BABE Of The DAY - ADRIENNE BARBEAU...

Appeared in SWAMP THING

and loads of other films that I've never

seen and probably never even heard of,

but ain't she a babe!  It's the stunning

ADRIENNE BARBEAU.

STANDY BY FOR ACTION - STINGRAY INTRO...

Right, action lovers - here's the intro

to GERRY ANDERSON's 1964 TV show,

STINGRAY.  The explosion at the start was

later re-shot in colour, but here's the very

 first version to set your pulses racing.

BABE Of The DAY - SHARON STONE...

SHARON STONE!  Apparently,

she's got a far higher than average IQ.  If

so, why hasn't she been smart enough to

 call and ask me out on a date yet?

CRIVENS! CRIKEY! BLIMEY! JINKSY JILL & HANDSOME BILL COMIC STRIP RESULTS...

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who supplied a script idea, and hope they'll all forgive me for not choosing any of them.  I simply had to go with one I suggested (stole it from somewhere) because I find the word 'bum' funny.  I also hope it won't deter you from joining in these comps in the future.

CJ's two ideas were probably the best, so I'll award him a consolation prize.  If you send me your address, CJ (don't worry, I won't publish it), I'll send you a facsimile of BADTIME BEDTIME STORYBOOK #1 in about a week or so.

Incidentally, I produced the whole strip with a UNI-BALL eye needle micro pen with a fine point, with the exception of the words 'Jinksy' and 'Handsome', which I did with a BEROL black colour pen.  All my drawing and lettering pens are lying in a state of neglect and I couldn't be bothered cleaning them for use.

Maybe I'll even colour it up one day - stay tuned.  (Oh, and look - here it is!  Comments welcome!)

ROY THOMAS On CONAN The BARBARIAN...

Like CONAN THE BARBARIAN?  Then you're

bound to enjoy listening to ROY THOMAS talk about

ROBERT E. HOWARD's Cimmerian hero's MARVEL

comicbook adventures.  (A link to part two appears at

 the end of the clip if you'd like to see that as well.)

BABE Of The DAY - RIHANNA...

To be honest, I don't think I've

ever heard any of her music - or if I

have, I don't remember it - but she's

 certainly a babe.  RIHANNA.

JINKSY JILL & HANDSOME BILL - COMPETITION...

A few years ago, during an idle moment, I drew a few roughs of a comic strip I thought might be fun to do.  I soon lost interest and the idea has since languished in limbo.  Recently however, I drew one of them to a fairly decent standard (though it still needs a polish), but decided to leave out the original dialogue, which I'd originally just made up as I went along.  The original rough is below so that you can compare with the (almost) finished strip.

So, here's where you Criv-ites come in.  See if you can come up with some funny (but clean) dialogue for the pictures you see before you, and I'll letter the best submission and publish it here on the blog.  Not much of a prize, I grant you, but it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.  Thinking caps on now!

(And if you'd like to see the other roughs, click here.)

And below is the finished strip after lettering and colouring.

BLIMEY! The THING Is BIG BEN COVER & IMAGE GALLERY - PART FIVE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

As I trot tantalisingly about town spreading joy and happiness amongst my fellow Caledonians (by virtue of my fair and friendly countenance and beaming disposition), I still sometimes can't help but wonder if I do enough to alleviate all the pain and suffering in this wide world and whether it might just be possible to do more.  Then I remember this bombastic blog and realise what a herculean effort I put into making this planet a far better place, and feel foolish for doubting my awesome altruism.  In fact, I get so embarrassed about being such a wonderful person, that I very often feel like punching an orphan just to attain some kind of balance in my everyday life.

Anyway, enough of the problems of veritable sainthood - you're not concerned with such minor matters, I'm sure.  Instead, let's focus on the final four issues of MARVEL U.K.'s weekly periodical from the mid-'80s, The THING Is BIG BEN, which shuffled off this mortal coil with its 18th issue.  I've also included the Summer Special to complete the collection, as I just can't help but give, give, give!  ('Scuse me while I polish my halo.)

So, all you cavortin' Criv-ites, I've done my part, 'tis now time for you to do yours - by savouring the varied visuals which I've laid out before you.  Should you then wish to leave a comment thanking me for my genial generosity and bountiful benevolence, I'll read them with my customary modesty at what a super human being I happen to be.  Although, it's hard to be humble when you're as magnificent as I am, as I'm sure you can all appreciate.

      

BABE Of The DAY - SCARLETT JOHANNSON...

When is black red?  When the

BLACK WIDOW is played by SCARLETT

JOHANNSON.  Yeah, I know it's feeble, but

it's the best I've can do.  So sue me - or start

 writing your own ruddy captions.

D.C. THOMSON ANNUALS ON SALE NOW...

All images copyright D.C. Thomson & Co., Ltd

My local WHS has just put a selection of Annuals on display, so, tempted as I was to wait 'til nearer Christmas when the price comes down, I snapped up the two you see before you in case they sell out.  At the moment, if you buy one, you get the other for £1, which works out at only  £7 each - quite a good buy.  No doubt there will be other competitive offers elsewhere, and the price is bound to decrease even further at Christmas and the New Year (supplies permitting) if you'd prefer to wait a bit.  Anyway, let's consider THE BEANO & DANDY volume first.

It's satisfying to see that the pages are presented simply, with- out all the 'dressing up' that DCT's designers usually over-apply, but I still have a few quibbles.  The colours on most of The Beano covers seem bright and vibrant, whereas The Dandy ones seem pallid by comparison.  It's as if one set of covers have been boosted, but the other set haven't.  Despite that, it's a nice little collection, even though, following the mix-up of printing the same page twice in the recent Dandy Summer Special, Thomson's compound that error by printing the last two pages in the book out of sequence.  (You can see the correct order above, just below the cover.)

The OOR WULLIE & THE BROONS book is a delight, being presented in full colour for the first time, and there's a great selection of art by KEN H. HARRISON, DUDLEY D. WATKINS and even two examples by ROBERT N. NIXON.  The colouring gives the pages a whole other dimension, though there are at least a couple of instances where greater thought could have been put into its application.  In the two small images above, Wullie's hair is delineated quite clumsily, with it growing from behind his ears in the first, and over his forehead and temples in the second. 

However, these small but annoying quibbles aside, DCT are to be commended for at least trying to do the right thing.  Once they actually manage to produce their output free of clumsy errors, I'll be a very happy man.

CLASSIC U.K. COMIC STRIPS: RAVEN On The WING...

Images copyright relevant owner

RAVEN On The WING was a very popular strip that appeared in VALIANT (published weekly by IPC MAGAZINES from 1962 to '76) for many years, featuring the adventures of a young gypsy boy who happened to be an amazingly gifted footballer.  Drawn regularly by the talented and prolific Argentinian artist FRANCISCO SOLANO LOPEZ, this particular tale was published in the 1972 VALIANT & TV21 Summer Special.  Enjoy a taste of yesteryear - today! 

BABE Of The DAY - RAQUEL WELCH...

Ah!  Ravishing RAQUEL WELCH -

words fail me.  That being the case, you'll

 just have to think up your own.

CLASSIC COMICS: TV ACTION #59...

Characters copyright relevant & respective owners

Okay, Crivvies - as an extra-special treat, I thought I'd present you with TV ACTION + COUNTDOWN #59, the cover of which I first featured in part four of my FAVOURITE COMICS Of The PAST series some time back.  This time around though, you get the complete issue, plus I've also thrown in the elucidating exposition which accompanied the aforementioned previous pulsating post to save you having to look it up.

******

As I lay in bed on that lazy March or April mid-morning in 1972*, I was likely unaware that, before too long, I'd be moving house for the fourth time in my thirteen and a half short years of existence.  Through the slightly open window the sound of kids in the playground of my old Primary school at the foot of the road reached my ears, as I sipped American Cream Soda and enjoyed not having to attend the local Senior Secondary educational establishment a couple of streets away.

(*Might even have been in June, in which case I'd have known we were flitting.)

Surrounded by a monumental mountain of comics, the inconsequential illness which had kept me from school was soon forgotten, as I luxuriated in the privileged status of idle absenteeism while my classmates busied themselves with the enforced academic application that such scholarly study demands.  Looking back, it's strange to realise that, were it not for the date on one particular comic cover establishing almost the exact moment in history, my recollection of events would suggest them as having occurred many months before their actual point in time.

The comic in question?  The 59th issue of COUNTDOWN, which also happened to be the first issue relaunched under the new title of TV ACTION.  Cover-dated April 1st, it had gone on sale on March 25th, and perhaps some of the subsequent issues may even have been in that pile of comics on top of the blankets.  I'm not 100% sure, hence my hesitation in pinpointing the exact month of that school 'sickie' all those years ago.  All I know is that it must've been sometime between the end of March and the beginning of June.

However, as I said - that was only a mere handful of weeks (or days) away from moving to a 'new' house in another area.  I was blissfully unaware of (or had forgotten) the fact, though no doubt my conspiratorial parents had been making arrangements for some time.  I was only told of the move about a fortnight in advance, which, with hindsight, I'm actually glad of, as the knowledge would probably have spoiled the last occasion I had a day off from school in the house I'd lived in since I was seven years old.

One glance at the above comic and I'm once again lying in bed on that morning in 1972, listening to the faint noises from the street as they drift in through my inch-open window - the knowledge that one chapter of my life was about to end and another begin still concealed behind the enveloping cover of Time's cascading curtain.

******

If you have any fond memories of this particular issue, feel entirely free to share them with your fellow Criv-ites in our captivating comments section.