KLASSIC KOMIC KOVERS: The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL #15...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

Yesterday morning, I woke to a thick carpet of snow in my town.  It was like a classic Christmas scene, but by afternoon, the snow had started to melt and only patches remained.  It's the same this morning, with those patches reluctant to disappear completely, and a Yuletide atmosphere still casting its glow over the surrounding terrain.

It reminds me of a time, 44 years ago, of a similarly Festive feeling, when I first bought The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL #15, and returned home after an afternoon adventuring with a pal to find that my family had acquired a canine chum.  PRINCE was his name, a mongrel who looked just like a mini-Alsation, and was the first of three dogs we had over a period of around 25 years.

The above cover is interesting, in that most of it looks to have been pencilled by JIM STARLIN and inked by JOE SINNOTT, with the exception of the SPIDER-MAN figure, which has a distinct JOHN ROMITA flavour to it.  Could this be a patch, dropped in over Jim's original Spidey figure, or did he just do a good job of channelling Romita senior's web-slinger?  Whaddya think?

Anyway, this cover's full of memories and associations for me, and, if you're old enough to have bought it back then, it'll be the same for you, too.  Hope you enjoyed seeing it again.

BABE Of The DAY - EMILY PROCTER...

Ah, EMILY, the picture of loveliness, as

usual.  Just what we need on a cold day like

this to lend a little warmth to our hearts.

The MASTERWORKS SERIES Of GREAT COMIC BOOK ARTISTS #3 - BERNIE WRIGHTSON...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Back in the day when BERNIE WRIGHTSON was still spelling his first name as 'Berni' (to avoid confusion with an Olympic swimmer of the same moniker), DC COMICS issued a series entitled The MASTERWORKS SERIES Of GREAT COMIC BOOK ARTISTS.  The 3rd issue was devoted to the art of Berni(e) Wrightson, and I thought, following the recent demise of the artist, that his fans might like to have a look at this comic and perhaps add it to their wants list.

(Ever had that feeling that there's something you should remember, but however hard you try, you just can't?  So it is with this issue.  A still, small, nagging voice seems to be trying to remind me that perhaps I didn't get this comic until a few years after it was published, when I returned to my present home after four years away - but I'm just not sure.  Maybe I actually got it at the time, which means I acquired it in the previous house to this one - I can see either scenario being the case.  I know there's something to be remembered about this mag though, but just can't recall what it is.  Still, I'm glad to have it.)

And now, to you falls the thrill of the hunt as you scour eBay in search of a copy of this 34 year old mag.  If you're a fan of Bernie's art (who isn't?), this is one comic you simply must add to your stash - assuming you don't already have it.  And fear not - I'll get 'round to showing the first two issues (FRANK FRAZETTA) in the series pretty darn soon.

******

Issue #s 4 & 5 (NEAL ADAMS) were advertised on the back cover, but were never published (as far as I know).  The indicia says that the 3 issue series was published by DC for SEA GATE, though comic sites usually say it was published by the latter, who licensed the material from the former.  Sea Gate was a company started by PHIL SEULING, the man credited with starting direct market distribution.

     

RAY CUSICK - DALEKS DESIGNER...

I'd always imagined that the story of RAY CUSICK not profiting from his design for The DALEKS was a relatively recent revelation.  (Around the 1980s sometime, which seems recent to people of my age.)  Surprisingly however, it was being reported as far back as 1965, only a couple of years after The Daleks had first appeared on TV in Dr. Who.  Read all about it in the above article.  It's a bit faded, so you'll have to apply yourself.  (Click to enlarge, click again for optimum size.)  I wonder what he thought when he first saw the MARX TOYS version of his design?

BABE Of The DAY - ANNA BOR...

This is ANNA BOR, and going

by the way she's giving me the 'eye', I

can tell she really wants me.  She only has

to beg, just like any other woman!  (And

thanks to -3- for identifying her.)

KAMANDI - THE LAST BOY ON EARTH...

Images copyright DC COMICS

In 2009, DC COMICS released WEDNESDAY COMICS, a weekly anthology broadsheet periodical, containing several single-page strips.  Amongst them was KAMANDI by DAVE GIBBONS & RYAN SOOK, and the art was spectacular.  So for all Kamandi fans, here are all 12 episodes to thrill and astound you!

(And don't forget to pick up the latest issue of KAMANDI CHALLENGE, available from all good comics shops.)

  

PART TWENTY ONE Of COMIC COVERS 'SNAP'! - FF #25 & TOM STRONG #21...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

No point in explaining the point of this post - the title says it all!  ALAN MOORE is well-known by now for using or imitating other people's characters and concepts, then complaining when he thinks others have done the same thing to him.  What's that old saying about 'people in glass houses'?  His home must be freezing!

Image copyright relevant owner

BABE Of The DAY - IMOGEN HASSALL...

IMOGEN HASSALL presents a

pretty impressive picture as she poses

her perfectly-proportioned person for

 our palpitating pleasure.  (Poetry.)

COMMANDO #5000...

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

This one's old news by now, but I bought COMMANDO #5000 from WHS just a few days ago.  It was on the top shelf, and four different issues occupied the same space (one in front of the other), as opposed to being on display side-by-side so that customers could see there was more than one single issue on offer.  Just as well I decided to take a closer look and check through them.  Commando came out in 1961 and is still going strong, so if you'd like a nice little collectors' item, check out your local WHS or corner newsagent's and see if they've got any left.

FLEETWAY used to do their own version of Commando (can't recall what title it went under), as well as westerns, spy stories and humour strips in the same format (as did DCT).  I remember the sad day when the editor of IPC's pocket libraries was told they were being discontinued and that he was being made redundant.  I think his name may have been either ALAN or BRIAN SMITH, but I'm not certain.  If anyone out there knows, can you enlighten me please, so that I can give credit where it's due.

Anyway, just think - Commando has been published continuously since 1961, and that's a milestone surely worth celebrating.

I'M DESPERATE TO 'STRIP' - FOUR TIMES OVER...

DESPERATE DAN copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

Ach, I'm bored and can't think what to post.  How about a few of my comic strips drawn over the years, ranging from my teenage years up to the present day?  So, presented in sequential order (apart from the above one), here're the only colour ones I've got handy.  Feel free to slag 'em off - hey, I can take it.

(Yup, you've seen 'em all before, but they're not so bad they can't stand another viewing.)

******

I notice that few, if any, regulars ever comment when I post any of my art.  I can only assume it's because they don't want to hurt my feelings by telling me it's sh*te.  Ah, well.  (Sob!)

Drawn when I was a mere 17 years old

Published in The ILLUSTRATED COMIC JOURNAL

Drawn for my own amusement a year or two back

BABE Of The DAY - ABI TITMUSS...

I told awesome ABI TITMUSS

to give me a call, so she did.  And she

used Skype so I'd see her in the flesh

 (literally) as we spoke.  Wotta gal!

BERNIE WRIGHTSON PASSES AWAY...

Copyright DC COMICS

Legendary SWAMP THING artist BERNIE WRIGHTSON has passed away after battling brain cancer for many years.  Condolences to all his family, many friends, and legions of fans. We shall remember him.

BABE Of The DAY - JOLENE BLALOCK...

Right, JOLENE, get straight on

down to the hairdressers for a haircut.

Wait!  On second thoughts, no need to be

so drastic!  You'd look much nicer with

 your hair in a fetching ponytail.

DARKER THAN THE AVERAGE BEAR...

When I was around 5 or 6, my mother one day bought me a YOGI & HUCK ramp walker (made by MARX TOYS) from WOOLWORTH's.  If you placed it at the top of an incline, it would toddle down to the bottom in a hypnotically comical way.  It had a loop on the front through which a weighted cord could be tied, allowing the toy to walk on flat surfaces too.  If you hung the weight over the edge of a table or ledge, it gently pulled the toy along as the cord descended to the floor.  (Later versions were released without the loop at the front.)

The toy you see in the above photo is a replacement I acquired over 20 years ago.  I stripped off what remained of the original paint and completely repainted it - to a higher standard than when it left its Hong Kong factory in the '60s.  I used medium brown for Yogi, who has worn many shades of the colour in various incarnations over the years, but my original toy had such a dark shade of brown that I often used to wonder as a lad if it was black.

Over the years I sometimes wondered if my memory was accurate about the colour, but recently I saw one for sale on eBay which was of the exact same colour as the one I had as a boy.  I trust the seller won't mind me using two of his pics to show you what my original looked like, in comparison to its replacement acquired back in the '90s.  Most other versions of the toy I've seen (and I now have 5 6 of them) have been of the medium brown variety, but Marx toys always had variations in the colour schemes.  Maybe one day I'll buy a darker one to complete the set.

(Or repaint one of the toys I already have.)

BABE Of The DAY - RHIAN SUGDEN...

Bikini'd beauty RHIAN

SUGDEN sure is a hottie, from

whichever angle you look at her.

She can turn her back on me any

 time.  (I am not worthy.)

WORKPLACE WOES: NO 'TIME' TO 'WATCH' THE 'CLOCK'...

Nearly 10 years ago, I worked in a watch repair shop.  Someone I thought was a friend ran the place, and because she had no option but to employ an idiot when I declined her offer of a job, I felt a little guilty and subsequently agreed to take the position when she eventually decided to dispense with his utterly superfluous 'services'.

The girl I worked with was lazy and uncommitted to the business, but as it was the sort of commercial enterprise that almost ran itself, it still managed to turn a profit, though obviously not as good a one had she deigned to apply herself in the way she ought to have.  She'd arrive late, then take time to apply lipstick and make-up and have her brekkie, things she should've done before coming into work.  There were even times when she turned up reeking of booze.

She'd close the place to go and do shopping, or buy clothes for her idiot boyfriend, while potential customers, finding the shutter down, would simply go along to her rivals a couple of units away. She ran the place for her own convenience rather than her employers, and whenever I made any suggestions about attracting more business, her reply was always "If they don't bother, why should I?", in reference to the two blokes who paid her.  Even her mutant boyfriend called her "a lazy cow" - and I can't say he was wrong.

She often took advantage of my good nature by going out for a drink with one or two of her motley assortment of 'pals' (on unscheduled breaks), leaving me to cope with long queues by myself - even on a Saturday, the busiest day of the week.  That said, I never enjoyed myself more than when she dropped a sprog and took 6 months maternity leave, and I worked alone for the entire duration she was off.

Being conscientious, I ran the business as if it were my own, occasionally working past closing time to make sure any small repairs not handled by the workshop in Newcastle were completed in a timely (pun intended) fashion.  And guess what?  In the six months she was away, I increased the takings over the previous year for the same period by a whopping 10 grand.  Not a myth, not a hoax, not an imaginary story - a full 10 thousand quid!  That's a lotta dosh!

When I left, after handing in a week's notice because the bosses wouldn't confront the shopping centre owners over the issue of 'hawkers' outside the shop doorway scaring away casual browsers and distracting me from intricate procedures, the shop's takings immediately plummeted.  (Even with the complement of staff now being back to two - herself and my replacement.)  How do I know?

Because I was in secret negotiations with the shop owners about buying the business, along with a friend who saw the potential of the place when he learned of how much I'd increased takings during my former colleague's absence.  We'd therefore been supplied with figures of the business's performance from the last year up to the present one.  The facts (and figures) spoke for themselves.

It seems unlikely that one person could increase takings by such a huge sum, so obviously there must've been other factors at work which accounted for at least part of it.  Sometimes, before her absence, she'd 'phone on her days off to say not to bother doing the 'banking' at closing time, as she'd do it when she came in the next day.  Occasionally I'd do it though, and there were instances when the cash in the safe didn't correspond to what should've been there. "Don't worry about it," she'd say when I mentioned it, "it always balances up in the end."  (I'm merely relating factual events - any conclusions you draw are your own.)

The shopping centre owners were in some kind of difficulty and weren't renewing leases on premises, so we were told that we'd have to wait until this was sorted before ownership of the lease could be transferred to us.  The sellers advised us to get a solicitor, which we did, though when he contacted their solicitor, his 'counterpart' told him that he hadn't been informed of the intended sale, nor yet received any instructions to proceed on the matter.  The money was all ready and waiting, but nothing was happening.

'Negotiations' wore on for a year and a half, during which time I lost interest and realised that the prospect of working again with my former colleague didn't at all appeal to me.  I'd let myself be influenced by my friend and would-be co-investor, who secured my participation with visions of immense riches and becoming 'captain of my fate'.  I 'phoned the Newcastle boys and told them that, as far as I was concerned, the deal was off, and followed that up with a letter telling them in no uncertain terms what I thought of them for complacently dragging their heels for 18 months.

Anyway, her bosses eventually sold the business to her (at a much higher price), which is probably a good thing, because doubtless I'd have ended up sacking her.  I couldn't say whether it's doing well or not, but as it makes no difference to my life either way, it hasn't really occurred to me to wonder about it.  Obviously, it won't ever do as well as it would under my stewardship, but money couldn't buy the sense of relief (and release) I felt the moment I made up my mind to simply walk away from it all.

Sometimes, "Never go back" can be a very smart decision - even though it's not one you'll often hear nostalgists such as myself admit to.

REMINISCING REPOST: AMAZING TALES Of CREEPY WORLDS Of SUSPENSE (Or SOMETHING LIKE THAT)...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS 

I remember my dad giving me a notebook one day, and when I took it into school with me a short time later, a girl in my class called LYNNE SPEED (or Lynn, perhaps) took a fancy to it for some reason and offered to swap me an issue of CREEPY WORLDS #68 for it.  I agreed, but a few days afterwards, I felt bad about having parted with the notebook and asked Lynne if she'd swap back.

She was agreeable to the proposition, but it took her several more days to bring the notebook into school with her.  And that's all there is to that little story.  Apart from to say that the IRON MAN strip in this ALAN CLASS reprint title always reminds me of the annexe huts (in front of which the deal was struck) in my school playground and Lynne herself.  The cover of the comic is from an unretouched stat of the original art, as a few changes were made before it was first published in the pages of TALES Of SUSPENSE #44 (below).

As you'll have noticed, 'pharaoh' on both covers is misspelt, something that I still see in many newspapers today.  When the story was again reprinted in recent MASTERWORKS and OMNIBUS editions, the mistake was restored (it had been corrected for previous reprints), but in the absence of uncorrected proofs, it had to be re-lettered the wrong way.  They missed one on the splash page though, and the alterations back to the uncorrected text were less skilfully executed than the original amendments.

Lynne Speed in 1967

Not much of a point to this post, admittedly, but I just wanted to see that KIRBY cover again and remember things as they used to be when the world seemed a much brighter and better place.  If you've any memories of your own connected to this Iron Man tale, then feel free to share. 

NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL DANCING...

Wish I was this fit - how about the rest of you?

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS: FANTASTIC #7 (& TALES Of SUSPENSE #43)...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

I've shown it before and I'll show it again, because it was the first issue of FANTASTIC I ever bought - even though I'd seen previous issues, but never succumbed to their lure.  If you compare the above cover to the original, below, you'll notice that it's been re-lettered, and that there're slight differences to the art - leading me to think that the Fantastic version may be from a very poor stat which has been heavily retouched - or perhaps even completely traced from an inferior source.  Think I'm havering?  Then compare the two covers for yourselves and make up your own minds.

BABE Of The DAY - JERI RYAN...

"Just how do you get into that outfit?"

I asked the stunning JERI RYAN.  "Well,

buying me a drink would be a good start,"

she trilled.  "Barman - a double gin and

tonic for my friend here - pronto!"

TEENAGE TALES: HARK, WHOSE VOICE IS THAT I HEAR?

His first name is Saul, his surname is unimportant.  When he came up from England to work in my home town back in the early 1970s (I think, could've been earlier), his wife didn't quite fancy 'upping sticks' and therefore didn't accompany him.  Saul is what is known as a 'charismatic', born-again Christian (trust me, he hasn't an ounce of charisma) and believes that God talks to him.  He also 'speaks in tongues' and believes in modern-day miracles, like raising people from the dead - though the last time he tried that in the company of the group you read about in a previous Teenage Tales episode, him and his merry band met with a singular lack of success.

Saul is basically a good person, given to acts of charity and kindness, but, in my opinion, is seriously deluded, even mentally ill.  He fits the pattern of many religious fanatics of a Christian persuasion, being sensitive, highly strung, emotional, and 'socially awkward' outside of his own group of like-minded friends.  He once told me that God had informed him that he and his wife would one day be reunited, believing the situation to be a test of his faith of some kind.  After many years (around 12, I think), his wife decided to join him in Scotland and he was convinced this was the fulfilment of God's promise to him.  Alas, the reconciliation was short-lived.

After more-or-less leading separate lives for all those years, his wife now expected him to put her first in everything.  However, Saul had a routine, established over several years; he had prayer meetings to attend, church business to see to, work commitments to deal with, etc.  His spouse decided that he wasn't making her his priority (not that she'd ever accorded him the same courtesy) and pretty soon pissed off back down to England.  Eventually, they divorced and Saul married a younger woman in his church, got a dog, had some kids, and is presumably extremely happy with his life.

I say 'presumably' because I jettisoned him as a friend over 30 years ago and haven't spoken to him since.  Nor do I want to, but I can't help but wonder how he explains (away) his former conviction that God intended him and his first wife to be reunited and then live happily ever after.  Obviously, he was mistaken about that (in exactly the same way he was 'mistaken' about God raising Mrs. Cowie from her deathbed), so how does he now account for his years of waiting for God's 'promise' to be fulfilled, only to find that it was based on nothing more than his own wishful thinking?  Any normal person would put up their hands and admit they'd been a bit of a pillock, surely?

Here's an interesting insight into his type of mentality though.  Sometime in the late '70s, Saul told me that God spoke to him one night and commanded him to fill up his bathtub (Saul's, not God's, as the Almighty obviously has no need of such earthly amenities) with water from the hot tap, untempered by cold water, and climb into the bath.  Saul dutifully did as he was ordered, nearly scalding himself in the process, then, having satisfied God with his humble act of subservience, climbed out.  Next, the Lord told him to fill the bath with cold water (after the hot water had been emptied of course) and climb back into the tub.  Saul obediently did so, almost giving himself a heart attack in the process from the shock.

I gazed at him in stunned disbelief.  "Do you seriously suppose that God, in the unlikely event He'd ever actually speak to you, would instruct you to do something which had such potentially harmful consequences to your well-being, if not your life?" I asked him, incredulous at the man's stupidity.  "Oh, I no longer believe it was God speaking to me" he replied.  My relief was short-lived.  " I think it was Satan!" he said, with no sense of the absurdity of his statement.

I'll let you draw your own conclusions about that true tale from my teenage years, but it's a shocker, isn't it?  Just imagine, someone like Saul could be living next door to you.  You'll just have to hope that 'the voice of the Lord' he hears in his head is a benevolent one.  However, whatever you do, if he (or she) ever tries to give you marriage guidance - or, worse - offers to run a bath for you, make your polite excuses and remove yourself from their presence right away. Those types of people often run hot or cold (little joke there) in the mental stability stakes, I've found.

Well, gotta go - the small voice in my head is calling, so it's time for me to take one of my little red 'Smarties'.  If you know someone like Saul, feel free to record your experience of them in the comments section.

******

And make of the following verse what you will:

"The Devil exists, of that there's no doubt - but
    is he trying to get in us, or trying to get out?"   

BABE Of The DAY - ABI TITMUSS...

ABI TITMUSS sits by the window waiting

to catch a glimpse of me, but I surprised her by

coming in through the patio door.  She looks happy

to see me, and why wouldn't she be?  Big handsome

hunks like me are every gal's dream.  (And I have

 a large box of MILK TRAY under my arm.)