At last, it’s the article you didn’t know you didn’t need!
Last year, when I had just about finished the Marvel UK 1900s Timeline and was taking one last look before committing it to the universe, I suddenly thought, “Hey, what about the British comics that reprinted Marvel strips before Marvel UK was established?”
Y’see, in the late 1960s Marvel characters such as Spider-Man and Iron Man appeared in Odhams’ comics Smash! and Terrific and Pow!, albeit with the US spellings tweaked, and often chopped up with the panels rearranged, characters replaced, and sometimes whole pages or sub-plots missing.
Then I recalled that Spider-Man and The Silver Surfer also appeared in TV21 & Joe 90. Well, that’s only four more comics, easy enough to fit in.
But, wait… What about the Alan Class comics that reprinted adventures of the Fantastic Four, among others? Ooooh, yeah. Obviously they’d have to be included too.
And also L. Miller & Son (of Marvelman fame/infame) was no stranger to the plundering of Marvel archives, nor were Thorpe & Porter or Streamline.
These comic book publishers/repackagers would sometimes pick and choose and mix and match, throwing Marvel strips in with those of other American publishers with not even the merest micro-smidgen of consideration to the already red-lining stress levels of future comic historians.
So… Yeah. That was all a bit much to add to the 1900s timeline, so I decided to save the pre-Marvel UK stuff for another time. And as you’ll have guessed, that time is now.
You see, kids, hindsight shows that those reprinted titles were extremely important: it was their success that made Marvel in the U.S. go, “Y’know, guys ‘n’ gals ‘n’ true believers, maybe we oughta set up our own company over there in the United States of Kingdom and publish the reprints ourselves!”
Marvel UK kicked off in October 1972 with their flagship title The Mighty World of Marvel, and that pretty much curtailed reprints of Marvel material by other UK publishers… Pretty much, but not entirely. Several Alan Class comics were still going and continued to reprint older Marvel material, and IPC, World Distributors and Grandreams published books on Marvel’s behalf, most notably hardcover annuals and an other couple of “comic albums.” Those annuals and such are outside the scope of this article — maybe another time!
Update 20240313: I’ve added four titles from Portman Distribution to the list: Demon!, Journey into Nightmare, Tales of Terror and Castle of Horror. In the latter half of the 1970s — while Marvel UK was in full-swing — Portman accidentally obtained a licence to reprint material from some US Marvel titles: apparently someone in the licensing department didn’t know about Marvel UK’s exclusive licence. When the folks at Marvel UK complained that someone else was mining their readership, the Portman deal was quickly terminated.
A couple of disclaimers:
- Actual publication dates, for the most part, are not known. Very few of these comics put dates on their covers, so sometimes it can be hard to pin them down even to a particular year.
- I’m not including US-published Marvel comics that were printed in the US with a pence price on the cover: this list is specifically for UK-based publishers who plundered the Marvel vaults.
- I have no doubt that there are errors and omissions here in this list — I have almost certainly missed out some comics, and possibly some publishers — but it’s as complete as I can make it right now. Do please let me know of any titles I’ve missed, or if you spot any errors or can supply more accurate information.
- I didn’t do one of those great big time-line chart thingies this time around because they’re a lot of work, plus my poor ol’ PC is now eight and a half years old. It breaks out into a cold sweat every time it sees the mouse pointer trundling across the desktop towards the Photoshop icon.
Western Killers Bumper Comic
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1949
To: 1949
Issues: 1
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Black Rider and Apache Kid.
Adventures into the Unknown
Publisher: Arnold Book Company
From: 1950
To: 1950
Issues: 20
Date uncertain. Reprints material from US Marvel’s Tales to Astonish, Journey into Unknown Worlds, Journey into Mystery, Strange Worlds, Strange Tales, Astonishing, and Mystic.
Eagle (1950)
Publisher: Hulton / Longacre / Odhams / IPC
From: 14 Apr 1950
To: 26 Apr 1969
Issues: 987
Absorbed: Swift, Boys’ World
Absorbed into: Lion
In 1968, towards the end of its life, Eagle reprinted episodes of the “Tales of Asgard” strips from the US Marvel series Journey into Mystery. Richard Sheaf of the utterly awesome Boys Adventure Comics blog tells me it ran for “42 weeks. From issue 7 to issue 48 of volume 19.”
Buffalo Bill (1950)
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1950
To: 1950
Issues: 4
Reprints material from the US Marvel series The Gunhawk and Black Rider.
Forbidden Worlds
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1950
To: 1951
Issues: 8
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Journey into Mystery, Strange Tales, Journey into Unknown Worlds, and Mystic.
Indian Warriors Super-Bumper Streamline Comic
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1950?
To: 1959?
Issues: 1
Actual publication year unknown, other than that it was the 1950s. Reprints material from the US Marvel series Kid Colt Outlaw and Black Rider.
Kid Colt Outlaw (1950)
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1950
To: 1960
Issues: 58
Reprints material from the US Marvel series of the same name, plus The Arizona Kid, Wild Western, Rawhide Kid, Two Gun Western, Apache Kid, The Outlaw Kid, Western Gunfighters, Billy Buckskin, Quick Trigger Western, Cowboy Action, Western Kid, Outlaw Fighters, Arrowhead, Red Warrior, Texas Kid, Gunsmoke Western, Matt Slade, Gunfighter, Reno Browne, and Six-Gun Western.
Two-Gun Kid
Publisher: World Distributors
From: 1950
To: 1950
Issues: 1
Reprints material from the 1948 US Marvel series of the same title, Wild Western, and Crimefighters.
Love Tales
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1950
To: 1955
Issues: 10
Reprints material from the 1949 US Marvel series of the same title.
Apache Kid
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1951
To: 1951
Issues: 3
Reprints material from the 1950 US Marvel series of the same title, plus Kid Colt Outlaw.
Boys’ Ranch (1951a)
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1951
To: Unknown
Issues: 4
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Black Rider.
Kid Colt Outlaw (1951)
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1951
To: 1951
Issues: 3
Issues are numbered #50 – #52. Reprints material from the US Marvel series of the same title.
War Comics (1951)
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1951
To: 1951
Issues: 1
Reprints material from the 1950 US Marvel series of the same title.
Western Fighters
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1951
To: 1953
Issues: 8
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Western Outlaws and Sheriffs, and Black Rider.
Western Outlaws and Sheriffs
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1951
To: 1951
Issues: 1
Reprints material from the 1949 US Marvel series of the same title.
Adventures into Weird Worlds
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1952
To: 1952
Issues: 2
Reprints material from the US Marvel series of the same name, plus Spellbound, and Astonishing.
Arizona Kid
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1952
To: 1952
Issues: 2
Reprints material from the 1951 US Marvel series of the same title, and Tex Morgan.
Black Magic Comics
Publisher: Arnold Book Company
From: 1952
To: 1954
Issues: 16
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Astonishing, Spellbound, and Mystic.
Black Rider
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1952
To: 1952
Issues: 2
Reprints material from the 1950 US Marvel series of the same title.
Frogman Comics
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1952
To: 1952
Issues: 7
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Astonishing.
Kid Colt Western Comics
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1952
To: 1952
Issues: 7
As we saw above, there’s already a Kid Colt Outlaw from the same publisher. This one appears to be a separate series which is why it’s called Kid Colt Western Comics on the Grand Comics Database. It’s all very confusing. Anyway, this one reprints material from the US Marvel series Kid Colt Outlaw, Wild Western, Texas Kid, Western Outlaws and Sheriffs, and Two Gun Western.
Lorna, the Jungle Girl
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1952
To: 1957
Issues: 21
Reprints material from the 1954 US Marvel series of the same title, plus Man Comics, Kid Colt Outlaw, and Jann of the Jungle.
Texas Kid Comics
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1952
To: 1952
Issues: 3
Reprints material from the 1951 US Marvel series of the same name, plus Western Outlaws and Sheriffs, and Two Gun Western.
Bible Tales for Young People
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1953
To: 1954
Issues: 8
Reprints material from the 1954 US Marvel series Bible Tales for Young People / Bible Tales for Young Folk. Retitled Illustrated Bible Tales from #6.
Comics to Hold You Spellbound
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1953
To: 1953
Issues: 2
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Spellbound, Marvel Tales, Mystic, Astonishing, and Adventures into Weird Worlds.
Frankenstein Comics
Publisher: Arnold Book Company
From: 1953
To: 1954
Issues: 5
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Astonishing, Mystic, Young Men, Man Comics, and War Comics.
Hooded Horseman
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1953
To: 1953
Issues: 2
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Black Rider.
Young Brides
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1953
To: 1955
Issues: 38
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Stories of Romance.
Young Romance
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1953
To: 1955
Issues: 39
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Stories of Romance.
Arrowhead
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1954
To: 1954
Issues: 3
Reprints material from the 1954 US Marvel series of the same title. (There was apparently also an Arrowhead comic from Streamline published in 1954, but I don’t have any details on that one.)
Black Magic Album
Publisher: Arnold Book Company
From: 1954
To: 1954
Issues: 1
Reprints material from Marvel’s Astonishing, Marvel Tales, and Mystic.
Captain America (1954)
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1954
To: 1954
Issues: 2
Reprints material from the 1954 US Marvel series of the same title. Note that the US originals feature the tagline “Commie Smasher” but this is changed to “Spy Smasher” in this edition.
The Haunt of Fear
Publisher: Arnold Book Company
From: 1954
To: 1954
Issues: 1
Reprints material from EC’s comic of the same name, plus US Marvel’s Young Men.
Human Torch
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1954
To: 1954
Issues: 2
Reprints material from the 1940 US Marvel series of the same title.
Justice Traps the Guilty
Publisher: Arnold Book Company
From: 1954
To: 1957
Issues: 28
Reprints material from Marvel’s All True Crime Cases Comics, and Tales of Justice. Note that the issue numbering continues with Thorpe & Porter’s Justice Traps the Guilty (below).
Two-Gun Kid
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1954
To: 1959
Issues: 38
Reprints material from the 1953 US Marvel series of the same name, plus The Ringo Kid Western, Annie Oakley, Kid Colt Outlaw, The Kid from Texas, Matt Slade, Gunfighter, Two Gun Western, The Outlaw Kid, Western Kid, Billy Buckskin, Quick Trigger Western, Gunsmoke Western, Cowboy Action, and Frontier Western.
Western Outlaws (1954)
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1954
To: 1954
Issues: 3
Reprints material from the 1954 US Marvel series of the same title.
Young Marvelman Annual
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1954
To: 1961
Issues: 8
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Speed Carter – Spaceman.
American Eagle Western
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1955
To: 1955
Issues: 1
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Apache Kid, and Rawhide Kid.
Battle Ground (1955)
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1955
To: 1955
Issues: 1
Reprints material from the 1954 US Marvel series of the same title.
Black Knight
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1955
To: 1955
Issues: 5
Reprints material from the 1955 US Marvel series of the same title.
Black Rider
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1955
To: 1955
Issues: 4
Reprints material from the 1955 US Marvel series Western Tales of Black Rider — from #3, this comic adopts that title.
Gunsmoke Western
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1955
To: 1956
Issues: 24
Reprints material from the 1955 US Marvel series of the same title, plus Wyatt Earp, The Outlaw Kid, Western Outlaws and Sheriffs, Two Gun Kid, Kid Colt Outlaw, Apache Kid, Two Gun Western, and Western Kid.
Homer the Happy Ghost
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1955
To: 1955
Issues: 3
Reprints material from the 1955 US Marvel series of the same title.
Marines in Action
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1955
To: 1955
Issues: 1
Reprints material from the 1955 US Marvel series of the same title.
Marines in Battle (1955)
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1955
To: 1955
Issues: 1
Reprints material from the 1954 US Marvel series of the same title.
Ringo Kid Western
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1955
To: 1956
Issues: 21
Reprints material from the 1954 US Marvel series of the same title.
True Secrets
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1955
To: 1957
Issues: 18
Reprints material from the 1950 US Marvel series of the same title.
War Comics (1955)
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1955
To: 1955
Issues: 2
Reprints material from the 1950 US Marvel series of the same title.
Western Kid
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1955
To: 1955
Issues: 17
Reprints material from the 1954 US Marvel series of the same title, plus Frontier Western.
Wild Western (1955)
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1955
To: 1955
Issues: 9
Reprints material from the 1948 US Marvel series of the same title, plus Matt Slade, Gunfighter.
Billy Buckskin Western
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1956
To: 1956
Issues: 3
Reprints material from the 1955 US Marvel series Billy Buckskin.
Cowboy Action
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1956
To: 1957
Issues: 18
Reprints material from the 1955 US Marvel series of the same title, plus Wild Western, Kid Colt Outlaw, Texas Kid, Western Outlaws and Sheriffs, and Western Outlaws.
Frontier Western
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1956
To: 1957
Issues: 13
Reprints material from the 1956 US Marvel series of the same title, plus Two Gun Kid, The Kid from Dodge City, Kid Colt Outlaw, Western Outlaws, and Rawhide Kid.
Love Romances (1956)
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1956
To: 1956
Issues: 1
Reprints material from the 1949 US Marvel series of the same title.
Lovers
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1956
To: 1957
Issues: 16
Reprints material from the 1955 US Marvel series of the same title, plus True Secrets.
Quick Trigger Western
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1956
To: 1957
Issues: 9
Reprints material from the 1956 US Marvel series of the same title, plus Two Gun Kid, Rawhide Kid, Western Trails, and True Western.
Young Love Album
Publisher: Arnold Book Company
From: 1956
To: 1956
Issues: 1
Reprints material from the 1956 US Marvel series Stories of Romance.
Romeo
Publisher: DC Thomson
From: 31 Aug 1957
To: 14 Sep 1974
Issues: 880
Reprints material from the 1955 US Marvel series Millie the Model.
Annie Oakley
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1957
To: 1958
Issues: 18
Reprints material from the 1955 US Marvel series of the same title.
Journey into Danger (1957)
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1957
To: 1957
Issues: 8
Reprints material from some US Marvel comics, details uncertain. See also Journey into Danger (1968) from Alan Class.
Justice Traps the Guilty
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1957
To: 1958
Issues: 15
Reprints material from US Marvel’s Tales of Justice. Numbering starts with #29, continuing from Arnold Book Company’s Justice Traps the Guilty (above).
Kid Slade Gunfighter
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1957
To: 1957
Issues: 7
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Rawhide Kid, Kid Colt Outlaw, and Apache Kid. Not to be confused with Matt Slade, Gunfighter (below) which renamed itself Kid Slade, Gunfighter from issue #6.
Matt Slade Gunfighter
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1957
To: 1957
Issues: 8
Reprints material from the 1956 US Marvel series of the same name, plus Rawhide Kid, Western Gunfighters, Kid Slade, Gunfighter, and Wyatt Earp. Retitled Kid Slade, Gunfighter from #6. Note: This is not the same comic as Kid Slade Gunfighter (above), which was published by the same publisher, in the same year. Yeah, I know.
Six-Gun Western
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1957
To: 1957
Issues: 9
Reprints material from the 1957 US Marvel series of the same title, plus Western Outlaws, Kid Colt Outlaw, Rawhide Kid, The Kid from Dodge City, Wild Western, and Outlaw Fighters.
Two-Gun Western
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1957
To: 1958
Issues: 14
Reprints material from the 1956 US Marvel series of the same title, plus Western Outlaws, The Kid from Dodge City, and Gunsmoke Western. First issue’s title is presented as 2-Gun Western.
Western Trails
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1957
To: 1957
Issues: 5
Reprints material from the 1957 US Marvel series of the same title, plus Outlaw Fighters, Western Outlaws, Rex Hart, and Tex Morgan.
Wyatt Earp
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1957
To: 1960
Issues: 44
Reprints material from the 1955 US Marvel series of the same title, plus Western Outlaws, Western Kid, Two-Gun Kid, The Arizona Kid, The Outlaw Kid, Kid Colt Outlaw, Gunsmoke Western, Matt Slade, Gunfighter. (This title also liberally reprinted stories from Charlton Comics’ 1956 series Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal.)
Kid Colt Outlaw Album
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1958
To: 1958
Issues: 1
Reprints material from the 1949 US Marvel series of the same name, plus Rawhide Kid, and Apache Kid.
Marines in Battle (1958)
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1958
To: 1958
Issues: 1
Reprints material from the 1954 US Marvel series of the same title.
Mr. District Attorney
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1958
To: 1961
Issues: 24
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Spellbound, and Tales of Justice.
Battle
Publisher: Streamline
From: 1959
To: 1959
Issues: 1
Reprints material from the 1951 US Marvel series of the same title.
Fargo Kid
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1959
To: 1959
Issues: 3
Reprints material from the US Marvel series The Outlaw Kid, Western Outlaws, Wild Western, The Gunhawk, and Red Warrior.
Marvel Tales
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1959
To: 1959
Issues: 7
Reprints material from the 1949 US Marvel series of the same title, plus Uncanny Tales, and Journey into Mystery. Note that the logo used here is very reminiscent of the Marvelman logo of the era!
Race for the Moon (1959)
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1959
To: 1960
Issues: 6
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Strange Worlds, Journey into Mystery, Mystic, Strange Tales, World of Fantasy and Journey into Unknown Worlds. See also Race for the Moon (1962) below.
Battleground (1960)
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1960
To: 1960
Issues: 11
Reprints material from the 1955 US Marvel series of the same title, plus War Comics, Battle, Navy Action, Marines in Battle, Men’s Adventures, Battlefront, Navy Combat, Battlefield, Combat Casey, War Adventures, and Battle Action.
Mystic
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1960
To: 1966
Issues: 66
Reprints material from the 1951 US Marvel series of the same title, plus Journey into Unknown Worlds, Mystical Tales, Uncanny Tales, Mystery Tales, Spellbound, World of Mystery, Journey into Mystery, Adventures into Weird Worlds, Strange Stories of Suspense, World of Fantasy, Adventures into Terror, Adventure into Mystery, Suspense, Marvel Tales, Tales to Astonish, Strange Tales, Tales of Suspense, Amazing Adventures, Young Men, The Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Battle, The Avengers, Battleground, Marines in Battle, Navy Action, Rugged Action, and Astonishing.
Spellbound (1960)
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1960
To: 1966
Issues: 66
Reprints material from the 1952 US Marvel series of the same title, plus Journey into Unknown Worlds, Mystic, Mystical Tales, Mystery Tales, Uncanny Tales, Strange Tales, Rugged Action, Adventures into Weird Worlds, World of Fantasy, Strange Stories of Suspense, Marvel Tales, Astonishing, Combat, Journey into Mystery, Tales to Astonish, Adventures into Terror, Tales of Suspense, Young Men, Fantastic Four, World of Mystery, The Avengers, Battle, Amazing Adventures, and Marines in Action.
Voodoo
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1961
To: 1961
Issues: 8
Reprints material from the US Marvel comics Uncanny Tales, Journey into Mystery, World of Mystery, Spellbound, Mystic, Tales to Astonish, Mystery Tales, Adventures into Weird Worlds, Adventures into Terror, Strange Tales, Marvel Tales, and Tales of Suspense. Issues were numbered #1 to #5, #7 to #9: there was apparently no issue #6.
War
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1961
To: 1962
Issues: 11
Reprints material from the 1950 US Marvel series War Comics, plus Marines in Action, Battleground, Navy Action, Marines in Battle, Battle, Rugged Action, Navy Combat, Battlefront, Battlefield, War Adventures, and Combat Casey.
Zombie
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 1961
To: 1961
Issues: 8
Reprints material from the US Marvel comics Mystic, Spellbound, Journey into Mystery, Strange Tales, Marvel Tales, Astonishing, Journey into Unknown Worlds, Tales to Astonish, Tales of Suspense, and Adventures into Weird Worlds. Issues were numbered #1 to #5, #7 to #9: there was apparently no issue #6.
Race for the Moon (1962)
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1962
To: 1965
Issues: 23
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Tales to Astonish, World of Fantasy, Strange Tales, Uncanny Tales, Journey into Unknown Worlds, Strange Worlds, Journey into Mystery, Strange Stories of Suspense, and Mystic. See also Race for the Moon (1959) above.
Weird Planets
Publisher: Alan Class
From: 1962
To: 1963
Issues: 23
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Strange Tales, Journey into Unknown Worlds, Tales of Suspense, Journey into Mystery, Tales to Astonish, Marvel Tales, Uncanny Tales, Amazing Adult Fantasy, World of Fantasy, Mystic, Mystery Tales and others.
Creepy Worlds
Publisher: Alan Class
From: 1 Aug 1962
To: 1 Apr 1989
Issues: 249
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Mystic, Adventures into Weird Worlds, Journey into Unknown Worlds, Marvel Tales, Mystery Tales, World of Fantasy, Spellbound, Astonishing, Dead of Night, Strange Stories of Suspense, Uncanny Tales, Adventure into Mystery, Mystical Tales, Journey into Mystery, Strange Tales of the Unusual, Tales to Astonish, Strange Tales, Adventures into Terror, Tales of Suspense, Amazing Adventures, Fantastic Four, Amazing Adult Fantasy, Girl Comics, Amazing Adventures, World of Suspense and others.
Secrets of the Unknown
Publisher: Alan Class
From: 1 Oct 1962
To: 1 Mar 1989
Issues: 249
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Strange Tales, Journey into Unknown Worlds, Adventures into Weird Worlds, Strange Tales of the Unusual, Journey into Mystery, Strange Stories of Suspense, World of Fantasy, Mystery Tales, Mystic, Astonishing, Marvel Tales, and others.
Frankenstein
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: 1963
To: 1963
Issues: 1
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Tales to Astonish.
Out of this World (1963)
Publisher: Alan Class
From: 1963
To: 1965
Issues: 23
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Tales to Astonish, Journey into Unknown Worlds, Uncanny Tales, Strange Stories of Suspense, Mystery Tales, Journey into Mystery, Amazing Fantasy, Tales of Suspense, Strange Tales of the Unusual, and others.
Amazing Stories of Suspense
Publisher: Alan Class
From: 1 May 1963
To: 1 Mar 1989
Issues: 241
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Astonishing, Mystic, Strange Stories of Suspense, Marvel Tales, Strange Tales, Spellbound, Journey into Mystery, Tales to Astonish, Tales of Suspense, Strange Tales of the Unusual and more. Title changes – occasionally, and possibly at random – to Suspense Stories.
Uncanny Tales
Publisher: Alan Class
From: 1 May 1963
To: 1 Feb 1979
Issues: 187
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Young Men, Strange Tales, Tales to Astonish, Adventures into Weird Worlds, The Amazing Spider-Man Annual, Mystic, Journey into Mystery, Astonishing, Mystical Tales, Marvel Tales, and others.
Amazing Stories
Publisher: Alan Class
From: 1964
To: 1964
Issues: 2
Reprints material from the US Marvel series World of Mystery.
Tales of the Supernatural
Publisher: Alan Class
From: 1964
To: 1964
Issues: 1
Reprints material from the US Marvel series World of Suspense.
Sinister Tales
Publisher: Alan Class
From: 1 Jan 1964
To: 1 Jan 1989
Issues: 227
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Tales of Suspense, Marvel Tales, Mystery Tales, Strange Tales, Journey into Mystery, World of Fantasy, War Comics, Spy Thrillers, Battleground, Battle, Marines in Action, and others.
Wham!
Publisher: Odhams/IPC
From: 20 June, 1964
To: 13 January, 1968
Issues: 187
Absorbed into: Pow!
Reprints material from Fantastic Four.
Astonishing Stories
Publisher: Alan Class
From: 1965
To: 1965
Issues: 1
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Mystic.
Journey Into Danger (1965)
Publisher: Alan Class
From: 1965
To: 1965
Issues: 8
Reprints material from the US Marvel series War Comics, Marines in Action, Battle, Navy Combat, Marines in Battle, Battle Action and Men in Action.
Tales of Action
Publisher: Alan Class
From: 1965
To: 1965
Issues: 2
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Sgt. Fury and Spellbound.
Astounding Stories
Publisher: Alan Class
From: 1 Feb 1966
To: 1 Apr 1989
Issues: 195
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Strange Tales of the Unusual, Strange Tales, Strange Worlds, World of Mystery, Spellbound, Mystery Tales, Adventure into Mystery, Journey into Unknown Worlds, The Amazing Spider-Man, Astonishing, Mystic and others.
Smash!
Publisher: Odhams/IPC
From: 5 February, 1966
To: 3 May, 1971
Issues: 265
Absorbed: Pow!, Fantastic
Absorbed into: Valiant
Reprints material from The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Tales to Astonish, Daredevil, and Journey into Mystery. (There were also Smash! Annuals for the years 1967 to 1976, but I’m pretty sure they didn’t contain any Marvel material.)
Pow!
Publisher: Odhams/IPC
From: 21 January, 1967
To: 7 September, 1968
Issues: 86
Absorbed: Wham!
Absorbed into: Smash!
Reprints material from The Amazing Spider-Man, Strange Tales, and Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos.
Pow! Annual – #1968-1972
Publisher: Odhams/IPC
From: 1967
To: 1972
Issues: 5
The first three annuals — 1968, 1969 and 1970 — reprint material from of The Amazing Spider-Man, Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, and Fantastic Four. (There’s no Marvel material in the 1971 and 1972 annuals.)
Fantastic
Publisher: Odhams/IPC
From: 18 February, 1967
To: 26 October, 1968
Issues: 89
Absorbed: Terrific
Absorbed into: Smash!
Reprints material from Journey into Mystery, The X-Men, Tales of Suspense, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four Annual, Strange Tales, The Avengers, The Avengers Annual, The Mighty Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Tales to Astonish, and Marvel Tales.
Fantastic Annual – #1968-1970
Publisher: IPC
From: 1967
To: 1969
Issues: 3
Reprints material from Journey into Mystery, The X-Men, Tales of Suspense, and Fantastic Four Annual. (See also Fantastic Annual 1970.)
Terrific
Publisher: Odhams/IPC
From: 15 April, 1967
To: 3 February, 1968
Issues: 43
Absorbed into: Fantastic
Reprints material from Tales to Astonish, Tales of Suspense, Journey into Mystery, The Avengers, Strange Tales, and Fantastic Four. (Note: Unlike its stablemates Smash! Wham! and Fantastic, Terrific did not spawn an accompanying annual.)
Marvel Storybook Annual
Publisher: World Distributors
From: 1967
To: 1967
Issues: 1
I wasn’t sure whether to include this one… It’s a collection of new illustrated prose stories and doesn’t contain any reprint material (maybe a couple of the panels have been lifted from Marvel comics).
Fantastic Summer Special
Publisher: IPC
From: 1968
To: 1968
Issues: 1
Reprints material from The Amazing Spider-Man Annual, Daredevil Annual, Daredevil, Journey into Mystery, and Strange Tales.
TV 21
Publisher: City Magazines/IPC
From: 27 September, 1969
To: 25 September, 1971
Issues: 105
Absorbed: TV Century 21, Joe 90 Top Secret
Absorbed into: Valiant
Reprints material from The Ringo Kid Western, The Ghost Rider, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Silver Surfer, and Homer, the Happy Ghost. (Note that this incarnation of TV21 originated as TV21 & Joe 90, being an amalgamation of those two comics: the “Joe 90” part of the title was dropped after issue #36, before the Marvel reprints appeared. See the Eagle Timeline for more info.)
The Fantastic Four Comic Album
Publisher: World Distributors
From: 1969
To: 1975
Issues: 2
Reprints material from Fantastic Four.
The Fantastic Four Comic Annual
Publisher: World Distributors
From: 1969
To: 1970
Issues: 2
Reprints material from Fantastic Four.
The Fantastic Four Television Picture Story Book
Publisher: P.B.S. Limited
From: 1969
To: 1969
Issues: 1
Reprints material from Fantastic Four.
Marvel – A Full Colour Comic Album
Publisher: World Distributors
From: 1969
To: 1969
Issues: 1
Reprints material from Captain Marvel, Journey into Mystery, and Tales of Suspense.
Marvel Comic Annual
Publisher: World Distributors
From: 1969
To: 1970
Issues: 2
Reprints material from Young Men, Journey into Mystery, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, Sub-Mariner, Tales of Suspense, Thor, and Captain America.
TV21 Annual – #1972
Publisher: IPC
From: 1971
To: 1971
Issues: 1
There were three TV21 annuals, but only the second appears to have any Marvel material. Reprints material from The Amazing Spider-Man, The Silver Surfer, Ringo Kid, possibly others.
Demon!
Publisher: Portman Distribution
From: 1978
To: 1978
Issues: 3
Reprints material from Haunt of Horror, Vampire Tales, Adventures into Terror, Uncanny Tales.
Journey into Nightmare
Publisher: Portman Distribution
From: 1978
To: 1978
Issues: 3
Reprints material from Monsters Unleashed, Monsters Unleashed Annual, Menace, Journey into Unknown Worlds, Haunt of Horror, Savage Tales.
Tales of Terror
Publisher: Portman Distribution
From: 1978
To: 1979
Issues: 5
Reprints material from Tales of the Zombie Annual, Zombie, Vampire Tales, Haunt of Horror, Tower of Shadows.
Castle of Horror
Publisher: Portman Distribution
From: Sep 1978
To: Jan 1979
Issues: 5
Reprints material from Haunt of Horror, Vampire Tales, Monsters Unleashed Annual, The Amazing Spider-Man, Mystery Tales.
Out of this World (1981)
Publisher: Alan Class
From: 1981
To: 1981
Issues: 10
Reprints material from the US Marvel series Tales to Astonish, Uncanny Tales, Unknown Worlds, and Strange Tales.
Updates:
- 20231103: Within moments of this post going on-line, Mighty Richard Sheaf reminded me that Eagle reprinted Thor stories as “Tales of Asgard.” I knew there was a big one I’d forgotten about! Probably not the only one, too… Bring ’em on, folks!
- 20231104: Corrected data for L. Miller’s Lorna, the Jungle Girl.
Added Young Marvelman Annual: Philip Rushton informs me that the second YM annual (1955) “alternates Young Marvelman adventures with several stories taken from Marvel’s Speed Carter, Spaceman title.” Thanks, Philip!
Added entries for L. Miller’s Lovers and Two-Gun Kid.
Added entries for Arnold Book Company’s Adventures into the Unknown, Black Magic, Frankenstein Comics, Black Magic Album, The Haunt of Fear, Justice Traps the Guilty, and Young Love Album.
Added Thorpe & Porter’s Justice Traps the Guilty. - 20231107: Corrected the entry for Eagle in which I erroneously stated that the “Tales of Asgard” strip was a rebranded Thor strip: “Tales of Asgard” was actually a back-up strip in Journey into Mystery. Thanks to John Newton for querying my error, and Philip Rushton for providing confirmation!
- 20231113: Andy Allard informed me that the DC Thomson comic Romeo reprinted material from Millie the Model from 1958 to 1960. Andy writes: “I believe this might make it the first ever British weekly reprint of an American Marvel comic. I only found one issue with Stan Lee’s credit still intact.”
Also added Thorpe & Porter’s two Race for the Moon series, published in 1959 and 1962. - 20240313: Prompted by a Facebook post by Ian Welch, I’ve now added Portman Distributions’ Demon!, Journey into Nightmare, Tales of Terror and Castle of Horror. As mentioned above, these were not actually “before” Marvel UK titles, but they’re included here because do still kind of belong!
As always, please let me know if I’ve missed anything or made any errors. The purpose of these features is to collate and present the information available: I’m definitely not trying to say that these lists are the definitive, unassailable truth — so corrections and updates are very welcome!
Rusty Staples 