Editing The Fantastic Four #1.

The weekly schedule and anthology format of the early Marvel UK titles meant that a certain level of editing had to take place when reprinting the original American source material.

Stories would be spread across two or three weeks, depending on the page count, and this at times required the creation of new splash pages to act as titles for the latter parts of the story.

It is these new splash pages that make the Marvel UK books so unique. 

Multiple stories within a single weekly title meant that page count was an important factor in the editing process.

Panels would be removed and the page format adjusted, whilst in extreme cases whole pages would hit the editing room floor.

Due to the UK page size, slight cropping from the top or bottom of panels was a regular feature.

 

Editing of the text and images was also a regular undertaking.

Dialogue would be changed from a heavy American bias to a more British phrasing, suited to a younger readership.

Pencil work would be adjusted to fit changes to the panel format or embellished with topical British characteristics.

Spotting these editing changes can be great fun, so let's, with a focus on Splash, cast our eyes over the pages of The Fantastic Four #1. 

The Fantastic Four's origin story was reprinted in the first two editions of "The Mighty World Of Marvel".

 

 

"The Fantastic Four!".

In MWOM #1 we see the classic introduction to the Fantastic Four.

Panel 1 sees the removal of the yellow block around the teams floating heads. This allows for the signal cloud to be increased in height. Stan and Jack also have their signatures on display.

Panel 2 removes the Americanism "in blazes", while the remaining speech bubbles are removed and replaced with a simplified version.

"The Fantastic Four Meet The Mole Man!".

After the origin section of the story in MWOM #1, MWOM #2 introduces the Mole Man.

Panel 1 is slightly widened on the right hand side to cater for the difference in US and UK page formats.

Panel 2 sees Ben's speech bubble removed. We get the impression from "What are they... Pin-ups?" that The Thing has a one track mind, not suitable for a young British reader.

Panel 3. As with Panel 1, the frame is extended to the right.

 

"The Moleman's Secret!".

Panel 1 has the splash page title removed, whilst the header box is replaced with a more concise version. We also get a slight increase to the page size on the right and a cropping of its height

Panels 2, 3 and 4 are all extended at the bottom.

Panel 3's header reminds us of the identity of The Thing .

See you at the Week End.