September 1966

"Well, we just polished off a few holocausts, and a cataclysm or two! Now, I'll go out and relax by dreaming up a few simple disasters!"

From Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1, No. 40

August 1966

"You most likely figure, since you're so popular, that you can afford to hire new artists to lessen the strain on your old artists. The trouble is that only very few of these new artists have come up to standards expected of Marvel.
What's wrong with Kirby, your best? Now he only draws two comics completely, and helps out on a couple of others. He probably could easily do another mag or two."

From Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1, No. 39

July 1966

"It's hail and farewell to sturdy Steve Ditko! Spider-Man #38 and Strange Tales #146 will mark his final appearances in any Marvel Mags! Steve recently told us he was leaving for personal reasons.
After all these years, we're sorry to see him go, and we wish the talented guy success with his future endeavors."

From Fantastic Four, Vol. 1, No. 52

June 1966

"At last it can be told! The REAL NAME of admirable Adam Austin! Most of you newer readers won't recognize it, but those of you who remember us from the days of our former triumphs will instantly remember who he is - in fact, some of you have already guessed his identity! Anyway, to end the suspense, let's bid farewell to A.A., and welcome gallant Gene Colan to the fold, in all his glory!"

From Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1, No. 37

The Marvel Superheroes Have Arrived!

Marvel super-heroes on TV! Here's the official scoop so far - our first stations will begin showing animated films of five - yep, FIVE - of our Marvel heroes in the middle of September. The characters to be featured will be: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Sub-Mariner, and the Hulk - all in full color! What's more, we'll use exactly the same art and stories which have made our mags the sensation of the nation! Production is under way right now, at the famous Grantray-Lawrence Animation Co. in Hollywood..."

-Bullpen Bulletin, October 1966

Well, sort of.

The Ol' Bullpen Page wasn't kidding about The Marvel Superheroes series using "exactly the same art and stories"; panels from the comics were directly incorporated into the cartoon, xeroxed onto the cels and given life via very limited animation techniques and camera work.

Reuse of backgrounds, expressions, and any other bit of celluloid that looked like it had one more go in it was a hallmark of the series, as was wonderful voice acting, courtesy of many great talents from the CBC (Including John Vernon and pretty much anyone who had a speaking part on Wayne & Shuster.) Click to image to the left to browse a YouTube playlist featuring episodes of the series.

Grantray-Lawrence and Krantz Films also produced the immortal Rocket Robin Hood cartoon, and in 1967, the first Spider-Man cartoon, which also featured occasionally wonky animation, swell voice work, and theme songs catchier than herpes and more sanity-damaging than syphilis.

May 1966

"The turning point for comics was about three years ago, when Stan Lee decided to try to reach readers beyond the bubble-gum brigade. Aiming at high school and college students, he created the Fantastic Four... The result for Marvel is impressive and promising. It is selling 33, 000, 000 copies a year."

From Fantastic Four Vol. 1, No. 50

April 1966

"Anyway, our tantalizin' titles are sold thruout Latin America with one exception - the bearded one has banned all comic books in Cuba as subversive literature! That's probably the nicest compliment we've had all year!"

From Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1, No. 35

March 1966

"For example, all Stan [Lee] has to do with the pros like Jack "King" Kirby, dazzling Don Heck, and darlin' Dick Ayers is give them the germ of an idea and they make up all the details as they go along, drawing and plotting out the story. Then, our leader simply takes the finished drawings and adds all the dialogue and captions! Sounds complicated? Maybe it is, but it's another reason why no one else can bring you that old Marvel magic!"

From Fantastic Four, Vol. 1, No. 48