'YESTERDAY' ONCE MORE...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Yesterday, August 1st, was a Saturday.  33 years ago, August 1st was also a Saturday, and that was the day my family moved back to the house we'd previously lived in just over 4 years before for 11 years.  That means I've now lived here three times longer the second time than I did the first, but, curiously, it doesn't feel like that.  I wonder if anyone else has lived somewhere, moved away, then moved back again, and if so, what it feels like to them.  Does their time away seem like a dream that never really happened, or do they just never think about it?  If such a thing has ever happened to you, feel free to share your thoughts.

21 years ago, August 2nd was a Monday, and that was when I was introduced (via nearby neighbours) to a young woman called... well, her name isn't really relevant so no need to identify her.  We had a brief fling, which meant more to me than to her, but I still look back on that time with a certain degree of fondness.  I doubt she'd even remember me now as she led a full life, always travelling and seeking out new places and meeting new people.  I remember her, though, and probably always will, but the longing dissipated a long time ago.  It's a safe bet that she never had any real longing for me, so there wouldn't have been anything on her part to get over.

As I sit typing this post, the realisation that so much time has gone by from each of those events is a sobering thought.  (Not that I've ever been drunk, being a lifelong teetotaller.)  How can they still seem so recent when the first is over half my life away, and the second is more than a third of it?  I've never been able to reconcile the mysteries, paradoxes, and complexities of time, and don't think I'll ever be able to. In one way, I'm glad that I have a pretty good memory when it comes to past events (though don't ask me what I did yesterday), but on the other, I sometimes wonder what it would be like to simply live for the day (or the morrow) and leave the past where it is - even forget it.

As you can tell, I'm in a reflective mood - if you feel you'd like to join in, please feel perfectly free. 

RIP-ROARIN' REPOST - The SILVER SURFER COVER GALLERY OMNIBUS... (With SURPRISE BONUS!)

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

I'm afraid it's another repost, Crivvies.  I'm beginning to wonder whether it's worth the effort of producing new posts when hardly anyone responds to them.  That could be my fault of course, but when I see the kind of dreary, clueless pish that commenters respond to in droves on other sites, I'm not convinced that my writing style or subject matter is the chief reason as to why my posts are seemingly sometimes ignored.  Why not tell me where you think I'm going wrong, and what I should do that would encourage a better response?  I had over 5,000 hits one night last week, so maybe I should be satisfied with that, but comments give a bit of life to a blog and make it more entertaining to the readers as well.

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Yes, I know - I've shown these covers before, but it was over several posts and I thought it would be handy to have them all in one place for all you pantin' panelologists to slobber over.  The first seven issues were double-sized, 25 cents publications, and #8 was prepared that way as well. However, it was split over two issues when it was decided to make the mag a regular-sized, 15 cents monthly.  The series lasted for only 18 issues, so assuming the change was made because it was thought the pricier format was scaring off readers, it wasn't soon enough to make a difference in sales, alas.

JACK KIRBY drew what became the last issue, but the mag's cancellation proved that not even the 'King' could save it.  Sure, it was cancelled before the sales figures came in, but they must've been pretty underwhelming, as the mag would've been revived PDQ had it seemed to MARVEL that they suddenly had a sure-fire runaway hit on their hands.  In fact, it has to be said that Jack's issue is the weakest of the run and proves that STAN LEE was right in having big JOHN BUSCEMA illustrate the previous 17 tales.  I doubt the magazine would've lasted as long as it did had Jack drawn it from the very start , as his art had taken a decidedly cartoonish turn.

Got a favourite?  What memories are stirred in the cavernous confines of your mind as you peruse these powerful images from yesteryear?  Take a moment to savour those recollections, and then share them with the rest of us in the comments section.

Believe it or not, I bought pristine copies of #s 10-14 from a spinner-rack
 in a shop in Blackpool in 1973 or '74 - for the cover price of 5 pence each 

I hadn't noticed before that #18 came out a whole 3 months after #17

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Bashful BARRY PEARL has reminded me that he had a letter published in #14 - it's on the page below.  Barry's a mere youngster, so obviously he must've been only around 6 months old when he wrote it.