The PIPER At The GATES Of DAWN...

Copyright relevant owner

It's no secret to those who know me that The WIND In The WILLOWS, by KENNETH GRAHAME, is my all-time favourite 'kids' book.  I'm especially partial to the E.H. SHEPARD illustrated edition, though I also have quite a few other versions featuring the work of different artists.  Apparently, ARTHUR RACKHAM was the author's first choice to supply the visuals (if it had to have some - I believe he (or Shepard) thought the book would be better without pictures), though the artist didn't actually get around to the task until about 30 years later, eight years after Grahame's death in 1932.  However, nice as Rackham's pictures are, it is Shepard's which remain the definitive ones.

When Ernest Shepard accepted the commission on the book, he was following three previous artists whose illustrations were far from satisfactory.  Shepard drew 'real' animals, whereas his predecessors had drawn anthropomorphic ones.  Grahame was delighted with Shepard's interpretation and, a few years later, the artist was called upon by the publishers, METHUEN, to provide eight colour plates for a special edition of the book, complementing his earlier evocative black and white line art which had preceded them.

As a treat, here are those eight colour pages - plus a copy of a letter from THEODORE ROOSEVELT which, though written 22 years before E.H. Shepard's drawings were commissioned and became such an indispensable part of the text, reveals that even U.S. presidents were not immune to the enchanting charms of Kenneth Grahame's classic work of literature.

The MOORE The MERRIER...?

I've only met ALAN MOORE twice.  The first time was in 1984 at a comic mart in the MOIR HALL in Glasgow's MITCHELL LIBRARY, and the second was in 1985 in the 2000 A.D. offices in KING'S REACH TOWER in London.  On that first occasion STEVE MacMANUS gave me my break into the comics industry and, afterwards, the 2000 A.D. team, Alan Moore, BERNIE JAYE, various other comics people and myself,  invaded the CENTRAL HOTEL for a chat and a little light libation.

On the second occasion, Mr. Moore brought his daughter up to the twentieth floor of KRT to meet THARG THE MIGHTY.  In both instances, the writer was polite, affable and soft-spoken - seemed like a perfectly nice guy in fact.  I very much doubt he'd remember meeting me - or, in fact, even know who I am.  No surprise - there are many millions who qualify in the latter category so you'll understand when I say that it's not something I'll lose any sleep over.

I only mention this so that you don't think I've any cause to hold a grudge against the man.  He wasn't rude to me, he didn't laugh at my accent, nor did he do or say anything to which I could take exception.  As I said - a perfectly nice guy.  When it comes to his writing, I've quite liked some of it and either not liked or been indifferent to what I've seen of the rest.  I'm of the opinion that when Mr. Moore works within 'Comic Code' guidelines, he turns out a nice little tale or two; however, when he's given the freedom to indulge himself, I find that I have little interest in what he has to say.  He can certainly write, but that doesn't mean that everything he writes (I'm talking subject, not prose) is worth reading.  (A charge that can no doubt be levelled at myself when it comes to this blog.)

Which brings me to the point of this post.  I recently watched Mr. Moore's HARDtalk interview, in which, affable as ever, he came across as - it pains me to say it - a bit of a tit.  A charming, eccentric tit, true - but still a tit.  (I say that in the full knowledge that if ever someone stuck a camera in my face and asked me a few questions, I'd more than likely make a tit of myself too.) Surely he must have friends - good friends - whose opinion he trusts - who can be relied upon to stop him making a public spectacle of himself whenever a microphone is waved in front of his heavily-bearded gob?  You know, the sort of friends who'll watch 'his' movies for him and then tell him how bad they are, to spare him the ordeal of doing the groundwork when it comes to forming an opinion for himself.

Have none of those friends got the spuds to tell him that he's severely damaged his credibility as a 'principled' individual by claiming, on air, that he accepted dosh for movie options on his works only because he believed they would never be produced?  Prepared to take money for nothing in other words, and seemingly without a shred of embarrassment about publicly admitting it.  (One would think he'd have realised that, after the first movie was made, the chances of the others similarly seeing fruition were distinct possibilities.)   

And what about his self-indulgent whinging about DC COMICS using his WATCHMEN characters in new stories?  It may have escaped his notice, but he's made a fairly good living from doing exactly the same thing for years, with the likes of SUPERMAN, SWAMP THING, MARVELMAN, CAPTAIN BRITAIN, and a whole host of other heroes he didn't create. There's absolutely no difference between him writing tales for these characters and other writers crafting new stories for his creations.  In fact, as the Watchmen heroes were thinly-disguised reworkings of former CHARLTON properties, he can't even lay a firm claim to them to begin with.  And don't get me started on what he's done to the iconic literary creations of famous, long-dead authors who'd doubtless be incensed by what he's done with them.

As I said, Alan Moore appears to be a likeable-enough bloke. (Although, by all accounts, that LOST GIRLS stuff is decidedly dodgy.  Isn't it a crime to possess or make such pictures of minors?  I'm surprised that him and his missus haven't had their collars felt by the local constabulary yet.)  I'm sure you'd all hate to see 'Affable Al' opening his mouth and putting his foot in it yet again as much as I would, so - if you're a pal of his, do him a favour.  Next time you hear he's about to make a pronouncement on some subject or other - tell him to stick a sock in it. Or better yet, stick one in for him.  You know it's for his own good.

(And in case any nasty spells are going to be coming my way, I should warn any angry wizards who may be reading that I'm protected by the Mystic Mirror of Moogamoto - it reflects spells and curses right back at where they came from.  So there!)

The (SECOND) COMING Of CONAN!

Copyright MARVEL COMICS and CPI

Most people will be aware that, when MARVEL decided to launch their CONAN The BARBARIAN four-colour comicbook back in 1970, Big JOHN BUSCEMA was first choice as artist to illustrate the swarthy Cimmerian's action-packed adventures.  Only one problem with that however - too expensive.  There was a severely limited budget for the comic and writer ROY THOMAS was already paying more than Marvel's publisher MARTIN GOODMAN had authorised for the rights to use ROBERT E. HOWARD's sword and sorcery swashbuckler.

Well, the rest is history.  The less-expensive BARRY SMITH (later WINDSOR-Smith) was assigned the task of bringing Conan's comicbook career to life, which he did with verve and vitality as befitting the bold barbarian's bombastic and bloodthirsty battles.  As we're well aware, John Buscema eventually did become the series' regular artist (drawing more issues than anyone else), but what might that first adventure have looked like had he pencilled the premiere issue as originally planned?

Fortunately, such a possibility isn't merely confined to the realms of speculation as, in 1994 - nearly half a century after Conan's debut issue - Big John finally brought his artistic magic to that '70s tale from Conan The Barbarian #1.  Personally speaking, I'd have preferred to see the story drawn with a more traditional grid-layout without the page-bleeds, and in colour as opposed to black and white.  The last panel in particular cries out for colour - or even some kind of shading to indicate the moon against the night sky, as described in one of the captions.  As it is, it's short on some sorely-needed atmosphere and lacks the impact of Smith's earlier version.

However, despite being robbed of the opportunity to compare 'like-with-like' in the strictest sense, it's fascinating to see Big J's take on Thomas's titanic tale, although it would have been even better had JOE SINNOTT or TOM PALMER performed the inking chores.  Perhaps one day they'll reprint it in colour and give readers a better idea of what could have been had "the Michelangelo of comics" (as Smilin' STAN 'The Man' LEE dubbed him) drawn the Hyborian hero's dynamic debut all those years ago.

Anyway, enjoy "The COMING Of CONAN!" from the June '94 issue of The Savage Sword of Conan the Barbarian #222.  Take a look at Conan's first appearance here - then come back and say which visual version of the tale you prefer - and why.

(The two pages below should be read as a double-page spread.)

(Like below.  Click to enlarge, then click again for optimum size.)

IT'S A THRILLER - THREE, IN FACT...

Copyright relevant owner

You're looking at the covers of facsimile editions of the first three issues of THRILLER COMICS from the 1950s.  I used to own the IPC/FLEETWAY file copies, gifted to me by an editor in the mid-'80s, but I sold them around 20 years later.  (Got a good price for them too, even though they'd my name stamped on the back.)

Thing is, I missed having them around, so I acquired these facsimiles from the successor to BRYON WHITWORTH's little publishing 'empire' several years back.  (Bryon was the editor of the now sadly defunct The ILLUSTRATED COMIC JOURNAL and various non-profit comics indices and facsimile issues.)

Thriller Comics was published by The AMALGAMATED PRESS in 1951, but with issue # 41 the title was renamed THRILLER COMICS LIBRARY.  This lasted until #162, whereupon, with #s 163-450 (the final issue in the series), it changed its name yet again - to THRILLER PICTURE LIBRARY.  The title ceased publication in 1963.

  

Anyway, thought you'd like to see the covers of these historical publications  - so enjoy.

WHAM! - A POWER PACK ANNUAL...

Copyright relevant owner

Here's a tasty treat from the past - some select pages from the WHAM! Annual for 1967 (issued near the end of '66) - including a lovely three-page colour strip of FRANKIE STEIN, by the irrepressible KEN REID of FUDGE The ELF and FACEACHE fame.  Strangely enough, although POW! Annuals featured reprinted MARVEL stories, the Wham! and SMASH! volumes didn't - relying instead on home-grown humour and asventure strips.

Take a look at the first picture on the third tier of the above page - I believe that's ROBERT BARTHOLOMEW (otherwise generally known as BART - though perhaps it's ALBERT COSSER) who was the editor of Wham!.  It really is a good likeness, regardless of which of the two gentlemen it is.  How do I know?  I occasionally saw this him around the hallways of KING'S REACH TOWER when I was down in London, and MARC JUNG (sub-editor of BUSTER) identified him (as either Bart or Cos, can't quite remember).  Imagine my surprise when, a few years ago, I was leafing through some old letters and found one from the late-'70s from LOOK & LEARN (in response to an enquiry of mine), signed by 'Robert Bartholomew', the editor.  It hadn't clicked with me at the time, but just think - I had the autograph of an editor from one of the favourite comics of my youth and didn't even know it!

   

BIFF (below) later turned up in THUNDER as SAM, a fact which LEO BAXENDALE wouldn't have been happy about as he wasn't paid for the re-use of the ones he'd drawn.  It was his annoyance at this that later caused him to quit U.K. comics altogether.  The irony is, had publishers not defrayed the cost of a weekly title by reprinting a limited number of old strips, they might not have been able to publish the comic to begin with - or continue with it if circulation started to fall.  Result - less work to go around for jobbing cartoonists. (Or vastly reduced page-rates for everyone.)  Catch 22?

   

And now - the one you're all waiting for - FRANKIE STEIN by Ken Reid - in colour.  Who says this blog doesn't deliver the goods, eh?  Given the rather abrupt way the tale ends, I can't help but feel it's a page short.  When I first read it, I turned over the last page expecting it to continue on the following one - but nope, that's all there was.  Ken's pages towards the end of his career lacked the vitality and spontaneity of his earlier work, being somewhat stiff and stilted - but here we have him at his absolute best, so be sure to savour every brushstroke and penline.

  

I'd love to see all of Ken's Frankie Stein strips coloured-up and released in a deluxe format book.  Why someone hasn't yet done it is beyond me.  STEVE HOLLAND (of BEAR ALLEY BOOKS) would be the man for the job - if he thought there was an audience for it.  You'd think there would be, eh?

******

Like to see more from the 1967 Wham! Annual? Well, don't be shy - say so in the comments section.

BOND, BROSNAN, BOOKS And ROUNDABOUTS...

Dust-jacket design by Stefan Dreja

I once borrowed a book from my local central library, and - against a multi-coloured panoply of flowers in a sunken roundabout - sat reading it as a glorious mid-'70s hot summer sun shone down upon me.  The book was JAMES BOND In The CINEMA by JOHN BROSNAN, and a year or two later, I was able to obtain my very own copy from GRANT'S BOOKSHOP just outside Glasgow's Central Station.

Sean Connery as James Bond

The book was published in 1972 and covers the first seven movies in the series, DR. NO to DIAMONDS Are FOREVER.  It's an extremely entertaining and engrossing read, capturing the mood of the films perfectly, although there are a few minor discrepancies in the description of events.  However, Brosnan originally hailed from Australia, where Bond movies were heavily edited in line with the country's strict censorship laws, so that no doubt accounts for some of the occasional and inconsequential (relatively speaking, of course) inaccuracies in matters of detail.

Before the age of videos and DVDs in which a viewer can watch and freeze-frame a movie at his leisure and to his heart's content, the only way to 'relive' a film was to go and see it again at the cinema (this was before the Bond back-catalogue had been sold to TV), buy the soundtrack LP - or to immerse oneself in the pages of a book such as this devoted to the subject.  Brosnan's book is lavishly illustrated with over one hundred stills, virtually all supplied by UNITED ARTISTS themselves.

Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore

I was so impressed by this book that I bought another copy several years later direct from the publishers, The TANTIVY PRESS.  Now I have a pristine copy, plus my well-thumbed original which I can delve into whenever the fancy takes me.  And, whenever I do, I'm right back in the darkened gloom of my local cinema (middle seat, back row) on a Saturday afternoon in the early '70s - where I was fortunate enough to see all six of SEAN CONNERY's 'official' EON Bond blockbusters on the largest screen in Scotland in the first purpose-built cinema in the U.K. since the second world war.

  

Or I'm back in that sunken roundabout on a glorious sunny day a few years later, reading the book for the very first time.  Little did I know then (how could I?) that ten or so years afterwards, I'd be lettering some of the same author's NIGHT ZERO/BEYOND ZERO scripts (illustrated by artist KEVIN HOPGOOD) for 2000 A.D.  I never got to meet John Brosnan or to talk to him, but I remember asking editor ALAN McKENZIE to tell him how much I'd enjoyed his book and some of his movie reviews in DEZ SKINN's STARBURST magazine.

Back of dust-jacket

Sadly, although that sunken roundabout still exists, the flowers and the wooden bench (one of several) I sat upon are gone, and the roundabout itself is in a dilapidated condition.  However, my memories of that day are as sharp and as clear as they ever were, and - should they ever be in danger of fading (like the colours of those long-vanished blooms) - John Brosnan's superb book is only an arm's reach away.

The roundabout (where I first read the book) in its glory days

IT'S OFFICIAL - I'M A MENACE AND AN OUTLAW...

Probably the funniest children's books ever written are the WILLIAM books by RICHMAL CROMPTON.  They're certainly amongst the funniest, in my humble opinion.  I started reading them when I was around 11 or 12 years old - and, in my youthful ignorance, I assumed that 'Richmal' was a man's name.  I've since found out over the years that I wasn't alone in that assumption and that many readers shared it.  It wasn't until I was an older teenager that I discovered - much to my surprise - that the adventures of the irrepressible William Brown and his Outlaws were penned by a WOMAN.  "A woman, by gad, sir!  How is such a thing possible?  Surely it defies the very laws of nature!"

I'm joking, but it was remarkable for a woman with no children to display such an astute understanding of the psychology of a male child's mind and to convey it with such accuracy or realism.  Although fictitious, William Brown was in every way a real boy.  (As were his three companions, DOUGLAS, HENRY and GINGER.)  Everything about him rang true, and I couldn't have been the only reader to finish a tale with the impression that I'd just been reading about myself.  No male writer better understood the inner workings of an 11 year old boy's brain or demonstrated a keener insight than Crompton.

If I remember correctly, without referring to my copy of MARY CADOGAN's biograpy on the author (The WOMAN BEHIND WILLIAM: A LIFE Of RICHMAL CROMPTON), William was based on Richmal's nephew Tommy, who by all accounts was William to a tee.  In common with other authors who are associated with one particular character, Richmal became frustrated that her other works did not enjoy the same level of success as her 39 William books.  Sir ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE and EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS are but two of the writers who knew only too well the situation that Richmal found herself in.

Interestingly, due to the 'common' way in which William spoke and dressed (as depicted in the illustrations of THOMAS HENRY FISHER and, later, HENRY FORD) - and despite being at odds with the text - I long-laboured under the delusion that William was a 'working-class' boy, unlike ANTHONY BUCKERIDGE's public schoolboy JENNINGS, who hailed from upper-class stock.  It wasn't until I later re-read the books, that I realized from mention of maids, cooks and gardeners (and father's job in 'the city') that William also hailed from privileged circumstances, though perhaps not quite in Jennings' 'class'.

Anyway, if you're looking for a good laugh and want to recapture some of the carefree innocence of your childhood, you could do far worse than pick up one of Richmal Crompton's William books.  The earliest ones were actually written more for adults than for children, so don't be embarrassed - just head straight into your nearest bookshop and ask for - JUST WILLIAM.

******

(As for the title of this post - many years ago I became a member of the DENNIS The MENACE FAN CLUB and WILLIAM BROWN'S OUTLAW CLUB - so it's all true.  Incidentally, LEO BAXENDALE based DANNY from the BASH STREET KIDS on Thomas Henry's drawings of William.  See?  Tied that in nicely with comics, didn't I?)