The COMPLETE 1st ISSUE Of BUSTER...

Copyright REBELLION

If you're of a certain age, it's hard to think of Buster comic without strips like Charlie Peace, Galaxus, Fishboy, Leopard From Lime Street, etc., but none of them appeared in the first issue, consisting of a mere 16 pages for 4d.  However, it was around the size of a tabloid newspaper and slightly larger than TV Century 21, and managed to survive for just short of 40 years, changing size, page count, and frequency of publication over the decades.  The final issue came out at the end of 1999, but as the comic was a fortnightly by then, it was dated into 2000 - and had it lasted until May, it would've celebrated its 40th Anniversary.

Anyway, I recently acquired the very first collectors' item issue and thought it only right and proper to share its comic strip contents with you adoring and adorable Crivvies (don't worry, CJ, you're included too), so without any further ado ('cos all my ado is done), here are all 16 pages for your palpitating perusal and pleasure.  Don't ever say I'm not good to you all 'cos it would be a danged lie, though there's no need to feel guilty as you can thank me for my ginormous generosity in the comments section.  Before that, however, enjoy the pulsating pages laid before you.  And remember to click on them to enlarge, then click again for optimum size.

(Update 13-9-'25:) Incidentally, I note someone is currently selling one on eBay at an asking price of £800.  Well, what're you all waiting for?  Crack open those piggy banks. 

And below, for completists, is the first issue's free gift.

MIND YOU DON'T MISS The (BAT)BOAT...

Characters copyright DC COMICS

Arrived yesterday at Castel Crivens, the reissue of Corgi Toys (singular on the box for some reason) first version of the Batboat And Trailer.  I never had this as a kid, so it's good to add it to the collection almost 60 years later.  It was supplied with an adaptor for the Batmobile exhaust as the 1966 BM didn't have a tow-hook, though one was added for later editions after the release of the Batboat.

Anyway, for those Crivvies who are into such things, here's a few photos to rekindle your memories if you had this toy back in the day.  Feel free to share any reminiscences in the scintillating comments section.

Below, in response to LH's request in the comments section, is an original Corgi Bat-copter.

BABE Of The DAY - FLEUR EAST...

Fleur East - a gal I'd never heard of 'til

recently.  However, she's certainly a babe

who's worthy of appearing on Crivens, I'm

sure you'll agree.  You do, don't you?

BRING ON The BAD GUYS - TOO LATE, THEY'RE HERE! (ALONG WITH SOME GOOD ONES)...

Images copyright relevant and respective owners

Above is a comic mag I got a wee while back, mainly because the cover is based on that of the 1976 Fireside book Bring On The Bad Guys by Stan Lee (with a little help from a whole kaboodle of collaborators).  Below is the original cover, though I have to say I like Dr. Doom's right hand on the new cover more than on the old one.  That aside, it would probably be hard to distinguish between the two pieces of artwork from just a quick glance at them side-by-side if not for the mastheads.  I haven't read the mag yet, so I'm undecided on whether I'll buy subsequent issues, though probably not.  (I've had the book since I first bought it way back in the dim and distant days of the '70s.)

Next is a Golden Age-sized facsimile of Superman #1, though as the interior images are the same size as the standard reprints of this classic issue, I'm not sure why DC bothered.  When they did Detective Comics #27 in this format, they scanned the interiors from a 1939 original, and apart from the price on the cover and the barcode on the back, the interiors looked pretty much as they did when the issue was initially published back in the '30s.  The GA Action Comics #1 and Superman #1 contain brand-spanking new images with a huge margin around them.  Whatever happened to consistency?  Still worth having though.

Below is the second monthly ish of Panini's new Fantastic Four mag.  I read #1 and #2 over the last few days and quite enjoyed them, though as yet remain undecided whether I'll continue with the title past the third issue.  Time will surely tell.

Below is one I've been looking to acquire for quite a number of years now - Valiant & TV21 Summer Special for 1973.  Can't remember whether I actually owned this one back in the day, but I might have done and that's good enough for yours truly.*  Nabbed it at last, though I think I might already have it on a data disc somewhere, but if so, that was just a stopgap.  Nothing beats the real thing.  (*I know I had [and have] the Valiant & TV21 Summer Special for 1972 and I don't like having one without the other, so I now own both of them.)

Been extremely tired recently, Crivs, and suffering intense spasms of pain throughout my body, hence the dearth of posts on Crivens, but I'll try and do better in the weeks ahead.  (Though if posts remain sparse, you'll know why.)  Can't get a doctor's appointment 'cos whenever I 'phone, the line is engaged for half-an-hour, and if I get through, a message says all the appointments are allocated for the day, so try again tomorrow.  I've actually visited the surgery in person to try and see a doctor or arrange an appointment, but been told I'll have to 'phone for one.  Absolutely disgraceful state of affairs, I'm sure you'd agree, but there's nothing I can do about it.

Apart from die from an undiagnosed illness, that is, but I'm hoping that isn't an option.  Anyway, enjoy the covers.  Got a favourite?  Then say so, you know where. 

"IN THE TOWN WHERE I WAS BORN..."

Copyright relevant owner

Back in what must've been the very early '70s, I acquired a Corgi Toys Beatles Yellow Submarine from a jumble sale held in the church across the road from my house.  Because of this, when Corgi reissued the sub in, I think, 1997, I bought two of them - one to tuck away, the other for display.  Originally, there were two versions, one with white and yellow hatches (and a red stripe separating the lower half from the conning tower), and one with red hatches (and no red stripe).  The push-'button levers' for springing open the hatches were unpainted metal (which tarnished over the years), though were painted black for the '90s reissues.

Here's where it gets confusing.  Corgi say that the two versions were released in the same year (1969), but they're not sure which came first or whether both were available at the same time.  Some other sources claim that the red hatched edition didn't go on sale until 1971, but the original '69 box had a picture of the sub on the back with white and yellow hatches, respectively, if that's any indication of sequence.  I once thought my jumble sale acquisition had red hatches, but this may have been due to the fact that when I bought my '90s models, they had red hatches and this may have 'coloured' my memory.  (Good one, Gordie.)

When I recently bought the white and yellow hatched version from the Corgi Shop, it seemed familiar, so it's always possible the one I had in the '60s/'70s was the same.  Either way, I've got both versions now - the Corgi Model Club red hatched version and the Corgi Shop white and yellow hatched incarnation, as well as my two '90s reissues.  There was a slight problem with the '90s model, in that when you released the hatches, they sprang back and the stem/hinge hit the metal behind it, which chipped the paint on the hatches over repeated use.  I took one apart and affixed something to the insides to prevent this happening, but I'm glad to report that Corgi has now remedied the flaw in the current versions, though they may've done this a few years back.

Contrary to the box's claim, the periscopes rotate, not bob up and down

The '60s original said Corgi Toys on the base (and Made In Gt. Britain), the modern reissues since the '90s have no raised country of origin on them (they're made in China) and sport the Corgi dog symbol along with the name Corgi (and The Beatles Yellow Submarine logo).  That'll be because they're not regarded as toys for kids these days, but models for the 'adult collector' and nobody under the age of 14.  (When did 14 year-olds become adults?)  The Corgi Shop version has the 'levers' painted black, the CMC ones are unpainted as per the originals.

Did you have a Yellow Submarine when you were a kid, Crivs, and were/are you a Beatles fan?  Which one of these two versions do you prefer?  And, while you're here, why not reveal what your top three favourite Beatles songs are?  Don't be shy now, tell all your fellow readers what you think in our comments section (before I die would be nice).

The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, MORECAMBE & WISE, And - Wait For It - The TRICORN...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Now just where do I start with this post?  I'll jump right in.  The Tricorn Shopping Centre in Portsmouth was built in 1966 and demolished in 2004, and somewhere in between (the '80s) was described as the third ugliest edifice in the UK.  However, it had shoppers who were for it as well as those who were against it so there seems to have been mixed opinions as to its value as a trading site.  Falling into a state of disrepair over the decades, it eventually became too far gone to save and was demolished, the site being turned into a ground floor city car park in 2024.

So what's that got to do with comics?  Well, I lived in Southsea for a few months back in 1981 and visited The Tricorn a few times.  If I recall correctly, there was a comics and book shop within its labyrinthian confines (not far from a cafe on the other side of the open lane), and it was there I first saw the above book, which I recently purchased on eBay.  I also associate it with the equally thin Doctor Strange 'companion' volume, which I intend to buy before too long, mainly because both publications remind me of the carefree days of my time down in Portsmouth.

When I revisited the place in 1985, again for a few months, it was in The Tricorn I saw The Morecambe & Wise Special, which I'd first seen in my home town in the '70s.  I didn't buy the hardback version at the time, though eventually bought the softcover release a wee while later, but I kind of pined for the hardback.  You can imagine how pleased I was, then, to spot a batch of 'remaindered' copies of the book on one of the market traders' stalls in The Tricorn, so I promptly purchased one, which I still own to this very day, 40 years later.  (Still got the softcover too.)

And that's all there is to this post - it's a self-indulgent reminiscence of a time in the '80s which I remember fondly and am loath to let go of.  What's odd, though, is that, back home, I was then living in a different house to the one I was in when I first saw the book in the '70s, yet I don't associate the hardback with my then-new house, but its predecessor, the one I inhabited (and now do again) when it was first published.  A facsimile was issued in 2009, which I also bought, so now I have three copies in all.  (Two hardbacks and one softcover, in case you're keeping score.)

Below is The Tricorn and car park, which now exist only in memory and photos, and perhaps a video or two.  Do you recall the place, and if so, what were your feelings about it?  Do tell.

WHEN TIME GOES WEST...

Copyright DC COMICS

I was browsing idly through some old blog posts earlier today and noticed one published on Christmas Day back in 2013, which featured a Mattel 6 inch Batman figure.  Were you to visit Castel Crivens today in the flesh and see it, then ask me when I got it, I'd have casually replied "Oh, three or four years back" - so to see it was nearly 12 years ago is quite a shock to the system.  That's a longer duration than my entire time at school and most houses I've ever lived in, with one exception - my current one.  Just doesn't feel like it.

In the aforesaid post, I mentioned my intention to get the Batmobile for the figure, as well as Robin, but I never imagined it would take as long as it actually did (Dec '24), though it doesn't feel very long at all.  I've likely asked this question of you before, but do you ever cast your eyes around your room and see certain items you think of as fairly recent acquisitions, only to be flabbergasted when you remember that you obtained them many years, even decades ago, and just how many changes have occurred in your life since then?

Feel entirely free to join in the fun.  (Er, it is fun, isn't it?)

BABE Of The DAY - MAJEL BARRETT...

Sure, Uhura was a honey, as was Yeoman

Rand, though there was another stunning babe

in Star Trek who made my heart skip a beat or

three: Nurse Christine Chapel.  Wow!  (She

also played Number One in the pilot.)

MYTEK The MIGHTY Volumes 1 & 2...

MYTEK copyright REBELLION

Newly arrived at Castel Crivens (yesterday) are these super new books, the first pair in a four volume collection of Mytek The Mighty.  Published by Steve Holland's Bear Alley Books (under license from Rebellion), they contain interesting and detailed essays on the creators, Tom Tully and Eric Bradbury.  You're all aware by now of how lazy I am, so if you don't know who Mytek is then I ain't doing the work for you - Google him.  Those decrepit old farts (like me, in the main) who already know the comics history of the giant ape will surely wish to add these handsome volumes to their bookshelves.  You can do so by clicking on this link.  And Steve H doesn't do things by half, as the four volumes will reprint every classic Mytek The Mighty tale ever published in Valiant.

SCORE SOME MORE FANTASTIC FOUR...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Four for the price of two this time round, Crivvies.  First up (above) is the new #1 of Fantastic Four, and second down (below) is The Fantastic 4 First Steps, which features the new movie FF early in their career and doesn't concern itself with the film's plot.  Why two of each?  Well, I had to have those nice piccies of Susan, and both old and new costumes on the First Steps' covers.  See?  There's always a reason.  Not got 'em yet?  Buy 'em now while you can!  (First up and second down - the boy's a genius!)

PANINI/MARVEL NEW FF MONTHLY MAG...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS, published by PANINI

I mentioned the above new Fantastic Four comic in a previous post but neglected to show it, so here it is so that you know what to look for when you're browsing in WHS.  Below is a double-page pin-up in the centre pages, though I doubt many people will mutilate the mag by removing it to hang on their wall.  I'll probably get the next two issues (#2 goes on sale on the 31st of this month) so that I have the first three, but I don't think I'll continue with it beyond that.  Don't like to be negative, but I suspect it won't be a long-runner.  Let's hope I'm wrong.