The ETERNALS 1985/'86 COVER GALLERY... (A FABULOUS FLASHBACK)

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Believe it or not, images possess a great power - the power to return a person to the time and place they first saw them.  And so it was that I found myself transported 33-odd years into the past when I rediscovered this 12-issue series in a cardboard box back in 2018.  Once more I was in my room in the house I lived in at the time, and once again I was standing in the large cupboard that contained my black metal filing cabinet in which I kept most of my comics.  (I'd probably need around 20 filing cabinets now, and that's just a conservative estimate.)

So strongly do I associate these dozen mags with the house I was then living in that I almost feel out of place in my present surroundings, as if I've suddenly been transported into another dimension.  However, I'm sure you're not here to read my self-indulgent ramblings, you're here for the pretty piccies.  So here's 12 of them to either remind you of comics you had back in the mid-'80s, or to show you what you missed if you weren't around at the time.

The ETERNALS, of course, were created by JACK KIRBY in the mid-'70s and I have all 19 issues plus the Annual, but it was never really a major success for MARVEL.  However, such is the reverence that some fans and comic pros have for all things Kirby, it was decided to revive them in this limited series.  SAL BUSCEMA handled the internal art chores, echoing WALT SIMONSON's style on THOR, but I can't remember anything else about the run.  If I ever get around to re-reading the issues, maybe the memories will come flooding back, but if you're looking for a detailed review of the plot then you've come to the wrong blog, Charlie.

They've more than likely been reprinted in a collected edition by now, so if you're interested in finding out what the storyline was all about, you could try tracking down a copy on eBay.  In the meantime, feel entirely free to enjoy Crivens' cataclysmic cover gallery.  And if you did read these issues back in the day and have anything you wish to say about them, then you know where the comments section is - so don't be shy now. 

LIVING IN A BUBBLE...

It was when we were on holiday in Ayr (I think), around 1963, that I acquired my first Bubble Car.  I've recounted this story before, but there's a reason for me repeating myself, which will become clear in a moment.  We were in an amusement arcade, and one of those 'grappling-hook' machines had a deep red Bubble Car on view.  My father had a go or two at securing it for me, but was unsuccessful.  The manager of the place, hearing my expression of disappointment, invited me to follow him (with my family in tow) and made his way to the back of the arcade.  Pulling aside a curtain to a back storeroom, he opened a box and withdrew something, then presented me with my very own red Bubble Car.  I, of course, was ecstatic at my new acquisition.  To this day though, I can't recall if this was the start of my love affair with Bubble Cars, or it pre-existed before that particular presentation.  (I suspect the latter.)

Anyway, what's all that got to do with the price of cheese?  Simply this.  Around four years ago I acquired the above HEINKEL Bubble Car by OXFORD Diecast (1:18 scale), and though my 1963 version wasn't a Heinkel, it reminds me of the one I had in my infancy (which was a plastic, friction-drive, four-wheeled toy).  I could've got a right-hand drive version, but not in red (only 'Roman Blue'), so I plumped for the left-hand drive model.  Great, innit?  Takes me right back to Ayr in 1963.  Hey, that's some distance, so the 'miles-to-the-gallon' count is quite impressive.

Incidentally, the colour above is described as 'Spartan Red', but looks a bit orangey in these photos from eBay (probably the lighting or the flash).  The one below (also described as 'Spartan Red') better reflects what the actual colour looks like.  So, while I gaze in rapt fascination at my nice 'new' red Bubble Car, I muse in a mildly melancholy manner on the one I owned 59 years ago.  Maybe one day I'll be able to track down a replacement, but in the meantime this one is a very welcome addition to my collection.