''Vulcan'' was a British weekly

boys A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a ...

' comic published by IPC Magazines from 1 March 1975 to 3 April 1976, when it merged with ''

Valiant Valiant may refer to: People * James Valiant (1884–1917), English cricketer * The Valiant Brothers, a professional wrestling tag team of storyline brothers ** Jerry Valiant, a ring name of professional wrestler John Hill (1941-2010) ** Jimmy ...

''. The comic was unusual among IPC's weeklies for several reasons - it used a much smaller format than most of the company's weeklies and featured more colour; until September 1975 the title was only available in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

as the format was tested; and it consisted entirely of reprints of extant material. It was also published simultaneously in German as ''Kobra''.

Publishing history

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

publisher Gevacur had released reprinted Fleetway material with some success in mainland Europe, and co-operated with IPC for ''Vulcan'', the title being released as ''Kobra'' in mainland Europe. The title allowed Fleetway to make use of its back-catalogue of superhero and adventure strips printed in boys' adventure titles during the 1960s and early 1970s, and the magazine was printed in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It was compiled by British-based staff in the form of editors Sid Bicknell, with art editor Jan Shepherd. Much emphasis was placed on the 7p price corresponding with the seven features, and due to the relatively low overheads from the lack of new material the 32-page ''Vulcan'' was potentially profitable with a print run of around 25,000 copies, a number far below what was viable for other IPC weeklies. Format-wise, it was a departure for British comics of the period, being almost the same size as an American comic (''Vulcan'' issues are slightly larger than US standard comic books) and featuring glossy paper, rather than the newspaper format and newsprint used on other British weeklies; as a result the original artwork often had to be resized or otherwise edited. This was not appreciated by many of the material's original artists. The title was initially printed in Scotland only to test its viability, with the first issue being dated 1 March 1975. After 28 issues, following the 20 September 1975 edition the title was switched to nationwide - and as a result in-progress stories were edited to conclude so the 27 September 1975 edition could begin with jump-on points for readers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, only 29 national issues followed before the title was cancelled, following the 3 April 1976 issue. A Holiday Special was also published, as was a single annual - which again was unusual in format for the British market by being softback rather than hardcover. The annual also included some new text stories. After cancellation the title was merged with the still-running ''Valiant'', with a select group of stories being concluded in an insert section over the first three editions of the renamed ''Valiant and Vulcan''. ''Valiant'' editor John Wagner was not impressed by the merger, which brought few additional readers to the merged title.

Stories

Each issue had seven major features, occasionally rounded out with short humour strips or adverts for other Fleetway comics whenever a gap arose.

Billy's Boots

:Published: 27 March to 3 April 1976 :Writer: Fred Baker :Artist: John Gillatt After discovering the ancient boots of former footballer Charles 'Dead Shot' Keen, young Billy Dane finds himself playing with the skill of the late England International. *Reprinted from '' Scorcher'' 10 to 31 January 1970. New episodes of the story were being published concurrently in ''

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

''.

The House of Dolmann

:Published: 6 to 13 and 27 December 1975 :Writer: Tom Tully :Artist:

Eric Bradbury Eric Bradbury (4 January 1921 – May 2001) was a British comic artist who primarily worked for Amalgamated Press/ IPC from the late 1940s to the 1990s. He studied at Beckenham Art School from 1936, and served in the RAF as a rear gunner o ...

Genius Eric Dolmann creates a miniature army of robots to help him fight crime. *Reprinted from ''

'' 8 to 22 October 1966.

Kelly's Eye

:Published: 1 March 1975 to 3 April 1976 :Writer: Tom Tully :Artist: Francisco Solano López,

Tom Kerr Tom Kerr was a British comic strip artist whose work has appeared in comics such as ''Look-in'', the ''Eagle'', '' Valiant'', and '' TV21''. He has also drawn for many annuals of the 1960s and 1970s, including the ''Monkees'' annuals, ''Look-i ...

, Selby Donnison Tim Kelly discovers the Eye of Zoltec, which grants him the power of indestructibility. *Reprinted from ''

Knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

'' 21 July 1962 to 16 February 1963 and ''

'' 25 April 1964 to 15 April 1967.

Mytek the Mighty

:Published: 1 March 1975 to 3 April 1976 :Writer: Tom Tully :Artist:

Professor Arnold Boyce builds a huge robot version of the Akari tribe's god Mytek to make contact with the isolated natives; however, his bitter assistant steals Mytek and causes chaos, with the Professor and agent Dick Mason in pursuit. *Colour versions of strips from ''

'' 26 September 1964 to 16 October 1965.

Raven on the Wing

:Published: 13 December 1975 :Writer: Tom Tully :Artist:

Gypsy boy Raven joins struggling Highboro' United, where his skills soon help turn the team around despite his eccentricities and superstitions, which included insisting on playing barefoot. *Reprinted from '' Valiant Summer Special'' 1969.

The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire

:Published: 1 March 1975 to 3 April 1976 :Writers:

Mike Butterworth John Michael Butterworth (10 January 1924 – 4 October 1986) was a British comic book writer, best known for his comic strip '' The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire'' in the British weeklies ''Ranger'' and ''Look and Learn''. Life Butt ...

:Artist: Don Lawrence Tales from the alien culture of Elekton in which futuristic technology, such as antigravity vehicles and energy ray weapons, was blended with architecture, dress, and customs reminiscent of ancient civilizations. *Reprinted from '' Ranger'' 18 September 1965 to 18 June 1966 and '' Look and Learn'' 25 June 1966 to 14 March 1970. New episodes of the story were being published concurrently in ''Look and Learn'' at the time.

Robot Archie

:Published: 1 March 1975 to 3 April 1976 :Writers:

Ted Cowan TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depart ...

:Artist: Bert Bus Pals Ted Ritchie and Ken Dale are given control of a powerful robot created by Ritchie's uncle. *Translated from ''Sjors'', including both redrawn versions of strips from ''

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

'' 20 April 1968 to 16 May 1970 and two stories - "The Ice Time" and "Mr. Magneto" created for the Dutch market.

Saber, King of the Jungle

:Published: 1 March 1975 to 20 March 1976 :Artist:

Joe Colquhoun Joe Colquhoun (7 November 1926 – 13 April 1987) was a British comics artist best known for his work on ''Charley's War'' in ''Battle Picture Weekly''. He was also the first artist to draw ''Roy of the Rovers''. Biography Born in Harrow, Middl ...

, Denis McLoughlin Raised in the wild, white man Saber and his Zulu friend Umbala protect the jungle from all manner of threats. *Reprinted from ''

'' 17 June 1967 to 29 March 1969.

The Spider

:Published: 1 March 1975 to 3 April 1976 :Writers:

, Jerry Siegel :Artist: Reg Bunn The Spider is a master criminal of hazy origins who uses his genius and his army of crime - including safe cracking idiot savant Roy Ordini and amoral scientist Prof Pelham – to become the 'King of Crooks'. *Reprinted from ''

'' 26 June 1965 to 24 December 1966.

The Steel Claw

:Published: 1 March 1975 to 3 April 1976 :Writer:

Kenneth Bulmer Henry Kenneth Bulmer (14 January 1921 – 16 December 2005) was a British author, primarily of science fiction. Life Born in London, he married Pamela Buckmaster on 7 March 1953. They had one son and two daughters, and they divorced in 1981. B ...

, Tom Tully :Artist:

Jesús Blasco Jesús Blasco (3 November 1919 – 21 October 1995) was a Spanish author and artist of comic books, whose career covered most of the conventional history of comic strips. He worked extensively in British comics in the 1960s and 1970s. Career Blas ...

Louis Crandell gains the ability to turn invisible when he receives an electric shock through his metal hand. *Reprinted from ''

'' 6 October 1962 to 27 March 1965.

References

{{italic title 1975 comics debuts 1975 establishments in the United Kingdom 1976 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Adventure comics Comics magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct British comics Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Fleetway and IPC Comics titles Magazines established in 1975 Magazines disestablished in 1976 Magazines about comics Science fiction comics Superhero comics