THANKS For The MEMORY...

 

"Gee, the waiters in this place are really old!"

Remember what I said a few posts back about when you're really famous, someone always wants to have a photo taken with you?  Well, here I am on a night out some years back - the older fellow was an unknown but promising up-and-coming U.S. comedian called BOB HOPE.  I hear he was quite good, but, sadly, he's no longer with us.

"Just sign here, Kid - I'll fill in the amount later." 

He wanted an autograph of course, so here he is (with wife Dolores) indicating where he wanted me to sign and even providing a pen for my convenience.  He probably had it on eBay five minutes later and made a fortune from it.  What can you do?  Ah, the price of fame!

FREE FACSIMILE Of BEANO #1 At SAINSBURY'S...

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

It certainly pays to shop around.  This year's DANDY and BEANO ANNUALS (for 2011) are priced at £7.99 each, but already various sellers are offering their own special deals on the books.  SAINSBURY'S are only charging £5 each, but buy both of them together and they cost  a mere £8 for the pair (essentially a two-for-one offer).

However, whether you buy it on its own or with its sister publication, The BEANO ANNUAL comes with a high quality facsimile of the comic's first issue from 1938.  True, some liberties have been taken with the cover by omitting the white margin, and the contents are abridged from the original 28 pages to 24, but it's still a nice little collectors' piece.

 

Run out and but them both NOW!

And for those who want to know what the cover of the first issue should look like - from my own personal collection - feast your eyes on the illustration below...

KID AS A KID...

"Ready or not, here I come!"

This clearly happy chappie is no doubt exulting in the fact that, with his mighty DALEK in hand, no-one is going to risk incurring his righteous wrath by trying to "take away his Breakaway".  (Actually, I don't think that particular biscuit was around in 1965, but never mind.)  Look how fearless he is - he laughs - with eyes recklessly closed - even in the face of deadly danger.  (Okay, it's only Dad with a Box Brownie.)  This toy Dalek was manufactured by HERTS PLASTIC MOULDERS and was sold only in WOOLWORTHS stores back in the '60s.  Wish I still had mine*.  What about you?

(*Update November 2024: Now got a replacement.  That's it below.)

"You lookin' at me?  EXTERMINATE!"

JOHNNY FUTURE - MAN Of YESTERDAY...

Yesterday's Man of Tomorrow

One of my favourite comic strips back when I was a mere lad was JOHNNY FUTURE, published in the pages of FANTASTIC by ODHAMS PRESS.  The strip had originally been called The MISSING LINK, but the character was deemed to be too similar to The HULK - then appearing in sister publication SMASH! - and a change in direction was instituted after several issues.  Whether MARVEL objected to a Hulk 'knock-off' appearing alongside other Marvel characters, or whether ALF WALLACE, the strip's writer, arrived at this decision on his own (or perhaps even intended it from the start) is lost in the miry mists of time, but it was undoubtedly a very wise move.  With fantastic (no pun intended) artwork by Spanish artist LUIS BERMEJO, the strip ran until Fantastic absorbed TERRIFIC, and JOHN FOSTER (Johnny Future's alter ego) disappeared into comics limbo.  Well, almost - he had one more outing in the 1969 Annual, but - after that - it was curtains for ol' JF.

There was occasionally some clumsy tampering with Luis Bermejo's artwork (the addition of an inconsistent futuristic emblem on his costume being but one example), but overall, the strip is fondly remembered as a benchmark of comic strip art from the 1960s.  Interestingly, Bermejo always misspelt the title as "Jhonny Future" in his pencilled indication of where the logo should be placed - English not being his strong point, I guess.  STEVE HOLLAND of BEAR ALLEY BOOKS was going to reprint the complete run in book form, but - due to events beyond his control - it hasn't yet come to pass and looks increasingly unlikely.  (Update: REBELLION is releasing a complete collected edition of the strip in April 2020.)

Incidentally, the back-page pin-ups are usually credited to BARRY WINDSOR SMITH, who, if he was responsible for the one at the top of this post, seems to have copied or merely traced it from an original panel by Bermejo himself.  (See below.)  Any clarification by anyone who knows what they're talking about would be most welcome, though I suspect it's possibly an enlargement of the Bermejo panel which a staff artist has retouched in places.

I have a fascinating origin worked out for the Link and Johnny Future - maybe one day I'll share it with you.  (Update: That day is here.  Click on this link to read about Johnny's connection to The Man Of Tomorrow.)

SUPER DC FIRST ISSUE COVER...

Copyright DC COMICS

SUPER DC was a British monthly published by Top Sellers back in 1969/'70, featuring - as it said above the title - "The Best of DC Comics".  Such a claim was arguable, but I certainly thought it was a worthwhile effort and it was definitely good value for one old Shilling.  (5 new pence.)

Only 14 issues were ever produced - and I have two sets of each of them, plus two copies of the Bumper Book - so well done me!  The covers of all of them are elsewhere on the blog.

YOU MUST READ THIS! SEZ WHO? SEZ DEZ! (AND ME!)

What are you waiting for? Get right over to http://dezskinn.com and read about the many and varied accomplishments and career highlights of the man referred to as "the British Stan Lee".  Dez has been at the forefront of the British comics industry for more years than he'd probably care to remember, so you can bet that when he's got something to say it's worth paying heed to.

Well? Why are you still here?  Go and pay heed.

YOU COULDN'T MEET A NICER MAN THAN ARCHIE GOODWIN...

The late ARCHIE GOODWIN was one of nature's finest gentlemen.  He's probably as much a legend for being nice as he is for being one of the greatest writers and editors that ever graced the comics medium.  I was fortunate enough to once spend a pleasant evening in the company of Archie and his just-as-nice wife, ANN - along with famous Scottish man-about-town, JOHN McSHANE - a few years before Archie passed away, enjoying a pleasant meal and some entertaining conversation into the bargain.

Archie was modest and unassuming, and a joy to be with.  He looked much younger than his years, despite having suffered from the illness which eventually claimed his life much too soon.  It's been said that if you look up the word "nice" in the dictionary, you'll find a picture of Archie smiling back at you.

Here's to you, Archie - wherever you may be.

HANG LOOSE, FACE FRONT, 'NUFF SAID, EXCELSIOR!

"Wait'll I tell Kirby that I met Kid Robson."

When you're a living legend and creative megastar in the world of comics, one of the things you have to put up with is ordinary folk wanting their photo taken with you so that they can tell their buddies you're their best friend.  Such a thing happened to me one day when out of the blue, this wrinkly old pensioner (oo-er - sorry, Stan) insisted I pose for a photograph with him - anybody know who he is?  Oh well - just another day in the life of a leg-end - er, I mean legend.

"AS HISTORY BOOKS HAVE SHOWED..."



Illustrated by E. H. Shepard

The WIND In The WILLOWS by KENNETH GRAHAME entranced me from an early age, and even if you're now a crusty old adult, you really should give it a read if you haven't done so already.  It's another of those deeds that should be on a "things to do before you die" list.  Forget the stigma of reading a so-called "childrens book" - the standard of English employed in the book elevates it above and beyond that much-maligned and inaccurate category.

As the author himself said, "It is a book of youth, and so perhaps chiefly for youth, and those who still keep the spirit of youth alive in them; of life, sunshine, running water, woodlands, dusty roads, winter firesides."  I'd say it's definitely the finest book of its kind, so what's not to like?  And do your very best to get an edition illustrated by ERNEST H. SHEPARD.

Even if you don't feel like reading it yourself, buy a copy for your kids (or nieces and nephews) - above the age of 12, I'd suggest - as a Christmas gift.  They're bound to thank you in later years for having enriched their young lives.

Preparing for battle

GERRY ANDERSON'S BATMAN..?

"Where's my swimming trunks?"

You're looking at a LOUIS MARX TOYS' TWISTABLE BATMAN, which I assume was readily available in all good toy shops at the height of the 'Bat-craze' back in the mid-1960s.  (I owned several in my time, all purchased (on different occasions) from a super little shop known as NURSERYLAND.  "Everything for Baby" it boasted, but it also sported quite a wide range of toys for kids of all ages.)

He was produced without trunks, but that apart, was a fantastic fun figure - looking for all the world like a GERRY ANDERSON puppet.  Is that STEVE ZODIAC under the Bat cape and cowl?  Sure looks like him to me - what about the rest of you?

Apparently, pristine examples of this toy can fetch up to £700 (according to a dealer who's well-known for charging about three times that of everyone else), but I managed to pick up mine for a mere £30.  It still had the original cape, although it was torn and tatty, but was missing the belt, Bat emblem and Bat-a-rang.  I made a new cape using the original as a template, and recreated the other missing items, which - although not original - suffice for the purpose of display.

All in all, a nice little acquisition.  Anyone got a spare Bat-a-rang and Utility belt they can sell me?  If so, get in touch.

BOB - BETTER BRING BILL - BATMAN'S BACK!

Images copyright DC COMICS

Remember the BATMAN craze of the '60s?  TOPPS published a set of cards to cash-in on the interest that the TV show had incited, and to anyone who had them back in 1966, the above and below images will surely bring back happy memories of their childhood.  A further two sets were released after the first, and - fortunately, for people like myself who foolishly never kept the originals - Topps reissued them back in 1989 when the new TIM BURTON/MICHAEL KEATON/JACK NICHOLSON big-budget Batman movie hit the screens.

Ah, happy days.  More '60s Batman merchandise soon, perhaps.

"WHERE TREASON DWELLS - DWELL I..!" (EH? WHAT'S HE ON ABOUT?)

Pencil tracing by Dom Regan, inking and lettering by Kid Robson

 

Many of you will have seen The FREEDOM COLLECTIVE one-shot mag from a small independent 'publisher' a number of years back.  There were quite a few people involved with the issue, but I believe the basic premise was based on a suggestion by a Glasgow artist (not the one allude to below and named above), author, and well-known man about town.

I'm unsure whether the original pencil rough of the above image was prepared as a possible project or merely for the artist's own amusement, but it was traced from a copy of the cover of STRANGE TALES #135 - which I then inked, embellished, improved, as well as lettered, and which came out not too badly at all, in my humble estimation.

"KRUST" was later changed to "K.R.U.S.H.", but the above illustration is how it left my drawing board.

LET'S NOT "WELCH" ON OUR DEBT TO RAQUEL...

 

"Kid - I love you!"

To compensate for the upsetting

nature of the previous post's photo (now

deleted, but even the subject complained),

here's one which won't have you reaching

for a 'barf bag'!  (If this is a woman, then

lemme tell you, my last girlfriend must

 have been a navvy.  Bleccchhh!)

PERTAINING TO PARANOID PALPITATIONS OF THE PALPABLE KIND...

There's a clue here somewhere

I'd thought that my 'difference of opinion' with a certain person (see my post "Setting the record straight" for details) was all done and dusted, but someone recently alerted me to the fact that he's now implying that I'm posing as a variety of different people over on the comments section of his blog.  Curious, I visited the site and was bemused to see someone else's responses to his comments being slyly suggested as originating from myself. 

When it comes to making assertions of "paranoid accusations", he seems completely unaware of the irony of his remarks - as he's the only one indulging in that little pastime as far as I can see.

I've tried to be fair to this individual and have always given him his due as a professional comics contributor, and acknowledged the merits of his usually informative blog, but on this occasion I feel it is necessary to address the situation of him taking pot-shots at me in my absence.  Let's hope it's the last time I have to do so, as it has become extremely tiresome.

RESTORING The KING...

"Where's Cagney?  I'll moider da bum!"

Being incredibly talented - as well as witty, charming and handsome (not to mention modest and with a self-deprecating sense of humour) - it should come as no surprise to anyone to learn that I once inked (re-inked, to be precise) the artwork of JACK "KING" KIRBY - while he was still alive, making it even more of a thrill for me.  To see my name listed with some of the legendary greats of the comicbook biz like STAN LEE, JACK KIRBY, VINCE COLLETTA, etc., was a big deal for me, and one of which I'm immensely proud.  How did this monumental accomplishment occur, you are perhaps asking - so here's the scoop.

MARVEL were producing their first run of MASTERWORKS editions, when then-editor, TOM BREVOORT, asked me if I could supply some of the absent pages from their files.  As it happened, I was in a position to help out, utilising some of my comics collection featuring Marvel reprints in U.K. publications of the '60s.  However, things were a lot more complex than simply photocopying pages from old comicbooks and sending them over to the States - and here's why:

Back in the '60s, ODHAMS PRESS, publishers of comics such as WHAM!, SMASH!, POW!, FANTASTIC, & TERRIFIC (also EAGLE and others), made all sorts of alterations to the Marvel comic strips they reprinted.  Credit boxes were deleted, American references were changed, colloquial speech was altered, characters' names were revised, and pages were - in the case of Wham!, Smash!, and Pow! - also resized to fit the standard British dimensions.  However, rather than witter on about it let me show you.  Below is a THOR page as it appeared in issue #27 of Fantastic back in 1967.

And here's how the page looked once I had restored it to its original appearance.  What you might call 'invisible mending'.



Next is a poorly printed ad featuring the cover art from FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #3 - as you can see, most of the linework has dropped out and a couple of characters have been deleted.

Here's the cover once I had re-inked it.  Nothing too elaborate - merely the application of a MARSMATIC drawing pen to a photocopy of the above pic, and a combination of re-created and photocopied lettering from the original comic.

Here are a few more 'before & after' illustrations for your perusal.  As you can see below, the figure of The THING lost most of his body when the image was resized to fit the larger U.K. page.  With the aid of reference as to how the page should have looked, I soon restored the missing details and returned the page to its former state.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

And finally, a Thor pic, before and after restoration.

Remember - the images can be enlarged by clicking on them - and then clicking again on the enlarged pic to make it larger yet.  (These two are a little blurred - although the preceding pictures can be seen to their best advantage by this process.)

And that's how one restores royalty.  Simple, really - but immensely satisfying.  Altogether now - "Long live the King!"

SOMETHING SURE SMELLS FISHY ABOUT THIS...

Printed result

Here's one that didn't get away.  I was in my local chip shop one night and the owner asked me if I'd do a cartoon to advertise his delivery service.  Rather than take the man's money, I asked for a fish supper every week for a year.  (With an onion and a beetroot for good measure.)  Not too bad for half an hour's work, eh?

Above is the finished article which appeared on his shop bags and leaflets for years; below is the "rough" of the initial idea.

Initial pencil rough

THE BANNER AND BLAKE SHOW...

Characters copyright MARVEL COMICS

Here's one of the art samples I showed to 2000 A.D. editor STEVE MacMANUS at a Glasgow comic mart back in October of 1984.  The lettering was done with a fountain pen and was a far cry from being truly professional, but it was enough to give Steve an idea of my potential and eventually resulted in me freelancing for IPC about three months later.

The lettering may be far from perfect, but I was always proud of the rather clean pencilling which it adorned, so I thought I'd share it with you here.

EVOLUTION IN ACTION...

The above pic is a B&W copy of a colour cartoon for a proposed ad for a local restaurant, which I did some years ago.  (It's a shame I no longer have a colour copy 'cos it was quite nice.)  However, rarely does a cartoon (or any illustration for that matter) spring full-blown from the hand of its creator; it usually undergoes a process of development 'til the finished result is reached.  Let me show you what I mean.

The following picture is the original 'rough' suggesting the idea.  This is to show the prospective client what one has in mind.  (I say 'prospective client', but in actual fact I was doing a 'favour' for the owner 'cos I knew him.  You'll know the old saying "There's no such thing as a free lunch" - well, this is the proof of that saying.  I was going to get paid paid for it, but it's something I was only doing to accommodate a request.)

Below is another rough of the proposed final drawing - this is essentially what I'm aiming for.

And now the finished line artwork.  I added the restaurant's logo to the tablecloth and then coloured it with acrylic inks. The finished picture was very effective, but unfortunately I gave it to someone, so only the B&W and grey copy at the top of the page remains in my possession.  You'll just have to imagine it in colour - the guy has a blue suit and the girl has a red dress, if that's any help.  Trust me - it was nice.

And guess what?  After all that work, I decided to abandon the project when my fee was questioned, so it never saw print.  Just another day in the life of a cartoonist, eh?

HEY, BIG FRANKIE...

A while back, I posted an unused cover for HUGH CAMPBELL's '80s fanzine, FUSION.  The illustration was one I'd drawn back around 1981 or '82, and as I previously mentioned, I'd first used it for a suggested cover for RON BENNETT's fanzine-catalogue, SKYRACK'S FANTASY TRADER, though I never got around to sending it.  So, 27 years later, here it finally is... quite effective, even if I say so myself.

LOOK - UP IN THE SKY... ER, I MEAN COMING THROUGH THE WALL...

"I've lost my front door key!"

Here's a real collector's item for you to feast your eyes on - the 1964 AURORA model kit of SUPERMAN, as built and painted by myself.  Aurora was once the world's biggest plastic model kit company, before the high price of oil put them out of business in 1977.  (Oil being one of the ingredients in the manufacture of plastic.)

Hopefully, MOEBIUS MODELS will get around to reissuing this kit in its original form (with original box art) in the near future.  Why not contact them at this link and suggest it?  Go on, you know it makes sense.

OLD BALLS, PLEASE...

Here's a strange little story for you concerning the item in the above ad.  I bought my one and only TONIBELL MINIBALL back around 1967 or '68.  (Hard to believe it was over 40 years ago.)  When I moved house in 1972, I was sure I'd brought it with me to my new home, but, mysteriously, I couldn't find it.  I'd kept it behind the water tank up in the attic, and I was sure I'd retrieved it the night before moving, but - search as I might in our new abode - it was nowhere to be found.

Over the years, I'd regularly have dreams in which I'd find myself back in my old house, searching for my trusty pal from childhood.  Anyway, to cut a long story short, 19 years later I decided to determine its fate once and for all, and managed to gain access to my old house and attic - and was overjoyed (if flabbergasted) to discover my little yellow Miniball exactly where I'd left it so many years before - completely untouched.  So, not only was I the last person to see it back in 1972, but also the first to clap eyes on it again in 1991.  Strangely, the 19 years that have elapsed since I retrieved it don't seem a fraction of the time it lay undiscovered and neglected for the same period.

And guess what?  I've never had those dreams again since that day I finally solved the mystery of the disappearing little yellow ball.

Pic taken on June 9th 1991, before I removed the ball from where
it had lain ever since I'd flitted from the house on June 14th 1972

OURS IS A DRAMA DECREED BY THE FATES...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

I'm glad to be able to say that MARVEL have done themselves proud with the release of the softcover THOR MASTERWORKS volume.  Quite simply, these tales from JOURNEY Into MYSTERY #83-100, have never been presented better - anywhere.  For the first time since its initial printing back in 1962, Thor's origin is reproduced - in colour - from pristine proofs, with no evidence of clumsy, so-called 'restoration' or 'reconstruction' as was the case in a whole load of earlier reprintings in recent years.

For example, when the story was reprinted in MARVEL TALES #1, a badly lettered blurb on the splash page declared it was originally printed in JIM #38 (instead of 83) - and the final page was cropped to permit a wrap-up caption to the issue.  When the tale was reprinted  in the GOLDEN BOOK & RECORD Set, the splash page was printed in black and white, and the "Editor's Note" panel on the last page was eliminated, with the final two pictures being resized to fill the space.  In ORIGINS Of MARVEL COMICS, the corner page numbers were removed and some clumsy touch-up work was noticeable in places.  For the first printing of the Masterworks hardback (and subsequent editions up to now), the splash page was reconstructed from the reprint in Thor #158, and the final panel's changes were badly re-lettered back to the original wording.  (Though the misspelling of "THORR" was corrected.)

Rather than bore you with the details of every single presentation of this ace tale, see my previous post on the subject.  However, before you do, rush out and purchase this super edition before it's sold out.  (It's just a shame that they inadvertently missed out a paragraph in STAN LEE's introduction, originally written for the 1991 first printing.)

ISBN# 978-0-7851-4568-4.

KIRBY HAS LEFT THE (BAXTER) BUILDING...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

Following my post on FANTASTIC FOUR: The LOST ADVENTURE, I'd like to look at another of the fantasies surrounding the original printing of this story in FF #108.  I've previously addressed JON B. COOKE's idle speculation that STAN LEE may possibly have delayed printing JACK KIRBY's version out of spite, so I'd now like to examine the suggestion that it was released the same month as the first issue of DC COMICS' (then National Periodical Publications, Inc.) NEW GODS title in a malicious attempt to sabotage its launch.

Sound plausible?  Let's examine the facts.  Kirby's first comic to be released by DC was SUPERMAN'S PAL JIMMY OLSEN.  When New Gods hit the stands (six months after Kirby had left MARVEL) no special attention or promotion was given to FF #108;  Kirby wasn't mentioned on the JOHN BUSCEMA cover and the Kirby content was bookended by a Buscema splash and end page, with quite a few redrawn panels inside the book - rendering Kirby's involvement practically invisible 'til the reader got the mag home and sat down to read it.  Hardly the way to create an impact and steal New Gods' thunder, I'd suggest.

Marvel were trying to establish Big John Buscema as the FF's new regular, superstar artist (after four issues by JOHN ROMITA), so that would surely count against them harping on about the past glory that was Jack.  And sales on 'The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!' actually increased after Kirby left the book (as they did with SPIDER-MAN after STEVE DITKO departed) so, Stan Lee's personal sadness aside, Marvel wouldn't have been overly concerned over the King's departure.  The most likely explanation seems to be that the story was printed simply because it had been paid for - and once Stan had worked out the problems with it and incorporated it into a longer, more cosmic story arc, there was no good reason not to print it.

When one examines the evidence, the fact that FF #108 featured Kirby material and came out the same month as New Gods #1 seems to be nothing more than coincidence, otherwise Marvel surely would have hyped it to the rafters.  They didn't - which puts paid to that little notion as far as I'm concerned.  That's the trouble with most "conspiracy theories" - they seldom withstand scrutiny when measured against the plain and simple facts of the matter.

******

For previous post on this topic, click here.

WELCOME TO THE 21st CENTURY...

Copyright relevant owner

Here's another fine example of RON EMBLETON artwork - the cover to the very first TV CENTURY 21 ANNUAL from 1965 (for 1966).  When the weekly comic paper first debuted, STINGRAY was the newest GERRY ANDERSON show then-currently on TV, essentially making it the 'starring' strip of the publication.  (Though, with the LADY PENELOPE strip, the comic was already preparing the ground for THUNDERBIRDS as the upcoming main feature.)

Thinking about it, artists like RON EMBLETON, FRANK HAMPSON, DON LAWRENCE, and FRANK BELLAMY were very much the ALEX ROSSes of their day.  Don'tcha think?

To see the 1967 Annual, click here.