Thursday, 20 December 2012

FREAKY FRANKIE FIGURE IS FINALLY FOUND - NOT FAR OFF FORTY FLIPPIN' YEARS AFTER THE FACT...


Copyright relevant owner

Look at the above ad, published on the back of various DC comicbooks in the early 1970s.  I'd have first seen this around '71 or early '72, and so impressed was I with the idea of a pocket-sized FRANKENSTEIN that I customized an old MAJOR MATT MASON figure to fit the role.  First, I cut up a black polythene bag to make a sombre suit, and then used a BIC biro to administer some scars and the familiar Frankie fringe.  In his black outfit and complement of facial dis-figurements, ol' Matt cut quite a dash as a suitable stand-in for Boris.


However, it was the second ad (above) that prompted me to scour the back streets of BLACKPOOL (in '73 or '74) in a vain search for this elusive figure.  British holiday resorts were great places for being able to obtain obscure items that never seemed to reach other parts of the U.K.  I'd been able to buy pristine condition copies of various MARVEL mags (FF and SILVER SURFER) from the 1960s, straight off the spinner-racks in newsagents at cover price (this was in '73 or '74, remember), so it was hardly outwith the bounds of possibility that older toys and model kits were likewise available from the same outlets.  (And some were.)


Sadly, in the case of this particular Frankie kit, it was not to be, and I had to wait nearly 40 years until MOEBIUS reissued this model (a couple or so years back now) to finally get my hands on this collectors' item classic.  Guess what though?  Not too long after acquiring this figure, an original AURORA one found its way into my possession, a gift from a generous benefactor.  Guess it must be true what they say - "All things come to he who waits."


I certainly hope so.  You see, the sensational SALMA HAYEK is also on my wants-list of coveted prizes, and it surely can't hurt to be optimistic.

SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY - PART TWO...


Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Continuing our Journey Into History (spot the pun) with early THOR covers, here's another five pieces of JACK KIRBY art from the early '60s, which epitomize MARVEL at the start of its revolution of the comics industry.  Jack's covers from the '60s probably deserve a book by themselves, so dominant were they on the spinner-racks of newsagents in the U.S. and U.K. back in the day.  So, enjoy these fabulous five examples of Mighty Marvel Masterpieces - Christmas has come early this year.





Before I acquired my toy replica of Thor's hammer, MJOLNIR, which you saw in the previous post, I obtained a smaller version given away with a British SPIDER-MAN comic.  It's inflatable, but I was as pleased as punch to have an authorized MARVEL mallet to hang on my wall.  In fact, I'd have been over the moon to have had this as a kid, never mind the other one.  If I were to pull out the stopper, I wonder if the escaping air would provide enough propulsion to allow me to streak through the sky, as a thunder god should?  What do you think?  Should I give it a try? (Whaddya mean, "Yeah - from a very tall building!" ?)