"BEAM ME UP, SCOTTY..."

Copyright relevant owner

It suddenly occurs to me that in all the time I've been running this blog, I've never really done a post on any of the comicbook incarnations of STAR TREK.  This is mainly due to the fact that, apart from a reprint of half of a GOLD KEY Star Trek strip given away in the second issue of NEW MIGHTY TV COMIC, and some strips in a few TV21 comics and annuals, I'm very far from being spoilt for choice.

I'll dig them all out one day perhaps, but in the meantime, here's a strip from the New Mighty TV Comic Annual for 1978.  (Although, going by the 1969 copyright date, it could possibly have been a reprint from an earlier Annual or Special.)  Ready?  "Warp factor six - second star to the right and straight on 'til morning..."

And, just in case you should ever want to track down the book on eBay, here's what its cover looks like.  Happy Hunting.

DANDY 75th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL - ONE TO LOOK OUT FOR...

Images copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

Due out sometime in September - The DANDY: 75 YEARS - a card-bound Special containing a reprint of the first issue, as well as lots of other classic strips.  (The decision to include #1 was made before the weekly's fate had been determined.  The final edition in December will also include a facsimile of the first issue.)

The Special will be in the same format as The BEANO one (above) from 2008, with DESPERATE DAN seen through the hole in the card cover.  Let's hope they publish another Beano Special when the comic celebrates its 75th birthday in 2013.

The Dandy special is priced at £5.99 and is exclusive to WH SMITH's.  Keep your eyes peeled.

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UPDATE: And here's what it looks like (below).  It's currently available in some branches of WHS earlier than anticipated.  Contrary to information supplied to me earlier, the reprint contains only 24 of the original 28 pages.

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FOOTNOTE: Apparently, The Dandy's circulation has increased by over 60% as a result of all the recent publicity surrounding its fate, but it's unlikely to be enough to earn it a reprieve, sadly.  Incidentally, around 90% of sales of certain DCT magazines are due to them being sold in WH Smith's, so the claim from some apologists that The Dandy's failure was mainly down to factors other than readers' dissatisfaction with the content appears to be somewhat tenuous.

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Looking for the post about the last issue of The Dandy?  Click here.

ORIGINS Of MARVEL COMICS...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS.  Art by JOHN ROMITA Sr

In the beginning Marvel created the Bullpen and the Style.

And the Bullpen was without form, and was void; and

darkness was upon the face of the Artists.  And the Spirit

of Marvel moved upon the face of the Writers.

And Marvel said, Let there be The Fantastic Four.

And there was The Fantastic Four.

And Marvel saw The Fantastic Four.  And it was good.

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The first hint I had was in a BULLPEN BULLETINS page in 1973, perhaps '74. Just a passing reference in a brief sentence of a MARVEL ORIGINS special or book in the works that might one day see fruition.  "That'd be nice!" I thought.  Comics were often described as 'books' in those days (and probably still are) so, truth to tell, I expected it to be a 72 page KING-SIZE SPECIAL which I'd be able to pick up for no more than about 25 pence.

Time passed.  I kept an eye on the shelves and spinner-racks to see if this proposed publication was ever going to materialize, but no joy.  I'd left school and was working when, in October of 1975 (I think), the back pages of the British Marvel weeklies carried an advert for -wait for it -ORIGINS Of MARVEL COMICS, a softcover book containing the origin tales of The FANTASTIC FOUR, The HULK, SPIDER-MAN, THOR, and DOCTOR STRANGE, as well as later tales to show how the characters had developed since their inception.

I sent off the required amount and waited, wishing my life away with each new day. Eventually, a padded envelope arrived containing the sought-after treasure - and indeed, treasure was the word which described this pulsating paperback to a tee.  I pored over its contents innumerable times, drank in the four-colour fantasies which I'd only ever seen in black and white or spot-coloured reprints in U.K. comics, a poor second to the fabulous volume I now possessed.

American advert for Origins

I later learned that there was a hardback edition and wondered why we Brits never got the chance of one, but that was a minor niggle.  Two things, however, bothered me about the titanic tome and slightly detracted from its Marvellous magnificence.  The first was that the corner page numbers of each and every strip had been clumsily pasted over to obliterate their existence, and the second was that some panels bore evidence of 'touch ups', where thin lines at risk of not reproducing too well had been 'enhanced' by another hand - though one far less skilled than the original inkers of the art.

STAN LEE's behind-the-scenes accounts of how these tales had been created read just like a dream - which was ironic, considering that was how some cynics later described Stan's version of events.  But you have to hand it to 'The Man' - he knew how to keep his readers glued to each page.  Interestingly, first editions mixed up the Doctor Strange section, printing the stories and their accompanying text out of sequence, but this was corrected for subsequent printings.

Even today, the book is a delight to read, thanks mainly to Stan's mastery of words and his ability to spin a good yarn, even though his recollection may be a little faulty at times.  It's certainly a book worth having, but for a more faithful presentation of these cataclysmic classics - without the inferior 'restoration' evident in Origins - readers are advised to try and obtain MARVEL FIRSTS: The 1960s, a massive volume published about a year or so back.

However, for its time, Origins of Marvel Comics was a well-deserved best-seller that had comicbook fans everywhere screaming "Make Mine Marvel!"

The ULTIMATE BEANO SUMMER SPECIAL #3...

Copyright D.C. Thomson & Co., Ltd

A few weeks ago, I read somewhere that there was a third ULTIMATE BEANO HOLIDAY SPECIAL due to go on sale, so I went looking for it in my local WH SMITH's.  The previous two had been placed next to The Beano weekly and therefore I'd had no difficulty in securing copies for myself.  However, when I went hunting for the third volume, it was nowhere to be seen - although, curiously, there were new copies of the second edition located on the same space on the shelf where I had obtained mine.  These were actually in a special display tray attached to the shelf, clearly marked "Ultimate Beano Holiday Special".

I asked an assistant, but she didn't know anything about it - nor where the new copies of #2 had sprung from.  Over the next few weeks I asked again - no joy, nobody could help.  I was in WH Smith's again today and asked one of the women responsible for the magazine section about it and she led me along a trail to where obscure magazines were located - in a corner of the shop and on a shelf at adult eye-level, marked "Bookazines".

"Wouldn't you be better placing them next to The Beano where kids are more likely to look for them and where the first two editions were situated?", I enquired.  "Head office said they were to be stocked where they were put!", she replied.  "Well, why don't you put some of them next to the weekly where Beano fans can see them, and leave some of them where they are, and that way adults can see them and buy them for their kids?", I suggested.  "Might do!", was the reply.  (Incidentally, the special display tray at the comics section was now completely empty.)

It seems to me that the obvious place to position them is where comic fans will automatically look for the thing, but also have some where casual browsers can see them and perhaps buy a copy on impulse, either for themselves or for their kids.  (How come nobody else seems to have that much common sense?)  However, it seems pretty bloody stupid to put them all where absolutely nobody who is actively looking for a copy can actually see it - especially when a shelf-tray specifically designed to display the mag is lying forlorn.  D.C. THOMSON would be just as well printing the damn things with invisible ink on invisible paper.

Anyway, if you've been looking for a copy in your local Smith's, chances are that they're not where common sense dictates they ought to be (the comics section), so keep searching.

The ONLY GOOD ALIEN - PART TEN Of FAVOURITE COMICS Of The PAST...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Returning yet again to the theme of memory, The AVENGERS #89 is a comic which I associate with two places: the first being the seaside town of Largs, which is where I purchased this esteemed publication in June or July of 1971, and the second being my living-room back in my home town, in which I sat by the fireside and re-read the comic and soaked up SAL BUSCEMA's art.

What's surprising is that the issue is dated for June 1971 (though in the States, it would've come out around March), so for me to have actually obtained the mag when I did is quite amazing.  Usually, U.S. comics didn't show up in Britain until many months, sometimes years later, so this seems to be one of those seemingly rare occasions when distribution here wasn't so far behind as was frequently the case.  Not quite sure why, but it occasionally happened with other issues too.

My family were holidaying in Largs that year, and my father had gone into a newsagent's to buy some tobacco for his pipe.  Also inside was a spinner-rack of U.S. comicbooks from which I chose this collectors' item issue.  Apparently, it was the first episode of what would later become known as the KREE/SKRULL WAR, but I was ignorant of that fact at the time.  I didn't get to see subsequent issues until they were reprinted in a weekly British MARVEL comic several years later.  By then, I was living in another house and that holiday in Largs seemed like an inordinately long time in the past.

What I find curious is that the cover instantly transports me back to the newsagent's and surrounding environs, but the splash page (and others) summons up images of my living-room, with me sat beside a big brass log box next to our fireplace back home.  Isn't it funny how one comic can carry associations with two different places, eh?  As far as I know, I've not been back to Largs since.  I wonder if that newsagent's still exists?  If so, it's most likely had a refit by now and looks nothing like it once did.  Wouldn't it be nice though, if it remained the same?  That way, if ever I should return, crossing its threshold for the first time in over 40 years would be like stepping back into yesteryear.

Although, funnily enough, whenever I hold this comic in my hands and pore over its four-colour pages for the umpteenth time, the exact same experience is achieved.  Spooky, huh?

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UPDATE: On June 26th 2014, I returned to Largs on a day trip, but could see no sign of the newsagent's/tobacconists from 1971.  It was an odd experience because, although having last been there 43 years before, it seemed to me like I'd been only yesterday, making the changes that had occurred in the intervening period all the more difficult to accept.  Strange indeed.    

TOMMY Or JOE? FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

Isn't it funny how some things can make such an impression on you that other things are swept from your mind?  Here's one such example of just what I'm talking about.  Imagine, if you will, that it's Christmas Day, 1966.  My brother and myself had snuck downstairs in the very early hours to see whether 'Santa' had fulfilled our expectations in the 'gifts' department.  Then we returned to our beds, each clutching a toy as we couldn't bear to be parted from them.  I well-remember my sleepy sibling dozing off snuggled next to the articulated action-soldier he had received.  Thing is, it wasn't ACTION MAN (by Palitoy) - it was TOMMY GUNN (by Pedigree).

I can no longer recall what presents I got that year - it's a complete blank.  It's entirely possible (likely even) that I remember some of the toys, but I just don't associate them with that Christmas.  My one, big, over-riding recollection of that event is my brother's delight when he first cast his eyes on Tommy, and him holding him fast as he dropped off to sleep.  Oh, and also the smell of the plastic, which was quite distinctive.  Yet another of those smells which instantly whisks me back to childhood.  Luckily for me, my brother was a little older than me and soon outgrew his appetite for such things, so Tommy relatively swiftly passed into my hands.

Surprisingly, Tommy Gunn was better than Action Man in a few respects.  His face looked more natural (modelled after a real person apparently) and his skin tone seemed a bit more realistic at the time, though, curiously, he now appears a tad over-tanned.  (Perhaps a result of the 'ageing' process over the decades.)  Same goes for his physique, which wasn't quite as 'stylized' as Joe's (to give A.M. his 'real' name.)  Also, his equipment was more detailed and in scale.  Tommy had close-fitting, flexible boots with real laces - Joe had oversized ones in a thicker plastic with moulded laces.  Tommy's grenades had pins which could actually be pulled out - Joe's didn't.  In fact, although never quite as popular as Action Man, Tommy Gunn was probably the superior toy in all ways but one, which was this:

Action Man had swivelling ball-joints at the top of his thighs, allowing him to sit with his legs folded, or to rest either foot on the opposite knee.  Poor ol' Tommy's thighs were one-piece* affairs which didn't allow for such a relaxed position, although in every other way his joints were the same as Joe's.  Apparently, Pedigree had made a bid to Hasbro (the company behind G.I. JOE, who was Action Man in everything but name) for the rights to the figure at the same time Palitoy did, but failed.  Instead, they decided to produce their own version and Tommy Gunn was the result.  The figure enjoyed reasonably good sales from 1966 to '68, but never attained the same heights of success or popularity as his better selling rival.

(*The thighs on the earliest versions were two pieces glued together to make one, which allowed no swivelling where they met.  It may be that the seam was originally intended to be moveable, but then changed at the last moment for reasons of cost or simplicity.  The thighs were later amended to one piece parts with no join.)   

In 1968, Tommy's body was re-used for Pedigree's CAPTAIN SCARLET figure, yet another fondly-remembered toy from the swinging '60s.  Around 1978, a company called ZODIAC TOYS bought the moulds from Pedigree and started to produce Tommy Gunn, but using a much cheaper plastic.  This time around, Tom's skin colour was more like Action Man's, but, sadly, because of cheaper production techniques, he could no longer claim to be Joe's superior, or, indeed, even his equal.  According to some sources, Tommy was retired in 1985, taking his place in history, and in the memories of those who had been fortunate enough to own him during his brief spell as Action Man's main competitor.

LEE JAMES TURNOCK IS - A JOLLY GOOD JUDGE OF CHARACTER...

Over on LEE JAMES TURNOCK's entertaining blog, "the world's least famous underground cartoonist" (as he describes himself) has done me proud by letting the world know just how "bloody annoying" I am.  Of course, that's code for what a great bloke I happen to be; handsome, witty, erudite, articulate, windswept and interesting.  And let's not forget my other two main attributes - modesty and humility.  (Or is that merely one attribute described by two synonymous words?  Regardless, it's all true.)

Anyway, Lee has drawn a very apropos cartoon commenting on the current sad situation of the world's longest-running weekly comic, The DANDY (or should that be The DONE-DY), which will make you laugh and shed a tear at the same time. Why not jump over there right now and take a look?  It's well worth the trip.

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(UPDATE:  Or it would be if the blog was still there, which it now isn't.  Never mind, you can read more of mine instead.)

MARVEL TALES SPIDEY COVER GALLERY - PART SEVEN...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Alas, we're now at the end of our super series of MARVEL TALES SPIDER-MAN covers, mostly drawn by STEVE DITKO, but with a couple by JACK KIRBY (though inked by Ditko) which were shown in Part One.  (Kirby also drew a Spidey figure for one of the covers in Part Two.)  Sturdy Steve's original webbed-wonder in the above pic was redrawn (possibly by Jolly JK) because the character's 'posterior' was considered a little too prominent. Ditko left the strip seemingly without producing a cover for his final ish, so one was assembled from individual panels in the mag's interior pages.

Also included in this fantabulously fantastic finale is the unused cover artwork for AMAZING FANTASY #15 and The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #10, plus a pulsating pin-up originally published in ASM #3.  Had Ditko's cover to AF #15 seen print, it more than likely would've borne the same logo that adorned Kirby's published version.  The mag's name had undergone a last-minute revision since the previous issue and the completed masthead may not have been available at the time Ditko drew the page, hence the initial use of a proposed logo-design which was subsequently rejected.

   

Anyway, I hope you enjoy viewing these superb images from yesteryear just as much as I do.  If you don't, there's no refund, I'm afraid.  No point complaining - entry was free anyway.) 

The DANDY - An INQUEST...

Image copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

Every parent thinks their offspring are cherubic little darlings; gifted, talented, infant prodigies from whose @rse cheeks emanate the golden, illuminating, life-enhancing rays of the sun.  All mothers and fathers look upon each and every uttered syllable of incoherent babbling as some soul-enriching words of wisdom and enlightenment from the mouths of babes.  "Aren't they cute?", "Aren't they adorable?", "Aren't they funny?", "Aren't they marvellous?", scream mater and pater in ecstacies of delight - quite oblivious to the fact that everyone else recognizes these howling, screeching, wailing banshees of devastation and destruction for the fractious, obnoxious little brats that they are.

Which brings me neatly to The DANDY.  Let's face the truth that is obvious to most people not actively involved in siring the 2010 stillborn incarnation of the once-gloriously entertaining weekly comic from the stable of D.C. THOMSON - which is simply this: with a few honourable exceptions, most of the content was utter crap.  Inadequately written, inadequately drawn, inadequately lettered crap, created by those whose talent was far outstripped by their enthusiasm, and who still desperately required a few more years honing and polishing their craft on some self-published fanzines for the less-discriminating tastes of their friends and families.

I am amazed by the self-congratulatory nonsense currently being bandied about on the blogs of some of those who were responsible for the murder (for such it is - the fact that it was already in poor health should not blind us to the truth) of a once-great national institution.  The Dandy was poisoned from within, by a small group of well-meaning but clumsy, inexperienced novices with no grasp of the treatment required by the ailing patient, but who nevertheless persevered with any and all last-gasp, desperate, untried and untested theories whose only effect was to hasten the dying 'septuagenarian' to its doom.

"It wasn't our fault," they claim.  "We tried."  "We did our best."  "We should all be hailed as heroes for our attempt, which was brave, bold and glorious."  The fact that placing your hands around the throat of a gasping patient and squeezing even harder is hardly likely to produce positive results, never mind being anything to be congratulated for, seems to elude their comprehension.  But they're 'parents', you see.  They regard each and every 'infant' which sprang from the depths of their would-be 'creative' loins in not quite the same way as those of us anchored in a more objective and impartial reality.

'Tis they who killed the patient.  And while they may have to go without the financial benefits that the deceased's survival would've ensured, 'tis the rest of us who must mourn the loss of a childhood friend.

It was Clint Eastwood who said "A man's gotta know his limitations."  That was the problem here.  Not only did those involved not know their limitations, but in their vanity and their ignorance, it never even occurred to them that they might have any.  It still hasn't - despite the evidence (the corpse) clearly, blindly, staring them in the face.

God save us all from well-meaning quacks when qualified specialists are obviously and urgently required. 

A TRUE ACCOUNT Of TIME TRAVEL...

When I, as an adult (allegedly) almost in my thirties, set foot over the threshold of one of my childhood homes for the first time since moving out 16 years before, the first thing that struck me was how much at home I still felt.  It was almost as if I'd just popped out to the shops across the road about ten minutes earlier and then come straight back again.

Perhaps this was in part due to how much of the 'familiar' yet remained.  The same paper on the living-room ceiling that we'd had put up; the same lowered hall ceiling that my father had fitted; the same bathroom tiles that we'd been responsible for; the same kitchen tiles (now painted) above the sink.  Some things had changed of course.  For a start, the sink was now stainless steel, and, in the living-room, the old-fashioned tiled fireplace and mantlepiece, like something out of The BROONS, had been replaced (or covered) by a relatively more modern-looking one - but the overwhelming 'sense' of the place as I had known it still hung heavy in the air.  Truly, it really was as if I'd gone back in time and the intervening years seemed almost like a dream.

Even the back garden was untouched - the same wood and wire fence, the same gate, the same rockery at the foot of the lawn - all just as it had always been.  To once again touch (and hear the sound of) the latch on the gate as I'd regularly done as a child on my way to school in the mornings was almost a spiritual experience for me.  The sensation of reconnecting with one's past in such a tangible way that it seems like the present is not an easy one to convey, but that's the only way I can describe it.  I had stepped back into the past, with the events of what had come after almost wiped from my memory as if they had simply never happened.

That feeling couldn't be sustained of course.  For the simple reason that, in the space of a month or so, the field across from the back of the house was dug up in preparation for amenity houses for the elderly being built.  Two years later, the old garden fence and gate had been 'sent off' and brash, young 'substitutes' had taken their place.  Another two years after that, the church across from the front of the house had been demolished and replaced by a new one.  At around the same time, the house's original windows and front door were removed and PVC ones installed.  Over the last 20 years, other changes have transpired; new street lamps, new pavement surfaces, new school built, and various other alterations - all of them resented by me.  Alas, time and tide wait for no man, as the old saying goes.

However, for a period of almost two decades, the old house and neighbourhood had stayed pretty much the same, allowing me the indulgence of believing, for however (relatively) brief a period, that time had stood still.  I'm glad I reconnected with that aspect of my past in its last dying moments, before it was too late and everything changed forever.  I suppose such experiences can never be anything other than bittersweet, in that they tease you with the glory of what once was - but, alas, cannot always be.

Other than in the mystic band of memory.

   

The DANDY GOES DIGITAL...

After rumours circulating in comics circles for a while now, it's just been confirmed that the world's longest-running weekly comic, The DANDY, is to go digital.  For full details, click here.

CAPTAIN ACTION-MAN...

Playing Mantis Captain Action, with professionally
produced, shrink-wrapped replica of original box

Apparently, CAPTAIN ACTION creator STAN WESTON was one of a trio responsible for G.I. JOE - which is interesting (to me) because, in Great Britain, G.I. Joe was rechristened ACTION MAN.  As a lad in the '60s, I don't recall seeing Captain Action (or Captain Magic, as he was originally going to be named) on sale in this country, but I knew about the character through the adverts in comics issued by NATIONAL PERIODICAL PUBLICATIONS Inc. (DC COMICS), such as SUPERMAN and BATMAN, etc.  I instantly coveted this wondrous item, but it wasn't until toy company PLAYING MANTIS re-released IDEAL's iconic action-figure in 1998 that I finally managed to acquire one.

DC Comics published a title based on the character in the latter half of the 1960s, but its brief five issue run indicates that it wasn't quite as popular as anticipated.  Featuring artwork by WALLY WOOD and GIL KANE, and written first by JIM SHOOTER and then by Kane himself, the comics boasted some spectacular cover art, which I now unselfishly share with you here.  They're scanned from my very own copies which I obtained many years ago, but should still be relatively easy to obtain from back issue specialists in comicbook stores and on eBay.

The ad below (drawn by KURT SCHAFFENBERGER) comes from DETECTIVE COMICS #359 ("The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!"), but the previous owner has defaced The PHANTOM figure by drawing stripes on his costume.  Tsk, tsk!  Some people, eh?

I'd be interested in the reminiscences of American readers who had this toy when they were kids, and whether any Brits actually managed to get their hands on one back in the '60s.

      

And, if you're lucky, you may still be able to get this great book (below) all about Captain Action from your local comicbook store.  This is the original printing, but I believe a revised and updated edition was made available a year or two back.

TOYBOX TREASURES Of The PAST: The TWO BATMANs...

Aurora kit built and painted by Kid Robson

I've shown both the above items before, but never together.  However, the two of them are connected, and not just because they're both BATMAN collectables from the 1960s.  You see, when I was a kidlet and first acquired my AURORA Batman plastic model kit, I didn't bother assembling the figure for some forgotten reason.  I did build the base though, and when I later bought the LOUIS MARX Twistable Batman, I'd bend it into a rough approximation of the Aurora figure and affix it to the tree with a rubber-band.

I'd love to be able to show you the result, but you'll just have to use your imaginations.  Aurora Batman is glued to his tree and I wouldn't want to risk bending Marx Batman in case his forty-six year old wire limbs snap.

Needless to say (though I'll say it anyway), I've had these replacements for many years - far longer than my original items - but I always get a special glow whenever I recall my rather unique amalgam of these two great toys from my childhood.  Did any of you also have these items, and, if so, what memories do you associate with them?  Feel free to share them with the rest of us in the comments section.  

PART SIX OF MARVEL TALES SPIDEY COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Roll up, roll up! Here's the penultimate part of SPIDER-MAN covers from MARVEL TALES in the 1980s, as illustrated by STEVE DITKO back in the '60s for the very first printings of these classic adventures.  As you can see, the cover of issue #172 bore the legend "Collector's Item Classic" right next to the word "Marvel" in the top corner box, thereby resembling the name of an earlier reprint mag which the BULLPEN once published. (MARVEL COLLECTORS' ITEM CLASSICS, natch!  However, the placement of the apostrophe is different in both cases.)

Be sure to be here for the final instalment of this super series, as there'll be a couple of surprises which you won't want to miss.