"A RAGING FURY!" 'POT LUCK' MARVEL COVER GALLERY - PART THREE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Are you all ready for some more?  (And no, the title doesn't refer to CAPTAIN HURRICANE's 'eppies'!)  Here are the covers of more British MARVEL weeklies from the late 1970s and early '80s, all from my own collection at the back of a cupboard.  FURY was an odd one, an attempt by Marvel to produce a comic more in line with traditional weeklies that were the staple of IPC and D.C. THOMSON.  I no longer remember how many issues it survived for before being merged with another title (MWOM), but not many I'd guess.  

MARVEL COMIC was the revamped The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL, redesigned by editor-in-chief DEZ SKINN to resemble comics like VALIANT, LION, and a whole host of other weeklies by rival companies.  I'm not quite sure why, because most (if not all) of those comics had fallen by the wayside by the time this title was unleashed, but the strips were resized in the same way as the Marvel reprints in WHAM!, SMASH!, and POW! were back in the '60s.

I recall buying the new 'first' issue on the way into Glasgow to see SUPERMAN The MOVIE (for the second or third time), and me and a friend each having a fish tea in The BLUE LAGOON, across from Glasgow's Central Station.  Come to think of it, I also got the SPIDER-MAN COMIC that same day.  (These are my original copies by the way, not replacements.)

Anyway, in a magnificent display of self-restraint, I'll spare you further memories of the other comics in this post and let you ponder on your own personal reminiscences associated with these Marvellous titles. Why not tell your fellow Crivvies all about them in our cataclysmic comments section?!  Speaking of which, we seem to have lost some of our regulars since I did away with the 'anonymous' option (in order to avoid loads of abuse I was receiving).  If only those former (and very welcome) commenters would create a Google account, then we could all once again enjoy their sparkling words of wit, wisdom and wonder.  How about it, guys? 

"AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!" PART TWO Of 'POT LUCK' MARVEL COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

It was a good idea - in theory at least.  However, early issues of the weekly British AVENGERS comic were marred by shoddy printing, which rendered what should've been subtle tones of grey as hideous muddy blacks.  Looking back at these issues now, I wonder why MARVEL took so long to get the problem rectified.  The ODHAMS PRESS presentations of the same tales from a few years before had been vastly superior.

That said, the comics still have a nostalgic appeal that's hard to resist - for those who bought them back in the day anyway.  Here then, are a few more random covers of comics recovered from the depths of my cupboard, protected by cardboard folders for many a long year.  I've featured some of them before on this blog, but they were probably scanned from spare copies which I store in a different place.

I won't bore you with my personal reminiscences of every individual ish, but I remember taking Avengers #28 up to a pal's house one night to show him, and then watching an episode of The SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN in his living room.  Ah, it only seems like last week, yet I was still a mere schoolboy with eternity stretched out in front of me.  Nowadays, sadly, I realise that nothing lasts forever - not even 'forever'.  But enough of this gloom and despondency - let's just enjoy looking back on yesterday - ironically, it's all we of a certain age really have to look forward to.  (And if that's not ironic, then nothing is!)

  

'POT LUCK' MARVEL COVER GALLERY - PART ONE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

I've was digging through my files recently and rediscovered an assortment of old comics, which I thought I'd share with you here.  When I was younger and needing to make space, I'd sometimes have a clear-out, keeping the first three issues of a title and giving the rest away to a pal.  You see, traditionally, the first three numbers of a British comic had a free gift and were therefore considered to be more collectable.  In the case of U.K. MARVEL mags however, this didn't always apply, as sometimes only the first ish came with a freebie.

Anyway, what follows is a random selection of various comics I possess, in no particular order of significance.  The above comic (SUPER SPIDER-MAN) was one I had originally when it came out, but this particular issue (complete with poster) was lying around the 2000 A.D. offices back in 1985 or '86, and no one had any objections when I asked if I could have it to replace my long-gone original copy - so back it came with me to Bonnie Scotland.  (Hoots mon and och aye!)

The CAPTAIN AMERICA comics below, I acquired when I was living in Southsea in 1981, so that's where I mainly associate them with whenever I look at them.  They still have the free stickers inside too.  I don't think the comic lasted too long, but British Marvel were throwing everything at the wall to see what would stick at this time, although DAZZLER was hardly one of the 'big guns'.

Looking at the cover to PLANET Of The APES #3 today, I associate it with my new town's old village hall, which was holding a jumble sale on the day I bought it.  It could possibly have been another number, but this one seems to be the one I recall.  The hall, a remnant from the '50s at least, if not earlier, was demolished around 20 years ago and replaced by shops and offices, but one glance at the cover and that old hall is instantly resurrected in my mind.

Anyway, be sure to come back and see what's on display in Part Two - you wouldn't want to miss anything!

  

The PUZZLING POW! ANNUAL 1971...

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The POW! ANNUAL for 1971 (on sale in August or September of 1970) is certainly a curious item in comparison to its predecessors.  Published by ODHAMS PRESS, as were the previous three Annuals for '68, '69 & '70, it bore absolutely no relation to them in terms of strip content or style.  True, the logo remained the same, but anyone buying the book having purchased earlier ones (or even the comic, which expired in '68) would surely have wondered what was going on.

What mystifies me is that the WHAM! ANNUAL for 1971 was exactly the same as in previous years and also published by Odhams - even though its former stablemate, SMASH!, was now an IPC comic, whose Annual reflected the contents of its weekly (revamped) counterpart.  I can only suppose that, as the weekly incarnations of Wham! and Pow! no longer existed, Odhams were permitted to produce one more Annual of each, although the subsequent books for 1972, plus the combined '73 & '74 releases, were all IPC publications.

Art by Miguel Quesada

As far as I'm able to determine, the 1971 Pow! Annual contains all-new strips - at least, I've never heard or seen of any of the characters before (or since, come to that) - and therefore represents good value for money, as previous Annuals had a fair amount of reprint material, making them cheaper to produce.  It's interesting to ponder whether the weekly title would've survived with regular strips of the same characters as the Annual, but I guess if SPIDER-MAN couldn't save it, then it's unlikely that unknown British substitutes would've fared any better.

Art by Victor Ibanez

Anyway, I thought you might enjoy seeing a gallery of some pages from over 40 years ago, when children regularly thrilled to the yearly hardback versions of their favourite comics.  Will such a time ever come again?  What do you think?

******

Incidentally, the artists' names were sourced from the British Comics Database, after I had identified ROMERO by myself.  The BCD confirmed it for me though.

Art by Matias Alonso

Art by Jose Ortiz

Art by Enrique Badia Romero

Art by Eustaquio Segrelles

Art by Leopoldo Ortiz

Art by Victor Ibanez

SUPER DC TEXT STORIES - PART ONE...

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Back in the late 1960s or very early '70s, TOP SELLERS had a nifty little monthly comic mag on sale which reprinted (in b&w) various classic superhero tales from the stable of NATIONAL PERIODICAL PUBLICATIONS Ltd., aka DC COMICS.  It also featured U.K. produced text stories, which, I believe, were reprinted (and possibly abridged) from an earlier weekly comic entitled TV TORNADO.

There were only 14 issues of Super DC, so I thought all you 'Criv-ites' might enjoy seeing the first six double-page tales from issues 1-3 (there were two tales per issue) for you to read at your leisure.  Want to see any more?  Then be sure to let me know in the comments section.

INTRODUCING: THE NEW DALEK EMPEROR - PETER RABBIT...

I've been moving stuff in one of my rooms recently, and only just noticed this completely inadvertent, unstaged comic scenario: namely, The DALEKS listening intently to the words of their Emperor - PETER RABBIT!  Let's have a caption competition.  I'll start things off with "I've just invented this sonic carrot with which we shall defeat the Doctor!  The future is orange!"

Just thought of another one:  "Okay, Daleks - to the tune of  'Old MacDonald had a Farm' - sing up at the back now..."

And another:  "Okay, I'll choose who's going for the chips - eeny-meeny-miny-mo..."

Yeah, I know - rubbish.  Okay, all you budding scriptwriters - leave your hilarious attempts in the comments section.  "Or you will be exterminated!"