1989: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: THE GREAT RAIN ROBBERY (MARVEL UK)

From 1989: an oddity from the vaults of MARVEL UK: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN in THE GREAT RAIN ROBBERY.

Published under the Marvel Books banner, this was an easy reading outing for a younger audience. It's a reworked version of the material that first appeared in SPIDEY SUPER STORIES issue 15, published back in early 1976.

As you'll see from the back cover below, this was part of a range of similar softcover books issued by the British Bullpen at the time. They would have been sold in book departments and stores rather than with the comics and magazines.

I particularly like that this one - which i found a couple of years ago in a secondhand store - still has the Woolworths reduction sticker attached. A double whammy of nostalgia.

I don't recall seeing these promoted in the regular comics of the time although it's entirely possible that house ads were restricted to titles I wasn't reading... like THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS.

Ironically, this appeared during the extended hiatus between the end of SPIDER-MAN AND ZOIDS and the launch of THE COMPLETE SPIDER-MAN.

1987: MARVEL UK ANNOUNCES THE CLOSURE OF SPIDER-MAN AND ZOIDS

From February 1987: MARVEL UK announce the impending closure of SPIDER-MAN AND ZOIDS one week after announcing that the ZOIDS strip would be spun off into a solo title.

1987: MARVEL UK ANNOUNCE THE LAUNCH OF ZOIDS MONTHLY

From February 1987: Marvel UK announces the impending launch of the new ZOIDS monthly in the pages of SPIDER-MAN AND ZOIDS issue 49.

1987: SPIDER-MAN AND ZOIDS ISSUES 49-51 (MARVEL UK)

From February 1987: the end of an era... The last issues of SPIDER-MAN AND ZOIDS and the end of a (near) continuous British run for the Web Slinger stretching back to 1972 (and, indeed, earlier).

SPIDER-MAN had, unsurprisingly, been one of the "big three" (along with the Hulk and the Fantastic Four) which launched THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL back in 1973. Six months later, he graduated to his own weekly which - through numerous title and format changes - ran for 666 issues until December 1985 (although many would say it ended when it morphed into the unloved juvenile THE SPIDER-MAN COMIC earlier in the year).

After a three-month hiatus, Spidey returned to anchor this new weekly, sharing his billing with Tomy's ZOIDS toys. A sign of the times.

SM&Z was an attractive weekly read with two strong title strips and a rotating third slot which flip-flopped between experimenting with new strips and providing a last resting place for one-time top sellers which had fallen on hard times.

However, because the contemporary Spider-man strips were readily available through imports sold in comic book stores and newsagents, the real attation was the originated Zoids strip. From humble beginnings as a promotional insert across the range, it had established itself in a brief pre-Christmas run in SECRET WARS.

The next stage of evolution was to have been to spin the strip off into its own standalone monthly which could be sold on both sides of the Atlantic. However, don't bother searching the 50p boxes for back issues... something changed at the last minute and Marvel abandoned the plan (and, presumably not coincidentally, scrapped the run of Collected Comics specials as well) leaving the completed first issue to languish in a Bullpen filing cabinet.

Such was the dire state of superhero publishing at the time that Marvel felt that a solo Spidey title simply could not survive. The cancellation of the weekly, after less than a year, not only marked the end of an era for one character but also ended, for several years, any ongoing superhero comics published by the British Bullpen. They simply no longer fitted with a publishing plan governed by licensed properties. It's telling that the anthology THE MARVEL BUMPER COMIC only occasionally flirted with superheroes and, when it did, it was to pilot the appeal of the Green Goliath ahead of the launch of THE INCREDIBLE HULK PRESENTS. That weekly lasted a mere twelve issues.

London Editions renewed their association with DC Comics and stepped in with a range of titles anchored by BATMAN and SUPERMAN. Some ran for years, some only months, but the line did enjoy reasonable success.

Marvel waited until 1990 to launch the bumper-sized four-weekly THE COMPLETE SPIDER-MAN which found its niche by cramming together the ongoing US books in a
value-for-money precursor to today's COLLECTOR'S EDITION range (launched, in the dying days of Marvel UK, in 1995).

Spider-man had made his official UK comics debut in the pages of Odham's POW weekly, beginning with the first issue, in January 1967. The strip also appeared in the dying days of TV21 towards the end of the decade.

1986: SPIDER-MAN AND ZOIDS ISSUES 27-30 (MARVEL UK)

From September 1986: the next four issues of MARVEL UK weekly SPIDER-MAN AND ZOIDS.

The first three issues of the month continued to publish just the two titular strips with the extra pages freed up by dropping the third feature allocated to the Spidey reprints. The Zoids strip, with its weekly deadlines and higher origination costs, was restricted to its traditional page count. 

Issue 30 boasted both a revised cover design (possibly intended to make the masthead less unwieldy, although the size and prominence of the toy logo looks locked and possibly contractual, leaving Spider-man to suffer the shrinkage) and the return of the third strip. 

The cynic in me suspects that STAR BRAND was selected because it just happened to be written by Jim Shooter, the US Editor In Chief who was a recurring visitor to the British Bullpen during his period at the top. What better way to keep the New York office happy than to reprint Shooter's strips? The concurrent SECRET WARS II was also one of his. 

It also demonstrated, along with the SPITFIRE AND THE TROUBLESHOOTERS strip in THE TRANSFORMERS, that the British Bullpen were backing the NEW UNIVERSE. The new publishing line contracted and then collapsed soon after Shooter was shown the door by Marvel's new corporate owners (New World) and Marvel UK dropped both strips as soon as it looked dignified to do so. 

1979: SPIDER-MAN STRIKES BACK and THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD Double-bill

From April 1979: a UK print ad for the theatrical double-bill of SPIDER-MAN STRIKES BACK (compiled from episodes of the brief CBS series) paired with THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD.

This was presumably concocted to give the kids something to do during the Easter holidays. The fact that they were released a week apart depending on which side of the Thames you lived suggests that the finite number of prints were hauled off the projectors after a week, chucked in the back of an Odeon van and sent south to new (temporary) homes. 

1986: SPIDER-MAN AND ZOIDS ISSUES 1-4 (MARVEL UK)

From thirty (!) years ago this month: the first four issues (all on sale in March 1986) of Marvel London's SPIDER-MAN AND ZOIDS weekly.

The previous year had not been kind to the web-slinger's long-running weekly (once the flagship of the British line but now looking distinctly unloved). Distribution had got so bad that copies seldom surfaced in any newsagent and the only way to be sure of a copy was to place a special order. Several format changes (tweaking page counts, paper stock and colour pages) had taken place in quick succession. 

A radical relaunch as THE SPIDER-MAN COMIC (latterly SPIDEY COMIC, a spec title that Dez Skinn had mocked up a few years earlier as an entry level book for younger readers) pitched the weekly at a younger audience and 'encouraged' established readers to shift their loyalties to the new SECRET WARS launch. The reboots were not a success and the 666th issue, published in early December 1985, was the last.

But that finale did promise a reboot in the new year. And this was it. The Spider-man stories returned to the present continuity (or a convoluted  British version thereof) and an older audience. And they were packaged with more commercially appealing fare which satisfied the current corporate mantra that a toy tie-in was essential for success. And two would be even better. 

Marvel's first encounters with the Zoids had been in two strip inserts across the range (see posts previous) which must have been well enough received for Tomy and Marvel to book them in for a finite regular booking in the (increasingly packed) pages of Secret Wars. Clearly a success, the UK originated strip was shuffled again to become a regular herein. Make no mistake, despite the masthead, this bunch of warring machines were the main attraction herein.   

The last issue of the original run teased this return to form and promised that the Fantastic Four would take the third slot in this all-colour 24-pager (the so called "Get Along Gang" format). However, Marvel encountered industry resistance from a newstrade resistant to superhero fare. So the back-up strip (the first of a succession) was allocated to SECTAURS, another American toy line (and, very briefly, a TV animation) which combined action figures with glove puppets. The reprint hailed, logically enough, from the first US issue. 

Over the next few weeks STARLOGGED will chart all 51 (yup... this wasn't a rousing success) issues of this interesting little run. 

Issue one came with a Zoids photo-poster (basically a photo of the toys) with spaces for stickers. The first sticker was cover-mounted (lost from this copy) with more stickers loosely inserted in the following issues starting with week three. The second issue was bagged with a TRANSFORMERS sticker album and starter stickers (that tried and tested wheeze) adapted from the cartoon series. The third issue featured more stickers to seal the deal. 

1976: PLANET OF THE APES & SPIDER-MAN CARDBOARD FIGURES

From the simpler 1970s: Giant, if you are a child, cardboard cutouts of your fave heroes: SPIDER-MAN and Cornelius from PLANET OF THE APES.

I can't quite comprehend as to how these could be "frightening" (except to grandparents with little grasp of anything post-war), especially as these were the good guys, but top marks to the advertising masterminds for making them sound as exciting as possible. And I bet they do look pretty neat. 

This one-pager appeared in Marvel New York's black & white mags. 

1984: QUESTPROBE ISSUE 2 mini-comic (Marvel UK)

From 1984: Another unsung oddity from the MARVEL UK pantheon... The A5 second (and probably final) British issue of QUESTPROBE.  The Annex had previously published the first issue as a one-shot colour magazine, with minimal promotion in the regular line.

This follow-up looks like it was produced specifically as an in-pack item for the game and not sold separately. 

It reprints the full US issue and also included several pages of game tips, character notes and a guide to loading the game (for Spectrum 48K, Commodore 64, BBC Model B, Atari and Dragon 32K).

It promises the FANTASTIC FOUR in the third issue but, because Marvel's partner, Scott Adams, went out of business the following year its unlikely to have ever appeared on this side of the Atlantic. The third issue, which actually starred just the Thing and the Human Torch, did see print in the States.

The fourth US issue was scuppered by the bankruptcy but Marvel, not ones to leave paid-for inventory to gather dust, eventually reworked it for MARVEL FANFARE 33 in 1987. 

Marvel and Adams' Adventure International had planned 12 releases but faltered after three games.

1986: SPIDER-MAN AND ZOIDS House Ad (Marvel UK)

From March 1986: a MARVEL UK House Ad for the early issues of the new SPIDER-MAN AND ZOIDS weekly.

1982: SPIDER-MAN Issue 500 (Marvel UK)

From October 1982: MARVEL UK's SPIDER-MAN (the first time that simple-and-to-the-point title was used on the UK weekly) issue 500.

I'm sure I've posted this celebratory issue before (500 issues is nothing to be sniffed at) but I recently stumbled across a copy with the free metal pin badge still attached.  And it only cost me a pound.

So... here it is again...

1980: WH SMITH MATCHBOX AND CORGI TOYS ADVERT from LOOK-IN

From August 1980: A one-page WH SMITH (love the old 'box' logo... still on the doors of the Cardiff branch... and no doubt throughout the chain with notoriously threadbare carpets and weather-worn stores) advert promoting Corgi and Matchbox toys.

There's a lot of classics on show here, all of these were playground staples in the Star Age and I personally had (and may still have... tucked away in a loft somewhere) the Superman van (and a pink Charlie's Angels variation), the James Bond Lotus, the Wonder Woman buggy (containing a butch-looking WW whom my mum compared to a "Red Indian"), the Batmobile (hard to believe the TV show was already a decade old at this point but ownership of the toy was still a playtime prerequisite) and - best of all - the Supermobile (as plugged in the comic book itself) with spring-loaded "punching fists' feature. 

This advert appeared in a copy of LOOK-IN. 

1983: MARVEL UK WINTER SPECIALS House Ad

From 1983: A MARVEL UK House Ad for that year's WINTER SPECIALS.

The rarest of the bunch is, unsurprisingly, the TOP CAT edition (spun-off from the equally hard-to-find weekly) which I don't think I have seen in-the-flesh. 

Despite the AMAZING FRIENDS title (the same masthead the weekly was carrying at the time), there's no sign of Ice Man and Firestar in the Spider-man edition.  It's justified by the inclusion of the New Mutants (possibly making their UK debut) instead. 

1974: MARVEL UK GOES GLOSSY House Ad

From January 1974: Another Mighty Marvel UK landmark moment: glossy covers!

I always think of glossy covers and the defining feature of British Marvel.  They always helped the line standout when racked alongside the IPC and DCT weeklies and their (usually) bargain-basement production standards (of course, they were investing a lot more in originating new material rather than just recycling from the States).

So, it's easy to forget that in the early (and late) Seventies, Marvel's British weeklies had newsprint covers.  THE AVENGERS, their third launch (September 1973), was the first to dabble in the new format... and their two existing titles followed at the turn of the year.  

Glossy covers and 36-page interiors remained the default format (with a few exceptions: CAPTAIN BRITAIN sacrificed the glossy covers in favour of colour interior pages, FURY deliberately aped the low-fi formats of its war rivals and STAR WARS WEEKLY sliced four pages to make life easier for the pushed-for-filler Bullpen and to recoup the costs of the license) until the Marvel Revolution of 1979 tried to make Marvel's comics look the same as all the others.  

STAR WARS WEEKLY and DOCTOR WHO WEEKLY retained their glossy exteriors throughout the Revolution (because it allowed them to showcase stills to catch the attention of casual browsers) and shiny covers returned (coinciding with the start of the SPIDER-MAN live-action TV show in the UK) in late 1981.  

They remained, with the occasional exception (the experimental THE THING IS BIG BEN), throughout the rest of the history of the Annex of Ideas... although some formats were more glossy than others. 

1983: MARVEL UK FREE GIFTS

From 1983: More gifts direct from the hallowed halls of MARVEL UK.  

The launch of a new weekly was always a good excuse for three to four weeks of gifts (kids today don't know they were born... dozens of gifts with EVERY issue!), usually of decreasing cost to the publisher as the weeks wore on.  With two new titles on the go (THE MIGHTY THOR... swiftly followed by THE X-MEN), there were even more goodies to be had.  

However, Marvel obviously didn't want readers to start defecting from SPIDER-MAN (or wanted to replace any that bailed out) so they also pushed the boat out for a Spidey pin-badge.  

Gifts galore!

1978: THE SPIDER-MAN FILM IN THE UK (Marvel UK)

From 1978: Coverage from the SPIDER-MAN weekly of a special suspiciously sexist cinema screening of the first (of three) Spidey faux feature films.  

I'm loving the Spider-Mobile!

This appeared in issue 272, 26 April 1978. 

1978: IRON MAN House Ad (Marvel UK)

From August 1978: MARVEL UK announces the return of Iron Man, in the pages of THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL.  As well as his continuing slot in the Avengers... currently booked into the pages of Spider-man's weekly. 

I imagine some readers had to re-read this... it does, at first glance, look awfully like the announcement of an IM solo title. 

1981: SPIDER-MAN RELAUNCH House Ad (Marvel UK)

 

From 1981: Another impending relaunch for MARVEL UK's venerable SPIDER-MAN weekly.  This time cannily timed to coincide with the long-delayed debut of the live-action CBS TV show on ITV... a marketing opportunity too good to resist (even if the new title, SUPER SPIDER-MAN TV COMIC, did sound like an odd amalgam of past incarnations and a long-running rival).

 

Oddly... they neglect to mention that the new format would see the return of glossy covers... and glossy centre pages for the first time.  

It would also mean the departure of the rag-bag of recent mergers (HULK and MARVEL TEAM-UP) which were filling the back pages and making for a very unwieldy (and not very accurate) masthead. 

1983: THE DAREDEVIL POSTER/ PLUG (Marvel UK)

From 1983: MARVEL UK devoted the centre-spread of SPIDER-MAN issue 533 for a glossy plug for their DAREDEVILS monthly.

Come to think of it... it does look pretty appealing.

This appeared in May and DD was defunct by November.  It mustered only 11 issues before folding into THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL. 

1994: SPIDER-MAN TV VHS COMPETITION (Marvel UK)

From 1994: a blast back, courtesy of MARVEL UK's THE EXPLOITS OF SPIDER-MAN, to the Seventies... and a chance to win a VHS re-release of the SPIDER-MAN movie (AKA the TV pilot). 

Even before the Sony movie series, these TV outings looked a little - ahem - under-resourced so I doubt many fans in 1994 were swept away by the show's sophistication.

These were a mainstay of the VHS era with several re-releases for all three films before the format died.  They would be relied upon to surface in most Woolworth's Home Entertainment departments.  With no DVD release, charity shops are now your best bet...

This appeared in issue 26, 21 September 1994.