A VIEW TO A KILL TRAILER...

A VIEW TO A KILL was ROGER MOORE's

swansong as JAMES BOND, but it was probably his

weakest outing as secret agent 007.  Nothing to do with

ol' Rog himself,  more to do with the fact that it was re-

cycling stunts seen years before in TV's The FALL

GUY and even black and white silent films.

Although it had some good moments, overall it

was a bit of a damp squib.  However, let's not hold

that against it as we watch the trailer for the final film

of the longest-serving Bond of all.  Seven movies over

twelve years is nothing to be sniffed at.  Okay, all

together now - "We want Woger!"

BABE Of The DAY - BRIGITTE BARDOT...

Better wrap up, BRIGITTE - there's

a bit of a nip in the air.  (Which you can

see if you look closely enough.)

LOOPY LAPSES In LOGIC DEPARTMENT - PUZZLE Of The PERILOUS PRISONS!

From MYSTERY IN SPACE #91.  Image copyright DC COMICS

So here's the scoop!  ADAM STRANGE and his girlfriend ALANNA arrive on Earth (having hitched a ride with HAWKMAN and HAWKGIRL), unaware that MORTAN (the baddie) intends to prematurely return Alanna to RANN.  Having secretly bathed her in negative ZETA-BEAMS before she left, Mortan's plan is that Adam will then return to Rann at the earliest opportunity, the two lovers will run into one another's arms and - KA-BLOOIE! - the end of both of them as positive and negative Zeta-beams just don't mix.

Sounds simple, right?  However, look at the pic.  There's Mortan aiming his gun at the pair.  He's got a clear shot and nobody even suspects he's there.  So why not simply aim a disintegrator gun at the duo and blow them off the face of the planet?  Well, then we wouldn't have a story is the obvious answer, but it makes one realize just how artificially convoluted (not to mention redundant) some of the plots were in a lot of those old stories.  Full marks for ingenuity, but none for logic.

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for further 'Loopy Lapses in Logic Dept.' instalments in future posts.        

WILLARD WHYTE SAYS "WELCOME TO MR. JIM REEVES"...

Here's JIM REEVES on The JIMMY DEAN

Show, singing WELCOME TO MY WORLD.

Nope, he isn't lip-syncing, he's singing live.  Just

listen to that ultra-smooth voice.

BABE Of The DAY - COTE DE PABLO...

Here's lovely COTE DE PABLO with clasped

hands, clearly praying for a date with me!  (Okay,

who laughed in derision?  You're claimed!)

KLASSIC KOMIC KOVERS - The HOUSE OF SECRETS #92...

Image copyright DC COMICS

The SWAMP THING's first appearance.  Well, that's not quite true - a Swamp Thing's first appearance.  Apparently, according to ALAN MOORE, there's been a squad of them down through the years, but don't ask me to explain because, for all I know, the continuity has all been changed again.  As far as readers were concerned though, this was the first time they'd seen such a creature in the DC Universe.

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS: SUPERMAN'S PAL JIMMY OLSEN...

Image copyright DC COMICS

Of all the titles that JACK KIRBY worked on for DC COMICS, SUPERMAN'S PAL JIMMY OLSEN was the best of them, in my opinion.  Maybe that was due to there being two recognizable characters with long established histories in the DC Universe, as opposed to Kirby's other mags, but whatever the reason, it worked for me.

Having said that however, there's something not quite right about the cover.  The point of impact where the bike hits Supes makes him look far too big in relation to not only the bike, but also the rider and Jimmy.  Perhaps it's as a result of someone else tinkering with (or redrawing) Jack's Superman figure, but the proportions seem wrong.  It's still a dynamic image though, and has plenty of punch!  (There had been an earlier, rejected version, which was later used as a cover on one of a pair of reprint volumes.)

BABE Of The DAY - MARVEL GIRL...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

Always loved the new costume

JEAN GREY, aka MARVEL GIRL,

wore in the 1960s.  Not very practical,

 though extremely eye-catching.

ATTENTION! ATTENTION, WILL ROBINSON! BARGAINS TO BE HAD IN GLASGOW...

For illustration purposes only.   Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

Regular Criv-ite DUNSADE DAVE has alerted me that a well-known Glasgow shop is currently selling a selection of hardback MARVEL MASTERWORKS, which usually sell for £52.99, for only £19.99.  Wotta bargain!

DALEKS INTERLUDE...

Oh, you lucky Crivs!  Here's a rare BBC TV

interlude featuring some MARX 'Bump 'n' Go' (or

'Tricky Action' if you prefer) DALEKS, plus several

other assorted toys.  A nice slice of the '60s.

KLASSIC KOMIC KOVERS - JET #1...

Copyright REBELLION

American readers may be bemused by the free gifts often given away with British weekly comics, seeing as it's not something done too often with U.S. mags, but it was once the custom for U.K. comics to offer an 'inducement' for the first three issues of any new periodical.  These could take the form of a novelty item, such as squirt rings, plastic biscuits, luminous masks, and even, on occasion, confectionery - as was the case with JET #1.  The title lasted 22 issues - probably as long as the free 'fruit' bars, which seemed to take ages to munch through.  Honest - they were as tough as old boots (and only slightly tastier)!

BABE Of The DAY - COTE DE PABLO...

Time for today's hot tottie, so

here's COTE DE PABLO.  I'll shut

 up while you get on with ogling.

BABE Of The DAY - MARVEL GIRL...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

It's JEAN GREY - ain't she a MARVEL!  Artist

BRUCE TIMM seems to think so.  (As do I!)

DALEKS - INVASION EARTH 2150 A.D. TRAILER...

Seeing as you enjoyed the trailer for the first

DALEKS movie, here's the one for the second.

I've also included a fan trailer for the film, so take

a look at both and then say which one you prefer.

You know where the comments section is.

KLASSIC KOMICS KOVERS - The SAGA Of The SWAMP THING #1...

Image copyright DC COMICS

Here it is - the comic that marked the return to regular publishing of SWAMP THING, who had appeared in a 24-issue series back in the 1970s.  This new mag disregarded the fact that ALEC HOLLAND had been returned to human form at the end of the previous run and seemed about to become a BRUCE BANNER/HULK type figure - probably a wise decision on DC's part to ignore, it's safe to say.

******

(I originally typed "costumed superhero" - must've got my memories mixed up with the costumed baddie in that ish.)

DOCTOR WHO & THE DALEKS TRAILER...

Okay, so the TARDIS interiors were a bit of a disappointment, and the DOCTOR seemed to be an eccentric old Englishman, but the first DOCTOR WHO & THE DALEKS movie was fairly entertaining.  I remember seeing this film on TV back in the 1970s and being enthralled by the  music.  Anyone got any memories of it they'd care to share?

BUY YOUR OWN COLA - YOU THINK I'M MADE OF MONEY?

If this doesn't take you right back to the early '70s faster than a sonic boom, then there can be only one reason - you weren't around then.  See?  There's always a simple explanation.

BABE Of The DAY - TYRA BANKS...

The stunningly beautiful TYRA

BANKS is our Babe of the Day, lads.

She's most definitely a '10' - and you

 can take that straight to the bank!

"SUPERBOY'S GREATEST GAMBLE!"

Images copyright DC COMICS

Less than four months short of 47 years, today I finally got to read the conclusion to a two-part SUPERBOY tale, the first instalment of which I read way back in December of 1968.  (For the full story behind that event, click here.)  It doesn't seem like anywhere near that length of time, and I'm amazed that it's sped by so quickly.  Several school pals who were alive when I read the first part have long since departed this mortal vale, yet because my mind has returned to '68, it feels like they're still out there, going about their everyday lives just as they once did in happy days of yesteryear.

What's interesting about the conclusion is that Superboy colludes in what appears to be the death of two alien life forms.  Okay, so they're not flesh and blood (and they're evil), but they're sentient beings, so I'm somewhat surprised at this story receiving editorial approval.  While it certainly displays a degree of imagination, it feels like the wrap-up was written by a different writer to the first part.  Either that, or he didn't know how he was going to tie it all together when he began it.

As with WORLD'S FINEST #180 (see here), I read my newly acquired SUPERBOY #148 in a room, the door of which displays the actual number plate of the house in which I lived when I read the first part of the tale, nearly 47 years ago. What's more, the room has furniture which graced my previous room's interiors, so there's an almost tangible air of continuity and connection, which appeals to my overdeveloped sense of nostalgia.

But there's more!  My screensaver is the view from my old bedroom window of the house in which I stayed when this mag was first published, so it was easy to make-believe as I sat down to type this that I'd read it in the same room where I'd read the first part of the tale, ten days before Christmas on a dark December late afternoon in 1968.

Okay, my mental associations with this mag are imaginary rather than memory, but don't let that prevent you from sharing your own personal reminiscences (if you have any) of this comicbook with your fellow Criv-ites in the comments section.

******

Y'know, now that I think about it, this story seems strangely familiar, making me wonder if I'd perhaps read it out of sequence before I bought #146.  This would account for me not realizing I'd already read the denouement in advance of the first part of the tale, especially as the wrap-up takes a slightly different turn from what one would naturally expect from the set-up.  Perhaps it was one of the issues contained in a DOUBLE DOUBLE COMIC?  Still glad to have it though, whatever the case.

AND WHERE DO YOU COME FROM?

Do you know where you're from?  No, I'm not talking the 'birds and the bees'.  What I mean is, do you have a sense of self springing from a particular area where you grew up or lived at some point in your life?  For example, I'm Glasgow-born and lived in the West End of the city for the first year and a half of my life before moving to a new town.  However, although I'm a Glaswegian by birth, I don't feel so 'connected' to the city as the town in which I grew up.

Humans seem to be territorial creatures and tend to align themselves with the neighbourhood they were raised or lived in during the formative years of their lives.  I spent five and a half of my first seven years of existence in one neighbourhood, and the next six years, seven months of my life in another neighbourhood, before moving back to the first one.  Apart from four years spent in yet another neighbourhood from 1983 to '87, I've now lived in my current neighbourhood for forty-four and a half years of my life.

Each of those two neighbourhoods (and others) had their gangs, who were bitter enemies of one another.  Which is not to say normal, well-balanced kids from each area didn't get along perfectly well together, but 'officially', as far as the neddish gangs were concerned, they were at war.

If I were to label myself based on where I've lived longest, I'd be a 'Murray' man, but as I spent nearly seven years of my life from the age of seven, to five months short of my fourteenth birthday in an area called Westwood, I tend to regard myself as more of a 'Westwood' man.  After all, I spent most of my primary school years there, and continued to go to secondary school in the area, even spending the final two and a half years of my school life there after returning to the Murray.

Thing is though, as I lived in the Murray first, and have now lived here longer, I feel slightly disloyal in not considering myself, first and foremost, a Murray man.  As I mentioned, I only lived in the Westwood for just under seven years, but that period encompasses most of my school life, and just about everyone I still know from childhood I first met while I was living there.  Not only that, proportionately, that period was around half my life at that point, so that's quite a significant factor to consider.

So, to which area should I pin my loyalties and sense of identity - Murray or Westwood?

Funnily enough, I don't have the same problem when describing my Nationality on forms - I always put British.  That's because I'm a British Scot or a Scottish Brit - doesn't much matter which way you put it.  So why's it so hard when deciding which neighbourhood I'm really from?  I suppose I could say I'm a Westwood man who lives in the Murray, or a Murray man who lived in the Westwood, but neither seems to do the situation justice.

Both areas left an impression on me in my formative years, and in embracing one, I don't want to spurn the other.  The best I can do is to describe myself as a Westwood/Murray man, or a Murray/Westwood man, but it still seems to me like sitting on the fence to some degree.

Aw, shoot!  I'll work it out one day I guess.  What I want to know though, is where you consider yourself from.  Is it the area you grew up, or the one of which you have the fondest memories - or even the one you've lived in longest?  Or don't you think that way?  Perhaps I've just got far too much time on my hands in even pondering the matter?

If you feel at all motivated, Crivs, share your thoughts and observations in the comments section.  After all, that's what it's there for.

PART FOUR Of MARVEL'S The SUPER-HEROES COVER & IMAGE GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

A power-packed plethora of pulse-pounding pictures awaits your gaze, frantic ones, in this latest pulsating part of The SUPER-HEROES cover and image gallery.  As you can see from the above piccie, the final issue of The SILVER SURFER's original U.S. mag was printed out of sequence for some reason, perhaps just to get it out of the way as it was by far the weakest tale of the 18 issue run.  (In my view anyway.)

So once again, it's time to return to the sizzlin' '70s and live again the heady days of your youth - if you were alive at the time, of course.  Even if you weren't, join us on the journey and see for yourselves just what kind of comics excited those of us who were kids or teenagers way back then.  Mighty MARVEL Magnificence at its very best - and all for only 8p per week.

The FIRST BATMAN MOVIE...

"Some days, you just can't get rid of a bomb!"  Having said that, I enjoyed the 1966 BATMAN movie, though I didn't see it until around ten years later, on TV.  Good for a chuckle!

BABE Of The DAY - SALMA HAYEK...

What a cracker - the sensational

SALMA HAYEK.  She's what drool

cups were invented for.  Yum!

DANCIN' DALEKS...

Here are my very own pair of '60s MARX

TOYS Bump 'n' Go DALEKS having a quick

twirl on my bathroom floor.  Don't panic - it's not

as gross as it sounds.  Take your partners and -

"EXTERMINATE!"

BRITISH BATMAN BOOKS...

Images copyright DC COMICS

During the Bat-craze of the '60s, BATMAN was BIG!  In Britain, the merchandise was just as plentiful as elsewhere - and we even had our own Annuals.  Here's a handful of Bat-books to remind you of your faraway childhood in a long-vanished era.  Holy Batusi!