LOOK WHO'S BEAMED DOWN, (Mc)SCOTTY... CRAZY CAPTION COMPETITION! (UPDATED)

I love Mego figures, of which I now have a baker's dozen.  However, one thing I've noticed is that there's always at least one joint - either elbow, wrist, knee or ankle - which is a bit slack and won't hold its position.  (Sometimes there can even be two.)  When Mego first started producing their action line, the joints were secured with aluminium rivets, but before too long, they were replaced by plastic pegs to hold the limbs together.  I've found that by disrobing the imperfect part and gently (and carefully) pouring boiling water over it, it becomes more malleable; pressure can then be applied to effect a tighter fit, whereupon a stream of cold water will secure it, resulting in a better grip where one part of a limb's 'hinge' meets the other.

Anyway, thought you might like to see two recent acquisitions - Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock from Star Trek.  The first was bought for a mere fiver from a local B&M store, the second was purchased via eBay for just a tad over twice that (not including p&p), so they didn't break the bank.  Feel free to try and think of a humorous caption for the intrepid pair - no prizes other than the satisfaction that comes from making your fellow Crivvies smile.  Well, what are you waiting for?  Be funny!

I'll start things off.

Kirk: "Is that a shoulder bag you're wearing, Spock?  I hope you're not 'on the turn'!

Spock: "See the gap between my fingers, Captain?  That's the size of your penis - fully erect!"

Kirk: "And it's been swollen like that all week!"

Update: Uhura has now joined her colleagues.  Looks nothing like Nichelle Nichols in face or figure, but, were she real, I'd still have a go at chatting her up.  If you want to suggest a caption for this pic, feel free.  Here's mine...

Kirk: "Actually, Spock, your date has turned up.  She's a shape-shifter from the planet Plastox and she's taken the form of your tricorder.  C'mon, Uhura - let's boogie!"

LOIS, ROSE, & THE THORN - '70s COVER GALLERY...

Copyright DC COMICS

With the arrival today of two comics, I've now completed my collection of 25 issues of Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane, which contained Rose And The Thorn from #105 to 130.  (Number 113 was a Giant-Size reprint issue of earlier tales.)  I had only a dozen different issues (some in sequence), which I've owned for decades, but over the last couple of weeks or so I acquired the 13 mags I was missing and can now catch up on the stories I should've read around 50 years ago.  I also took the opportunity to upgrade certain issues, so though you've seen a few of the following covers on Crivens before, some of the presentations in this post are superior.

It's a strange but rewarding feeling to complete something begun almost half a century ago, like finally fulfilling 'unfinished business'.  To be able to go back, even if only in my mind, nearly 50 years to the early '70s is like time travel of a sort, and that's exactly what it feels like to me.  I can imagine, almost to the point of remembering, buying the issues I never actually had from long-gone shops where I purchased the ones I did own.  It's like rewriting part of the past to make it not how it was, but how it should've been.  Can any other Crivvies relate to that? 

Anyway, I've got just over a handful of LL mags still to show, some earlier, some later, but I'm currently waiting for three upgrade issues to arrive to replace a trio that are a little the worse for wear (should get them within the next week I hope), and when they're in my possession I'll show them on the blog for all to see.  Meanwhile, without any further ado, here are all 25 issues of LL (plus a Giant reprint issue not featuring R&T), behind which compelling covers (and even on some) is displayed the beautiful Thorn, alias Rose Forrest, perhaps the only character in comics who was unaware she had another identity.

Any covers in particular that stand out for you?  Then let your fellow Crivs know by registering your thoughts in our scintillating comments section.  At least, it will be once it receives your contributions.

Incidentally, aside from the first and last covers, the rest should be two per tier.  If that's not how they appear on your screen, let me know - though it might be a problem connected with your browser and not something I can do anything about.

(Click on images to enlarge, then click again for optimum size.)

CONAN SAGA - CURSE OF THE GOLDEN SKULL...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS and CONAN PROPERTIES Intl.

Curse Of The Golden Skull first appeared in Conan The Barbarian #37, published in full colour.  Drawn by Neal Adams, I can't remember now whether it was originally intended to appear in a black & white mag, but it was eventually reprinted in the '80s in Conan Saga #8, above, in just such a medium.  For those of you who haven't seen the pages in 'monochrome', check below and 'fill yer boots' (as they say).

  

"I AM CURIOUS (BLACK)!"

Copyright DC COMICS

The above comic is regarded by some as being controversial in its attempt to address the subject of racism.  In showing Lois Lane being ignored contemptuously by every black person she meets in Metropolis's 'Little Africa' - simply because she's white - it inadvertently (and in-accurately) portrays blacks as just as racist (some are, of course) as whites are reputed to be.  It means well though, and ends with a glimmer of hope for relations between blacks and whites.

This issue is regarded as a collectors' item due to it's subject matter and commands a hefty asking price - check eBay to see just what I mean - but that's not why I bought it.  No, I wanted it because it has the second instalment of Rose And The Thorn, a story I've never seen before.  There were 25 '70s Thorn tales of which I've only read around half, so I recently decided to obtain the ones I don't have and never had, as well as upgrade some of the ones I do own.

Being a canny Scot, I didn't want to pay out a fortune though, so I managed to get this particular issue at a nearly reasonable price.  I had to settle for one not in the highest grade, but then I turned my 'restoration' skills loose on it, in order to enhance its cosmetic appeal.  (That's the 'after' above, the 'before' can be seen in the last pic below.)  Didn't do too bad a job if I say so myself, and it's far tidier than it was when I got it.

As well as colour rub on the cover, there was a two and three quarters inch tear at the foot of the spine, a two and one quarter inch tear at the top, with a three quarters of an inch tear somewhere between them.  Not any more, thanks to my archival invisible repair tape on the inside, plus a colour touch-up in places on the outside.  I can't claim the repairs are completely undetectable, but they're not glaringly obvious and you'd probably have to be looking for them to spot them.

Anyway, I'm currently awaiting a few replacement issues of LL, so when they arrive, I'll do a post featuring the covers of all the issues that had Rose And The Thorn in them.  It's only taken me nearly 50 years, but I'll finally be able to sit down and read all 25 stories from beginning to end - something I didn't get to do at the time due to the spotty distribution in the UK back then.  Any of you Crivvies ever read this ish?  So what did you think of it?   

Seller's photo

DENNIS WATERMAN PASSES AWAY...

Just William, The Sweeney, Minder, New Tricks - just some of the roles that Dennis Waterman, who died today at the age of 74, played in his long career.  74 - no age at all really, is it?  R.I.P. Dennis. 

GEORGE PEREZ R.I.P.

Sad to hear that George Perez died from pancreatic cancer on Friday.  A great artist, who put everything plus the kitchen sink into his pages.  He was only 67 - far too young, far too young.  Rest in peace George.

TV FILM MEMORABILIA - THE SEQUEL...

Images copyright their respective owners

Recently, I revealed (here) that I discovered I was one issue (#2) short of a full set of TV Film Memorabilia, a monthly magazine that lasted for 20 issues (and an 'Annual') around 15 or so years back.  I promptly jumped over to eBay and there was the very ish just waiting for me, complete with free gift.  However, I could no longer recall whether or not I ever had the gift that came with the first issue, so I tracked one down, bought it, and it arrived yesterday.

I still can't remember if I had the first gift at the time, but at least I have it now, even if I had to buy a second copy of the first number in order to obtain it.  As they're at hand, I thought I'd show you the cover of #1 plus its freebie, just so you can see what they looked like.  I'm still a bit puzzled as to how I never noticed I was missing #2 until 15 years later, as I always believed I had a complete set, but it just goes to show that even my mighty brain has its blind spots.  (Okay, who laughed when I said 'mighty brain'?)

Anyone ever buy this mag back in the day, and if so, what did you think of it?

'BOXING' DAY BLUES...

This was a great wee TV back in 1983/'84

You may wonder why I'm showing you a picture of an empty box, so let me explain.  This box is around 38-39 years old and has sat in a cupboard for most of that time.  There'll be a picture on the blog somewhere where the television that once inhabited it can be seen, but it's safe to say that the box outlived the TV by a very wide margin.  For many years the box has been home to various dilapidated items which had belonged to my parents and were no longer used or useful, so I had a clear out of them recently, rendering the box somewhat surplus to requirements.

However, nearly 40 years is a long time to own something, even if it resided out of sight in a cupboard, so it was a bit of a wrench to let it go; that's why I took a photo (took a few, actually) of it, just to remember it by.  When I was folding it up to put in the bin, a label on the side of it started to peel away, so I decided to keep it as a memento of something that has been there for nearly two thirds of my life.  As I type, I find my thoughts now turning to another box which lives in my loft, which I acquired in Southsea in Portsmouth over 41 years ago.  (See pic 3.)

You don't need this caption to tell you this is a label

I acquired it to pack books and records into for my return to Scotland after living in Pompey for nearly four months back in 1981, and it's served that purpose ever since.  Maybe I should've stored other stuff in the TV box and moved it up into my loft also, but the thought occurred to me too late to act on it.  The box had been sitting out in my back garden getting rained on for several days, so it was too soggy and floppy for the practical purpose of packing anything into it again.  I've got the photos and the label (as well as pics of the TV itself) so in a way, the box lives on.

Anyway, this has been a Crivens Service Announcement on behalf of the Bonkers As A Big Box Of Badgers Society, of which I'm President and Chairman - make of it what you will.  But tell me (and your fellow Crivvies) - have you ever owned anything for so long that it was difficult to part with once it was no longer needed, and did you miss it when it was gone and regret getting rid of it?  Tell all in the comments section and soothe your saddened soul in the process.

It's the Tesco Spanish wine box on left.  Pic taken on train home in 1981

Footnote: The box and TV might be even older than I at first thought, as (now that my brain has woken up), something at the back of my mind suggests I may've bought it a year or so earlier than I remembered when preparing this post for your perusal.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS TO ZARA THUSTRASIA...

Had she lived, my dog Zara would've been 36 today.  Yes, I know dogs don't live that long, but sometimes I think it would be nice if they did.  Without a word of a lie, I still wake up some days and wonder for a moment where she is, before remembering she passed 24 years ago.  Anyway, she was born on May 3rd 1986, so Happy Birthday Zara.  She was a great dog.

LIONEL - HELLO, IS IT THIS YOU'RE LOOKING FOR...?

For regular reader LH's and Crivvies' eyes only, Thunderbird 2 from over 20 years ago, manufactured by Vivid Imaginations.  Good toy, but one flaw was that the pod dipped a bit at the front when off the ground, compromising the smooth contours of the craft in profile.  Simple solution - I added a small, thin piece of plastic under the protuberance at the back of the pod (see 3rd pic) which a lever held in place until released.  My addition pushed the pod's front top slightly higher, keeping it aligned with the rest of the vehicle.

The bigger sized version suffered from the same flaw, but I fixed that in the same way.  Is there no beginning end to my talents?  Anyway, LH, is this the beastie that you have?  And if any of you other Crivvies had this toy, tell us all about it in the comments section.

 

NEAL ADAMS PASSES AWAY...

Sadly, comicbook titan Neal Adams has passed away.  That's all I can write at the moment due to problems with my own health, but I didn't want to ignore such a tragic happening.  Condolences to all his family, friends, and fans.