PART TEN OF SECRET ORIGINS COVER & IMAGE GALLERY...

Copyright DC COMICS

Guess what, Crivs?  It's been over 2 and-a-half years since the previous post in this series, and 8 years since the first one.  I can only scan in small 'doses' as I find it too wearying having to stand up while doing so, and I have to empty a drawer in a filing cabinet to get to my Secret Origins issues, and then put them back again when I've finished.  I therefore scan them in limited batches to make it slightly less onerous, but I have some good news for you.  Although you see only 5 issues in this post, I scanned 10, so I have a batch in-hand for the next entry.  That leaves only 10 issues of the original series to go, plus 3 Annuals and one Special.  So - nearly there then.

I chose pages with (hopefully) a bit of impact or with the story title on them, so the first page of each strip isn't always included.  The ones I've used though, should perhaps whet your appetite if you're of a mind to hunt any of them down on eBay.  To be honest, the majority of tales and characters are less than impressive, and one day I may whittle down the set to include only the ones that interest me.  Then again, maybe not.  (Perhaps I should read them all first, eh?)

Anyway, enjoy the piccies and be sure to leave a comment, even if it's only to tell me I need to get a haircut and lose some weight.  Hey, I don't care, just so long as you comment.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES. (What Memories?)

It's odd the things you think about when you have too much time on your hands, even when, paradoxically, it often feels like there's never enough time in the day to do all the things you need to.  When I attended secondary school in the first half of the '70s, for around the first two years, I did so from one house in a particular neighbourhood, and for the next two-and-a-half years, from another house in another neighbourhood.

What I didn't realise at the time though (or at least I have no memory of doing so), was that attending the same school from two different areas had a blurring effect on my awareness of the fact I was now living elsewhere.  It would no doubt have been different if I'd switched to another school (as I probably should have) as then the whole fabric of my daily life would've been altered, but as most of my day-to-day experience during school hours was unchanged, my relocation to another house and area didn't seem significant or memorable.

In fact, when I think back to those school days now, unless I can place them according to whatever dated comics I was buying, I'm not always certain exactly which house I was living in when reminiscing about certain things.  Did that event happen when I was in the former house or the latter?  I remember an art teacher by the name of Mrs. Barclay complimenting me on my drawing of a horse, for which I'd used a Marx Toys Thunderbolt Palomino as reference (so I must've drawn it at home as I didn't take the horse into school with me), but I can no longer recall which house I was living in at the time.  (Still got 'im too - see photo above.)

Nowadays my memory is certainly atrophying with alarming alacrity, and I can no longer recollect some things with the same clarity and readiness I once used to, and it feels similar to a favourite cassette or video tape getting damaged in the player, resulting in parts being no longer as intelligible or discernible as they once were - only garbled remnants that elude recognition.  It almost feels like my past life is being eroded and placed beyond my reach, and if a person no longer has their memories, then just what are they left with?

You ever think about such things, Crivs?  And do you have any once fondly-recalled memories that you realise are a little more difficult to access in the caverns of your mind than they used to be?  If so, record them in our comments section before they dissolve forever.

(BOND) BABE Of The DAY - VALERIE LEON...

 Wish I'd a skirt like Valerie's,

Crivs - and also a gal like her to fill

 it.  Don't really want much, do I?

JOHN BYRNE'S ALPHA FLIGHT COVER GALLERY OMNIBUS...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

For 28 issues back in the '80s, John Byrne both wrote and drew Alpha Flight, before jumping over to do the same for The Hulk for what turned out to be only half-a-dozen mags.  So though I've shown these covers before along with their splash pages (in 2021), I thought it would be fun to remind you Crivs of what they looked like in a cover gallery omnibus.  Aren't I a great guy?!  (Huh!  You could hear a pin drop in here.)  Feel free to comment.  (Are you out there, McScotty?  Neal Adams!)

TWO NEAL ADAMS DC FACSIMILE EDITIONS...

Copyright DC COMICS

Hooray, just arrived today at Castel Crivens, two more great DC Facsimile Editions that all true comicbook fans will want in their collections - even if they already have the originals.  First up, above, is the Collectors' Edition of Superman's battle with Muhammad Ali, which I passed on first time around in the '70s, though I subsequently acquired two hardback volumes (one Treasury-sized, the other slightly smaller) a few years back.

I notice there are no ads in the facsimile (despite a small-print note saying all ads are expired), which strikes me as odd, as the last story page is printed on the inside of the cover and I doubt it was the same in the original.  I suspect it's because scanned ads don't look quite so good in this size of publication so DC decided to completely omit them.  I'm basing this assumption on the earlier Ras Al Ghul Collectors' Edition facsimile, because the (in-house) ads in that were clearly scanned from a published original issue and the reproduction was less than stellar.  Can anyone with the original Supes/Ali mag check and let me know if it had ads or not?  Ta.

Next up, below, is Detective Comics #400, which I owned back in the day, but never kept.  Although I have the main story in various reprints, it's good to own the next best thing to an original copy, and this facsimile fits the bill, especially as it also contains the back-up tale, which I don't think I've read since the '70s.  Anyway, what are you all waiting for?  Get straight 'round to your nearest comics speciality shop and plunk your pennies (well, pounds, actually) on the counter and experience again the thrill of your youth when you first read these two classics.

However, don't worry if you didn't on account of not being around at the time - you can buy them too!  Enjoy!  Comments welcome, Crivvies.  (Are you listening, McS - I said Neal Adams!)