BABE Of The DAY - ABIGAIL RATCHFORD...

ABIGAIL RATCHFORD dresses to

impress - me that is.  Red's my favourite

colour, so it's nice to know she cares.

LYCANTHROPIC LARRY TALBOT IS A BIT OF A HOWL... (Updated)

Thought all you Criv-ites might like a look at an AURORA WOLF MAN kit I built and painted for someone.  It took me many months, as I can only apply myself to things for very short periods at a time before becoming fatigued (due to a medical condition), but I think the eventual results were worth waiting for.  What say the rest of you?

BABE Of The DAY - JERI RYAN...

It's JERI RYAN - aka

Seven of Nine.  In that case,

it's six of one, half a dozen of

 the other, I suppose.

RAMBLING REPOST: RICH BEYOND THE DREAMS OF AVARICE...

Copyright REBELLION

Back in the 20th century - 1973 to be exact - an envelope addressed to myself popped through the letterbox one morning.  Being only 14 or so, receiving personal mail wasn't a regular occurrence for me, so naturally enough I wondered what it was.  I soon found out - a postal order for £1, along with a cover-note telling me that my "Creepy Creation" would be featured in the very next issue of SHIVER & SHAKE.

When the day arrived, I rushed out and bought a copy.  Nevertheless, thrilled as I was about my moment of fame (to say nothing of my untold wealth), I was surprised to see that it seemed to be my actual drawing that had been printed - albeit with a super-duper, touch-up inking job by the mighty KEN REID.  I'd hoped that my original drawing would be good enough to be published as is, but I was resigned to the likelihood that it would be completely redrawn by Mr. Reid himself.

But no - all the glaring imperfections of my original art were still all-too obvious - surely Ken would've fixed them if he'd completely redrawn my submission from scratch?  Honest - that really appears to be my basic drawing under the super-slick inking style of the artist of FRANKIE STEIN and FACEACHE and loads of other characters.  The wings are a bit more ornate than I would've rendered them, but what you're looking at is a genuine Robson/Reid collaboration.

Ken wasn't the only one to recognize quality when he saw it, though.  (Relax - my tongue is half in my cheek.)  A few years later, someone traced my character and submitted it to a competition in one of MARVEL's U.K. weeklies -  and was one of a 100 runners-up.  To add insult to injury, I'd also entered the competition and was amongst the top ten of those 100 runners-up, but my prize of a Treasury Edition must have been lost in the Twilight Zone because I never received it.

So feast your eyes - the only Kid Robson/Ken Reid drawing in existence.  (I suppose his name really should come first - but it's my blog.  And he got paid far more than a £1 for his share of the work.)

BABE Of The DAY - ABIGAIL RATCHFORD...

Yeah, ABIGAIL's popped up a few times

recently, but what can I say?  She's such a cutie,

 I just can't help myself.  You complaining?

KLASSIC (KIRBY) KOMIC KOVERS: FANTASTIC FOUR #51...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Well, we've just seen the splash page of FF #51, so I thought I may as well show you the cover.  I think the top of The THING's legs are a little too wide for the top half of his body, but I don't really care, as I'm much too busy ogling The INVISIBLE GIRL.  (Who, thankfully, is quite visible in this picture.  SUSIE, I love you!)

SPECTACULAR SPLASH PAGES #21...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Okay, so The THING is just standing there doing nothing, but it's still a pretty dramatic image, huh?  When JACK KIRBY returned to MARVEL in the mid-'70s, he drew The Thing as the 'cuddly teddy bear' that some other artists had turned him into in JK's absence, and which JOHN BYRNE reversed when he became the FF's regular writer & artist in the early '80s.  However, in the '60s, The Thing still looked like a... thing, and this splash page captures that perfectly.

BABE Of The DAY - ABIGAIL RATCHFORD...

The sensationally stunning ABIGAIL

RATCHFORD was banging on my bedroom

door for ages last night.  Finally, I'd no choice

but to get up and let her out.  (Don't ask - I've

lost count of how many times I've used that

old joke too - still funny though.)

RECOMMENDED READING: The WIND In The WILLOWS...

Illustrations copyright IDW

Never read KENNETH GRAHAME's The WIND In The WILLOWS?  If it's something you've ever planned on doing, then now would be a good time to pick up this very handsome hardback edition from IDW PUBLISHING, illustrated by award-winning illustrator DAVID PETERSEN.  Go on, let some fresh air into your life and cross one more thing off your bucket list.  Available now (I presume) from all good book shops.

Incidentally, the artist has hand-signed 2,500 copies of the first edition, so  if that's not an incentive to buy one, then I don't know what is.  Better hurry.

(BOND) BABE Of The DAY - JULIE EGE...

JULIE EGE - that's all the info you

need.  Your pulsatin' peepers will tell you

everything else you need to know.

PETER CAPALDI TO LEAVE DOCTOR WHO...

Well, the news is in - PETER CAPALDI is leaving DOCTOR WHO at the end of 2017.  That's a shame, because I was hoping that, under new hands when current show-runner STEVEN MOFFAT departs, Capaldi's Doctor would be treated with the respect the character deserved, and not be portrayed as the prattling buffoon that poor writing and direction turned him into.  It didn't bode well for the show when Capaldi was shown in his first episode dressed like WEE WILLIE WINKIE.

Although there were occasional hints of a serious, perhaps even sinister side to Capaldi's Doctor, writer Moffat's insistence on presenting him as a comical character exterminated any sense of danger in the show.  To begin the 2016 Christmas episode with the Doctor dangling from a rooftop by his ankle, like something out of an old BUSTER KEATON short, demonstrates the Scottish show-runner's inability to grasp the essence of the character.  The Doctor is not a clown.

I feel sorry for Peter Capaldi.  Poor writing overshadowed his stint on the show, and he deserved much better.  He did the best with what he was given, but, with an occasional exception aside, he was given banal tripe, and not even the finest of actors can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.  I'd been hoping Capaldi would stay on for at least one more series so that he'd have the chance to do the Doctor justice.  As it was, below-par writing too often meant that he depended on the viewers' mercy.

So good riddance to Moffat.  It's just a shame that we're also losing an actor who was more than capable of giving us the Doctor as he should be - but, alas, was never allowed to.

******

How do you think Peter's stint on the show will be remembered?  Invade the comments section now and share your thoughts with your fellow Criv-ites.

SPECTACULAR SPLASH PAGES #20...

Image copyright DC COMICS

C'mon now, admit it - this is an impressive splash page by BERNIE WRIGHTSON, and if you have any artistic aspirations at all, then you wish you could draw as good as this, don't you?  Of course, I'm well-known in the comics world as an absolutely brilliant artist who's easily the equal of all the comicbook greats rolled into one.  Unfortunately, it's the me from Earth Z, but, hey - that still counts in my opinion.

BABE Of The DAY - IMOGEN HASSALL...

IMOGEN HASSALL oozes raw sex

appeal in the same way that I do - easily

and generously.  That's why women faint

at my feet.  Either that, or it's 'cos I haven't

changed my socks for over a year.  (It's

 clearly the first option though.)

COMIC COVERS 'SNAP'! PART TWENTY. IS THERE NO JUSTICE? Or: The AVENGER DROPS IN!

Characters copyright ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS Inc.

This is another of those 'can't remember if I've done it before posts', but we're talking pure quality here, so if I'm repeating myself, these covers are worth seeing again anyway.  40 years to the month after DC COMICS released their take on KENNETH ROBESON's JUSTICE INC., DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT published their version, with a great 'homage' by ALEX ROSS to JOE KUBERT's 1975 cover.  Bloody brilliant - both of them!  Agree?

   

If you'd like to see all four '70s DC covers, plus the unused cover art for the first ish, click here.

FAVOURITE COMICS Of The PAST PART FORTY-NINE - E.R.B.'s KORAK SON Of TARZAN #1...

Characters copyright The Estate of EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

I remember it was raining.  I also remember buying this comic in a local R.S. McCOLL's before wandering into another shop, W.&R. HOLMES.  "Better get back to school" I eventually thought, having taken an extended lunch break and missed a couple of lessons.  I remember taking my seat in English class and then furtively browsing through KORAK #1, secure in the knowledge that I was out of the teacher's immediate sight just so long as she stayed seated at her desk.  I remained alert though, ready to put the mag back into my schoolbag at the first sign of 'teach' standing up and going for a wander 'round the classroom.

And, contents aside, that's all I remember about this comic from the early '70s - shops, school and schoolbag (which I still have), and the fact that it was raining when I purchased it and as I made my way back to school.  Hardly a riveting reminiscence by any means, but I find myself smiling at the memory of a vanished period of my youth whenever I gaze upon the cover and internal pages of one of my favourite comics of the past.  (Especially as the original school buildings were demolished in 2007/8 after a new one had been built nearby.)

"Good for you," you say, "but what's in this for us?"  Ah, for you, the pulsating pleasure of perusing some pleasant pictures, and maybe even recalling your own memories associated with this terrific treasure from yesteryear.  Perhaps it was raining then, too, or did the sun beat down relentlessly upon you?  Can you remember?  Then share it with the rest of us in the comments section.  It's what it was invented for.

   

SPIDER-MAN CLASSICS COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Back in December 1980, MARVEL TALES #137 (cover-dated March '81) started reprinting the STAN LEE & STEVE DITKO SPIDER-MAN classics in sequential order from the very beginning.  Twelve years later, the same plates were used again for SPIDER-MAN CLASSICS (natch), but this time with brand-new covers.  The title lasted for only 16 issues, but benefitted from superior printing compared to the Marvel Tales reprints.

So guess what, you lucky Criv-ites?  We're now going to look at these new covers by some of the top talents in the industry, and  enjoy mentally comparing them to the ASM Ditko originals.

   

15 was also issued with a different coloured cover, along with a 16 page 'Work In Progress'
mag featuring the animated show, plus an animation cel, both of which can be seen below

BABE Of The DAY - JANE RUSSELL...

Hats off to all you Criv-ites - it's the ravishing

JANE RUSSELL.  Isn't she a picture?  (And I've

got the negatives.  No - they're not for sale.)

The UNTOLD LEGEND Of CAPTAIN MARVEL - COVER & IMAGE GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

It seems like only a few scant years ago when I bought The UNTOLD LEGEND Of CAPTAIN MARVEL, but in truth, it was a staggering 20 years back when I acquired numbers 1 & 3 of this 3 ish mini-series.  For some unknown or forgotten reason, #2 was never put aside for me, and it was always my firm intention to obtain it whenever the first opportunity to do so presented itself.

However, it was a case of 'out of sight, out of mind', and it was only when I was occasionally looking through the comics collection in my cupboard that I was reminded of my task.  "Must get that missing issue!" I'd think, only to promptly forget my resolution the second I closed the cupboard door.  However, last time, I kept the two mags out to remind me, and, recently, I saw the missing ish on eBay for a reasonable price and bought it.

It arrived about an hour ago, and I instantly put it in sequential order between its companion issues and then sat back and congratulated myself on finally fulfilling this long-held intention to complete the set.  However, as I said, it only seemed a few years 'long', not the 20 it actually was.  My very next act will be to read the latter two numbers, having read the first ish a couple of nights back.

What attracted me to the first issue in 1990 was seeing Captain Mar-Vell in the original green and white costume he wore in his inaugural appearance in MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #12 way back in 1967.  The odd colour combo shouldn't work on a superhero outfit, but somehow it does - for me at least.  Having now re-browsed through all three issues to get a taste of them, I'm not expecting a classic, but it'll be good to finally lay yet another 'ghost' to rest after all this time.

So, tell you what.  Why not join me in a look at the covers and some interior pages to celebrate me finally completing my quest?  That way, perhaps I won't feel so guilty about putting these comics in a cupboard and forgetting about them for a while - until the next time I'm in there looking for something that is.

You ready?  Okay, then let's go, go, GO!

I don't care what it looks like - he's not doing that, okay?