KID KLASSICS - 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.

IS HE PULLING MY STRING, ER...?

The man has surely lost the plot, there can be no other explanation for it.  Regular readers will know who I'm talking about so there's no point in identifying him.  I would prefer to do a post about comics or collectables, but his most recent disingenuous misrepresentation of the facts leaves me no option but to address the matter on this blog.  If you prefer not to read about such controversies, feel free to skip this post and wait 'til one more suited to your tastes comes along.

It has recently been brought to my attention that, over on this individual's blog, he has posted the following statement in a sidebar:

"All visitors to this blog are very welcome, and all comments, pro and con about the topics are much appreciated.  However an argumentative person who posted increasingly belligerent and abusive comments here a few years ago was eventually banned from commenting again.  He has since moved on to posting numerous distortions and exaggerations about me on his own blog and elsewhere.  This is nothing but petty and childish spite - but he cunningly twists things around to portray others as the aggressors and himself as the victim and a few people believe it!

I have never met this person and had rarely even communicated with him before he took umbrage at being banned.  (He's also been banned from other blogs and at least one forum for similar nasty and aggressive behaviour.)  If you come across his snide posts about me please disregard it for the deceitful 'trolling' it truly is."

Now, trust me - although I'm not mentioned by name, it's me who's being alluded to here so let's get down to it.  First of all, I don't believe I've ever posted "belligerent or abusive" comments on the man's blog, although I did respond to contemptuous, supercilious and insulting remarks by this individual in a robust and forthright manner (as is my wont).  Also, I have posted only the absolute truth about this person's increasingly provocative distortions of the facts - and only on my own blog, nowhere else.  Unlike the person himself, who has commented on various blogs and Twitter sites, ascribing to me various negative attributes and motivations of his own invention, and generally making spiteful remarks about me.

Case in point:  he says I "took umbrage at being banned" from his blog.  Really?  By what method of supernatural divination does he arrive at that conclusion?  None at all!  Rather, he plucks it from the ether of his imagination, just like all the other unflattering characteristics of bitterness, envy, hate, frustration, pettiness, spite, etc., that he claims I am heir to.

The truth of the matter is that it concerns me not a jot being banned from his blog - and it never has.  It was the act of a small-minded individual who couldn't deal with opinions contrary to his own, but I've never wasted any time fretting over it.  Of course, that doesn't stop him cavalierly claiming that, essentially, my heart is "the seat of wasting sorrow" at not being allowed access to his own personal playground.

Also, I have never been banned from other blogs or forums for "similar nasty and aggressive behaviour".  See how the lies and distortions trip so easily from his tongue in his desperate and obsessive attempts to smear my character?  I have been 'banned' from a couple of other blogs - but never for being nasty or aggressive - only because the blog owners disagreed with my point of view and took exception to me having a different opinion to theirs.  (For example, when I disagreed with the proposition that SUPERMAN should be turned gay or bisexual so that certain minority groups could feel more accepted by society.)  There are a lot of insecure souls out there in Blogger-land, let me tell you - although you probably know that already.

One of the occasions he refers to is when I supplied scans of four missing pages of The BEANO #1 to another blogger who had posted only 24 of the 28 pages, claiming they were the complete issue.  My detractor then pops up and describes my attempt to be helpful as "hassle".  Both persons were known to each other, being members of a comics forum where my detractor has a reputation for being a bit of a bully.  When I responded that he should reserve his bullying behaviour for there, the blog owner, in a show of solidarity with his forum chum, banned me for it.  The second individual has since revealed himself as a bit of a nutter by bombarding me with abusive comments in response to certain posts.  (Long-term regular visitors will be all too aware of them.)

The forum in question is the very same one I eventually joined, which seemed to put a few noses out of joint from the off.  I 'resigned' from it of my own volition in the face of open hostility from those who resented my presence on it (due to my frank and forthright criticisms and observations on my blog about various aspects of modern-day comics) - simply because I couldn't be bothered being placed in the position of having to be on the defensive all the time.

Other forum members recognised this and commented on it, and the site owner doesn't have a problem with me, even saying he'd miss my contributions to the comics-related discussions. Hardly the picture that my detractor seeks to paint, is it?  True, once I'd gone, a disgruntled moderator, without prior consultation with the site owner, banned me for leaving (I kid you not) in a rather pointless, knee-jerk reaction.  (The site owner then invited me to rejoin, though I declined his invitation.)  Also, as my detractor has himself been banned from more than one site, he's hardly in a position to throw stones.

So, true to form, he's posted a leading statement filled with distortions and inaccuracies in yet another sly attempt to malign me.  I can only suppose that he believes if he does it often enough, more people will eventually believe what he says to be true.  Yet, despite all his duplicity, he calls me "deceitful".  Strewth!

Anyway, I've given you the facts - what you do with them is up to you.  Perhaps he'll do what he's done before - delete the offending piece and then try and present himself as the picture of wide-eyed innocence and the undeserving victim of a nasty, aggressive 'troll'.  Perhaps it increases the visits to his blog, who knows, but, as I've said before, whenever he lobs a brick into my garden, it'll get lobbed right back. Thing is, the truth resides on my side of the fence and he'd do well to remember it.   

A TALE TO MAKE YOU BLUE - "GET DOWN, SHEP!"

Copyright BBC TV

Border Collie dog SHEP was probably BLUE PETER's most famous pet in a long and varied line.  Not only was he and his 'master', JOHN NOAKES, regarded as one of the nation's finest double acts (of a sort), they also inspired a record single by the group The BARRON KNIGHTS based on Noakes' continual admonitions of "Get down, Shep!"

John Noakes departed Blue Peter in 1978 after almost 12 and a half years, and Shep was 'retired' from the show at the same time.  Their association continued for another two years in the programme GO WITH NOAKES (which had started in 1976) and, according to some histories, John and Shep lived together happily ever after until Shep passed away in 1987.

Except that's not what happened.  Shep belonged to the BBC, not John Noakes, though the Corporation was prepared to make a gift of the dog to John on the undertaking that he didn't use the pet for commercial purposes such as advertising.  (The Collie who appeared with John in adverts for dog food in 1978 was a 'ringer' called SKIP.)  Also, the allowance which the BBC paid to John for looking after the dog would be discontinued.

John Noakes apparently later claimed that Editor BIDDY BAXTER wouldn't allow him to keep the dog; Biddy Baxter, on the other hand, claimed that once John found he couldn't financially profit from exploiting his canine chum in the lucrative world of advertising (though some accounts say he accepted this condition) and would no longer receive his regular allowance for the dog's upkeep, he promptly relinquished Shep back to the BBC.

The dog was cared for by EDITH MENEZES, the official Blue Peter pet keeper, who also 'looked after' PETRA (one of Shep's predecessors) and a variety of other animals from the BP menagerie. I've been unable to determine with whom Shep resided between 1978 and '80, but he stayed with Edith for the rest of his life from 1980 to '87.  (John revealed the dog's death while appearing on TV two or three days later and shed a few tears.)

So, sadly, despite the legend, John and Shep didn't walk off into the sunset together like ANDREW GLENN & BLACK BOB.  Shep stayed in Britain with Edith, while John and his wife moved to Malta in 1984, where I believe they yet reside to this day.

So not quite the happy ending BP viewers would've wished for, or that some sources would have us believe.  Sad, eh?

EAGLEMOSS 1966 MOVIE BATBOAT...

Some weeks ago, I bought the EAGLEMOSS 1966 MOVIE BATBOAT, which, it has to be said, is quite a bit more accurate than the CORGI TOYS version from the '60s.  However, good as the current model is, I thought it could still stand just a little improvement - so I took the liberty of adding a couple of spare original Corgi figures of BATMAN & ROBIN to complete the look.  Thought you might like to see some photos of it, so here you are.  They may not be perfectly in scale, but they round it off nicely I think. 

The FORGOTTEN ART Of COMICBOOK LETTERING...

Imagine, if you will, that a new computer programme is made available, enabling anyone to replicate the style of any cartoonist or comic strip artist of the past or present (or even a new style), and which offers poses and character types which can be used to produce pages of sequential art in either the humour or adventure strip medium.  (And, for all I know, perhaps it already exists.)

Anybody who has ever dreamt of producing their own comic strips would suddenly be able to do so, with the result that writers would no longer be dependent on artists as they'd be capable of completing the entire strip from start to finish all by themselves.  Of course, it wouldn't happen overnight, but, eventually, many traditional-type cartoonists and artists (which is not to imply that the two titles are mutually exclusive) would inevitably find demand for their services diminishing to the point of redundancy.

People who could 'draw a bit', but were never quite good enough for professional publication (though it never seemed to hinder some people on The DANDY) would be enabled, by computer technology, to elevate their work to the required standard and offer it at reduced rates to publishers desperate to save a bob or two in a world of spiralling costs and diminishing circulation.

Actual artists might be able to discern the derivative and less than spontaneous nature of strips produced in such a fashion, but the majority of readers wouldn't (or, indeed, even care about it if they could), so the fact that many a comics contributor could potentially find themselves being robbed of their livelihood would hardly be of any concern to the consumer.

That's progress - or so it's said.

Sadly, that's exactly what happened to another art form in the world of comicbooks some years back - the art of lettering.  And don't be fooled - it is (or can be) an art in itself, despite it being looked upon by many as a lesser skill in the pecking order of prerequisite powers in the production of published comic periodicals.  Nowadays, anyone with access to computer font programmes can letter comic strip pages, which, to the untrained eye, look just as good as good as those lettered by the likes of ARTIE SIMEK, SAM ROSEN, IRA SCHNAPP, or anyone else you care to mention.

One thing, though, that many practitioners of modern-day lettering have been unable to master is the placement of speech balloons and captions in a way that complements the art and aids in the reading of the page in a pleasing and 'natural' manner.  I've lost count of the times I've picked up a comic with computer-font lettering and been appalled by the way in which the art has been obscured by the clumsy positioning of text and sound effects.  (And, to be even-handed, some hand-letterers make the same mistakes.)

As I've said elsewhere, I don't have a problem with 'actual' hand-letterers putting their own styles onto computer programmes for their own use if it makes things easier for them.  After all, they've earned their stripes and are still utilizing the same artistic sensibilities as previously.  However, now that practically anyone with a computer who can afford to purchase the necessary programmes can set themselves up as a 'letterer', the 'art' has been taken out of the process and it has been diminished in some way.

No doubt there'll be a few cartoonists and artists who think I'm overstating the case and that my antipathy towards computer calligraphy is down to 'sour grapes' on my part.  Although, should the same thing ever happen to them, you'd soon hear them whistling a very different tune.

Any thoughts on the matter?

PART FOUR Of TV CENTURY 21 COVER GALLERY...

Copyright relevant owners

Well, we're now 14 years into the 21st century, a century that readers of a certain comic experienced 35 years before it was actually here.  "What rubbish are you talking about now, Robson?" some of you may be wondering, so permit me to tell you.

Back in January 1965, TV CENTURY 21 hit the newsagents' counters of Britain and for the next few years life was never again the same.  You see (as older Criv-ites will know), the comic was dated 2065 and mainly featured strips set a 100 years in the future (with a few set in 1965, which we accessed through TV21's time machine.  Hey, I'm only telling you what it said in the comic, so don't blame me.)

Anyway, let's jump back almost 50 years into the past to have a look at 100 years in the future (if you know what I mean) by studying another 10 covers from arguably the best weekly comic that Great Britain ever produced.  I was going to say that it seems like only yesterday, but how can such a thing be said of 'tomorrow'?  Just one of life's many little paradoxes, I guess, eh?

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL CRIV-ITES...

Copyright relevant owner

Never having been an imbiber of alcohol in my life, Hogmanay is not something I particularly look forward to, except to see the back of it as quickly as possible and have everything return to normal.  More drinking, more arguing, more fall-outs and more fighting seem to be the order of the day at this time of year than at any other, and I'm hard-pushed to see why so many people anticipate the occasion with such enthusiasm.

Personally, I'll be in my bed well before the bells, but for those of you who'll be partying long into the early hours and think I'm a right ol' misery-guts, just remember that your neighbours, elderly or otherwise, may be trying to get some much needed sleep, so it wouldn't hurt to show a little consideration for those who prefer a bit of peace and quiet.

Anyway, having nailed my colours to the mast as a grumpy ol' killjoy, let me wish all of you a Happy (and considerate) New Year.  See you in 2014 when your hangovers have worn off.

 Oh, and one more thing - "Bah, humbug!" 

STINGRAY: THE BURGLARS - FROM TV CENTURY 21 ANNUAL 1966...

Copyright relevant owner

I remember it well.  The TV CENTURY 21 ANNUAL for 1966 - loads of them, filling a square, metal wire stand on the ground floor of KRAZY KUTS in my home town, in August or September of 1965.  I was living in one house when I first saw the annual, and another by the time I got it for Christmas that year.  I therefore associate it with both houses, but mainly (perhaps) with the second one, as that was the one I was living in when I actually got my grubby hands on the book.  I also remember wishing my life away for it with the careless indifference that only a child can afford.

It all seems rather tame stuff in comparison with today's comics and annuals, but, at the time, it was the annual to have in 1965, as it represented the top-selling weekly comic of the day (which sounds like a contradiction-in-terms, but you know what I mean).  THUNDERBIRDS was on TV by the time I obtained the annual, but it had been prepared for publication before the latest GERRY ANDERSON sensation had made its debut, so STINGRAY was the book's main feature, appearing in two strips and featuring prominently on the cover.

Here, then, is the first of them - if you want to see more, be sure to let me know in the comments section.  Same goes if you'd like to share with the rest of us your own personal reminiscences associated with this classic annual from yesteryear.

CAUGHT ON CAMERA - DALEK VISITATION...

I was out in the back garden the other afternoon when I heard a rustling in the undergrowth at the side of the house.  Thinking it was a fox, I froze, hoping to see Reynard in all his furry glory - but surprise, surprise, 'twas no fox but rather a DALEK peeping cautiously from the foliage.  My mistake for tossing some old iron nails into the bushes when I replaced them in the back gate last week, but I hardly expected a Dalek to be foraging for metal scraps in my back garden.  No doubt his spaceship was concealed nearby (it's a big garden) and he was looking for parts with which to effect a minor repair, so I just let him get on with it.  Luckily I was able to surreptitiously snap a few photos with my concealed lapel camera before going back inside, 'cos I know what a disbelieving lot some of you can be.  He might still be out there for all I know.

What's that you say, nurse?  Time for my medicine?  Who are you calling a little pr*ck?  Oh, you mean the injection?  Okay, fire away.

See you all again when I wake up and they take off these long-sleeved pyjamas they're fitting me with.  Flubble!

Introducing CAPTAIN SCARLET...

As CAPTAIN SCARLET stares off into the distance in the best LITTLEWOODS catalogue tradition (at least he's not in his underpants), my mind turns back to the late 1960s when the above EP was part of my family's pooled (and eclectic) record collection.  Whenever I listen to a CD I now own of this particular mini-album (I have the original vinyl as well), I'm once again lying on the floor in front of our ancient cabinet unit containing a record player, with an assortment of 45 rpm singles scattered all over the carpet.

Funny how certain sights, sounds and smells can transport one back to a different era, allowing one to relive earlier, long-gone moments from the past as if they were only yesterday.  Funny but warmly reassuring, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  What memories spring to the minds of the rest of you upon sight of this collectable from yesteryear?  Did you have it yourself?  Feel free to share your recollections in our scintillating comments section.

Incidentally, the audio soundtrack of this and other mini-albums are included as extras in the Complete Captain Scarlet DVD collection.

******

Below, especially for McSCOTTY, is a picture of the PEDIGREE bendy Captain Scarlet figure mentioned in the comments section.  One sold on eBay in October of 2012 for £285.  In the other photo (from 1968), I'm holding the Scarlet figure in my left hand, while sitting on my lap is a STEVE ZODIAC and ZOONY on a friction-drive jetmobile, manufactured by GOLDEN GATE.  (I no longer have my original, but now own a replacement acquired many years ago.)

ARCHIE COVER GALLERY...

Copyright relevant owner

I never really read ARCHIE comics (apart from when he teamed-up with The PUNISHER), but I was aware of them.  A goodly number of years back, there was a bunch of them on sale in a local Glasgow comicbook store so I bought 'em, mainly because they reminded me of an earlier era.  Still haven't read 'em of course, but maybe one day I'll get around to it.  Archie first appeared in PEP COMICS in 1941, published by MLJ.  There seems to be contention as to who created him, some sources claiming it was publisher JOHN L. GOLDWATER and others that it was BOB MONTANA, though perhaps they were co-creators in the best STAN LEE/JACK KIRBY tradition. 

Anyway, I thought you might enjoy seeing some examples of when comicbooks were actually comic-books, so feast your eyes on these colourful covers, o dedicated seekers after truth.

IF YOU'VE GOT THE SPACE, THEN HE'S GOT THE TIME...

Copyright BBC TV

For all those who enjoyed the TV programme about how WILLIAM HARTNELL became the very first DOCTOR WHO, it's now available on DVD.  So, if you have any belated Christmas gifts still to buy for any fans of the TIME LORD, your problem is solved!

Anyone else like to see actor DAVID BRADLEY appear in a few TV specials, relating untold tales of Hartnell's Doctor? I know I certainly would.  Let's hope STEVEN MOFFAT reads this blog (unlikely though it is).

PERPETUATING THE PLEASURES AND PASTIMES OF THE PAST...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Funny how things never really change, eh?  (Having said that, I reserve the right to completely contradict myself in a future post.)  In the 1960s, I was reading The FANTASTIC FOUR in WHAM! and BATMAN in SMASH! (and watching his show on TV), as well as playing the Caped Crusader in my homemade Batman suit while running around the neighbourhood with my pal JOHN FIDLER as ROBIN, The BOY WONDER.  (No need to wonder - he was a real boy!  And you can read about those childhood escapades here.)

So what did I treat myself to for Christmas this year?  The JOHN BYRNE FF OMNIBUS Volume 2 and an ADAM WEST poseable Batman figure by MATTEL.  Funny how many of my interests are exactly the same today as they were when I was a child - or is it?  Adults I know who still drink furtively in underpasses did the same thing as teenagers (or younger).  A large number of people tend to perpetuate the pursuits of their youth, so, if you've got kids, perhaps the best gift you can bestow upon them is to help them cultivate an interest in worthwhile pastimes for the future.  You know it makes sense.  Sermon over - Merry Christmas.

Copyright DC COMICS