THE FRANKLY FABULOUS FANTASTIC FOUR COVER GALLERY...

All images copyright MARVEL COMICS

These are a bundle of comics that have been lying around in my room for years, having become separated from my other FFs at some stage, for reasons unknown or forgotten.  The first eight covers are by Big JOHN BUSCEMA, and the second eight by Rampagin' RON FRENZ.  I purchased most of them when I lived in my previous home, and the last two or three in my present one, but they've been in the same pile for so long that I associate all of them with my former abode.  None of that is of any interest to you, I'm sure, but I feel moved to share it with you anyway - unselfish of me or what?

Right, you've got sixteen covers to work through, so what are you waiting for - a gilt-edged invitation from STAN LEE?  Go to it, Melvin! 

TALES TO ASTONISH COVER GALLERY - PART ONE...

All images copyright MARVEL COMICS

As most everyone knows, The HULK's own mag lasted for only six issues when it first came out, cover-dated March 1963.  However, he was kept alive through guest-spots in other comics, as well as being one of the founding members of The AVENGERS when their magazine was launched later the same year (cover-dated September).  Eventually, he was given one half of TALES To ASTONISH (in #59), until it was renamed The INCREDIBLE HULK with its 102nd ish.

Here then is the first part of a series showcasing the covers of that estimable title (TOS), when readers got two tales for the price of one.  They weren't as complex (or as confusing) as today's comics, but they were far more entertaining in my famously humble opinion.  Ah, for such simpler times again.  Wait until I win that Lottery!

Anyway, enjoy these covers from another era, and keep your peepers peeled for part two.

******

What?  You want a bit of my personal reminiscing?  Okay then, seeing as you insist.  I first read the above tale in a British comic, but as it appeared in two different titles - SMASH!, and then in its companion paper TERRIFIC not too long after - I associate it with both of them.  At least one of those times was around the festive period, so whenever I see the story, I can't help but think of the snow-bedecked environs of the house and neighbourhood in which I lived at the time, which makes me yearn for the days of my boyhood back in the '60s with an even greater intensity than usual.  Okay, now it's your turn.  What are your memories of this tale, Crivs - or any of the other ones?  Don't be shy now - get typing!

BABE OF THE DAY - KATE WINSLET...

There's no sinking feeling whenever

kissable KATE WINSLET is around.  She

may be a titanically talented actress, but it's

her stunningly attractive looks we mere men

are here to appreciate today.  So - all hail

 the most magnificent Kate.  Yeah.

PART SIX OF THE CRUNCH COVER GALLERY...

Image copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

It's a dreich day outside, but luxuriating in the interior warmth of CASTEL ROBSONO, I've decided to persevere with presenting The CRUNCH Cover Gallery.  There hasn't been much interest in this series to be completely honest, but, taking my cue from the late MAGNUS MAGNUSSON (and JOHN HUMPHRIES), I'm determined to finish what I started several posts back.

The majority of these comics have survived pretty well for having been stored in an old cheese box for 35-plus years.  Only a few have some age spots, which makes me wonder why some comics in the same bundle exhibit the passage of time and others don't.  I've got two cheese boxes, which I got back in 1975 when I worked in a CO-OP shop just down the road from me, and they're very sturdy and robust, having originally housed huge, single blocks of cheddar in each one.

In case you're interested, the second box is home to my complete collection of MIGHTY TV COMIC, plus a few other odds'n'sods, like MARVEL U.K. POCKET BOOKS and Oor WULLIE and The BROONS Holiday Specials.

Anyway, in the absence of anything illuminating about The Crunch to write about, the above preamble has filled a bit of a space, so now let's get down to the nitty-gritty - the covers themselves.  And should you feel like making a comment, then don't let anything stop you.

RULES ARE RULES - AREN'T THEY?

I can't recall if I've told this story before (though I've meant to for a while now), but it illustrates what having a bit of authority can do to some folks.  Tell me if you disagree with the following statement: Rules are for a reason, and if the reason for a particular rule doesn't exist in a specific case, then it's redundant.  Case in point: I used to work in my local central library, and within a few years of leaving (but still a regular visitor), I decided to join the library's record department, so I filled out the form and submitted it to the female assistant behind the desk.

She'd worked there when I did and knew me, but asked "Do you have any ID?"  I was taken slightly aback by her question and replied "No, but you know who I am and have my relevant personal details on file as a former employee, so isn't that enough?"  "Rules are rules!" she responded flatly.  I tried approaching the matter from a logical standpoint (often a difficult thing with a woman).  "Yes," I said, "but rules are usually for a reason.  In this case, it's so that a complete stranger can't give you a false name and address and walk out with a couple of LPs which you'll never see again.  As you already know who I am and have my information on file because I once worked here, then surely that particular rule isn't applicable in this case?".

She stuck to her guns, so I asked for one of the chief librarians, who, when I explained the situation, said "Nae bother, Gordie!" and approved my application.  I'd say that was simply a triumph for common sense, but perhaps some of you are thinking "The woman was only doing her job, there was no need to go over her head!"  However, you weren't there!  I could see that she was enjoying having power over me and was being a complete jobsworth merely for the sake of it.  I call it the 'traffic warden mentality' - someone with a wee bit of power who abuses it simply to feed their ego and to feel important.

Ever been in a similar situation?  The comments section eagerly awaits your rapid response. 

BABE OF THE DAY - CATRIONA SHEARER...

BBC newsreader CATRIONA SHEARER sure

is one hot totttie, so here she is as today's 'Babe', fellas.

When it comes to fronting the news, she beats TREVOR

McDONALD or JEREMY PAXMAN hands down any

day of the week.  Do you agree?  Then don't keep it all

 to yourselves, Crivvies - tell the rest of the world.

TOYBOX TREASURES Of The PAST - CHERILEA BATMAN & ROBIN...

Well, I threatened to do it and now I have.  I did say that once I'd retouched my CHERILEA ROBIN figure, I'd show him in all his restored glory, alongside his crime-fighting chum, BATMAN.  So feast your eyes on the pair of them above - doubtless looking even better than they did on the WOOLWORTH'S counter they both would've adorned back in the '60s.

TOYBOX TREASURES Of The PAST - LOUIS MARX BUMP 'N' GO DALEKS...

You're looking at two LOUIS MARX bump 'n' go DALEKS from the early '60s, which I acquired recently.  Both come with the original boxes, though the one belonging to the second Dalek is a little bit battered, but not beyond improvement.  I already have the DAPOL re-releases from the early '90s, but they were replicas of later versions, which had narrower waists and smaller, slightly more accurately shaped eye-stalks.  Even amongst the early versions there were slight differences, because I've seen silver ones with blue bases and silver appendages, and heard that modern 1.5 'C' batteries don't fit the compartments properly, if at all.  However, I haven't found that to be any kind of a problem, and the batteries fit perfectly, with absolutely no squeezing, straining or pushing involved.  (Perhaps it depends on what make the batteries are.)

Anyway, thought you might like to see them - and they're both in perfect working condition.  Not bad for over 50 years old.  Did you have a Marx Dalek when you were a lad?  Then tell us all about it in the comments section right away.

  

BABE OF THE DAY - JUDITH RALSTON...

Here's regular reader McS's

favourite Babe of the Day, JUDITH

RALSTON, who presents the weather

on TV.  If she only knew Mr. McS stands

under the lamppost outside her house each

night, staring up at her bedroom window,

the 'weather' would most likely be stormy.

I sure wish he'd break the habit, because I

have to stand under the lamppost further

up the street and the view isn't so

clear from that one.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN LEGENDS?

Copyright REBELLION

From the SMASH! Annual for 1970, comes The LEGEND TESTERS!  DANNY CHARTERS and ROLLO STONES embark on yet another mission to test whether a legend from the past is true or not.  It's a fascinating concept and I'm surprised that the strip wasn't continued for many years afterwards as it seems a rich vein to mine for action and adventure.  I think IPC/FLEETWAY slipped up in not having Danny and Rollo in the revamped Smash!, or reviving them for VALIANT, or STARLORD, or even 2000 A.D.  They would've been a perfect fit for either of the latter two, being, as they were, sci-fi comics.

In the U.S., at around the same time that the duo first appeared in  ODHAMS' weekly Smash! comic (1966), was a TV programme called The TIME TUNNEL, although I'm unsure as to exactly when it was first shown on British television.  It's interesting to speculate whether the Smash! strip was 'inspired' by the IRWIN ALLEN TV series, or was simply a twist on the BBC's DOCTOR WHO.

  

Will The Legend Testers ever live again in new adventures?  Only time will tell, but for the moment, enjoy this look back at one of their exciting expeditions from over 45 years ago.

SIMON TEMPLAR MEETS STEVE ZODIAC...

Which he actually did when the voice of WSP spaceman STEVE ZODIAC, actor PAUL MAXWELL, appeared on The SAINT television show.  However, that's not what I refer to.  No, I'm talking about when ROGER MOORE as SIMON TEMPLAR was seen handling a QUERCETTI FIREBALL XL5 parachute toy*, containing a little astronaut figure meant to be Steve.  If I remember correctly, YOGI  BEAR also appears in the clip that this still is taken from - wotta star.  (*I won't make you jealous by showing off my two boxed Fireball examples.)

HERE, HAVE SOME GINGER...

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

GINGER from The BEEZER comic always struck me as the 'English' equivalent of Oor WULLIE from The Sunday Post.  Both were published by D.C. Thomson and drawn by DUDLEY DEXTER WATKINS, but whereas Wullie was distinctly Scottish, Ginger wasn't geographically-confined to any one area of Britain.

Dudley D. Watkins was one of those artists that made drawing look easy, pencilling out 'sausage' figures and inking in the detail as he went along - essentially doing the actual drawing with a pen or brush.  He was a complete natural, and no artist since has drawn any of his strips with the same skill, style or verve as he himself, with the only exceptions being the late CHARLES GRIGG and the mighty KEN H. HARRISON.

However, don't take my word for it.  Here are four Ginger strips drawn by D.D. Watkins to demonstrate precisely what I'm talking about.  Superb stuff indeed! Enjoy!

BABE OF THE DAY - HEATHER THOMAS...

I'm pretty sure this is HEATHER

THOMAS, but it also looks a little like

HEATHER LOCKLEAR, who many folk

were always mixing up back in the '80s.  HT

or HL?  Which of the tempting two do you

 think it is?  Have your say now!