TOMMY Or JOE? FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

Isn't it funny how some things can make such an impression on you that other things are swept from your mind?  Here's one such example of just what I'm talking about.  Imagine, if you will, that it's Christmas Day, 1966.  My brother and myself had snuck downstairs in the very early hours to see whether 'Santa' had fulfilled our expectations in the 'gifts' department.  Then we returned to our beds, each clutching a toy as we couldn't bear to be parted from them.  I well-remember my sleepy sibling dozing off snuggled next to the articulated action-soldier he had received.  Thing is, it wasn't ACTION MAN (by Palitoy) - it was TOMMY GUNN (by Pedigree).

I can no longer recall what presents I got that year - it's a complete blank.  It's entirely possible (likely even) that I remember some of the toys, but I just don't associate them with that Christmas.  My one, big, over-riding recollection of that event is my brother's delight when he first cast his eyes on Tommy, and him holding him fast as he dropped off to sleep.  Oh, and also the smell of the plastic, which was quite distinctive.  Yet another of those smells which instantly whisks me back to childhood.  Luckily for me, my brother was a little older than me and soon outgrew his appetite for such things, so Tommy relatively swiftly passed into my hands.

Surprisingly, Tommy Gunn was better than Action Man in a few respects.  His face looked more natural (modelled after a real person apparently) and his skin tone seemed a bit more realistic at the time, though, curiously, he now appears a tad over-tanned.  (Perhaps a result of the 'ageing' process over the decades.)  Same goes for his physique, which wasn't quite as 'stylized' as Joe's (to give A.M. his 'real' name.)  Also, his equipment was more detailed and in scale.  Tommy had close-fitting, flexible boots with real laces - Joe had oversized ones in a thicker plastic with moulded laces.  Tommy's grenades had pins which could actually be pulled out - Joe's didn't.  In fact, although never quite as popular as Action Man, Tommy Gunn was probably the superior toy in all ways but one, which was this:

Action Man had swivelling ball-joints at the top of his thighs, allowing him to sit with his legs folded, or to rest either foot on the opposite knee.  Poor ol' Tommy's thighs were one-piece* affairs which didn't allow for such a relaxed position, although in every other way his joints were the same as Joe's.  Apparently, Pedigree had made a bid to Hasbro (the company behind G.I. JOE, who was Action Man in everything but name) for the rights to the figure at the same time Palitoy did, but failed.  Instead, they decided to produce their own version and Tommy Gunn was the result.  The figure enjoyed reasonably good sales from 1966 to '68, but never attained the same heights of success or popularity as his better selling rival.

(*The thighs on the earliest versions were two pieces glued together to make one, which allowed no swivelling where they met.  It may be that the seam was originally intended to be moveable, but then changed at the last moment for reasons of cost or simplicity.  The thighs were later amended to one piece parts with no join.)   

In 1968, Tommy's body was re-used for Pedigree's CAPTAIN SCARLET figure, yet another fondly-remembered toy from the swinging '60s.  Around 1978, a company called ZODIAC TOYS bought the moulds from Pedigree and started to produce Tommy Gunn, but using a much cheaper plastic.  This time around, Tom's skin colour was more like Action Man's, but, sadly, because of cheaper production techniques, he could no longer claim to be Joe's superior, or, indeed, even his equal.  According to some sources, Tommy was retired in 1985, taking his place in history, and in the memories of those who had been fortunate enough to own him during his brief spell as Action Man's main competitor.

LEE JAMES TURNOCK IS - A JOLLY GOOD JUDGE OF CHARACTER...

Over on LEE JAMES TURNOCK's entertaining blog, "the world's least famous underground cartoonist" (as he describes himself) has done me proud by letting the world know just how "bloody annoying" I am.  Of course, that's code for what a great bloke I happen to be; handsome, witty, erudite, articulate, windswept and interesting.  And let's not forget my other two main attributes - modesty and humility.  (Or is that merely one attribute described by two synonymous words?  Regardless, it's all true.)

Anyway, Lee has drawn a very apropos cartoon commenting on the current sad situation of the world's longest-running weekly comic, The DANDY (or should that be The DONE-DY), which will make you laugh and shed a tear at the same time. Why not jump over there right now and take a look?  It's well worth the trip.

******

(UPDATE:  Or it would be if the blog was still there, which it now isn't.  Never mind, you can read more of mine instead.)

MARVEL TALES SPIDEY COVER GALLERY - PART SEVEN...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Alas, we're now at the end of our super series of MARVEL TALES SPIDER-MAN covers, mostly drawn by STEVE DITKO, but with a couple by JACK KIRBY (though inked by Ditko) which were shown in Part One.  (Kirby also drew a Spidey figure for one of the covers in Part Two.)  Sturdy Steve's original webbed-wonder in the above pic was redrawn (possibly by Jolly JK) because the character's 'posterior' was considered a little too prominent. Ditko left the strip seemingly without producing a cover for his final ish, so one was assembled from individual panels in the mag's interior pages.

Also included in this fantabulously fantastic finale is the unused cover artwork for AMAZING FANTASY #15 and The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #10, plus a pulsating pin-up originally published in ASM #3.  Had Ditko's cover to AF #15 seen print, it more than likely would've borne the same logo that adorned Kirby's published version.  The mag's name had undergone a last-minute revision since the previous issue and the completed masthead may not have been available at the time Ditko drew the page, hence the initial use of a proposed logo-design which was subsequently rejected.

   

Anyway, I hope you enjoy viewing these superb images from yesteryear just as much as I do.  If you don't, there's no refund, I'm afraid.  No point complaining - entry was free anyway.) 

The DANDY - An INQUEST...

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

Every parent thinks their offspring are cherubic little darlings; gifted, talented, infant prodigies from whose @rse cheeks emanate the golden, illuminating, life-enhancing rays of the sun.  All mothers and fathers look upon each and every uttered syllable of incoherent babbling as some soul-enriching words of wisdom and enlightenment from the mouths of babes.  "Aren't they cute?", "Aren't they adorable?", "Aren't they funny?", "Aren't they marvellous?", scream mater and pater in ecstacies of delight - quite oblivious to the fact that everyone else recognizes these howling, screeching, wailing banshees of devastation and destruction for the fractious, obnoxious little brats that they are.

Which brings me neatly to The DANDY.  Let's face the truth that is obvious to most people not actively involved in siring the 2010 stillborn incarnation of the once-gloriously entertaining weekly comic from the stable of D.C. THOMSON - which is simply this: with a few honourable exceptions, most of the content was utter crap.  Inadequately written, inadequately drawn, inadequately lettered crap, created by those whose talent was far outstripped by their enthusiasm, and who still desperately required a few more years honing and polishing their craft on some self-published fanzines for the less-discriminating tastes of their friends and families.

I am amazed by the self-congratulatory nonsense currently being bandied about on the blogs of some of those who were responsible for the murder (for such it is - the fact that it was already in poor health should not blind us to the truth) of a once-great national institution.  The Dandy was poisoned from within, by a small group of well-meaning but clumsy, inexperienced novices with no grasp of the treatment required by the ailing patient, but who nevertheless persevered with any and all last-gasp, desperate, untried and untested theories whose only effect was to hasten the dying 'septuagenarian' to its doom.

"It wasn't our fault," they claim.  "We tried."  "We did our best."  "We should all be hailed as heroes for our attempt, which was brave, bold and glorious."  The fact that placing your hands around the throat of a gasping patient and squeezing even harder is hardly likely to produce positive results, never mind being anything to be congratulated for, seems to elude their comprehension.  But they're 'parents', you see.  They regard each and every 'infant' which sprang from the depths of their would-be 'creative' loins in not quite the same way as those of us anchored in a more objective and impartial reality.

'Tis they who killed the patient.  And while they may have to go without the financial benefits that the deceased's survival would've ensured, 'tis the rest of us who must mourn the loss of a childhood friend.

It was Clint Eastwood who said "A man's gotta know his limitations."  That was the problem here.  Not only did those involved not know their limitations, but in their vanity and their ignorance, it never even occurred to them that they might have any.  It still hasn't - despite the evidence (the corpse) clearly, blindly, staring them in the face.

God save us all from well-meaning quacks when qualified specialists are obviously and urgently required. 

A TRUE ACCOUNT Of TIME TRAVEL...

When I, as an adult (allegedly) almost in my thirties, set foot over the threshold of one of my childhood homes for the first time since moving out 16 years before, the first thing that struck me was how much at home I still felt.  It was almost as if I'd just popped out to the shops across the road about ten minutes earlier and then come straight back again.

Perhaps this was in part due to how much of the 'familiar' yet remained.  The same paper on the living-room ceiling that we'd had put up; the same lowered hall ceiling that my father had fitted; the same bathroom tiles that we'd been responsible for; the same kitchen tiles (now painted) above the sink.  Some things had changed of course.  For a start, the sink was now stainless steel, and, in the living-room, the old-fashioned tiled fireplace and mantlepiece, like something out of The BROONS, had been replaced (or covered) by a relatively more modern-looking one - but the overwhelming 'sense' of the place as I had known it still hung heavy in the air.  Truly, it really was as if I'd gone back in time and the intervening years seemed almost like a dream.

Even the back garden was untouched - the same wood and wire fence, the same gate, the same rockery at the foot of the lawn - all just as it had always been.  To once again touch (and hear the sound of) the latch on the gate as I'd regularly done as a child on my way to school in the mornings was almost a spiritual experience for me.  The sensation of reconnecting with one's past in such a tangible way that it seems like the present is not an easy one to convey, but that's the only way I can describe it.  I had stepped back into the past, with the events of what had come after almost wiped from my memory as if they had simply never happened.

That feeling couldn't be sustained of course.  For the simple reason that, in the space of a month or so, the field across from the back of the house was dug up in preparation for amenity houses for the elderly being built.  Two years later, the old garden fence and gate had been 'sent off' and brash, young 'substitutes' had taken their place.  Another two years after that, the church across from the front of the house had been demolished and replaced by a new one.  At around the same time, the house's original windows and front door were removed and PVC ones installed.  Over the last 20 years, other changes have transpired; new street lamps, new pavement surfaces, new school built, and various other alterations - all of them resented by me.  Alas, time and tide wait for no man, as the old saying goes.

However, for a period of almost two decades, the old house and neighbourhood had stayed pretty much the same, allowing me the indulgence of believing, for however (relatively) brief a period, that time had stood still.  I'm glad I reconnected with that aspect of my past in its last dying moments, before it was too late and everything changed forever.  I suppose such experiences can never be anything other than bittersweet, in that they tease you with the glory of what once was - but, alas, cannot always be.

Other than in the mystic band of memory.

   

The DANDY GOES DIGITAL...

After rumours circulating in comics circles for a while now, it's just been confirmed that the world's longest-running weekly comic, The DANDY, is to go digital.  For full details, click here.

CAPTAIN ACTION-MAN...

Playing Mantis Captain Action, with professionally
produced, shrink-wrapped replica of original box

Apparently, CAPTAIN ACTION creator STAN WESTON was one of a trio responsible for G.I. JOE - which is interesting (to me) because, in Great Britain, G.I. Joe was rechristened ACTION MAN.  As a lad in the '60s, I don't recall seeing Captain Action (or Captain Magic, as he was originally going to be named) on sale in this country, but I knew about the character through the adverts in comics issued by NATIONAL PERIODICAL PUBLICATIONS Inc. (DC COMICS), such as SUPERMAN and BATMAN, etc.  I instantly coveted this wondrous item, but it wasn't until toy company PLAYING MANTIS re-released IDEAL's iconic action-figure in 1998 that I finally managed to acquire one.

DC Comics published a title based on the character in the latter half of the 1960s, but its brief five issue run indicates that it wasn't quite as popular as anticipated.  Featuring artwork by WALLY WOOD and GIL KANE, and written first by JIM SHOOTER and then by Kane himself, the comics boasted some spectacular cover art, which I now unselfishly share with you here.  They're scanned from my very own copies which I obtained many years ago, but should still be relatively easy to obtain from back issue specialists in comicbook stores and on eBay.

The ad below (drawn by KURT SCHAFFENBERGER) comes from DETECTIVE COMICS #359 ("The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!"), but the previous owner has defaced The PHANTOM figure by drawing stripes on his costume.  Tsk, tsk!  Some people, eh?

I'd be interested in the reminiscences of American readers who had this toy when they were kids, and whether any Brits actually managed to get their hands on one back in the '60s.

      

And, if you're lucky, you may still be able to get this great book (below) all about Captain Action from your local comicbook store.  This is the original printing, but I believe a revised and updated edition was made available a year or two back.

TOYBOX TREASURES Of The PAST: The TWO BATMANs...

Aurora kit built and painted by Kid Robson

I've shown both the above items before, but never together.  However, the two of them are connected, and not just because they're both BATMAN collectables from the 1960s.  You see, when I was a kidlet and first acquired my AURORA Batman plastic model kit, I didn't bother assembling the figure for some forgotten reason.  I did build the base though, and when I later bought the LOUIS MARX Twistable Batman, I'd bend it into a rough approximation of the Aurora figure and affix it to the tree with a rubber-band.

I'd love to be able to show you the result, but you'll just have to use your imaginations.  Aurora Batman is glued to his tree and I wouldn't want to risk bending Marx Batman in case his forty-six year old wire limbs snap.

Needless to say (though I'll say it anyway), I've had these replacements for many years - far longer than my original items - but I always get a special glow whenever I recall my rather unique amalgam of these two great toys from my childhood.  Did any of you also have these items, and, if so, what memories do you associate with them?  Feel free to share them with the rest of us in the comments section.  

PART SIX OF MARVEL TALES SPIDEY COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Roll up, roll up! Here's the penultimate part of SPIDER-MAN covers from MARVEL TALES in the 1980s, as illustrated by STEVE DITKO back in the '60s for the very first printings of these classic adventures.  As you can see, the cover of issue #172 bore the legend "Collector's Item Classic" right next to the word "Marvel" in the top corner box, thereby resembling the name of an earlier reprint mag which the BULLPEN once published. (MARVEL COLLECTORS' ITEM CLASSICS, natch!  However, the placement of the apostrophe is different in both cases.)

Be sure to be here for the final instalment of this super series, as there'll be a couple of surprises which you won't want to miss.

The DANDY To CLOSE?

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

So, the word on the street, Huggy, is that Dundee publisher D.C. THOMSON is considering The DANDY's future and may well even close the world's longest-running weekly comic.  DCT, however, have a habit of making announcements merely to generate interest and sales, so I wouldn't count out The BEANO's stablemate just yet.

Contrary to what some people are claiming, the last two years in particular have been anything but "an absolute triumph for British comics", and the only "phenomenal" aspect to the whole sad and sorry debacle of the 2010 relaunch was just how quickly circulation plummeted.  Readers voted with their feet, and though it's true to say that something needed to be done to kick-start sales, handing sections of the comic over to would-be cartoonists with little or no experience in the world of sequential storytelling was an experiment too far.

Overnight, the comic took on an amateurish, 'fanzine' appearance (albeit a professionally printed one), with poorly executed logos and diabolical, near-illegible lettering fonts.  Making a comic look like it was produced by children is hardly the way to sell it to children - of whatever age, and the editor responsible should have been sacked before his nightmare vision ever saw the light of day.  (Although, thankfully, there were still some strips by seasoned professionals.)

I haven't looked at The Dandy in some time, so perhaps it may have improved in recent months and my comments are out of date.  The comic is a national institution, so let's hope it's got plenty more years of life in it yet.  Personally, I won't believe it's dead until I see the lid nailed down - and that's not something I particularly want to witness. 

DESERT ISLAND COMICS...

As most British readers will know, DESERT ISLAND DISCS is a long- running BBC RADIO FOUR programme, based on the premise of a weekly guest being stranded on a desert island and having to choose their eight favourite records of all time.  Then they're asked if they could only choose one, which one out of the eight it would be.  Sounds like a good idea to steal, so with that in mind, what eight comics are your all-time favourites, and why?  And, if you could only keep one of them, which one would it be?

Leave your answers in the comments section.  Go on, play along - it'll be fun.

PART ELEVEN Of FANTASTIC COVER GALLERY...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

And now, returning to an earlier era, we present yet another half-dozen covers from "Britain's Super-Hero Action Comic" - FANTASTIC!  Also included are their back-page pin-ups, though please note that #63 had a back-cover ad which also appeared on #s 64 & 66.  To avoid repetition, it is reproduced here only once.  Note also that BARRY SMITH has only one pin-up this time around, the others being taken from other sources and featuring artwork from JACK KIRBY and DON HECK.

Only another twenty-three covers to go, alas, before our trip back in time comes to an end - but worry ye not.  We'll have something else lined up for you by then.  In the meantime - enjoy!

JOE KUBERT - REST IN PEACE...

Images copyright relevant and respective owners

Legendary artist JOE KUBERT has died at the age of 85. Famous for drawing such comics as TOR, TARZAN, ENEMY ACE, SGT. ROCK, HAWKMAN and dozens more, as well as founding The Kubert School, Joe was right up there alongside KIRBY, EISNER, SWAN, BUSCEMA, and any other comicbook artist of renown you care to mention.

Other blogs will doubtless cover the man's life and career in greater detail. For the moment, here is a selection of covers that made Joe Kubert's name one of the most respected in the industry.

Joe Kubert: September 18th, 1926 - August 12th, 2012.