Editing The Incredible Hulk #2.

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 Incredible Hulk #2. 

The Hulk's battle against the Toad Men was reprinted in issues 3 and 4 of "The Mighty World Of Marvel".

  

"The Terror of the Toad Men". 

Part 1 "Enter... The Toad Men".

MWOM #3 opens with Boris Karloff in the role of the Hulk. 

Not much has changed here aside from Panel 1 being cropped at the top and the titles modifed to the reduced space available.

Part 2 "Prisoners of the Toad Men!".

Cropping at the bottom of the panel and a repositioning of Stan and Jack's signatures are all the changes that we see on this single pane splash page.

 

Part 3 "Bruce Banner, Wanted For Treason!".

MWOM #4 begins with "Part 3" replaced with a new "Part 1" icon due to splitting the story over two weeks.

The whole of the title area is modified to allow for a new header box, updating the reader of the events from the past week.

 

Part 4 "Runs Amok!".

Part numbers are changed once again in order to maintain weekly continuity and we see a cropping at the bottom of panel 3.

Part 5 "The End Of The Hulk?".

Aside from continuing with the revised Part numbers, the only other changes that we see are a cropping of panels 3 and 4, with Stan and Jack's signatures moved to panel 4 as a result of this edit.

See you at the Week End.