CAPTAIN BRITAIN COVER, SPLASH PAGE & IMAGE GALLERY - PART SEVEN...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

After 23 issues of CAPTAIN BRITAIN being printed mostly in colour, number 24 saw the by then MARVEL U.K. standard glossy cover and grey tones added to the comic, doubtless to cut costs in the face of a declining circulation.  However, there were compensations in that JOHN BUSCEMA & TOM PALMER took over the art chores on the main strip, and the comic was given more pages (in line with other Marvel U.K. weeklies), allowing four titanic tales per ish.

It only lasted 16 issues however, before the title was absorbed by SUPER SPIDER-MAN, but for a glorious 39 weeks, the good Captain had a comic mag of his very own.  So  return with me now to 1977, and let's look again at the new direction in the career of Britain's own sensational superhero - and don't forget to come back for the next part!  I'd hate for you to miss anything - and so would you!

BABE Of The DAY - BRIGITTE BARDOT...

Here's a real cutie for you - one of

the legendary sex symbols of our time - it's

 only yer actual BRIGITTE BARDOT.

PART EIGHT Of The CRUNCH COVER GALLERY...

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

Okay, CRUNCH cravers, we're back with another four comic covers for you to cogitate over in this series of DCT's late 1970s weekly periodical which lasted for 54 issues before the plug was pulled forever.  Going by the response to previous parts of this cover gallery, there aren't too many people who remember the title, but it was actually one of the more exciting weekly comics of the time.

Only another 22 issues to go before we conclude this caboodle of captivating covers - don't miss part nine!

The TITANS CENTRE-SPREAD POSTER GALLERY - PART SEVEN...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Well, we're getting there, slowly but surely.  There are now fewer posters ahead of us than there are behind us, but hopefully you're enjoying the journey.  Without colour, I'm not sure that too many kids would've hung these centre-spreads up on their wall, but perhaps some readers did, at least.

I wonder if it would be worth MARVEL U.K.'s time to add some colour to these posters and issue them in a magazine?  Even the less-than-inspired ones would look a lot better with the addition of colour, don't you think?  Would you buy such a mag if it was reasonably priced?  Or are there only certain of these posters you'd be prepared to fork out for?

You know where the comments section is, should you feel the need to express yourself, frantic ones!

Conan copyright CPI

HUNK Of The MONTH - ME!

Found this old photograph of me from 1988 recently and thought to myself "Dang, what a handsome chap was I!"  So, ladies, as you stare in horror at the fat, balding, farting, snoring slob the guy you married turned into, look at what you could've had.  And it goes without saying, of course, that I look exactly the same today as I did in '88!  (Cough!)

(Well, it's my blog, so I'll lie if I want to.)

CUTE LI'L (AND NOT SO LI'L) DOGGIES...

Who doesn't like dogs?  Then you're a weirdo!

For normal people who do, here's a compilation

to make you smile!  Click that arrow.

I NEVER PASS THERE ANYMORE...

Here's a sad song from JIM REEVES which, like all sad songs by Jim, manages to be relaxing at the same time.  The lyrics are particularly poignant, and I'm sure we've all been there.

Go on - give it a listen.

BOO BOO KILLS YOGI...

Back around the time that the CGI YOGI BEAR movie was doing the rounds in cinemas (I don't care what anyone else says - I loved it), there was an independently produced parody of a scene from BRAD PITT's movie, The ASSASSINATION Of JESSE JAMES By The COWARD ROBERT FORD.  It was so good that I believe no action was taken against the makers, who put a disclaimer at the beginning of their mini-masterpiece, disassociating it from the official Yogi Bear production.  Watch it and weep.

BABE Of The DAY - KATE WINSLET...

Here's a nice pic of stunning KATE

WINSLET to perk you up on this far from

bright Thursday morning.  If I had a lady like

her at home, I'd never leave the house.  ('Cos

she wouldn't let me, manly-man super-stud

 that I am.  Oi, stop laughing, you lot.)

BEANO SUMMER SPECIAL 2015...

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

Strictly speaking, this new magazine does exactly as it says on the tin.  The BEANO Summer Activity Special contains puzzles & activity pages, as well as various comic strips throughout the mag.  However, one can't help wishing that it was almost wall-to-wall strips in the age-old tradition, with only a few puzzle pages at occasional intervals.

In trying to appeal to both camps (lovers of comics, and puzzle enthusiasts), DCT may find themselves with only half the audience they're looking for as opposed to double.  Kids who like puzzles might be deterred by the strips - and vice versa - and may instead plump for some other publication that fully caters to their specific interest.  Perhaps I'm being too picky, but if I plucked this off the shelf expecting a typical Special, I'd be disappointed when I got home.

However, for those who know what they're buying, this is sure to tick all the right boxes, and I can't really fault it in any major way.  I probably won't be adding it to my collection as I prefer my comics to contain mostly comic strips, and this particular mag doesn't have quite enough of them to induce me to part with £4.99.

Anyone remember when Summer Specials were only 2/6?  Whatever happened to those days?

IT'S DEAD, JIM! REALLY, IT'S DEAD...

Copyright relevant owner

What is?  The British comics industry, that's what!  Remember all the comics that newsagents counters used to strain under, week by week, the product of IPC and DCT?  I'm talking about real comics, not puzzle or activity mags with a smattering of comic strip content - actual comics that were filled to the gills with strip after strip, for only a few pence, published by mighty empires devoted to producing weekly periodicals for kids all over the country (and abroad).  Companies who were in competition with each other, vying for whatever pocket money wasn't spent on sweets and toys.

That doesn't exist any more.  It has expired, turned up its tootsies, fallen off the twig, shuffled off this mortal coil, is pushing up the daisies - dead!  What remains today is nothing more than the equivalent of a craft fayre or car boot sale, where anaemic and emaciated survivors cling on by their fingertips, trying to be all things to all kids, but sadly ignored by the majority of them.  Circulation figures today are generally so poor that, in the industry's heyday, a comic would have suffered cancellation long before it ever sank so low.

Don't be misled by those who say otherwise; those whose self-interests lie in talking up the current situation.  We're talking about comics - weekly, published paper comics, devoted mainly to humour and adventure strips for the entertainment of kids and teenagers, at a reasonable price.  We're not talking about on-line cartoons, or collected editions in book form.  Comic strips can be published in a variety of mediums, but a book is a book and a website is a website, which - although they might feature comic strips - are not in themselves 'comics' in the traditional sense.

So, to reiterate - the industry of traditional, weekly, published paper periodicals called comics is, sadly, dead.  The BEANO and 2000 A.D. do not constitute an 'industry'.  No amount of wishful-thinking, or reinterpretation of the facts can change that.  However, whether it's an immutable condition is by no means certain.  Perhaps, some day, that once-mighty industry can be resurrected, and, if so, those of us who love comics - real comics - printed paper comics - will welcome their return.  What else can I say?

Roll on that day, eh?   

The WORST Of The DANDY...

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

I see that The DANDY Summer Special is currently on sale in my local WHS. Back by popular demand?  I very much doubt it! It's extremely unlikely that D.C. THOMSON's were inundated with appeals, but perhaps enough readers bought the previous one to make it worthwhile issuing another this year.  Back by lukewarm request is probably a more accurate description.

Anyway, I looked through a copy and, too few pages aside, it's a mess - a collection of the very worst that the comic had to offer in the lead-up to its last gasp in 2012.  I usually purchase publications such as this to support the remnants of a once-thriving industry, but I won't be buying this one.  Those who read The Dandy in its heyday, looking to wallow in nostalgia and expecting to see again the much-loved characters of their youth are bound to be disappointed.

The characters are there, sure enough, but not in a form anyone who isn't a teenager will recognize.  Trust me, overall, this Special is in no way special at all, and is immense in its awfulness.  Unless you have the previous two and are a completist, save yourself £5.99 and buy yourself a Dandy back-number from eBay.  It's a shame that, cover aside, Thomson's seem to have abandoned the nostalgia factor in the marketing of the title - let's hope it's a one-off, eh?   

  

Verdict: A wasted opportunity so don't waste your money.

The INCREDIBLE HULK Versus SUPERMAN - It's STERN And RUDE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS & DC COMICS

Hard to believe this mag came out 16 years ago, in 1999 - it seems as if it were only 4 or 5 years ago at most.  Regardless of that, however, it's an absolute cracker of a tale, which, nowadays would probably require a 12 issue maxi-series, have far more talking head panels, and be lucky to contain only half the action and excitement.  But why witter on about it when I can show you some of the interior pages?  They capture the MARVEL feel of the '60s down to a 'tee', while still managing to do full justice to DC's main hero as well.  A brilliant tale, well-told - and drawn, with STEVE RUDE emulating JACK KIRBY most effectively!

The INCREDIBLE HULK Versus SUPERMAN - if you don't already have this in your collection, you're missing out.  Straight on to eBay with you before it's too late.