FABULOUS FLASHBACKS: FANTASTIC AT FIFTY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Launched on Saturday, February 11th 1967, it's now been

50 years since FANTASTIC #1 appeared in newsagents' shops

all across the country.  Published by ODHAMS PRESS, it was the

next stage in the evolution of comic titles like WHAM!, SMASH! and

POW!, which featured U.K. humour strips among MARVEL reprints.

(Or vice versa.)  Unlike its companion papers 'though, the contents of

Fantastic weren't resized to fit a British comic's page, instead being

granted the privilege of appearing (more or less) in their original

format - albeit in a slightly larger size in black and white.

Credit boxes were omitted, and U.S. spellings, references,
and speech patterns were routinely altered ("I ain't" to "I'm not"
for example), but just seeing the artwork of JACK KIRBY, DON

HECK, and STEVE DITKO in all its crisp, cataclysmic glory, was
what mattered to young readers back in the day.  Not forgetting,
of course, the power-packed scripting of STAN (The Man)
LEE, LARRY LIEBER, and also ROY THOMAS.

The periodical was edited by ALFRED WALLACE and

ROBERT BARTHOLOMEW, aka ALF & BART.  Along with

ALBERT COSSER (COS), they oversaw the five weekly POWER

COMICS until, like the song's famous ten green bottles sitting on the

wall, there were none left.  Fantastic contained some home-grown

produce in the form of an occasional humour page, as well as The

MISSING LINK/JOHNNY FUTURE strip that appeared for

51 issues, drawn by Spanish artist LUIS BERMEJO.

It lasted only 89 issues, a Summer Special and 3 Annuals,
but Fantastic remains one of the more fondly-recalled comics
of the '60s by those who were fortunate (and discerning) enough
to have bought and relished it at the time.  Tell you what - let's
now take a look at why it was just so...Fantastic!

******

(I obtained my first replacement of this ish towards the end
of 1980, just over 13 years after it was first published.  Amazing
to think that more than 36 years have passed since then.)
  

The free pennant

Below, trade and newspaper ads for the comic's launch.
Note that the first one says the comic comes out on Monday
13th February, whereas the second 'says' it's Saturday 11th.  No
wonder kids often missed a new comic, if they were looking for
it two days after it first went on sale.  The comic came out on
a Saturday, not a Monday - despite what the cover said.

(This is a slightly revised post of one that was first

 published on Tuesday, February 1st 2011.)

Posted in: Cartoons