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L. Miller & Son, Ltd.

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L. Miller & Son, Ltd.
Company typePrivate
IndustryPublishing
Founded1943
FounderLeonard Miller and Arnold L. Miller
Defunct1966
FateBankruptcy; assets acquired by Alan Class, Ltd.
Headquarters
United Kingdom
Area served
United Kingdom
ProductsMagazines, comic books, pulp fiction, paperback books

L. Miller & Son, Ltd. was a UK-based publishing firm specializing in magazines, comic books, pulp fiction, and paperback books, primarily established to take advantage of the British prohibition on importing printed materials. Operating from 1943 until 1966, it issued British versions of numerous American comics, predominantly sourced from Fawcett Comics, along with American paperbacks from Fawcett's Gold Medal Books. The company is most renowned for launching Marvelman in 1954—an evident imitation of the Golden Age Captain Marvel—after Fawcett discontinued superhero titles following a legal defeat to National Periodicals (DC Comics). Additionally, L. Miller & Son produced an extensive array of Western comics, including both reprints and original stories, as well as various fiction and non-fiction paperback editions.

History

In response to the UK’s ban on direct imports of American periodicals—including comic books—during and after World War II, which aimed to support domestic publishers, Leonard Miller and his son Arnold L. Miller founded L. Miller & Son in 1943. From 1945 onwards, the company circumvented the import restrictions by publishing black-and-white reprints of Fawcett Comics’ Marvel Family series such as Captain Marvel Adventures, Captain Marvel Jr., The Marvel Family, and Whiz Comics.

Besides reprints, the publisher also developed original content; between 1950 and 1952, British writer-artist Mick Anglo created Space Commando Comics, featuring "Space Commander Kerry" for L. Miller & Son while simultaneously contributing to Arnold’s Arnold Book Company.

Throughout the 1950s, L. Miller & Son broadened its Western comics portfolio by introducing original series like Colorado Kid, Davy Crockett, Kid Dynamite Western Comic, Pancho Villa Western Comic, and Rocky Mountain King Western Comic. They also maintained long-running Western reprint titles including Gabby Hayes Western, Hopalong Cassidy Comic, Lash Larue Western, Monte Hale Western, Rocky Lane Western, Six-Gun Heroes, and Western Hero.

After Fawcett Publications lost a copyright lawsuit to National over Captain Marvel’s similarity to Superman in 1954, Fawcett ceased publishing all superhero comics. Consequently, L. Miller & Son discontinued their "Marvel" series but kept issuing Whiz Comics without any Marvel Family content.

To fill the void left by their main character amid varying copyright regulations, the company commissioned Mick Anglo to design a replacement resembling Captain Marvel to maintain their audience. Together with Leonard Miller, Anglo created Marvelman, transforming Captain Marvel Jr. into Young Marvelman and modifying Mary Marvel into the male Kid Marvelman. The magic word "Shazam!" was replaced with "Kimota" ("Atomik" spelled backward). They launched three titles: Marvelman, Marvelman Family, and Young Marvelman.

The removal of the foreign comics import ban in 1959 increased access to American comics in the UK, diminishing demand for local productions. By the late 1950s, L. Miller & Son had ceased all Western titles and ended the Marvelman Family series. Both Marvelman and Young Marvelman shifted to reprint formats but were discontinued in 1963 after reaching 346 issues each. (The character was later revived as Miracleman in a prominent 1982 reboot by writer Alan Moore, with contributions from Neil Gaiman.)

Meanwhile, Arnold Miller’s Arnold Book Company encountered criticism for reprinting graphic American horror comics and eventually shut down; Arnold then moved into film production focusing on nudist films beginning in 1959. Following disagreements over this career change, Leonard Miller removed Arnold from L. Miller & Son, which was subsequently renamed L. Miller & Co.

Paradoxically, starting in 1961, L. Miller & Co. entered the horror and suspense genre with titles such as Mystic and Spellbound, utilizing pre-Comics Code material from American publishers including Atlas, Marvel Comics, Charlton, and E.C. Comics.

L. Miller & Co. declared bankruptcy in 1963 and halted comic production by 1966. Its asbestos printing plates—and presumably related rights—were acquired by fellow British publisher Alan Class, Ltd.. Alan Class primarily focused on horror and science fiction reprints and seldom incorporated original Miller material; some of these plates remained in use into the late 1990s.

Superhero Series

  • Captain Midnight (three volumes, 1946, 1950–1953, 1962–1963) – reprints from Fawcett
  • Marvel Family – reissued editions from Fawcett
  • Marvelman Family – a mix of original narratives and archival reprints after 1959
  • Master Comics (three volumes, 98 issues, 1945, 1946, 1950–1959) – Fawcett reprints

Western Genre

  • Original Publications
    • Buffalo Bill Cody (19 issues, 1957–1959)
    • Colorado Kid (18 issues, 1954–1959)
    • Davy Crockett (50 issues, 1956–1960)
    • Kid Dynamite Western Comic (65 issues, 1954–1960)
    • Pancho Villa Western Comic (63 issues, 1954–1959) – predominantly by Colin Andrew
    • Rocky Mountain King Western Comic (65 issues, 1955–1959)
  • Reprint Editions
    • Annie Oakley (17 issues, 1957–1958) – reprints from Atlas
    • Cowboy Action (18 issues, 1956–1957) – Atlas reissues
    • Gabby Hayes Western (62 issues, 1951–1955) – reprinted by Fawcett
    • Hopalong Cassidy Comic (three volumes, 106 issues, 1948–1958) – Fawcett reprints
    • Lash Larue Western (76 issues, 1950–1959) – Fawcett editions
    • Monte Hale Western (two volumes, 70 issues, 1950–1959) – Fawcett reprints
    • Rocky Lane Western (90 issues, 1950–1959) – Fawcett editions
    • Sergeant O'Brien (42 issues, 1952–1956) – reprints sourced from French publications
    • Six-Gun Heroes (65 issues, 1955–1959) – reissued by Fawcett and Charlton
    • Tex Ritter Western (50 issues, 1951–1959) – Fawcett reprints
    • Tom Mix Western Comic (four volumes, 88 issues spanning 1945, 1946, 1948, and 1951–1958) – combined Fawcett and Charlton reissues
    • Two Gun Kid (38 issues, 1951–1958) – Atlas reprints
    • Western Hero (100 issues, 1950–1959) – joint reprints by Fawcett and Charlton
    • Wyatt Earp (44 issues, 1957–1960) – reprints from Atlas and Charlton

Miscellaneous Titles

  • Don Winslow of the Navy (three volumes totaling 63 issues in years 1947 and from 1951 to 1953) – Fawcett reissues
  • Family Favourites Comic Weekly (34 original story installments published in 1954)
  • Mystic (66 issues produced between 1961 and 1966) – horror and suspense stories reprinted from Atlas, Marvel Comics, American Comics Group, Charlton, and E.C. Comics
  • Nyoka the Jungle Girl (two volumes with a total of 69 issues from 1950 to 1959) – editions republished by Fawcett
  • Pango (36 French-source reprint issues released between 1953 and 1956)
  • Popeye (30 issues appearing from 1959 to 1963) – reprints licensed from King Features
  • Robin Hood Tales (34 installments published between 1957 and 1959) – includes reprints from National Periodicals, Charlton Comics, plus some original British material
  • Spellbound (66 horror/suspense-themed reprint editions issued from 1961 to 1966), featuring material from Atlas, Marvel Comics, American Comics Group, Charlton, and E.C. Comics
  • Zorro (38 likely French-source reprint editions published between 1952 and 1954)

Consulted sources

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