BABE Of The DAY - FLEUR EAST...

Fleur East - a gal I'd never heard of 'til

recently.  However, she's certainly a babe

who's worthy of appearing on Crivens, I'm

sure you'll agree.  You do, don't you?

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS - TOO LATE, THEY'RE HERE! (ALONG WITH SOME GOOD ONES)...

Images copyright relevant and respective owners

Above is a comic mag I got a wee while back, mainly because the cover is based on that of the 1976 Fireside book Bring On The Bad Guys by Stan Lee (with a little help from a whole kaboodle of collaborators).  Below is the original cover, though I have to say I like Dr. Doom's right hand on the new cover more than on the old one.  That aside, it would probably be hard to distinguish between the two pieces of artwork from just a quick glance at them side-by-side if not for the mastheads.  I haven't read the mag yet, so I'm undecided on whether I'll buy subsequent issues, though probably not.  (I've had the book since I first bought it way back in the dim and distant days of the '70s.)

Next is a Golden Age-sized facsimile of Superman #1, though as the interior images are the same size as the standard reprints of this classic issue, I'm not sure why DC bothered.  When they did Detective Comics #27 in this format, they scanned the interiors from a 1939 original, and apart from the price on the cover and the barcode on the back, the interiors looked just like they did when the issue was initially published back in the '30s.  The GA Action Comics #1 and Superman #1 contain brand-spanking new images with a huge margin around them.  Whatever happened to consistency?  Still worth having though.

Below is the second monthly ish of Panini's new Fantastic Four mag.  I read #1 and #2 over the last few days and quite enjoyed them, though as yet remain undecided whether I'll continue with the title past the third issue.  Time will surely tell.

Below is one I've been looking to acquire for quite a number of years now - Valiant & TV21 Summer Special for 1973.  Can't remember whether I actually owned this one back in the day, but I might have done and that's good enough for yours truly.*  Nabbed it at last, though I think I might already have it on a data disc somewhere, but if so, that was just a stopgap.  Nothing beats the real thing.  (*I know I had the Valiant & TV21 Summer Special for 1972 and I don't like having one without the other so I now own both of them.)

Been extremely tired recently, Crivs, and suffering from intense spasms of pain throughout my body, hence the dearth of posts on Crivens, but I'll try and do better in the weeks ahead.  (Though if posts remain a bit sparse, you'll know why.)  Can't get a doctor's appointment because whenever I 'phone, I get put on hold for half-an-hour, only to be informed that all the appointments have been allocated for the day, so to try again tomorrow.  I've actually visited the surgery in person to see if I could see a doctor or arrange an appointment, but been told I'll have to 'phone for one.  Absolutely disgraceful state of affairs, I'm sure you'd agree, but there's nothing I can do about it.

Apart from die from an undiagnosed illness, that is, but I'm hoping that isn't an option.  Anyway, enjoy the covers.  Got a favourite?  Then say so you know where. 

"IN THE TOWN WHERE I WAS BORN..."

Copyright relevant owner

Back in what must've been the very early '70s, I acquired a Corgi Toys Beatles Yellow Submarine from a jumble sale held in the church across the road from my house.  Because of this, when Corgi reissued the sub in, I think, 1997, I bought two of them - one to tuck away, the other for display.  Originally, there were two versions, one with white and yellow hatches (and a red stripe separating the lower half from the conning tower), and one with red hatches (and no red stripe).  The push-'button levers' for springing open the hatches were unpainted metal (which tarnished over the years), though were painted black for the '90s reissues.

Here's where it gets confusing.  Corgi say that the two versions were released in the same year (1969), but they're not sure which came first or whether both were available at the same time.  Some other sources claim that the red hatched edition didn't go on sale until 1971, but the original '69 box had a picture of the sub on the back with white and yellow hatches, respectively, if that's any indication of sequence.  I once thought my jumble sale acquisition had red hatches, but this may have been due to the fact that when I bought my '90s models, they had red hatches and this may have 'coloured' my memory.  (Good one, Gordie.)

When I recently bought the white and yellow hatched version from the Corgi Shop, it seemed familiar, so it's always possible the one I had in the '60s/'70s was the same.  Either way, I've got both versions now - the Corgi Model Club red hatched version and the Corgi Shop white and yellow hatched incarnation, as well as my two '90s reissues.  There was a slight problem with the '90s model, in that when you released the hatches, they sprang back and the stem/hinge hit the metal behind it, which chipped the paint on the hatches over repeated use.  I took one apart and affixed something to the insides to prevent this happening, but I'm glad to report that Corgi has now remedied the flaw in the current versions, though they may've done this a few years back.

Contrary to the box's claim, the periscopes rotate, not bob up and down

The '60s original said Corgi Toys on the base (and Made In Gt. Britain), the modern reissues since the '90s have no raised country of origin on them (they're made in China) and sport the Corgi dog symbol along with the name Corgi (and The Beatles Yellow Submarine logo).  That'll be because they're not regarded as toys for kids these days, but models for the 'adult collector' and nobody under the age of 14.  (When did 14 year-olds become adults?)  The Corgi Shop version has the 'levers' painted black, the CMC ones are unpainted as per the originals.

Did you have a Yellow Submarine when you were a kid, Crivs, and were/are you a Beatles fan?  Which one of these two versions do you prefer?  And, while you're here, why not reveal what your top three favourite Beatles songs are?  Don't be shy now, tell all your fellow readers what you think in our comments section (before I die would be nice).