'D' IS FOR DENNIS DAY...

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

As a special treat, I'm bestowing upon all you rabid readers a few pages from the third DENNIS The MENACE book for 1960 (issued at the end of '59).  I'm fortunate enough to own every Dennis book ever printed (one of each, obviously - not the entire print run of every book) and they're well-worth having.  Published in an era before political correctness had been invented, the early books were the epitome of riotous, rebellious, rip-roaring FUN! 

The Dennis books didn't become actual 'annuals' until 1984 (for '85), which was the first to be released a year before the next one.  Before then, they had been published every two years until 1977 (for '78), whereupon it was 'rested' for a few years before resurfacing in 1982 (for '83).  The final edition was the Dennis & Gnasher Annual for 2011, issued at the end of 2010, but by then, Dennis was a pale imitation of his former self.  Will the Dennis books ever return?  Who knows, but in the meantime, enjoy the following classic capers from the heyday of the world's wildest boy.

All art in this post by Davey Law

REMEMBER WHEN DAYS WERE LONGER?

Copyright REBELLION

It's a wet and windy Autumn day outside, as the rain runs down my window and leaves swirl past as if they need to be somewhere in a hurry.  I almost feel like I should be preparing to brave the elements whilst getting ready for school, so evocative is it of days of long ago when such weather was something to be enjoyed (if you were ten years old) rather than cower from like a big feartie.

I can smell that 'woody' tang in the air, with hints of fireworks and Hallowe'en, and find myself wondering why, when I was younger, All Hallow's Eve and Guy Fawkes' Night seemed separated by a period of several weeks instead of the actual five days that exist between them.  I can remember, in school, as the night of October 31st approached, the afternoon being given over to making masks for the big event to come.  Then it would all happen again for November 5th, and I defy anyone to cast their minds back without seeming to 'remember' these two celebrations as being separated by a far longer period of time than they actually were.

I've often wondered how such a thing can be so.  If October 31st fell on a Monday, mask-making day would have been on Friday the 28th.  That means Guy Fawkes Night would have been on the following Saturday, and mask-making day would have occurred on Friday the 4th - a whole week later with a Saturday and Sunday in between.  Well, weekends obviously seemed far longer to us as kids back then than they do now, but not all mask-making afternoons were partitioned by a full weekend, so the seemingly elongated interval between the two events is not fully accounted for by such an explanation.

We'll just have to put it down to that same mysterious phenomenon which makes all our yesterdays, in retrospect, seem better, brighter and longer than they really were.  Don't we all feel that the summers of our childhoods were gloriously sunny for months on end, and that every Christmas morn we woke to find a deep carpet of snow spread before us beyond our bedroom windows?

I doubt I'm alone in preferring to recall some things as they seemed to be, as opposed to how they actually were.  ("I think, therefore it was" - as someone surely must have said.)

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

Images copyright respective owners

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!"

Images copyright their respective owners

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!"