A & BC BATMAN 'GLOVE' PUPPET...

Image copyright DC COMICS

Remember the above item?  I recall getting a

BATMAN 'glove' puppet in Glasgow's KELVIN

HALL in the 1960s (and immediately disposing of

the disgusting 'confectionary' contained within), but

it didn't last long.  Its thin polythene soon creased

and shed colour and detail in places.

Cut to my primary school's playground some

time later, where I acquired another one from a

classmate, IAN ROBBIE, in exchange for a small

packet of KP salted nuts (which cost tuppence) and

(I think) a thru'penny bit.  The second probably

didn't last much longer than the first.

In real life that is, but it lived on in memory

to the present day.  I ran into Ian last week, not

having seen him in 20-odd years, and we reminisced

about that ol' puppet.  To be honest, I was quite sur-

prised that he remembered, because in all the time

I've known him (over 50 years), I don't think

he's ever referred back to it before.

Perhaps one of those nuts lodged in his

throat, ensuring that the item he swapped for

them likewise lodged in his memory.  (See what I

did there?)  Anyone else remember them?  If so,

leave a comment in the you-know-where.  (It's

good to share, so get typing now.)

THE INCREDIBLE TRI-MAN - PART THREE...

Two titanic TRI-MAN episodes for you this time, folks, as that gives

you four SOLANO LOPEZ pages to enjoy.  JOHNNY SMALL's got

his work cut out for him when - but wait!  Why tell you when you can

read it for yourselves?  So what're you waiting for?  Get reading!

BABE OF THE DAY - CANDY LOVING...

CANDY LOVING gazes down at me lovingly

seconds before making me a cup of tea.  Okay, it

might've been just a dream, but it sure seemed real

enough to me.  (Though obviously I had to make

my own tea - dreams only go so far after all.)

RECOMMENDED READING: MARVEL EPIC COLLECTION - ANT MAN/GIANT MAN...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Here's a book for all you '60s MAREVELites who thrilled

to these tales the first time around.  I read them in a comic called

TERRIFIC back in 1967, and also, I think, MARVEL COLLEC-

TORS' ITEM CLASSICS (too lazy to check).  I've also got the two

MASTERWORKS volumes that present the full run, but this edition

has approximately two thirds of them, suggesting that volume two

will perhaps include later SCOTT LANG ANT-MAN stories.

So read the spiel on the back cover, raid your piggy bank,

and then get 'round to your nearest comics shop or bookstore

and acquire a copy of this valiant volume for yourself.

 

YIPPEEE! PART TWO OF THE INCREDIBLE TRI-MAN...

When WHAM!, SMASH!, and POW! reprinted MARVEL

strips, the pages were re-sized two U.S. pages to one U.K. page,

which was more in keeping with the panel-count of home-produced

strips.  Therefore, if TRI-MAN had been an American comic, all 44

pages (well 43 and a half to be exact) would've been 88, meaning

that, at 22 pages per issue,  a U.S. Tri-Man mag would've lasted

for only four issues.  So, bit of a failure then, eh?

However, the strip was not without charm, even if the formula

was a blatant rip-off (or 'homage' if you prefer) of the SPIDER-

MAN/PETER PARKER set-up in Web-head's own mag.  I have

fond memories of reading the incredible adventures of JOHNNY

SMALL's alter-ego back in 1969/'70, and the character even

made a return in GRANT MORRISON's ZENITH.

Who knows - perhaps he'll make another comeback one

day.  Anyone like to see that?  Or should Tri-Man remain in

comicbook limbo and never return?  Make your thoughtful

feelings known in our ever-lovin' comments section.

'CONAN' BOWS OUT - LONG LIVE THE 'NEW' CONAN...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

I've shown this splash page before, I'm sure, but it's time to

revisit it.  Mainly because its twin, taken from an issue of CONAN

The BARBARIAN #6, has been affixed to my wall since 1979.  Like

BILBO BAGGINS, it was also there and back again (regular readers

will know what I'm alluding to), but it's now faded and rippled, and its

retirement fast approaches.  I've already printed out an actual-sized

replacement to fill its spot on the wall, but it's kind of sad to have

to say farewell to something that's been with me for 37 years.

True, its clone (a more pristine, vibrantly-coloured clone

admittedly) will assume its predecessor's place, but it's a bit like

leaving your wife for a younger woman who's the double of your

missus as she was 30-odd years ago.  I feel extremely hard-hearted

in jettisoning the original pic after its many years of faithful service,

but my room could do with a splash of colour to restore it to what

it once was, poster-wise.  Sadly, several more 'old friends' will

be taking their final bow before too long, to be replaced by

doppelgangers waiting to step into their vacated shoes.

I'll do the deed tonight, and feel like a murderer.  Perhaps,

if inanimate objects have any kind of 'sentience',  it will view its

demise as a welcome release, as people and pets in pain do when

their final moment comes and they enter that eternal sleep which

is the fate of us all.  Alas, there's no resisting entropy.  If only

such were not the case, eh?  Maybe one day - hopefully.

Anyway, at least the situation allows me to show you a

nice BARRY SMITH pic.  That's surely worth a little bit

of maudlin sentiment, dontcha think?  (It oughtta be.)

HOORAY! PART TWO OF TIMELY COMICS 70TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION COVER GALLERY...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

You liked the other covers I showed you from this 11 issue

series, right?  Then I'll bet you'll love these variant ones at least

just as much.  Why not wax lyrical about them in the comments

section?  Sometimes you just have to express yourself!

  

THE INCREDIBLE TRI-MAN - PART ONE...

When SMASH! gave up reprinting MARVEL stories in 1969,

there seems to have been quite a bit of protest from disappointed

readers about the decision.  Why else would editor GIL PAGE - in

the guise of 'office boy' MIKE - appeal to them to give the new direc-

tion a chance?  However, note must have been taken of the reaction,

because very soon, the comic was featuring a U.K. superhero of

its own - The INCREDIBLE TRI-MAN!

The cover-dated ish of 13th September 1969 bore a banner

which read "You can meet a great new character inside -

The Incredible Tri-Man!"  However, the strip doesn't appear to

have been as popular as IPC anticipated, because it ended after 21

episodes, never to be seen again.  (Except for a full-colour RON

TURNER illustrated adventure in the 1971 Annual.)

So, starting now, we re-present British SPIDER-MAN clone,

The Incredible Tri-Man.  If you thrilled (or yawned) to his weekly

adventures as a kid, you can now re-live a moment of your long-ago

youth.  If not, you can scratch your head in bemusement at what

your grandfathers used to read back in 'prehistoric times'.

And if you'd like to leave a comment, hey - I ain't

stopping you!  Get that typing finger moving now.

TIMELY COMICS 70TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION COVER GALLERY - PART ONE...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Back in 2009, MARVEL celebrated its 70th Anniversary by

releasing 11 retro-style mags about their heroes from the '30s & '40s.

However, in 1939, Marvel was called TIMELY, and that was the name

given to the collected edition which I acquired only a few days ago.  I'd

actually bought some of the single issues at the time, but didn't have a

complete set, so it was nice to read what I missed back in '09.

The original issues also contained reprints from the '40s, which

the book doesn't include, but don't let that deter you from tracking

down a copy.  I'm thoroughly enjoying working my way through these

excellent tales, which are well-worth the read.  See the mighty Prince

NAMOR, The SUB-MARINER, maintain all his regal nobility as he

mercilessly disposes of a sub-load of ruthless NAZIS.  See BUCKY

BARNES as the new CAPTAIN AMERICA, in a story that

will tug at your very heartstrings.

There's more of course, as you can see from the cataclysmic

cover gallery laid before your awestruck eyes.  Cop a gander, then

scamper round to your nearest comics shop or bookstore and buy

this volume for yourselves.  Trust me, you'll be glad you did!

Coming in part two - the variant covers.  Don't miss 'em!

  

BABE OF THE DAY - GILLIAN DUXBURY...

Here's the lovely GILLIAN DUXBURY

on my luxury cruiser, waiting to greet me with

hugs and kisses, and a cool glass of cola in hand

to satiate my raging thirst.  Then there's another

appetite of mine that she'll attend to, but you

lot don't need to know about that.

(Of course I'm not making it up.)

ERIC, EDDIE, & HAGAR - THINGS AIN'T AS BLACK & WHITE AS THEY USED TO BE...

Another strip which has been on my wall even longer

than the SMALL WORLD one shown a couple of posts

back is the above HAGAR The HORRIBLE two panel strip

from The SUN.  Like Small World, it accompanied me to our

new house in 1983 and back again when we returned to our pre-

vious residence in 1987.  The newsprint original (which you can

see below) looked a bit decrepit next to the recently-restored

pristine one by DON ROBERTS, so I decided to give DIK

BROWNE's famous Viking warrior the same treat-

ment.  However, now I'm faced with a decision.

You see, great as it is to see these familiar strips from

my past in their new form, I feel it would be a bit cruel just

to discard the faded old originals.  It's a bit like getting a new

pup of the same breed as your faithful old dog, and getting the

senior one put to sleep just because it's past it.  Okay, it's not
precisely the same thing, but it's similar - especially if you
get attached to things to the same degree that I do.

So what would you do?  Throw the old ones out and not

think twice?  Or carefully store them away and let them en-

joy a well-deserved retirement after many years of faithful

service?  Or do just shake your head and say "That guy's

  utterly bonkers!"?  Go on, leave a comment.

PART EIGHT OF DON STARR IN THE DRAMA OF DOOM...

DON STARR's DRAMA Of DOOM concludes with these

three double-page episodes, Criv-ites.  We join him again in an

APPOINTMENT With FEAR - coming whenever I get around

to scanning the pages from my back numbers of TERRIFIC.  So

don't forget to remember to join us then.  Pax Vobiscum!

IT'S A BIG JOB FOR A SMALL WORLD...

Copyright relevant owner

SMALL WORLD by DON ROBERTS debuted in The DAILY RECORD back in 1982.  I liked the strip, so cut it out and affixed it to my wall.  When we moved house in 1983, I rescued it and put it on the wall of my room in our new home.  Four years later when we moved back to our previous abode, I did the same thing in reverse, and there the strip has resided for the last 28 and a half years.  Until recently that is.

As you can see, over time, the strip has rippled and faded in the rays of the sun, although it wasn't directly exposed to daylight.  Such is entropy.  I can't find any information about collected editions of the strip, nor any images of it on the internet, although there is a brief mention of it.  Therefore I had no other choice but to try and restore the strip to something resembling its former pristine glory.  What you see below is the first step in that time consuming process.

Working from the above strip, I re-coloured each panel as best I could, but I was presented with a problem.  The original colours had become so faded and washed out, I simply couldn't discern what they were, except in a few isolated cases.  (I'm slightly colour blind.)  My mission then became one of making the strip look presentable so that I could restore it to its place on the wall in a readable form.  I therefore ignored trying to duplicate the original colour scheme and just aimed at making it look as good as possible.

That's the finished result below.  Not perfect by any means, but it took me many, many hours to re-ink most of the line-work.  (I had to work on an A4 printout, which isn't entirely conducive for restoring fine detail.)  That in itself was another big problem, because I wasn't entirely sure what I was looking at in some instances, even in its original version.  However, it doesn't look too bad, is readable, and destined for replacement in its accustomed spot once I've finished typing this post.  So, how did I do?

Paeans of praise are very welcome (hint, hint).

Update:  I thought the blue background was a bit bright compared to the original, so decided to paint over it with a lighter shade.  I think it looks much better.  See below.