Byrne Robotics: Marvel Comic #335 (UK)

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Topic: Marvel Comic #335 (UK)

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Mike Washburn
Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 22 November 2024
Location: Canada
Posts: 3

Posted: 23 November 2024 at 8:53pm \| IP Logged \| 1	post reply

John, did you know about the Wolverine story 'At the Sign of the Lion' published in Marvel Comic #335 (UK) in 1979? It was written by Jo Duffy, penciled by Ken Landgraf, and inked by George Pérez.

Given its fascinating history and your roots in the UK, I thought you might find it particularly interesting.

https://gocollect.com/blog/x-men-133-vs-marvel-uk-335-which- is-wolverines-first-solo-story

Cheers.

Edited by Mike Washburn on 23 November 2024 at 8:59pm

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John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133563

Posted: 23 November 2024 at 8:59pm \| IP Logged \| 2	post reply

Oops! I got a 404 error.

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Mike Washburn
Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 22 November 2024
Location: Canada
Posts: 3

Posted: 23 November 2024 at 9:01pm \| IP Logged \| 3	post reply

Try again. :)

There was something wrong with the hyperlink formatting when I added it. The link to the article has been updated.

Edited by Mike Washburn on 23 November 2024 at 9:45pm

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James Woodcock
Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 21 September 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 7856

Posted: 24 November 2024 at 1:45am \| IP Logged \| 4	post reply

I bought this comic @ release, & think I still have it somewhere.
It’s been getting quite a bit of attention recently as it seems people have
realised the story was published in this comic first (a bit like some of the
Star Wars stories inStar Wars Weekly).
@ the time, I didn’t realise this was the case, in fact, I didn’t realise until it
blew up this year.
It’s a fun little ditty.

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Mike Washburn
Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 22 November 2024
Location: Canada
Posts: 3

Posted: 24 November 2024 at 3:19am \| IP Logged \| 5	post reply

Yeah, a bit of a humble brag—I was the person who connected the dots, did the research, and spread the word about this story. It went under the radar for 45 years.

In the UK, those lucky enough to get a copy of the book—which had very low sales—likely assumed it was just another reprinted story. Meanwhile, people in the US knew nothing about it, as it was never distributed there. However, the story was eventually reprinted in the US in 1980 as part of a Treasury Edition.

I spoke with Dez Skinn, the Marvel UK editor at the time, who shared an interesting anecdote. For Marvel Comic #335, original backup stories were included because the intended content was lost during delivery. Apparently, the motorcycle courier transporting the pages to the printer accidentally dropped them off the back of his bike.

Another noteworthy detail is that both Dez Skinn and Ken Landgraf (the penciler) mentioned this story was a 'tryout' for George Pérez, marking his first inking job. As I understand it, newer artists were typically assigned shorter stories to showcase their skills before being entrusted with larger projects. John would have more insight into this process.

This UK comic is highly collectible and extremely rare, particularly in high grades. Even low-grade copies are scarce. They were printed with very low quality newsprint as you probably know.

If you have a copy, I’d recommend handling it with great care—you might be holding a very special book for many reasons! :)

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