It's a Marvellous world - Marvel Annual 1973

Marvel Annual 1973

Published  Autumn 1972 

If you were a good boy or girl back in 1972 you might have been lucky enough to receive the Marvel Annual in your stack of presents on Christmas morning. A hard backed book with 128 pages packed with Marvel adventures starring the likes of the Hulk, Spider-man and the Fantastic Four, as well as a sword and sorcery tale about a character called Conan the barbarian! 128 pages all for just 65 pence! Now that's value, although MWOM cost 5 pence for 40 pages, less than a third of the annual so maybe it wasn't but with the hard covers I still feel it was well worth it as a Christmas treat! 

This annual was published under licence from Marvel Comics Group via Magazine Management London Ltd. by IPC Magazines as part of its Fleetway Annual brand in the Autumn of 1972 just in time for the Christmas sales period. Some information states that it was released on the 1st September 1972 but I can't find any hard evidence to collaborate that fact. An advert for the annual did appear in the Mighty World of Marvel issue 10 on the 9th December 1972 as a sales push, stating that the Marvel Annual 1973 was "crammed with thrilling, gripping adventures starring the one and only Spider-man, the Hulk and the Fantastic Four." but no mention of Conan!  

Marvel Annual 1973 advert from the Mighty World of Marvel #10.

Seasonal Marvel Annuals had appeared in the UK before, the Marvel Story Book Annual 1968 (published in 1967) and the Marvel Comic Annual 1970 (published in 1969) were both produced by World Distributors (Manchester) Limited, while the 1971 Marvel Comic Annual (published in 1970) could also have been produced by World Distributors but as I don't possess a copy of that seasonal treat so I'll have to take the internets word for it. Fleetway then took over the annual fun with the 1973 and 1974 editions before World Distributors returned with their 1975 and 1976 versions and from 1977 to 1979 the three annuals were titled The Mighty World of Marvel, in keeping with the weekly comic.

The cover, a homage to a panel from the first featured Hulk strip "The terror of the Toad Men" originally by Jack Kirby with inks by Steve Ditko, is beautifully painted by an unknown artist. Yeah the Hulk does look skinny, but the detail of the solders is wonderful. Although I'm not completely sure about the military regulation footwear! Are those Cuban heeled shoes they're wearing? The artists identity could be López Espí, a Spanish artist born in Barcelona 1937 and well known for his beautiful painted posters of Marvel superheroes which were offered for sale in the early years of Marvel UK. He did work for DC Thomson on its Commando title and for Fleetway on Air Ace, Battle, Roxy, Marilyn and Valentine titles, so it's possible he may have created this cover, however I'm again unable to find concrete evidence proving my "very weak" theory, so the artist must remain unknown. 

On the whole the annual follows very closely the format of the Mighty World of Marvel, even using stories that had only just been printed in current  and near future issues. The annual would have started as a project in the summer of 1972, while MWOM was in its planning stages too. Rob Kirby (Marvel UK historian) and Dez Skinn (comic and magazine producing legend) have discussed on the internet that the original MWOM title was going to be "The Wonderful World of Marvel" before a late change, which may have inspired a text feature in this annual. How close were the two companies working? Well I'm sure I've read somewhere that IPC (Fleetways parent company) were interested in doing a comic that would feature Marvel characters, which may have been in the planning stages before Marvel Comics Group decided to set up its own company in the UK, named Magazine Management London Limited. I may have dreamt that so please don't take my word for it. The truth is probably lost in the sands of time after 50 years. I'm hoping that Rob Kirby gets to finish his book on the history of Marvel UK soon so I can buy that epic volume and get to the bottom of that mystery. (Come on Rob, when can I buy a signed copy?)

The inside front covers, like so many annuals would do, sported artwork, this annual showcased Namor The Sub-Mariner, the mighty Thor and the Hulk, unsigned by the artist but I feel they're the work of Jack Kirby but I could well be wrong. 

The first Hulk story in this volume is a tale of the Hulk's first encounter with "The terror of the Toad Men", by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, first published in The Incredible Hulk #2 (US) from 1962, which was also printed in MWOM #3 from 21st October 1972 for British readers. Stan and Jack's signatures have been removed from the bottom left of the main splash panel for some reason. This story is presented in full, but only in black and white, while the weekly version ran over two issues and featured green shading over the black and white artwork with some full colour pages. 

The second strip belonged to Conan the barbarian! A change from the rest of the annuals contents as this strip was relatively new, having been originally been printed in Conan the barbarian issue 5 (US) from May 1971. The story titled "Zukala's daughter" was written by Roy Thomas and drawn by British born Barry Smith, later known as Barry Windsor Smith, inspired by the poem "Zukala's Hour" by Robert E Howard. Again the credits are removed from the bottom of the splash page and drawn over by a "bodger" filling in the lower half of the dog and the street pavement. Robert E Howard's credit box is left in, well to remove that would be sacrilege. The tale is basically about a town held to ransom by a sorcerer  Zukala and his shape-shifting daughter Zephra. It's a cracking tale, but if you didn't get to see it in this volume you would have to wait till the 5th of April 1975 for it to appear in Conan's own British weekly comic - The Savage Sword of Conan. I've always thought that Sword and Sorcery stories would work well in a British market, sadly Conan's first comic only lasted 18 weeks. His second attempt did last longer, but that's a story for another blog.

"It's a 'Marvellous' World", a clever pun that! But also the first text feature, basically a list of the crazy character that live in the world of Marvel, from the well known Spider-man, Hulk and the Fantastic Four to the less well known (at least to the British MWOM readers) like Iron-man, Daredevil, Thor Giant-man and Dr. Strange among others. Some hints are given on what they'll be like, plus what's to come. Something that Marvel UK would try to avoid in the pages of MWOM to the extent of removing or changing names and even editing out panels that might feature those characters who have yet to been featured in the core strips.
 

The the only strip to not appear in just black and white thanks to its wonderful red shading was Spider-man in "The uncanny threat of the Terrible Tinkerer!" by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Once again the edits are rubbed out of the splash page. This story had only just been printed in issue 6 of MWOM from the 11th of November 1972. 

The only feature to appear in black, white and red was "The secrets of Spider-man!" A fact feature from the Amazing Spider-man Annual issue 1 (US) from 1964, written by Stan Lee and drawn by Steve Ditko. This feature world re-appear in many other annuals and Marvel UK comics through the years. It had previously cropped up in MWOM #11 on the 16th December 1972, although at a shorter length.

 "The birth of the... Fantastic Four" was basically a retelling of Stan Lee's Fantastic Four origin story rendered this time by an unknown writer with numerous Jack Kirby panels from the original strip illustrating the context. British annuals always had text stories, I think policy was designed as to not unset parents who would prefer their children to read books not comics. Well parents we do both!

Just to keep the kids happy the next strip was a good old fashioned Fantastic Four comic strip, "Prisoners of Kurrgo, Master of Planet X!" by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. A story that if you were reading this annual just after Christmas you may not have seen, however if you waited till the new year you may have read MWOM issue 14 (6th January 1973) were the first instalment appeared, which might've come as disappointment to those who had only just read the weekly version or the other way round depending on what ever one you read first as the other would've felt like you'd been cheated.

"Beauty and the beast!" the Hulk tales from MWOM #9 (2rd December 1972)  gets its second outing of the year, second  time if you were reading this after Christmas morning as a gift and not during the Autumn days of 72. Again the credit box had been rubbed out, so the reader of this version wouldn't know that Stan Lee scripted it, Jack Kirby draw it and Dick Ayers inked it. 

Another feature jam packed with spoilers but also numerous interesting facts about the many rogues Spider-man had encountered and will encounter in upcoming tales in MWOM during 1973 and maybe in other "weekly comics" too (well if this annual was crammed with spoilers I thought why not one more cryptic tease). "The amazing Spider-man's gallery of famous foes" starts with the lowdown on The Tinkerer, who the reader would have read about previously in the annual. The feature then goes on to account the skirmishes with the Vulture, the Chameleon, Doctor Octopus and the Lizard. Then it teases us about clashes with the Living Robot, the Fantastic Four foe (try saying that after on to many Christmas sherries,) Doctor Doom, the Green Goblin and Kraven the Hunter. There are very brief mentions of the Rhino, the Scorpion, Mysterio and Electro too.

The Scorpion features in the second Spider-man story "The coming of the Scorpion!" A new story (to MWOM readers anyway) that encounter the origin of Mac Gargan's rampaging alter-ego. British comic readers would have to wait till the 19th of May 1973 to see this story in issue 14 of a new comic staring Spider-man. OK I'll let the spider out of the bag, 1973 sees the launch of the web-slingers own comic titled "Spider-man Comics Weekly", There you go my Christmas present to you all, a glance to the future.

 Yeah I know I write like Marvel characters are just appearing in British comics for the first time, but lets pretend that that MWOM was the start of it and the 60's Power Comic didn't exist, as good as they were and they were VERY good, it's a fact they shaped what Marvel UK would become, but to many of the  70's readership Marvel UK was new and unique.

     The inside back covers feature another glance of the future, with two characters who'll star in next years Marvel Annual, Giant-man and the Wasp! As a Christmas present this annual offered young readers Marvel thrills that would last right into the new year and beyond. Many Mighty World of Marvel readers may have felt cheated a little with the many MWOM repeats, but I can't fail to notice that this book sets my nostalgia levels to a high "10"! The readers of the annual would go out and find the weekly comic to continue their literary adventure and the regular weekly reader would treasure this hardback edition, pride of place on their bookshelves for years to come. 

Merry Christmas and happy reading everyone, see you in 12 months (or sooner if you follow my weekly blog!)

Make Mine Marvel!

  

   

A Mighty Merry Marvel Christmas

 The Mighty World of Marvel #13

Week Ending 30th December 1972

The Mighty World of Marvel #13 would've hit the newsagents on the Christmas Eve in 1972 and if you were lucky enough to have parents who ordered it every week the paper boy/girl would deliver it with the Christmas Eve edition of what ever newspaper was your families choice. A merry Marvel-ous treat before the big jolly man in red came. (And no I don't mean Deadpool!) Another great cover by Jim Starlin and Joe Sinnott (I really love Starlin's Thing) but there's nothing to single it out as a Christmas edition apart from the header text that informs us that "Inside: A special Bullpen Christmas greetings!" 

The Hulk story originally appeared in Tales to Astonish volume 1 Issue 60,  the first issue of that comic where the Hulk would share the starlight with Giant-man after his own comic was cancelled, meaning that he'd only have half the page count, a change from his previous comic page count where he would have around 20 or so pages a month. That meant that now MWOM would print a complete story every week instead of half a story a week. This week Banner/Hulk would struggle between transformations induced by chemical reactions caused by stress and relaxation allowing him to revert back to human or monster states. The story line this week revolves around an experimental robot designed by Banner that is stolen by a mysterious spy (whose identity we'll find out in future stories). Bruce is blamed for the theft until the very end of the story when he's found the worse for wear after he changed back to normal while the robot continued on its rampage.  It's a fine story, if not a little on the short side, mainly because it's missing some of the padding that came with the Hulk's original comic tales. Of which some of that padding came from Rick Jones, whose's missing this issue, possibly in a change of style where a teenage side kick wasn't required. 

 One of the things that sprung to mind when I read this comic today was the fact that General Ross used  a "Drone Tank" to over-power the robot. Drone planes and drone vehicles are used in modern warfare but did Stan Lee invent the idea of a drone vehicle back in 1964 (when this story was first written) or was that a concept very much around at that time?

 

This weeks mail bag contain only three letters, but they were of larger size than previous weeks. Terry Harrison from Surrey wrote about how the Hulk reminded him of Frankenstein's Monster and suggested that his stories could follow the classic Frankenstein films with titles such as "The Hulk", "Bride of the Hulk" and "The Curse of the Hulk"! A female Hulk, now would that catch on? John Stevenson tells us that he's the envy of Haywards Heath in Sussex because of his Hulk t-shirt. Finally Nigel Jones from Manchester doesn't like the Fantastic Fours new costumes, much preferring to see the members of the FF in ordinary clothes as costumes make them look childish, like "circus performers". While adding "Miss Storm" would look "smashing" in a mini-skirt.

As a special treat this issue there's a "Guest Star Page" possibly drawn by Steve Ditko, as it says in the text "drawn in the somewhat different Ditko style!" Strangely enough Steve Ditko had been drawing the Hulk for some time and Spider-man from the very beginning, so I'm not sure it's all that different. Ditko's FF definitely aren't as good as Jack Kirby's version.

Spider-man's adventure, the second part of our heroes first encounter with the Lizard, uses a splash page made from an adapted "A gallery of Spider-man's most famous foes" page first seen in the Amazing Spider-man Annual issue 1 from 1964 as shown on the right next to the 1972 MWOM page on the left. The story continues from last week as Spidey rescues Billy Connors from his transformed father. 

Using Curt Connors own formula and Peter Parkers limited high school science major knowledge the web slinger makes an antidote in an effort to change the scientist back to his human form. But first he has to negotiate the swamp, which he does with the aid of web "swamp-shoes"! A very novel use of web fluid! 

After a showdown set at an abandoned Spanish fort between the Lizard with his army of alligators and our hero. Spider-man makes the Lizard take his medicine. Sure enough the serum works and the Doctor is reunited with his family. Peter makes up a story to Jonah Jameson about an old Indian guide who faked the whole man-lizard thing. A very "Christmasy ending", maybe, apart from the fact that Peter doesn't get the girl in the end. The final panel of this strip is an addition to the British comic as it states that next issue Spidey would fight Doctor Doom in a "battle you never expected to see!" Although that tale should have been printed before this story and continuity wise Doom would have three more altercations with the Fantastic Four that have yet to be printed in MWOM before that story.

Stan Lee "Sounds off" as the Human Torch and the Thing wish all the Merry Marvel readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! In his seasonal soapbox Stan bigs up the 1972 Marvel Annual (dated 1973) as if it was published by Magazine Management London Ltd, (the publishers of MWOM and the forerunners of Marvel UK) which wasn't the case as IPC under the name of Fleetway Annuals produced that annual. To be fair they did so under licence from Marvel so good sales of that annual would improve future deals as well as help sell MWOM more issue on the back of fans reading their yuletide  present after the festive season had ended. But more about that Annual soon! 

 The Fantastic Four's Hall of Infamy feature, originally from the Fantastic Four Annual #1 from 1963, is also a promotion for next weeks FF adventure, where the fab four encounter the Master of Planet X- Kurrgo!

 

The Fantastic Four find out that they are trapped by Doctor Doom in an act of science fiction craziness (uprooting the Baxter Building from it's foundations in a gravity defying feat with only the aid of a "Magnetic Grabber" and specially developed craft that takes the skyscraper beyond Earth atmosphere on a journey toward the Sun.) that has anyone's suspension of disbelieve at a hard pressed level to hold. It's still a classic in as long as you can engage your inner 70's child imagination. 

Namor soon realises that he too is caught in the same trap as the FF by that "double crossing dog" Doctor Doom. He offers is aid to the FF, dons a space helmet and after a quick strength enhancing shower he makes a colossal leap into the unknown, to reach Dooms space craft and take on the evil genius.

  More science bending feats by Namor, like hopping on a passing meteor shower to reach Doom, ripping the ship outer hull and releasing the ships atmosphere yet Doom is unaffected by the loss of air (maybe his armour has its own supply), the Sub-Mariner absorbing a high voltage electrical current to sends it back against the armour clad monarch with shocking results and then having the King of Atlantis pilot the craft with the Baxter Building in tow back to Earth to set it down in exactly the right spot that it originally was found. An absolute miracles but not as much as how the electrical wiring, phone lines and plumbing gets repaired. Which isn't as incredible as Doctor Doom escaping into deep space on a passing meteor! All in a weeks work for the imaginations of Stan and Jack.

Let's face it all that isn't as far fetched as a man who delivers gifts to all the good children around the world during one night, in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer. And Father Christmas is real, right?   

So as you read this I'll wish you a Merry Marvel Christmas and a Happy Hero-full New Year.

See you in seven! (Or maybe sooner-no spoilers, keep following this blog.)

Make Mine Marvel!

 

   

Swamp spawned might and deadly duos!

 The Mighty World of Marvel #12

Week Ending 23th December 1972

Twas the week before Christmas and all was quiet in the house, as kids back in 1972 were engrossed in the latest issue of the Mighty World of Marvel. The twelfth issue didn't feel any more Christmasy than the previous 11 issues but it was jam packed full of Marvel goodness. Spider-man take up the majority of this Jim Starlin/Joe Sinnott cover with his first encounter with the Lizard. After 12 covers this is only the third time that the web-slinger has got top billing, the second that it shows him with a super villain encounter. In my opinion Spider-man makes an excellent cover star and would definitely encourage young fans to part with their five pence pocket money in exchange for this treasure trove of Marvel goodness. A sign of good things to come may be...in February may be...

 I said that there was no sign of Christmas on this weeks cover, but if you squint at Spider-man the white and red "Spider-sense" halo does look a little like a "Santa hat"! Or is that just me?

Hulk continues his battle against the mighty of the Metal Master this issue with a splash page which is a recycled cover of The Incredible Hulk volume 1 issue 6 by Steve Ditko, the issue that this story is taken from. All that's changed is an added text box at the lower right hand side.

The Metal Master rampages across the globe with even the Russians attacking him with missiles and jet fighter planes, but all to no affect. With the help of Rick Jones and his Teen Brigade the Hulk builds a new powerful weapon to defeat the alien fiend. How the Hulk manages to master the task is smoothly (or may be slightly ham-fistedly) covered up with a line straight from the Stan Lee hand book of plot get out lines, given by Rick to the Hulk..."It's a good thing you remember most of Bruce Banner's scientific knowledge." Well that sorted that problem out! The nationwide network of Teen Brigade members locate the metal controlling Master and pass that information on the the Hulk who leaps off to Washington DC to make his grand stand with the alien. When the Metal Master is unable to destroy the weapon the Hulk over powers the would be conquer and sends the fiend back to his own world. The Hulk admits to the local Teen Brigade members that he fooled the Metal Master with a fake weapon made from nothing but wood and plastic that was unaffected by his metal controlling powers. Quite gullible that Metal Master. The story neatly finishes off with the Gamma Ray Projector struggling to turn the Hulk back into Banner until a delayed reaction and Bruce meeting up with Betty Ross for a night time romantic date after he makes his excuses for his disappearance during the conflict.

In this weeks mail Leeds lad, Richard Browne hatches a plan to make Peter Parker rich by acting as Spider-man's agent and sell the secret of the amazing web-fluid to the military or police force for large sums of money. Not a wise idea in my opinion, if it falls into the wrong hands it could be used for evil means. George Arthur from Ramsgate offers a more sensible money making scheme, Peter should claim credit for his amazing action packed photos and gain a reputation as a dynamic photographer to which he could charge magazine editors a higher price. Marianne Marshall from Forest Gate in London offers MWOM editors an inspiring idea for a future mystery gift in the form of a deck of Marvel themed playing cards. Now that might catch on! The final in this weeks mail bag Timothy Tyler from Bath, waxes lyrical about his favourite heroes, the Fantastic Four. 

Doctor Doom gets his own feature in "The Fantastic Four's Hall of Infamy!" with a quick reminder of the Lord of Latvaria background, if you forgotten all about the last three weeks Fantastic Four stories. To be fair there may regularly be new readers joining the Marvel revolution ever week after a visit to their local newsagents so this kind of page is always welcomed, even by a seasoned reader like myself. 

Just under Doctor Doom's re-cap page we find out which Spider-man from last weeks "Will the real Spider-man please stand up?" puzzle page was the genuine web-slinger. Turns out it was Spider-man number 7, I thought so, guess I win a no-prize just in time for Christmas.

This weeks Spider-man adventure is "The coming of...the Lizard!" from the Amazing Spider-man #6 from (cover date) November 1963 (published in August 1963). Which interestingly leads us to a Marvel UK continuity change, last issue's adventure was the final part of "Nothing can stop...the Sandman!" from ASM #4, the next US issue was #5 (cover date of September 1963, published June 1963) with a story titled "Marked for destruction by Doctor Doom!" which told of Spider-man's first encounter with the Lord of Latvaria, it was in fact Doom's sixth appearance in Marvel comics. In that issue the Doctor recounts his defeat at the hands of the Fantastic Four in events that take place in issue 17 of the Fantastic Four. This continuity change probably was made to allow the FF adventures to catch up before that tale is told. Doom had only just made his first UK appearance not three weekly issues ago and I think holding back the Spider-man vs Doctor Doom story was a wise choice. 

I've often criticised 60's Spider-man villains (or possibly Ditko 60's villains) for not really holding up in the modern world, you have to work really hard to make them realistic in a modern comic or when transferring them to the silver screen, take the Green Goblin for example. That opinion doesn't always hold true, in issue 7 I stated that even with Doctor Octopus's strange 60's villain name I kind of liked him as an antagonist. This weeks villain is another of Stan Lee's humanised adversaries, Curt Connors the Lizard. It's a great tale this week and Steve Ditko's opening splash page turns up the thrill factor with the Lizard and his army of alligators confronting the masked teenager. our tale starts when stories of a lizard man in the Everglades reach New York and the Daily Bugle prints a headline challenging Spider-man to defeat the Lizard. Parker tries to persuade Jameson to pay for a trip to Florida, but this method fails. It takes an appearance from the web-slinger in J.J.J's office to change the publisher's mind and give the go ahead for the trip but with one provision, Jameson is going to chaperone Peter.

Once in Florida Peter makes an excuse and hightails it to the Everglades to seek out a local reptile expert Curt Connors. Quickly after a brief encounter with the Lizard Spidey meets Martha Connors who explains how her husband became the reptile fiend after an attempt to regrow his missing arm though his reptile research. It's a great strength of Stan Lee that the reader has so much admiration for the antagonist. Spider-man has to defeat the villain but rescue the man behind the scales and save his family from the outfall of his condition. As she finishes her tale she hears a cry from her son, Tommy, who is terrified by the sight of his father as a reptilian monster, and then to be confronted by a swamp snake. That cliff-hanger must be concluded next week.

Last weeks readers "Ultimate Survey" is reused with a background colour change and the Thing replacing Stan Lee and the Hulk, as he states "I just found out that someone didn't answer the questions we tossed at ya last week! If you're that someone..I'm givin' ya one more chance!" Well Ben I give my views last week so don't clobber me!

The 1970's reader gets a bonus puzzle that relates to the issues Fantastic Four story as the FF must find their way though the a maze to battle deadly duo of Doctor Doom and Namor the Sub-mariner! I've seen this puzzle many times in various Marvel UK comics, of which I can't recall off the top of my head. But if you can remember give yourself a Christmas "No-prize"!

This weeks Fantastic Four adventure starts off with the Human Torch and the Invisible Girl on the look out for Doctor Doom after last issues exit. 

This lull in the action gives Jack Kirby the opportunity to draw a plan view of the fabulous foursomes head quarters, which is named the Baxter Building for the first time. Jack's floor plan shows it to have four floors, in earlier versions by Jack it is shown with five floors. Why, who knows? But later versions its again shown to have five floors as standard. The roof area is also shown to have shrubs growing around the edges, I don't think they last long, which after events that will happen next weeks issue may be why we don't see them again...spoilers! The reason why the FF haven't been able to locate the despot dictator is because he is on a mission to enlist the aid of Namor the Sub-Mariner in his plot to destroy the Fantastic Four. Doom knows which buttons to press with the Atlantean, especially when it comes to the surface worlds careless damage to his undersea kingdom, as well as his fondness for Susan Storm. Doom explains how he can help the under-sea prince get revenge on the surface world and the Fantastic Four with the aid of amazing device he calls "Grabber" which can lift vast weights with the aid of its magnetic power. Namor agrees to conceal the dismantled device in his hallow belt buckle and use it to defeat the FF. There's noway he can conceal anything in those shorts but that's a minor plot hole and lets not forget these comics were for kids. 

 

Namor wasn't the only one with feeling for their enemy, Johnny Storm finds in his sister room a photograph of Namor, hidden behind some books. Sue admits she can't explain to the rest of her teammates something she doesn't understand herself. As a kid you feel for Reed and the other two members of the FF, 'cause Sue may have a crush on the enemy, but as an adult there might be some sympathy towards Sue as matters of the heart never run true. Before you can pick who you feel for, Reed or Sue, the Sub-Mariner make his entrance as we're left to wait till next week to find out how this tale unfolds! 

Till next week, see you in seven!

Make Mine Marvel!