Strange #148
Strange #148 is a representative issue from the heart of Editions Lug's monthly Marvel reprint programme — a series that, launched in January 1970 and running for 324 issues, served as the primary gateway for a generation of French readers to encounter the Marvel Universe in their own language. Its contents package the first French-language appearance of the Black Cat (Félicia Hardy / La Chatte Noire), one of Spider-Man's most enduring romantic foils, whose debut in the reprinted Amazing Spider-Man #194 made Strange #148 the first time that character reached the Franco-Belgian market. The issue also carries the French introduction of Ben Urich, the investigative journalist who would become central to Daredevil lore, via the Daredevil #153 reprint, making the issue a double-debut vehicle for two characters with outsized long-term importance to their respective titles.
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Editions Lug was founded in Lyon in 1950 by Marcel Navarro and Auguste Vistel — 'Lug' deriving from Lugdunum, the Gallo-Roman name for Lyon — and entered the Marvel licensing business in 1969–1970 after Claude Vistel returned from New York with the rights. Two early companion titles, Fantask and Marvel, were cancelled within a year under pressure from French censors, but Strange survived to become a fixture, each issue reprinting four complete Marvel stories translated into French. By April 1982, when issue #148 was deposited (dépôt légal 04/1982), Lug was at what historians of the company consider its commercial peak, running parallel Marvel titles such as Titans, Nova, and Spidey alongside Strange. The covers of Strange frequently featured original paintings by French artist Jean Frisano, mixing freshly composed artwork with recoloured American originals, giving the series a visual identity distinct from its source material.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published April 1982 (dépôt légal 04/1982) by Editions Lug, Lyon, France — issue #148 of the long-running monthly Marvel reprint series that ran from January 1970 to December 1996 across 324 issues.
- Story 1 — 'Le raid des Commandos' (Iron Man #1 vol. 1 #145, April 1981, 'Raiders' Rampage!'): scripted by David Michelinie, co-plotted with Bob Layton, pencilled by John Romita Jr., inked by Bob Layton. Features Tony Stark, James Rhodes, Scott Lang (Ant-Man in civilian clothes), and Bethany Cabe.
- Story 2 — 'Ne laisse pas la Chatte Noire croiser ta route' (Amazing Spider-Man #194, July 1979): written by Marv Wolfman, art by Keith Pollard and Frank Giacoia. This is the FIRST FRENCH-LANGUAGE APPEARANCE of the Black Cat (Félicia Hardy / La Chatte Noire), created by Marv Wolfman and designed by Dave Cockrum. Also features April Maye's first appearance (carried over from the source issue).
- Story 3 — 'Trahison (2)' (Daredevil #153, July 1978, 'Death is The Cobra and Mr. Hyde!'): this issue is widely identified as the FIRST APPEARANCE of investigative reporter Ben Urich, making Strange #148 the vehicle for his French debut. Features Cobra (Klaus Voorhees / Le Cobra) and Mister Hyde (Calvin Zabo / Monsieur Hyde) as villains.
- Story 4 — 'L'hybride' (ROM #17–18, April–May 1981, 'Hybrid!' / 'And A Child Shall Deceive Them!'): written by Bill Mantlo, art by Sal Buscema — introducing French readers to the ROM: Spaceknight supporting cast.
- The Black Cat was originally conceived by Wolfman for the Spider-Woman title before he transferred the character to Amazing Spider-Man, and her visual design was executed by Dave Cockrum; Wolfman drew inspiration for the bad-luck theme from a Tex Avery cartoon rather than from DC's Catwoman.
- Editions Lug routinely had its in-house 'atelier Lug' studio make art retouches to imported pages to meet French censorship standards — a practice documented in the Grand Comics Database across numerous Strange issues.
- A companion quarterly reprint digest, Strange Spécial Origines #148 bis (also April 1982), was published simultaneously and contained unrelated Silver Age Thor/Loki and Red Skull origin stories from Journey into Mystery and Tales of Suspense; it is a distinct product from the regular monthly Strange #148.
Cast · 40 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Professor X sends the X-Men to investigate. Their destination is the town of Clairton. Rom battles the monstrous Hybrid but, when the X-Men show up and see a killer robot beating on what appears to be a little boy, they decide that Rom is the bad guy. Thinking that Rom is an evil mutant beating on a human child, the X-Men attack him. Little do they realize that the boy is a human/Dire Wraith hybrid with the mutant power of manipulating their own abilities. Once they realize their mistake, Kitty is able to blast Hybrid with Rom's neutralizer but accidentally sends Rom to Limbo as well.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).