BABES OF THE DAY - MAGDA KONOPKA, VICTORIA VETRI & IMOGEN HASSALL...

I's a tough choice, but someone's

got to make it.  So which of this trio of

hot babes would you choose for the wife?

(If you ask me, I'd let your wife choose her

own girlfriends - we men have got more

 than enough to do as it is.  Heh.)

QUOTH THE RAVEN... "NEVERMORE!"

One of my favourite poems is The RAVEN, and if you've never heard BASIL RATHBONE's amazing rendition of it, click on this link and listen to it after you've read and replied to this post.  Here's an interesting take on this rhyming masterpiece, illustrated by RICH CORBEN and first published in CREEPY #67, December 1974.  Got a comment to make about it?  Let's have some fun - try and do it in rhyme.  H'mm, that's got you thinking, hasn't it?  Go to it!

Here - I'll even start you off...

                                         Once, within a blog post cheery,

                                         Kid made many members leery,

                                         by asking them to pen their answers

                                         in rhyming style of days of yore.

                                         "Rats" they said, "that's sure a toughie,

                                         our poetic prose is stuffy,

                                         verse is weak, and meter fluffy,

                                         and our brains are soft and sore."

                                         "Please" I uttered, "don't be huffy,

                                         let your aspirations soar -

                                         'Tis a poem, nothing more."

(Yup, I'm tweaking it as we go along.)

See?  I'd never ask you to do something that I wouldn't be prepared to do myself. (Well, most of the time anyway.)

And below is the cover for all you completists.

(BOND) BABE OF THE DAY - MARGARET NOLAN...

Here's magnificent MARGARET NOLAN, who

played delectable 'DINK' in the 1964 JAMES BOND

movie 'GOLDFINGER'.  What a darlin' - that 007

 fella sure knows how to pick 'em, doesn't he?!

THE FLINTSTONES MEET FRANKENSTEIN & DRACULA...

The FLINTSTONES copyright HANNA-BARBERA Productions

Well, of course the FLINTSTONES couldn't ever meet FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA, mainly because the former are supposed to have lived in the prehistoric age, whereas the famous terror twosome didn't come along until centuries (if not millennia) later.  In the same way, it's impossible for the Flintstones to have observed Christmas or Easter (either in the TV show or in comicbooks), as neither of those traditions existed at the time.  Yeah, I know - I'm just being pernickety.  In the accompanying tale, the duo and their chums are transported back to the past via a time machine, making my opening observation just a little redundant.  Ah, well.

So read on and enjoy FRED and his family meeting Frankie and Drac, plus two of their other manic monster mates.

A LETTER FROM CHURCH...

DOUG CHURCH was the IPC art editor and a really nice man.  When the Youth Group was moved from KING'S REACH TOWER down the road to IRWIN HOUSE in preparation for being sold to ROBERT MAXWELL, I often used the desk adjacent to Doug's when I was working.  We shared many of the same musical tastes, and the above note is Doug's thank you for a couple of compilation tapes I did for him of AL JOLSON and BING CROSBY (and friends).

I hope he's now enjoying a happy retirement, and long may he do so.  What a great character.

BABE OF THE DAY - VICTORIA VETRI...

VICTORIA VETRI is my kinda

woman - a photo of one who won't slap

me for copping a look.  In person they just

don't want to know.  At least photos don't talk

back, which is no mean compensation.  (I'm

being self-deprecating for comedic effect as

women actually find me irresistible.  Ask

 my doc, she'll confirm my delusion.)

PART FOUR OF CADET'S STINGRAY SWEET CIGARETTE CARDS...

Copyright relevant owner

Well, whaddya think?  Did TROY TEMPEST and 'PHONES' SHERIDAN ever double-date ATLANTA SHORE and MARINA, or did JAMES GARNER look-a-like Troy keep them both to himself, satiating his sexual desires with each of them in turn, both women totally unaware that they were being two-timed?

(Whaddya mean, he's just a puppet?  That's no excuse for being a heartless b*st*rd!)

While you're reeling from that bombshell, Crivvies, let's look at some more STINGRAY sweet cigarette cards by confectionery manufacturer CADET.  Remember that we've still got 50 THUNDERBIRDS cards coming up once we get to the end of this run in the next instalment, so don't stray too far.  You'd kick yourself if you missed them.

Right, let's jump right in!

PART TWO OF DR. STRANGE CLASSICS: COVER, SPLASH PAGE & PIN-UP GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Ready for yet more mystical images from LEE & DITKO's Dr. STRANGE tales from the mid-'60s, as reprinted in the four issue Classics series in 1984?  Good, then you've come to the right place as that's just what we've got for you, Criv-ite fans.  I first read these stories in a black & white weekly British comic called TERRIFIC way back in 1967, and I knew they were something extra-special even then.  This was MARVEL at its very best and no mistake.

If you've never read these yarns before then you've missed out, frantic ones, and could be considered impoverished in your comics collecting lives.  However, do not despair - all these pulse-pounding pictures are on view in the Dr. STRANGE OMNIBUS volume - available even as I type these imperishable words.  And, what's more, you'll get to see these double-page covers without the irritating personal address labels taking up space in the corners.  So what are you hanging around here for?

Race right 'round to your local comicbook store right away and immerse yourselves in the wondrous worlds of Dr. Strange by buying your very own awesome Omnibus volume before they sell out.  You don't want to miss it.

And below is the ALEX ROSS cover of the Omnibus edition.

BABE OF THE DAY - MARILYN MONROE...

The magnificent MARILYN MONROE.

What else need be said?  (Except wow!)

DR. STRANGE CLASSICS: COVER, SPLASH PAGE & PIN-UP GALLERY - PART ONE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

H'mm, now that's strange (no pun intended).  When I look at these pics, I don't automatically associate them with the house in which I lived when I purchased them.  In fact, I was surprised when I saw the date of 1984 in the indicia, because I thought I'd obtained this four-issue series in 1982 or '83, when I first lived in the house I'm in now.  (In case you're confused - or interested - I resided here from 1972 to 1983, before my family moved to a new home, only to return to our former abode after just over four years, in 1987.)

This cracking series reprints the classic 12 issue 1960s run of STRANGE TALES #s 130-141, wherein Dr. STRANGE embarks on his greatest adventure.  This STEVE DITKO plotted tale ran for a year - a year - something that most rabid readers who first experienced this scintillating saga in epic editions like this (or MASTERWORKS and OMNIBUS volumes) forget.  Although story-plotted by Ditko, STAN (The Man) LEE makes his customary immense contribution by scripting the palpitating proceedings as only he can.

The images on display are scanned from my original issues, hence the personal address labels (sans address) on the back of the covers.  I could have scanned them from the Omnibus volume, but I didn't want to risk damaging it, so I'm afraid you'll just have to live with the labels.  When these stories were reprinted, two at a time, in Strange Tales around the mid-'70s (#s 183-188), ten pages were discreetly edited out, but in this presentation, one lone page aside in the final story, the main saga is complete.  (The deleted panels set the scene for Strange Tales #142, but as the MORDO/DORMAMMU tale was over they were edited out, being regarded as superfluous.)

So enjoy the awesome artwork on offer, and don't forget to return for part two.  I'd hate for you to miss anything!  (I'm thoughtful that way.)

  

'Twas usually Jolly Jack Kirby who sometimes drew characters' eyes on a different level, but
here, Sturdy Steve Ditko seems to be emulating him.  The Doc looks like he's had a stroke