1990: EPI-LOG MAGAZINE Issue 3

From 1990: EPI-LOG adopts a supernatural/ unexplained/ twist-in-the-tale theme for the third issue. 

1975: MAN THING'S DEBUT IN DRACULA LIVES House Ad (Marvel UK)

From 1975: A MARVEL UK House Ad teasing the British premiere of Man Thing (snigger) in the pages of DRACULA LIVES.  

I've not followed ol' MT's UK career particularly closely but I am aware that he popped-up (possibly in the same material again-and-again... as was the M-UK way) in DRACULA LIVES, PLANET OF THE APES (incorporating Dracula Lives), JOURNEY INTO NIGHTMARE (one of the published-under-license Marvel scare-fare monthlies from Portman), CHILLER POCKET BOOK and SAVAGE ACTION.  Did I miss any? 

This appeared in December 1975. 

1983: X-MEN SPINNER GUN 'HOW-TO...' GUIDE (Marvel UK)

From 1983: I remember being utterly perplexed by the (presumably off-the-shelf... or out-of-a-cracker) Spinner Gun freebie cover-mounted to the first issue of MARVEL UK's new X-MEN weekly.  

It only consisted of three parts (the flat plastic gun, the spinner and the elastic band) but it confounded all attempts to make it work.  How could something so small and simple be so perplexing?  

Clearly I wasn't alone as the British Bullpen saw fit to publish this handy guide in the seventh issue (cover-dated 15 June 1983). 

By which point... I'd lost the gift.  Sigh. 

1992: STAR TREK FINAL FRONTIER MAGAZINE Launch Ad

From 1992: A launch ad for the new British STAR TREK magazine FINAL FRONTIER.

This mag was a weird one: I don't think it was ever authorized by Paramount but, initially, side-stepped the issue by licensing TREK related content from STARLOG MAGAZINE.  That deal didn't last so FF continued with what looked like self-generated content... and a lot of stills as padding.

Some of the later issues are all but devoid of content and just a succession of adverts for what appears to have been the publisher's main cash-cow: mail order merchandise. 

This ad appeared in the first issue of MOVIE MAGAZINE (covered here), another Starlog reprint vehicle from the same publisher. 

1986: ON SALE THIS WEEK: SECRET WARS Issue 31 (Marvel UK)

On sale this week in 1986: The last UK installment of the original (and about to be revived) SECRET WARS limited series.

The British Bullpen cannily stretched the twelve American editions over thirty-one issues thanks to the time-tested method of chopping them into ever-smaller episodes.  The rest of the issues were bulked out by Alpha Flight (a strip originally pencilled-in for the pages of CAPTAIN BRITAIN monthly... before it went all-British) and, latterly, the Ice Man limited series (previously announced for the pre-reboot SPIDER-MAN weekly) and the made-in-the-UK ZOIDS strip (destined for better things in the pages of the new SPIDER-MAN AND ZOIDS).  

As the back page proudly announced... change was coming....

1982: THOR and SPIDER-MAN by ALAN DAVIS COLOUR POSTER (Marvel UK)

From 1982: Another Alan Davis colour poster from the centre pages of SPIDER-MAN issue 486 (30 June 1982).

1980: FOOM ISSUE 23 ANNOUNCEMENT (Marvel UK)

From April 1980:  It's a little blurred (sorry!) but the right-hand column of this cavalcade of MARVEL UK announcements includes the reassuring news that the long-delayed 23rd issue of FOOM, Marvel's in-house fanzine was imminant.  

The US edition had been dropped after 22 issues... leaving the British Bullpen in a fix as Marvel had sold subscriptions in two-issue bundles... and the last duo sold were issues 22 and 23.  Whoops.

Ever since he'd taken the helm, Dez Skinn had promised that the Annex of Ideas would honor its commitment and publish a special UK edition.  Skinn was on his way out the door (or already gone) by the time this appeared but his successor, Paul Neary (the first time around), was still talking about it.

We're still waiting...

This appeared in SPIDER-MAN 370. 

1979: ON SALE THIS MONTH: THE NEW SPIDER-MAN COMIC Issue 311 (Marvel UK)

On sale this month in 1979: The first issue of the post-Marvel Revolution THE NEW SPIDER-MAN COMIC (aka Spider-man issue 311).  

This was the most radical overhaul of the British Spider-man comic since its launch in 1973.  The Titans-format era might have messed with the layout... but at least it kept the US pages intact (albeit pretty darn small).

Dez Skinn was convinced that the British Marvel comics would be more successful if they looked more like every other British comic.  So he dumped the glossy covers (which also, not coincidentally, saved a few bob as Dez didn't drop the price to compensate) and crammed as many strips as possible into each issue.

He managed that by taking the scalpel and cow gum to the US art and relaying the pages to cram many more panels onto each page.  Which allowed him to squeeze more, shorter, strips into every issue.  In the new post-revolution world, most of the strips ran no more than three pages (and sometimes, thanks to half-page house ads, less) per week.  

It's a pity he didn't devote the same level of effort to making the eye-straining Pocket Books (launched the following year) more readable by relaying the pages so that they had LESS panels-per-page. 

1990: EPI-LOG MAGAZINE Issue 2

From 1990: the second issue of EPI-LOG, the magazine of episode guides.

Want to know what's inside?  Just glance at the cover...

1993: OPENING SHOT TV DOCUMENTARY in THE EXPLOITS OF SPIDER-MAN (Marvel UK)

From 1993: some behind-the-scenes stills from Tim Quinn's (who also happened to be both the Editor of the very comic these appeared in... as well as the author of the gag strip below) OPENING SHOT documentary devoted to MARVEL UK. 

The documentary captured the British Bullpen at the height of the Genesis Explosion, a time when it genuinely looked like it might be a contender... even if some of the titles being churned out seemed a little - ahem - on the rushed side.  

Unfortunately.... it all collapsed when the bottom dropped out of the market at the end of the year.  

This reveals that the overall series, a spin-off from LWT's Sunday night mainstay THE SOUTH BANK SHOW, had the working title 'The Young Bank Show'.  I can't imagine why they changed that...

This is from THE EXPLOITS OF SPIDER-MAN issue 9, cover-dated 2 June 1993.