not sure - I've never actually thought about it. I peered in the shop window early this morning and the comics released on December 22nd were still on the shelves where the new releases are supposed to be! Since Dec 22nd there have been new releases on Dec 29th, Jan 5th and Jan 12th so I don't know what happened to those.
And I got a shock in Tesco - the CD section has been reduced to a mere TWO SHELVES with room for just 16 different titles. Surely it can only be a matter of time before my local Tesco stops selling CDs altogether.
Maybe it's only a matter of time before your local Tesco CLOSES altogether, CJ. My local Sainsbury's closed last year.
I'm getting p*ssed off. You may remember me saying that I bought an original Red Sonja #1 a wee while back. (I liked the facsimile, but decided I wanted the 1977 Marvel issue.) Seller eventually issued a refund saying they couldn't find the comic. Anyway, I bought another at the end of December from a different seller. Just heard they can't find it either and are going to refund me. Surely sellers must know where comics are if they're photographing them for ebay listings? Pah!
Kid, you should have used that as material for a post.
My local Tesco is very busy even in the early mornings so hopefully it's safe. The CD section was reduced to make room for yet more computer games which have never interested me in the slightest. Have you seen the prices on those games? Many of them are around the £50 mark.
I might yet do a post about it, CJ. Nah, was never interested in computer games so didn't know the prices of them. I guess your local Tesco weren't selling enough CDs to warrant the amount they were stocking.
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