BUY Or SQUAWK - The 60 YEARS LATER AFFAIR... (Updated)

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

D.C. Thomson recently reprinted the very first tale from Commando #1 with a brand-new cover by the excellent Ian Kennedy.  Then they followed it up with a sequel as part of their celebrations for the 60th Anniversary of the title, which publishes four mags per month.  I'm not really a fan of war stories, but as this is a special occasion, I bought the two you see here.  Looking forward to reading them later tonight. 

And below is the cover of the very first issue, alongside its 50th Anniversary reprint from 2011.

MIGHTY MARVEL ANNUAL COVER GALLERY...

Art JAMES E. McCONNELL.  Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Time marches relentlessly on, and I find myself amazed by the fact that seven Annuals over a six year period were first published between 43 to 49 years ago.  In that time I went from being a mere schoolboy to a working 'adult', yet I doubt I was aware of the distinction back then.  I was just me, the same as always, and very often we're not really conscious of such changes in our circumstances until long after the fact.  Or are we?  It certainly doesn't feel like it to me in retrospect.

Anyway, several posts back I said I'd do a cover gallery of all 7 Marvel Annual tie-ins to the weekly comic The Mighty World Of Marvel, and as the final three that I needed to complete my collection arrived at Castel Crivens today, there's not much sense in hanging about.  I remember reading somewhere that the cover of the Annual for 1979 was drawn by Frank Miller (and I may well have repeated that claim on the blog somewhere), but inside the book itself, the cover is attributed to Tony DeZuniga and Pablo Marcos.

Perhaps there's a story behind it.  Is the book correct or is it a mistaken attribution after a last minute change of plan where Frank Miller had to step in to the breach after the credits were prepared?  I assume that whoever first made the claim must have a reason for crediting it to Miller, so if anyone knows anything about the subject, kindly step up to the plate and enlighten us, ta much.

I suspect (though I'm not 100% certain) that I had all of these Annuals back in the day, though there's a possibility I might've missed a couple of the later ones.  However, even if I did buy all of them as they appeared, I didn't always keep them from one year to the next, so today is the first time that I've owned all seven at the same time.

So which one's your favourite cover, fellow Crivvies?  I tend to favour the first two, though the 1976 one by Herb Trimpe is good.  Couldn't say whether he drew it specially for us Brits or it was lifted from a previous US source, but it's a nice piece of work.  Anyone know if it appeared elsewhere first and was 'borrowed' for the Annual?  Again, if so, share the details with your fellow Crivvies.

I have completed my task of attempting to entertain you all.  'Tis now your task to be entertained - so get to it and check out these captivating covers!

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Incidentally, the 1975 book is the only one to have a different back cover, so I've included that as well.  The '76-'79 books had the same illustration on the back as on the front, but without the Marvel masthead.  The covers of the '73-'74 Annuals were the exact same on the back as on the front, mastheads and all.

Art GEOFF CAMPION

TOYBOX TREASURES Of The PAST: THEY'VE GOT NO STRINGS...

Sometimes we begin journeys without even realising it, and reach a destination we didn't know we were travelling to until decades later when we finally arrive there.  Which probably sounds far more profound than it actually is, but I have to attract your attention in some way, and making a post sound interesting when perhaps it isn't, is the only way I can think of to lure you in.  (Yes, you're right - I'm a devious rascal.)

I couldn't swear to the year, but it must've been between 1969 and '71, so let's say it was 1970.  I bought a Marx Toys Twistable Geppetto figure from a shop called Nurseryland, but I no longer recall exactly how long I owned it or what happened to it.  However, it was because I once owned that figure that I decided to buy a Pinocchio one when I saw it on eBay a few years back.  Then, recently, I managed to acquire a replacement Geppetto twistable toy, again from eBay, and I felt quite pleased about 'reuniting' father and son.  (Even did a post about it.)

But guess what?  Last week I noticed a Jiminy Cricket figure from the same series, so I bought that as well (handy place, eBay).  As far as I know (I'm sure someone will tell me if I'm mistaken), there were only three figures in the series and I now have all of them - a complete collection (I hope).  So the three pals are back together and no longer exist in isolation, each having two companions for the duration of however long they reside in my vast accumulation of stuff.

And that'll be at least until I fall off the twig, though I'm hoping they'll be kept together when I'm no longer around.  That's four Marx twistable figures I now own - the three seen here, plus a Batman one, and I have no plans to expand this particular group.  Not unless I see something that really appeals to me that is.

Any Crivvies ever have any of those Marx toys when they were kids?  Why not take a moment to tell us all about them?

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As you can see, Jiminy is a little grubby, but that's because he fell into a radioactive patch of mud from which he had to crawl out of.  When he did, he was surprised to find he was now as big as his two pals.  (Sounds convincing to me.)

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Is it just me, or does Geppetto look a bit like Benny Hill as the Toymaker in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?  I wonder if the resemblance was intentional?