DOES THIS PRESS THE BUTTONS OF YOUR MIND?

Warning: Readers might just find the following post terribly tedious and self-indulgent in the extreme.  However, I'm trying to get my thoughts in order as I wrestle with difficult-to-define (for me) concepts floating around the vast and nebulous caverns of my mind.  Being compelled to think as I struggle to find the words which best convey elusive ideas seems the only chance I have of landing anywhere near the mark, so hopefully you'll come along for the trip.  (Might be worth the journey.)

******

Association is a strange sort of a thing.  You know, when you look at something (or someone) and you associate it (or them) with a time, place, or event in your life.  And the association is usually inextricably linked and can't be transferred from its fixed place in the scheme of things.  (Usually, but not absolutely always, as we shall see.)

Case in point: I associate the comic called WHAM! and one of its strips, FRANKIE STEIN, with a particular house and neighbourhood where I once lived.  I didn't start buying the comic until late 1966 or early 1967, even though the comic had first hit the stands in 1964.  Indeed, by the time it became one of my regular weeklies, the days of KEN REID's Frankie Stein strip were numbered, the majority of them having appeared in the period well before I became a reader.

But... whenever I look at Wham! or Frankie, I immediately think of the house I lived in at that time (let's call it House C) and I find it difficult to imagine the comic ever having existed before then.  Fact is, though, that Wham! came out when I was living in what I'll refer to as House A and remained undiscovered by me in my next abode (House B), saving its delights until House C, which I moved into near the end of 1965.

I now possess earlier issues, published during my time in Houses A and B, but I simply can't associate them with the years I resided in either domicile - with two possible exceptions.  I can almost imagine myself looking at the cover to Wham! #1 in the front garden of House A, and, if I try really hard, I can again just about imagine my local newsagent's (between House A and B) stocking the photogravured early issues of the comic with BIFF on the cover.  That's because they're so quintessentially '60s that I can shoehorn them into that particular period of my life retroactively.

I can't maintain the illusion for very long though, before it dissipates, and House C and its surrounding environs reclaim the association for themselves - even though these earlier comics don't 'belong' in that later period.  (Still with me?)

However, there is one copy of Wham! (#134) which I can (and do) legitimately associate with House A and its area, although only in a secondary way.  That's because I had it with me when we visited friends in our old neighbourhood one night, and I remember looking at my old house on the way there and back again, comic in hand.  However, it's not my main association, that being my then-current home (C), and also the route along to the old village quarter of our town on the day of the issue's purchase.

Riveting stuff this, no?  (No!)  Consider this: The JAMES BOND movie, GOLDFINGER, was released in 1964.  I, however, didn't see it until 1972, so, naturally enough, my personal associations with the film are '70s ones.  (Although, in seeming contradiction to that - and the whole theme of this thread - I have no difficulty placing in its proper time period.  Maybe that's because I associate Bond with the 1960s due to having a CORGI TOYS ASTON MARTIN DB5 when I was a boy.  Therefore, I have a previous ['60s] frame of reference for the movie from before I even saw it.)

I find it endlessly fascinating that something which originated in a specific point in time has a continuing resonance beyond what one would imagine would be its fixed frame of reference.  For example, Goldfinger, to me, belongs to the era of The BEATLES, but also has '70s associations with The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL because that was the comic I was regularly buying when I first saw the film 'at the pictures'.

Anyway, I could go on forever on this subject (and never quite get there), so I'll draw things to a close for now.  But what's the point of it all?  I'm not quite sure, to be honest.  Something to do with certain associations being fixed and immovable - or at least appearing so from our perspective - but not quite always adhering to logical patterns or sequences because some associations are influenced by other factors without us ever being fully aware of it.

As I said, it's an idea that tugs at me from the edges of my mind, but remains just far enough beyond my reach for me to get properly to grips with.  (Maybe one day.)  In the meantime, enjoy the first-ever appearance of Frankie Stein from Wham! #4, 1964.  It was published when I was living in House A, but I never got to see it 'til I was living in House D - although it reminds me of House C whenever I look at it..

Ouch!  My head hurts!     

TERRY BAVE'S TOY BOY...

Image copyright relevant owner

Behave yourselves - no innuendo is intended in the title - but the character is TOY BOY, by artist TERRY BAVE.  Sourced from a 1985 issue of WHOOPEE, I chose this page because it perfectly represents the current cold climate in my neck of the woods.  So, slobber at the sensational style that puts lesser artists to shame and dribble at the dynamic drawings of one of our best cartoonists as he demonstrates how it's done.

And just think - Terry drew numerous pages every week for various publications for around forty years or so, all of the same high quality.  If anyone ever deserved to be recognised for services to the country, surely Terry (and his wife SHIELA) should be at the top of the list.  They're far more deserving than some of those slimy politicians who get all sorts of honours heaped upon them for dubious 'accomplishments'.

"SOMETHING For The WEEKEND, SIR?" JOHNNY FUTURE And The KILLER ROBOT - PART ONE...

Copyright REBELLION

When JOHNNY FUTURE first appeared in FANTASTIC under the name of The MISSING LINK, he was wearing a pair of gents' modern trousers as he lumbered out of the jungle for the very first time.  Probably for no other reason than to keep him 'decent' in line with Britain's equivalent of the U.S. COMICS CODE.

However, I have a much more interesting explanation for the sub-human Link's attire that would knock your socks off.  Remind me to tell it to you some day.  Perhaps I might even draw it for you - unless there's an artist out there reading this who'd like to have a go at depicting the startling origin of one of Britain's foremost superheroes from the '60s?

In the meantime, enjoy the latest pulse-pounding instalment in the sensational and startling saga of the incredible adventures of JOHN FOSTER's awesome alter-ego.  (As illustrated by the amazing LUIS BERMEJO.)  It's a doozy!

   

THE DEATH OF ANONYMITY...

Due to an increased amount of inane anonymous comments, I will no longer be publishing anonymous remarks unless they have a name affixed to them.  That's to say, you can still use the anonymous function, but please also use some kind of name, even if only a pseudonym, so that I can separate the wheat from the chaff.  Your co-operation is greatly appreciated.

******

Update: Due to the number of abusive and insulting comments, the anonymous option has now, unfortunately, been removed.

Further update: I've now restored it again - for the foreseeable future at least. 

FINAL PART Of SILVER AGE DC CLASSICS...

Images copyright DC COMICS

We conclude our three-part series on SILVER AGE DC CLASSICS with the inclusion of a comic mag which wasn't a reprint of a previously published issue.  Namely, SUGAR & SPIKE #99 was its first time in print, #98 having appeared 21 years before, in 1971.  It featured two previously unpublished stories by SHELDON MAYER and is a unique entry in the Silver Age DC Classics run.

The other comics, I'm sure you'll agree, require no introduction.  As already mentioned in two previous posts, all ten issues were the very last DC comicbooks to be printed by WORLD COLOUR PRESS, and are a great 'must have' addition to any collection.  What?  You don't have them?  Get hunting on eBay now!  For Part One, click here, and for Part Two, click here.  

PICTURE Of A PONDERING PICARD...

You're looking at a scan of a photocopy of a painting by an artist whose talent disproves a popular misconception.  Namely, that if someone is good at something, they'd be making a full-time living from it.  If they don't, so some cynics claim, then that's proof that the person isn't particularly proficient at what he or she does.

The fellow who painted the above picture is also a talented comic-strip artist, but doesn't work in the industry because a debilitating eye condition means that he can only paint or draw in short bursts, limiting his opportunities to produce pictures in a professional capacity.

However, as you can see, he's a bona-fide artist, who is exceptionally good at what he does - but it's not his full-time occupation.  Remember that the next time you're tempted to dismiss someone merely because they don't utilize their talents in a commercial capacity.

(Or extol some lesser artists because they do.)

GALLOPING HOME...

As I've grown older I've also grown more sentimental and nostalgic for times past. Nothing wrong with that you'd think - except for the fact that I already had an over-developed sense of nostalgia from my earliest years.  This means that my tendency to look back on bygone days is probably now off the scale, but I find myself unable to rein it in.

Case in point: A few years ago I bought the NETWORK DVD collection of BLACK BEAUTY, which used to be shown on Sunday afternoons back in 1972 through to '74.  There were only 52 episodes ever filmed, but due to repeated screenings over the years, it sometimes seems that there were far more than the two series actually made.

Black Beauty was the British equivalent of SKIPPY or FLIPPER, except that it was about a horse instead of a kangaroo or a dolphin.  "What's that, Beauty?  Kevin is trapped in the old mill and needs help.  You go and fetch Doctor Gordon, Beauty, and I'll go to the mill.  Bring him back with you.  Go, Beauty, go!"  In short, it was pure hokum - but entertaining hokum for all that.

It's not that I was a huge fan of the programme, only watching it occasionally when there was nothing else on, but (as is the way of such things) with the passing of the years, it now represents a certain time in my youth which has become more meaningful to me the greater the distance I'm removed from it.

It's strange to view it now and see all the characters preserved in time while I have aged and atrophied.  This feeling is increased with the sad knowledge that the actor who played young KEVIN GORDON (Roderick Shaw) died back in 1996, and Tony Maiden, who played ALBERT CLIFTON, committed suicide in 2004.  (And Charlotte Mitchell - housekeeper AMY WINTHROP - died last year.)

However, at the press of a button, there they are - just as they were when I was around the same age as the two lads (and their pal NED LEWIS, played by Stephen Garlick) who got into such adventures as most kids could only dream about.  And who could ever forget VICKY and JENNY GORDON, played by Judi Bowker and Stacy Dorning?  Then there's Doctor JAMES GORDON himself, played by William Lucas, who's still around to this day.  (Update: Sadly, William died aged 91 on 8th July 2016.)

Seeing them again is almost like dropping in on old friends, except for the fact that I've aged and they haven't - although the weight of years temporarily drops from my shoulders while I spend time in the company of these childhood acquaintances from so long ago.

At the end of A.A. Milne's The HOUSE At POOH CORNER, there's an extremely sad and touching moment when Christopher Robin tries to explain to an uncomprehending Pooh that life is taking them in different directions.  The book ends with these words: "But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on top of the forest a little boy and his Bear will always be playing."

That's the way I feel about Black Beauty whenever I watch an episode.  Somewhere, near a remote and picturesque farmhouse, an ebony horse and his human companions still roam the enchanted pastures and wooded hills of Hertfordshire - and I'm with them on their adventures.  (With Denis King's stirring theme tune, GALLOPING HOME, playing rousingly in the background of course.)

The FATE Of JOHNNY FUTURE - PART SIX...

 

Copyright REBELLION

 

Here it is, all you frantic followers of awesome action and adventure - the wrap-up of the sensational JOHNNY FUTURE's bombastic battle with the anti-social ANIMAL MAN.  If you want to see the next epic episode in the life of JOHN FOSTER's amazing alter-ego, be sure to let me know in the comments section.  You don't ask, you don't get - and you wouldn't want to miss the fantastic art of LUIS BERMEJO, now would you?!

 

IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?

Copyright BBC TV

For all DOCTOR WHO fans who don't already know (and there surely can't be many), there's an excellent publication called 'VWORP VWORP!' which devotes itself to the comic strip universe of everyone's favourite TIME LORD.  Canny COLIN BROCKHURST and gallopin' GARETH KAVANAGH are the men behind the mag, which is named after the distinctive sound that the TARDIS makes as it materializes (and dematerializes too, obviously) in time and space somewhere.

  

Unfortunately, Volume One is now sold out, but the second ish is still available. November will see the release of the third in the series, the contents of which will be announced closer to the time, although an interview with writer ALAN MOORE and a TV CENTURY 21- style comic strip are confirmed for inclusion.  This is a mag that no true Who fan will want to miss - so make sure you don't!

    

Further details can be obtained from www.vworpvworp.co.uk - so do yourself a favour and click on the link now.  There's no time like the  present - or, in the Doctor's case, the past and the future as well. 

PART TWO Of SILVER AGE DC CLASSICS...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Welcome to the second instalment of SILVER AGE DC CLASSICS, a look back at the last DC comicbooks to roll off the printing presses of WORLD COLOUR PRESS in 1992.  As you'll no doubt know, some of these issues were also presented as DC MILLENNIUM EDITIONS in 2000.  Although these newer mags had far superior reproduction, a few millimetres of art and lettering at the foot of half-page story conclusions were 'masked-off' by the margins of modern-day ads underneath them for various DC products, somewhat compromising their completeness.

No such shortcomings with the Silver Age Classic issues, however, so I hope you didn't jettison them in favour of the Millennium Editions, otherwise you're missing parts of some pages as they were originally presented.  Anyway, that's enough 'rabbit' from me, just enjoy the choice-selection of images which adorn this post.  For Part One, click here, and for Part Three, click here.

           

ARE YOU ON THE WAGON? NO? THEN YOU'D BETTER TAKE COVER...

I know what you're thinking - how'd he get his trousers inside the cast?  Simple - it's magic!

Sometime around 1981, a fellow I used to do signwriting for asked if I would produce a poster to advertise a car insurance scheme he was promoting.  So I did, and he was so pleased with it that he asked me to do another one the same.  The poster was bloody huge, measuring 3' wide by 2 & 1/2' high, so I wasn't about to start from scratch, having had to spread the first one out on the floor and lie on my stomach to do it.  Therefore, being a reasonably clever laddie, I decided to photocopy the original illustrations on the first poster, colour them by hand, and stick them onto the new one.

So that's what I did.  I used EL TEMPO marker pens (remember them?) for the lettering, which was very basic, but I'd underestimated the work involved in the initial illustrations in regard to the price, so I wasn't going to knock myself out.  (And I did this one cheaper as I was using photocopies.)  The lettering wasn't anything special, but I was pleased with the drawings, which weren't bad for a 22 year-old.

I had originally drawn the man off the top of my head, and the car had been copied (freehand) from a small photo in a brochure, but they were each too large to photocopy in one piece so I did them in sections and then joined them together before affixing them to the new poster.  They were coloured in with a combination of felt markers and a flesh-toned colouring pencil, as had the original (which had been drawn with an ordinary Tempo writing pen).

I don't quite know why this poster has been lying in my cupboard for over thirty years.  Going by the tack-marks and the dirt, it's definitely hung on an office or workshop wall, so I can only assume I was given it back at some stage to produce yet another copy, and then perhaps the insurance company went bust or the fellow for whom I did the poster ended his association with them.  Who knows?

Anyway, their loss is my gain, as I retain a reminder from my early years when I was capable of turning things out practically overnight.

The fate of the original poster remains unknown.   

FIDDLING FECKERS - EVERY LAST ONE OF 'EM...

Millionaire politician (& Prime Minister) David Cameron

Politicians.  What are they good for?  Apart, I mean, from feathering their own nests at our expense and lying to us.  Unless you've been living in Outer Mongolia for the last few years, you'll know about all the impending benefit cuts and 'room tax' that claimants will very soon be hit with.  Politicians, with their usual vacuousness, say it's not right that those on benefits should have a higher standard of life than those who are working.  Sounds good, doesn't it, but can you spot the flaw in their rationalisation?

Firstly, the number of unemployed people who are better off than those in work is a minority and not representative of the overall picture. I'm sure we're all aghast at feckless unemployed mothers of 11 children having new houses purpose-built for them 'cos they can't keep their legs together, but to penalise those who are genuinely in need of financial assistance is not the way to go.  Secondly, if anyone working has a lower standard of living than someone who is unemployed, it's not because benefits (in the main) are too high - it's because wages are too low.

If the government (of any party - I'm not partisan) is serious about addressing the alleged discrepancy between wages and benefits, then they should raise the minimum wage, not cut benefits, which - for the majority of those on them - do not provide the envious life of unbridled hedonistic luxury that politicians seem to imagine.

No - for that kind of lifestyle, one has to be a politician.  Let's face it - what with their expense accounts, food allowances, travel costs, subsidised bars and restaurants in the House of Commons, and all sorts of perks and extras that folks in the 'real' world can only dream about, politicians are the biggest 'benefit' scroungers in the country.

Don't know about you, but I'm sick of the lot of them.

PART SIX Of SPIDER-MAN COMICS WEEKLY COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Safely strapped in?  Good!  And now, Kid's Kosmic Time-Kube (similar to the TARDIS) will transport you Merry MARVEL Madmen back to 1973 to take another look at SPIDER-MAN COMICS WEEKLY's back-catalogue of covers, pages and pin-ups from the halcyon and heady days of your youth.  (And mine, too.)

This trip, we're re-experiencing #s 15, 16, 17 & 18 of Spidey's British weekly comic, which also featured the awesome adventures of Asgardian thunder god, THOR The MIGHTY!  It'd be a few more months before The INVINCIBLE IRON MAN joined the line-up, but his escapades were well-worth waiting for.

STEVE DITKO's web-crawling, wondrous Spider-Man tales were still the main attraction, and DON HECK's hammer-throwing, long-haired Son of ODIN stories were the support act, but I'm sure most readers enjoyed one hero's dynamic dramas every bit as much as the other's.  How could they fail to?  Both features were scripted by the mighty STAN LEE, who knew how to spin a good yarn (pun intended) and always delivered the goods.

So sit back and indulge yourselves in fond recollections of yesteryear. The pandemonius present will be along to reclaim you soon enough, you can be certain of that.