TOYBOX TREASURES Of The PAST: FAIRYLITE FRICTION-DRIVE SUPERCAR TOY...

I still recall seeing this friction-drive item in the window of a newsagent's while out shopping with my mother one day.  I was about 3 or 4 years old and, for whatever reason, when I expressed a longing for this SUPERCAR toy, my mother bought it for me.  It was seldom as easy as that, and the number of times I was given a clear "No!" far outweighed (by thousands to one) the few occasions I was indulged in my toy-box desires. 

One day, I placed the FAIRYLITE (I believe) TV tie-in atop our BELLING electric fire, and the rising heat from the three bar heater warped the left wing slightly.  Apart from photos like the ones shown here, I haven't seen this dearly cherished toy from childhood since around 1963, and I'd love to own it again.  Do you have one?  Then send it to me right away.

Are there any toys you had as a lickle kiddie-winkie that you'd like to have again?  (If you could afford to fork out the immense price they'd probably command nowadays.)

Update:  Finally managed to obtain one - that's it in the pictures below.

CORGI'S JAMES BOND ASTON MARTIN D.B.5...

You're looking at the relatively recent CORGI JAMES BOND ASTON MARTIN D.B.5, which was released to mark the 50th Anniversary of the 1964 movie, GOLDFINGER, and also Corgi's 1965 issue of their famous diecast car.  There's an interesting story behind this little metal model which some of you may not be aware of, so allow me to tell you about it.

Back in the '60s when Corgi Toys (a METTOY company) first considered releasing a JAMES BOND tie-in, they decided against it.  Later, they had a change of heart and had to work 'round the clock to have it ready for the approaching Christmas market of 1965.  It was too late to create a D.B.5 from scratch, so they modified existing moulds of their D.B.4 toy and had a trio of designers working separately on the three working features of the scale-model vehicle.  The rest, as they say, is history.

A couple or so years after the first version, which had been coloured gold to tie-in with the name of Goldfinger, they released a slightly larger scale (about 4 or 5 millimetres bigger) of an actual D.B.5, with revolving number plates and rear tyre-slashers, as well as the original features of extending front machine guns and over-riders, a bulletproof shield, and ejector seat.  This version was the correct silver-birch colour.  It's been said that the original toy was coloured gold because, when painted silver, it looked like unpainted metal. However, I find this strange, as there had been silver toy cars before which had looked okay.

Sometime around '95, a magazine advertisement appeared, proclaiming "The original is back!"  Corgi had reissued the original car (they said), which was available in either silver or gold.  Trouble was, contrary to their claims, it wasn't the original model and had been created from completely new tooling.  Not only that, it was a poor imitation of the second, slightly larger version - not the original, smaller (D.B.4) car.  The bonnet outline wasn't symmetrical, and the door outlines were unfinished.  What's more, the bonnet's raised vent didn't extend as far back as it should, and was slightly longer on one side than the other.  Also, the ejecting baddie was in a darker shade of blue.

Furthermore, the spoked wheels were far inferior to the highly detailed ones on the original versions, the machine guns & over-riders didn't look extended when they were (too short, though they soon revised this after I pointed it out), and the bulletproof shield didn't extend upward enough, as well as being very poorly shaped and uneven.  In short, it was a mess.  I contacted Corgi and spoke to one of the design team.  When I catalogued the list of faults, I said that the chassis looked as if an inferior mould had been made from an actual '60s 2nd version, and the faint or absent outline detail had been added back in.  "That's exactly how it was done" he readily conceded.

When I spoke to CHRIS GUEST (the managing director) a day or two later and made the same observations (before I mentioned having spoken with one of the designers), he said it wasn't the case, but I put this down to him being unaware of exactly how the finished result had been achieved, not that he was lying about it.

Which brings us to the present day and the current 'original' re-release.  This, too, is based on the 2nd version, not the first, and while the box is a thing of beauty and the car is superior to the '90s issue, it still falls short of the high quality of the two '60s models.  The paint finish is not as good, the passenger is still the wrong colour of blue, the spoked wheels are vastly inferior (moulded with a mere impression of spokes), the ejector seat is not as powerful (same as the '90s one), and the shield still does not protrude far enough.  Curiously, there's no tyre-slashers on this version, although it does have the revolving number plates.

Corgi is now owned by HORNBY (as is AIRFIX), and full credit to them for improving on the previous re-release, but when you think about it, with all the technological advances made over the years, models made mainly for adult collectors in the 21st century should be more detailed and of a far higher standard than toys made for kids back in the '60s.

This current version is available in silver or gold - or at least it was.  Gold ones now seem to be sold out, but the silver version can be obtained from HAMLEY'S for £20, or ordered direct from Corgi at www.corgi.co.uk - it's worth it just for the retro-style box alone.

MARVEL SUPER-HEROES MEGAZINE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

At the same time that the 96 page SPIDER-MAN MEGAZINE went on sale in 1994/'95, so too did MARVEL SUPER-HEROES MEGAZINE (are you spotting a trend yet?), featuring John Byrne's FANTASTIC FOUR, Frank Miller's DAREDEVIL, Michelinie's, Layton's & Romita's (and others') IRON MAN, and (again) John Byrne's HULK.  This mag struggled too, and gave up the ghost with issue #6, but it was great while it lasted.

So savour the sight of these six sensational covers, which I freely and beneficently bestow upon thee.  I sometimes astound myself with my altruistic acts of genial generosity, but I don't like to mention it, due to my humongous humility and monumental modesty.

Ain't I a saint?

SPIDER-MAN MEGAZINE COVER GALLERY...

All images copyright MARVEL COMICS

This is one comic that should've succeeded - but didn't.  Reprinting classic SPIDER-MAN adventures from different eras in the Web-slinger's main mag (including LEE & DITKO classics), and MARVEL TEAM-UP tales, it was a nifty little number that gave plenty of bang for its buck (so to speak).  Not that there was really anything 'little' about this mag - 96 pages (maybe 100 counting the covers, but I'm too lazy to check), made it fully deserving of its designation as a 'megazine' rather than mere magazine, which, as I'm sure we all know, can often be inferior affairs, ill-equipped to meet the comicbook challenges that confront them.

Unfortunately, I can't scan the contents without risking damage to the pages (too tightly bound), so you'll just have to settle for the covers.  There were only six issues before it was discontinued, so it shouldn't be too difficult (or expensive) to track them down on eBay should you feel so inclined.  Go on - give yourself a treat today!

"IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!" The HULK VERSUS The THING...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Here's another blockbustin' belter from the backyard of bygone days - HULK Vs. The THING, in four classic slug-it-out fight-fests from the '60s & '70s.  Once again, I'm surprised to see that this magical mag hails from 1999 - making it around ten or eleven years older than I thought it was.  (Sixteen years ago?  Really?)  Regarding the last tale, I always like JIM STARLIN art inked by JOE SINNOTT, because it reminds me of the covers they collaborated on for early issues of the UK weekly The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL back in the faraway fields of the 1970s.

So have you read all four titanic tussles, true-believer?  (No?  Then just where've you been, Melvin?  And yes, I'd say you're right!  It should've been five, but seemingly there wasn't space for FF #12.)  Assuming that you have one, which of them is your favourite?  Don't hold back now - put your typing fingers into action and tell your fellow Criv-ites all about it.  You know what a bunch of nosey-parkers (sticky-beaks) we are!  The floor's all yours!

BABE Of The DAY - KATE UPTON...

Here's a pic of my girlfriend, who

bears an uncanny resemblance to KATE

UPTON.  That's 'cos she is Kate Upton -

though, okay, I admit she's not my girl-

friend.  (So I only half lied.)

HEY! IT'S HULK MEGAZINE #1...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

As VICTOR MELDREW would say: "I don't believe it!"  Yeah, I know I'm always banging on about just how quickly time flies, but I'm compelled to mention it once again on sight of this comic.  1996?  It can't be true, but it is.  Although it only seems to me like four or five years ago at the most, a whole nineteen years have elapsed since I purchased this ace HULK MEGAZINE mag from a store in Glasgow city centre.

It's contains some cracking classic tales that belong in every comic fan's collection.  Even though I own the original printing of HEAVEN IS A VERY SMALL PLACE!, it's worth the price of the Special for this titanic tale from the '70s alone!  Add to that a pair of GIL KANE illustrated adventures and you've surely got a guaranteed recipe for success, right?  You'd think so anyway, but if there were ever any subsequent issues of this title, I never saw them.  Nevertheless, this is a comicbook you should have, so if not, get on to eBay right away!  

PERCHANCE DID YOU PURCHASE A PLASTON SUPERCAR RECENTLY?

Here's an item I saw on eBay recently - a PLASTON SUPERCAR from the 1960s.  I never had this toy as a kid so I'm not consumed by a desire to own it (though if anyone's giving one away, I'll gratefully take it off your hands), but it's a nice example of GERRY ANDERSON related merchandise from the period.

This toy is apparently quite rare, so these photos are as close as you and me are ever likely to get to it.  The starting bid was over £600, but I don't know what it finally sold for.  Oh, to be rich, eh?

PART THIRTY-FOUR Of FAVOURITE COMICS Of The PAST - THOR #432: "AT DEATH DO WE PART!"

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Y'know, it feels odd to be including this particular ish in my FAVOURITE COMICS Of The PAST spot.  After all, it still seems quite a recent comic to me, so well do I recall buying it back when it first came out.  Then it hits me - that was 1991 - 24 years ago, not far off half my life away, and I realise that, when I was 24, I felt as if I'd been around forever.  That means that a 23 year-old today would probably consider this mag practically prehistoric.  And yet it still seems so tangibly recent to me that it's difficult to accept it's almost a quarter-of-a-century old.

Anyway, this was a pretty hot comic at the time, featuring the death of a Norse god and the introduction of a new THOR.  There's genuine suspense in the tale, told superbly by TOM DeFALCO and RON FRENZ, in Thor's 350th Anniversary appearance in a mag that was titled JOURNEY Into MYSTERY for its first 125 issues.  It even reprints Thor's debut from JIM #83, though the reproduction in some places looks as if it was yet in the process of being restored for its then-upcoming MARVEL MASTERWORKS presentation, especially in the lettering department. Some bold words contain blurred letters which are whited-out in places, awaiting retouching, but have been left unfinished - probably due to a tight deadline.

For those not in the know, although most of the recent reprintings of Thor's origin are taken from far more faithful sources, back then Marvel had to use the proofs from Thor #158, which had also reprinted the story, but with an altered splash page and final panel.  The splash had to be re-assembled into its original layout, and the logo restored and a speech balloon re-created, but it didn't look exactly the same. The last panel from #158's version was revised only slightly for #432's outing, but was completely re-lettered (badly) 'after the original' for the Masterwork volume.

Anyway, that's enough mind-numbing geekery from me - it's well-past time to look at some dynamic artwork.  So let's say we do so right away, pilgrim.

     

Note that in the intro to this page, LARRY LIEBER, who scripted the tale (based on STAN
LEE's plot), isn't mentioned, nor is JOE SINNOTT, who inked JACK KIRBY's pencils.
(For years the inks were credited to DICK AYERS, though it was obviously Sinnott's style.)
I doubt that Larry's omission was a devious attempt to deny him rightful credit - or give Stan
undue glory - it was most likely the result of someone not knowing the story's genesis

PART FOURTEEN Of COMIC COVERS 'SNAP'!

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Don't you just love it when a classic '60s cover design gets used again?  Such is the case with The FANTASTIC FOUR #12 and The MIGHTY THOR #404.  Of course, some people might say it's a bit sneaky to swipe someone else's layout, but it's an honest 'homage', not a rascally rip-off.  That makes a big difference, as homages are permitted and plagiarism isn't.  (Not that Marvel cares as it owns the copyright on both images.)

However, the cover below may be a double - er, 'homage' (at least), as it looks to me like RON FRENZ has based Goldilocks and BALDER on figures from a JACK KIRBY Thor mag.  If I'm correct and you recognise which one, then let me know the issue number, frantic ones, and I'll add it to this post.  (I'm too lazy to look through my MARVEL MASTERWORKS volumes.)

   

UNTOLD TALES Of SPIDER-MAN COVER & IMAGE GALLERY - PART ONE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

It had been done before of course.  Telling 'untold' adventures in a hero's early career wasn't a new idea from MARVEL, whose first nine issues of The RAMPAGING HULK (in 1977) presented stories meant to be set between the last ish of his own mag and his first appearance in TALES To ASTONISH.  True, the stories were later dismissed as fictional imaginings of an alien called BEREET, but it was a brave try at recapturing the raw fun and energy of Hulkie's first six outings, though for a slightly more mature audience.

UNTOLD TALES Of SPIDER-MAN was pretty much the same concept, fitting somewhere amongst Spidey's earliest escapades by STAN LEE & STEVE DITKO.  The 25 issue series (not counting, for the moment, a FLASHBACK ish, two Annuals ['96 & '97], and a card-covered Special ['98/'99]), was mainly by KURT BUSIEK & PAT OLLIFFE, though ROGER STERN, TOM DeFALCO & RON FRENZ were also contributors.

It's a nice little run, part of Marvel's 99 cents line, created in an attempt to attract new readers who may have been deterred by the standard cost of  $1.50 or $1.95.  The series is available in an OMNIBUS edition if you'd like to catch up on it, or you could try tracking down the individual issues on eBay if, like KRAVEN, you enjoy the thrill of the hunt.

In the meantime though, you can enjoy this first instalment in a four-part post.