Week Ending

What were you doing during the tail-end of April 1973? Probably going outside a bit more regularly than during the same period in 2020, and one of those trips into the social distancing-free world of the early 70s may well have been to browse the comic shelves of your local newsagent. You may even have picked up one of these beauties from Marvel UK, no pandemic AND comics, we really didn't know how good we had it. Mighty World of Marvel #31 I really like this cover, evidently featuring pencils by Rich Buckler and the inks of Mike Esposito. Not sure if it is the unusually defensive pose of the Hulk or the fact the colours have survived surprisingly well on the cheap paper stock that Marvel UK were using back in the day, but it pleases my cynical old eyes. It should come as no surprise to learn that there is another change in the lineup of the ever rotating art team on this series, as Jack continues on layouts with new arrival Bill Everett on pencils and inks. It real

What were you up to this week in 1973? If you were anything like me, you were probably sticking crayons up your nose. In my defence I was only four and I haven't done it for years. Marvel UK on the other hand were having a week free of crayon/nasal interfacing and were instead putting out a brace of great comics. Mighty World of Marvel #30 Dick Ayers and Mike Esposito give us a cover that promises thrills and dynamic action, plus what looks like a chap contemplating adding some fibre to his diet. Hulk is still in the future, now facing the sudden (and unexplained) appearance of the Executioner. Meanwhile back in 1966/1973/the present Rick Jones has problems of his own, as he faces interrogation by General Ross and Major Talbot who seek to understand the mysterious connection between Bruce Banner and the Hulk (not exactly the brightest and best of the military these boys) with no evidence against Jones, Ross releases him, though not without tasking Talbot with followi

Reading through these old issues in the order they came out, it seems to me that by choosing to start all their stories from the beginning, Marvel UK had given themselves something of a handicap. While they can be viewed as important classics now, back in the early 70s these early tales were probably at best described as 'uneven'. That said, the payoff of improving quality is now really starting to take hold and this week's issues are a good example of that phenomenon. Mighty World of Marvel #29 Cover art by  Dick Ayers.   MWOM kicks off with the Hulk trapped in the future but somewhat boosted by the arrival of Gil Kane on pencils. While his work might not be instantly recognisable here, it definitely adds some much needed class to the proceedings. Within moments of his arrival in the future (which is probably last week for us) Hulk finds himself captured by the local warlord and his army. Though there is yet another, greater threat awaiting him in the surp

What were the youth of Britain up to while they lived through Disco and waited for Punk to be invented? Well some of them were possibly enjoying another couple of almost symmetrical covers on their favourite Marvel UK weeklies, untroubled by satin bell-bottoms and the imminent threat of unsanitary safety-pin piercings. Mighty World of Marvel #28 I am trying to view this cover with the eyes of a youngster, I probably would have thought it was cool when I was a child. To be honest this is not much of a compliment, I was a fairly stupid child. Looking at it now as a jaded adult, it almost seems like a surrealist masterpiece, Hulk batting away missiles with scant regard for the laws of physics, logic or how missiles work and a pair of Fantastic Four/Daredevil tableaux that can't possibly represent the stories within. Can they? We left the Hulk last week standing over the body of the late Leader. Surprisingly for these disjointed early episodes, that is where our story o

April 1973 opens with another almost matching pair of covers for Marvel UK fans. It must have added considerably to the workload of the US bullpen to come up with unique covers and additional content for the UK weeklies. It is a shame the results of that effort are now viewed as something of a poor relation among the broader comic collecting community. That said, we are here now to show them the respect that is rightfully theirs. Mighty World of Marvel #27 Another week, another artist drafted in to work on the Hulk strip. Kirby is still on layouts, Esposito provides the inks and now we have Bob Powell on pencils. I have to admit, I needed to Google Mr Powell, but he puts in a solid, if somewhat old fashioned effort. The Hulk continues his battle against an equally strong alien on the planet of the Watcher. We get several pages of action before the Watcher loosely interprets his vow of non interference to deliver a pulp science fiction ending and the "death" of t