HERB TRIMPE In SUPER SPIDER-MAN...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

In 1976 (wow, almost 40 years ago), NEIL TENNANT, before he found fame with The PET SHOP BOYS, was an editor at MARVEL U.K.  In issue #164 of SUPER SPIDER-MAN, he wrote a short article on HERB TRIMPE, and the following ish featured a centre-spread poster specially drawn by Herb exclusively for British fans. 

And in issue #226, we were treated to this HULK pin-up.

Now that Herb's gone, the work that he did for the British Marvel titles seems somehow more special.  After all, he did it for us.  Thanks, Herb.  Miss ya.

THERE'S A NEW MOON OVER MY SHOULDER...

Oh, all right then, here's another song from JIM REEVES

to pacify the huge demand for great, easy-listening music that'll

soothe and relax you right down to your tiny tootsies.

BABE Of The DAY - LINDSEY MARSHALL...

LYNDSEY MARSHALL reminds me

of a woman with whom I once had a brief

'liaison'.  Or maybe it was only a woman with

whom I wished I could've had a liaison, brief

or otherwise.  Either way, who can blame

me?  She's certainly a wee cracker!

PART SIX Of The TITANS CENTRE-SPREAD POSTER GALLERY...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Continuing our series of The TITANS centre-spreads, here are another half-dozen to titillate your tastebuds and make you plead for more.  The 3rd and 4th pics in this palpitating post were two parts of four posters which combined into one large one.   The other two pics were published in SUPER SPIDER-MAN, but don't worry - I'll include the complete combination in the final instalment of this run.  So what's holding you back?

Get stuck in!

AWESOME ADS! 'ON The SCENE' - EIGHTH & FINAL PART...

Back cover of On The SCENE

Okay, it's only taken us about three years to get here, so let's not waste another moment.  Nobody's getting any younger!

******

However good omnibus collections of comicbooks or magazines may be, something is always missing.  The ads and the smell of the paper are partly responsible for conjuring up the mood and memories of the period  in which the publications of our youth were printed, and without those elements, the magic of such volumes is likely to be less potent than it otherwise could, would, and should be.

So having previously presented the contents of the 1966 oneshot On The SCENE Presents SUPER HEROES, I thought I'd complete the series by showcasing the ad pages in order to give you a fuller flavour of the magazine and the time in which it first appeared.  As well as ads for AURORA plastic kits, there's a plethora of various other pulsating products that American kids had at their fingertips, and British kids could, in the main, only dream of.

Hopefully these scans will somewhat satiate your yearnings for yesteryear - even if only in a small way.  So what are you all waiting for?  The past awaits your presence, and will not be denied.  The present will still be here when you're ready to return.

THAT SILVER-HAIRED DADDY OF MINE...

Okay, peeps - get the tissues ready (and I don't mean tummy wipes) and prepare for a good greet (in the Scottish sense) as JIM REEVES sings a song to make you sentimental.  Ready?  Then click away.

IT'S A KIND Of MAGIC...

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

MAGIC COMIC, launched in 1939, lasted for only 80 issues, due mainly to paper shortages caused by the Second World War.  However, it had an impact far beyond its lifespan, in that one of its characters was revived for The SPARKY in 1965, and then turned up later in The TOPPER.  PETER PIPER is the strip we're talking about, drawn originally by DUDLEY D. WATKINS in Magic and then VIC NEIL in Sparky, with other artists taking over the artistic duties in subsequent years.

As you can see, Watkin's Peter looks like OOR WULLIE, and is nothing like the Sparky interpretation, which is the one I remember and regard as the 'real' one.  No doubt some parents who'd read Magic as kids threw up their hands in despair when they saw what Sparky had done to their childhood favourite, much like I did when DENNIS The MENACE and ROGER The DODGER's dads were updated in The BEANO.  (Though it has to be said that their original 'look' had been established for many years longer than Peter's initial Magic run, so the situation isn't quite as comparable as it seems.)

So, enjoy seeing Peter's first Magic appearance in the '30s, and comparing it to an example of his longer-lasting Sparky strip in the '60s.  Interesting stuff, eh?

     

BABE Of The DAY - JOAN COLLINS...

"Let's get the hell outta here!" says

CAPTAIN KIRK at the wrap up of The

CITY On The EDGE Of FOREVER, sick at

the realisation his chance of 'making out' with

EDITH KEELER (JOAN COLLINS) is gone

for good.  And who can blame him?  Just look

at her classy chassis - wow!  (Photo not from

STAR TREK, in case you're wondering,

you awestruck Crivvies.)

AMAZING TALES Of CREEPY WORLDS Of SUSPENSE (Or SOMETHING LIKE THAT)...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

I remember my dad giving me a notebook one day, and when I took it into school with me a short time later, a girl in my class called LYNNE SPEED (or Lynn, perhaps) took a fancy to it for some reason and offered to swap me an issue of CREEPY WORLDS #68 for it.  I agreed, but a few days afterwards, I felt bad about having parted with the notebook and asked Lynne if she'd swap back.

She was agreeable to the proposition, but it took her several more days to bring the notebook into school with her.  And that's all there is to that little story.  Apart from to say that the IRON MAN strip in this ALAN CLASS reprint title always reminds me of the annexe huts (in front of which the deal was struck) in my school playground and Lynne herself.  The cover of the comic is from an unretouched stat of the original art, as a few changes were made before it was first published in the pages of TALES Of SUSPENSE #44 (below).

As you'll have noticed, 'pharaoh' on both covers is misspelt, something that I still see in many newspapers today. When the story was again reprinted in recent MASTERWORKS and OMNIBUS editions, the mistake was restored (it had been corrected for previous reprints), but in the absence of uncorrected proofs, it had to be re-lettered the wrong way.  They missed one on the splash page though, and the alterations back to the uncorrected text were less skilfully executed than the original amendments.

    

Lynne Speed in 1967

Not much of a point to this post, admittedly, but I just wanted to see that KIRBY cover again and remember things as they used to be when the world seemed a much brighter and better place.  If you've any memories of your own connected to this Iron Man tale, then feel free to share.

(BOND) BABE Of The DAY - CAROLINE MUNRO...

Here's sultry CAROLINE MUNRO

for us to drool over.  Nice of her to supply

a place for me to park my bicycle.  (Only

 kidding - I don't even have a bicycle.)

1963 MARVEL AGE MAGAZINE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

The year 1986 saw the publication of the second MARVEL AGE Annual, which, when flipped, had an 'imaginary' version of what the mag might've looked like had it existed in 1963.  But why read what I have to say about it when STAN (The Man) LEE's on hand to give you all the pertinent details?  Over to you, Stan.

Despite the cover boasting 48 Big Pages, the above is all there was of the 1963 content, I'm afraid.  Below is what the 'real' cover looked like on the other side of the mag.  Which do you prefer, Crivvies?  Let everyone know.

SEEING DOUBLE: The STORY BEHIND The COVER To The SENSATIONAL SHE-HULK #14...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

You're looking at the cover of The SENSATIONAL SHE-HULK #14, pencilled by MARK TEXEIRA and inked by HARRY CANDELARIO.  However, it was originally supposed to be drawn by BRIAN BOLLAND, but the comic appeared with the one you see above.  I seem to recall reading an explanation for what went wrong at the time (1990), but I no longer remember precisely where. (MARVEL AGE perhaps?)  Therefore, all I can do is relate whatever faint vestiges of the facts yet remain in the back of my cavernous cranium.

It goes something like this: After submitting a 'rough' of the cover and getting approval for it, Brian Bolland drew the finished version and sent it in, only for it to get lost in the post or mislaid in the MARVEL offices.  With deadline looming, a substitute had to be created, and, using Bolland's cover rough as reference, Texeira and Candelario produced their own version of it, which was the one that was printed on the published comic.

Then Bolland's original art turned up, and was released as a wraparound giveaway in comicbook shops, so that #14 could be fitted inside - thereby making things as they were supposed to be from the start.  At least, it's something pretty much resembling the scenario I've just described.  If you know the precise details, let me and your fellow Criv-ites know, frantic ones.  You wouldn't want us to lose any sleep over the matter.  And, as you've guessed, that's Brian Bolland's version below the following splash page, so that you can compare them and decide which one you like best.  I've got a feeling I already know what your preference is going to be.

******

I've just checked Brian Bolland's site to see if there was any info about the cover, but there doesn't appear to be.

BABE Of The DAY - NICOLA BRYANT...

What's better than a Babe of the

Day? Two babes on the same day -

so here's the second one - sensational

stunner NICOLA BRYANT.  She's

a pure honey and no mistake.

PART SEVEN Of 'ON The SCENE'...

Copyright DC COMICS

Well, we've finally reached the last article in the 1966 one-off issue On The SCENE Presents SUPER HEROES, but that's not the end of it.  The mag contains some great ads, which scream "1960s", and it would be remiss of me not to feature them in a future post.  A post comprising entirely of ads?  Sure, why not?  So the final part in this occasional series is yet to come, but it'll be worth it when it gets here!

In the meantime, enjoy reading this "exclusive" feature on the then-upcoming BATMAN movie, starring ADAM WEST and BURT WARD.  "Holy actors, Batman!"

(BOND) BABE Of The DAY - MARTINE BESWICK...

MARTINE BESWICK gets horny -

literally!  (Sometimes these lines just write

themselves.)  Ain't she a pure cutie?