IT'S A SMALL WORLD... (Updated)

Copyright relevant owner

In 1982, THE DAILY RECORD started running a new comic strip - SMALL WORLD by DON ROBERTS.  I cut out the first one they published and put it on my bedroom wall, where, over the course of 32 years (and two houses), it has been ravaged by age and is now faded, crinkled, and at the end of its shelf life.

However, I'm determined to preserve its image, so earlier tonight I removed it from my wall and scanned it, removing as many of the crinkles and age spots as I can via the aid of computer technology.  (What you see above is as it was before I started work on it.)  The next stage was to 'bleach' it, which I'll eventually re-ink and re-colour so that I can print out a brand-new copy to take its place on the wall.  The bleached version is below.

I'll keep you updated when I can find the time to finish what I've started.  If, however, you have (or know where I can get) a pristine copy of this strip somewhere, then do me a favour and let me know, will you?  It'll save me some work.

(Update: Although I later published the finished cartoon [below] in another post with a recap of the above info, I thought I'd add it here too, so that you don't have to go searching for it.)

BABE Of The DAY - JAMELIA (AGAIN)...

Don't worry, JAMELIA isn't naked - she's

 got something on.  (A rabbit, to be precise.)

WHITE? NAH - IT'S BLUE...

Continuing our series of JIM REEVES' Seasonal songs, here's the tall Texan with a rendition of BLUE CHRISTMAS that actually fits the mood of the song.  (ELVIS PRESLEY's version is too much of a 'toe-tapper' for my tastes, good as it is.)

SPIDEY'S SUPER MAIL...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

Back at the end of October, reader DUNCAN MACKINTOSH kindly reminded me that I'd had a letter printed in SUPER SPIDER-MAN & THE TITANS #206.  Well, you could've knocked me down with a feather 'cos I'd clean forgotten about it.  I wasn't long in acquiring a replacement (though, now that I think about it, the person to whom I gave my original copy back in the '70s still has it), so I thought I'd share my Mighty Marvel Missive with those of you who didn't see Duncan's comment a couple of months ago.  Read on...

******

                     Dear Bullpen,

                     In a recent letters page, in reply to an enquiry about "The Missing

                     Link/Johnny Future" saga, you said that earlier you had considered

                     reprinting this series but had decided not to at present.  I'd just like

                     to say I really enjoyed these stories when they first appeared in "Fan-

                     tastic", so I'd just like to say you've got my support if you ever decide

                     to publish this strip.  I was privileged only to read a few stories, so I

                     look forward to reading the complete set at some future date.  You

                     could even arrange a battle between the Hulk and the Missing Link

                     as a fill-in, because they're similar in appearance and it would

                     provide an interesting story.

                     G. I. Robson,

                     Glasgow.

                    We're particularly gratified to receive your approbation of the

                    Missing Link/Johnny Future saga because we had a big hand in

                    the production of it. (Yep - all those years ago!)  Those Marvelites

                    currently showing such fantastic interest in Cap. Britain might like

                    to know that the artist was British produced (well, apart from the

                    fact that the artist was a Spaniard!)  There are no present plans

                    for re-publishing the series in British Marvels...but who knows

                    what the future (and no pun intended!) may hold...

******

The Spanish artist, of course, was and is LUIS BERMEJO, still going strong today (as far as I know).  I'm puzzled as to why I said I'd only read a few of the strips, because when I eventually acquired back numbers of FANTASTIC years later, I seemed to recall the majority of the weekly instalments.  I can only assume that, in between having my memory refreshed, I'd simply forgotten reading most of them at the time of my letter.  Or perhaps, devious teenager that I was, I thought that Marvel might take pity on me for having missed these classics and republish them.

What's interesting about the response is that it's probably by ALF WALLACE (of ALF, BART & COS fame) who was the editor of ODHAMS PRESS POWER COMICS back in the '60s, and who, in the '70s, was working for MARVEL U.K.  (What's more, he wrote the Missing Link/Johnny Future strips back in the day.)  So things had come full circle for him in being once again connected to Marvel.

From my point of view, as I had gotten into Marvel stories through the Power Comics reprints, it gives me a little thrill to think that Alf himself may've answered my letter to British Marvel way back in '77.  What puzzles me is why I ever gave the comic away - I must've forgotten that letter pretty quickly.  (Got it back now though, so a big thanks to Duncan for taking the time and effort to remind me of its existence!)

Anyway, so far I've managed to account for four letters I had printed in British Marvel mags of the '70s.  If anyone uncovers any others, please let me know.