BABE OF THE DAY - HEATHER THOMAS...

Yes, she is stunning, and you'll never have a wife or girlfriend as

gorgeous as her (nor will I), but console yourself with the thought

that, one day, she'll be a bandy-legged old trout with her bosom

covering her knees and more lines in her face than a spider's web.

Of course, by then you'll be dead, so it's a 'no-win' situation.

THE DAY 'BATMAN' FAILED...

You'll perhaps recall me relating the tale of how myself and one
of my pals used to play at BATMAN & ROBIN back in the 1960s.
(You're no doubt relieved to hear that it wasn't just a few months ago -
I'm not that sad.)  For my utility belt, I utilised part of the accompanying
paraphernalia from my father's wartime portable morse code apparat-
us, which, to my eyes, looked vaguely similar to ADAM WEST's
equipment-laden waistline accessory on TV.

Now, usually I came in for a fair bit of mockery from my peers
for my costumed exploits 'round the neighbourhood, as did my com-
panion in crime-fighting, JOHN FIDLER (lucky his nickname wasn't
'KID', eh?), who assumed the role of ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER.
However, one evening, three local girls, who'd never previously paid
the slightest bit of attention to me, seemed impressed by the striking
appearance of my makeshift 'utility belt' and enthusiastically
asked for a demonstration of its capabilities.

Touched by their obvious interest and spurred on by the look
of wonder and admiration in their eyes, I agreed, and as we were play-
ing close to some nearby lock-ups, I headed over to the water tap used
by car owners to wash their vehicles.  It was housed in a grey-painted,
oblong wooden 'box' against a lock-up wall, and picking up a metal
bar from the ground, I placed it atop the flat surface of the box.

Directing the girls to stand at a distance over to my right (on the
faux grounds that "it might be dangerous") I pretended to take some
imaginary 'plastic explosive' from my belt and apply it to the iron rod.
Then, standing beside the tap and preventing their uninterrupted view, I
simulated the act of pressing a button on what passed for my buckle while
simultaneously attempting (surreptitiously) to bring down my left elbow
on the end of the bar and hopefully send it somersaulting high into
the air as 'though propelled by the explosive.

Alas, my ability was not the equal of my ambition, and my ruse
was rumbled right away.  Disillusioned cries rent the air, along with
contemptuous looks and jeering tones from the trio as they stormed
off in disgust at my barefaced attempt to defraud them.  Ah, how fickle
were the affections of these three feisty females, the extent of whose
eager expectations I had clearly underestimated and been found
sadly lacking as a consequence.

Even today, I remember how deflating it was to see the look
of awe and adoration fade from the eyes of the three former fawning
fillies who, only a short time before, had regarded me as a figure worthy
of respect and admiration, if not actual hero worship.  There have been
several females down through the years whose unrealistic expectations
I've probably been unable to live up to, but nothing fills me with such
feelings of failure as the memory of the faces of those three fear-
  some frustrated furies from so very long ago.

THE ROTTENEST CROOK IN THE WORLD...

If I recall correctly, LEO BAXENDALE never made any

secret  of the fact that GRIMLY FEENDISH (brilliant name) was

based on cartoonist CHAS ADDAMS' UNCLE FESTER, from the

ADDAMS FAMILY.  Perhaps that's why he never took legal action

over copyright of the character (like he did with D.C. THOMSON) -

he'd surely have been on shaky ground if he'd tried.  Grimly was one

of the strips that appeared in the ODHAMS PRESS weekly comic

periodical named SMASH! back in the '60s, and he was the in-

spiration for the song Grimly Fiendish by punk band

THE DAMNED in 1985.

As you'll doubtless have noticed, bald baddie GRU in the

movie DESPICABLE ME bears an uncanny resemblance to

Grimly, but he's more likely to be based on Uncle Fester than he is

on Feendish himself.  Anyway, I don't think the accompanying four-

page strip from the 1967 SMASH! Annual is by Leo Baxendale,

but it'll give you a fair idea of the kind of shenanigans that "The

Rottenest Crook in the World" usually got up to in his

weekly criminal expeditions.

Any fond reminiscences of reading Grimly as a boy?

(You, not him.)  Then let's hear them, O fellow followers

from fandom.  (It's good to share!)

    

A FORGOTTEN FANTASTIC FOUR 'CROSSOVER' CLASSIC?

From WHAM! #143, cover-dated March 11th 1967

What would you like first, the good news or the bad news?

Well, the good news is that here's THE HUMBUGS strip I spoke of

in a recent post, in which the terrible twins play at being THE THING

and THE INVISIBLE GIRL.  The bad news is that I haven't yet brought

down all my comic boxes (in which are stored my loose issues of WHAM!)

from the attic, so I've had to scan the page from my bound volume which,

as you can see, doesn't really lend itself to the process.  (I can't open it

wide enough to lay flat on the screen, hence the shadow and blurred

speech balloons on the right-hand side of the page.)

When I find the loose issue (which I think I've got) I'll scan the

page properly and replace the current image with a better one.  In

the meantime, however, this imperfect presentation should at
  least give you a fair idea of what's happening.  

THE SECOND DOCTOR DOOM...

From SMASH! Annual 1967

Believe it or not, there once used to be two DOCTOR DOOMS

inhabiting the same comics universe.  As well as the MARVEL Doom,

there was also the evil adversary of THE MAN FROM B.U.N.G.L.E.,

who appeared weekly in SMASH!, stable-mate to WHAM!, which had

THE FANTASTIC FOUR.  Both periodicals fell under the POWER

COMICS banner, both reprinted Marvel strips, and some of the U.K.

humour strips occasionally referred to the Marvel ones (like THE

HUMBUGS in Wham! mentioning the FF one week).

So for any U.S. readers unaware of the fact, here's the second

Doctor Doom trying to do away with the Man from B.U.N.G.L.E.

 Okay, okay - yours existed first!  (But ours was funnier!) 

And to save you having to turn your computer

screen upside down, here's the SOLUTION:

BABE OF THE DAY - RACHEL RILEY (AGAIN)...

Brainy, blonde and beautiful, what's not
to like about RACHEL RILEY?  How about
the fact that she won't return any of my 'phone
calls?  Huh!  Bloody women!  They think they're
too good for me - and they're right!  (Curses
and exits, stage left.)

DITKO'S DOOM: SPIDER-MAN POCKET BOOK #8...

Since my posts on MARVEL U.K.'s Pocket Books from

the early '80s, I've acquired a few more on eBay.  I'll be adding the

above cover to the relevant post, but I thought it deserved one of its

own, so impressed am I with the illustration since first seeing it on an

issue of POW! back in the 1960s.  I just love this cover, and 'though

I don't have the original U.S. issue of THE AMAZING SPIDER-

MAN #5, I do have the reprint (cover and all) in an '80s issue

of MARVEL TALES.

However, I thought I'd use this issue to demonstrate how

inconsistent these PBs could be when it came to reproduction.

Take a look at the page below, which is perfectly adequate

given the reduced 'Digest Size'. 

Now look at the following page and note that the top tier is

fine, but the bottom (third) tier has huge chunks of detail missing

from STEVE DITKO's art.

Same again with the following page. Check out the last panel -

the detail is almost non-existent and Flash and his admiring crowd

are practically invisible.

Having said that, however, these mags were great value

for money for readers who wanted to catch up on the early

tales of their favourite Marvel characters without having to fork

out a fortune on the original issues.  As for that cover, I've actually

got a DOCTOR DOOM figure that's clearly based on Ditko's in-

terpretation of the character.  I think I showed it before a while

back, but if I can remember which post, I'll add the photo

here when I get the chance. 

GERRY ANDERSON'S TV CENTURY 21 COVER GALLERY - PART NINE...

As it's fifty years since TV CENTURY 21 first hit the shelves,

it's now time to look at anther ten covers of what was arguably Britain's

most successful adventure comic for kids (at least, it certainly was at the

time).  ALAN FENNELL was the editor for around the first two years of

the comic's lifespan and it was probably never better than when under his

stewardship.  Hard to believe that it's been almost a quarter of a century

since some of these strips enjoyed a new lease of life for a new audience

in the early '90s, in the pages of THUNDERBIRDS THE COMIC,

with Alan once again being the man at the helm.  (Very fitting, I

thought, and nicely bringing things full circle.)

However, that's enough verbal reminiscing for the moment.  It's now

time to indulge our nostalgia by paying attention to the pretty piccies.

Got a favourite?  Be sure and let your fellow Criv-ites know!

THE BOY WITH A SKULL IN A BOX...

Let's be honest now - if you carried a skull around with you in a

box you'd be considered decidedly weird.  Having said that, sometime

back in the '70s, I bought a life-size skull by REVELL and painted it with a

greenish glow-in-the-dark paint.  One evening, me and some pals took it out

with us, and you should've seen the startled looks we got as I walked around

with Skully (the tooth is out there) tucked under my arm.  It really was a case

of exaggerated, open-mouthed, 'double-take' stares of shock and horror.

Wotta larf.  Wotta tit!  I wouldn't do it now of course, but back then I

was young, crazy and reckless (in a conservative - small 'c' - kind

of way), and was up for a jolly jape or two.

Anyway, that's enough talk about my favourite subject (me) -

time for a look at what brings use all here.  A four page BRIAN'S

BRAIN strip from the SMASH! Annual for 1967.  O joy! 

BABE OF THE DAY - VICTORIA VETRI...

VICTORIA VETRI is her name - and making

men go weak at the knees is her game.  Hands up

all those who'd ditch the wife for this babe if they

ever got the chance?  (Go on - be honest!)

AVENGERS #100 (U.K. EDITION)...

Having had this comic in 1975, when I recently saw it on eBay

I decided to re-acquire it.  I couldn't recall much about it, but, hey 

 it's the 100th ish so it was sure to have something of interest relating

to its celebratory status.  Nope, not a thing!  That blurb you see on

the cover is all you get!  No editorials, no articles, zilch!

Still, having bought it, I thought I'd better give you a glimpse

of the contents.  That's not my mistake regarding the indicia page,

by the way - it really did appear on the splash page of the second

story instead of (as is usually the case) the first.

So cop a gander at THE AVENGERS #100!  It's a little piece

of history, even 'though MIGHTY MARVEL didn't make much

noise about it at the time.  (Not like them to be so shy, is it?)

LOOKING FOR A GOOD SINGER? I KNOW ONE...

Here's another catchy little number by the late,

great JIM REEVES.  This is an overdub version

where he's accompanied by one of his biggest fans,

who's a successful singer in his own right.  You'll

be singing it for days.

YOU SAY I'M CRAZY? I GUESS I AM...

Here's Gentleman JIM REEVES doin' his thang.

Catchy, catchy, catchy.  Did I mention how catchy

this is?  It's pretty catchy!

BABE OF THE DAY - CANDY LOVING...

I know only three things about this babe:  1)  Her

name's CANDY LOVING.  2)  She was a PLAYBOY

model.  3)  I love CANDY.  (That's all there is.)

THE CRUNCH COVER GALLERY - PART THREE...

All images copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

When you think about it, it at first seems strange that one of the

staple features of British comics for boys in the 1960s and '70s were

stories about the Second World War.  However, to many of the writers

who penned these adventures and who'd experienced the conflict first-

hand, that period must've seemed like fairly recent history.  After all,

it was closer in time to them than my own teenage years are to

me - and that feels like only yesterday.

THE CRUNCH included a story called HITLER LIVES, but

that was set in the present day (after recapping events at war's end

in early episodes) and wasn't really a war story in the traditional sense.

I suppose kids of the time enjoyed war stories 'though, otherwise, despite

the predilections of the writers, they wouldn't have appeared for as long

as they did.  Neither would comics like THE HOTSPUR, WARLORD

or BATTLE have had such long runs - unless, of course, it was

mainly World War II veterans who were buying them.

So, full marks to The Crunch for trying something at least slightly

different.  Not that the difference was radical, because, whatever the

setting, most adventure stories are either war, sport or cowboy stories

at heart - even science-fiction ones.  Think I'm talking nonsense?  Well,

consider - 2000 A.D.'s HARLEM'S HEROES was a sports story,

bounty-hunter STRONTIUM DOG (first seen in STARLORD) was

a cowboy story, and ROGUE TROOPER was a war story.

It's a bit like STAR TREK.  My father could never get into the

programme because of its SF trappings, but, essentially, Star Trek is

not too dissimilar to a war story set in a submarine.  KLINGONS and

ROMULANS are the Nazis, KIRK, SPOCK and the rest of the crew

are the good guys, and the ENTERPRISE is a submarine, but travel-

ling up in outer space instead of down in the depths of the sea.  You'd

be surprised (or maybe not) at how many Star Trek plots could

be transferred directly into a Second World War setting.

However, that's enough padding from me.  Now you can get

on with what you came here for.  Namely, ogle these fantastic front

and back covers from The Crunch - a comic that surely deserved

a longer life than it had.     

THE COMPLETE X-MEN POCKET BOOK COVER GALLERY...

All images copyright MARVEL COMICS

I never bought the first nine issues of STAR HEROES Pocket

Book - if indeed I even saw them!  I think I did see the first issue (or

an ad for it), but decided against buying it because I wasn't really into

science fiction comics.  At the beginning of 1981, walking from Southsea

into Portsmouth town centre, I spied the tenth issue in a shop and bought

it immediately.  The reason?  See for yourself - the original X-MEN!  As

with some of the other pocket books, it was like reading '60s comic

FANTASTIC all over again, and my then-youthful little heart

skipped a beat in anticipation of re-living my childhood.

I've now got all these stories in full-colour MARVEL MASTER-

WORKS and OMNIBUS volumes, as well as various other reprints,

but I couldn't part with my PBs because of the particular time in my life

that they represent to me.   Madness I know, but they've got a charm of

their own, even 'though they were far from perfect in their reproduction

of these classic strips.  I also acquired the next two or three issues in

Southsea/Portsmouth, and that's where I tend to think of whenever

I look at these cracking covers from a long-gone era.

The very same covers that you're now about to savour, O

dribbling Criv-ite, so I won't hold you back any longer - go to it,

frantic one!  And be sure to let the rest of us know what you think

of them in the comments section!  Lines are now open!

Okay, okay,, chill out!  There's no need to shout.  Here's

the first nine issues of the title to complete the set.