'HULLORERR CHINAS' - THE DAY I MET THE LEGENDARY RIKKI FULTON...

U.S. filmgoers may recall him in supporting roles as sinister KGB officer MAJOR PRIBLUDA in GORKY PARK and Dr. GEDDES in LOCAL HERO, but to Scottish audiences, RIKKI FULTON was a genuine comedy and acting legend.  Not only in his own right, but also alongside another giant of television and theatre, JACK MILROY, in their iconic alter-egos of FRANCIE & JOSIE, the work-shy Glasgow layabouts.

Back in the merry month of May, 1982, I had the good fortune and great privilege of meeting Mr. Rikki Fulton in JOHN MENZIES (when said establishment was situated near the bottom of Glasgow's Buchanan Street, across from FRASER'S), and, for all those interested in learning how your humble host managed to rub shoulders with the great man himself, I shall now recount exactly what transpired.

I'd just stepped out of the lift on the ground floor, having been in the record & book departments on the first, when I spied a familiar figure leaning on the counter at the stationery section.  "Rikki Fulton!" I gasped (more to myself than anyone else) in sheer disbelief at seeing a principal member of showbiz royalty mingling with mere mortals.  (I was only 23 at the time, so can surely be forgiven my youthful exuberance.)  Rikki Fulton, whom I'd seen in The FRANCIE & JOSIE Show on TV back in the 1960s, right in front of me - in the actual, living, breathing, pulsing flesh.  I'd thought such figures used servants or emissaries for menial tasks like shopping, but apparently not. 

He appeared to be writing something and, thinking he was signing an autograph, I approached (having calmed down a tad) and meekly asked if I, too, could have his autograph.  "As long as it's not on one of these!" he said without missing a beat, smiling and indicating the cheque to which he was applying his name.  Clearly my cue to laugh at his witty and apropos remark, but I was still too stunned at seeing him in person to respond with appropriate appreciation for his quick-thinking, ad-libbed riposte, so merely stood there like a fart in a trance.

I got a scrap of paper from the girl serving him and, smiling in the most friendly manner, Rikki asked my name.  "Gordon" I managed to stammer.  I'd regained my composure somewhat by the time he handed me the paper inscribed "For Gordon, Rikki Fulton", so I thanked him, then said: "Sorry to have bothered you".  "Absolutely no bother at all" was his warm and genuine response before moving toward the exit.  No minders, no entourage - just an ordinary, everyday guy out shopping.  Of course, in truth there was nothing ordinary or everyday about him - the man was a showbiz titan and comedy genius.

I still have that little piece of paper, tucked safely into the protective clear sleeve of my FRANCIE & JOSIE vinyl LP by GOLDEN GUINEA.  Yet available on CD on ELM Records - CDELM4123.)  And whenever I recall that moment, a warm glow comes over me at the thought of it.  Rikki Fulton was the epitome of the perfect gentleman; kind and gracious to a stumbling, bumbling, pain in the @rse fan and treating me as though I were doing him a favour.  I'll tell you, a lot of so-called celebrities in whichever field of endeavour you care to mention could learn a thing or two about how to behave to the public from the legend that was - that is - Rikki Fulton.

A MONSTER TO MARVEL AT - PART FOUR...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Okay, here we go with the final four issues of MARVEL's own fright-fest known as The FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER.  Now that you have all 18 covers to drool over, you can keep a lookout for them in the back issue bins of your friendly neighbourhood speciality comics shop and pick up a copy or two to actually read - or buy the softcover ESSENTIALS volume - whichever takes your fancy.  And, if they haven't already, Marvel is sure to release an OMNIBUS edition for you to throw your hard-earned cash at before very long.  Keep dem eyes peeled.

To see Part 3, click here - to see Part 1, click here.

BLAZIN' A TRAIL: STARBLAZER COVER GALLERY - PART TWO...

Images copyright D.C THOMSON & Co, Ltd

As promised some time back, here are the covers from
STARBLAZER #s 6 - 10.  I don't think I ever bought
any further issues after #10, so that's yer lot I'm afraid.



AD BREAK: THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR - PART THREE...

And just for completion's sake, here's the in-house ads that appeared
after pages 5 and 18. Now you've got even more than you need.

The MAN WITHOUT FEAR - PART TWO...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

As promised, the second part of DAREDEVIL's origin, scanned directly from my own copy of issue #1 from 1964.  For the cover and the first 11 pages, see the previous post.

The MAN WITHOUT FEAR - PART ONE...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Oh, you lucky people.  Scanned from my own personal copy of DAREDEVIL #1 is the first part of the origin of ol' Hornhead himself.  Drawn by BILL EVERETT with an alleged assistance from STEVE DITKO, the figure on the cover and splash page is clearly by JACK KIRBY, which makes me wonder if JK designed the hero's costume.  If anyone has any information or thoughts on the matter, feel free to comment.

This origin tale is available in the new MARVEL FIRSTS: The 1960s volume, and also the softcover edition of MARVEL MASTERWORKS: DAREDEVIL Vol. 1.  No true believer should be without each handsome tome so if you don't have them already, put them at the top of your Christmas list right away.

Look out for Part Two - NEXT!

A MONSTER TO MARVEL AT - PART THREE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Above and below, another four covers in the 18 issue series of MARVEL's fear-filled fantasy-fest known as The FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER - every one of them scanned from my very own personal collection.  Feast your eyes on these collectors' item classic from yesteryear and don't forget to scour my blog for the previous covers in parts one and two.  4th and final part still to come - soon.

To see Part 4, click here - to see Part 2, click here.

STAN, JACK, Or STEVE - Or Was It ALL THREE?

I sometimes feel sorry for STAN LEE.  Not that he needs my sympathy by any means, but it must be hard to constantly be on the receiving end of concerted attempts to diminish or deny even the slightest bit of creative input from him on anything he ever worked on with JACK KIRBY or STEVE DITKO - or anyone else for that matter.

There are some diehard Kirby and Ditko fans who maintain that their artistic heroes were responsible for everything good that ever came out of MARVEL in the 1960s, and that all Stan did was edit the pages and dialogue them.  Notwithstanding all the redrawn Kirby pages which seem to suggest that Stan's involvement was far more than that.

However, just for the sake of argument, let's imagine for a moment that both Kirby and Ditko created all the characters they worked on and were responsible for all the plotlines, leaving Stan's contribution as no more than scripting the tales from Jack and Steve's margin notes.  Got that notion fixed in your head?  Good.  Now consider this.  Nothing that either Jack or Steve worked on after Marvel ever had the same kind of impact as the body of work they produced while collaborating with Stan.  That would suggest that Stan's involvement, even if only 'mere' scripting, was the 'secret ingredient' that had a disproportionate effect on the finished result.

Stan Lee, in effect, was therefore the vital factor that transformed many competent but ordinary comicbooks into the dynamic Marvel masterworks that so many people fondly remember today. Had Jack and Steve scripted their own strips, it's extremely doubtful, going by their few later limited achievements, that Marvel would have become as successful as it was in its glory years.

Who came up with the idea of THOR?  Jack said Jack, Stan said Stan, and LARRY LIEBER (Stan's brother) said Stan (with input from himself - the names DON BLAKE and URU, for example).  But does it matter who came up with the initial concept?  Surely it's what's done with it that matters?  How it was 'dressed up' and first presented to the public in JOURNEY Into MYSTERY #83.  The finished result was a product of Stan, Jack & Larry, so in that sense all three can legitimately claim to be co-creators of the character.  (Larry hasn't ever made such a claim as far as I know, but I noticed he was credited alongside Stan and Jack on the recent Thor movie.)

Take DOCTOR STRANGE.  Critics of Stan seize on his frank comment that the then-upcoming mystic master's first appearance was "Steve's idea" as proof that Ditko created the character and not Lee.  However, even ignoring Lee's obvious input to the 'DR. DROOM'-type origin a few issues later, it's clear that Strange is nothing more than a reworked Droom figure (by Stan and Jack - and actually inked by Steve), so SD can hardly be said to have come up with anything new, merely regurgitating Stan's original concept.  Certainly, regardless of who first came up with the idea, Doctor Strange - as he is perceived by the comics buying public today - is as much a creation of Stan as he is of Steve.

That's why it's simply much easier (and no less accurate) to say 'by Lee & Kirby', or 'by Lee & Ditko', because the nuts and bolts of exactly who did what is probably much more complicated and may never be known.  One thing's for sure - all three creative titans were never better than when working with their respective collaborators, their body of work providing a perfect example of something being greater than the sum of its parts.

'Nuff said.

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS