Stan Lee is surrounded by all Marvel characters co-created by him in tribute art
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Ambrose Tardive
Published 18 minutes ago
Ambrose Tardive is an editor on ScreenRant's Comics team. Over the past two years, he has developed into the internet's foremost authority on The Far Side. Outside of his work for ScreenRant, Ambrose works as an Adjunct English Instructor.
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Marvel Comics once made a Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band comic adaptation so bad that it was never released in the United States. Curiously, the comic did appear in select foreign-language markets, meaning it wasn't totally erased from existence. Yet the troubled behind-the-scenes production of the book, mirroring that of the film, ultimately nixed the English version.
Marvel Comics Super Special #7 was written by David Kraft and Dwight Jon Zimmerman, adapting the film's screenplay, and featured art by George Pérez.
Even at the time, it was clear the Sgt. Pepper's adaptation was Marvel's greatest movie adaptation flop. In retrospect, though, it is a fascinating relic of a Marvel Comics that doesn't exist anymore.
Marvel's "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" Comic Was So Bad The English-Language Version Was Scrapped
Marvel Comics Super Special #7 Was Published In French And Dutch Only
1978's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie is an infamous cinematic disaster. The film starred the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton as the eponymous band, Steve Martin as Dr. Maxwell, and featured Aerosmith as the Future Villain Band, among many other memorable cameos by major artists and actors of the time.
The film's production was reportedly a mess. The final product might qualify as a "so bad it's good," campy cult-classic today, but at the time, it was just considered an embarrassment. In parallel, Marvel's official comic adaptation of the movie was also plagued from start to finish, with its American release scrapped near the release date.
Marvel Comics Super Special #7, containing the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band adaptation, was set to be released in June 1978, a month ahead of the movie's theatrical release. It never made it to shelves in the U.S., but, for reasons unclear nearly fifty years later, versions of the book were published in French and Dutch markets.
Marvel's Failed "Sgt. Pepper's" Adaptation Was The Start Of A Long Run Of Movie Tie-In Comics
High Highs And Low Lows For Marvel's Movie Adaptations
In 1978, Marvel was chasing the success of its Star Wars adaptation the previous year, and it was eager to do more. Sgt. Pepper's had the potential to be a big movie, capitalizing on nostalgia for the Beatles nearly a decade after their break-up. It makes total sense that Marvel would take a chance on adapting the movie.
The remarkable thing is that it turned out to be more of a flop than the movie, which at least made a modest return at the box office, despite its poor critical reputation. Even its limited publication overseas, and in French-Canadian markets, wouldn't have recouped the investment that went into Marvel Super Special #7.
It was definitely a loss for Marvel that year. Thanks to Star Wars, it was one the publisher could afford. Funnily enough, these days, a copy of Marvel Super Special #7 and its Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band adaptation, in good condition, would probably fetch a fair price on the collector's market, given its rare status as one of Marvel's biggest missteps.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed PG Adventure Music Family Release Date July 24, 1978 Runtime 113 minutes Director Michael Schultz Writers Henry Edwards Producers Robert StigwoodCast
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Barry Gibb
Mark Henderson
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Peter Frampton
Billy Shears
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Robin Gibb
Dave Henderson
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Maurice Gibb
Bob Henderson
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Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
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