(BOND) BABE OF THE DAY - MADELINE SMITH...

H'mm - MADELINE SMITH,

doing what the gal does best - looking

amazing.  Let's all give Madeline a big

 hand, lads.  It's the least we can do.

PART SIX OF THE INCREDIBLE TRI-MAN...

Copyright relevant owner

We're now halfway through The INCREDIBLE TRI-MAN's awesome adventures as far as page-count goes.  You'll notice that the quality of reproduction is variable in places, as SMASH! was printed on cheap paper and sometimes the art was faded or smudged.

I've tidied them up as best I can without labouring too long over them, but at least they're readable and should serve to rekindle a few memories for all those who are old enough to have read these stories back in the day.  (That means you, JP.)

Any comments you'd like to make, you know the drill.

(BOND) BABE OF THE DAY - MADELINE SMITH (AGAIN)...

Go on then, seeing as how you

insist.  Another pic of mesmerizing

MADELINE SMITH.  (It's me she

 wants, not any of you uglies.)

THE 'OUTSIDER'...

I was looking at a photo of where I used to live back in the mid-'60s and early '70s, comparing the field where I used to play across from my house with how it looks today (see here) and a memory jumped into my mind.  Which was that, on the evening of the flitting, after settling into our new home, I made my way back along to that field.

It was almost an instinct.  After all, I didn't yet know anyone in our new neighbourhood, so it felt only natural to continue the habit of nearly seven years and seek out the environs that were familiar to me.  As I entered the field, a group of local kids sitting in a far corner, turned and saw me approaching them.  "What are you doing here?" one of them asked in an unwelcoming tone.

Back then I didn't understand their sullen coldness towards me then, but I think I do now.  We hadn't informed any of our neighbours of our intention to move, so it would have been a surprise to them on the day.  Maybe our moving was regarded as a betrayal of sorts, an abandonment of the area and those who lived there - as if we'd thought we were too good for the place and turned our backs on it.

In only a few short hours the local kids now viewed me as no longer belonging there, but it was yet far too early for me to feel part of our new neighbourhood - leaving me in a kind of limbo as far as 'district identity' goes.  Luckily, I didn't feel too displaced, as our new residence sat atop a hill just as our old one had done, so the general impression of the topography was similar in some ways, which doubtless helped me adjust to the new locale.

I've never quite forgotten just how quick people can be to shut others out of a group at the drop of a hat and consider them 'outsiders'.  Luckily, I've never had a 'gang' mentality, so it didn't much bother me that I was no longer regarded as one of 'the lads' (if I ever had been).  Still, like I said - I've never quite forgotten. 

PART EIGHT OF TOPPS 1966 BATMAN CARDS...

Images copyright DC COMICS & TOPPS

Seven TOPPS BATMAN cards this time around instead of the usual six, as that leaves a half-dozen in the first series of 55 cards to complete the set.  Whether I get around to showing the remaining two series is entirely down to you, Criv-ites, so if you want to see 'em, say so in the comments section.

Did you have these cards as a kid?  Any memories of them, feel free to share, o bombastic Bat-fans.

(BOND) BABE OF THE DAY - MADELINE SMITH...

MADELINE SMITH thinks Saintly

ROGER MOORE is incredibly handsome,

so just wait until the lass cops a gander at me!

(Well, me and big Rog could almost be twins,

what with my gleaming halo and good looks.

 The resemblance is truly uncanny.)

CRIVENS! THE INCREDIBLE TRI-MAN - PART FIVE...

Copyright relevant owner

Things are still hotting up for our hero in these two titanic episodes, SMASH! fans. Most of you will recognize certain elements borrowed from MARVEL's SPIDER-MAN, but if you're going to copy a teenage superhero, you might as well imitate an 'A' lister.  Is anyone else looking at these strips apart from JP, McScotty, TC, and me?  If so, leave a comment to reassure me that I'm not wasting everybody's time.

BABE OF THE DAY - JORDAN CARVER...

JORDAN CARVER feels

a little 'tyred' today.  (I've waited

ages to use that pun - wish I hadn't

now.)  Never mind though, just

 look at those long pins.

POPEYE POPS IN FOR A POST...

Back around the mid-1970s, I found a bendy POPEYE toy and took it home with me.  I was famous for drawing the spinach-chomping sailor in school, so I had sort of an affinity with the character.  I can no longer remember what happened to my little flexible friend, alas, but umpteen years later (in the 21st century), I acquired a similar-sized, poseable plastic figure of the mighty mariner.

No, that's not him in the photo, that's a larger scale, fabric-clothed Popeye (which I bought later) produced by the same company, but I was tidying up my room earlier in preparation for decorating, and 'Pops' was hanging on the wall.  I think it's a great collectable item and decided to show him off on the blog to cheer up all you comics-lovin', cavortin' Criv-ites.

So consider yourselves cheered.

RECOMMENDED READING: DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH #1...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Well, something had to be done, and DC COMICS have now decided to do it.  What the result of that something will be yet remains to be seen, as DC has a history of making changes to their universe that succeeds only in turning off readers in droves.

Some elements of the first CRISIS weren't that bad, but all subsequent tinkerings have left many long-time fans feeling confused and angry.  The NEW 52 was a pile of poo, and now DC are in full 'back-pedal' mode as they seemingly seek to distance themselves from that step in the wrong direction.

This issue is intriguing and shows promise, but only the final result will tell whether this 'rebirth' of the DC Universe is alive and kicking or sadly stillborn.  There's talk of new costumes, which suggests that DC still don't quite realize that part of the problem is the absence of the original, iconic outfits, with which most people are familiar.

Any Criv-ites read the above ish?  Thoughts, theories and observations are most welcome, so get typing.

YAHOOO! PART FOUR OF THE INCREDIBLE TRI-MAN...

Copyright relevant owner

1969!  SMASH!  TRI-MAN!  SOLANO LOPEZ!  And that's all you need to know, frantic ones - go to it!  (So who says I can't be concise when I want to be?)

KULL THE CONQUEROR SPLASH PAGE GALLERY...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS and CONAN PROPERTIES, Int.

Okay, so you've seen a dozen CONAN The BARBARIAN splash pages - now it's time to turn our attention towards another of ROBERT E. HOWARD's heroic characters, KULL The CONQUEROR!  Just look at the talent arrayed in this post: BERNI WRIGHTSON, ROSS ANDRU, WALLY WOOD, MARIE & JOHN SEVERIN, FRANK CHIARAMONTE, and MIKE PLOOG.  Hey, that's some serious artists we've got here.  Kull was a great comic with great art, but you don't need me to tell you that.

So, with no further ado ('cos I'm fresh out), let's savour the greatness together.  Feel free to wax eloquent in our cavortin' comments section.  It's what it was invented for.

MONSTERS On The PROWL #16 fills the gap between #s 2 & 3

BABE OF THE DAY - ABI TITMUS...

ABI TITMUS looks down at me on

the floor after giving me a good whacking

with that there cane of hers.  We're just taking

a rest for a moment or two - she'll be resuming

her physical exertions in five minutes.  (And to

think that there are some people pay for this

 sort of 'exercise'  Me?  Don't be silly.)

BARRY SMITH CONAN THE BARBARIAN SPLASH PAGE GALLERY...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS and CONAN PROPERTIES, Int.

Regular (sort of) reader MOONMANDO enjoyed seeing the splash page from CONAN The BARBARIAN #6 in a recent post, so I thought I'd make him happy by showing the splash pages from the first dozen issues.  Smith had pretty much abandoned his attempts at imitating JACK KIRBY's style by this time and, boy, what an improvement that turned out to be!

Any memories associated with these images?  Got a  favourite?  You know where the comment section is.

Conan's torso isn't quite right here, and his legs look as if they're growing
straight from where his nether-regions should be - but aren't

PART TWELVE OF THE CRUNCH COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

I'd not long turned 21 when this crop of The CRUNCH comics went on sale back in 1979.  It only seems like yesterday to me, not the 36 and a half years that it actually is.  As I've said before, I felt that DCT were trying to emulate the style of IPC's 2000 A.D. with this weekly periodical, but it was destined for a far shorter lifespan than its esteemed rival, which is still being published today, nearly 40 years after it first came out.

The final five covers coming soon, comics fans.