ROBERT THE ROBOT - I CAN SEE RIGHT THROUGH YOU (WELL, ALMOST)...

Copyright relevant owner

Many years ago, back in the early '90s most likely, I bought white metal recasts of the Fireball XL5 crew which had been part of the MPC Fireball playset manufactured in the early '60s.  (Which costs a small fortune on the collectors market these days.)  I had a choice of painted or unpainted and opted for the unpainted ones, figuring I could do them myself when time allowed.  Guess what though?  Time has never allowed and they're tucked away somewhere, awaiting the application of a paintbrush by my own fair hand whenever I have a chance to get around to it.

Several years back, I noticed that someone in Canada was producing almost transparent recasts of the Robert figure and I finally got around to buying one a few weeks ago, which arrived today.  At last, a Robert the Robot figure that resembles his TV counterpart, and even though he doesn't have mechanical 'innards', it's the closest I think we'll ever see to how he should look as far as a 'toy' goes.  So I'm a very happy chappie and thought I'd give you a glimpse of the newest addition to my vast accumulation of stuff.  (H'mm, now where have I heard that expression before?)

And if there are any toy companies out there reading this, I'd love to see a Jetmobile with Robert on it, similar to the Golden Gate one with Steve Zodiac and Zoony from the '60s.  So what are you waiting for?  Get to work before I fall off the twig.  And what about the rest of you Crivvies?  Are any of you fans of Robert, or do you have a different all-time favourite Gerry Anderson character?  Do tell!

Update May '26: And I've now also got an original MPC Robert as well.  Hooray for me!

PART SIX Of STAN LEE PRESENTS: The UNCANNY X-MEN...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Hi, true believers, Smilin' Stan Lee here again, inhabiting the form of a Mego 8 inch action figure through which I communicate with you earthbound fans from my comfy cloud in the Heavenly Hills.  Thus far we've looked at Thor, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and the good ol' Fantastic Four, so let's now turn our attention to The Uncanny X-Men.

Sometimes I just can't win.  Back in the '60s I gave writer Arnold Drake a crack at writing the X-Men, only to later learn that he thought I'd ripped-off his Doom Patrol series for DC Comics.  Both mags featured a wheelchair-bound leader of strangely-powered misfits, and each team had a group of baddies they fought on a regular basis.  In Doom Patrol's case it was The Brotherhood of Evil, and in the X-Men's case it was The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.  Doom Patrol debuted around 3 months before X-Men, but it usually took around 6 months to put a new comic together, so the timeline doesn't really allow for Arnold's claim.  He tried to get around that fact by claiming I must somehow have learned of his idea before it appeared in print - perhaps in a tip-off from someone at DC.

Then there are those who claim it was Jolly Jack Kirby who dreamed up the X-Men and all I did was dialogue his pages based on his margin notes - yet Jack is never accused of ripping-off the Doom Patrol, only me.  So if I had nothing to do with creating the X-Men, how can I have ripped-off the Doom Patrol?  And if Jack came up with Marvel's merry mutants, why does he get a pass on having plagiarised DC's team?  See what I mean?  I lose out either way - it's no wonder I suspect there are some people who just plain don't like me.  Anyway, contrary to those calumnious claims, I, along with Jack, created the X-Men, and the Doom Patrol had nothing to do with their birth.  It was simply one of those curious coincidences that occur from time to time in the world of comics.

I was the first scripter of the X-Men, followed by Roy Thomas, Arnold Drake, and almost countless others since then.  I gotta say I'm proud of Roy, who took on the mag without missing a beat and continued in a style almost indistinguishable from my own.  If it hadn't been for the credits, I'd probably never have been aware that I wasn't still writing the strip.  (I've got a terrible memory y'know - can't recall whether I've mentioned it before.)  Good on ya, Roy.  Incidentally, Arnold's up here too and I've forgiven him for his rash claims, so panic ye not, Merry Marvel Maniacs - harmony reigns in these here Heavenly Hills.

Excelsior!  And may your amulet never tickle!

My very own ish of DP's debut.  Copyright DC COMICS