IT'S A MARVEL-OUS WORLD...



Art by John Buscema



Thirty-eight years ago, on September 30th, 1972, THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL #1 (cover dated October 7th) burst onto newsagents' counters all over Britain. I hadn't seen the STAN LEE-voiced TV ad (although I did later), so it came as a surprise when I spotted the comic on a wall-rack outside a newsagent's along from Glasgow's famous BARROWLAND market (aka THE BARRAS), where I and my parents were heading on that particular Saturday morning.

Art by Jack Kirby

I couldn't talk my folks into buying it for me on the way in, but I had managed to wear them down into submission by the time we were on our way out an hour or so later. We were soon ensconced in the cosy confines of a comfy cafe, and it was with great joy that I pored through its contents over a glass of cola and re-acquainted myself with the friends I had first met in the pulsating pages of ODHAMS'
range of POWER COMICS,
way back in what even then seemed like the dim and distant days of the '60s. Suddenly life was exciting again.

DEZ SKINN once revealed that Stan had told him the comic's original title was going to be The WONDERFUL World of Marvel (after the Disney TV programme of almost the same name), but thankfully 'twas not to be. Besides, MIGHTY and MARVEL go so well together it seems the obvious choice, so I'm amazed that any other name was even considered.

Art by Jack Kirby

Forty pages, some in full-colour (the rest with green 'spot' colour), for only 5 pence - containing the origins of THE INCREDIBLE HULK, THE (FABULOUS) FANTASTIC FOUR and THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN - plus a Hulk iron-on transfer (left) - WOW! I wish they still produced comics like that today!

Well, in a sense - they DO! I'm still buying MWOM today, although it's now published monthly, has seventy-six full-colour pages and costs £2.95.

The Mighty World of Marvel - I hope it's still around in ANOTHER thirty-eight years. In fact, I hope I'M still around also.