SKETCH Of The DAY...

One thing I hope you're not doing is assuming that these lightning-fast sketches rendered with a brush pen are being offered as examples of 'good' comic art.  They're nothing more than mere doodles - but done in ink instead of pencil.  Produced during an idle moment several years ago, they were merely for my own amusement and therefore shouldn't be regarded as reflecting the standard of my finished art.

Anyway, the 'sketch of the day' (as in posted today, but not necessarily drawn today) is a 1960s-looking The INCREDIBLE HULK.  I always preferred the green-skinned goliath as he was drawn in the first five issues of his own magazine by JACK KIRBY.  Consequently, whenever I draw him, there's usually at least a hint of Kirby's version in the result.

 Another 'sketch of the day' coming soon.  (Unless you pay me to stop.)   

FIREBALL XL5 By MIKE NOBLE - PART FOUR...

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Well, things appear to be 'hotting up' for STEVE ZODIAC and his crew - which is ironic given all the snow and ice that surrounds them. Hopefully, all you cavortin' Crivvies are enjoying this fantastic FIREBALL XL5 adventure, this particular episode originally having been published in TV CENTURY 21 #37, cover-dated October 2nd, 2065.

Comics weren't constrained in the way that television was in the 'special effects department' (especially in the '60s), so ALAN FENNELL, the writer, could really let himself go without having to worry about budget restraints.  Whatever he could think of, no matter how fantastic or far-fetched, artist MIKE NOBLE could deliver - and make it look as real and convincing as anything else he was capable of drawing - which seemed to be absolutely everything.

Be sure to read Part Five - just a click away.

MEET The MIGHTY MEGA-MAN (SKETCH Of The DAY)...

Taking a leaf out of DON HUDSON 's excellent blog, ATTACK AT DON! (here), I thought I'd feature the odd 'sketch of the day' from time to time.  I've got a small drawing pad in which I used to practise with a brush pen while having a latte in my local coffee bar - just quick sketches done 'off the cuff '.  They're not finished art by any means, and it's been a good while since I've drawn anything in it, but the handful of doodles contained therein may be of interest to some of you Criv-ites out there.  Remember, they were just lightning-quick attempts to get the hang of using a brush pen for the first time, so please be gentle.

Incidentally, in case you were wondering, 'DUNN KWIK ' is a pen name I use for dashed-off drawings that I regard as somewhat 'loose' - to say the least.  To see brush art as it should be done, why not jump over to Don's blog at the above link?  

'ON The SCENE' - With BATMAN & ROBIN...

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Back in 1966, the WARREN PUBLISHING COMPANY issued a mag called On The SCENE Presents SUPER HEROES.  It featured articles on BATMAN, The PHANTOM, SUPERMAN, FLASH GORDON ("I'll come quietly officer" - little joke there), CAPTAIN AMERICA, and CAPTAIN MARVEL.  It also had ex-clusive photos of the new BATMAN movie with ADAM WEST and BURT WARD, to boot.

I thought there might be some people out there in Bloggerland who'd be interested in seeing its contents, so - starting now - is the first in an occasional series, beginning with the opening article of the magazine.  Future posts will feature each article in sequence - and who knows?  I may even throw in some of the ad pages - they're worth a look all by themselves.  Click on any image to enlarge, then click again for optimum size.  And don't ever say I'm not good to you.

Click here to read Part Two - The PHANTOM!

THE SID, SLIPPY, AND SHINER LETTERS...

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Believe it or not, one of the jobs I'm most proud of isn't one that turned out as well as I would've liked.  So let's get the 'excuses' out of the way first, shall we?

It was at the end of the day, I was tired, having been working since about 6.30 in the morning after a nearly nine hour trip down to London.  At this time, IPC's YOUTH GROUP had been relocated (in preparation for its sale to ROBERT MAXWELL) to IRWIN HOUSE, just down the road from KING'S REACH TOWER in Stamford Street.  (Staff still had access to the Tower though, to use the canteen and restaurant.  I spent time there at my desk on the 26th floor when I arrived in the mornings, until Irwin House opened its doors a couple of hours or so later.)

Anyway, it must have been well after 5 p.m. and most people had already left for home when BOB PAYNTER, the group editor of the humour department, came into the room where DOUG CHURCH worked.  Doug was the art editor, and I sometimes worked at the desk alongside his, though he'd finished for the day.  Bob had a couple of pages of artwork he needed lettering and I was only too happy to oblige.  They were the covers for WHIZZER & CHIPS - SID'S SNAKE and SHINER, two old pals from my childhood.

Trouble was, I really was dog-tired, and have to confess that the Sid's Snake page is not as good as I'd have liked.  The Shiner page is better, although someone later repositioned the pal's speech balloon in the second picture (as revealed by the slight wobble in the shape of its outline) to accommodate the jaggy-edged blurb just above it.  (I never did wobbly balloon lines.)  The lettering on the screen was added later - Bob had said it would be typeset (which it wasn't) so I hadn't done it.

However, to actually work on the 'cover star' characters of a comic I had bought and read when it first came out 17 years before (1969) was a real thrill for me (as was lettering SAMMY SHRINK in an earlier issue).  I was in my late-twenties when I lettered these two pages, so that first issue seemed almost a lifetime away, which it practically was.  (I had just turned 27 a few weeks earlier, so it was more than half my lifetime away - in fact, very nearly two-thirds.)

So, not my best work by any means, but still two pages I'm inordinately proud to be associated with.  That's why I thought I'd share them with you here.  Hope you like 'em, fellow Criv-ites.

THE END OF THE WORLD...

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Not counting paid jobs I'd done since still at school, my very first 'big-time' professional freelance lettering job was for IPC MAGAZINES in 2000 A.D. - a strip called 'EXTRA! EXTRA!', which appeared in Prog 407, cover-dated March 2nd, 1985.  (It wasn't my first published IPC job however - that was a CAPTAIN KID - The PINT-SIZED PIRATE page in WHIZZER & CHIPS, which I lettered one night in the 2000 A.D. office before going home to my bedsit in Southsea.)

The story was written by PETE MILLIGAN and the art drawn by the late JOSE CASANOVAS, who sadly died in 2009.  To be honest, I'm surprised it turned out as well as it did.  I didn't have the right 'patch-paper' so the lettering came out a little scratchy-looking and was also a tad too large.  I remember STEVE MacMANUS being quite pleased with it though, especially the newspaper headlines.

And thus began my full-time, fifteen year career working for the 'big boys' - not only IPC but also MARVEL COMICS (the British and American divisions).  Anyway, I thought that some of you might enjoy seeing where it all began.  (Is it just me, or does anyone else think that Casanovas' art is slightly reminiscent of RON TURNER's?)

   

I'd like to think that I improved over the coming months once I 'found' my style, but, all in all, it wasn't too bad a beginning for someone starting out in the world of comics.  Technology can be a wonderful thing, but I can't help but feel that some of the art has gone from lettering now that anyone with a keyboard and access to computer fonts can do what once used to lie only within the province of calligraphic artists.

     

DOCTOR TALBOT, I PRESUME...

  

For all you 2000 A.D. fans out there, NEMESIS THE WARLOCK artist BRYAN TALBOT was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters for his body of work by Northumbria University at their annual degree ceremony in Newcastle.  He is already an Honorary Doctor of Arts, having received the accolade four years ago from Sunderland University, making him the first British comics creator to be awarded twice.

Honorary Doctorate of LETTERS?  Hey, where's my award?

PART THREE Of MIKE NOBLE'S FIREBALL XL5...

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As far as I'm aware, ZOONY The LAZOON never appeared in TV CENTURY 21's FIREBALL XL5 strip in the 1960s.  (Unless he discreetly popped his furry head up in the background somewhere without any readers noticing.)  Perhaps writer and editor ALAN FENNELL considered the character far too preposterous for an action-adventure story if it was to be 'believable' - or maybe artist MIKE NOBLE didn't like drawing him (or both), but whatever the reason, the zany lazoon seemed to be permanently absent from the WORLD SPACE PATROL's interplanetary exploits. 

Which was probably a good thing, because - let's be honest - whenever Zoony appeared on the TV show, his constant whining of "Welcome home" became rather grating after a while.  The lazoon was obviously meant to provide a touch of comedy, but such shenanigans would only have slowed down the pace in the comic's two-pages of adventure.  Besides, Zoony had a starring role his own cartoon strip in TV21 and that was probably more than enough for him.

Anyway, if you're not a fan of VENUS's little pet, you won't find him lurking anywhere in the above adventure (from TV Century 21 #36, cover-dated September 25th, 2065), so thrill to the crew of XL5's perilous predicament and ponder just how they're going to extricate themselves from it.  And feel free to leave a comment saying just how much you enjoyed it.

For Part Four, click here.

HOPE SPRINGS 'ETERNO'...

Copyright REBELLION

Almost exactly 40 years ago, Crivs, I purchased LION & THUNDER HOLIDAY SPECIAL for 1972.  Unfortunately, I didn't have it for very long before a relative relieved me of its ownership by devious means.  I may only have had it for a day, in fact (two or three at the most) before it passed out of my hands, seemingly never to be seen again.  I don't think I even got to read it properly before it met its fate.  (For the details behind this tale, click here.)

Because of this, it never had much chance to make any great impression on me (which suggests it may have been bought the same day we parted company), so over the years its predecessor from 1971 was the one I remembered, the cover being instantly familiar to me whenever I espied it in some comics catalogue or Internet site.  I therefore sometimes pondered whether it was the '71 Special which had been swindled from me by my unscrupulous kinfolk.  (You'll know what I'm talking about if you've read the above link.)

However, on reflection that seemed unlikely.  For a start, it's doubtful whether I still had it at the time in question.  Secondly, I'm pretty sure that the comic 'stolen' from me was purchased after I had acquired the THUNDER ANNUAL for 1972, bought in December of '71.  (For that tale, click here.)  I also remember trying to keep the comic 'good' because it was new.  Therefore, by means of level-headed logic and analytical acumen (unless my memory is playing tricks on me), the '72 Holiday Special must have been the dimly-remembered comic from my past.

Anyway, not long after relating the story on this very blog, I saw it on eBay and made a bid for it - and won.  It's strange (but rewarding) to see it again, because I don't remember much about it apart from the cover.  One pic jumps out at me though - an illustration from a SPELLBINDER text story, which seems to confirm that this was indeed the very comic lost to me all those years ago.

To celebrate being reunited with my long-lost 'pal' from yesteryear, I've decided to share some of its pages, so that you too can rejoice in this special occasion.  Let's hope I've got at least another 40 years in front of me, in order to make up for our long separation.  It's always good to welcome back an old friend; now all I need do is track down the '71 and '73 Specials and I'll have a full set*.

*Update: Now done!

(Click on images to enlarge, then click again for optimum size.)

The RETURN Of TV COMIC...

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As most comics enthusiasts of a 'certain age' will know, the real TV COMIC shuffled off this mortal coil with issue #1697, cover-dated June 29th 1984 after a span of nearly 34 years.  Apart from an annual and two holiday specials, that was the last that was seen of it.  It was mourned by former readers who had enjoyed the publication as children, and then took its place in the hallowed halls of memory.

Ten years passed.  Then, one day, on the newsagents' shelves, appeared - what's this?  Could it possibly be?  TV COMIC - The WOMBLES SUMMER SPECIAL, including The SHOE PEOPLE, HUXLEY PIG and NELLIE The ELEPHANT.  Published by NEWSSTAND PUBLICATIONS (nope, I've never heard of them either) in 1994, future issues were promised, but if they ever appeared I never saw them.

This new TV Comic was aimed at a much younger readership than its illustrious predecessor - more of a nursery comic in fact.  (Though, interestingly, when the title was first launched back in the '50s, it too was aimed more at toddlers.)  With an average of four panels per page, the strips had no speech balloons, instead having a block of text under each panel, just like comics of the '20s and '30s, or the RUPERT BEAR strip in The DAILY EXPRESS.

It's hardly surprising that it was so short-lived.  It could never have matched the popularity of the original, the genuine, the only - TV COMIC.

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To read about the original TV Comic, click here - and here. 

BATTLE ACTION GRUDGE...

Copyright REBELLION

Surprising as it may seem, some people don't know - or appreciate - the difference between typeset lettering and hand-lettered dialogue balloons (or captions) in a comic.  "What difference does it make?" they ask in a puzzled manner.  Of course, these people are as thick as the proverbial brick and I'm sure all you 'Crivvies' could tell them the answer just as well as I could, if not better.

However, there's no need to tell them when I can show them.  Back in the 1970s, there was a period when IPC MAGAZINES resorted to typeset lettering for all their publications, the result of a dispute (so legend has it) with the letterers they usually employed.  DCT had used typeset lettering for years of course, and more or less did it pretty adequately.  IPC's attempts were disastrous on the other hand, and the appearance of many a strip was ruined in my humble opinion.  (For which I'm justly famous, I might add.)

Years later, when these strips came up for reprinting, they had to be re-lettered by hand to bring them up to an acceptable standard and allow them to fit in with the new material they sat alongside.  One such story is the one featured in this post, 'THE GRUDGE', which first appeared in BATTLE #196, cover-dated December 2nd, 1978, and resurfaced twelve years later in BATTLE ACTION FORCE (un-numbered), cover-dated December 14th, 1985.

This is one I lettered myself, and more was required that just placing new lettering over old.  There's a fair amount of 'blotting out' and 'drawing up' to be done, so that old balloon tails or odd edges don't protrude out from under the new and improved speech bubbles and captions.  Anyway, I'll let you judge for yourselves just how good a job I did - right after you've read the story.  Ready?  Off you go then, and remember you have a choice.  The original pages are on the left, the re-lettered versions are on the right of them.



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

COMICS? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH...

Or perhaps that should be:  COMICS DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH...

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Some people are sensitive to criticism.  In fact, most of us are to some degree or other, but there are a few delicate, insecure souls who are over-sensitive in that department and who often angrily lash out at even the slightest critique of their abilities - whatever they happen to be.  Often they console themselves by telling anyone who'll listen that if their critics could do better, then they'd be doing it.  That's particularly the case with people in a professional capacity, but their protestations are often without foundation when one considers the logical implications of such a claim.

For example, I can't cook, but I sure know a good meal when I taste one.  And you can bet your little booties that I know when I've been served up slop.  Neither can I sing a note (couldn't carry a tune in a bucket), but I can tell a good singer when I hear one, as well as being able to spot a bum note whenever one happens to assail my ears.  I bet it's the same with you.  Couldn't draw a stick figure if your life depended on it?  I'm willing to wager that, chances are, you're still capable of telling the difference between a properly rendered figure-drawing and a 'mutant' monstrosity churned out by some talentless hack.  (Unless you're a total thicko, that is.)

My point being, of course, that just because you can't do something yourself doesn't necessarily mean you're incapable of offering a considered, insightful opinion on the quality or standard of someone else's work.  (In fact, sometimes it's not being able to do something that enables you to recognise when someone else can't either.)

I happen to know an extremely talented artist who is easily as accomplished as some of those working in comics today.  He pencilled and inked (as well as scripted) the MARVELMAN sample pages (impressively lettered by my humble self) which were submitted for MARVEL's consideration when they were deliberating over acquiring the character.  One of the head honchos at the company told me in a 'phone call that he was well-impressed with the artwork, and that the pages were "model" comics art.

    

Guess what though?  The artist concerned doesn't work in the industry and his name is unknown to the legions of comics fandom.  He happens to suffer from 'dry eyes syndrome' and it's absolute agony for him to draw for more than brief and infrequent periods at a time.  He'd probably be incapable of meeting deadlines for comics' monthly production schedules and would therefore be unable to make a living in the business of sequential art.

Consider also this.  When I freelanced for IPC MAGAZINES many years ago (though it seems like only yesterday), there was an editor of one particular comic who gave quite a lot of lettering work to his brother.  Nothing to do with nepotism he assured me, his brother just happened to be available at short notice whenever he needed him.  Now, I liked this editor, but his brother (whom I never met, as far as I can recall) was very far from being the finest exponent of his craft - which is doubtless why 2000 A.D. never availed themselves of his services.  (If they ever did, it must've been an emergency.)  Every page he lettered meant that better letterers didn't.

What does this prove, if anything?  It illustrates that not everyone who works in a particular field of endeavour is always the best suited to do so and may be due to considerations other than natural ability or talent.  It demonstrates that some people who are far better qualified can ofttimes be denied the breaks because someone less so is filling the space, or for any number of reasons.  Sometimes those who work in any given industry do so only because they were in the right place at the right time, or are simply 'good enough' rather than the finest craftsmen available.  (Council workmen, anyone?)

And one other, simple, obvious reason sticks out like a sore thumb.  (To me, at least.)  In a rapidly shrinking medium, there is only so much work to go 'round.  You could be the next JACK KIRBY or LEO BAXENDALE, but it's increasingly difficult to 'get the breaks' when editors understandably prefer to show 'loyalty' to regular contributors who display a competent (if uninspired) standard of work and meet deadlines.  Sadly, the chief concern of too many editors is simply to get a comic out on time, rather than focus on how it can be improved.  (The DANDY, anyone?)

A couple of embittered souls (one of whom is positively unbalanced) have sometimes accused me of being a bully.  (Ironically, one of them was accused of the same thing on a comics forum for abusing his 'status' as a comics contributor to browbeat others [now that is bullying], as if his opinion was somehow automatically imbued with greater validity on account of his occupation.)  I'm not in a position to 'bully' anyone, and wouldn't even if I were.  However, I freely admit that, whenever I read or hear of someone talking absolute b*ll*cks, I'll weigh in with my two cents worth.  Oh, wait a minute - I'm no longer a comics contributor, so therefore my opinions have no merit.  Aye, that'll be 'shining'.

If you're nursing ambitions to break into comics in a professional capacity, then keep on plugging away.  Don't be demoralised by a few smug souls who currently occupy a space which you think would be better filled by yourself.  It may take time, but if you really are that good, then there's a chance you might one day make it - if you're talented enough and if you're determined enough.  (Though sometimes it's simply a case of just being lucky enough.)

However, you need to face facts.  There are no guarantees in this world and the road is littered with the bodies of those who fell by the wayside or were passed over for others less worthy.  Just because you didn't achieve your goal (or haven't yet) doesn't necessarily mean (though it's a possibility) that you weren't (or aren't) good enough - it may merely mean that there are only a limited number of seats at an ever-shrinking table and that perhaps others got there first.

And don't let the smug, self-satisfied mouthings of anyone else ever lead you to believe otherwise.

MIKE NOBLE'S FIREBALL XL5 - PART TWO...

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We herewith present the second instalment of the FIREBALL XL5 adventure from TV CENTURY 21 #35, cover-dated September 18th, 2065 (no, that's not a mistake), as written by ALAN FENNELL and drawn by MIKE NOBLE.  (For Part One, click here.)

Mike Noble's composition was always perfect, and it's difficult to imagine any other artist of the day (whether it be HAMPSON, BELLAMY or LAWRENCE) surpassing him in story composition.  Only RON EMBLETON was equal to Noble's storytelling abilities in my humble opinion, both of them easily being a match in that particular department for MARVEL's mighty JACK KIRBY across the pond.  The two of them had that 'comics dynamism' that the others, undeniably great as they were, fell a little short of.  (Feel free to disagree of course - you won't get insulted for it on this particular blog - unlike some others.)

  

I recall thinking that the empty spacesuits was quite a creepy development, and being intrigued as to what the explanation for it might be.  Fennell didn't appear to 'write down' for kids, often including elements that less fearless writers or editors might have steered clear of.  Arguably, he wasn't big on characterisation, but with only two pages a strip he could hardly afford to be.  He kept the story rattling along at a cracking good pace, and that's no doubt why these tales still stand up well today and are so fondly-remembered.

For Part Three, click here.  Don't miss it!

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS IN ACTION...

Copyright relevant owners

An interesting but short-lived monthly comic hit Britain's newsagents' shelves and spinner-racks back in 1986 - T.H.U.N.D.E.R. ACTION.  Short-lived in that it only lasted four issues; interesting because, along with newly originated material, it contained what seems to be unauthorised reprints of WALLY WOOD's '60s secret, super-powered T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS.

Unauthorised?  I suspect so, primarily because the pages were laser-scanned from what appears to be original TOWER COMICS issues.  Also, there's no copyright acknowledgement to whoever was then the current owners of the material, the only copyright reference being to U.K. publishers, SAVOY SERVICES Ltd.  (The comic was apparently a 'ROCK PHOTO PUBLICATION '.)

The first issue had a mix of full colour and black and white content, which didn't affect the new material as it had been created for b&w reproduction.  However, in the case of the U.S. reprints, the monochrome pages were 'muddy' and the colour ones looked washed out.  With the exception of the occasional pin-up page, the rest of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. material was presented in a landscape format, akin to the MARVEL UK comics of the '70s, The TITANS and SUPER SPIDER-MAN & The SUPERHEROES.

With issue #2 the magazine went all-colour, which was a vast improvement, particularly in the case of the U.K. originated stories.  (JONATHAN SHATTER, plus new T.H.U.N.D.E.R. tales.)  The U.S. reprints though, continued to suffer from less than perfect reproduction, hardly surprising given their source.  The fourth issue proved to be the final one, although the cause of its sudden demise remains unclear.  Perhaps it simply didn't sell enough copies to warrant continued publication, or the lawful copyright owners of the Tower Comics adventures threatened legal action against Savoy Services Ltd.  We may never know.

Whatever the reason, these four issues make an interesting addition to the saga of The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS!  If you're a completist, you may want to hunt them down on eBay - I imagine they wouldn't be terribly expensive to acquire for your collection.

Unfortunately, the captions and speech balloons for the new strips were typeset, which seldom lends itself to a satisfactory look - especially in action-adventure stories.  They badly needed hand-lettering, and when it comes to badly hand-lettering strips, no one beats me.  (Er, hang on a minute - that didn't come out right.  Oh well - you know what I mean.)

So, there you have it - a whistle-stop tour of a 'blink-and-you'll-miss- it' comics mag from over a quarter of a century ago.  If there's enough demand (and even if there isn't), I may one day share some more of the contents with you all as a special treat.  And if you have any information pertaining to this short-lived series of comics from so long ago, feel free to divulge it in the comments section and spread some enlightenment to your fellow bloggers.  There's no point in keeping it all to yourself.

As you can see, issue #4 carried a 'PG' rating.  Perhaps that had something to do with the mag's cancellation, as such an advisory may have resulted in it being placed on higher shelves, out of sight of potential purchasers.  (If customers can't see it, they can't buy it, can they?)  Having said that though, in my experience, newsagents seldom pay the slightest bit of notice to what it says on the covers of comics, automatically assuming that all such publications are for children.  

Oh, all right then - if you'd like to read those new T.H.U.N.D.E.R. tales in their entirety then just click right here.  Be seeing you.

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