An interesting item I found whilst looking through those old issues of Pow! was this piece from the News From the Floor of 64 column. This news feature ran in all the Odhams "Power Comics" and to my knowledge is the very first mention in a professional publication of a British comics convention. That first UK con later took place (in 1968) in Birmingham and was organized by Phil Clarke, Mike Higgs, and "Sunny" Steve Moore. (Steve was an office boy on Pow! back then, but later went on to write for Warrior, 2000AD, and many other comics.)
Pow! Looks like a pretty awesome comic, really. I like the 'Sunny Steve' mention - interesting glimpse into comics history.
ReplyDeleteThose weekly editorials and news items really gave a friendly vibe to the comics. They were obviously inspired by the US Marvel "Bullpen Bulletins" but all the same they gave an insight into the workings of comics that no other British comics had ever done before. Such an open attitude also inspired readers to submit intelligent letters discussing comics.
ReplyDeleteSadly, after the Odhams comics died we were back to comics with "My dog ate my copy of Whoopee!" type letters.