Hit Comics #8
Hit Comics #8 brought German-language readers their first encounter with two of Marvel's most consequential Silver Age creations — the Silver Surfer and Galactus — by reprinting material from the Galactus Trilogy (Fantastic Four #48–50), a three-issue 1966 story arc now regarded as a high-water mark of the Silver Age. The issue also bundled an Iron Man story featuring the Mandarin and the robot Ultimo, giving West German audiences a two-feature sampler of Marvel's cosmic and techno-thriller registers in a single affordable newsstand package. Because BSV-Williams mixed characters and source issues freely across the HIT Comics run, this issue stands as an early document of how American superhero mythology was introduced to a new national readership in fragmented, anthology form — shaping which Marvel characters first registered in German pop culture.
In "Galactus kommt!", Black Bolt and the Fantastic Four face a new threat as the Observer warns them of the approaching cosmic entity Galactus. With Maximus’ deadly scheme thwarted, the team must now prepare for a force far beyond their usual battles—setting the stage for an epic confrontation that reshapes their understanding of the universe. Written by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, with art by Jack Kirby and inks by Joe Sinnott, the cover by Kirby and Sinnott captures the looming dread of the coming storm.
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BSV (Bildschriftenverlag) launched HIT Comics in September 1966 as an ongoing anthology reprint series after the publisher was acquired by National Periodical Publications (DC's parent) in 1966 and subsequently gained access to Marvel licensing through a parallel arrangement. The series ran 28 issues through October 1970, presenting Marvel stories in German translation with no fixed character focus — a deliberate omnibus format that contrasted with BSV's later character-specific spin-off titles. The German names assigned to the characters — Silberreiter, Beobachter, Das Ding, Die Fackel, Die Unsichtbare, Eisenmann — were coined for this and concurrent BSV-Williams titles and became the canonical German translations used throughout the publisher's long print run into the 1980s.
Trivia · 8 facts
- HIT Comics was a German-language reprint anthology published by BSV-Williams, running 28 issues from September 1966 to October 1970.
- Issue #8 (1967) reprints material from Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), the first appearance of both the Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd / 'Silberreiter') and Galactus ('Galan') in Marvel Comics.
- The Silver Surfer was an unplanned creation by Jack Kirby — added without Stan Lee's prior knowledge as a herald for Galactus — and the character's debut in FF #48 is one of the defining moments of the Galactus Trilogy (FF #48–50).
- The Fantastic Four story also features the Inhumans cast — Black Bolt, Crystal, Medusa, Karnak, Gorgon, and Maximus — whose Atmo-Gun subplot bridges directly into the Galactus arrival, giving the issue an unusually rich roster of characters for a single reprint.
- The issue also contains an Iron Man (Eisenmann) story featuring Tony Stark facing the Mandarin and the robot Ultimo, sourced from Tales of Suspense (specific issue unconfirmed in available sources).
- The Watcher ('Der Beobachter') plays a pivotal role in the Fantastic Four story, actively trying to conceal Earth from the Silver Surfer and then warning the FF of Galactus's approach.
- BSV-Williams introduced the canonical German character names used in this issue — Silberreiter, Das Ding, Die Fackel, Die Unsichtbare, Der Beobachter — which persisted across all subsequent West German Marvel publications.
- The Galactus Trilogy reprinted here was later adapted for the 1967 and 1994 Fantastic Four animated television series, and elements of it informed the 2007 film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
Cast · 27 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Black Bolt und die Fantastischen Vier vereiteln Maximus’ Plan, die gesamte Menschheit zu vernichten. Nachdem die Fantastischen Vier nach New York zurückgekehrt sind, warnt der Beobachter sie vor der drohenden Gefahr durch Galactus.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).