Marvel UK
Encyclopedia
Marvel UK was an imprint
of Marvel Comics
formed in 1972
to reprint US produced stories for the British
weekly comic market, though it later did produce original material by British creators such as Alan Moore
, John Wagner
, Dave Gibbons
, Steve Dillon
and Grant Morrison
.
Panini Comics
obtained the Marvel UK license in 1995.
during the 1960s by Odhams Press
under their Power Comics
imprint. Titles such as Smash! and Fantastic featured a mix of Marvel reprint material (such as the Fantastic Four
) and original non-Marvel work. This lasted till 1969 when the last superhero strip was removed from Smash!, leaving no Marvel titles being reprinted in the UK at all.
, Marvel Comics
formed their own British publishing arm, Marvel UK (under the corporate name of Magazine Management London Ltd.). Though publishing comics in England for a British audience, Marvel UK was under the editorial direction of Marvel's New York offices, overseen by the young American writer/editor Tony Isabella
.
Starting with The Mighty World of Marvel
(commonly shortened to MWOM), Marvel UK started with black-and-white (though early issues of MWOM did feature some colour) reprints of The Hulk
, Spider-Man
, and the Fantastic Four
. MWOM proved to be a huge success, and a few months later Spider-Man Comics Weekly
was released. Again this carried on reprinted American Spider-Man material originally started in MWOM. The Mighty World Of Marvel, in one form or another, was published continuously until 1984, while the Spider-Man weekly comic (under many different name changes) would continue until 1985.
title (an imprint of Marvel); it lasted until 1977 (the final months as a co-feature of MWOM with Hulk
).
In March 1975, Marvel UK launched a new weekly title called The Super-Heroes. Although it originally starred popular characters like the Silver Surfer
and the X-Men
, it eventually began reprinting stories starring such obscure characters such as Doc Savage, Ant-Man
, The Cat
, Scarecrow
, and Bloodstone
.
Marvel UK's fifth superhero title, also debuting in 1975 (October), was The Titans, which was notable for its use of a "landscape" orientation. Although this format allowed two pages of Marvel U.S. artwork to fit onto one (magazine-sized) Marvel UK page, reader reaction was mixed, as it made the text small and often difficult to read. The Titans featured well-known characters like Captain America
, Captain Marvel, the Sub-Mariner, the Inhumans
, and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Super-Heroes lasted fifty issues before being cancelled in early 1976, at which point it was merged into Spider-Man Comics Weekly, (which changed its title to Super Spider-Man with the Super-Heroes). At this point the book also changed orientation to become a landscape-format comic like The Titans. The aforementioned Titans title ran 58 issues until late 1976, when it too was cancelled. Towards the end of its run, the Avengers
were moved over from The Mighty World of Marvel
to be The Titans' lead strip. As with The Super-Heroes, with the The Titans' cancellation it was merged with the weekly Spider-Man comic (which changed its title again, to Super Spider-Man and the Titans).
and IPC
) under the direction of editor-in-chief Neil Tennant
(later one of the Pet Shop Boys
). Tennant was responsible for anglicising
the dialogue of the comics to suit British readers, and for indicating where women needed to be redrawn more decently for the British editions.
However, with the exception of some new covers drawn by Marvel Comics
American staff, no original material had yet been produced by Marvel UK. This changed in 1976 when Captain Britain
Weekly was launched, featuring a hero created for the British market by Chris Claremont
and Herb Trimpe
. Captain Britain Weekly featured new stories in colour as well as reprints of Nick Fury
and Fantastic Four
strips as backup. It was initially a success but eventually combined with Marvel UK's Spider-Man reprint title
from #39.
Marvel UK began publishing a weekly Star Wars
title in February 1978, soon after the film
was released in the UK. The weekly issues split the stories from the US monthly issues into smaller installments, and it usually took three weekly issues to complete a US monthly issue. In May 1980 the title became known as The Empire Strikes Back Weekly, and in November 1980 it transformed into a monthly publication. Marvel UK's Star Wars comic also published original Star Wars stories by British creators as well as reprinting the US comics material. Many, but not all, of these original British stories were reprinted in the 1990s by Dark Horse Comics
. The format changed back to a weekly in June 1983 with the adaptation of Return of the Jedi (which also became the new name of the publication), and remained so until its last issue in 1986. Prior to the Return of the Jedi comic, the strips in the UK Star Wars comics were printed in black and white, even those taken from the American color versions. The UK comics also reprinted several other supporting strips in each issue from other Marvel properties (such as The Micronauts, Tales of the Watcher
, Star Lord, etc.). While the comic was in a weekly format, the supporting strips often made up the bulk of each issue.
headhunted Dez Skinn
to revamp the ailing company. Knowing Skinn had significant experience in British comic publishing, Lee gave him freedom to do what he felt best. Skinn had his own catchphrase in "Dez Sez," which was inspired by Lee's catchphrases from the 1960s. Skinn set out to change Marvel UK as he saw fit, dubbing the changes "The Marvel Revolution". The first major change he brought was to have original material produced by British creators. Many of these creators had already worked with Skinn on his title The House of Hammer a few years earlier, plus some new young talent.
Skinn wrote: “[T]raditional British comics were at the time selling 150,000+ a week, firm sale, no returns. If Marvel and Spider-Man could look British enough for some of that to rub off, everybody would be happy... But fixing the covers to resemble the non-glossy generic look of weekly anthology titles was one thing... Having “splash” pages and then five or six frames a page just didn’t stack up against Warlord, Action, Battle
, and the rest with their nine to 12 a page.” So the US artwork was re-sized to fit several pages onto one and emulate the look of the more established UK boys’ weeklies.
Skinn reasoned that Marvel superhero weeklies had been effectively competing with each other in an already crowded market. So while the Spider-Man Comic
was to be the flagship superhero comic (with Thor
, Iron Man
, Avengers
, Fantastic Four
, and Nova
), The Mighty World of Marvel
was re-launched as Marvel Comic, in the tradition of UK boys’ adventure titles. Dracula
, Conan the Barbarian
, and Skull the Slayer
joined (or re-joined) established strips Daredevil
and Hulk
(although the Hulk
was replaced three issues after the re-launch by Godzilla
, as the Hulk left for his own title).
The Hulk was a popular character – Rampage Weekly which starred The Defenders
had been added to Marvel's list of publications under Tennant's editorship as a second vehicle for the green giant – and now with his own TV series Skinn saw the Hulk as the lead feature of another adventure style comic. Hulk Comic started out with originally produced Hulk stories created by Steve Dillon
, Paul Neary
, and John Stokes
, among others, which reflected the green-skinned behemoth as depicted on the TV. Skinn explained: “As with Marvel Comic, I was wanting an adventure anthology title more than a superhero one. Super-heroes had never been big sellers in the UK, we had plenty of legends of the past to spin fantasies about. So I went that route, picking existing Marvel characters who weren’t really cut from the super-hero cloth.” Originally produced stories were included, such as Nick Fury
drawn by Steve Dillon
, and Night Raven
by Steve Parkhouse
and David Lloyd
. Also included was the Black Knight
, a minor Marvel character but revamped to take in Arthurian concepts, as well as featuring the return of Captain Britain
from comic book limbo. As well there was the usual US reprint material, such as Ant Man and in later issues the Beast
from Amazing Adventures
, and even The Defenders
were moved in from Rampage Monthly to increase the dose of Hulk action.
Arguably Skinn's most important decision was to launch Doctor Who Weekly
in 1979. Based on the BBC
TV series (which at that point had already been running for 16 years), Doctor Who Weekly featured original comics stories by John Wagner
, Pat Mills
, and Dave Gibbons
, among many others, plus articles and features on the show itself. It proved a huge success, and by now Skinn had transformed Marvel UK back to being a major publisher of not just weekly comics but monthly titles such as Starburst
. Starburst had been created by Skinn before he joined Marvel UK, but was purchased by Marvel when he joined the company.
Skinn was not happy with how creators were treated in regard to ownership of characters, so he left Marvel UK in 1980 (eventually forming Quality Communications
in 1982
). One of his last acts was to give Captain Britain
his own strip in the pages of MWOM
, as written by Dave Thorpe
and drawn by Alan Davis
. (Thorpe left in 1982, to be replaced by Alan Moore
in one of Moore's first major ongoing strips.)
, the Fantastic Four
, Star Heroes (featuring TV tie-in Battlestar Galactica
and the toy-based strip the Micronauts continued from their previous run in Star Wars Weekly), and Chiller (starring Dracula
and the Man-Thing
with occasional appearance from other horror-related characters). Following Skin’s belief that much of Marvel’s strongest material was that published in the 1960s and early 70s, many of these titles showcased strips from that period.
Skinn drew on the design of the traditional UK Picture Library titles which boomed in the 1960s to establish a definitive look for the Pocket Books. Skinn wrote that they “emulated the look in their Combat Picture Library covers... that was the look I wanted, to pull the line of pocket books together visually and make them different to any of our other titles...”
The first four titles were later joined by Hulk
, The Titans (reprinting the 1960s stories of Captain America
, Thor
and Iron Man
), Marvel Classic Comics (featuring graphic versions of novels), Conan
, and Young Romance. Some titles were not a success in terms of sales: Hulk, Conan, The Titans, Marvel Classics Comics, and Young Romance were cancelled after 13 issues, while Star Heroes (which had replaced The Micronauts with the original X-Men
from issue #10) was re-launched as X-Men Pocket Book from #14. All other Pocket Books were cancelled after issue 28 in July/August 1982.
Classic Marvel material was by no means completely abandoned after the demise of the Pocket Books. The Hulk strips continued in a newly launched The Incredible Hulk Weekly and similarly the classic Fantastic Four strips resurfaced in a weekly title in October 1982. Both of these eventually folded into Spider-Man Comics Weekly
, where the strips continued on and off until it changed into The Spider-Man Comic, aimed at younger readers. The classic Spider-Man material continued in the first few issues of The Daredevils
.
Marvel UK had almost completely stopped publishing weekly titles and moved mainly to monthly titles such as The Daredevils
(featuring Moore and Davis's Captain Britain) and The Mighty World Of Marvel
, which by now was firmly established as a monthly title. However, many of Marvel UK's titles wouldn't last long before being combined or cancelled outright due to poor sales. Jay left the company in 1983.
the first issue of Captain Britain
Monthly appeared with its titular strip written by Jamie Delano
and drawn by Alan Davis
. This title lasted 14 issues before cancellation and would prove to be Marvel UK's last major new title for several years. However, new material was still being produced, such as the Zoids
stories (written by Grant Morrison
) for Spider-Man and Zoids, but not on the scale or diversity had been previously seen.
For the remainder of the 1980s
the company published only a small handful of titles that appealed to superhero fans, but had considerable success on the UK newsstands with licensed titles such as The Real Ghostbusters
, ThunderCats
, Transformers and many others. These all featured original strips as well as some US reprints.
Transformers, in particular, was a major seller for Marvel UK, selling 200,000 copies a week at its height. Its main writer, Simon Furman
, would eventually take over the Marvel US version of the title as well, and continues to work on the franchise to this day, though it is no longer published by either branch of Marvel Comics. The Marvel UK Transformer series, running 332 issues, is regarded as the most important collection of Transformers fiction, and on par with Stan Lee
's runs on Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four. As such, Transformers remains one of Marvel UK's most important historical titles. (The Marvel UK Transformers series was reprinted by Titan Books
in the 2000s.)
In 1988, Marvel UK letterer/designer Richard Starkings
pushed for the company to publish its own US-format comics
, beginning with Dragon's Claws
and Death's Head
(a spin-off character from Marvel UK's Transformers title).
The Sleeze Brothers
(1989–1990) was a creator-owned title by John Carnell and Andy Lanning
. It was Steve White
who launched the first critically acclaimed volume of Knights of Pendragon
(1990–1991), written by Dan Abnett
and John Tomlinson
with art by Gary Erskine
, which mixed superheroes and Arthurian myth. It also featured Captain Britain
among many other Marvel Comics
heroes, such as Iron Man
.
became Marvel UK editor-in-chief circa 1990. At the behest of Marvel US, he launched a number of America-style-format comics beginning with Death's Head II (a recreation of Simon Furman
's cyborg bounty hunter). The titles were set in the existing Marvel Universe but with more of a focus on cyberpunk
y science fiction
and magic than the traditional superhero fare. Titles such as Warheads (wormhole
-hopping mercenaries), Motormouth
(later Motormouth and Killpower
) (streetwise girl and escaped genetically-modified super assassin hop around the universe having adventures) and a second volume of Knights of Pendragon
. These were all linked by plots featuring the organization Mys-Tech
, a shadowy group of Faust
ians bent on world domination. Some of these titles were also reprinted in the UK anthology Overkill.
Neary instituted a deliberate policy to feature Marvel US guest-stars in the Marvel UK stories. However, they would only be featured on eleven pages, and these pages were designed to be able to cut from the main story; the eleven pages without the guest-star were run in Overkill. Where US Marvel characters were featured, all the storylines were approved by the American editor in charge of that book. Some were more responsive than others to the outlines, with editors such as Bobbi Chase offering useful feedback for Marvel UK's editors. Very few Marvel US comics referenced any of the original characters or major events that occurred within the Marvel UK comics.
Nevertheless in the US, these comics were initially immensely successful, with some issues being reprinted to keep up with demand. Unfortunately, despite an impressive lineup of creative talent that included Liam Sharp
, Simon Coleby
, Bryan Hitch
, Graham Marks, Salvador Larocca, Dan Abnett
and many others, too many titles were launched too quickly in a market which was already swamped by the early 1990s
comics boom. By 1994
Marvel UK had ceased publishing in the US market and was now only printing a handful of titles — mostly reprints — for the UK
market, as well as the long-running Doctor Who Magazine
.
, who had been part of Marvel Europe, and had already been reprinting American material across Europe for several years. Casualties of the merger included editor-in-chief Paul Neary and managing director Vincent Conran. (Conran now runs a books company, Bishop and Barncoat, in Cornwall.)
Thanks to this licensing deal, reprints of American Marvel Comics material was once again published in the UK by Panini from the mid-1990s. Each book contained approximately two or three Marvel US strips in one issue with possibly a "classic" comic printed as a substitute for a comic in the current run, whilst being priced at a reasonable level. Initially the lineup consisted of only Astonishing Spider-Man
and Essential X-Men
and followed the continuity of the US comics, however it was approximately two–three years behind the current run in America.
In addition to reprinting the mainstream US comics, Panini also published a monthly (later every three weeks) over-sized comic, entitled The Spectacular Spider-Man
, for younger readers to accompany Spider-Man: The Animated Series
, which began broadcasting in the UK in the mid-90s. Initially, the stories were simply reprints of the US comics based on the series, but eventually the title moved to all-new UK-originated stories, marking the first Marvel UK material featuring classic Marvel characters to be produced since early 1994.
. In addition to Essential X-Men and Astonishing Spider-Man came Wolverine Unleashed, in which Wolverine
's solo comic was reprinted. The comic ran for 54 issues before it was renamed Wolverine & Gambit to allow reprints of the Gambit
series, and subsequently Wolverine and Deadpool
when the Gambit material had been exhausted and Deadpool was introduced as a replacement in 2004
. Marvel Heroes Reborn was released in 1997
, to introduce the new Heroes Reborn
saga, and expand the range of characters in Marvel UK's lineup. It was initially published with only two strips (or 56 pages) but this was expanded to 76 pages (commonly 3 strips) from issue 17 onwards. Unfortunately, this title was short lived due to continuously lagging sales, and was eventually cancelled in 2000.
Later titles include Avengers United
(later replaced by Avengers Unconquered
), Fantastic Four Adventures
, Marvel Legends
featuring Captain America, Iron Man and Thor
, a new The Mighty World of Marvel
as well as the introduction of the Ultimate Marvel imprint, consisting of Ultimate Spider-Man and X-Men
(which was originally two titles, which merged since it was reprinting the stories too fast for Marvel US to print them) and Ultimate Fantastic Four (cancelled because of low sales, and because it was only a few issues behind the US title by the end).
Alongside these mainly reprint titles, Panini continues to print Doctor Who Magazine
which still features originally produced comics by British creators, something Panini do in their other titles. This includes the first new Captain Britain story by a British creative team in over a decade which was created by Jim Alexander, Jon Haward
and John Stokes
in Spectacular Spider-Man (UK version) #114 published in March 2005
. Also published from 2004
onwards was Marvel Rampage, which like Spectacular Spider-Man was aimed at a younger audience, and similarly featured all-new UK-originated material, this time featuring characters from all across the Marvel Universe. Several of those short stories were written by noted Spider-Man writer Roger Stern
.
In March 2006
, Marvel Entertainment and Panini S.p.A announced that they had "renewed and expanded their publishing agreement under which Panini retains a master license for producing translated versions of Marvel comics for Europe and selected Latin American countries. The new agreement includes a major expansion of editorial projects in which Panini will originate new content under the creative supervision of Marvel."
Panini Comics
also publishes Marvel Legends
from December 2006
onwards as a replacement for Batman Legends
comic when it lost the licence to reprint DC Comics
to Titan Magazines
.
Panini also produces a third magazine called Spider-Man and Friends
aimed at younger readers below the age of six.
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
formed in 1972
1972 in comics
-Events:* Marvel Comics forms their British publishing arm, Marvel UK .* Phil Seuling founds East Coast Seagate Distribution, developing the concept of the direct market distribution system for getting comics directly into comic book specialty shops, bypassing the established newspaper/magazine...
to reprint US produced stories for the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
weekly comic market, though it later did produce original material by British creators such as Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
, John Wagner
John Wagner
John Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since.He is best known for his work on...
, Dave Gibbons
Dave Gibbons
Dave Gibbons is an English comic book artist, writer and sometime letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries Watchmen and the Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything"...
, Steve Dillon
Steve Dillon
Steve Dillon is a British comic book artist, from Luton, Bedfordshire, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on Hellblazer, Preacher and The Punisher.-Biography:...
and Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
.
Panini Comics
Panini Comics
Panini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, best known for their collectible stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy...
obtained the Marvel UK license in 1995.
Predecessors
Reprints of American Marvel material had been published in the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
during the 1960s by Odhams Press
Odhams Press
Odhams Press was a British publishing firm. Originally a newspaper group, founded in 1890, it took the name Odham's Press Ltd in 1920 when it merged with John Bull magazine. By 1937 it had founded the first colour weekly, Woman, for which it set up and operated a dedicated high-speed print works...
under their Power Comics
Power Comics
Power Comics was an imprint of the British comics publisher Odhams Press that was particularly notable for its use of material reprinted from American Marvel Comics. Appearing chiefly during the years 1967 and 1968, the Power Comics line consisted of five weekly titles: Wham!, Smash!, Pow!,...
imprint. Titles such as Smash! and Fantastic featured a mix of Marvel reprint material (such as the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
) and original non-Marvel work. This lasted till 1969 when the last superhero strip was removed from Smash!, leaving no Marvel titles being reprinted in the UK at all.
Origins: MWOM and Spider-Man Comics Weekly
In 1972, seeing a gap in the popular weekly comics market of the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
formed their own British publishing arm, Marvel UK (under the corporate name of Magazine Management London Ltd.). Though publishing comics in England for a British audience, Marvel UK was under the editorial direction of Marvel's New York offices, overseen by the young American writer/editor Tony Isabella
Tony Isabella
Tony Isabella is an American comic book writer, editor, artist and critic, known as the creator and writer of Marvel Comics' Black Goliath, DC Comics' first major African American superhero, Black Lightning, and as a columnist and critic for the Comics Buyer's Guide.-Marvel Comics:Before he joined...
.
Starting with The Mighty World of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel was Marvel UK's first-ever title, debuting in 1972, and is also the name of a similar current comic printed by Panini Comics, which bought the Marvel UK titles....
(commonly shortened to MWOM), Marvel UK started with black-and-white (though early issues of MWOM did feature some colour) reprints of The Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
, Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, and the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
. MWOM proved to be a huge success, and a few months later Spider-Man Comics Weekly
Spider-Man Comics Weekly
Spider-Man Comics Weekly was a Marvel UK publication which primarily published black-and-white reprints of American Marvel four-color Spider-Man stories. Marvel UK's second-ever title, Spider-Man Comics Weekly debuted in 1973, initially publishing "classic" 1960s Spider-Man stories .The title...
was released. Again this carried on reprinted American Spider-Man material originally started in MWOM. The Mighty World Of Marvel, in one form or another, was published continuously until 1984, while the Spider-Man weekly comic (under many different name changes) would continue until 1985.
Expansion
In 1974 Marvel UK launched Planet of the Apes, reprinting material from the American black & white Curtis MagazinesCurtis Magazines
Curtis Magazines was an imprint of Marvel Comics that existed from 1971 to 1980. The imprint published black-and-white magazines that did not carry the Comics Code Authority seal. Initially, page counts varied between 68,76, and 84 pages....
title (an imprint of Marvel); it lasted until 1977 (the final months as a co-feature of MWOM with Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
).
In March 1975, Marvel UK launched a new weekly title called The Super-Heroes. Although it originally starred popular characters like the Silver Surfer
Silver Surfer
The Silver Surfer is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue arc that fans call "The Galactus Trilogy"....
and the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
, it eventually began reprinting stories starring such obscure characters such as Doc Savage, Ant-Man
Ant-Man
Ant-Man is the name of several fictional characters appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Ant-Man was originally the superhero persona of Hank Pym, a brilliant scientist who invented a substance that allowed him to change his size...
, The Cat
Tigra
Tigra is a fictional American comic book superheroine in the Marvel Comics universe. Introduced as the non-superpowered crime fighter The Cat in Claws of the Cat #1 , she was co-created by writer-editor Roy Thomas, writer Linda Fite, and penciller Marie Severin...
, Scarecrow
Straw Man (comics)
The Scarecrow, later named Straw Man, is a fictional character appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. He is an extra-dimensional magical entity which takes vengeance on its enemies, and was invited by Dweller-in-Darkness to join the Fear Lords, but he betrayed them to Doctor...
, and Bloodstone
Ulysses Bloodstone
Ulysses Bloodstone is a fictional character, an immortal monster-hunter in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:John Warner has explained the development of Ulysses Bloodstone: "Len Wein and Marv Wolfman came up with the spark that would become Bloodstone—the premise of a man who fights...
.
Marvel UK's fifth superhero title, also debuting in 1975 (October), was The Titans, which was notable for its use of a "landscape" orientation. Although this format allowed two pages of Marvel U.S. artwork to fit onto one (magazine-sized) Marvel UK page, reader reaction was mixed, as it made the text small and often difficult to read. The Titans featured well-known characters like Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
, Captain Marvel, the Sub-Mariner, the Inhumans
Inhumans
The Inhumans are a fictional race of superhumans, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. This race appears in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics and exists in that company's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe....
, and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nick Fury
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and present-day super-spy in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 , a World War II combat series that portrayed the...
The Super-Heroes lasted fifty issues before being cancelled in early 1976, at which point it was merged into Spider-Man Comics Weekly, (which changed its title to Super Spider-Man with the Super-Heroes). At this point the book also changed orientation to become a landscape-format comic like The Titans. The aforementioned Titans title ran 58 issues until late 1976, when it too was cancelled. Towards the end of its run, the Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
were moved over from The Mighty World of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel was Marvel UK's first-ever title, debuting in 1972, and is also the name of a similar current comic printed by Panini Comics, which bought the Marvel UK titles....
to be The Titans
Tennant era
Marvel UK began to establish itself as a major publisher of weekly comic titles (along with D.C ThomsonD. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd
D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd, is a publishing company based in Dundee, Scotland, best known for producing The Dundee Courier, The Evening Telegraph, The Sunday Post, Oor Wullie, The Broons, The Beano, The Dandy and Commando comics...
and IPC
IPC Media
IPC Media , a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc., is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.- Origins :...
) under the direction of editor-in-chief Neil Tennant
Neil Tennant
Neil Francis Tennant is an English musician, singer and songwriter, who, with bandmate Chris Lowe, makes up the successful electronic dance music duo Pet Shop Boys.-Childhood:...
(later one of the Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
). Tennant was responsible for anglicising
Anglicisation
Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
the dialogue of the comics to suit British readers, and for indicating where women needed to be redrawn more decently for the British editions.
However, with the exception of some new covers drawn by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
American staff, no original material had yet been produced by Marvel UK. This changed in 1976 when Captain Britain
Captain Britain
Captain Britain , briefly known as Britannic, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, he first appeared in Captain Britain Weekly, #1...
Weekly was launched, featuring a hero created for the British market by Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
and Herb Trimpe
Herb Trimpe
Herbert W. "Herb" Trimpe Herbert W. "Herb" Trimpe Herbert W. "Herb" Trimpe (b. May 26, 1939, is an American comic book artist and occasional writer, best known for his work on The Incredible Hulk and as the first artist to draw for publication the character Wolverine, who later became a breakout...
. Captain Britain Weekly featured new stories in colour as well as reprints of Nick Fury
Nick Fury
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and present-day super-spy in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 , a World War II combat series that portrayed the...
and Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
strips as backup. It was initially a success but eventually combined with Marvel UK's Spider-Man reprint title
Spider-Man Comics Weekly
Spider-Man Comics Weekly was a Marvel UK publication which primarily published black-and-white reprints of American Marvel four-color Spider-Man stories. Marvel UK's second-ever title, Spider-Man Comics Weekly debuted in 1973, initially publishing "classic" 1960s Spider-Man stories .The title...
from #39.
Marvel UK began publishing a weekly Star Wars
Star Wars (comics)
Comic books based on Star Wars have been published by Marvel Comics and Dark Horse Comics.-Marvel:The Marvel published a series of Star Wars comic books from 1977 to 1986, lasting 107 issues and 3 annuals....
title in February 1978, soon after the film
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
was released in the UK. The weekly issues split the stories from the US monthly issues into smaller installments, and it usually took three weekly issues to complete a US monthly issue. In May 1980 the title became known as The Empire Strikes Back Weekly, and in November 1980 it transformed into a monthly publication. Marvel UK's Star Wars comic also published original Star Wars stories by British creators as well as reprinting the US comics material. Many, but not all, of these original British stories were reprinted in the 1990s by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
. The format changed back to a weekly in June 1983 with the adaptation of Return of the Jedi (which also became the new name of the publication), and remained so until its last issue in 1986. Prior to the Return of the Jedi comic, the strips in the UK Star Wars comics were printed in black and white, even those taken from the American color versions. The UK comics also reprinted several other supporting strips in each issue from other Marvel properties (such as The Micronauts, Tales of the Watcher
Uatu
Uatu, often simply known as The Watcher, is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and designed by artist Jack Kirby, he first appeared in The Fantastic Four #13 ....
, Star Lord, etc.). While the comic was in a weekly format, the supporting strips often made up the bulk of each issue.
Skinn era ("The Marvel Revolution")
By the late 1970s, sales of Marvel UK titles had begun to fall and it was on a visit to the UK that Stan LeeStan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
headhunted Dez Skinn
Dez Skinn
Derek "Dez" Skinn is a British comic and magazine editor, and author of a number of books on comics. As head of Marvel Comics' operations in England in the late 1970s, Skinn reformatted existing titles, launched new ones, and acquired the BBC license for Doctor Who Weekly...
to revamp the ailing company. Knowing Skinn had significant experience in British comic publishing, Lee gave him freedom to do what he felt best. Skinn had his own catchphrase in "Dez Sez," which was inspired by Lee's catchphrases from the 1960s. Skinn set out to change Marvel UK as he saw fit, dubbing the changes "The Marvel Revolution". The first major change he brought was to have original material produced by British creators. Many of these creators had already worked with Skinn on his title The House of Hammer a few years earlier, plus some new young talent.
Skinn wrote: “[T]raditional British comics were at the time selling 150,000+ a week, firm sale, no returns. If Marvel and Spider-Man could look British enough for some of that to rub off, everybody would be happy... But fixing the covers to resemble the non-glossy generic look of weekly anthology titles was one thing... Having “splash” pages and then five or six frames a page just didn’t stack up against Warlord, Action, Battle
Battle Picture Weekly
Battle Picture Weekly, at various time also known as Battle Action Force, Battle and Battle with Storm Force, was a British war comic published by IPC Magazines from 8 March 1975 to 23 January 1988, when it merged with Eagle...
, and the rest with their nine to 12 a page.” So the US artwork was re-sized to fit several pages onto one and emulate the look of the more established UK boys’ weeklies.
Skinn reasoned that Marvel superhero weeklies had been effectively competing with each other in an already crowded market. So while the Spider-Man Comic
Spider-Man Comics Weekly
Spider-Man Comics Weekly was a Marvel UK publication which primarily published black-and-white reprints of American Marvel four-color Spider-Man stories. Marvel UK's second-ever title, Spider-Man Comics Weekly debuted in 1973, initially publishing "classic" 1960s Spider-Man stories .The title...
was to be the flagship superhero comic (with Thor
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
, Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
, Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
, Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
, and Nova
Nova (comics)
Nova is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Upon becoming a member of the galaxy's Nova Corps , the youth gained enhanced strength, flight, injury resistance, and a specialized uniform with life support.In May 2011, Nova placed 98th on IGN's Top 100 Comic...
), The Mighty World of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel was Marvel UK's first-ever title, debuting in 1972, and is also the name of a similar current comic printed by Panini Comics, which bought the Marvel UK titles....
was re-launched as Marvel Comic, in the tradition of UK boys’ adventure titles. Dracula
Dracula (comics)
Dracula is a superhero comic book series published by Dell Comics, based on the three classic Universal Pictures monsters .-Publication history:...
, Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
, and Skull the Slayer
Skull the Slayer
Skull the Slayer is a fictional Marvel Comics character that debuted in his own book in August, 1975.-Publication history:Skull the Slayer had his own ongoing series starting in August 1975, which ran for eight issues....
joined (or re-joined) established strips Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
and Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
(although the Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
was replaced three issues after the re-launch by Godzilla
Godzilla (comics)
Godzilla has appeared in a range of comic books that have been published in Japan and the United States.-Japanese Godzilla comics:In his native Japan, Godzilla has been featured in various comic books since his inception in 1954. These comics for the most part were black and white publications...
, as the Hulk left for his own title).
The Hulk was a popular character – Rampage Weekly which starred The Defenders
Defenders (comics)
The Defenders is the name of a number of Marvel Comics superhero groups which are usually presented as a "non-team" of individualistic "outsiders," each known for following their own agendas...
had been added to Marvel's list of publications under Tennant's editorship as a second vehicle for the green giant – and now with his own TV series Skinn saw the Hulk as the lead feature of another adventure style comic. Hulk Comic started out with originally produced Hulk stories created by Steve Dillon
Steve Dillon
Steve Dillon is a British comic book artist, from Luton, Bedfordshire, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on Hellblazer, Preacher and The Punisher.-Biography:...
, Paul Neary
Paul Neary
Paul Neary is a British comic book artist, writer and editor.His first work was for Warren Publishing in the 1970s before working with Dez Skinn at Marvel UK as well as work for 2000 AD...
, and John Stokes
John Stokes (artist)
John Stokes is a British comics artist who has largely worked for IPC and Marvel UK and is best known for his work on Fishboy.-Biography:Stokes got into the comics industry thanks to his brother George Stokes who already worked for IPC...
, among others, which reflected the green-skinned behemoth as depicted on the TV. Skinn explained: “As with Marvel Comic, I was wanting an adventure anthology title more than a superhero one. Super-heroes had never been big sellers in the UK, we had plenty of legends of the past to spin fantasies about. So I went that route, picking existing Marvel characters who weren’t really cut from the super-hero cloth.” Originally produced stories were included, such as Nick Fury
Nick Fury
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and present-day super-spy in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 , a World War II combat series that portrayed the...
drawn by Steve Dillon
Steve Dillon
Steve Dillon is a British comic book artist, from Luton, Bedfordshire, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on Hellblazer, Preacher and The Punisher.-Biography:...
, and Night Raven
Night Raven
Night Raven is a fictional superhero appearing primarily in Marvel UK Comics, a division of Marvel Comics.Night Raven first appeared in Hulk Comic #1 .-Publication history:...
by Steve Parkhouse
Steve Parkhouse
Steve Parkhouse is a writer, artist and letterer who has worked for many British comics, especially 2000 AD and Doctor Who Magazine.-Biography:...
and David Lloyd
David Lloyd (comic artist)
David Lloyd is a British comics artist best known as the illustrator of the story V for Vendetta, written by Alan Moore.-Career:...
. Also included was the Black Knight
Black Knight (comics)
The Black Knight is the alias of several fictional comic-book characters that appear in the Marvel Comics universe.The first is a medieval knight created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Joe Maneely. The second is a supervillain descendant of the original, created by writer-editor Stan Lee and...
, a minor Marvel character but revamped to take in Arthurian concepts, as well as featuring the return of Captain Britain
Captain Britain
Captain Britain , briefly known as Britannic, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, he first appeared in Captain Britain Weekly, #1...
from comic book limbo. As well there was the usual US reprint material, such as Ant Man and in later issues the Beast
Beast (comics)
Beast , Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy, is a comic book character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the mutant team of superheroes known as the X-Men...
from Amazing Adventures
Amazing Adventures
Amazing Adventures is the name of several anthology comic book series, all but one published by Marvel Comics.The earliest Marvel series of that name introduced the company's first superhero of the late-1950s to early-1960s period fans and historians call the Silver Age of Comic Books...
, and even The Defenders
Defenders (comics)
The Defenders is the name of a number of Marvel Comics superhero groups which are usually presented as a "non-team" of individualistic "outsiders," each known for following their own agendas...
were moved in from Rampage Monthly to increase the dose of Hulk action.
Arguably Skinn's most important decision was to launch Doctor Who Weekly
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
in 1979. Based on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV series (which at that point had already been running for 16 years), Doctor Who Weekly featured original comics stories by John Wagner
John Wagner
John Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since.He is best known for his work on...
, Pat Mills
Pat Mills
Pat Mills, nicknamed 'the godfather of British comics', is a comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since....
, and Dave Gibbons
Dave Gibbons
Dave Gibbons is an English comic book artist, writer and sometime letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries Watchmen and the Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything"...
, among many others, plus articles and features on the show itself. It proved a huge success, and by now Skinn had transformed Marvel UK back to being a major publisher of not just weekly comics but monthly titles such as Starburst
Starburst (magazine)
Starburst is a British science fiction online magazine published by Starburst Magazine Limited. The magazine is published every month on the 14th, with news and reviews being published daily.-History:...
. Starburst had been created by Skinn before he joined Marvel UK, but was purchased by Marvel when he joined the company.
Skinn was not happy with how creators were treated in regard to ownership of characters, so he left Marvel UK in 1980 (eventually forming Quality Communications
Quality Communications
Quality Communications is a British publishing company founded by Dez Skinn in 1982. Quality was initially formed to publish the award-winning monthly comics anthology Warrior. The company has been involved with comics in both the UK and the U.S., mainly with reprint material from Warrior and...
in 1982
1982 in comics
-Year overall:* San Diego-based independent publisher Pacific Comics makes a strong push in the marketplace, following Jack Kirby's Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers with four new ongoing titles, Starslayer, Ms...
). One of his last acts was to give Captain Britain
Captain Britain
Captain Britain , briefly known as Britannic, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, he first appeared in Captain Britain Weekly, #1...
his own strip in the pages of MWOM
The Mighty World Of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel was Marvel UK's first-ever title, debuting in 1972, and is also the name of a similar current comic printed by Panini Comics, which bought the Marvel UK titles....
, as written by Dave Thorpe
Dave Thorpe
Dave Thorpe is a British writer who is best known for his work on Captain Britain.-Biography:Thorpe's career began with Marvel UK's Captain Britain character in the early 1980s. He created many of the characters later used by Alan Moore...
and drawn by Alan Davis
Alan Davis
Alan Davis is an English writer and artist of comic books, known for his work on titles such as Captain Britain, The Uncanny X-Men, ClanDestine, Excalibur, JLA: The Nail and JLA: Another Nail.-UK work:...
. (Thorpe left in 1982, to be replaced by Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
in one of Moore's first major ongoing strips.)
Pocket Books
In March 1980, as part of the "Marvel Revolution", Skinn launched the Marvel Pocket Books line with four 52-page titles. The line began with Spider-ManSpider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
, Star Heroes (featuring TV tie-in Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica TV series in 1978, and was followed by a brief sequel TV series in 1980, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games...
and the toy-based strip the Micronauts continued from their previous run in Star Wars Weekly), and Chiller (starring Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
and the Man-Thing
Man-Thing
The Man-Thing is a fictional character, a monster in publications from Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in Savage Tales #1 , and went on to be featured in various titles and in his own series, including...
with occasional appearance from other horror-related characters). Following Skin’s belief that much of Marvel’s strongest material was that published in the 1960s and early 70s, many of these titles showcased strips from that period.
Skinn drew on the design of the traditional UK Picture Library titles which boomed in the 1960s to establish a definitive look for the Pocket Books. Skinn wrote that they “emulated the look in their Combat Picture Library covers... that was the look I wanted, to pull the line of pocket books together visually and make them different to any of our other titles...”
The first four titles were later joined by Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
, The Titans (reprinting the 1960s stories of Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
, Thor
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
and Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
), Marvel Classic Comics (featuring graphic versions of novels), Conan
Conan (Marvel Comics)
Conan is a fictional character based on Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian. He was introduced to the comic book world in 1970 with Conan the Barbarian, written by Roy Thomas, illustrated by Barry Smith and published by Marvel Comics....
, and Young Romance. Some titles were not a success in terms of sales: Hulk, Conan, The Titans, Marvel Classics Comics, and Young Romance were cancelled after 13 issues, while Star Heroes (which had replaced The Micronauts with the original X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
from issue #10) was re-launched as X-Men Pocket Book from #14. All other Pocket Books were cancelled after issue 28 in July/August 1982.
Classic Marvel material was by no means completely abandoned after the demise of the Pocket Books. The Hulk strips continued in a newly launched The Incredible Hulk Weekly and similarly the classic Fantastic Four strips resurfaced in a weekly title in October 1982. Both of these eventually folded into Spider-Man Comics Weekly
Spider-Man Comics Weekly
Spider-Man Comics Weekly was a Marvel UK publication which primarily published black-and-white reprints of American Marvel four-color Spider-Man stories. Marvel UK's second-ever title, Spider-Man Comics Weekly debuted in 1973, initially publishing "classic" 1960s Spider-Man stories .The title...
, where the strips continued on and off until it changed into The Spider-Man Comic, aimed at younger readers. The classic Spider-Man material continued in the first few issues of The Daredevils
The Daredevils
The Daredevils was a comics magazine and anthology published by Marvel UK in 1983.Aimed for a more sophisticated audience than typical light superhero adventures, The Daredevils featured Captain Britain stories by Alan Moore and Alan Davis, as well as new Night Raven text stories, and reprints of...
.
Jay era
With Skinn's departure, Bernie Jay took over as Marvel UK's editor-in-chief. By 19821982 in comics
-Year overall:* San Diego-based independent publisher Pacific Comics makes a strong push in the marketplace, following Jack Kirby's Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers with four new ongoing titles, Starslayer, Ms...
Marvel UK had almost completely stopped publishing weekly titles and moved mainly to monthly titles such as The Daredevils
The Daredevils
The Daredevils was a comics magazine and anthology published by Marvel UK in 1983.Aimed for a more sophisticated audience than typical light superhero adventures, The Daredevils featured Captain Britain stories by Alan Moore and Alan Davis, as well as new Night Raven text stories, and reprints of...
(featuring Moore and Davis's Captain Britain) and The Mighty World Of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel was Marvel UK's first-ever title, debuting in 1972, and is also the name of a similar current comic printed by Panini Comics, which bought the Marvel UK titles....
, which by now was firmly established as a monthly title. However, many of Marvel UK's titles wouldn't last long before being combined or cancelled outright due to poor sales. Jay left the company in 1983.
1980s
In January 19851985 in comics
-Year overall:* More independent publishers enter the marketplace: Aircel Comics, Arrow Comics, Blackthorne Publishing, Dragon Lady Press, NOW Comics, Sirius Comics, Strawberry Jam Comics, and Wonder Comics all publish their first titles...
the first issue of Captain Britain
Captain Britain
Captain Britain , briefly known as Britannic, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, he first appeared in Captain Britain Weekly, #1...
Monthly appeared with its titular strip written by Jamie Delano
Jamie Delano
Jamie Delano is a British comics writer. He was part of the first post-Alan Moore "British Invasion" of writers. Best known as the first writer of the comic book series Hellblazer, starring John Constantine.- Biography :...
and drawn by Alan Davis
Alan Davis
Alan Davis is an English writer and artist of comic books, known for his work on titles such as Captain Britain, The Uncanny X-Men, ClanDestine, Excalibur, JLA: The Nail and JLA: Another Nail.-UK work:...
. This title lasted 14 issues before cancellation and would prove to be Marvel UK's last major new title for several years. However, new material was still being produced, such as the Zoids
Zoids (comics)
Spider-Man and Zoids was a comic book series by Marvel UK that was a tie-in with the toys of the same name. The comics anthology included reprints of Spider-Man stories and an original series of Zoids tales...
stories (written by Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
) for Spider-Man and Zoids, but not on the scale or diversity had been previously seen.
For the remainder of the 1980s
1980s in comics
This article lists major events in the field of comics during the 1980s.Publications: 1980 - 1981 - 1982 - 1983 - 1984 - 1985 - 1986 - 1987 - 1988 - 1989-1982:*Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo debuts in Young Magazine.- March :...
the company published only a small handful of titles that appealed to superhero fans, but had considerable success on the UK newsstands with licensed titles such as The Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters (comics)
The Real Ghostbusters is a comic series spun off from the animated series of the same name. Versions were published by Marvel UK and NOW Comics. Publication of the series began on March 28, 1988.-NOW Comics:...
, ThunderCats
ThunderCats (comics)
The ThunderCats comic book series was based on the original television series of the same name. It was originally published by Marvel Comics through its Star Comics imprint in 1985, lasting for 3 years and 24 issues...
, Transformers and many others. These all featured original strips as well as some US reprints.
Transformers, in particular, was a major seller for Marvel UK, selling 200,000 copies a week at its height. Its main writer, Simon Furman
Simon Furman
Simon Christopher Francis Furman is a comic book writer, particularly associated with of a number of notable Transformers comics for Marvel UK, Marvel US, Dreamwave, and most recently, IDW...
, would eventually take over the Marvel US version of the title as well, and continues to work on the franchise to this day, though it is no longer published by either branch of Marvel Comics. The Marvel UK Transformer series, running 332 issues, is regarded as the most important collection of Transformers fiction, and on par with Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
's runs on Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four. As such, Transformers remains one of Marvel UK's most important historical titles. (The Marvel UK Transformers series was reprinted by Titan Books
Titan Books
Titan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...
in the 2000s.)
In 1988, Marvel UK letterer/designer Richard Starkings
Richard Starkings
Richard Starkings is a British font designer and comic book letterer, editor and writer. He was one of the early pioneers of computer based comic book lettering and as a result is one of the most prolific creators in that industry.-Career:...
pushed for the company to publish its own US-format comics
American comic book
An American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...
, beginning with Dragon's Claws
Dragon's Claws
Dragon's Claws is a dysoptian science fiction comic book, published by Marvel Comics, as well as the eponymous law enforcers known as Dragon's Claws. It was set in the year 8162...
and Death's Head
Death's Head
Death's Head is a fictional comic book character, a robotic bounty hunter appearing in the books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Simon Furman and artist Geoff Senior for the company's Marvel UK imprint...
(a spin-off character from Marvel UK's Transformers title).
The Sleeze Brothers
The Sleeze Brothers
The Sleeze Brothers was a comic book limited series published by Epic Comics, between August 1989 and January 1990 , lasting for 6 issues. A collection of the six issues were later released in 1990, along with a final extended issue in 1991. It was written by John Carnell, with art by Andy Lanning...
(1989–1990) was a creator-owned title by John Carnell and Andy Lanning
Andy Lanning
Andy Lanning is a British comic book writer and inker, known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and for his collaboration with Dan Abnett.-Career:Lanning works primarily at Marvel Comics and DC Comics as an inker...
. It was Steve White
Steve White (comics)
Steve White is a British comic book writer who has mainly worked with 2000 AD.-Biography:White's career in comics began in the 1980s at Marvel UK in London, where he worked in various roles on titles like The Real Ghostbusters, Transformers, Knights of Pendragon and The Sleaze Brothers...
who launched the first critically acclaimed volume of Knights of Pendragon
Knights of Pendragon
The Knights of Pendragon was a superhero team published by the Marvel Comics imprint Marvel UK in a self-titled comic from 1990 to 1993, and in the anthology title Overkill. It was written by Dan Abnett and John Tomlinson with art by Gary Erskine...
(1990–1991), written by Dan Abnett
Dan Abnett
Dan Abnett is a British comic book writer and novelist. He is a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, since the 1990s, including 2000 AD...
and John Tomlinson
John Tomlinson (comics)
John Tomlinson is a British comic book writer known for his work on various 2000 AD strips.-Biography:Tomlinson worked at Marvel UK in the early 1990s and helped nurture various talents, including Matthew Bingham and John Freeman. He has co-written strips with Nick Abadzis.He was editor of 2000 AD...
with art by Gary Erskine
Gary Erskine
Gary Erskine is a Scottish comic book artist born in Paisley, near Glasgow in 1968.-Biography:Erskine started drawing work for fanzines while at art college and aspired to be a comic book artist. After sending samples of his work to Marvel UK he was eventually given Knights of Pendragon to draw on...
, which mixed superheroes and Arthurian myth. It also featured Captain Britain
Captain Britain
Captain Britain , briefly known as Britannic, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, he first appeared in Captain Britain Weekly, #1...
among many other Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
heroes, such as Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
.
Neary era
Paul NearyPaul Neary
Paul Neary is a British comic book artist, writer and editor.His first work was for Warren Publishing in the 1970s before working with Dez Skinn at Marvel UK as well as work for 2000 AD...
became Marvel UK editor-in-chief circa 1990. At the behest of Marvel US, he launched a number of America-style-format comics beginning with Death's Head II (a recreation of Simon Furman
Simon Furman
Simon Christopher Francis Furman is a comic book writer, particularly associated with of a number of notable Transformers comics for Marvel UK, Marvel US, Dreamwave, and most recently, IDW...
's cyborg bounty hunter). The titles were set in the existing Marvel Universe but with more of a focus on cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
y science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and magic than the traditional superhero fare. Titles such as Warheads (wormhole
Wormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
-hopping mercenaries), Motormouth
Motormouth (comics)
Motormouth is a fictional character created by Paul Neary and developed by writer Graham Marks with initial designs by Gary Frank as the titular character of her own series Motormouth , was part of a line of original comics released in the early-to-mid 1990s by Marvel UK...
(later Motormouth and Killpower
Killpower
Killpower is a fictional British comic book character from Marvel UK. He is the partner of Motormouth and first appeared in Motormouth #1. Killpower was created by Gary Frank and Graham Mark.-Publication history:...
) (streetwise girl and escaped genetically-modified super assassin hop around the universe having adventures) and a second volume of Knights of Pendragon
Knights of Pendragon
The Knights of Pendragon was a superhero team published by the Marvel Comics imprint Marvel UK in a self-titled comic from 1990 to 1993, and in the anthology title Overkill. It was written by Dan Abnett and John Tomlinson with art by Gary Erskine...
. These were all linked by plots featuring the organization Mys-Tech
Mys-Tech
Mys-Tech were a shadowy Faustian organisation who acted as the main villains in a range of, initially successful but short-lived comics, launched in the US by Marvel UK in the 1990s...
, a shadowy group of Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
ians bent on world domination. Some of these titles were also reprinted in the UK anthology Overkill.
Neary instituted a deliberate policy to feature Marvel US guest-stars in the Marvel UK stories. However, they would only be featured on eleven pages, and these pages were designed to be able to cut from the main story; the eleven pages without the guest-star were run in Overkill. Where US Marvel characters were featured, all the storylines were approved by the American editor in charge of that book. Some were more responsive than others to the outlines, with editors such as Bobbi Chase offering useful feedback for Marvel UK's editors. Very few Marvel US comics referenced any of the original characters or major events that occurred within the Marvel UK comics.
Nevertheless in the US, these comics were initially immensely successful, with some issues being reprinted to keep up with demand. Unfortunately, despite an impressive lineup of creative talent that included Liam Sharp
Liam Sharp
Liam Roger Sharp is a British comic book artist, writer and publisher.-Early life:Liam Sharp was born in Derby at St. Mary's Hospital to parents Roger and Linda Sharp. He has a younger sister, Kerry, and younger brother, Rien. He went to School at Brackensdale Junior then infants school, before...
, Simon Coleby
Simon Coleby
Simon Coleby is a British comic book artist who has worked mainly for British sci-fi comic 2000 AD and Marvel Comics.-Biography:...
, Bryan Hitch
Bryan Hitch
Bryan Hitch is a British comic book artist. Hitch began his career in the United Kingdom for Marvel UK, working on titles such as Action Force and Death's Head, before gaining prominence on American titles such as Wildstorm's Stormwatch and The Authority, DC Comics titles such as JLA, and Marvel...
, Graham Marks, Salvador Larocca, Dan Abnett
Dan Abnett
Dan Abnett is a British comic book writer and novelist. He is a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, since the 1990s, including 2000 AD...
and many others, too many titles were launched too quickly in a market which was already swamped by the early 1990s
1990s in comics
See also:1980s in comics,other events of the 1990s,2000s in comics and thelist of years in comicsPublications: 1990 - 1991 - 1992 - 1993 - 1994 - 1995 - 1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999-1992:See also: 1992 in comics...
comics boom. By 1994
1994 in comics
-Year overall:* Huge changes in the marketplace force many retailers and small publishers out of business...
Marvel UK had ceased publishing in the US market and was now only printing a handful of titles — mostly reprints — for the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
market, as well as the long-running Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
.
Panini takeover
With the failure of its US titles the company's assets were bought by Panini ComicsPanini Comics
Panini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, best known for their collectible stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy...
, who had been part of Marvel Europe, and had already been reprinting American material across Europe for several years. Casualties of the merger included editor-in-chief Paul Neary and managing director Vincent Conran. (Conran now runs a books company, Bishop and Barncoat, in Cornwall.)
Thanks to this licensing deal, reprints of American Marvel Comics material was once again published in the UK by Panini from the mid-1990s. Each book contained approximately two or three Marvel US strips in one issue with possibly a "classic" comic printed as a substitute for a comic in the current run, whilst being priced at a reasonable level. Initially the lineup consisted of only Astonishing Spider-Man
Astonishing Spider-Man
The Astonishing Spider-Man is a comic book series being published by Panini Comics in the United Kingdom every fortnight as part of Marvel UK's 'Collectors Edition' line...
and Essential X-Men
Essential X-Men
Essential X-Men is a 76-page comic book published by Panini Comics UK, as part of their Collectors' Edition range. Beginning in 1995, the title reprints Marvel US's range of X-Men comics; three per issue. The comic is produced on higher quality paper than the US originals, and the covers are...
and followed the continuity of the US comics, however it was approximately two–three years behind the current run in America.
In addition to reprinting the mainstream US comics, Panini also published a monthly (later every three weeks) over-sized comic, entitled The Spectacular Spider-Man
The Spectacular Spider-Man
The Spectacular Spider-Man is the name of several comic books and one magazine series starring Marvel Comics' Spider-Man.The character's main series, The Amazing Spider-Man, was extremely successful, and Marvel felt the character could support more than one title. This led the company in 1968 to...
, for younger readers to accompany Spider-Man: The Animated Series
Spider-Man (1994 TV series)
Spider-Man, also known as Spider-Man: The Animated Series, is an American animated series starring the Marvel Comics superhero, Spider-Man. The show ran on Fox Kids from November 19, 1994, to January 31, 1998. The producer/story editor was John Semper, Jr. and production company was Marvel Films...
, which began broadcasting in the UK in the mid-90s. Initially, the stories were simply reprints of the US comics based on the series, but eventually the title moved to all-new UK-originated stories, marking the first Marvel UK material featuring classic Marvel characters to be produced since early 1994.
2000s
Since then Panini extended their line to include other characters within the Marvel UniverseMarvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. In addition to Essential X-Men and Astonishing Spider-Man came Wolverine Unleashed, in which Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
's solo comic was reprinted. The comic ran for 54 issues before it was renamed Wolverine & Gambit to allow reprints of the Gambit
Gambit (comics)
Gambit is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero that has been a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, the character first appeared briefly in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 , weeks before a more comprehensive appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266...
series, and subsequently Wolverine and Deadpool
Wolverine and Deadpool
Wolverine and Deadpool is part of Marvel UK's 'Collector's Edition' line. It is being published by Panini Comics but reprints Marvel Comics from the United States. This title reprints stories of the characters Wolverine and Deadpool comics.- History :...
when the Gambit material had been exhausted and Deadpool was introduced as a replacement in 2004
2004 in comics
-February:*February 6: Marvel Enterprises and Electronic Arts announce a multi-year agreement in which EA will develop a new generation of fighting video games pitting Marvel superheroes against a new, original set of EA heroes....
. Marvel Heroes Reborn was released in 1997
1997 in comics
-January:*Avengers #3 - Marvel Comics*Captain America #3 - Marvel Comics*Fantastic Four #3 - Marvel Comics*Iron Man #3 - Marvel Comics-February:...
, to introduce the new Heroes Reborn
Heroes Reborn
"Heroes Reborn" was a 1996-1997 crossover story arc among comic-book series published by the American company Marvel Comics. During this one-year, multi-title story arc, Marvel temporarily outsourced the production of several of its most famous comic books to the studios of its popular former...
saga, and expand the range of characters in Marvel UK's lineup. It was initially published with only two strips (or 56 pages) but this was expanded to 76 pages (commonly 3 strips) from issue 17 onwards. Unfortunately, this title was short lived due to continuously lagging sales, and was eventually cancelled in 2000.
Later titles include Avengers United
Avengers United
Avengers United is part of Marvel UK's 'Collector Edition' line. It is being published by Panini Comics but reprints Marvel Comics from the United States. This title reprints Avengers or Avengers related comics. Each Issue is 76 pages long with two modern stories and one classic story reprinted...
(later replaced by Avengers Unconquered
Avengers Unconquered
Avengers Unconquered is part of Marvel UK's 'Collectors' Edition' line. It is published by Panini Comics and reprints Marvel Comics from the United States. This title reprints Avengers or Avengers related comics. Each Issue is 76 pages long normally with 3 modern stories reprinted...
), Fantastic Four Adventures
Fantastic Four Adventures
Fantastic Four Adventures is part of Marvel UK's 'Collector's Edition' line. It is being published by Panini Comics but reprints Marvel Comics from the United States. It began in 2005 around the release of the Fantastic Four film and follows the format established by the Collector's Edition Range...
, Marvel Legends
Marvel Legends
Marvel Legends is an action figure line based on the characters of Marvel Comics, initially produced by Toy Biz, then by Hasbro. This line is in the scale, with spin-off lines in the , , and scale.-History:...
featuring Captain America, Iron Man and Thor
Thor (comics)
Thor has appeared as a character in various comics over the years, appearing in series from a range of publishers.-Marvel Comics:Thor is a Marvel Comics superhero, based on the thunder god of Norse mythology...
, a new The Mighty World of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel was Marvel UK's first-ever title, debuting in 1972, and is also the name of a similar current comic printed by Panini Comics, which bought the Marvel UK titles....
as well as the introduction of the Ultimate Marvel imprint, consisting of Ultimate Spider-Man and X-Men
Ultimate Spider-Man and X-Men
Ultimate Spider-Man and X-Men was a Marvel UK comic book series published by Panini Comics every four weeks. The title reprinted one issue of Ultimate Spider-Man and one issue of Ultimate X-Men in each issue.-History:...
(which was originally two titles, which merged since it was reprinting the stories too fast for Marvel US to print them) and Ultimate Fantastic Four (cancelled because of low sales, and because it was only a few issues behind the US title by the end).
Alongside these mainly reprint titles, Panini continues to print Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
which still features originally produced comics by British creators, something Panini do in their other titles. This includes the first new Captain Britain story by a British creative team in over a decade which was created by Jim Alexander, Jon Haward
Jon Haward
Jon Haward is a comics artist. He has illustrated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Judge Dredd, Sinister Dexter and Biker Mice From Mars, among other strips.-Reference:...
and John Stokes
John Stokes (artist)
John Stokes is a British comics artist who has largely worked for IPC and Marvel UK and is best known for his work on Fishboy.-Biography:Stokes got into the comics industry thanks to his brother George Stokes who already worked for IPC...
in Spectacular Spider-Man (UK version) #114 published in March 2005
2005 in comics
- January :* January 3: Will Eisner, creator of The Spirit, dies at age 87.-April:*April 13:**DC Comics announces the discontinuation of its Humanoids and 2000 A.D. titles....
. Also published from 2004
2004 in comics
-February:*February 6: Marvel Enterprises and Electronic Arts announce a multi-year agreement in which EA will develop a new generation of fighting video games pitting Marvel superheroes against a new, original set of EA heroes....
onwards was Marvel Rampage, which like Spectacular Spider-Man was aimed at a younger audience, and similarly featured all-new UK-originated material, this time featuring characters from all across the Marvel Universe. Several of those short stories were written by noted Spider-Man writer Roger Stern
Roger Stern
Roger Stern is an American comic book author and novelist.-Early career:In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine CPL , one of the first platforms for the work of John Byrne...
.
In March 2006
2006 in comics
-January:*January 1, 2006: Newsweek offer a look back at 2005 through editorial cartoons. *January 2, 2006: The Cincinnati Enquirer cartoonist Jim Borgman starts a blog to detail his creative process...
, Marvel Entertainment and Panini S.p.A announced that they had "renewed and expanded their publishing agreement under which Panini retains a master license for producing translated versions of Marvel comics for Europe and selected Latin American countries. The new agreement includes a major expansion of editorial projects in which Panini will originate new content under the creative supervision of Marvel."
Panini Comics
Panini Comics
Panini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, best known for their collectible stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy...
also publishes Marvel Legends
Marvel Legends (comics)
Marvel Legends is a British comic book series. It is part of Marvel UK's 'Collector Edition' line which began publication on 21 December 2006. It is being published by Panini Comics but reprints Marvel Comics from the United States. Each issue features a Captain America, Thor and an Iron Man story...
from December 2006
2006 in comics
-January:*January 1, 2006: Newsweek offer a look back at 2005 through editorial cartoons. *January 2, 2006: The Cincinnati Enquirer cartoonist Jim Borgman starts a blog to detail his creative process...
onwards as a replacement for Batman Legends
Batman Legends
Batman Legends is part of the UK's 'Collector's' Edition' line of comic books. The first volume was published by Panini Comics for 41 issues between October 2003 and November 2006. The second volume has been published since December 2006 by Titan Magazines...
comic when it lost the licence to reprint DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
to Titan Magazines
Titan Magazines
Titan Magazines is the magazine-publishing division of Nick Landau's Titan Publishing Group. Titan also owns several Forbidden Planet specialist comics and collector stores .Titan Magazines' publishing director is Chris Teather.TPG also owns Titan Books,...
.
Panini also produces a third magazine called Spider-Man and Friends
Spider-Man and Friends
Spider-Man and Friends was a line of action figures and related merchandise featuring the comic book character Spider-Man and other characters appearing in Marvel Comics publications, released by Marvel Entertainment's toy division, Toy Biz, from 2003 to 2006...
aimed at younger readers below the age of six.
External links
- Panini Comics official site
- It Came From Darkmoor — blog dedicated to "the British corner of the Marvel Comics universe"