'FAMOUS FIRSTS': THE DEBUT OF KID KONG...

ROBERT T. NIXON was a fantastic cartoonist, who was right up

there amongst the very best that this country ever had to offer. However,

if you're a long-standing  fan of comics, you don't need me to tell you how

accomplished he was. Here he is drawing KID KONG from (surprise,

surprise) MONSTER FUN #1. Makes it look easy, doesn't he?

THAT'S A SLINKY LITTLE NUMBER...

SLINKY it was called - and it was (slinky, that is). It was 1969

and myself and my family were holidaying in Largs for the second

year running. If I recall correctly, we were in a shop where there was a

display of this particular toy in action and, being impressed, my brother

immediately bought one. I still remember, holiday over and back home,

watching Slinky making his way down the stairs in our hallway. It really

did seem like something alive, so my eardrums were grateful for the

absence of COLIN CLIVE's histrionics as the amazing toy per-

formed his perambulations for our entertainment and enjoyment.

Maybe one day Slinky will be able to make his way up the

stairs as well as down. If that ever happens, I'll be sure to buy

another one. In the meantime, here's the 'lad' himself.

THE VULCAN THAT ISN'T SPOCK...

What makes a thing rare? Being hard to find surely qualifies

you'd think, but here's something that seems to be an exception -

VULCAN Annual 1977. What makes me say that? Simple. When

my original copy of this book sustained some cover damage a few

years back, I sought out another copy on eBay. I soon had four
copies to keep my original company, and each of them was
described in its eBay listing as being 'extremely rare'.

I've since seen several other copies of the book available

on the internet, which have also been described as 'rare'. In fact,

I've probably seen more copies of this particular Annual for sale

than any other, all within a relatively short space of time. It pops
up quite regularly, in fact. Not exactly my definition of rare, but
then again,  I'm not trying to punt one for a few more quid
than it's actually worth.

Still a nice little Annual 'though. And, if you'd like to see THE
TRIGAN EMPIRE adventure depicted on the cover, then click
on BIFF! and feed your hungry eyes. 

'FAMOUS FIRSTS': THE DEBUT OF DRACULASS...

Any comics collector of a certain age worth his salt knows

who TERRY BAVE is. Terry was one of the stalwarts of the British

comics industry for around 40 years, and contributed to many well-

known weekly periodicals like WHAM!, SMASH!, POW!, BUSTER,

WHIZZER & CHIPS, SHIVER & SHAKE, WHOOPEE, WOW!,

MONSTER FUN,  SCHOOL FUN,  BEANO and DANDY.

(And that's just a few of them!)

Here's Terry's strip from MONSTER FUN #1 - the one and

only DRACULASS - DAUGHTER OF DRACULA!

YOWZA! PART FOUR OF SMASH! COVER GALLERY...

You know, when I think about it, I realise that I bought 'new'

SMASH! in spite of the covers, not because of them. After all,

they didn't reflect the comic's contents and I doubt they attracted

anyone who wasn't already a regular reader, perhaps having

continued to purchase the paper from its ODHAMS days.

I say that because the WARRIORS OF THE WORLD series,

which lasted for 46 issues, had too much of an 'educational' slant,

which, as we know, is anathema to most young boys. (Unless you're

CUTHBERT SWOT, of course, who'd probably zealously buy

LOOK & LEARN - and not for THE TRIGAN EMPIRE.)

Having said that 'though, due to the childhood memories as-

sociated with each cover, I now have a distinct fondness for them

that I wouldn't have had at the time. However, I feel that the series

would've been better placed on the back covers, with the front of

the comic featuring symbolic 'splash pages' of JANUS STARK,

CURSITOR DOOM, MASTER OF THE MARSH, etc.

(It's not as if they were short of strips to choose from.)

I think such scenes would've been a bigger draw to potential

buyers than what was used, but I guess it's easy to be wise after

the event. If you have an opinion on the matter, feel free to

share it in the comments section. 

PERCEPTIONS AND PROJECTIONS DEPT - HOW THINGS ARE, OR HOW THINGS SEEM TO BE?

This is going to be a difficult one to express because it's kind of
a nebulous concept, but I'm willing to give it a go if you are. Ready?

Do houses, neighbourhoods and places have a particular 'ambiance'

all their own, or does it all depend on the 'eye of the beholder'?

Oh dear, lost your interest already? I'll persevere. When I was

about 13, the area I lived in had a particular 'feel' about it. When I

moved house in 1972, aged 13 and a half, that 'atmosphere', 'feeling',

'mood' - call it what you will - continued in my new home and street,

and I've wondered over the years whether that was something to

do with both houses sitting atop a hill.

You see, when I'd come out of either of those houses, I'd stand

at the top of a hill and view the horizon in the distance, giving me a

feeling of being 'master of all I surveyed'. As I walked down (literally)

either of those streets, the horizon became less visible on the descent,

and it's only natural to wonder if my similar experiences of both
places is what resulted in my parallel perceptions of them.

Or was it nothing to do with that? Was it just where I was 'at'

in my head at that particular time in my life, and was it me project-

ing my own subjective perceptions onto both neighbourhoods that

accounts for how I regarded them at the time, rather than how they

objectively were? In short, was it how I imagined them rather than
how they really were that determined my perceptions?

Had I lived in either of those houses at different times in my
life than when I did, perhaps I'd have 'sensed' and responded to
those surroundings in another way; perhaps the ambiance, as it
appeared to me, would have been different at 19 than it was

at 13, who knows?

Perhaps we just 'see', 'sense', 'feel', 'experience', etc., things in

particular ways at different times in our lives, irrespective of how

things happen to be. Could it be that we project our own sense of a
place onto it, rather than respond to how that place actually is? All

I know is that, these days, whenever I walk down either of the two

streets mentioned, although I can remember how things 'used to

be', I'm all too painfully aware that they seem different some-

how, in ways that I can't fully articulate.

Of course, other contributory factors must be considered,
one being that at the foot of the first hill was a school I attended
as a boy in the 1960s. At that time, WHAM! comic was reprinting
the adventures of the FANTASTIC FOUR, and on winter after-
noons after school I would see the building lit up internally in
the darkness as the cleaners set about their business.

From the top of the second hill (but farther away) I could
see another school of a similar design, which, when viewed in the
same wintry conditions, reminded me of the school in my previous
neighbourhood. At the time (early '70s), THE MIGHTY WORLD
OF MARVEL was reprinting those same FF tales, so perhaps the
'deja- vu' type sensation created in my subconscious can hardly
be considered surprising. Then again, maybe not.
   

When we look back on our childhoods much later in life,
summers always seem to have been longer, skies bluer, winters
whiter, Christmases snowier, etc. - but were they? Or is it simply
the case that's how we viewed things at the time (or imagine them
later), rather they actually were?  Time changes all things, alas,
but oft-times far too quickly.

Any thoughts on the matter? (Presuming, of course, that
I managed to express my thoughts in any way resembling
   a coherent one.)

'FAMOUS FIRSTS': THE DEBUT OF MARTHA'S MONSTER MAKE-UP...

Let's be honest here - MARTHA'S MONSTER MAKE-UP

was simply a way of imitating FACEACHE, but doing it in a slightly

different way. Be that as it may, it was still good to see KEN REID's

art while it yet retained a bit of vitality and spontaneity, and before it

became rather static and subdued as it unfortunately did in the last

few years of the great man's career.

This is another strip from MONSTER FUN #1, one of a few

I thought I'd scan before tucking the comic away in my cupboard

again for another few years. Hope you enjoy it.

'FAMOUS FIRSTS': THE DEBUT OF X-RAY SPECS...

Remember those X-RAY SPECS advertised in U.S. superhero

comicbooks in the '60s? I bought a pair a few years ago - and they

were utterly duff! I wonder 'though, if they were the inspiration for

the character of the same name from MONSTER FUN #1,

published back in 1975.

Anyway, here's Ray's very first appearance from that

selfsame issue for your enjoyment and appreciation.

YOU CAN BANK ON IT...

 

The bank you're looking at is one that I re-acquired around 17 years

ago to replace one I'd had as a child. What makes it more significant to me

is that I bought it from a pal who lived a couple of rows behind the row of

houses I lived in when I first had my own bank. Just think - as my bank sat

on my windowsill in my room, his sat on his windowsill in his room - with

only a row of houses between them in the same street.

I always find it strange how familiar re-acquired replacements of

things I haven't had for a long time seem, as if I only had them yesterday

instead of the several decades it sometimes actually is. As I've said before,

it's almost as if I put them in a cupboard the day before, and then opened the

cupboard door the next day, to find them waiting where I'd put them. It just

doesn't seem possible that it's sometimes been 30 or 40 years since I

last laid eyes or hands on them.

If you had this type of bank when you were a sproglet, you'll surely
enjoy seeing it again. And, even if you didn't have it, either way, it'll give
you an idea which collectable to look out for the next time you're at a toy

or memorabilia fayre. No, don't thank me - I'm all heart. 

SMASH COVER GALLERY - PART THREE...

Oh, looky-look-see - six more captivating covers in our SMASH!

cover gallery series. We start with one of those Mounties who always

gets their man (well, it is the 21st century) and end with one of those

aggressive Scotsmen of whom a certain blogger is so fond of warning

us against. (You'd be aggressive too, if you lived in a cold climate

and only had an itchy 'skirt' to wear.)

Another six covers next time, readers! Don't miss out!

PSSST! FANCY A SAMPLE?

In answer to a request, here's the WHIZZER & CHIPS Mini

Comic Sampler from the 22nd July, 1978 cover-dated issue of

BUSTER. I used PRITT to stick the comic together rather than

staples, so, because of the vagaries of printing, pages 2 & 3 are

a little close together.

WIN A BADTIME BEDTIME STORYBOOK FACSIMILE...

All you have to do is answer this question: On whom did LEO

BAXENDALE base DANNY from the BASH STREET KIDS?

First correct answer wins.

Here are the rules.

U.K. entrants only.

No professional comic contributors.

No one under 18, although parents can
enter on their children's behalf.

Use comments section to submit your answer. When winner
is announced, send details of where you'd like prize to be sent.
(Details will NOT be made public, passed on, used for any other
purpose, and will be deleted from my computer once prize is
despatched.) P.O. Boxes are acceptable.

******

Looks more like a case of IF winners are announced. Don't
people like competitions or, as Tongalad has suggested, is the
question too hard? (And he guessed right at his second attempt.)
Surely Baxendale fans must know the answer?!

******

COMPETITION NOW EXPIRED!

The correct answer is that Danny was based on illustrator
THOMAS HENRY's depiction of WILLIAM BROWN
(by RICHMAL CROMPTON).

IPC SAMPLER COMICS & PULL-OUTS...

Based on the MONSTER FUN logo still being part of the

BUSTER masthead in the above pic, I think it was towards the
end of the 1970s when these mini 'Comic Samplers' appeared in
various IPC comics. I used to have a couple of other ones, I'm
sure, but they seem to have been lost to the maws of time.

When you think about it, it seems like a great way of promoting

different comics to a wider readership. There was one drawback

of course, which was that only existing readers of the titles in which
they appeared ever got to see them, and if they were already buying
the comics being promoted, then no sales would be gained. Worth
trying 'though, and it's an idea that THE BEANO should've con-
sidered when THE DANDY was relaunched back in 2010.

Another thing I used to love about IPC comics is when they'd

print pull-outs over several weeks, which, when stapled together,

resulted in a complete mini-comic. Feast your eyes on the ones

in the second photo - great, aren't they?!

In fact, if you're all well-behaved little Criv-ites, I may well

feature the contents of some of them for you to drool over in a

  future post. Which one would you like me to start with?  

THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #1 (U.K. EDITION)...

Ah, October '77 - I remember it well. (October is when this November-

dated mag probably went on sale - if not September, even.) At one time I

had just about every issue in this series, but gave them to a pal in a moment

of madness; now all I retain are the first and last issues to remind me of

those happy days gone by.

Look at the artwork. I was surprised to learn that JOHN BUSCEMA

wasn't too keen on ALFREDO ALCALA's inks over his pencils, a fact

which, frankly, I find truly astonishing. Great as John B undoubtedly was,

Alcala's inks gave the finished pages a whole new depth and dimension,

resulting in a  perfect example of a 'greater than the sum of its parts'
scenario. Just why Big John couldn't appreciate that is amazing. 

The mag finally came to an end with issue #93, cover-dated July '85, an

impressive almost eight year run. Luckily, I got another chance to collect

these tales (and some of the cover art that fronted them) when CONAN

SAGA made its debut in 1987. No doubt we'll be taking a look at that

series at a future date.   

BADTIME BEDTIME STORYBOOK...

I must confess to feeling fair chuffed with myself. The reason

for my self-satisfaction? Your looking at it in the accompanying

photos. Let me explain.

A year or two back, I acquired a copy of MONSTER FUN

#1 to replace the one I'd bought when the comic first went on sale

back in 1975. However, it was missing the pull-out centre pages

containing the BADTIME BEDTIME STORYBOOK by the

legendary LEO BAXENDALE.

As some of you will no doubt know, finding a copy of the

first issue complete with the pull-out is getting increasingly difficult

these days. It's not immediately obvious when it's missing, because

the pages underneath feature a 'centre-spread' story, giving the comic

the appearance of  being intact even when it's not. Some dealers un-

familiar with the comic often don't mention when the pull-out is

missing because it looks complete at a cursory glance.

Anyway, to cut to the chase: I acquired scans of the missing

pull-out, tarted them up a bit, then printed out a facsimile which

I'm well-satisfied with. Of course, it's always good to have the

original, but in its absence, a high-quality replica will suffice

for the foreseeable future.

So, have a look at the photos of my handiwork and then

proclaim to the heavens - "Didn't he do well!"

'Cos I did!

PART TWO OF SMASH! COVER GALLERY...

Okay, here we are with the next instalment of the SMASH! cover

gallery, to give all you comic-hungry peeps an idea of what you missed if

you weren't around at the time, or refresh your memory if you were.

One thing I've noticed about Smash! is just how much reading there

is in each issue. Typical of boys comics in Britain at this time, each page

equalled two pages of an American comicbook. Therefore, a three-page

strip in a comic like Smash! was really a six-page strip in U.S. terms. So,

even 'though some of the strips were retitled reprints, the comic was

exceptionally good value for money at only 7d.

The WARRIORS OF THE WORLD cover feature lasted for 46

issues, before being replaced with a dramatic 'splash page' representing

the exploits of SIMON TEST for the remainder of the comic's lifespan.

 Looking back now, it's hard to believe it ran for only two years - it seems

 far longer in retrospect. However, including the ODHAMS incarnation

of the comic, it lasted for just over five years in total, making it a

respectable success from the publisher's point of view.

I can guarantee you one thing: Whatever numbers the comic was

selling in when the decision was taken to cancel it, publishers today

would consider half those sales figures a raging, sure-fire success.

Part Three coming soon!

PART TWO OF SUPER DC TEXT STORIES...

And now, for your eager enjoyment, comes the text stories that

accompanied the comic strip reprints contained within the pages of SUPER

DC #s 4, 5 & 6. I'm not sure just who wrote these tales, but considering that

editor MICK ANGLO did just about everything else on the mag, it wouldn't

surprise me to learn that he penned these titanic text adventures too.

By the way, if anyone has a copy of Super DC #14 that they'd be willing

to part with for a good price, then get in touch via the Criv-ites comments

section. Otherwise we're going to be two tales short of the full run.