TOYS 'R' ME...

Regular reader (and sometimes commenter) CJ asked me if all four of my walls are covered in posters or merely one.  He'd obviously forgotten seeing these photos the first time they were posted, so going on the assumption that others of you will have done the same, I thought I'd show them again.  True, I was taking photos of the toys rather than the posters, but you can still see them in most instances.  Some of them duplicate others, but there are two (even three) sets of photos here, taken a few years apart, so there'll be slight differences between them.  And remember - this is only one room.  (I had to pack all the toys away a couple or so years ago, and haven't yet put them back out.  Maybe one day.)

HE'S OKAY FOR SOUND - AND SIGHT...

When the above article about the late JOHN BARRY, who died aged 77 on January 11th 2011, was published in the DAILY MIRROR on February 11th 1960, he was only 25 years of age.  It would take another 12 or 13 years for me to discover John Barry's music for the JAMES BOND movies, by which time he was in his early 30s - around the same age, in fact, that SEAN CONNERY was when he first started playing Bond.  Not that that tidbit means anything in particular, but I thought I'd throw it in anyway and it's entirely up to you whether you want to attach any kind of significance to it or not.

I discovered this article back around 1977, when I took it upon myself to paint the skirting boards in my bedroom.  First I had to lift my carpet, as well as, if I rightly recall, the one that had already adorned the floor when I first moved into the house.  Beneath the under-carpet was linoleum, and when I lifted that, various newspaper sheets covered the floorboards.  Among them was the issue of the Daily Mirror that contained this article, so as I was by then a confirmed John Barry fan, I cut it out and attached it to my bedroom wall.  I also remember an article about SHIRLEY BASSEY, but whether that was in the same newspaper or another one has now faded from my memory.  I kept it for a while, but eventually it was consigned to history.

So, since 1977 that article has adorned my bedroom wall in whichever house I lived in, and regular readers will be all-too aware of the fact that I'm again living in the same house I was then, after my family moved to another domicile in 1983, and then back to this one again in 1987.  However, it was showing its age (and had been for a while), suffering from discolouration and staining, with the paper having become increasingly fragile over the years and bearing quite a few discreet repairs.  Now was the time to replicate and replace this document, so that it can accompany me through however many years lie ahead.

First of all I scanned the original, then digitally removed the marks of the tape that had originally affixed it to my wall.  I tidied up various parts of it, then printed it out on card, the better to have a copy that's a little more robust than its paper predecessor.  I've included a couple of photos of them on the wall so that you can compare them in context (see footnote on second pic).  I've also included scans of the article 'before and after' (the 'after' is at the top of the post) so that you can all admire my handiwork and tell me what a good job I've done.  (Oh, go on, don't be spoilsports.)

And in case you were wondering, no, I didn't put the previous tenant's carpet and lino back again after painting the skirting boards; I put new newspapers down over the floorboards and put my own carpet over them, and that situation lasted until 1983, when we moved to another house in a different neighbourhood.  Just over four years later, I was back in that room, again painting the skirting boards, putting down new newspapers, laying another carpet, and, of course, putting the article back on its old spot on the wall.

Who was it said "The more things change, the more they remain the same" ?  In this instance he was right.

I had to cheat with this one, as I didn't take a photo before removing it from the wall (I've
got an old pic somewhere, but can't find it) so I merely hung it over its replacement.  The
image sizes of both are the same, though I left a slightly wider margin around the new one
(as you can see) as the old one was pretty close-cropped in places

TWO COMICS IN ONE... DOUBLE THE FUN - SHIVER & SHAKE #s 1, 2, & 3... (Updated)

Images copyright relevant owners

Three new acquisitions I picked up fairly recently are SHIVER & SHAKE #s 1-3, so here are the covers to not only Shiver, but also Shake, plus the back-page CREEPY CREATIONS, just to satisfy the completists amongst you.  Looking at these comics today, it's hard for me to believe that I bought my originals over 44 years ago, it only seems like a fraction of that time.  Did you buy Shiver & Shake when you were a youngster, Criv-ites?  Then feel free to share your memories of the comic in the comments section.

BLAST FROM THE PAST - TARKAN #1...

Images copyright relevant owners

TARKAN is apparently a much bigger character than I gave him credit for, having appeared in comics and movies, though I knew him only from a 1973 British reprint mag.  Although I bought several issues, I was never too impressed with the whole thing, finding the art rather primitive compared to the American MARVEL and DC artists I was familiar with.  He first appeared in 1967, created by SEZGIN BURAK, and that's about as much interest or energy I can generate to tell you about this Turkish comic strip hero.  I recently re-acquired the first ish (for old times' sake), so thought I'd publish some pages here to give you a taste of what you didn't miss if you've never heard of the character before.

Big of me, eh?  Any of you Crivs familiar with Tarkan and, if so, what's your take on this Turkish titan?  Tell all in the comments section.

      

FAMOUS FIRSTS - SAMMY SHRINK...

Copyright REBELLION

From WHAM! #118, cover-dated September 17th 1966, comes the very first appearance of SAMMY SHRINK as drawn by DAVE JENNER.  TERRY BAVE took over drawing the character in issue 151, and continued to draw him for many years afterwards in a variety of periodicals.  This strip, which was extended on either side of the page to make it wider, was later resized into 2 pages for reprinting in the 1973 KNOCKOUT Annual.

Not many people are aware that Sammy started as a full-sized boy before shrinking.  Even Terry Bave evinced surprise at this when I happened to mention it to him the other night.  Was Sammy Shrink one of your favourite strips as a comics-reading lad?  Then share your reminiscences and tell us all why in the comments section.

BABE Of The DAY - BECKY RULE...

Bedazzling BECKY

RULE ushers in the month

of October, Crivs.  Not exactly

kitted out for the weather, but

certainly attired to win a big

 place in all our hearts.

WHAM! - IT EXPIRED WITH BARELY A WHIMPER...

Copyright REBELLION

Behold - the cover to the last-ever issue of WHAM! - #187 to be exact.  Notice anything strange about it?  How about the fact that there's no 'Great news inside for all readers!' banner at the top of the page concerning the periodical's upcoming merger into POW!.  This was highly unusual at the time, as most comics usually gave readers a heads-up when there wasn't going to be any more issues of a title.

However, inside, News From The Floor of '64 goes into overdrive, with a response to a letter suggesting that one of the reasons for the merger is to save readers some pocket money, as there'd now be fewer POWER comics to drain their finances.  Utter pants of course, but they couldn't exactly say the comics were being merged because circulation on one of them had fallen below a certain point.

Anyway, here are the front and back covers, plus the pages announcing the merger, along with readers' letters.  I thought Wham! was a great comic back in the day, but that was mainly because of The FANTASTIC FOUR, FRANKIE STEIN, SAMMY SHRINK, plus maybe one or two others.  Did you have a favourite strip?  Then tell us what it was in the comments section!     

The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL Goes To The WALL... (Updated)

Cover copyright MARVEL COMICS

I've already celebrated the 45th Anniversary of The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL #1 in a recent post (here), but it would be remiss of me not to allude to it again on the actual date - which is today.  Saturday, September 30th 1972 is when this iconic issue (cover-dated October 7th) first hit the shelves all those many years ago - wow!

Above, is a pic taken a few days back of the cover of this actual ish, which has adorned my bedroom wall for many years, but was unfortunately looking a little the worse for wear.  (I once had 5 copies of #1 - took the cover off one to put on the wall, gave one to a pal, still got 3 left.  Update 2026:  Now got it back again as friend died in 2025.)

So I dug out one of my remaining copies, scanned and printed the cover, and that's the result below - replacing the time-worn one above.  I'll give the old one a 'Viking funeral' later and be sad to see it go, but the room needs freshened up and this is really the only way to do it and retain the look I've been familiar with for close on 30 years.

Whaddya say, frantic ones?  Does it work for you?

TOYBOX TREASURES Of The PAST: NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A CAR...

Talking of JAMES BOND (well, someone's bound to be, somewhere), I thought I'd show you my CORGI TOYS ASTON MARTIN D.B.5 (270), which was first issued in 1968.  This version was the correct silver birch colour and had extra features to complement those of the original 1965 gold coloured edition (which, despite what it said on the base, was actually a modified D.B.4 and in a slightly smaller scale).

I bought my original car from R.S. McCOLL's in 1973, a day or so before going on holiday to Blackpool for a fortnight and, if memory serves, I got it on the same day I saw LIVE & LET DIE in my local cinema (or not too far-removed from that day).  I took it to Blackpool with me, but I dismantled in on the coach down (it had a loose rivet), and I don't think I ever managed to reassemble it, though I kept all the bits for a while after I'd returned home.  This is a replacement I bought many years back.

I've shown the car before, but this time it's accompanied by its packaging and accessories, just to give you a fuller picture.  Whaddya think - a beauty or what?

OLD PICTURES DON'T SIMPLY FADE AWAY - SOMETIMES THEY ACTUALLY DIE (OR ARE 'EUTHANIZED')...

SUPERMAN copyright DC COMICS

Regular readers will know that relatively recently I've begun to reluctantly replace some of the pictures on my bedroom wall that have been there for the last 30 years.  In fact, some of them are even older than that, having been on the wall when I first lived in this house, then on the wall of my new bedroom in a new house which my family moved to in 1983.  Then, 4 years later when I moved back here, the pictures went back up in their old place on the wall.

However, after all this time, quite a few are faded and stained with age, as you can see with the SUPERMAN cover above.  This was a spare copy I had after replacing it with a better-condition issue, so I cut off the cover and up it went on the wall.  Believe it or not, the cover looked worse 'in the flesh' than it does in the photo, as the red portions were almost yellow after all this time.  I dug out the replacement copy and scanned and printed the cover, and that's the result in the piccie below.  A lot better, I'm sure you'll agree.  I feel bad about jettisoning the original after all its years of faithful service, but I want the room to look a bit fresher so can see no other alternative.  (I gave the old cover a 'Viking funeral'.)

I should probably have taken every picture down and thrown up some new wallpaper before starting this venture, but I simply don't have the time or energy nowadays.  What would once have taken me 2 or 3 days at most would now take me several months, so I'll just have to settle for the pictures looking new(ish) and the wallpaper looking its age.  Hey, I can live with that.

More examples coming soon.

ACTION FIGURE BONANZA - PART THREE...

Yet another four action figures for you, Criv-ite chums.  And you're wrong, you haven't seen that SUPERMAN figure in a previous batch of pics, because that's a different figure with a different face.  Did you have an ACTION MAN when you were a kid?  Of course you did - most kids had at least one.  You'll therefore probably be surprised to learn that this Action Man isn't for kids - read what it says on the bottom of the box: 'WARNING - THIS PRODUCT IS NOT A TOY.  NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN.'  What's the world coming to, eh?  An iconic kids toy of the 1960s & '70s is no longer considered a toy, nor is it regarded as being suitable for kids.  It says 'For The Adult Collector' on the sides of the box, but why can't it be for grown up and kid collectors?  You tell me.  (And isn't that football too small?)

FABULOUS FLASHBACKS - SUPER DC #1...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Back around September of 1970, I bought SUPER DC #1 from a local grocery/newsagent's type shop called CORSON'S (which still inhabits the same premises today and is run by a member of the same family - though not under the Corson's name).  When I think back to that time, it seems that the 14 issue run of the monthly mag lasted for years, and that I inhabited the house I was then living in for many years after Super DC came to an end.  However, checking the dates reveals that I continued to live in that particular house for only a year and 9 months after #1 came out, before moving to another house in a different neighbourhood.  Or to put it another way, we flitted a mere 7 months (or thereabouts) after Super DC ended around November of 1971.

I can't quite believe it!  Didn't I continue to live in that house for several years after the comic's demise?  It sure feels like it.  But no, just over half a year later I was somewhere else, though it sure doesn't seem like that when I think back to that time.  I once heard a saying on the radio which ran something like this:  "The memories of childhood are without time and without end."  Or it might've been "...without end and without time."  (Anyone know for sure, and where the saying originated?)  That's exactly how it seems to me - childhood lasted forever, and there seemed to be no beginning or end to it.  We grew up not quite knowing we were doing so, so there seemed to be no definite boundary line between our childhoods and the commencement of our adult years.  We just suddenly found ourselves in 'Adult-land', without knowing how or when we got here.

Anyway, perhaps such philosophical ponderings are not something which interests you, but you may be interested in seeing the cover of Super DC #1 and its free gifts again.  So here you are.

A TALE WHICH MIGHT NOT ASTONISH YOU, BUT I THINK IT'S INTERESTING...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

See the above cover of TALES To ASTONISH #89?  Good - now forget about it for a moment and cop a gander at its predecessor below, TTA #88.  My original copy of this comic was bought sometime back in the '60s.  I no longer recall with any certainty whether I acquired it before or after I'd read the SUB-MARINER tale when it was reprinted in TERRIFIC, but I suspect it was before.  If so, it would have been one of those rare occasions when an American MARVEL mag was available in Britain not too long after it was published.

I know I read the follow-up to Subby's adventure in Terrific, and I'd have read it again when it was reprinted in one of the Marvel UK weeklies in the mid-'70s, but I never owned the original issue.  I've got a reprint of it in one of my HULK MASTERWORKS volumes, but I've always hankered after owning the original US ish so that it could join my replacement copy of TTA #88, which I obtained more years ago than I'm capable of remembering.

Well, now I've got it!  The above comic arrived today, and it'll soon be keeping company with its companion in my filing cabinet.  Another quest completed, wherein I secured the subsequent issue of a comic I first bought around 50 years ago!  And, if memory serves, I think I also own TTA #87 (which I likewise originally had back in the '60s, and replaced many, many years ago), so that's 3 in a row for me.  (Actually, memory doesn't serve, because, upon checking, I don't have #87 after all - except as a reprint in a Masterworks volume.  Ah, well - maybe one day.)  

Yes, trivial I know, but to me, it's a significant accomplishment!  If you have any memories relating to either of these mighty mags, fellow Crivvies, feel free to share them in the comments section.  And remember the cry - Make Mine Marvel!

FABULOUS FLASHBACKS: 40TH ANNIVERSARY Of RAMPAGE #1...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

October 12th 1977 - that's the day RAMPAGE #1 went on sale.  The weekly Rampage that is, not the monthly magazine that surfaced sometime after its namesake's demise.  The one you're now looking at lasted for 34 issues and featured The DYNAMIC DEFENDERS and The Man Called NOVA.  At one time I owned them all, but now only have the first 3 or 4.  You have to hand it to MARVEL UK - they were continually unleashing new mags on British Marvelites in an attempt to see what would stick, but aside from SPIDER-MAN COMICS WEEKLY (in all its various incarnations), nothing seemed to last for long. 

In just under 3 weeks, it'll be 40 years since I bought this comic (yup, this is the actual one I purchased back then), but the moment seems as fresh as the touch of a gentle summer breeze upon my face, and I find it hard to believe that such a length of time has elapsed, so quickly has it flown by.

Anyway, that's enough of my nostalgic introspection - now it's time for yours as you peruse these pulsating pages and re-acquaint yourselves with yesteryear.  If you bought this comic back in the day, let's hear all about it in the comments section.

ASTON MARTIN D.B.5 - IT'S WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD...

You little beauty!  This is the gold-coloured JAMES BOND ASTON MARTIN D.B.5 50th Anniversary reissue by CORGI, which is going for astronomical asking prices on eBay at the moment.  Luckily, I managed to get mine for a modest amount, and it now joins its silver companion alongside the original '60s models in my vast and diverse collection.  This is a vastly improved version compared to the mid-'90s reissues, which, frankly, were substandard in so many ways (and yes, I have them too).

However, there are three improvements that Corgi should institute on this car for any future releases.  The first is to make the vent outline touch the windscreen edge of the bonnet (as it did on the '60s & '70s toys), instead of disappearing before it gets there. The second is to make the baddie a lighter shade of blue as he was originally, and the third is to reshape the ends of the over-riders, which are too 'squarish' and not as they should be.  There are one or two other minor things that could do with a bit of tinkering, but if they fix these three, the model will come a little closer to matching the magnificence of its earliest incarnations.

Were (are) you a fan of Corgi's James Bond Aston Martin D.B.5?  Then share your childhood memories of the toy in our comments section, before they recede beyond your ability to recall.

******

(Update: It may interest you to learn that the Corgi Model Club have now reissued the original 1965 version of the car in a replica box and it's far superior to the one above, which is really the slightly larger 1968 release posing as its predecessor.)