BOND, BROSNAN, BOOKS And ROUNDABOUTS...

Dust-jacket design by Stefan Dreja

I once borrowed a book from my local central library, and - against a multi-coloured panoply of flowers in a sunken roundabout - sat reading it as a glorious mid-'70s hot summer sun shone down upon me.  The book was JAMES BOND In The CINEMA by JOHN BROSNAN, and a year or two later, I was able to obtain my very own copy from GRANT'S BOOKSHOP just outside Glasgow's Central Station.

Sean Connery as James Bond

The book was published in 1972 and covers the first seven movies in the series, DR. NO to DIAMONDS Are FOREVER.  It's an extremely entertaining and engrossing read, capturing the mood of the films perfectly, although there are a few minor discrepancies in the description of events.  However, Brosnan originally hailed from Australia, where Bond movies were heavily edited in line with the country's strict censorship laws, so that no doubt accounts for some of the occasional and inconsequential (relatively speaking, of course) inaccuracies in matters of detail.

Before the age of videos and DVDs in which a viewer can watch and freeze-frame a movie at his leisure and to his heart's content, the only way to 'relive' a film was to go and see it again at the cinema (this was before the Bond back-catalogue had been sold to TV), buy the soundtrack LP - or to immerse oneself in the pages of a book such as this devoted to the subject.  Brosnan's book is lavishly illustrated with over one hundred stills, virtually all supplied by UNITED ARTISTS themselves.

Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore

I was so impressed by this book that I bought another copy several years later direct from the publishers, The TANTIVY PRESS.  Now I have a pristine copy, plus my well-thumbed original which I can delve into whenever the fancy takes me.  And, whenever I do, I'm right back in the darkened gloom of my local cinema (middle seat, back row) on a Saturday afternoon in the early '70s - where I was fortunate enough to see all six of SEAN CONNERY's 'official' EON Bond blockbusters on the largest screen in Scotland in the first purpose-built cinema in the U.K. since the second world war.

  

Or I'm back in that sunken roundabout on a glorious sunny day a few years later, reading the book for the very first time.  Little did I know then (how could I?) that ten or so years afterwards, I'd be lettering some of the same author's NIGHT ZERO/BEYOND ZERO scripts (illustrated by artist KEVIN HOPGOOD) for 2000 A.D.  I never got to meet John Brosnan or to talk to him, but I remember asking editor ALAN McKENZIE to tell him how much I'd enjoyed his book and some of his movie reviews in DEZ SKINN's STARBURST magazine.

Back of dust-jacket

Sadly, although that sunken roundabout still exists, the flowers and the wooden bench (one of several) I sat upon are gone, and the roundabout itself is in a dilapidated condition.  However, my memories of that day are as sharp and as clear as they ever were, and - should they ever be in danger of fading (like the colours of those long-vanished blooms) - John Brosnan's superb book is only an arm's reach away.

The roundabout (where I first read the book) in its glory days

IT'S OFFICIAL - I'M A MENACE AND AN OUTLAW...

Probably the funniest children's books ever written are the WILLIAM books by RICHMAL CROMPTON.  They're certainly amongst the funniest, in my humble opinion.  I started reading them when I was around 11 or 12 years old - and, in my youthful ignorance, I assumed that 'Richmal' was a man's name.  I've since found out over the years that I wasn't alone in that assumption and that many readers shared it.  It wasn't until I was an older teenager that I discovered - much to my surprise - that the adventures of the irrepressible William Brown and his Outlaws were penned by a WOMAN.  "A woman, by gad, sir!  How is such a thing possible?  Surely it defies the very laws of nature!"

I'm joking, but it was remarkable for a woman with no children to display such an astute understanding of the psychology of a male child's mind and to convey it with such accuracy or realism.  Although fictitious, William Brown was in every way a real boy.  (As were his three companions, DOUGLAS, HENRY and GINGER.)  Everything about him rang true, and I couldn't have been the only reader to finish a tale with the impression that I'd just been reading about myself.  No male writer better understood the inner workings of an 11 year old boy's brain or demonstrated a keener insight than Crompton.

If I remember correctly, without referring to my copy of MARY CADOGAN's biograpy on the author (The WOMAN BEHIND WILLIAM: A LIFE Of RICHMAL CROMPTON), William was based on Richmal's nephew Tommy, who by all accounts was William to a tee.  In common with other authors who are associated with one particular character, Richmal became frustrated that her other works did not enjoy the same level of success as her 39 William books.  Sir ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE and EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS are but two of the writers who knew only too well the situation that Richmal found herself in.

Interestingly, due to the 'common' way in which William spoke and dressed (as depicted in the illustrations of THOMAS HENRY FISHER and, later, HENRY FORD) - and despite being at odds with the text - I long-laboured under the delusion that William was a 'working-class' boy, unlike ANTHONY BUCKERIDGE's public schoolboy JENNINGS, who hailed from upper-class stock.  It wasn't until I later re-read the books, that I realized from mention of maids, cooks and gardeners (and father's job in 'the city') that William also hailed from privileged circumstances, though perhaps not quite in Jennings' 'class'.

Anyway, if you're looking for a good laugh and want to recapture some of the carefree innocence of your childhood, you could do far worse than pick up one of Richmal Crompton's William books.  The earliest ones were actually written more for adults than for children, so don't be embarrassed - just head straight into your nearest bookshop and ask for - JUST WILLIAM.

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(As for the title of this post - many years ago I became a member of the DENNIS The MENACE FAN CLUB and WILLIAM BROWN'S OUTLAW CLUB - so it's all true.  Incidentally, LEO BAXENDALE based DANNY from the BASH STREET KIDS on Thomas Henry's drawings of William.  See?  Tied that in nicely with comics, didn't I?) 

QUICK, JIMMY - FOLLOW THAT CARR...

So... British comedian JIMMY CARR has got himself in a right ol' kerfuffle, hasn't he?  Let's be honest though - if any of us were lucky enough to earn the same kind of 'wedge' that he can pull in, then maybe we'd have the same little Jersey tax scheme going on as he did.  After all, it's legal, isn't it?  Trouble is, by indulging in the same kind of practice that he routinely slated bankers and big businesses for, he lost his credibility along with the moral high-ground - even though his worst 'crime' seems to have been in listening to some over-eager financial advisor without fully considering the implications and repercussions.

However, for Prime minister DAVID CAMERON (member of an elite group infamous for indulging in all manner of questionable activities when it comes to screwing as much money out of the system as possible) to publicly accuse young Jimmy of "immoral" behaviour is as immense in its impertinence as it is in its hypocrisy.  For politicians with wealth beyond what most of us can only dream of (and who claim expenses for second houses or duck moats along with generous food allowances and attendance fees over and above their ludicrously hefty salaries) to pontificate on what is 'moral' for the rest of society while indulging in highly dubious (if legal) financial shenanigans themselves, well - it's a bit of a cheek to say the least.

David Cameron said that he would look into pop-pal GARY BARLOW's involvement in a similar tax-avoidance scheme before making a statement, but is now furiously backpedalling and refusing to comment.  After all, ol' Gary's a supporter of the Tory Party, isn't he?  So it wouldn't do to tread on his toes.  Meanwhile, big businesses avoid paying billions in taxes every year while the government looks the other way and does nothing.  Seems that they only have something to say when it comes to the little guy, eh?  At least Carr has apologised - not something you ever see a politician doing for far worse offences.

I'm not partisan; one political group is as bad as another in my book, but with his latest foot-in-mouth incident, Cameron has done nothing more than remind us all of who the real ruddy comedians are.

Trouble is, we're not laughing.      

DOCTOR, I'M A LITTLE WEEKLY...

Dr. WHO & related images copyright BBC TV

DOCTOR WHO has appeared in comic-strip format from practically his earliest days. First in Polystyle Publication's TV COMIC, then in COUNTDOWN, followed by TV ACTION (when the former changed its name), and then back to TV COMIC. However, in 1979, under the helm of editor DEZ SKINN, the time-travelling titan was awarded his very own British MARVEL magazine in the shape of (unsurprisingly) Doctor Who Weekly.

The first issue was cover-dated October 17th (meaning it would've come out the week before) and lasted in its weekly format until issue #44, when it then became a monthly. Essentially a children's adventure comic originally, with the change to monthly publication it gradually became more of a geeky, anorak-type title aimed primarily at diehard fanatics.  (Does anyone really need to know that the un-credited 'extra', third from the left in the background of a scene in UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS was also on view for all of two seconds in a 1976 episode of Doctor Who?  Some people can't survive without such information, apparently.)

As well as original strips, the comic also featured reprints of various U.S. Marvel stories (from their mystery, suspense and Marvel Classics titles) with a TALES From The TARDIS logo and illustration of TOM BAKER pasted onto the splash page of each tale. So, here's a select few pages from that premiere issue from all those years ago. Apparently, the magazine is now listed in the GUINNESS BOOK Of RECORDS for being the longest-running TV tie-in publication in the history of everything.  What can I say?  Timeless.  

One more thing: Back then I had no way of knowing that, nearly 25 years later, I would be a freelance contributor to several issues of the mag - at least one of which reprinted a back-page DALEKS strip from TV CENTURY 21.  It gave me a strange sense of connection with my childhood days to see a page I'd read as a kid presented alongside contemporary work that bore my name.  A very TWILIGHT ZONE-ish moment indeed. 

Click on image to enlarge, click again for optimum size.   

SUPERMAN #1

Copyright DC COMICS

It's my understanding ('cos I'm sure I read it somewhere) that the comicbook regarded as SUPERMAN #1 was originally intended as a one-shot (which is why it isn't numbered), but when NATIONAL PUBLISHERS (DC) saw how well it sold they decided to make it an ongoing series.  Regardless, it's considered one of the most important issues of all time and is now worth practically a King's ransom.

Therefore, as it's pretty safe to assume that not many people reading this would be able to afford it, I thought I'd kindly bestow upon you all some pages from a copy of the comic in question.

JERRY SIEGEL originally intended Superman to be from Earth in the far-flung future (hence, perhaps, the phrase 'The Man of Tomorrow'), but then decided to make him an alien from another planet.  Personally, I wish he'd stuck to his first idea as I find a lot of the KRYPTON stuff that was tacked-on later rather boring.  Anyway, enjoy the pages presented here for your personal perusal.

VALIANT STORY Of The WEST...

Images copyright relevant owner

Back around the mid-'80s, an IPC/FLEETWAY editor gifted me with, among other items, his file copies of a two-issue series from 1966, called VALIANT STORY Of The WEST.  At least, I think there were only two issues - if anyone has any info to the contrary, feel free to let me know.  They were obviously trading on the name and good will of the weekly Valiant, then a popular comic for boys, but a mere two issues seems to suggest that the title never really took off.

The covers were beautifully painted and the b&w interiors had some nice art, but unfortunately the strips were rendered rather boring-looking by the use of typeset speech balloons, rather than a more spontaneous hand-crafted calligraphy which would have brought the pages to life a bit more.  I've included a couple of interior pages to let you see what they looked like for yourselves, but I can't help but think they would have been vastly improved by the addition of colour. 

The style of the interior artist looks extremely familiar, but his name escapes my memory for the moment.  When one considers the numerous foreign artists IPC/Fleetway used, it's impressive that they were able to realistically portray so many diverse cultures in such detail, whether it be the Old West, London or wherever.  One can only assume that they must have had access to extremely extensive reference files.

If you think you can identify any of the artists, please feel free to do so in the comments section.  I believe in credit where credit is due, so don't let them languish in anonymity if you can shed any light on the matter.  It would be nice to see these old strips given justice by being relettered and coloured up for a contemporary audience.  Who knows?  Maybe it'll happen one day. 

I've scanned the images at quite a high resolution, so click on any of them to enlarge, then click again for optimum size.  That way you'll be able to appreciate them the way they deserve to be.  At only two issues, the title may have been a failure, but you have to admit that it was literally a Valiant attempt.

PART NINE Of TERRIFIC COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

It's always sad when we have to say goodbye to an old friend, and unfortunately such a time is now upon us.  For forty-three weekly issues in 1967, it graced our lives (we of a certain age) with its company before taking the walk that would be "quite some time" and vanishing from sight forever.  Well, not quite forever - not to those of us who still have our back issues to dig out every so often and relive those heady days of yore.  In eight previous posts, I've shared with you thirty-eight covers and back-page pin-ups, and we now complete our journey with a visit to the last five issues ever printed.

However, is a journey ever really over when we can retrace our steps whenever the fancy takes us?  True, it's like a section of time played on an endless loop, but we can jump on and off whenever we feel like it with no inconvenience on either side.  It's there for us when we want it, and it's always going to be there, even if we forget about it for short periods of time while we get on with the necessary business of living in the present.  So, here we are - issues #39 to 43 of the fifth title in the POWER PACK published by ODHAMS PRESS back in the '60s.

It's been a TERRIFIC ride.  Why not take it again some day?

For Part Eight, click here.

BOND AND BEYOND - '77 STYLE...

Copyright relevant owner

It was the long, hot Summer of 1977.  (Ever noticed how all Summers seem long and hot in the hallowed halls of memory?)  35 years ago, but (astonishingly) as fresh and alive in my mind as a lover's whispered goodbye.  Myself and two friends were making our way to the local YMCA, into which one of them was moving for a few months before relocating to Cornwall to begin his training for a (short-lived) career in the Royal Navy.  The sun beat down upon us, a gentle breeze caressed our heated brows, and, from the speaker of a small radio one of us carried, came the 45 rpm version of BOND '77 by MARVIN HAMLISCH, who had written the soundtrack of the soon-to-be-released blockbuster biggie, The SPY Who LOVED ME.

I purchased the single (which I still have) that same day, from the record department of my local BOOTS The CHEMIST (the shop whose employ I'd left only a few months before), and my next acquisition was the original soundtrack LP the instant it became available.  At the appointed time, I also dutifully trotted along to the local cinema (called, unsurprisingly and unimaginatively, 'The CINEMA', which had the largest screen in Scotland) to see the 10th JAMES BOND movie in the 15 year-old series which had started in 1962.

Back then, in the days before home video had become the latest 'must have' possession, the only way to see a movie more than once (not counting repeats on TV) was to trot back to the cinema for another screening, which I usually did - again and again and again - though only with movies I'd enjoyed, obviously.  I no longer recall exactly how many times I went to see The Spy Who Loved Me, but I know I saw MOONRAKER four times two years later, and, in between, I'd seen SUPERMAN The MOVIE a staggering seven times (five in the ABC in Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street, twice in my local cinema) before I was fully sated.

Bond girl Caroline Munro

Anyway, on my last visit to see The Spy Who Loved Me, I spied (no pun intended) the manager, Mr. BOB JOHNSTONE, in the foyer as I made my way out.  On a spur-of-the moment whim (and what other kind is there?), I approached him and politely asked if I could have the poster as the movie was at the end of its run.  Much to my surprise he acquiesced, and duly set about taking it from its display case before pressing it into my eager hands.  I still have it to this day, though, sadly, Mr. Johnstone has 'retired' to that great cinema club in the sky and 'The Cinema' is now a Bingo hall (and has been for longer than its 20 years as a cinema).

So, here's to the Summer of '77 - long since vanished into history, but the spirit of which yet lingers and is only a thought and sometimes merely a dream (or even just a movie) away.

WHEN THURSDAY WAS WEDNESDAY...

The second Annual I bought in my new house - around five months after moving in

Forty years ago to this very day, Thursday was Wednesday.  No need to check, just trust me - I know whereof I speak.  "How so?" you may enquire, despite feeling cheated on discovering that this post isn't quite so intriguing as the title may've suggested (as so few things are once they've been explained).  Because forty years ago, on Wednesday, 14th June 1972, my family first moved to the house in which I currently reside.  The official tenancy commencement date was actually Monday, 12th June, but I presume we couldn't book the removal van for that precise date, hence the two-day delay.

However, although having moved in forty years ago, I've only actually lived here for thirty-six years.  "How so?" you may again ask - if you're still reading.  Well, after living here for eleven years, we relocated to another house and area for just over four years.  Then we moved back to this house again.  Why?  The other house was altogether far too big for us and too far away (on the outer reaches of Tatooine as one of my pals described it) for friends and family to be bothered to visit unless there was a temporary warp between dimensions - and that happened all-too infrequently.

The very first Annual I bought in my new house - around two or three months after moving in

Forty years.  Sure doesn't seem like it.  I'll have been back in this house for twenty-five years on August 1st - more than double the amount of time I lived here the first time.  Again, sure doesn't feel like it.  As I've often said before, sometimes it seems that I went to bed one night as a teenager and woke up the next morning as a middle-aged adult.  Where did my life go?  One blink and I missed it.

One day, if it hasn't happened already, you too will wake up one morning and wonder where the last forty years of your life went.  My advice to you (don't panic, it's free) is to make each and every one of them count.

The third book I bought in my new house - five or six months after moving in

TERRIFIC COVER GALLERY - PART EIGHT...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

The countdown has begun - 10... 9... 8... 7... 6 - but the next five will have to wait 'til Part Nine, which will be the final instalment of our TERRIFIC COVER GALLERY series we've been running over the last few months.  This current crop of covers and back-page POWER HOUSE pin-ups have artwork by KIRBY, DITKO, EVERETT and SMITH (yup, you guessed it - Barry Smith - before the Windsor), so they're not to be sneezed at.

Smith was only around 18 or so at the time he was drawing for ODHAMS PRESS, and the Kirbyesque influence is still discernible in his work.  A year or two later, he went to the U.S. with pal STEVE PARKHOUSE (reputed to also have contributed some pin-ups to the Power Comics), to seek fame and fortune.  Wonder what happened to them, eh?  Were they ever heard of again?

Regarding #38's cover, I recall reading the GIANT-MAN & HULK story within, and strongly associate it with Christmas-time.  (Which makes sense, as the comic is dated December 30th - though it would've come out the week before, on the 23rd.) However, the story had previously been reprinted in SMASH!, so I no doubt read it in that title also.

Tune in again soon - for the last part of this Terrific series.  You surely wouldn't want to miss the final five, would you, Crivvies?

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For Part Seven, click here.