Future Tense #3

Britain's Newest Science Fiction Weekly!

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

Edited by Paul Neary.

Free 'Build Your Own Spaceship' piece, part three, designed by Rahid Khan.

Cover p: UNKNOWN.
r: UNKNOWN.

Contents:

 2 Welcome to Issue Three (half page) text introduction by Paul Neary. / The Concise History of the Galaxy (half page) UNTITLED [Uncle Frank] w: Tim Quinn; a: Dicky Howett. / Indicia

 3 The Micronauts Divided They Fall w: Bill Mantlo; p: Pat Broderick, i: Armando Gil, lettering by John Costanza.

r: Micronauts (Marvel Comics) #19 (Jul 1980).

11 Meet the Micronauts, part two, Princess Mari... Marionette w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

12 Seeker 3000! The Dying Sun!, part three, w: Doug Moench; a: Tom Sutton, lettering by Denise Wohl.

r: Marvel Premiere (Marvel Comics) #41 (Apr 1978).

16 Marvel Back-Issue Bonanza! in-house advertisement.

18 Star-Lord Windhölme, part three, w: Chris Claremont; p: John Byrne, i: Terry Austin, lettering by Tom Orzechowski.

r: Marvel Preview (Marvel Comics) #11 (Summer 1977).

22 Paladin In Manhattan, They Play for Keeps, part thee, w: Don McGregor; a: Tom Sutton, lettering by Gaspar Saladino & Bruce Patterson.

r: Marvel Premiere (Marvel Comics) #43 (Aug 1978).

25 Contact! w:/a: Tom Sutton; lettering by Tom Sutton.

r: Son of Satan (Marvel Comics) #08 (Feb 1977).

27 Warlock And Men Shall Call Him... Warlock!, part three, w: Roy Thomas; p: Gil Kane, i: Dan Adkins, lettering by Sam Rosen.

r: Marvel Premiere (Marvel Comics) #01 (Apr 1972).

32 Science Fantasy in Television, Cinema and Graphics in-house advertisement for Starburst.

Before you think that the quality has dipped so low as to negate any possibility of salvation, The Concise History of the Galaxy contains a classic moment of comedy, with more than a hint of 2001: A Space Odyssey being lampooned. While I may be alone in seeing a slight resemblance, the Captain Caveman styling present is greatly appreciated.

With the immensely original title of Divided They Fall, this issue's Micronauts tale strikes out in a bold new direction, with Bug being spooked by a dog's appearance, then engaging in dramatic battle with a chicken, before being capture by a bespectacled amateur scientist who refers to himself as "Odd John." Would anyone actually call themselves such a name? Strips this bad are rarely seen, so to see this in a Marvel title is plain embarrassing.

Star-Lord gets a sentient ship, called (in another startling leap of originality) "Ship". Honestly, why do I bother tormenting myself with possibilities that the quality of this title might rise to the level of... mediocre, perhaps. A lot of the strip's charm has evaporated as the story has progressed, though the appearance of reptilian aliens provide a brief jolt of excitement.

A highlight of the issue is Contact!, which - although the punch-line has been used time and time again - manages to raise a smile thanks to clever writing, some lively art, and a sense of the ridiculous which is entirely appropriate. Unfortunately, yet predictably, things return to normal with Warlock's mangling of science, in a speech so idiotic that even readers possessing no scientific knowledge whatsoever are likely to utter a sigh of despair at how moronic the notion is.

There is word of Star Trek strips forthcoming in the editorial, though I doubt even as tasty a promise as this is likely to have ensured readers' attention through so much of the poor material slapped together for this title. Had the Star Trek material been present since the start it might have held more immediate appeal, though I can't help thinking that the only way for the title to distinguish itself was to opt for original strips.

#02

Future Tense

#04

Spider-Man And Hulk Omnibus

Collection (1983).
136 pages. Full color.
Marvel Comics / Grandreams, Ltd.

Cover (uncredited).

Contents:

  6 Spider-Man Vengeance is Mine – Sayeth the Sword! w: Ralph Macchio; p: Jim Mooney, i: Mike Esposito, lettering by Joe Rosen, colouring by Petra Goldberg.

r: The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual (Marvel Comics) #2 (1980).

 38 Spider-Man Blight of the Bluebird text story (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Spider-Man Annual (Marvel Comics International Ltd. / Grandreams, Ltd.) 1983.

 44 Hulk Again, the Glob! w: Roy Thomas; a: Herb Trimpe, lettering by Sam Rosen.

r: Hulk (Marvel Comics) vol.2 #129 (Jul 1970).

 61 Hulk Caged text story (uncredited); illustrated by David Lloyd.

r: Hulk Annual (Marvel Comics International Ltd. / Grandreams, Ltd.) 1982.

 66 Spider-Man Starngore the Superb text story (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Spider-Man Annual (Marvel Comics International Ltd. / Grandreams, Ltd.) 1983.

 72 Hulk Shadow on the Land! w: Len Wein. a: Herb Trimpe, lettering by Artie Simek, colouring by Glynis Wein.

r: Hulk (Marvel Comics) vol.2 #184 (Feb 1975).

 88 Spider-Man Murder by Machine text story (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Spider-Man Annual (Marvel Comics International Ltd. / Grandreams, Ltd.) 1981.

 94 The Secrets of Spider-Man w: Stan Lee (uncredited). a: Steve Ditko (uncredited).

r: The Amazing Spider-Man Annual (Marvel Comics) #1 (1964).

101 Spidey's Spider-Senses! w: Stan Lee (uncredited). a: Steve Ditko (uncredited).

r: The Amazing Spider-Man Annual (Marvel Comics) #1 (1964).

102 The Secrets of Spider-Man's Mask w: Stan Lee (uncredited). a: Steve Ditko (uncredited).

r: The Amazing Spider-Man Annual (Marvel Comics) #1 (1964).

103 Hulk A Hostage for the Hulk text story (uncredited); illustrated by David Lloyd (uncredited).

r: Hulk Annual (Marvel Comics International Ltd. / Grandreams, Ltd.) 1982.

108 Spider-Man The Grin of the Goblin text story (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Spider-Man Annual (Marvel Comics International Ltd. / Grandreams, Ltd.) 1981.

114 Hulk Mogol! w: Roy Thomas; a: Herb Trimpe, lettering by Sam Rosen.

r: Hulk (Marvel Comics) vol.2 #127 (May 1970).

This amply illustrates one of the major problems in collecting Marvel UK titles from the eighties.

Here are strips which were originally serialized in the weekly titles, before being published in annuals, then finally (third time being the charm) brought together for this collection. No strip, of course, was merely used three times - Marvel liked to re-use reprints as a back-up for newer stories, repackaging things again and again.

The prose stories, unlike the strips, were only published once before, but so close to the original publishing date of the annuals makes for very repetitive reading. This isn't all bad news for people who want complete collections of character's appearances, as the production values are higher than used for Spider-Man and Hulk's respective annuals, and there aren't any of the notorious edits marring the strips.

Marvel Madhouse #1

Jun 1981; Cover price 35p.
36 pages. B&W contents.
Marvel Comics Ltd.

Cover by Marie Severin.
r: modified and recoloured cover from Not Brand Echh (Marvel Comics) #03 (Oct 1967).

Contents:

.2 Dangerous Visions advertisement.

.3 Welcome to the Marvel Madhouse contents page; illustraton uncredited. / Indicia

.4 Earth 33⅓: The Motion Picture And Lo There Shall Come a Norm! w: Tim Quinn; a: Dicky Howett.

.6 Charlie America The Honest-to-Irving, True-Blue, Top-Secret Original Origin of Charlie America! w: Roy Thomas; a: Tom Sutton, lettered by Gaspar Saladino.

r: Not Brand Echh (Marvel Comics) #03 (Oct 1967).

14 Dangerous Visions advertisement.

15 He's Mighty Sore "The Origin of Sore, Son of Shmodin!" w: Stan Lee; p: Jack Kirby, i: Frank Giacoia, lettering by Artie Simek.

r: Not Brand Echh (Marvel Comics) #03 (Oct 1967).

23 The Inedible Bulk! "The Origin of Brucie Banter ...and Friend" w: Gary Friedrich; a: Marie Severin, lettering by Artie Simek.

r: Not Brand Echh (Marvel Comics) #03 (Oct 1967).

30 From the Depths of the Hyborian Age (half page) in-house advertisement for The Savage Sword of Conan. / Now... in Every issue of Marvel Superheroes (half page) in-house advertisement.

31 Too-Gone Kid "The Fastest Gums in the West!" w: Roy Thomas; a: Marie Severin, lettering by Sam Rosen.

r: Not Brand Echh (Marvel Comics) #01 (Aug 1967).

35 Star Wars Watches for Boys & Girls! advertisement.

36 Missed any Good Magazines Lately? in-house advertisement for Starburst.

There's something inherently appealing about the mockery of superheroes. Unfortunately, the reliance on reprints means that this isn't quite as fresh and exciting as it could have been, with only Earth 33⅓ constituting original content. It is extremely good content, with three whole pages to play with, but is followed by so many reprints that no matter how well-crafted the strip is (it is very funny) there's a lingering suspicion that this issue isn't the best value for money.

Quinn and Howett provide a counterpoint to the solemnity and melodrama which regular strips routinely indulged in. A rocket carrying a baby from the dying planet of Britain hurtles through space towards Earth 33⅓, crashing into the bedroom of the Normans. Under Earth 33⅓'s dense gravity the child found it was weaker than on his homeworld. Adopted and named Norman Norman by the couple, his life was quiet until one night on his twelfth birthday his foster parent were gunned down by a robber.

Not being particular fond of them, their deaths didn't discourage Norman Norman. At the age of fifteen, Norman was attacked by a swarm of radioactive, gamma-ridden bats, leaving him suffering from radio-gamma sickness. And a strong dislike of bats. The ambulance taking him to hospital was then involved in a 300MPH collision. Thankfully modern technology being what it is, the surgeons began to rebuild Norman into something even better than before. Until they found out he was broke.

As far as origin stories go, Private Normal - the not-at-all-super-in-any-way-man - is very expansive, with numerous allusions to Marvel comics, and even the appearance of an issue of Whoopee!. The details (Mount Sinus Hospital, Doc Kildane, a sneaky Superman logo) are amusing, and the speed at which events progress means that there isn't a problem with the lack of a narrative thread. The strip remains as fresh as the day it was published, and almost makes up for the amount of reprints which follows.

The splash page of Charlie America makes a decent point (as all satire should) regarding the number of times origin stories are tackled. Some characters (such as Batman) have had their origin retold so many times that it is difficult to feel any empathy for the character's situation - sure, it's sad losing parents to a robber, but it is unbearably cruel and unusual punishment to be told the same story multiple times.

For reprints from Not Brand Echh, the rest of the strips aren't all that bad, and Marie Severin's work really shines in the format, even if the paper quality is abysmal. It is nice to see the linework without unnecessary colour.