Week Ending Feb. 17, 1973

It is a big week in the history of Marvel UK, single titles came and went in the 1970s British comic market with little more staying power than the winners of a Simon Cowell hosted TV talent show, but with the release of Mighty World of Marvel's sister title, we get a hint of the House of Ideas' ambition to dominate UK newsagent shelves. Was the UK ready? Are we ready to find out if it was?

Mighty World of Marvel #20

We are at least two years away from my younger self picking up an issue of MWOM, but we now have a lineup that I would have been familiar with. I have no statistics to back it up, but I would bet this cover shifted a few extra copies.

The Hulk is still in the communist state of Bodavia, continuing his less than thrilling adventures. As I have previously mentioned, I am not a converted Ditko fan, however my sympathies are with those that are this week as Frank Giacola inks outright murder his pencils here. We do get a more traditionally recognisable Hulk though complete with "Hulk smash" type dialogue.

As promised on the cover we get a new star to fill in for the recently promoted Spider-Man in the form of Daredevil. We are treated to the origin of The Man Without Fear, a story that feels far less compressed than our three previous origin tales. Obviously it is still a bit daft and reliant on "radiation did it" plotting, but the story feels far better conceived and filled-out. The Bill Everett art is a joyous revelation too. 

Stan and Jack continue to phone it in for the Fantastic Four, though they do make what I assume is their first in-universe cameo when Dr Doom uses them as pawns in his latest plot. We receive a more comprehensive retelling of how Doom escaped his meteor-bound fate at the hands of the FF, than the ret-conned version in the pages of Spider-Man only a couple of weeks previous. An encounter with egg-headed aliens, amusingly named the "Ovoids", sees Dr Doom handed technology that allows him to swap bodies. New power in hand, Doom feels the body best suited to test this on is the rubbery one of Mr Fantastic. I feel confident that next week's installment will be full of Freaky Friday style hi-jinks.

Spider-Man Comics Weekly #1

If you were fortunate enough to have the additional 5p of disposable income from your pocket money for Marvel UK's latest release, what did it get you?

For starters you were spoiled with a full-length Spider-Man story featuring the first appearance of Electro. The story itself is the now standard Spidey fare of our hero defeating the villain after a first round pasting, using a combination of super powers and Peter Parker's science credentials. We are also reminded that despite what the movies versions would have us believe, Betty Brant was Peter's first love interest. Stan also makes a foray into the thorny issues of the cost of healthcare and the power of fake news, which is obviously a welcome change from the young Mr Parker feeling sorry for himself, which of course happens too.

The second strip in our new weekly is the origin of Thor, as mentioned earlier, a lot of these origin stories feel extremely hurried, you can tell there is an urgency to get on with the action before the reader loses interest. This is one such tale, no sooner are we introduced Dr Donald Blake, than his holiday in Norway is interrupted by aliens. Before he even has a chance to worry if his holiday insurance will cover this eventuality, he discovers a magic walking stick that transforms him into the Norse god of thunder. To be fair, something similar happened to me in Ayia Napa once. Like the Hulk before him, this early iteration of Thor isn't quite the one we are used to, but lets hope Stan and Jack get a more speedy grip on the character than was the case with the jade giant.