SUPERMAN'S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #115 Facsimile Edition...

Copyright DC COMICS

It has to be said, if this issue is going to be the usual standard of DC Comics' Facsimile Editions from now on, they've stolen a march on Marvel's replica releases, nice as they are.  With DC, no unsightly barcode boxes compromising the aesthetic appearance of the front covers, similar paper to the newsprint that comics used to employ before switching to a 'higher' quality, and crystal clear ads that don't look like poor-quality scans taken from tanned and faded published originals, which have blighted quite a number of previous DC facsimiles.

If only Marvel would adopt the same type of paper and move barcodes to the back covers, they'd be practically perfect.  Even just reducing the boxes and not bleeding them off the covers, would be a huge improvement as they're far too prominent the way they're done now.  Incidentally, contrary to popular belief, the paper Marvel currently uses is not actually 'glossy' in itself (check out the margins and gutters), but the printed images do have a bit of a shine to them.

Anyway, enough waffle from me, rush out and buy this mag at the earliest opportunity.

For The RECORD - Are YOU A SINGLES Man?

Copyright relevant owner

I've spent a pleasant couple of days listening to some of my 45rpm single records collection, most of which are the originals I bought back in the '70s and '80s.  A couple or so are replacements because my brother, to whom I'd given them at some stage, never looked after them properly, resulting in me asking for them back a year or two later.  His ready response in the affirmative tends to suggest he wasn't really into them to begin with (being more of a Heavy Metal fan), and I suspect he gave some to his pals as they mostly weren't really his thing, but there's yet quite a stash of originals I'd purchased back in the day.

I bought them while living in my current home first time around (1972-'83) and it's good to hear them here again as my memories seem more vivid.  Over the years I've also bought replacements for singles my brother owned in our previous house (1965-'72) and they likewise bring memories rushing back.  But let's stick with the music I acquired as a teenager and young adult.  I recall leaving my pal Alan's flat for the final time as we made our way to the YMCA (no, never bought that record) in the Old Village quarter, where he was going to stay for a while before moving to Cornwall to start his training in the Royal Navy.

Another friend was with us (Joe? Stu?) and one had a radio, from which Marvin Hamlisch's Bond '77 was playing, as The Spy Who Loved Me hadn't long been released.  It was a lovely sunny day and I ordered or bought the single from my local Boots The Chemist's record department, either that very day or not long after.  As I listened to the tune again earlier this evening, it brought it all back to me.  If Joe was the other pal on the day, both of them are now dead, so it's a gateway to an earlier time when I'd more friends than I do now.  The fact it's the actual single I had back then adds to its poignancy.

So what else?  Live And Let Die (Paul McCartney), Mull Of Kintyre (Mr. McCartney again), The Old Rugged Cross (Lena Martell), A Windmill In Old Amsterdam (Ronnie Hilton), Don't Let The Rain Come Down (Ronnie again), Edelweiss (Vince Hill), and various others from the '60s, '70s, and '80s.  I have several cases of singles and I just played them as they came out of the case, regardless of sequence and year of release.  Some of my own original singles I haven't listened to in at least 30 years, so my plan is to go through all my cases until I've heard them all again.  (I don't like ignoring them.)

Some others were Down Deep Inside (Donna Summer), Oxygene (Jean-Michel Jarre), Pearl's A Singer (Elkie Brookes), Magic Fly (Space), Don't Cry For Me Argentina (Julie Covington), all from the '70s.  I worked nightshift in Safeways in 1977, so that's when I probably bought most of them.  Happy memories.

So, Crivvies, do any of you, in a melancholic moment ever dig out your old singles (if you still have them) and have a 'play-fest', remembering people, places, and times from your youth, amazed at how close they still seem to you (even though they may be long-gone), but never more so than when you're actually listening to them?  Tell all.

******

Honesty compels me to admit the cover at the top of this post isn't mine, as my record came in just a standard white sleeve.  I nicked the above image from the Internet. 

BABE Of The DAY - IMOGEN HASSALL...

 "The Countess Of Cleavage" she

was known as, and she was a complete darlin'!

However, having just read a biography about her,

it seems obvious she was schizophrenic - or bipolar

as they say nowadays - and had a lot of problems in

her life, some of them self-inflicted.  Ah, alas, poor

Imogen, she deserved better.  (I may've shown

this photo before, but no refunds.)

MARVEL'S CONAN SAGA COVER GALLERY PART THREE...

CONAN characters copyright CPI

And now, to please your palpitating orbs, here are another 16 painted covers from Marvel's reprint series from around 40 years ago, Conan Saga.  They're all good, but check out #48, illustrated by Nestor Redondo, which is the first painting (as far as I recall) I've seen by Nestor, as opposed to b&w line artwork.  Didn't he do well?!

However, what I'd actually like to know is why real women don't look that good in my day-to-day life, 'cos most of the ones I see wandering around my local shopping centre are total munters.  There are a few exceptions of course, but they'd never give me a second look 'cos they're far too up themselves, the snooty lot.  (Never mind, their loss.)  

Anyway, now that I've endeared myself to all women out there (it's a gift), let's focus on these Marvel Masterpieces laid so conveniently before you cavortin' Crivs to drool over.  I'm too kind to you all, I really am.  Got a favourite or two?  Then you know where the comments section is, so don't let it go to waste.  (You don't use it, you'll lose it.)

LOOK WHAT I DID - CLEVER ME... (Updated)

My Batman on the left, Internet Batman on the right.  Same goes for photos below

Recently, to almost no response from clearly uninterested Crivvies (except for CJ), I showed you my newly acquired Marx Toys Twistable Batman figure.  (I already own one, but the new one is in better condition, with its original bat emblem and utility belt, though no bat-a-rang.)  When I made a new belt and bat-a-rang for my other figure around 30 years back, I didn't have a good picture of the bat-a-rang, so I made it entirely from memory.

This time, I had a fairly decent photograph to refer to, so I printed off an actual-size copy, then cut around its outline and used it as a template to make a new one.  I had a trial run (which you saw in the first version of this post), before having another go until I was satisfied with the result, even though it perhaps still needs a little 'fine-tuning'.  Anyone impressed enough to leave a comment?  Go on, ya lazy apathetic buggahs - force yourselves!

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO...?

Two once-regular commenters to Crivens were DS and TC, though it's been a handful of years now since they last appeared - making me wonder what happened to them.  Did they die (hope not) or just get fed up with the blog?  If you're still out there, lads, why not let the other Crivvies know that you're okay?  It'd be appreciated.  Your comments were always interesting and worth reading and Crivens isn't quite the same without you.

BABE Of The DAY - STEPHANIE POWERS...

April Dancer, as played by

Stephanie (it was moider) Powers.

A spin-off show from The Man From

U.N.C.L.E., the only thing I can remember

about it is Stephanie was a complete babe,

nothing else.  (So couldn't have been

much of a show then, eh?)

The MARX Of The BAT - Can YOU Help BATMAN?

Copyright DC COMICS

This blog (Crivens, in case you forgot) has helped me secure two sought-after and hard-to-come-by collectables over the last few years.  The first was a Marx Yogi Bear on a scooter and the second was an LP Toys Space Blimp Of Christmas, both of which I mentioned on the blog and asked if anyone had either of them.  That led to two sellers getting in touch and us coming to some financial arrangement via eBay.  It's safe to say had I not operated this blog, I'd likely never have seen either of those toys from my childhood again, so despite the occasional stress that comes from having a blog, in the main it's worthwhile.

So maybe I'll get lucky again this time.  I recently bought another Marx Toys Twistable Batman, but though it had its original utility belt and bat emblem, the bat-a-rang was missing.  I'd bought my first replacement around 30 years ago and made a bat-a-rang, bat emblem, utility belt and new cape - though the original cape was present but a little worn - and regular readers will have seen the toy on this blog a number of times over the years.  (Not too long ago, I replaced my homemade belt with one from a different Batman figure, and it's now on to its third bat emblem, taken from Adam West's TV costume.)

So, does anyone reading this have an original bat-a-rang for this toy, or know where I could get one, or know anyone who has one who'd be prepared to sell?  I won't make them rich beyond the dreams of avarice, but I'll part with a fair slice of dosh to anyone who can help me out.  And an original Marx utility belt wouldn't go amiss either.  Go on - help out an impoverished Marx Toys Batman today and feel astonishingly virtuous.

******

Since first publishing this post, I've made two new bat-a-rangs, one for each figure, and don't they look bloomin' marvellous?!  Don't be shy now.  (Would still like originals though.)

BABE Of The DAY - IMOGEN HASSALL...

Stunning actress Imogen Hassall 

appeared in movies and also TV shows such as

The Saint, The Champions, The Persuaders,

The Avengers, Jason King, etc., and tragically died

of an overdose in 1980 at the relatively young age of 38.

I'm currently awaiting the arrival of a biography of her,

the cover of which you can see below.  Available

on eBay, should anyone be interested.

PART TWO Of MARVEL'S CONAN SAGA COVER GALLERY...

 CONAN characters copyright CPI

Okay, peeps, I've kept you in suspenders long enough, so here's the second slice of covers from Conan Saga, a reprint title featuring previously published b&w tales from Savage Sword Of Conan monthly.  I recall having some covers from the UK edition of SSOC on my room wall back in the late '70s and early '80s, so contrary to my previous impression, I couldn't have given away all of my issues to a friend, unless he didn't mind having them in a cannibalised condition.

However, that's neither here nor there, so feast your eyes on another 16 painted images and wish you could 'pull' some of those gorgeous females who always seemed to be clinging to Conan's leg (or nearby).  A sweaty man seems to be irresistible to attractive women in the Hyborian Age, so why's it not the same today?  I'd be fighting 'em off with a short soft bendy stick if it were.  Feel free to comment - in fact I insist.  And be sure to keep your peepers peeled for Part Three.

BABE Of The DAY - YVONNE CRAIG...

The lovely Yvonne Craig poses for

our pleasure in a publicity shot as Maude

Waverly in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV

show, back in the '60s.  Don't be alarmed by the

gun she's totin' as I happen to know it's only a

water pistol she uses on her flowerbed.  So -

"Come into the garden, Maude."

RECENT ARRIVALS Of FACSIMILE EDITIONS...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Not long arrived here at Castel Crivens (though pre-ordered some months back), four great Facsimile Editions - one a doubler - including Silver Surfer #1, and Action Comics #242 & #419, the original of which I bought around 9 months ago.  As well as the normal version of SS #1, I got the variant foil edition, though I'm not sure it will scan properly due to its silvery sheen.  If it's not included in the following images then it clearly didn't.

Glad to see Marvel have gone for the square-binding of the '60s ish, instead of staples, which diminishes the historical integrity of such publications in my opinion.  Hopefully, they'll reissue previous stapled reprints in their original format in the future.  Good to see the foil edition has no barcode box on the front cover, instead being relegated to the back as DC now do with all their facsimiles.  Wish Marvel would adopt the same approach with future standard reissues.

Also, the reproduction of the ads in the DC mags is spot-on, not having the wishy-washy, faded look to them of some previous facsimiles.  Looks like they're finally getting the hang of it.

Anyway, if you don't already have these titanic titles, rush round to your nearest comics shop or get on to eBay and nab 'em for your collection.  Incidentally, if you were thinking of not buying the SS #1 reprint because you already have the Fantasy Masterpieces presentation from the '70s, be aware that the FM issue had a few pages omitted and isn't complete.  It was edited in such a way as not to be obvious, but I'm sure you'd prefer to own the complete story.

Anyway, feast your eyes on these covers.

Copyright DC COMICS

Copyright DC COMICS

As I suspected, the variant foil cover wouldn't scan properly (just came out black), so I photographed it at an angle so that you could get a better look at it.

Copyright MARVEL COMICS