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| Copyright REBELLION |
I can't help but wonder if all those SIMON TEST covers 'tested' the patience of readers who might have preferred a rotation of the comic's heroes getting star treatment every week. I'd have liked to see JANUS STARK and CURSITOR DOOM, etc., each getting a turn now and again, just for the sake of variety. However, what's done is done, and there's no turning back the clock now. At least, not from the point of changing anything, but we can for the purpose of pleasant reminiscing. Ah, happy memories.
I don't remember any of those covers but I’m sure I read most of them at the time - the villain Ezekiel Sparr (what a great name) certainly rings a bell. I do remember trying to get my hands on a “Super Mousse” chocolate bar at this time but they took ages to come north of the border and when I eventually got one it was a poor man’s Milky Way (no doubt I still scoffed it down).
ReplyDeleteThe covers of Smash under IPC were never that striking (with the odd exception) and I wonder if they changed the cover rota and made the covers more memorable if Smash might have lasted longer as it was a great comic with lots in it.
As regards the covers, PM, I certainly don't think variety would've hurt. It was really the strike that killed Smash!, but when it was cancelled it probably had a circulation that most comics today would kill for. I don't recall ever having any difficulty getting Super Mousse bars, and yes, they were similar to Milky Ways, but I still enjoyed them. Funny how a lot of the sweets that came out around that time are no longer around: Aztec bars, Junglies Jellies, Cresta (soft drink), Tonibell Miniballs, and I'm sure there are others I've forgotten.
ReplyDeleteWere the Aztecs still around during the time of the IPC Smashes, Kid?
DeleteI ask, because it didn't seem like they were around for very long and I remember buying one every Saturday,( along with a Bonus bar -remember them? ), in '67 after I had been to the swimming baths and on the way to the newsagent's to pick up my beloved Power comics!
Happy days, indeed!
Kid, I've never heard of Super Mousse or the Rev ice lolly in the previous post or any of those you mentioned except Cresta so they must have all gone by the mid '70s. I definitely remember drinking Cresta and feeling bloated.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember ever buying a Rev ice lolly, CJ, so I don't know when it disappeared. As for Super Mousse, I have a feeling that it lasted beyond the mid-'70s, but don't know when it finally faded into limbo, alas. Wish they'd bring it back. Loved Cresta.
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I believe the Aztec bars were still around at the time of the revamped Smash!, JP, but, again, I couldn't swear to it. They brought them back in 2000 for a limited run. I scoffed a good few, I can tell you.
One of my friends is still nicknamed 'moose' as he used to always have a super mousse in his packed lunch....which was about 40 years ago!
ReplyDeleteMind you I'm still nicknamed Vince after my friend at school saw my Tootal paisley scarf and said I looked like Vincent Price (who had a habit of wearing a cravat)....that was a mere 35 years ago!
And I'm still called 'Kid', 40-odd years after first acquiring the nickname. Funny how these things stick with us, eh?
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