IS IT REALLY OVER...?

No, it's never going to be over.  When I run out  of JIM REEVES links,

I'll simply start again.  I know that's what you'd want, music-lovers.

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

I'm sure there must have been

odd occasions when I've neglected to

post a Babe of the Day, so to make up

for such oversights, here's magnificent

 MARTINE BESWICK.  Yum.

THE TENNESSEE WALTZ...

Just for a change of pace, let's have a song from

PATSY CLINE.  Got yer dancing shoes on?  Good.  Let's

go - but I'll lead.  (Incidentally, ignore what it says on the

clip - JIM REEVES doesn't feature on this track.)

BEFORE YOU CAME ALONG...

Is your beloved sitting across from you at this very

moment?  Want to tell her how you feel, but can't find

the words?  Lucky you dropped by.  Just play her this

 song and she'll get the message.  It's quaint but cute.

HOW'S THE WORLD TREATING YOU...?

This particular song is a 'live' performance,

sung either on radio or at a  military base in a

show for U.S. servicemen.  It lasts about a

minute longer than the studio recording.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY TRAILER...

Every so often, the BOND producers seem to

get embarrassed by the perceived excesses of some of

the films and try and steer a more realistic keel.  Usually

they fall flat on their @rses, but I think that FOR YOUR

EYES ONLY was one of their more successful attempts

in that direction.  Shame about that awful SHEENA

EASTON title song though.

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

Must be nice to come home to a warm,

wonderful woman like JILL St. JOHN -

and have somewhere to hang your hat and

coat into the bargain, eh, Crivvies?

JUSTICE LEAGUE Of AMERICA COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Just think - if there had been no JUSTICE LEAGUE Of AMERICA, there might never have been The FANTASTIC FOUR.  And if there had been no FF, there may never have been a MARVEL COMICS and all the characters that followed.  You all know the story I'm sure.  MARTIN GOODMAN, upon learning that DC's the JLA was selling well, instructed STAN LEE to come up with something similar - and the cosmic quartet was the result.

However, the JLA came first.  So settle back and enjoy the covers from The BRAVE And The BOLD #s 28-30 and the first six issues of the team's own magazine.  Then, if you like, leave a comment saying which ones are your favourites - or even share your own personal reminiscences of any particular issues.

I GET THE BLUES WHEN IT RAINS...

Here's JIM REEVES with a slightly faster type

of song than he's associated with.  Take a listen.

THUNDERBALL TRAILER...

THUNDERBALL was a bit hit and miss in my

opinion.  The undersea stuff dragged a tad, and it has

to be one of the worst BOND movies for continuity,

with 007's scuba mask changing colour from one

scene to another, and FELIX LEITER's shorts

switching to trousers between sentences.

Did this film mark the decline of Bond, quality-

wise?  Have your say in the comments section.

BABE Of The DAY - KATE UPTON...

Here's a heavenly honey for you to swoon

over - the utterly lovely KATE UPTON!  Now

tell me - why have none of my previous girlfriends

ever looked as good as her?  (Hey, whaddya mean

because they were inflatable!  Cheek!)

PART TWO Of SUPERMAN COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Well, there's no point hanging around, so here's another six covers in this two-part gallery of the first dozen issues of SUPERMAN's own magazine from the 1930s & '40s.  The creators of Supes were often later touted as paupers before being awarded a life-pension by National/DC in the '70s, but they actually earned a small fortune from their time on the Man of Steel that should've lasted them a good many years.  Between 1940 and 1950, the annual American wage was around $1,900 - yet, in 1948, SIEGEL & SHUSTER conceded the rights to SUPERBOY for a payment of over $94,000.  And remember - that didn't include the reputed $50,000 a year they had each been paid when they provided NPP with Superman material.

Anyway, make of that what you will, but in the meantime enjoy these six cracking covers from a bygone age!

  

DOCTOR OF THE DAY - PHIL AS STEPHEN STRANGE...

Here's fairly regular commenter Phil as Doctor STEPHEN STRANGE -

by The Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth and the Seven Shades of the Seraphim!

SUPERMAN COVER GALLERY - PART ONE...

Images copyright DC COMICS

SUPERMAN - the granddaddy of all superheroes.  Originally conceived by JERRY SIEGEL as an infant from the future, sent back in time by the last man on Earth (the child's father) as the planet crumbled around him.  This was later changed to another planet - at first unidentified, but later acquiring the name of KRYPTON.

Jerry and his friend JOE SHUSTER struggled to sell the idea to publishers, even after they had both become professional comicbook contributors.  At one stage, after Shuster had become disenchanted with their quest to sell the character (initially as a newspaper strip), Siegel collaborated with artist RUSSELL KEATON on developing the strip in 1934, examples of which survive today.

Keaton eventually decided not to continue the collaboration, and Shuster then returned to the project.  Ah, how different comicbook history might have been, but that's something for you all to ponder in your own time.  For the present, let's look at the covers of the first six issues of Superman's own magazine, launched in 1939.  

YOGI BEAR'S FUNNIEST MOMENTS...

Whaddya mean you didn't see the new YOGI BEAR movie?

Let's remedy that right now with a whistle-stop tour of some of the

funniest moments (it says here, but is a lot funnier than this).

YOU'RE FREE TO GO...

Okay, I know you've all been missing JIM

REEVES, so here he is again with another tidy

little song.  Feel free to sing along, pardners.

BABE OF THE DAY - VALERIE PEREZ AS WONDER WOMAN...

No need to wonder - VALERIE PEREZ is

most definitely a woman!  (Okay, I've used that

line before - but did you pay to get in here?)

SUPERMAN The MOVIE - 35TH ANNIVERSARY TRAILER...

Back in 1978, the trailers for the then-upcoming

SUPERMAN The MOVIE weren't all that great, in

my estimation.  However, the 35th Anniversary trailer

(edited by a fan, I believe) was much more entertaining.

Take a look for yourselves and see if you agree or not.

 I'm sure you'll tell me one way or the other.

MAN From U.N.C.L.E. TRAILER...

Going by the look of HENRY CAVILL in the upcoming MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. movie, he'd make a good JAMES BOND.  Maybe not so surprising, considering that IAN FLEMING also created NAPOLEON SOLO.  Cop a gander.

BABE Of The DAY - VALERIE PEREZ As ZATANNA...

Here's commenter Phil's friend,

VALERIE PEREZ - dressed up as

DC's ZATANNA.  Wish I had a friend

who looked just like Valerie.  Phil sure

 is such an incredibly lucky man!

BABE Of The DAY - ZATANNA...

Image copyright DC COMICS

ZATANNA... now that's what I call

magic!  (She's sure cast a spell on me.)

I wonder if she'd like to see my magic

wand?  (Oi!  Behave you lot!)

ARIEL FIREBALL XL5 'SNAP' CARDS...

In 1963/'64, ARIEL PRODUCTIONS issued a set of Snap cards based on GERRY ANDERSON's TV show, FIREBALL XL5.  Here are eight of them for fans of SPACE CITY's finest to cop a gander at.  And just look at that VENUS - the tease!

The first and final card look as if they've been sourced from the very first Fireball Annual published by COLLINS in '63.

DENISE Or BERYL, MENACE Or PERIL? THAT Is The QUESTION...

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

I was looking through some old BEANOs earlier tonight and noted just how good a presentation the comic had back in the days of yore.  No glossy pages, no interior 'full' colour (The BASH STREET KIDS aside) and no tacky bits of tat attached to the comic to encourage children to buy it.  It really was an appealing little package.

However, that's not the point of this post.  No, what I'm writing about tonight, O discerning members of this bold blog, is DENNIS The MENACE's cousin DENISE, who was practically a dead-ringer for BERYL The PERIL.  Denise first appeared in 1967, but had a different hairstyle (like Dennis's).  Her '70s look made her more like Beryl as her hair was the same.

Beryl evolved down through the years, until she had a slightly different look to artist DAVEY LAW's original character design, but I'm uncertain as to whether this process had started (or, at least, settled) when Denise re-appeared in March 1979.  So, here are the cousins doing what they do best - menacing!  Enjoy!

BABE Of The DAY - SATURN GIRL...

Image copyright DC COMICS

I don't care what anyone says - she's a total

darlin', even if she's only a comicbook character.

Gents... the seductive SATURN GIRL!

THE NEW AVENGER...

Just signed up as KID AVENGER for the new CAPTAIN AMERICA movie.  (More like 'kid-on Avenger' I hear you say.)  Look at that piercing stare - baddies balk before my glaring gaze, women wilt at the force of my powerful personality.  (Or maybe it's these socks I've had on for the last fortnight?)  Either way, I'm talking my usual p*sh, but I just wanted to show off this great shield that belongs to someone I know.

I think it would be a great idea for Cap to have a caddie - someone to carry his shield for him.  If it ever happens, I want the job.

******

A good while back, in some post or other, I mentioned an alley in Glasgow which I said was like something straight out of a STEVE DITKO SPIDER-MAN comic, and it wouldn't surprise me to see ol' Spidey clinging to one of its walls.  Well, below is the very alley of which I spoke - looks just like I said, doesn't it?  In fact, it wouldn't look out of place in a JACK KIRBY FF mag either.