CREEPY WORLDS #133...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Just arrived at Castel Crivens this morning is a comic which I'm not quite sure if I ever owned previously or not.  I am of course familiar with the lead story (Avengers #6) from various reprints over the years (the first I read being in Terrific #s 1 & 2 when it was split into two parts), and I may've read The Wasp tale in an issue of Marvel Collectors' Item Classics (or another issue of Terrific), but I don't think I've seen Meet Mr. Meek! before.  That said, the splash page of No Human Can Beat Me! does ring a bell in the cavernous confines (if that's not a contradiction in terms) of my memory, so either I did have this issue at one time or I've seen the tale reprinted elsewhere.

The interesting thing about this particular ish is that it has a folded and stapled spine, not being square-bound and glued like most Alan Class periodicals.  I assume that the original '60s AC printing (priced a shilling) would've been square-bound, but for some reason unknown to me, this '70s new pence version wasn't.  I only have two stapled AC comics in my collection, so either this was an experiment, or maybe there was a malfunction with their usual process, which required a temporary resort to staples.  Or perhaps they switched because staples were cheaper (?), but it was soon realised that the square-bound issues gave the impression of containing more content (on account of appearing thicker due to the flat spine), hence the return to the square-bound format.  Anyone know for sure? 

Anyway, enjoy the cover and splash pages from this number - it's my thoughtful way of sharing something with you that you might not own yourself.  There was also a two-page text story (The Wish), but its one illustration was so tiny that I thought you'd be able to live without it.    

Posted in: Cartoons