Newton Comics' The Invincible Iron Man #2

This is the cover of Newton Comics' The Invincible Iron Man #2:

It originally appeared on the cover of Marvel Comics' Iron Man #4:

The story contents are as follows:

Unconquered is the Unicorn!, originally published in Iron Man #4, August 1968

From the Void Of Space Comes... The Super Skrull! [Part 2], originally published in Marvel's Space-Born Superhero! Captain Marvel #2, June 1968 

Unconquered is the Unicorn! appears to have been reprinted complete and intact.

This is the first page of From the Void of Space Comes... The Super Skrull [Part 2]:

In order to accommodate the title the bottom portion of the first tier of panels has been cropped. Compare to a scan of the same page in Page Publications' Captain Marvel #1:

At least the cropping by the Newton editor was a bit more sensitive to readers trying to follow the plot and narration compared to other such instances.

The poster in this issue is The Amazing Spider-Man:

This is a modified version of the cover on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man #128, and also appeared as a poster in Daredevil #2. It was later used on the cover of Newton Spectacular: The Amazing Spider-Man.   

This issue contains the following in-house advertisements:

Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner #1

The Incredible Hulk #15

This issue includes two letters pages, a Captain America iron-on transfer, and a competition with the inexplicable expiry date 31 January 1976.

This issue is cover-dated March 1976 and is the final issue in the series.

The Invincible Iron Man #1: The Newton edition

This is the cover to Newton Comics' The Invincible Iron Man #1:

This image is modified from the cover of Marvel Comics' Iron Man #1:

The story contents are as follows:

My Friend, My Foe... The Freak!, originally published in Iron Man #3, July 1968

From the Void of Space Comes... The Super Skrull! [Part 1], originally published in Marvel's Space-Born Superhero! Captain Marvel #2, June 1968 

My Friend, My Foe... The Freak! appears to be reprinted without any undue editorial interference, but note I have cross-referenced it with another Australian reprint, the Yaffa edition of The Invincible Iron Man #1.

Only seven pages of From the Void of Space Comes... The Super Skrull! are included in this issue. It is continued in The Invincible Iron Man #2.

The poster in this issue is The Incredible Hulk from the cover of Newton Comics' The Incredible Hulk #10:

This poster also appeared in The Mighty Thor #1 and Captain America #3 and Monsters Unleashed #2.

This issue includes an in-house advertisement for Daredevil #1:

There is also a subscription page, two letters pages, a t-shirt offer on the rear cover, and a contest with an expiry date 21 February 1976.

This issue is cover-dated January 1976. The publication date 17 January 1975 was announced in issues cover-dated December 1975. This was projected before the crisis in the Newton offices in late December 1975 but it is nevertheless the best guide I have to the publication date.

This issue was advertised in-house in issues including The Avengers #14, Newton Team-Up #2, Monsters Unleashed #2 and the Silver Surfer #5:

I note the indicia title for this series is Iron Man, as per the Marvel Comics series.

Page Publications' War is Hell

Page Publications' War is Hell #1 reprints the first three issues of Marvel Comics' War is Hell series. The front cover of this issue is from War is Hell #1. This issue includes black and white reprints of  all three covers of the first three issues of the Marvel Comics series.

Page Publications also published an unnumbered digest-sized edition of this issue:

A double dose of Chatto

Page Publications' War in the Army #5 reprints The Glory Boys which originally appeared in MV Features' Battlecry Picture Library #9.

The cover by Keith Chatto was recycled by Page Publications on War in the Army #7:

War in the Army #7 recycles material previously published in Wartime Library #12 and World War Library #12.

The 'saucy' Chatto

Here's a couple of 'saucy' covers for Page Publications by Keith Chatto:

I don't have date information for these issues but I'm pretty sure they are either side of the initial broadcast of Number 96 on Australian television screens.

These are not conventional comic books but rather collections of gag strips geared towards an adult audience. As the cover for Crazy Laughs #8 suggests, the content is a bit more risqué than Dizzy Dames #16. It even includes photographs of models in swimwear and underwear. Truly adult!

Red Sonja: The complete Yaffa cover gallery

Here's a cover gallery of my complete run of Page Publications' Red Sonja series:

 #1, c.December 1977

 #2, 1978

 #3, c.November 1979

 #4, c.May 1980

#5, c.April 1981

The first three issues are regular/magazine sized and the rest are digest size.

These five issues reprint the complete Marvel Comics Red Sonja series. Each issue reprints three consecutive issues of the Marvel Comics series. 

Given all the Marvel issues were reprinted it is unlikely that a sixth Yaffa issue was published, but it is possible.

Red Sonja #1 was recycled by Yaffa as an unnumbered $0.75 cover-priced issue. It is possible other issues were recycled either as unnumbered issues or retitled issues.

Captain Marvel: The Newton edition

This is the cover to Newton Comics' Captain Marvel [#NN]:

The cover originally appeared on Marvel Comics' Marvel's Space-Born Superhero! Captain Marvel #4:

This cover was also on a Newton Comics poster and in-house advertisements/pinups. It was later printed on the cover Page Publications' Captain Marvel #2.

The story contents are as follows:

The Alien and the Amphibian!, originally published in Marvel's Space-Born Superhero! Captain Marvel #4, August 1968

The Mark of the Metazoid, originally published in Marvel's Space-Born Superhero! Captain Marvel #5, September 1968

In the Path of Solam!, originally published in Marvel's Space-Born Superhero! Captain Marvel 6, October 1968

War Below The Waves!, originally published in The Defenders #7, August 1973

[...If Atlantis Should Fall!], originally published in The Defenders #8, September 1973

This is the splash page to The Alien and the Amphibian!:

Note the indicia includes the full title Marvel's Space-Born Superhero! Captain Marvel whereas the front cover only contains the shortened Captain Marvel. In contrast, Page Publications' Captain Marvel #2 includes the full title on the cover and the shortened title in the indicia. The Page Publications issue omits the splash page. Note also the crudely cropped and pasted indicia, typical of Newton Comics in this period. The Copyright 1975 date is misleading.

The Newton Comics reprint of the Alien and the Amphibian! is complete but the pages are out sequence. This is page 11:

Note the handwritten advisory on the bottom of the page to See Page 20:

Page 20 should be page 12, but for some reason it was printed out sequence. In this instance the error was noted.

Another curious amendment occurs on page 9:

The text box in the second panel advises *See Sub-Mariner #4 for details!--squeezed-for-space Stan. However, the text box in the Page Publications reprint advises squeezed-for-time:

Presumably the Page Publications printing is the legitimate version. Clearly the Newton editor was having none of this post-Einstein space=time nonsense.

The Mark of the Metazoid and In the Path of Solam! are reprinted without any notable editorial interference.

War Below the Waves! is also reprinted intact. However, the splash page to ...If Atlantis Should Fall! is omitted. Thus, War Below the Waves! is presented as a single 33-page story. Here's the missing splash page as per the Page Publications printing in The Defenders #3:

This splash page was omitted in favour of a redundant in-house Captain Marvel advertisement/filler page:

This issue includes two more in-house advertisements/fillers:

This is from the cover of Marvel Comics' Dracula Lives! #10. It was also included in other Newton comics such as Newton Triple Action #NN[2].

This issue also includes the following The Mighty Thor filler:

This is from the cover of Marvel Comics' Thor #129. This was used as a poster in Dracula #9 and The Fantastic Four #5, and as a filler/pinup in Newton Team-Up Special #NN[5]. The Verdict of Zeus! had previously been reprinted in Newton Team-Up #2.

This issue was advertised in the Sunday Observer 27 March 1977 and 3 April 1977:

As per Set D issues in my dating schema this issue appears to have been published March 1977.

By request: Alex Toth's His Back to the Wall

Alex Toth's His Back to the Wall was originally published in Western Gunfighters #24, February 1957. 

It was reprinted by Horwitz Publications in Giant Gunsmoke Western #5 c.March 1959 under a Maurice Bramley cover:

I suspect this was requested because the GCD does not list any reprints of this story. I nevertheless expect that it is available in various comics and Toth collections, just as I expect it to turn up in other Australian editions by Horwitz and Page Publications. Regardless, if this has been on your wish list too - enjoy!

The Swamp Monster cover source

This is the cover to K.G. Murray's Swamp Monster #NN[2]:

This issue was published c.February 1981 and the contents are indexed on AusReprints.

The source for the cover has eluded me for years and I can finally shed some light on its provenance.

This is an illustration by none other than Berni Wrightson from a 1974 colouring book titled The Monsters Color-the-Creature Book:

As Wrightson says, "[I]t turned out rather crummy... My heart wasn't really in it." 

It appears to have been adapted and/or modified for the cover of La Cosa Del Pantano, a Spanish album edition of Swamp Thing:

This appears to have been published in 1983 - two years after Swamp Monster - which suggests there is yet another earlier iteration of this image to be unearthed, quite likely from a European comics publisher. When this elusive edition turns up we might see the source of the rather distinctive art modification and colour palette of the K.G. Murray edition.

Shot in the Dark by Chatto: Secret Service Picture Library #'s 1 and 5

Page Publications' Secret Service Picture Library 31 was published c.November 1971:

The cover illustration by Keith Chatto is adapted from the cover of MV Features' Secret Service Picture Library #5:

The MV Features edition was also distributed in Australia.

Shot in the Dark was recycled by Page Publications under a new Chatto cover in Secret Service Picture Library #5:

There are likely more Page Publications recyclings of this story to be unearthed.

The Avengers #15: The Newton edition

This is the cover to Newton Comics' The Avengers #15:

This is the cover to Marvel Comics' The Avengers #19:

The Newton Comics cover is based on the Marvel Comics cover but is in fact a variant, which I have discussed before in reference to Page Publications' The Avengers #7.

The story contents are as follows:

The Coming of...The Swordsman!, originally published in The Avengers #19 

If I Fail, A World Is Lost! [Part 2], originally published in Tales of Suspense #66 

The Coming of...The Swordsman! is reprinted intact, apart from cropping at the bottom of the splash page:

Compare to the printing in my copy of Essential Avengers Vol. 1 [Third Edition, Second Printing, 2011]:

If I Fail, A World is Lost! [Part 2] has a modified splash page:

The title header is from the splash page to the original story:

The title header is crudely overlaid onto page 6 of the original story:

As you can see, the Newton edition sacrifices two speech balloons in the top tier to accommodate the title.

The two scans above are from my copy of Essential Iron Man Vol. 1 [Third edition Second printing, 2010].

This issue includes the following in-house advertisements:

The Amazing Spider-Man #17

The Invincible Iron Man #2

Despite the cover advisory there is no Super Color Poster in this issue. 

The expiry date for the contest in this issue is 31 January 1976. This is manifestly incorrect.

This issue is cover-dated March 1976 and is the final issue in the series. 

Some of the 'missing' The Avengers stories not reprinted in this series appeared in Newton's The X-Men with The Avengers. The story from Marvel Comics' The Avengers #21 was published a few months after this issue in Newton Triple Action #1.

This issue was advertised in other Newton comics:

This scan is from Newton Team-Up #3.