PART SIX OF SMASH! COVER GALLERY...

Copyright REBELLION

As I gad about the glorious streets of Glasgow, mingling with ordinary people and bathing in their silent but obvious admiration (egotist?  Nah!), one thought is constantly on my mind: "What can I share with my blog members next!"  Yes, hard as it may be for you to believe, you're never far from my thoughts as I strive to bring you the very best pictorial presentations and nostalgic nick-nacks that my vast and voluminous, captivating collection encompasses.  (Don't you just love awesome alliteration, even when it's mostly redundant?)

Of course, there are times when any old tat will do - but fear not, Crivvies, this isn't one of those occasions.  What you see before you is another half-dozen covers from one of the best-loved periodicals of the 1960s - SMASH!  Perhaps you need to have experienced them first time around to truly appreciate their charm, but for those of you who did, I'm sure you'll be truly grateful to be reunited with these fondly-recalled covers from childhood.  Just make out the cheques to...

Another six coming soon!

FABULOUS FLASHBACKS - COUNTDOWN TO TV ACTION ANNUAL...

Copyright relevant owner

Launched in 1971, COUNTDOWN was, to all intents and purposes, an attempt to duplicate the former success of the now declining TV21.  With the inclusion of GERRY ANDERSON related content and (instead of The DALEKS) DOCTOR WHO, the fact it was edited by TV21's former art editor DENNIS HOOPER made comparison between the two periodicals inevitable.

Initially, I ignored the comic - until it started reprinting (usually in black and white) strips from TV CENTURY 21.  Even as a boy, I had an overdeveloped sense of nostalgia, so the comic suddenly became a 'must-have' for me.  Truth to tell though, my strongest memories of the paper are from when it metamorphosed into TV ACTION with #59.

Something else I ignored was the hardback Annual incarnation of the weekly.  In fact, I'm not even sure if I was even aware of them at the time they were published. However, a year or two back, someone gifted me the first two, and I recently acquired the third and final one via eBay, thereby completing my collection of them.  The first is simply titled COUNTDOWN, the second, COUNTDOWN For TV ACTION, and the third, TV ACTION.

Being a rather generous chappie (somewhat against the Scottish stereotype of tight-fisted meanie), I thought I'd share the covers and some of the contents with you in this post.  So, if you had these Annuals when you were a youngster, you can relive precious moments from your childhood or teenage years.  Or if you're clapping eyes on them for the very first time, it lets you see just what sort of books that boring old farts like your dad may've been reading over 40 years ago.  Either way, you're a winner!

NEAL ADAMS' BATMAN COVER GALLERY - PART ONE...

Pencils by CARMINE INFANTINO, inks by NEAL ADAMS.  Copyright DC COMICS

Raise your hand if you like the art of NEAL ADAMS.  Wait 'til I count 'em - one, two, three - h'mm, the pubs must still be open.  Never mind, I'll just assume that everybody likes Natty Neal's awesome artwork and present a series of covers either pencilled and inked by him, or inked by him over another's pencils.  That way, we get the absolute best of both worlds.  Ready?  Then away we go!  (See?  Who says intros have to be long and boring?  Sure wasn't me!) 

Pencils & inks by NEAL ADAMS

Pencils & inks by NEAL ADAMS

Pencils and inks by NEAL ADAMS

Pencils & inks by NEAL ADAMS

Pencils & inks by NEAL ADAMS

Pencils by NEAL ADAMS, inks by DICK GIORDANO

Pencils by NEAL ADAMS, inks by DICK GIORDANO

The DOCTOR IS IN - TV COMIC (PART THREE)...

Copyright BBC TV.  Art by NEVILLE MAIN

Coloured for DOCTOR WHO CLASSIC COMICS #2 in 1993, here are another two episodes of The Doctor's comic strip from TV COMIC #s 676 & 677, cover-dated November 28th and December 5th 1964 respectively.

Maybe one day, someone will get around to tying in JOHN and GILLIAN with regular TV continuity (if it hasn't been done already).  Were they the brother and sister of SUSAN?  Does TV Comic's Doctor, seemingly like PETER CUSHING's, come from an alternate reality?  We deserve to be told - so someone please tell us before we get much older.

In the meantime, however, enjoy these pages from the start of the Doctor's comic strip career.

THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING...

ISBN: 978-1-905239-30-6  *  Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Are you a fan of CAPTAIN BRITAIN?  If so, five volumes worth keeping an eye out for in your local comicbook store are the five MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVELS reprinting all the CB stories from his own weekly title in 1976, right up to the last issue of his monthly title in '86 - and every titanic tale in between.  The first volume came out in 2007 and the final one in 2011, but they've probably been reprinted since, as I saw volume one with a different cover advertised on AMAZON a just few months back.  There's also been at least one OMNIBUS volume, but as the early stories are scanned from original issues, it's slightly more obvious than in the smaller softcover editions, where it's barely noticeable.

Alas, I can't scan the interiors without cracking the spines, so you'll have to take my word that the quality in these PANINI-published volumes is extremely good, and you'd have to look twice to notice that the early tales are, as I mentioned, scans from published comics.  They're well-worth having if you want to own every CB adventure from '76 to '86.  Each book has informative intros by comics pros like CHRIS CLAREMONT, HERBE TRIMPE, STEVE PARKHOUSE, GARY FRIEDRICH, RON WILSON, BOB BUDIANSKY, DAVE THORPE, ALAN DAVIS and DEZ SKINN, plus various other bonus features.

I'd imagine they're still available to order for the discerning Marvelite who wants to add them to his personal library.

ISBN: 978-1-905239-72-6

ISBN: 978-1-84653-401-0

ISBN: 978-1-84653-433-1

ISBN: 978-1-84653-459-1

DOES THIS HAVE THE X-FACTOR? THE OFFICIAL MARVEL INDEX PART ONE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS.  Cover by SANDY PLUNKETT

The very first MARVEL Indexes (or Indices, if you prefer) were published by PACIFIC COMICS DISTRIBUTORS around 1976-'82 and then by MARVEL COMICS themselves, who've issued various versions over the years.  Two of the best were The X-MEN and The AVENGERS series in 1987, the former being six issues and the latter seven.

What distinguished them from earlier and later versions was the fact that the cover reproductions were printed almost full-size, and the odd variation aside, were mostly faithful to how they'd been originally published.  They also sported some nice new cover art, and 'pin-up' splash pages by various then-current Marvel artists.

Have a look at the first three and, if you like them, let me know and I'll post the other three; then perhaps I might let you have a peek at The Avengers Index.  Go on - whaddya say?

Splash page by JOHN ROMITA Jr. & KLAUS JANSON

Cover by WALT SIMONSON

Splash page by WALT SIMONSON

Cover by TOM GRINDBERG & TOM PALMER

Splash page by TOM GRINDBERG & TOM PALMER

TOMORROW'S HERO TODAY! JOHNNY FUTURE - PART THREE...

Copyright REBELLION

Ol' JOHN FOSTER's certainly got his work cut out for him and no mistake.  We know he'll triumph eventually, but it's how he achieves those victories that provides the chills, spills and thrills and  keeps us enthralled right to the very end.  Of course, LUIS BERMEJO's spectacular artwork is the main draw (no pun intended), and it's just a monumental shame that FANTASTIC absorbed its companion paper TERRIFIC and (one last appearance in an Annual apart) effectively ended the adventures of JOHNNY FUTURE, Britain's MAN Of TOMORROW.

However, take heart. You can relive JF's titanic tussles right here on CRIVENS! - the U.K.'s brightest, boldest and best blog on comicbooks, cartoons and collectables.  (As voted by me and two of my pals - so it's official!) 

PART TWO OF DOCTOR WHO'S FIRST-EVER COMIC STRIP -

Copyright BBC TV.  Art by NEVILLE MAIN

In this post back in November, I showed part one of the first-ever comic strip featuring DOCTOR WHO from TV COMIC #675, cover-dated November 21st 1964.  Thought you might like to see part two, as reprinted - in colour - from DOCTOR WHO CLASSIC COMICS #2, cover-dated January 6th, 1993.

Want to see part three?  Then lemme know, frantic one.