1980: MARVEL UK's FRANTIC SPOOFS THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

From October 1980: MARVEL UK's FRANTIC (think: Marvel UK knocking-off CRAZY which was knocking-off MAD) spoofs THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

This is issue 8, on-sale in September 1980 with an October cover date.

I would guess this is one of the lesser-known Marvel UK STAR WARS tie-ins, even if it it is of a more unofficial nature than the regular weekly/ monthly and assorted spin-offs.  Marvel NY were unaware of its existance until I alerted them.  It remains to be seen whether this cover will appear in their upcoming omnibus (which will now - it seems - contain less than originally billed) of British STAR WARS material.

1980: FRANTIC ISSUE 1 (MARVEL UK)

From March 1980: the first issue of the ongoing run of FRANTIC, the obvious MAD-alike magazine concocted by Dez Skinn (who just happened to be the former editor of the British edition of MAD) during his tenure as the Big Chief at MARVEL UK.

Dez, before committing too much effort to the title, tested the concept with two specials, summer and winter, published the previous year. With these deemed a success, the Annex of Ideas jumped in and launched its first regular humour title. It was all part of Dez's plan to break out of the superhero ghetto which was deemed to have a very finite audience amongst UK buyers.

The bulk of the material was swipped from Marvel's US Mad clone CRAZY, bulked out with pages from HOWARD THE DUCK and other humour fare. It also included a limited amount of original UK material.

It eventually ran for eighteen regular issues (and no further specials) before folding into the title obviously devised to replace it: MARVEL MADHOUSE.

Madhouse launched in June 1981 and the two titles merged with the fourth issue. Despite being heavily dependent on tired sixties reprints from NOT BRAND ECCH! (as well as new material by Tim Quinn and Dicky Howett - their autobiography is out now and well worth a read for their adventures in comics and TV), MM mustered a commendable seventeen months before the Bullpen pulled the plug in October 1982.

1979: FRANTIC SUMMER SPECIAL (Marvel UK)

Superman… On a Marvel comic?  It can only be the hype machine (and some timely opportunism) surrounding SUPERMAN THE MOVIE again.

This is the first edition of MARVEL UK's FRANTIC, a test-the-market one-shot published in the Summer of 1979.

This was one of the first wave of seasonal specials launched under the Marvel Revolution.  Up until this point, the New York masterminded operation had believed imported magazines and Treasury Editions more than sated British demand for extra Marvel goodies.  

Dez, on the other hand, already had a career in British comics and understood the local market far better.  He also had a brief from Stan to grow the UK operation and not only did specials allow him to do that but they were also handy test-the-water tasters to see whether readers and retailers would be receptive to a new launch without all the risks of a costly failure.

I've already posted the FRANTIC WINTER SPECIAL from the end of 1979 and, buoyed by the success of the pilots, this MADalike (which swiped much of its content from CRAZY, Marvel New York's Mad knock-off) returned as a regular book the following year.  

Of course, Dez had been a former editor of the UK edition of MAD so he knew all about repackaging US humour to try and make it more attractive to British sensibilities.

1981: FRANTIC HOUSE AD (Marvel UK)

This is a MARVEL UK 1981 House Ad flogging subscriptions (courtesy of those Essex Boys and Girls at the Perfect Mailing Company) for FRANTIC MAGAZINE, their MAD-alike humour monthly.

1979: FRANTIC WINTER SPECIAL (Marvel UK)

More BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (or… a close approximation of it), this time from MARVEL UK's FRANTIC WINTER SPECIAL, published in late 1979.

Dez Skinn had previously been the boss at the British edition of MAD MAGAZINE so it's no wonder that he'd repeat the formula at his new new home.  

This was the second FRANTIC one-shot (following Skinn's tried-and-tested piloting process before committing to a regular launch) and was followed by a monthly the following year.

I imagine that this strip was reprinted from the 47th issue of Marvel's US MAD imitator CRAZY MAGAZINE although I don't have a copy to hand to double-check.  

The cover art is recycled from CRAZY issue 16, published in the States during the 1975 festive season (and cover-dated March 1986).

1981: MARVEL MADHOUSE ISSUE 1 (Marvel UK)

MARVEL MADHOUSE is another obscurity from the Marvel UK vaults.

Launched in the summer of 1981, it was another addition to the monthly line and - briefly - a companion to the MAD-inspired FRANTIC, the MAD-esque monthly launched during the Skinn era.

MM pulled vintage humour strips from the Marvel archives, most of which seemed to spoof Marvel's own characters and comics (see below).

It eventually clocked-up 17 issues between 1981 and 1982, absorbing FRANTIC along the way.