ANYONE NEED A COVER FOR THEIR FIREBALL XL5 SINGLE?

Two going spare...

I'm lucky enough to own three 1960s 45 rpm record singles of the theme from Fireball XL5 - two black label ones, plus the original blue label version.  Originally, they were released in standard HMV sleeves, but I wanted something a little more fancy.  (Incidentally, these singles aren't to be confused with the recent reissue on orange vinyl by Silva Screen Records, which I also have.)  Many years ago, sometime in the '90s, someone very kindly lent me their EP version of the theme so that I could tape it and make a replica of the cover.  That was farsighted of me, as I recently managed to obtain a copy of the actual EP itself, but without its sleeve.  You'll be happy to know that the two are now united.

Anyway, around 8 months back I scanned my replica cover, made a few adjustments (removing mention of the two extra tunes that aren't on the single), and had a go at making paper covers for my three original records, which I successfully did.  There was a bit of trial and effort involved before I was more-or-less satisfied with the results, and I have two of these 'trial' versions available to anyone who would like one.  (Only one per person.)  So if you have the '60s single and fancy a nice sleeve (though not as nice as mine) to store it in, just let me know and I'll send you one at my own expense.  First come, first served.

The way to do it is send your name and address to the comments section, which has comment moderation so nobody will see your address because I won't publish it.  I'll send out a cover and your address will be deleted from my computer.  It won't be sold on, given to anyone, or used for any other purpose, so you can relax.

The pic above shows the two sleeves side-by-side - the back of one, the front of the other - so no assembly required.  Like I said - only two available so better be quick!  And remember - the record isn't included.  

JOHN BYRNE'S ALPHA FLIGHT COVER & SPLASH PAGE GALLERY PART ONE...

Canada's coolest super-team (spot the pun)...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

 

Back in the early '80s, John Byrne was a hot property as a writer and artist at Marvel.  In that dual capacity on The Fantastic Four, he had made the FF 'The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!' again and it seemed like there was no stopping him.  When his newest title at the time (Alpha Flight) hit the stands, I leapt aboard, and stayed with the mag for all of Byrne's 28 issues.  In fact, I stayed beyond that when a new creative team took over and The Byrnester jumped ship over to The Hulk for 6 issues, but most of my non-Byrne issues are up in the loft somewhere and it's only his run that I keep relatively handy.

 

I no longer recall for sure, but I may've been living in my current house when the first ish came out, but had probably flitted before the next couple of them went on sale.  The first issue is cover-dated August, which means it would usually go on sale on or around May, and that was the month in which I moved.  It therefore depends at what point in May it was available as to whether I was living in one house or the other; not that it's important to you.  (An added difficulty in determining the precise date is that I think comics sometimes hit shops in advance of their usual 'on sale' date, so #1 of AF might've been released before May.  I could be mistaken on that, and perhaps it's only the usual 3 month 'lead-in' time I'm thinking of.)

 

Anyway, as regular readers know, I returned this house just over 4 years later, but I've never looked past these comics' covers in the 33 years I've been back, so it's well-overdue for me to refresh my memory as to why John Byrne could once seemingly do no wrong for so long and I plan on re-reading these mags first chance I get.  In the meantime though, I thought I'd treat you Crivvies to a look at his covers and splash pages from the first 10 issues, with the remainder to follow in two parts in the very near future.  At last you have something to look forward to and your life is once again meaningful.  Am I a great guy or what?

 

Did you buy Alpha Flight back in the day?  What are your memories, and why do you think that John Byrne was so popular at the time, but eventually seemed to fall out of favour with readers and comics publishers alike?  Or is that an unfair assessment that does him an injustice?  Thoughts, theories, and observations are welcome in the comments section.  For Part Two, click here, for Part Three, click here.