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...

Reading the Marvel UK reprints back in the 70s, I assumed we were just getting black and white versions of what the Americans read a decade or so before, with the odd reference changed to suit our British tastes. That was possibly true later on, but in these early issues there was quite a lot of effort put into making stories that started months or years apart originally, tie up in a new, alternative continuity. Looking back now, the success of this tinkering was a mixed bag, but it is hard not to appreciate the effort that went into hiding the joins from what would have been a largely oblivious audience. Mighty World of Marvel #39 Once again Rich Buckler and Mike Esposito are taking care of business on the cover. There, is character, action and unusually even some background this week. I wonder if these guys ever got to see their work on these covers in print after churning them out week after week? Time for a new art team and a new take on the Hulk, with Marie Severin and Frank Giaco...

Well the shops have reopened in the UK, so I guess you have the choice between an orgy of pent up consumerism and seeing what Marvel UK was offering this week in 1973. 10p worth of comics or spend three hours queuing to buy a t-shirt from Primark that won't survive its first wash for probably the same amount of money adjusted for inflation. Though I guess you could do both. Mighty World of Marvel #38 Nice cover this week from Rich Buckler and possibly Frank Giacoia, one that isn't hurt by the usual simplistic flat colouring, though I'm less sure about the strange black framing. The Hulk is on a rampage under the control of The Stranger, in order to soften up the planet for the alien superbeing to makeover as he sees fit. Though this doesn't last, as soon as Hulk returns to the missile base of his birth, he transforms into Bruce Banner and the thrall is broken. Banner realising that the threat to the Earth may return with the Hulk, quickly decides to off himself with his...

1973 beckons us once more, enough time had passed to get over the shock of the decimalisation of our pocket money and the metric system did not seem to present an immediate threat to our weekly comics, so come with me to the newsagent shelves of the past. Mighty World of Marvel #37 This week's Buckler/Esposito cover is a scratchy looking affair with poor colouring, I do wonder if bashing out the UK weekly covers was looked upon as a thankless chore among the US bullpen?  Once again the endless merry-go-round of Hulk artists takes on another passenger, this episode features none other than the great Gil Kane. I always enjoy his art, his distinctive figures and unusual angles (nostrils anyone?) are a constant pleasure to see. It is interesting to see then that his work seems a little rushed maybe, given the turnover of artists on this feature it is easy to imagine that the assignment may have landed on his desk late in the day. That said, there are still flashes of brilliance to be f...