THE DANDY - 75 YEARS... NOW ON SALE!

Copyright DC THOMSON & Co, Ltd

Earlier than expected, THE DANDY Special Collector's Edition is now on sale at WH SMITH. Priced at £5.99, it contains a reprint of the very first issue of Britain's longest-running comic.  I mentioned this publication almost a fortnight ago on this very blog, and was met with scathing scepticism as to the veracity of my post.  Perhaps some people won't be so doubting next time, eh?

The last issue of The Dandy in December will also include a facsimile of #1.  The above publication was prepared before a decision had been made on the weekly comic's fate.

UPDATE: Contrary to information supplied to me earlier, there are only 24 of the original 28 pages in the reprint of the first issue.  My source must have assumed it contained the full contents by looking at the last page, which was numbered 28. Let's hope that the forthcoming facsimile in December is complete.

COMIC COVERS 'SNAP'! PART THREE...

 

Copyright DC COMICS

Here's the mighty MAN Of STEEL in his 1938 debut tale in ACTION COMICS #1.  JOHN BYRNE used a reversed version 48 years later for the cover of The FANTASTIC FOUR #291.  And 26 years after that, the layout was utilised for a character with super-strength who predates even SUPERMAN - by almost ten years.  POPEYE #1 hit the stands a few months ago and may still be available in your local comicbook shop.  It's extremely likely that the cover design has seen print quite a few times down through the decades - if you know of any others then feel free to let me know.

FANTASTIC COVER GALLERY PART 12...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Once more we plunge back into the turbulent time stream (without a TARDIS) to revisit the year of 1968 and look again at the covers of FANTASTIC, a British weekly publication from ODHAMS PRESS.  If you don't already know, Fantastic reprinted various MARVEL superhero adventures, enabling us lucky Brits to catch up on the tales of The X-MEN, IRON MAN, THOR, The AVENGERS, etc.

Take a look at the cover of #70.  Believe it or not, although The HULK's adventures were first reprinted in sister publication SMASH! in 1966, they had started with Hulk #2 - so this was the first time that Odhams had presented ol' Greenskin's debut tale.  (Likewise, when SPIDER-MAN was reprinted in POW! - a comic from the same stable - they started with the first issue of his own title - the tale from AMAZING FANTASY #15 was bypassed completely.)

I remember my brother buying Fantastic #70 while on holiday in Largs that year, and both of us going over its pages while standing outside the 'close' of the ground floor flat we were staying in (with outside loo).  I also recall us poring over it again at the table inside later that day, so the Hulk tale was obviously something that fascinated us.  I got a STEVE ZODIAC & ZOONY on a friction-drive JET-MOBILE and a bendy CAPTAIN SCARLET figure on that same holiday, so 1968 was a good year for me.  Ah, such fond memories.

The back-page of issue #72 was the same as #69, so I haven't bothered to repeat it here as there's no point in showing the same ad twice.  Well, that's all for this visit - be sure to tune in again soon for another instalment of Fantastic Cover Gallery. There's only seventeen more to go and you don't want to miss the full set.

Feel free to share any childhood reminiscences that any of the  covers may conjure up for you in the comments section.

HAS ANYONE SEEN MY DINKY?

Way back in the mid-'60s, the big thing on British TV was THUNDERBIRDS. (BATMAN was still a few months away.)  GERRY ANDERSON's latest puppet programme was a sensation, spawning all sorts of merchandise.  One such was the diecast Thunderbird 2 toy, manufactured by DINKY, which was then owned by the MECCANO company. 

I wasn't lucky enough to have a brand-new TB2 when they first came out - I had to wait a few years before I managed to get a beat-up one from a jumble sale.  It didn't have the red exhausts, but, being an ingenious sort of kid, I used the red tops of two Colgate toothpaste tubes, affixing them with parts of a wooden lolly-pop stick which fitted in the holes where the exhausts were designed to go.  It looked great, if I say so myself.  I don't know what eventually happened to it over the course of time - it simply disappeared, quietly and without notice, but I never quite forgot it.

A few years back, I saw one in a toy and model shop situated in Parnie Street in Glasgow.  Like its predecessor, it was lacking both exhausts, plus one of its legs, but it was going for only a few quid so I bought it.  Thankfully, there are a few diehard enthusiasts around these days who professionally manufacture replacement parts for classic toys from yesteryear, and I was able to obtain the required pieces from one such supplier.  A friend had a TB2 with one surviving leg, so I bought four replacement ones and swapped them for the one from his model.

Next, I stripped the chipped and flaking paint from my TB2, repainted it (by hand), fitted the new exhausts and missing leg, then applied a brand-new set of adhesive labels to complete the desired effect.  What you're looking at in the above photo is the result of my handiwork.  The replacement pieces and labels are virtually indistinguishable from the originals, and I finally have a practically pristine version of the famous Dinky Thunderbird 2 from 1966.  The cost?  Around £12 to £15, all in.

Of course, it's not worth the same as an unrestored version, but the monetary value doesn't concern me.  As long as I've got a toy that I once had as a child and it looks as I remember it (or in this case, even better), then that's good enough for me.

"Thunderbirds are go!" 

KIRBY'S 'WOODEN' ART - PART TWELVE Of FAVOURITE COMICS Of The PAST...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Here's another brilliant belter from the backyard of bygone days - 1971 to be precise.  However, I didn't buy it until around 1973 or thereabouts, as no doubt it languished in a warehouse somewhere before being belatedly distributed to the spinner-racks of newsagents all across the U.K.  I don't believe I'd ever seen the CHALLENGERS Of The UNKNOWN before, but I was captivated by the combination of JACK KIRBY's and WALLY WOOD's art, which made me wish that Wood had inked Kirby's FANTASTIC FOUR - especially in the early days.

Curiously, the writing duties are all credited to Jack alone, but in the DC ARCHIVE EDITIONS, DAVE WOOD (no relation to Wally) is listed as being co-writer on The MAN WHO STOLE The FUTURE and CAPTIVES Of The SPACE CIRCUS.  What's more, his name comes before JK's, which tends to suggest that Dave Wood came up with the original premise in each case, and that Jack perhaps then added little extra details of his own.

In light of this, it's legitimate to wonder why, for someone who later complained about being denied credit, Jack often (if not always) failed to mention JOE SIMON in any of his one-page accounts of his past achievements which appeared in some of his DC comics (though not in this particular ish).  You'd think that someone who later became the 'pin-up boy' for 'hard-done-to' creators would've been more scrupulous in his own efforts to accord credit where it was due.

When one measures the Challengers stories inked by Wood against those by other inkers, the difference is astounding.  (You'll need the DC Archive Editions for that, as there are no non-Wood inked strips in this issue.)  Earlier adventures not inked by W.W. tend to pale in comparison, and this fact confirms my strong belief that Woody was one of Jack's best inkers - if not the best.  I'd have loved to have seen a THOR tale inked by Wally.  DICK AYERS sometimes came close to emulating Wood - FF #6 and AVENGERS #8 being prime examples.  There are some distinctly Wood-ish touches in these two issues.

I recall taking this issue along to my grandparents' home on one of our weekly Sunday visits, and poring over the incredible artwork.  My grandparent's owned a bed-settee, and there's a number of comics I had over the years that I can't read now without remembering that deep-red bed-settee.  When, years later, they elected to move into an old folks home, that settee took up residence in my brother's bedroom, where it was when I acquired the replacement issue for the one I'd originally had years before.  Just think - at two separate points in my life I've held both copies of that issue while sitting on that settee.  My grandparents have been gone 30 years, the settee was 'relinquished' in 1987, but the comic and its numerous associations survive.

Anyway, that's enough self-indulgent personal reminiscences from me. Instead, let's enjoy these sensational splash pages and marvel at the brilliance of Kirby and Wood.  MARK EVANIER once told me in an email (in response to an enquiry of mine) that Wally Wood thought that his inking technique sort of overpowered Kirby's pencils, dominating and maybe even supplanting JK's style with that of his own.  (I'm paraphrasing from memory, but that was the general essence of his remark.)  However, I prefer to think of the result as, to use a well-worn phrase - "greater than the sum of its parts".  Kirby's power and perspective combined with the highly-detailed and dynamic brush and pen of Wood - what's not to like?

Just look at the above page - isn't it simply stunning?  Jumping back nearly 40 years to when I was sat on that red settee, I can remember exactly how I felt studying this page.  I could practically feel the heat of the Egyptian sun beating down on me as my eyes drank in the scene. It's a triumph of composition, and I can't help but wonder if it was completely off the top of Jack's head or whether he used reference material of some sort.  Regardless, it's an absolute 'brammer' and remains one of the finest examples of its kind in the history of the medium.  How someone could look at a page like this and say that comics aren't 'art' is beyond me.  Which is not necessarily to say that all comic pages are art, but this one most definitely is.   

Hopefully, you've enjoyed reliving your own first experiences of reading this comic while perusing this post.  If it's the first time you've ever seen it, then the fortunate thrill of tracking it down on eBay now lies before you.  However, if you've got a bit of cash to splash, you may prefer to seek out the DC Archive Editions which came out a few years back.  If so, here's the info you need:

Challengers of the Unknown

Volume 1 - ISBN: 1-56389-997-3.

Volume 2 - ISBN: 1-4012-0153-9.

The above is a pin-up by BOB BROWN from SUPER DC GIANT #S-25 - the very issue that all the other pages in this post are sourced from.  Can't say I'm too keen about the costumes.

NOW HERE'S SOMETHING WITH A BIT OF 'DEPTH' TO IT... (NO CHARGE)

Here's an original 1966 ACTION MAN by PALITOY, in an original DEEP SEA DIVING SUIT also from the '60s.  The suit's rubber lining has long since deteriorated into crispy particles, as witnessed by the fact that when I posed him for this photo, it sounded like someone walking on gravel.  The 'plate' on the chest-piece originally bore the G.I. JOE logo, but it was blanked out on the British version.

If I remember correctly, my brother got the suit for his TOMMY GUNN figure by PEDIGREE, and I recall him filling up the deep ceramic washing sink in my grandparents' kitchen one Sunday and putting him through his paces.  Of course, this isn't the suit my brother had, but a replacement I acquired a good few years back.  It goes without saying that I've had it for far longer than my brother had the original one.

That sink has been gone many years, as have both my grandparents, but the memories remain as fresh and distinct as yesterday.

******

Interestingly, back around 1986, an old classmate moved into the top floor flat of the three-storey block my grandparents had lived in from 1964 to around 1979 or '80 (theirs was the ground floor flat).  I used to visit him on occasion, and so vivid were the memories that it really was like stepping back in time.  Ah, the good ol' days.

ASYLUM Of The DALEKS - An INSANE IDEA?

ASYLUM OF THE DALEKS, last night's episode of DOCTOR WHO, was based on a ridiculous premise from the start.  Daleks are supposed to have no emotions other than hate, so how then can they be driven insane when they don't have the prerequisite sensibilities to begin with?  Daleks are insane from the get go - driven by a compulsive, obsessional lust to destroy everything in their path and subjugate whatever survives.  Hardly the definition of sanity in anyone's book.

I don't know what it is about STEVEN MOFFAT.  Under RUSSELL T. DAVIS, he wrote some of the better episodes of the earlier series, but now that he's in charge and without someone to rein him in, he seems to be indulging himself to the point of turning in lacklustre scripts that still need a fair bit of polishing.  Doctor Who Confidential was cancelled, presumably as a result of dwindling interest in the series, so now would really be a good time to pull out all the stops and give us something that'll have us on the edge of our seats (or behind our sofas).

Instead, what we get is yet another retread of the Doctor running through corridors being pursued by something nasty, with doors closing behind him and other doors opening up in front of him, almost ad infinitum.  Or at least, that's what it seemed like, because - sad to say - we've seen it all before.  Like, in almost every other episode of the last series - and the one before that, and the one before that, etc.

Which is not to say that there was nothing entertaining about last night's episode, because there was.  However, the programme still needs to pull its socks up if it's going to hang onto its audience, and the only way to do that is to give us something different.  Personally, I'd like to see the Doctor materialize in Victorian London and get involved in a good old- fashioned murder mystery - like finding out who JACK The RIPPER was and revealing the secret behind why he was never identified and seemed to vanish off the face of the Earth forever.

Dare I say it?  A Who-done-it, so to speak.  Pun completely intended. 

THE DALEKS - A FAMILY PORTRAIT...

Copyright BBC TV and the Estate of TERRY NATION

Remember, the DALEKS are back on U.K. telly tonight, on BBC 1 at 7.20.  (Apparently they're getting a house call from some doctor or other.  Perhaps they've got the flu?)  Here's a nice picture of mummy and daddy Dalek, along with some of their youthful offspring out for an afternoon stroll.  Look at those little baby Daleks - aren't they cute?  Look for the upcoming DAVID ATTENBOROUGH documentary, LIFE ON SKARO - coming soon. 

The VANISHING STONE MEN - COMIC COVERS 'SNAP' - PART TWO...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Back in 1985, the layout of the cover to JOURNEY Into MYSTERY #83 was dusted down and reused for X-MEN ANNUAL #9.  JACK KIRBY's artwork for JIM #83 originally featured several more STONE MEN From SATURN descending from the sky, which were deleted before publication to lend greater emphasis to the figure of The MIGHTY THOR.  However, ART ADAMS and WALTER SIMONSON's cover was closer in design to 'King' Kirby's unaltered version.  (That's the published comic below.)

And, for all the completists amongst you, below is a production photostat of how Jack originally drew the cover (inked by Joltin' JOE SINNOTT) before STAN LEE decided that it was just a bit too crowded for the star of the book.

But it's not over yet.  Below is a coloured version which appeared in ORIGINS Of MARVEL COMICS in 1974.  I suspect that the white spaceship and hammer were supposed to have been coloured grey, but were missed due to an oversight.  It also looks as if the colourist mistook Thor's tuft of hair for one of the wings on his helmet.

Well, you can't say that you don't get your money's worth on this blog, now can you? More COMIC COVERS 'SNAP' soon!

FAVOURITE COMICS Of The PAST PART ELEVEN - The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #18...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

I was buying a lot of comics in 1984 - from any place I could get 'em.  Newsagents, comicbook shops, Glasgow's Virgin Mega-Store; you name it, if it sold comic-books, I was probably in there at some stage scooping them up.  The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #18 was one I purchased from R.S. McColl's in the main shopping centre of my home town.  Its primary attraction for me was that it was scripted by STAN LEE (from a TOM DeFALCO plot) and that Spidey was drawn in an imitation DITKO-style by RON FRENZ.

What an utter joy it was to read this tale - it simply sang, such is Stan's mastery of words when it comes to making a story move along at a rip-roaring pace.  I enjoyed it so much that I actually read it again the next day, and could only rue the fact that Stan didn't write more often.  Say what you like about 'The Man', but he sure knows how to inject an infectious sense of fun and adventure into almost any tale and this one was certainly no exception.  Over the years, whenever I've wanted to re-experience the thrill of seeing just how well a superhero comic can be written, I've returned to this issue again and again.

I know I've bored you with the topic of time before, but it really amazes me that I first read this story a kick-in-the-pants off 30 years ago - it just doesn't seem like it. The R.S. McColl's shop I acquired it from is long, long-gone, the premises having housed several different businesses in the intervening years between then and now. Yet, when I look at the cover, I can clearly remember buying it as if it were only a couple of weeks back, so distinct is the memory of it in my mind.

  

As I said, back in the early '80s, I was buying a whole lot of comics, but I only regarded two of my regular titles as being absolute 'must-haves'.  The first was The FANTASTIC FOUR, written and drawn by JOHN BYRNE, and the second was MARVEL TALES, reprinting the classic run of Lee/Ditko Spider-Man stories.  These were the 'dynamic duo' of the monthly Marvel output, but occasionally there would be an issue of another mag which was up there with the best of them.  Such a one was The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #18.

I can honestly say that my copy is in practically the same condition as the day I bought it, which is more than I can say about me.  It's at times like this that I find myself wishing I had a hideous portrait up in the attic of the same mystical properties as Dorian Gray's.  Of course, some wag is sure to say that any portrait of me is bound to be hideous.  It reminds me of the time an artist asked his subject whether he thought his newly-completed portrait did him justice.  "It's not justice I require," said the eminent subject - "it's mercy!"

And on that note, I'll leave you to look up the price of the above ish on eBay.  If you don't already have it in your collection, now's the time to track it down and treat yourself to a fun read.

LIVE DINOSAUR SEEN IN GLASGOW...

That'll be me then.  (My friends think I'm a bit of a dinosaur and I often feel that I'm heading for extinction.)  However, as we're on the subject...

In the grounds of Glasgow University, near the entrance to the Hunterian Museum, there once stood a Tyrannosaurus Rex.  I think the ol' chap had been part of a display and was placed in that spot around the year 2001, where he soon became a popular tourist attraction and interesting backdrop against which students posed for their graduation photos.

A few years ago, the museum was extensively renovated, and old 'Dino' disappeared.  I've no idea whether he was quietly put to sleep or still exists somewhere in storage, but fortunately I had managed to take a few photos of him a year or two before he was removed.

For all those who miss ol' Dino as much as I do, here's a few snaps of him to remind you that Glasgow once had its very own prehistoric pal who guarded the grounds of the fourth oldest university in the English-speaking world.

******

Since I first posted this, I've discovered that 'Dino' is actually a female dinosaur called 'Millie' (the Millennium tyrannosaur) who was lifted into position on January 22nd, 2001.

JACK'S BACK...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

When JACK KIRBY returned to MARVEL in the mid-'70s, the only existing mag he resumed drawing was CAPTAIN AMERICA.  Apart from lending his artistic prowess to some covers (usually designed by MARIE SEVERIN), he steered clear of the heroes he'd helped make famous back in the '60s.  So - no FANTASTIC FOUR, THOR, HULK, AVENGERS, X-MEN, etc.  He did draw the Hulk in a couple of issues of The ETERNALS, but it was a 'cosmic powered' mechanical figure - not the genuine green-skinned goliath himself.

I have to confess to not being overwhelmed by many of the covers Kirby drew during his '70s period.  His art style by this time had become a little too 'cartoony' and not quite as realistically rendered as in former years.  JOE SINNOTT inked quite a few of them, but even he couldn't entirely disguise Kirby's looser, blockier, more abstract way of doing things compared to his triumphs in the '60s.

However, there was one cover in particular I remember being impressed by when I first laid eyes on it back in 1975 - MARVEL PREMIERE #26.  Inked by VINCE COLLETTA, the cover looked like it could've been a '60s piece discovered in the Marvel Vaults.  GEORGE TUSKA did the interior pencils, and Colletta's inks on them may not have been quite as successful as on the cover, but they didn't have to be.  I purchased that issue for the cover alone, and wished Marvel would assign more of Jack's art to Vinnie's magic brush and pen.  (Although the placement of the figure with the axe is somewhat suspect and his right leg needs a little work - but that's down to Jack, not Vinnie.)

Examine the cover at the top of this post and then compare it to the Fantastic Four one inked by Sinnott, above.  The perspective is all wrong and the background figures' sizes aren't consistent to one another.  And is that car parked up on the pavement?  Also, look at where the windscreen is positioned and the sparse detail on the chassis.  One hesitates to use the word 'lazy' in relation to Jack Kirby; after all, every line that Joe inked was there in the pencil stage, Jack certainly didn't stint in that department.  I often wonder though, if, later in his career, he'd simply passed the point of caring whether his art reflected reality or not, and it was only the overall effect he was concerned with.

Maybe it was just a case of Jack getting older and less interested in sustaining the near-perfection of earlier days.  After all, at this stage he'd been drawing comicbooks for close to 40 years, so could perhaps be forgiven for being somewhat worn down by the 'conveyor-belt' production process of the medium.  And who could blame him?  Life has a way of sucking the soul out of even the best of men. 

However, I come to praise Kirby, not to 'bury' him.  So, take another look at that HERCULES cover and enjoy what Jack was still capable of when combined with an inker who knew how to dilute his later weaknesses and enhance his strengths.   

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK KIRBY...

Art by Jack Kirby & Vince Colletta

His life enriched us.

His legacy sustains us.

Few gifts are as precious.

Here's to you, Jack.

You will be missed.

JACK KIRBY, had he yet been alive, would've been 95 years old today.  The legendary co-creator of MARVEL's FANTASTIC FOUR, INCREDIBLE HULK, ASTONISHING ANT-MAN, MIGHTY THOR, UNCANNY X-MEN, AVENGERS, NICK FURY, CAPTAIN AMERICA & many others, plus sole creator of DC COMIC's NEW GODS, FOREVER PEOPLE, MISTER MIRACLE, KAMANDI, DEMON, OMAC, etc., he was probably involved in more comics than almost anyone else in the medium.

Let's all take a few moments to remember the 'KING' - he deserves it. 

LONDON CALLING... (Updated)

There are certain things I miss doing as I get older, even though I know I probably couldn't do them any more even if I wanted to.  One of the things I miss most is visiting London once (sometimes even twice) a week - as I did in the mid-'80s for a couple of years - to collect and deliver artwork from and to KING'S REACH TOWER, the high-rise (now former) headquarters of IPC MAGAZINES Ltd.  I usually made the journey by coach, which was around eight and a half to nine hours each way and pretty fatiguing, as it was almost impossible to grab some sleep for the duration of the trip.

Normally I was working from the moment I got in to the moment I left for the return journey home, but, occasionally, I found myself with a bit of time on my hands and could go off and explore parts of London during my lunch hour (when I wasn't too busy to take one) or after working hours.  I was usually accompanied on these little excursions by KEVIN BRIGHTON*, an IPC art assistant (for 2000 A.D. and other titles) and/or MARC JUNG, the sub-editor of BUSTER comic.  (*Sadly, Kevin passed away on September 8th 2021.  'Twas Marc who informed me in a comment to the blog.)

I remember going to The IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM in Lambeth Road, not far from the ELEPHANT And CASTLE tube station, and (on another day) COVENT GARDEN, although, if I recall correctly, that may've been early evening on that occasion.  I also visited St. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL (designed, as we all know, by Sir CHRISTOPHER WREN) and took quite a few photos inside.  The one above of me outside its steps was taken by either Kevin or Marc.  The NATIONAL THEATRE on the SOUTHBANK was another place I enjoyed having a look 'round in one lunch hour.

I was in my mid-20s at the time, and it was only my youthful energy and enthusiasm which kept me going after a near-sleepless trip down to London.  Nowadays, I severely doubt I'd be up to the rigours of a nine hour journey without taking a long kip on arrival, but the mere thought of having to sit on a coach for that length of time leaves me exhausted and reluctant to repeat the experience - even though I'd like to see the city again and just how much it's changed over the intervening years.

So, why'd I stop going to "The Big Smoke" (after December of 1987) if I enjoyed it quite so much?  After all, I was surely still young enough to have endured the ordeal of travelling there for another few years.  Well, truth to tell, I was a bit of an anomaly in the world of comics.  At that time, editors preferred to have their freelance letterers close to hand, which was why I made the journey at least once a week.  (I lived in Southsea for the first few months, so the trip wasn't as long or as arduous.)

However, once I proved reliable, editors didn't mind entrusting the POST OFFICE to deliver strips to my door in Scotland, and for me to return them the same way.  (Occasionally I would use RED STAR when a deadline was looming.)  I think I may've been the first letterer (certainly outside of London) to be allowed to operate this way, but no artwork was ever lost in the post so there was never a problem.  That meant I simply had no need to go to London after a while - it came to me.  In fact, I could probably have ceased my excursions earlier than I did, but I could always pick up some extra work from simply being on the premises, hence my continued sojourns over a two year period.

One day I'll post photos of some of the IPC staff I snapped on my trips to 'the office', but in the meantime you'll have to be content with the one of myself which adorns the top of this rambling reminiscence.  Ah, those were the days! 

HOW TO BAKE A DALEK...

DOCTOR WHO makes a welcome return to U.K. TV screens this Saturday, along with his arch-enemies The DALEKS.  To celebrate, I thought you might like to try making some chocolate Daleks to munch on while watching the show.  So, step back in time with this recipe from the pages of TV CENTURY 21 #28, cover-dated July 31st, 2065 - a comic well and truly a hundred years ahead of its time.

Incidentally, TV21 editor, the late ALAN FENNELL, copied the above recipe directly from his own issue of the comic and sent it to me back in the early '90s, as the one I'd cut out as a kid and which was kept in my mother's cook/bake book had been misplaced over the years.  Nice of Alan to kindly supply a replacement.

LET'S PLAY COMIC COVERS 'SNAP'!

Images copyright DC COMICS

You'd be amazed at how often a good cover design is reused by other artists in 'homage' to the original.  It's happened quite often over the years, so welcome to the first in an occasional series which throws the spotlight on comic covers and their 'copies'.  First up is SUPERMAN #243 from October 1971, and JONAH HEX #91 from June 1985.  There's a respectable interval of 14 years between these pieces, but I recognized the source immediately when I bought the latter in a shop in London's Victoria Train Station back around the mid-'80s.

More covers to come in the future.

    

PAST, PRESENT Or FUTURE?

Imagine that scientists were able to devise a means by which humans could relive any point in their past as if experiencing it for the first time.  Working on the premise that more detailed memories of every moment we have ever encountered are embedded in our subconscious than was previously realized, we could reconnect to them with such potency that they seemed real in every way.  We'd see, hear, feel, and taste with a clarity so vivid it would virtually be time travel, except that it'd be happening only in our minds.

If such a thing were possible, how many of us would then stop seeking new experiences in the future, instead preferring to relive previous ones from the past in the here and now?  Never mind going to the dancing on weekends and trying to chat up some brash, drunken nymphet - you could re-experience that night sixteen years back when you pulled the best looking girl at the work's dance and got up to some hanky-panky in a stationery cupboard.  You could read again any comic you ever had as a child, faithfully recreated from your memory-banks for you to peruse any time you felt like it.

Deceased friends and relatives could be 'resurrected', and once again you could sit and converse with them just as you did when they were alive.  Any conversation, any kiss, any holiday, any vanished toyshop from childhood could once more be as real to you as it used to be in bygone years.  What's more, in your mind, you'd be the same age that you were when any incident you wish to relive first happened.  You could spend a day as a seven year old, with all the vitality and enthusiasm that was yours when you were that age.

The only drawback would be that it happens in 'real' time. For example, every moment you 'relive' of your past would require the equivalent time in the present.  That is, an hour would take an hour, a day would take a day, etc.

So, would you spend your future reliving various memories of yesteryear in your mind (but which felt entirely real), or would you rather spend your tomorrows experiencing new sensations in the flesh?  The past or the future beckons to you from the present.

What would your choice be?

The FINAL FRONTIER - NEIL ARMSTRONG: 1930 - 2012...

It's a curious paradox of time that past events can seem, at the point of recollection, both recent and long ago at almost the same moment.  I'm not quite sure how the process works, I only know that it does.  Perhaps when remembering something, one's memory leaps right back to the event, making it seem as fresh and immediate as when it first happened.  Then the intervening years instantly resurface in the mind's eye, shifting the focus and thereby placing events in their proper perspective, time-wise.  All this transpires in a split-second of course, creating the illusion of experiencing two diametrically-opposing sensations simultaneously.  Does that make any sense?

Regardless, New Year's Eve (Hogmanay), 1970, seems like only a short time back (despite being a lifetime away) when I look at my AIRFIX APOLLO LUNAR EXCURSION MODULE, which I first acquired shortly before (or maybe even on) that December 31st of 42 years ago.  Of course, I no longer own my original one, but rather a re-issue from the early '90s.  Fortunately, unlike more recent re-releases, this one features the original box art from the '70s.

I recall, while my parents prepared for the unlikely arrival of any 'First Footers' on the stroke of midnight, putting the finishing touches to my LEM and sitting it atop the sideboard behind the settee.  Let me tell you something about that sideboard.  Not that I imagine you'll be interested, but the past weighs heavily on my mind and I suddenly feel compelled to unburden my soul.  (As Poe would put it.)

I had grown up with that sideboard; it had been in every house I remembered (I was then in my fourth house and had only just turned 12), and it was a main feature of our living-room.  Several years and yet another house later, either when I was out at work one day or living down in Southsea for a few months, my parents acquired new display units for either side of the fireplace and gave the sideboard to a relative.  When I returned it was gone - without me ever getting to bid it farewell.

Yup, that carpet certainly needs hoovering

A couple of years on, we moved to yet another house, the first I'd ever been in without the sideboard.  Four years later, we returned to the house from which we'd flitted, and - six years after that - I bought the sideboard back from the relative and installed it in my back room, where it now sits just to the side of me as I type.  (That's why it's called a sideboard.)  At around the same time, I also acquired a replacement Airfix Lunar Module, and you can be sure that, when I finally get around to building and painting it, I'll display it on top of the aforementioned item of furniture - just as I did those many years ago.

However, believe it or not, I didn't start this post with the intention of discussing sideboards, regardless of how enthralled by the topic you may be.  (No?  What's wrong with you?)  It was astronaut NEIL ARMSTRONG's passing that prompted me to put digit to keyboard.  In 1969, the year that Neil first set foot on the surface of the moon, he was only a relatively young man of around 38 or so.  (That's quite a bit younger than I am now.)  40-odd years later, the man is gone and I find myself amazed at just how recent the events of 1969 suddenly, for the moment, appear to me.

One day, when I finally build that LEM, I'll no doubt recall three things.  Firstly, Neil's historic achievement back in 1969.  Secondly, that particular New Year's Eve of 1970 and my original Lunar Module sitting atop the sideboard.  And, thirdly, just how fleeting time is and how, nowadays, there never seems to be enough of it.  I've still got quite a few unbuilt model kits to assemble before I'm ready to take that "giant leap" into "the final frontier".

I suppose I'd better get started on them pretty darn soon.

******

In memory of NEIL ARMSTRONG.

August 5th, 1930 - August 25th, 2012.