STRANGE BUT TRUE DEPT...

Actor Robbie Coltrane

Isn't it funny the things that stick in your head as the years go by?  I remember one day, back in the late 1960s, my brother asking our parents about his middle name.  It turned out he shared the same middle name as our grandfather on my mother's side.  This led me to ask from whom mine had come.  "You're named after Doctor McMillan", I was told.

DOCTOR McMILLAN - Doctor IAN McMillan - (now sadly deceased) was our family doctor whose Practice was in Rutherglen.  I remember him as a tall, thin, kindly-faced gentleman, with grey or white receding hair and spectacles.  I also recall sitting in his waiting room on occasion, and, before that, him coming out to our house to attend to me when my mother splashed a kettle of boiling water on me when I was an infant.  Don't worry, it was an accident.  (Well... that first time anyway.)

Doctor McMillan was the kind of doctor older people often lament doesn't exist anymore.  On many an occasion, I'd hear my mother extolling his virtues as a doctor and as a person to visiting friends.  Both of my parents thought extremely highly of him and were much saddened when he died.  They held him in such genuine regard and affection he must've been a very fine man indeed.  It's safe to say, as far as my parents (and doubtless his other patients) were concerned, a lot of doctors have since been measured against him - with no doubt quite a few found to be severely wanting.

Imagine my surprise then, when, sometime in the early '80s, I read a profile about actor ROBBIE COLTRANE in a local newspaper and discovered he was the son of our old family doctor.  Robbie's real surname is actually McMillan - he took the name Coltrane from the famous jazz saxophonist JOHN COLTRANE.  I wonder if John put up much of a fight?  (Little joke there.)

So there you go.  I'm named after Robbie Coltrane's dad.  What's even more strange is my father was called Robbie.  Thoughts of a NEW GENESIS-APOKOLIPS 'pact' spring to mind, but as to which one of us is ORION and which is MISTER MIRACLE I'll leave for others to decide.

(You must've known I'd squeeze some kind of tenuous comicbook link in there somehow.)

(HERE'S JOHNNY'S!) CALLING 'ANONYMOUS' FROM STEVE DOES COMICS... COME IN 'ANONYMOUS' FROM STEVE DOES COMICS... DO YOU READ ME? OVER...

If you're not the 'ANONYMOUS' who regularly drops in to the STEVE DOES COMICS blog, you may well be a little confused by this posting.  "Just what the heck is it about?" you may be wondering.

Well, first of all, you shouldn't be reading someone else's mail... but, as you're here, I'll explain.

You see, dear (if nosy) reader, once upon a time, in a mystical, faraway land called 'The Past', there existed a magical place of wonder called JOHNNY'S.  Nothing to do with anything you got in the bartber's 'for the weekend', I assure you, but rather a shop in Gallowflat Street in Rutherglen, Scotland.

My grandparents (who I irreverently referred to as 'Grunt' and 'Grumpy' - shame on me) lived in Rutherglen in the early 1960s, and it was our well-established custom to visit them every Sunday.  We had to pass through Gallowflat Street en route to their house in Hamilton Road, and we invariably stopped outside Johnny's on the way.

Johnny's was a newsagents, confectioners, tobacconists - and, as well as other sundry items that such shops always stock, also sold toys.  Oh, what treasures teased, tempted and tortured both my brother and myself from within that toy and trinket-bedecked window display.  It was there (around 1963 or '64) that I first saw an AURORA PHANTOM Of The OPERA model kit, built and painted in all its blood-curdling glory.

I well remember being fascinated by the desperate prisoner staring out pleadingly from behind the bars of a basement window on the model's base.  Deep lacerations in his arms had exposed the bones, and blazing red blood weeped from the wounds. What four year old boy wouldn't be captivated by such a gory and macabre sight?

A few years later (if memory serves - and why shouldn't it?  I pay it enough), Johnny's had moved to bigger premises a few doors along (The Hospice Shop, I think - in the 2nd photograph from the top), and it was there I obtained my second QUERCETTI FIREBALL XL5 parachute toy in 1968 or '69 (or even '70) for a mere 2/6d.  A bargain if ever there was one, because the one I got for Christmas back in 1962 or '63 cost 10/6d.  (Now it would cost far more.)

Ah, dear old Johnny's... now sadly long gone.  It must have been around the mid or late '70s it closed its doors for the final time, but I don't know for certain.  In 1964 or '65, my grandparents moved to the town in which we lived to be closer to us, and that late '60s visit to the shop was the last I can remember.  (Might've paid it a visit around 1971, but can't be sure.)

The featured photos were taken a good few years ago, when the original Johnny's premises were a flower shop (and may still be). The reason I took them was because 'Johnny's' name was still clearly visible under the painted green board above the new sign.  At least, in real life it was clear, it's a bit harder (but not impossible) to see it in the close-up photographs.

So, if you're around my age and are familiar with Rutherglen, you may well remember this legendary landmark.  Click on the pics to enlarge, click again for optimum size.  You should just be able to discern a hint of the name of that long-gone, much missed shop from childhood, when, I wager, each of us used to think we had forever.

Here's to Johnny's... and to us.

ANOTHER MARVEL 'MYSTERY' SOLVED!

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Well, to be honest, it's not really that much of a mystery - except to the team responsible for the reprint editions of the TALES Of SUSPENSE/IRON MAN adventures from the early years of MARVEL.

If you're the proud possessor of the softcover printing of MARVEL MASTERWORKS, the first OMNIBUS volume, or even the ESSENTIALS edition of ol' Shell-Head's early adventures, you'll have seen the b&w production stat of TOS #42, misnumbered as #41 and toting the previous issue's cover blurb.

The books ponder how this 'boob' occurred and consider possible explanations - including what I regard as the most obvious one, making me wonder why anyone ever thought it was such a mystery.  Let me elaborate.

Back when I freelanced for IPC/FLEETWAY, I regularly visited the offices of KING'S REACH TOWER and often saw pages of artwork with missing logos - sometimes removed cleanly, or simply cut from (or ripped off) the page.  The logos were photo-mechanical-transfers (referred to as PMTs - oh, behave missus) and were sharp, high-quality images which reproduced well in the printed comics.

Occasionally, however, there might be none available when required, with no time to wait while new ones were printed.  So, as I said, a logo from an old page of artwork was re-used on a new page - problem solved.

What obviously happened in Marvel's case with this ish was something not too dissimilar.  They were fresh out of logos so stuck a copy from a b&w stat of the previous issue onto the cover art for the next issue.  Duplicate stats of the cover would then be made - one for the files and one to be sent for lettering.  (Once that was done, a copy of the finished page would then be made for colouring.)  As Marvel has quite a number of cover file stats which differ from the printed versions, I'm surprised as to why anyone was puzzled by the matter.

Too easy - Columbo, eat your heart out!     

EVEN MORE MIGHTY MARVEL MAGIC...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

No pearls of profundity this time 'round.  The above covers are featured for no other reason than they're nice to look at.  So thank MARVEL... and, of course, WORLD DISTRIBUTORS.

MIGHTY MARVEL MAGIC...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

For no other reason than that it's a brilliant cover from my youth, above is The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL #9, pencilled by JIM STARLIN and inked (it looks to me, but I'm guessing) by JOE SINNOTT.  Dated December 2nd 1972, it actually went on sale the previous week on November 25th, which was the day I saw a double bill of JAMES BOND movies starring SEAN CONNERY at my local cinema.  Weren't we Brits spoiled?  KIRBY and DITKO art on classic stories of HULK, SPIDER-MAN and FANTASTIC FOUR, all scripted by the one and only STAN LEE - all in one comic for only 5p.

Ah, those were the days.

HE BELONGS TO GLASGOW...

Glasgow readers of this humble post will no doubt instantly recognise (in)famous 'KID MEMORYMAN'-about town, JOHN McSHANE, who appeared in a recent BBC TV documentary about Scottish comicbook creators.  John's contribution was to propose the case that comics were invented by we Scots, so that's yet another debt of gratitude the world owes us.  John is a 'well-kent' figure in Glasgow (and beyond), being actively involved in the city's thriving comics scene for many years, and was one of the founding proprietors of AKA BOOKS & COMICS, along with BOB NAPIER* and the late PETE ROOT.  (STEVE MONTGOMERY joined the team later I think.  Or maybe I just didn't meet him until later.)

*Update: Sadly, Bob passed away a good number of years after this post was first published.

About 25 years ago (hard as it is for me to believe), I managed to persuade John to leave the leafy suburbs of 'the dear green place' and visit yours truly in the spacious, artistically decorated abode in which I then lived.  The photos show John with an original, early piece of DAN DARE art (from the famous EAGLE comic of the 1950s), which I once owned.  John is so well-known in the professional comics community that he even featured in a cameo appearance in MARVEL's CAPTAIN BRITAIN back in the mid-'80s.  'Twas thanks to John ('cos he knows everybody) that I got to meet the late, great ARCHIE GOODWIN and his wife ANN, and spend a pleasant evening in their company.

(There, John.  Now will you let me off with that 5p I owe you?)   

The NEWS Of The WORLD - FACT Or FICTION?

"You are what you eat!" is a principle that doesn't apply only to food.  Psychologists recognize that what you 'feed' your mind helps shape your personality to a greater or lesser degree.  That's why, when it comes to children in particular, it's wise to exercise caution in what we allow them access to. We don't want unsuitable material - whatever form it takes - working its influence on their impressionable young minds.  However, as I've said before, it's the content and not the 'carton' which defines whether something is suitable or not.

At one time or another it seems that almost all of society's problems have been blamed on either movies, music, video games, books, TV - and, of course, comics. That's not to say that the aforementioned mediums don't sometimes play their part, but other factors are also culpable, sometimes even more so.  Often, it's just too easy to point the finger at a handy scapegoat than it is to look at the whole problem from a wider perspective.

One such instance appeared in the late and largely unlamented NEWS Of The WORLD on April 3rd, 1994.  I have excised the names to spare any possible distress to the families of those involved, and omitted any paragraphs which did not pertinently pertain to comics, but the tone of the piece remains intact.

STAB MAN WAS CAPTAIN MARVEL CRAZY - He collected violent mags.

The man accused of stabbing a 12-year-old schoolgirl to death in her classroom spent hours poring over violent Captain Marvel comics.  The loner was enthralled by the scenes of death and mayhem in the American superhero magazines.  In one edition Captain Marvel is seen battling with a knife-wielding alien.  Characters say things like "Death should be a glorious event," and "Life should be a continuous series of pains."

Stop there for a moment.  The paper fails to distinguish 'twixt heroes and villains or to mention that the good guys consider the baddies' actions, motivations and rationalizations to be thoroughly reprehensible.  It neglects to inform us that the bad guys make their pitch, the good guys resist - and, eventually, overcome all obstacles to triumph in the end.  In short, a morality tale.  It's as if the paper has gone out of its way to rip things out of context and misrepresent what these comics are actually about.  So, what else does NOTW say?

Former schoolpals yesterday recalled the teenage years when they devoured the tales and disturbing illustrations in the fantasy world of horror comics.  "We all read them, but he took it much further," said one.  "He was always drawing the characters and was excellent at it.  He made up his own stories with all the Marvel heroes.  We enjoyed the Captain Marvel comics, with all their violent images.  But it never occurred to me as being unusual.  He seemed totally normal.  The only thing different about him was he spent so much time with comics.  He had a huge collection of them.  He was obsessed with violent comics like Captain Marvel, The Incredible Hulk and (sic) Spiderman."

One naturally wonders if the quotes are accurate.  Would any comic reader really describe 1970's code-approved superhero comics like the ones named as "violent"?  I somehow doubt it.  Action-packed, certainly - but violent?  Not only does NOTW reiterate the alleged "violent" aspect, but also pours fuel on the fire by describing these comics as "disturbing", "horror" comics.  (I know from experience that newspapers often 'punch up' stories by rendering paraphrases as direct quotes and isolating sentences from their frame of reference.)

In short, it's a hatchet job.  The reporter doesn't seem to be familiar with the actual content of the comics named, otherwise he would never have described them in the way he did.  (If he cared about accuracy that is.)  However, comics don't have a monopoly in being 'picked on' in this manner.  Newspapers, because they cast themselves in the role of righteous crusaders in pursuit of truth, justice, morality and decency (instead of just another business chasing a buck), often target other mediums that - like GALACTUS - they consider themselves to be above and beyond in the scheme of things.

The truth is much simpler.  Some newspapers are nothing more than purveyors of all the worst aspects of society.  They pander to the seedier and more salacious appetites of certain sections of the public while claiming, rather ridiculously in my opinion, to be "family" newspapers.  (Even the scurrilous DAILY and SUNDAY SPORT make this claim, while counting down the days until some 15-year-old girl is old enough to 'get her kit off' for their readers.)

One wonders how a newspaper which readily peddles nudity (page 3), gambling (bingo), and panders to an interest in the supernatural (horoscopes), while reporting rape, paedophillia, murder, etc., in the most lewd, prurient and unnecessary detail can presume to claim the moral highground when pontificating on society's many ills.  Now, obviously I'm indulging in a slight bit of ironic hyperbole with the first part of the preceding sentence in order to make a point, but perhaps we should be asking ourselves what effect a steady diet of such content day after day or week after week could have on the minds of some of those exposed to it.  (You are what you eat, remember!)

In short, could the "loner" who murdered a 12-year-old girl have been a News Of The World reader?  Makes one wonder, eh?

The DALEKS Are COMING...

The DALEKS copyright BBC TV and the Estate of TERRY NATION

RON TURNER (1922-'98), the comics artist famous for RICK RANDOM and numerous other strips, was responsible for nearly half of the 104 DALEKS pages which appeared on the back cover of TV CENTURY 21 from 1965-'67.  30 years later, MARVEL UK asked him to return to the strip for a 6-part adventure which started where the last TV21 Daleks story had ended three decades before.  These new episodes appeared in DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE #s 249-254, March-August, 1997.  The above strip is the last one from 1967.  Below is what happened next...

Click on images to enlarge - click again for optimum size.

******

Sadly, Ron passed away before he could complete the next part of the saga, DEADLINE To DOOMSDAY.  Two unlettered pages were published in DWM #276, which are presented below.  I'm not too sure if these pages are complete because, even allowing for a page-wide logo along the top of each strip, they each look a tier short* to me.  Just think - this was perhaps the last comic strip art that Ron ever produced.

(Update: *Apparently, Ron asked to be reminded of the page size, but mistakenly assumed that the dimensions he was given included the logo, so he reduced the height of the pages to accommodate it.)  

DON'T DARE CALL HIM A 'PRATT'...

I thought that as I'd devoted a fair bit of attention to the comics character FRANKIE STEIN in a couple of recent posts, it would be only fitting (and fair) to show the original character who inspired him.  Above is an AURORA FRANKENSTEIN plastic model kit, built and painted by myself.  This kit was re-released by REVELL not too long ago and should still be available in model shops to those of you who'd like to obtain your very own.  Price is around £19.99, but shop around if the option is available to you.

The 1970s Aurora box

Interestingly, although the actual model's face is clearly and unmistakeably based on that of BORIS KARLOFF as he appeared in The BRIDE Of FRANKENSTEIN, the face on the Aurora box art seems to be an amalgam of Karloff and GLENN STRANGE.  Note the extra big clamps or spikes, which only ever appeared on Karloff's test makeup before the finished look was decided upon.  (And, in case you were wondering, Karloff was born WILLIAM HENRY PRATT, hence the title of this blog post.)

The new Revell box

A VALIANT EFFORT FOR TV21...



Images copyright relevant owners



While I'm wallowing in the self-indulgent practice of airing old photographs (see two posts back), I thought I'd show a couple from 1965, taken in Port Bannatyne when I was on holiday in Rothesay on The Isle of Bute in Scotland.  It was the one and only time we went on holiday with my grandparents, and I can remember it as if it were yesterday.  Well... last week at least.  (In fact, scratch that - I'm not even sure I can remember either last week or yesterday - but you know what I mean.)

So... why am I boring you with my old holiday snaps, you may be asking?  Simple - take a look at the comic I'm holding - an actual issue of TV CENTURY 21!  At the time, it was undoubtedly Britain's best-selling comic, and today's publishers would be ecstatic if their comics could sell even a quarter of the circulation figures of TVC21 at its height.

Sadly, they just don't publish comics like that anymore.  TV Century 21 (later shortened to just TV21) lasted for four months short of seven years, but by the time its revamped 2nd series (minus any GERRY ANDERSON content) was merged with VALIANT on September 25th 1971 (dated October 2nd), it had been a shadow of its former self for almost half of its lifespan.

It had arrived with a bang, but departed with barely a whimper.  After sharing Valiant's masthead as junior partner for around two-and-a-half years, its esteemed name appeared for the final time on its host comic on April 13th 1974.  (Issue dated 20th.)

Thus ended the last link to what had once been Britain's best and brightest comic of the sensational '60s.

Incidentally, photography buffs may be interested to know that the above holiday pics were taken with an old KODAK BOX BROWNIE, which had to be held at either waist or chest level (depending on one's eyesight) while the 'snapper' looked down into a little viewfinder before taking the picture.  That no doubt explains why so many photos from my childhood are lopsided. (Either that, or the person taking them had one leg shorter than the other.) 

BUT WHERE DID MICKY GO...?

The very first FRANKIE STEIN strip from WHAM! #4.  Copyright REBELLION

  

FRANKIE STEIN, drawn by KEN REID, first appeared in issue #4 of LEO BAXENDALE's WHAM! on July 4th, 1964.  (Issue dated 11th.)  The comic was intended as a 'SUPER-BEANO' by publishers ODHAMS PRESS, to be a direct rival to D.C. THOMSON's then twenty-six year old companion paper to The DANDY.

Wham! only lasted for around three and a half years, so measured against the longevity of the Beano, plus its own aspirations, it must be considered a failure; though, truth to tell, it no doubt made its money back - and then some - for Odhams.  Frankie Stein, on the other hand, managed a respectably long run in one form or another, especially in the later ROBERT NIXON incarnation of the '70s.

After Wham! ended, Frankie (sans PROFESSOR CUBE's son, MICKY) popped up again in SHIVER & SHAKE in 1973, moving to WHOOPEE! when the two titles merged in '74.  He also appeared in MONSTER FUN COMIC in 1975, as well as eight Holiday Specials ('75-'82) devoted to his loveable self - plus a pair of softcover Annuals ('76 & '77).  He continued to appear in reprinted form in various publications by IPC/FLEETWAY/EGMONT in the late '80s and early '90s, before finally succumbing to the oblivion that had engulfed his birth-comic back at the beginning of 1968.

Although Bob Nixon's version had its own charm for a new audience, nothing could really compare to the original Ken Reid Frankie of the '60s - utter comic lunacy at its very best.

******

When Frankie re-appeared in the '70s, I was disappointed to see that, except for reprints (where him saying 'dad' was often changed to 'prof'), Micky was absent - and sometimes he was excised even from them.  However, looking over Frankie's old strips recently, I was surprised to discover that, out of the last 16 stories to appear in Wham!, Micky appeared in only one of them.  Perhaps, then, the '70s, Micky-less, version was merely picking up where the '60s run had left off - namely, with Professor Cube's boy more or less permanently phased out of the picture.

******

SPECIAL BONUS: Feast your eyes on this photo of an original piece of Ken Reid Frankie Stein art, first published in Wham! #134, December 31st, 1966.  (Issue dated January 7th, 1967.)

LOOK... HE'S 'BEAR'-NAKED...

Copyright relevant owner

The above page is from a 1961 issue of TV EXPRESS WEEKLY.  It's our old pal YOGI BEAR and his little chum BOO BOO, with a little 'extra' strip featuring Mr. JINKS and PIXIE & DIXIE.  It's scanned in two halves, so when you double-click to enlarge to optimum size, you'll have to do each half separately.  Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy them.

"I'VE GOT A SON I NEVER KNEW I HAD!"

I found this old photo of myself the other day, taken circa 1979 or '80.  It puts me in mind of something BOB HOPE said when I saw him perform at The EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE in October 1984.  During the show, he quipped "Every Saturday night, myself, George Burns, Milton Berle and a couple of older guys get together at my house and hold a seance.  We all sit around a table, clasping hands... and try and contact the LIVING!"  (Bob was in his eighties at that time.)  Then he said, "I'm so old that whenever I catch one of my old movies on late-night TV, it's like watching a son I never knew I had."

Looking at the above photo, I know exactly how he feels.  Just who is that younger, better-looking guy?  (And look at that shirt-collar.  Did we really dress like that back then - or was it just me?)  Incidentally, the photo was taken about 20 years before the one in the right-hand side (from your perspective) column at the top of the page.

******

And, in case you're interested, it was a great show that night and Bob was on top form.  "People keep asking me what sex is like at 80," he drolled.  "I tell 'em GREAT - but it's even better if you pull over to the side of the road!"  And there's more.  "Did you folks hear about the doctor who was arrested for making love to one of his patients?" enquired the comedy legend.  A pause, then the punchline... "What's worse is - the guy's a TREE SURGEON!" 

A BELATED GOODBYE TO AN ARTIST OF NOTE...

Art by Francisco Solano Lopez



Sadly, as recently announced on numerous other blogsites, legendary Argentine comic artist FRANCISCO SOLANO LOPEZ (born Oct 26, 1928) died on August 12th. I'll leave further biographical details to others far more knowledgeable of the man's life and career than I am; suffice it to say that comic-reading children of the '60s and '70s had their lives enriched by exposure to all the many strips that Lopez (and his assistants) illustrated in British publications of the period.

Francisco Solano Lopez.  1928 - 2011

Who can forget GALAXUS, RAVEN ON THE WING, KELLY'S EYE, JANUS STARK, ADAM ETERNO and a whole host of other classics, still fondly recalled by readers of the time? To those who experienced U.K. comics when there was a thriving industry in this country, his demise is a stark reminder that - in the words of LEWIS CARROLL - "We are but older children, dear, who fret to find our bedtime near."

Alas, the sands of time are draining into the bottom half of life's hourglass - which, sadly, can't just be turned over when the final few grains have settled.