The AMERICANS ARE COMING! (TOO LATE, THEY'RE HERE!)

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It recently occurred to me that some of you Crivvies might be (vaguely) interested in reading my personal reminiscences as to how I first discovered comicbooks.  (Just like STAN LEE, I prefer to render it as one word.) 

First of all though, let me relate what I can recall of the earliest comics I encountered when I was but a few years old.  It would be impossible to list them in the sequential order I first experienced them, as my memories of that particular period of my life tend to run into one another and it's nigh-impossible to separate them at this late stage.  However, I remember being aware of SUPERMAN from about three or four years of age, and even reading one of his comics, doubtless bought by my older brother.  Whether it was a U.S. original or U.K. reprint is beyond my ability to recollect - not that I'd have known the difference at that young age anyway.

Back in the early and mid-'60s, which is the time I first became aware of them, Britain still had a decent comics industry, with myriad publications vying for the pocket-money of post-war 'baby-boomer' children.  Titles such as BEANO, DANDY, BEEZER, TOPPER, SPARKY, VICTOR, HOTSPUR, VALIANT, LION, TIGER, EAGLE, BUSTER, TV COMIC, TV CENTURY 21, and a whole host more - the majority of which were aimed mainly at boys.  Girls had their own 'pictorial papers' to amuse and entertain them.  Unlike American comics, their British counterparts were published weekly, so U.K. kids were spoilt for choice when it came to having something to read.

I probably first became aware of American comicbooks (as American comicbooks) around 1964 or '65, while visiting (with my mother and brother) a former nearby neighbour whose son bought them.  Sometimes he would even let us take some of them home - to keep.  More often than not, they were all from the same stable of NATIONAL PERIODICAL PUBLICATIONS (DC COMICS nowadays), and included such full-colour titles as SUPERMAN, BATMAN, The FLASH, etc.  As most readers will know, U.S. comics came to Britain as ballast in ships, and were usually displayed on spinner-racks along with other monthly magazines in a shop corner, whereas U.K. comics were normally given space on the newsagent's counter.  This perhaps accounts for why I didn't discover 'yankee' superhero mags sooner.

I first became acquainted with MARVEL COMICS heroes in 1966, in the pages of a British title called SMASH!, published by ODHAMS PRESS.  First The HULK and then The FANTASTIC FOUR (the foursome's origin being reprinted in two comics simultaneously), followed soon after by the rest of the mighty Marvel powerhouse pantheon in sister-publications such as WHAM!, POW!, FANTASTIC and TERRIFIC.  Three of these weekly comic papers (Wham! Smash!, and Pow!) ran the Marvel reprints alongside home-grown humour, adventure, war, and sports strips, typical of what British comics had been producing from the '50s onwards.  Of course, British comics go back much further than that, and Glasgow comics historian JOHN McSHANE has unearthed evidence that appears to suggest that comics first originated in Scotland - the real 'home of the brave and the land of the free'.

As for comicbooks from before my time, I first became aware of them through reprints in 80 page GIANTS and, later, when DC COMICS upped their price to 25 cents an issue in the early '70s and included 'Golden Age' bonus tales in the extra pages.  Classics from the '40s, such as The BOY COMMANDOS, The NEWSBOY LEGION, The SANDMAN, etc., re-presented for a (then) modern audience, added to my growing knowledge of (and appreciation for) what had gone before.  I learned about early U.K. comics from books by collector and historian, the late DENIS GIFFORD, whose collection contained periodicals unknown to even the British Museum.

So, that's how it all happened in my case, and I'm pretty sure it's not too different for those U.K. readers of a similar age and background to myself. I'd like to thank you Crivs for allowing me to indulge in my favourite pastimes - comicbooks and reminiscing about the past.  (Or 'talking about myself', as some cynics might prefer to describe it.)

Do you recall when you first became interested in comics, and at what point you became a dedicated collector?  Then don't be selfish - share your reflective recollections with your fellow readers and enjoy reliving your far-away youth.  The comments section awaits your esteemed presence. 

"A NAMELESS LAND, A TIMELESS TIME!"

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Isn't it strange how, when we look at the past through the muggy mists of memory, periods of time we experienced as children seem to have lasted far longer than they actually did?  For instance, when I was getting FANTASTIC back in the '60s, it felt like I was reading the ODHAMS PRESS weekly periodical for years before it eventually discontinued publication and was merged into SMASH!, one of its stablemates.  However, Fantastic lasted for only 89 issues - which is (if my calculations are correct) a period of exactly one year and nine months.  Surely such a thing is impossible?  To me, it feels like I was buying it for about three or four years at the very least.

It's the same with WHAM!, another of the five POWER COMICS, as they were collectively known.  I didn't become a regular reader until the comic started featuring The FANTASTIC FOUR, sometime around August of '66.  The title was merged into POW! an issue or two into January of '68, which means that I had only been buying it for less than a year and a half before its untimely demise.  Yet, when I think back, it seems (and seemed) that the weekly periodical was a feature of my life for a far longer time than was actually the case.

Regular readers may remember that, some time ago, I mentioned in a previous post a quotation I heard on the radio a good few years back which ran something like this: "The memories of childhood are without time and without end."  When I revisit my own memories of childhood, I'm convinced of the truth of that insightful piece of wisdom.  If anyone can tell me its source I'd be very much obliged. 

A NOTE TO ALL 'CRIV-ITES'...

Just to let all you cataclysmic comic fans out there know that I'm currently having computer and scanner problems, so posts might be a bit thin on the ground over the next few days - if not completely non-existent.  Responses to comments may also be a bit slow.  Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. (I hope.)

HULK SMASH! Cover Gallery... (Updated)

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Presented for your appreciation and approval, the covers of the first three The INCREDIBLE HULK King-Size Specials, along with the fourth and fifth, which have fewer pages than the previous trio and therefore not exactly 'King-Size' (though still 'Special').  Hulkie's face on #1 was redrawn by MARIE SEVERIN, although JIM STERANKO's original fizzog remained untouched on the cover reproduction used in ads for the title.  There was something magical about these mags that today's 'Specials' just can't match.  I wish they'd bring 'em back.

SUNNY SUMMER SPECIALS Of YESTERYEAR...

Images copyright relevant and respective owners

One of the things that every blogger has to concern themselves with is just what to write about for each new post, in the hope that at least someone will be interested in reading the result.  One can never really tell with any certainty just what will float a reader's boat so it's a bit of a gamble whenever a blog host takes the plunge with yet another entry for his members' perusal and hopeful appreciation.  Will a catchy title arouse their curiosity?  Will a dramatic opening illustration grab their attention?  Sometimes I'm surprised as to just what attracts a significant number of hits - and sometimes I'm disappointed in equal measure as to what seems to escape under the radar.

So, "what's the recipe for today, Jim?" - and will it be enough to lure you into my blog's web for a few enjoyable minutes of reading pleasure?  Let's look at the subject of Summer Specials - or Holiday Specials as they were also sometimes called.  Asides from three new Ultimate Beano Summer Specials which graced the shelves of WHS not long ago, the particular breed known as the Summer Special seems to be extinct.  Hardly surprising given the dying interest in comics in general, but no less disappointing for that inarguable fact.

Those of a certain age will recall the glory days, when - for a mere 2'6d (usually) - 96 pages of fun and adventure could be had to pore over again and again.  There was just something about those extra thick publications that seemed to beckon to us from the newsagents' counters - enticing us to spend the halfcrown that a kindly and indulgent grandparent or uncle had given to us only a day or two before.  We were mainly unaware that, inevitably, these bumper packages contained an allocation of reprinted strips from comics or annuals of an earlier era - and what did it matter anyway?  They were definitely new to us.

So come with me now on a short journey, and let us return to an age when Holiday Specials were a welcome distraction as we sheltered under the leafy shade of an overhanging branch from the heat of the sweltering Summer sun.  A bottle of pop in one hand, an oversized paper periodical in the other, the future remained an undiscovered country - in which, sadly, all too soon we would find ourselves residing while wondering how we got there. 

    

And below is one of my all-time favourite Specials - the TV CENTURY 21 Summer Extra for 1965.  Took me years to track down this replacement, but got it for a very reasonable price.

PART FOUR Of COMIC COVERS 'SNAP'!

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Look at this simply cracking cover by JIM STARLIN (inked by JOE SINNOTT maybe?) from MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #47, November 1974 (on sale in August).  This was a reprint of TALES To ASTONISH #92, but didn't feature the original cover, instead sporting the nice new one you see above.  Three years later, GARY BRODSKY  'swiped' the design for the U.K. 1978 HULK Annual (on sale in August or September of 1977), but added a few extra embellishments of his own (this time definitely inked by Joltin' Joe).  And it's just been brought to my attention that the artwork was also utilised for The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL #105, cover-dated October 5th 1974.  (See Comments Section.)

Which one do you prefer? 

And, below, is the very chappie mentioned in the previous paragraph.  What's amazing is that it's actually the 2nd birthday issue, but it isn't referred to anywhere on the cover or inside.  The comic had just recently celebrated its 100th issue, so perhaps it was considered too soon to be indulging in yet another hullabaloo.  To be frank, I consider the MSH presentation to be better than the MWOM one.

THE DANDY - 75 YEARS... NOW ON SALE!

Copyright DC THOMSON & Co, Ltd

Earlier than expected, THE DANDY Special Collector's Edition is now on sale at WH SMITH. Priced at £5.99, it contains a reprint of the very first issue of Britain's longest-running comic.  I mentioned this publication almost a fortnight ago on this very blog, and was met with scathing scepticism as to the veracity of my post.  Perhaps some people won't be so doubting next time, eh?

The last issue of The Dandy in December will also include a facsimile of #1.  The above publication was prepared before a decision had been made on the weekly comic's fate.

UPDATE: Contrary to information supplied to me earlier, there are only 24 of the original 28 pages in the reprint of the first issue.  My source must have assumed it contained the full contents by looking at the last page, which was numbered 28. Let's hope that the forthcoming facsimile in December is complete.

COMIC COVERS 'SNAP'! PART THREE...

 

Copyright DC COMICS

Here's the mighty MAN Of STEEL in his 1938 debut tale in ACTION COMICS #1.  JOHN BYRNE used a reversed version 48 years later for the cover of The FANTASTIC FOUR #291.  And 26 years after that, the layout was utilised for a character with super-strength who predates even SUPERMAN - by almost ten years.  POPEYE #1 hit the stands a few months ago and may still be available in your local comicbook shop.  It's extremely likely that the cover design has seen print quite a few times down through the decades - if you know of any others then feel free to let me know.

FANTASTIC COVER GALLERY PART 12...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Once more we plunge back into the turbulent time stream (without a TARDIS) to revisit the year of 1968 and look again at the covers of FANTASTIC, a British weekly publication from ODHAMS PRESS.  If you don't already know, Fantastic reprinted various MARVEL superhero adventures, enabling us lucky Brits to catch up on the tales of The X-MEN, IRON MAN, THOR, The AVENGERS, etc.

Take a look at the cover of #70.  Believe it or not, although The HULK's adventures were first reprinted in sister publication SMASH! in 1966, they had started with Hulk #2 - so this was the first time that Odhams had presented ol' Greenskin's debut tale.  (Likewise, when SPIDER-MAN was reprinted in POW! - a comic from the same stable - they started with the first issue of his own title - the tale from AMAZING FANTASY #15 was bypassed completely.)

I remember my brother buying Fantastic #70 while on holiday in Largs that year, and both of us going over its pages while standing outside the 'close' of the ground floor flat we were staying in (with outside loo).  I also recall us poring over it again at the table inside later that day, so the Hulk tale was obviously something that fascinated us.  I got a STEVE ZODIAC & ZOONY on a friction-drive JET-MOBILE and a bendy CAPTAIN SCARLET figure on that same holiday, so 1968 was a good year for me.  Ah, such fond memories.

The back-page of issue #72 was the same as #69, so I haven't bothered to repeat it here as there's no point in showing the same ad twice.  Well, that's all for this visit - be sure to tune in again soon for another instalment of Fantastic Cover Gallery. There's only seventeen more to go and you don't want to miss the full set.

Feel free to share any childhood reminiscences that any of the  covers may conjure up for you in the comments section.

HAS ANYONE SEEN MY DINKY?

Way back in the mid-'60s, the big thing on British TV was THUNDERBIRDS. (BATMAN was still a few months away.)  GERRY ANDERSON's latest puppet programme was a sensation, spawning all sorts of merchandise.  One such was the diecast Thunderbird 2 toy, manufactured by DINKY, which was then owned by the MECCANO company. 

I wasn't lucky enough to have a brand-new TB2 when they first came out - I had to wait a few years before I managed to get a beat-up one from a jumble sale.  It didn't have the red exhausts, but, being an ingenious sort of kid, I used the red tops of two Colgate toothpaste tubes, affixing them with parts of a wooden lolly-pop stick which fitted in the holes where the exhausts were designed to go.  It looked great, if I say so myself.  I don't know what eventually happened to it over the course of time - it simply disappeared, quietly and without notice, but I never quite forgot it.

A few years back, I saw one in a toy and model shop situated in Parnie Street in Glasgow.  Like its predecessor, it was lacking both exhausts, plus one of its legs, but it was going for only a few quid so I bought it.  Thankfully, there are a few diehard enthusiasts around these days who professionally manufacture replacement parts for classic toys from yesteryear, and I was able to obtain the required pieces from one such supplier.  A friend had a TB2 with one surviving leg, so I bought four replacement ones and swapped them for the one from his model.

Next, I stripped the chipped and flaking paint from my TB2, repainted it (by hand), fitted the new exhausts and missing leg, then applied a brand-new set of adhesive labels to complete the desired effect.  What you're looking at in the above photo is the result of my handiwork.  The replacement pieces and labels are virtually indistinguishable from the originals, and I finally have a practically pristine version of the famous Dinky Thunderbird 2 from 1966.  The cost?  Around £12 to £15, all in.

Of course, it's not worth the same as an unrestored version, but the monetary value doesn't concern me.  As long as I've got a toy that I once had as a child and it looks as I remember it (or in this case, even better), then that's good enough for me.

"Thunderbirds are go!" 

KIRBY'S 'WOODEN' ART - PART TWELVE Of FAVOURITE COMICS Of The PAST...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Here's another brilliant belter from the backyard of bygone days - 1971 to be precise.  However, I didn't buy it until around 1973 or thereabouts, as no doubt it languished in a warehouse somewhere before being belatedly distributed to the spinner-racks of newsagents all across the U.K.  I don't believe I'd ever seen the CHALLENGERS Of The UNKNOWN before, but I was captivated by the combination of JACK KIRBY's and WALLY WOOD's art, which made me wish that Wood had inked Kirby's FANTASTIC FOUR - especially in the early days.

Curiously, the writing duties are all credited to Jack alone, but in the DC ARCHIVE EDITIONS, DAVE WOOD (no relation to Wally) is listed as being co-writer on The MAN WHO STOLE The FUTURE and CAPTIVES Of The SPACE CIRCUS.  What's more, his name comes before JK's, which tends to suggest that Dave Wood came up with the original premise in each case, and that Jack perhaps then added little extra details of his own.

In light of this, it's legitimate to wonder why, for someone who later complained about being denied credit, Jack often (if not always) failed to mention JOE SIMON in any of his one-page accounts of his past achievements which appeared in some of his DC comics (though not in this particular ish).  You'd think that someone who later became the 'pin-up boy' for 'hard-done-to' creators would've been more scrupulous in his own efforts to accord credit where it was due.

When one measures the Challengers stories inked by Wood against those by other inkers, the difference is astounding.  (You'll need the DC Archive Editions for that, as there are no non-Wood inked strips in this issue.)  Earlier adventures not inked by W.W. tend to pale in comparison, and this fact confirms my strong belief that Woody was one of Jack's best inkers - if not the best.  I'd have loved to have seen a THOR tale inked by Wally.  DICK AYERS sometimes came close to emulating Wood - FF #6 and AVENGERS #8 being prime examples.  There are some distinctly Wood-ish touches in these two issues.

I recall taking this issue along to my grandparents' home on one of our weekly Sunday visits, and poring over the incredible artwork.  My grandparent's owned a bed-settee, and there's a number of comics I had over the years that I can't read now without remembering that deep-red bed-settee.  When, years later, they elected to move into an old folks home, that settee took up residence in my brother's bedroom, where it was when I acquired the replacement issue for the one I'd originally had years before.  Just think - at two separate points in my life I've held both copies of that issue while sitting on that settee.  My grandparents have been gone 30 years, the settee was 'relinquished' in 1987, but the comic and its numerous associations survive.

Anyway, that's enough self-indulgent personal reminiscences from me. Instead, let's enjoy these sensational splash pages and marvel at the brilliance of Kirby and Wood.  MARK EVANIER once told me in an email (in response to an enquiry of mine) that Wally Wood thought that his inking technique sort of overpowered Kirby's pencils, dominating and maybe even supplanting JK's style with that of his own.  (I'm paraphrasing from memory, but that was the general essence of his remark.)  However, I prefer to think of the result as, to use a well-worn phrase - "greater than the sum of its parts".  Kirby's power and perspective combined with the highly-detailed and dynamic brush and pen of Wood - what's not to like?

Just look at the above page - isn't it simply stunning?  Jumping back nearly 40 years to when I was sat on that red settee, I can remember exactly how I felt studying this page.  I could practically feel the heat of the Egyptian sun beating down on me as my eyes drank in the scene. It's a triumph of composition, and I can't help but wonder if it was completely off the top of Jack's head or whether he used reference material of some sort.  Regardless, it's an absolute 'brammer' and remains one of the finest examples of its kind in the history of the medium.  How someone could look at a page like this and say that comics aren't 'art' is beyond me.  Which is not necessarily to say that all comic pages are art, but this one most definitely is.   

Hopefully, you've enjoyed reliving your own first experiences of reading this comic while perusing this post.  If it's the first time you've ever seen it, then the fortunate thrill of tracking it down on eBay now lies before you.  However, if you've got a bit of cash to splash, you may prefer to seek out the DC Archive Editions which came out a few years back.  If so, here's the info you need:

Challengers of the Unknown

Volume 1 - ISBN: 1-56389-997-3.

Volume 2 - ISBN: 1-4012-0153-9.

The above is a pin-up by BOB BROWN from SUPER DC GIANT #S-25 - the very issue that all the other pages in this post are sourced from.  Can't say I'm too keen about the costumes.