MARVEL'S The SUPER-HEROES COVER & IMAGE GALLERY - PART THREE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Time now for another look at The SUPER-HEROES, MARVEL U.K.'s mid-'70s weekly periodical featuring The SILVER SURFER and The X-MEN.  The Surfer would be replaced once his limited run of adventures had run their course, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.  Because of the inclusion of the original X-Men, TSH reminded me of 1960s comic FANTASTIC, which was apt considering that former ODHAMS PRESS editor ALF WALLACE was then currently working for Marvel U.K.  (Must've loved superheroes, eh?)

So let's wallow in the rosy glow of the past once more, as we turn back the clock 40 years to the 1970s and let a plethora of pulsating piccies wash over us, reminding us of how good it was to be young and alive, with our un-guessed at futures yet before us.  Ah, happy days indeed.  C'mon, jump in - the water's lovely.

OPUS ONE - NAT 'KING' COLE & The MILLS BROTHERS...

Time for some music, methinks.  Enjoy the

sheer exuberance of this little number.

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS: The INCREDIBLE HULK #1...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

The INCREDIBLE HULK is still with us today, which is surprising considering that his own mag was cancelled after only six issues.  However, Gamma-irradiated creatures are hard to kill, and ol' Jade-Jaws survived as a guest star in other mags before eventually being awarded a spot in TALES To ASTONISH.  He even found time along the way to become a founding member of The AVENGERS.  After 101 issues, TOA was renamed after its green-skinned goliath, who went on to star in a '70s TV series and in relatively recent big-budget movies.

Sob!  I love a happy ending, don't you?

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS: KAMANDI #1...

Image copyright DC COMICS

The Statue Of Liberty gives it away, I suppose.  KAMANDI was DC's response to PLANET Of The APES, as well as being JACK ('King') KIRBY's longest-lasting comicbook for the Distinguished Competition.   There were 59 issues of Kamandi in all, of which Kirby drew #s 1-40, but wrote only the first 37.  Then it was back to MARVEL for a few years, where, sadly, he faced equal disappointment in his endeavours.

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS: BOYS' RANCH #1...

Copyright relevant owner

Don't be fooled by the title - it doesn't refer to a paedo's paradise (thank goodness), but is the title of a SIMON and KIRBY comicbook which, given its short span of six issues, is surprisingly one that is held in high esteem by those who read it back in the day.  Perhaps it's just me, but I often thought that when Kirby drew Westerns, the guy in the saddle looked as if he'd be taller than the horse when he dismounted.  Anyone else ever notice that, perchance?

ANOTHER BABE Of The DAY - RAQUEL WELCH...

RAQUEL WELCH.  Now is she a

woman, or is she a woman?  No, I mean

it - I don't want to make the same kind of

mistake a friend once made.  (Boy, was he

surprised.)  She is a woman?  Phew, thank

goodness for that.  You just can't be too

careful these days, eh?!

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS: NEW GODS #1...

Image copyright DC COMICS

NEW GODS for old, seemed to be writer/artist JACK KIRBY's philosophy when he came up with this idea.  It's not unlikely that he realized the constant threats of RAGNAROK in THOR would eventually become old hat to readers, so he planned to reveal what would happen after it finally, inevitably, occurred.  It could so easily have been a MARVEL comicbook instead of a DC one, and doubtless would have been if events hadn't precipitated Jack's defection to the 'Distinguished Competition'.  But this was a drama decreed by the fates to be acted out!  Nothing could stop it!  Nothing could change it !  We watched and we saw!

It lasted for 11 issues before facing a Ragnarok of its own, though echoes of its concepts still reverberate throughout the DC Universe to this day.

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS: TALES Of SUSPENSE #39...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

"He lives!  He walks!  He conquers!"  Brilliant stuff.  This is another of my favourite origin issues, and again, much of its appeal is due to scripter LARRY LEIBER's undoubted talent when it comes to his mastery of words, although DON HECK's evocative art was also a major factor in the tale's success.  (The cover is by KIRBY, inked by Heck.)

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS: JOURNEY Into MYSTERY #83...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

This is probably my favourite MARVEL origin story of all time.  The art is by KIRBY & SINNOTT, so what's not to like?  True, Jack still demonstrates flashes of his famous inconsistency throughout the tale (THOR The MIGHTY's helmet changes design, and the thongs on his boots go from many to a few between panels), but it's a great little read, due mainly to the scripting of LARRY LIEBER, who created the name DON BLAKE and the word 'URU'.

(BOND) BABE Of The DAY - JILL ST. JOHN...

Ah, the lovely JILL ST. JOHN.  As you

 can see, she likes to keep abreast of things.

EDGAR ALLAN POE'S The RAVEN - READ By BASIL RATHBONE...

Now you're in for a treat.  Have a listen to this, and

hear how a classic poem should be read.  Scratch that -

performed is a more accurate description.

MIGHTY MARVEL COMICON POSTER...

Art by JOHN BUSCEMA.  Copyright MARVEL COMICS

If you're British, you've seen this poster before of course, as a free gift in The TITANS #1, way back in 1975.  However, here it is in its original (and sharper) form as the poster for the MIGHTY MARVEL COMICON, also in '75.

KLASSIC KOMIC KOVERS - SHOWCASE #60...

Image copyright DC COMICS

The SPECTRE was created by JERRY SIEGEL and BERNARD BAILEY, and first appeared in MORE FUN COMICS #52 in 1940.  As far as I'm aware, outside of SUPERMAN and SUPERBOY, Jerry  Siegel never attempted to sue DC COMICS over the copyright of the character - or any of the others he created for them.  Not so much profit in SLAM BRADLEY and the others, I guess. 

Anyway, here's the cover of SHOWCASE #60 from 1966, when The Spectre made his Silver Age re-appearance.

KLASSIC KOMIC KOVERS: DAREDEVIL #1...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

The cover of DAREDEVL #1 was a joint effort, utilising JACK KIRBY's DD figure from the splash page, and rounded off by the art of BILL EVERETT - with perhaps a helping hand from STEVE DITKO.  So, a makeshift cover and splash page, but The Man Without Fear went on to become one of the brightest stars in the Mighty MARVEL firmament.

KLASSIC KOMIC KOVERS - HAVE A LOOK-IN...

Copyright relevant owner

So far, I don't think anybody's really captured playing SUPERMAN quite so effectively as the late CHRISTOPHER REEVE.  This issue of LOOK-IN came out in January of 1979, which is when I saw the movie in the ABC cinema in Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street.

And guess what?   I really did believe a man can fly.

DALEKS THROUGH THE AGES...

Does exactly what it says on the tin.  Enjoy.

PALACE IN WONDERLAND...

A palace of treasures, that is.  Here are a few random photos from a few years ago of one of my rooms, showing some of the many collectables on display before they were packed away.  The camera flash has washed out some of the details slightly, but you should still be able to see things and drool with envy.

And this is only a fraction of what I've got.  Click on an image to enlarge, then click again for optimum size.  And just in case you were thinking of burgling my house, you'd never make it out alive.  (If you could even find the stuff.)

  

ANOTHER BABE Of The DAY - LIZ FRASER...

Oh, go on then, you've twisted my

arm.  Here's another fit babe for you to

drool over - lovely LIZ FRASER.

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS: SHOWCASE #6...

Image copyright DC COMICS

As I've noted before, I'm not too impressed with this cover by JACK KIRBY, for various reasons.  First, the way the group of three CHALLENGERS Of The UNKNOWN are separated from bleeding into the fourth is extremely clumsy in my opinion.  Also, the figure in the foreground gives the impression of having just cracked the egg with his hammer, but he's too far away to have landed a blow.  And surely the egg is too small to contain the large creature emerging from it!  Considering that this was the team's introduction, the cover could have - should have - been far more dynamic than it actually was.

JAMES BOND PAPERBACKS... (Updated)

Images copyright PENGUIN BOOKS

You're looking at a set of PENGUIN paperback covers by RICHIE FAHEY, which were originally released in the States in 2002/'03.  In 2006, they were published in the U.K. (including introductions by various writers), and a new complete collection of IAN FLEMING's short stories was issued in the U.S. in 2008.  They were also issued as a Centenary boxed set in 2008, which didn't include the Quantum Of Solace (The Complete James Bond Short Stories) volume at the foot of this post, which is sold separately.  However, four of its nine stories appear in the volume just above it, despite only two being named in the title.

JAMES BOND novels have never looked so good!

BABE Of The DAY - ELKE SOMMER...

Here you go, chaps - ELKE SOMMER.

All I can say is, it's no wonder the West was

wild with women like her.  Yeeeehaaa!

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS: The SANDMAN #1...

Image copyright DC COMICS

SIMON & KIRBY reunited, so that fact alone makes this issue a collectors' item.  This was a different SANDMAN to the one that the famous creators had introduced in the '40s, and was originally intended only as a one-shot.  However, it must've sold reasonably well, as five more issues appeared, but Simon was absent from them.  MICHAEL FLEISHER took over the scripting chores, with ERNIE CHUA (as Chan) drawing #s 2 & 3.  Kirby returned to draw #s 4-6, inked by MIKE ROYER, and, in the final issue, WALLY WOOD.