RICH BUCKLER PASSES AWAY... (Updated)

Images copyright relevant and respective owners

It's been reported that comicbook artist RICH BUCKLER has passed away.  He was an artist that could imitate the styles of others, but he was pretty good in his own right too, especially as a painter.  Another great artist gone, alas, aged only 68.

PULSATING PIN-UPS: BATMAN & ROBIN...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Above is the back cover of BATMAN #1, featuring the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder, below the same pair on the front cover of the same issue.  Two pin-ups for the price of one - what more can you ask for when it's not costing you a penny?

PULSATING PIN-UPS PART SEVEN: THE SENSATIONAL SILVER SURFER...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

Here he is - NORRIN RADD.  Or as he's generally known -

The SILVER SURFER!  His surfboard looks a bit too narrow

and I'd say there's a little problem with the left leg, but it's still

a great drawing from JACK KIRBY & JOE SINNOTT.

BABE Of The DAY- LINDA THORSON...

Here's leggy lovely LINDA THORSON taking

things easy while I make a pot of tea.  See?  I'm not the

sexist, misogynistic dinosaur you lot think I am.  Hang on

a sec... "Linda, dear, as you're lying there doing nothing,

perhaps you'd darn my socks and iron my shirt while

this tea's brewing?"  Now where's the sugar?

TIME FOR ANOTHER 'TEENAGE TALES': HE SHOOK WHILE I SHIVERED...

Copyright relevant owner

It was Saturday, March 10th 1973, and me and a pal, Adam Cowie, were in the Old Village quarter of our town.  Earlier that morn, I'd bought the 2nd ish of SHIVER & SHAKE, and was much taken with the free Spooky Screamer included inside it.  So was Adam.  (Regular readers will know him as 'Billy Liar'.)

We went into a little newsagent's shop, called M.B. BARR, and I bought some sweets at the main counter, while Adam looked over the comics on another.  As I was making my purchase, there was a sudden tearing sound, which attracted not only my attention, but that of the two elderly female shopkeepers.  Inwardly, my heart sank, because I'd guessed what had just happened.

My friend was somehow able to explain away the sound and the two shopkeepers couldn't notice anything obviously amiss, so I completed my purchase and we left the shop.  As I suspected, Adam had torn the free Screamer from the interiors of S&S #2 on the counter - not something I was pleased about, but there was nothing I could do.  At least he hadn't nicked the actual comic, which was some measure of consolation to me.

We then went into a centuries old church graveyard, whereupon Adam ran about from tombstone to tombstone, blowing his Screamer and trying to scare a young couple strolling around, studying the inscriptions.  (Or maybe they were just in there for a bit of 'petting'.)  What a pillock he was when I think back on it, but I also can't help smiling at his naivety in thinking his stolen Spooky Screamer was capable of actually scaring anyone - even in an ancient graveyard.

So, though I was an unwitting (and unwilling) 'accomplice' in the theft of a free gift, whenever I think back to that day, the memory is a pleasant one.  Shiver & Shake ran for only 79 issues, but it deserved to last longer, being a great wee comic.  Although I was only 14 at the time, I was happy to see two characters, FRANKIE STEIN and GRIMLY FEENDISH, return from my childhood, where they'd first appeared in WHAM! and SMASH! in the '60s.

Did you buy Shiver & Shake back in the day?  What are your memories of the comic, chums? 

MONSTER Of The MONTH - The FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER...

Look at this handsome fella - great sense of humour.  I told him a joke and had him in stitches - or did he start out that way?  BORIS KARLOFF was definitely the best ever FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER in my humble opinion.  If you disagree, don't tell me - take it up with him!

CRIVENS' CRACKING COMIC COVERS: SHIVER & SHAKE #21 (BACK PAGE)...

Copyright REBELLION

What are you lot moaning about?  Okay, it's a back cover, but it's still a cover, ain't it?!  A superb piece by the great KEN REID, who was helping out a well-known artist - well, you can see his name for yourself at the top of the page.  I'd love to see the 'original' art for this, because if it's bigger than A4, then Ken must either have traced it from an enlarged photocopy, or covered the back in pencil and drawn over the outline to transfer it onto art-board.  Or used a projector - or even 'graphed' it.  Why do I think that?  Because all the 'errors' and imperfections in my drawing are still there, and I'm sure he'd have fixed them had he completely redrawn it.  Whichever method he used, he finished it off with his usual detailed inking style.

Incidentally, I drew the original of this on Sunday, March 4th 1973, the day after the first issue came out, and posted it to IPC on the Monday.  I was at my grandparents when I drew it, lying on the carpet in front of the electric fire, and whenever I look at the above page, I'm back lying on that carpet again in 1973.

LYONS MAID ZOOM ICE LOLLY...

Remember LYONS MAID ZOOM ice lollies?  Below are a few TV

ads to remind all you ancient fogies out there of your childhoods.

  

BABE Of The DAY - NATALIE DORMER (AGAIN)...

Here's NATALIE DORMER (wearing

my shirt) about to jump over the table and

ravish my herculean manly-man body as she's

done many times previously.  Okay, only in my

imagination admittedly, but I still enjoyed it

and it seemed ever-so-real to me.

KLASSIC KIRBY KOMIC KOVERS: The X-MEN #9...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

There's certainly a lot going on in the above X-MEN cover, but note how ineffectual (as usual) MARVEL GIRL is, merely levitating in the background - she's about as useful as a chocolate fire-guard.  JACK KIRBY often had difficulty portraying female characters as anything other than glamorous-but-helpless adornment on the covers he drew, but JEAN GREY's power (telekinesis) doesn't really lend itself to dramatic visual interpretation.  (The FF's SUE STORM didn't fare much better, alas, but then again, I suppose invisibility is another difficult one to do anything with.)

At least the gals were there to make the tea and sandwiches, and wash and iron the costumes after the guys had done all the heavy-lifting in the fighting department, so their presence wasn't entirely redundant.  And it's always nice to have a pretty face around, isn't it?  (That should p*ss off the feminists.)

******

(Incidentally, I first saw this cover on FANTASTIC #18 in 1967.  The back cover was a Power-House Pin-Up of TONY STARK's secretary PEPPER POTTS, and I can remember buying the comic as though it were only yesterday.  Sigh!)

The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL VOLUME 6, NUMBER 9...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

Here's a sneak preview of the cover to The MIGHTY

WORLD Of MARVEL #9, on sale June 1st, frantic ones.

Now you've no excuse not to buy it, 'cos you know what

it looks like in advance.  Only £3.99 for 76 pages.

CRIVENS' CRACKING COMIC COVERS: FRANKIE STEIN SUMMER SPECIAL 1976...

Copyright REBELLION

Oh, you lucky Crivs - here's the stunning original artwork by ROBERT NIXON for the cover of the WHOOPEE FRANKIE STEIN Summer Special 1976.  Absolutely suberb, innit?  Below is the published cover from the original issue I bought a whopping 41 years ago!)

BABE Of The DAY - NATALIE DORMER...

Okay - here's your real babe for

today - NATALIE DORMER.  You can

thank regular reader JS for this one.

BABE Of The DAY - The BRIDE...

Today's babe appears in answer to

a special request from BILL PRATT.

 (Well, it takes all kinds I guess.)

RIVETING REPOST: TAKE A LOOK AT THIS LOLLY - FAB FOR 50 YEARS...

Copyright relevant owner

Back in 2004, I was shopping in my local supermarket one night ('twas the servants' day off), when I espied a box of FAB iced lollies in the refrigerated display cabinet designated for such items.  The box featured a promotional tie-in to the live-action THUNDERBIRDS film released at the time, and I was heartened to see that this humble iced lolly had not forgotten nor abandoned its 1960s roots.

You see, dear reader, this particular item of frozen confectionery was linked to Thunderbirds from its very inception, being named after the GERRY ANDERSON programme's 'call sign' and touted as "The First Iced Lolly For Girls".  Of course, such sexist distinctions have long since been forgotten and, as far as I'm aware, this LYONS MAID favourite is still around today.  I know ZOOM iced lolly (as advertised by FIREBALL XL5's STEVE ZODIAC) was likewise obtainable a few years ago, but does anyone know whether or not that's still the case?

I must look in the fridge the next time I'm in SAINSBURY'S.

******

Lyons Maid was sold to NESTLE in 1992, but the brand was revived in '08, though I'm unsure if it's still going.  However, I was doing my shopping a couple of days back and bought a box of Fabs, which celebrates 50 years this year.  Below are pictures of the box and one of the wrappers (I've also shown the Lyons Maid logo). I find it reassuring, in light of the many changes that've happened over the years, to still have something around that goes all the way back to my childhood days.  Isn't that just Fab?!

YOGI & BOO BOO...

Copyright HANNA-BARBERA

And here's a model sheet for YOGI BEAR & BOO BOO to go with the FRED & BARNEY one in the previous post.  I spoil you all, I really do.

FRED & BARNEY...

Copyright HANNA-BARBERA

Here's a model sheet for FRED FLINTSTONE and BARNEY RUBBLE, to help keep the animators spot on with their likenesses.  I'd imagine it might also be supplied to comicbook artists as well, but couldn't swear to it.  Nice though, eh?

ANOTHER BABE Of The DAY - LESLIE BIANCHINI...

"There's space on the chair," trills

lovely LESLIE, "so why don't you come

and sit beside me?"  I'm wise to her though.

She only wants me close 'cos I've got a big

bag of Maltesers in my pocket.

AN EXERCISE IN KEEPING FIT...

Here's how YOGI BEAR keeps himself in tip-top shape (the handsome looking bruin), so if you're as fit as a fizzled-out firework, then give Yogi's exercises a try today.  You'll soon be fighting off frustrated females like me and Yogi do (though you're allowed to give in to them if you want), and be the envy of every guy in the neighbourhood.

A POST I JUST HAD TO SELF-PUBLISH...

A completely unrelated pic to the topic, drawn by me in 1983/'84

Back around the time The DANDY was just about to breathe its last, someone facetiously asked me why, as I could "draw a bit", I didn't self-publish something and show everyone how it was done.  Put-up or shut-up basically.  Self-publishing has never really interested me, simply because I don't feel the need to prove anything, nor am I filled with an all-consuming desire to see my name in print.  (Never say never though.)  Also, it's unlikely to make me (or anyone) rich.

Self-publishing exists either because there aren't enough comics around for creators' work to appear in - or because nobody else will publish it.  (Or perhaps it's merely a hobby or a vanity project.)  Some folk claim to self-publish because it gives them more creative control over their characters, though in the case of reprinting old strips, just how much control is that?  It sounds to me like mere rationalisation - or 'faulty reasoning' as certain individuals like to call it.

Nah, folk are more likely to self-publish out of vanity, or to try and make more money, or because not enough of their time is spent earning a living from mainstream pursuits.  (Not that they're all mutually-exclusive.)  Whatever their reasons, it doesn't bother me in the slightest, but they really shouldn't insult our intelligence by offering up their efforts as evidence of a thriving comics industry.  It just isn't.

******

And to the lickspittle aiming kicks in my direction, did it never occur to you that your hero might be behind schedule in his self-publishing ventures not because of 'all' his mainstream work as you assert, but because he's at weekend events instead of getting on with it - or for any one of a dozen other reasons?!  Your assumptions 'prove' nothing - as usual.

(Thanks to those who put me 'in the know'.)  

RECOMMENDED READING: MASTERS Of SPANISH COMIC BOOK ART...

Images copyright relevant owners

MASTERS OF SPANISH COMIC BOOK ART is a celebration of the great artists who revolutionized American horror comics in the 1970s with their work on Warren's Vampirella, Creepy, and Eerie magazines.  The first-ever comprehensive history of Spanish comic books and the artists who brought them to life reveals their extraordinary success - - not just in Spain and America, but around the world.

Their global influence has been little known until this celebration of their contributions. Containing artwork from over 80 artists, this in-depth retrospective includes 18 artist profiles with 500 illustrations, over half scanned directly from the original artwork, Masters Of Spanish Comic Book Art honours the "Golden Generation" whose artwork inspired the imagination of comic book lovers everywhere.

(From the back cover.)

Available now from all good comics and book shops.

GOLDENEYE'S ASTON MARTIN D.B.5/FERRARI F355 CAR RACE...

We all love seeing JAMES BOND's ASTON MARTIN D.B.5, don't we?  Good - here it is... so seatbelts on and try not to get car-sick. 

REGARDING The RETURN Of The FF...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

Sadly, there's no FANTASTIC FOUR mag around these days.  Can MARVEL truly be Marvel without its founding family having their own comicbook?  So here's a question for you.  If Marvel were to bring back the FF in their own mag, just who would you like to see writing and drawing it from among the current creative talent?  (Oh, that's a good, thought-provoking question, ain't it?)

Right, let's be hearing from you.

BABE Of The DAY - RAQUEL WELCH...

A mere moment ago, the surface of

the water was calm and still, now look at it

bubble and heave.  RAQUEL, you farting

in the pool again?  Just what've I told you

 about that, you noisy little trumper?!

IF I COULD JUST SIDELINE YOU FOR A MOMENT... (Updated)

Image copyright REBELLION

From SCORCHER, cover-dated May 30th 1970, comes KEN REID's comic strip, SUB.  I used to own the original art for this, but relinquished it a goodly number of years ago.  Can't remember if I've shown this page before, but I'm sure you can stand the repetition if I have.

And here's the original art I once owned