PART FORTY-EIGHT Of FAVOURITE COMICS Of The PAST - DETECTIVE COMICS #526...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Was it really 33 years ago, in 1983, that I bought this comic?  Yeah, I guess it was - scary!  Look at the superb DON NEWTON & ALFREDO ALCALA art - two of comicdom's finest who are, alas, no longer with us.  This issue marked the 500th appearance of The BATMAN in his debut mag, DETECTIVE COMICS, and was an extra-long adventure as befitting the occasion.

This ish was also part of the run-up to a new ROBIN being introduced - a rotten idea I thought, as I was never a fan of The BOY WONDER.  The original is surely in his 20s in this issue, yet he's still running about in a pair of green trunks and flashing his bare legs.  Is it any wonder (spot the pun) that Dr. FREDRIC WERTHAM harboured those suspicions?  Batman always seemed more of a 'creature of the night' on his own, and DC should've kept him that way.

Anyway, no doubt there'll be some disagreement on that view, so feel free to leave a comment on the matter.  Or if you merely want to share your own memories of this particular issue, then your fellow Criv-ites eagerly await your interesting input.

A SECONDARY MATTER Of PRIMARY IMPORTANCE...

Images copyright relevant owner

WHIZZER & CHIPS was the last new IPC comic weekly that I bought while still a primary school pupil.  I was at secondary school when THUNDER, JET, and KNOCKOUT went on sale, and I was still in the house I'd lived in since 1965.  The year after Knockout came out, I was in yet another house (the very one in which I reside today), and then there was SHIVER & SHAKE, WHOOPEE, MONSTER FUN, 2000 A.D., WOW! , etc., but that's a tale for another time.  There were other comics by other publishers, but these IPC ones mark my transition from child to teenager, and reflect a certain time and place in my life that I often revisit in the evergreen land of memory.

What comics do you Crivs associate with the time between your primary and secondary school days?  Reveal (and relive) every last fascinating detail in our scintillating comments section.

Talking of Knockout, in June or July of 1971, my family holidayed in Largs, and I have fond memories of reading a couple of issues in the famous seaside resort.  Our landlady had a copy of VICTOR HUGO's The HUNCHBACK Of NOTRE DAME in her bookcase, and I remember reading the last page and finding it quite sad.  I wasn't to return to Largs until 2014 - 43 years later - and I was thrilled and disappointed in equal measure.  Thrilled at seeing familiar sights that reminded me of yesteryear, and disappointed at the many changes that had taken place.  I'll talk about this again in an upcoming post, o wallowers in sentiment and nostalgia.

BABE Of The DAY - JANE RUSSELL...

My kinda woman - JANE RUSSELL.

(If only I were her kinda man!  Her loss.)

WANT A RESTFUL NIGHT? THEN DON'T USE THIS COMPANY...

I've been needing a new bed and mattress for a while now, so when the above leaflet came through my letterbox last week, I decided to check it out on the night.  I popped along to where the 'event' was being held, and was slightly disconcerted to see a couple of bored-looking guys in a small ante-room with a couple of beds on display.  However, the guy I spoke to seemed okay, and the goods were at an acceptable price.  And it was 'pay on delivery' so what could I lose?

My time, my bed, and the will to live as it turned out.  On the appointed day of delivery, I got a 'phone call from the guy I'd spoken with a couple of nights before.  They didn't have the exact model I'd ordered in the colour I wanted, so would a one- drawer divan be acceptable, instead of a two?  It was ever-so-slightly cheaper, so I was tempted, but decided to plump for a different colour of the original model.

I threw out my old bed in the back garden to make room for the new one.  It was pouring of rain, so no way would it be coming back into the house.  A few hours later, I receive another 'phone call, with some cock-and-bull story about the warehouse being closed and the delivery driver not having the key.  I never let the guy finish, as it was obvious where things were going.  "Just cancel it" I said, "I'll get one elsewhere!"

Without a word of a lie, when I ordered the bed, I had half-a-notion that I'd be getting a 'phone call on the day with some excuse-or-other as to why they couldn't deliver it.  I'm a natural cynic though, so I beat down the small voice in my noggin and tried to be positive.  On the day, that voice resurfaced, so I wasn't surprised to be disappointed, as I'd half-expected it.  I was still disappointed at being disappointed though, as I'm not too keen on sleeping on the floor.

My advice to you all, should you ever receive one of these leaflets from this company, is just to bin it.  Honestly, you don't need the bleedin' hassle - nobody does. 

RECOMMENDED READING: IRON MAN 2020 COLLECTED EDITION...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Following on from my fairly recent post on the new MACHINE MAN EPIC COLLECTION, we now take a look at this IRON MAN 2020 softcover volume. Mainly because it contains the 4-issue limited series from 1984 illustrated by HERB TRIMPE & BARRY SMITH, featuring JACK KIRBY's 1977 'mechanical man'. Oh, it's also got tales about Iron Man 2020 - but why listen to me witter on about it? Read the back cover.

INFINITY MAN & The FOREVER PEOPLE COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Y'know, back in the 1970s, I always felt JACK ('King') KIRBY had shoehorned INFINITY MAN into The FOREVER PEOPLE mag.  It seemed like a concept from another comic that didn't quite fit; after all, could any other group of young (or any age for that matter) 'gods' from NEW GENESIS swap places with a super-powered individual?  If I recall correctly, he only appeared a couple of times, as if Jack didn't really know quite what to do with him.

It seems the team behind this revival didn't know quite what to do with any of the characters, as it petered out after only nine completely unsatisfying issues.  I'd looked forward to this series, and liked the art in the first couple of mags, but the story failed to hold my interest.  Changing SERAFIN into a female was a pointless exercise.  Why use characters and concepts created by the 'King' and then change them?  The only thing I can remember about the whole shebang is it was utterly unmemorable.

So, in retrospect, I can't really recommend the mag, other than as an example of how not to handle the 'FOURTH WORLD' universe of Jack Kirby.  However, let's overlook its failings and peruse the full set of covers anyway.  After all, now you're here, I've gotta give you something to look at.  Comments welcome!

BABE Of The DAY - TRIVAGO GIRL, GABRIELLE MILLER...

Everyone seems to be in love

with GABRIELLE MILLER at the

moment.  Given her stunning looks,

it's surely not hard to see why.

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS: MISTER MIRACLE #3...

Copyright DC COMICS

I recall seeing the above comic in one of my town centre's local R.S. McCOLL's newsagents back in the early '70s, but I don't think I bought it then.  However, I took the time to thumb through it, and when I finally acquired and read the ish quite a few years later, it was much as I remembered it.  JUDGE DREDD was faced with a similar plot in one of his adventures (which eventually became a movie) and I've always wondered if the idea was nicked from inspired by MISTER MIRACLE #3.

What do you think?

BABE Of The DAY - GABRIELLE (TRIVAGO GIRL) MILLER...

Sexy GABRIELLE MILLER

looks me up and down, then declares

"You'll do for me, handsome!"  Clearly a

woman of taste and discernment is our

 Gabby.  What's not to like?!

PART FOUR OF KEN REID'S THE NERVS...

Copyright REBELLION

From SMASH! & POW! #140, cover dated October 5th 1968, comes KEN REID's The NERVS.  In later years, Reid often confused this strip with GEORGIE'S GERMS (which I don't think he ever actually drew), resulting in some modern-day comics commentators doing likewise.  (The strips were similar, hence the easy confusion.)  I suppose this strip was ODHAMS' answer to DCT's The NUMSKULLS (drawn originally by MALCOLM JUDGE), though The BEEZER strip never rose to the visual extravagance so evident in The Nervs.

Anyway, enjoy the pages, and feel free to comment.

  

PAUL GULACY'S BATMAN...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Hard to believe that these issues are now more than 30 years old, bought while living in another house in what seems another life away.  I've always liked PAUL GULACY's art, and his style suits The BATMAN to a 't'.  Written by DOUG MOENCH, whose Batman tales are extremely engaging, these two comics are just how the Dark Knight should be done.  I've re-read quite a number of Mr. Moench's Bat-tales recently, and they really are top-notch entertainment.  Well-worth seeking out on eBay, or buying a collected edition.  Well - what are you waiting for?

BABE Of The DAY - GABRIELLE MILLER (The TRIVAGO GIRL)...

Here's that crackin' little cutie from

down under, GABRIELLE MILLER,

to put a smile on your face, Crivvies.  And

doesn't she do a great job on her whites?

 I wonder what her ironing's like?

RUMINATING REPOST: A COMICS CONTROVERSY - CARE TO COMMENT?

SUPERMAN's first issue of his own comic

Consider, if you will, fellow Criv-ites, the following scenario.  A person buys an ornament for £2 from a charity shop.  Later, upon reflection, they decide that they don't really like it, so when someone collecting for a jumble sale chaps their door, the ornament is handed over to help raise funds to repair a leaky church roof.

Ten years later, the first person is watching ANTIQUES ROADSHOW and sees "their" ornament declared as being worth £20,000.  Do they have a moral or legal claim on any of that money if the current owner decides to sell?

Now consider this.  Someone asks an artist to paint a picture of their house and gardens.  The artist charges them £300 and is extremely pleased at the amount he has secured for himself.  Five years later, a visitor to the purchaser's house is so enamoured of the painting that he offers them £5,000 for it.  Over the years, it changes hands for increased amounts until it's worth £50,000.  Does the artist have a moral or legal claim on any of the money it has changed hands for over the years?

The answer is surely "no" - isn't it?

So what's the difference between those two examples and what happened to SIEGEL and SHUSTER over SUPERMAN, or JACK KIRBY and the many characters he created or co-created for MARVEL or DC COMICS?  Or the work LEO BAXENDALE (or any artist you care to name) did for D.C. THOMSON or IPC/FLEETWAY?  I would suggest none at all.

BATMAN's first issue of his own comic

If you consent to sell something outright for an agreed fee, then it's really nothing to do with you what the purchaser does with his purchase or how much he profits from it in the years to come.  If you buy a house for £80,000 and then sell it for £100,000, the previous owner (even if he built the house) is neither legally nor morally entitled to a share of your profit.  And, back in the day, that's the way it was done in the world of comics.



That's not to say that I have anything against present-day creators' rights, profit-sharing, copyright ownership, artwork return, or anything like that - because that's the way things are done nowadays.

However, back in the 1930s (until the late '70s, early '80s), comics were just a job to the writers and artists - 'twas the publishers who took the financial risk in launching a new comicbook, so why shouldn't their share of the profits proportionately reflect that risk?

When a publisher bought a character, they bought it outright - if it was a success, they made money, if it was a failure, they didn't.  It's a safe bet that there were a lot more failures than successes in those days.  That was just the way the cookie crumbled.

Anyone got any thoughts on the matter?  Let's hear them.

BABE Of The DAY - HEATHER THOMAS...

Here's a pic of me and stunning

HEATHER THOMAS (from TV's

The FALL GUY) in her bath.  Where

am I, you may be asking?  I'm under

 the water, retrieving the soap.

KEN REID'S QUEEN Of The SEAS - PART FIVE...

Copyright REBELLION

It's been a while since we looked at any KEN REID art, so here's an episode of QUEEN Of The SEAS from SMASH! #5, cover-dated March 5th 1966.  Reid's artwork was a delight when he was at the height of his powers, and he was certainly firing on all cylinders when he drew this strip.  Sadly, towards the end of his career, while he was still capable of rendering the fine detail for which he was famous, the 'life' somehow seemed to have gone out of his drawings, leaving his pages somewhat stilted.  However, by then he'd done more than enough to ensure his place in the top tier of British cartooning greats.  All hail the mighty Ken Reid!

   

ADVENTURE Into... FEAR!

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Here's a great reprint mag published in 1970, simply entitled FEAR.  Containing stories from MARVEL's anthology monster mags, it's a nice little reminder of the sort of stories ATLAS (one of Marvel's previous names) produced before superheroes took off again in 1961 with the introduction of the Fabulous FF.

Some fine artists here, including KIRBY, DITKO, and HECK.  What more could you ask for in one mag?