CLASSIC U.K. COMIC STRIPS: RAVEN On The WING...

Images copyright relevant owner

RAVEN On The WING was a very popular strip that appeared in VALIANT (published weekly by IPC MAGAZINES from 1962 to '76) for many years, featuring the adventures of a young gypsy boy who happened to be an amazingly gifted footballer.  Drawn regularly by the talented and prolific Argentinian artist FRANCISCO SOLANO LOPEZ, this particular tale was published in the 1972 VALIANT & TV21 Summer Special.  Enjoy a taste of yesteryear - today! 

BABE Of The DAY - RAQUEL WELCH...

Ah!  Ravishing RAQUEL WELCH -

words fail me.  That being the case, you'll

 just have to think up your own.

CLASSIC COMICS: TV ACTION #59...

Characters copyright relevant & respective owners

Okay, Crivvies - as an extra-special treat, I thought I'd present you with TV ACTION + COUNTDOWN #59, the cover of which I first featured in part four of my FAVOURITE COMICS Of The PAST series some time back.  This time around though, you get the complete issue, plus I've also thrown in the elucidating exposition which accompanied the aforementioned previous pulsating post to save you having to look it up.

******

As I lay in bed on that lazy March or April mid-morning in 1972*, I was likely unaware that, before too long, I'd be moving house for the fourth time in my thirteen and a half short years of existence.  Through the slightly open window the sound of kids in the playground of my old Primary school at the foot of the road reached my ears, as I sipped American Cream Soda and enjoyed not having to attend the local Senior Secondary educational establishment a couple of streets away.

(*Might even have been in June, in which case I'd have known we were flitting.)

Surrounded by a monumental mountain of comics, the inconsequential illness which had kept me from school was soon forgotten, as I luxuriated in the privileged status of idle absenteeism while my classmates busied themselves with the enforced academic application that such scholarly study demands.  Looking back, it's strange to realise that, were it not for the date on one particular comic cover establishing almost the exact moment in history, my recollection of events would suggest them as having occurred many months before their actual point in time.

The comic in question?  The 59th issue of COUNTDOWN, which also happened to be the first issue relaunched under the new title of TV ACTION.  Cover-dated April 1st, it had gone on sale on March 25th, and perhaps some of the subsequent issues may even have been in that pile of comics on top of the blankets.  I'm not 100% sure, hence my hesitation in pinpointing the exact month of that school 'sickie' all those years ago.  All I know is that it must've been sometime between the end of March and the beginning of June.

However, as I said - that was only a mere handful of weeks (or days) away from moving to a 'new' house in another area.  I was blissfully unaware of (or had forgotten) the fact, though no doubt my conspiratorial parents had been making arrangements for some time.  I was only told of the move about a fortnight in advance, which, with hindsight, I'm actually glad of, as the knowledge would probably have spoiled the last occasion I had a day off from school in the house I'd lived in since I was seven years old.

One glance at the above comic and I'm once again lying in bed on that morning in 1972, listening to the faint noises from the street as they drift in through my inch-open window - the knowledge that one chapter of my life was about to end and another begin still concealed behind the enveloping cover of Time's cascading curtain.

******

If you have any fond memories of this particular issue, feel entirely free to share them with your fellow Criv-ites in our captivating comments section.

BABE Of The DAY - INES CUDNA...

INES CUDNA is this babe's name

(sometimes spelt 'Innes'), though I reckon

she could if she really wanted to.  (Little

 Scottish joke there, Crivs - so laugh.)

The LAST POST?

As I gad about the streets of Glasgow, one overriding thought haunts my mighty mind - how can I make my blog even better than it is?  ("Shouldn't be too hard," some of the more witty amongst you may even now be thinking.)  I enjoy doing the blog for its own sake, of course, but it's nice if others enjoy it too, though one can never quite be certain.  Some posts get many comments, some get none, yet sometimes I'm not always certain that the posts which generate reader response are necessarily the ones most deserving of it.

Do you comment because you want to, or because you feel obliged to?  Would you prefer not to feel as if you have to leave a comment when you can't think of anything to say?  Would you still visit this humble blog if I did away with the commenting option altogether, as I'm considering doing?  You see, sometimes, having spent ages scanning something and racking my cataclysmic cranium for a subject with which I can thrill and enthral you, if there is little or no response, I feel I've failed to deliver - disappointed you in some way.  If there were no comments section, then I needn't worry that the absence of any kind of response was an indication of my having failed to deliver an interesting or worthwhile post.

"But surely the number of visits that each post receives tells you whether it's struck a cord or not?" you ask.  Sometimes yes, but not necessarily so.  A particular post might get a fair amount of hits, but while the title or illo was perhaps interesting enough to entice visitors to take a look -  it doesn't reveal whether they stuck around to read the whole post or bailed out three words into the first paragraph.  Only comments can do that, and the absence of any tends to suggest indifference to the subject.  So while I'm grateful to all those who do regularly comment, if you only do so because you feel that you should, then removing the option may be a relief to you.

Anyway, fully aware of the inherent irony in asking you to comment on whether this blog should continue having a comments option, what do you think?  Should I leave things as they are, or do away with the commenting option altogether?  Yes, no, don't care, get a life?  Vote now.  (If you want to - and if you still can.)      

SCOOP! The TRUE, INSIDE STORY Of TV CENTURY 21...

Copyright relevant owner

Okay, so I lied - about being 'true' I mean.  What you're looking at is a fictional account from the TV CENTURY 21 Annual for 1969 about how the 'newspaper' came into being.  It gets its facts wrong from the start, saying that the first edition rolled off the presses on January 27th 2065 - even though its clearly dated January 23rd.  Note also the bit about the periodical being expected to be selling in the same high numbers in ten years as it did initially - though it was highly likely to be showing signs of falling circulation at the time this piece was written.

So, not much truth about it, but interesting nonetheless.  Like to see more from the TV21 Annuals?  Then let me know, pilgrims!

The BLUE CANADIAN ROCKIES...

GENTLEMAN JIM REEVES shows us all once again just how a song should be sung.  So pin back yer lug'oles and chill out to the world's greatest Country crooner.  (Best listened to on headphones for optimum soothing effect.)

BABE Of The DAY - JULIE NEWMAR...

JULIE NEWMAR, aka

CATWOMAN, but without the

costume.  No less gorgeous for

 that though, eh, Crivvies?

DOCTOR WHO EPISODE: 'INSIDE The DALEK' - A SHORT REVIEW...

Now that was better!  (I'm a man
of very few words - sometimes.)

PART FOUR Of BIG BEN - The THING COVER & IMAGE GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Alas, DONALD DOGFLY makes his last two appearances in this latest The THING Is BIG BEN Cover & Image Gallery.  Drawn by HUNT EMERSON, I don't think Donald has appeared anywhere since.  It would be interesting to learn who currently owns the copyright, as it would be nice if Hunt could revive the character.

Looking back, the comic wasn't too bad, but the name was a bit naff and the masthead wasn't exactly eye-catching or memorable.  It's interesting to speculate as to whether the mag would've enjoyed greater success if it had been called something else - like, I dunno - POWERHOUSE, or something along those lines.

Now there's an idea!  See if you can come up with some good names for U.K. MARVEL mags that might've resonated better with the readers.  Go on - you know where the comments section is!

BABE Of The DAY - JACQUELINE BISSETT...

Many years ago, I was on nodding

acquaintance with a girl who was almost the

double of actress JACQUELINE BISSETT

(apart from her hairstyle).  If her character was

even half as impressive as her looks, then who-

ever eventually married her was a very lucky

man.  That applies to both women, it goes

  without saying.  (So why'd I say it?)

ALAN MOORE PUTS FOOT IN MOUTH - AGAIN...

Going by the embarrassing clips I've seen, ALAN MOORE's new film appears to be a low-budget, badly acted and poorly directed piece of amateurish nonsense.  I can't see myself rushing out to join the end of a cinema queue to see it any time soon - or buying the DVD.  The bearded writer claims that Hollywood "clearly hasn't had an idea in the last two or three decades" and that it can "only recycle things that have already been done, or adapt things from media where they weren't intended as films." 

This from a man who has made a career out of recycling other people's characters, and, in many cases, adapting them from books for use in comics.  Surely a prime example of adapting something from one medium for use in another for which it wasn't intended?  Apparently, according to a recent CHANNEL 4 news item, "Alan Moore... is often described as the best graphic novel writer in history."  Presumably by himself, as it's not something I've ever heard said about him.  Sure, he's written a few good superhero yarns, but he's also written a pile of dreary, pretentious, self-indulgent p*sh.

I really wish that someone would call a halt to the relentless publicity machine that continually seeks to present Mr. Moore as some kind of literary genius.  He isn't.  He's an affable enough bloke (when he's not slagging off STAN LEE) who's had his fifteen minutes of fame, but who now seems desperate to prolong his time in the spotlight.  Go back to writing comics for teenage boys, Mr. Moore.  It's something you can actually do when you have a good editor who isn't afraid to say no to some of your wilder ideas.

Or at the very least, give us all a break from your increasingly silly, self-serving pronouncements.

PUTTIN' On The RITZ...

It's a grey, wet, miserable day - so here's

MEL TORME to get your feet tapping and

put a smile on your face.  Sing along now.

BABE Of The DAY - ANNE HATHAWAY...

Now that's what I call a costume!

And ANNE HATHAWAY is what I call

a woman!  And someone without a snow-

ball's chance in hell is what I call myself.

(Though I continue to live in hope.)