But sales declined and the Marvelman family titles were cancelled. And this time, that was the end…

…or not.

But I’m certainly not going to have a go at any of the creators just because this comic wasn’t for me. Marvelman ran from 1954 to 1963, so there must have been something in it. They’re more published than I’ll ever be.

I can see a sort of charm in them, if I squint just right, but they were fairly simple in both narrative and characterisation. They’re not my favourite, although I’d love to know what I would have thought if I’d read them as a child. No idea.

I’m sure I’ve read the story from Marvelman #25, ‘Marvelman and the Atomic Bomber’ in one of the more recent reprint books. I’ll be honest, this is as close as I’m going to come to breaking my A-Comic-A-Day rule about not being negative. The Marvelman stories were fairly forgettable.

The existing Captain Marvel title changed to Marvelman and retained its numbering. Marvelman was young Micky Moran who, when he said a secret word given him by a mysterious man, became the superhero Marvelman. Look, it’s just a reskinned Captain Marvel, even the supporting characters. We know that.

Fawcett Publications’ Captain Marvel was reprinted in the UK in the 50s by L. Miller & Son until Fawcett stopped producing comics.
That wasn’t the end, though…

Bill Parker was the writer, colourist, and editor, and C.C. Beck was the artist. It’s commonly known that Captain Marvel outsold Superman for a time back in the day.
I’ve not actually read Whiz Comics issue 2, although I know the basic story. Wouldn’t mind having a look.

Until he can’t. The end of the world happens and he can’t undo it, no matter what he tries. And so he decides to go back ten years and just live happily. That’s the plan, anyway.
Great first issue. Fantastic writing and stunning art. No idea where it’s going , but I’m there for it.

Save Now is about a superhero, Saver, who can create save points in his life, like in a video game, and then return to any of them whenever he wants for a do-over. The drawback is that his age doesn’t reset with everything else, he continues aging. But at least he can correct mistakes, right?

Watchmen actually isn’t my favourite Alan Moore-written comic. We’ll come to that later, assuming I remember. But its reputation of excellence is well-deserved and I’m glad I read it when I did, allowing me the rereads as I get older. Now I’m due another.

I think that Watchmen is a superb synthesis of scripted story and visual art. That’s taken me repeat readings to see in detail. I also think that it works best in this form and is lessened by adaptation into other media and expansion in comics. It’s its own contained story.

For example, I remember originally finding the Black Freighter sections quite boring and wishing the story would get back to ‘the good bits’. Probably, I didn’t see how the Black Freighter fitted in. That’s changed. I was relatively young when I first read Watchmen, although it wasn’t on release.

I can tell you about my experience of it. I can tell you that Watchmen benefits from periodic rereadings. My views have changed since my first reading of it. I always liked it, that’s not one of the changes, but my understanding has, I hope matured.

What am I going to say about Watchmen that hasn’t been said better by others? Nothing. I’m not going to add an overall insight into the writing, or Dave Gibbons’ art, or its impact on comics.
The characters were going to be the Charlton characters. Oh, you knew that? See what I mean?

I used to know why the Ultraverse fizzled out, but I’d have to look it up again.
They did a good job of creating a shared world and had talented creators.
I’m pretty sure Marvel owns Malibu now, but I don’t think they do anything with the characters.

The Strangers was a team book in Malibu Comics’ Ultraverse imprint. It might have been the first of those books, but don’t hold me to that.
I remember really enjoying it, as I ddi with a lot of the Ultraverse titles. The writing and art were great.

Vila: "And it wasn't even a crime."
Soolin: "Oh yes, it was a crime all right. It just wasn't illegal."