The COMPLETE FANTASTIC FOUR COVER & IMAGE GALLERY - PART SEVEN...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

As I've said before in previous parts of this cover gallery series, The COMPLETE FANTASTIC FOUR was one of the more memorable MARVEL U.K. weeklies, featuring a mix of old and newer adventures in the cosmic quartet's history.  I actually had quite a few U.S. colour editions of the main tales in the mag, but the grey tones lent an interesting mood to the stories (especially the ones from the 1960s), and made them fascinating collectors' items in their own right.  But why take my word for it?  See for yourself in the accompanying pages laid temptingly before you.

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

Betcha CAROLINE MUNRO

is sucking her stomach in, but let's

not hold it against her.  It's a mighty

fine stomach after all.  (And the rest

of her ain't too bad either.)

HOW WOULD YOU HAVE ANSWERED?

I was in BOOTS The CHEMISTS today to buy some iron tablets, and the guy in front of me in the queue asked the assistant for some condoms.  "Yes sir, what size would you like - small, medium or liar?" she said, with a wicked smile on her face.  "Er, scratch that - just gimme a packet of TUNES!" answered the flustered customer.  You gotta laugh!

PATRICK MacNEE - R.I.P.

Actor PATRICK MacNEE has died at the age

of 93.  Best known for playing JOHN STEED in The

AVENGERS from 1961-'69, and again in 1976-'77,

he'll be sadly missed by family, friends and fans.

WHY DO WOMEN DO THIS?

The next time you're standing in a checkout queue, keep an eye out for this happening.  Woman getting served, watching her items being scanned, waiting until the checkout person says "That'll be £14.98 please" - and then (and only then) removing her handbag from her arm, digging about for her purse, then fishing out the dosh to pay for the bloody things.  I've usually got my money in my mitt, ready to hand it over right away.

Trust me, nine and a half times out of ten, women don't even think about going for the cash until they hear what their shopping costs.  What the hell do they think they're standing in line for?  And this is the gender that claims to multi-task?  Have your money ready in future, sister, and speed things along a little, eh?!

This has been a public service announcement.

GOLDFINGER TRAILER...

Regarded by many as the definitive BOND movie,

GOLDFINGER actually makes more sense than the

novel it's based on.  In IAN FLEMING's book, Auric

Goldfinger's plan is to rob FORT KNOX, which, given

the sheer amount of gold stored there, would probably take

years.  The film dispenses with this idea, replacing it with a

plot to make the gold reserves radioactive, and therefore

valueless for decades, an eminently more sensible scheme.

This is the movie that set the pattern for subsequent

Bonds, and is a true classic of cinema.

BABE Of The DAY - KATE UPTON...

Here's lovely KATE UPTON to

help start the day with a song in your

 heart and a swing in your step.

CHRISTIAN THE LION REUNITED WITH FORMER OWNERS...

There's no need to explain this one, as the story is

revealed as we go along.  For further details, there's a

45 minute documentary on YouTube which you can

access at this link.  Watch this clip first 'though.

BABE Of The DAY - ANDREA SPINKS...

ANDREA SPINKS is a rather naughty

model and 'actress' who occasionally works

under the name of 'NADIA'.  I've given her a

good talking to and she's promised to behave

herself.  (Not too much, I hope.)  There's a

wee bit of the 'pixie' about her, eh?

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER TRAILER...

This is the one that introduced screenwriter TOM

MANCIEWICZ's sense of humour to the BOND films,

something that poor old ROGER MOORE inherited and

was unfairly blamed for in later years.  True, Bond films

had always had humour, but Mankiewicz upped the

level almost (arguably) to the point of farce.

Had SEAN CONNERY continued in the role, the

films would've gone in the same direction they did with

Moore - simply due to the demands on each new entry in

the series to top the previous ones.  However, it has to be

admitted that DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER remains

an enjoyable romp, and is one of my favourites.

 Here's the trailer to refresh your memory.

BIFFO, KID & ROGER - AND TWO HALVES TOGETHER AGAIN...

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

I have a relative, a cousin (or at least that's how we referred to him), somewhere over in South Africa who I don't think I've seen since 1972.  Apart from once, perhaps, but, if so, it's so long ago, I'm unsure whether I'm half-remembering or completely imagining it.  ROGER is his name, and he and his wife MARY sent a Christmas card every year for decades, though I'm unsure whether there's been one in the last couple of Christmases.  I therefore don't know if he's still alive or not, as he was a good few years older than me.

As we were both good at art, on the few occasions he visited (before emigrating), we'd do a drawing together - him on one half of the paper, me on the other.  Then we'd separate it, and he'd keep my half in his wallet, and I'd keep his half - well, somewhere safe meant to be, but I somehow managed to lose it by the time we next met.  This happened twice, I think, and then, on September 17th 1972, we did our third attempt, half of which you can see at the foot of this post.  What surprises me now, seeing the date, is that I'd lived in this house for only three months, so the previous doodles were likely produced while I was still living in my former abode, though perhaps drawn at my grandparents' flat when Roger's and our visits coincided.

The drawing we next decided to collaborate on was a large panel on the front cover of The BEANO #1492, dated February 20th 1971.  I was surprised to learn this, because I'd never have thought I'd still have a Beano bought over a year before, but perhaps it was because it was the first issue to have the new decimal price on the cover.  If so, I probably also had the previous one as it was the last to have the old £-s-d price - 4d.)  My cousin signed his half of our drawing PICASSO and I signed my half REMBRANDT (modest as ever), and that could well have been the last time I ever saw him.

Except, niggling away at the back of my memory, is a feeling that he may have visited one more time.  I seem to remember that either I couldn't find his half of the drawing on that occasion, or - for once - he didn't have my half with him, so we never got to put them together again, as was meant to be our custom.  Perhaps I'm confusing it with another drawing from an earlier occasion, but I've a notion it's probably as I think I remember, because I seem to recall my sense of elation and jubilation when, weeks or months later, I actually discovered where I'd stashed his half of our masterpiece.  Of course, it's  always possible that I only dreamt the episode.

Which brings us to the present: I was cleaning an old photo frame recently and took the photo out to clean the glass properly.  Tucked in the back was Roger's half of the drawing.  This made me want to see the other half, so I asked someone to dig through his back issues and find the comic whose cover panel had been copied back in 1972. I was surprised to see what would've been my half, because I'd always imagined (not having seen the part I'd drawn since first producing it - except for maybe once, remember) that my subject would've been BIFFO's pal BUSTER (not the IPC one), and not a PLUG ventriloquist's dummy.

Anyway, I finally managed to track down and buy the issue on eBay, so here's the front and back covers to help you celebrate my joyous reunion with a comic from my youth, which, to be honest, if it hadn't been for cousin Roger's drawing, I'd probably never have remembered in a month of Sundays.  Now all I have to do is find out if my former collaborator is still alive, and see if my part of the drawing is still tucked away in his wallet.  If not, at least now I can re-create it and send him a copy for old times' sake.

Just in case he's the sentimental type.

UPDATE, 2016: He's still with us - got a Christmas card from him and his missus.  Another update 2021: Last Christmas I sent him a copy of his half, plus the cover - just to see if he remembered.  So far, haven't heard anything.

HEARTBREAK IN SILHOUETTE...

Ready for some more JIM REEVES?  Good.

Here's the man with the velvet voice just for you.

(BOND) BABE Of The DAY - JILL ST. JOHN...

'Til we get to DIAMONDS Are

FOREVER's trailer, here's a 'taster' of

007 gal JILL ST. JOHN.  (Don't point

 those at me - they might go off.)

LIVE & LET DIE TRAILER...

Although I was fortunate enough to see all

six previous SEAN CONNERY BOND films on

the big screen in the early '70s before the release of

LIVE & LET DIE, ROGER MOORE's debut as

007 was the first new Bond film I ever saw at

the time of its initial theatrical screening.

And what a cracker it was!

ARION'S UN-AMERICAN CHRONICLES...

Here's the cover of a new web comic that I'm sure many of you

will be interested in, and there's a chance to win a prize if you buy
it.  From what I can see, it looks very professionally produced, and

you can find out more details about it over on ARION's blog.

AND THAT'S JUST THE 'TIPP' OF IT...

Oh dear, I've had a right old time of it.  Last night I swallowed a bottle of TIPP-EX by mistake, instead of my VIAGRA.  When I woke up this morning, I had an enormous correction.

(Thanks to my old school chum and media maestro JIM SYMON, who told me that when I ran into him the other day.  Thanks, Jim.)

The WIND In The WILLOWS THEME...

A TV show I loved in the '80s was COSGROVE HALL's

The WIND In The WILLOWS.  Here's RALPH McTELL

with a full-length rendition of the haunting theme song.

BABE Of The DAY - DALIAH LAVI...

"Okay, sweetheart, you don't need

the gun, of course I'll make love to you!"

would doubtless be my rapid response if I

were ever to meet the dreamy DALIAH

 LAVI.  Wow!  Wotta stunnah!

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE TRAILER...

You know, considering the fact that JAMES BOND is

supposed to be a spy, the only 007 movie in the series that

immediately springs to mind as an actual 'spy movie' is From

RUSSIA With LOVE.  That's mainly because S.M.E.R.S.H.

and S.P.E.C.T.R.E. are both major parts of the plot, which in-

volves a battle of wits between British and Soviet spies over a

decoder called a LEKTOR.  Anyway, it's definitely one of

the better Bond films, and the fight between 007 and

'RED' GRANT is an all-time classic.  Enjoy.

The VIEW THROUGH The WINDOW...

How many houses have you lived in over the course of your life?  Do you ever think back to any of the views that once met your gaze when you looked out of the window?  I'm trying to recall when the 'view from the window' began to mean something to me, and I think it was when we moved from my present abode, before returning just over four years later.

At one time, the view beyond the window never held any particular significance to me, 'til one evening in May of 1983, when I sat and watched the rays of the sun fade over the horizon from my bedroom and realized I would soon never be able to enjoy that scene again.  Sure, I'd be bound to see the sunlight fade if I wanted, but it would never be from that window or of that specific scene.  As it had been my view for 11 of my 24 years, it somehow made me feel somewhat melancholy.

When we returned to the house, I was glad to resume my acquaintanceship with the view, which was unchanged (though that wasn't to last) and everything seemed right with the world once more.  In our new house, I'd almost resented the new view, merely for not being the old one - even though it had never meant anything to me until I realized I was about to lose it. 

I think, when we're young, the view from the window has no special significance to us; we look out of our windows to see what's happening (who's out there, is it raining, is it snowing), but we pay no particular attention to what the scene is comprised of - the details, in effect.  Over time however, without us realizing it, the view comes to represent a period in our lives of which we're later reluctant to let go - to abandon to oblivion.

Today, I now find myself missing even the view I once resented, and pining for the time in my life which it conjures up in my mind.  Strange or what?  In fact, I find myself missing every view I remember (which is all of them) and I wonder how I'd cope if I were to suddenly find myself  in the unwanted position of having to relocate yet again.  At my age, I don't think I'd be able to adapt to new surroundings.

I've previously related on this blog how, when I learned the field across the road from one of my old houses was about to be built on, I arranged with the tenant to photograph the scene for posterity.  I now have a record of the view outside every house I've ever lived in, either taken from the window inside, or the step or path just outside the front door.

It may seem strange to you, but I find it comforting to be able to revisit my past in this way, and immerse myself in the familiar surroundings of my earlier years.  How about the rest of you?  Do you ever think back to the environs beyond your windows that you once knew, or are you too busy living in the here and now to ever think about how things used to be?

If you have any specific reminiscences of the places of your youth and particularly miss any of them, feel free to relate precisely what they mean (or once meant) to you.  Does your memory, unbidden, ever return to the scenes of earlier abodes, and do shades of yesteryear haunt your dreams with images of happier times, taunting you with what used to be, but can never be again - except in memory?  Do tell.

IS THIS A MOVIE YOU'D JUST HAVE TO SEE? Dr. NO TRAILER...

It's often interesting to see movie trailers from years ago, because they move at a different pace from modern ones.  Would we really rush out and see the latest BOND film if the trailer was as turgid as the one above?  For its time, it may have seemed exciting, but in today's light, it appears rather pedestrian.  What do you think, Crivs - hit or miss?  Vote now!

CAPTAIN BRITAIN COVER, SPLASH PAGE & IMAGE GALLERY - PART SEVEN...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

After 23 issues of CAPTAIN BRITAIN being printed mostly in colour, number 24 saw the by then MARVEL U.K. standard glossy cover and grey tones added to the comic, doubtless to cut costs in the face of a declining circulation.  However, there were compensations in that JOHN BUSCEMA & TOM PALMER took over the art chores on the main strip, and the comic was given more pages (in line with other Marvel U.K. weeklies), allowing four titanic tales per ish.

It only lasted 16 issues however, before the title was absorbed by SUPER SPIDER-MAN, but for a glorious 39 weeks, the good Captain had a comic mag of his very own.  So  return with me now to 1977, and let's look again at the new direction in the career of Britain's own sensational superhero - and don't forget to come back for the next part!  I'd hate for you to miss anything - and so would you!