Week Ending

Reading the output of Marvel UK from the early 70s in the here and now of 2020 is immense fun, even as a cynical 50-something, it is hard not to get that old, familiar excitement about what the next week's issues will bring. However, now I realise, at least in these early years that 'Marvel UK' was more a concept or gimmick. Despite being printed in Britain, these early issues were clearly the creation of a small team in the US bullpen, working to squeeze more money from the corporate IP within the restrictions of two weekly UK format comics. This is actually having the effect of increasing my affection for them. Mighty World of Marvel #43   The cover of Tales to Astonish #100 gets a reworking, with a slightly rotated Namor by Marie Severin/Dan Adkins and the addition of a Jack Kirby/Dick Ayers FF panel. Colours by a child with felt-tip pens I assume. Last week we had two Hulk stories created five years apart that both ended with our anti-hero caught in an explosion/earthqu

This week in 1973, the carefully constructed bubble of unique continuity constructed for the sensitive readers of the British Isles, starts to creak under the strain of its own time distorting internal logic. Can the editorial team hold together the fabric of their continuity-quilt against the growing pressure of established comic book inconsistencies? Mighty World of Marvel #42 Another collaborative cover for MWOM this week as Marie Severin, Jack Kirby, Dan Adkins and Dick Ayers all do their bit to provide a cover that I actually quite like. Probably because at least in part, it appears to be a reworking of the original Tales to Astonish cover. As always, the colouring does its best to spoil my enjoyment. Changes were imminent for the Hulk in 1967, with Tales to Astonish, the book he shared with the Sub-Mariner, only a couple of issues away from becoming the second eponymous title for the jade giant. Plans were also afoot to shake up the contents of MWOM in 1973. How were Marvel UK go

Ah the Summer of 1973, I have no actual recollection of it but it is reasonable to assume it was probably raining. Not that the weather would have stopped our weekly pilgrimage to the local newsagent to pick up Marvel UK's latest offerings. Mighty World of Marvel #41 I believe this cover to be at least partly a collaboration between Marie Severin, Dan Adkins and Mike Esposito. I can only assume that the colouring credits must go to an unnamed office junior armed with a child's paint set and half a potato. This feels like an already well-trodden Hulk tale, with our green anti-hero once again manipulated by evildoers for their own nefarious ends. Evildoers in the form of the Legions of the Living Lightning. A group that is hard to tell if they are communist subversives or a neo-nazi militia. Their fondness for knee-high boots and vaguely Germanic headgear seems to suggest the latter but their political message seems muddled at best, definitely the bad guys though. Severin and Tri

Welcome dear Marvel UK fan, as we once again set sail on the good ship Nostalgia to spend the pocket money of the past on the best value entertainment ever there was. Mighty World of Marvel #40 Something struck me this week, I don't think we have yet had a straight reprint of an original US cover in 40 weeks of MWOM. This is particularly curious this week, when we could have had the choice between Tales to Astonish #96 and Fantastic Four #18, while not outright classics, both are attractive covers. Instead we this unique and, ah, challenging offering from the Buckler/Esposito team.   Something I neglected to mention last week, was that as well as the arrival of Marie Severin on pencils in both Hulk chapters, we also got the debut of Herb Trimpe on inks in the second episode, a combination that continues this week. If I'm honest, it is not a pairing that flatters either of these greats. The Hulk finds himself trapped on a spaceship with the High Evolutionary's new-man Sir Ra