PART FOUR Of The SUPER HEROES COVER & IMAGE GALLERY...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Let's now look at the next part of The SUPER HEROES cover gallery, including some interior pages from this early '80s mag for those who may never have seen it before.  (Yes, I know - my consideration has no limits.)  The good thing about this title was that it reprinted a variety of stories from different decades, and also included various features to fill in readers with the history of the DC COMICS Universe.  A superb little monthly, and tremendous value at only 40p.

The mag had a mixture of great, good, nice, and slightly dodgy (going by #12) cover art by a variety of U.K. talent around at the time (and some of them still are), but it was the classic content which was the main attraction in most cases, although I'm sure that in some instances the covers must've led to a few extra sales (#7 from part three being a prime example of the sort of attention-grabber I mean).

Anyway, that's enough pointless padding from me; I now unleash these iconic images upon you to delight your world-weary eyes.

  

The 'TERRIFIC' DON STARR, In "The LIVING DOLLS" - PART ONE...

All images copyright their respective owners

THE LIVING DOLLS made its debut in TERRIFIC #3, with the hero of the strip, DON STARR, showing up in #4.  That's all you really need to know as you'll discover anything else of interest as we go along.  Beyond whitening up the pages, I haven't bothered to remove any printer's blemishes, but I may do that later perhaps.  Besides, I know that some readers prefer to see classic strips 'warts and all', so a few ink blots won't matter much.  If you'd like to see further episodes in the series, I'd appreciate you saying so, because it'll take quite a bit of time to scan all the pages and, truth to tell, I'd rather not bother if nobody's all that interested in reading them.

The adventure begins now!  Will we ever see its end?  Up to you, pilgrim - up to you!

"WHATEVER HAPPENED To The MAN Of TOMORROW?" (Is He Now Merely YESTERDAY'S MAN?)

Images copyright DC COMICS

ALAN MOORE is the saviour of the modern comicbook according to the opinion of some.  Total tosh of course!  He's written some entertaining stories, but also quite a few more underwhelming ones.  Anyone who regards The Invisible Man being sodomised by Mr. Hyde as 'good writing' needs to widen their reading tastes.  It's just the sick product of a seemingly emotionally-stunted mind, as is his "exercise in pornography" (his own description), the much and deservedly maligned graphic (in more ways than one) novel, LOST GIRLS.

   

Aside from a few SWAMP THING mags and "WHATEVER HAPPENED To The MAN Of TOMORROW?" (and one or two other tales), I've never been overly impressed by Mr. Moore's outpourings.  He's been wise in his choice of which giants' shoulders to stand on, but if he set the pattern (as he claims) for how comicbooks are written these days, it's a pattern for how not to do them in my opinion.  Tedious talking heads, grim and gritty storytelling, dark and disturbed plotlines.  I remember when comics were fun, and I reckon they'd sell more if today's current crop of writers would bear that in mind.

However, let's give the man his due.  SUPERMAN #423 and ACTION COMICS #583 are extremely gripping, entertaining and poignant in all the right places, and remain true to the spirit of the Silver Age - a fitting farewell to the character that those of us of a certain age grew up with, before JOHN BYRNE took the helm of the world's greatest superhero for a (then) new era. (Which itself is now history.)

I've said before that when Alan Moore wrote within the parameters of the now-abandoned Comics Code, he was capable of turning out an entertaining yarn or two; given free rein however, and I find I've little or no interest in the result.  So, enjoy these images of when Mr. Moore did things right - if only he could've continued in the same vein, both he and many a comic reader would probably be the happier for it.  (I know I would've been.)

DETECTIVE COMICS SUPER SPECTACULAR COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Okay, okay, ya got me!  I know that the above ish is a regular-sized mag and not a 100 PAGE SUPER SPECTACULAR, but it contains the first instalment of MANHUNTER, which is continued and concluded in the following six issues (below) - so it gets a pass.  Whenever I look at #437, I think of my Gran and Grandpa's itchy, red bed-settee, on which I sat and read this particular comic one Sunday while visiting them not too long after acquiring it, but the subsequent issues I think I only saw in ads.  I therefore wonder if they had a limited distribution in Britain (they definitely were distributed - the THORPE & PORTER 15p stamp proves it), or perhaps they just sold out before I even saw them on the spinner-racks.

I finally managed to obtain the next six mags in the line many, many years later, from the late PETE ROOT, a well-known Glasgow comics-caterer.  I'm not quite sure whether I bought them when he rented space in another shop or from his later premises in Parnie Street, but whenever I look at the covers, I invariably remember Pete.

Anyway, I'm sure you all have your own particular reminiscences associated with these comics, so I'll leave you to indulge yourselves.  Should you wish to share any fond recollections connected to these mags, then feel entirely free to share them in the comments section.  Go on - beat the rest and be the first.  Trust me, the sense of accomplishment is unreal!  (Well, what are you waiting for?  Get typing.)

DEFINITELY COLLECTABLE - DYNAMIC CLASSICS #1...

Images copyright DC COMICS

If ever a comic mag lived up to its name, DYNAMIC CLASSICS #1 was certainly one of them.  Reprinting the noted BATMAN tale from DETECTIVE COMICS #395 (the very first pairing of writer DENNY O'NEIL and esteemed artist NEAL ADAMS on the crime-fighting character), and #437's MANHUNTER strip (artist WALTER SIMONSON's 'breakthrough' story, written by ARCHIE GOODWIN), this issue was intended to be the first of an ongoing series.

Unfortunately however, as far as I can determine, no subsequent issues were forthcoming, and it remains in splendid isolation as the perfect example of a classic comicbook.  This is one that you should Definitely Collect (see what I did there?), so straight on to eBay with you!

SUPERMAN VERSUS OBELIX...

Copyright DC COMICS

Well, sort of!  It happened in ACTION COMICS #579, back in 1986.  That figure with the sword on the cover is meant to represent ASTERIX The GAUL, though he doesn't appear inside (there is a reference to him, but not by name).  OBELIX, however, does appear (under the name of COLUMNIX) and goes toe-to-toe with SUPERIX (guess who?).  I won't spoil your enjoyment by telling you too much about this tale in case you want to hunt it down on eBay, but it's certainly one that deserves to be in your collection.

Remember when comics were fun?  This one sure fits the bill!  Written by R.J.M. LOFFICIER, pencilled by KEITH GIFFEN, and inked by BOB OKSNER.  It's a keeper (so I kept it)!

SUPER SUNDAY SPECIAL SELECTION - PART SIX Of TV CENTURY 21 COVER GALLERY...

Copyright relevant owner

How can you go almost 50 years into the past and the future at the same time? Simple!  By looking at the covers of TV CENTURY 21, which came out in the mid-'60s and was dated 100 years ahead of when it went on sale.  Strictly speaking, that should've given it a lengthy time on the newsagents' shelves, but as it more or less sold out pretty quickly, that wasn't something that newsagents ever had to worry about.

The original logo lasted for 51 issues before being replaced with a more compact one, a version of which had first appeared on the 1966 Annual - although that had gone on sale in August or September of the previous year.  It's strange, but I'd been living in a new house for nearly two months when issue #52 appeared, but for some reason I seem to associate the new logo with my former house as much (if not more) as I do my then-current one.

THUNDERBIRDS was the latest GERRY ANDERSON hit on TV at the time, and I remember (horrors) cutting the strip of the TRACY brothers from the cover below and putting it on my bedroom wall, probably one of the earliest examples of me ever mutilating a comic for such a purpose.  It's memories like this that remind me of how uncomplicated life seemed for a kid back in the '60s, and I often wish it were the same for me today.

Anyway, I'm sure you're eager to relive your own childhood recollections of these great comics, so I'll leave you to it without any further interruptions from me. 

MY-O-MY! MAGNIFICENT MIGHTY MARVEL MADNESS CURRENTLY OR SOON-TO-BE ON SALE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS.  Note the 'Jack Kirby' -style Giant-Man hand

For all you Merry Marvel Maniacs, the good news is that #1 of AVENGERS UNIVERSE goes on sale on June 19th, in a big 100 page super special debut issue.  I'll certainly be buying it - what about you?  And on July 3rd, The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL relaunches with the first issue of volume five - again, in a 100 page mega-huge ish.  MWOM has been running for around eleven years, which means that PANINI's incarnation of the title has outlived any previous Marvel U.K. version, including the original weekly comic from the '70s.

Makes sense with a Guardians movie due out, but I always found them pretty underwhelming

Sharp-eyed readers may've noticed I had a letter published in #61 (last month), which was an edited reworking of one I'd first had printed way back in 1977 in #226 (volume one).  However, I felt that the subject was still relevant and I wanted to write it the way it should have been written way back in '77.  Unfortunately, in rephrasing the first line, I inadvertently left in a word I'd meant to delete, describing Marvel as "...the world's largest and most popular comic publishing company in the world", instead of "...the largest and most popular comics publishing company in the world".  I'll try again in another 37 years.

H'mm, I dunno - the middle character seems a little small to me.  And Giant-Man doesn't
seem too much of a giant in relation to the supposedly small-statured Wolverine

I still buy the mag regularly, but DAREDEVIL is the only strip I actually bother reading as it's an absolutely gripping story at the moment.  While flicking through the rest of this month's ish (above), I was dismayed to see a couple of examples of what appeared to be same-sex kissing (I'm unfamiliar with the characters involved) and can only thank my lucky stars that I grew up in an age when these kind of subversive and one-sided attempts at brainwashing youngsters didn't exist.  (Feel free to disagree.)

Anyway, here are a few other Mighty Marvel Mags currently on sale.  I don't buy all of them myself, but you can feel entirely free to do so.  (No, I'm not on commission.)

"PROPHECY!" FAVOURITE COMICS Of The PAST - PART TWENTY-NINE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

I'm sure I meant to do a post on this ish of DAREDEVIL a while ago and thought I actually had, but I can't find it anywhere on the blog.  Therefore, there's a chance I'm repeating myself here, but this is a comic that's worth it.  I bought this ish in Portsmouth in 1985 and recognised it as a classic from the off!  Great story (by DENNY O'NEIL at his finest) and great art (by DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI), it's an object lesson on how comicbooks should be done.  The plot weaves an incident from the past into the present and is done with such consummate skill that it seems not the slightest bit far-fetched. 

Whenever I look at this comic I can't help but think of my bedsit in Shearer Road in Fratton and a big plate of egg & chips in EVE'S CAFE at the bottom of Albert Road in Southsea.  In fact, I think I'll revisit yesteryear by pouring myself a large glass of milk and re-reading this classic tale one more time.  You must excuse me, but the past beckons and I can never resist its call.

If you don't already have this one in your collection, you really should track down a copy on eBay right away.

MINNIE The MOOCHER...

I'm sure every Criv's heard MINNIE The

MOOCHER by CAB CALLOWAY - but just

how many have heard DANNY KAYE's version?

Listen to him throw his 'audience' a curve-ball in

 this fantastic rendition.  Great stuff indeed.