''The Mighty World Of Marvel'' (commonly shortened to ''MWOM'') was a British comic book series published first by

Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint (trade name), imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint United States of America, US-produced stories for the United Kingdom, British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British cr ...

and then by

Panini Comics Panini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, which also produces collectible stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy. The company publishes comic books in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Hungary ...

. Debuting on 30 September 1972, it was the first title published by Marvel UK and ran until 1984. The series was revived in 2003 by Panini Comics, who are licensed to reprint Marvel US material in Europe, and was published monthly until November 2019. Spending much of the 1970s as

's flagship title, ''MWOM'' published black & white reprints of American Marvel four-colour material. Thanks in large part to the success of ''MWOM'', Marvel UK gained a foothold in the (at the time) vast UK weekly comic market, allowing the company to cross-market and later introduce non-superhero UK-reprint titles such as ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...

'' and ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

''.

Publication history

Vol. 1 (1972–1983)

''MWOM'' started out publishing reprints of 1960s stories featuring Marvel's existing characters — including

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

The Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...

, and the

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

. The monthly format of the American material was adapted to fit the British weekly format, with stories being split up over several weeks. As was the custom with British weekly titles, the first issue of ''MWOM'' featured a free gift, in this case a ''Hulk'' iron-on T-shirt transfer. After

left to star in his own publication, '' Spider-Man Comics Weekly'', replaced by Daredevil in the third strip, who was himself replaced by the original

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

and then the Avengers. Eventually the title settled with the Hulk as cover star, backed up by Daredevil and the Fantastic Four. Early during the comic's run a type of

fan club A fan club is an organized group of fans, generally of a celebrity. Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to support them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the pers ...

, FOOM (Friends Of Ol' Marvel), was started and readers were invited to join and receive exclusive items. As ''MWOM'' passed its hundredth issue (August 31, 1974) a galaxy of different characters began to be featured in the publication (with the Hulk still holding the top spot), many of these coming via the merger of other titles into ''MWOM''. The Avengers returned to ''MWOM'', bringing

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...

with them in issue #199 (July 21, 1976) following the cancellation of their own magazine. The Avengers had joint cover billing with the Hulk, and over time the green giant would share it with other characters. From issue #233 (March 1977), the Hulk co-starred with

(after their own 1974–1977 weekly folded) and subsequently with

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

and

Nick Fury Colonel (United States), Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in ''Sgt. Fury and ...

. (The former was left over from the last merger, when the title then called ''Planet of the Apes and Dracula Lives'' merged into ''MWOM''; while the latter was from ''Fury'' weekly, an unsuccessful March–August 1977 attempt to follow the popularity of boys' war comics in the UK.) The final strip to share the masthead with the Hulk was the

, who returned to ''MWOM'' after starring in their own magazine, ''The Complete Fantastic Four''.

''Marvel Comic''

The comic changed when in 1978 Dez Skinn was hired by

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

to head Marvel UK. Skinn revamped all of Marvel UK's titles, including ''The Mighty World of Marvel'', changing the title to ''Marvel Comic'' at #330 (January 24, 1979). This saw a move towards more traditional UK boys' adventure-type comics as Daredevil was joined (or re-joined) by

Shang-Chi Zheng Shang-Chi,. also known as the Master of Kung Fu and Brother Hand, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin, debuting in ''Spec ...

, Skull the Slayer, and

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...

, who replaced the

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

three issues after the re-launch.

''Marvel Superheroes''

In September 1979, however, the title returned to its roots when it became the monthly ''Marvel Superheroes'' with issue #353, starring the '' Avengers''. Supporting the Avengers were other superhero teams, initially the original

but later the Champions, while the third and final strip, Superhero Spotlight, featured a new character every few issues. Initially, it ran Ms. Marvel's adventures, which were continued from ''Marvel Comic''. Issue #377 (September 1981) saw the first of a new series of original

Captain Britain Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain'' #1 by writer Chris Cl ...

stories started, continued from the

Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with ...

strip in '' Hulk Weekly'', which had also featured original material. These stories were written by Dave Thorpe and drawn by

Alan Davis Alan Davis (born 18 June 1956) is an English comic book writer and artist, known for his work on ''Captain Britain'', ''The Uncanny X-Men'', ''The ClanDestine, ClanDestine'', ''Detective Comics'', ''Excalibur (comic book), Excalibur'', ''JLA: ...

. ''

'' ended with issue #388 (August 1982), just as yet another merger occurred — ''Rampage'' joined ''Marvel Superheroes'', and the new

arrived to replace Captain Britain. Erratic distribution affected sales, and eventually ''Marvel Superheroes'' was cancelled in the summer of 1983. Issue #397 ended the continuous run of what was at the time Marvel UK's longest-running title (it was later to be supplanted by Spider-Man weekly, which eventually ran 666 continuous issues).

Volume 2 (1983–1984)

Shortly afterwards, in June 1983, ''Mighty World of Marvel'' was re-launched and re-numbered, again as a monthly. The new series mainly concentrated on reprint material, initially the X-Men (continued from ''Marvel Superheroes'') as well as such American limited series as '' The Vision and the

Scarlet Witch The Scarlet Witch is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The X-Men #4 in March 1964, in the Silver Age of Comic Boo ...

'', ''

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

'', ''

Cloak and Dagger "Cloak and dagger" was a fighting style common by the time of the Renaissance involving a knife hidden beneath a cloak. The term later came into use as a metaphor, referring to situations involving intrigue, secrecy, espionage, or mystery. Over ...

'', and a somewhat out-of-chronology ''X-Men and the

Micronauts Micronauts is a North American science fiction toyline manufactured and marketed by Mego from 1976 to 1980. The ''Micronauts'' toyline was based on and licensed from the '' Microman'' toyline created by Japanese-based toy company Takara in 1974 ...

'', set some years after the recent X-Men series. ''MWOM'' vol. 2 also featured the end of

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...

and

's Jaspers' Warp

storyline, after '' The Daredevils'' was cancelled and merged with ''MWOM'' (from vol. 2, issue #7, December 1983). After Moore left,

took over writing duties for the Captain Britain stories, but the strip stopped in issue #16 as the Captain left for his own new monthly title in 1985. Despite some strong material, the merger of the more adult-orientated '' The Daredevils'' with the more mainstream ''MWOM'' was not an overriding success, and #17 was ''MWOM'' vol. 2's final issue. Issue #17 saw the beginning of the limited series ''Magick'', which was continued in the Marvel UK series '' Savage Sword of Conan'', with which ''MWOM'' merged.

Volume 3 (2003–2009)

The title remained in limbo until

(which had obtained the Marvel UK license in 1995) began publishing it as a "Marvel Collectors' Edition" in February 2003. The new ''MWOM'' featured reprints of American Marvel material from all eras of Marvel history; a typical issue was 76 pages long, with most stories lasting 22 pages. Initially, the title reprinted a

and a Daredevil story each issue with a revolving guest spot. This format was eventually replaced with three revolving guest spots; generally a full story arc was printed before being replaced by something else, or there was a break in a run (which was often revisited at a later date). In addition to Daredevil and the Hulk, characters featured included

She-Hulk She-Hulk (Jennifer Susan Walters) is a Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, she First appearance, first appeared in ''The Savage She-Hulk ...

Blade A blade is the Sharpness (cutting), sharp, cutting portion of a tool, weapon, or machine, specifically designed to puncture, chop, slice, or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they a ...

, Ghost Rider,

, the

, and the

Defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: * Defense (military) * Defense (sports) ** Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre Film * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The D ...

. The title also printed many Marvel team-up stories featuring multiple superheroes, from such series as '' Marvel Team-Up'' vol. 3, the '' Contest of Champions II'', and ''

Beyond! ''Beyond!'' was a six-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary o ...

''. ''MWOM'' also regularly printed spotlights on the more obscure characters featured. These spotlights were a page long and featured a fictional character biography with pictures and a description of their abilities. Issue #50 was 100 pages long to celebrate the milestone. It was mentioned in issue #67 that the editors were aiming to get closer to the US chronologically. Volume 3 ended in August 2009, after 86 issues, following ''

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

'' and '' Planet Hulk''.

Volume 4 (2009–2014)

''The Mighty World of Marvel'' vol. 4 debuted in September 2009, following the relaunch of all other Collectors' Editions as part of signalling the end of ''

''. Issues #1–#5 featured the

World War Hulk "World War Hulk" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled limited series and various titles published by Marvel Comics in 2007, featuring the Hulk. The series consists of five main issues titled ''World War Hulk'', ...

storyline. Issue #8 signaled the first tie-in to the

Secret Invasion "Secret Invasion" is a comic book fictional crossover, crossover storyline written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu, that ran through a self-titled eight-issue Limited series (comics), limited series and several ti ...

event that runs across all seven of the Panini Collectors' Editions. ''Mighty World of Marvel'' printed tie-ins from '' Captain Britain and MI13'', ''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

'', '' The Thunderbolts'', and '' Ms. Marvel''. Volume 4 ended in June 2014 with issue 62.

Volume 5 (2014–2016)

''The Mighty World of Marvel'' vol. 5 was launched in July 2014 to tie-in with the arrival of

Marvel Now! Marvel Now! (stylized as Marvel NOW!) is a comic book branding for the relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including ''Un ...

branded stories in the UK. The initial line-up includes ''

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Comic book teams 1969 team The 1969 version of the Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), Guardians of the Galaxy were the origi ...

'' to tie-in with their

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

. Avengers Arena was also in the initial lineup. The main storyline for

Original Sin Original sin () in Christian theology refers to the condition of sinfulness that all humans share, which is inherited from Adam and Eve due to the Fall of man, Fall, involving the loss of original righteousness and the distortion of the Image ...

was also featured. Mighty World of Marvel also reprinted

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...

and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. along with Daredevil. Volume 5 ended in September 2016 with issue #30.

Volume 6 (2016–2018)

''The Mighty World of Marvel'' vol. 6 was launched in October 2016. The initial line was

Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...

, Ms. Marvel and Black Widow followed by

and

. Later issues featured Ms. Marvel &

's Civil War II stories. The following is a summary of characters featured in this volume: * issues #1 - #6:

, Ms. Marvel, Black Widow * issue #7:

* issue #8:

, Tales of The Pet Avengers * issue #9:

, Ms. Marvel * issues #10 - #11:

, Ms. Marvel,

* issues #12 - #13:

: Mother Entropy, Ms. Marvel,

* issue #14: Champions,

: Mother Entropy, Black Widow, Marvel 75th Anniversary (

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

* issues #15 - #17: Champions, All-New

, Black Widow * issues #18 - #19:

Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

, Champions, All-New

, Black Widow,

Volume 7 (2018–2019)

This volume started publication in April 2018 — appearing every 28 days — and ended in November 2019 with issue 22. Panini had planned to relaunch it. Volume eight was to star '

The Immortal Hulk The Devil Hulk, also known as the Immortal Hulk, is a fictional alternate-personality character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The Devil Hulk first appeared in '' The Incredible Hulk'' (vol. 2) ...

', and issue 1 was advertised, but ultimately the end of volume 7 was also the end of the title. Issue 1: 100-PAGE-SPECIAL! *

Vol. 8 #9 *

Vol. 4 #3 * Champions Vol. 2 #6 *

New Avengers The New Avengers are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The title has been used for four American comic book series. The first two were written by Brian Michael Bendis and depicted a version of Ma ...

Annual #1 *

Strange Tales ''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics comics anthology, anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (feature), Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their d ...

#118 *Release: 5 April 2018 Issue 2: *

Vol. 8 #10 *

Vol. 4 #4 * Champions Vol. 2 #7 *

#119 *Release: 3 May 2018 Issue 3: *

Vol. 8 #11 *

Vol. 4 #5 * Champions Vol. 2 #8 *

#120 *FREE MARVEL TRADING CARDS! *Release: 31 May 2018 Issue 4: *

Vol. 8 #12 *

Vol. 4 #6 * Champions Vol. 2 #9 *

#121 *FREE MARVEL TRADING CARDS! *Release: 28 June 2018 Issue 5 *100-PAGE-SPECIAL! * Secret Empire begins! *The

return in an all-new adventure! *

! * Champions in Secret Empire! *Classic Action with

! *FREE MARVEL TRADING CARDS! Issues #5-6 were part of the '' Secret Empire'' event and feature '' Champions'' vol. 2, #s 10-11.

References

Sources consulted

The Mighty World of Bronze Age British Marvel (1972-1979)
* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mighty World of Marvel Marvel UK titles Marvel Comics titles 1972 comics debuts 1984 comics endings 2003 comics debuts Comics anthologies Superhero comics British comics