PLEASE RELEASE ME...

Copyright REBELLION

As ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK (born ARNOLD GEORGE DORSEY in 1936 and taking his stage name from a 19th century composer) is representing the U.K. in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, I thought it would be fun to take a look at his appearance (sort of) in a comic strip when he was at the height of his fame back in 1967.

The comic was called POW! and the strip was entitled The DOLLS Of ST. DOMINIC'S - about a  ST. TRINIANS-type group of schoolgirls who later joined forces with The TIDDLERS from WHAM! when the two comics merged at the beginning of 1968.

Engelbert used to sing under the name of GERRY DORSEY before adopting the more famous appellation by which he is currently known - and to which he legally changed it at the height of his popularity way back when.  Let's hope the 76 year-old singer wins it for Britain with his ballad, 'Love Will Set You Free' on May 26th.

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FOOTNOTE: Sharp-eyed readers will have noticed that the name 'Engelbert' has clearly been relettered (as has the surname), suggesting a last-minute update.  One speech balloon has been overlooked however (page one, panel seven), and the name is rendered as 'Jimmy' - no doubt the likeness was also altered.  Can anyone hazard a guess as to who the original singer may have been?

TWO COMICS In ONE - DOUBLE The FUN?

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

It had worked for WHIZZER & CHIPS for 21 years over at rival publishers FLEETWAY/IPC - so why not for D.C. THOMSON's two declining weeklies from the 1950s, The BEEZER and The TOPPER?  The only real difference being, of course, that Whizzer & Chips had only ever been one comic (despite the cover claim), whereas Beezer and Topper were two distinct publications.  However, the decision was passed down from on high - henceforth the two comics would become one - with both logos sharing almost equal prominence on the cover.

The Beezer started life as a tabloid-sized comic in 1956, the first issue being cover-dated January 21st, whereas The Topper had preceded it by three years, the first issue being cover-dated February 7th, 1953.  The latter was likewise tabloid-sized, switching to A4 size in 1980, with the former following suit in '81.  The combined result in 1990 managed to survive for three years before some of the most popular strips were split between The BEANO and The DANDY.

Here, then, is selection of some of the colour strips from the first combined issue (cover-dated September 22nd, 1990) of two once- great classic comics.  Hard to believe it's nearly 20 years since it disappeared from newsagents' shelves.  Tempus fugit.

A GENTLE BREEZE From HUSHABYE MOUNTAIN...

Over Easter, one of the most famous cars in the world was parked in my local central shopping precinct.  Or at least, a replica of it was.  It's MOT'd, taxed, insured, and fully road-worthy, so it is a real car - it's just not one of the half-dozen that appeared in the actual film.  However, apart from the number plate, GEN 22 (as opposed to the original - GEN 11), I'd say it would be difficult to spot the difference unless one is a total expert on CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG and all its variants.

I first saw the film on TV in the mid-'70s and bought the soundtrack LP not long after.  I now have it on CD as well - along with a DVD of the movie itself.  Back in the '60s, one of my cousins had the CORGI TOYS model of the car, and today I have several versions in my collection: The Corgi original, a '90s rerelease, a recent, cheaper Corgi version, and three Corgi Juniors.  I've also got a bigger, super-detailed version around 14 inches long, not counting the front and back wings.

Here, though, is an actual full-sized, fully-working replica of the car which I photographed in a quiet moment over Easter.  Standing next to it, one is amazed by the sheer enormity of the vehicle - it's huge - about 16 feet long.  If it ever comes to your town, make sure you go and see it - it's well worth doing so, I assure you.

It's not unusual to see the film attributed to DISNEY in TV listings whenever it's on the telly, but, in actual fact, it's an EON production - the same company which makes the JAMES BOND movies.  Hardly surprising when you consider that it was IAN FLEMING who wrote the book on which the movie was based.  The SHERMAN BROTHERS composed the songs for the film, which partly explains it being mistaken for a Disney one as they also wrote the songs for the earlier MARY POPPINS.  The fact that DICK VAN DYKE starred in both cinematic classics cements the misconception in most people's minds.

The original 1967 car was designed by KEN ADAM and FREDERICK ROLAND EMETT, and built by ALAN MANN RACING in Hertfordshire.  Like the original, the replica above had its boat-deck portion built by actual boatbuilders.  Also, the brass snake horn is from one of the original movie Chittys, so therefore shares a connection to the 'real' one.

Incidentally, the car does have wings (I saw them on a previous occasion a few years back -see photo below), which for some reason weren't deployed this time around.  (They're separate pieces which have to be affixed.)  Perhaps it was due to space restrictions in the display area, or to prevent people tripping over them.

WATCHING THE CLOUDS DRIFT BY...

Image copyright DC COMICS

I'm not 100% sure exactly what year it was - maybe 1969 or '70 - when the above comicbook first came into my possession, but some of the stories stuck in my mind from that point on.  It was a fellow by the name of GRAHAM BROWN, whose family lived in the house across the back lane from ours, who gave it to me along with some others - none of which I now recall, strange as it may seem.  (At least, not in relation to that particular day.)  What was it about this comic which etched itself in my memory?  Who can tell after all this time?  Certainly not me.

I remember the day was a sunny one.  I was sitting on a small rug on the path in my back garden, leaning against the door of the cellar in which I often sat when it rained, listening to drops pattering off the roof.  Not today though.  Today the sun shone brightly overhead, and on the far horizon I could see a famous Scottish mountain, purple against the blue sky, and white clouds drifting lazily by in the distance.  A faint hint of a balmy breeze gently blew on my face and hair, and it felt good merely to be alive without a care in the world.

My garden cellar.  'Twas the door on the right against which I sat

As I sat there, out came Graham with a pile of U.S. comicbooks and dropped them into my lap.  I can no longer recall if the comics were a gift freely given or exchanged for a heavily discounted monetary consideration.  Graham was a friend of my brother, so wouldn't have wanted to be seen exploiting his pal's younger sibling.  In fact, let's be charitable - let's just say he gave them to me because he'd read and was done with them.  That's more than likely the case.  And thus the day passed into history.

When I bought SUPERMAN From The '30s To The '70s in late 1972, I instantly recognised three stories from the 80 page giant: The CASE Of The FUNNY PAPER CRIMES, The MYSTERIOUS Mr. MXYZPTLK, and SUPERMAN, CARTOON HERO.  However, when I obtained a replacement copy of this issue a couple or so years ago, there was one adventure I didn't recall at all - WHEN SUPERMAN LOST HIS POWERS.  Some aspects from another tale, The EYE Of METROPOLIS, seemed vaguely familiar - but had I not seen it again first, I doubt the suggestion of memory would ever have occurred unprompted.

The very mountain in the distance - Ben Lomond

So why did I seemingly forget those two tales as opposed to the other three?  Was it because their splash pages weren't featured on the cover and therefore made less of an impression on me?  Or could it be that, not having appeared in the '72 Superman book, their previous association wasn't reinforced in my memory like the other strips were?  Perhaps it's simply the case that the stories weren't particularly memorable.  Guess I'll never really know for sure, but it's unlike me to forget two stories in one comic.

A picture, 'tis said, is worth a thousand words - it can also be worth many memories. I only have to look at that cover and I'm once again a boy sitting out in my back garden, reading comics and occasionally watching the clouds drift by.  Oh, to be a lad again.

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I'd give all wealth that years have piled,
The slow result of life's decay,
To be once more a little child
For one bright summer-day.

From "Solitude" by Lewis Carroll.  March 16th, 1853.

The CLOAK - The FIRST And The LAST...

Images copyright relevant owner(s)

The CLOAK first appeared in POW! #18 on May 13th (cover-dated 20th) 1967, drawn by Birmingham-based artist MIKE HIGGS.  It had a different look to other strips in the comic and, given its spy/mystery/horror-themed stories (albeit in a comedy vein), proved popular enough to last nearly two years.  It started in Pow!, continued in POW! & WHAM!, then SMASH! & POW!, and finally ended in SMASH! (Incorporating FANTASTIC) #162, March 1st (dated 8th) 1969.  I remember the strip mainly because I fancied LADY SHADY, the Cloak's EMMA PEEL-style sometimes sidekick.  (Wotta bod!  Makes me want to marry a drawing.)

Anyway, for all you Cloak fans out there, here's his first and last appearances from the swingin' '60s.  He's turned up at least a couple of times in recent years - first in the back of a self-published comic by a former assistant of Mike Higg's, and then in the pages of CRIKEY!, a (now defunct) mag devoted to British comics and their creators.

Here, though, is how it all started - and finished - so very long ago.

Above - The Cloak's debut issue - unheralded on the cover

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The cover to his final appearance in Smash!  I've included the second page
of The Swots & The Blots strip so that you don't feel short-changed

A TRUE TALE Of BIRTH AFTER DEATH...

Images copyright DC COMICS

1974.  The date trips off my tongue with such familiar ease that it still seems fairly recent to my mind.  Hard to believe, then, that it was actually 38 years ago when I was still a mere lad.  Back then, DC COMICS had a title called BLACK MAGIC, which reprinted SIMON & KIRBY tales from a magazine of the same name published in the 1950s.

I remember buying the first issue with such startling clarity that I almost feel as if I went to bed last night as a 15 year old boy and woke up today the age I am now.  Life really does go by so fast, alas.  However, it's a story in the second issue that made a big impression on me which has lasted to this day - "BIRTH AFTER DEATH".

It purports to be a true account of events leading up to the birth of SIR WALTER SCOTT, the famed Scottish novelist, playwright and poet born in Edinburgh in 1771, who died in Melrose at the age of 61 in 1832.  (ROB ROY and IVANHOE being but two of his works.)

Although I've checked, I've never been able to find any corroborating evidence to back up the tale, but I find it hard to believe that Simon & Kirby would simply have made the whole thing up.  I remember reading the comic (on the day I bought it) in the graveyard of a local centuries-old church, complete with the burial vault of a once-prominent family from ages past.  Creepy but apt, don't you think?  Obviously that's why I associate the tale with the place today.

1822 portrait of Scott by Raeburn

Anyway, have a read and make up your own mind.  Fact or fiction?  To me though, it's one of those stories that - if it isn't true - it ought to be.

******

UPDATE: Simon & Kirby's story is true after all (with just a little artistic licence in regard to minor details).  From THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL, Tuesday, October 18th, 1932, comes the following account.  (Thanks, Tongalad.)

Sir Walter Scott's Mother Buried Alive Five Years Before His Birth

Old Essay Reveals She Was Rescued From Tomb Due to Ghoulish Sexton

London England - The astonishing fact that Sir Walter Scott's mother was declared to be dead and was actually interred five years before Sir Walter Scott's birth is recalled in a letter to the Daily Express, sent by George MacDonald, Birmingham.

"Her weird sepulchral experience," says MacDonald, "is described as follows by a great essayist of many decades ago."

Buried in Vault

Here is the description:

"Miss Rutherford, while lying in a trance and declared by the physicians to be dead, was laid away in the family tomb in the great vaults under the parish church.

"At night the ghoulish sexton stealthily entered the tomb, opened the casket and proceeded to rob the elegant and entombed lady of the jewels which were on her person according to the then prevalent custom.  Finding some of the finger rings too tightly fixed, the unconscionable thief took his pocket knife and slashed the flesh from the fingers.

"Came to Life"

"The sudden shock and flow of blood caused a reaction of the vital forces, and the reanimated lady opened her eyes, uttered an exclamation of amazement and attempted to rise up.

"The guilty and horror-stricken rascal's hair rose straight upon his head, and with the yell of a desperate madman he rushed forth, thus raising the alarm which brought help and rescue to her.

"She lived many years subsequently, none the worse for her awful adventure which occurred five years previously to the birth of Sir Walter."

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Click the link below (provided by Tongalad) to see the actual newspaper's front cover:

http://news.google.com/newspapersnid=1499&dat=19321018& id=uahQAAAAIBAJ &sjid=2SEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5668,6482729

Unfortunately, the above link appears to be no longer active, though it was for years. 

HAS THE BUBBLE BURST?

As far back as I can recall, I've always had a thing for Bubble Cars.  I remember being on holiday one year when I was about three or four - in Ayr perhaps - and trying to win one from a grappling machine.  (Or what- ever they're called.  You know the thing I mean - one of these plexiglass cases found in amusement arcades and [nowadays] shopping malls where you direct a crane-type grappling arm and try and lift the prize desired.  There must be a name for them, but if I ever knew it I've forgotten.)

Anyway, the owner of the amusement arcade, seeing my disappointment at not being able to secure a dark red Bubble Car, beckoned me to follow him (don't panic, my parents were with me) and, going behind a curtain into the back of the arcade, gifted me with a friction-drive Bubble Car of my very own.  Perhaps that's what started my lifelong love of such vehicles, although it doesn't explain my initial desire to acquire one from that machine in the arcade.  Maybe I just liked the shape and the colour. Anyway, regardless of what started me off and whether it was before or after this momentous moment that I developed my appreciation of them, that was the very first Bubble Car I ever owned.

I acquired my second one when I was about eleven or twelve.  It was a CORGI TOYS diecast HEINKEL Bubble Car in a bright orange. I'd have preferred a red one, but the shop (R. S. McCOLL'S) had no such animal, so an orange one it was.  To date, I only have ten Bubble Cars in all (six on display in the accompanying photos), two being three-wheeled affairs, the remainder having a full complement of four.  Yup, believe it or not, some Bubble Cars were actually of the four-wheeled variety, which may come as a surprise to you.

Interestingly (to me at least), that holiday in Ayr was also where I obtained my very first TV COMIC publication - a TV Comic Holiday Special.  At that time I had no idea it was a special edition of a weekly comic, not discovering this fact 'til a year or two later.  In truth, if it hadn't been for MIGHTY MOTH on the cover and DICK MILLINGTON's artwork inside, I would never have associated my first purchased issue of the weekly with the earlier holiday special.  It was the look of Mighty Moth I remembered, not the name of the comic.

Although my parents never owned a Bubble Car, they did acquire a NOBEL car in 1964 or '65, which did sort of suggest a hint of the shape of one.  (See photo below.)  We had this car for at least three or four years, possibly five, and in all that time I only ever saw its twin once.  As far as I'm aware, no toy company has ever issued a scale model of this uniquely-shaped automobile, which is a shame as I'd dearly love one.  (Are you reading this, Corgi?)

So there you have it.  Another rambling reminiscence in which probably no-one apart from myself is even remotely interested.  At least I've recorded these childhood memories for posterity, which - should my memory fade with time - I can return to in the future and remind myself of precious moments I'd forgotten.

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Update, July 2015: I recently learned that a German company called BUDIG released a limited edition, white metal model of the car around 2008, and I managed to obtain one from Rotterdam on eBay.  Here are three of the seller's photos of the one I bought.

HAPPY EASTER MONDAY, BUSTER...

Copyright REBELLION

Fifteen years ago, the Easter copy of BUSTER went on sale, surprisingly with no mention of the celebration on the cover.  Sadly, there would be only two more similarly-themed issues to go before the comic's demise at the end of 1999 (dated into 2000).  For the last few years of its life the fortnightly periodical was mainly reprint, though Buster's strip itself was new material, drawn by JIMMY HANSEN.

   

The ODD-BALL strip below is doubtless a reprint, and is drawn by comics legend TERRY BAVE.  Odd-Ball first appeared in WHIZZER & CHIPS back in 1969, eventually ending up in Buster when the two comics merged in October 1990.

RICKY RAINBOW first appeared in the short-lived NIPPER (for nippers), launched in January 1987.  When it merged with Buster eight months later, Ricky was one of the strips which survived the amalgamation.  Once again, the strip below is most likely a reprint and is drawn by Jimmy Hansen. 

 Have a Happy Easter Monday.  Scoffed all your chocolate eggs yet?  (Buuurrrrp!)

KLANKS AND SPARKS...

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

If Scottish publisher D.C. THOMSON & Co, Ltd had any kind of equivalent to London's FLEETWAY/IPC's mechanical man ROBOT ARCHIE from LION, it was probably BIG KLANKY from The SPARKY comic.  Drawn by BOB WEBSTER, Klanky made his first appearance in the 75th issue and bowed out in #499.  Klanky was an alien robot befriended by Earth children ERNIE and SUE HUGGINS and is fondly remembered by Sparky readers of the time.  What follows is a tale from the 1968 Annual (on sale from around August/September 1967), so sit back, relax, and indulge yourself with a nostalgic trip into yesteryear.