FOURTH & FINAL PART OF WHIZZER & CHIPS #7...

Images copyright relevant owner

With these pages, you now have the complete issue of WHIZZER & CHIPS comic #7 - or do you?  What you have are scans of the contents of the comic, not the comic itself.  "Wait a minute," you say.  "I can see it and read it, so in all practical ways, I have the comic, do I not?"   No, you have scans of the comic, which is not quite the same thing.

It's a difficult one, I confess.  In this case, the comic is the carton and the content at one and the same time, but if you only have access to the content, then you don't have the carton.  One could argue that though you don't have the original carton, you have a different form of carton, which surely qualifies as a comic given the content.  Although, does comic strip content automatically define an alternate carton as a comic?  It doesn't qualify books or newspapers as comics (which remain what they are) if they contain comic strips, so why should it with anything else?

And even if there were some validity to the above argument, I'd still maintain that a distinction should be made between an actual published periodical (as defined and accepted for decades) and a digital presentation of the same material.  One you can touch, smell, pick up whenever you want and experience in a different, far more satisfying way than reading it on a computer screen.  But the real difference is this:

If you ever run out of loo roll, you can't take your laptop, tablet, iPad or smartphone into the toilet with you and wipe your @rse with it then flush it away.  That must surely count for something?!  (Yes, yes, I know;  to wipe your bum with a REG PARLETT or TERRY BAVE page would be tantamount to sacrilege.)

POINTS To PONDER...

Characters copyright their respective owners

Here's a question for you to ponder, but first let me set the scene.  Imagine that, by the end of 2020, no published comic periodicals exist.  No BEANO, no 2000 A.D., no PHOENIX; in fact, no other current paper comic or magazine available to purchase in any newsagents or supermarket.

Instead, there are only collected editions in book form, or 'graphic novels', or specially commissioned 'comic albums' (like ASTERIX The GAUL for example) released at various times over the year (or years).  Got that?  Would there still be a comic 'industry' in your view, if comic strip material was only available in book form or on the internet?

The word 'comic' can be applied in various ways, but in this context, I'm using it in the traditional sense of weekly, fortnightly or monthly paper periodicals that, in the minds of the public, defines what a comic is (in short, a physical publication).  What's your considered view on the matter?

(Anonymous 'snipers' won't be published, so don't bother wasting anyone's time.)

BABE Of The DAY - ANGIE HARMON...

Poor ANGIE HARMON.  She's worn that dress

so often it's beginning to fall to bits on her.  I, for one,

am prepared to wait for however long it takes.

WHIZZER & CHIPS #7 - PART THREE...

Images copyright relevant owner

My desire to print these pages in their original sequence prevents me from juggling them in order to present the last two parts with eight pages each.  Therefore, this instalment has nine pages (on account of the middle ones being a two page tale) and the next and last part in this series will have seven.  Then you'll have the complete issue of WHIZZER  & CHIPS #7 from 46-odd years ago.  Great, eh? 

INFLATION ISN'T ALWAYS A BAD THING...

H'mm, looks as if this 'ere blog of mine is becoming increasingly popular.  Can any-one tell me what the average stats are for a blog devoted to comics and stuff?  I think the above numbers are quite respectable, but I won't know with absolute certainty unless I have something with which to compare.  Anyone help?

KOLLECTORS' KOMICS KLASSICS - TV CENTURY 21 #2...

Characters copyright relevant and respective owners

Well, you've already had number one, so why not number two?  So here it is, the second issue of arguably the best comic for boys of the 20th century - TV CENTURY 21.  I say 20th century, even though the comic was set in the 21st, but let's not get bogged down in seeming contradictions at this early stage.  Instead, just enjoy these spectacular pages by some of the finest illustrators that this country had to offer.  Superb stuff indeed.

And below is a pic of the metal badge that readers would shortly be able to send away for.

ROBOT ARCHIE: The JUNGLE ROBOT - PART THREE...

Copyright REBELLION

Straight from the pages of LION #s 6 & 7, come another two instalments of ROBOT ARCHIE, The JUNGLE ROBOT.  Archie appeared in the first 25 issues of the comic then disappeared for five years, returning under the now familiar title of his own name.

Unfortunately, at the moment, I only possess the first 17 parts of this particular adventure, so unless you have the remaining eight episodes, you're never going to know the precise details of just how Archie and his two human companions triumph over their tribulations.  Never mind, you know the old saying - "It's better to travel hopefully than to arrive!"

So, that said, let's get started on the latest stage of the journey.

FAVOURITE COMICS Of The PAST - PART THIRTY SEVEN: The INCREDIBLE HULK #141...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

For someone who once prided himself on his memory, it's annoying to find myself forgetting things that I could once recall every detail about.  Take this particular comic for example.  I find myself associating it with a long-gone newsagent's at the far end of the Old Village quarter of my town.  (Yes, it's my town, I bought it and I've got a receipt.)  However, I also tend to associate it with one of two R.S. McColl shops that used to grace the town's shopping centre.  Such uncertainty on my part is uncommon, but it seems to increase as I age.  Maybe if I don't think about it, it'll come back to me.

It's possible that I purchased it in McColl's before going on to visit that other newsagent's - I used to go around various shops in my hunt for new comics - which might be why it seems to fit in with either place in my memory.  H'mm, that's going to annoy me now, until I manage to conclusively sort it out in my mind.  For the moment, the above possibility will have to suffice.

But you don't care about all that!  The INCREDIBLE HULK #141 is the comic that introduced DOC SAMSON to the MARVEL Universe.  Ace illustrators HERB TRIMPE and JOHN SEVERIN were the Marvel equivalent of DC's CURT SWAN and MURPHY ANDERSON, in that, great as both of them were individually, their collaborative efforts always resulted in even greater heights of artistic glory.  However, don't take my word for it - see for yourselves in the spectacular pages that follow.

******

Hold it!  It's suddenly come back to me!  R.S. McColl's is the definitive answer (er, I think).  Now on to the pretty pictures.

BABE Of The DAY - BRIGITTE BARDOT...

It's said a picture is worth 1,000

words.  If that's true, I've just given

you a 3-volume novel.  Crivvies, the

 lovely BRIGITTE BARDOT.

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE...

Images copyright DC COMICS & MARVEL COMICS

For those who missed out on the original DC & MARVEL team-up editions, they were re-released in 1995 in traditional comicbook format mags, which I'd imagine would be easier and less expensive to acquire from eBay if you were ever looking to add these classic crossover tales to your collection.

There was also a softcover collected edition for those who prefer to have their comics in a convenient single volume for ready accessibility and easy reading.  Now's the time for you to nab these historic milestones and fill that space in your Marvel & DC titanic team-ups.  Do it today!

Meantime, here are the front and back covers for you to drool over.  (Remember to wipe your screen afterwards.)