CRIVENS! COMICS & STUFF!: FIREBALL XL5

Wednesday, 27 August 2014

FIREBALL XL5 - THE ICE PEOPLE...

Here's a story from the very first FIREBALL XL5 Annual. Curiously, none of the four Annuals by COLLINS had an identifying year on the cover, only a copyright date inside, which may well represent both the issue date and also the year the book was meant for. If so, it would be unlike most (but not all) Annuals, which are traditionally copyright dated the year before the one on the cover.

Fireball was first broadcast on U.K. TV on October 28th 1962 until October 27th the following year (there must have been a break in the run as there were only 39 episodes), so it would've made sense to release the first Annual while the show was still 'hot' on TV, in order to capitalise on children's interest in it. If anyone knows for sure, I'd appreciate you letting me know.

The art is either by EDDIE PAUL or GERRY EMBLETON - if you can identify which one it is, feel entirely free to demonstrate your superior knowledge in the comments section.

2 comments:

Ian Duerden said...: It’s Eddie Paul though I’ve never been able to find more than a couple of British annuals he’s attributed to. Seems to have disappeared by the time TV Century 21 went into to publication.; 8 August 2022 at 14:00
Kid said...: Thanks, I eventually concluded it was Eddie Paul, as later Gerry Embleton art I compared the style to didn't match, but it's nice to have it confirmed. He (Eddie) was a good artist.; 8 August 2022 at 15:16

About the artist:

From 1985 to 2000 A.D. (little joke there), I contributed to a variety of high profile comics and magazines for various companies.

For IPC/FLEETWAY/EGMONT, I freelanced as a lettering and logo artist on various weekly comics and monthly magazines, and also as a resize comic artist and spot illustrator on pocket books, summer specials and annuals.

For MARVEL U.K., BLACK LIBRARY, REDAN and USBORNE BOOKS, I again freelanced as a lettering artist, also working as a restoration artist for MARVEL U.S., restoring and re-creating certain pages of JACK KIRBY art for their MARVEL MASTERWORKS editions.

I also lettered the MARVELMAN sample pages submitted to MARVEL U.S. when they were considering acquiring the character, which - as we all now know - they DID.

Supplied comic strips, cartoons and illustrated advertisements for local business campaigns and newspaper publication on a professional basis since the age of 16. Did my first paid art job for publication at 14 or 15 for Lanarkshire Education Board.

Have also made TV appearances as a collector of memorabilia.

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Just some of the titles I worked on are:

2000 A.D. * JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE * DICEMAN * SONIC The COMIC * JUDGE DREDD, LAWMAN Of The FUTURE * CRISIS * REVOLVER * EAGLE * TIGER * BATTLE ACTION-FORCE * BUSTER * WHIZZER & CHIPS * WHOOPEE * NIPPER * SCHOOL FUN * ACE VENTURA, PET DETECTIVE * The REAL GHOSTBUSTERS * DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE * COUNT DUCKULA * RUGRATS * The TRANSFORMERS * DEATH'S HEAD * THUNDERCATS * GALAXY RANGERS * DRAGON'S CLAWS * SINDY * MARVEL MASTERWORKS * The TROLLS * LOADED * INFERNO * WARHAMMER * ROSE BLACK.

Copyright Notice:

Images remain the property of their respective copyright owners and are used here only for the purpose of review, promotion, and nostalgia.

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In the case of images culled from my own collection where copyright of an item isn't mine, I impose no copying restrictions on fellow bloggers.

(Although, if you don't allow copying on your own site, then you really shouldn't be copying from others, should you?)

And while you can credit this blog if you like, it's not mandatory. Who has time to make notes of every casually visited site during an idle browse of the internet?

In the case of anyone copying images of my own artwork and calligraphy, I affirm my right to be identified as the creator, and any such copying should not be for the purpose of monetary or material gain. (Unless it's mine.)

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Please also note that this blog is not sponsored by, affiliated with, or connected to, any organisation, business, or group, and is wholly independent.