The MIGHTY THOR COVER GALLERY - PART ONE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

I've always liked THOR.  Or, to be more precise, I liked the "star-kissed" DON BLAKE concept of Thor, as opposed to the "casual creation" of an all-wise ODIN version. When ODHAMS PRESS reprinted the early Thor tales in FANTASTIC in the 1960s, I was hooked; when MARVEL reprinted them in SPIDER-MAN COMICS WEEKLY in the '70s, I was hooked again.  So, in the '80s, I was ripe for a publication devoted solely to reprinting tales of the titanically-talented Thunder god in his own weekly title.  After all, how could it fail?

Well, for a start, how about messing up the colour every issue so that it's almost never in alignment with the line-art, resulting in a kaleidoscope of visual chaos and confusion?  Then why not cut the Thor content by half and add a strip that doesn't really fit the mood of the mag, like CAPTAIN AMERICA?  Yeah, that ought to do it!  It was almost a relief to see Thor and the X-MEN titles merge around four months later, because it resulted in a mag akin to the late, lamented Fantastic from 16 years before.  It's just a shame they didn't add IRON MAN to the mix and revive Fantastic's name and logo - I'd have been as happy as a pig in - well, I'm sure you catch my drift.

But you can't fault Marvel's intentions - it was a good idea, even if it never quite caught on.  So, here's the first part of a look-back at the covers from a time when Britain had its very own Thor mag.  Will we ever see such a thing again?  You never can tell, but let's hope they do it right next time - if there is one.  (Are you listening, PANINI?)

Anyway, feel entirely free to record your readers' reminiscences in the comments section, and don't forget to come back for part two.  You'd kick yourself if you missed it, so see you soon (hopefully).  Excelsior!

The HOUSE Is HAUNTED...

You'll have heard me mention The GROSVENOR CAFE in Glasgow's famous Ashton Lane before (not the cafe that now bears the name, but the one owned by the original owners).  Sadly, it closed its doors in 2001, but I have fond memories of the place.  I recall myself and a friend being surprised to find it open later than usual one evening, and jumping in for a coffee and to enjoy the ambience.

They weren't normally open at that hour, so I think it may have been a trial run to see what kind of business they could attract in the evenings, if any.  I have an idea that they'd laid tablecloths and put a few candles around the place, but perhaps I'm imagining that.  My friend and I were the only two customers, and the staff (two girls) were kind enough to play my CD of MEL TORME which I had bought earlier from BORDERS, another now-vanished city-centre establishment.

Anyway, whenever I listen to that CD today, I can't help but think of The Grosvenor Cafe (and Borders) in all its glory, and give a little sigh for times past.  Here's one of the songs that was on that particular CD album - I'm fairly sure you'll enjoy at least as much as I do.

PART TWO Of The ORIGINAL X-MEN COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Here are the final eight issues of '80s U.K. comic, The ORIGINAL X-MEN, which, the week after #17 was published, was merged with The MIGHTY THOR, becoming (unsurprisingly) THOR & The X-MEN.

There!  Who says I can't be concise?

COMING SOON: Cover Gallery for The MIGHTY THOR!

WERE YOU BORN TO BE BLUE?

For all those who appreciate good music by great singers, here's another song from the velvety vocal chords of MEL TORME, one of the smoothest and most relaxed singers you're ever likely to hear.  This particular number is called BORN TO BE BLUE, so sit back, put your feet up, and allow mellow Mel to soothe all your troubles away.  You'll feel much better for it - honest.

STARBURST COVER GALLERY - PART ONE...

Images copyright respective owners

It was November or December of 1978, and I was sitting in the local CO-OP cafeteria with some pals, sipping a Coke and shooting the breeze.  During my occasional moments of inactivity in the conversation, I perused the newly-purchased magazine laying on the table before me, my eyes continually returning to study the cover which so transfixed my attention.  I hadn't yet seen STAR WARS at that time, and didn't get around to doing so until my local cinema screened it as one half of a double-bill with its sequel a couple of years later.  The movie didn't impress me, but I sure liked that cover.

Well, the Co-op and its cafe have been gone for quite some time now, but I still possess that self-same copy of Starburst that I bought just over 36 years ago, in the exact same condition as on the day of purchase.  Starburst was the brain-child of DEZ SKINN, whose own company published the first three issues before MARVEL UK acquired the title when Dez started working for them in 1978 or thereabouts.  Dez 'officially' left the magazine (and Marvel) with #20, but ALAN McKENZIE had being doing most of the editorial chores on his lonesome for the previous few issues anyway.

The final Marvel UK number was #87, with #88 being the first one published by VISUAL IMAGINATION in 1985.  The company went out of business in 2009, with #365 being the last in-print issue.  The mag then became an online only-presence in 2011 (366-373), before being revived in 2012 as a published magazine once again, starting with issue #374.  The latest issue is doubtless sitting on the shelves of WH SMITH's at this very moment, waiting for you to pick up a copy.  Why not do so at the earliest opportunity?

Anyway, I thought you might enjoy a taste of the '70s by viewing the first 12 covers of the original publication.  Each cover has its own personal memory for me, especially #6, which I associate with the furniture department of the local BAIRDS store where I worked at the time.  Ah, Bairds - yet another place from the past that vanished from my local shopping centre some time back in the '80s.  However, one look at these covers and my home town is once again as it was, when I was just a youngster with the future in front of me.  I'm sure it's the same for you, too, so feel free to share your reminiscences in the Criv-ites comments section.

      

I seem to recall reading somewhere that the cover image was vertically 'squashed' before
printing (to avoid Darth Vader's head obscuring the logo maybe).  It sure looks that way

HAS JIM STARLIN'S STAR BURST?

Copyright JIM STARLIN

The post's title is mere word-play, based on the name of the mag that this JIM STARLIN 3-pager comes from, though it may have appeared earlier elsewhere.  The splash page is dated 1975, but it was in '78 that it appeared in STARBURST #2, a magazine by DEZ SKINN.  I'd guess that not many people will have seen the strip before so it's a bit of a collectors' item if I'm correct in my assumption.

As always, someone will be certain to let me know if I'm wrong, but I'm a big boy now - I can take it.  Could it have first appeared in a fanzine called GEMINI, as that name appears alongside an earlier date of '72 on the last page?  That, of course, would mean Jim didn't draw it in '75, so if anyone knows the score regarding the different dates, feel free to share.

Anyway, all you Starlin fans - enjoy!

   

A STRANGER IN TOWN...

Whaddya mean, who's MEL TORME?  Hang

your heads in shame!  He's only one of the greatest

vocalists of the 20th century, that's who!  Don't believe

me?  Then click on the above link and prepare to have

your doubts dispelled, you li'l ol' unbelievers you.

The ORIGINAL X-MEN COVER GALLERY - PART ONE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

April 13th, 1983 - that's when The MIGHTY THOR #1 (British edition) hit the shelves of newsagents across the country.  A week later, The ORIGINAL X-MEN #1 sat side-by-side with issue #2 of the thunder god's comic, giving all us Merry Marvellites two new mags to add to our collections on a weekly basis.  We'll get to Thor in a future post, but even though it means I'm slightly out of sequence (and there's a reason for that, which will become apparent at a later date), let's focus for the moment on the X-Men.

The cover banner was a bit of a cheat as not every page was in full-colour; some were, but the rest had only spot-colour, and letters and competition pages were mostly in black and white with spot-colour logos and blurbs.  However, what with glossy covers and colour pages,  British Marvel was beginning to recapture a touch of the style possessed by their mags in the early 1970s, before they'd gone down the route of re-sized, black and white comic papers that resembled the output of their IPC and D.C. THOMSON rivals.

The stories were re-presentations of the reprints from the U.S. title, AMAZING ADVENTURES (Vol 3), from 1979.  The tales were abridged by one page then divided in two, with a new splash page created for the second half of each story.  The U.S. mag lasted 14 issues, the British one survived for 17, before then being merged with its companion weekly, Thor.  Amazing Adventures featured six new covers by JOHN BYRNE, BOB BUDIANSKY and AL MILGROM, but the U.K. comic ignored them, initially, for ones by Brit artist JOHN RIDGEWAY, and later by GIL KANE, from when the original U.S. X-Men mag had reprinted the tales in the early '70s.

I'd bought the first three issues while living in one house, and #4 came out almost a week after moving to a new one.  However, the tenancy on our old home had a few weeks still to run, so we'd left a few items of furniture to collect at our leisure.  On the day I bought #5, I stopped in at my old abode en route to my new one and sat on a wicker chair in my old room, drinking in the familiar view beyond the window, as the sun began its sad slow descent towards the horizon and one era of my life drew to a close forever.

However, you know what they say about forever, and just over four years later, we returned to our former abode, where I've lived ever since.  It's strange to look at these X-Men comics today (and the Thor ones) and realise I associate the first few with my current bedroom, and the others with the bedroom of my 'new' house, even though they've now spent far more time here than there.

Anyway, that's quite enough of my personal reminiscences - I'm sure you'll all have your own recollections of when you first experienced these comics from over 30 years ago, so why not tell us about them in the comments section?  We'll be waiting.  And don't forget to be here for Part Two - coming soon.

NEXT:  "A Stranger In Town".

******

(Sharp-eyed readers will notice that there's a week's gap in the dates between issue #2 & 3, so the third ish must have been delayed for some reason - or just had the wrong date.)

LOVE ME TENDER? NOPE!

Just about everyone knows the song LOVE ME TENDER by PELVIS PARSLEY (or whatever his name is), but did you know that the tune originally belonged to a 19th century composition called AURA LEE?  Here's Mr. VELVET himself, JIM REEVES, singing it live sometime back in the 1950s (I think) on some show or other.

This clip looks as if it's been filmed directly from the TV broadcast, so the quality of sound and vision isn't all that great, but isn't it interesting to hear the original version of the song?

'TEAM-UPS & TENSES' - PART SIX of 'POT LUCK' MARVEL COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Some might say it's redundant given that SPIDER-MAN readily identifies the publisher, but I can't help thinking that 'MARVEL' should be far more prominent in the above cover's rather bland masthead.  However, that's just a personal observation and no one's obliged to agree with me on the matter.  Anyway, here's yet another batch of British Marvel weeklies (although it's possible that MARVEL ACTION HOUR was a fortnightly comic, but I can't quite recall) to satiate your rabid desire for all things Marvel from many years ago.

It would be interesting to know what the sales figures were on these titles, because, with the possible exception of TEAM-UP, I can't imagine that any of them lasted for very long.  British Marvel seems to have lost its way a bit during this period, and nothing much matched the excitement that early issues of MWOM and SMCW managed to create in readers back in the early '70s.  You have to give them credit for trying, I suppose, but, for the most part (with a few honourable exceptions), it wasn't until PANINI took over the task of producing U.K. titles that 'British Marvel' at last fulfilled its potential as far as presentation goes.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves.  Instead, let's focus on these pulsating periodicals from the past, when we were all younger, brighter-eyed and bushy-tailed, with optimism for the future burning in our hearts.  Wouldn't it be great to re-experience those elusive, enchanted emotions from so very long ago?  Well, now's our chance!  So, everyone clasp hands and focus upon the covers enclosed within this post - with any luck, we'll return to an earlier era together!

Spot the Marvel boo-boo.  The date should read 18th