ME AND THIS MAG HAVE JUST TEAMED UP...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS and CPI

Within minutes of someone mentioning this mag in a comment on a recent post, I bought it on eBay.  It arrived yesterday and I read it last night, the realisation that I was a mere 21 years old when it was first published uppermost in my mind.  So, effectively, time travel, as in my head I had returned 42-and-a-half years into the past - almost two-thirds of my life ago.  I hadn't even known of its existence back then, but it can now join the first three issues of the regular Marvel UK weekly comic of the same name, which I still have all these years later.  And thus that particular circle is complete, and I can fool myself into believing that I've owned this mag since it first came out.

Any of you Crivvies buy it at the time?  Any memories, associations, thoughts or observations you'd like to share?  The comments section awaits your esteemed presence - after you've enjoyed perusing these pulsating pages and pin-ups, of course.

RED SONJA copyright CPI

SOMETHING (COMPLETELY) WICKED THIS WAY COMES... (BUT DOESN'T HANG AROUND FOR LONG!)

Copyright MARVEL COMICS and relevant and respective owners

I don't recall even knowing about this comic back in 1989, so it was a surprise when I saw it on eBay recently.  A Marvel first issue is usually not to be sneezed at, so I've now added it to my collection and thought you might like to see the complete contents.  It lasted for only 17 issues, but it doesn't impress me enough to make me want to track down the other 16.  What do you make of it, fellow Crivvies?

As you can see, some of the pages have a sparsity of panels and the lettering is too large, leading me to wonder if they were originally intended to be for a digest-sized periodical.  (Think DCT's Commando mags or early issues of IPC's Nipper comic.)  Would you have bought this publication 34 years ago if you were in the age range it was aimed at?  (Or even today, in fact.)  Let rip in the comments section.

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

The BETTER PART(S) Of VALOUR - WINTER SPECIAL 1980...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Surprisingly (or maybe not), only around eight UK comic titles beginning with the letter 'V' have ever been published.  Valentine, Valiant, Valour, Vanguard, Venture, Victor, Viz, and Vulcan.  (If you want to amuse yourselves, you can have a go at dreaming up other possible titles for comics beginning with a 'V'.)

Meanwhile, though, I thought I'd show you the only Special to accompany Marvel's Valour, published back in the '80s.  I never knew about this Special, even though I bought the weekly comic for a while, and still have the first three issues.  Anyway, I obtained it recently via eBay and, as always, it provides me with immense satisfaction to return over 40 years into the past and check out something I should've owned at the time, but didn't.  (I do now though!)

Any Crivvies ever buy the weekly Valour or have this Special at the time?  Feel free to express yourselves in the comments section.

CONAN and RED SONJA copyright CPI

RECOGNISE THIS FELLA?

                                               I am the handsomest of men,
                                                   the ladies look, then look again;
                                                   I'm toned and fit, and tall and dark,
                                                   in my blue eyes resides a spark
                                                   which makes them tremble deep within
                                                   and lets me turn their hearts to 'sin'.
                                                   If truth be told, I'm quite a tease,
                                                   but women's eagerness to please -
                                                   to play the game of 'birds and bees'
                                                   and do their utmost to appease
                                                   my appetite for pleasures rare -
                                                   lets me perform with style to spare.

                                                   I am Adonis come to life,
                                                   all women wish to be my wife.
                                                   I conquer hearts with languid ease
                                                   and watch them buckle at the knees.
                                                   I laugh as their chins hit the floor
                                                   whenever I pass through a door.
                                                   E'en Sapphic slaves can't help but 'turn'
                                                   so filled with lust for me they burn,
                                                   their 'lady love' they all do spurn
                                                   and nevermore will they return
                                                   to their past wicked wanton ways,
                                                   such is the power of my gaze.

                                                   My skin is firm and tanned and smooth,
                                                   my honeyed words do serve to soothe
                                                   the fever in their lustful hearts,
                                                   pierced by cherubic Cupid's darts.
                                                   I cannot fail, I am God's gift
                                                   to women who require a 'lift'
                                                   to make them feel desired and young
                                                   by one so manly and well-hung,
                                                   who charms them with a silver tongue,
                                                   whose name and fame are so far-flung -
                                                   for me they'd all lay down and die...
                                                   and do so with a grateful sigh.

                                                   Who am I?  Why...

                                                   I'm Mr. Handsome.

HERE'S A STRANGE TALE (OR TWO) FOR YOU... (Updated)

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Above, my newly acquired Facsimile Edition of Strange Tales #178, featuring Warlock; below, my replacement copy of the '70s original, which I've now had for decades - far longer than I ever owned its predecessor.  Happily, the facsimile has the 'continued after next page...' lines, which not all Marvel facsimiles contain.  (Which prompts me to ask... why?)

One advantage Marvel has over DC is that the reproduction of ads throughout their mags is sharper and clearer and much better looking than those of their Distinguished Competition.  DC seemingly just scan ads from published comics and, compared to their Marvel equivalents, they're not quite as good as they could (or should) be.  I don't know what process Marvel uses, but they've mostly got it spot on.  Now if only they'd publish their facsimiles on matte paper instead of the glossy stuff, they'd be 100% perfect.

I've used an earlier scan from a previous post for the image below, as I couldn't be bothered digging through a cupboard looking for the issue to re-scan.  It would look exactly the same anyway, so there's no point in giving myself extra work just to do a side-by-side comparison shot - not when I can use some computer 'trickery' to achieve the same effect.

Anyway, if you don't own this key issue from the '70s, here's your chance to rectify that situation by rushing out and buying a facsimile of it today.  Or you can always order one from eBay as I did.  (That way, you don't even have to leave the house.)

Comments, observations, and reminiscences of this issue are most welcome, if you were lucky enough to own it back in the day.  And should you like to see a three-part cover and image gallery of Warlock, you can do so by clicking here, here, and here.

And below is a 'side-by-side' image, just to make comparison easier...

And now, below, the original US issue...

...followed below by the US and UK versions side-by-side.  Some slight colour variations, but that's a common occurrence and may just be due to the vagaries of printing, regardless of whether they're UK or US issues.  Also, the US image was sourced from eBay, which may also account for any differences in the quality of colour reproduction.

 

NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL DEGENERATION...

This post was first published on my other blog (Mild & Mellow Melancholy Musings) when this site was 'resting' for a while back in 2018.  Give it a read and then I'll update you on 'what happened next' (as in recently).  The post was originally entitled 'Now That's What I Call Regeneration...', but I've amended it for this slightly edited outing.

******

Well, I said I'd do this post when I found the relevant photos, and after much searching - which has taken me months (if not years) - I've finally tracked them down.  True to form, they were in completely different places, and I had to go through hundreds, if not thousands, of pics in order to find them.  That's even harder than it sounds, because my photo wallets are scattered all around the house in whatever space I can fit them.

Of course, there's always the possibility that you'll think the result of my hunt wasn't worth the effort, but I'll take my chances.  The above photo was snapped by me around 1986, and shows the remains of a tree that had taken a pounding.  I think it was struck by lightning, and it's a shame I don't have a photo of the tree before its 'accident' as it was quite an impressive looking item. (Could be I do have a pic somewhere, but if so, I've forgotten ever taking it, never mind where it might be if I did.)

Anyway, I took the photo below sometime around the early or mid-'90s, and it shows the tree in its 'recovery stage'.  It's not exactly as it was before it endured a kicking, but I thought it was a goner back then, so it was nice to see that it had survived - and thrived.  There's a moral in there somewhere, eh?  Let's just hope that council workies haven't chopped it down after it making such a magnificent comeback.  I must take a walk along to the area and see if it's still there.  I'll let you know.  (Update: Yup, it's still standing.)

And now a sadder update: I walked past this tree twice on Wednesday 19th, first going somewhere, then again coming back.  I even gave its trunk a friendly pat on my way home, so pleased was I to see it still standing after all this time.  However, taking the same route tonight, I was gutted to see that it had been chopped down, which must've been done on Thursday or Friday as council workmen don't usually work on weekends.

I guess, going from the colour of the centre of its levelled trunk, that it must've been diseased, but it's a great shame to see it laid low after so many years.  My pat of 'greeting' turned out to be more of a 'farewell', but at least I got to see it again, tall and proud, just before its end.  Hopefully, it will regenerate once more to some degree, even if it's just a few sparse growths around its remains.  I'd write a poem about it, but, as Joyce Kilmer wrote in 1913 - "I think that I shall never see, a poem lovely as a tree."

And yet another update: Below is a photo of the tree as it is now.