The PRISONER I Never FORGOT...

Copyright relevant owner

Back around 1971, I swapped my Aurora Frankenstein plastic model kit with a nearby neighbour and classmate, George Cooper, for his Forgotten Prisoner one.  I was fascinated by the glow-in-the-dark parts, particularly the Prisoner's skull, which to me, looked for all the world like a happy, smiley, friendly wee soul.  Eventually, though, I began to miss Frankie, and George was agreeable to swapping back again.

Sometime in the '90s, I bought a long-box reissue of the kit, built and assembled it, and one day took it along to George's house on one of my occasional Saturday visits to show the model to him.  He was back in the family home, living with his father, but whether George was struck by the significance of again seeing the model in the very house its twin once resided, well, I never thought to ask him.  It fascinated me though.

A few years ago, I obtained another long-box reissue, this time with the 'Famous Monsters Of Filmland' logo on the box (as per the original), but as yet, I haven't built and painted it and don't know if I ever will, as I've loads of unbuilt models awaiting my attention.  However, I recently splashed out (Oi, behave yourselves!) on a square-box reissue, released by Atlantis, with a logo in the same style as Aurora was using in the '70s.

I haven't yet removed the shrinkwrap, but I will, as I'd like to see the luminous parts again, which I haven't seen in-the-flesh 'bone' in around 55 years, so it'll be a case of 'friends reunited'.  Below is my '90s acquisition of the kit, followed by the comic strip from Famous Monsters, relating the details of how the Prisoner came to be forgotten - though not by me.  Did you perchance own this kit back in the day?  Reminiscences welcome.

(Incidentally, 'Castel-Mare' translates as 'Castle by the Sea'.)

You could say he's a 'model prisoner', so he should've been released years ago

The following tale is similar to Poe's The Cask Of Amontillado

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

The WINDOW In The HALL...

Every night when I go to bed, I pass a small window on the hall landing halfway up the stairs.  In fact, I pass it whenever I go up (or down) stairs, not just when I go to bed, but that's neither here nor there.  I've done so for 50 out of the last 54 years, the four-year difference being on account of my family moving to another house after 11 years and returning here four years later.  Regular Crivvies know the details already, so I'm just setting the scene for new visitors to Crivens.

When living in that other house, my way home from my Town's main Shopping Centre enabled me to see the landing window of my former domicile through a gap between a row of houses and a block of flats a little distance away.  (Obviously, I could also see it when going in the opposite direction.)  Sometimes, at night, the hall light would be on and the window illuminated, and I'd imagine I still lived there and was looking through a time warp to when I yet inhabited the house.

Now that I'm back here, it seems strange to think there was a period I could gaze on the exterior of the window from afar, and its interior is now once again part of my everyday life.  Sometimes, I just can't help imagining, as I pause on the hall landing on my way up or down the stairs, that an ethereal younger version of myself is heading home to that other house and glancing over at the window behind which I stand, on his way back to a home he no longer lives in.

Cue Twilight Zone theme?

TORNADO - The FINAL ISSUE...

Copyright REBELLION

I've shown the above cover before in a Tornado Cover Gallery published 9 years ago in 2017, but this time around, I thought I'd feature the 1st page of every story inside (as well as the back cover strip and the Victor Drago two-page text story), seeing as this one was the last issue before it was merged with 2000 A.D. the following week.

Remember to click on any image to enlarge, then click again for optimum size.  Just think - this comic was published a whole 47 years ago, so hands up if you were around back then and were an avid regular reader (or even a dispassionate occasional one) of this IPC weekly title.

GUEST POST: MARVEL COMICS WERE FUN! By Phillip Beadham...

Is 'Marvel Comics Were Fun!' worth reading?

Kid has very kindly given me a platform to explain exactly why I think it is.

First of all, some of the greatest comics I've ever read are reviewed here.  Moreover, I've also tried to explain those masterpieces' claim to 'greatness', as comics – and almost as literature.

Some examples.  One outstanding comic is 'Savage Action' monthly.  Two years in conception, Savage Action centred around 'dark avengers', rather than conventional superheroes.  Darker stories, for slightly older readers.  The dark avengers in Savage Action are Moon Knight, Dominic Fortune, the Punisher, and Nightraven – all enigmatic, mysterious characters.  Later, becoming more fluid, Savage Action's roster featured Blade, the Man-Thing, and others.

What's so special?  All these tales are great and a couple are absolutely outstanding.  However...

Savage Action #s 6 & 7 (# 7 is reviewed), featured what is possibly Chris Claremont's greatest story.  Accidentally killing a girl, a normally righteous Blade is wracked with guilt, his self-concept broken in pieces.  No other comics story, at that time, had the emotional punch or psychological depth of that tale - particularly back then!  Absolutely outstanding.  My review (pp.197-198) highlights that tale's many merits, for modern readers.

Similarly, 'off-the-scale' in quality writing is Savage Action # 11's outstanding Moon Knight tale.  Marc Spector's future lover believes he murdered her father in cold blood.  The real culprit, Spector's commander, is a Jungian shadow to Marc, more disturbing than any villain Marvel had featured up to that point (only Carrion is a rival)!  That story, like the Blade tale, is absolutely outstanding.  In my review (pp.259-263), I unravel the psychological nuances of the tale, to entice the reader to consider reading it!   Several Savage Action issues get reviewed in Marvel Comics Were Fun!, the above being a couple of standouts!

John Byrne's excellent Captain America run is featured, too.  Other 'great' '70s/'80s runs fell flat at the final hurdle.  Or, unwisely, in the finale, they changed a winning art-team.  With Captain America's cliffhanger finale against Baron Blood, neither misstep occurred!  Another terrific story which I single out for the attention of modern readers! 

Another highlight for readers is Daredevil's Golden Era.  My intention, with that title, was pure mischief-making!

To most readers, Frank Miller is Daredevil.  This irks me, considerably.  For myself, Colan & Palmer's Daredevil stories (which I read, aged eight) are where DD's real heart, as a character, is to be found.  I review Colan & Palmer's run, pushing back against Frank Miller's perceived exceptionalism, and highlighting Daredevil's great merits – particularly artistically – under Miller's predecessors.  I'd pick Daredevil # 90, and Daredevil # 93, as two standouts!

A secondary purpose exists here, too.  'Mighty World Of Marvel' was terrific, where Daredevil tales initially featured in the UK.  Leaving those MWOMs unreviewed as individual comics, I at least highlighted DD's merits at that time.

No book can review every favourite comic - it's just not possible.  Nevertheless, tangentially, I've often referred to favourite comics, unfeatured as individual issues.

Another highlighted favourite is the Korvac Saga's finale (Avengers # 177).  To some Avengers readers, the ending to Englehart's Kang saga is top.  In contrast, I happily review the merits of the finale of Jim Shooter's Korvac Saga as being the strongest.  I explain why, to me, Korvac's ending is a masterpiece that has everything, making it the ultimate Avengers finale!

This book, on the whole, is written chronologically.  Thus, later Marvel events/storylines, are interpreted in light of earlier stories.  The reader gets a sense of how contemporary readers might have reacted to those comics at the time.  I've tried to include the exhilaration and enthusiasm of reading the comics contemporaneously, too.  Yet uncanny, meaningful personal connections that adults notice, but child readers don't, are also included.  For example, my favourite John Byrne issues, uncannily, often have George Perez covers.

So, is Marvel Comics Are Fun! worth a glance?  Each of our favourites will differ, based on when we 'jumped in' with Marvel Comics.  However, I hope my love for these personal favourites comes through in my writing.  Even if your personal favourites are different, in your reading this, I hope my enthusiasm rekindles your own memories and love for Marvel!

To see details of my book, click this link.

BATMAN LIMITED COLLECTORS' EDITION C-25...

Copyright DC COMICS

Arrived yesterday, this neat Facsimile Edition of Batman Limited Collectors' Edition from 1974, with a great Neal Adams (I think) illustration lifted (with amendments) or redrawn from the 21st page of Batman #251.  I thought you'd like to see the splash pages from the tales contained therein, so that's them below, lovingly scanned and enhanced just for all you discerning Crivvies.  No, don't thank me, I live to please.  Oh, go on then - leave a comment if you want to.

NO NEED TO WONDER - SHE'S DEFINITELY A WOMAN (Even Though She's Made Of Plastic)...

Copyright DC COMICS

I always find it fascinating how some things are indelibly associated in our minds with certain places from years before.  For instance, I first saw an ad for Aurora's Wonder Woman plastic model kit in a b&w mag at the end of the '60s or start of the '70s.  I've never forgotten it, and whenever I see it (or the model) today, I'm right back in the living-room of the house my family lived in at the time.  It's not unusual (as Tom Jones would say), because first impressions are usually stronger, and that was the first time I'd ever seen the model, albeit in printed form.

Some Aurora kits have been reissued over the years, by Monogram, Revell, MPC, Polar Lights, Moebius, Atlantis, and Monarch, usually using the same box art as the original versions, with a logo strongly resembling the Aurora oval, or, in the case of Atlantis, a big letter 'A' with the company's name through the middle.  Some models have also been reissued in repro boxes bearing the original Aurora logo and I have four of them, being Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman, and The Forgotten Prisoner - all as yet unbuilt and still in their boxes.

Then there's my collection of originals, including Frankenstein, Superman, Batman, Forgotten Prisoner, Superboy, and possibly others.  The superhero models were first issued in the '60s, and again in the '70s, and in a few instances, I have both versions.  The '70s incarnations had some slight amendments to them (name signs omitted and bas-relief emblems removed from capes and costumes and replaced with decals or adhesive labels), along with new box art.  Also, the '70s Batman kit no longer had an owl for atop the tree Batman swung from.

Back in 2010, Moebius reissued some superhero models and I bought the Superboy one (as yet unbuilt), though dithered over buying the Wonder Woman model, with it disappearing from sale before I'd made up my mind.  Now, however, my indecision has been remedied, due to me seeing one on eBay recently at an extremely attractive price and buying it immediately.  I got it for a tiny fraction of the one currently up for sale with an asking price of £516.70, so didn't I do well?!  There's another Moebius one also available for only £34.95, as well as an original Aurora for £699.99.  (Talking of indecision, I used to think I was indecisive, though now I'm not so sure.)

The original kit's figure didn't have a belt like in the comics, so Moebius have added one to make it more authentic to the comic strip version.  I haven't removed the shrink-wrap and opened the box, though it's entirely possible I never will, as I own quite a few unassembled model kits bought over the last 30-35 years or so which are at the front of the queue (though at the back of a cupboard), Creature From The Black Lagoon and Phantom Of The Opera among them.  Maybe one day, eh?  

Any of you Crivs ever have any of the models listed in this post?  What happened to them and do you ever miss those long-gone plastic pals from childhood?  Reminisce to your heart's content in the comments section.  And if you'd like to see some of my own built-and-painted Aurora (and reissue) kits, simply type Aurora into my blog's search box, then scroll down through the results and feast your eyes.  They're spread over several pages and interspersed with other posts where the company's name is mentioned.

UPDATE On The MEADOWBROOK CARE HOME SITUATION - And ME...

At 104-years-old, my mother's time on this planet is more than likely extremely limited, yet Meadowbrook Care Home, and in particular Mr. Ashleigh Walmsley, continue to prevent me from visiting her.  So I ask those of you who may have a view, just what do you think of the kind of place and type of person who'd deny an elderly woman with Alzheimer's and cancer visits from her son, just to get back at him for telling them a few home-truths about themselves?  My mother is being used as a weapon to punish me, as though she is their property to do with as they like.  Even though I have POA and a certificate of incapacity, my wishes to have her moved elsewhere are being impeded by a system that makes it next to impossible.

What's just as bad is that Social Work say she's well-looked-after where she is, though you've seen the photos and heard the horror stories which prove such claims are highly inaccurate, to say the least.  As I've said before, care should consist of far more that just feeding and watering the residents.  Cleanliness of their rooms and toilet seats, and making sure they can hear at all times should be a priority, but seemingly not so at Meadowbrook - despite their falsified records.  (And I can back that up with time and dated photographs, emails, and video footage.)

Just what kind of world do we live in when this sort of thing is allowed to happen?

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My own news is I'm awaiting delivery of a mobility scooter as my legs continue to atrophy and the mere act of walking is getting far too difficult for me, even with my current Rollator.  If I had a choice in the matter I'd do without it, but then I'd have to stay at home more and not get out of the house.  That's my soon-to-arrive state-of-the-art 'Bat-scooter' below.

GOODBYE DOLLY...

Sad to learn that Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80.  A true legend and, what's more, a genuinely nice person as well.  I saw a TV show of one of her concerts once, and some guy in the audience called out "I love you, Dolly!"  Quick as a flash, she shot back with "I told you to wait in the truck!"  Brilliant retort.  She was talented, witty, and beautiful.  Condolences to her family, friends, and fans.

The RECYCLER - A Character Study...

Given my recent negative experiences with a healthcare company, I thought it appropriate to resurrect this short 'character study', which I wrote quite a number of years ago, maybe even before I started Crivens.  This is set in a hospital, but it easily fits the environment of a care home as well.  Have a read and then leave a comment if you'd be so good.

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Agnes liked the watch.  It was an expensive one and the woman was dead with no friends or family, so what harm would it do to take it?  She slipped it into the pocket of her uniform and made her way to the hospital canteen.

"After all," she thought, sipping her gin-enhanced tea, "it'll only go to waste.  It's not really stealing, it's... recycling."  She was pleased with this analogy, and a self-satisfied smile spread across her smug face.  "All the work I do, I'm entitled to a few perks."

Agnes was a nasty piece of work.  The kind of person who only 'helped' others so that she could feel superior to them.  "Look at them," she would think, "lying there in their own filth.  I clean them, I fetch and carry for them - they'd be nothing without me."  And thus would she wallow in the misery of others to validate her own existence.  Like a parasite needs its host, Agnes needed the sick and needy.  Her life was nothing without them.  The irony of her needing her patients as much if not more than they needed her was lost on her.  If ever a more selfish, spiteful, sickening and soulless creature strode God's good Earth, their existence was lost to recorded history.

Every act of 'goodness' did not go unannounced.  Every tenuous opportunity to introduce her latest act of 'charity' into a conversation did not go unexploited.  She was her own best public relations officer when it came to relating all her many splendid and 'unselfish efforts' on behalf of the disadvantaged.  It is the nature of vultures to feed off the dead, and Agnes strode the corridors of the dying in much the same way.  She fed off their groans and screams, and drank in their agony.  When they expired, she feasted on the tears and misery of their loved-ones, revelling in the fact that she was in the midst of it all and that it gave purpose to her being.

Like I said... she was a nasty piece of work.

SENTINEL Of The SPACEWAYS - Cover Grab-Bag...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

To complement Crivens' Cover Gallery posts about the SILVER SURFER over the years, I thought I'd remind you of this titanic trio of cataclysmic covers - just because I like them.  The first is FANTASY MASTERPIECES #1 from 1979, which reprinted 'ol NORRIN's premiere issue from the '60s.  Unfortunately, the stories in this series were abridged, with several pages being edited out for reasons of space.  How ironic, eh?  Denied space in the heavens - and the comicbooks.  At least they were 'square-bound', just like the originals. 

Next up is the 1982 one-shot by JOHN BYRNE, inked by terrific TOM PALMER.  It was an interesting issue, but not quite up there with the better issues by STAN LEE and JOHN BUSCEMA.  (Despite being scripted by Stan over a John Byrne plot.)  I bought two copies of this comic from the VIRGIN MEGASTORE in Glasgow back in '82, and remember perusing one of them on the train home.  A whole 44 years later, I still have them - in just as good a condition as when I first purchased them.  In fact, they're in better nick than I am.

Finally, one of the issues of the Silver Surfer's then-new, ongoing series launched in '87, this particular example being from '89.  RON FRENZ, doing a composite of Kirby/Buscema images as only he can.  Although it can sometimes be jarring to see a mixture of two different art styles, there was something very 'sixties' about Ron's covers which always appealed to me.  So, which of the three is your favourite, faithful Crivvies?  If you like all three, list them in order of preference and preserve your pictorial picks for posterity in our captivating comments section.

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If I have one complaint about the Surfer, it's that he never looked silver enough.  When Stan had characters refer to him as "Whitey", it never seemed as odd as it should've done on account of him looking white.  I'm sure, even back in the '60s, there must've been a way of suggesting a more silvery appearance.  Anybody else feel the same?  Anyway, enjoy the above covers.

FOUR (Count 'em - FOUR) COMICBOOK GOODIES FOR YOU... (Updated)

CONAN characters copyright CPI

Received today, the sixth issue of The Savage Sword Of Conan Reforged.  I think I'll call it quits with this one, as it appears to be a quarterly publication and I prefer to get my hands on my mags a month apart at the most.  If you're a Conan fan, you're probably in it for the long haul, but a nice half-dozen will do for me.

Below are two new DC Facsimile Editions - Detective Comics #27 and Showcase #4, the debuts of The Batman and The Flash, respectively.  I already have earlier facsimiles of DC #27, but this one doesn't have an intrusive barcode on the front cover, which has been consigned to the back, as I prefer.  (Same with Showcase and all DC facsimiles these days.)

Copyright DC COMICS

Bonus: A late arrival is The Silver Surfer #6 facsimile.  The 'Continued After Next Page' taglines have been placed over the the art at the foot of the page instead of under it, but I'll have to check my original issue to see if that's how it's meant to be.  (Only on the Surfer story, not on the Tales of The Watcher back-up strip.)  The size of the lettering on them looks a little smaller to me than it should be, but again, I'll have to check. 

Copyright MARVEL COMICS