The Swingin' Sound Of Sixties Marvel

Bob Harris and Paul Francis Webster's 'Spider-Man' theme from the 1967 cartoon series has endured for over fifty years, always associated with the character and probably second only in public affection, as far as superhero theme tunes go, to Neal Hefti's 'Batman Theme' from the previous year.

However, there were several other Marvel theme tunes produced during the 1960s which are not so well remembered. These include Ted Holt's theme for Hanna Barbera's 'Fantastic Four' series (1967), 'The Merry Marvel Marching Society' issued by Marvel in 1964, and Jacques Urbont's range of tunes for the various segments of Gantray Lawrence's 'The Marvel Super-heroes' (1966). This presentation will examine these songs alongside other theme tunes and popular music of them time, in order to see what this little-studied aspect of transmedia storytelling can tell us about the early development of a company which came to dominate the field, commercially at least, in the twenty-first century.

As part of this analysis, the authors will perform each song live on guitar, and ask the important questions: Does Tony Stark really make you feel he's a cool exec with a heart of steel? Is life really a great big bang up for Spider-Man? And is it fair to describe irradiated scientist Bruce Banner as sulky, over-bulky, kind of sulky?