The Fantastic Four Giant Size 84 Page Annual: The Newton edition

This is the cover to Newton Comics' The Fantastic Four Giant Size 84 Page Annual:

It originally appeared on the cover of Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four #23:

The story contents are as follows:

The Master Plan of Doctor Doom!, originally published in Fantastic Four #23, February 1964

The Human Torch [Part 1], originally published in Strange Tales #101, October 1962

The Human Torch Part 2: The Flaming Fury Strikes Back!!, originally published in Strange Tales #101, October 1962

The Threat of the Torrid Twosome, originally published in Strange Tales #106, March 1963

[The Evil Menace of Electro!], originally published in Daredevil #2, June 1964 

This issue is rather thoughtfully compiled. After the full-length Fantastic Four feature, a couple of Human Torch stories from Strange Tales keep it in the family, and the final story features the Fantastic Four from a Daredevil comic. There was no Newton Daredevil series at the time so it must have seemed like an appropriate allotment. Of course, it meant the Daredevil series 'skipped' the second issue when it launched in January 1976, but this Annual was a suitable home for 'loose' Fantastic Four stories, and certainly less susceptible to the charge of padding in the Planet of the Apes Annual.

[The Evil Menace of Electro!] begins with a reprint of the cover to Daredevil #2 but omits the splash page and therefore the title page:

This issue includes the following in-house advertisements:

X-Men #2

Planet of the Apes #11

Conan the Barbarian #7

Dr. Strange #6

The Incredible Hulk #10

The Avengers #8

All of the above issues are cover-dated November 1975 except for The Avengers #8, which is cover-dated October 1975. All of the above series had either 2 or 3 November cover-dated issues published in 1975 and in each case, the earliest of these is represented in the advertisements. This suggests at the outset the Fantastic Four Annual was published early/mid November 1975. 

This issue was advertised in The Avengers #11, which I date to 29 November 1975:

It was also advertised as out now in The Avengers Annual #1, cover-dated December 1975 and in Silver Surfer #3 which is cover-dated October 1975 but is likely published in November 1975.

This issue was also advertised on the Avengers poster included in The Avengers #10, which I date to 15 November 1975:

This poster was also included in The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1 from December 1975. 

The letter column in Hulk #12 advises the Fantastic Four Annual is out 15 November, so on balance it would appear this is the publication date.

I note that it is mentioned as on sale now in Newtons Comics Corner 30 November 1975 and is also advertised in the Sunday Observer 23rd November 1975 as one of the Other Great New Releases:

This issue also includes three full-page Marvel Mailbag letter columns. The inner front cover has a subscription page, the inner rear cover has the Cat's Eye Transistor Radio contest as well as the Super Hero Swap Card Album offer, and the rear cover has The Thing t-shirt offer.

The indicia title is Fantastic Four, which is unhelpful for cataloguing purposes, so I refer to this issue by the full cover title The Fantastic Four Giant Size 84 Page Annual #1 - but I'm also OK with The Fantastic Four Annual #1.

The Fantastic Four #3: The Newton edition

Newton Comics' The Fantastic Four #3 was published 2 August 1975:

The cover is recoloured from the original on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four #4:

The story contents:

The Coming of... Sub-Mariner! Chapter 1 On the Trail of the Torch!, originally published in Fantastic Four #4, May 1962

[The Coming of... Sub-Mariner!] Chapter 2 Enter the Sub-Mariner!, originally published in Fantastic Four #4, May 1962

[The Coming of... Sub-Mariner!] Chapter 3 Let the World Beware!, originally published in Fantastic Four #4, May 1962

[The Coming of... Sub-Mariner!] Chapter 4 Sub-Mariner's Revenge!, originally published in Fantastic Four #4, May 1962

[The Coming of... Sub-Mariner!] Chapter 5 Return to the Deep!, originally published in Fantastic Four #4, May 1962

Prisoner of the 5th Dimension!, originally published in Strange Tales #103, December 1962

[Prisoner of the 5th Dimension!] Part 2 Trapped in Another World!, originally published in Strange Tales #103, December 1962

[Prisoner of the 5th Dimension!] Part 3 The End of Zemu!, originally published in Strange Tales #103, December 1962

The stories appear to be reprinted complete and intact apart from the omission of the original page numbers and the odd job number.

This issue contains a Hulk poster:

This image originally appeared on the cover of Marvel Comics' The Incredible Hulk #105, and was  on the cover of Newton's The Incredible Hulk #2. It was also one of the Nabisco Newton posters.

This issue includes inhouse ads for The Incredible Hulk #3, Conan the Barbarian #1, and Planet of the Apes Annual #1. It also includes a subscription page and a contest with the expiry date 15 September 1975.

The Fantastic Four #3 was advertised in the Sunday Observer 3 August 1975:

The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1: The Newton edition

Newton Comics' The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1 is cover-dated December 1975:

The cover is from Marvel Comics' The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #6:

The story contents are as follows:

The Way of the Jackal!, originally published in The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #6, November 1974

Lesson of the Locust!, originally published in The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #6, November 1974

The Past-Assassins!, originally published in The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #7, December 1974

Tigers In a Mind-Cage!, originally published in The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #7, December 1974

This issue includes the following non-comics features:

A Bruce Lee Triple Feature or Good-bye, Saucer-Men; Hello the Hong Kong Flash, Doo Wah!, originally published in The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #6, November 1974

The Basic Technique of Blocking, originally published in The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #7, December 1974

The poster in this issue is The Avengers:

This poster is from the cover of The Avengers #6, and had also recently been a poster in Newton's The Avengers #10.

This issue contains the following in-house advertisements:

The Avengers Giant Size 84 Page Annual #1 

Planet of the Apes #14

Dracula #10 

The Fantastic Four #12

The December 1975 Captain America Bulletin is on the inner front cover:

Two letters pages, a t-shirt offer and a contest with the expiry date 31 January 1976 round out the issue.

According to the Marvel Mailbag this issue was scheduled for publication 20 December 1975:

The following week it was advertised in the Sunday Observer alongside Monsters Unleashed! #1:

The Silver Surfer #4: The Newton edition

Newton Comics' The Silver Surfer #4 is cover-dated December 1975:

The cover is from Marvel Comics' The Silver Surfer #4:

The story in this issue is The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny! originally published in The Silver Surfer #4. This was subsequently recycled by Newton Comics in Newton Holiday Spectacular.

This issue includes the following poster:

This poster is from the cover of The Amazing Spider-Man #134.

This issue was advertised in-house, including in this issue:

An earlier version of this advertisement was included The Avengers Giant Size 84 Page Annual #1 with the added tag Out Next Week:

Planet of the Apes #14 

Dracula #10

The Fantastic Four #12

The Avengers #12 

This issue contains the Captain America Bulletin page:

As discussed previously, the Marvel Mailbag pages referred to in this advertisement announced the forthcoming monthly titles and 52-page titles. Of course The Silver Surfer was a 52-page monthly title since inception, but it does explain the New Giant Size Monthly Edition banner on the cover.

This issue also includes a t-shirt offer and a contest with the expiry date 31 January 1976.

As per The Silver Surfer #3, there is conflicting information regarding the publication date of this issue. 

The indicia in this issue has the following date information: Vol-1 No-4 Dec 1975 issue - which, in this case conforms to the cover date. 

However, this issue was advertised as Out Now in the Sunday Observer 23 November 1975:

Like the ad featuring The Avengers Giant 84 Page Annual #1, this ad was issued prematurely, and is symptomatic of the disorganisation and changes afoot in the Newton office around this time.

I date this issue to 20 December 1975 on the basis of the cover date, indicia date, the in-house advertisement in The Avengers Giant Sie 84 Page Annual #1, the established monthly schedule, and the contest expiry date which conforms to other issues with the same expiry date issued 20 December 1975.

The Silver Surfer #3: The Newton edition

Newton Comics' The Silver Surfer #3 is cover-dated October 1975:

The cover is from Marvel Comics' The Silver Surfer #3:

The story contents are as follows:

The Power and the Prize! [Part 1], originally published in The Silver Surfer #3, December 1968 

Part Two Duel in the Depths, originally published in The Silver Surfer #3, December 1968

These stories appear to be reprinted complete and intact.

The poster in this issue features the cover to Newton Comics' Dracula #6:

This issue contains the following in-house advertisements for other Newton comics:

Fantastic Four Annual #1 

Planet of the Apes #12

The Avengers #11

This issue also contains a subscription page, three Marvel Mailbag pages, a t-shirt offer and a contest with the expiry date 5 January 1975.

The publication date of this issue is confusing due to a couple of errors by Newton.

Firstly, the issue is cover-dated October 1975, but it should be November 1975. This was a monthly series which began in September 1975.

Secondly, the indicia contains an erroneous publication date:

On the third line it says Vol-1 -3 Dec 1975 issue. 

Another error made by Newton was advertising The Silver Surfer #4 as a November 1975 issue - but I'll address this in a separate post.

All other indicators - the established publication schedule, the advertisements in this issue, and John Corneille's column in the Sunday Observer dated 30 November 1975 (again, I'll address this column in a separate post) - point towards a 22 November 1975 publication date. 

Hulk King Size Annual #1: The Newton edition

Newton Comics' Hulk King Size Annual #1 was published 20 September 1975:

The story contents are as follows:

A Refuge Divided!, originally published in The Incredible Hulk Special #1, October 1968

The Keepers of the Crypt!, originally published in Conan the Barbarian #8, August 1971

A Marvel Masterwork Pin-Up The Incredible Hulk, originally published in The Incredible Hulk Special #1, October 1968

A Refuge Divided! and The Incredible Hulk pinup appear to be reprinted intact. 

The Keepers of the Crypt has the cover image from Conan the Barbarian #8 in lieu of the original splash page. Here's a photo of the two-page spread:

The Yaffa printing of this story in Conan the Barbarian #3 goes one better by reproducing both the cover and the splash page:

It's odd that this issue should contain a Conan the Barbarian story given Conan had his own ongoing series at the time. However, this was not unprecedented by Newton Comics - we recall the Fantastic Four features in Planet of the Apes #1. Note also this is the story from which the Conan poster was drawn in Planet of the Apes #5. 

This issue was published during the Newton Swap Card promotional period. My copy includes Spiderman (sic) Series A (1 of 15) No. 3:

This issue did not contain a regular poster. However, as the cover and the  letter column above informs readers, one could send in for a "FREE glossy giant-size Hulk poster". This offer was prominently advertised alongside the contest:

This Hulk poster was still being offered as an enticement in December 1975:

This issue contains a number of in-house advertisements for other Newton comics:

Planet of the Apes #8

The Fantastic Four #6 

The Avengers #6

Conan the Barbarian #3 

Doctor Strange #2 

The Silver Surfer #1 

Dracula #4 

The Annual was advertised in-house:

The Planet of the Apes Annual #1 was published in July 1975. The Hulk Annual was the first of a projected 'series' of Annuals to be published monthly henceforth, according to the letter column. Sure enough, over the next three months readers were treated to Annuals featuring Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four  and The Avengers. (The Spider-Man Annual was in fact a Team-Up Annual, which begat a second Team-Up Annual, and indeed a series of such issues, but this is a rather convoluted episode in Newton's program which I'll address in a separate post).

This issue includes The Swap Cards Cometh advertisement and a T-shirt offer.