tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37404951933142693672024-03-19T02:21:15.538+00:00CRIVENS! COMICS & STUFF!A cascading cornucopia of cool comics, crazy cartoons & classic collectables - plus other completely captivating & occasionally controversial content! With nostalgic notions, sentimental sighings, wistful wonderings, rueful reflections, remorseful ruminations, melancholy musings, poignant ponderings & yearnings for yesteryear! (To say nothing of a few profound perplexities & puzzling paradoxes thrown in for good measure.) Plus a bevy of beautiful, bedazzling, buxom Babes!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5918125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-61985478902298157112024-03-16T01:17:00.002+00:002024-03-16T01:26:44.361+00:00BABE Of The DAY - LYNDA CARTER...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs1KtfQMs0zuav_PoZQtdbcdYEfTbq7Dlu_04xbtuYMbBf540nDz7hAb74rMbzsL7cRPGi1u06CL_iUzCMIVXY2qDxPr90wqr85nvUP83Lo24N8gY46LRK8Cm5f3x_rQnKDbDVHryiOG_5xAjpDyDqLVSdCR5k14pSA1sRyEbjsQP6PtQUxCw14YScOcg/s1780/Lynda%20Carter%207.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1780" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs1KtfQMs0zuav_PoZQtdbcdYEfTbq7Dlu_04xbtuYMbBf540nDz7hAb74rMbzsL7cRPGi1u06CL_iUzCMIVXY2qDxPr90wqr85nvUP83Lo24N8gY46LRK8Cm5f3x_rQnKDbDVHryiOG_5xAjpDyDqLVSdCR5k14pSA1sRyEbjsQP6PtQUxCw14YScOcg/w400-h270/Lynda%20Carter%207.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>I</b></span> don't recall giving <i><b>Lynda Carter</b></i> a key to my house,</div><div style="text-align: center;">but when I got home from the shops the other day, there she</div><div style="text-align: center;">was, reclining on my sofa. I'm not one to let an opportunity go</div><div style="text-align: center;">to waste, so I got her to rustle me up a bacon buttie and a cup</div><div style="text-align: center;">of tea. She had the same, of course, as I'm not a stingy host.</div><div style="text-align: center;">See? Proof that I know just how to satisfy a woman!</div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-5601868586662205312024-03-15T15:43:00.005+00:002024-03-15T17:06:31.465+00:00The MAN With FOUR SKELETONS...<p style="text-align: justify;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Uaw9tD2v9-bnX4d8SZNsl3E0OSXSXyNGMC9XbpH39nsO9xn9zekdIjPYhl2k8j9eBLnpH3_-sX9MjMrzw9hJI6btCWFB8Wunias-caouSlYeQLVl8Ky3ZTX7F7FLn-x-b_wGZ1CYvVgLeTUC_6AwPfhbwmb7q-G4GCHvAv1lpyHvVYlfBMROd0w6zAg/s1200/Skelly.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="476" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Uaw9tD2v9-bnX4d8SZNsl3E0OSXSXyNGMC9XbpH39nsO9xn9zekdIjPYhl2k8j9eBLnpH3_-sX9MjMrzw9hJI6btCWFB8Wunias-caouSlYeQLVl8Ky3ZTX7F7FLn-x-b_wGZ1CYvVgLeTUC_6AwPfhbwmb7q-G4GCHvAv1lpyHvVYlfBMROd0w6zAg/w159-h400/Skelly.JPG" width="159" /></a></i></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">A</span>irfix</b></i> skeletons, that is. I've got more than that if I count ones by other makers, but Airfix ones will do for now. (After all, I have to keep something in reserve for future posts.) The first one was bought around the late-'60s, from newsagent's <i><b>R.S. McColl's</b></i> in the shops across the road from me. The manager was <i><b>Mr. Smith</b></i>, who'd been manager of a newsagent's called <i><b>Chamber's</b></i> in a previous neighbourhood in which I'd lived. 'Twas he from whom I'd purchased my <i><b>TV21s</b></i> in the mid-'60s, and 'twas also he from whom, a few years later in my then-current area, I'd bought <i><b>Countdown</b></i>, containing reprints of some of the same strips from TV21.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But that's by-the-by. The second skeleton I bought (again from McColl's) came in a longer box as it included a metal rod by which the wall mount could be transformed into a display stand for <i><b>Skelly</b></i> to hang upon while resting his feet as he did so. The first box had been smaller and mostly black, but the second version was longer and largely blue-ish, with a different illustration of <i><b>'Mr. Bones'</b></i>. I must've had 3 or 4 skeletons at different times over the next few years, but they each eventually vanished as most childhood playthings do - sometimes without you even realising they've gone until much later. (The last one I had as a kid was in 1969.)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I bought a replacement skeleton in the late '80s or early '90s, which I've still got, but I couldn't resist the allure of them and have bought another couple in the last few years, each one being the longer box version. Today, at Castel Crivens, a replacement arrived for the very first one I owned, the smaller black box kit, renewing my memories of when I obtained my first one. If my powers of recollection yet serve, it was on a day when my mother, with me in tow, visited a sort of jumble sale in the Murray Hall, held by my grandparents' <i><b>Darby & Joan</b></i> club, of which they were members, though not in attendance that day.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">'Twas there I also received a certificate for some flower bulbs I'd planted, as well as buying several unboxed <i><b>Marx Dalek Rolykins</b></i>, which I stored in Skelly's box until we returned home. First, though, we visited my nearby grandparents to show off my certificate, which I still have to this day. The photo heading this post is of my late '80s/early '90s skeleton, which is the only one I've built - the others remain unassembled in their boxes. The other photos I've culled from the Internet to save me having to scan my own boxes, as I'm a lazy b*gg*h who prefers taking the easy option whenever possible.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After all, there's no guarantee that any of you will actually read this post, so why should I knock myself out preparing it?<span style="color: #2b00fe;">*</span> So, did any of you have an Airfix skeleton when you were kids? If so, share your reminiscences of building your bony friend with the rest of us. (<i>"It's alive!"</i>)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>(</span><span style="color: #2b00fe;">*</span>To which you could reply why should you bother reading it if I don't knock myself out preparing it, eh? Oh, I'm a fool to myself, giving you the ammunition with which to shoot me down!)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikclCgYvwtg1wHLNQ7cXX4v3rPnroY46SdgyhDBHo7Pi3Fhy1Fv3Mk9YlwoW0z-irvxflr0ICzyyEkR2WG561tSqiXzjuDzSMrd-AttPTgLmOqLGTx0U7FKLEfqKymj6da3vsETtCNdGHVQ3dpoAR5Wd_uXyRJoU8yvalwRd3rwJEsQ3DhPEBooFs5IUk/s1000/Skelly%202a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="497" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikclCgYvwtg1wHLNQ7cXX4v3rPnroY46SdgyhDBHo7Pi3Fhy1Fv3Mk9YlwoW0z-irvxflr0ICzyyEkR2WG561tSqiXzjuDzSMrd-AttPTgLmOqLGTx0U7FKLEfqKymj6da3vsETtCNdGHVQ3dpoAR5Wd_uXyRJoU8yvalwRd3rwJEsQ3DhPEBooFs5IUk/w199-h400/Skelly%202a.jpg" width="199" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMygg5IxB8-95v2zOvyfmVEeTkcPxUiwBkpz8ajByMVOEVjZwyovERtvtC1sYAIQfpowXicQmuHuqn6aioJRxTnnqWFT_PeBDsU2mRV35fqLkA89Vx5Cdic3cJkjEifBdUYpABlZU14pydLMclAI0Cx4_tWe6k8VortDu7kW1YzyjA-wPYffntHlZ8Btg/s1000/Skelly%203a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="409" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMygg5IxB8-95v2zOvyfmVEeTkcPxUiwBkpz8ajByMVOEVjZwyovERtvtC1sYAIQfpowXicQmuHuqn6aioJRxTnnqWFT_PeBDsU2mRV35fqLkA89Vx5Cdic3cJkjEifBdUYpABlZU14pydLMclAI0Cx4_tWe6k8VortDu7kW1YzyjA-wPYffntHlZ8Btg/w164-h400/Skelly%203a.jpg" width="164" /></a></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-74733730993698100312024-03-14T23:27:00.003+00:002024-03-15T00:17:18.008+00:00JOE KUBERT/NESTOR REDONDO - The BIBLE...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8x2qZrN6BPhIwj_3xgJZl8TsWVGzumEPM96T0KzgLJyytuoiSyhoSQJgpm6OY9pq6WmbDefp2rXIdNQDNe9erA5ep7JbYln4wGj1-wTBVwqUl7x9AlYOEP1ZsprEzRbDruVWPjrNvg181CwFP-t9lajhkS8NS3MlPVy-DE4dGvDuFk4mT54ddrjhVgDQ/s1200/JKNRB%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="910" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8x2qZrN6BPhIwj_3xgJZl8TsWVGzumEPM96T0KzgLJyytuoiSyhoSQJgpm6OY9pq6WmbDefp2rXIdNQDNe9erA5ep7JbYln4wGj1-wTBVwqUl7x9AlYOEP1ZsprEzRbDruVWPjrNvg181CwFP-t9lajhkS8NS3MlPVy-DE4dGvDuFk4mT54ddrjhVgDQ/w486-h640/JKNRB%20(1).jpg" width="486" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Copyright <i><b>DC COMICS</b></i> and, more importantly, <i><b>GOD</b></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">'T</span></b>was, I think, the month of April, in 1983, that a pal roped me in to wallpaper his kitchen one Saturday or Sunday in his house in Irvine. First, though, we shot into Glasgow, where among my purchases were <i><b>DC's </b></i><b style="font-style: italic;">Limited Collectors' Edition </b>of <i><b>The Most Spectacular Stories Ever Told... From The Bible</b></i> and <i><b>Marvel's Francis Of Assisi</b></i> comic. In between hanging wallpaper and scoffing a fish supper, I browsed through my new acquisitions (after washing my hands, of course) and was particularly pleased with the DC periodical due to the quality of the art.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Well, I say 'periodical', but although it was intended as the first in a series, no other issues ever materialised, so I assume it didn't sell as well as was hoped for. I still have my original copies of both publications, which have stood the test of time far better than I, though I haven't looked at the Marvel Francis comic in quite a few years now (at least). Back in 2012, I noticed that DC had reissued the Bible Collectors' Edition in hardback and I thought about buying it, but didn't.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Over the years I've sort of regretted that decision, and when I saw one on <b><i>eBa</i></b>y recently, I immediately snapped it up! It arrived today (and there's a story about its delivery with which I may regale you one day) and I'm as pleased as Punch to finally own it after all those intervening years (12 to be precise). <i><b>Joe Kubert</b></i> gets star billing on the reissue, but I'm unsure whether he drew the whole thing, with <i><b>Nestor Redondo</b></i> inking the main chapters, or whether they both illustrated their own individual segments.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Whichever, it doesn't seem quite fair that Nestor's name doesn't also appear on the cover, so to redress the balance somewhat, I'm showing a couple of interior pages which bear his imprint, but none of Joe's - he's 'confined' to the covers. Any of you Crivvies ever buy this back in the day, or wasn't it your kind of 'thing'? Regardless, what do you think of Mr. Redondo's two pages below? Are you suitably impressed, or does the subject matter prevent them from ringing your bell?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Comments welcome (as if you didn't know).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_68nbU1_H_4OfLa6UcrI6pQZRaWk993xTHP1z775YrOBJjbxiW-pz6Zi1v1SrkTm94Ow08a6x3QHg-q_JhdTr7mO9ZCrjtNMENfULdj06ftVYks_wHV7TVcfwrNW6_ifRkGnnxp3AM8WiJiC_Y92HTDt4Rx5Ujw6xJDi07PeTFA-35oeUHrtWaz3Xv8o/s1200/JKNRB%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="894" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_68nbU1_H_4OfLa6UcrI6pQZRaWk993xTHP1z775YrOBJjbxiW-pz6Zi1v1SrkTm94Ow08a6x3QHg-q_JhdTr7mO9ZCrjtNMENfULdj06ftVYks_wHV7TVcfwrNW6_ifRkGnnxp3AM8WiJiC_Y92HTDt4Rx5Ujw6xJDi07PeTFA-35oeUHrtWaz3Xv8o/w476-h640/JKNRB%20(2).jpg" width="476" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-PrHLxvU0dqSis5HJ76DYSA9Lj3_2xTqpWDuDshSHqaLMLrXCaESiBem_lC_mKDwbgqUL8r8mhZOloyGIze7r_Rz7IVtY4cjT-hZ5xiZ67H8KY4NKcOyV4Klyt7RGPzkWtaMHyrS7oWOsX8_szviZjNC-Sm8M0KXhnd90y-mf3OMwXLwZ1cqep95B28/s1200/JKNRB%20(3).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="896" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-PrHLxvU0dqSis5HJ76DYSA9Lj3_2xTqpWDuDshSHqaLMLrXCaESiBem_lC_mKDwbgqUL8r8mhZOloyGIze7r_Rz7IVtY4cjT-hZ5xiZ67H8KY4NKcOyV4Klyt7RGPzkWtaMHyrS7oWOsX8_szviZjNC-Sm8M0KXhnd90y-mf3OMwXLwZ1cqep95B28/w478-h640/JKNRB%20(3).jpg" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRlSxK6i3gng354PjyLF5N4m1BB3QlpX37RwIXGscCbkvEtAcnVIyY9AOnhZp1XjJLTgqsN5W7bjaF2COFVEAwg74WfwVdWX4ADxHNHGMVMVqafjVRxrVgFNGbWQVrrKLCZg0krpymV4wHzFl0auweLi23Qv7qbuAJji-ce59cGJgon0f_Hwhxxw3hx8/s1200/JKNRB%20(4).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="910" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRlSxK6i3gng354PjyLF5N4m1BB3QlpX37RwIXGscCbkvEtAcnVIyY9AOnhZp1XjJLTgqsN5W7bjaF2COFVEAwg74WfwVdWX4ADxHNHGMVMVqafjVRxrVgFNGbWQVrrKLCZg0krpymV4wHzFl0auweLi23Qv7qbuAJji-ce59cGJgon0f_Hwhxxw3hx8/w486-h640/JKNRB%20(4).jpg" width="486" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Below: The front and back covers of my original copy, first published in 1975, but not obtained by me until 1983. I'd only ever seen it in ads prior to that point. The Francis Of Assisi mag (not shown here) was published in 1980, so I was a bit of a 'Johnny-Come-Lately' in these two instances. (Story of my life.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1NO097zv2J0BlgW7zZDwtqm6UwfFeFkGpRlGySEFbMcA0Zljdkdeir42EUIk6RyO5a_RGZLvDbeZNXwJqemeP2eYUG94UJsbhDNd3eZ6Myv-ke9ICZDiYfJyPzCEcbgjVz4WTKLGbNITG6AAfpugDSjPmarAkMueAE68cYs96ZZAWQtDcudN7IxenZsw/s1826/JKNRB%20(5).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1826" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1NO097zv2J0BlgW7zZDwtqm6UwfFeFkGpRlGySEFbMcA0Zljdkdeir42EUIk6RyO5a_RGZLvDbeZNXwJqemeP2eYUG94UJsbhDNd3eZ6Myv-ke9ICZDiYfJyPzCEcbgjVz4WTKLGbNITG6AAfpugDSjPmarAkMueAE68cYs96ZZAWQtDcudN7IxenZsw/w400-h263/JKNRB%20(5).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-48249862273246089552024-03-14T14:05:00.003+00:002024-03-14T19:38:14.016+00:00(BOND) BABE Of The DAY - DIANA RIGG...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RNrgYZyYTdL7Yw2Axqx9zmb0kVpug5hMjdypucF0UDWB65Gt7kh95t1Bw7Sl-YFsty4yZOx1zO0WJeHj-Gluqiry3wArWDlP4RH8r_kG5nnh9ugLSOOoksc0lAk_DF1PmMaDf2P-58NfoEFjyIvlwS2YhGnqyQnYUN-mGIplRkXoUh_bdyHVePaXVos/s1200/Diana%20Rigg%20a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="858" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RNrgYZyYTdL7Yw2Axqx9zmb0kVpug5hMjdypucF0UDWB65Gt7kh95t1Bw7Sl-YFsty4yZOx1zO0WJeHj-Gluqiry3wArWDlP4RH8r_kG5nnh9ugLSOOoksc0lAk_DF1PmMaDf2P-58NfoEFjyIvlwS2YhGnqyQnYUN-mGIplRkXoUh_bdyHVePaXVos/w286-h400/Diana%20Rigg%20a.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span>hat <b style="font-style: italic;">Diana Rigg </b>- I dunno what anyone</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">sees in her! (Lesson 1 in <i><b>'How To Use Irony</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><b>In Everyday English'</b></i>. I'm a master!)</div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-79898906821201170732024-03-13T23:49:00.004+00:002024-03-14T00:14:11.639+00:00DO YOU DARE BUY THE HAYNES SPACE FLEET OPERATIONS MANUAL, DAN...?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGuqBeXQRr4Ag3WOJ6bF7qOYp9L6lYSCdS7aWbcSXD3OJHNlmue7Uh4nmE4B2i8XqumhHBViaOiH0u2Jyr0P0cs_nr7zEhceaie5u8F_xcmzFSbrY4MrA4vY8ZQ3UKUQrNYIEwtKUV64EDOduh46fIdbKyiHIuh5DcRWP-rjj4eXKHhBKgXURtDLx1UuE/s1200/DDOM%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="927" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGuqBeXQRr4Ag3WOJ6bF7qOYp9L6lYSCdS7aWbcSXD3OJHNlmue7Uh4nmE4B2i8XqumhHBViaOiH0u2Jyr0P0cs_nr7zEhceaie5u8F_xcmzFSbrY4MrA4vY8ZQ3UKUQrNYIEwtKUV64EDOduh46fIdbKyiHIuh5DcRWP-rjj4eXKHhBKgXURtDLx1UuE/w309-h400/DDOM%20(1).jpg" width="309" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Copyright relevant and respective owners</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">A</span></b>bove is a nice little book that I imagine all fans of <i><b>Dan Dare</b></i> would like (and will probably already have). Got it for a mere <i><b>£5.99</b></i> (RRP £16.99) mail order and it's a nice 'companion piece' for the <i><b>Fireball XL5</b></i> volume I acquired recently. It came out in 2013, but my copy is brand-new and unread, and though I'm not a massive Dan Dare fan, it's the sort of book I'll enjoy having a browse-through from time-to-time. And look at that cracking colour illustration below by <i><b>Don Harley</b></i> - great, innit?</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_R2O7tDjn1u3OseViRailEQ8yPb0a46c5C_erco-X0CAk5MrGCSI_yVw-dQF8otJJSWZiK6M8IYn9ty7f-FGkBbbIjbAeO5swxVQ75L_yqr3-rOIPNp68K9dTU4wwmGWB6pbW2cp_ejYmOnd7Dv5jKHO0wrhnCg_OMMtF0ePqVfYhPGLZMXEms5ak8ik/s1200/DDOM%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="906" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_R2O7tDjn1u3OseViRailEQ8yPb0a46c5C_erco-X0CAk5MrGCSI_yVw-dQF8otJJSWZiK6M8IYn9ty7f-FGkBbbIjbAeO5swxVQ75L_yqr3-rOIPNp68K9dTU4wwmGWB6pbW2cp_ejYmOnd7Dv5jKHO0wrhnCg_OMMtF0ePqVfYhPGLZMXEms5ak8ik/w303-h400/DDOM%20(2).jpg" width="303" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The<i style="font-weight: bold;"> Mekon</i>, <i><b>Dan Dare</b></i>, and <i><b>Frank Hampson</b></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8WSuIDXNWB7rQRXfAQh7Zh1QhFQsIVthoqKW1dtWofndDGtg7v-s7_dXRjCo6EY9qpEPUNKpaPH_dOjjtFofmGA8YXcgrmRy41BhhxEEJfB8EVc8nCcbEbXcnRhSk4vHMriD7Gb9V-EEww6I2XDn0nQ2gbDgMnblHq2Di8CNUCg-KIJ3LLEEpRx0cs3Q/s1200/DDOM%20(3).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="927" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8WSuIDXNWB7rQRXfAQh7Zh1QhFQsIVthoqKW1dtWofndDGtg7v-s7_dXRjCo6EY9qpEPUNKpaPH_dOjjtFofmGA8YXcgrmRy41BhhxEEJfB8EVc8nCcbEbXcnRhSk4vHMriD7Gb9V-EEww6I2XDn0nQ2gbDgMnblHq2Di8CNUCg-KIJ3LLEEpRx0cs3Q/w309-h400/DDOM%20(3).jpg" width="309" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-202152349106440752024-03-13T14:21:00.003+00:002024-03-14T23:49:20.278+00:00IN COLOUR - DR. WHO & THE DALEKS...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSWbjxQNyFfieWFXe6lPxq5g7Gex38fmJFGekB-sc-aiJzLI1uP_-svqhuuPoYNbLqgWWD9kj9-vZ_iVmM50JVqBwJ9YUUU7J3wrbOCLnNqKD34EzmY1zuR2v3E-i7tCvuf9tA35RcdVjWGUnLUG9nV-q37S5p4eGtEEbpq4N1B9mROo0MUClopY-ZsKA/s1200/DWC%20(A).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="864" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSWbjxQNyFfieWFXe6lPxq5g7Gex38fmJFGekB-sc-aiJzLI1uP_-svqhuuPoYNbLqgWWD9kj9-vZ_iVmM50JVqBwJ9YUUU7J3wrbOCLnNqKD34EzmY1zuR2v3E-i7tCvuf9tA35RcdVjWGUnLUG9nV-q37S5p4eGtEEbpq4N1B9mROo0MUClopY-ZsKA/w288-h400/DWC%20(A).jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Copyright <i><b>BBC TV</b></i> and the estate of <i><b>TERRY NATION</b></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">I</span></b> already own many early episodes of <i><b>Doctor Who</b></i> on DVD, including the first serial featuring <i><b>The Daleks</b></i>, but when I saw this colourised, 75 minutes-long edited version on sale, I snapped it up. Haven't watched the main feature yet, but took a look at the 'making of' documentary and found it interesting. The colour seems to me more like an old <i><b>MGM</b></i> movie than a contemporary colour TV show, though that's merely an observation, not a criticism.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'd have thought that the best way to edit the original seven 25 minute episodes down to 75 minutes in total would be to follow the template of the <i><b>Dr. Who And The Daleks</b></i> movie from the '60s, so it'll be interesting to see if that's what the <i><b>BBC</b></i> have done when I finally view the 'film', or have they gone in another direction? Time (most apt in the case of the Doctor) will tell.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the meantime, here are some screen-grabs until I can tell you what I think of the newest addition to the Doctor Who legend. Incidentally, I know 'silver' is the correct colour for The Daleks' 'waist bands', but does anyone else wish they'd rendered them gold as they were in <i><b>TV Century 21</b></i> and other '60s representations (Dalek Annuals and toys), or is it just me?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33Y8qA1uCE6cfmh8tLJhQrGQ8cOAYXURhiDXFLbB44UQvOQTgTiy16F1_40uIf5yne51YPSKKl9gXqMrQHxoS3NRtjLvJVbIGyZ4OvLoH4AN613rMjigj7-9OYztX-fBDdwQnfINutswtZ1vDcHo3hUVb4Wet1VDJUUhZgiuFLlx0ZXACqdw7YkZqt0U/s1609/DWC%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1609" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33Y8qA1uCE6cfmh8tLJhQrGQ8cOAYXURhiDXFLbB44UQvOQTgTiy16F1_40uIf5yne51YPSKKl9gXqMrQHxoS3NRtjLvJVbIGyZ4OvLoH4AN613rMjigj7-9OYztX-fBDdwQnfINutswtZ1vDcHo3hUVb4Wet1VDJUUhZgiuFLlx0ZXACqdw7YkZqt0U/w400-h299/DWC%20(1).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5X3BUQFsOnG0eJmmHzPF6Y1TXQFQJkcYFCel80mfMNSuO5WVgQ2-I8fFzgr-iArDdCc3s2rlY3COK0CBqeiXUNXyIejGDZ8zUoQQaAqQ2nnGYeC4jCMfrFrznS9ssw9m9ClvrtbtaTDPD3z3PUdHiXAd3tRcUQRmeJEbBK_GAYe_rDIGE12twifzB4Y/s1595/DWC%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1595" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5X3BUQFsOnG0eJmmHzPF6Y1TXQFQJkcYFCel80mfMNSuO5WVgQ2-I8fFzgr-iArDdCc3s2rlY3COK0CBqeiXUNXyIejGDZ8zUoQQaAqQ2nnGYeC4jCMfrFrznS9ssw9m9ClvrtbtaTDPD3z3PUdHiXAd3tRcUQRmeJEbBK_GAYe_rDIGE12twifzB4Y/w400-h301/DWC%20(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEX7ukOKEwsmamn7BTG8XxXVypinzDa3rJHpdOAjlaB_R-BsNl1uIi1FlHFpbs58XcLYlBpeZBHYsq1I0kOqLaP2svJK2e0TVryQrd2SwHgZ-IQzgKWWSCRoh0x5DbXouYrCsk59EGpWBAcrXH9O6-O1iTYDu_Amh4jVyy-QJk-TBuhNFW6EqPnHCGmrA/s1598/DWC%20(3).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1598" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEX7ukOKEwsmamn7BTG8XxXVypinzDa3rJHpdOAjlaB_R-BsNl1uIi1FlHFpbs58XcLYlBpeZBHYsq1I0kOqLaP2svJK2e0TVryQrd2SwHgZ-IQzgKWWSCRoh0x5DbXouYrCsk59EGpWBAcrXH9O6-O1iTYDu_Amh4jVyy-QJk-TBuhNFW6EqPnHCGmrA/w400-h300/DWC%20(3).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Who else thinks that <i><b>Carole Ann Ford</b></i> looks like <i><b>Valerie Singleton</b></i>?</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3qpGvdpzxujwB9_zMlKV11IkoJf83VtuPxlHoHD_J5KtErhn2clggdVksrjlhvlQC7oeVPJjdXpOQkpGPlqFkXbh4eb7K2KOLbZieqT5v22EpDqvz4rPujbDzQyvWiIv2qksaNHx5ZFxGwRQqJ_TJuYftQDmtM9bIVBhfpk_b3l_Q1oS9oQJ0MwbEWU/s1597/DWC%20(5).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1597" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3qpGvdpzxujwB9_zMlKV11IkoJf83VtuPxlHoHD_J5KtErhn2clggdVksrjlhvlQC7oeVPJjdXpOQkpGPlqFkXbh4eb7K2KOLbZieqT5v22EpDqvz4rPujbDzQyvWiIv2qksaNHx5ZFxGwRQqJ_TJuYftQDmtM9bIVBhfpk_b3l_Q1oS9oQJ0MwbEWU/w400-h300/DWC%20(5).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Ctq1gRkcGFBXEkqVBPmiyGqh15g3j2XmLOs1wmpBi_IeGG0FhmBeDkg6Lv-dqmavVWhFZ3h81GzIApFrJSl4MYAK-pZwfTlgsKxsbh8HuvwJuB6oIaZQQed0SDk_0M3qLAp7oczcemwxw7tJp280Z8H1gghReAIxf8Rns16OFV_2aQLjc3RSwauKzi4/s1601/DWC%20(6).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1601" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Ctq1gRkcGFBXEkqVBPmiyGqh15g3j2XmLOs1wmpBi_IeGG0FhmBeDkg6Lv-dqmavVWhFZ3h81GzIApFrJSl4MYAK-pZwfTlgsKxsbh8HuvwJuB6oIaZQQed0SDk_0M3qLAp7oczcemwxw7tJp280Z8H1gghReAIxf8Rns16OFV_2aQLjc3RSwauKzi4/w400-h300/DWC%20(6).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VNHOYrqlWeF7ezB44NMeEqEHogBovj9eC456yDPTOttmJtAW2v3Q8QWzSD8uD4f9XNoQZIbXao1WLKXxmt6P_vWFPsWKDQnJpS0gg4fQxwY412STfev7Gnu-HkU4SUDaLYoWf4AMHkf0byAVwPlU9eXBYvLh_c6UFF0mMzRXr7jiLkuDVFP7mQMv1xI/s1600/DWC%20(7).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_VNHOYrqlWeF7ezB44NMeEqEHogBovj9eC456yDPTOttmJtAW2v3Q8QWzSD8uD4f9XNoQZIbXao1WLKXxmt6P_vWFPsWKDQnJpS0gg4fQxwY412STfev7Gnu-HkU4SUDaLYoWf4AMHkf0byAVwPlU9eXBYvLh_c6UFF0mMzRXr7jiLkuDVFP7mQMv1xI/w400-h300/DWC%20(7).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn7cePuk6eK2u0tuwpVRoGkL7JB8Ny6bm-r45dh5E2jd_xrySR0qe1mSOUjry6VJuB-7K09f0ka8odgOdTJwpeEd3_GUd6IkKD6l1TxZ3mPKKB1aZJDdsZk6xM3rVgqbHsbR6wcVFxc6F6_3yvGcEJ3d__r_2hJo1OAOeQKR18spCCBnoCP_pdb97mVEU/s1599/DWC%20(8).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1599" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn7cePuk6eK2u0tuwpVRoGkL7JB8Ny6bm-r45dh5E2jd_xrySR0qe1mSOUjry6VJuB-7K09f0ka8odgOdTJwpeEd3_GUd6IkKD6l1TxZ3mPKKB1aZJDdsZk6xM3rVgqbHsbR6wcVFxc6F6_3yvGcEJ3d__r_2hJo1OAOeQKR18spCCBnoCP_pdb97mVEU/w400-h300/DWC%20(8).jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-4912643855258264582024-03-09T13:12:00.006+00:002024-03-16T00:32:43.908+00:00THREE NEW DC FACSIMILE EDITIONS...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxImoDb5VEeu_dKc6Ttj-C_9yGbOrsAIbveAeOZc-l8h_jgmYqQZDwkkeIyHHAUi5ZpkZRlDOrcKkMpM4LMNSWPNIw1t5o13JStyFvaN-lQmJLjIo_PKbZFhff96zlP7vLCpFZYCeCvrN-NRfjLRmijq5v6n9yoHOVuAmjykwdqxXcn5g4mNpTSry7uxA/s1200/FE%20DC%20%23411%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="787" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxImoDb5VEeu_dKc6Ttj-C_9yGbOrsAIbveAeOZc-l8h_jgmYqQZDwkkeIyHHAUi5ZpkZRlDOrcKkMpM4LMNSWPNIw1t5o13JStyFvaN-lQmJLjIo_PKbZFhff96zlP7vLCpFZYCeCvrN-NRfjLRmijq5v6n9yoHOVuAmjykwdqxXcn5g4mNpTSry7uxA/w420-h640/FE%20DC%20%23411%20(1).jpg" width="420" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Smudges on the right of the cover, which aren't on the original. Copyright <i><b>DC COMICS</b></i></span> </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>H</b></span>ere's a trio of recent <i><b>Facsimile Editions</b></i> from <i><b>DC Comics</b></i> you may be interested in acquiring, if you haven't already bought them. First up, above, is <i><b>Detective Comics #411</b></i>, featuring the first appearance of <b><i>Talia Al Ghul</i></b>. The original of this issue has quite a hefty asking price on the collectors' market, as do the next two, so these facsimiles are a relatively inexpensive way of obtaining key issues.</div></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QNyS8x8kF98dhtt6btXT_TliavfrzhMA34l4lq-W6tZVX0CgqRYrlEyApPGqJ0-CfKeFEhcY5dwDmzDEImALgdePiDj7rh3rm50geVFjGTUHaSdWdYwZYpE92q9MYdnU_qkkdUHPZc2FweRq9YYGXcnKPgjXmEvfNsYxm1cYsqxJZsgc2WL0HGca2bw/s1200/FE%20GLGA%20%2387%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="779" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QNyS8x8kF98dhtt6btXT_TliavfrzhMA34l4lq-W6tZVX0CgqRYrlEyApPGqJ0-CfKeFEhcY5dwDmzDEImALgdePiDj7rh3rm50geVFjGTUHaSdWdYwZYpE92q9MYdnU_qkkdUHPZc2FweRq9YYGXcnKPgjXmEvfNsYxm1cYsqxJZsgc2WL0HGca2bw/w416-h640/FE%20GLGA%20%2387%20(1).jpg" width="416" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Next, above, is <i><b>Green Lantern/Green Arrow #87</b></i>, which is where <i><b>John Stewart</b></i> made his debut as a new addition to the Green Lantern Corp. I wish the facsimile had retained the sideways spine banner declaring the comic's 'bigger & better' status, but for some reason DC opted to omit it. Why they do such things to what is supposed to be a 'facsimile' is beyond me. (Unless it was omitted for a previous reprinting.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaolilxvy92NU-hC8EFzHW7dXTJIvBZ2W0I9uK3fqzUgKJI-OjlF-l6I8H8h55QI8wygdKw1SzFIPq_Xmotpk0yktaIfI-mv3AYpuIkoR1FUGD_hU8mXWG2K8MiKMVFMPsbD4jKtYUUiR3KBKhLvCPJlijvO0HELNFoQz7U92SNRsBe_YzWYiBsnAtnA/s1200/FE%20NTT%20%231%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="787" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfaolilxvy92NU-hC8EFzHW7dXTJIvBZ2W0I9uK3fqzUgKJI-OjlF-l6I8H8h55QI8wygdKw1SzFIPq_Xmotpk0yktaIfI-mv3AYpuIkoR1FUGD_hU8mXWG2K8MiKMVFMPsbD4jKtYUUiR3KBKhLvCPJlijvO0HELNFoQz7U92SNRsBe_YzWYiBsnAtnA/w420-h640/FE%20NTT%20%231%20(1).jpg" width="420" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">In the first two mags, the reproduction of the ads are of a mixed quality; some are crisp and clear, others are obviously scanned from published original issues and are not quite as bright and colourful as the strips themselves. However, in <i><b>The New Teen Titans #1</b></i> facsimile, above, there are no such problems, as every page is presented with crystal clarity, just the way you'd expect in such an iconic number.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: x-large;">******</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">One of the good things about the DC facsimiles is that they've now started placing the barcode boxes on the back covers in an unobtrusive manner. This, along with the fact that they print the interior pages on non-glossy paper, makes them handsome additions to anyone's collection. Below, are the splash pages to the above issues.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN8-HEI2dw_X3qeGywCWvZIzK2dDFDgmh0HNM4RojRxrov5J8_GKtWwVemDMUWColps0TiUKxdcgz-7VSZVBnJhrAVffust2KoFTLv9Z04mTP-5JYikTBUufPaNLk1GXvcBnlF5pGZpnoF0VHUNumUWGWJBxvtPeJRnAphThhIwUvfu7kfrlFBSSsfifM/s1200/FE%20DC%20%23411%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="794" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN8-HEI2dw_X3qeGywCWvZIzK2dDFDgmh0HNM4RojRxrov5J8_GKtWwVemDMUWColps0TiUKxdcgz-7VSZVBnJhrAVffust2KoFTLv9Z04mTP-5JYikTBUufPaNLk1GXvcBnlF5pGZpnoF0VHUNumUWGWJBxvtPeJRnAphThhIwUvfu7kfrlFBSSsfifM/w424-h640/FE%20DC%20%23411%20(2).jpg" width="424" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESe5XcbgQOd7_QKzy_xlfbEnwu6JA5XrE3oegoGXqhtuJ4Kvon3DJ1LF3ta-d0sqEbP0D5Js87HmsepJnzE2jBERSWdhEEUP19NovxMTbJrqlWnZYk1Vtj8pfgfuMo4qOK8FOHSHvOPYRfR9hdUbz-bP7r05piC_-f7vq0c_xowTtdxTea_LnBWWDrGI/s1200/FE%20GLGA%20%2387%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="805" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESe5XcbgQOd7_QKzy_xlfbEnwu6JA5XrE3oegoGXqhtuJ4Kvon3DJ1LF3ta-d0sqEbP0D5Js87HmsepJnzE2jBERSWdhEEUP19NovxMTbJrqlWnZYk1Vtj8pfgfuMo4qOK8FOHSHvOPYRfR9hdUbz-bP7r05piC_-f7vq0c_xowTtdxTea_LnBWWDrGI/w430-h640/FE%20GLGA%20%2387%20(2).jpg" width="430" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The indicia appears on the inside cover of the facsimile, not under the splash page. I don't<br />have the original to compare, but it looks like the bottom of the page has been extended</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiayKDrYsUh-N_pecLi-VGOkLH-uEDanJ6EWUQw5Mm0gMVKhpYk9oVGORtE7EtW8NWqt9UWEp5A-kE0C5hzKPxPWBqC-CZBCj3GQvLUy27KHzEVxnoRAoAuzdcHJw88B9vYfv8tmzGocTyT-5ZVEb33586CFue3SZ0c9Y4D4sHmUWVmdkBqXNfFWPkMNoI/s1200/FE%20NTT%20%231%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="770" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiayKDrYsUh-N_pecLi-VGOkLH-uEDanJ6EWUQw5Mm0gMVKhpYk9oVGORtE7EtW8NWqt9UWEp5A-kE0C5hzKPxPWBqC-CZBCj3GQvLUy27KHzEVxnoRAoAuzdcHJw88B9vYfv8tmzGocTyT-5ZVEb33586CFue3SZ0c9Y4D4sHmUWVmdkBqXNfFWPkMNoI/w410-h640/FE%20NTT%20%231%20(2).jpg" width="410" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-14392579245475974202024-03-04T23:33:00.003+00:002024-03-05T09:11:24.774+00:00BABE Of The DAY - LYNDA CARTER... (Or Is It?)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTH6W3bifyAoPxhGdCeNwZ2AR5xhIF9ZGgkr8IqN19ZMfwF4tQ9xGpvGCeuBShMnxzPp1QX8xkZR1ZTKesskFlNkH1hSXFD71CWzZkhLsHjE1AfJn1Wz7MPGRs2JdjMw5zvXH7ZAoEQcFQr5Lf_ph6eqRUMF0V_S40U230ettgAFhQeuZoEjX8cDtIWEI/s1200/Lynda%20Carter%203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="815" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTH6W3bifyAoPxhGdCeNwZ2AR5xhIF9ZGgkr8IqN19ZMfwF4tQ9xGpvGCeuBShMnxzPp1QX8xkZR1ZTKesskFlNkH1hSXFD71CWzZkhLsHjE1AfJn1Wz7MPGRs2JdjMw5zvXH7ZAoEQcFQr5Lf_ph6eqRUMF0V_S40U230ettgAFhQeuZoEjX8cDtIWEI/w271-h400/Lynda%20Carter%203.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>H</b></span>ere's my new girlfriend, who just happens to</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">bear an amazing resemblance to <i><b>Wonder Woman</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">actress <i><b>Lynda Carter</b></i>. (If you swallow that, I'm also</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the president of a Nigerian bank and I have a terrific</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">financial opportunity for you. Simply send me all</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">of your bank details and I'll make you rich.)</div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-52659005219299636032024-03-04T18:40:00.004+00:002024-03-07T22:14:23.634+00:00AMAZING WORLD OF SUPERMAN... (Updated)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKToyM0AYz1NO62YMTRnQBtJsTl5cJkZEpxW1fqfk9p1AUyYYVq4WoSTicWuwCxYPeJy6LqB16ept2kHYy8QCeaNZBNBswThAb-R2fvyKGdzw8tN0yJ0Q9AevBj9ZJL8RTkELCtt1bkKP0poAFPiJTF-a0BSg9QI8HpHm3-Mqx1Mq6rrT4H_mchOlHlFc/s1200/AWOS%20(1).JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1100" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKToyM0AYz1NO62YMTRnQBtJsTl5cJkZEpxW1fqfk9p1AUyYYVq4WoSTicWuwCxYPeJy6LqB16ept2kHYy8QCeaNZBNBswThAb-R2fvyKGdzw8tN0yJ0Q9AevBj9ZJL8RTkELCtt1bkKP0poAFPiJTF-a0BSg9QI8HpHm3-Mqx1Mq6rrT4H_mchOlHlFc/w366-h400/AWOS%20(1).JPG" width="366" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Copyright <i><b>DC COMICS</b></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">S</span></b>aw this hardback 2021 reprint of the 1973 <i><b>Official Metropolis Edition Amazing World Of Superman</b></i> over on <i><b>Rip Jagger's</b></i> blog, and even though I've got a couple of originals stashed away somewhere, I leapt straight over to <i><b>eBay</b></i> and bought myself a copy for a steal of a price (in my favour). It even contains the map, which is printed on thicker paper stock than the '73 version, so if you missed this super collectable item back in the day, now you have the opportunity to remedy the situation. Cop a gander at some of the contents, then get busy tracking one down for yourselves.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">And just so you know, the hardback is a few millimetres smaller than the original, but the image size on the pages is around an inch to an inch-and-a-half smaller than the '70s printing (wider margins, you see). However, the reproduction quality is excellent.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_hVlneZfLt1AAX2XnGOsazSajmNbnFGPYJdzbeaGOKnsNkPKxHHV8DEw9rYkb2T6QWLFVLr2R70KNiCWDLtK-JiNEbxsKic9J4hU2X_7FuYMqz-AF5rkxpzaRErPGjC-l_okKtGVZBrJ_adtwjs13MuSHRwXQ7I8nuW27Aa4S78QKb23khedcOQ4VXTs/s1600/AWOS%20(2).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="934" data-original-width="1600" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_hVlneZfLt1AAX2XnGOsazSajmNbnFGPYJdzbeaGOKnsNkPKxHHV8DEw9rYkb2T6QWLFVLr2R70KNiCWDLtK-JiNEbxsKic9J4hU2X_7FuYMqz-AF5rkxpzaRErPGjC-l_okKtGVZBrJ_adtwjs13MuSHRwXQ7I8nuW27Aa4S78QKb23khedcOQ4VXTs/w400-h234/AWOS%20(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6Vy6xr3gfom61MqAh_CuupB6Y5Z7iD7HBmA-ca0dmvED0SCyCG6QL3zhul6B7Xfbr2sjXqayWBZ2Sa5FK5l9CN93ObGjOyrEJkjnuvU9IPmAdrKfVCgz8GWgKuCjiomxRguLyljdfQn1e0myPimDBdoUWOl2htJOXHcU8x0r6DiTKYLuzTvN9BBJQ7Q/s1600/AWOS%20(3).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1600" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp6Vy6xr3gfom61MqAh_CuupB6Y5Z7iD7HBmA-ca0dmvED0SCyCG6QL3zhul6B7Xfbr2sjXqayWBZ2Sa5FK5l9CN93ObGjOyrEJkjnuvU9IPmAdrKfVCgz8GWgKuCjiomxRguLyljdfQn1e0myPimDBdoUWOl2htJOXHcU8x0r6DiTKYLuzTvN9BBJQ7Q/w400-h233/AWOS%20(3).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNPFDUVw1QanYHgAYz8A-TXMVIoJHIFi98viwLbqnunoF8Y9_aP-BQ67SGIWXz_pPhL9oHeDGovaug-YvDWBiZ4xSbXxGP-W8PM3Yay8p9yiEm4A-rpVSqRwcjdceA4XeHoXqHtMHBTIx6oHvI1UqzmDYlv5k4-3DWubICUmSOSETaT986fqiOPfmtQR8/s1600/AWOS%20(4).JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="927" data-original-width="1600" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNPFDUVw1QanYHgAYz8A-TXMVIoJHIFi98viwLbqnunoF8Y9_aP-BQ67SGIWXz_pPhL9oHeDGovaug-YvDWBiZ4xSbXxGP-W8PM3Yay8p9yiEm4A-rpVSqRwcjdceA4XeHoXqHtMHBTIx6oHvI1UqzmDYlv5k4-3DWubICUmSOSETaT986fqiOPfmtQR8/w400-h231/AWOS%20(4).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This b&w story was later coloured and reprinted in a couple of books, namely <i><b>Secret<br />Origins Of The Super DC Heroes</b></i> and <b style="font-style: italic;">Superman From The '30s To The '80s</b>.<br />The pages were added to at the sides to fit the different dimensions, but it was executed<br />reasonably well, though I thought the balance of some panels was slightly compromised</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3SLogNyaer9LOfpPRe7fsp_uHGbMnLs4TiFpQ3M8wg1dGPj8AvDBISsqNl-DCcObteBNJW5CZx1ZzvKlz5E3CYBnh8IZqH_kgDmL2UHCU866NMvQbTGoZIT8y5Gq2W7l9LJyJVo6dI2x1FiYhv7HEl3xtKlXXwBC_GORPS8Fs0N5pLjL1DXTgMlqPfu0/s1200/Secret%20Origins%20DC%20(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="893" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3SLogNyaer9LOfpPRe7fsp_uHGbMnLs4TiFpQ3M8wg1dGPj8AvDBISsqNl-DCcObteBNJW5CZx1ZzvKlz5E3CYBnh8IZqH_kgDmL2UHCU866NMvQbTGoZIT8y5Gq2W7l9LJyJVo6dI2x1FiYhv7HEl3xtKlXXwBC_GORPS8Fs0N5pLjL1DXTgMlqPfu0/w298-h400/Secret%20Origins%20DC%20(3).jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">And here's the coloured splash page from subsequent reprintings</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8WdMriG2IOkfxFcFHYc9yRnKlErXm2opnJYCBhB9tA6YlrVJDzbSDoZhKxEf9ycjWuFE5a0H3Tr1U2579Nc4rjZURLudCydSUsCgHmkliqt1iUz_NSiUKz2ye2pLUlYpex2ehLq6CSWDn5EOsVvyIcw6VKRKOryMtamjm2ZYXDxgPBJSg5eVnjZTNZ4/s1600/AWOS%20(5).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="1600" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8WdMriG2IOkfxFcFHYc9yRnKlErXm2opnJYCBhB9tA6YlrVJDzbSDoZhKxEf9ycjWuFE5a0H3Tr1U2579Nc4rjZURLudCydSUsCgHmkliqt1iUz_NSiUKz2ye2pLUlYpex2ehLq6CSWDn5EOsVvyIcw6VKRKOryMtamjm2ZYXDxgPBJSg5eVnjZTNZ4/w400-h228/AWOS%20(5).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLCirdhis6cUg81h-hMn6V73NaqXAa_oMOYLkXC8_8aHo9qLsNtuO7vDtYashd6WwvPwedKzStyN3KphMQ96FQRVIpsSc2SgMxdDlcLUxGI3wDH4LYsajOQ80CLoed3ldfKI1ry81UR7c7VNkqbwHWKQZI1JQXBTxPLwTFUnExfwWC61MImuJ6osRuWEQ/s1600/AWOS%20(6).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="1600" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLCirdhis6cUg81h-hMn6V73NaqXAa_oMOYLkXC8_8aHo9qLsNtuO7vDtYashd6WwvPwedKzStyN3KphMQ96FQRVIpsSc2SgMxdDlcLUxGI3wDH4LYsajOQ80CLoed3ldfKI1ry81UR7c7VNkqbwHWKQZI1JQXBTxPLwTFUnExfwWC61MImuJ6osRuWEQ/w400-h230/AWOS%20(6).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVwtKraOYAQJbhFO8UVZAUE6f8M1AWXdRtPFk3-CfQ487UdFjX7P6TEA2H37HK19YHvcs2B8ucKRTAcYQtw5LDEMwOX8nsUqNCR1HfO9gkyJOXgnPBy7z-BW9BokIrl6DJ-ilOX8fD72L2113LpiGmAo7suMjFvTGAvgQerACieymjMgP3bBXd9vpdBNs/s1600/AWOS%20(7).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="1600" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVwtKraOYAQJbhFO8UVZAUE6f8M1AWXdRtPFk3-CfQ487UdFjX7P6TEA2H37HK19YHvcs2B8ucKRTAcYQtw5LDEMwOX8nsUqNCR1HfO9gkyJOXgnPBy7z-BW9BokIrl6DJ-ilOX8fD72L2113LpiGmAo7suMjFvTGAvgQerACieymjMgP3bBXd9vpdBNs/w400-h226/AWOS%20(7).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">And below is one of my original editions...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7Fk7AUM6NBmqOnhg_7mdt2kgZHy2JjPGckUfOV-EpZCke9G8s-7rmEr9FpbL05eEMTMgtbM8QhwwJTT9Ni3BQJgx5ow6L7tykZXTtshfc7kGxAcohz5FRl4M0i3DCV81F2iL6h8qXtjUlIqYzcGjtz-raRPTSJ2HHZxcOIm1bEgRqIMtZ0tlelDlrbQ/s1200/AWOS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="897" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7Fk7AUM6NBmqOnhg_7mdt2kgZHy2JjPGckUfOV-EpZCke9G8s-7rmEr9FpbL05eEMTMgtbM8QhwwJTT9Ni3BQJgx5ow6L7tykZXTtshfc7kGxAcohz5FRl4M0i3DCV81F2iL6h8qXtjUlIqYzcGjtz-raRPTSJ2HHZxcOIm1bEgRqIMtZ0tlelDlrbQ/w299-h400/AWOS.jpg" width="299" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-91250687417247492142024-03-04T14:18:00.003+00:002024-03-04T23:16:03.733+00:00VENUS OF THE STARS...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvumqtlJGf0wEpwY-INo_DLLGIiLozdSmbJ-CT6QAwMRWkBbfMHEOVUOM7r5mb__rLLPaNASKGrg2yQqmXujjr5AgvpoWbtCe-cRKIEegZbB4Ri7FjOsNVJ-9cjA1c23v53aYGVJlBr52kgGcTAv-PbNOoHkwCV4k0hICb7nVXr4tnyY3-Zzm8YGHz3No/s1600/XL5M%20(1).JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvumqtlJGf0wEpwY-INo_DLLGIiLozdSmbJ-CT6QAwMRWkBbfMHEOVUOM7r5mb__rLLPaNASKGrg2yQqmXujjr5AgvpoWbtCe-cRKIEegZbB4Ri7FjOsNVJ-9cjA1c23v53aYGVJlBr52kgGcTAv-PbNOoHkwCV4k0hICb7nVXr4tnyY3-Zzm8YGHz3No/w400-h266/XL5M%20(1).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Copyright relevant owner</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">N</span></b>ot long arrived at Castel Crivens, the <i><b>Fireball XL5 World Space Patrol Technical Operations Manual</b></i>. You don't need to read my witterings on this one - if you're a Fireball fan the pictures will speak for themselves. Nice to see the <i><b>TV Century 21 Astran</b></i> 'jelly beans' included in the 'official' history of <i><b>WSP</b></i> continuity, as well as Fireball's prototype, <b><i>C21</i></b>, don't ya think? Available from <i><b>The Official Gerry Anderson Store</b></i>. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcCM3gQrQr82YQav38MqnVJjhO54nFWBzLBL0aUkqAxZXG9XTC2Qb1zaY9lOf-jvPWSv43FwWQt8Znn3AfAU_oXWzh88hiQxOqWzZrdN_ijl1Bh_QHvr1IDaogPQaERdjhbt3TU-hUfCZ2kAjm_OBSdlFve1bS-FuH5gyK1Y-5NDUQkE5n_LrElVu5aRo/s1600/XL5M%20(2).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1600" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcCM3gQrQr82YQav38MqnVJjhO54nFWBzLBL0aUkqAxZXG9XTC2Qb1zaY9lOf-jvPWSv43FwWQt8Znn3AfAU_oXWzh88hiQxOqWzZrdN_ijl1Bh_QHvr1IDaogPQaERdjhbt3TU-hUfCZ2kAjm_OBSdlFve1bS-FuH5gyK1Y-5NDUQkE5n_LrElVu5aRo/w400-h153/XL5M%20(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4EkSoWN5scsUB1JFbtRBRzYQjd7maLprWXUiYxa2pIgnIYszsUBDBgrZjKRs2bfcAqCBHnhiS4EjBtf6aHk7QkKJjdIBvVij5wZgbW0gZgDOenJnKqTSS_O4vjw3vjn9H4ACvCXb4ORLj91hRtkHPjIuNfaVjxYgJY2pr1URtr9n4zhAgLeOVtOwrT7s/s1600/XL5M%20(3).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="1600" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4EkSoWN5scsUB1JFbtRBRzYQjd7maLprWXUiYxa2pIgnIYszsUBDBgrZjKRs2bfcAqCBHnhiS4EjBtf6aHk7QkKJjdIBvVij5wZgbW0gZgDOenJnKqTSS_O4vjw3vjn9H4ACvCXb4ORLj91hRtkHPjIuNfaVjxYgJY2pr1URtr9n4zhAgLeOVtOwrT7s/w400-h160/XL5M%20(3).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_blLquW-wBM0xk1EcxO2enJZlZk9ylnYM4zpTW4eKt-fGCuvIE1lIowKADaJUL64hPXdsUlonG8AlXEHjDUF3TsdYaMX5U-DBPASnl_UWUO0Z_zt_ERWk8Wp6jDdungdQYdFTopCyDaTC8H4bLQSRkPV9drMgWoS89JbhTf963qrZNu0EzUBn5xCDHXw/s1600/XL5M%20(4).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="1600" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_blLquW-wBM0xk1EcxO2enJZlZk9ylnYM4zpTW4eKt-fGCuvIE1lIowKADaJUL64hPXdsUlonG8AlXEHjDUF3TsdYaMX5U-DBPASnl_UWUO0Z_zt_ERWk8Wp6jDdungdQYdFTopCyDaTC8H4bLQSRkPV9drMgWoS89JbhTf963qrZNu0EzUBn5xCDHXw/w400-h166/XL5M%20(4).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpw1oK9NToOJIF2CCUhKLwzs9lx4rK3_MUVdnvzXJmfD0Ih-JkRzIt3bmltWn6bIAh_e_BMLcyNANLjyRCC2yVj-ARr3Uu5wBbBJxGzyE5lMAk_aF1LRkUSu6B4UaQwDhPvoifGGtXVlVq3y0qz6ZljXaMpvZaGwKiXEOsm9YmcGIIpbICsD6TR7thkAY/s1600/XL5M%20(5).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="1600" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpw1oK9NToOJIF2CCUhKLwzs9lx4rK3_MUVdnvzXJmfD0Ih-JkRzIt3bmltWn6bIAh_e_BMLcyNANLjyRCC2yVj-ARr3Uu5wBbBJxGzyE5lMAk_aF1LRkUSu6B4UaQwDhPvoifGGtXVlVq3y0qz6ZljXaMpvZaGwKiXEOsm9YmcGIIpbICsD6TR7thkAY/w400-h155/XL5M%20(5).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzKKSURMEQn8rxFM8eU1GLaZM3NL4z_DyLWbimH8lsmK24m5iaJYhny1Pnaht2G_aFviRLc65RPAErZsZ4pZ4tMCIbLjGdFZmVA-Qebo0IF-m4W2yMwxG_-stQjpbGfe6i4xxZsIvPKc0AMwQY_tzW-GnzaftlBKwiUYVpRhZ4rpxq2LWKb4Hmo55RX1c/s1600/XL5M%20(6).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="1600" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzKKSURMEQn8rxFM8eU1GLaZM3NL4z_DyLWbimH8lsmK24m5iaJYhny1Pnaht2G_aFviRLc65RPAErZsZ4pZ4tMCIbLjGdFZmVA-Qebo0IF-m4W2yMwxG_-stQjpbGfe6i4xxZsIvPKc0AMwQY_tzW-GnzaftlBKwiUYVpRhZ4rpxq2LWKb4Hmo55RX1c/w400-h156/XL5M%20(6).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_k3hwAlo7CM8Vy2HhDNcyDRjqXEaY6IndRnsVN-dexATlp5wnh7bf1X7TNZkbF6764L6yGZvQPXJ9oP1NbFhUop4MoBtyxAS397qBkWfVpkpBlbciaimCLglEqQIkbgb-TikNTzylJwhh2x1-WwoEcZfvI4pLwEh69h2dC7othRM1nrlYQwBnabeTT4/s1600/XL5M%20(7).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="1600" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_k3hwAlo7CM8Vy2HhDNcyDRjqXEaY6IndRnsVN-dexATlp5wnh7bf1X7TNZkbF6764L6yGZvQPXJ9oP1NbFhUop4MoBtyxAS397qBkWfVpkpBlbciaimCLglEqQIkbgb-TikNTzylJwhh2x1-WwoEcZfvI4pLwEh69h2dC7othRM1nrlYQwBnabeTT4/w400-h161/XL5M%20(7).JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-65043075140269162712024-03-02T00:38:00.003+00:002024-03-02T00:47:50.017+00:00EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW ABOUT SPIDER-MAN IS WRONG...<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEink-zEsv-ecn22j1i8KlvZ8xiWludCGLhEEDp0PHSaad_m-iTIVZtuab9rS2ydofEllhbhKck-_jP0xzSH9nc_EUuHtdZVJs_G6mGyZiaNRm4CjMAznSDjKWfsQ53y1RtqDXaXKhmsJG4/s1600/Amazing+Fantasy+%252315+b.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="781" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEink-zEsv-ecn22j1i8KlvZ8xiWludCGLhEEDp0PHSaad_m-iTIVZtuab9rS2ydofEllhbhKck-_jP0xzSH9nc_EUuHtdZVJs_G6mGyZiaNRm4CjMAznSDjKWfsQ53y1RtqDXaXKhmsJG4/s400/Amazing+Fantasy+%252315+b.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Copyright <i><b>MARVEL COMICS</b></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.2px;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Y</span></b><span style="color: #202020;">'know, something about <i><b>SPIDER-MAN's</b></i> origin that never really gelled with me was the idea that he had the proportionate powers of a spider - simply because he was bitten by a radioactive one. Sure, h</span></span><span style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.2px;">e certainly manifested similar abilities, though didn't possess the natural physical 'equipment' to produce his own webbing, making the first movie ridiculous in that respect, despite <i><b>STAN LEE</b></i> saying that he thought it was an improvement.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.2px;">Therefore, <i><b>if</b></i> (for the sake of discussion) we accept the original notion that he got his powers from the spider, he could obviously only replicate its abilities in as much as his own human make-up would allow him to. But if that's true, then how did he manage to walk up walls while wearing gloves and (originally) thick-treaded boots?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.2px;">Furthermore, whenever he was crawling on a ceiling, wouldn't his weight have brought it down - especially in offices where polystyrene ceiling tiles hid the electrical wires for air-conditioning and overhead lighting? It doesn't really make much sense. (I hear you - does any superhero concept?) But we're not stuck with the 'official' explanation if we don't want to be.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.2px;">My own opinion (despite what the comics may now suggest) is that it was simply the <i><b>radiation</b></i> that imbued</span><span style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit;"> </span><b style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit;"><i>PETER</i></b><span style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit;">with enhanced powers,</span><span style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit;"> </span><i style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit;"><b>not</b></i><span style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit;">the spider - it was merely the 'messenger'. The radiation allowed him to transcend his human limitations and do things that he otherwise wouldn't be able to. Walking up walls? That was as a result of Peter having some kind of <i><b>'psionic'</b></i> force that allowed him to defy gravity to a limited extent.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202020; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.2px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You see, in <b><i>my</i></b> view, because Peter saw the spider, it had a psychological influence on the way he understood and 'rationalised' his enhanced abilities. Potentially, if he hadn't been limited by his own perceptions of what a spider can do (disproportionate strength and speed, the ability to cling to surfaces), he might have manifested even greater powers - like being able to fly for example. (Even his so-called 'spider-sense' is merely a form of <i><b>ESP</b></i>.) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What I'm suggesting is that the spider was merely the conduit for the radiation that gave him his powers, not the source itself. The radiation affected his metabolism, increased his strength and speed, and also imbued him with the ability to develop just about whatever enhanced attributes he could imagine (within reason). Now, though, his powers have become established and can't evolve further.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I think there's great story potential in my idea. I'd love to see a tale where Peter discovers he's a 'child of the atom', not the spider, and that the arachnid merely influenced how he interpreted his radiation-induced powers, and wasn't the genetic source of them itself. What say the rest of you Criv-ites? Let loose the dogs of dissent in the comments section.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-89272013975031065932024-03-01T16:16:00.006+00:002024-03-01T17:29:35.431+00:00BETCHA WISH YOU HAD THIS FRAMED POSTER...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJfjPsLCxtA1fhBX2REwR27VgRMClj_WsdAwUYvIVGgHlZa9Lq5xIop93UuCPyt1YIu76_Fz-TPiR6uimhyKtphhG8MXg4js6KObUad-QB-_YAnmZPb8LaWPn5xEV3J5QeT3H9UfotrVKK-B6HBVNjbUh3SOlycrrluIdpzO44_PXOMLfhxO7RZz1vpYo/s2287/Superman%20Movie%20Poster.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2287" data-original-width="1830" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJfjPsLCxtA1fhBX2REwR27VgRMClj_WsdAwUYvIVGgHlZa9Lq5xIop93UuCPyt1YIu76_Fz-TPiR6uimhyKtphhG8MXg4js6KObUad-QB-_YAnmZPb8LaWPn5xEV3J5QeT3H9UfotrVKK-B6HBVNjbUh3SOlycrrluIdpzO44_PXOMLfhxO7RZz1vpYo/w320-h400/Superman%20Movie%20Poster.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Y</span></b>ou'll remember me showing you some A3 cover enlargements I'd framed back in November 2022 (see <a href="https://kidr77.blogspot.com/2022/11/youve-been-framed.html" target="_blank"><i><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">here</span></b></i></a>), and mentioning that there was one picture I couldn't photograph because the Christmas tree was blocking sight of it. I said that once my decorations were back up in the loft, I'd show a snap of the pic (a poster) and now, after my decorations being in my living-room for more than a full year, they're now all safely ensconced back in the attic.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So - here's the pic - though, unfortunately due to where it was positioned (on the side of a display cabinet), I couldn't get a good shot of it without the clear plastic within the frame reflecting the camera flash, as well as the wall (and other things) the picture is next to. So I moved the pic to another wall (temporarily) and took another snap, which is slightly better.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I said I would and I have, so here it is. Don't say I'm not a man of my word (though I'll admit it does sometimes take an inordinately long time for me to fulfil it).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Incidentally, I used another browser to access my blog, which is how I was able to add the above image. The previous post yet applies.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-5667171194261712322024-03-01T15:38:00.009+00:002024-03-02T09:21:46.369+00:00ANYONE ELSE GOT THIS ANNOYING PROBLEM? (Update)<p style="text-align: justify;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4N-1wMF0MWwA2ksu2JOwUDYr29p7_O2wPHDcZdywD01UTP0F12QCzBu_Kg59Hz5fLMZcUp6EvVmwazYntiZZD51mQQW6K-VYoJuBb7q4WS8RRYKTyFpgKCHhzR0ifBz95rKOvzgYxeQBMZi-V1YdQqEDr05fyzf98aXu9wmD8H6j4dTTowTHNCtknos/s1200/Error%20Occurred.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="741" data-original-width="1200" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4N-1wMF0MWwA2ksu2JOwUDYr29p7_O2wPHDcZdywD01UTP0F12QCzBu_Kg59Hz5fLMZcUp6EvVmwazYntiZZD51mQQW6K-VYoJuBb7q4WS8RRYKTyFpgKCHhzR0ifBz95rKOvzgYxeQBMZi-V1YdQqEDr05fyzf98aXu9wmD8H6j4dTTowTHNCtknos/w400-h248/Error%20Occurred.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">S</span></b>uddenly, whenever I try to add a photo to a new post, I get an 'error occurred' message and I can't add any images. Any other bloggers finding the same thing or is it only me for some unaccountable reason?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Upon checking, it only seems to be happening when I use Microsoft Browser.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>Update:</b></i> I've fiddled about with things, reset settings to their default values, and it now seems to be working again. However, I've no idea as to what caused the problem to begin with. Strange, eh? I've now added the 'offending' image to the post.</p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-13013892388395871052024-03-01T00:07:00.008+00:002024-03-01T01:17:15.532+00:00THE OFFICIAL UK SUPERMAN ANNUAL 1983...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3vAlm-XrjsUqk5yzm8DoNWXRtjeHQLqk3FrkaCxSm6vv2DmdFqWUuCzv1sqeRrfVrxNR62mxBZt8FstBj90r8WQ-UdBUs77OlA28T2SzlxUp2C8LwG-PRIYNBECLhbFYKqZLRffke3GsAG_N8H2c-Kv-QAV_WRGycaioAx7itP0P1SxMzJBpRzkDmZrs/s1200/SA83%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="883" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3vAlm-XrjsUqk5yzm8DoNWXRtjeHQLqk3FrkaCxSm6vv2DmdFqWUuCzv1sqeRrfVrxNR62mxBZt8FstBj90r8WQ-UdBUs77OlA28T2SzlxUp2C8LwG-PRIYNBECLhbFYKqZLRffke3GsAG_N8H2c-Kv-QAV_WRGycaioAx7itP0P1SxMzJBpRzkDmZrs/w470-h640/SA83%20(1).jpg" width="470" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Copyright <i><b>DC COMICS</b></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>A</b></span> nice <i><b>Brian Bolland</b></i> drawing adorns the cover of the UK <i><b>Official Superman Annual</b></i> for 1983 (issued towards the end of '82), and though I've not reproduced them here, the endpapers inside the book sport a double page illo by <i><b>Dave Gibbons</b></i>. I have to say that I find <i><b>Vince Colletta's</b></i> inking of <i><b>Jim Starlin's</b></i> pencils in the first story quite pleasing in this instance, though many of you might disagree with me as he wasn't everyone's favourite inker.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">It's interesting to note that the first 'part' of what was originally three separate issues of <b style="font-style: italic;">DC Comics Presents </b>(<i><b>#s 27</b></i>, <i><b>28</b></i>, & <i><b>29</b></i>), has 17 pages, the second part has 16, and the third part has only 15. Part two has therefore had what was probably a recap page omitted to avoid repetition (though it might be another page entirely), and part three has had two pages omitted for, I assume, the same reason<span style="color: #2b00fe;">*</span>. This 'vandalism' was an all-too-common practice in these <i><b>London Editions/Egmont</b></i> Annuals which would've likely prevented my from buying them back in the day had I noticed as I'd have considered them incomplete.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">(<span style="color: #2b00fe;">*</span>I think I actually have the original US comics, but, if so, I forget where I've stored them so am unable to check at this present time.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I got this book recently as part of a set of three (of which I really only wanted one), and as I showed you the 1984 <i><b>Batman Annual</b></i> last week, I thought it only fitting to share this one with you as well. Incidentally, I've presented the splash pages in the order they originally appeared, as the <i><b>Superboy</b></i> tale was 'sandwiched' between the second and third parts of the main story, so don't go thinking <i><b>I've</b></i> mixed them up. Feel entirely free to share any reminiscences you may have of this Annual in the comments section, Crivvies. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2cl-y0k3R23_LENkF-N7V0DIpUWwBGH0WRqv0fTZR4nkkhqeMJwnbaEEHPypkif1RCmYDmtVslXEQvqRkMV7rYeVChwxCPew1WMDN_MPJKZn_w3ro7Uww9C0m5xjT0v-sniaKM6lL4wgu1zVFDc3SH9a-3AwJxLey6GXEU-7Y7xDXhH7FGRFAMb4C3Jc/s1200/SA83%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="852" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2cl-y0k3R23_LENkF-N7V0DIpUWwBGH0WRqv0fTZR4nkkhqeMJwnbaEEHPypkif1RCmYDmtVslXEQvqRkMV7rYeVChwxCPew1WMDN_MPJKZn_w3ro7Uww9C0m5xjT0v-sniaKM6lL4wgu1zVFDc3SH9a-3AwJxLey6GXEU-7Y7xDXhH7FGRFAMb4C3Jc/w454-h640/SA83%20(2).jpg" width="454" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiYVlwtjo7EVxVSpivWA6GQd1alDdhfDgx_UkTrxNO4aKM1ogzOnll8w2isS2z4RiwTc6H-1ndyW9p-lZSDfkUd3PFSRgX3dQU4oSh70Et0eEmQkRf7FQ1uRZbyKkFnfqrNfMcjrtBIW2DsagYK9GOC2fbsOqedNQaWYoYWGbtLw-0IIER4ACn60S4eeg/s1200/SA83%20(3).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiYVlwtjo7EVxVSpivWA6GQd1alDdhfDgx_UkTrxNO4aKM1ogzOnll8w2isS2z4RiwTc6H-1ndyW9p-lZSDfkUd3PFSRgX3dQU4oSh70Et0eEmQkRf7FQ1uRZbyKkFnfqrNfMcjrtBIW2DsagYK9GOC2fbsOqedNQaWYoYWGbtLw-0IIER4ACn60S4eeg/w426-h640/SA83%20(3).jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRNihiJpie5Kr6ok8JuSRkMFJu2VqafCBpq8nGtD6mA0qv4rSy3gmn5aaZxzWZ02hmXr2pgT5_Ymo1aoaIBkhIYQ_Qf567pg5JUXVU9_t6PpAziqv3dhesQqvWonfaJ7NBV4qxSjtLnP8-8Ad3J5wj8ytcEbDrVzWexQliTTLHRnv3ofxQT8j41JOR2no/s1200/SA83%20(4).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="806" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRNihiJpie5Kr6ok8JuSRkMFJu2VqafCBpq8nGtD6mA0qv4rSy3gmn5aaZxzWZ02hmXr2pgT5_Ymo1aoaIBkhIYQ_Qf567pg5JUXVU9_t6PpAziqv3dhesQqvWonfaJ7NBV4qxSjtLnP8-8Ad3J5wj8ytcEbDrVzWexQliTTLHRnv3ofxQT8j41JOR2no/w430-h640/SA83%20(4).jpg" width="430" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijexaBWeSNCzRquHjCvNXEzwSEYgbizZ1eqssOgEB89cs0QXRV2VhL7V3nl0hYiqJLMFKRVbYs-ccLzAny1TGqlTil4-O8FwjQr7yONhyphenhyphenoE2eQ9Y1QNZE1WZg0o_vhtossKUI7L8WZlK7ZVpaUQpBdvmj1p57zUHbFEIUMtH_1tNAHLoP9aupeKIE4UKk/s1200/SA83%20(5).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="820" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijexaBWeSNCzRquHjCvNXEzwSEYgbizZ1eqssOgEB89cs0QXRV2VhL7V3nl0hYiqJLMFKRVbYs-ccLzAny1TGqlTil4-O8FwjQr7yONhyphenhyphenoE2eQ9Y1QNZE1WZg0o_vhtossKUI7L8WZlK7ZVpaUQpBdvmj1p57zUHbFEIUMtH_1tNAHLoP9aupeKIE4UKk/w438-h640/SA83%20(5).jpg" width="438" /></a></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-76383694014520212032024-02-22T22:38:00.021+00:002024-02-23T10:41:56.842+00:00THE OFFICIAL UK BATMAN ANNUAL 1984...<p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZfnqN_yy_WJ_nmhSYnVJu29uoaGRApzbAadX9cLCMgOB562eg5-GBeQ_PuRLSdQ73V1xw0Qj-qQJp5Oj6TB9WELVmgt63ULudLhvuWx5vUtlycrXkCD5nUukq6Vx60dvH1EM-AGj5emSXsVwgbFmc7PZyjaJz0XlAnasvTE1UrAI2htp9PhzhaYTJp3k/s1200/BA84%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="881" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZfnqN_yy_WJ_nmhSYnVJu29uoaGRApzbAadX9cLCMgOB562eg5-GBeQ_PuRLSdQ73V1xw0Qj-qQJp5Oj6TB9WELVmgt63ULudLhvuWx5vUtlycrXkCD5nUukq6Vx60dvH1EM-AGj5emSXsVwgbFmc7PZyjaJz0XlAnasvTE1UrAI2htp9PhzhaYTJp3k/w470-h640/BA84%20(1).jpg" width="470" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Copyright <i><b>DC COMICS</b></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>W</b></span>hen I recently decided to obtain a replacement for my own long-gone 1980 UK <i><b>Superman</b></i> Annual, I ended up buying four of them from different <i><b>eBay</b></i> sellers to try and get a decent-condition copy I was happy with. One Annual was part of a trio sold as a single lot, so along with the 1980 Superman Annual, I now also possess the 1983 one (in pretty good nick), plus the 1984 <i><b>Batman</b></i> Annual, neither of which I owned before.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Batman book required a bit of cosmetic work to the cover (colour touch-ups, ironing out corner dunts, etc.,) as well as erasing the results of colour pencils to a few interior non-story pages, but it was worth the effort as it contains some nice Batman tales, as well as sporting a cover by <i><b>Dave Gibbons</b></i>. I could simply buy a better condition copy of course, but this one was never really in my sights so I can live with it just as it is.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Tell you what, though... rather than tell you about the contents, why don't I show them to you? Well, the splash pages at least, just to give you a taste of the book. If you had this Annual back in the day (or even the original US monthly comics where the stories first appeared), feel free to share your unique memories of it/them in our crying-out-for-attention comments section. (Don't be heartless and disappoint it now, y'hear?)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOP2sYWuoSUvbQy0O7SRu9L07v0YolvRA5aQ5EK2k2OygpTnqqedu8BojyWrU2ZaiRc6I1dqnp9tMbE_v8lNqOgy_HnCcekym_bmrF95QjdwTgxqkWGKb3EIlzRCYNj4zuaBWVCJSOLUwRzrSGHC3W1xVHRfplfW_EwDzH12PHKICKWAtVVYBUQuJBnJY/s1200/BA84%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="769" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOP2sYWuoSUvbQy0O7SRu9L07v0YolvRA5aQ5EK2k2OygpTnqqedu8BojyWrU2ZaiRc6I1dqnp9tMbE_v8lNqOgy_HnCcekym_bmrF95QjdwTgxqkWGKb3EIlzRCYNj4zuaBWVCJSOLUwRzrSGHC3W1xVHRfplfW_EwDzH12PHKICKWAtVVYBUQuJBnJY/w410-h640/BA84%20(2).jpg" width="410" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmchaWWakK6c97XXM3XIRq-VTkijGGq1LLOrVyOVDJ1EeeApoDBPQIXPtzwDkcTpGtq0udeLedKv7B4ZcFfnZyBgRhR9_xmN1C1pj647KwdST6MNsK2jegEsYg2dFKoo-wEOHJOhbqb4u9U3lkp7XJkIMu1xE3brYdQrpCWdiWBIkkivrW8KmdXw12sJw/s1200/BA84%20(3).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="815" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmchaWWakK6c97XXM3XIRq-VTkijGGq1LLOrVyOVDJ1EeeApoDBPQIXPtzwDkcTpGtq0udeLedKv7B4ZcFfnZyBgRhR9_xmN1C1pj647KwdST6MNsK2jegEsYg2dFKoo-wEOHJOhbqb4u9U3lkp7XJkIMu1xE3brYdQrpCWdiWBIkkivrW8KmdXw12sJw/w434-h640/BA84%20(3).jpg" width="434" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5AUL-epre8qdi4TegCJKgBRqaQgYqum_9KHoOKVxPTi8BXituMeNz9KrUxbmef8Hm0Qsq1AQGaPi_NF8ftuMq_Bhiu0KL-viBcmiR52jt_yz9Tmwe43UNtzK60ml64oEK2z9SaZPSn85SO96GMxNoyleHLoGWFGuieN1S_QlI-_gLOsh-qA4pw_kqyI/s1200/BA84%20(4).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="813" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5AUL-epre8qdi4TegCJKgBRqaQgYqum_9KHoOKVxPTi8BXituMeNz9KrUxbmef8Hm0Qsq1AQGaPi_NF8ftuMq_Bhiu0KL-viBcmiR52jt_yz9Tmwe43UNtzK60ml64oEK2z9SaZPSn85SO96GMxNoyleHLoGWFGuieN1S_QlI-_gLOsh-qA4pw_kqyI/w434-h640/BA84%20(4).jpg" width="434" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsQR8O7ZWZyCDWEstvmC0T3KjwsaZeE-4y9RSOBl9_2dOQAOecHu8rG64rgyttDMEQxgS_Zn-KusoWUrGqvH7Ef9_wG7nJLglYEMkV_Yubaj9vJprzqTKyXnCJ2VlGC1Q4UF7n5jXMJfSlcDzT9xYQTcasIBFLGxh9HFPbsKoNn3KcjZsokCPLzWTGNM/s1200/BA84%20(5).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="811" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsQR8O7ZWZyCDWEstvmC0T3KjwsaZeE-4y9RSOBl9_2dOQAOecHu8rG64rgyttDMEQxgS_Zn-KusoWUrGqvH7Ef9_wG7nJLglYEMkV_Yubaj9vJprzqTKyXnCJ2VlGC1Q4UF7n5jXMJfSlcDzT9xYQTcasIBFLGxh9HFPbsKoNn3KcjZsokCPLzWTGNM/w432-h640/BA84%20(5).jpg" width="432" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-85888116477132754722024-02-19T14:56:00.011+00:002024-02-21T04:50:35.115+00:00MEMORIES FROZEN IN TIME? Guest Post By GENE PHILLIPS...<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzT8rSNTxvaVmasraIx1XDHivnDkC2J5e5GnRCbJKcoczcEqnrRfw9vhQ3ZwtfoqvqP6R4yvrxEcv90y0V19ZN88g5MT6Mr7_PTtSyQ_8IcSYWckH7-yZmKqpG3eA4HTk4czGkD59h-tSAK47MFKO2hfjj5lrjX3gmdjW9ZtiNWS9fgIRcHg7v45JVlY/s1200/Amazing%20Adventures%20%233.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="794" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzT8rSNTxvaVmasraIx1XDHivnDkC2J5e5GnRCbJKcoczcEqnrRfw9vhQ3ZwtfoqvqP6R4yvrxEcv90y0V19ZN88g5MT6Mr7_PTtSyQ_8IcSYWckH7-yZmKqpG3eA4HTk4czGkD59h-tSAK47MFKO2hfjj5lrjX3gmdjW9ZtiNWS9fgIRcHg7v45JVlY/w424-h640/Amazing%20Adventures%20%233.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Images copyright relevant and respective owners</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>O</b></span><span style="color: #202020;">kay, peeps, for a change of pace from my dreary, weary, woeful waffle, here's a thought-provoking guest post from </span><i style="color: #202020;"><b>Gene Phillips</b></i><span style="color: #202020;"> about the nature of time and memories - assuming I understood it, that is. Hopefully, this will inspire you to think, and having 'thunk', express your thoughts in the comments section. Read on, MacDuff!</span></span></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: x-large;">****** </span></span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><i style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">"T</span></b><span style="color: #202020;">ime is simultaneous, an intricately structured jewel that humans insist on viewing one edge at a time, when the whole design is visible in every facet."</span></i></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"Why couldn't the past, present and future all be occurring at the same time -- but in different dimensions?"</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202020;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The first quote comes from one of the most famous graphic novels of all time, the 1986-87 <i><b>Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons</b></i> <i><b>WATCHMEN</b></i>, and the sentiment expressed, about the relativity of time, is "intricately structured" as one of the narrative's main themes.</span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202020;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The second comes from a very obscure <i><b>Stan</b></i> <i><b>Lee/Jack Kirby</b></i> story in <i><b>AMAZING ADVENTURES #3</b></i> (1961), <i><b>"We Were Trapped In The Twilight World!" </b></i> It wasn't reprinted until the twenty-first century and I doubt that even its creators remembered it after they tossed it out within the pages of a title that was finished in three more issues, being renamed <i><b>AMAZING ADULT FANTASY</b></i> from <i><b>#s 7-14</b></i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK9DYnoBtZ3WqUJWCrBokFM5M_YeHGFrM6JxbQ8bQed0QlytKq_6dWEu3W41eRoFF9svm1PVkMX4guatnxAKtJ0hcUJbJdwBhtSgyZ-WoeWDO7QBdA_5_awp1VRQ-NA9NUSGNLlcqOwL62WCB1XemYCQmIkjH2IJnsMWZIN2KyKHBwVwQ8GCact9koY-E/s1200/Watchmen%20%231.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="775" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK9DYnoBtZ3WqUJWCrBokFM5M_YeHGFrM6JxbQ8bQed0QlytKq_6dWEu3W41eRoFF9svm1PVkMX4guatnxAKtJ0hcUJbJdwBhtSgyZ-WoeWDO7QBdA_5_awp1VRQ-NA9NUSGNLlcqOwL62WCB1XemYCQmIkjH2IJnsMWZIN2KyKHBwVwQ8GCact9koY-E/w414-h640/Watchmen%20%231.jpg" width="414" /></a></div></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not only was "Twilight" probably tossed
off to fill space, the idea of the simultaneity of past, present and future
isn't even important to the story's plot. Shortly after the handsome young
theorist expresses his time-theory, he drives away with his girlfriend. A
mysterious, never-explained mist transports them both back into Earth's
prehistoric past. While the two of them flee various menaces, the scientist
theorizes that entities from the past sometimes entered the mist and showed up
in modern times, so that ape-like cavemen generated the story of the Abominable
Snowmen. <i><b>Grand Comics Database</b></i> believes that "Twilight" is one of
many SF-stories plotted by Stan Lee but dialogued by his brother <i><b>Larry Lieber</b></i>,
so, failing the discovery of original Kirby art, there's no ascertaining which
of the three creators involved generated the line.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In both stories, the simultaneity of all times has one common function: to cast
a light on the limits of human perception. But is there any truth in it?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the sense of the bodies we occupy, not really. Our common experience as
human beings is that our bodies are totally enslaved by the unstoppable
progress of the future, remorselessly eating away the present the way age eats
away at our bodily integrity. And yet, one organ in the body defies future's
tyranny and that's the brain.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Only in the brain are past, present and future
truly unified -- though one may question if Moore's correct about how
"intricate" the structure is, even assuming that the paradigm applies
only to fully functioning human brains. And time is only unified in terms of a
given subject's own memories. I don't necessarily dismiss such things as
"memories of a past life" that are usually cited in support of
reincarnation, but those type of memories are not universal enough to draw any
conclusions.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: justify;">My ability to "time-travel" in my memories is similarly limited. I
can summon a quasi-memory of being on a family vacation and finding <i><b>MARVEL
TALES #11</b></i> at an out-of-town pharmacy. That comic book would have been on sale
in 1967, probably a few months prior to its November cover-date. I <i><b>think</b></i> this
was probably the first <i><b>SPIDER-MAN</b></i> comic I bought, but my memories of reading
the comic for the first time aren't that specific since I didn't get into
buying superhero comics until the debut of the <i><b>BATMAN</b></i> tele-series in early 1966. That show would have finished its second season in March 1967, at which time I
might have felt venturesome enough to sample a superhero I'd never heard of. Now, for me to be correct on that score, I would have to have bought MARVEL
TALES before the 1967 SPIDER-MAN cartoon debuted that September, since it's
also my memory that I watched that TV show when it first aired. But can I be <i><b>absolutely</b></i> sure that I didn't see the cartoon before buying the comic book? Not in the least. I <i><b>seem</b></i> to remember that I'd bought enough back issues of
SPIDER-MAN or MARVEL TALES that when the cartoon debuted, I recognized how some
of the cartoon-stories had been adapted from the originals, but that memory is
not reliable.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5_ilWt88_fs90WiaVU2A8LUrKGcv5f1kUPUe_64eE8SnEOJmD7sYQFH44mbvfzjxtTWTZCrsltHM_UT3QCLrfvcCIg5IBcx02C2gr4UEjR0igKK3hsozJrZoYeWZTBLtBWwC_x2KHHq7yzAK3rAdVb1rgpjBNZ7KRqtgBox0mA34hc5rsHOcYjnUnHI/s1200/Marvel%20Tales%20%2311.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="792" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5_ilWt88_fs90WiaVU2A8LUrKGcv5f1kUPUe_64eE8SnEOJmD7sYQFH44mbvfzjxtTWTZCrsltHM_UT3QCLrfvcCIg5IBcx02C2gr4UEjR0igKK3hsozJrZoYeWZTBLtBWwC_x2KHHq7yzAK3rAdVb1rgpjBNZ7KRqtgBox0mA34hc5rsHOcYjnUnHI/w422-h640/Marvel%20Tales%20%2311.jpg" width="422" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the WATCHMEN chapter referenced, <i><b>Doctor Manhattan</b></i> can foresee future events
as accurately as he can recall memories of the past -- or at least, whatever past
experiences are important to Moore's narrative. And in "Twilight,"
the protagonists live through the past so as to clarify events in their present, but total narrative clarity is denied real people. However, what our
functioning memories do preserve are not just every single experience we have,
but the <b><i>important</i></b> experiences.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Humans can travel in time from <i><b>Significant Thing #1</b></i> to <i><b>Significant Thing #4566</b></i>
via chains of mental association, though some of these associations might be
subconscious. I once noticed that <i><b>Robert E. Howard's</b></i> barbarian hero <i><b>Kull</b></i> first
appeared in print in the August 1929 issue of <i><b>WEIRD TALES</b></i>, about three or four
years before <i><b>Siegel and Shuster</b></i> collaborated on their landmark hero <i><b>Superman</b></i>. We know that Siegel named Superman's dad after himself, making
<i><b>"Jor-L"</b></i> out of the first syllable of the author's first name and the
last syllable of his last name, but whence comes <i><b>"Kal-L"</b></i>? Did it come
from... <i><b>"Kul-L"</b></i>? Even assuming that Siegel read the Kull story,
there's no way of knowing if he consciously remembered reading it, but<i><b> if</b></i> he
read it, maybe something about the hero's name appealed to Siegel and he
simply recycled that appeal when it came time to name his own hero.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We do not know if anything survives the demise of our physical forms. But while
we are alive, it's entirely logical to build up our stores of significant
memories, whether we can take them with us or not. To borrow from the title of
an old English poem, those memories provide us with our only "triumph over
time".</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One last Significant Thing: the last issue of Marvel magazine AMAZING
ADVENTURES was cover-dated November 1961, the same date assigned to <i><b>FANTASTIC
FOUR #1</b></i>. So that arbitrary date becomes something of a threshold between the
Old Marvel Way of doing things, and the New Approach, which would, as I've
argued elsewhere, have saved the medium of comic books from extinction.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">******</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Any thoughts, Crivvies? Let GP (and the rest of us) read them now!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7PIggnstyDaXzv7Rs4osMxDo2b2k-iXYxTBWpG03PBC5I5xu397ylM4XmKEaw2bYSeCdUFMappBfQ7EzyqtpjiceSFEV_KQ5WR9Vr8Tz31htUPW5vODD3Z4Njwvu0BegFgqDOVdWpesYbKp-AL5vwhGYgzwIsTcsREQSrvVlGWZ2sXv3Al1QLCBPpvXg/s1200/Fantastic%20Four%20%231.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="794" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7PIggnstyDaXzv7Rs4osMxDo2b2k-iXYxTBWpG03PBC5I5xu397ylM4XmKEaw2bYSeCdUFMappBfQ7EzyqtpjiceSFEV_KQ5WR9Vr8Tz31htUPW5vODD3Z4Njwvu0BegFgqDOVdWpesYbKp-AL5vwhGYgzwIsTcsREQSrvVlGWZ2sXv3Al1QLCBPpvXg/w424-h640/Fantastic%20Four%20%231.jpg" width="424" /></a></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-58393827426582075742024-02-18T15:13:00.009+00:002024-02-29T18:47:08.175+00:00CRYIN' COCKLES AND MUSSELS, ALIVE, ALIVE-O! (Or: Sea Shells On The Seashore)...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtFD9IcPQszvc2PsUY-rh7UNkxFB5RQIxkXWfLm-frxzrEX0zS5ZIXeev02gWjKA51nqLvZBWjoFZcs_rUDF3pILsNLBYpQwp61m009xyYHVd1vVx2zmgyzgkBdpzRhwOORv0gXqbRLBiiAehdXqw_Mf0FugD8C0hXILyy_ajN6DrsRr9Qe1UR2ohdYn4/s1200/Ashtray%201.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtFD9IcPQszvc2PsUY-rh7UNkxFB5RQIxkXWfLm-frxzrEX0zS5ZIXeev02gWjKA51nqLvZBWjoFZcs_rUDF3pILsNLBYpQwp61m009xyYHVd1vVx2zmgyzgkBdpzRhwOORv0gXqbRLBiiAehdXqw_Mf0FugD8C0hXILyy_ajN6DrsRr9Qe1UR2ohdYn4/w400-h320/Ashtray%201.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">L</span></b>et me see, now... I think it was either in 1965 when I was on holiday with my family in Rothesay, though it could well have been the following year when we holidayed in Kinghorn - I'm not quite sure after all this time. Regardless, we were walking along the beach one day and my father was picking up a few cockle and mussel shells and putting them in one of his jacket pockets. He also lifted a piece of what I can only describe as 'slate'. Later, in <i><b>Woolworth's</b></i>, he bought a packet of <i><b>Humbrol</b></i> paints that came in little glass vials (remember them?) and some glue or resin, though I forget exactly which kind.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Next, he attached the mussel shell to the slate, then affixed some smaller shells around the join, and when everything was safely and securely attached, he painted them. Hey, presto - instant home-made ashtray. When we returned home at the end of our holiday, the ashtray made the journey with us, and as my father was a pipe smoker, often made use of his handiwork - as did my mother, who smoked the occasional cigarette. (Hands up those who thought I was going to say she was a pipe smoker too? Cheek!)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sometime in the early or maybe mid-'70s, I noticed one day that the slate base had been replaced with a sturdier, heavier base and I assumed that the original one had broken, perhaps as a result of being dropped or my father requiring it for some other purpose. I never found out the actual reason, but it seems reasonable to assume it was one of those two possibilities. Some of the shells had also been broken over the years and the paint on them was no longer as bright and shiny as it had once been. I'd always intended to spruce it up a bit, but the decades came and went without me ever getting around to it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, several months back, a pal and me visited Prestwick, where I picked up a few small shells from the beach, realising that they were the very chappies I needed for whenever I finally got started on 'tarting up' the ashtray. Not that it had been used in many a year as I've never smoked, and visitors usually go outside if they're 'gasping for a fag' Anyway, long story short, I applied myself to restoring the ashtray's cosmetic appearance over the last couple of days and now it looks better than it has for a long time. I used acrylic paints on the shells as acrylic dries quicker than enamel, then coated them with acrylic varnish.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's the finished result in the photo atop and bottom of this post and I have to be honest and say I'm quite proud of it. Just think, it goes all the way back to my childhood close to 60 years ago, and I associate it with at least three houses (maybe four) I've lived in over that time. As I said, it no longer fulfils (and hasn't for an extremely long time) the function of an ashtray, being retained mostly for its cosmetic appeal (to my eyes, if not yours), as well as the welcome memories that one glance at it can bring. It's a familiar 'face' from the past and it's got a free home with me for the rest of its (and my) days.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Any similar reminiscences, Crivvies, of items from your childhood? Then we're 'all ears' (so to speak), so share them with the rest of us in the comments section.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilWZznemwKho42SyZOgpVYEYUaGLy9AncgaVAm4qsPyDOIT6TJ7I3mV3hZshLF5hIVKNUb-U-oSh2lm5DQKai2phJhShK7rhvqpPsFB7kyujCugRBWVEomd1yXX-jM0lNhkionEjGDzd2p7SPw2xcng-fTCrr0TFuhY38ockJSjzRyDeolYXGCROlDPsY/s1200/Ashtray%202.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilWZznemwKho42SyZOgpVYEYUaGLy9AncgaVAm4qsPyDOIT6TJ7I3mV3hZshLF5hIVKNUb-U-oSh2lm5DQKai2phJhShK7rhvqpPsFB7kyujCugRBWVEomd1yXX-jM0lNhkionEjGDzd2p7SPw2xcng-fTCrr0TFuhY38ockJSjzRyDeolYXGCROlDPsY/w400-h320/Ashtray%202.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-58435983688076672912024-02-14T00:00:00.000+00:002024-02-14T00:00:08.264+00:00WHEN CUPID'S ARROW CAN BE A DAGGER THROUGH THE HEART...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2ovjJJthvYTYMF_VPAeUEQOXJPCMbNwNzbOKzusKBqtiVO3hd0L677OLbG_6oiy5IWJDoltvxwnbNYtKQSPQWwhuY5qF0fHorCBUyls2lAkS-vPGpANGSUa1m6VaWHiHYuqWjw6GTq6FqAC_NTjvnkpEJ1UGPHeQwsVw_KYwHr4teZgyNupmB6Tlf6g/s1000/H&M%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="1000" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2ovjJJthvYTYMF_VPAeUEQOXJPCMbNwNzbOKzusKBqtiVO3hd0L677OLbG_6oiy5IWJDoltvxwnbNYtKQSPQWwhuY5qF0fHorCBUyls2lAkS-vPGpANGSUa1m6VaWHiHYuqWjw6GTq6FqAC_NTjvnkpEJ1UGPHeQwsVw_KYwHr4teZgyNupmB6Tlf6g/s320/H&M%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">T</span></b>oday, as all good Criv-ites are surely well aware, is <i><b>Valentine's Day</b></i>. I've never received a Valentine's card in my life, nor have I ever sent one, but many people will be waiting in eager anticipation of a card from a loved one (or an anonymous admirer) popping through their letterbox, and probably as many people will be anxiously fretting over not getting one and what it says about just how they're regarded by others if they don't.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, today my mind can't help but think of my late pal's widow, <i><b>Heather</b></i>, whose husband <i><b>Matt</b></i> (known as <i><b>Moonmando</b></i> to long-term readers of Crivens) passed away in a local hospice exactly a year ago today from inoperable liver and bowel cancer. It must be difficult when others about you are basking in the glow of getting a Valentine's card when the only person you'd really love to receive one from is no longer around to give it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, readers, as you savour the reassurance of knowing you're adored, spare a thought for Heather and those like her to whom this date isn't a cause for celebration, but rather a painful reminder of a heart-aching emptiness in their life. (Though that pain isn't restricted to only one day.) It's tough when your time is up and you have to depart this world, but I sometimes wonder whether it's even tougher for the ones you leave behind. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxqfZP8cuDneMzJGWVUCjT393TmPIjF2yT42eJCXlLqhSRNrIkw6yhQ4VQ9mTfj2gCUYEPGmcFlkIEXCj6IhKUXlpZhlCQ3X0H4zK2ENBjWAtlegoYrzYi0LJrqzZEfBuwvuyhbVl1HKGnzMKMuZhRYQgTm0738U6F17PpOb8r6o6Ym5QyxYw9cZCDSM/s1000/H&M%201.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="673" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxqfZP8cuDneMzJGWVUCjT393TmPIjF2yT42eJCXlLqhSRNrIkw6yhQ4VQ9mTfj2gCUYEPGmcFlkIEXCj6IhKUXlpZhlCQ3X0H4zK2ENBjWAtlegoYrzYi0LJrqzZEfBuwvuyhbVl1HKGnzMKMuZhRYQgTm0738U6F17PpOb8r6o6Ym5QyxYw9cZCDSM/w269-h400/H&M%201.jpg" width="269" /></a></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-7550363137991940662024-02-06T23:09:00.019+00:002024-02-19T17:43:14.227+00:00I'LL BUY THE NEGATIVES...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1UhkiyoHRWRyLffpI9J9VI2mewCdP2B0yauIf0ClsZzZ50Qgtfl5fQX6FMO85yJfXIzyJtYfxJv7B20HJjhM2C5jX-yLsfAwTc_at39D40i7O2Ay4BEGC-HD1FugJS8F2ZDC7zZn51763Y_6Du0Tf91E_Zk3rFMiDK7KGbnyqUUVWqCLEXhwFuscWcSU/s1200/GRWF.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="866" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1UhkiyoHRWRyLffpI9J9VI2mewCdP2B0yauIf0ClsZzZ50Qgtfl5fQX6FMO85yJfXIzyJtYfxJv7B20HJjhM2C5jX-yLsfAwTc_at39D40i7O2Ay4BEGC-HD1FugJS8F2ZDC7zZn51763Y_6Du0Tf91E_Zk3rFMiDK7KGbnyqUUVWqCLEXhwFuscWcSU/w289-h400/GRWF.jpg" width="289" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>I</b></span>n all my life it could never be claimed by anyone or myself that I was ever fashionable when it came to the clothes I wore. For example, look at the flared trousers I'm wearing in the above photo taken in 1978. I was around 19 and flares had been out of fashion for two or three years as far as I recall. However, this post isn't really about fashion, it's just me self-indulgently reminiscing about my past and marvelling at how recent these photographs feel to me, while at the same time seeming as if they were taken long ago and far away in an age now lost to history. (As all ages eventually are in the fullness of time.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Despite my hyperbole I can readily recall where these pics were taken though. The first two were on the roof of a derelict farmhouse and riding stable which later became a pub called <i><b>Whitehills Farm</b></i>. (It closed only a few months back.) The photo-booth pic was taken in my Town Centre post office, and is, I think, the only one (barring my then-pal's wedding photos in Portsmouth that same year) of the two of us together at the same time. Looking at the first two, it reminds me that, even as 19 year-olds, the pair of us still explored places we had no right to be. Dangerous places too, as the building was a ruin and could easily have collapsed under us. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQx7N2Tc_op7u3Cv98G5A3rA0C5ehVP-dWwX_wY8uftbuNeX7xxfVpDrpIS4wdHgwBTF3gEFbFordopTrIGKhgxV4Q1ZX_VS6hX8SGUxpiF55DKokWh9fdXqMvB6up_ayzP0TpeMaMxeLAYoYOxn-Ny6FqH-OgGnAs5e15M4jEiSxtZA4IVSBZN6jTZ18/s1200/ABWF.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="867" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQx7N2Tc_op7u3Cv98G5A3rA0C5ehVP-dWwX_wY8uftbuNeX7xxfVpDrpIS4wdHgwBTF3gEFbFordopTrIGKhgxV4Q1ZX_VS6hX8SGUxpiF55DKokWh9fdXqMvB6up_ayzP0TpeMaMxeLAYoYOxn-Ny6FqH-OgGnAs5e15M4jEiSxtZA4IVSBZN6jTZ18/w289-h400/ABWF.jpg" width="289" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">These days my memory isn't always as reliable as it used to be, so I was unsure whether these pics were taken before or after his marriage until I re-read a letter from him postmarked January 16th, asking why he hadn't heard from me since the 'big day' (thus before). So, 46 years ago captured in a few photographs, prolonging the moments and the time they depict long past their natural shelf-life. Truly, a camera is a brilliant invention - probably one of the most remarkable in human history. It can be a pleasant experience looking through old photos, but sometimes also a painful one, as we're reminded of those who are no longer around and just how old we've become.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I've got thousands of photos and it's sad to think that they only really mean something to me as nobody else would be interested in them. So many moments frozen in time that will one day be discarded when I'm no longer around to look at and enjoy them. 'This Is My Life', but it's a life that cuts no ice with anyone else when it comes to preserving a photographic record of it. It's quite a sobering thought to realise that, in the great scheme of things, we're really not as significant as we'd like to think we are. Ah, 1978 - where did you sneak off to when I wasn't looking? And that goes for every year before or since.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidq7T9gFnnzNweQggA4WXFHGMom__fmrkiqqEN0_8icJGA7EKNxj20yUAYHrhqN9Yv1_85-PDBpGqoK3Nrau1d3YGvKoSoVIe8ossiV7bB_T0emyaMK8nTPYuidnpbQUqw5bJQgmcdUtgQRg8HDCcj2jP9LDvadD2EWehRsLMPveeQR8XRntgQP0ceZqs/s1000/A%20&%20K.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="786" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidq7T9gFnnzNweQggA4WXFHGMom__fmrkiqqEN0_8icJGA7EKNxj20yUAYHrhqN9Yv1_85-PDBpGqoK3Nrau1d3YGvKoSoVIe8ossiV7bB_T0emyaMK8nTPYuidnpbQUqw5bJQgmcdUtgQRg8HDCcj2jP9LDvadD2EWehRsLMPveeQR8XRntgQP0ceZqs/s320/A%20&%20K.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Do you enjoy looking through your old photos, readers, or are your past fashion mistakes and embarrassing hairstyles something you'd much rather prefer to forget? The comments section awaits your input if you'd like to visit. Don't be shy now.</div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-26605381590584921662024-02-05T02:07:00.023+00:002024-02-12T15:58:23.632+00:00The FALLEN GIANT...<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP4I6p9gwoWIOV6c3dsB-7ZMQTjB8JBM-bDVTvjIWZUN8icejBrfs35CFBaKPPyKcqM7SEATjEY9BPZG0BD1zP6ev2iXyPnCrY37YEzmSa5I-IlYRWvHxdYkPPZ8_e5PMTBFZQ5kdksM28QY17GZEXLkAhcQSOLY4h4FBbBjx9AbeWfaARjqsGiEDyHxE/s1200/LD%20Tree%20(1).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP4I6p9gwoWIOV6c3dsB-7ZMQTjB8JBM-bDVTvjIWZUN8icejBrfs35CFBaKPPyKcqM7SEATjEY9BPZG0BD1zP6ev2iXyPnCrY37YEzmSa5I-IlYRWvHxdYkPPZ8_e5PMTBFZQ5kdksM28QY17GZEXLkAhcQSOLY4h4FBbBjx9AbeWfaARjqsGiEDyHxE/w400-h300/LD%20Tree%20(1).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">C</span></b>ertain trees have been an important aspect of my life over the decades, not only as 'signposts' to memories of the locations in which they stood, but also reminders of the times in which I first became aware of them. The first was actually a fallen tree on which I played at <i><b>Fireball XL5</b></i> as a 4 or 5 year-old kid, and the next (two houses later) was the main one on which the neighbourhood kids had elected to hang a rope to provide a 'swing' for all those who enjoyed such a pastime. (What boy didn't?!)</div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then there was the one down the road from me in the area we flitted to halfway through 1972, which I passed on a daily basis to and from school for the next two-and-a-half years, as well as sundry other times. It stood on the edge of a burn (narrow watercourse), which had two metal barred 'fences' at different angles to one another where two separate channels of the burn met, to prevent 'flotsam and jetsam' being carried into the tunnel that the water led in to (and out of) whenever it was in full and furious flow.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyiHQZDgoOXyf_3T93SafpKxYhyuGzFfAxx_cp9a3KHOi13sOIF5m3iPwc0iJIyA9yc5qBZ9CiAmIpzRP2ePjzjR7hoSufcddaYAZe-fD12TL5mTPLTxh2JOT6FqinVxhiCytAhrWEpqnW_8UGiIBhZNmNZ1OSnROu-FsUJhroqxemqRn-gkMA3DW2OH8/s1200/LD%20Tree%20(3).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyiHQZDgoOXyf_3T93SafpKxYhyuGzFfAxx_cp9a3KHOi13sOIF5m3iPwc0iJIyA9yc5qBZ9CiAmIpzRP2ePjzjR7hoSufcddaYAZe-fD12TL5mTPLTxh2JOT6FqinVxhiCytAhrWEpqnW_8UGiIBhZNmNZ1OSnROu-FsUJhroqxemqRn-gkMA3DW2OH8/w400-h300/LD%20Tree%20(3).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">As a shortcut, I used to regularly walk over the three or four foot long, two or three-inch wide top of one of those fences to reach the other side, without pause or uncertainty, and I did so with such aplomb that I impressed even myself. (I know what you're thinking - <i>"He's easily impressed!"</i>) I couldn't do it today because my sense of balance is completely shot, but when I returned to the area (and house) in 1987 after four years elsewhere and resumed using that same route to and from my home, I found that, after an initial hesitation, I could again routinely walk over that strip of metal with the same ease and assurance as previously. So my balance was pretty much the same at 28 as it had been at 13. No mean feat if I say so myself. (And I do.)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There have been other trees that meant something to me as 'markers' in my life and maybe one day I'll write about them, but for this post, the one at the bottom of the street is the focus of my attention because, after nearly 52 years, it was blown down by the fierce gales that much of the country has been subjected to over the last several weeks. It survived the second-last one from around three weeks or so ago, but, alas, it fell victim to the most recent one a week back. I was in a friend's car and was dismayed to see it no longer standing tall and proud as we passed its fallen form, but I made a mental note to try and get some photos before council workmen come to dismember it and cart away the branches and trunk.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtFyTwanduP63H5GQsMAZ02vxp5cRwAGsAD-zqg5kmXlHNkHHb-OE3UvG7FWkgsRou-IjiXfJ3eZkrsLJpe8M-usIbft4Qv_b_Qsfer1MQpq2M4I30ADZzBWgipXi8dl5caXSkTAJ6NOEUI1a2k1kzV5KAo7lqG2HXa46QiJqzECkQBIo6_J_UsTFfLg/s1200/LD%20Tree%20(8).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtFyTwanduP63H5GQsMAZ02vxp5cRwAGsAD-zqg5kmXlHNkHHb-OE3UvG7FWkgsRou-IjiXfJ3eZkrsLJpe8M-usIbft4Qv_b_Qsfer1MQpq2M4I30ADZzBWgipXi8dl5caXSkTAJ6NOEUI1a2k1kzV5KAo7lqG2HXa46QiJqzECkQBIo6_J_UsTFfLg/w400-h300/LD%20Tree%20(8).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">As you can see from the photos, I managed to capture its image before it disappears forever. I do actually have quite a number of photographs I took of the tree in its heyday (I guess I must've known, deep-down, that it wouldn't be there forever), but they aren't to hand at the moment for me to show them here - when I find them, I'll add them to the post. I wasn't really too surprised to see it had finally succumbed to the elements, because it actually stood in quite a tenuous spot with not a lot of earth and soil around two sides of it. I think I was more surprised that it had survived as long as it did, as I always feared that council workmen would fell it as a potential hazard even if it managed to withstand the gale-force winds that assailed it every so often.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For quite a number of years now, whenever I passed it on my perambulations, I would reach up and touch the ends of its overhanging branches (which hung over the pavement on the street-side of the burn) in greeting and appreciation of its continued presence (in fact, I did so only a few weeks back), as it was like an old friend from my past as well as my present - though, sadly, no longer my future. I was always relieved and gladdened to see it still stretching towards the heavens after a storm, but now I'll never be able to pass the spot again without a sense of loss and sadness at its absence. Daft as it sounds, if trees can be aware of their surroundings, I wonder whether it will miss me (or anyone) as much as I'll miss it when it's finally removed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmdYcoY5BI3acKbA9pJVFZpOKq0M88RgYoRdlJ25Oa76DN6zcMmgR9FO-mbZAh4paijSDlidfBNJE7r11kIIN4-bRb7WyGZbJuRchk0q6AoI3-d9ozXUVa-5tcp2fQSBoC4JfDdGCb4dH5GvrB03g6qHHqwQbeXvAW60D2QOCYfL22CanjMGNTiNIqSQ/s1200/LD%20Tree%20(12).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmdYcoY5BI3acKbA9pJVFZpOKq0M88RgYoRdlJ25Oa76DN6zcMmgR9FO-mbZAh4paijSDlidfBNJE7r11kIIN4-bRb7WyGZbJuRchk0q6AoI3-d9ozXUVa-5tcp2fQSBoC4JfDdGCb4dH5GvrB03g6qHHqwQbeXvAW60D2QOCYfL22CanjMGNTiNIqSQ/w400-h300/LD%20Tree%20(12).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">So here's to another soon-to-be-vanished aspect of my past. They become more frequent the older I get, but such is life, I guess. Do any of you ever feel the same about once-familiar local 'landmarks' from <i><b>your</b></i> day-to-day life that are no longer around? If you can relate to this post in any way, feel free to leave a comment - otherwise I'll suspect you're ignoring me because you think I'm as barmy as a big box of biting, battling badgers.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-83240297560607041382024-02-04T01:00:00.012+00:002024-02-22T23:52:54.295+00:00THE OFFICIAL UK SUPERMAN ANNUAL 1980 - RETURNED TO THE FOLD... (Updated)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdQbS0LPMhCbUOUoAyIDwtEmJFfwEcbfYsq3Pc92JhPPglKIhidDCgX7cB_ij2r4ahyphenhyphenfWU3UjA9cxczMoZA-fpVzEmrjrnEEZTHKVFd2i20FC2OC-MzFDrCnqQjTjtAHe2YTvLs6Ryo_FP9-WTAPmX156Vkj-3SENi0EEwMuzPJKxC2qoxQp5yPvGSOs/s1200/SA80%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="877" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdQbS0LPMhCbUOUoAyIDwtEmJFfwEcbfYsq3Pc92JhPPglKIhidDCgX7cB_ij2r4ahyphenhyphenfWU3UjA9cxczMoZA-fpVzEmrjrnEEZTHKVFd2i20FC2OC-MzFDrCnqQjTjtAHe2YTvLs6Ryo_FP9-WTAPmX156Vkj-3SENi0EEwMuzPJKxC2qoxQp5yPvGSOs/w468-h640/SA80%20(1).jpg" width="468" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Copyright <b><i>DC COMICS</i></b></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">I</span></b>t's a highly unusual situation for me to look at an item and have absolutely no hint of an idea as to when and where I first bought it, but such is the case with the above Annual. Note that it's an 'official' <i><b>Superman Annual</b></i>, though as far as I know, there were never any unofficial ones - certainly not in the UK at least. It's dated 1980, which means it went on sale around August or September of 1979, but however hard I try, I just can't recall where I obtained it from or in what year. Was it 1979 or sometime in the early '80s? Did I buy it new from a shop or by mail order as a 'back issue', or did I get it in a jumble sale? Perhaps a friend (yes, I do have some) gave it to me - I just don't have a ruddy clue. I find this incredibly irritating as I've always prided myself on having a good memory, but this is a book that somehow slipped through the cracks.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">What I <i><b>do</b></i> remember is I gave it to a a pal by the name of <i><b>Bob Billens</b></i> (or something close to that) in the early '80s, after I'd already extracted two pages that made up a Superman poster, plus a third page by <i><b>Curt Swan</b></i> (possibly first published in a US mag) showing how to draw Superman's face in a variety of expressions. I was going to throw the book out, but he said he'd take it instead, regardless of the extracted pages. I still have those pages, though I substituted the poster, which was on my wall, with a print-out of a scan of it a few years ago. Recently, I got the urge to track down a replacement, but I couldn't even recollect what the cover looked like. I looked at UK Superman Annuals on <i><b>eBay</b></i>, and there were a few which showed images of some of the contents. When I saw the double-page poster I knew that was the one I was searching for.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So that's another item from my youth returned to the fold, 40-plus years after owning my original, and it's good to have again. It reminds me of that friend (before he proved to be a bit of a d*ck - no, I don't mean 'duck'), as well as a time in my life when it seemed that the world was my oyster and I had unlimited time to 'cultivate' it. Funnily enough, although I extracted the poster in the early '80s while living in my current house, it wasn't until my family moved to another in 1983 that, around a year later, it went up on a wall in my new bedroom. As regular readers know, we returned to our previous home just over four years after flitting from it, where the poster assumed the spot on the wall it was intended for had we never moved elsewhere. Strange when you think about it, eh? It ended up where it began, and maybe that's precisely how it should be.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Any thoughts, theories, observations, or accusations (y'know, like <i>"You're bonkers, Robson!"</i>) made welcome in our comments section.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgepsN2jRY1GT4BiiDZbl0qPMAjlY9YrI4Ir0Yu7CS_EivSiR-KOxDHshTAURSKtk6RQBVyF7UzsT0-1RJulyvsSae5_FyPMl2UMREvIdYqi0UuI5xwT4jW3-fjjlFX4cJ_Ro379WWJgHyx5P-Q1jZ6FOEfUY9Fl1UEb2yQYa9GuFPuNNYTmy438PVAv2E/s1200/SA80%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="903" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgepsN2jRY1GT4BiiDZbl0qPMAjlY9YrI4Ir0Yu7CS_EivSiR-KOxDHshTAURSKtk6RQBVyF7UzsT0-1RJulyvsSae5_FyPMl2UMREvIdYqi0UuI5xwT4jW3-fjjlFX4cJ_Ro379WWJgHyx5P-Q1jZ6FOEfUY9Fl1UEb2yQYa9GuFPuNNYTmy438PVAv2E/w482-h640/SA80%20(2).jpg" width="482" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6FNjSq2-xcZO7JtFger9sALIkB-OgzBX6MhLalHU-6VWwSMIPelQlULMGAIm8n_v-CPFnP2HNtSyLIr8g3aPoDt3knG-GNHAdL86PZJAQ5KYVs_1sMuHMCCoOb4q-ySwABJskW7fDZEl1txVUBWPwc2xorvM6J1zqms-cG75zTveZqVkDhmNxcTsebmY/s1200/SA80%20(3).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="910" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6FNjSq2-xcZO7JtFger9sALIkB-OgzBX6MhLalHU-6VWwSMIPelQlULMGAIm8n_v-CPFnP2HNtSyLIr8g3aPoDt3knG-GNHAdL86PZJAQ5KYVs_1sMuHMCCoOb4q-ySwABJskW7fDZEl1txVUBWPwc2xorvM6J1zqms-cG75zTveZqVkDhmNxcTsebmY/w486-h640/SA80%20(3).jpg" width="486" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVKB492TAEAeldMUq0Q20h2mGjms2Nb2DVdzqlPRpZWUDhJgCZcJcjZQX2V8OfZvN_LLCk9PiP89rMmNZxK56vdV_sgfFAnp3RHbzjZ2OEruXVrj8pBGsabPPyqzhs6Op8SK10r-bILlaioyTvpB2RvnCK8gzFbSKfNpOHK9eo4XenObeRWEd7lffxcM/s1200/SA80%20(4).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="837" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVKB492TAEAeldMUq0Q20h2mGjms2Nb2DVdzqlPRpZWUDhJgCZcJcjZQX2V8OfZvN_LLCk9PiP89rMmNZxK56vdV_sgfFAnp3RHbzjZ2OEruXVrj8pBGsabPPyqzhs6Op8SK10r-bILlaioyTvpB2RvnCK8gzFbSKfNpOHK9eo4XenObeRWEd7lffxcM/w446-h640/SA80%20(4).jpg" width="446" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWChyphenhyphen2nT3fDaSeJZtl20wwUz1zDnWeNJEbq4vkM6PkTWuXXvoWRd55qlGyzMDUAJM4ZnC6jLR4fvxT27e4mnO-dFTLJDZbJEViMSDeqIokkIqP0foTVUWUkQjGim5deMxBtRDyFqoI2Gp56JxswmIiOdCZtB0wZx-PqQ1b3MiWz4mJ2cpNoAOSiMwjRQ/s1200/SA80%20(5).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="810" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWChyphenhyphen2nT3fDaSeJZtl20wwUz1zDnWeNJEbq4vkM6PkTWuXXvoWRd55qlGyzMDUAJM4ZnC6jLR4fvxT27e4mnO-dFTLJDZbJEViMSDeqIokkIqP0foTVUWUkQjGim5deMxBtRDyFqoI2Gp56JxswmIiOdCZtB0wZx-PqQ1b3MiWz4mJ2cpNoAOSiMwjRQ/w432-h640/SA80%20(5).jpg" width="432" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqZUHBsTwKoqWL7dtRtqlfLsVnMZwQ1gRHyq0gVHk9L9Lw92-fRV4Z6Ns8EmVJcLNPPOo5KTWEMgqhURjzVr_3y-_ePWsq0s8Rsw86PQ5C0QFDkyX1heF99Qf_EaSDOod_tRvqIhBeFb8NcebD8ZRr1JT-8V39h8XBF0qCjNKzXhacvOF799liGbs59_s/s1200/SA80%20(6).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="822" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqZUHBsTwKoqWL7dtRtqlfLsVnMZwQ1gRHyq0gVHk9L9Lw92-fRV4Z6Ns8EmVJcLNPPOo5KTWEMgqhURjzVr_3y-_ePWsq0s8Rsw86PQ5C0QFDkyX1heF99Qf_EaSDOod_tRvqIhBeFb8NcebD8ZRr1JT-8V39h8XBF0qCjNKzXhacvOF799liGbs59_s/w438-h640/SA80%20(6).jpg" width="438" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A page in a similar vein to this one appeared in <b style="font-style: italic;">SUPERMAN #245 </b>for Dec '71/Jan '72 </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkpSS2hNoHQu9Q07YVxdPVfQmUEGqNIAb-CRSCCEXfVB-bT1ehw-ae2nUMcibUTh1RvmJMoZ7vD3epvYpUiU9Jmax-M6NKjqTuL9IZyKipOOPOPcLY1iT9_fKI52Ako-tDVKpTxyVeEO1Nzmklr6W9bJv32BQ5DdrHnR3f16qSRgDiZ4eu3oMbI7rs_aQ/s1200/SA80%20(7).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="911" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkpSS2hNoHQu9Q07YVxdPVfQmUEGqNIAb-CRSCCEXfVB-bT1ehw-ae2nUMcibUTh1RvmJMoZ7vD3epvYpUiU9Jmax-M6NKjqTuL9IZyKipOOPOPcLY1iT9_fKI52Ako-tDVKpTxyVeEO1Nzmklr6W9bJv32BQ5DdrHnR3f16qSRgDiZ4eu3oMbI7rs_aQ/w486-h640/SA80%20(7).jpg" width="486" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Below, a print-out of a scan of the original poster done a few years back, occupying the same spot on the wall as its predecessor. It's still there to this day. The main difference is that this is a one-sheet poster, whereas the original was two pages, with an 'invisible' horizontal join in the middle. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgItF_eMVS_9D88DigqpGqPMLIeq6nqt6fV_CTikSKQh9x27GAXE1AzpEXUG8WscNmTVeUezt-1nqcZt87TPS4OLgyAv-MswErcdHUZqGq_80PMx5SdVmtAxTdAOQ1LExcMrCC-EAzP_MGDcyoMM8I25KkkaTXzmkspOGvC2qONgDoHCrEcVEsrcRdQdzA/s1200/Superman%20Poster.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgItF_eMVS_9D88DigqpGqPMLIeq6nqt6fV_CTikSKQh9x27GAXE1AzpEXUG8WscNmTVeUezt-1nqcZt87TPS4OLgyAv-MswErcdHUZqGq_80PMx5SdVmtAxTdAOQ1LExcMrCC-EAzP_MGDcyoMM8I25KkkaTXzmkspOGvC2qONgDoHCrEcVEsrcRdQdzA/w400-h300/Superman%20Poster.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-64471456380887787722024-01-28T21:27:00.006+00:002024-01-29T21:21:40.876+00:00The FUTILE QUEST For PERFECTION... (Updated)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCh7qnKbQTRxVOdfY6mF9Mt5DDqaSIp6mYiDTQTNT2jsDpmmoXsdSMH-ORbSJs3LVCB5_ojIa5aDuVnjm8PMTNA8wTqHclKVYd41TBebnd7vcJpOU8phflKbL4B-EwK_3ZDR3z-KlwiaruBNLB7LppH_wLi-WFY-xEHLR0XjQ5KHRcEtaw7XqQRejQiY/s1570/Superman%20344%20SBS.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1570" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCh7qnKbQTRxVOdfY6mF9Mt5DDqaSIp6mYiDTQTNT2jsDpmmoXsdSMH-ORbSJs3LVCB5_ojIa5aDuVnjm8PMTNA8wTqHclKVYd41TBebnd7vcJpOU8phflKbL4B-EwK_3ZDR3z-KlwiaruBNLB7LppH_wLi-WFY-xEHLR0XjQ5KHRcEtaw7XqQRejQiY/w400-h306/Superman%20344%20SBS.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Copyright <i><b>DC COMICS</b></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>N</b></span>o, your eyes do <i><b>not</b></i> deceive you - you <i><b>are</b></i> seeing double and, yes, I've shown the cover of this number before as a single issue (though I applied digital technology to disguise some flaws.). Back in May it was, when I acquired a replacement for my original copy after 43 years. (I still have the cover and splash page though, 'cos I used them as pin-ups on my bedroom wall in another house. They're tucked away somewhere safe at the moment.)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As alluded to, it wasn't in perfect condition, as it had the number 10 scrawled on the cover in ballpoint pen (which I assume was a reduction from its price of 15p, and at one time it may have had a sticker on it which had been removed, leaving some residue over the 'E' of <i><b>Superman</b></i>. The '10' wasn't too noticeable, though its impression was visible if the light fell on it in a certain way, and I gave the area around the 'E' a colour touch after removing the residue, but it wasn't in perfect condition.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I decided to wait a while to see if I could live with these flaws, but when I recently saw another one on <i><b>eBay</b></i> described as being in near mint condition, I decided to take the plunge and purchase it. Alas, the seller had failed to notice a couple of small rips on the left-hand lower cover, one which was around half-an-inch long. He gave me a very generous partial refund after enquiring whether that would be acceptable, and the application of some PVA glue to the rips soon remedied that problem, but the colours on the cover and inside weren't quite as vibrant as the other copy. The vagaries of printing, alas.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Also, my original copy had, I'm sure, the UK 15p price on it (as does the replacement I bought in May), whereas the more recent copy has the original US price of 40c. Normally, such things wouldn't bother me if I were buying the comic for the first time, but as I'm replacing the one I had in 1980, I'd prefer it to be a 15p issue. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">So what do I do now? Learn to live with these imperfections or wait until a near-pristine copy pops up at a reasonable price and go for third-time lucky? (Fourth if you count my original.) So far I'm undecided, but if and when I make up my mind, you'll be the first to know (after me of course). What I'm interested in, though, is what would <i><b>you</b></i> do in this situation? Just accept the flaws or look for a better issue? The comment section awaits!</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: x-large;">******</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ah, you'll have to be quicker, Crivs - just bought another one! </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-62590206829595190612024-01-26T13:41:00.009+00:002024-01-27T07:44:45.055+00:00BATMAN #5 Facsimile Edition...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZYf8y8QrdqGPGE1GHofn0nKTSWZC754Aia8T9Xgq1hfPG7Lgm-1ed0oQ_2-GpVkDHlxKB4s9EKY-WwzLAtuxYTbQqxU84Bo-BGuWsGsq14hW0kJSQpei6CovMTegUG6cWIdCAlyCSjp72-8PIOV5_Vvmk1ZW4BYNjt64jf0jiHx-V5lvjCN9fDSuMTN8/s1200/Batman%20%235%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="786" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZYf8y8QrdqGPGE1GHofn0nKTSWZC754Aia8T9Xgq1hfPG7Lgm-1ed0oQ_2-GpVkDHlxKB4s9EKY-WwzLAtuxYTbQqxU84Bo-BGuWsGsq14hW0kJSQpei6CovMTegUG6cWIdCAlyCSjp72-8PIOV5_Vvmk1ZW4BYNjt64jf0jiHx-V5lvjCN9fDSuMTN8/w420-h640/Batman%20%235%20(1).jpg" width="420" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Copyright <i><b>DC COMICS</b></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">D</span>C's Facsimile Editions</b></i> just seem to get better and better. Some earlier issues were scanned from published originals and weren't quite as sharp or as bright as they could've been; others were comprised of a mixture of pages from new proofs when it came to the main strips, alongside murky ads scanned from published comics. This latest issue is more-or-less perfect throughout and is printed on matt paper, as opposed to the slightly glossy stuff favoured by <i><b>Marvel</b></i>. All-in-all, it adds up to a nice little product worthy of adding to your collection. If you haven't got it already, rush out and buy it today. (Or acquire it via <i><b>eBay</b></i> like I did.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Note that on the symbolic cover, the bat emblem is absent from <i><b>Batman's</b></i> costume - presumably so as not to clash with the baddies in front of his chest. (Hee-hee! I said "chest".) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVkPLkCk5vR15iLjdoWcd9U6CBT-QYY83Ay-lqpbzRKPCk1N6kEigbrOAJxxht3waHQzts4kVvKYKXOYZyZdz9EcpfLpveFtWPp0iEY1LcU2VBQOPi31it_YE6f88ITFseDRz_kf4Pa5W0V2TIO4XLo9JqCfmPT6Wr7rKAZ7BTsNUKn7GYWrdTuWP5QCE/s1200/Batman%20%235%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="782" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVkPLkCk5vR15iLjdoWcd9U6CBT-QYY83Ay-lqpbzRKPCk1N6kEigbrOAJxxht3waHQzts4kVvKYKXOYZyZdz9EcpfLpveFtWPp0iEY1LcU2VBQOPi31it_YE6f88ITFseDRz_kf4Pa5W0V2TIO4XLo9JqCfmPT6Wr7rKAZ7BTsNUKn7GYWrdTuWP5QCE/w418-h640/Batman%20%235%20(2).jpg" width="418" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVuEnHO9WySlzRGd0m-f_pOv6TUCqFIOrELuUUJKihcs9NU_UgMaMsUhCS9TonuzBMOEXhi-hLJVLyFP6d5QluwMxF0FO5Muwitaz2r4VESJyLR8vqY-BOKAtk1mAaNTe5O-l6V3i-VMdCgjdEpdgPAdOBgcFiQLlb80G-2ONyJieQlo8YHdnnK72Ys3c/s1200/Batman%20%235%20(3).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="864" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVuEnHO9WySlzRGd0m-f_pOv6TUCqFIOrELuUUJKihcs9NU_UgMaMsUhCS9TonuzBMOEXhi-hLJVLyFP6d5QluwMxF0FO5Muwitaz2r4VESJyLR8vqY-BOKAtk1mAaNTe5O-l6V3i-VMdCgjdEpdgPAdOBgcFiQLlb80G-2ONyJieQlo8YHdnnK72Ys3c/w460-h640/Batman%20%235%20(3).jpg" width="460" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgttZuB0-RFzomzJsQO7o-6_NXbAlhf8Ai4QG4kVNGb6m4b4E1jWynbOT-4RukCSKC_xsiNR3-vnRuvTdvc4v-mltPVgdwAVhqKoUgVvVXb1pxdjHQfA2RgpPB7-fQvDD5rs607Zu3G9r7tzTc53Xc7KDaahtoaIyNOjHU9_DaNW4pAAa88wvtl3dwup38/s1200/Batman%20%235%20(4).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="881" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgttZuB0-RFzomzJsQO7o-6_NXbAlhf8Ai4QG4kVNGb6m4b4E1jWynbOT-4RukCSKC_xsiNR3-vnRuvTdvc4v-mltPVgdwAVhqKoUgVvVXb1pxdjHQfA2RgpPB7-fQvDD5rs607Zu3G9r7tzTc53Xc7KDaahtoaIyNOjHU9_DaNW4pAAa88wvtl3dwup38/w470-h640/Batman%20%235%20(4).jpg" width="470" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbpJHwegD-L0fFlEPR2L1A1qtSzMYPNTSNtkr80uM3dhqWs942-kdOhTAimEuaY0yoDg_IjaWwn3kxbVFaJrRurwCf8juMF3_FklCUElXO-Zl3heP9MthXd8OgB3veLiD0f_YA-beLsXyFr7mQ47ed8XEHnx6ps2smidCyxyeEo6lp_MOjmvI_eZl4E88/s1200/Batman%20%235%20(5).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="884" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbpJHwegD-L0fFlEPR2L1A1qtSzMYPNTSNtkr80uM3dhqWs942-kdOhTAimEuaY0yoDg_IjaWwn3kxbVFaJrRurwCf8juMF3_FklCUElXO-Zl3heP9MthXd8OgB3veLiD0f_YA-beLsXyFr7mQ47ed8XEHnx6ps2smidCyxyeEo6lp_MOjmvI_eZl4E88/w472-h640/Batman%20%235%20(5).jpg" width="472" /></a></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-43603028535606766642024-01-23T06:43:00.002+00:002024-01-23T07:00:09.913+00:00BABE Of The DAY - DOLLY PARTON...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhppMGERc01F5oCY3xjPpmOjrHrU7DSCp4B1vSVzncWKxnIQ62F1ohyphenhyphen1aRWDBQshcY4e9SF_BsqS7XkuQEjPQFAX4zIv392vX7ifVSyWG29neehZNas0luNi-Pvx5etY6orxv4lvacq-myBQtQk6K3HYbvTlptlh3BD0UHoay1e2NEGcId6cWWCAUlvqI4/s1200/Dolly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhppMGERc01F5oCY3xjPpmOjrHrU7DSCp4B1vSVzncWKxnIQ62F1ohyphenhyphen1aRWDBQshcY4e9SF_BsqS7XkuQEjPQFAX4zIv392vX7ifVSyWG29neehZNas0luNi-Pvx5etY6orxv4lvacq-myBQtQk6K3HYbvTlptlh3BD0UHoay1e2NEGcId6cWWCAUlvqI4/s320/Dolly.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <b><i><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">D</span>olly Parton</i></b> asked me to join her for a roll in the hay</div><div style="text-align: center;">so I dutifully obliged, though all it did was get us covered in</div><div style="text-align: center;">the stuff. That's all we did for a couple of hours - take turns at</div><div style="text-align: center;">rolling around on haystacks out in her big barn and telling each</div><div style="text-align: center;">other silly jokes. Wasn't at all like what <i><b>Sean Connery</b></i> and</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Honor Blackman</b></i> got up to in <i><b>Goldfinger</b></i>. I must be</div><div style="text-align: center;">losing my sex appeal - though Dolly sure isn't. </div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740495193314269367.post-45246509696813894042024-01-18T14:13:00.003+00:002024-01-19T13:58:12.239+00:00A SUPERFAST REMINISCENCE TO 'BUG' YOU...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGM5sY-UWwLqe9upe9q5FilS_dV-INjUqfTmL9qXOQLlQaxrblUXeGYEfDk-aUz_v_tPBLm_wN4ECXZsBpd3WARIuQ0ktzOwvPVd0gPzctUiR-SlKWSqhceCEYfd305F81KB5k5oKQGHr67KZPqNCy3BYZD0eIH9SsLly6oml6A0Hi3AfLC-Sc7KdVeko/s1200/Matchbox%20Superfast%20Flying%20Bug%20(%2311).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGM5sY-UWwLqe9upe9q5FilS_dV-INjUqfTmL9qXOQLlQaxrblUXeGYEfDk-aUz_v_tPBLm_wN4ECXZsBpd3WARIuQ0ktzOwvPVd0gPzctUiR-SlKWSqhceCEYfd305F81KB5k5oKQGHr67KZPqNCy3BYZD0eIH9SsLly6oml6A0Hi3AfLC-Sc7KdVeko/w400-h266/Matchbox%20Superfast%20Flying%20Bug%20(%2311).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">F</span></b>unny how some behaviour continues even after a 'change' in circumstances, eh? Back around 1971/'72, I used to wash cars on Saturday mornings in the car park of the pub on the other side of the shops across from my house. This gave me some extra pocket-money with which to indulge my buying habits, such as comics and the occasional toy or model kit. Halfway through June of '72 my family moved to another house in a different area, but because it wasn't too far distant I continued my car washing 'business' in my former neighbourhood as if nothing had changed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">One of my purchases with the proceeds from my labours was the very first <i><b>Knockout Annual</b></i> for 1973, bought, it seems from memory, a little earlier than when Annuals usually went on sale in shops, from the newsagent's just along the road from my new house. Another buy was the <i><b>Matchbox Superfast Flying Bug</b></i> (<i><b>No. 11</b></i>), purchased from the newsagent's in my old neighbourhood (while residing in my new one) just after a car-washing session one sunny Saturday in 1972. I forget which item was obtained first, not that it much matters for the purpose of this story. Annual or car? Just can't recall.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Maybe a week later, in the company of a pal, the late <i><b>Alan Bowie</b></i> (no relation to the singer, whose real name was <b><i>Jones</i></b>), I bought a second Flying Bug from another newsagent's, in an area where I'd once lived prior to the two mentioned above. AB also bought one, being enamoured by mine and wanting one for himself. Why did I buy another? I have a vague recollection of having blootered my original with continually scudding it across the living room carpet into the skirting boards and compromising its pristine condition. I was always a sucker for things that were brand-spanking new.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Close to 30 years ago now, I bought a replacement Flying Bug (boxed), and recently saw another on <i><b>eBay</b></i>. I couldn't help thinking it would be nice to have a spare one - to sort of stand-in for the one my pal had bought 50-odd years ago, on the same day I'd purchased my second Superfast car. So I promptly bought it and it arrived at Castel Crivens last week. I'll keep it out for a while to enjoy looking at it, then I'll store it alongside my other one in a box in the cupboard. First, though, I'll photograph the two of them together (still to do at time of typing) so you Crivvies can cop a gander at them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Having two of them reminds me of not only an earlier time in <i><b>my</b></i> life, but also in my late friend's, who I later fell out with (in 1981) and didn't find out had died in 2013 until September of last year. So he's gone and I have no idea how long it will be until I follow him, but for the meantime, I can look at these two cars and remember a time when we were best buddies with an eternity ahead of us. Always better to recall the happy times, eh? Any of you Crivs own an item which reminds you of old pals who you later lost touch with, and if so, how about sharing it with the rest of us in the comments section?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And just in case you were interested, below is the cover of the Knockout Annual for 1973 (on sale in '72). It's as Christmassy a cover as you could wish for, though I got it around July, possibly August. It was the only Annual the newsagent's had, and I remember it was a sunny day.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: x-large;">******</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It occurs to me that I have many items that remind me of specific friends, people (and also places), who are indelibly associated with them because they were with me when I first purchased the items in question. It's almost like a diary entry, being able to look at something and recall who was with me when I bought it, and in what shop in which neighbourhood as well. It doesn't happen with every item I own, but it occurs enough times to warm the cockles o' me 'eart. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQHkFoVEFLm91Cmqvc_jSo9rUBDTff5WwU4s93sdcGYk2ONSM6oY9Yo5IVWisUIclzFAij7iQG2bs1aH7_CNC226rdPijWq_LlVesL5JCfBVNjdPsOg1i6JziTOJgp8hrjueKD6DN7u0DV9r5SlHwwaj4-LT4VyRnEgTT11ZnXps0WUA94jkxaFIqJ5o/s1200/Knockout%20Annual%201973.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="849" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQHkFoVEFLm91Cmqvc_jSo9rUBDTff5WwU4s93sdcGYk2ONSM6oY9Yo5IVWisUIclzFAij7iQG2bs1aH7_CNC226rdPijWq_LlVesL5JCfBVNjdPsOg1i6JziTOJgp8hrjueKD6DN7u0DV9r5SlHwwaj4-LT4VyRnEgTT11ZnXps0WUA94jkxaFIqJ5o/w283-h400/Knockout%20Annual%201973.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9