ARE SOME eBay SELLERS FAR TOO GREEDY, OR ARE THEY SIMPLY A BUNCH OF CHANCERS? WHAT'S YOUR VIEW...?

Copyright DC COMICS

Here's a couple of images I've borrowed from eBay of the very first Batman card from the '60s.  This one card has an asking price of $199, plus p&p $17.23, and import charges of $50.28.  That translates as £146.65, £12.63, and £36.93 respectively.  However, another one has an asking price of - wait for it - $1,995, which is approximately £1,462.88.  Postage is $57.75, which equals £42.35.  Import cost isn't specified, as it says that international postage may be subject to... additional charges.

Now as we all know, an item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, and nobody's twisting their arm to buy it.  However, do you think that some sellers are opportunistically exploiting the compulsive desire of those who are desperate to reunite with an aspect of their past; in short, out-and-out crooks who have no shame in asking for ridiculously high prices for items of nostalgic interest - or are they only ordinary businessmen trying to earn an honest buck?

Here's another question for you.  Even if you could afford to, would you ever be prepared to spend an extravagantly-inflated amount like those above for something that you desperately wanted to own, or would you be able to resist the siren call to part with your money for something that originally cost mere pennies or shillings?  Would you even be tempted?  Feel free to make your views known in the comments section if you'd be so good.

The MASK Of The MONSTER... (Updated)

There used to be - and maybe still is for all I know - a regularly issued practical jokes & tricks catalogue by a company named Ellisdons, from which (if memory serves) I got my first over-head Frankenstein mask sometime around the mid-'70s.  I think I later bought another one which had 'real hair' (it was certainly real something, but definitely not hair), and though it was based on Jack Pierce's original make-up design, its likeness wasn't that of Boris Karloff or Glenn Strange, but a slight amalgam of both of them.

One night myself, a friend, and the mask, visited another friend, who took a couple of photos of us clowning around that were developed as slides.  He later gave me copies, which I cut up and installed in one of those toy TV-type viewers that, when you clicked a switch, revolved the pics past the viewfinder.  I made a little sign saying 'The Curse Of Frankenstein' and attached it to the viewer, and when I showed it to yet another pal (Moonmando), he remarked "More like the curse of Adam Cowie" (name changed to protect the guilty), the friend that I, as the Monster, was 'attacking' in the pics.

Ah, such fun - the joys of youth!  (I was yet a teenager.)  Anyway, today, all the way from America (actually saved a tenner by not buying it in Britain), the official Universal Studios full over-head mask of Boris Karloff as the Monster arrived at Castel Crivens.  When I tried it on, the smell of latex whisked me 45-odd years into the past, because it smelt exactly the same as the masks obtained from Ellisdons.  True, the Universal version is much better made, more fully detailed, and of far superior quality, but the smell was the same.

Anyway, it's such a brilliant mask I thought I'd let you see it, so that's it above among some other goodies in one of my rooms, and below are a few close-ups of Frankie's fearsome fizzog to astound and amaze you.  Brilliant, innit?!  Who else remembers Ellisdons, and did any of you ever have a Frankenstein Monster mask when you were a youth?  Or any other kind, come to that. 

The mask is draped over a globe lamp, which I switched on
for this photo.  If you look closely, you can see a hint of the
lit-up eyes.  Click to enlarge, then click again for full size

Photo used in eBay listing

The ENIGMA FILES... (Updated)

Copyright relevant owner

Hard to believe it's been 40-plus years since I bought a paperback called The Enigma Files by Christine Sparks, based on the BBC TV series of the same name.  It had a similar concept to the much later show, New Tricks, and starred Tom Adams (purportedly once considered as a possible James Bond) and comedian Duggie Brown.  It was a great wee show, so when I saw the paperback on sale in the shops I promptly bought it.  Still got it too.

It's not exactly pristine and I had to re-attach the cover at some point.  I couldn't now say whether it just wasn't very well bound or I'd lent it to someone to read (from before I adopted a 'non-lending' policy) and got it back in its 'worse-for-wear' condition, but I tarted it up a little and decided to keep my eye out for a better condition copy to take its place.  I even contacted BBC Books, but received a card saying the book was now unavailable.  (I'm pretty sure I've still got that card somewhere, so when I find it I'll add it the post.)

Anyway, never saw one until relatively recently on eBay (whatever would we do without the Internet, eh?) and was surprised to learn there'd also been a hardback edition, which I bought a few days ago via AbeBooks for not much more than it originally cost in 1980.

It arrived today and is in excellent condition, but I'll still keep its 41 year old predecessor as it'd be cruel to dispense with it after all this time.  I'm surprised to see from the cover photograph that Tom Adams looks like a friend I had around 1979 to '86 or '87, but I no longer recall whether I was aware of the resemblance then or not.  It's possible I was, though I couldn't swear to it, but I noticed the similarity right away today.  If you're a long-term reader you've seen him referred to as Bob Billens, though that isn't his real name, just a close approximation.

These days my memory comes and goes, so it's always possible I might yet remember being previously aware of the likeness and having remarked upon it to Bob - which actually sounds familiar now that I've typed it.  Not that it's important to anything, but just thought I'd mention it.

I seem to recall there being a discrepancy in the book about the age of the main protagonist's (Nick Lewis) daughter, so if true, when I get around to re-reading it (I've re-read my original paperback at least once over the decades, possibly even twice), it will be good to see that some parts of my memory still hold up.  Any Crivvies ever read this book or watch the TV series, and if so, what did you think of it/them?  As ever, the comments section awaits.  

Anyway, I know I enjoyed it as a mere teenage youth (not that it's a book aimed at a younger readership), so it's a book you may enjoy reading as well if you haven't already done so (and even if you have).

******

Update: I've now found the card (below) mentioned in the second paragraph.  Although it's a postcard, it came in an envelope so unfortunately there's no date on the card to say which year I received it.  Not sure why I don't still have the envelope as I usually keep such things, but there's no guarantee the postmark would've been legible anyway.

Did I make my enquiry before moving to the abode I stayed in between May 1983 and August '87, or had I returned to my current home when I contacted the BBC about a replacement?  Or was I in that other house when I made my enquiries?  Can't recall, alas, so the info is lost to history.  I suspect, though, that it was either while I still lived here (pre-flitting) or the other place.

The 01 dialling code for London was changed in May 1990, so I obviously must've received the card  sometime before then. 

Note that they didn't get the book's title quite right

FIREBALL XL5 ANNUALS COVER GALLERY... (Updated)

Copyright relevant owner

I think it's fairly safe to say I never owned a brand-new Fireball XL5 Annual when I was a kid, instead acquiring them in jumble sales up to a couple or so (or more) years after they first came out.  If I recall correctly, I remember seeing the second one (1964 for '65) on the way to school one morning with my brother and some of his friends, one of them showing it to the rest of us.  The two of us hadn't long moved to another domicile five minutes down the road in the same neighbourhood, but we'd ventured up to our old street so my brother could reunite with a few of his pals from the area for our trek to school.

That's why I associate one of the Annuals with a house and street we no longer lived in, though obviously you're not interested in such a triviality.  I mention it, however, because it later sometimes seemed that all four Annuals must've belonged to the period I was in those two houses and attended my first primary school, though I also remember them from our third house (and my next primary) because that's when I acquired second-hand copies for myself - usually from the church across the road when it had one of their Summer or Christmas Fayres.

Looking back, I'm kind of surprised to be reminded the initial Annual went on sale in 1963 when I yet lived in our first house, the second in '64 when I was in our second home, the third in '65 just before we flitted once again - and was still selling as a new book (being for the coming year - '66) when my family was freshly ensconced in our third abode.  The fourth and final Annual hit the shops after I'd been in our new home for around ten months, but due to me obtaining it second-hand a year or two after it came out, I assumed it was older than it was.  (I've absolutely no memory of seeing any of them in the shops.)

I likely had all four books in that third house (though probably not at the same time), obtained 'pre-owned' (as they say these days), so I now connect them with there, but at the time, I supposed all four predated my tenure and belonged to an earlier period.  (When you're between 7 and 10, a handful of years seems greater than it is.)  "What's all that got to do with the price of cheese?" some of you may be asking; nothing really, apart from the fact the fourth book was contemporary, and properly 'belonged' to the third house, being published while we lived there, though I didn't know it at the time.

The foregoing preamble is just my usual long-winded way of saying I'm surprised by that, and it also fills a space on the blog while at the same time giving you four nice images to look at.  I especially love the fourth one by Mike Noble - which is your favourite?

Incidentally, I typed all this while suffering from 'brain fog', so don't be surprised to see some revisions somewhere down the line if I can think of a clearer and more concise way to express myself. 

******

(Update:) Incidentally, some chancer is currently asking £99 for the fourth book on eBay - even though it has nearly a third of the spine missing.  I just acquired a complete second copy of the same Annual today (Saturday 2nd October) for a mere £10.99.      

POST From The PAST: ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN In The NEXT HALF HOUR...

The rubber-band version

1965 was the year I got my rubber-band-powered STINGRAY by LONE*STAR.  There was also a clockwork version which looked pretty much the same (see below), but it was the cheaper version I had.  Cheaper, but no less fun at the nearby pond just along the road from where I lived at the time.  And there was also the kitchen sink or the bath for Stingray to continue its undersea explorations when I couldn't be bothered going out or the weather was against me.



The clockwork version

I acquired a replacement for this childhood toy a good number of years back and proudly have it on display.  VIVID IMAGINATIONS produced their own, far more detailed version of this craft sometime back in the '00s, but there's something about the '60s original which is hard to beat.  The above two pictures are from the Internet - the one below is of my own toy.  For this 'update' I've also included a few of the Vivid Imaginations version from 2001/'02.

My very own toy - the camera flash has lightened the colours

The VI version works on the same principle as the LS one, though is a little more sophisticated.  The rubber-band on the '60s toy is wound by rotating the propeller, whereas the '00s toy has a 'dial' on the bottom which you rotate clockwise.  Interestingly, some of the blue areas now appear green, so I assumed the colours had faded over time (it hangs on my wall), but when I checked my unopened spare which has been wrapped in a bag and kept in a cupboard for decades, it was the exact same.  However, I'm pretty sure the green was blue when I first bought them (from my local Woolworth's), so don't quite know what happened there.  Still a cracking toy though, eh?

The Vivid Imaginations version

IS HENRY NOBBINS CONNECTED TO AMOS BURKE?

Images copyright relevant and respective owners

Take a look at this Burke's Law strip from TV Century 21 #2.  According to the terms of a murdered relative's will, his trio of surviving family members each have to break a world record in order to inherit a share of his fortune.  I couldn't help but me reminded of a later strip called His Sporting Lordship (in Smash!) in which labourer Henry Nobbins had to break a world record in a series of sporting events before he could claim his hereditary title of Earl of Ranworth and the fortune that went with it.

Only around four years stand between the two strips and I'm prompted to wonder if His Sporting Lordship was 'inspired' from this episode of Burke's Law.  Or could it even be that the same writer wrote both strips and he was simply recycling (with a bit of development) the basic plot of his earlier work?  Or was it all nothing more than a mere coincidence?  What do you think readers?  And if anyone happens to know who wrote both strips, don't keep that info to yourself now.

Comments and speculation (as well as solid details) most welcome.

His Lordship graced the covers on four of six Smash! Annuals

The END Of The QUEST...

Copyright relevant owner

Arrived today at Castel Crivens, the final issue I needed to complete the first full year's worth of TV Century 21 - #47.  I have quite a few subsequent issues of the comic in its various later incarnations, but I doubt I'll bother trying for a full set of year two's batch as I felt the comic was going off-the-boil with the arrival of Thunderbirds in 1966.

There's no denying Frank Bellamy could draw, but I get the impression he was rushing the pages for TV21, and he wasn't as dynamic a storyteller on the strip as Mike Noble on Fireball XL5, or Ron Embleton on Stingray.  I might've gone for year two for The Daleks (which ended in #104), but Marvel/Panini's Dalek Special made that redundant - and the first year was the comic at his best.

So - full first year of TV Century 21 - result! 

CALLING ALL OLDIES... (Updated)

Thought you might like to know that WHS is currently selling limited edition packs of Opal Fruits (original flavours too) for only £1.  I purchased a packet yesterday and scoffed my way through them in no time at all.  Must buy another one as soon as I can and enjoy again a slice of my childhood.

Well, what are you waiting for?  Get along to the shops now.  Oh, and I've just noticed that Home Bargains also has them for a mere 99p.  (I see that some eBay sellers are asking for nearly a fiver a bag.  Tsk, tsk!)

And guess what - Farmfoods has them for only 89p. 

A DIMINISHING BACKDROP OF DAY-TO-DAY LIFE...

Isn't it strange how the 'backdrop' to your life can change without you being aware of it until after-the-fact?  Example: There's a fella and his wife lived in the flats around the corner from me (same street) for at least 35 years, possibly longer.  He was there when we moved back to the neighbourhood after four years away, and for all I know he might've been there when we still lived here the first time.

The pair of us were part of the local doggie-walking club in the late '80s until either the dogs or the owners gradually died.  Out of about 14 of us, maybe only about four yet survive (all the dogs are gone), though me and Martin (as he's called) were the only two still in the area.  I'd often run into him when he was out walking his new (relatively-speaking) pooch, or when one of us was going to, while the other was coming back from, the local shops.

Anyway, last week I was sitting on a bench in the shopping area, scoffing a soft buttered roll with link sausages and fried onions (yum), when I spotted Martin and hailed him.  During the course of our chat, imagine my surprise when he told me that he and his wife had moved from their flat to a house in another neighbourhood quite a distance away around five weeks or so before.

Subconsciously, I'd yet imagined he and his dog were still traversing around the local environs when, in fact, his daily routine now unfolded somewhere else entirely, and that it was unlikely that either of us would run into the other when heading to or back from the shops.  But there was even worse news to come.  After being in their new house for only around three weeks or thereabouts, Martin came home one day to find his wife Isobel dead from a massive heart attack.

Sadly, I didn't know her very well (only saw her a handful of times in 34-odd years), but what a bummer, eh?  He's no longer in the flat where he and his wife brought up their kids and made many happy memories, but he's now in a house where he was denied the time to make any meaningful new memories before she was so suddenly and cruelly taken from him.

I prefer to think that Martin still lives around the corner from me and is yet exercising his doggie around the neighbourhood, and whenever I look out of my window, I sort of imagine I've just missed spotting him by seconds.  That way I can pretend that everything is as it's always been (for the last several years at least) and that the friendly face of a decent bloke is still out there to say hello to, instead of in another neighbourhood that I'm unlikely ever to visit.

Two more long-term residents in the street are soon to flit from it, and I'm beginning to feel isolated from friendly faces that have been part of my everyday existence for decades.  It's no fun seeing them all moving (or slipping) away, especially as I well-remember when my family was the new one 'on the block'.  That feeling is long-gone, but somehow I find myself wishing I could re-experience it - without having to flit somewhere else in order to do it though.

Any of you Crivvies ever feel the same?  Or am I just bonkers?  And spare a thought for Martin, eh?

COUNTDOWN TO A WEEKLY COMIC'S EXPIRATION...

Images copyright relevant and respective owners

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Countdown lasted only 58 issues before being relaunched as TV Action, given the fact that, despite top-notch artists working on the comic, the extremely tight deadlines meant they couldn't always devote the necessary time or attention to the art, which was sometimes devoid of detail.  Shortcuts were taken and some of the strips occasionally looked rushed - mainly because they were.

Take a look at the panel on show below.  I find the art curiously uninvolving, and I've never liked these 'half faces' since* - regardless of whether they were as a result of stylistic choice, or because the artist had little or no time to lavish on his artwork.  Harry Lindfield (oddly uncredited) was responsible for this particular example, but though the pages were colourful and well-drawn, they lacked a certain something overall.  Not the artist's fault really, as he was working under extreme conditions, but such an approach probably didn't help the comic.

(*I say 'since', but I probably first saw this type of thing in 1966 in Frank Bellamy's Thunderbirds, which was never my favourite strip in TV Century 21.  He painted pretty skies, but his depictions of the craft weren't always accurate, and his 'half' drawings similar to the one below didn't appeal to me.)

Half page from Countdown #39

I passed on Countdown when it first came out, but started picking it up when Fireball XL5 and Stingray reprints began.  No one could quibble about the quality of Mike Noble's or Ron Embleton's art, but perhaps the fact they were reprints that some readers still remembered meant that they weren't the draw (npi) they should've been.  Especially as in 1971 Gerry Anderson-related material didn't seem to be the attraction it had once been.

So - 58 issues of Countdown, 74 of TV Action - 132 issues in all.  That's better than Fantastic, Terrific, Thunder, Jet, and other weeklies managed, yet those of us who bought them at the time still fondly recall those titles from our youth.  And it's the same with Countdown and TV Action, which despite its flaws, deserved to have been around a lot longer than it actually was.

If you were a fan of the periodical, then you may enjoy Steve Holland's book about it, which tells you everything you ever needed to know (and a few things you didn't).  You can order by clicking here.

Footnote: Incidentally, I first typed Gerry Haylock's name as the artist of the half page, as for some reason I was thinking it was from a UFO strip.  However, it's actually from The Persuaders, and when I eventually realised, I amended the artist's name to the correct one.

SALE OF THE CENTURY - TWO FOR TEN...

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

Have I got news for you - and it's good news too.  WHS is currently selling its Annuals two for a tenner, so I bought the above two books today (image from DCT shop).  Thought you might like to know before you spend twice that or more - so get crackin' before they're sold out!

A BENCH-MARK IN TECHNOLOGY? OR JUST A TERRIBLE PUN...? (Updated)

Between my house and the main shopping centre in town is a park, and though I usually jump in a taxi these days, I often used to avail myself of a bench there for a few minutes on the way home, as it's all uphill.  (Not as young or as fit as I was, so when laden with heavy bags of shopping, a wee rest was a welcome respite.)  The above photo is one from the '70s (I guess) that I saw online somewhere, so I copied it as that's the original bench in the pic, not the one that's there today.

Anyway, I straightened the angle in the second version, then decided to enhance the image, which you can see in the third picture, below.  Isn't technology wonderful?!  Just thought you might like to see them while I'm pondering what comics-related post I'm going to publish for your entertainment and enjoyment.  (So yes - it's a 'filler'.)  Hopefully the photo's owner gets to see it so that they can copy the 'improved' version.  So - whaddya think?

And below is how the same place appears today - different bench, and a bit more shrubbery and few more trees in the background.  (Since I typed the preceding sentence, I've replaced the photo with another one, and the high-rise flats mentioned in the comments section are no longer visible.)

IT'S A MADHOUSE AROUND HERE...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Around 1979 there was a TV show called Freddie Starr's Variety Madhouse, which soon morphed into Russ Abbot's Madhouse due to main man Freddie's unpredictability and unreliability.  I'm uncertain as to which version was on the go at the time Marvel Madhouse first went on sale, but obviously the title was 'inspired' by the TV show.  Basically, the comic regurgitated Not Brand Echh tales and I don't recall how many issues Madhouse ran for, but I only have the first three.  Is that where I stopped, or did I have further issues which I later gave to a pal?  Can't recall, is the short answer to that one.  Anyway, I showed you the cover of #1 in the previous post, so here's the remaining two in my collection. 

Oh, go on then - below is the cover to the first issue so that you don't have to go hunting for it...

MORE CLASSIC MARVEL UK COVERS...

All characters copyright their relevant and respective owners

 

Just dug these comics out of a cupboard - may have shown some of them before, but probably not all of them.  I might add them to the previous Marvel UK classic covers gallery, but while I'm deciding I thought I'd give them their own wee post so that you cavortin' Crivvies aren't delayed in getting a peek at them.  Have any back in the day?  Then you know where the comments section is!

I feel compelled to point out what a terrible logo this comic has - truly awful

FOOM'S SECOND NUMBER ONE...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Back in 2017 Marvel published a one-shot issue of FOOM magazine, mainly to promote their Legacy storyline, but it also contained some articles about the original 22 ish series of their fan periodical which ran from 1973 to '78.  I have a complete set of the original run (you'll have seen the cover gallery and membership pack on this blog a few years back if you're a regular), so I was glad to add the one-shot to my collection.

I thought I'd shown this mag at the time, but I can't find it on the blog, so here it is a mere four years later to whet your appetite.  I'll add it to the cover gallery at some stage, but it deserves a little post of its own so here it is.  Any Crivvies buy the original FOOM back in the day?  If so, what are your memories of it?  Speak now, or forever hold your 'piece' (to quote Roger Moore as he took aim at a baddie's groin in The Man With The Golden Gun).  

FOOM was launched on Febuary 10th '73, the same day that Spider-Man Comics Weekly #1 (cover-dated 17th) came out in the UK, but by the time I had a spare 50p to join, issues 1 & 2 were sold out and the first one I received was issue 3.  I think that was the only copy I had at the time, but I acquired the full set (bit-by-bit) over the years, though I don't think I started 'til sometime in the late '80s or early '90s.

So if you were a FOOMER, feel free to share your memories in our ever-lovin' comments section.  After you've enjoyed these images of course.

******

Incidentally, I just looked at the asking prices of original FOOM issues on eBay, and the prices are sky-high!  And when I say sky-high, someone is asking nearly £11,000 for #10 because it contains a preview (and therefore first appearance) of the new X-Men.  Unbelievable!

POST From The PAST: EXPEDITION To URANITURE - TAKE TWO... (Updated)

Copyright relevant owner

When COUNTDOWN comic came out in 1971, I gave the first issue a cursory browse-through on top of my local newsagent's counter, but wasn't particularly impressed by it.  Consequently, I didn't start buying it until later, when it began reprinting some FIREBALL XL5, STINGRAY, and CAPTAIN SCARLET strips from TV CENTURY 21.  (I think they reprinted some THUNDERBIRDS ones too, but that may have been later - can't quite recall offhand.)  Only six or so years had elapsed since I'd first read the Fireball and Stingray strips, but that was half my life away at that point and therefore seemed a much longer period of time.

There was one Fireball adventure I particularly loved, which takes place on URANITURE, a planet seemingly populated by living snowmen. Countdown reprinted the colour pages in black and white, two pages to one (like the MARVEL UK 'landscape' titles), but that didn't overly bother me as it was great to see MIKE NOBLE's dynamic, action-packed art again in any form.  I decided to extract these pages and assemble them in their own mini-comic, but I made a bit of a hash of it and, embarrassed by my less-than-perfect attempt, eventually discarded my homemade efforts to the dustbin of history.

However, over the years, it always bothered me that I hadn't succeeded in my goal, and though I again possess the original TV21 presentations, as well as various colour and b&w reprints of this particular tale and don't really need any more, I decided to have another crack at it.  I own quite a few issues of Countdown, but not the numbers containing this particular adventure*.  I do have access to them though, so I printed them out and assembled them under a cardboard cover, and - viola - I've finally completed the task I set myself 46 plus years back.  It does my heart proud to finally finish something begun so long ago.  Why, I'm almost overcome with emulsion.  (*Got them now though.)

Have you any similar tales to tell, frantic ones?  If so, let loose in the comments section.  And if you'd like to read this Fireball tale, click here for part one.

(Update:)  If I may be permitted a little self-indulgence, this adventure, as I said, first appeared in colour in TV Century 21 (#34, September - #39, October, back in 1965), and whenever I look at the colour version, I associate the strip with the house I lived in at the time, plus the route leading to the newsagent's around the corner from me, and the shop itself, from where I usually bought the comic.

Jump forward six years to October 1971 and Countdown #38, when the first episode of the strip was reprinted (ending in #43, December), and the black and white version has different associations for me.  I was living in a different house in another neighbourhood by this time, and purchasing my comics from another newsagent's, so obviously they're what spring to mind when I look at Countdown's monochrome mini-pages.  Remarkably though, the manager of the first shop (Chamber's) was now in charge of the second shop (R.S. McColl's), so I also associate both incarnations of the tale with him, a gentleman by the name of Mr. Smith.

I'm also astonished to realise that a mere six months after the story ended in Countdown, I was living in yet another house in yet another area, because it seems that I held on to my homemade 'collected edition' in the previous house for far longer than that.  Isn't it strange that the same strip can have two separate associations with two different times and places, simply because of the different way in which they were presented?