WAND'RIN' STAR - LEE MARVIN...

Funny how certain things can trigger specific

memories.  Whenever I hear WAND'RIN' STAR

by LEE MARVIN, I think of the house I lived in at the

time, and the view from the top of the road of my primary

school, with the interior lights lit up against the darkness

of an Autumn or Winter morn.  This was because it was

often on the radio as I got ready for school  in the

mornings and was still in my head as I set off.

The movie was released in 1969 and the song

was Number One in the U.K. charts for three weeks

in March of 1970.  That means there were only around

three months to go before I left primary school for the last

time, but in my mind's eye, it seems a far longer period than

it actually was.  These days, when Autumn leaves are all a

swirl and I see a lit up building against a darkened sky, I

think of my former house and old school, and seem to

hear old gravel-voice's haunting 'song' as the

soundtrack to that particular memory.

So - works both ways then, eh?

MOVIE MONSTER OF THE MONTH - FRANKENSTEIN...

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're going to say - the uncanny BORIS KARLOFF portrayed the monster (or creature, if you prefer), not its creator.  However, as Doctor FRANKENSTEIN was its 'dad', the monster can legitimately lay claim to the name,  too.   (Wanna argue with him?)

BABE Of The DAY - BRIGITTE BARDOT...

BRIGITTE BARDOT is a brave woman.

We're nearly into November and she's walking

around with hardly a stitch on.  (Not that I'm

complaining, mind - suits me just fine.)

THUNDERBIRD 4 'RELIANT'...

A few years ago, this car was on sale on eBay, and I'm sure whoever now owns it won't mind me showing such an inspired idea.  Isn't it great?  If only it could travel underwater, it'd be absolutely perfect.  Del Boy, eat your heart out.

******

Actually, if it was a ROBIN RELIANT, it would have only three wheels, not four - I was fooled (easily done with me) by the colour.  Wonder what type of car it is?  I have seen a Reliant made up like this though.

PART FOUR OF WALTER SIMONSON'S ORION COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright DC COMICS

And now, for your pleasurable perusal, the final half-dozen covers of writer/artist WALTER SIMONSON's ORION series by DC COMICS.  Walter had a long and very successful run on THOR over at MARVEL, so it was only fitting that, having worked on an 'old' god, he should have a go on a 'new' one, even though, this time around, it was for only 25 issues.

Anyway, there's no point padding out this preamble any further when these cataclysmic covers are crying out for your attention, so I'll shut up now and let you get on with enjoying them.

******

UPDATE:  I've just read the entire run over the last few nights and quite enjoyed them.  I remembered the early ones, but not so many of the later issues and I wonder if that's because, having missed #14 for some reason, I perhaps bought the subsequent issues without reading them.  As I recently acquired the missing ish, that was no longer a problem, so I started at the beginning (as you would) and worked my way through to the end.  Issue #5 was a major disappointment, being mainly a wordless battle issue and, good as Simonson is, he's no JACK KIRBY when it comes to staging page-after-page of extended fight scenes in a clear, coherent, and effective manner. I had to look twice far too many times to work out exactly what was happening from panel to panel.

Another problem is that JOHN WORKMAN Jr.'s uniform, one-style-fits-all sound effects are quite intrusive, seemingly pasted at random over the artwork, rather than being sympathetic to the panel composition and complementing the action.  Unfortunately, they look as if they're sitting above the art, rather than being part of it.  A bit more variety in style and shape would've worked wonders.

All in all though, a good read.  If there's a collected edition, it'd be worth adding to your bookshelf.