CRIVENS! COMICS & STUFF!

Wednesday, 16 March 2016

KLASSIC KOMIC KOVERS: The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

Originally drawn by STEVE DITKO for the cover of SPIDER-MAN's debut issue, AMAZING FANTASY #15 (but rejected by STAN LEE in favour of one by JACK KIRBY), this illo eventually fulfilled its destiny as a front cover (even if only as a variant) on the final ish of Spidey's own mag. Ditko definitely drew his version first, because the speech balloons and cover blurb were photostatted, then pasted down on Kirby's incarnation of the cover.

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Oh no, did it again. Already featured this cover in this series, then forgot I'd done so. The old memory is failing me over and over again lately - I'd better start keeping a scorecard.

Tuesday, 15 March 2016

BABE Of The DAY - WHAT'S 'ER NAME?

This is, er... what's 'er name again?

Tell you what, Crivvies - I'll let you know

who she is when I work my way up to her

face. Fair enough? (Ah, now I recognise

her - it's JORDAN CARVER.)

AM I THAT EASY TO FORGET...?

Here's velvet-voiced king of country crooners,

JIM REEVES, with a relaxing song to melt all your

troubles away. I played this before, but it's a belter

worth repeating. Headphones at the ready...

KLASSIC KOMIC KOVERS - The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL #20..

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

A dramatic JIM STARLIN cover graces DAREDEVIL's debut in MWOM #20, cover-dated February 17th 1973. Amazingly, 44 years later, DD is still appearing in the monthly incarnation of this very same title! Here's a thing (no pun intended) though - how the heck did he manage to burst through that circular paper disc when The HULK and The THING are standing directly behind it ? (Answers on a postcard...)

Monday, 14 March 2016

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS: JOURNEY Into MYSTERY #95...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

You know that THOR can't fly, right? That's to say, can't fly in the way that SUPERMAN can. Goldilocks has to whirl his magic mallet, throw it in the direction he wants to go, and hang on to the thong so that he's pulled along after his uru hammer "...like the tail of a rocket!" Yet in the tale in this ish, Thor and his doppelganger hurl their hammers at one another while in mid-air - without either one plummeting like a stone, the way they should if logic held sway.

Just thought I'd point that out. Great cover though.

BABE Of The DAY - PENELOPE CRUZ...

Remember when PENELOPE CRUZ was

dating action man TOM CRUISE? (I call him

'action man' because he's around the same height as

one.) My town's local weekly newspaper once referred

to them as 'Mr. & Mrs. Tom Cruise'. The pair weren't

married, and their surnames were both spelt differently,

demonstrating the reporting skills of my local journalists.

However, that's nothing to do with her being easy on

the eye, so feel entirely free to appreciate her out-

standing natural beauty, just like I'm doing.

HAVE YOU GOT THE BUG? THIS'LL 'FLOOR' YOU...

One of the good things about being a kid is the way you can sprawl over the floor, reading your comics or playing with your toys. When friends or relatives dropped in, the living-room chairs were occupied so there was no option but to plonk yourself on a spot on the carpet and amuse yourself the best way you could. I can still remember playing with my metallic red MATCHBOX VOLKSWAGEN FLYING BUG (with a little German-helmeted driver at the wheel, and a Germanic flag on the bonnet), scudding it over the floor then retrieving it from under the card table. (A table for playing cards, not one made of card.)

I also recall lying on the floor reading early '70s issues of The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL and SPIDER-MAN COMICS WEEKLY while visiting relatives chatted away with my parents. It was cooler on the floor as the air which slid under the door had a refreshing quality to it, and kept you from overheating when the electric fire was on. One of the many things I regret about being a 'grown-up' (allegedly) is that society expects adults to behave with 'propriety', and lying on the carpet is seemingly not regarded as acceptable behaviour for anyone over the age of 14 or 15.

Which is perhaps just as well because, easy as it may be to park yourself on the axminster, once you reach a certain age it's a helluva lot harder to pick yourself up again. Who was it said that old age doesn't come alone? Whoever it was, dang me if they weren't 100% correct.

Hands up all those who'd rather be a kid again.

Sunday, 13 March 2016

The CHORD IS LOST And The PEWTER HAS GONE TO POT...

In the West End of Glasgow was once a pub called The PEWTER POT. Some years back, a pal of mine did stints as a deejay there from time to time and occasionally I'd help him set up his stuff, then I'd go for a stroll for an hour or so around that area of 'The Dear Green Place'. Sadly, when I was in the neighbourhood a couple of weeks or so back, I noticed that The Pewter Pot had been demolished and Student accommodation was being erected on the site.

On my way back to the pub after my perambulations, I'd usually pass a record shop called LOST CHORD. It was the kind of place that leapt right out at you, because of the way the exterior of the premises was decorated. If I was ever in the shop on a daytime visit I can no longer recall, but if I was, it was only once. I passed it quite a few times though, and sometimes stopped to look in the window to see what was on offer within. The place had character.

On the same day that I noticed The Pewter Pot was no more, I also discovered that Lost Chord had likewise fallen to a similar fate. It's still a record shop, but under a new name and owner - and with a brand-new look both inside and out. In fact, at first I didn't click it was the same premises until the person I was with informed me of the fact. Apparently, the original proprietor, after being there for many years, accepted an offer for the place and Lost Chord ceased to be around the 4th or 5th of September last year.

I've borrowed the accompanying photos from Lost Chord's FACEBOOK page, so I trust they won't mind me using them to lament the passing of a Glasgow icon. I bought a DOLLY PARTON 12" single from the new shop, as the cover was just too enticing to resist. I can't remember whether it had a Lost Chord price label on it or not (could've been old stock the previous proprietor had abandoned), but regardless, I'm still glad to have it as it reminds me of a shop one simply couldn't ignore on catching sight of it. Anyone got any memories of the place?

And, in case you were wondering, below is what The Pewter Pot looked like. Actor DUNCAN MacRAE performed the opening ceremony and pulled the first pint in 1955.

Photo of the opening in 1955

Wait, don't run off. Below is the record I bought a couple of weeks or so ago from Lost Chord's successor. What can I say? How about "Well, hello Dolly!"?

PAST POSTINGS: JOURNEY INTO SWIPERY...

Art by Jack Kirby. JIM #83, page 8, panel 1

All artists have (or should have) a reference file. This usually consists of a collection of photos and illustrations of just about every scene imaginable. It can contain previous drawings by the artist and also even the artwork of others - which is why it's also called a 'swipe' file, because it provides the working illustrator with material from which he can copy if his imagination (or knowledge of the subject) is a little lacking.

It may surprise you to learn that not every artist can sit at their drawing boards and draw just about anything off the top of their head or at the drop of a hat. Even those who seemingly do so are often drawing (pun intended) upon their experience of an earlier drawing, the subject of which they first had to meticulously research before committing to memory.

Even artists such as WALLY WOOD and JACK KIRBY occasionally swiped from illustrators who had preceded them, like HOGARTH and FOSTER. Joltin' JOE SINNOTT, inker of many of MARVEL's top pencillers - and an illustrator of no mean accomplishment in his own right - occasionally swiped when he was performing sole drawing chores on The MIGHTY THOR back in the 1960s.

Joe drew five Thor strips for JOURNEY Into MYSTERY (#s 91, 92, 94-96) and not only swiped from Jack Kirby, but even from himself. I thought it might be interesting to look at a few panels 'inspired' by ones in previous stories. Some are direct copies, others have been tweaked (and flipped), but their sources are still all-too apparent.

The following examples result from a casual browse through the stories themselves and are by no means exhaustive (in fact, I've since seen one or two others), so look through the issues yourself (if you have 'em) and see which ones you can spot.

Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #91, page 12, panel 7

Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #94, page 12, panel 5

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Art by Jack Kirby. JIM #83, page 10, panel 7

Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #92, page 10, panel 6

Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #95, page 4, panel 7

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Art by Jack Kirby. JIM #85, page 6, panel 3

Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #94, page 10, panel 2

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Art by Jack Kirby (?)/Steve Ditko. JIM #88, page13, panel 5

Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #91, page 1, panel 4

Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #94, page 5, panel 7

Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #95, page 2, panel 7

Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #96, page 2, panel 1

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Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #91, page 11, panel 7

Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #95, page1, panel 6

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Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #91, page 13, panel 3

Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #92, page 11, panel 2

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Art by Jack Kirby. JIM #93, page 3, panel 7. (This pic looks like a patch)

Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #96, page 8, panel 3

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Art by Jack Kirby. JIM #86, page 12, panel 5

Art by Jack Kirby. JIM #91, page 9, panel 7

Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #95, page 10, panel 7

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Art by Jack Kirby. JIM #86, page 11, panel 6

Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #95 page 2, panel 3

Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #95, page 13, panel 7

Art by Joe Sinnott. JIM #96, page 2, panel 3

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS: The FANTASTIC FOUR #7...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

Some people think that REED RICHARDS resembles JACK KIRBY on this cover, but I'm not convinced. There's a vague hint of a similarity if you half close your eyes and look at the comic from the other side of the room through the bottom of a milk bottle, but that's hardly conclusive proof of Kirby's intent to model MISTER FANTASTIC after himself. Besides, he related more to BEN GRIMM, The THING, so he's unlikely to have also thought of Reed as his comicbook counterpart. But what do the rest of you think?

KLASSIC KOMIC KOVERS - STAR WARS #1...

Image copyright DISNEY

Here it is - the comic that saved MARVEL! Yup, had it not been for this particular comicbook, Marvel would most likely not be around today. They were in pretty bad shape when this series went on sale and it ended up saving their bacon! The force was obviously with them. (For further info, click here.)

BABE Of The DAY - CINDY CRAWFORD...

It'simply stunning CINDY CRAWFORD.

I must stay in that hotel again - the room service

was terrific. When they said "Just ask for anything

you want" I never realized they'd take me quite so

literally. I left a really good tip of course.

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS: TALES Of SUSPENSE #44...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

The cover to TALES OF SUSPENSE #44 as originally drawn and lettered had CLEOPATRA with a look of concern on her face, while the jagged cover blurb read "See Iron Man come face-to-face with Cleopatra, Siren of the Nile!" Her altered expression (to a grin) looks imbecilic, and I can't help but think that her original demeanor was more apt. Okay, she's being rescued, but she's being rescued by a flying man in armour, so she'd be entitled to look a tad anxious. After all, it couldn't have been an experience she was used to.

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Click here to read about the ALAN CLASS reprint of the tale.