COMIC COVERS 'SNAP'! PART TWENTY-THREE - LION & THUNDER HAVE GOT IT COVERED...

Copyright REBELLION

One of my favourite covers is THUNDER Annual (below) for 1972 (issued around August or September 1971), which I first bought in December of '71 from the proceeds of a 50 pence Christmas tip given to me by an elderly couple on my paper round.  (The book cost 60p so I added the remaining 10p myself.  Considering I only got paid £1 for delivering papers in all weathers seven days a week, that 50p was extremely generous - half my week's wages in fact.)  

However, I've only just discovered that it was a 'homage' (to put it nicely) to the cover of a 1965 issue of LION comic weekly (above).  I think there's little doubt that, sequentially-speaking (in order of publication), the former 'inspired' the latter, eh?  It's interesting to note that Thunder weekly was merged into Lion after only 22 issues, several months before the Annual even went on sale (though it would've been commissioned long before the merger).

Incidentally, I was unsure whether the bird was an Eagle or a Vulture, but having now looked at the text story inside, it's actually a Condor (part of the Vulture family).  Award yourself a prize if you knew that from the first.  Also of interest is the fact that the above Lion comic contains an episode of a serial called The GARDEN Of FEAR, and the complete tale (though probably edited to omit recaps) is reprinted in the very Thunder Annual below.   

Got a preference, folks?  And why?  The comments section awaits your welcome presence - don't disappoint it.