BABE Of The DAY - KELLY BROOK...

There's a couple of things about

the lovely KELLY BROOK that I like,

but I just can't put my finger on them -

(otherwise I'd likely be arrested).

THE RETURN OF DR. MYSTERIO - A SHORT 'REVIEW'...

So what the hell happened?  I actually enjoyed it this year.

The Doctor is still a tad too shouty-wouty and a bit too much

of a would-be stand up comedian for my tastes, but overall, it

was an entertaining little show.  Maybe the secret is not to

 expect too much, eh?  There - that short enough for you?

KID KLASSICS: 'SNOW' USE - I JUST GOTTA TALK ABOUT The SNOWMAN (& HIS DOG)...

Copyright relevant owner

I didn't see The SNOWMAN when it was first broadcast on CHANNEL 4 on Boxing Day in 1982.  It wasn't until I caught the latter half of it the following year (or even the one after that), that I bought the video of the classic cartoon-short about a Snowman who comes to life (as they all do, apparently), and which was based on the 1978 picture-book by RAYMOND BRIGGS.

I'd always assumed that DAVID BOWIE's introduction (first used in the 1983 broadcast) was the only one, so I was surprised to discover later that it wasn't.  The cartoon has now had three intros: the Raymond Briggs original, the Bowie one, one by Briggs' version of Santa (voiced by the late MEL SMITH), and (on DVD) none at all (but with all three intros as separate options).

Most folks probably think ALED JONES was the singer of HOWARD BLAKE's haunting composition WALKING In The AIR, as it was his cover which reached number five in the U.K. charts in 1985.  However, it's actually chorister PETER AUTY's soprano tones on the animated feature, although his name was missing from the credits and not added 'til the 20th anniversary version.

The Snowman and the young lad who built him (JAMES) made cameo appearances in the 1991 animated version of Briggs' FATHER CHRISTMAS, thereby suggesting that James's adventure with his snow pal wasn't a one-off.  This is borne out in the 2012 sequel, The SNOWMAN And The SNOWDOG, where a new boy finds an old box under the floorboards of James's old home, containing a hat, scarf, withered tangerine - and a photograph of James and the Snowman together, obviously taken on an occasion subsequent to the first one.

The sequel is also delightful, though not too different from its predecessor.  However, there are a few things I have some reservations about, so I'll address them here.  Coming thirty years after the original, viewers are within their rights in assuming that perhaps something close to 'real time' has elapsed in the intervening years, as the isolated house in the country is now part of a new estate.  Although surely a housing development would've simply bulldozed the house, rather than gone to the bother of building around (and next to) it.

Also, what happened to James, the original boy?  Would he really have abandoned the Snowman's accoutrements and photo of the two of them together?  I'd have preferred to see him as the new boy's father, passing on a magical secret to his son rather than his fate simply being ignored.  (We at least know he survived into adulthood and bore an uncanny resemblance to David Bowie.)  I suppose, though, that one can always interpret events as James's son and widow moving back to his boyhood home after having left some years before.  Perhaps the adult James only expired after the plans to move back were finalised, or perhaps (on a happier note) he's simply away on business at the time.

One thing I did like was the fact that, when the Snowman is given a fresh tangerine for a new nose, his shrunken, dried out one is utilised for the Snowdog.  "Waste not, want not!" as the old saying goes.  Also, a young girl is seen playing with what is clearly an item of Snowman 'merchandise', while the boy himself has a poster of Briggs' earlier creation from 1977, FUNGUS The BOGEYMAN, on his bedroom wall.  (And see if you can spot the 1966 TV BATMOBILE toy's brief and surprising appearance.)

As for the sequel's song, LIGHT The NIGHT by ANDY BURROWS (which is nowhere in the same league as the original), the makers (LUPUS) should've used either an instrumental version of Walking In The Air, or a new arrangement with perhaps a male-voice choir to distinguish it from Auty's.  (After all, it is the Snowman's 'signature' theme, in the same way that JAMES BOND and SUPERMAN have one also.)  Burrow's song is disappointingly underwhelming (though, for all I know, may be technically and musically perfect), and fails to resonate to anywhere near the same degree as Blake's original 1982 classic composition.

For all those interested, a DVD box-set of The Snowman & The Snowman and The Snowdog is available from most HMV stores and other outlets.  Or you can catch up with them on TV over Christmas if you're too much of a skinflint.  Well worth watching!  One thing I'd really like to know is this, though: what gives the Snowman his individual personality?  Is it the garden he's built in, or the person who builds him?  Or is it perhaps the accessories he wears?  If James is still alive and he were to build a Snowman, would it be a different one (personality-wise) to the one he built as a kid, or the same one?  Anybody got any thoughts on the matter?

"MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!"

KLASSIC CHRISTMAS KOMIC KOVERS - TERRIFIC #38...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

This story had previously been reprinted in a couple of issues of SMASH! (in two parts), also around Christmas, and whenever I look at the cover and b&w pages within, I'm back in my home town as it was in 1967, and not the vastly changed place it is today.  That's the thing about comics from yesteryear - they return us to the time in which we first read them, and which, if we're honest, we wish we could revisit far more often than we do.  Am I right, or am I right?

MY VERY 'FIRST' CHRISTMAS BEANO...

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

As an adult, that is.  Chances are that I had at least one Christmas issue when I was a kid, but this is the earliest one I own, the very ish I bought back in 1978 when I was a mere 20 years of age.  It's possible I bought it in Southsea when I was down there to be best man at a (now former) friend's wedding, but it's equally possible I bought it within a day or two of returning home.  I'll be posting a few other pages from the comic over the next few days, but in the meantime, here's the 'world's wildest boy', DENNIS The MENACE!  Enjoy.

KID KLASSICS: SUNNY SUMMER SPECIALS OF YESTERYEAR...

Images copyright relevant and respective owners

It's the depths of winter once again, so let's cheer ourselves up by stepping back into sunnier climes with a look at some of the great Summer Specials from a long-vanished era.  Ready?

******

One of the things that every blogger has to concern themselves with is just what to write about for each new post, in the hope that at least someone will be interested in reading the result.  One can never really tell with any certainty just what will float a reader's boat so it's a bit of a gamble whenever a blog host takes the plunge with yet another entry for his members' perusal and hopeful appreciation.  Will a catchy title arouse their curiosity?  Will a dramatic opening illustration grab their attention?  Sometimes I'm surprised as to just what attracts a significant number of hits - and sometimes I'm disappointed in equal measure as to what seems to escape under the radar.

So, "what's the recipe for today, Jim?" - and will it be enough to lure you into my blog's web for a few enjoyable minutes of reading pleasure?  Let's look at the subject of Summer Specials - or Holiday Specials as they were also sometimes called.  Asides from three new Ultimate Beano Summer Specials which graced the shelves of WHS a while back, the particular breed known as the Summer Special seems to be extinct.  Hardly surprising given the dying interest in comics in general, but no less disappointing for that inarguable fact.

Those of a certain age will recall the glory days, when - for a mere 2'6d (usually) - 96 pages of fun and adventure could be had to pore over again and again.  There was just something about those extra thick publications that seemed to beckon to us from the newsagents' counters - enticing us to spend the halfcrown that a kindly and indulgent grandparent or uncle had given to us only a day or two before.  We were mainly unaware that, inevitably, these bumper packages contained an allocation of reprinted strips from comics or annuals of an earlier era - and what did it matter anyway?  They were definitely new to us.

So come with me now on a short journey, and let us return to an age when Holiday Specials were a welcome distraction as we sheltered under the leafy shade of an overhanging branch from the heat of the sweltering Summer sun.  A bottle of pop in one hand, an oversized paper periodical in the other, the future remained an undiscovered country - in which, sadly, all too soon we would find ourselves residing while wondering how we got there. 

    

And below is one of my all-time favourite Specials - the TV CENTURY 21 Summer Extra for 1965.  Took me years to track down this replacement, but I got it for a very reasonable price.

HAVE A CRIVENS CHRISTMAS...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

A very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to all CRIVENS regulars and (most) fellow comics bloggers.  May all your wishes come true in 2017.  (Apart from world domination - I'm reserving that one for myself.)

BABE Of The DAY - ALIONA VILANI...

Strictly speaking, ALIONA VILANI

is a dancer, which probably explains how

she managed to waltz right into my heart.

(Yeah, these captions are getting cornier

 and cornier, so you try writing them.

RECOMMENDED READING: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN EPIC COLLECTION VOLUME TWO...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Here's another little belter of a book you'll no doubt all be wanting to rush out and buy, Crivvies - SPIDER-MAN EPIC COLLECTION Volume 2.  So look at the covers and read the spiel on the back, then race straight 'round (which is surely a contradiction in terms, but never mind) to your local comicbook store and pick up a copy today.  Go on, treat yourself - the wife won't mind, given all the times she's treated herself (that you don't know about).

FREAKY FRANKENSTEIN FIGURE...

Is it just me or does he look a bit like Ben Stiller?

Look at this nifty wee articulated FRANKENSTEIN figure I acquired recently. I assume his favourite song is 'Unchained Melody' (see what I did there?), but isn't he an absolute stoater?  Just thought you'd like to see him.  Remember though - he's all mine, so you'll have to buy your own.  ( I'll maybe replace these photos with some better ones later.)

The CHRISTMAS BEANO REVIEW...

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

I've been putting this post off for a while now, mostly because I know the reaction it'll provoke in certain quarters, but also because (believe it or not) I derive no enjoyment from being 'negative', but I can postpone comment no longer.  So what am I talking about?  The BEANO Christmas issue, of course.  I can imagine what some people will say in response to my honest observations; things like  "It's a comic for kids, not adults, so it isn't intended for old farts like you!" 

And it's certainly true (as well as patently obvious) that the comic is increasingly aimed at younger kids these days, moreso than it used to be.  But here's a fact: I didn't begin collecting the Christmas issue of The Beano until I was 20 years of age, and have bought it every year for the last 38 years.  (I don't think I've missed any, but if I have, it'll only be one or two of the more modern ones.)  I've  always enjoyed the Christmas Beano, even though it wasn't designed (as I'm so often reminded) for people of  'my age'.

So why could I enjoy earlier editions but not the more contemporary ones?  I'm not even sure I know, but I'll have a stab at identifying what I see as the problem.  To start with, too many 'filler' pages taking up too much space, for no other reason than to pad out the issue and create the impression that it has far more content than it actually does.  36 pages, 15 of which are a combination of fillers, ads, and activity pages, with double-page spreads whose content would be more suited, in my humble estimation, to a single page.

I've no complaint about the quality of the art as such, although, again, two pages seem to be required to contain images that could easily be fitted into one.  To me, the comic gives the distinct impression that 18 pages of content (including filler, activity, and readers' letters pages) have been needlessly spread over 36, and that there's less actual reading in it than in previous decades.  So what's wrong with The Beano?  It just doesn't seem like The Beano anymore.

So, £4.50 for a polybagged periodical including cheap tat worth about 50p (if), and without the snow on the logo that tradition demands for a Christmas issue, I found this offering overpriced and, overall, disappointing.  It'll doubtless keep younger kids amused for a short while, but not for as long as I (as an adult) was amused by this once 'must-have' iconic comic in 'days of yore'.

Feel free to air your views on the matter.

For 'Beano Boss' page, read 'unnecessary filler' page 

HOPE YOU HAVE A SILENT NIGHT THIS CHRISTMAS...

There's a number of good versions of the classic

Christmas carol SILENT NIGHT, but most of them

usually only have two of the three verses.  Either you

get the the first two, or the first and the third, and in

BING CROSBY's rendition, you only get the first,

but sung twice. (Or is it three times?  Can't re-

member now.)

However, in JIM REEVES' case, you get all

three verses - and listen to the quiet power in his

voice gather steam in the third.  This is my very

favourite version of the song - give it a spin.

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

The lovely and alluring

JILL St. JOHN is my kind

of woman!  (The kind that

was born that way, in case

 you were wondering.)

KLASSIC KOMIC KOVERS - AVENGERS ANNUAL #2...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

The above cover would be a worthy inclusion in our 'Comic Covers Snap' series as there's been quite a few variations on it down through the years, some, I'm sure, even pre-dating JOHN BUSCEMA's excellent example from 1968.  I'm lucky enough to possess the above mag (along with its predecessor, #1), and what an iconic issue it is.  Don't have it?  Then why not purchase The AVENGERS OMNIBUS Volume 2, which includes this very Mighty MARVEL Masterpiece?!  Go on!

Take a moment to wax lyrical about why Big John is one of your favourite comicbook artists in our comments section.  Don't keep all that awe and appreciation to yourselves!

KID KLASSICS: DO YOU KNOW HOW CHRISTMAS TREES ARE GROWN?

My living-room at Christmas some years ago

Or made, even?  In the case of the one I brought down from my loft a fortnight ago, it's made of bristle 'branches' entwined by wire attached to a wooden 'stem', from which the branches unfold to display the tree to best effect - only to be folded back against the stem when it's time for it to return to the loft for another year.  At least, that was the process originally.  However, the wire is now far too frail to withstand continual bending (and has been for many a year), so is simply covered with a bag before being returned to its accustomed place in the attic.

The tree is older than me and has graced every house I've ever lived in.  However, over a quarter of a century ago, some of the branches were missing, having snapped off over its vast lifespan when the wire had become fatigued past the point of flexibility.  Also, some of the little red beads at the end of each branch had become detached and were long lost to the shadows of many a Christmas past.  Then, one day, while walking past an OXFAM shop, I espied my tree's twin in the window.  I soon acquired it, and then used it to replace the missing branches and beads on my own tree.

Standing back to admire the results of my restoration work sometime later, my eyes fell upon the sorry remnants of the cannibalised tree which I had so heartlessly lured to its doom, and I was suddenly consumed by an overwhelming sense of guilt.  The tree had trusted me, had accompanied me willingly, believing itself welcomed into the bosom of a new family whose Christmases it would happily share every year from that point on - only to be ripped apart and cast aside upon arrival in its new home.  I felt like a murderer.  So eager had I been to restore my old tree, I'd hardly considered the act of cruelty I was inflicting upon its doppelganger.

Oo-er - the dog's up on the settee again

It could not be - it should not be - it would not be!  What could I do however, to reverse my thoughtless act of wanton vandalism on the innocent tree and redeem myself, not only in my own eyes, but those of the grieving Spirits of Christmases past, present and future?  A future now seemingly denied the tree I had plundered for spare parts.  Then I noticed something about the base of the tree, which, in all ways but one, was the double of the other, and hope rose in my now remorseful heart.

Both bases were portions of logs into which the tree-stems were sunk.  The logs had then been painted red with gold highlights applied in places over the bark.  However, although each tree was the same size (or had been until my 'surgical' intervention), the 'new' base was a fair bit thinner and therefore seemed, compared to its 'twin', out of proportion to its height.  Had the tree been smaller, it would have been a much better match for its base.

A close-up of 'Junior'

That was the answer.  I would use the remnants of the ruined tree to build a smaller one more in keeping with the size of its base.  I carefully 'operated' on the leftover branches, making sure that each tier reduced in length from the bottom up, so that the natural fir tree shape was maintained.  The original stem had splintered when I had removed the branches for transplanting into my first tree, so I bought a replacement pole from a D.I.Y. shop, wood-stained it, carefully drilled holes at regular intervals to accommodate the surviving customised branches - and hey, presto - one mini-Christmas tree, approximately half the size of its original dimensions and looking for all the world as if it had always been that way!

Every Christmas since (approximately 28 or 29), both trees have shared Yuletide duties in my living-room, the original in the front half and 'Junior' on top of the TV in the back half - each with their own set of lights to pierce the descending darkness of December late-afternoons.  And thus shall it ever be until my last Christmas on earth - and if they should survive my passing, some kindly stranger, perhaps seeing them in a charity shop window, will take them both home to brighten the Christmases of a new family for many a long year to come.

"God bless us, every one!"

BABE Of The DAY - RAQUEL WELCH...

Ravishing RAQUEL WELCH

is the kind of woman to whom you'd

give the shirt off your back -  so I did!

Don't believe me?  Look, she's wearing

it!  (Better not mention she's also got

 my bikini on.  Oops, too late.)

RECOMMENDED OGLING: RED SONJA #0...

Images copyright DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

RED SONJA is a warrior gal with a bit of history.  ROY THOMAS based her on writer ROBERT E. HOWARD's literary character, RED SONYA, combining her with another of Howard's heroines, DARK AGNES de CHASTILLPN.  MARVEL's Red Sonja made her first appearance in CONAN The BARBARIAN #23 in 1972/'73, and then starred in MARVEL FEATURE #s 1-7 in 1975 before being awarded her own mag in 1976/'77.

Jumping forward a bit, when DYNAMITE acquired the 'She-Devil with a sword', she was killed off in #34 of her own mag, with a new character - apparently related to the original, as well as being a reincarnation of her - popping up in the very next issue.  To be honest, it's already becoming far too convoluted to sustain my interest, but I didn't discover all this recent backstory 'til after I'd read this new issue and done a bit of research.

So when I acquired Dynamite's new Red Sonja intro mag (#0), I thought it was the original character.  The art is very nice, but I have a few problems with the fluidity of the sequential storytelling.  For example, in one panel, Red Sonja fights a tentacled dragon-type figure face-to-face, in the next, she's on the other side of the cavern where the battle is taking place.

In another panel, she's directly in front of a speeding subway train (don't ask, just buy), in the next she orders it to "yield", before jumping out of the way in the following panel.  "No way, Jose!"   She'd have been flattened into oblivion in a micro-second.  There's a suggestion prior to the subway scene that she may have been asleep (and therefore dreaming), which would explain the departure from realistic, sequential narrative, but it's unclear.

Copyright LUIGI NOVI/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Anyway, at the end of the day, who really cares?  I only got it because I like looking at scantily-clad beauties in silver chain-mail bikinis and don't have the spuds to buy a 'top-shelfer'.  So if you're like me and swooned over Red Sonja when she first appeared back in 1973, then you too should enjoy copping a gander at the art within this new title and subsequent issues, by Mitra!

(Or perhaps that should be 'buy, Mitra!') 

BABE Of The DAY - SUZANNE DANIELLE...

There's only a couple of words that

you need to read (so ignore the non-bold

type), and these two words are - SUZANNE

DANIELLE.  Apparently, she's married to a

golfer, who, lucky chap that he is, gets to

play around a round with her.

PARENTS, POSTERS, & PUPPETS (ER, MUPPETS)... (Updated)

Not one of the original posters mentioned, but
better than nothing.  Image copyright DISNEY

I'm not a parent, but even given my status as non-participant in that category, I'm smart enough to realise just how difficult - and even heartbreaking - the position must often be.  There's an ad on telly at the moment featuring The MUPPETS (the full version is very funny), and seeing it just a few moments ago took my mind back to an occasion involving my father in the late 1970s. Allow me to relate it to you now, as I'm sure it'll remind you of similar incidents concerning your own parents.

My father loved nothing more than going into Glasgow every weekend and trawling around his old haunts from his youth.  He always visited The BARRAS or PADDY'S MARKET, and one Saturday evening he returned home with two Muppet posters for me and my brother.  At that time I'd have been in my late teens or early twenties, and my brother was in the latter age group, so we both poured scorn on the very idea of having a Muppet poster in either of our rooms, as it would've been 'uncool'.

This attitude must've confused my father, because me and my brother both watched The Muppet Show and enjoyed their mad antics, so he naturally assumed we'd each appreciate a poster of the objects of our TV affections.  Our ingratitude must have hurt, although I don't recall him showing it.  A similar incident happened a few years later when he brought back a poster of Scottish Steam Trains for me, although I'd never shown any interest in railway matters.  Again, my lack of enthusiasm or gratitude for his parental thoughtfulness must have hurt him.

We were living in another house at the time of the second poster event, and I remember, a few weeks after moving from it back to our previous home, I called in (by prior arrangement) to the house we'd not long vacated to collect our old ironing board from the greenhouse and take some final photos of the place (ah, ever the nostalgist), and the tenant with whom we'd swapped properties suddenly dug out the train poster from the cupboard outside what had recently been my bedroom.  I took a photo of him holding the poster, while feeling vaguely ashamed of just how heartlessly I'd abandoned it.

I had to abandon it a second time, because he never offered it to me to take away as I left, but at least I've got a photograph of it to remind me of how thankless kids can be to their parents, however unintentional it may be.  Maybe one day I'll track down replacements for all three posters - then, should I ever have kids even at my advanced age (hey, you can get many a nasty sting from a dying bee), it'll remind me to try and be patient whenever they behave in a similar way as myself (and my brother - I refuse to take all the blame) when I was a mere young and thoughtless youth.  Then again, weren't we all?

Any similar incidents in your own youth you'd care to share?  That way, I can maybe pretend that I wasn't quite the ungrateful little b*st*rd that I must've seemed at the time.  C'mon, help assuage my sense of guilt, eh?

I see that we also left the light-shade.  How casually
we abandon things that have served us faithfully, eh?

Update: Truth to tell, it never occurred to me to ask him for the poster back then so I assume I still never really wanted it.  36 years later, however, I felt it would be nice to have something that my father bought specifically for me, so I went searching on eBay and found its doppelganger, along with a similar poster, which I promptly bought.  I don't really have the space to hang it anywhere, but knowing that I can unroll it whenever I want to and remember those long ago days gives me a nice feeling inside.  I may not have appreciated my father's thoughtfulness at the time, but hopefully I've now redressed my ingratitude from all those years ago.  Below, the two posters I've just purchased, which will shortly be winging their way to me.

And, while we're on the subject, the poster below may well have been one of the two that my father bought for my brother and me back in the '70s.  It certainly seems to ring a bell in memory's belfry.

CAPTAINS AMERICA & BRITAIN...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

JACK KIRBY & JOE SIMON drew the above cover, SEB CAREY pays homage to it with the one below.  And didn't he do well?  Parody has always been a part of the visual language of comicbooks, as has satire, and Seb's cover combines them both in one go.

For more of Seb's great art, simply click on http://sebcarey.deviantart.com/gallery  - and all dedicated fans of good ol' Captain Britain should also check out the following link - http://throneofotherworld.blogspot.com

Well go on!  What are you hanging around here for?

A MARVEL-LOUS WORLD...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

Saturday - traditionally the day I'd buy my weekly comics as a teenager back in the '70s.  That continued in the '80s, but by the time the '90s came around, there weren't too many weekly periodicals left - at least, not of the kind that interested me.  Now and again, it's Saturday when I purchase the latest monthly issue of The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL (even though it may've gone on sale a few days before), and I luxuriate in the illusion that nothing much has changed in the 44 years since that esteemed publication first hit newsagents' counters back in 1972.

I continue to buy the title mainly out of a desire for continuity, unwilling to relinquish a familiar habit I've indulged in for most of my life, but it's still a rather nifty magazine, with some entertaining content that makes my commitment to it worthwhile. I must admit though, that if the mag were to resume featuring The INCREDIBLE HULK, The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, and The FANTASTIC FOUR (as it did when it first came out), then I'd be a very happy chappie.  However, I still get a thrill when I see the masthead staring back at me from the shelves of my local WH SMITH's.

That's the cover of the latest issue above.  Why not give it a try and immerse yourself in another world?  The Mighty World Of Marvel to be precise.  But be warned - once you've entered its hallowed halls, things will never again be the same.  Available in shops right now  - buy one today.

SPECTACULAR SPLASH PAGES #17...

Image copyright DC COMICS

Whaddya reckon, fellow Crivvies?  I'd say this is a spectacular splash page, even though all SUPERMAN's doing is sitting on a rock in the sea.  There's just something about the way it's drawn that grabs the eye and makes the reader want to know what's going to happen next.  Again, this one is by artists CURT SWAN and MURPHY ANDERSON, the highly-regarded 'team supreme' from the sizzling '70s.

MERRY CHRISTMAS POLKA...

JAMES TRAVIS REEVES likes a good knees-up,

and here he is singing the Merry Christmas Polka.

C'mon - dance, everybody, dance!

SPECTACULAR SPLASH PAGES #16...

Image copyright DC COMICS

The titanic team of penciller CURT SWAN and inker MURPHY ANDERSON (alias SWANDERSON) produced this spectacular splash-page, Criv-ites.  I suppose the DC duo could perhaps be regarded as the direct equivalent of MARVEL'S JACK KIRBY and JOE SINNOTT (alias KIRBSOTT?  Nah!), so well did both teams' talents merge on the pages they worked on.  

The result?  Great comicbook art that stands the test of time.  Tune in again for another spectacular splash page soon.