Valour #1

05 Nov 1980; Cover price 14p.
32 pages. B&W.
Marvel Comics Ltd.

Edited by Paul Neary.

Cover by Jack Kirby. r: UNKNOWN.

Free Devil Dinosaur jigsaw piece.

Contents:

.2 Valour is the Name... (three quarter page) / earth 33 1/3 UNTITLED [Being the Allfather has it's drawbacks] w: Tim Quinn; a: Dicky Howett.

.3 Conan the Barbarian The Devil Has Many Legs! part 1, w: Roy Thomas; p: John Buscema, i, Ernie Chan, lettering by Joe Rosen.

r: Conan the Barbarian (Marvel Comics) #101 (Aug 1979).

.7 Savage Action in-house advertisement.

.8 Devil Dinosaur UNTITLED w:/p: Jack Kirby, i: Mike Royer, lettering by Mike Royer.

r: Devil Dinosaur (Marvel Comics) #01 (Apr 1978).

13 The Bold and the Brave w:/a: Wally Wood, lettering by Sam Rosen.

r: Tower of Shadows (Marvel Comics) #05 (May 1970).

20 Marvel Back-Issue Bonanza advertisement.

21 Starburst in-house advertisement.

22 Dr. Strange A Gathering of Fear w: Roger Stern; a: Tom Sutton, lettering by Irving Watanabe.

r: Doctor Strange (Marvel Comics) #30 (Aug 1978).

26 Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in-house advertisement.

27 Tales of... Asgard! UNTITLED w: Stan Lee; p: Jack Kirby, i: George Roussos, lettering by Artie Simek.

r: Journey into Mystery (Marvel Comics) #97 (Oct 1963).

32 Starburst in-house advertisement.

It is frustrating that old Conan strips get dragged out of mothballs once again when so many great, bizarre strips are overlooked, but at a brief four pages it isn't too much of an imposition on Marvel's attempt at a fantasy title. Valour even uses an old Kirby illustration of Devil Dinosaur on the front cover, despite it looking crude when placed alongside 2000 A.D.'s wonderfully detailed Flesh strips.

There's little point in complaining about the focus on reprints, although there is a wonderful comedy strip in the form of earth 33 1/3 to make up for the lack of inspiration on show. Tim Quinn and Dicky Howett's contribution to the UK branch of Marvel is large, and it is impossible to actively dislike the material. Often pricking the pomposity and absurdity of the material they shared pages with, the broad comedy which they brought to the titles made the superheroes palatable.

Despite Wally Wood's inimitable talents, The Bold and the Brave, a portal fantasy which throws in the hokey "was it all a dream" question, is a forgettable sidestep which has been pointlessly retitled with a taunt at DC reprints. Far better is the Doctor Strange strip, which riffs on classic horror and noir elements, though by this point it is clear that the editing of the strips to fit the format is going to result in ridiculously slow developments.

Thoroughly underwhelming, the idea that Valour could compete with IPC and Thomson output is an amusing one. The choice of contents is bizarre, with Conan being the prime offender - how many times could people purchase the same stories without feeling ripped off? The entire enterprise feels like a collection of offcasts which didn't have an obvious place to be reprinted, gathered together in one place where they could be safely ignored.

You could be forgiven for thinking that Marvel UK had no love for Ka-Zar.