Marvel In The UK

[MacNimon]

Yes, I remember. Wasn't it with the launch of "The Titans" they turned the comic on its side to get more panels per page. If I recall correctly Spiderman and one or two others went that way too for a little while before they turned them back the right way.

It's hard to say exactly how much that had to do with things. Yes, The Titans was an experiment...whereas the previous two rounds of title launches in October 1974 and March 1975 had both been double launches, The Titans would be a single title with as much material published in it as two regular-shaped titles. Spiderman, however, wasn't so much an experiment as a way of compensating for all the cancellations...the format allowed for the inclusion of many more strips than would have been previously possible. Spiderman lasted in it's landscape format for around 70 issues before reverting to the normal shape.

The 'various reasons' I mentioned earlier of course would include sales, but unsurprisingly a couple of titles would run short of material to publish and also Marvel's rate of expansion possibly meant that they were asking too much of their reader base to expect them to afford to buy seven different comics each week at one point. Something had to give.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves, aren't we? Let's just enjoy the great covers of a period when Marvel could do no wrong...


MWOM 120-122, SMCW 101-103, Avengers 70-72, Dracula Lives 13-15, POTA 13-15

[MacNimon]

MWOM 123-125, SMCW 104-106, Avengers 73-75, Dracula Lives 16-18, POTA 16-18

[MacNimon]

Once again, even though it was only a few months since two new titles were released, Marvel felt that the time was right for further expansion with another two titles being added the week dated 8th March; one a fantasy title reprinting their (then-currently) hugely-popular US Conan series; the other a new superhero title simply called The Superheroes.

The Superheroes featured the Silver Surfer in the lead strip, with the original X-Men in the back-up slot. Both series had been cancelled some years earlier in the US, so had limited material available for reprinting, although the title allowed for flexibility...it could quite simply reprint anything they wished it to. SSOC featured Conan creator Robert E Howard's other barbarian hero, King Kull of Atlantis, as the back up strip. However, something Marvel didn't appear to take into account was that Conan's current huge popularity in America was because of the high standard of the then-current stories, not the earliest issues published which were of a very patchy quality, to say the least. Marvel UK opted to reprint the characters adventures from the start, forgetting that in the early days the US version of Conan was a title on the verge of cancellation after a handful of issues, before sales rallied once writer and artist Roy Thomas and Barry Smith (then John Buscema) hit top form. Not the most promising outlook, then, for a character that few in the UK had ever heard of at that time...

This was possibly the point wher Marvel UK stretched itself too far, or expected too much from it's paying customers. I mean, how many people could afford seven comics on pocket money alone? I couldn't, and was constantly chopping and changing which titles I read on a regular basis. Surely others were doing the same thing around the country? And it didn't seem to bother them at this point that already, the UK titles were quickly catching up with the original US strips. Admittedly strips such as the Hulk, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, The Avengers and Daredevil had been published since the early 60s and so weren't an immediate problem, but once you went beyond them many series didn't have a huge amount of unused material. So was it going to be a wise move to use any material up at an even faster pace in these two extra titles? Time would tell...

MWOM 126-128, SMCW 107-109, Avengers 76-78, Dracula Lives 19-21, POTA 19-21, SSOC 1-2, Superheroes 1-2

[Stephen Morgan]

Right, well you've done it again! Those Super Hero covers certainly sent shivers down my spine as they look so familiar, I know I collected those. The Silver Surfer became a favourite character.
The Conan covers don't ring any bells though, but I'm sure I must have read them, or at least their American counterparts as it was the Conan series that led me to read the paperbacks that were issued in the mid seventies, I certainly remember reading those during the long hot summer of '76.

[Stuart Wallis]

I've missed those Avengers covers.

Well at this point there's something for everyone, but I wouldn't be surprised if people "switched off" due to the amount of material available.

I don't remember the Planet Of The Apes title, or The Superheroes, it has to be said.

[MacNimon]

I remember the covers of many of these, especially the first issues of the 4 newest releases. I think I always tended to order the new releases from my newsagents, and it was a case of getting whatever I could afford (or find!) out of the others...different titles each week.

MWOM 129-130, SMCW 110-111, Avengers 79-80, Dracula Lives 22-23, POTA 22-23, SSOC 3-4, Superheroes 3-4

[Stuart Wallis]

I remember the Widow.

[MacNimon]

I remember the Widow.

That Spider-Man cover (#109) is certainly one of those I remember buying!

A few classic covers that I also remember getting...MWOM 129, Avengers 78 & 79.

[MacNimon]

MWOM 131-132, SMCW 112-113, Avengers 81-82, Dracula Lives 24-25, POTA 24-25, SSOC 5-6, Superheroes 5-6

[Stephen Morgan]

Behold! My favourite Avenger, at last!
I was always fascinated by The Vision, and well remember this storyline and the mystery of who he originally was, the roots going way back to Avengers #7 I think.
Well do I remember the conclusion of the Vision storyline later that summer on a hot afternoon sitting out in the back garden, the final panel "Even an android can cry".
Stunning artwork.

[MacNimon]

I love that cover! It's one of my favourite covers of all time!

I think though, that the most notable thing about these covers in general is a sense of fun. Something that seems to largely be missing from modern comics, to a large extent.They just seem to take themselves so much more seriously nowadays, don't they?

[MacNimon]

Behold! My favourite Avenger, at last!
I was always fascinated by The Vision, and well remember this storyline and the mystery of who he originally was, the roots going way back to Avengers #7 I think.
Well do I remember the conclusion of the Vision storyline later that summer on a hot afternoon sitting out in the back garden, the final panel "Even an android can cry".
Stunning artwork.

I remember that story well. And as for the artwork...that must have been around John Buscema's run on the series, I'm not sure but I'll have to check it out for certain though. But Buscema's work and the phrase "stunning artwork" go hand-in-hand, imo.

There were a lot of excellent artists doing the rounds at that time, with the likes of Neal Adams and Jim Steranko on Marvel's books. They were breaking away from the 'old school' of Don Heck & co, although they still hung around for a while afterwards.

[Stephen Morgan]

I remember that story well. And as for the artwork...that must have been around John Buscema's run on the series, I'm not sure but I'll have to check it out for certain though. But Buscema's work and the phrase "stunning artwork" go hand-in-hand, imo.

I think you are correct in stating it's Buscema's work. I always picked him out as my favourite artist.

[Stuart Wallis]

Hah! Memories of running around with a yellow blanket round my neck, pretending to be the Vision!

I do believe that money was spent on that Dracula cover...

[MacNimon]

MWOM 133-134, SMCW 114-115, Avengers 83-84, Dracula Lives 26-27, POTA 26-27, SSOC 7-8, Superheroes 7-8

[Stephen Morgan]

I thought these 1975 covers were going to bring back some memories, but I have to admit that apart from the Avengers storyline with The Vision most of the others have drawn a blank. I remember Dr. Strange's change of appearance, but don't recall the Juggernaut story. Likewise the Surfer/Loki/Thor storyline, but those Spiderman/Doc Octopus covers ring nagging little bells.

Tell you what Kenny, these covers lately have made me hungry.

[Stuart Wallis]

Here - have a Mars bar!

[Stephen Morgan]

Here - have a Mars bar!

Where's that vomit emoticon when you need it?

[Stuart Wallis]

Wayne had it last. Lord knows what he wanted it for...

[MacNimon]

MWOM 135-136, SMCW 116-117, Avengers 85-86, Dracula Lives 28-29, POTA 28-29, SSOC 9-10, Superheroes 9-10

[MacNimon]

MWOM 137-138, SMCW 118-119, Avengers 87-88, Dracula Lives 30-31, POTA 30-31, SSOC 11-12, Superheroes 11-12

[Stuart Wallis]

The Thing and the Hulk - Marvel's Daleks vs. Cybermen! Place your bets!

[MacNimon]

MWOM 139-140, SMCW 120-121, Avengers 89-90, Dracula Lives 32-33, POTA 32-33, SSOC 13-14, Superheroes 13-14

[MacNimon]

MWOM 141-142, SMCW 122-123, Avengers 91-92, Dracula Lives 34-35, POTA 34-35, SSOC 15-16, Superheroes 15-16

[MacNimon]

MWOM 143-144, SMCW 124-125, Avengers 93-94, Dracula Lives 36-37, POTA 36-37, SSOC 17-18, Superheroes 17-18

The first cancellation in the range is upon us...Conan ended with issue 18 (ironically just as it was reaching the good stuff!) and was merged into The Avengers with issue 95 of that title.