Captain Britain hits the big 4-0!

Exactly 40 years ago this week in 1976, Marvel UK launched Captain Britain No.1, their first title to feature a strip specifically produced for the British market. Unfortunately I've only gone and misplaced my copy, and unlike some bloggers I'm not the sort to nick images from other sites, so my tribute to the comic will be a bit brief and paltry I'm afraid. 

Above is a page I've shown on this blog before. It's the first page of the story from Captain Britain No.1, written by Chris Claremont and drawn by the late Herb Trimpe and Fred Kida. 

The 32 page comic featured Captain Britain as the lead strip in full colour, with back up strips being black and white reprints of part of a Stan Lee / John Buscema Fantastic Four story (a great era for the strip) and a Jim Steranko Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD story in full colour. 

As a 17 year old at the time I remember thinking that "Captain Britain" sounded a clumsy name compared to the cooler-sounding Captain America. And how exactly was CB a captain anyway? The comic was fun though, so I stuck with it for its 39 issue run (although I threw most of them away years ago). Cap went on to greater glories in later years with Alan Moore and Alan Davis, and still turns up occasionally in American Marvel comics. 

As a reminder to anyone now thinking "They should reprint those old stories", the good news is that Panini UK have, in several chunky softback books. Check them out on Amazon (here) or order them from your comic shop!

The second volume in the series.

Volume 3.

Volume 4. Cover by Staz Johnson

Herb Trimpe R.I.P.

I'm very sorry to hear of the passing of artist Herb Trimpe at the age of 75. He was known in the comics industry for many strips including his long run on The Incredible Hulk from 1969 to 1975 and the original artist on Marvel UK's Captain Britain in 1976.

The first work of Herb Trimpe's I noticed was on Incredible Hulk No.115 in May 1969. A striking cover and interior art that grabbed my attention on the shelf of my corner shop and which I eagerly bought for a shilling (5p). 

I've admired his work ever since. It was the beginning of a great era for the Hulk and it became my favourite American comic at the time. 

Many of those strips were of course reprinted in the British weekly The Mighty World of Marvel. 

He drew other strips as well of course, putting his love of aircraft to use by drawing The Phantom Eagle one-off in Marvel Super-heroes, the early issues of Captain Britain, various Western comics, and a long stint on Marvel's Godzilla comic in the 1980s, to name but a few. In recent years he wrote and drew a new strip for digital comic Aces Weekly.

A book on the artist's work, The Incredible Herb Trimpe, was already scheduled to be published soon by Twomorrows: 
http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1196

From the Twomorrows website.

My sincere condolences to Mr.Trimpe's family and friends.

Interview with Herb Trimpe:
http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=1593 

More information:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/04/14/herb-trimpe-passes-away-aged-75/

All images on this post (except the Twomorrows book cover) are from my personal collection.

No more Heroes

As you may have already heard elsewhere, Panini UK will no longer be allowed to produce new material featuring Marvel characters. This is a decision made by Disney, who acquired Marvel in 2009.

At first glance this seems like a poor business decision. For the past several years Panini have been commissioning brand new strips for their boys adventure comics Marvel Heroes and Spectacular Spider-Man. Each story was approved by Marvel US, the comics have proven to be very popular, the strips are kid-friendly, have introduced many new readers to the Marvel universe, and it created material that Disney could export to other territories if they'd wished.

However it seems that Disney now only want Marvel strips to be produced in America which will then be exported for various homogeneous international editions. (Pretty much as already happens with the standard Marvel material that Panini use in their 76 page Collectors Editions.) I guess this cuts out the middle man and gives Disney more control but it may also present problems. Readers of Marvel Heroes and Spectacular Spider-Man are accustomed to a writing style tailored for children, in strips that vary from 7 to 11 pages in length. Will the Disney/Marvel material fit the same specifics or will Panini find they have to run 22 page stories or chop them up into shorter episodes they were never designed for?

Of course the worst aspect of this is the loss of work for many UK freelancers who were contributing to those titles. People like Ferg Handley, Andie Tong, Jon Haward, Mike Collins, Simon Williams, John McCrea, Gary Erskine, David Roach, Lee Townsend and many more. Bear in mind that Marvel Heroes and Spectacular Spider-Man were the only two boys adventure comics left in the UK other than DC Thomson's Commando and one realizes that this is a major blow to British comics. (One can only hope that Strip Magazine in October and The Phoenix next year can turn things around.)

The issue of Marvel Heroes (No.36) out now is the last one to feature UK originated material. The end of an era is appropriately marked with a Captain Britain/Captain America team up by Ferg Handley and Mike Collins. (Mike having worked on the first UK originated Spider-Man strip in Marvel UK's Spider-Man Nos.607-610 in 1984.)


Next month, Marvel Heroes changes its title to Marvel Super-Heroes but continues the numbering. The ad promises "Brand new comic strip adventures". New to the UK that is, but not originated here.

All is not lost though. Panini UK have licenses to properties other than Marvel, and new strip material will continue in Doctor Who Magazine and no doubt we'll eventually see new non-Marvel titles too. They're down but not out.