Week Ending

  Marvel UK celebrates its first anniversary with three titles, a convincing claim on a growing segment of the British comic buying public and taking sixteen new pence from your pocket money. The later was probably mitigated somewhat by your parents lingering confusion over decimalisation.  Mighty World of Marvel #52 After a run of improving covers, Ron Wilson and Mike Esposito phone in this effort. It isn't actually bad, but looks uninspired and static despite the artists best efforts to introduce the illusion of movement. The Incredible Hulk: Ring Around The Rhino. Reprinting The Incredible Hulk #104 I had always thought of the Rhino as a Spider-Man protagonist, sure I was aware that he had multiple run-ins with Ol' Jade Jaws, but I was very surprised to see his origin take place in a Hulk story. Probably less surprised than those of you reading that already knew that the Rhino's first appearance was actually in the pages of ASM #41, and no such origin took place in a Hul

1973, UK newsagent shelves (at least the ones in reach of children) were dominated by comics about slightly dated, boisterous school children and war titles. However, this week, after almost one year of gaining a foothold, Marvel UK was staking its claim on some serious shelf space with its third title: The Avengers. DC Thompson and IPC may not have been quaking in their boots, but they were probably looking up from their ink stained drawing boards. Mighty World of Marvel #51 This cover really threw me at first, not because of any strong feelings about the artwork or layout, but because the 'week ending' cover date is September 29. Leading to a panicked moment where I thought I may have to edit last week's post or rethink my post title system. To be fair, the UK cover dates are pretty confusing and I'm surprised this is the first slip-up we have had. The cover itself is by Ron Wilson (with help from Marie Severin according to the Grand Comics Database) and Frank Giacoia

  It is 1973, the long school summer holidays are over but Marvel UK are still making the weeks worthwhile. I wonder what the school holidays did for comic sales, did they soar as we snapped up all the entertainment we could find, or were we too busy doing all that outdoorsy stuff old folks are so prone to banging on about? Mighty World of Marvel #50 Ron Wilson and Frank Giacoia give their take on the Cover of Fantastic Four #26. This probably felt more modern at the time, and it is perfectly serviceable, but the original would just edge it for me. The FF are again standing in as a Hulk story, though this week it does feel more like theirs, despite actually losing top billing to the Avengers. Hulk and the Thing continue to slug it out while Reed is ill and Johnny is injured in hospital. A big shout-out is due to the American healthcare system, the NHS might well be one of the noble endeavours of the modern age, but do they have asbestos pajamas and bandages on hand at all times? Truly,

  Remember the Tri-D Chess sets in Star Trek? A concept so complicated that it would take armies of nerds years to retroactively turn it into a working game that you could actually play during the time you weren't learning Klingon. Well that would be child's play for whoever was in charge of trying to make the Marvel UK continuity function in the early days. I can't help but think that the field of theoretical physics lost out on a great mind. Mighty World of Marvel #49 Carrying on in the tradition of last week's cover we have a reworking of the cover of Fantastic Four #112 by John Buscema and Frank Giacoia. I quite like the change from the original solid background to this almost watercolour cityscape. After three weeks of Avengers stories passing themselves off as Hulk tales, it is the turn of the Fantastic Four to sacrifice their billing to the continuity gods. FF #25 steps into the breach caused by the recent introduction of the Avengers and the disruption of the Hu