Power Comics

Power Comics
Company type	Imprint
Industry	Comic books, Publishing
Founded	1967
Defunct	1968
Fate	Discontinued; titles merged into Smash!
Successor	Smash! and Pow! Incorporating Fantastic
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Parent	Odhams Press (branch of IPC Magazines)

Power Comics served as an imprint under the British comic book publisher Odhams Press, itself a branch of IPC Magazines. This imprint gained recognition primarily for republishing American Marvel Comics content. Its activity was concentrated during 1967 and 1968, encompassing five weekly publications: Wham!, Smash!, Pow!, Fantastic, and Terrific. The first three titles followed the traditional British comic format, incorporating some Marvel and DC Comics material, whereas Fantastic and Terrific adopted a magazine-style approach, heavily featuring Marvel superhero narratives.

History

Operating out of Odhams’ London office at 64 Long Acre, Power Comics was part of Odhams Press, which belonged to the larger entity International Publishing Corporation (IPC). IPC was established in 1963 through a series of mergers orchestrated by Cecil Harmsworth King, who chaired newspapers including the Daily Mirror and Sunday Pictorial (now known as the Sunday Mirror). IPC oversaw multiple comic imprints such as Fleetway Publications alongside Odhams.

The editorial leadership of Power Comics consisted of a trio: Alfred Wallace ("Alf"), who functioned as Managing Editor at Odhams and overall coordinator; Bart (Bob Bartholomew from Eagle); and Cos, responsible for managing individual comic titles.

Following the initial popularity of Wham! in 1964, Odhams introduced four more Power Comics titles between 1966 and 1967, though these were discontinued swiftly. Despite all five series maintaining strong circulation early in 1968, only Smash! survived by the end of that year, absorbing the others through mergers. These consolidations produced increasingly complex title names such as Smash! and Pow! Incorporating Fantastic, sometimes humorously extended to reference all previous publications.

Origins: Wham! and Smash!

After acquiring UK reprint rights for Marvel Comics material, Odhams incorporated Marvel superhero stories like the Hulk and Fantastic Four into their existing titles Smash! and Wham!. These narratives were presented in black-and-white and serialized alongside predominantly British comic strips. Additionally, Smash! featured reprints of the Batman newspaper strip, capitalizing on the popularity of the contemporary live-action television series.

The Power Comics branding first appeared on issue #44 of Smash!, dated 3 December 1966.

Pow!, Fantastic, and Terrific

The Power Comics imprint expanded its presence with the launches of Pow! and Fantastic in early 1967. Debuting on 14 January 1967, Pow! blended conventional British comic content with Marvel reprints including characters such as Spider-Man and Nick Fury. By this time, issue numbers had reached #136 for Wham! and #51 for Smash!.

Launched on 11 February 1967, Fantastic targeted a more mature readership by adopting a format similar to American black-and-white anthology magazines like Creepy. Its content was predominantly Marvel superheroes such as Thor, the X-Men, and Iron Man, featuring very limited British material. This publication foreshadowed later Marvel UK weekly titles like The Mighty World of Marvel, which emerged in 1972.

On 8 April 1967, Power Comics broadened its portfolio to five titles with the introduction of Terrific, which shared a similar format to Fantastic. This title mainly showcased Marvel reprints including stories about The Avengers, Doctor Strange, and the Sub-Mariner.

Mergers and the Conclusion of Power Comics

The Power Comics imprint experienced a downturn after nine months across five publications. On 13 January 1968, Wham! was consolidated into Pow!, followed three weeks later by the merger of Terrific into Fantastic. This consolidation left three titles active for half a year until Pow! and Fantastic combined into Smash! in September and November of 1968, respectively.

IPC Magazines, the parent company of Odhams, sought to reduce expenses related to licensing American reprints. As each title ceased publication, their superhero storylines were discontinued—except for those in Fantastic, whose Marvel contract allowed their strips to continue within the merged publication titled Smash! and Pow! Incorporating Fantastic.

Although Smash! inherited several well-liked features, it achieved only modest success. The Power Comics label was retired in November 1968 when its branding was removed from issue #143 of Smash! and Pow!.

When the Marvel agreement expired in March 1969—and after dropping the Batman strip—IPC undertook a significant revamp of Smash!, which included dismissing editor Alf Wallace and canceling numerous storylines. The revamped comic adopted new cover designs, introduced fresh strips, and offered free gifts inspired by successful IPC titles such as Lion and Valiant, effectively relaunching the title with a fresh format.

Despite additional editorial shifts, the final remaining Power Comics publication, Smash!, continued until April 1971 before merging into IPC's Valiant.

Style and content

Power Comics pioneered the incorporation of American superhero themes into mainstream British comics, influenced by the popularity of Stan Lee's Marvel Comics in the United States. Alongside reprinting acclaimed Marvel series like Spider-Man and the X-Men, Power Comics also endeavored to develop British superheroes. This began with Missing Link/Johnny Future featured in Fantastic prior to its merger with Terrific, followed by Tri-Man’s introduction in Smash! after that merger.

Superheroes

The inaugural superhero strip featured in a Power Comic was the Incredible Hulk, which debuted in issue #16 of Smash! on 21 May 1966. The Hulk’s six-page story occupied one-quarter of the 24-page comic, resulting in the displacement of five other strips and cancellation of two.

One month later, DC Comics' Batman made its debut in issue #20 of Smash! (18 June 1966) through re-edited American newspaper strips, leveraging the popularity of the Batman television show starring Adam West.

Following the Hulk’s success, the Fantastic Four were introduced in Wham! on 6 August 1966. The Fantastic Four became Marvel's longest-running feature across three Power Comics titles. Meanwhile, Spider-Man led the lineup in Pow!. In 1967, Odhams launched two additional titles devoted exclusively to Marvel superheroes: Fantastic and Terrific.

Both Fantastic and Terrific showcased full-colour pin-up pages on their back covers, predominantly reprints from American Marvel comics; however, some pin-ups—including one featuring Johnny Future—were specially produced for Power Comics by a young Barry Windsor-Smith.

Reader engagement

Power Comics adopted a dynamic editorial approach reminiscent of Stan Lee’s style, fostering a sense of community through editorial personas such as "Alf and Bart" or "Alf and Cos." The character "Alf" represented Odhams editor Alf Wallace, "Bart" referred to Eagle editor Bob Bartholomew, and "Cos" was Albert Cosser, who later edited TVTimes. Each publication featured a dedicated letters section—for instance, "Fantastic Fan-mail"—alongside a half-page editorial titled "News from the Floor of 64", nodding to their shared London office at 64 Long Acre. This format closely paralleled the tone and function of Marvel’s "Bullpen Bulletins."

Adaptation for British audiences ("Britification")

Similar to other UK reprints of American comics, Power Comics adjusted panel layouts—sometimes omitting segments—to accommodate the larger British page dimensions. Unlike many Marvel UK reprints from the 1970s, Power Comics often modified Marvel content by converting American spellings and colloquialisms into British variants. To address continuity inconsistencies arising from unsynchronized reprints, both dialogue and artwork were altered, though these edits were frequently conspicuous and rudimentary.

A contentious practice involved the scant acknowledgment of Marvel Comics and its creators. Initially, Marvel received no credit; only after a reader’s inquiry did Odhams concede the strips’ origins. Nevertheless, Marvel credit boxes naming figures like Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Jack Kirby were commonly excised and replaced with blank spaces or artwork. Apart from minor copyright notices, the name "Marvel" was never explicitly mentioned—instances where it appeared in strips were changed to "Power." Occasionally, Marvel was indirectly referenced, such as when the Hulk was withdrawn from Smash! due to synchronization with American releases. Following public demand after several months, the Hulk returned in Fantastic.

Television’s impact on comics

The trajectory of Power Comics exemplifies the managed contraction of the British comics sector during the 1960s as television’s popularity eroded readership. The arrival of commercial television in 1955 diverted audiences away from traditional BBC children’s programming, accelerating declines in comic circulation. Throughout the decade, developments such as BBC2’s launch in 1964, more affordable television sets enabled by transistor technology, hire-purchase plans expanding TV ownership, and British television’s introduction of colour broadcasts at Christmas 1969 collectively dealt a severe blow to mass-market comics.

Within this contracting UK market—where publishers competed amid falling sales—Odhams undertook a bold move by releasing five titles simultaneously. Unlike typical industry tactics of rapidly duplicating successful titles to block rivals, Odhams’ approach differed. While Smash! distinguished itself with American superhero content, Fantastic and Terrific, primarily featuring Marvel superheroes, resembled Smash! but lacked humour strips. However, IPC held exclusive rights to reprint Marvel material in the UK, barring other publishers from doing so.

Economic downturn of 1968

The closures stemmed from Britain’s unforeseen economic crisis in 1968, highlighted by the Pound's devaluation. This Sterling crisis began in 1967 and triggered subsequent international currency devaluations—including those affecting the U.S. dollar, French franc, and Deutsche Mark—culminating in another Sterling crisis by late 1968.

The depreciation of the Pound dramatically increased costs for American strips priced in dollars, rendering them financially unsustainable. Raising cover prices was impractical due to fierce competition alongside declining sales caused by television’s rise. For example, Fantastic and Terrific, both heavily reliant on American content and priced at 9d, ceased publication within eighteen months; meanwhile, rival DC Thomson titles like The Dandy and The Beano sold for only 3d.

Titles such as Wham! and Pow! peaked at 7d but still faced difficulties. Launched at 7d for 24 pages in 1966, Smash! expanded to 36 pages by 1969 without increasing its price, resulting in higher production expenses and reduced profit margins per issue.

A pivotal moment occurred with Smash! issue #144 when it merged with Pow! and Fantastic. Losing popular Marvel features like Daredevil and Spider-Man, it incorporated others including Thor and Fantastic Four, alongside new British adventure stories. To accommodate this variety, IPC increased page count by half, matching successful contemporaries such as Lion and Valiant, both offering 36 pages at similar price points.

A core challenge lay in children being able to purchase both DC Thomson comics for less than the cost of one Power Comic. Despite DC Thomson titles having only 16 pages at 3d each, Smash! eventually grew to 40 pages by 1970 but cost more than twice as much. This pricing disparity enabled DC Thomson to sustain market leadership for many years.

The competitive UK publishing landscape featured slim profit margins: low cover prices demanded high sales volumes to break even; conversely, higher prices restricted sales numbers. IPC’s tactic of issuing five weekly Power Comics priced many consumers out—buying all five exceeded three shillings weekly, surpassing typical pocket money allowances.

Additionally, Power Comics competed not only against external rivals but also internally against IPC’s own titles like Lion, Valiant, and Buster. Streamlining by discontinuing some Power Comics could reduce production expenses and potentially increase sales of remaining titles without overall revenue loss if readers remained loyal to IPC rather than switching publishers.

Marvel Comics Distribution in the United Kingdom

One unforeseen obstacle for Odhams was the rapid increase in the availability of American comic books across the UK market. Previously, distribution had been limited and irregular, but this shifted significantly in 1968 when Marvel Comics' proprietor, Martin Goodman, terminated a restrictive agreement that had confined Marvel to releasing only eight titles monthly. Following this, Marvel expanded its publication rate fourfold, inundating the British market with numerous new full-color series. This escalation in competition heavily affected sales of Odhams' black-and-white Marvel reprint titles within the Power Comics line.

Facing a challenging economic environment, IPC promptly discontinued unprofitable ventures. Industry norms favored shutting down titles nearing break-even points rather than waiting for actual financial losses to materialize. Expected deficits from Pow!, Wham!, Fantastic, and Terrific led to their cancellation, resulting in a substantial reduction of Power Comics production costs by approximately 80%.

Odhams encountered unforeseen financial setbacks due to long-term licensing commitments with American publishers, which could not be swiftly ended. With only Smash! remaining active, it was insufficient to absorb these expenses alone. However, as all Power Comics were issued by Odhams Press Ltd—a limited liability company—any debts were confined within this subsidiary, thereby safeguarding other IPC Group divisions. Accordingly, on 1 January 1969, Smash! was transferred to IPC Magazines Ltd, a newly formed IPC subsidiary created in 1968, leaving Odhams without ongoing publications and enabling Smash! to continue independently.

Titles within the Power Comics Range

Title	Launch date	Final issue date	Total issues	Marvel reprints	Outcome	Additional information
Wham!	20 June 1964	13 January 1968	187	Fantastic Four (continued in Pow! then Smash!)	Integrated into Pow!
Smash!	5 February 1966	3 April 1971	257	Hulk Daredevil	Combined into Valiant.	Included reprints of Batman comic strips and original UK heroes Rubberman and Tri-Man.
Pow!	21 January 1967	7 September 1968	86	Spider-Man (continued in Smash and Pow!) Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD	Merged into Smash!
Fantastic	18 February 1967	26 October 1968	89	The Mighty Thor (continued in Smash!) X-Men Iron Man	Absorbed into Smash!	Also featured original UK superhero The Missing Link/Johnny Future.
Terrific	15 April 1967	3 February 1968	43	The Avengers (continued in Fantastic) Doctor Strange (continued in Fantastic) Sub-Mariner Giant-Man	Folded into Fantastic

Consulted Materials

Alan and David Coates. "Smash!" in British Comic World #3 (A. & D. Coates, June 1984).
Steve Holland. Fleetway Companion (Colne, Lancs., A. & B. Whitworth, February 1992).
Power Comic (Brand Emblem), Grand Comics Database.

External Resources