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I love this time of year. Autumn has its own scents and hues, and, as it starts to give way to Winter, assumes a magical, hybrid quality of the two seasons peculiar unto itself. When any last faint remnants of lingering Summer have finally disappeared and been replaced with the preliminary signs of Jack Frost's rapidly oncoming kingdom, I can't help but think back to what an enchanted time it seemed to be when I was a kid.
Arising on dark mornings, streetlights a-twinkle; the first spidery glints of frost on the windows and pavements outside; warm milk on cornflakes to fortify me for my trek to school; sitting before the electric fire, hypnotized by shadows of dancing, flickering simulated flames; the fresh, biting chill of the air - all those memories - or any combination of them - embody that particular period of my personal history. Even today, the alluring nature of the season is as much to do with the warm glow of memory as enjoying it for its own sake.
The walk to school, the chatter of friends, the sheer exuberance of childhood - how it all comes rushing back to me in torrents. A large part of those memories is shaped by whatever comics I was buying at the time: TV CENTURY 21, WHAM!, SMASH!, FANTASTIC, WHIZZER & CHIPS, The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL, SPIDER-MAN COMICS WEEKLY and many more - all those publications seem to blend into one big memory (regardless of whether they were actually available or I was buying them concurrently or not), and span a goodly number of years from primary to secondary school. (I often smuggled a newly purchased comic into the classroom in my schoolbag and then had to suffer an agony of waiting 'til I could peruse it during the interval.)
And just think what we had to look forward to at that time of the year; Hallowe'en, Guy Fawkes' Night, Christmas - and I had the added bonus of having my birthday fall at around the same time. No wonder I tend to look back on those events with such fondness - I was just the right age to appreciate them in all their spectacular, multi-coloured, atmospheric glory. I'm sure it's the same for most people.
So, in an unseemly fit of sentimentality and nostalgia, I've dug through my files and unearthed some comic covers which would've been on sale towards the end of the year back in the 1960s & 1970s, in an attempt to crystalize not only my happy recollections of days gone by, but - if you're around the same age as myself - perhaps also your own. Hope you enjoy them.
See? You can go home again - even if it's only for a short visit.
I've always loved the Autumn/Winter period too - you can keep your hot Summer days. We had a coal fire which sounds nicer than it really is, but a coal fire was handy during power cuts - we'd make tea and toast on the fire. I lived about 3 miles from my school (both my primary and secondary schools were only a few hundred feet apart) and if it snowed the school bus didn't turn up and we'd get a day off school - that happened on my 12th birthday in February 1978, a nice birthday present.
ReplyDeleteAlways good to see these comics, I always loved the Odhams (Pow) covers with th echaracter running along the logo. Although not here the 1967 Wham annual reminds of Christmas time as at that time I was off school ill with glandular fever and my mum bought me that annual and I read it cover to cover several times whilst recuperating I scrutinising the art etc to such an extent that when I saw it on sale almost 40 years later (arghhh) I recalled almost every page and story perfectly - it took me right back to those days (and not being ill but to the time when I got better talking to my mum dad brother and pals and reading my comics) - That issue of Lion was a cracker as well I remember buying it in Birrells newsagent in Cambuslang cant recall the contents but it stuck with me - Ahhhh great days being at primary school making Christmas lanterns and chains out of coloured sticky paper and patiently waiting for Santa to arrive.
ReplyDeleteI must say that it's good to know that others have their memories stirred by looking at old comics - I sometimes used to think that I was the only one who used them as a 'diary' of my life, so I'm glad they do the same for you CJ and McScotty.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, I get so absorbed at looking through an old comic and reliving the past, that, when I look up from its pages, I'm surprised to see that the surroundings aren't the same as when I first read it. I know I've said that before, but it's true.
Cheers Kid,for not only this post but all your recent posts.Your nostalgic ramblings and memorable recollections provide not only me but i`m sure all crivites with a yearning and warm sense of longing for all those wonderful memories of childhood times past.As i gaze fondly and peruse each of these comics,some of which i owned and treasured,i can recall briefly,if only for a fleeting moment the frisson of excitement i felt as a child when receiving and gazing through these comics,my imagination unfettered and uncluttered by the baggage and debris which adulthood inevitably brings.In that one fraction of a second i am transported filled with a sense of joy and longing for that time when the world for me was so much better,filled with innoncence and wonder,where all things were possible.
ReplyDeleteOk,i know i`m rambling, but Kid if there is a heaven and i might perchance go there,i hope that it might be somewhat like what i`ve described.
Oh,and hope you have a peaceful and happy Christmas. Dulce Domum.....Moonmando
Ah, Moony, I can see what you got for Christmas: a dictionary, a thesaurus - and a wee bottle of sherry, perchance? Hope you, the missus and the (grown-up) weans have a memorable Christmas and a sensationally satisfying New Year.
ReplyDeleteThat Power fist logo always does it for me. My best mate and I used to draw them on our exercise books.
ReplyDeleteI've got the Power logo badge that came free with an issue of Fantastic, JP. And very nice it is, too.
ReplyDelete