RECOMMENDED READING: DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH #1...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Well, something had to be done, and DC COMICS have now decided to do it.  What the result of that something will be yet remains to be seen, as DC has a history of making changes to their universe that succeeds only in turning off readers in droves.

Some elements of the first CRISIS weren't that bad, but all subsequent tinkerings have left many long-time fans feeling confused and angry.  The NEW 52 was a pile of poo, and now DC are in full 'back-pedal' mode as they seemingly seek to distance themselves from that step in the wrong direction.

This issue is intriguing and shows promise, but only the final result will tell whether this 'rebirth' of the DC Universe is alive and kicking or sadly stillborn.  There's talk of new costumes, which suggests that DC still don't quite realize that part of the problem is the absence of the original, iconic outfits, with which most people are familiar.

Any Criv-ites read the above ish?  Thoughts, theories and observations are most welcome, so get typing.

PART FOUR Of The INCREDIBLE TRI-MAN...

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1969!  SMASH!  TRI-MAN!  SOLANO LOPEZ!  And that's all you need to know, frantic ones - go to it!  (So who says I can't be concise when I want to be?)

KULL The CONQUEROR SPLASH PAGE GALLERY...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS and CPI

Okay, so you've seen a dozen CONAN The BARBARIAN splash pages - now it's time to turn our attention towards another of ROBERT E. HOWARD's heroic characters, KULL The CONQUEROR!  Just look at the talent arrayed in this post: BERNI WRIGHTSON, ROSS ANDRU, WALLY WOOD, MARIE & JOHN SEVERIN, FRANK CHIARAMONTE, and MIKE PLOOG.  Hey, that's some serious artists we've got here.  Kull was a great comic with great art, but you don't need me to tell you that.

So, with no further ado ('cos I'm fresh out), let's savour the greatness together.  Feel free to wax eloquent in our cavortin' comments section.  It's what it was invented for.

MONSTERS On The PROWL #16 fills the gap between #s 2 & 3

BABE Of The DAY - ABI TITMUS...

ABI TITMUS looks down at me on

the floor after giving me a good whacking

with that there cane of hers.  We're just taking

a rest for a moment or two - she'll be resuming

her physical exertions in five minutes.  (And to

think that there are some people pay for this

 sort of 'exercise'  Me?  Don't be silly.)

BARRY SMITH CONAN The BARBARIAN SPLASH PAGE GALLERY...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS and CPI

Regular (sort of) reader MOONMANDO enjoyed seeing the splash page from CONAN The BARBARIAN #6 in a recent post, so I thought I'd make him happy by showing the splash pages from the first dozen issues.  Smith had pretty much abandoned his attempts at imitating JACK KIRBY's style by this time and, boy, what an improvement that turned out to be!

Any memories associated with these images?  Got a  favourite?  You know where the comment section is.

Conan's torso isn't quite right here, and his legs look as if they're growing
straight from where his nether-regions should be - but aren't

PART TWELVE Of The CRUNCH COVER GALLERY...

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

I'd not long turned 21 when this crop of The CRUNCH comics went on sale back in 1979.  It only seems like yesterday to me, not the 36 and a half years that it actually is.  As I've said before, I felt that DCT were trying to emulate the style of IPC's 2000 A.D. with this weekly periodical, but it was destined for a far shorter lifespan than its esteemed rival, which is still being published today, nearly 40 years after it first came out.

The final five covers coming soon, comics fans.

A & BC BATMAN HAND PUPPET...

Image copyright DC COMICS

Do you remember the 'bat' item shown above? I recall getting a BATMAN hand puppet in Glasgow's KELVIN HALL in the 1960s (and immediately disposing of the disgusting 'confectionary' contained within), but it didn't last long.  Its thin polythene soon creased and shed colour and detail in places.

I also acquired one from a classmate, IAN ROBBIE, in exchange for a small packet of KP salted nuts (which cost tuppence) and (I think) a thru'penny bit.  The deal was struck in the school playground during a break one day, and though I'm now no longer 100% certain which one I got first, thinking about it, I think Robbie's preceded the Kelvin Hall one.  Regardless of the correct sequence of events, neither of them lasted any significant length of time.  

In real life that is, but they lived on in memory to the present day.  I ran into Ian last week, not having seen him in 20-odd years, and we reminisced about that ol' puppet he was persuaded to part  with.  To be honest, I was quite surprised that he even remembered, because in all the time I've known him (over 50 years), I don't think he's ever referred back to it before.

Perhaps one of those nuts lodged in his throat, ensuring that the item he swapped for them likewise lodged in his memory.  (See what I did there?)  Anyone else remember them?  If so, leave a comment in the you-know-where.  (It's good to share, so get typing now.)

The INCREDIBLE TRI-MAN - PART THREE...

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Two titanic TRI-MAN episodes for you this time, folks, as that gives you four SOLANO LOPEZ pages to enjoy.  JOHNNY SMALL's got his work cut out for him when - but wait!  Why tell you when you can read it for yourselves?  So what're you waiting for?  Get reading!

BABE Of The DAY - CANDY LOVING...

CANDY LOVING gazes down at

me adoringly, seconds before making a

cup of tea for me.  So it may've been only

a dream, but it seemed real enough to me.

(Obviously I had to make my own tea -

 dreams only go so far after all.)

RECOMMENDED READING: MARVEL EPIC COLLECTION - ANT MAN/GIANT MAN...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Here's a book for all you '60s MAREVELites who thrilled to these tales the first time around.  I read them in a weekly comic called TERRIFIC back in 1967, and also, I think, MARVEL COLLECTORS' ITEM CLASSICS (too lazy to check).  I've also got the two MASTERWORKS volumes that present the full run, but this edition has approximately two thirds of them, suggesting that volume two will perhaps include later SCOTT LANG ANT-MAN stories.

So read the spiel on the back cover, raid your piggy bank, and then get 'round to your nearest comics shop or bookstore and acquire a copy of this valiant volume for yourself.