"THREE WEE WITCHES ON THE GREEN..."



 Just for the fun of it, here are some more frightfully fiendish images
suitable for Hallowe'en. First up, an AURORA ad from any number of
DC COMICS from the '60s - followed by the box art (painted by JAMES
BAMA) of ol' FRANKIE's and DRAC's plastic model kits by the selfsame
company. (AURORA, that is - not DC.)

Don't you just wish you had these two little beauties
in your collection? (I have.)



Okay, so I lied about the witches - sue me.

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS...TRICK OR TREAT?

 

"BOO!"



Hallowe'en - and
this cover by JOHN
ROMITA for the
FIRESIDE book,
BRING ON THE BAD
GUYS, is the perfect
image to illustrate a
blog about comicbooks
on this particular
day of October
31st - it's even got
a pumpkin on it.

One word of
warning 'though. If
you get a knock on
your front door and
open it to find this
assortment of
colourful characters
on your step, you'd
better have more than
a few monkey nuts
and an apple each for them. If not, slam it shut and get out the back door as fast as you can. These guys don't mess around.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT...

 

Inked with a Windsor & Newton #3 sable brush

This page was

pencilled by DOM

REGAN and inked,

dialogued and lettered

by myself. Dom doesn't

seem to use a ruler, so

his perspectives aren't

always as precise as

they could be, requiring

a bit of sorting out at

the inking stage. His

rendering is also a bit

vague at times ('though

not so much on this

page), which means

the inker isn't quite

sure exactly what he's

looking at on occasion -

but his artwork certainly

packs a punch.

As the page features a CAPTAIN AMERICA stand-in (MAJOR AMERICAN - a

name I coined), I tried to give it a CHIC STONE-type finish. I've probably over-

inked the machinery in the first couple of panels, which are far too laboured, but it

didn't come out too bad overall.

DID YOU EVER WONDER ABOUT SUPERMAN'S "U"?

 

Superman #233, featuring Ira Schnapp's logo.
(Art by Neal Adams) 

  

SUPERMAN's logo is as iconic as that of COCA COLA and is recognized

the world over, but it took a while before it was standardized by NATIONAL

PUBLICATIONS' ace designer and calligrapher IRA SCHNAPP (on the

cover of issue #6), based on JOE SHUSTER's original design. Did you ever

wonder, however, why it had that peculiar shaped angular "U" which didn't

match any of the other letters?

 

Superman Ashcan Edition. (Art by Joe Shuster)

 

I thought I had solved the mystery when I first saw the cover of the Ashcan

Edition of Superman (SUPERMAN COMICS), and noticed that the "C" of
"Comics" cuts into the "U" of "Superman". Closer examination shows that the
"U" had almost the same squarish curve (if that's not a contradiction in terms)
as the "P" and the "R". Was it simply a case of this rough logo being relettered
for issue #1 with the word "Comics" omitted, and someone taking the easy
way out by angling-off the letter to complete the bottom line of the "U"?

Superman #6. 1st appearance of Ira's logo.
(Art by Joe Shuster)

  

  It would be easy to assume so, going by the cover (and centre pages) of
the actual first issue (which, legend has it, was originally intended as a one-
off - hence the un-numbered cover). It therefore didn't seem unreasonable to
suppose that, when Ira Schnapp came to letter the definitive version, he was
provided with a printed copy of the then- relatively recent SUPERMAN #1
for reference. It certainly couldn't have been issues 2-5, as each cover
logo featured a curved "U". (For the cover of issue #1, see previous
post.) So - mystery solved?

Well, no. Despite my fine speculations, after a bit more digging
I found that JOE SHUSTER had occasionally rendered the "U" in that
fashion from as early as ACTION COMICS #2 - which predates the Ashcan
and the first issue by quite a margin. (As that story was actually reprinted
in SUPERMAN #1, I could have saved myself needless hypothesizing by
simply reading the comic.) It seems entirely possible, therefore, that Ira
Schnapp was provided with a copy of the angular lettered logo for reference
instead of the curved one merely on a whim of fate. (Although I have to
concede that, with it's distinctive "U", maybe the editor - or Ira himself -
just preferred that version.) Just think 'though - comics history could
so easily have been different.

   

 Ira's logo lasted for over 40 years, until 1983, when it was relettered by
MARSHALL ARISMAN to more closely resemble the earliest regular
incarnations of the title. I actually think it's excellent, although I have
reservations about the top curve of the "S" overlapping the top of the
"U". Maybe one day I'll have a go at doing it.

(Note: An "Ashcan Edition" is an in-house, non-distributed publication
used for the purpose of securing copyright on a title.)

Now, be honest - did you ever wonder.....?



Superman #386, the 1st appearance of Marshall
Arisman's logo. (Art by Gil Kane)



A COMICS CONTROVERSY - CARE TO COMMENT?



Superman's first issue of his own comicbook

 Consider, if you will, the following scenario. A person buys an ornament for £2 from a charity shop. Later, upon reflection, they decide that they don't really like it so they put it out in their garden shed. A couple of years later, someone collecting for a jumble sale chaps their door and the ornament is recovered from the shed and freely handed over in order to raise funds to repair some church's leaky roof.

Ten years later, the first person is watching ANTIQUES ROADSHOW and sees "their" ornament declared as being worth £20,000. Do they have a moral or legal claim on any of that money if the current owner decides to sell?

Now consider this. Someone asks an artist to paint a picture of their house and gardens. He charges them £300 and is extremely pleased at the amount he has secured for himself. Five years later, a visitor to the purchaser's house is so enamoured of the painting that he offers them £5,000 for it. Over the years, it changes hands for increased amounts until it is worth £50,000. Does the artist have any moral or legal claim on any of the money it has changed hands for over the years?

The answer is surely "no" - isn't it?

So - what's the difference between those two examples and what happened to SIEGEL and SCHUSTER over SUPERMAN, or JACK KIRBY and the many characters he created or co-created for MARVEL or DC COMICS? Or the work LEO BAXENDALE (or any artist you care to name) did for D.C. THOMSON or FLEETWAY/IPC? I would suggest none at all. If you consent to sell something outright for an agreed fee, then it's really nothing to do with you what the purchaser does with his purchase or how much he profits from it in the years to come. If you buy a house for £80,000 and then sell it for £100,000, the previous owner (even if he built the house) is neither legally nor morally entitled to a share of your profit. And, back in the day, that's the way it was done in the world of comics.



Batman's first issue of his own comicbook

Which is not to say that I have anything against present-day creators' rights, profit sharing, copyright ownership, return of artwork, or anything like that - because that's the way things are done nowadays. However, back in the 1930s (until relatively recently - late '70s, early '80s), comics were - in the main - just a job to the writers and artists working on them, and it was the publishers who were taking the financial risk in launching a new comicbook - so why shouldn't their share of the profits proportionately reflect that risk? When a publisher bought a character, they bought it outright - if it was a success, they made money, if it was a failure, they didn't. It's a safe bet that there were a lot more failures than successes in those days. That was just the way the cookie crumbled.

Anyone got any thoughts on the matter? Let's hear them.

ODDS 'N' ENDS...

May I present a few logos I lettered relatively recently? Everything is done freehand - apart from a ruler for the horizontal pencil guidelines before inking.

DO YOU REMEMBER THE ILLUSTRATED COMIC JOURNAL?



Can you name them all?

 

The accompanying illustration is a scan of a very poor quality colour

photocopy taken about fourteen or more years ago when I was preparing a

cover for THE ILLUSTRATED COMIC JOURNAL. The copier (in a local

garage, of all places) didn't have the right paper and was so badly in need

of toner that the resulting copy was unusable. However, it's the only one

I have to hand, so it will have to suffice for the moment.

The Illustrated Comic Journal was a fanzine created by ALAN

CADWALLANDER back in the early '80s (I think) and then taken over

by BRYON WHITWORTH some time later. At first it was a black and

white A5 publication, but when I became involved as assistant editor in the

early '90s or thereabouts, it became A4 with colour covers. Bryon picked the

articles and I proof-read and corrected them - 'though he always managed

to overlook some of my corrections and add a few new mistakes once the

edited version was returned to him. Such were the drawbacks of the

pre-computer "cut and paste" method he employed.

The late DENIS GIFFORD, celebrated comics historian and collector

(and compiler of the A.C.E. section of the mag), was much taken with

the new logo I designed, drew, coloured and lettered, as it featured his

STEADFAST McSTAUNCH character from WHIZZER & CHIPS,

saying at the time "What a find in Gordon Robson" (to be sung to the tune

of "WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS" - only kidding) - despite

me having been a professional comics contributor for quite a few

years by that time.

Denis didn't seem to remember that he had suggested I become a

letterer back in the '70s, after I had submitted a one page comic strip

to his short-lived (four issues) ALLY SLOPER magazine. Denis wrote to

me to say that he couldn't print it because the inking technique I had used

wouldn't reproduce too well, but adding that I could easily make a living as

a letterer in his opinion. He even supplied me with some names at IPC

(Jack Le Grand - and another, which I forget) and D.C. THOMSON

(W. Stirton) to contact.



Black and white photocopy of the original artwork



Anyway, I'm quite proud of the logo - everything on it was produced

by my own fair hand, with the exception of the words "Illustrated" and

"Incorporating", which were done with Letraset. Bryon eventually passed

the mag on to other hands and one further issue was produced - then

it unfortunately faded into comics limbo. Shame really.

PRESENTING: A PULSATING PINNACLE OF PRACTICAL PERFECTION PERTAINING TO A PROFOUNDLY PERTINENT POWER-PACK PUBLICATION FROM THE PAST, PROUDLY PARADED FOR YOUR PARTICULARLY PASSIONATE AND PERSONAL PERUSAL...



Pencils: Werner Roth. Inks: Dick Ayers. Layout: Jack Kirby

Here's the comic that would've been on sale from October 21st (dated a week ahead, naturally) forty-three years ago. The cover has been extended to accommodate the different page size to the original American dimensions and, to be honest, hasn't been done too well. That was one of the problems with the "bodgers" of yesteryear (and no doubt some of today) - they just weren't competent artists when it came to executing such tasks. Look at CYCLOP'S arm and neck - they're far too thin and out of proportion to the rest of the figure. And ICEMAN doesn't seem much of a threat - on account of him being 'armless. That's what comes from merely extending the curve of a line (or the line of a curve, even) without giving thought to what the "missing" part of the picture should look like.

A Power-House Pin-Up by Barry Windsor Smith (?)

That said, FANTASTIC (published by ODHAMS PRESS) really was a fantastic comic, and I have some very happy memories from when it was being published back in the '60s. It only lasted for 89 issues, a Summer Special and three Annuals - and I've got a full set. (Nope - they're not for sale. Getcher own!)

89 issues - almost only a year and nine months. Funny how periods from the past, once they've been dated and placed in their own little compartments, don't seem to measure up in duration to our perceptions of them.

GADZOOKS! GORDIE'S GRUESOME AND GORY GALLERY OF GRIM AND GRISLY GHASTLINESS...

"Er...trick or treat?"

Okay, peeps - as it's almost
Hallowe'en, I thought I'd try
and put us all in the mood by
unleashing something suitable
for the occasion. This
gruesome goodie is a little
pencil drawing I did back in
the '70s while I was still a
teenager. Of course, when
I look at it now, I can only
see all the mistakes and
imperfections - but back then
Icould still only see all the
mistakes and imperfections.
What can I say? I'm my own
fiercest critic.

Perhaps one day I'll do it
again properly - this time
as an atmospheric painting. That'll be after I finish (or should I say start?)
the drawing I promised DAVID PERT back in 1973/'74 when we were both
only 15 year old schoolboys.

THE SPECTACULAR SALMA...



"There's Kid over there - I hope he notices me."



Here she is, you lucky people, you - the stunning SALMA HAYEK.
No words can do justice to this perfectly-proportioned pocket Venus, so
there's no point in me even trying - especially as one picture is supposed
to be worth a thousand of them. So, just sit back and feast your eyes
on the vision that is The Mighty Salma.

We are not worthy. (Well - I am - you're not.)

MY WORD IS MY BOND...

  

"My name's Bond...James Bond"

I posted this photo for no other reason than I quite fancy myself as JAMES BOND 007. And it's my blog so I'll pose if I want to. And unlike SEAN CONNERY, my hair and teeth are my own. And I've got an ASTON MARTIN DB5 (even if it is only a CORGI TOYS one from the '60s).



 (And because you never know when the absolutely gorgeous SALMA HAYEK might be looking in.)

 "But James Bond doesn't have a beard", I hear you cry. Aha! I was on a secret mission and impersonating a Russian SPECTRE agent, GETYA KNICKERZOFF - and as everyone knows, all Russians have beards. (Even the men!)

THE SOUND OF THUNDER...

 

Black Max

It's funny what you

think about when you

look at the cover of a

book or comic from

your past, isn't it?

When I cast my gaze

over the cover of

THUNDER ANNUAL

1972, my mind jumps

back to a snowy day in

December 1971 when I

was given a Christmas

tip of 50 pence by one

of the households on

my paper round. It was

presented to me in an

envelope marked "milk-

boy", and to this day I

hope that the envelope

meant for me had the

same amount as the

one I was actually presented with.

(I'm not quite sure what bothers me more - the thought of the milkboy's
disappointment at possibly finding only a couple of 10 pence coins, or
his triumphant jubilation at perhaps discovering a £1 note - but I still
find myself hoping that the kindly couple on the top floor of that block
of flats held us both in equal esteem and didn't play favourites.)

And why does that particular memory spring to mind, you may be
wondering? Well, that 50 pence took care of most of the cost of the book
(60p), which I bought in the newsagents I worked for when I had completed
my round for the day. (Incidentally, I was paid £1 per week for morning and
afternoon deliveries - before and after school - Monday to Friday, plus a
single delivery on Saturday and Sunday - so that tip was an extremely
generous one.)



The Steel Commando

The weekly
THUNDER was
launched on the
10th October 1970
(dated 17th) and
survived for only
twenty-two issues, the
last being on the 6th
March 1971 (dated
13th) - so it had been
absent from the news-
agents' shelves for
several months
before the Annual
hit the shops. Work
on the book probably
started towards the
end of 1970 or the
beginning of '71, so
obviously IPC were
hoping the comic
would have a good long run.

The comic was absorbed by LION, and two of the most popular strips -
ADAM ETERNO and THE STEEL COMMANDO (as well as others) -
continued for another few years and are still fondly remembered today
by readers of the time.



Adam Eterno

I didn't obtain the
'73 & '74 Annuals
'til many years later
(probably around
twenty-five years
later, in fact), being
unaware of their
existence at the time
(my attention was
probably distracted
by the arrival of the
MARVEL annuals),
so their covers don't
have quite the same
significance for me
as the 1972 one.
(Obviously the first
Annual sold well
enough to warrant
further editions.)
However, for the
sake of completion, here they are anyway - enjoy!

See also here and here for more about Thunder.

A GHOST FROM THE PAST...



Art by Ernie Colon, written by
Michael Fleisher

Way back in 1974/'75,

the newly launched ATLAS

COMICS released a plethora

of titles to compete with the

company that first bore its

name - Marvel. When MARTIN

GOODMAN sold MARVEL

COMICS in 1972, he anticipated

that his son, CHIP, would be

given the role of publisher -

but he was passed over in

favour of STAN LEE. So, in

what many people saw as an act

of revenge, Goodman Senior

revived Marvel's previous name

(after TIMELY) and launched

an all-out assault on the

comics market.

Sadly it was short-lived,

but one of the titles which I

particularly enjoyed was THE

GRIM GHOST, about a hanged eighteenth century highwayman (Matthew Dunsinane) who makes a pact with the Devil and returns to 20th century

Earth to despatch evil-doers to his new master's domain.



Art by Ernie Colon, written by
Michael Fleisher

I only ever bought two

issues before it disappeared
from the face of comic-racks
everywhere, and some months
after buying them I passed them
on to one of my friends, a guy
named Joe. (Spot the clever
Spidey reference.)

Cut to nearly thirty-five
years later, when afore-said
friend Joe visits me one night
with a bag of comics. "Here,"
he says, "I thought you might
like these back." Amongst the
pile is - yup, you guessed it -
Grim Ghost #s 1 & 2. Now,
anyone who has ever re-acquired
a replacement comic from years
before knows the feeling that
accompanies the achievement.
The replacement comic, in some
mysterious, mystical, magical way, actually becomes the very one which was
lost, thrown out, or given away years before.



Art by Ernie Colon, written by Tony Isabella

Imagine then, if possible, how
this feeling is magnified when
one manages to obtain the actual,
original issue that one had from
the dim and distant days of one's
teenage years. It's a sensation that
is almost impossible to describe.
It wasn't long after this that I
discovered that there had only
ever been three issues of The
Grim Ghost, and this missing
issue I managed to obtain -
quite by chance - at a Glasgow
comic mart recently for a
mere two quid.

It may have taken thirty-five
years, but I finally managed to
complete the set. Ah, the sense
of accomplishment that fills
my soul.

However, there's more: not long after re-reading the comics in sequence and
lamenting the fact that the title didn't last longer, I learned that ol' Ghosty is due
for a revival. What's the old saying? "All things come to he who waits." Let's hope
the new series (if it takes off) is as entertaining as the short-lived original run.

(Little did I realize when I first bought issues 1 & 2 that, fifteen or twenty
years later, I'd be lettering writer MICHAEL FLEISHER's scripts for
ROGUE TROOPER in 2000 A.D. Talk about fate, eh?)

Art by Qing Ming Pui

IT'S A MARVEL-OUS WORLD...



Art by John Buscema



Thirty-eight years ago, on September 30th, 1972, THE MIGHTY
WORLD OF MARVEL #1 (cover dated October 7th) burst onto news-
agents' counters all over Britain. I hadn't seen the STAN LEE-voiced TV
ad (although I did later), so it came as a surprise when I spotted the
comic on a wall-rack outside a newsagent's along from Glasgow's
famous BARROWLAND market (aka THE BARRAS), where I and
my parents were heading on that particular Saturday morning.

Art by Jack Kirby

I couldn't talk my folks into
buying it for me on the way in,
but I had managed to wear
them down into submission by
the time we were on our way
out an hour or so later. We
were soon ensconced in the
cosy confines of a comfy cafe,
and it was with great joy that
I pored through its contents
over a glass of cola and re-
acquainted myself with the
friends I had first met in the
pulsating pages of ODHAMS'
range of POWER COMICS,
way back in what even then
seemed like the dim and
distant days of the '60s.
Suddenly life was exciting
again.

DEZ SKINN once revealed that Stan had told him the comic's original title
was going to be The WONDERFUL World of Marvel (after the Disney

TV programme of almost the same name), but thankfully 'twas not to be.

Besides, MIGHTY and MARVEL go so well together it seems the obvious
choice, so I'm amazed that any other name was even considered.
 

Art by Jack Kirby

Forty pages, some in full-

colour (the rest with green

'spot' colour), for only 5

pence - containing the

origins of THE INCREDIBLE

HULK, THE (FABULOUS)

FANTASTIC FOUR and

THE AMAZING SPIDER-

MAN - plus a Hulk iron-on

transfer (left) - WOW! I wish

they still produced comics

like that today!

Well, in a sense - they do!
I'm still buying MWOM
today, although it's now
published monthly, has
seventy-six full-colour
pages and costs £2.95.

The Mighty World of Marvel - I hope it's still around in another
thirty-eight years. In fact, I hope I'm still around also.