TRUE BELIEVERS SPIDER-MAN/MYSTERIO ISSUE (ASM #13) BY LEE & DITKO...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Here's a cataclysmic cracker of a comic that any fan of SPIDER-MAN is sure to want - even if they already have previous reprints in various collected editions.  I can't wait 'til I get my hands on it - it's winging its way to me even as I type.  Get yours now before it sells out!

Update: Just received my copy.  Trust me, unless they do a facsimile edition (original ads and all), this is the next best thing to owning the original issue.  Absolutely Marvel-lous.  

DID WE Or DIDN'T WE?

Copyright relevant owner

The current RADIO TIMES celebrates the moon landing of 1969 and contains a reprint of the pages covering the event back then - well worth having.  Tell me, Criv-ites - do you believe that man landed on the moon, or is it one of the biggest deceptions of all time?  And what do you think of conspiracy theories and those who subscribe to them?  Let's hear your views on the subject.

GREAT TRICK, CAP - WISH I COULD DO IT...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

I remember once chatting to GRANT MORRISON (name dropper) about The SINGING DETECTIVE.  It was many years ago and I can't quite recall where we were talking.  It was either in a comics shop or at a mart in the MOIR HALL in Glasgow.  He was very much taken with DENNIS POTTER's serial, and when I mentioned a scene from a much earlier Potter TV adaptation that was repeated in 'Detective', he said that's what he liked about him - his obsession with certain themes and images.

Personally (and cynically), I'd have put it down to lack of originality, but what do I know?  Going by Grant's definition, the amount of times I've blethered on about how quickly time passes as we get older, maybe I display the same sort of obsession that he so admired in Potter - and what follows is another such example.

See the cover above?  (Of course you do - why do I even ask?)  It only seems like a few short years ago that I bought it, and I even remember doing so back in 1989.  I wasn't really a reader of CAPTAIN AMERICA's mag back then, so I made the purchase based purely on the cover art (very much in the style of JACK KIRBY) looking just like a '60s MARVEL comic.  It's cover-dated July, which makes it almost exactly 30 years old this month (though it probably went on sale around April - in America anyway). 

I can't believe it (as VICTOR MELDREW would say), as that means I'm now twice as old as when I bought the comic back in '89.  Anyway, in a blatant attempt to drum up your participation (trust me, it's good for your soul), is there anything in your vast accumulation of treasures that you feel is a relatively recent purchase, only to be amazed when you realise it was acquired around half your life away (or longer)?

Go on - take up as much space as you need in our comments section.

BABE Of The DAY - GABRIELLE MILLER...

Gorgeous GABRIELLE MILLER

is simply far too hot for me to write any-

thing that'd do her any kind of justice, so

I'm off to take a cold shower instead.  And

if Gabby would like to join me, I won't

say no.  (You think I'm insane?)

GOING HOME...

Grahame stood in the doorway of his new bedroom on the first day of the flit and surveyed the interior without much enthusiasm.  He'd not wanted to move from the house he'd known since the age of two to the freshly turned teenager he was now and hadn't been shy about letting his parents know how he felt.  His mother had dismissed his reservations.  "You'll like it when you get there," she'd said.  "It's a much bigger room, with a cupboard, so you'll have plenty space to put all your stuff."

Grahame had been unimpressed at the prospect.  He was a solitary child who preferred to have the familiar around him, and the forthcoming move had upped his anxiety to unprecedented levels.  He liked where he lived - the house, his room, the neighbourhood, and was reluctant to relinquish it for the unknown.  He had a commanding view over a playfield across the road and knew he'd miss climbing the trees and running over the patchy grass while pretending to be a superhero or explorer.

His new room was nearly twice the size of his former one and he felt dwarfed by its seeming vastness.  The view was a disappointment, overlooking a parking area for neighbours' cars;  grey, colourless, and uninspiring, he knew it was unlikely he'd ever get used to it.  Anyway, with any luck he'd probably spend much of his time sleeping.  He'd suddenly found himself feeling inordinately tired over the last few weeks, so perhaps he'd just avoid looking out of the window. Shame, because he loved doing that in his old room, watching to see who was playing in the field, or gazing at the birds hopping about in the branches of the trees that ran alongside it.

Why did things have to change?  He resented change, resisted it, promised himself that he'd be a child forever, but knew from the way his body was developing he'd eventually have to bury that particular dream.  His idea of paradise was for everything to stay as he knew it for eternity, with him being a perpetual schoolboy and his parents never growing old or dying.  For things to stay as they are, where death and decay had no dominion, and 'change' was an unknown concept that held no sway.

It was with great reluctance that he snuggled between the sheets that first night, but he was tired. Perhaps he's wake up in the morning to find the flit had all been a bad dream, merely a psychological manifestation of his fear of change and losing the comfort of everything he held dear.  He had a doctor's appointment in a couple of days to determine why he'd been so tired and fatigued of late, so that was yet another unwelcome intrusion he'd much rather do without. Sleep claimed him with unusual alacrity, and when his parents looked in on him later, they found the scene heart-warming, in the way only parents can.

The next morning, much to his mother and father's concern, Grahame couldn't be roused, so the family doctor was summoned, who pronounced the lad had passed away in his sleep.  His parents were understandably devastated - he'd been their only child.  A few weeks later they were informed of the results of the post-mortem.  "Leukemia, I'm afraid," said the doctor.  "There was nothing that could've been done, even had you brought him in months ago.  Sometimes it just pops up out of nowhere and does its damage before we even know it's there.  At least he's in a better place now."

Grahame's mother looked into her husband's tearful eyes as she replied to the doctor. "Yes, somehow I feel in my heart you're right.  If I know Grahame, he's just where he wanted to be."

When Grahame awoke, he was surprised to find he was no longer in his new room, but his old one.  What a relief!  It had felt so real, but was obviously only the dream he'd hoped it was.  It never even occurred to him to run next door to his mum and dad's room to express his joy at the discovery.  Grahame would never think of his parents again, nor would he be perturbed to find himself the sole occupant of the house.  In time, his parents would join him, but until then he'd be completely unaware of their absence.  For now, it was enough to be in his old room in his former house, and that was all he really wanted or needed.  He was happy.    

Can RACISM Be In The EYE Of The BEHOLDER...?

Copyright KELLOGG'S

Take a look at the above picture which was on a CORN POPS cereal packet in 2017.  Now take a look (below) at the tweet from someone called SALADIN AHMED, a comicbook, sci-fi and fantasy writer.  Note that none of these cartoon characters are white, and then ask yourself if Saladin has a point.  Consider first though, that the 'brown corn pop' is engaged in legitimate employment for which (in the real world) he would be paid.

Can depicting someone involved in honest employment and conscientiously going about their business be seriously interpreted as racism?  Last time I looked, white guys are also janitors so there's surely nothing intrinsically demeaning about the position.  Since when did someone doing their job ever qualify as racism?  Ah, but it's a menial position someone cries.  Really?  I'll think you'll find people of all colours sometimes fill 'menial' positions.

If you ask me (not that you did), Saladin has too much time on his hands and is determined to take offence at inconsequential trivialities.  I doubt any kids seeing this picture would learn racism from it.  It's entirely possible the brown pop was included for PC reasons of 'diversity', and the fact he's shown as the only one not 'goofing off' was meant as a positive depiction.  Though we could also ask whether he's even meant to be the pop equivalent of a brown person.

However, KELLOGG'S folded immediately when 'confronted' with Saladin's absurd (in my opinion) assertion, and amended future packaging.  Had it been me in charge, I'd simply have said there was no suggestion of racism intended in showing a hard-working employee going about his business, and to read such a thing into the illustration was taking things to extremes.

What's your view, Criv-ites?  Racism, or simply yet another case of much ado about nothing?

TOYBOX TREASURES Of The PAST: KELLOGG'S CEREAL GIVEAWAYS... JUST HOW MANY DO YOU HAVE, CRIVVIE CHUMS?

The ol' memory must be failing me, alas.  The above SOOTY figures (completed today) are listed on a couple of sites as being giveaways from KELLOGG'S in 1973, but I'm sure I had some of them before I moved house in June 1972, so I'd date them around '70 or '71.  Is my recollection playing tricks on me, or were they possibly reissued in '73?  Anyone know?  The other figures in this post came out around 1970, so maybe I just automatically (but erroneously) associate the Sooty ones with them.  Anyway, I'm sure my inability to recall the exact year will bug me more than it does you.  (Note that SOO is spelt as SUE on the back of the packet.)

****** 

Next up (above) is CRATER CRITTERS, which are arguably the ones that most folk more readily remember.  I had most if not all of them at the time, but the ones above I bought from regular reader PC a few years back, who sold them to me for far less than he would probably have got for them on eBay.  I don't buy things to sell on, so he knew I wasn't going to make any financial gain from his loss.  My favourites were BUGSY BACKBONE, LUNERTIC, and JODRELL JIM.  Quite liked GLOOB as well.  I'm keeping my eye out for others so that I can get a more varied colour scheme.

******

Finally, we have NEPTUNE And His SEA-BED SERENADERS (above).  In the UK we were offered only 8 figures, but in Australia (where they were issued first, I believe) there were 15 of them.  I also bought these ones from PC, who lives in Australia, so I'm very lucky to have the full set.  Sharp-eyed readers will have noticed that I've replaced the photos with fresh ones (yes, pun intended), so FREDDIE FISH is now facing the right way.  I probably had a few of these figures back in 1970/'71, but the one I most remember is NEPTUNE.

If you had any of these sets when you were a kid, feel free to reminisce to your heart's content in our crazy comments section.

MIGHTY MARVEL CHECKLIST - ON SALE 27TH JUNE!!!

DEADPOOL UNLEASHED #2

Copyright MARVEL COMICS.  Published by PANINI

76 pages of awesome action!  Two stunning stories!

Deadpool leaps into the time-twisting dimension of Weirdworld, and finds barbarians, demons, and... true love?!  By Scottie Young & Nic Klein!

It's the second part of our crazy new interactive game:  ‘You Are Deadpool’!  By Al Ewing & Paco Diaz!

Featuring material first printed in Deadpool #4-5 and You Are Deadpool #2.

On sale 27th June.

£4.99.

******

ESSENTIAL X-MEN #16

76 pages of Mutant Mayhem!

Jean Grey is back, but so is the Phoenix – and the X-Men are caught in the middle!  Don't miss the grim finale of ‘Phoenix Resurrection’!  By Matthew Rosenberg & Leinil Francis Yu!

Featuring material first printed in Phoenix: Resurrection #2-5.

On sale 27th June.

£4.99.

******

 MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL #17

100-page special!  Adventures in the Marvel Universe!

The cosmos trembles as the Infinity Stones are uncovered!  The Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man battle to save existence! Don't miss the beginning of a new epic: ‘The Infinity Wars’!  By Gerry Duggan & Aaron Kuder!

Wolverine has the Space Stone, and he's not afraid to use it!  By Gerry Duggan & Mike Deodato Jr!

Captain Marvel and her mother battle a Kree assassin!  By Margaret Stohl & Carlos Pacheco!

Featuring material first printed in Infinity Countdown: Prime #1, Infinity Countdown #1-2 and Life of Captain Marvel #5.

On sale 27th June.

£4.99.

The ART Of REPAIR And RESTORATION... (Updated)

Copyright BBC TV and the Estate of TERRY NATION

As all you Crivvies will know by now (because I never shut up about it), I own all three DALEK books from the 1960s.  However, what you don't know (because I haven't told you yet) is I also have a spare copy of each of the first two books.  (Okay, now you know.)  Try and control your seething jealousy at my good fortune.  (Update, April 2024: I now also have a second copy of the third book, so - a 'hat trick' !)

Thing is, when I got them, they both had pages missing.  I knew before I bought The DALEK WORLD, but didn't find out in the case of The DALEK BOOK until after I received it.  (That's the order in which I purchased them, not the sequence in which they were published.)  It's unlikely the seller knew either, because the missing pages weren't immediately obvious (yes, I got a partial refund).  Not a problem to me, as I simply scanned the absent pages from my complete copies, then printed them out and restored them to their allotted space in the books.

The first book doesn't have the usual laminate wrinkling this edition often suffers from (not on the front cover anyway, and just a little on the back), so it would've been a sinful waste to dispense with it merely because of four missing pages.  The second book (which was issued without a laminate covering) is pretty much scuff-free, a problem it's very often prone to.  (It was also short of four pages.)

So they're now complete, and you'd have to look twice (maybe even three times) when browsing through them to spot they aren't the original pages.  They're even more or less the same thickness as the originals.  Ah, I'm so gifted.  My parents told me when I was a kid I was a 'gifted' baby - "You surely don't think we'd have paid for you?" my father said.

Anyway, wondering whether I did a good job or not?  (Don't lie, you know you are.)

Then check out the piccies below.  (Incidentally, the camera flash bouncing off the replacement pages have made them look a little whiter than they actually are, but the difference between new and old is less apparent than appears here.  The pages are simply 'cleaner', with no age spots or discolouration.  However, that will probably change over time.

And now, in response to reader DW's special request (see comments section) - 'BATTLE For The MOON'...  (I don't make a habit of this, so don't anyone be deluging me with requests.)

AND NOW - THE BOB, STAN, ARCHIE & GORDIE SHOW...

The legendary radio, movie, and TV star BOB HOPE

BOB HOPE and STAN LEE are both gone now, which, considering that we of a certain age grew up exposed to the work of both gentlemen in their respective fields of entertainment, is a sad state of affairs.  Two people who made such an immense contribution to the quality of our lives (assuming, of course, that you were a fan of either) no longer being around is a sombre reminder of our own mortality.  After all, don't we tend to take for granted that the various entertainers we enjoyed in our youth will be with us throughout the entire span of our own lives?  That they're no longer here diminishes our day-to-day enjoyment to some degree, don't you think?  Were you a DAVID BOWIE fan?  Then no doubt you lament his loss - though personally, I think he could 'sing nane' as we say in Scotland.  Still, if you're a fan, you no doubt think he was taken too soon.

Now, generally speaking, I wouldn't say that I was an 'autograph hound', but there are a few select people I admired to the degree that, when the opportunity arose to obtain their signature or pose for a photograph with them, it was 'full steam ahead' for me.  I've met Bob and Stan, RIKKI FULTON, MAYA ANGELOU, WILL EISNER, CAROLINE NIN, ARCHIE GOODWIN, BRIAN BOLLAND, and a few minor TV celebrities (by sheer chance in the latter case, not design).  Strangely, I never asked Archie for his autograph, nor posed for a photo with Will (didn't have my camera with me) - and Maya seemed reluctant to sign for or pose with the four or five people (of which I was one) who met her at the stage door - but I got snapped with Bob, Stan (and got their autographs), and Archie - and got Rikki's, Brian's and Will's signatures to mark the occasion of meeting them.

(I've also got ROGER MOORE's, LEO BAXENDALE's, TERRY BAVE's, JOHN NOAKES', and MARIE SEVERIN's autographs, though I never actually met them.  [Update 2026: Now also got RICHARD BRADFORD's signature.]  However, I spoke with Terry by 'phone on numerous occasions, and corresponded with Leo by letter.  Oh, and I've also got writer and editor ALAN FENNELL's autograph, another gent I chatted with on the 'phone from time to time.  Caroline, mentioned in the previous paragraph, is the only one out of everyone named who's still around as I type this.)

Writer, editor, and creator STAN (The Man) LEE

Of course, after they're gone, the work of those we admire is still available for us to enjoy whenever we wish, which is some consolation, but the act of connecting with them for however brief a moment is almost akin to connecting with their lives, experiences, and histories from before we met them.  There I was shaking hands with Bob Hope, who grew up in the Depression, played Vaudeville, entertained the troops in various wars and conflicts, was a star during Hollywood's heyday, and, in his time, was probably the most famous and successful comedian in the world - and I somehow felt that I was connected to all that in some indefinable way; as if he himself were a conduit to his own past, and the mere act of shaking his hand or standing in his presence made me a participant-by-proxy in all he had done during his life and the periods he had lived through.

Yes, I know I'm fooling myself and that any such feeling is an illusion at best and a delusion at worst, but I just can't help thinking that way.  "By appreciation we make excellence in others our own property" wrote VOLTAIRE, and in a similar way, it might also be said that "By association we make the experiences of others our own property".  Sure, that's probably overstating the case, but it's only by such hyperbole that I can convey even the merest hint of what I'm trying to say.

Anyway, what are your own thoughts on the matter, if any?  Do you agree with my sentiments or am I talking my usual load of utter pants?  Have you ever met one (or more) of your idols, and if so, what effect did it have on you?  Were they a total disappointment, or did you feel as though you were in the presence of (and thereby connected to) greatness?  Feel free to express yourselves in the comments section.

MARVEL, DC, & WARREN writer and editor ARCHIE GOODWIN

PART SIX Of SECRET ORIGINS COVER & IMAGE GALLERY...

Copyright DC COMICS

Time flies, they say - and they're right (whoever 'they' are), as it's been over two years since the last instalment of our SECRET ORIGINS cover gallery.  There were 50 issues in all in this particular run, and though I think I only ever read the first few, they at least provide material for this blog and for any Criv-ites who might be interested in seeing them.

One day I really must sit down and try and work my way through them all, but some issues look far less interesting than others.  It was a good idea I suppose, in regard to retelling the origins of the 'A-listers', but let's be totally honest here - when it comes to DC COMICS characters in that category, you can probably count them on the fingers of one hand.

Anyway, enjoy the piccies, and if there's anything you'd like to say, feel free.

THEY SAY YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN - BUT DO YOU EVER TRULY LEAVE?

This post is in a similar vein to the previous one and was first published on my MILD & MELLOW MELANCHOLY MUSINGS blog.  I've added it here because it touches on something mentioned in the comments section of the post which precedes it.

******

A few years ago, I was walking past one of my former homes and observed a family (who had just exited a vehicle) walk up the front path and go inside.  The family consisted of mother and father and two young sons, the same as my own family when we'd stayed in the house.  I couldn't help but wonder if the two kids would one day look back on their time there with the same fondness as I did, or have the same sense of atmosphere - or to be more precise - sense of the same atmosphere as I had.  That's probably unlikely, because different furniture, different fashions, toys, TV programmes, comics - all the things which add to the flavour of one's life when growing up - surely affect the perception that different people at different times will have of the same place.  Also, a new church had been erected on the site of the old one (which had only been built in 1965/'66 and was demolished around 1991 due to structural defects) across from the front of the house, and amenity flats for the elderly now filled two thirds of the playing field across from the back, so even the views from the front and rear windows were no longer exactly the same, which no doubt affects the 'sense' of a place. 

Another thing that occurred to me to wonder about is who exactly has more of a sentimental 'claim' on a specific house years after the fact.  The ones who have the fondest memories, or who lived in the house first, or longest, or last - or some other arbitrary factor?  I must confess that I'm a bit flexible in my own approach when it comes to that.  I regard every house I've ever lived in as 'my' house, but my justification differs from house-to-house.  For instance, my family lived in the previous house to this one for four years, and we were the first to live there as it was a brand-new house.  However, the current family who reside there have done so for nearly 30 years and now own the property, so, legally, the house is theirs.  That doesn't matter to me though - I lived there first so in my mind it's mine.  Contrariwise, there have been homes where we weren't the first to inhabit the premises, but we lived there longer than the previous tenants (if not the subsequent ones - or vice versa), so I still regard myself as having a preeminent 'stake' in them.  Yes, you're right - I just make the 'rules' up as I go along to suit myself.  What is it that drives my unwillingness (my inability even) to sever the ties with, the sense of 'ownership' of, all my former domiciles so long after the fact?  Is it simply because happy periods of my youth are inextricably linked to them, and to give up my feelings of connection would be to abandon - reject - those periods?  One for the philosophers perhaps.

How do you feel about your previous homes, fellow Crivs?  Have you left them behind in the foreign country that is the past, or do the memories of them still loom large in your life and remain a never-ending presence in your day-to-day existence?  Do you yet regard them as 'yours', or have you long since given up any feeling of special connection to them?  Feel free to indulge yourself in the comments section.  Before you do, however, here's another thought that's just occurred to me.  If houses had 'sentience' of some kind and could have favourite tenants, how would you feel to learn that the favourite dwellers of one (or all) of your former abodes were not your family, but some other one from either before or after your term of residence?  Would you feel slighted by the knowledge or wouldn't it bother you?  I like to think (here in Castle Bonkers) that all of my former homes (and current one) regard my family and myself as the best occupants they ever had.  And who's to say me nay?  (The houses sure ain't saying.) 

IF YOU COULD, WOULD YOU...?

In my more nostalgic moments, I sometimes feel that I could again inhabit any previous house I've ever lived in.  This was more the case when their neighbourhoods remained largely unchanged (as they did for many a year), but sadly there have now been quite a few alterations, demolitions, additions, etc., in most of those former areas I knew as a youngster.  I suspect that, if I ever won the Lottery and bought all my old houses, it wouldn't be long before those aforementioned changes would erode some of the joy I felt at once again being able to live in the places I stayed as a child, although, who knows?  Maybe I'd be able to tolerate things.

So here's a question for all you loyal, reflective, deep-thinking Criv-ites.  Imagine for a moment that your childhood home (or homes) yet stands and you could afford to buy it (or them).  Would you?  If so, why?  And if not, same question (more or less) - why not?  On with your thinking caps, frantic ones, and let loose in the comments section.  Don't let me down.

BABE Of The DAY - TRIVAGO GIRL GABRIELLE MILLER...

Here's the babe who every man

on the planet wants to marry - and you

can put me top of the list.  GABRIELLE

MILLER has that 'girl next door' quality,

while simultaneously being a sizzlin' sex-

bomb.  Call me, Gabby.  (Yeah, right -

 as if she reads this blog, eh?)

The THING From The SWAMP - PARTS ONE & TWO (REPETITIVE REPOST)...

Images copyright DC COMICS

As I roam the streets of Sheffield - oops, sorry - wrong blog.  As I patrol the local environs of my town clad in my homemade superhero costume, ready to right wrongs and dispense instant justice to neighbourhood miscreants, people often say to me: "Why are you dressed like that, you feckin' psycho?"  To which I reply: "Stop picking on me, or I'll tell my mum."  Thankfully, that only happens when my normal clothes are in the wash and it's too cold to go out in my pyjamas - and besides, there's a guy down the road who thinks he's Elvis, which just goes to show that there's always someone far worse off than yourself.  Now, where's my 'Smarties'?

Anyway, for this post, I thought you'd enjoy seeing some terrific covers by TOM YEATES from The SAGA Of The SWAMP THING.  Having been a regular reader of ol' Swampy's original comic back in the '70s, I was overjoyed to see him awarded his own magazine again in 1982.  It gave me the opportunity not only to catch up with an old friend, but also to get in on the ground floor of what became a highly collectable series.  The release of this title inspired me to eventually hunt down and re-obtain Dr. ALEC HOLLAND's previous 24 issue run of four-colour classics, which, I'm proud to say, I still have in my collection today.

However, it's the second series we're going to focus on for the moment, so - without further ado - here are the first six covers for you to drool over.

 

PART TWO OF THE THING FROM THE SWAMP...

PSSSTT!!  Wanna see some pretty pictures?  Then you're in luck, 'cos here are six li'l beauties to feast your peepers on.  This was the second series to feature ol' SWAMPY, published way back in the early '80s when BRUCE FORSYTH was merely old, but not yet ancient.  (Word is, Brucie was on board the Ark, but when asked whether this was true or not, family friend and spokesman, NOAH JUNIOR, refused to comment.) 

Anyway, enjoy these half-dozen dazzling drawings by TOM YEATES, which evoke the spirit of BERNIE WRIGHTSON without being a slavish imitation of his style.  And feel free to express your opinion on these covers in the comments section, if you so wish.