WHIZZER And CHIPS - The FIRST THREE...

Copyright REBELLION

A few days ago I returned to 1969 for a short spell with my auction acquisition of the first three issues of Whizzer & Chips.  I already have them (somewhere), but the above trio still had their free gifts and were in better condition.  I also already had the mask, though it was an actual-size facsimile I made from a photo on the Internet after obtaining the height from the top of the hat to the tip of the beard from someone who knew the owner.  What's more, the '69 version is made of paper, not card like the facsimile I created, so it's finally good to have an original.

Any Crivvies buy W&C when it first came out, who have any memories of those halcyon times?  If you had a favourite character, then share your reminiscences in the comments section.  The comic lasted for one week over 21 years, though sadly its anniversary wasn't mentioned or celebrated in the relevant issue.  Guess IPC didn't think there was much point seeing as how the next issue was going to be the final one.  Interestingly, I purchased the last ish from the same shop where I'd bought the first one.  Full circle, eh?  Right, get typing, Crivs, this blog needs you!

******

(Just think - the comic has been gone from newsagents' counters for 35 years now, 14 years longer than its 21 year lifespan, yet somehow it doesn't seem anywhere near as long.)  

In case you're interested, below is the actual-sized facsimile (as per the original) I made a few years ago.  Great, innit?!  (I'm so talented, though it helps if you've got a good scanner/printer.)

CONAN The BARBARIAN - In The SKULL Of SET...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS and CONAN PROPERTIES Int.

Above is a replacement copy of a book that regular reader McScotty gave me a few years back.  I asked him if it was okay to pass it on (unread) to someone I knew who'd been intending to track one down for some time and McS was okay with that.  It wasn't in quite the condition I prefer my possessions to be in anyway, and I made a mental note to acquire a better one whenever the opportunity arose, as it did recently.

It arrived at Castel Crivens yesterday and I read it while perched on the porcelain, and I have to say I very much enjoyed it.  So, if you've never seen this book before, track one down on eBay and add it to your collection while you can.  Or, if you already own it, wax lyrical about exactly why you like it in our comments section.

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST...

Joe at back door of his family home when it was up for sale

Just learned this afternoon that a childhood friend died yesterday at home*.  I say 'childhood friend', but though we first met in 1965 and were friends into adulthood, I stopped having anything to do with him in 1982 as he could no longer be relied on to keep his word.  Around 2010 we resumed our friendship, but in the interim he had become an alcoholic and a drug addict, adding those vices to that of his chain-smoking.  I fell out with him again a few years ago because he'd become a bad-tempered, paranoid, surly, unpleasant, rude individual (too much cannabis) and the occasional fleeting glimpses of the person he'd once been weren't sufficient to enable me to overlook his excesses when they reared their ugly head.  His name?  Joseph Walter Beattie and he was a year or two younger than me.

We'd lived in the same street in the 1960s and, together with the late Alan Adam Bowie, the three of us comprised 'The Adventurers', a name I'd chosen because of the numerous escapades in which, in the innocence of youth, we became embroiled back when we thought we had forever in front us.  Whether Alan or Joe ever applied the appellation to themselves I have no idea, but that's how I envisioned us whenever we were exploring places we had no right to be or were even safe to go or not.  Ah, what fun and excitement we had, often escaping the potentially dire consequences of our exploits by the skin of our teeth and living to tell (no doubt with a heavy helping of hyperbole) of our excursions into spectacular situations and scary scenarios.  I'll never see days like that again, nor will Alan or Joe.

Perhaps they're both now in a better place, reminiscing about old times and wondering just where their 'leader' is?  Given the state of my health these days, who knows - perhaps it won't be very long 'til I join them, but I continue to hope I've got at least another 50 years before that happens.  So long, Joe - here's to the person you once were before you fell in with bad company and allowed yourself to be led along the wrong path in life.

******

(*Since first publishing this, I've been advised he actually passed away at home so I've amended the post.  He'd been in palliative care, but didn't want to die in hospital so returned home for a short while 'til the Grim Reaper claimed him.) 

Joe in the living room of his family home when it was up for sale after his mother died

HUGH AND I...

The afternoon Moon.  Photo by Kid Robson

Hugh was a nice big fella - tall, thin, quiet and unassuming.  I'd met him back in 1983 when I was attending night-classes at my old secondary school (now demolished), and he was one of those people with whom it was immediately easy to get along.  I'd left school at 16 before sitting any Highers, and now I was seeking to redress the oversight by studying for Higher English.  (Passed it.)

However, it wasn't until after we'd sat our exams and night-school was over that Hugh and I became friends rather than just mere acquaintances.  Not the sort of friends who palled about regularly, or who made arrangements to meet up or anything like that.  It was just a case of whenever we ran into one another, we'd pass the time by 'shooting the breeze' and perhaps having a coffee together.  Sometimes he preferred a pint, so we'd find a bar and I would partake of a Coke (in a dirty glass - nothing soft about me), and we'd kill an hour or two in conversation.

The last time I saw Hugh, I treated him to a meal in a local eatery (update: also now demolished) and we reminisced about 'old times'.  We'd only known each other for about seven years or so, so our shared recollections didn't reach back too far, but Hugh was a bookworm and always had something interesting to say.  He was also a book rep, which meant he had a car, so when we'd finished our meal and had a gab, he deposited me at my house and said goodbye. "We'll do this again sometime," he said.  "My treat."

A couple of months later (or so it seemed), I was reading the 'In Memoriam' column in my local paper and spied a familiar name.  It was the first 'anniversary' of the death of someone's beloved son, and I was surprised to see that the name of the deceased was the same as Hugh's.  Couldn't be him of course, as I'd last seen him only a couple of months back and the poor guy in the paper had been dead for a year.

However, as the day wore on, something gnawed at the back of my mind, and eventually I 'phoned a Glasgow shop which Hugh used to supply with books from time to time.  A guy called Stevie answered and I asked if he knew the book rep named Hugh, and whether he'd seen him recently.  "He's dead," he said.  "Got hit by a bus around a year ago."  Thanking him, I put down the 'phone and slowly let the confirmation of my nagging suspicion sink in.

That meant I'd last seen Hugh over a year before, despite it seeming far more recent than that.  I could hardly believe it - he'd been resting in his grave (or his urn) for over twelve months while I, in my ignorance, still trotted about permissively, half-expecting to run into him at any time.  Even after I learned of his death, I'd occasionally see someone in my local shopping centre and absent-mindedly think "Is that Hugh?", ready to call out to him before sadly remembering that he was no longer around.

Funny how quickly time passes, isn't it?  It's now over thirty-three years since I learned Hugh had died, and it still only seems like a few months since we ate and talked and laughed together, and he dropped me off outside my house with the promise of "doing it again sometime".  Sadly, for Hugh, that "sometime" never came - nor, in fact, for me either.  But who knows?  Maybe one day, perhaps - in another place, another time.

And Hugh - if so, you're buying.

(Originally published Sunday 12th August 2012.)

The same photo, digitally transformed into night-time

NOW HERE'S A FELLOW WITH AN IMPRESSIVE PEDIGREE...

Character copyright relevant owner

One of the finest pieces of TV tie-in merchandise ever produced is, in my opinion, Pedigree Toys' 12 inch action figure of Captain Scarlet from the late '60s.  I first saw it on display in the window of a shop called Nurseryland in my local town centre and, some time later, I was a little jealous when I discovered that one of my pals (the late Alan Bowie, previously referred to by me on the blog as Adam Cowie and Billy Liar) had been bought one by his parents as, I think, a Christmas (or birthday) present.

I later swapped him an Action Man for it, and must confess to being somewhat surprised at his acceptance of my proposal of the exchange as I had my doubts he'd go for it.  I can only assume Action Man perhaps had more street cred as a 'must-have' toy than poor Paul Metcalfe (Scarlet), but that's how the toy first came into my possession.  If I recall correctly, Alan later wanted to swap back, but I was having none of it and the good ol' Cap remained a part of my toy horde for at least a couple of years.

In 1970 my family holidayed in Rothesay, and for some (forgotten) reason I took the good Captain's boots with me, which I fitted onto a newly-purchased cheap Action Man 'knock-off', acquired at some point during our fortnight's stay.  The figure was produced by a company called Mintex and had the same face as Pedigree's Tommy Gunn (though the actual figure itself was inferior).  As Captain Scarlet was also a Pedigree toy and had the same body as Tommy, I found that rather appropriate (if ironic).

Then disaster struck.  In attempting to remove the boots, I inadvertently pulled the figure's feet off along with them, so in a fit of frustration (after first removing the feet) I hurled the boots off the end of the pier into the sea.  Wish I hadn't now, though it's decades too late to do anything about it.  Nowadays, I own at least two Captain Scarlet figures, two or three Tommy Gunn figures (as well as a few from when Zodiac Toys took over their production) and various other Action Men from down through the years.

Both Scarlet figures have their original boots, though only one of them has anything approaching an almost full uniform.  The gun and belt are missing, the cap's visor is cracked, and the tunic is in a poor state of repair.  I therefore commandeered a uniform from a Vivid Imaginations Scarlet figure from the '90s for one of the Pedigree toys, and very smart he is in it too.  They're all in a box in a cupboard or somewhere up in the loft at the moment, otherwise I'd show them all together for your personal perusal.

However guess what?  I recently decided to treat myself and bought another Pedigree Scarlet figure, this time boxed and with a complete uniform.  That's him above and below, and isn't he a handsome chap in his lovely Spectrum outfit.  (Oo-er, I hope I'm not on the 'turn'.)  What I mean, of course, is that it's a very handsome toy and a welcome addition to my vast accumulation of stuff, action figures in particular.  When I look at it/him, I can't help but think of that long-vanished shop from my youth.

And also, curiously (or perhaps not), my long-gone pal Alan, who died 12 years ago, 32 years after I last saw and spoke with him.  Ah, the past has come back to haunt me, but that's the kind of 'ghosts' I can live with, bittersweet as they can sometimes be.  How about you, Crivvies?  Any toys from childhood you miss, replete with their associated memories, that you'd like to own again?  (Doesn't have to be action figures.)  Wax nostalgically in our hungry-for-input comments section.  This blog's nothing without you.

The FANTASTIC FOUR #10 Facsimile Edition...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Behold - the latest Facsimile Edition in the Fantastic Four series by Marvel Comics.  Two more to go before this sequential run ends, unless, of course, they've been selling so well they keep on going.  I certainly wouldn't mind, even though I've already got all the Lee & Kirby FF mags in a mix of original monthlies and collected reprints.  Anyway, for your eyes only, all the 'chapter' pages plus the pin-up contained in this classic '60s tale.  Feel free to share any reminiscences you have of this story, whether from the original ish or one of the various reprints.

BABE Of The DAY - DIANA REEVES...

Delectable Diana Reeves stands

next to the new pizza vending machine in

SHADO HQ, waiting for her pineapple and

pepperoni 12-incher to pop out.  And  no -

that's not intended as a double entendre,

 you mucky-minded lot.  Behave!

The COMPLETE HOWARD The DUCK COMPLETE COLLECTION... (Hee-Hee - See What I Did There?)

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

For no other reason than I can't think of anything else to write about, I thought I'd repost these covers of the four softcover volumes of Howard The Duck The Complete Collection.  However, that's not quite accurate - actually, there is another reason, which is because there's some nice art on view on these covers that's worth looking at.   Remember when, back in the '70s, Howard was the next best thing since sliced bread?  It remains to be seen whether he'll ever be as big again, but let's revel in his glory days just for old times' sake.  Got a favourite cover or Howard adventure?  Then share it with your fellow Crivs in our comments section.  (And remember, click on images to enlarge, then click again for optimum size.)  [I love the back cover to Volume 3.]

MYTEK The MIGHTY Volume Three...

MYTEK copyright REBELLION

Above, the third volume in a series of four, reprinting all of the Mytek The Mighty strips from Valiant.  I've recently completed volume one and thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to working my way (slowly) through all four books when the final one is published soon.  To be honest, I was never much of a fan of the strip on the few occasions I encountered it in my youth, as Mytek was no longer featured in Valiant by the time I started buying it.  His strips were reprinted in Vulcan around the mid-'70s, but never really grabbed me for some reason, maybe because I was too entranced by Don Laurence's art in The Trigan Empire.

It could also have been because Mytek, being a robot, doesn't really have much, if any, of a 'personality' and doesn't speak, not even in a Hulk-like way, though it's possible he developed the ability to talk in later strips which I haven't yet read.  The stories pull no punches - people are routinely killed by the dozens, if not hundreds, at regular intervals under Mytek's onslaught against villages, towns, and cities, while in the control of Gogra the dwarf (now there's a catchy name), with none of the customary copouts usually seen in comics such as "Luckily, the buildings were deserted as they were due for demolition".  Make no mistake - people die!

The artwork is top-notch, though the size of Mytek seems to vary on occasion.  I still prefer Rebellion's Robot Archie volumes as Archie has a personality and is an ego-maniac with attitude, lending a touch of humour to his otherwise serious adventures, but all lovers of classic British comics will be sure to enjoy Mytek's four volume series (4 coming soon), available from Steve Holland's Bear Alley Books.  Get your orders in now - link in sidebar.

BABE Of The DAY - WANDA VENTHAM...

This lovely lass is Wanda Ventham,

actor Benedict Cumberbatch's mother,

believe it or don't.  Well, it doesn't take sleuths

like Sherlock Holmes to tell me the bleeding

obvious - that his mother is a complete and

utter babe.  (Elementary, Watson.)

The Complete BUZZ #1...

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

I'd not long turned 14 when a new DCT comic weekly hit newsagents' counters in January of 1973.  Although it says 'Every Monday' on the cover, I've a feeling I bought it on a Saturday when it first went on sale, though I'm not 100% sure.  Strangely for me, I've no memory of the contents or characters*, or of when I stopped buying the comic, which lasted 103 issues until it was merged with The Topper in 1975 with the issue dated 11th January.

When I say I've no memory of the characters from their debut strips in Buzz, I remember some of them from their later appearance in The Topper (though I didn't then realise they were from Buzz).  Buzz was a big comic, size-wise, but contained a mere 16 pages, including the covers.  It was the same dimensions as The Topper and The Beezer when they were around A3-size.  Anyway, Crivs, here's the complete first issue for your perusal.

(You can see a photo of the free gift at the bottom of the post.)

*With the exception of Nero And Zero, who I recognised from a small strip in The Fun Section of The Sunday Post, though they were reprints, I believe, from The Wizard, where they'd first appeared in the '30s.  The strip back then was drawn by Allan Morley, who died in 1960.  As for Big Fat Flo, publishers wouldn't risk getting away with a name like that in a comic nowadays.  The three strips on that page look a little dated, even for 1973, so I wonder if they might be reprints from DCT's back catalogue - anyone know?

BEARS Of The DAY - TEDDY & His TEDDY...

Saw the above pic on a digital screen in the window of the local Job Centre office as I was passing one day and decided to take a photo of it.  (Lucky I had my camera with me.)  I think it's cute and thought you might too.  Any Crivs still got their childhood teddies?  Just wondering.

HAPPY 53rd BIRTHDAY MWOM #1...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

I've posted before about the Anniversary of The Mighty World Of Marvel #1 (several times over the years), so I'll spare you a repeat of what I said on those occasions and just show the cover of the comic that hit newsagents' shelves on September 30th 1972 - 53 years ago - to mark the event.  Honest, I recall buying it as though it were only yesterday.  Did you have this comic back in the day?  Then share your memories in the comments section.