ANATOMY OF A DALEK...

Copyright BBC TV and the Estate of TERRY NATION

Does exactly what it says on the tin.  Look at that 'ball bearing' - the MARX DALEK ROLYKIN was more accurate than I thought.  I sometimes think that the shape of the original comic strip Daleks was actually scarier-looking than the TV incarnation.

KIT CARTER'S CLARKS COMMANDOS - PART ONE...

Copyright relevant owner

Back in the '60s and '70s, certain British comics carried adverts for CLARKS shoes, in the form of a comic strip called KIT CARTER'S CLARKS COMMANDOS.  The artwork is by TOM KERR.  More Clarks Commandos coming soon - don't miss 'em!

CATS & DOGS VERSUS HAIR DRYERS...

Here are some cats and dogs getting a 'blow' job.

Any double-entendre detected in that sentence is

entirely the result of your own smutty mind.

BABE OF THE DAY - KARLA CONWAY...

Today's Babe is PLAYBOY model

KARLA CONWAY.  Not a lot of people

know this, but I also used to be a model -

for Toby jugs!  (Boom boom!  Yes, the

old ones are definitely the best.)

JUMP ABOARD THE MR. JINKS, PIXIE, DIXIE & HUCK EXPRESS...

Copyright relevant owner

And now, another U.K. Mr. JINKS and PIXIE & DIXIE strip (along with HUCKLEBERRY HOUND) from TV EXPRESS WEEKLY.  It's interesting to see a British take on American TV cartoon characters, don't you think?  There'll be yet another HANNA-BARBERA page from TVEW tomorrow.  Why not drop by and we'll have a chuckle at it together?

BOB HOPE IS - SON OF PALEFACE...

Here's a great clip from SON Of PALEFACE, starring BOB HOPE, JANE RUSSELL, ROY ROGERS, and, of course, TRIGGER.  Enjoy!

THE VESSEL WITH THE PESTLE...

Here's a classic clip from DANNY KAYE's

movie, The COURT JESTER.  If you haven't yet

seen this film, get straight down to HMV and buy

it on DVD - it's a great laugh.

THE NAME'S REEVES - JIM REEVES, 007...

Talking of JAMES BOND (as we were in the previous post), here's a pic of the late, great JIM REEVES, which, if you pasted in a WALTHER P.P.K. (or whatever type of gun 007 carries these days) wouldn't look out of place as part of a promotional campaign for a Bond film.  And just think - he could've sung the theme song as well.

JAMES BOND SPECTRE TRAILERS...

Here's the second SPECTRE trailer, and, below,

is the first one.  Going on the premise that they always

put the best bits of a movie in the trailer, I fear the worst.

I didn't think SKYFALL was all it was cracked up to be,

and only got a record turnout because audiences were ex-

pecting something spectacular in 007's 50th anniversary

year.  MARTIN CAMPBELL did a better job directing

CASINO ROYALE than SAM MENDES did with

Skybore (oops, Freudian slip).

And why does DANIEL CRAIG stand with his legs

three feet apart?  Is he a JACK KIRBY fan, or what?

  

BABE OF THE DAY - BRIGITTE BARDOT...

Spot her pronounced pout -

more of a scowl, actually.  That's

'cause I've just informed BRIGITTE

BARDOT I'll have to cancel our date

tonight 'cause I'm washing my hair.  I

don't know, maybe it'd be easier just

to shave my armpits, but I'm  a

creature of habit.

"I HATE THESE MEECES TO PIECES!"

Copyright relevant owner

Again, from TV EXPRESS WEEKLY, comes another HANNA-BARBERA page - this time Mr. JINKS With PIXIE & DIXIE, followed by HUCKLEBERRY HOUND.  A nice little slice of the past to remind you of more innocent times.  Personally, I love those meeces - how about the rest of you cavortin' Crivvies?

TV EXPRESS WEEKLY COVER GALLERY - PART THREE...

Characters copyright relevant and respective owners

Ready for another dose of TV EXPRESS WEEKLY covers?  Then you've come to the right place at the right time, as another ten front page features now present themselves for your viewing pleasure.  As you'll know (because I told you in a previous post), this weekly periodical lasted from 1954 until 1962, before merging with TV COMIC, which itself lasted for another 22 years.

So enjoy RON EMBLETON's excellent art on Col. PINTO, and don't forget to return for the next part of this great series!  And if there are any Criv-ites who are old enough to have bought this comic back in the day, let's read your reminiscences about it.  (You know where the comments section is.)

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS - OMAC #1...

Image copyright DC COMICS

Back in 1974, "The World That's Coming!" had come and gone a mere eight issues later. With the exception of KAMANDI, none of JACK KIRBY's mags for DC managed to stick around for long.  Had he lost the magic touch he'd had at MARVEL, or had STAN LEE played a bigger role in the success of their collaborations than Jack gave him credit for?  I know what I think on the subject - how about you?

KID'S KLASSIC KOMIC KOVERS - VALIANT #1...

Copyright relevant owner

Looking back now, VALIANT's 14 years of existence feels like no time at all.  It had seemingly been around forever when I was a kid, and I'm surprised to learn that it wasn't.  Of course, if you happen to be a teenager, 14 years seems like eternity, but to decrepit old farts like myself, it's insignificant.

The weekly comic featured several popular strips throughout its run, including classics like CAPTAIN HURRICANE, The STEEL CLAW, The HOUSE Of DOLMANN, The WILD WONDERS, and KELLY'S EYE.  Difficult as it may be to believe, Britain has now been Valiant- free for 39 years, and to me, in my dotage, that also feels like no time at all  - a mere couple of blinks away in fact.

I only started buying the weekly periodical once SMASH! was merged with it (and then TV21), but I'd read a few issues belonging to a friend of my brother in the mid to late '60s, so I was well-aware of the comic and its contents before it became a regular feature of my comics-buying practice.

Do you remember Valiant?  Got any memories associated with it that you'd care to air and share?  Good!  Straight over to the comments section with you then - we're all waiting.

BABE OF THE DAY - ANGIE DICKINSON...

I could 'pepper' this post with

info about ANGIE DICKINSON,

star of the POLICE WOMAN TV

series from the '70s, but why bother

when one picture speaks a thousand

words?  And they all say the same

 thing: she's an absolute Babe!

GIT ALONG, LITTLE DOGGIE...

Copyright relevant owner

Time for another page from TV EXPRESS WEEKLY, featuring HUCKLEBERRY HOUND and YOGI BEAR.  The comic eventually merged with TV COMIC, in which some of the full page Yogi strips were reprinted in black and white quite a number of years later.  Whether any of the other HANNA-BARBERA strips likewise made a re-appearance, I couldn't say.

CAPTAIN BRITAIN COVER, SPLASH PAGE & IMAGE GALLERY - PART ELEVEN...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

As I've said a million times (at least) before, it's amazing how our perception of time seems different at various stages through our lives.  Case in point:  The above periodical came out a mere four years, eight months after my purchase of The FANTASTIC FOUR #126 on Friday 6th October 1972.  Nowadays, to me, such a period passes (yes, here it comes) faster than a fart from The FLASH, but back in 1977, a huge gulf seemed to exist between the two dates.

The reason why FF #126 now springs to mind is because the first part of the tale was reprinted in CAPTAIN BRITAIN #35, and extremely glad I was to see it again, even if only in black and white.  I've now got three pristine replacements of that classic FF mag, but CB's reprint of it resonates in my memory just as much as its original printing.

Anyway, I'm sure you don't visit this blog to read the piffle that I write (though feel free to disagree and tell me you hang on my every word), so I'll give my typing finger a rest and let you now consume the cataclysmic covers and comic pages that lay before you.  If any fond memories of your distant youth resurface as you peruse these pulsating panels, feel free to share them in the comments section.

After all, what's the point in keeping them to yourself?

BABE OF THE DAY - CHRISTA SPECK...

Here's a honey from halcyon days

of yore - CHRISTA SPECK.  I first saw

Christa in a pal's 'girlie' mag in 1973 and

never forgot her name, or her captivating

charms.  What a total beauty!  And she

thinks I'm wonderful too!  (Though that

 part might just be a complete lie.)

THE MARVEL-LOUS WORLD OF MIGHTY (CLOSE ENOUGH)...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

In five days time (September 30th) it will be 43 years since The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL #1 first went on sale.  Today I picked up the latest issue of the current incarnation of the title, and was pleased to see a page referring to the origin of The FANTASTIC FOUR, which was one of the three tales in the weekly comic all those years ago in 1972.

Happy 43rd birthday, MWOM.  It only seems like yesterday.  No doubt the next 43 years will, too.

PART TWO OF TV EXPRESS COVER GALLERY...

Characters copyright relevant and respective owners

Some lovely RON EMBLETON artwork from before his days on TV CENTURY 21.  Who'd ever have thought that BIGGLES would be the cover star on a comic, eh?  Anyway, I'll leave you to admire the pretty piccies - don't forget to come back for part three.