1983: THE X-MEN AND THE MICRONAUTS in MARVEL AGE MAGAZINE (Marvel Comics)

 

From 1983: A behind-the-scenes feature (and exclusive cover) devoted to THE X-MEN AND THE MICRONAUTS four-parter from the pages of in-house puff-piece producer MARVEL AGE MAGAZINE.  

The cover was a special MARVEL AGE commission.  

See the previous post for the cover gallery.  

This, incidentally, was the first issue of MA to boast 32 pages (for a mere 35 cents compared with 60 cents for a regular Marvel title... and they contained external advertising but, of course, cost a lot more to make) rather than the initial 16 pages (for a quarter). 

1983: THE X-MEN AND THE MICRONAUTS Limited Series (Marvel Comics)

From 1983/ 1984: One of the more bonkers limited series (at least until the X-MEN/ TREK crossovers of the Nineties) of the Star Age: X-MEN AND THE MICRONAUTS.

Well, maybe not so strange... the mighty miniature Micronauts were, after all, integral to the mainstream Marvel Universe even through the Bullpen had only borrowed them.  Quite why they were deemed to be worthy of a four-part run in the mutants is less clear.  Presumably the strong sales in the direct market made it a no-brainer for the circulation department.  

Back issue prices don't reflect it but this is also one of the rarest X-outings of the decade.  When Marvel lost the rights to the Micronauts a few years later (a plan to revive them a decade later stalled on the launch pad), they also lost the ability to reprint this four-parter.  It's not been seen outside the back issue bins (where, in truth, it seldom surfaces as a complete set) anywhere (except a four-issue rerun in MARVEL UK's THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL... which was cancelled a month after the reprints ended) since.  

The announcement that IDW have picked-up the rights to both the 'Nauts and ROM THE SPACE KNIGHT (who, unlike the former, didn't see a return to comics during the early Noughties fad for toy-based print revivals) opens up the slim possibility that both the original series will return to print... although IDW will still have to overcome the problem of multiple appearances by Marvel's copyrighted characters throughout both runs.  

The UK reprint in MWOM marked the last appearance of the Micronauts (following stints in STAR WARS WEEKLY, STAR HEROES and FUTURE TENSE) in the British line.  Their finale should have been in the pages of SECRET WARS II (yup, they were blessed by an encounter with the big-haired Beyonder) but the Annex of Ideas (possibly because the rights had already lapsed) skipped both the Micronauts and Rom crossovers.

1982: MARVEL GOES DIRECT-SALES-ONLY

From 1982: Marvel announces that three of its - ahem - lesser selling books (THE MICRONAUTS, KA-ZAR and MOON KNIGHT) were coming off the news stands... but continuing via the new-fangled Direct Sales system... better known as... your local comic book store.

This was a big move at the time... traditional retailers had always been the conduit for reaching would-be readers and, despite the inherent problems (crappy distribution, massive quantities of unsolds, dodgy business practices), was still the dominant outlet.  Comic Book stores were a relatively new phenomenon which would reach a smaller... but more committed readership.  

Compare that to today... when I was in Washington DC, I found only one bookstore that carried any US comics.  None of the myriad of convenience stores (all owned by one chain which appeared to have stitched-up the city centre) stocked any at all.  And I didn't see a single news stand or independent grocery store stocking them.  I realized quite how blessed we still are in the UK with WH SMITH (despite their poor customer service and ever-shrinking magazine sections) and independent newsagents still carrying a good range of magazines and comics.  I really hope we don't go the way of the USA.   

This page appeared in THE MICRONAUTS issue 39, cover-dated March 1982.  

1982: MICRONAUTS PIN-UP PAGE (Marvel)

From MICRONAUTS issue 40 (cover-dated April 1982)

1979: MICRONAUTS/ SHOGUN WARRIORS/ BATTLESTAR Subscription Ad (Marvel)

A tsunami of late-seventies Marvel licensed goodies: a tripple-whammy of THE SHOGUN WARRIORS, THE MICRONAUTS and (free!) leftover copies of the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA edition of MARVEL SUPER SPECIAL, featuring the Bullpen's first (and not entirely accurate) first crack at adapting the movie/ Saga Of A Star World pilot (Larson was busy editing and refining as he went… and Marvel just couldn't keep up with the changes coming out of the Universal cutting room).  

This appeared in US comics cover-dated July 1979.  

1980: THE MICRONAUTS HOMEWORLD (Marvel)

This is a handy-dandy map of the MICRONAUTS Homeworld, published in issue 24, December 1980.

1979: THE MICRONAUTS MICROSHIP: ENDEAVOR (Marvel)

Think of it as a missing page from THE OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE…

THE MICRONAUTS were firmly established as mainstays of the late seventies/ early eighties Marvel Universe (gosh, they even featured in a four-issue team-up with the X-Men which crossed the Atlantic in the pages of THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL), regularly featuring guest-shots by other Marvel characters (a win-win situation: kids who liked the toys might be tempted to pick-up other Marvel books whilst Marvel fans, predisposed to giving the licensed book a wide berth might be motivated to pick it up to see what another character was doing).  Only Rom (another MCU interloper) was off-limits.

Until Marvel scrapped the series, to make way for the ill-fated NEW UNIVERSE, and surrendered the license.  Suddenly, like the aforementioned Space Knight, Godzilla, The Transformers and others, it was as if the 'nauts never lived.

This, a one-page guide to their ship the Endeavor, is the sort of thing that - a few years later - would have been a Handbook mainstay.  It appeared in the 4th issue, cover-dated April 1979.

I'm sure a b&w variation of this page also appeared in MARVEL UK's STAR WARS WEEKLY at some point.

1980: THE BLACK HOLE and STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE MEGO TOYS

It's the battle of the STAR WARS wannabes.

This is an ad, published in US comics dated April 1980, plugging the action figure lines from the two Christmas 1979 would-be SF blockbusters THE BLACK HOLE and STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE.

Both lines, scaled to Kenner's Star Wars figures, came from MEGO in their unsuccessful attempt to make amends for not snapping-up the Lucas license (they also took a punt on BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25th CENTURY and - err - THE DUKES OF HAZZARD) but neither line proved very successful.

According to the Mego multi-part history published in Tomart's toy magazine, The Black Hole license proved a major stinker for the company (which is a shame as the figures were really rather nicely made) but they recouped some of the dollars they'd lost by striking a deal with Disney over the TRON name, trademarked by the toy maker through the MICRONAUTS line.

The HEROES WORLD name would loom large in the future history of US comics.  That was the retailer Marvel rashly snapped-up in December 1994 (the company was originally spun-off from Marvel's own mail order business in the mid-seventies) with grandiose plans of upgrading the local retailer and distributor into Marvel's exclusive in-house distribution business.

That sparked the dash-for-exclusivity that saw other publishers rush to sign their own deals.  The fallout left Diamond Distributors, alongside Heroes World, as last-man-standing.  HW proved a stinker and was eventually closed in 1997 as Marvel struggled with bankruptcy.  With no other options available, Marvel were forced to go cap-in-hand back to Diamond.  Whoops.

1978: BILL MANTLO on THE MICRONAUTS

This is a nice little two-page article - by prolific Marvel scribe (and - for a long time - their go-to guy for licensed properties) - Bill Mantlo, first published in THE COMICS JOURNAL issue 40 (June 1978) on the origins of THE MICRONAUTS.

As I've noted in various different posts, the diminutive warriors of the Microverse were Marvel UK mainstays between 1979 (when Dez Skinn launched them as a regular supporting feature in STAR WARS WEEKLY) and 1984 (their final regular appearance was their four-part team-up with the X-Men, reprinted in THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL volume 2 13-16).  Along the way, they also appeared in STAR HEROES WINTER SPECIAL 1979, STAR HEROES POCKET BOOK and FUTURE TENSE.

1983: BUTCH GUICE TALKS MICRONAUTS IN MARVEL AGE MAGAZINE

Ahhh MARVEL AGE MAGAZINE, Mighty Marvel's very own in-house fanzine and purveyor of the perpetually positive press release!

Back in the eighties (MA continued until 1994 although I'd long-since stopped reading it) Marvel Age was a one-stop shop to find out what was happening across the Marvel line (with occasional updates from non-comics activities like Marvel Books and Marvel Productions) without having to actually buy all the comics.  Now, decades later, it makes for a nostalgic reference source and I've built-up a complete collection.

Here's an exclusive cover and article from the third issue (June 1993) with MICRONAUTS artist Butch Guice.

As far as I know, done of his work on the core 'nauts book was ever reprinted by Marvel UK although THE X-MEN AND THE MICRONAUTS limited series appeared across four issues of THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL in what would be their British swan song.

1982: FUTURE TENSE: THE FINAL FAREWELL (Marvel UK)

Or - to be more accurate - not.  Having your comic cancelled can be an effective impediment to plans for vengeance. 

I've covered Marvel UK's short-lived, thrill-sucker infected, SF anthology FUTURE TENSE (1980-82.  Barely) in a few previous posts but I've finally got my paws on the hard-to-find final issue, so I thought it would be fun to share this full-page editorial farewell (below).

The panel above is the final frame from the final instalment of THE MICRONAUTS, a reprint of 'Betrayal' the 34th US issue.  Despite the optimistic caption, it marked the last regular appearance of the sometime denizens of the Marvel Microverse in the British line, ending a roller coaster ride encompassing STAR WARS WEEKLY, STAR HEROES WINTER SPECIAL/ POCKET BOOK (issues 1-8 only) and FUTURE TENSE.

The US book eventually clocked-up 59 issues, 2 annuals, the twenty-issue sequel MICRONAUTS: THE NEW VOYAGES and a five-issue run of early reprints in a fancy format (The Micronauts Special Edition).

The Marvel Micronauts, despite a couple of revivals from other publishers, have been stuck in comic book limbo for decades.  The House of Ideas eventually surrendered the license, preventing them from reprinting the back catalogue.  Their decision to firmly route the books in the mainstream Marvel Universe (a sure-fire way of boosting sales with continuous cameos from better-selling characters) makes reprints from another publisher (such as Titan's reruns of Marvel's BATTLESTAR GALACTICA strips or IDW's collection of Marvel's STAR TREK run) unlikely.  It's still possible to find the original US books in the bargain boxes... and they're well-worth grabbing if you can.

The diminutive spacers made one final Marvel UK appearance: a reprint, in the pages of the revived THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL (13-16, June-September 1984) of THE X-MEN/ MICRONAUTS limited series.  Their SECRET WARS II tie-in (MICRONAUTS: THE NEW VOYAGES 16, January 1986) was omitted (possibly for licensing reasons) from the British reprints.

You have to admire the final editorial below, it seems unusually honest and makes for an interesting recap of the title's (short) history.

FT didn't merge with any other title.  Presumably, the terms of the licensing agreements prevented any other comic rolling into the pages of Marvel's other three SF monthlies of the period (STAR WARS, DOCTOR WHO and BLAKE'S SEVEN) although ROM did, briefly, secure a supporting feature slot in the monthly Star Wars comic.

1980: STAR HEROES POCKET BOOK (Marvel UK)

I first looked at Marvel UK's POCKET BOOKS line last year but I recently acquired a full run of STAR HEROES POCKET BOOK, giving me the ideal excuse to revisit them.

For latecomers (who can't be bothered to click back): Dez Skinn created the black & white digest-sized line in 1980 as an economical way (for Marvel and readers) to expand the British line.  The smaller format was already well established in the UK thanks to the "pocket libraries" published by IPC and DC Thompson.  The Marvel UK books were all-reprint and most relied on archive material from the sixties, often a second (or even third) UK outing for the material (dating back to the Power Comics line of the late sixties).

STAR HEROES was the one exception: it reprinted the contemporary strips THE MICRONAUTS and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.  The former, based on the toys, had already been given its (hyped - see another previous post) premiere in the pages of (the always desperate for suitable supporting features) STAR WARS WEEKLY.  The latter was based on the TV show although, unless they read STARLOG, STARBURST or one of the other imported SF mags, the chances are most British readers only knew it as a series of movies and had no idea they were actually edited TV episodes.

The Battlestar reprints kicked-off by rerunning the sixth US issue, the first to break away from TV adaptations in favour of a parallel continuity.

Skinn had tested the formula (along with several other "heroes" formats including MARVEL SUPERHEROES and TV HEROES) the previous year with the STAR HEROES WINTER SPECIAL (notable for featuring an adaptation of the Battlestar episode Lost Planet of the Gods, a year before the two-parter hit British screens).

The STAR HEROES line-up remained constant for the first eight issues before the Micronauts vanished without any warning or explanation.  Reprints were also being serialised in FUTURE TENSE although Star Heroes readers would be none the wiser as no effort was made to tell anyone.

Issue 9 was a double-length issue all-Battlestar issue (including a reprint of the infamous ex-Tarzan strip, clumsily reworked to become a Battlestar tale involving giant apes).

The Galactica reprints continued in issue 10 but the arrival of sixties Lee/ Kirby X-MEN reprints (the New X-Men were simultaneously appearing in RAMPAGE MONTHLY) signalled change ahead.  This was (at least) the third time those strips had seen service in the UK (first appearing in FANTASTIC in the late sixties and again, in the seventies, in THE TITANS).  I'm pretty sure the first X-MEN strip also surfaced in one of the late seventies/ early eighties hardback annuals although I don't recall which one.  

The last of the Galactica reprints appeared in issue 11 and from 12 it officially became X-MEN POCKET BOOK, albeit with the (meaningless) top line "Marvel's star heroes".

The price jumped from 15p to 18p from issue 11 (without any of the usual editorial concessions to "rising prices").  Another leap, to 20p, kicked-in from issue 17 and again, to 25p, from issue 21. The double-sized 20th issue cost 40p.  Such rampant inflation might help explain the demise of the pocket books a few months later.

The renamed pocket book eventually clocked-up 28 issues before succumbing to the cancellation of the entire line (already pruned back in 1981) in '82. 

The same year, Marvel UK reran the same X-MEN reprints, albeit now in murky colour and at a larger size, again in X-MEN weekly (followed by THOR AND THE X-MEN and SPIDER-MAN).

1979: BILL MANTLO TALKS THE MICRONAUTS AND ROM (BEM ISSUE 24)

I promised someone last year that I would run this interview with Bill Mantlo, from British fanzine BEM (Issue 24, July 1979), in its entirety. And then spent several months trying to unearth the issue.  Predictably, I'd buried it in an unrelated long box.  But it's finally resurfaced, so here it is...

1978: THE MICRONAUTS in STAR WARS WEEKLY TEASER CAMPAIGN (Marvel UK)

Here's a series of Marvel UK teaser ads from late 1978/ early 1979 ushering the arrival of THE MICRONAUTS in STAR WARS WEEKLY.

STAR WARS WEEKLY

ISSUE 45

13 December 1978

STAR WARS WEEKLY

ISSUE 47

27 DECEMBER 1978

MARVEL UK HOUSE AD

January 1979

STAR WARS WEEKLY

ISSUE 50

17 January 1979

1979: STAR HEROES WINTER SPECIAL (Marvel UK)

Here's a fantastic slice of late seventies comics sic-fi: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and THE MICRONAUTS... in the same comic.  Only the addition of a ROM SPACEKNIGHT reprint could make this the perfect comic.

STAR HEROES WINTER SPECIAL was published under the Dez Skinn regime and marked the first time the British outpost had issued Winter one-shots (following a clutch of Summer Specials earlier in the year).

It's notable for three things:

1. The first British reprints of Marvel's Battlestar TV tie-in.  Marvel's adaptation of SAGA OF A STAR WORLD (aka the Battlestar Faux Feature) had reached British shores through imports of the US editions in Super Special, Treasury and paperback formats.

2.  The Battlestar strip, reprinted from US issues 4-5, adapted the TV adventure LOST PLANET OF THE GODS.  Although aired in the US in September 1978, it didn't reach UK screens (specifically the London region) for another year.

3.  Skinn used Marvel's one-shot specials as pilots for possible new ongoing titles.  This one was clearly deemed a success as STAR HEROES POCKET BOOK, with the same line-up, was part of the first wave of Pocket Books the following summer.

Skinn has said, in subsequent articles, that he was underwhelmed by Battlestar and didn't think it stood much chance of replicating the runaway success of STAR WARS.  Faced with a dearth of suitable back-up strips for the pages of the ravenous STAR WARS WEEKLY, Skinn planned to run the Battlestar strip there, until outside forces (ahem) intervened.  George Lucas and 20th Century Fox were embroiled in a copyright dispute with Universal over the (undeniable) similarities between their respective space franchises.  In such a climate, running Battlestar in a Star Wars comic was not a smart move.

With that plan nixed, and believing Battlestar wasn't strong enough to fly solo, Skinn created Star Heroes and bundled in The Micronauts, hitherto a Star Wars back-up.

Universal's licensing people, apparently not grasping the term "exclusive", also gave British weekly LOOK-IN the green light to start running a regular Battlestar strip almost simultaneously.  Both were hampered by the no-show of the TV series itself (held back by the studio to maximise income from the Battlestar movies in overseas markets) until September 1980.

BTW: the cover flash "and lots more" is somewhat spurious... there's nothing else!

1984: THE X-MEN AND THE MICRONAUTS HOUSE AD

This is Marvel's house ad, from January 1984, for the improbable combination of Marvel's muties and the Micronauts.  The limited series will be familiar to British readers thanks to its four-month run in THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL volume 2 (the last time the Micronauts appeared in a Marvel UK comic).

For licensing reasons, it (along with the rest of Marvel's Micronauts back catalogue) has never been reprinted making it a prime find in 50p back issue boxes.

1977: STAR WARS OFFICIAL COLLECTORS EDITION from MARVEL

This magazine-format one-shot, published by Marvel, was one of the first official STAR WARS publications to hit the UK, along with the first of two treasury edition reprints of Marvel's movie adaptation.

Copies were shipped to UK newsagents and it was heavily plugged in the Marvel UK range at the end of 1977 and the beginning of 1978.

The cover, above, is from the UK edition although, except for the price information and the Micronauts advert (below) on the back cover (the same advert appeared on the back cover of the first issue of STAR WARS WEEKLY in February 1978), the magazine is identical to the the US edition. 

The double-page spread below gives a flavour of how the interior pages looked.  Surprisingly, for a Marvel publication, there's no comic strip inside and no cross-promotion for either the US monthly or the UK weekly.

Similar (but glossier and more ambitious) tie-ins were also published for the next two films, although neither came from Marvel.

HOUSE AD 1977