Young Marvelman

Format: Weekly anthology, later monthly

First Issue: Young Marvelman #25 (3rd February 1954)

Last Issue: Young Marvelman #370 (February 1963; 346 issues)

Annuals and Specials: Young Marvelman Annual 1954-1961; Young Marvelman Adventures (annuals) 1962-1963; Marvelman Jr Annual 1963; Young Marvelman Magic 1-4 (1954)

Absorbed: None

Absorbed into: None

Strips: The Big Gunfight, Billy Brigg and the Pirates, Captain Zip Morgan of the Space Patrol, Doc Holliday, Flip and Flop, The Friendly Soul, Happy Snapp, Johnny Cherokee, Johnny Galaxia, Professor Schnorrer the T.V. Explorer, Space Pilot, Wynott Burp, Young Joey, Young Marvelman

Comments: In the 1950s British publisher L. Miller and Son held a license to reprint Fawcett's Captain Marvel and his related titles in the U.K., and were publishing Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. However, in 1953, after a punishing legal battle with DC Comics over claims that Captain Marvel infringed DC's Superman copyrights, Fawcett ceased publication and decided not to renew L. Miller's license. Since Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. were two of their more popular titles, Len Miller enlisted the assistance of artist and writer Mick Anglo to come up with a rescue plan. He created new characters, Marvelman, Young Marvelman and Kid Marvelman to replace Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel respectively, and, with #25, cover dated 3rd February 1954, L. Miller's two reprint titles were renamed Marvelman and Young Marvelman and began publishing stories produced by Mick Anglo's studio. Both were highly successful, and ran until #370 in February 1963, although towards the end, after Mick Anglo left the titles, they began reprinting old stories. There were also 8 Young Marvelman Annuals, plus one titled Marvelman Jr.

Like the sibling title, each issue tended to carry multiple stories, usually at least two Young Marvelman adventures alongside another, unrelated strip - for at least the first couple of hundred issues this was the swashbuckling tale Billy Brig and the Pirates by Tom Moore, whose strip began no later than #43 (the earliest issue I have access to is #44, and his story was already underway) and finished in #318. Some time after #244 but prior to #268 the title began carrying one-off war stories in each issue, with the two Young Marvelman tales in each issue dropping in page county slightly to accommodate this additional tale. Other short strips came and went, but the only other ongoings that I know of were Captain Zip Morgan of Space Patrol and space adventurer Johnny Galaxia, the latter a character originally published in Spain. Young Marvelman#354 also included a reprint of the Red Rocket story from Four Colors' Captain Flight#10.

Billy Brig appeared in Young Marvelman from at least #43 through to #318. Created by Tom Moore, it told the tale of young Billy Brig's time aboard the Tricorne, the pirate vessel run by Cap'n Blakbones (no "c"); later, after losing the Tricorne to a mutiny they seize a Spanish galleon and rename it The Black Shark. Though nominally pirates, they were of course depicted more as jolly swashbucklers, with the real villains of the strip usually being Spaniards and other rival buccaneers.

When his strip ended it was replaced by Johnny Cherokee, a Western strip.

The Big Gunfight was a tale involving retired gunfighter Larry Davis who was tricked into joining a protection racket gang, only to turn against them. It appears to have been the strip that replaced Larry Cherokee (see below), and ran from #324 until #329 or #330 (as it was not in #331).

Space adventurer Captain Zip Morgan of the Space Patrol began his run in Young Marvelman no earlier than #345 (and definitely by #347), and ended it in #361 (which he is definitely in) or #362, being replaced by Johnny Galaxia by #363.

He also appeared in at least one issue of Marvelman, and in Marvelman Adventures 1961 (a.k.a. Marvelman Annual).

Doc Holliday appeared in the Young Marvelman Annual 1960 in a 5 page story. Given the story was in an Annual, it's entirely possible it never appeared in the regular Young Marvelman comic, and may have been reprinted from another L. Miller title.

Flip and Flop by Denis Gifford was a single page humour strip that began appearing in Young Marvelman somewhere around the 100th issue, and ran until at least #332. They didn't appear in every issue, instead serving in a somewhat random rotation with Young Joey and Friendly Soul.

They also appeared in issues of Marvelman.

The Friendly Soul by Denis Gifford was a single page humour strip that began appearing in Young Marvelman somewhere around the 100th issue, and ran until at least #332. He didn't appear in every issue, instead serving in a somewhat random rotation with Flip and Flop and Young Joey.

He also appeared in issues of Marvelman.

Happy Snapp by Denis Gifford was a single page humour strip that began appearing in Young Marvelman somewhere around the 300th issue, and ran intermittently thereafter. He didn't appear in every issue.

Johnny Cherokee was a Western gunfighter who appeared in Young Marvelman#319-323.

Johnny Galaxia began his run in Young Marvelman from either #362 (perhaps) or #363 (which he is definitely in), replacing departing space adventurer Zip Morgan, and continued to appear until the title's cancellation with #370.

Professor Schnorrer by Denis Gifford was a single page humour strip that began appearing in Young Marvelman somewhere around the 300th issue, and ran intermittently thereafter. He didn't appear in every issue.

Space Pilot appeared in Young Marvelman#342, and starred Squadron Leader Chris Taplow, attached to the Space Carrier Trident. I don't know if it appeared in other issues of Young Marvelman, but the series also appeared in L.Miller and Son's Space Commando Comics and Arnold Book Company's Space Comics, still including the Trident but there starring Rafe Marlow. It may be that Taplow is merely Marlow renamed.

Wynott Burp by Denis Gifford was a single page humour strip that began appearing in Young Marvelman somewhere around the 300th issue, and ran intermittently thereafter. He didn't appear in every issue.

He also appeared in L.Miller's Gunhawks Western.

Young Joey was a humour strip that began appearing in Young Marvelman somewhere around the 100th issue, and ran until at least #369; initially only a single pager, from around #283 he sometimes had as many as three pages to play with. He didn't appear in every issue, instead serving in a somewhat random rotation with Flip and Flop and Friendly Soul. Normally in black and white, he appeared in a slightly longer strip in colour in Young Marvelman Annual 1960, where he was drawn by Denis Gifford; comparing art styles, I'm fairly certain that the original artist in the weekly comic was someone else, though later installments (circa #200 at least) were done by him.

He also appeared in issues of Marvelman.

Young Marvelman, unsurprisingly, was in every issue of the comic named after him, with two stories per issue.

First Posted: Circa 13/10/2019
Last updated: 05/11/2023

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