KID'S AWESOME AURORA MODELS...

I've shown my AURORA models before on this blog, but now comes the time to show them again in an 'omnibus' post, mainly 'cos I can't think of anything better to write about.  Don't despair though, 'cos if you haven't seen them before then they're all new to you, and if you have, then what the hell - they're well-worth seeing again anyway.  All built and painted by myself, it should go without saying (but I said it anyway, so sue me).

First up, above, is the FRANKENSTEIN kit from 1961.  I've got four of them, but this is the only one I assembled, back in 1983 or '84.  (Wait a minute - tell a lie.  I built the LUMINATORS version as well in the late '80s or early '90s.)  Below is the SUPERMAN kit from 1964.  I've got an un-built one still tucked away in its box, which I really must build and paint one day.  I've also got the MONOGRAM, MPC, and REVELL reissues.

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Below is the GIGANTIC FRANKENSTEIN kit from 1965, also known as BIG FRANKIE.  This is a superb kit, and I want to have its babies.  In an abstract, figurative manner of speaking of course.  You think I'm some kind of weirdo?

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Next up (below) is the BATMAN kit from 1965, just in time to meet the demand generated by the '66 TV show.  The camera-flash has slightly washed-out the colours, but don't let that deter you from swooning in awe and envy at my modelling skills.

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From 1966 comes The FORGOTTEN PRISONER of CASTEL-MARE (which means 'Castle by the sea').  See what happens when you put GROUP 4 in charge of prisoners?

  

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Next (below) is the 1974 reissue of SUPERMAN.  The 'S' emblem outline of the first version had been removed from the costume and cape, and stickers (water-slide decals in subsequent reissues) supplied - but I painted them on by hand for a superior finish, 'cos I'm a perfectionist I am.  Also, the nameplate was omitted from this version, so I used a spare '65 one.

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Below is the 1974 reissue of the BATMAN kit, which was ever-so-slightly modified.  First, the name was deleted from the tree, as was the circular 'bat' emblem, which was replaced with an oval sticker.  The little owl was also omitted, but I acquired a spare one from a '65 kit to 'complete' the model.  Bought, built and painted in 1983, owl obtained, painted and added in 2007.

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Finally, the SUPERBOY and KRYPTO kit, reissued in 1974.  Like the other '70s reissues, the nameplate which accompanied the original '65 release was omitted, so I made one myself.  (A half-hearted one admittedly - so much for being a perfectionist, eh?)  The 'S' emblems are reduced copies of ones from the 1984 MPC reissue of the Superman kit, as I acquired the model without its original stickers.  I've also got a reissue with the nameplate, but it's still in its box.

I've got other Aurora kits (some of which are later reissues by other companies), but I haven't got 'round to assembling and painting them yet.  Maybe one day, I hope.  Now, I know you're all dying to tell me how wonderful I am, so I won't hold you back from expressing your admiration for a moment longer.

BABE Of The DAY - GABRIELLE 'TRIVAGO' MILLER...

Here's cutie-pie GABRIELLE MILLER

looking like LARA CROFT, so that's two Babes

in one.  I'm spoiling you lot, I really am!

The CHAMPIONS COVER GALLERY - PART ONE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Having teased you with the MARVEL MASTERWORKS volume of The CHAMPIONS, let's now have a cover gallery to show you just what you're missing if you haven't yet bought yourself a copy.  The first eight covers to start you off, the remaining nine to follow as soon as I get around to scanning them.  So enjoy part one, and don't dare miss part two.  Any recollections of this titanic title?  The comments section awaits you, effendis.

Oh, lookee here - a JACK KIRBY cover (though Iceman might be by someone else)

BABE Of The DAY - LYNDSAY WAGNER...

OSCAR GOLDMAN sure seems

happy to see that JAMIE SOMMERS

(aka LYNDSAY WAGNER) is so clearly

happy to see him.  (A fact that we're all

 happy about too, eh, Crivvies?)

RECOMMENDED READING: MARVEL MASTERWORKS - The CHAMPIONS VOLUME ONE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Not exactly a new release, but a fairly recent one which I'm sure you'll like to check out, is the MARVEL MASTERWORKS The CHAMPIONS volume, which is a slightly thicker publication than usual.  Taking the lazy way out (as is my wont), I'll let the info on the front cover speak for itself, as nothing I say will sell this book any better than it can sell itself.  There's one slight glitch however, which is that page 265 has been printed bigger than the others, and therefore the page number and word balloon 'intermingle'.  A minor flaw to be sure, but still just a tad irksome.

The page number and the word 'expert' obscure one another

At least the image hasn't been inadvertently cropped, and hey - it's only one page in the entire book.  So why not get yourselves 'round to your nearest comics shop at the earliest opportunity, and purchase this handsome, heavy, 470-plus page valorous volume?  Altogether now - "We are the Champions..."

AURORA MONSTER MODELS...

Are you a doddery ol' fart like me?  Then you'll

remember the AURORA monster model kits of the

'60s.  Take a stroll down memory lane with mistress

of the dark ELVIRA and enjoy seeing these great

models from yesteryear once again.

JULIE NEWMAR As STUPIFYING JONES...

Here's JULIE NEWMAR in her pre-CAT-

WOMAN days, playing STUPIFYING JONES.

(Best case of typecasting I've ever seen.)

BABE Of The DAY - TRIVAGO GIRL, GABRIELLE MILLER...

It's lovely GABRIELLE MILLER.

Be forewarned though - if she offers you

a hotel room for the night, it's not what

you might think it is.  (She's not part of

 the package, unfortunately - drat!)

PART FORTY-EIGHT Of FAVOURITE COMICS Of The PAST - DETECTIVE COMICS #526...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Was it really 33 years ago, in 1983, that I bought this comic?  Yeah, I guess it was - scary!  Look at the superb DON NEWTON & ALFREDO ALCALA art - two of comicdom's finest who are, alas, no longer with us.  This issue marked the 500th appearance of The BATMAN in his debut mag, DETECTIVE COMICS, and was an extra-long adventure as befitting the occasion.

This ish was also part of the run-up to a new ROBIN being introduced - a rotten idea I thought, as I was never a fan of The BOY WONDER.  The original is surely in his 20s in this issue, yet he's still running about in a pair of green trunks and flashing his bare legs.  Is it any wonder (spot the pun) that Dr. FREDRIC WERTHAM harboured those suspicions?  Batman always seemed more of a 'creature of the night' on his own, and DC should've kept him that way.

Anyway, no doubt there'll be some disagreement on that view, so feel free to leave a comment on the matter.  Or if you merely want to share your own memories of this particular issue, then your fellow Criv-ites eagerly await your interesting input.

A SECONDARY MATTER Of PRIMARY IMPORTANCE...

Images copyright relevant owner

WHIZZER & CHIPS was the last new IPC comic weekly that I bought while still a primary school pupil.  I was at secondary school when THUNDER, JET, and KNOCKOUT went on sale, and I was still in the house I'd lived in since 1965.  The year after Knockout came out, I was in yet another house (the very one in which I reside today), and then there was SHIVER & SHAKE, WHOOPEE, MONSTER FUN, 2000 A.D., WOW! , etc., but that's a tale for another time.  There were other comics by other publishers, but these IPC ones mark my transition from child to teenager, and reflect a certain time and place in my life that I often revisit in the evergreen land of memory.

What comics do you Crivs associate with the time between your primary and secondary school days?  Reveal (and relive) every last fascinating detail in our scintillating comments section.

Talking of Knockout, in June or July of 1971, my family holidayed in Largs, and I have fond memories of reading a couple of issues in the famous seaside resort.  Our landlady had a copy of VICTOR HUGO's The HUNCHBACK Of NOTRE DAME in her bookcase, and I remember reading the last page and finding it quite sad.  I wasn't to return to Largs until 2014 - 43 years later - and I was thrilled and disappointed in equal measure.  Thrilled at seeing familiar sights that reminded me of yesteryear, and disappointed at the many changes that had taken place.  I'll talk about this again in an upcoming post, o wallowers in sentiment and nostalgia.

BABE Of The DAY - JANE RUSSELL...

My kinda woman - JANE RUSSELL.

(If only I were her kinda man!  Her loss.)

WANT A RESTFUL NIGHT? THEN DON'T USE THIS COMPANY...

I've been needing a new bed and mattress for a while now, so when the above leaflet came through my letterbox last week, I decided to check it out on the night.  I popped along to where the 'event' was being held, and was slightly disconcerted to see a couple of bored-looking guys in a small ante-room with a couple of beds on display.  However, the guy I spoke to seemed okay, and the goods were at an acceptable price.  And it was 'pay on delivery' so what could I lose?

My time, my bed, and the will to live as it turned out.  On the appointed day of delivery, I got a 'phone call from the guy I'd spoken with a couple of nights before.  They didn't have the exact model I'd ordered in the colour I wanted, so would a one- drawer divan be acceptable, instead of a two?  It was ever-so-slightly cheaper, so I was tempted, but decided to plump for a different colour of the original model.

I threw out my old bed in the back garden to make room for the new one.  It was pouring of rain, so no way would it be coming back into the house.  A few hours later, I receive another 'phone call, with some cock-and-bull story about the warehouse being closed and the delivery driver not having the key.  I never let the guy finish, as it was obvious where things were going.  "Just cancel it" I said, "I'll get one elsewhere!"

Without a word of a lie, when I ordered the bed, I had half-a-notion that I'd be getting a 'phone call on the day with some excuse-or-other as to why they couldn't deliver it.  I'm a natural cynic though, so I beat down the small voice in my noggin and tried to be positive.  On the day, that voice resurfaced, so I wasn't surprised to be disappointed, as I'd half-expected it.  I was still disappointed at being disappointed though, as I'm not too keen on sleeping on the floor.

My advice to you all, should you ever receive one of these leaflets from this company, is just to bin it.  Honestly, you don't need the bleedin' hassle - nobody does. 

RECOMMENDED READING: IRON MAN 2020 COLLECTED EDITION...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Following on from my fairly recent post on the new MACHINE MAN EPIC COLLECTION, we now take a look at this IRON MAN 2020 softcover volume. Mainly because it contains the 4-issue limited series from 1984 illustrated by HERB TRIMPE & BARRY SMITH, featuring JACK KIRBY's 1977 'mechanical man'. Oh, it's also got tales about Iron Man 2020 - but why listen to me witter on about it? Read the back cover.

INFINITY MAN & The FOREVER PEOPLE COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Y'know, back in the 1970s, I always felt JACK ('King') KIRBY had shoehorned INFINITY MAN into The FOREVER PEOPLE mag.  It seemed like a concept from another comic that didn't quite fit; after all, could any other group of young (or any age for that matter) 'gods' from NEW GENESIS swap places with a super-powered individual?  If I recall correctly, he only appeared a couple of times, as if Jack didn't really know quite what to do with him.

It seems the team behind this revival didn't know quite what to do with any of the characters, as it petered out after only nine completely unsatisfying issues.  I'd looked forward to this series, and liked the art in the first couple of mags, but the story failed to hold my interest.  Changing SERAFIN into a female was a pointless exercise.  Why use characters and concepts created by the 'King' and then change them?  The only thing I can remember about the whole shebang is it was utterly unmemorable.

So, in retrospect, I can't really recommend the mag, other than as an example of how not to handle the 'FOURTH WORLD' universe of Jack Kirby.  However, let's overlook its failings and peruse the full set of covers anyway.  After all, now you're here, I've gotta give you something to look at.  Comments welcome!

BABE Of The DAY - TRIVAGO GIRL, GABRIELLE MILLER...

Everyone seems to be in love

with GABRIELLE MILLER at the

moment.  Given her stunning looks,

it's surely not hard to see why.

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS: MISTER MIRACLE #3...

Copyright DC COMICS

I recall seeing the above comic in one of my town centre's local R.S. McCOLL's newsagents back in the early '70s, but I don't think I bought it then.  However, I took the time to thumb through it, and when I finally acquired and read the ish quite a few years later, it was much as I remembered it.  JUDGE DREDD was faced with a similar plot in one of his adventures (which eventually became a movie) and I've always wondered if the idea was nicked from inspired by MISTER MIRACLE #3.

What do you think?