FANTASTIC COVER GALLERY PART TWO...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

And now, starting with the first ever issue of FANTASTIC that I actually bought, here's the second part of our 1960s' cover gallery of the jewel in the POWER PACK crown.  There's something about the cover to #7 which gnaws at me - the speech balloons have been relettered and, if I'm not very much mistaken, the art has certainly been retouched in places - if not completely redrawn (traced, most likely).

On what do I base my opinion?  By comparison with the cover of the original U.S. published version of TALES Of SUSPENSE.  If you check it out, you'll see that the faces of KALA and STARK's friends differ slightly from the U.K. printing.  I'd be interested in what anyone else thinks, so don't be shy now!

IT'S FABULOUSLY FLIPPIN' FANTASTIC - PART ONE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

I've lost track of just how many previous posts I've published on the ODHAMS PRESS periodical, FANTASTIC - so I'm going to start from scratch and showcase my cover gallery from issue #1.  This will save anyone from having to dig through the blog archives in order to find any posts they may have missed.  Not for nothing am I known for my thoughtful consideration for others, regardless of even the slightest concern for myself.  I'm a veritable saint, I am - even if I say so myself.  (And I do.)

Anyway, as some of you will already know, Fantastic was a comic which lasted for 89 issues back in the '60s, and which reprinted MARVEL stories from the States.  The comic featured the adventures of THOR, X-MEN, and IRON MAN in the early issues, along with a strip called The MISSING LINK - which was later renamed JOHNNY FUTURE.

I'll fill you in with anything pertinent as we trundle along, but for now let's just relax and enjoy the spectacular covers and back-page pin-ups from this titanic title from yesteryear, when the POWER PACK seemed to hold sway over newsagents' counters the length and breadth of Britain.  Look out for more cataclysmic comic covers from FANTASTIC - soon!

SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN COVER GALLERY - PART THREE...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS and CPI

Here are the final six issues of MARVEL U.K.'s ill-fated weekly from the mid-'70s, SAVAGE SWORD Of CONAN.  You may not have the actual comics (or perhaps you do - lucky you), but at least you've now got access to the covers to cast your discerning gaze over.  If you had these comics back in the day, it'll be like welcoming old friends - if not, say hello to some new pals.  Now you can have the fun of tracking them down on eBay and getting a complete collection.  Perhaps you may even have the joyous thrill of discovering them in a charity shop one day and pick them all up for a pound.  Now wouldn't that be something?

See part two here, and part one here. 

PART FIVE Of TERRIFIC'S COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

I know how hungry you all are out there for your regular fix of comics from the past, so I'm not going to deprive you of the latest batch of TERRIFIC covers from the '60s for another nano-second.  Here are issues 17 to 22, along with their back-page pin-ups for you to stare at, glassy-eyed, while you drool all over your computer.

Were you a reader at the time these comics were printed, or did you instead have to make-do with more anaemic publications?  Never mind, we won't hold that against you - you've obviously been punished enough and are now a little wiser for your deprivation.  Therefore, don't be shy - YOU, also, are permitted to cast your peepers over these ten awesome POWER PACK publications, presented here in all their monumental and mighty MARVEL magnificence.

Don't forget to tune in again soon for yet another titanic instalment of TERRIFIC COVER GALLERY - only here, on Kid's Cataclysmic bloggy-thingy-doo-dah! 

PART TWO OF SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN COVER GALLERY...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS and CPI

As stated last time, MARVEL U.K.'s SAVAGE SWORD Of CONAN weekly from 1975 only lasted for eighteen issues.  We've already seen the first six covers from the short-lived series in a recent post, so here are issues seven to twelve to cast your appreciative peepers over.  The last batch will follow shortly.

See part three here, and part one here.

LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE...

To be honest, I was never much of a MONKEES fan.  Sure, I watched the TV show (sometimes), the same as everyone else of a certain age in the country, but - on reflection - it seems to have been a programme aimed more at teenage girls, so it was really a bit lost on me.  Years later, once the nostalgia factor had kicked in, I came to recall the programme with a certain degree of affection, as it represented a specific period in my past from which I could never quite escape.  (Not that I wanted to.)

Now, as an adult (allegedly), I actually quite like a few of the songs that The Monkees were responsible for - albeit, I have to admit, mainly because when I hear them I'm a boy once more, living in the 'swinging '60s' when life seemed to be simpler and more carefree than it is today.

So I'm actually saddened to hear of the death of ENA SHARPLES' grandson - alias Monkee DAVY JONES - at the far too young age of 66.  Never knew nor met him, so obviously my feelings are selfish ones, resulting from seeing yet another part of my childhood being entered into the great 'lost property' catalogue in the sky.  His passing serves to remind those of us who lived through the '60s of our own fragile and ever-diminishing mortality.

I only wish I knew when my 'last train' was due - I'd try and lose the ticket.  (Or at least swap it for the first available 'return'.) 

PART FOUR Of FAVOURITE COMICS Of The PAST - TV ACTION...

Copyright relevant owner

As I lay in bed on that lazy March or April mid-morning in 1972*, I was likely unaware that, before too long, I'd be moving house for the fourth time in my thirteen and a half short years of existence.  Through the slightly open window the sound of kids in the playground of my old Primary school at the foot of the road reached my ears, as I sipped American Cream Soda and enjoyed not having to attend the local Senior Secondary educational establishment a couple of streets away.

(*Might even have been in June, in which case I'd have known we were flitting.)

Surrounded by a monumental mountain of comics, the inconsequential illness which had kept me from school was soon forgotten, as I luxuriated in the privileged status of idle absenteeism while my classmates busied themselves with the enforced academic application that such scholarly study demands.  Looking back, it's strange to realise that, were it not for the date on one particular comic establishing almost the exact moment in history, my recollection of events would suggest them as having occurred many months before their actual point in time.

The comic in question?  The 59th issue of COUNTDOWN, which also happened to be the first issue relaunched under the new title of TV ACTION.  Cover-dated April 1st, it had gone on sale on March 25th, and perhaps some of the subsequent issues may even have been in that pile of comics on top of the blankets.  I'm not 100% sure, hence my hesitation in pinpointing the exact month of that school 'sickie' all those years ago.  All I know is that it must've been sometime between the end of March and the beginning of June.

However, as I said - that was only a mere handful of weeks (or days) away from moving to a 'new' house in another area.  I was blissfully unaware of (or had forgotten) the fact, though no doubt my conspiratorial parents had been making arrangements for some time.  I was only told of the move about a fortnight in advance, which, with hindsight, I'm actually glad of, as the knowledge would probably have spoiled the last occasion I had a day off from school in the house I'd lived in since I was seven years old.

One glance at the above comic and I'm once again lying in bed on that morning in 1972, listening to the faint noises from the street as they drift in through my inch-open window - the knowledge that one chapter of my life was about to end and another begin still concealed behind the enveloping cover of Time's cascading curtain.

******

Click here for Part Three.    

CONAN - EIGHTEEN AND OUT! SAVAGE SWORD Of CONAN COVER GALLERY - PART ONE...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS and CPI

March 1st, 1975.  That was the day MARVEL U.K. released two new additions to their regal roster of rampaging weekly publications.  You've seen the first three covers of one mag - The SUPER-HEROES - in a previous post, but now comes the time to turn the spotlight on its companion title, SAVAGE SWORD Of CONAN.

SSOC, as it was affectionately known (in my house anyway), only lasted for eighteen issues, and I still happen to have my original copies.  Therefore, it's not exactly a stretch to dig 'em out and scan the covers for all you rabid fans out there of ROBERT E. HOWARD's Cimmerian warrior, CONAN The BARBARIAN.

As well as Conan, the mag also featured KULL The CONQUEROR as a back-up feature, along with (on occasion) KA-ZAR, LORD Of The HIDDEN JUNGLE and THONGOR Of LEMURIA.  It was quite a decent little mag on reflection, and it really should have lasted longer than it did.  When it faded from the scene, it was absorbed by another British weekly publication, The AVENGERS.  (By the way, Look at the cover above.  Due to the colouring of the grey god's bracelet, at first glance Conan looks as if he has a reptilian tail.)

Although the weekly was relatively short-lived, the title was eventually revived as a monthly in 1977, lasting for ninety-three issues before coming to an end in 1985. However, that's a whole other story - for now, sit back and savour the first six covers of the weekly title from the '70s.

Remember to keep your eyes peeled for Part Two sometime soon, when we'll feature another six covers from the series.

See part two here, and part three here.