LIVE & LET PLAY - OVER HERE, ELSIE...

Copyright relevant owner

Blackpool, 1973.  I'm sat on a deckchair next to my parents in the Sun Lounge of the famous North Pier, half-listening to the organist, RAYMOND WALLBANK, and reading the above paperback, when all of a sudden a high-pitched screech pierces the air: "Elsie... ELSIE! Over here... OVER HERE!  Cooooo-eeeee... ELSIE!"  The voice belonged to an elderly lady sat next to a companion, who was frantically flapping her handkerchief in an attempt to attract the attention of the afore-mentioned Elsie who'd just arrived.  Thankfully, Elsie heard her friend (as did residents on the far side of Blackpool, I would imagine) and soon took up the designated place beside her.

"I'm so glad you found Elsie!", quipped Raymond, good-naturedly, at the end of his tune.  Even I, as an uncouth 14 year-old, recognized the woman's bad manners in interrupting the performance to hail her pal, but I soon re-immersed myself in my book.  True, technically, I was perhaps likewise disrespectful in not paying full attention to Raymond, but at least I was unlikely to disturb anyone else's enjoyment while indulging in the object of my literary preoccupation.

Anyway, today I took possession of a replacement of the very book I read 40 years ago, as a 14 year old youth on Blackpool Pier.  I obtained it from AMAZON for a mere penny - 39 pence short of what the book cost brand-new four decades back.  Okay, I paid £2.80 for post and packing, but I'd probably still have had to pay that if the book had cost me a tenner, so let's not get bogged down in mere details.  (Even if I started it.)

If I recall rightly, I'd been to see LIVE & LET DIE not too long before our visit to the famous seaside resort, so the film was still fresh in my mind.  Also, the day before our departure, I'd acquired the 2nd edition CORGI TOYS ASTON MARTIN DB5 diecast spy-car, which I took with me on holiday.  I'd purchased it in one of my local R.S. McCOLL's, and although it was 1973, it was the original, '68 model in the blister pack instead of a box.  (Must've been old stock, I guess.  And yes - I managed to replace it some time back.)

The difference between the newer version of the car and the original 1965 gold-coloured model was that, unlike its predecessor, it was an actual DB5.  The previous incarnation had been rushed into production at the last minute, so existing moulds of a DB4 were swiftly modified and pressed into production.  In 1967/'68, Corgi Toys created completely new tooling, and, as well as being a slightly larger scale, the new car was the correct silver birch colour and sported revolving number-plates and rear tyre-slashers, as well as all three of the original features on the earlier release.

But I digress.  Returning to the book, there are still parts I recall even after all these years: Roger chipping a tooth and requiring root-canal work; having to shoot the wedding/motorboat scene again due to a steering mishap; the sign 'TRESPASSERS WILL BE EATEN' being the actual sign of the crocodile farm and not an invention of the filmmakers.  I'm not sure whether the book was ever republished, but the copy I received today is a first-printing and in extremely good condition.  Not bad for one 'new' penny, eh?

So, here's to that long-ago holiday in Blackpool, and all the comicbooks purchased back then; the Aston Martin, Roger's book, Elsie and her pals - and last but not least - the cool-as-a-cucumber Mr. Raymond Wallbank, who sadly died in 2010.  He played on the North Pier from 1965 to 1995, a period of 30 years in all.  When I eventually get around to re-reading the book, you can bet your boots I'll have another hearty chuckle at the memory of Raymond's humorous and gentle 'remonstrance' on that sunny July afternoon back in 1973.

******

Incidentally, prior to that day on the North Pier, I'd thought that the cry of "Cooooo-eeeee!" was a word only ever used in films or comics, not in real life. After all, it wasn't actually a 'real' word used by 'real' people, was it?  Or so I'd thought until that June or July day in Blackpool back in 1973.  As far as I can recall, that was the first, last and only time I've ever heard it being used  - outside, that is, of someone perhaps using it in an affected manner for humorous effect.

******

We returned to Blackpool on holiday the next year, 1974, and that was the last holiday I ever had - never been away since.  My parents returned several times over the decades, and may well have sat on the North Pier listening to Raymond again on quite a few occasions, but I did so only once.  Odd to think that the initial shared family experience was likely repeated, but without my presence.  Strange what passes through one's mind while reminiscing, eh?

    

In memory of Raymond Wallbank - born August 8th, 1932,

  died February 16th, 2010.

******

Above, is a replacement for my silver birch Aston Martin, which I acquired sometime in the '90s.

MEMORIES ARE FOREVER...

Copyright relevant owner

I've always been fascinated by how a mere glimpse of a picture from one's past can conjure up specific recollections of a particular time and place from so very long ago.  The above book cover photo is just such an example, as looking at it instantly transports me back to my father's greenhouse on a sunny summer day in the mid-'70s, where, surrounded by tomato plants and the accoutrements of the keen gardener, I sat and immersed myself in the world of BOND... JAMES BOND as the magnified heat of the sun beat down upon me.

The book - COLONEL SUN, by ROBERT MARKHAM (alias KINGSLEY AMIS), was already a few years old by the time I discovered it in my local R. S. McCOLL's, but that didn't bother me at all, if I was even aware of it at the time.  Unusually for me, apart from a couple of scenes, I don't recall much of the story itself (though I'm sure it will all come back to me when I read it again), but that day in the back garden greenhouse is as fresh as if it were only last week.

The copy I used to have was printed circa 1973 or '74, but the one I've just re-acquired is the first edition from 1970.  Not that it matters, as the cover is exactly the same, which is why I bought it - to more fully re-experience the memories that resurfaced upon sight of a thumbnail image of the paperback on eBay.

One day I plan to sit down and re-read it, when I can devote myself to it uninterrupted.  My father's greenhouse and tomato plants are long-gone (as is he), but some sunny day, I'll put out a chair on the spot they once occupied and try and recapture that glorious summer afternoon when I accompanied 007 as he yet again saved the world - all from the comfort of a red, white and yellow striped deckchair in a greenhouse in my back garden.

Me (and my Smash Martian pal) in my back garden in 1977.  Look at that
collar.  My father is reading a newspaper in his greenhouse behind me

SUPERCAR & FIREBALL XL5 - PART TWO Of TV COMIC ANNUAL 1963...

Copyright relevant owner

As promised to all you Crivvies last time, here's the second part of the GERRY ANDERSON content from the 1963 TV COMIC ANNUAL (released in '62), including the game on the back cover and the accompanying spinner and counters.  Now, printer permitting, you have everything you need to have a go at reliving a game from your long ago childhood. 

When the FIREBALL XL5 story was being prepared for the annual, the show had not yet aired on TV, and it's clear from the art that some drawings of the actual craft were based on concept pictures of Fireball at an early stage in its development, when it had a slightly sleeker design and was called CENTURY 21.  That's right - Fireball XL5 was originally named Century 21 and was a silvery-blue-ish  colour.  (See pic.)

It seems that the artist, NEVILLE MAIN, only had reference to black and white photos, as the colours of the crew's uniforms don't match up to their TV counterparts.  However, this was the first time that Fireball had appeared anywhere, so it's a genuine collectors' item.  Not quite up there with mighty MIKE NOBLE's superb strips in the later TV CENTURY 21 comic, perhaps, but a nice enough little tale for the slightly younger readership that TV Comic attracted.

And once again, BILL MEVIN turned out a nicely drawn story of SUPERCAR, with an effective application of colour that would've had a greater impact on readers of the '60s than it does us, as the programme was made and broadcast in monochrome.  That was one of the attractions of TV21 when it made its 1965 debut  - viewers could see the characters and craft of their favourite puppet programmes in colour, many for the very first time if they'd missed the TV Comic publications.

  

Anyway, that's enough prattling preamble from me - we now unleash you upon all the pretty piccies.  Enjoy.

  

******

Not from the annual, here's a concept drawing by DEREK MEDDINGS of Fireball XL5 when it was originally called Century 21.  As you can see, the first drawing  (as well as one or two others) of XL5 in the story below seems to have been based directly on the visualisation above.  (In regard to shape - especially the nose-cone - not colour, obviously.)

  

Note that Commander Zero is called Captain Zero in the above page and is absolutely nothing like his
television puppet counterpart.  Also, Professor Matic isn't wearing glasses throughout the entire strip

TV COMIC ANNUAL 1963 - PART ONE...

Copyright relevant owner

I now bestow upon all you cavortin' Crivvies the first of a two-part presentation of the GERRY ANDERSON content from the TV COMIC ANNUAL for 1963.  We start, though, with a non-Anderson, mighty MIKE NOBLE illustrated adventure of The RANGE RIDER.  Is there anything that Noble can't draw?  (Obviously a rhetorical question.)  And BILL MEVIN does a great job on the SUPERCAR story which follows it, capturing the spirit of the TV show perfectly!

  

OFFICIAL - DENNIS The MENACE IS GAY...

Image copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co, Ltd

What you're looking at above is The BEANO's sub-editor IAN CHISHOLM's first sketch of DENNIS The MENACE, drawn on a cigarette packet when the idea of the character was first being discussed.  (Followed by the first-ever strip drawn by DAVID LAW.)  The name was nicked from a once-popular song called DENNIS The MENACE From VENICE, about a gay gondolier, although obviously the word was used in its old-fashioned sense, and not in the way it's more often used today.

What with a gondolier and a sailor having such a hand in Dennis's 'birth', it's obvious that the young scamp must come from seafaring stock.  Maybe he'll join the navy one day.

******

(And, lest it isn't clear to some people, it's the gondolier called Dennis who I'm alluding to in the title of this post, not the famous comic strip character from The Beano.)

BEANO And DANDY SPECIALS - ON SALE NOW...

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

I was in my local WH SMITH's yesterday and, not seeing it on display, I asked whether they had The BEANO 75th BIRTHDAY SPECIAL.  "It never came in today, although it was supposed to - it'll probably come in tomorrow", was the response of some uninterested assistant.  That meant, of course, that it was sitting in the back shop, waiting for someone to extract the digit and put it out on sale.

I was in again today and there it was, so I ventured to ask about The LAST EVER DANDY SUMMER SPECIAL as I dug out some dosh to make my purchase.  "They don't publish The Dandy anymore"  I was told in response to my query.  "Yes, I know - but this is a special bookazine called... etc., etc.," I explained, rapidly losing the will to live.  "I'll ask one of my colleagues if she knows," he replied, and, with me in tow, made his way over to where she was.

 

We'll be here all night if I relate the back-and-forth dialogue that ensued - did I mean The Beano?  They don't publish The Dandy anymore, blah, blah, blah - so I'll cut to the chase.  Eventually the woman said: "I'll take a look in the back because, if we might have it, I know where it'll be kept."  A few minutes later she returned, holding half-a-dozen copies of the aforesaid publication that, according to her and her colleague, hadn't existed a mere five minutes before.

If I hadn't asked about it and not taken no for an answer, I can't help but wonder if it would ever have made it out to the shelves, or simply sat in a corner somewhere in the back shop until being returned to the distributor.  What a way to run a business.  WHS staff seem to regard most of their magazines as a nuisance, forgetting the fact it's one of the primary reasons for the company's existence.

 

Anyway, I finally purchased the two Specials, and in the main, they're worth the dosh.  One thing I find irritating about DCT's reprint books and magazines however, is the way they 'busy' up the pages, instead of just having plain and simple white margins 'round the strips as they were originally published.  They often have something obscuring part of the strip or simply adding clutter to the pages and it drives me up the wall.  Are you listening, Dundee publishers?  Stop ruining the strips at once!  (Having said that, these two mags aren't as bad as on previous occasions.)

Clearly, the two publications should be similarly priced at £5.99, but DCT seem to have have shaved £1 off The Dandy Special (£4.99) and added it to The Beano one (£6.99).  Perhaps they knew WHS would be hiding the former in the back shop and this was a way of cutting down on their losses?  (Yes, I'm joking!)

Anyway, two Specials that every Beano and Dandy fan should have in their collections.  The Dandy is marked #2, following on from last year's, so no doubt there'll be more in the future.  (Probably not with the word 'Summer' in the title though.)

GOOD NEWS: The BEANO TURNS 75 YEARS OLD. BAD NEWS: 60 YEAR-OLD ROGER The DODGER Is MURDERED...

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

Picked up the latest issue of The BEANO today, celebrating 75 years of publishing.  Took a quick look through it and was glad to see that they've now switched back to an upper case lettering font which, despite claims by some, does not give the impression that everyone is shouting - and is also much easier to read.  (And just looks better!)

The bad news though, is that long-running stalwart, ROGER The DODGER has been murdered - and replaced with a strange, alien-looking creature that seems immensely juvenile in both art and lettering.  Having ditched the nursery look in the rest of the comic, whatever possessed DCT to let the artist letter his own work?

The lettering, which is not much more than a scrawl, and the balloons, which are far too large, dominate the panels, and are not only sore on the eyes but utterly uninviting.  I didn't even bother trying to read the strip, which is populated by basic, unappealing, bug-eyed jellyfish-type doodles, 'illustrated' in the 'How to Draw Comics Quickly and Without Much Effort' style that the artist is (in)famous for.

The editor, the same man responsible for the decisions behind the demise of The DANDY, doesn't seem to have learned much (apart from in the lettering dept - bar one), from his previous mistakes and seems determined in trying to convince us that, when it comes to what comic art should look like, he knows best.  We can only hope that what is so far only a small irritating rash does not turn into the same full-blown terminal disease that doomed The Dandy.

Fingers crossed, eh?

R.I.P. ROGER The DODGER.

1953-2013.

"We Shall Remember Him."

FUN WITH RUPERT...

Images copyright EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS Plc

"Oh, RUPERT, RUPERT The BEAR - everyone sing his name!"  So ran the theme tune to the lunchtime television show which was broadcast between 1970 and '74.  However, as most fans know, the correct way to refer to the bruin is simply Rupert Bear - without the definite article.

Created by MARY TOURTEL and making his debut in The DAILY EXPRESS on November 8th, 1920, Rupert soared to even greater heights of popularity under ALFRED BESTALL, who took over the strip in 1935 until 1965.  (Though he continued to draw covers and endpapers for the Annuals for years afterwards.)

Rupert's newspaper strip usually consisted of two illustrated panels (four in the Annuals, in two tiers), with text underneath, instead of incorporated into the art like other comic strips.  However, back in 1988, the first of three RUPERT FUN books was released, featuring the little brown bruin's adventures in the more 'modern' form, with captions and speech balloons within the panels.

The first two were hardback (48 pages, including covers), with the third being cardboard covered, with a 48 page interior page- count.  Along with repackaged reprints of earlier strips, the books also featured puzzles and games, and were full-colour throughout.  Costing only £1.99, they represented extremely good value for money, and it's a shame the series didn't continue.

So, just in case you've never seen them before, here are the covers of all three books, along with a small selection of interior pages from the first.  Hum the theme tune while you look.

******

Click here for more about Rupert.

RON TURNER'S CAPTAIN SCARLET...

Copyright relevant owner

As promised a few posts back, here's the CAPTAIN SCARLET adventure drawn by RON TURNER from the Annual for 1968.  Any comments by me are pretty redundant, as you can see for yourselves what a fantastic artist he is.  I'm unsure whether he ever drew SUPERCAR anywhere, but he did illustrate most of the other GERRY ANDERSON characters and vehicles.  FIREBALL, STINGRAY, THUNDERBIRDS, CAPTAIN SCARLET and JOE 90 as well.  And just think - once you've enjoyed this tale, there'll be another one along in just a few posts time.  You lucky readers you! 

"WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE..."

How do you choose your friends?  What qualities or attributes do you look for or expect in those individuals with whom you socialise or make time for in your lives ?

Why do I ask, you may be wondering, so I'll tell you.  I've been reading a few blogs by professional comicbook contributors past and present, and one of the things that strikes me is that quite a few of them have one particular thing in common.  Which is?  Arrogance!  It may be an arrogance concealed by a cloak of humility or politeness, but it still lurks beneath the folds of that cloak just the same.  Of course, sometimes it isn't cloaked at all, and the person concerned may come across as an utterly odious and obnoxious character - and often is.

That arrogance rears its ugly head when someone - even a long-term friend or acquaintance - happens to voice an opinion different to that of the blogger.  I recently read one blogger say that he wasn't sure he considered someone a friend anymore, because he'd received an email from him concerning some controversial matter that didn't agree with his own view of the situation. He might not have articulated his altered attitude in precisely that way, but that was the essence of his reasoning, sure enough.

Another blogger, a one-time minor player (though status is relative, I suppose) in the lower echelons of comicbook history, has no hesitation in calling anyone a bigot who doesn't see things his way on (but not retricted to) the topic of homosexuality.  If you have reservations about same sex marriage or gay adoption, based on religious, cultural or historical traditions - even if you believe in tolerating dissenting opinions to your own and aren't calling for anyone to be spat on, abused, jailed, beaten or strung up - then, according to this belligerent individual - you're an intolerant bigot who he doubtless wouldn't cross the road to pee on if you were on fire.  (Perhaps it's simply a facade, but it's certainly a convincing one.)

This led me to ponder my own views on friendship.  Do I associate only with those whose opinions on various topics are in accord with my own?  Do I resent dissent and shun anyone who might hold completely opposite philosophies to the ones I embrace?  Well, no, actually.  I have friends who live totally different lifestyles to my own and align themselves with beliefs and practices that I don't happen to share, but as long as they aren't obnoxious in expressing why they believe (or do) as they do then there isn't a problem.  This doesn't mean that we never discuss controversial subjects, but we always do so with a respect for the other's point of view.  (Or, at the very least, the other's right to hold - and express - that point of view.)

So why do some comicbook contributors behave as they do, with such an arrogant, pompous and even superior attitude towards those they seemingly look down their noses at?  (Some, of course, don't necessarily express their views in an openly disdainful or hostile manner, but it's pretty obvious that it lies at the heart of their thinking, whether they're aware of it or not.  I think I understand*, so let me digress for a moment in order to explain.

When I was a freelance contributor to 2000 A.D., believe it or not, I was frequently asked for my autograph.  Not because I was deserving of such a compliment in my own right, but because of my (admittedly) minor association with Britain's cult comic and its iconic characters.  I was bathing in reflected glory, in other words, not my own.  Had I been the office tea boy, the fans would probably still have sought my signature on scraps of paper, so ardent were they in their desire to 'connect' with the object of their adoration.  (The comic, not me.)  Fortunately, I was smart enough to realise it and never let the attention go to my head.

However, some individuals who experience repeated instances of people lapping up every uttered syllable as if it's the wisdom of the ancients, and whose fans eagerly seek to ingratiate themselves with them because of their connection to a particular comicbook character or company, eventually start to believe that they're important and that their opinion (on any subject whatsoever) counts for something.  It's not long before they come to regard such adulation as their due and, because of the understandable reluctance of some fans to fall out of favour with their idols, they soon get used to never being challenged on their various 'divine pronouncements'.

So, when the day comes (as it inevitably must) that someone dares disagree with them, their noses are put seriously out of joint.  It's the old "Don't you know whom I am?" scenario, writ large.  (And I know just what you're thinking - "So why are you such a pompous buffoon, you Scottish git?"  Well, do what you're good at, I always say.)

Seriously though, many of the people these contributors cast off wouldn't disown them for holding an opposing point of view, so just who then are the real intolerant ones, the bigots, as these self-styled 'models of tolerance, fairness and goodwill' are quick to call anyone who fails to see eye-to-eye with them on their 'pet' issues?

That's the problem with only choosing your friends and acquaintances from those who share your likes, dislikes, tastes or opinions.  You're not choosing them for themselves, but rather for the reflection of yourself that you see in them.  That makes you your own favourite person - which may be hardly surprising, but doesn't necessarily make you a particularly good judge of character.

Just saying.

******

(*Of course, the people to whom I refer may always have been as they are, but there seems to be a pattern behind their attitudes which I thought would be interesting to explore.  Feel free to disagree - I won't fall out with you or ban you from the blog - unlike some.)    

GASP! JOHNNY FUTURE FLIES AGAIN IN A SUPER SUNDAY SPECIAL SELECTION...

Copyright REBELLION

  

Here we are with the final part of the current JOHNNY FUTURE adventure, wherein he battles the bombastic brutality of CAPTAIN CAVEMAN!  Well, not quite - but surely a close relative of the classic cartoon character, except rendered somewhat more realistically.

 

Johnny's taking a wee holiday for the foreseeable future, but if you'd like to see more of FANTASTIC's British 'Man of Tomorrow' (as daringly drawn by ace artist LUIS BERMEJO) then let me know in the comments section.  Every vote counts.