MEXICO 70 UNLOADED...

Copyright relevant owner

Take a look at the page above.  I was clearing out some old mags the other day, LOADED #50 among them, and saw this page while I was looking through it to see if there was anything worth keeping.  It's the last episode of a strip called MEXICO 70, of which I was the letterer.  (I ripped it out to keep before disposing of the rest of the mag.  I'm sure I've got the other parts somewhere.)

I worked on a couple of strips for Loaded, and the editor insisted on paying me £50 per page, which was a great little number for a while.  Basically, it amounted to £100 per hour - if it even took me that long to do them.  Ah, those were the days. When I first started lettering, I wasn't quite satisfied with the result, but by the time this strip came about, I'd developed a style that I was very pleased with.

Anyone remember this strip from Loaded?  Then reminisce in the comments section to your heart's content, why don'tcha?

******

(When I first wrote this post, I said that I was paid £30 per page, but actually it was £50, so I've amended the text.  I knew I got paid more than my usual £20 for 2000 A.D., but I'd forgotten the precise amount until I re-read the post I did about first approaching the mag with some samples of my work.  So I was doing even better than I remembered.)

CONAN'S DREADED DEADLINE DOOM...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS and CPI

I decided to give myself a treat recently, so bought a back issue of CONAN The BARBARIAN #22 - even though I already have the strip contained within.  See, apparently pages for the story featured on the cover went missing in the mail, so the mag had to go with a reprint or be faced with penalties for missing its printing deadline.  Once the schedules have been arranged, publishers are legally obliged to honour the arrangement - or else.

Anyway, MARVEL decided to re-present the first Conan adventure from issue #1, and also included a previously unpublished piece of BARRY SMITH art so that readers would at least have something new to gape at.  The reason the cover wasn't changed to match the contents was because covers are (or were - dunno if it's still the case) printed far in advance of the internal pages*, so Marvel had no option but to use it.  The scheduled story appeared in the next issue.

(*In seeming contradiction, covers purportedly weren't usually drawn until after the contents.  Not quite sure how that works.)

The cover's been cropped across part of the COMICS CODE stamp, though the mag's still the height it should be.  (There's just more space under the story's title at the bottom.)  However, I can live with it, as it's reproduced in my Conan OMNIBUS and it was really the contents I was interested in.  Why?  Well, because (as far as I know) I now have every English language single-issue presentation of Marvel's Conan debut, which appeals to me in an obsessive collector's way.

In case you're interested, that includes CTB #1, CTB #22, CONAN CLASSIC #1, SAVAGE SWORD Of CONAN #1 (UK weekly), and the recent TRUE BELIEVERS printing.  Oh, and I've also got CONAN The ADVENTURER #1, the short-lived UK fortnightly periodical, which reprinted his first tale, but with 'Barbarian' changed to 'Adventurer' on the splash page to tie-in with the animated cartoon TV show of the same name. 

I've not included CONAN SAGA #1 (though I've got that as well), because it contained the first three (I think) Conan tales, not just the first one.  I've also got CBT #1 reprinted in the DARK HORSE volume, plus the aforementioned Omnibus, but I'm not counting collected editions.  I think the only CE I don't have is the b&w Conan ESSENTIALS volume, but I can live without that.  Owning all the US standard-sized single-issue colour presentations of Conan's first comic strip story will do for me.

I've got more incarnations of it than I actually need, but you can bet your barbarian's boots that if Marvel ever release a Facsimile Edition, I'll be buying that too.

******

Oops, how could I forget?  I've also got the UK Conan POCKET BOOK (digest size) from the early '80s.  Perhaps I shouldn't count that one, as it also reprints CTB #2, plus (if I recall correctly) the first half of #3.  Tell you what, let's include all the magazines, but forget the collected book editions.  How does that sound to you? 

BABE Of The DAY - JANE RUSSELL...

I've had a crush on JANE RUSSELL

for yonks, ever since I saw her in PALEFACE

and SON Of PALEFACE when I were a laddie.

She's what you call a real woman.  (And this is

what you call a real photo of a real woman,

 but you can't have everything, can you?)

It's The END Of The WORLD - For MWOM... (Updated)

Copyright MARVEL COMICS.  Published by PANINI

Just got back from the shops with my latest copy of The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL, and sad to say, if the assistant in WHS is correct, it's the last issue.  On September 30th 2022, it will be a whopping 50 years since its weekly incarnation first appeared on newsagents' counters (though it's had a few spells of rest in between then and now over the years), so I hope that PANINI will do a Special Issue to mark the occasion when it comes.

To be honest, I'm in two minds about the mag's demise.  On the one hand, it was great to be able to still buy a comic I used to get as a 13 year-old lad, but on the other, it was MWOM in name only, as in recent years it hasn't contained any of the heroes it originally published back in the 1970s.  Although sad, it's also kind of nice to now have a complete set of the revived incarnation of the title, and who knows - maybe it'll make a return one day, as it has several times before.

So it's the end of the world for ol' Mighty, alas - but the rest of the world goes on.  One thing worth mentioning is that the current incarnation is the longest-lasting version of the title, surviving for three months short of a whopping 17 years, so it must've been doing something right.  Thanks, Panini, for giving me back a part of my youth for all those years - it's appreciated.

******

Below is a November 1972 cover from an issue of MWOM - 47 years ago.  It's dated the 18th, but it would've been available in newsagents on the 11th, which makes it the closest '70s equivalent to the current ish.  Where did the time go?

MIGHTY MARVEL COLLECTED EDITIONS CHECKLIST - ON SALE NOW!

MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL #22

Copyright MARVEL COMICS.  Published by PANINI

76 pages of Marvel Universe adventure!

The final chapter of the epic ‘Infinity Wars’ saga is here!  Heroes and villains unite to face Gamora... but she isn't going down without a fight! By Gerry Duggan & Mike Deodato Jr!

First printed in Infinity Wars #5-6.

On sale Now!

£4.99.

******

ESSENTIAL X-MEN #21

76 pages of uncanny action!

Magneto travels through time into a desolate future – but is it one of his own creation?!  The X-Men think so!  By Cullen Bunn & Marcus To!

First printed in X-Men: Blue #33-34.

On sale Now!

£4.99.

****** 

DEADPOOL UNLEASHED #7

76 pages of Marvel’s hottest hero!

Secret Agent Deadpool infiltrates the sinister organisation called Gorgon!  Let's give him a big hand (he’s going to need a new one)!  By Christopher Hastings & Salva Espin!

Deadpool tackles the patchwork monster called Frankencastle!  By Ivan Brandon & Sanford Greene!

First printed in Secret Agent Deadpool #3-4, Prelude to Deadpool Corps #2 and Deadpool Team-Up #894.

On sale Now!

£4.99.

BABE Of The DAY - JANE RUSSELL...

It's JANE RUSSELL, looking sultry

as she stares longingly across the table at me

in one of our very favourite places - McDonalds

(they've done it up all nice for our visit).  Something

I've wondered about is why, as one of their burgers is

named a Big Mac, they're not called MacDonalds

instead of McDonalds.  (So it should be a Big Mc.)

Not that Jane cares - she'll eat anything, whatever

it's called.  And, boy - lemme tell you... that

 woman can eat, that's for certain!

SPECTRUM IS GREEN...

Semi-regular commenter McSCOTTY mentioned TIMPO toys recently, and it reminded me that I really should add some to my collection of 'stuff'.  The only Timpo figure I own is the CAPTAIN SCARLET one from the '60s.  I think that there were at least three different figures (Scarlet, CAPTAIN BLUE, and COLONEL WHITE), but there may have been a fourth one, LIEUTENANT GREEN, as well.  They were all in the same position and had the same face, with only the colours differing, but they were great little figures - wish I had more than just one.  They turned at the head and waist, but could hardly be called 'action figures'.

In the early '90s, four SPECTRUM figures (makers unknown) were given away with a cereal, I think by KELLOGG'S, though I'm not sure.  They had no moveable parts and were moulded onto little bases, but, again, were nice little collectables.  A good many years ago, I acquired the Scarlet figure for a mere 50p at a market somewhere, and then a year or two ago, I acquired the full set of four on eBay, and am very pleased to have them.  They happily agreed to pose for the photo below at short notice (as did Timpo Scarlet above) so that you can admire them, so I hope you appreciate their dedication to duty.  An SPV and SPC were also part of this set - I'll add a photo of them some day.

What Timpo figures do you remember having as a kid, Crivs?

ADRIFT IN THE 'STRATO' SPHERE...

Back on October 23rd I told you about the STRATO balsa-wood glider I purchased on eBay, and I said I'd add a photo of it when it arrived.  It arrived around ten days ago, but unfortunately the red plastic clip was missing and there was a split in one of the wings.  I got a full refund, but even before that, I'd spotted a trio of the same glider being sold as one lot and promptly bought 'em.  They arrived today and have never been opened, but I carefully opened one and assembled it so that I could show all you pantin' Crivs just what sort of thing your genial host wastes his money on.  (In case you didn't already know.)

In the last few years, the more items I re-acquire from my past, the more I feel that my old 'pals' are congregating around me just to say goodbye before I fall off the twig.  It's my own fault of course, because I go looking for them, they don't come looking for me, but hopefully I've got a lot more mileage on the clock to enjoy our 'reunion' before I have to say goodbye to them at the end of my journey.  My only excuse for indulging my compulsion to surround myself with items from my childhood is that I enjoy 'the warm familiarity of their presence', and that's really the only excuse I need.  Can you think of a better one?

Anyway, the photo above displays a simple toy from a more innocent era, a toy which could occupy and enthral kids for hours on end without them feeling the need to go out and vandalise something just for the perverse joy of it.  If only kids of today were so easily entertained as we of a certain age once were, eh?  Life would be so much better.  Perhaps you think I'm too jaded and cynical?  Feel free to say so (and why) in the comments section.

But first, take a good look at that glider - brilliant, innit?

BABE Of The DAY - JANE RUSSELL...

What can you say about jaunty JANE

RUSSELL that hasn't already been said many

times over?  Who cares anyway!  It's piccies that

do the talking on our Babe spot, so here's one

that's worth 1,000 words - and more!

AMAZING STORIES OF SUSPENSE #150...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Saw this comic on eBay recently and it rang a bell in my memory.  I'm pretty sure I must have had it back around the mid-'70s so I bought it as a replacement to add to my collection of ALAN CLASS comics, most of which (12 to be precise) are the original issues I owned at the time.  I think that now brings my collection up to 16, but I'll probably add a few more as and when I see ones that interest me.

I really enjoyed most of the stories in this ish, but there's one which is a real clunker, called 'OPEN WIDER, PLEASE!', which relates the tale of a man who visits a dentist as he has "severe toothache".  The dentist examines his teeth and discovers "quite a cavity" and proceeds to try and give him a filling (behave yourselves), only to find that several drills keep breaking on his teeth as they're "super strong".  We may be forgiven for wondering how he got a cavity then.

Turns out there's two reasons for wondering, as it transpires that the patient is a Martian robot spy and the dentist is a Venusian robot spy (disguised as humans), whose home planets each have designs on conquering Earth.  But since when did robots with super strong teeth develop cavities, and how could one have severe toothache?  And a robot who goes to the dentist?  He knows he's a robot, so It's completely absurd on every level as he'd surely realise that a dentist could do nothing for him and that he'd be found out?

I don't know who wrote it, but it has some decent art by DON HECK, despite the story being contrived beyond what is sensible, reasonable, or logical (a three-pronged synonymous attack, just to drive my point home).  In fact, it could rightly be said that the plot has "quite a cavity".  As I said though, the other strips were entertaining, with art by JACK KIRBY and STEVE DITKO (and others), so it's an issue worth having.

Oh, go on then - read the story for yourself and judge how daft it is.

A robot with toothache?  Now I've heard everything!

Surely the dentist, also being a robot, likewise has a lifeless, expressionless
face and unblinking eyes?  Why isn't the other robot suspicious of him?

He's a robot - why did he even go to a dentist in the first place?

Presumably, Martians and Venusians used the same robot design -
otherwise where did he know where the control stud would be?

Doesn't look the same design as the other one though, eh?

MONSTER FUN FREE GIFT OFFER OPEN TO ALL CAVORTIN' CRIV-ITES...

Copyright relevant owner

One of the annoying things for collectors is when they buy a comic that's been advertised as complete only to find that it isn't.  Such can sometimes be the case with MONSTER FUN COMIC, as it's supposed to contain a BADTIME BEDTIME STORYBOOK pullout, which can be missing from within.  It's not always the seller's fault, because unless they're familiar with the comic, it appears to be all there as the middle pages are a centre-spread strip, and the pullout's absence isn't obvious.

I bought a copy without the pullout (though I no longer recall if I knew that when I purchased it), but luckily the late, great TERRY BAVE gave me his own copy with the Storybook intact.  So if you have this comic and the LEO BAXENDALE pullout has been, er... pulled out, then this is your lucky day.  I have several facsimiles to give away for absolutely nothing.  If you'd like one, just leave your name and address in the comments section and I'll send you one entirely free and at my own expense.

This blog has comment moderation - your details won't be published or passed on to any other parties, so no junk mail will be arriving through your letterbox.  Once I've addressed the envelope, your data will be deleted forever, so don't worry - it's a completely safe offer with no hidden hiccups or handicaps.  Complete your copy of Monster Fun Comic #1 today!  See below for what you'll receive - a nicely printed and stapled, A5 sized facsimile.  Supplies are limited so don't delay.  (Update: Now gone.)

 

The DEMISE Of The VALIANT...

Copyright REBELLION

You know the sense of sadness one feels on learning that an old friend died a good while back, but only just hearing about it?  I suppose that's similar to how I felt when I eventually discovered that VALIANT was no more.  As it was no longer on my list of comics reading during this period, I was probably unaware of its merge into BATTLE until some time after the fact - but even though I'd only bought it when it had subsumed first SMASH! and then TV21 in the early '70s, it still felt like I'd just heard about the passing of an old pal.

I said some time ago that I'd get around to posting some pages from the final issue, so here they are, from a comic I acquired only a few years ago, long after it had bitten the dust.  Making their final appearances in a weekly comic were PACO, STRYKER (with some lovely IAN KENNEDY art), CAPTAIN HURRICANE, and ADAM ETERNO, with CHALLENGE CHARLIE, and The NUTTS taking their last bow too.  BILLY BUNTER would eventually resurface (in the form of reprints) in, I think, WHIZZER & CHIPS, so it's good to know that future readers weren't deprived of REG PARLETT's hilarious and sublime cartooning skills.

The Challenge Charlie strip was a bit of a con in that old scripts from POW's DARE-A-DAY DAVY were often reused, making the offer of a fiver in prize money (absent in the last episode) for accepted suggestions a total lie!  Didn't enough readers respond, or was it a deliberate subterfuge from the outset?  Either way, it's a disgrace that they got away with it.  I wonder if such things still happen today in the meagre selection of weekly (or perhaps that should be weakly) humour comics available in newsagents.   (I can only think of The BEANO - are there any others?)

Still, Valiant can certainly be considered a success, as it lasted from 6th October 1962 until 16th October 1976, which was practically my entire childhood right up until just before I officially (and allegedly) became an adult.  I wish all the comics that I bought (or knew of) as a boy were still around today.  Now that would really be something!  Maybe now that REBELLION owns the copyright to a plethora of old comic titles and strips, we may yet see their return.  I hope so.

Were you a reader of Valiant at any stage during its 14 year run?  Feel free to reminisce in the comments section.

******

One other thing: Look at the absolutely awful typeset lettering with badly-shaped balloons in some of the strips, reputedly the result of a dispute between IPC and the lettering artists it used - probably over the page-rate.  It really hurt the look of the strips, and I for one wouldn't mind at all if it were to be replaced with either modern computer or hand-lettering should they ever be reprinted.  What think the rest of you?

     

EXIT TV21, STAGE LEFT...

Copyright relevant owner

Believe it or not (as the famous LEROY ROBERT RIPLEY would say), the above comic is rather significant in its own humble way.  Y'see, this was the very last time that the esteemed name of TV21 appeared on the cover of a British weekly periodical, after around two and a half years of sharing space (as junior partner) with the VALIANT masthead.  For the final four months, the partnership had been in name only, as the last surviving TV21 strip - STAR TREK - had ended in the December 29th 1973 cover-dated issue, The TUFFS Of TERROR ISLAND having preceded it into retirement around a year and a half earlier.

It's true to say that, even before the merger in 1971, TV21 hadn't resembled its original incarnation for quite a while, but its title in some shape or form had been a familiar sight on newsagents' counters since 1965.  Five issues later, the host comic found another partner and a new double-act appeared on the scene, with the name of LION taking the place that TV21 had occupied.  The previous four issues had returned Valiant to solo status during those intervening weeks, but it was sad to see TV21's logo absent after its years of faithful service.  It had been a feature of my childhood in three houses from 1965 to 1974, which seemed a long time to me back then.  (Or does it just seem like that now?) 

Anyway, below are some internal pages to give you a taste of what it was about (excuse the 'bleed-through'). Note the ad which advises readers to place a regular order for Valiant & TV21, even though the latter's name would be absent from the masthead the following issue.  (Looking at the covers for the four 'in-between' issues on eBay, I note that there's still space in the title box for TV21's logo, which suggests it was originally included but removed before publication.)

I sometimes wonder if GERRY ANDERSON or ALAN FENNELL even noticed or lamented TV21's demise, or had it already faded from their day-to-day consciousness long before the curtain came down for the final time?

And thus a legend passed into history.

I wonder if Valiant & TV21's name remained in the indicia 'til the merger with Lion, or was absent once it van-
ished from the cover.  If you have the issues between April 20th & May 25th, check and let me know, will you?