COMPASS Of The STARS...

Long ago and far away, in a dimension which can be accessed only through the mystical portals of memory, I popped into the neighbourhood newsagents on my way to school one day and purchased a copy of TV CENTURY 21 #3.  Within this great comic, paradoxically dated a hundred years in the future, was a sheet of card from which could be pressed out a model of FIREBALL XL5.

When I got to school, before lessons began I sat and assembled the folded pieces into their predetermined shape while my teacher and classmates looked on, fascinated.  I wasn't one who particularly enjoyed being the object of of such rapt attention, but I was so engrossed in what I was doing that I paid them scant heed and just got on with it.  When I had finished and the teacher had expressed approbation for the fruits of my labour, lessons began, and although I couldn't tell you anything else that happened that day, that particular moment is a fond recollection nigh-on forty-eight years after the fact.

Relax - mine doesn't have 'Northernlad' stamped across it

I never saw that cardboard 'model' from childhood again until nearly twenty years later, when it was reproduced in black and white on the back cover of  S.I.G., a magazine devoted to the puppet programmes of GERRY ANDERSON.  I remember thinking that it was a shame it wasn't in colour and hoping that someone would one day get around to producing a proper facsimile of this free gift which I greatly coveted.

 

Well, almost three decades on, someone has finally done it.  Printed on card (though not perforated for pressing out), it enables nostalgists like myself to relive a part of our cherished childhood and bridge the span between past, present and future. Future?  Sure - after all, the comic was dated February 6th, 2065, so technically it's not due to be published for another fifty-three years.  Thanks to a rift in time and space, however, I managed to obtain a replacement for the actual comic a good while back.  It's immensely satisfying to finally be able to reunite it with a copy of its original free gift after so long a period.

Suddenly I'm an eager five year-old child once more, sitting in a chalk-dusty classroom in a different century - when the one we now live in was  the stuff of dreams and seemed too far away to even contemplate.

THE DEANO & BANDY SHOW - BEYOND A JOKE?

Images copyright Dundee Comics Tyrant

Recently, a well-respected cartoonist revealed that, as far as he understands things, one of the companies for which he freelances will no longer allow him to feature images of his own artwork on his blog, which he uses to promote the very publications they appear in.  Other artists (plural) apparently still do feature images (though I'm going by info gleaned from other sources) so, naturally enough this has led to discussion on various 'unofficial' fan sites as to what exactly the situation might be.

As usual, I was the 'Johnny-come-lately' to the table, but I expressed my opinion (as a comics buyer and collector) that this seemed to be a mean-spirited attitude for the company to take, as they would surely only benefit from any of their artists promoting the product - so why prevent them from doing so?  (Seems like a fair enough question to me.)

In the absence of any clear details or explanation as to why various contributors seemingly had a different understanding of what was going on, speculation arose as to whether certain cartoonists were operating under different conditions and whether there might be dissent between them, prompting one of them to deny such was the case.  (Which is fair enough I suppose.)  Unfortunately, he was initially rather vague in explaining just why it wasn't the case, preferring a 'read-between-the-lines' approach as opposed to a more specific account of the current state of play.

I pointed out that it was hardly fair to bemoan fan-speculation when his own actions - and subsequent silence or equivocation - has allowed it to take root; resulting in a sarcastic response which suggested that, not being 'included' in the situation, I shouldn't be expressing either an opinion or an interest in the matter.  As is usual in such cases, it wasn't long before the inevitable nameless diddy emerged from the woodwork, saying that I should be ignored as I was a 'troll' - apparently quite unaware of the inherent irony in him contributing nothing of significance and in doing so anonymously.

So, tell me - where do these t*ssers come from?

Anyway, let's hope that the company in question comes to its senses and removes any impositions which prevent its cartoonists from promoting the very images they produce for them.  And, just for fun, see if you can spot the subtle visual clues as to exactly which Dundee-based publishers of periodicals I'm referring to.  A free, lifetime subscription to a certain comic which ceases publication on December 4th for all those who guess correctly.

(Subscription commences from January, 2013.)