AIEEEE!

The Gauntlet Of Fate

2012-01-30T04:26:00.001-08:00

This is a strip i've kinda ignored up till now, which is a bit unfair, so let's have a look now shall we?
The premise of the tale is that the Gauntlet drifts from owner to owner down through the centuries, bringing "justice to all who possessed it - the good or the bad".
I've always thought of it as being in the vein of the Amicus anthology films of the 60's and 70's which had a linking device (usually Peter Cushing) to tales of folk getting their just deserts.
And that's really strong here, as the tale is set in a second-shop that's the dead spit of Mr Cushing's one in "From Beyond The Grave".

The Gauntlet has been found by a tramp, who tries to sell it to the shop owner, "Ebenezer Mold" who, the caption tells us is "a sharp and miserly character". Really, with a name like that? No way!
Anyway, the old scrooge recognises the Gauntlet as being about 16th century and worth at least a hundred pounds - but only gives the tramp five bob.
So, that's the die cast, we know he's gonna cop for it and the fun is in waiting to see just how.
We don't have long to wait: at the stroke of midnight the Gauntlet comes to life, bursts out of the safe, plays a harp to wake the old codger, drops a stuffed crocodile on him, pushes a samurai suit at him, then ends the torture by plopping itself onto the hand of an upright skelton to point and accuse the miser.
Brainbox that he is, he decides if he wears the glove he can control it.
No way - the Gauntlet makes him dust and clean the antiques and shop, then write out bargain price price tags and open up the shop.
And stands there helpless - but not actualy saying anything to the customers - as everything in the shop is bought from him.
With the shop cleared out, with no profit made, the really rather unrepentant bloke chucks the Gauntlet into the dust cart passing.
And that's it. A fun little tale, but not exactly a memorable one.
Couple of other things to note from this issue of Thunder dated 21st November 1970:
"Fury's Family" is one of those strips i was never fond of, really not liking the main character and, especially, the odd, bizarre one colour colouring it always had, which really detracts from the really rather nice moody art:

Still, one thing i did gain this time is that, in true Skippy The Bush Kangaroo tradition, i now know that "Mikka Mikka Mikka!" is chimpanzee for "The winged one's want my help? They tell of a horned animal in trouble?" and "Twee Chwweek! Trikka!" actually means "A wounded deer".

Thanks for that Fury.
The other thing is "Black Max", which has the usual cliffhanger ending but, for once, isn't too fantastical or silly, with real tension as Tim struggles to escape the Giant Bat but then being shot by Max and falling into a huge crater.

Lovely stuff.
"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
Nowt

The return of Charlie Peace

2012-01-21T16:34:00.000-08:00

The "Caballistics Inc" spin-off series "Absalom" is by far my top thrill in the Prog at the moment and its just been notched up another peg by mention this week of Charlie Peace.
Writer Droid Gordon Rennie has been known to drop in references to other realities in his tales before, and them being often the odd sentence dropped in in passing and never refered to again making them more inticing - such as "Hobbs End" and "the Yetis in the Underground" in "Cabs Inc".
So its no surprise really to see it happen here, as we find that the Victorian villian who was transported to the 60's in "Valiant" and then "Buster" didn't do so by means of an accident with a time machine but by using the London Stone in the same way the baddies in this latest tale are.
Excellent stuff.
Guess it would be too obvious for the fella to pop up though. But if he did, would he be like his original incarnation, or his modern "Albion" version?

POW! annual 1971 - #8 - Chet Blair

2012-01-17T02:25:00.000-08:00

In at number 8 and i've no idea why.
Chet Blair was born a Sioux, has just finished college and is just about to start his career as a lawyer.
Even before the events that turn him into a hero, things are afoot - as he walks he's got "... a certain pride in his dark eyes, a kind of lazy freedom in the way he moved".
Sounds like me when i've had a few.
And he's pondering too - "Forget the past, i guess. I'm no longer a Sioux - just another American lawyer." and he wanders on, remembering "... green plains, rolling hills, winding rivers under a wide sky"
Blimey, makes you wonder, if he misses his previous life, why did he leave it?
We've no time to find out, as he finds himself caught up in a gunfight between criminals,gets mistaken for one of them and legs it.
Figuring he needs to find one of the guys to clear his name, he goes back to his apartment, where he has his Sioux togs hung up in the wardrobe.

With no reason given, other than he must use his Sioux training, he gets into it and "the man known as Chet Blair vanished and another man took his place."
No, that's still Chet but in a different outfit. With no mask. He hasn't even given himself another name.
And off he goes round the city dressed like that, carrying axe and bow and arrows.
And no-one notices.
We've then got three pages of tedium, as he tracks down the baddies and makes friends with a bloke from the FBI.

It ends with him turning down a crimefighting job to be a lawyer and its kinda left open-ended in case the character got his own series.
Which he didn't.
Which is no surprise.
Baffled why i voted him above Mr Tomorrow. can only think maybe at that time i was into the Lone Ranger and the guy was kinda like Tonto.

Warhorse

2012-01-14T16:38:00.000-08:00

Had to pop down and check out a possible fault with our copy at work today.
So i'm stood there waiting, and the setting is the Somme, just minutes before they go over the top.
"Blimey", thinks i as the Sergeant wanders down the line giving the troops a final pep talk, "he's just like the Sarge in Charleys War - just minus the pointy moustache".
Think it again when the hero appears, and his demanour just from that brief section i saw didn't 'arf scream Mr Bourne.
And then we have a snobby, arrogant, junior officer.
And a mate of the hero who both in looks and character is the dead spit of Ginger.
And when they do go over the top, there's the "whizz-bangs" i know from the strip, there's the no-mans land EXACTLY like i've seen in Battle and, when they get to the German lines, there's even a dead German in the gas mask giving Charley, er, the hero a scare.
Like i say, blimey.

A new Someone Old, Someone New

2012-01-08T02:44:00.000-08:00

Very, very pleased to report that Carl Critchlow has stepped up to the plate and contributed to my little project.
Just follow the link on the right here for more.

This week in... 1976

2012-01-04T04:48:00.000-08:00

I thought i'd start a feature that i've been doing over on my Bat-Blog:

http://outofthebatcave.blogspot.com/

That is, to take a look at an issue from this time yonks back.
So i'm starting with this issue of Battle as it has one of my favourite ever covers from that title, courtesy of Mr Carlos Ezquerra. If only what he did here continued inside...
Before we get to that though, the main thing of note is:

A for once interesting tale of "D-Day Dawson". Too have often they're reptitive, standard war tales with the story's hook of the hero having the shrapnel near his heart and not knowing how long he's got, more often than not making him out to be a winging, moany trooper.
Here though we have a classic, barmy notion of causing our hero a dilemma, worthy of Adam Eterno himself - the squad have to infiltrate this German castle to nab samples of the scientists latest creation, mines that explode if any metal goes near them.
So the guys take off all their nailed boots, braces, knives, guns, coins etc.
But, what's Dawson to do? If he steps inside, the shrapnel that no-one knows about would be sure to trigger the bombs. They think he's running away but, good for him, he stumbles on the scientist, dispatches him with a jar of gas and all ends happily as his comrades escape with a couple of the mines.
The other thing of note is "Rat Pack".
Its interesting in that there's a heck of lot happening and the treachery of Taggart's team really comes to the fore here, with Dancer repeatedly trying to bump him off in the tale:
The team is sent to Devils Rock, a one-time French prison island and stepping stone for the Allies invasion of North Africa, and they have to check it out beforehand.
They rapidly find there's a similar German convict team guarding it.
Dancer threatens to shoot Taggart if he doesn't surrender.
They surrender.
They learn of "The Serpent Latitude 42", a torpedo that will attack the approaching fleet.
They're put in prison but Dancer bluffs the guards in letting them out by threatening them with a gun he made out of soap he found in the cell (yes really).
They escape to the beach and find an old convict message carved on a tree letting them know there's a buried raft there.
Once underway, Dancer holds a knife to Taggarts kneck to make him sail towards Spain, where he plans to join their Foreign Legion.
But wouldn't you just know it? Taggart realises they've sailed to lattitude 42. At just the moment the torpedo comes along.
So, the raft stops the deadly device, they're in the water and Dancer's finally had enough and swims over to Taggart to finish him off.
And its at that point the shark arrives.
Should be exciting stuff but he's only there for one panel as Dancer stabs him and "The beast, shocked and wounded, turned away".
Then they're picked up by the Allies.
Phew!
Sure did rush along, but the sharks a huge disapointment, being only there for a moment and the art is nowhere near what Carlos had promised on the cover:

But its a neat tale nevertheless.
"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
Two "AIEEE!"'s in "Rat Pack" from two German guards (unless its the same guy being very unlucky)
The same expletive from a Japanese guard in "Merril's Mauraders"

Strip magazine issue 2

2011-12-29T05:06:00.000-08:00

Finally got down to my local comic shop and picked up this latest issue.
Reading it, the oft-cited "we're filling a gap in the market" really does ring home and you're left wondering why on earth these anthologies were ever done away with.
So great to see not only new, original British strips, but also the championing of small press titles and, with this issue, local small stores.
Long may they continue.
Read-wise, of the new strips, "Recovery Incorporated" and "Age Of Heroes" are still tops but favourite, of course, is "Hook Jaw".
This is proving to be a multi-level, multi-pleasure experience as:
(A) We get to read the strip again
(B) We get to compare and contrast the two lettering styles
(C) We get to do ditto with colour or not.
Especially interesting this time for me as we've two of my all-time favourite panels from the strip.

This one i'd rate #4 on my list. Even reading it first time round, i recognised it for the copy of the photo that it was, it being an iconic shot used in pretty much all the books that were churned out in the wake of Jaws' success. Most publishers would i guess, if they were using it, would use it as is. Its a true mark of the bods in charge to come up with the outrageous notion of a diver swimming right into it. Would love to know how it came about - did the script say "diver swims into the maw" and Sola decided to use the image, or was he given the image after it inspired Mr Armstrong to write the moment.
It still is a fantastic moment in colour:

with the now bright white of the teeth really standing out. Only niggle is that if the speech bubble hadn't been moved then we'd see more of them. But can understand why it was done and it doesn't distract at all.
This is my #2 panel,a classic iconic moment - if you wanted to sum up the strip in one panel, this would do it:

I used to stare and stare at it for ages, horrified by the snapping limbs and stunned by the length of the beast compared to the bloke.

In colour, it still has impact, the red making it more so, but the colouring on the face has rather obscured the face, alas.
Still, a terrific read and can't wait for more.
"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
None. Can we have some please?

Merry Christmas to y'all

2011-12-20T09:38:00.001-08:00

Okay folks, up at an unearthly hour in the morning to travel to France to see family, then back again Christmas Eve eve.
So, very best wishes to you all and i'll see you back here soon.

Merry Christmas from... 1970

2011-12-14T08:59:00.000-08:00

This time out we have a festive cover, though being Thunder, its a factual piece and therefore, to an 8 year-old, boring.
Inside we're still at the point where no-one belives Wilson about the Black Max and here we have him running from a court-martial, only to run into - literally - Max in the woods he's hiding out in. He's saved by some Tommies inadvertantly letting Max's bat out of his plane and we get, yet again, "the incredible Tardis plane or the ever growing Bat" as the creature goes from being small enough to fit in the tiny cargo box to being bigger than the plane itself in the space of just one panel:

"Adam Eterno" is set in WW1, which you'd think would be a the setting for some really dark, gritty art. Not so with this artist alas. Its all very light and forgettable, but the story itself is of note as it strays from the usual formula. Instead of the usual plot device of plonking Adam down in a time period just moments before it all hits the fan - something Slaine would do again and again decades later - here we have the start of a tale, with Adam being introduced as a stretcher-bearer, although he's not named and, if you're not a fan already, you wouldn't have a clue he was the hero of the tale. Its not until he's survived a bomb blast and the onlookers identify him as "Private Eterno", that we're tipped off to what's going on.

Seems he's been fighting for a coupla weeks and that fact that he never sleeps and has survived countless bullet hits is making him a bit of a pariah. That looks like its all at an end though with the arrival of "General Von Gruber" who also can shrug off bullet hits. And is armed (what are the chances eh?) with a solid gold sabre.
Much moodier art is on "Fury's Family", a strip i didn't care for, but there's no denying the effectivness of the art:

There's a few strips that mention Christmas in a panel or two, but "Phil The Fluter" has the only proper Christmas tale, although the moral of it is a tad dodgy, given the time of year. Its Christmas Day, Phil's parents haven't got round to getting a tree, so off he goes to the local woods to dig one up. When the owner of the woods tries, quite rightly, to stop him stealing one, the flute's used to dunk him in the river. So the guy in the right gets a dunking, but the tea leaf gets his tree using unfair means.
Hmmmmm...

"AIEEEE" WATCH:
Not an utterance nor a variance

Merry Christmas from... 1972

2011-12-13T12:28:00.000-08:00

Back in '72, so lets see what the 10 year-old me was reading shall we?
Well, nothing to do with the festive period for sure here - not one strip even mentions the time of year, let alone wishing anyone festive greetings.
Instead, we have in the way of highlights here:

Adam Eterno resolving the problem of how to cope with a gold-topped tower falling towards him in Napleonic times. Which he does by being shot, thereby moving just out of the way of the tower. Worthy of a 50's serial get-out that. Excellent art but a so-so tale.

"Secrets Of The Demon Dwarf" continues the Black Max sequel, and has the British fighting the Germans still going on in the 60's. Pretty duff stuff if it wasn't for the fact that it was a Max sequel and that, somehow, there's still a Wilson to thwart the dasterdily plans.

Best of all though is "The Spider", which, as always, has stunning art, though this tale of him vs the Android Emperor is pretty foregettable.
Not a very distinctive issue then.
"AIEEEE" WATCH:
Nowt.

POW! annual 1971 - #9 - Mr Tomorrow

2011-11-24T03:25:00.000-08:00

Right, at number 9 we have Mr Tomorrow, "Criminal From The Future!". Take one look at him and, yep, that's Lex Luthor in his nifty prison garb, but even more so when he's in suit and tie.

Its 2971 and the worlds worst criminal is on trial. Oddly, he's not named at all but, anyway, he's sentenced to "be cast into eternity" - which means being put into a box with a chair in it, the dreaded "Time-Ejector". Its not made clear just what ejecting into time involves, nor what casting into eternity means, but it must be terminal as they do keep going on how he's going to perish. He doesn't though - at the moment of the big event "the current doesn't seem to be regulating corectly" and he's sent back to present day America.
So far so good.
Except he goes on a crime spree, robbing banks across the world and can't be caught as "To me, everything here has already happened. I can live in history and remould it to my wishes as i already know what they're going to do next!".
Now that means either (A) He's a genius who has totally recall of all events that happened 900 years before, or (B) In the future he'd already learnt of what's to happen in the past and gens up on it.
Either way is strectching it, yes?
Anyway, ne notches things up and demands that he be made world leader and at that point things stretch to breaking point:
The authorities agree that he can't be stopped as "he never stays in one place long enough". To which one bod pipes up with the bampot "But you're forgetting one thing. This man must sleep!"
Eh? What?
What has that got to do with anything?
It gets even more bizarre - after they've decided they've got to find him then catch him asleep, Mr Tomorrow somehow knows and decides all of a sudden that he mustn't sleep. Kinda odd, if he has got foreknowledge, that he decides that right at the point the good guys point out that's how to get him.
So, anyway, he builds a super bomb but in the end blows up with it as he can't find his pills to stay awake and crashes his plane.
And it ends with the bod going "When it old you i wanted him asleep i was hoping he'd be foolish enough to try and stay awake".
So there we have it - Mr Tomorrow is from the future and, being from the future, it means he knows everything as it happens, everything that's said as its said.
Dear, oh dear.
As usual with this annual, its the art that made the impact (certainly not the plot here) and this one panel i was always fascinated by, even though its just a bit of perspective i found it odd and faintly disturbing.

Which sums this whole annual up.

2000AD 11 Feb 1978

2011-11-15T06:21:00.000-08:00

Not visited Tharg's periodical for quite a while, so lets have a delve shall we?
Mr Dare is on the cover, replicating his Eagle days, and, boy, Star Wars was showing its influence in this tale - "Laser Swords", "Dark Lords" and a "Star Slayer Empire" - but its still a rollicking read and back then my number one tale. Looking at it now, the "Stomm" expletive seems odd outside of Dredd's world and the character himself could be anyone. In fact, in the action scenes, the way Dare carries himself and his innner monologues, that could be Johnny Alpha or even Dredd fighting there.
"Visible Man" was terrific, then and now, not for the plot - which is a bog standard man on the run tale - for the terrific art by Montero. It really is terrifically gruesome, each episode usually having a frame to show off Frank's predicimant, and here we have him wolfing down some wedding cake:

Brilliant Dredd tale by John Wagner under the nom de plume of "Howard", with brilliant early Dredd art by Brian Bolland. Its an excellent tale with an excellent premise - war between America and the Sov's is fought out by two small bands of warriors on Luna-1. Its got excellent action for sure but its unusual for the time in that it end with a proper anti-war message, literally rammed home by Dredd:

"Invasion" is still plodding on, but its got lovely, gritty art, which i thought was by Mike Dorey, but turns out its J. Clough. That look on Savage's face as he stands there with the rocket launcher is a classic:

And last up we have "Inferno", a truely naff tale - but Belardinelli's art is still oustanding.
Can't think of anyone else who could draw a simple fire extinguisher firing look so weird and unique:

"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
Oddly, considering the action going on, none.

Captain Pugwash in the flesh

2011-11-13T00:26:00.000-08:00

Not very on-topic, but he was great and a part of my childhood, sooo:
Rye art gallery are just to start running a collection of original art by the brilliant John Ryan - creator of "Captain Pugwash", "Mary, Mungo & Midge" and "Sir Prancelot" among others.
Will be nipping down to be 10 again and advise you to do the same if you can.

Spelling it out with Hookjaw

2011-11-11T03:04:00.000-08:00

Blimey, it wasn't until i went on the 2000AD Forum to see what other folk thought of Strip that i learnt that, as well as being coloured, the lettering had been changed.
Never noticed it as i was so keen on studying the full colour - and i certainly didn't need to read it, as i'm darn near word perfect on this opening episode.
I can see why they did it, and they did it well, but i do prefer the standard for that time, typed text and those odd straight-lined speech balloons.

Looking closer, its rather curious as its not just a straight erasing of the original and putting a new one in.
In many cases the speech balloon has been moved elsewhere in the panel to allow for it, resulting in some of the art being covered up.
And the old balloon has been removed, either uncovering some previously unseen art or, if they were working from stats, drawing new art. If that's the case, its been done very well.
A good example is here, where the divers air tanks were originally obscured but are now on view:

Another alteration is to change some of the script itself:
As the unfortunate Bannion makes it to the surface, we originally had just the one balloon going:
"It's Bannion! What-? He's blown up!"
But now we've got two:
"Wait - there's Bannion!"
"Hell! He's BLOWN UP!"
And we've got the odd word removed here and the odd extra exclamtion mark added there.
But the oddest change is to remove some of the boxes with descriptive text. We've lost "The injured Great White turned savagely" and "Bannion dropped his weight belt" and "While the sharks finished Bannion, Mason surfaced"
Now, can understand why they'd remove them all, as that way of story telling is kind of dated now, but why remove some but keep others.
I'm hoping we're going to have a nice, indepth article in a future issue explaining the thought processes and decision making that was involved.

Had a Strip

2011-11-10T07:04:00.000-08:00

So, finally got me hands on one, sat down with a coffee and a bagel and had a good read.
Ticks all the right boxes for me straight away with John's editorial stating the aim was (A) have an action/adventure comic for all ages out there, (B) a way of publishing our childhood heroes again.
And they've certainly hit the mark on both counts - its a comic i'd be happy with my 11 year-old reading (and he will) and the feel of the characters, plots, script and art all seem continuations of the titles we all bought when nippers, before they died or "grew up".
Highlights for me?
"Age Of Heroes" The setting and premise are right up my proverbial, with lovely art by John Ridgeway. Lovely colouring too. I don't really need colour in my British comics as that's how i prefered my strips back then, but the colours used are pretty darn good here in Strip and i don't mind them.
"The Iron Moon" is terrific fun, with some great design work - may well have a go at making my own helicopter-thingy.
"Recovery Inc" is my favourite of the new strips, Mia coming across as Modesty Blaise equipped with Black Widows tech. Lovely, action packed stuff with superb art - more please.
"Hookjaw". Was inevitable that it'd be my number one wasn't it? Must say, was dreading a full-colour version - the original two page colour spread was garish and over the top and a product of its time, bit like the bright red blood in the Hammer films - but its done really, really well. Nice, subtle colours used well and sympathetically to the art, allowing the detail to still be seen. Top work fellas!
"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
Sadly none. It's only a matter of time before it pops up in "Hookjaw", but it'd be nice if it pops up in the new strips eh?

Combat Encounters Of A First Rate Kind!

2011-11-09T05:40:00.001-08:00

Not apparent in this here cover shot, but that's the pun-tastic tag line to this issue of Battle Action from June 1978.
Behind the rather odd Ezquerra/Western/Cooper montage cover, we find:
Joe Colquhoun on "Johnny Red". Need i say more? Not really, but i will. His art here is truly up there with the best he did on Charleys War, raising this rather pedestrian episode up tons of notches. Only thing noteworthy in the script is this mouthfull from a Spitfire pilot, who warbles on while having a dogfight with Johnny. Talented multi-tasker and no mistake: "Its no use running Redburn! I know you're wounded and my spit can fly rings round that soup strainer you call a plane! You're coming back to face the music!"

Next up is "Hellman" and, again, top notch art from, for me, the best artist there was for this character - Mike Dorey. He always did incredibly gritty art but here, with these tales set on the Eastern Front, it suits the strip even more. And this train crash here also shows how well he could do action. Quite stunned to re-read this. From his very first tale, Hellman's been seen as a decent German, appallled by the Nazis in control. Its been a running theme, with him equally fighting them as much as the Allies. But here, we have a tale set in a concentration camp. A brave move, although we never see any of the inmates or the atrocities, the horror felt by Hellman's troops is handled well, and is played as straight as could be.

Skipping over "Spinball Wars" (as ever), we've "Major Eazy". Its not that good really - four pages telling the tale of Eazy and co going into the desert, blowing up a bit of road, covering it with sand, then waiting and watching as the German tanks roll over it and sink. Nice art by Carlos though - but who thought coloured speech balloons were a good idea?

"Dredgers" kinda dull, with so-so art from John Cooper.
"The Sarge" was good, with nice art by Mike Western and the squabbling of The Sarge's troops was similar in feel to the lighter episodes of Mike's ultimate gig, "Darkie's Mob".
All in all, an okay issue.
"AIEEEE" WATCH:
The most elongated utterance i've yet come across with a Russian "AIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" from Dorey's train crash in "Hellman".
A "Naieeeeee!" from a bloke run over by a bike in "Spinball Wars". Also there, we've a "Aieeeee!" from his team mate being blown up.
What is it with elongated one's this time? "The Sarge" has "Aieeeeeee!" fron a sniper being shot out of his tree.

POW! annual 1971 - #10 - Kash Pearce

2011-11-07T05:14:00.000-08:00

As i've mentioned here before, if there was one copy of a title i could keep that would sum up my childhood comic reading, it would be this annual.
I loved and cherished it, being totally enthralled by the thrills inside - a mix of high thrills, odd plots, odder heroes and even odder villains.
And slightly disturbing artwork which made it all the more intriguing. The 9 year-old me wasn't to know that was due to the European artists that were used - all i knew is what i was reading seemed vaguelly like the Marvel heroes i knew from the UK reprints, but they had a slightly bizarre quality to them.
As i say, i've always cherished the book, one of only two that i've kept from my childhood right up to now.
And you can see here, on pages two and three, there's a nifty rolecall of the characters, to which i'd added my ratings of them:

So thought it'd be an idea to look closer at each one and see why i rated them as i did.
First up is "The Time Rider", Kash Pearce, who comes bottom of the list and i'm guessing i valued so little that i couldn't even be bothered to put a 10 alongside him.
Having a re-read, i can see why: Mr Pearce is a "million dollar rancher - and genius! Among his many incredible inventions, the mechanical horse!"
So, a loaded genius who, rather than setting himself in a lab benefitting humanity, choses to be a rancher. On a robot horse. Hmmmm...
He bungles an attempt to catch some bank robbers, gets told off by the police for interfering, goes off in a sulk and ponders at home: "If i had been back in the old west i'd sure have shown the law how useful my horse could be"
The lightbulb pings on as: "Hey! Why NOT go back to the wild west? My time transporter's almost finished..."
So, a genius inventor, with a robot horse and a working time machine, choses to be a rancher. Double hmmm...
Off he goes then, all garbed up, back to 1877 to defeat the dastardly Buck Sawyer. Which he does in an incredibly predictable, dull way. The only things of note? See the bottom of this post.
The only thing that i can really recall before re-reading this today are the daft fruit machine handles that pass for controls of horsey:

"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
Oddly, yes there is one and, boy, is it odd. We get an "Aieee!" from one of a bunch of native americans who're chasing our hero. He exclaims it as, i kid you not, the horse farts smoke in their faces.
Yep, a smoke screen produced from a bum-hole. VERY surprised the kid version of me didn't note that - surely it would've been the height of comedy back then?

One day i will have a Strip

2011-11-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

As i'm sure many of you will be aware, the oft-put back Strip Magazine went on sale in comic shops last Weds.
Had mine on order at my local one and could've picked up then, but decided to wait until tomorrow, when they are having a mini-con.
But had to change my work rota so i'm now working.
So went to get it today.
The owner had sold all his copies bar mine, but asked if i'd mind giving it up as someone going to the con hasn't got a local comic shop and was after one. So would i mind letting him have mine and i'll get my copy finally next Weds?
Said sure, so expect a ramble after then.

Look-In - May 1974

2011-10-28T06:48:00.000-07:00

A title i've long over-looked and i really dunno why - guess it was a staple of most kids reading back in the seventies as it gave you a weekly dose of your favourite shows, albeit in FAR more ambitious adventures than the show that spawned the strip could ever hope to achieve.
Case in point here, "The Tomorrow People", which has the Jaunters trekking around a jungle planet for two pages. If Thames had tried that, it'd be all cardboard tubes for trees and an awful lot of plastic plants i guess. And the ape-like aliens would've been a couple of moth eaten gorilla suits loaned from the Benny Hill show or sumsuch. Nice art though, which i'm guessing is John Burns?

"Kung Fu" is better, by being an American show, thereby having a decent budget and even more decent locations the crew could visit, making the strip here being much more do-able. Again, nice art. Martin Asbury?

The other strips are all familiar stuff, though for the life of me i don't know why they'd be considered for comic adaptations: "Bless This House", "Doctor In Charge!","Micheal Bentine's Potty Time" etc.
One strip i didn't recognise at all was "The Kids From 47a" as i don't remember the show whatsoever. And i'm not the only one - the tale of some children leaving at home alone while their mum's in hospital is so obscure, there's not one clip of it on Youtube.
Looking at the TV ratings at the back, its interesting to see what the 12 year-old me was watching on Saturdays back then.
The kiddie bit went:

9.55 Captain Scarlet
10.20 Forest Rangers
11.00 Funky Phantom
11.30 Tarzan
12.00 World Of Sport
6.00 New Faces
7.00 Sale Of The Century
7.30 Kung Fu

"Funky Phantom" started ringing bells. So thought i'd refresh me memory by looking for it on Youtube. God, wish they'd been alarm bells ringing - i'd forgotten it for a reason:

Finally, i chose this issue to feature the title as 1974 is a looong way away now but i can so clearly remember even now waiting for that issue to come out as i SO wanted that Kung Fu medallion. And can still very clearly remember buying the issue on the way to school - then losing the medallion on the way. And the upset of being in the playground where i was seemingly the only one there not standing and admiring their new bit of fabbo jewellry.
Though looking at this ad on tips how to wear it, at least it saved me looking a pillock:

Lofty's One-Man Luftwaffe

2011-10-18T06:11:00.000-07:00

Just been reading a Battle from 1975 for the first time since then, and its a pretty duff affair.
Even the usually reliable Rat Pack was poor - dull story with dull art.
Two things to note though:
1. Lofty's One-Man Luftwaffe, a story i don't recall in the slightest. Its typical British boys comic fare, of having a highly unlikely and outlandish setup that the hero is plonked down in to. In this case, Lofty Banks has escaped from a prison camp by posing as a German air ace and ends up flying for the Germans. Why he doesn't just fly his plane to the Allied lines and surrender i guess must've been addressed by now.
Or not.
It has another bampot premise in that the Germans have painted their airfield blue so it'll look like a lake from the air and the hills around said "lake" are actually fuel dumps.
In the midst of this hilarious nonsense there's an awful lot of cliche lingo. Of course, at this time, that was pretty common for the Japanese and German characters but here its the turn of the English and there's SO much iof it, you can't help feeling there was a point to it.
If so, i don't see it. What's the point of all the "Drat"'s and "Dashed"'s, calling each other "Bunny" and the downright Ripping Yarns "Drat- He's not going to give up. Better nail the cheeky perisher"
2. The other thing of note is the end of the installment of "Day Of The Eagle", which has Mike Nelson failing to stop Hitler pressing the button that detonates the worlds first nuclear bomb.
Will have to track down the next issue to see how that pans out.
"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
Quite a bit this time:
A cut short "Aiiee!" coming from a downed German fighter in "Lofty's"
Almost the same again with "AIEE!" from a German guard in "Rat Pack". Wonder if its the same unfortunate chap?
An odd "NAIEEEE!" uttered twice in "The Flight Of The Golden Hinde"
And a 100% "AIEEEE!" from "The Terror Behind The Bamboo Curtain"

Cheap Thrillpower at The Works

2011-10-08T16:40:00.000-07:00

Just a quick heads-up for any UK readers - The Works have got the rather nice hardback Best Of Judge Dredd and 2000AD's for only £6.99 each.

Action - 10th July 1976

2011-10-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

Another pick-up from 30th Century was this issue of Action that'd i'd not re-read since, i guess, when it first came out.
Lets have a look shall we?
First up, Dredger and, as usual, it sure don't waste no time - in THE VERY FIRST PANEL we've learnt that Dredger and Breed are at the "Hampshire Agricultural Fair", that the big guy's intent on shooting a member of the East German delegation, which is giving Breed the wobblies.
Brilliant stuff to do that in the very first panel, but the rest of the tale doesn't live up to it - pretty poor script with even poorer art.
Next, Green Grudges War has Belardinelli's art, which is always welcome. But that's it, and Hells Highway is the usual dull stuff.
But it picks up again with Death Game 1999, which has "Al Rico", the half cyborg baddie featured. He's apparently has his metal parts covered with strips of "artificial skin" to stop his team mates freaking out, but he looks the same to me. This guy is a bit of curiosity, seeming to pre-empt Judge Dredd by having an adversary of the hero called "Rico" and this "half cyborg with a psychotic hatred for a sports team" was in place long before Artie Gruber appeared in Harlem Heroes.

Hookjaw features some garish colour pages, which also seems to bend scale to its will, having the bad guy managing to get practically half a submersible in its mouth.
Back in scale for the next page though, which has a classic, and often used, rendition of someone chopped in two:

Only other thing of note is this classic ad for the Palitoy action figures. Buts its strange though - can understand the Apes bit, with the TV show on around about then, but - Star Trek? Surely it'd finished its re-reuns by then?

"AIEEEE" WATCH:
A really rather over the top "AHIEEEEEE!" from someone who'd been having a bit of trouble getting into the stadium for the match in Death Game 1999.

Major Leicht

2011-09-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

This guy i only very vaguely remember, and i knew him as the German version of Major Eazy - but didn't have any issues of him since i were a nipper.
But me and the Bronze repaid a visit a while back to 30th Century Comics, and i bought this issue of Battle for the really lovely Ezquerra cover of the Main Man.

Pleased to have it for just that reason, but doubly chuffed to find it has Leicht in the strip.
And, being Eazy, it was typicaly off the wall.
He's in Italy just as Germany surrenders and is determined that he'll beat the Yanks to the Brenner Pass, seeing as he's fought for it and they're just there for the glory.
He meets his equivilant on the way and both decide to put such silly trivial things as war to one side to beat the Nazi's, who're are determined to blow up the very bridge the Americans plan on using to get there.
Its typical Battle barminess - neither has the means to stop the gun from doing the dasterdly deed, so instead drop a grenade-laden tank against the dam wall, blowing it up to wash the bad guys away.
It ends with Eazy indeed beating the Americans to the objective, but Leicht is mentioned no more.
No idea if he appears again, but the tag at the end saying from now on there'd be the early adventures of Eazy, guess that was it.
The only other thing of note this time is the incredibly vivid depection of a Nazi lookee-likkee of Churchill being blasted by Mike Nelson in "The Eagle Must Die!"

"AIEEEE" WATCH:
A short "AIEEE!" from a German in "Yellow Jack"
A really rather over-long "AIEEEEE!" from a Nazi in "The Bootneck Boy", who'd only been thumped by a rifle. Wimp.

Smash! 11th Oct 1969

2011-08-23T04:30:00.000-07:00

Sticking with Smash! for my latest reading, this one came out when i was 7 and i'm pretty sure i wasn't reading the weekly at this point, just the annuals.

Inside we've inspired barminess in Janus Stark as he battles for his life in a recently constructed tunnel under the Thames, built by Isidore Royaume (great name). The bad guy could throttle our hero to death, but just stops to take look, allowing Stark to wake up. He then has a chance by knocking him out again, this time with a spanner. Does he learn his lesson and finish him off there? No, he leaves him to drown inside it. Not a very clever baddie, who gets his come-uppance by his boat being upended by Stark's escape chamber.
Fool.

Master Of The Marsh is interesting, in that we get a hint that Patchman is more than he seems, having a very Catweazle-like flashback to Norman times. It raises the question: which came first with that premise - this strip or that show?

The other highlight for me this time is the back page ad for Action Transfers, a range i collected avidly as a nipper and seeing them here really does strike a cord, even all these years later

Adios Senor Lopez

2011-08-15T23:20:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh, no. Just heard of Francisco Lopez's passing. Anyone who's been with this Blog for a while will know what a crucial role he played in my comic appreciation growing up and, indeed, this Blog is a sort of love letter to him.
Such a sad day to hear of his passing but hopefully it'll kick start a true apprecation of just what a genius he was and what a massive influence he had on folk.
Just hope he knew it before passing

Smash! Annual 1975

2011-08-04T05:23:00.000-07:00

Don't think i ever got this when it came out, and have just picked up a really nice condition copy off the 'Bay dirt cheap.
Far too cheap, as its a cracking read.
As usual, the factual features are horribly dated - being here all about the Wankel engine and Bisley rifle range "the mecca of marksmen".
The humour strips that i didn't care too much for - Consternation Street, Ghost Ship etc - are quite passable but, of course, top of the tree is the Swots And The Blots and we're treated to multiple helpings of their genius.

I was always prefered them to their Bash Street cousins, as even though they and their teach are almost identical clones, the strip always seemed to have a more anarchic edge over the other school. Best one here is them having Bad Penny paying a visit, with both sides trying to win her over. Can never decide what's best: the humour of the art or the humour of the sound effects and descriptive prose. Cyril Swot looks funny on his own, but being described as " a cross between Dracula and a school dinner pudding" is the icing on the,er, pudding. Ditto Cutherbert. He's funny covered in perfume, but even better with "nice niff" and "flowery fumes" coming off him.

ar opposite with Cursitor Doom, with some INCREDIBLY moody art by Eric Bradbury. The tale starts with our hero(?) looking out his window up to the next door "Devil's Wood on Haunted Hill" which "looks more SINISTER than usual tonight!". I mean, really, why's no-one ever thought to put a wall round such a place? Sure would've stopped the brilliantly named "Hezekiah Moore" wandering in looking for the long hidden Book Of Evil, only to snuff it at the hands/branches of the trees he's accidently brought to life. Its down to Doom and his aide McCraggan to get the plants under control, in the end only being able to do so with the aid of "Thor The Hammerer, Lord Of The Nordic Deities". Brilliant, moody stuff, with Eric being able to draw trees with faces and make them scary and not silly.

He's back on the Simon Test adventure and saves it with yet more moody art, as the story's not up to much, it being the tale of "Jabez Coppenger" (who thought these up?), trying to come with a potion to control birds, directing them from his island that sits atop the "Geyser Of Doom". Pretty forgettable stuff, if not for Mr Bradbury.

Last highlight is Janus Stark and its odd to see regular artist Lopez being coloured. It doesn't work, even though he's away from his grim London and in the sunnier clime of Brighton. Doesn't help either that the page sides are bright yellow as well. The tales not bad - he's arrested for burgularies that have started since he arrived, thefts that only one with his abilities could perform. He solves the mystery with some Holmes-like deductions, although the capper of "All the robberies involved agility..." seems fair enough, but then "...and the hard skin on your hands told me you once worked in a circus. A trapeze artist perhaps" would have even the great detective balking.

Meeting Pat Mills & Glenn Fabry

2011-07-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

Had a great time last Saturday at a tiny SF convention in a small church hall in Worthing.
What made it great was that both Pat Mills and Glenn Fabry attended. Odd too in that, in the very same weekend of the San Diego Comic Con, two legends should be there rather than there.
Not complaining though - it gave us the whole morning alone with the lovely Glenn Fabry, who did this stunning Adam Eterno meets Slaine for my "Someone Old, Someone New" project, more details here:

http://someoneoldsomeonenew.blogspot.com/

And long natters in the afternoon with Pat Mills. Read tons of interviews with the guy, along with Podcasts, and he's always come across as intelligent, articulate and passionate.
Which he was on Saturday. The sheer energy and friendliness of the guy blew away any nervousness meself and the Bronze might've had meeting the bloke responsible for so much we held dear in our formative years and it was a joy to sit there and listen to him and see too that he was interested in what we had to say.
Topics included, unsurprisngly, the genesis of Hookjaw, the history past and present of Flesh and the genius of Ken Reid.
Pat also talked of the future of the strips he's writing at the moment and it was a bit of surprise, knowing what a stickler and how thorough he is, to hear he's in some cases only the outline of some of the final oucomes.
Case in point, Savage. He'd like to do a tale set after the liberation of Britain, when Bill has no further use and goes back to being a taxi driver, bitter and twisted.
As we'd been discussing the merits of having all his tales set in one universe and how he MUST show how Howard Quartz in Savage becomes "Mr Ten Percent", the brain in a robot body of Ro-Busters, i pipped up with how, in Ro-Busters, there was was a robot character who's a human shaped taxi - the fare simply sits on a saddle on his back.
And maybe Savage is real hacked off when they're introduced and loses his livlihood from these robot newcomers muscling in.
How chuffed was i when Pat says he'd forgotten about that and it was a good idea. Chuffed indeed - be even more so if one's called Eric.
Anyway, a fantastic day. Just wish we could've been there for the Sunday too.

The Squirt Ring

2011-07-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

A free gift that seemed to pop up all over the place, given away with various titles over the years.
Where the heck did they come from? Was there a whacking great warehouse full of them somewhere and a consignment was occasionally let out?
I never once saw their like in the many joke shops around in the 70's, just as free gifts. And you never see them now.
So, did the warehouse run empty - or did someone loose the key and even now there's crates full of them stored in vast Raiders Of The Lost Ark storage unit, waiting to be unleashed on a new generation of nippers.

Black Max - coming to an end

2011-07-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

Of course, am a massive MASSIVE fan of the strip - but have never seen the last ever episode.
I know, i know, that's not much of a fan really. But there's a heck of a lot of episodes to track down - and when i were 10 (and now) each installment had enough thrills to sustain me and i didn't really need to collect them each week to appreciate what was going on.
And i've, still, something to look forward to.
I know the end is soon here in May '72 and that eventually he snuffs it, as born out in the Demon Dwarf sequel, and it sure has changed tack by this point.
Long gone is Wilson's mission to prove that he's not barking mad, going on and on about the German fighter ace who has a squadron of Giant Bats at his command, but no-one believes him.
Here, in just THREE pages we've got:
Max under arrest in England for war crimes,
his two huge King Bats rescuing him, only to try to eat him,
Wilson teaming up with Max to try and end them once and for all,
and the Demon Dwarf re-surfacing in his Mole-like tunneling machine.
Curiously, we also have Max being dropped by the Bats at Stonehenge and finding that one of the crashed planes had "... gouged a hole in the ground... right alongside the pillars! The... The FOURTH pillar from the setting sun! Somewhere near it... is buried THE STONE OF KOTH!". Which he's mighty happy to then dig up as its "... The key to the Bat People!"
So there we have it - the first sign that things are about to change tack once again and we'll be soon seeing the Bat People - huge, manlike (including todgers) creatures with Bat faces.
Reading this far in, it does make you wonder if the writers had this in mind all along - to have Max start with a solitary Bat, then a squadron of them, then the King Btas, then the Bat People.
Or were they making it up as they went along?

Victor - Feb 4th 1978

2011-07-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

Just bought a couple of Lion & Thunder's and they came with a couple of Victor's too.
Never was a fan of the title, hazily remembering it for not having any decent art or stories.
Boy, was i right - a truly duff issue, with absolutely nothing to say for it.
If i DID have to though, i'd say this front and back page "true story of men of war" is entertaining. But for all the wrong reasons.
So we've a two page summation of i'm guessing a real event. But i'm pretty sure, if it did happen, dialogue didn't actually go as follows:
"We're in dead trouble!.." exclaims the guy on the machine gun, "... Outnumbered four to one. Give 'em all we've got!"
"You bet!" is the cheery response from a squaddie mate.
"Wow! This is getting exciting!" says the numbskull machine gunner as the Italian planes zoom in.
Pretty unrealistic for a true tale, i'm sure you'll agree.
But then we have this jaw dropping exchange as they dive for cover:
"I'm hurt! A bullet nicked my throat" says one, who can't be too hurt if he can moan about it.
And the retort from a comrade: "And i've got a splinter in me".
Diddums.
Really, that's the highlight and its all downhill from there.
Don't think i'll be seeking out the next issue.

Lion & Thunder 28 Oct 1972

2011-07-08T04:33:00.000-07:00

Also in the issue that has Adam Eterno taking to the skies, we also have this classic episode from "Spider v The Android Emperor", with him being his usual arrogant self - until realising that the guy he's up against isn't all he seems. Its a stunning piece of art, best seen here where we get the quite unnerving sight of Maddox's tentacles flaying about and a rare shot of the Spider actually worried and unsure.

We've also got the start of the Black max sequel, "Secrets Of The Demon Dwarf". I didn't care for this at all, what with having no Max in it and the then present day setting. Its a nice idea though - with Gratz awakening not from his months long suspended animation while he waits for the coast to clear, and waking up in the 70's.
Deciding then and there that he will take to the battle to England itself (without stopping i guess to see whether the Great War was still going on), he arrives the follwing day in his very Tnunderbird Mole-like device.
So, he's attacking England with a tunneling machine.
Does he target a power station?
army base?
10 Downing Street?
Buckingham Palace?
No, he begins his reign of terror by surfacing in Piccadilly Circus. And knocks a car over. That's it. Along with the boast: "This is nothing Englanders! This is only... THE BEGINNING!"
What's next then? Nudge a double decker? Squash a bobby?
Hmmmm... Not what i'd call a cliffhanger really.

Adam Eterno - flying ace?

2011-07-06T05:09:00.000-07:00

Just been reading an Oct 1972 Lion & Thunder and we have the start of a new Eterno story set in WW1, with brilliantly evocative artwork from Font, up there with Joe Colquhoun's "Charleys War" in my opinion.
Its unusual in that (A) for the first time i've read the fella, he doesn't have any gold threats in the opening instaallment (B) He actually uses technology, climbing into a cockpit and taking off. And, in typical unsubtle 70's setting up, rather clumsily tips the reader off as to what's about to occur:
"In my life of centuries i have learned to do most things. I am no stranger to FLYING MACHINES." he mutters as he appears,
"By Kalizar, the machine must NOT fall in to enemy hands!" he postulates
"Time has not dulled my knowledge of engines and flying. Earlier travels have taken me both to future and past... But this skill is still with me!" he spouts as he takes off.
Subtle, not.
Here i've had him as a bit of a clod all these years and now its seems he can fly and waffle at the same time. And if he can do that, presumably i'll be coming across tales where he's a Formula One driver or whatever

"EXCITING NEWS INSIDE CHUMS!"

2011-07-02T03:28:00.000-07:00

I've just started up a new Blog that i'm guessing you'll be very interested in.
Its... Heck, just mosey on over and feast your eyeballs:

http://someoneoldsomeonenew.blogspot.com/

Duffness abounds

2011-06-22T06:17:00.000-07:00

Had a trip down to Hastings and, as usual, popped into the Albion Bookshop for a fix of 70's paperbacks and comics.
Have said it before, but it really is a recommneded place - an old school secondhand bookshop, full to brim with clutter and coming across like the sort of place you'd expect to find Peter Cushing in while he's in one of those Vault Of Horror anthlogies.
Anyway, picked up an issue of Bullet and Warlord and, boy, two classic examples of why i don't remember them much and why i embraced Action so much when it came out.
Warlord 21st June '76 is duff beyond belief - crappy stories with crappy art. Two things of note though: "Cannuck King" conforming to the staple in UK comics of the heero having a talent or somesuch that, would you just believe it, keeps coming into situations that addresses it.
Great with Adam Eterno's fear of gold, not so great here where the hero used to be, er, a lumberjack. Makes you wonder if the script writers were scratching their heads week in and week out trying to find ways of incorperating tree felling into the action. This week we have him hollowing out a log so he can hide inside it, float down the river and blow up a bridge.
Hmmmm... How i wish he'd been stationed in the Sahara and then see how he gets on.
Other thing of note is "Rudd's Raiders", a complete Darkie's Mob variation, with one man leading a team behind enemy lines, causing trouble for the Japanese. if that wasn't close enough, the title font is EXACTLY the same.
Bullet May 22nd '76 is a tad better. "Hunted!" has a lad trying to prove his innocence after being accused of killing someone who's taken him in with a wrench. Its pretty forgettable, aside from the heavy handness of setting up the wrench as the pivotal piece of evidence. He's shown his room and the bloke mentions "I was about to put in a new wash-basin but i don't have the right tools". Up pipes laddie: "I'll borrow a WRENCH from work tomorrow", next panel he borrows it, next panel its "I'll just leave the WRENCH on the back stairs". Hey, do you think it'll be significent somehow?
Fireball is the only other thing of note which bizarrely, spends half the story dedicated to football matters before getting on to the spy stuff.

Mike McMahon's finally got a Blog

2011-06-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

Very happy to see that one of the true giants of 2000AD has started Blogging. One to keep an eye on.

http://tuggingyourcoat.blogspot.com/

Dean Ormston's Black Max

2011-06-09T03:17:00.000-07:00

Just bought Dean's sketchbook, which is filled with some brilliantly disturbing imagery.
A great book made even greater in that, for a wee bit more, Dean will do a sketch of your choice at the back.
As he's reknowned for his moody, downright scary work, had no choice but to ask for his take on Black Max did i?

Smash! and Pow! 139

2011-06-08T04:09:00.001-07:00

Another title i picked up from the trip to the 30th Century, this issue from Sept 1968 features classic Gene Colan Daredevil, Steve Ditko Spider-Man and REALLy duff art on the Batman/Superman reprints.
Three things of note with the UK-originated strips:

This odd one called "Brian's Brain" which features our hero "Brian Kingsley... the possessor of an astounding artificial brain." Not only do you get a brain in a jar, its left "in the strange house belonging to Julius Pilt". Who happens to control a prehistoric creature. What a strange little strip, that i've never heard of. Might try and track more down.

Grimly Feendish is limited to only a criminal (ha! gettit?) four panels, but is still fun.

Best thing though, and making it well worth the price, is exquisite Ken Reid work on the Nervs.
Genius, genius stuff

Janus Stark in colour

2011-06-06T05:38:00.000-07:00

Just come across this, and what an unusual treat it is - a nice self contained story in full colour.
Normally, that'd be a ghastly notion, not suiting the Victorian setting or the character at all, but it works here in that Janus is far removed from the sooty streets of London and is instead employed to brave the traps of an Eygptian Pyramid to retrieve a piece of treasure, predating Raiders Of The Lost Ark by a good 6 years. The thing that doesn't work is the strange decision to colour in some of the speech bubbles too, which is horrible and really detracts from the art.
Speaking of art, i'm unsure who actually did it. The above splash page screams Ian Kennedy, but the close-up has me doubting. But the figure directly below looks like classic Kennedy. So i'm going with him.

Whoever it was, also did the Raven Of The Wing exactly the same.

I'm guessing both were done in colour as they were for the 1973 Valiant annual, a much more colourful title than its weekly brother.

Also in this copy is the resolution to a Kelly's Eye story i've featured here before, where he's up against the dread vampire, Count Varga. Except he's not. In true Scooby Doo style, he's revealed to be the lowly manservant all along and the terrifying giant bats turn out to be helicopter-like craft. Operated by midgets. Brilliant stuff with brilliant art by Lopez.

The return of Jesus Redondo

2011-06-06T05:30:00.000-07:00

How nice it is to open this weeks Prog and see one of the classic artists from yesteryear making a return after such a long time away.
His style's changed somewhat, especially with regards faces - this one at the bottom looks more like Brett Ewins when he was doing Bad Company for the Prog.
But figurework and longshots are still the same, as in the panel directly above that porrait shot.
I've said it before, but Redondo is yet another one of those artists who're long overdue a re-assesment and to be given the credit and accolades they deserve.
In my opinion, the bloke was never better than on Starlord's Mind Wars:

Leigh Gallagher's Black Max

2011-05-30T09:04:00.000-07:00

Spent a long wearing day at London's Expo yesterday and real sensory onslaught it was too, being predominatly Anime, gaming and small press titles.
But, the 2000AD stand was there and so too was Leigh Gallagher. I've many times here stated how Leigh is the worthy succesor to Lopez and Font with his incredibly moody B&W artwork on 2000AD's Defoe strip, and he's been top of my list for his take on Black Max.
When i asked Leigh for a sketch of the fella and thrust a reference pic under his nose, he only had a couple of minutes beofre needing to go to the next panel. But still produced this excellent head shot of the cranky old fella. Cheers Leigh!

The best ever Adam Eterno portrait?

2011-05-27T02:24:00.000-07:00

As well as Max's talented Bi-Plane in that issue of Lion and Thunder, we also have the best image i've ever come across of the immortal(ish) one. Stunning work from Lopez, capturing the strength and burden of the guy all in one moment.
Sublime.

Going the other way, we have this, er, odd art in Carson's Cubs. Best i can say is its distinctive. And recognisible - whoever this artist is, he was using the same style 5 years later on Dredger in Action:

Cresta - its not frothy, man

2011-05-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2eEWlyVoxQ&feature=related

Black Max's Tardis-like plane

2011-05-23T03:03:00.000-07:00

Before i get on to the issue this is from, i'd just like to show you seperately this here best-yet image i've come across of an occasional plot device in Black Max, that is: the outrageous notion that can he actually store his whacking great Bat in the tiny little locker that's just behind the cockpit.
HE would stuggle to get in there, let alone even a wing of the beastie. How does he achieve this? Is the inside bigger than the outside? Is Max REALLY good at origami? Who knows. Its just a bampot notion and totally in keeping with the spirit of the strip

Ads That Time Forgot - Count Dracula lollies

2011-05-22T00:15:00.000-07:00

Yet another "they wouldn't do that now" example, the telly advert encouraged kids to "taste the blood of Dracula" or somesuch tag line, the ad here goes on about the blood red jelly, which apparently covered a "core of delicious snocreme".
What the hell ws "Snocreme"?
Never, ever heard of the stuff. Just Googled it and i'm still none the wiser - except that its "An all vegetable formulation".
Anyway, its good to see here the lolly sticks with stencils built in that had their time in the mid 70's, but best of all here is the idea that you can win " a real movie projector and a full length horror film".
That must've been an 8 or 16mm jobbie i guess and, back then of course, "full length" films usually meant 20 minutes of highlights, but what film would they've chosen to give free to teeth-dissolving-from-snocreme-nippers?

Shiver and Shake 21st Sept 1974

2011-05-18T12:33:00.000-07:00

Second bit of bounty from 30th Century was this issue. Interested to have a butchers as its a good 20-odd years since i last read one.
Can remember back when a nipper not being too keen on cover star Frankie Stien and that's born out here, being a pretty dull affair with pretty pedestrian art by RT Nixon not being a patch on the great Ken Reid.
Inside there's a whole bunch of strips that i don't remember at all: The Ghost's Revenge, Shake, Blunder Puss, Riddle Me Ray, Moana Lisa, Ghoul Getters Ltd, Creepy Car. And The Ghostly Galleon, which seems to be trying for a serious, spooky tale but suffers from dodgy art.
Strips i do remember and thought "Hmmm, they're ok i guess": The Duke's Spook, Hire A Horror, Lolly Pop, Tough Nutt and Softy Centre, Odd Ball, Webster, Horrornation Street and Scream Inn - which i remember having great, moody art but here is a tad pedestrian:

And strips that i loved then and still hold up now.
Grimly Feendish going after folks' washed wares:

And the genius that was Sweeny Toddler:

Best of all though is the brilliant Slippy Sloppy Horror Soap, a reader creation stunningly brought to life by Ken Reid in his back page "Creepy Creations"

Thunder - final issue

2011-05-17T04:43:00.000-07:00

First comic to read from the bunch i bought in the 30th Century is also the most expensive. And that's because its the last issue before merging with Lion a week later.
So, lets have a look shall we? As usual, there's really only two strips of note for both the me now and the me then, Black Max and Adam Eterno. They're the first two after the cover and after them it goes steadily downhill having, in order, Cliff Hanger, Fury's Family, Dusty Binnns, Phil the Fluter, the Jet Skaters, Steel Commando, The Terrible Trail From Tolmec (yes really) and the Gauntlet Of Fate.

Back to what floats my boat, Black Max finishes a tale just in time for the merger. Not too much of note in this episode, apart from a curious line from Max: "I swear by the Bat-Blood of my ancestors... YOU shall be the first to DIE". Bat-Blood? Bat-Blood? What's he on about? There's never ever been any suggestion that he's somehow linked through history with the Bats, or that he may have Bat-Blood running through his veins. And i've not seen mention of it again in subsequent episodes. Just a made up curse just for this week or more? Like i say, curious.

Adam Eterno wraps up too and its a classic, with the big Lunk not only having to fight a gladiatorial duel, but Vesuvius is just about to erupt and, to top it all, the mush he's got to fight is the greatest gladiator in the world. And wearing gold armour. Doh!
And he's got that volcano to thank - he's been cut quite a bit by the golden sword and the death stroke is just about to be delivered when it blows.
Lopez's art is simply astonishing, moving along at a breakneck speed, with some terrific moments - the eruption and the final shot of a vanished Eterno leaving behind his footprints in the deadly ash being tops.
Final thing of note is the two page ad for the following weeks merger. A pretty crude lash-up of an affair.
"AIEEEE" WATCH:
Wee bit too early for the expeletive

30th Century Comics

2011-05-16T03:36:00.000-07:00

Me and the Bronze finally, finally got round to visiting this shop yesterday and, boy, were we glad we did.
What a terrific shop, a true throwback to the 80's when they were all independant and before they became supermarkets all selling the same stuff.
Here you get the latest American titles and graphic novels on the ground floor, go downstairs though and you're in British Comics heaven.
Hundreds upon hunderds of comic boxes filling every space, full of every title ever.
A fantastic place where you could spend a fortune. And a charming, knowledgable owner (sorry, didn't get your name) and a lovely way of spending a Sunday morning.
We'll be going back regularlly i'm sure and here's what i got this first time.
And here's the link to the shop. HIGHLY recommended.

http://www.thirtiethcentury.free-online.co.uk/

Grimly Fiendish

2011-05-08T13:17:00.000-07:00

Inspired by photos of my local comic shop owner dressed up for Free Comic Book Day on Saturday looking more like Mr Fiendish, i thought i'd take another look at the fella.
Reading a few strips, its become apparent:
(A) How unfair it seems Grimly's been over-looked in the vast pantheon of Leo Baxendale's creations.
(B) How unfair it is that folk of a certain age know the name only for the Damned song.
(C) How unfair it is that folk under that age know him, albeit in a different form, in last years "Despicable Me" - a blatent swipe, being the tale of a super-villain aided by diminutive, strange creatures.
Will be going into the original more, but know i'm going to come out of it with the oft-muttered "why isn't there a collection of these?"
BTW, i enjoyed spotting him in the "Albion" series a while back but, being a serious version, kinda lost the appeal of the character in the first place, yes?

Vulcan - 4 Oct 1975

2011-04-26T05:16:00.000-07:00

Lets have another dip into this title shall we? Have said it before, but Vulcan was way ahead of its time in being a weekly anthology of reprints. Sure, Marvel UK had been doing it for a while, but that was American reprints and here we have UK originated titles. A great idea, which i'd love to see being produced right now - but minus the dodgy colouring.
Okay, lets dip inside:
First up, its that big lunk and big hunk of metal that is "Mytek The Mighty". Just two pages here with a shadowy, unseen shape that may or may not be the fella sinking a ship and going after the professor. Ah yes, the professor. What do we make here in the 21st century of an Egyptian scientist called "Professor Fez" who - wouldn't you just know it - wears a fez. At all times. Even when climbing into bed. Hmmmmm... Still, FANTASTIC art by Eric Bradbury, especially these terrific eyes. The awful colouring here has lessened the impact somewhat though - will have to try and track down the original B&W version.

Next up, "The Spider", which is the usual terrific stuff. Here not only do we have The Spider, but also The Executioner (a musclebound baddie with a "punishing heat ray" stiched onto the top of his balacava) and The Silohouette, the mysterous leader of the bad guys, who acts just like The Hood did back in the 40's Batman serial. Brilliant artwork, which goes to show how the oft-cited Lenoard Nimoy comparison to The Spider is quite a superficial one. There's something not quite right about his face that i can't quite put my finger on. The proportions are right but i think that its the eyes being a tad too small and the nose a tad longer than normal that's doing it here.
"Saber, King Of The Jungle" comes across as a Tarzan rip-off, especially as he ends up in quicksand - something everyone seemd to fall into at some point in every Tarzan film and episode of the TV show that i can think of.

Back on track with "The Trigan Empire", with absolutely beautiful art from Don Lawrence. I can remember very well this episode, with the strangely boggled eye octopus-like robot appearing for the first time.
"Steel Claw" was a bit dull, being mainly exposistion as Crandell tries to figure out who the web-handed foes are all about.

By far the best is "Kelly's "Eye", a strip i've not mentioned that much here as i've always considered him to be a bit of a drip. But this art is just stunning and hugely elevates the tale. Very, very atmospheric as Tim goes up against Count Varga, a "human vampire". Lopez was firing on all cylinders here and i can't think of anyone who'd have been better suited for it.
Last up, "Robot Archie". Oh dear.
"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
Nuffink.

Don Lawrence and Judge Dredd

2011-04-24T04:14:00.000-07:00

According to Judge Dredd The Mega History, "The first major Dredd cover on 2000AD [Prog 18] was yet another "rip-off" that angered Carlos Ezquerra. Old hand Dom Lawrence drew the cover, but could not get the Dredd figure right. So Ezquerra's figure from Bank Raid was cut out and dropped into Lawrence's Brainbloom farm."
Looking at the cover yep, that's the Bank Raid shot used yet again and can see why Carlos would be annoyed by that.
And that's typical Dom's work on the Brainbloom's faces, with very Trigan Empire buildings in the background.
But where's his Dredd?
Guessing they would have whitewashed it out, a photocopy of Carlo's one pasted in and then the whole thing touched up.
Just hoping they'd have done it to a photostat of Dom's art and the original is tucked away somewhere, waiting to be seen one day.
What a shock that would be to folk after all this time and i'd love to see what he'd done. "Could not get the figure right" from a giant like Dom Lawrence? Can't believe that - guess it was just something more radical than what they expecting back in those early days when Pat Mills was trying to get an established, consistant look to the strip.

Artist overload - Battle Action 28 Jan 1978

2011-04-20T03:52:00.000-07:00

Blimey, what a corker this issue is - fantastic work from fantastic artists with every strip showing off stunning art:
Joe Two Beans by Eric Bradbury
Johnny Red by Joe Colquhoun
Spinball Wars by Ron Turner
Major Eazy by Carlos Ezquerra
Hellman by Mike Dorey
Dredger by Joe Cooper
The Sarge by Mike Western
Really, if anyone wanted to show someone what was so good about Boy's War Comic art, this'd be an excellent example.
"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
A truncated "AIEEE!" from inside a blown up German armoured car in Hellman.
And a frankly unneccesary "AIEEEEE!" from a German soldier who'd only been shot in the shoulder in The Sarge. Wimp.

This Week In... 1971

2011-04-18T03:40:00.000-07:00

Thought i'd start an occasional feature of having a rummage through the back issues to see what the nipper-me would've been reading this week all those years ago.
Starting off with 1971 and the 9-year old me would've been:
Dismissive of the likes of Carsons Cubs, Fury's Family and Steel Commando.
Would've absolutely thrilled though by the latest from Black Max. Reading it now, its barmpot barmy but then i would've taken it SO serious - Wilson's plane is being carried away by a couple of the Giant Bats, his comrades racing to rescue him. Looks like they'd do it too - if not for four more Bats appearing from nowhere, carrying a STEEL NET, which they then procede to hang up like a tennis net for the Allied planes to crash into. Barking stuff.
Jet Skaters i didn't like, figuring they were a right bunch of drips. But the boots were good and the arts nice, with always nifty aerial shots looking down to the ground.
Adam Eterno is ace, with him ending up in the one place in time he shouldn't be - an Aztec golden city. Stunning art here by Lopez, with this terrific central portrait of the big lunk.
"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
Not a mutter.

Action - the end

2011-04-18T03:22:00.000-07:00

Here it is, 16th October 1976 and the last issue before being taken off the shelves and lobotomised.
Looking at beyond that classic Ezquerra cover, there's some still inflamatory stuff going on alright.
Not on Hookjaw, the strip you'd think you'd think would have it, as the artwork is just so darn poor, with even worse colouring. The artist has swiped Sola's shot from inside Hookjaw's mouth as he eats the diver, but all that does is make you yearn for the fella back on the strip. Would've been a great help - but no matter how great that could've been, it wouldn't detract from the fact that the mayhem's taking place off the coast of THE ISLE OF WIGHT...
The oft mentioned bottling from the terrace's is back again in Look Out For Lefty, which i'm sure is one thing that set alarm bells ringing this issue.
Final straw must be though Kids Rule O.K, with these two sequences here. First up is the very first panel where Roker asks of our hero "Where'd ya like it - across the fingers or straight down into ya face?" Pretty strong stuff now for adults, let alone back then for us sprogs. And then we have the last few panels this week as the new bad guys make their appearance - Police Cadets laying into the gang with their truncheons.
Whether bad timing or editorial deliberately pushing it, doesn't really matter - high up eyes were watching the title and the above couldn't help but get a reaction.
A real shame.
Personally, i'm gutted that Hellman was a casualty as his tale on the Russian Front was really picking up a gear, with this issue his nemesis Schwarz defecting to the Russians, taking Hellmans crew with him. Sure, the tale continued on the titles return, but it was in a watered down incarnation, nowhere near as good.
"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
A difficult to accomplish when you're wearing breathing apparatus "AAAAAEEEEE!" from a diver in Hookjaw.
A spot-on "AIEEEE!" from Schwarz in Hellman, who then produces a longer "AIEEEEEE!" twice, then back to "AIEEEE!". Would say he was right crybaby but they're all fake cries to make Hellman & co think he's being tortured by the Russians.
And then we finish with a real "AIEEE!" from a Russian trooper.

The Dan Dare poster magazine.

2011-04-13T08:54:00.000-07:00

Here's my bedroom late 70's.
Pride of place "Issue 1" (hah!) of the, quite common at the time, poster magazine, this time of Dan Dare. Gawd knows what happened to it, but going through the albums, i came across it and thought it'd be nice to have another one 30-odd years on.
Got one for only 3 quid on eBay and it's nice to see the magazine part again.
It's a bit of a fluff piece with the only mention of the "2000AD magazine" being how Dare was back, drawn by "Roman artist Belardinelli", but its nice to see the Frank Hampson blown up big with okay colouring.
Ditto Massimo's, but this time the colours are far more garish, but it works better on the poster itself.
Never noticed before, but the red eyed creature on the right seems to be a Biog head on some sort of an alien centaurs body
Lovely stuff - thinking of seeing if anywhere in town can do me a photocopy so i can frame it without the fold lines evident.

GIMME FIVE! - Carl Critchlow

2011-04-13T06:27:00.000-07:00

Very veratile is that Mr Critchlow - painted artwork for role playing and collectable card games, brilliant work for 2000AD such as Judge Dredd and his own co-creation Lobster Random and his deliriously 100% own creation, Thrud The Barbarian, he's a top talent and a tale by him is always notched up to another level. Very pleased to have Carl join the ranks.

1. WHAT COMICS DID YOU READ WHEN YOU WERE A NIPPER?
Beano, Dandy, Beezer, Shiver & Shake and Warlord

2. AND THE FAVOURITE ONE OF THOSE?
Beano and Shiver & Shake

3. FAVOURITE CHARACTER?
The 3 Bears, Little Plum, The Bash Street Kids and Sweeney Toddler.

4. FAVOURITE ARTIST?
I think it was Leo Baxendale who drew all of the above in the late 60's, early 70's - if not whoever took over from him as well as whoever drew 'Union Jack' Jackson in Warlord and Ken Reid (see next answer)

5. IF "THEY" DECIDED TO BRING IT BACK, WHAT STRIP WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO WORK ON?
Not a strip, but my very favourite thing of all was 'Creepy Creations' from the back page of 'Shiver & Shake' drawn by Ken Reid which went on to become 'World Wide Weirdies' after it merged with Whoopee.

Steve MacManus interview

2011-04-12T04:29:00.000-07:00

Very nice, very informative interview over on David's Blog:

http://www.hiberniabook.blogspot.com/

Oh, for the discovery of previously unknown video footage of those heady, creative mid-70's days.

"GIMME FIVE!" - Colin MacNeil

2011-04-11T03:24:00.000-07:00

Top bloke, top artist, Colin's been with 2000AD since the late eighties and, aside from his brilliant work on Judge Dredd, has also produced stunning work on the likes of Strontium Dog, Shimura, Vanguard, Fiends Of The Eastern Front and Devlin Waugh. He's currently illustrating Insurrection in the Megazine, working in black and white which is lovely to see.
Colin has the accolade of longest answers yet and very entertaining they are too. Many thanks to the guy for putting me on to characters i'd never even heard of.
Go Colin:

1. WHAT COMICS DID YOU READ WHEN YOU WERE A NIPPER?
Thinking about it there were a lot of comics in my childhood. My very first comic I have vague memories of was called "Twinkle". This was the late 1960's and Twinkle was a comic for pre-school/kindergarten ages. However it was the turn of the 70's that comics really began to make an impression on me. Comics such as the Topper, Beezer and Sparky. To me the real classics of early 70's humour comics for kids, much more than the Beano and Dandy which I also read from time to time, but weren't really favourites.
As I got a bit older it was the likes of the Victor, Hotspur, Warlord, Fireball, Commando, Battle Library, Vulcan and Look and Learn (Maybe not technically a "comic" still has it's place as having great strips in it) that took up my interest.
As the 70's wore on it was Action that became the comic of choice, that is until The Galaxy's Greatest Comic. I was 11 when 2000ad first appeared, I'm much older than that now, but I still get 2000ad now.
You'll notice that all the comics mentioned are British comics, there aren't any Marvel and DC comics listed. I had seen American comics but they never really made an impression on me. I grew up in Inverness and deliveries of American comics were VERY erratic. You might start reading a Silver Surfer or Spiderman or whatever comic for a couple of issues and then you wouldn't see that title again for 6 months, so would be unable to follow a story. Pointless! I seem to remember hearing that newsagents at that time would be sent a random selection of American comics, the ONLY comics you could get reliably every time were British comics.
Oh dear, I seem to have rambled a bit there. On with the next question.

2. AND THE FAVOURITE ONE OF THOSE?
By the fact that I still get 2000ad 34 years later must mean that it has to be my favourite... However,...
The comic which I have an emotional(?) connection to has to be Warlord... or the Victor. To me these two are almost inseperable. Victor told tales about the men of my father's generation, they were "real" stories. Stories to be proud of. Warlord took this world of war and told new exciting tales. Victor was Richard Todd in "The Dam Busters" while Warlord was Clint Eastwood in "Hogan's Heroes". So, what is my fav comic of my childhood? It has to be Vic-Lord!

3. FAVOURITE CHARACTER?
Hmm? Well, there are quite a few I have fond memories of. There was "Klanky" the robot in the Sparky, I really wanted a robot like him when I was a kid. There was "The Wolf of Kabul", though I could never quite decide who I wanted to be, the English boy or the Afghani orphan. "Clicky Ba!", a fearsome war cry indeed when you're six and running through the streets pursuing your mate who's pretending to be a Russian Imperial spy. There was a while where Lord Peter Flint, the Warlord,(from "Warlord") captured my imagination. Now, he was cool! "Black Bob" was, and still is, one of my favourites. My grandfather was a sheep farmer, so I guess it's a nostalgia thing. I enjoyed "Nick Jolly - The Flying Horseman", "The Black Sapper" and "Red Star Robinson". I also liked "The Numbskulls", "Puss and Boots" and "General Jimbo". I'm not really getting any closer to an answer am I? oh! I've just remembered, "The Trigan Empire". Damn! I really liked loads of stuff! I suppose, since the ONLY character which I really made an effort to collect was "Black Bob", then my Favourite would have to be "Black Bob".
Yes, yes! I know! "what about Dredd and the rest of 2000ad?", I hear you say. Yes, Dredd is very important. He's the reason I draw comics today, but it's those comics from when I was very young that made me interested in stories, interested in the world around me. They made me want to be an artist. 2000ad made me want to be a comic artist.

4. FAVOURITE ARTIST?
I never, and still don't, know who most of these artists were. I Never knew their names, no one did really at the time. It was just the way things were.
I'm fairly sure that there is one name, for me, that stands out from all others. Don Lawrence. His work on "The Trigan Empire" was ...mindblowing to me as a child! The use of colour and light is just so....inspiring. I would spend hours just looking at the artwork. Just gazing at it, wondering how anyone could get so good at drawing. I was mightily impressed by his illustration work as well, in "Look and Learn", but it was when I first saw "Oh, Wicked Wanda" that I knew he was a master artist. To me "Wanda" is THE most perfect comic strip drawn, EVER. I'm not considering story, it's all about the art. If I can someday draw something, even half as good as that, then I'll die happy.

5. IF "THEY" DECIDED TO BRING IT BACK, WHAT STRIP WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO WORK ON?
Hmmm? Dunno, well I do know, but they've brought it back already,..sort of. One of the last great strips of my "childhood" was "Invasion" in 2000AD. I didn't list it above because I wasn't really interested in the character of Mr Savage, but I was interested in the world around it. I had grown up with a plethora of war stories, but they were stories from the past. Here was a story of the future, imagining what "our boys" could do today in the future, as it were. I guess it's a harking back to my father's generation, wondering if we could do what they did.(My father's generation being that which served in WW2.)
When I heard it was coming back I was both happy ...and slightly "huffy" at the same time. I REALLY wanted to do the sequel to Invasion, but, twas not to be.
I didn't, couldn't, read it for the longest time. Eventually I read it. A teleporting tiger! Whit? A teleporting tiger? Yup! Whit? A teleporting tiger!?!!
Suffice to say I didn't continue, though when the invasion of the UK finally happened I HAD to look.
Fishguard? Holyhead? Aircraft carriers THAT close to shore, Higgins boats? Higgins boats? WTF Robots don't need no steenkin' higgins boats! Where were the assault subs rising out of the surf, crashing up the beach disgorging metal death to the enemy? Where were the men? Where was the pride?
Ah! Sorry! Sorry! Got a bit carried away there. So, apart from "Invasion" , what strip would I do? Not "Trigan Empire", my memories are too precious of that. "Black Bob" also.
Part of me would really like to do "Klanky". Another part something like "Union Jack Jackson". Another, the simple adventures of the "Black Sapper".
As a wise woman once said, "I don't really know!"

March Of The Toys

2011-04-11T02:47:00.000-07:00

This Smash! annual was, and is, a real memorable one in that it contained just about the moodiest Eric Bradbury art i've ever come across.
Of course, didn't have a clue back then who he was, nor who this bloke "the evil Dr. Droll" was all about. All i knew, and loved, was the morbidly grotesque art that was going on here. I'd already had experience of strips with animated toys in them, courtesy of General Jumbo, but here they were bad guys and, boy, they were bad.
Can remember pouring over the art, just studying it, with the highlights being the shopkeeper getting it (if it wasn't for the SF trappings, this page could be from A Christmas Carol), the tiny robots with their "Invader From Space" logos (so similar to tons of of toys i had at the time) but, above all, Dr. Droll himself.
Eric excelled himself with this guy, who was both disturbing and grotesque in just a long shot, never mind the HUGE close-ups Mr Bradbury frequently put in. Guessing he figured they'd have more impact, and he was sure right.
Top image for me then and now though is this shot of the Doc trundling around in his "Cosmobile". That huge eyed villain squashed under that bubble canopy in a far, far too small vehicle was so bizarre i kept coming back to it again and again.
How weird. Anyone else at any other time would have a craft that matched the bad guys ego - massive, assertive and threatening. Here he's in a "toy space tractor".
Brilliant.
I'll review it later - for now, i'm a 10-year old again, just gazing at it.

GIMME FIVE! - Steve McManus

2011-04-05T04:09:00.000-07:00

Again, i'm stunned, chuffed and awed to have someone instrumental in the creation of the comics i loved growing up being on here.
Actually more so than with Pat Mills as, back then, i had no idea who Pat was as i got my weekly comics.
Steve i certainly did, as he welcomed us each issue, regaling us with his exploits of the last week, tales of drunkeness and pranks. In short, the sort of thing we grubby urchins wished we could do.
He was also Action's "Action Man", being sent off on really not very action packed assignements.
All good fun though, which fitted in perfectly with the strips.
So here's Steve. Only four answers, but what great one's they are. And... it's Action Man!

1. WHAT COMICS DID YOU READ WHEN YOU WERE A NIPPER?
I was born a London lad in 1953. I had three elder brothers, the oldest being ten years older than me, so while I didn't read it, I remember as a nipper copies of The Eagle being around. There was also a spectacularly visceral comic book version of the Old Testament which used to keep me quiet and probably sparked my interest in the medium. From there I went on to enjoy the Beano and The Dandy.
2. AND THE FAVOURITE ONE OF THOSE?
By the age of nine I had come across DC Comics in the local tobacconist. Green Lantern, Superman, etc. After reading them I would put them in a drawer...little did I know I was becoming a collector. But, a year later, I received orders to proceed to Devon and at the age of ten I found myself deep in the countryside, the only connection to the outside world being a Saturday trip to the nearest town, Totnes. At the school, two other inmates I knew received a weekly comic through the post. One was Hotspur. The other was Buster. There were no American imports to be found in the newsagent's in Totnes so I chose Valiant because I liked the quirkiness of its characters. Little did I know I was appreciating the unique writing skills of Tom Tully who scripted most of that title. By the time I was twelve though it was 1965, the times they were a'changing and I was fast losing the habit of reading a comic. How odd then that, eight short years later my first job in comics was.......on Valiant!
3. FAVOURITE CHARACTER?
In the Eagle: Harris Tweed.
In the Old Testament: Samson.
In the Dandy: General Jumbo
In the Beano: The Numbskulls.
In the DC Universe (don't laugh) Green Lantern.
In Valiant---extremely difficult, let's review the field:
Captain Hurricane--4/10
Mytek the Mighty--5/10
Kelly's Eye--5/10
Wild Wonders--6/10
Legge's Eleven--6/10
House of Dolman--7/10
Adam Eterno--7/10
Raven on the Wing--7/10
Jason Hyde--8/10
The Steel Claw--9/10!
4. FAVOURITE ARTIST?
On Valiant, a dead heat between Eric Bradbury and Mike Western.

Ro-Busters & Carlos Pino

2011-03-31T02:34:00.000-07:00

Just started reading the complete collection and its a terrific read of course.
Must mention though Carlos Pino.
He had the daunting task of taking Kevin O'Neil's initial designs and creating the first two episodes.
Completely over-looked when the stunning work by McMahon, Gibbons and O'Neil shortly came along, he does some brilliant work here.
Not only did he excell at hardware and robots, he drew them incredibly dynamically in places, with some unusual, very cinematic angles.
Carlos, you were great.

World Wide Weirdies

2011-03-31T00:19:00.000-07:00

Henry Flint citing these bizarre, utterly brilliant one-offs by Ken Reid had me go back and have a look at them again.
Here's five of my favourites, which i just stare in awe at.
That's now.
Back then it was a case of staring in morbid fascination.

GIMME FIVE! - Dave Taylor

2011-03-30T06:11:00.000-07:00

True gent and brilliant artist to boot, Dave been bringing his European style to the likes of Judges Dredd and Anderson for a while now, making jaws drop in unison as folk pour over his hyper-detailed cityscapes and hardware.
Long out of print now, his Tongue Lash comic series is crimingly over-looked and well worth tracking down.

1. WHAT COMICS DID YOU READ AS A NIPPER?
The first books I remember reading were the Giles collections, which were always present at Christmas, and Billy the Cat in the Beano. Those are my earliest fondest 2D memories. The Rupert annuals I read at my cousin's house were amazing to see at a tender age, probably my first psychedelic experience!! But then I probably owe my career to IPC for introducing me to science fiction comics via Starlord and 2000AD. I can hand on heart say that my life path changed when I first read Starlord! I have to mention, for clarity's sake, that outside of British material I soaked up a lot of European books such as Tin Tin and Asterix. There, I've said it.
2. AND THE FAVOURITE ONE OF THOSE?
I can only pick a favourite because of the later impact it had on my entire life, that being 2000AD. I picked up a sense of freedom from those early pages, a realisation that anything was possible in comics. That's powerful Voodoo!
3. FAVOURITE CHARACTER?
That's a really hard question because so many characters played a part in my overall experience in British comics. That was the point. There wasn't one but many. That's part of the thrill I remember, being constantly introduced to new and interesting characters. OK...Billy the Cat or Dredd. I should draw them fighting it out!!
4. FAVOURITE ARTIST?
I still love Giles. I think the thing that struck me about his art was how he captured real life. His world reflected my own in some way. He may be responsible for me taking such an interest in studying life and all it's oddness, as an artist. Other than that, all, and I mean all the 2000AD artists were a joy, and many of them still are!
5. IF "THEY" BROUGHT IT BACK, WHAT STRIP WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO WORK ON?
If all the copies of The Cursed Earth (Judge Dredd) in the world mysteriously disappeared and the book had to be re-drawn then that would be my ultimate "job"! It doesn't answer the question properly but that's the first and thus the best answer I could come up with...other than Billy The Cat!!

Biog - all done

2011-03-28T15:02:00.000-07:00

Here he is then. Tried for moody lighting - but the gloss has made it flare up no end...

GIMME FIVE! - Boo Cook

2011-03-28T01:30:00.000-07:00

Today we have Boo Cook, all round top bloke and fantastic visualist, producing some brilliantly original art for Judge Anderson just lately. Yep, i'd love to see him work on Halo Jones too.
Go Boo:

1. WHAT COMICS DID YOU READ WHEN YOU WERE A NIPPER?
Ever since i was really young, my Grandpa decided to send me a comic each week from Stevenage - he figured he wouldn't have anything much to leave us in way of a Will so he gave us this cool gift while he was still around to see us enjoy it. He basically ended up leaving me a massive stack of comics and an unbridled passion for the medium, which i'm sure you'd agree is worth way more than dosh!
I started off with him sending me Toby Comic when i was 4 - my older brother consistently got sent Tiger Comic, which had it's moments but was a tad 'sporty' for me. From Toby i think i went onto the Beano comic, and onto Look-In from there, which i got for quite a while. Then on my 10th christmas i got the 1982 2000AD annual which turned my appreciation of comics upside down. After a brief dabble with Starlord, i moved onto 2000AD full time and have been getting it weekly ever since.

2. AND THE FAVOURITE ONE OF THOSE?
So, my favourite childhood comic would have to be 2000AD hands down - Eagle and Scream had their moments, and Look- In even ran some tasty/weird strips, but nothing could match the crazed imagination evident in 2000AD - my brain sucked it up like a sponge.

3. FAVOURITE CHARACTER?
My favourite character in 2000AD has always been and still is, Johnny Alpha. Sometimes i wonder if it should really be Wulf Sternhammer, but i think i'll stick with Johnny. 'Sandy sci-fi' is my favourite genre and nobody does it better than Carlos. Plus the sense of design in Strontium Dog, the outlandish characters and immense scope for story telling made it a bottomless pit of epic brilliance, which i'm very pleased to say, is still in evidence in the Prog.

4. FAVOURITE ARTIST?
Trying to nail down one favourite artist from my childhood is pretty impossible - i'd have to give the accolade to a conglomerate of artists acting as one, and it's probably no big surprise to discover that the many headed art beast would consist of : Carlos Ezquerra, Brian Bolland, Mike McMahon, Cam Kennedy, and Brendan McCarthy. These are the artists who have probably influenced and inspired me the most, and i'm still blown away by their efforts now.

5. If "THEY" DECIDED TO BRING IT BACK, WHAT STRIP WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO WORK ON?
Well, the Strontium Dog strip is thankfully still going strong and remains firmly in the capable hands of it's creator (and his son), so much as i would love to draw Johnny and Wulf, i would have to respectfully leave it to the master! That said , Judge Dredd has always been a close second favourite in my mind, and it's been an immense pleasure to have worked on him from time to time, and is something i will never tire of.
If 'they bought it back' i would be more than happy to help Alan Moore wrap up the Halo Jones saga...

Strip Magazine - almost with us

2011-03-28T01:09:00.000-07:00

Looking like the magazines getting its big launch soon at Bristol and i can't wait. Any new British publication has to applauded but this one, with its reprints of European titles, Hookjaw and Dredger, nothes it up massively.
I usually buy a couple of GN's when i'm in France and they're brilliant stuff - but my translating each panel sure does make them a lengthy read. So it'll be nice to have the English version to speed things up.
Interesting to see that they're going to be re-colouring Hookjaw. As i've said in the last couple of Action posts, the later stories suffered from appalling colouring - but at least it helped cover up some equally appalling art. Will bettering the coluring improve things? We'll see.
And, i take it just the original colour spreads will be done, not the whole strip? Hope not. The B&W of the Sola art made the violence and the gore that much more disturbing and effective. Splashing some Kensington Gore around would be the comic equivilant of colouring the Laurel and Hardy shorts.

http://stripcomicmagazineuk.blogspot.com/

The Party's over - Action 18th Sept 1976

2011-03-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

Here it is then, the infamous issue that started the snowball that lead to the "banning".
What to make of it after all these years?

Starting off with the cover and the "policemans going to get a hiding" thing. Okay, its depicting "Kids Rule OK!", where there are no grownups left. And that's patently an older bloke being - sort of - menaced by the youth. And there's a policemans helmet nearby. So the assumption is that its a Bobby that's about to get a kicking. And i can sort of see where folk would think that.
But, consider: ALL the background folk are coloured blue. So the oldboy's clobber might be just be more of the same.
And that "youth" isn't even looking at him as he swings the bike chain.
And that helmet could be anyone's.
Figure it's a cover that's whatever you want to make of it. Which is plenty for the detractors, not helped by what's inside:

Dredger has a barking mad, make no sense, tale in which he and Breed are sent to South America to get back some plans. They're up against a couple of Dredgers old mercenary friends, but our heroes beat them - only to give the plans back to them in London so they can sell them to the British goverment. What? Bredd, quite rightly, asks why go to the bother of getting the plans from his friends if only to give them back to them, Dredgers frankly stupid reply is "Make sure they went to the right people". Makes no sense. At all. a piss-poor tale. But nothing here to create waves yet...

Kids Rule Ok is a whole kettle of whatnots - teens opening fire on teens, pretty clear instructions on how to make molotov cocktales and the Hells Angels turning up at the end. Very gritty stuff with some suitably nasty, grim artwork. Even now, fancy a shower after reading.

Death Game 1999 is as lame now as back then. Only death by flipper does anything to amend the tedium.

Hell's Highway. Here's a thing. Never read it when it first came out as i had it down as a cashin on the CB radio craze that was all the rage back then and couldn't have cared less about a couple of truckers. But this is the first episode and i hadn't realised that it was actually borderline horror story. Even now, these shots of the inhabitants of the town and the truck are pretty darn creepy. Will have to go back and re-read as soon as i can.

Hookjaw. Last issue was noticible for the unheard of device of having the hero killed by the bad guy. So here we have Rick Mason's severed head on display in the first panel, only to be forgotten straight away as folk try to leave the island that's torn apart by the volcano. Here we have such oddities as "sharks being able to sense fear in the water up to five miles away", Great White's in the English Channel and Hookjaw knowing how to upend a hovercraft. Odd stuff, with even odder art. Sola's magnificent run had been long gone and here we have this duff replacement. Kind of glad the awful colouring covers so much up.

Hellman's MUCH better, despite equally poor art. The fella's having to recruit a bunch of convicts for his new tank crew and he does in a typical Action way - enter the prison yard driving a King Tiger Tank alone, cover it oil so folk can't climb up it to murder him and deflect knives with a handy door. In the nd, he's got them on his side and they await the coming Russina army alone.

Look Out For lefty is where Martin Baker in his excellent Action book reckons they pushed it too far - an opposing player is bottled mid game and the inference is that its Lefty's girlfriend what did it, thanks to a "Good old Ange!" thought bubble. You don't actually see here do it, but its pretty clear she did. Pretty near the knuckle for a title of its time, aimed at the age group it was aimed at.

Finally we have the end of Green Grudge's War and its very strange. After week in week out of Green seething about Bold but never actually doing anything, here he gets a perfect chance. And shoots him with a German rifle. But the guys not dead and, somehow, gets to the rescue boat before Green. And when Green wades out to it, he's so stunned that his nemesis is still alive, he freezes and gets shot in the back and dies. That's it. No build up, no offbeat payoff to the tale. Its like the powers to be wanted it stopped and stopped it they did. Nice Belardinelli art though.

Summing up, yep they sure seemed to be pushing it with a few tales. If only editoral had decided to just have one strong tale and the rest pretty regular, maybe things might've turned out different.
AIEEEE! WATCH:
A rather spectacular "AYIEEEEEEEEGH!" from that guy getting fried in Death Game 1999.
A short "AAAEEE!" from a bloke tipped into the sea in Hoojaw.
A slightly overlong "AIEEEEE!" from Big Max in Hellman.
And a perfect 100% "AIEEEE!" from a rap across the knuckles with a bullet belt in same.

Happy Squaxx, me

2011-03-25T17:53:00.000-07:00

The latest issue of the really rather spiffing Zarjazz will be out very soon now, this time an ABC Warrior themed one sporting a truely, er, zarjazz, cover by genius artist Clint Langley.
I'd be excited at the best of times but am even more so 'cause my favourite Warrior, Blackblood, gets a solo story written... by me.
What a bizarro world.
Thrill Power Overload big time for this Squaxx and Dunk has done a fabulous job on the art, seemingly being able to see inside me noggin and put down on paper exactly what i have in there.
Here's an exclusive page preview for you, courtesy of Bolt 01.

Operation Black Death

2011-03-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

Thought i'd take a look at an episode of this while flicking through issues of Battle.
This one's from March 1977 and, boy, its grim.
Not only do we have scenes that could be out of The Godfather or Once Upon A Time In America (Nelson hanging onto the side of the car and spraying the driver with machine gun fire at point blank range), a guy being dissolved in acid, but the art matches it too.
Can't remember Pat Wright being this gritty in earlier adventures of Mike Nelson, but boy he does here.
Look at the two top right panels on the second page, along with the final one of same.
Dead hard or what? You'd wouldn't mess with this guy, not exactly your clean cut British hero.

GIMME FIVE! - Henry Flint

2011-03-21T04:41:00.000-07:00

Chuffed to bits to have Henry taking part in this. He's, quite rightly, regarded as one of THE premier artists, who's imagination and talent seems to know no bounds.
I have to tie my jaw shut with an old napkin before reading each episode of Shakara in the Prog right now as having it hanging open as i study each panel is becoming painful and i keep getting looks.
So, so nice to see he's such a fan of the comics from the era of this Blog and its been hard to restrict the images to just five.
Over to you Henry:

1. WHAT COMICS DID YOU READ WHEN YOU WERE A NIPPER?
Honorary mention to Rupert Annuals and Jack and Jill (Trippy psychedelia probably written and drawn by hippies).
Beano, Dandy, Whizzer and Chips, Whoopee (world wide weirdies), Buster, Warlord, Starlord, Starblazer, (80's) Eagle, Mad Magazine, 2000ad. (Too young for Cor, too old for Jackpot.)
2. AND THE FAVOURITE ONE OF THOSE?
2000AD
3. FAVOURITE CHARACTER?
Desperate Dan, Face Ache, Roger the Dodger (Very disappointed when I didn't get a Dodge book for Christmas.) Old One Eye from Flesh. Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein...
4. FAVOURITE ARTIST?
Ken Reid, Jack Davis, Alfred Bestall, Kevin O'Neil, Massimo Belardinelli... to list artists I liked in the 70's early 80's, I could go on and on.
5. IF "THEY" BROUGHT IT BACK, WHAT STRIP WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO WORK ON?
A year ago I'd have said Flesh but that's up and running. I'd like to do Nemesis (again) and I keep plugging for a return of Blackhawk but it's never going to happen.

Ads That Time Forgot - Blobs

2011-03-21T04:34:00.000-07:00

On the back cover of one of thos Buster and Cor!!'s was this ad.
Didn't register at first what they were, then saw the panel with the three tubes and the shape with them, along with the name, and especially the font used, set a little bell ringing.
Then read that two of the flavours were "Strawberry And Cream" and "Apple, Pear And Banana" and it all came flooing back how i used to consume vast quantities on the way to school.
Which goes some way to explaining the shocking amount of fillings i'm carrying around in my mouth.

GIMME FIVE! - Pat Mills

2011-03-20T13:41:00.000-07:00

Stunned and amazed to have the legendary Pat Mills gracing this here Blog.
Stunned and amazed too that someone responsible for shaking up and recreating British comics, along with creating such classic, unforgettable characters and strips, actually didn't read many comics growing up.
Here you are then with a very brief "Gimme Five!"

1. WHAT COMICS DID YOU READ WHEN YOU WERE A NIPPER?
Virtually no comics, I'm afraid. I read the Beano and Dandy annuals and the odd issue of Eagle, plus Express Weekly which starred Wulf the Briton, which I quite liked. But we are talking about very few episodes, so they didn't have any great significance for me.
I was primarily into novels and cartoons. When I started work in comics, I discovered many characters for the first time.

Failing to do a Belardinelli

2011-03-20T01:14:00.000-07:00

Over on the 2000AD Forum there's an art competition with a theme of why i love 2000AD.
Thought i'd have a go and, if i have to sum up what had the biggest impact on me when it first came out and what's the most striking image from it, i'd have to go with the Biogs from the relaunched Dan Dare.
I've waxed lyrical before here on the genius of Massimo's art and, up to this point, he'd been doing terrific stuff in Battle.
But with Dan Dare the reigns were off and all his imagaination came pouring out. I'd never seen anything like it and guess next time i'd be that floored by such an original design would be Giger on Alien.
Even though it was only the start of Massimo's work for 2000AD and then Tornado, i really don't think he bettered these. His Warp Spasm in Slaine came very close, ditto his Artie Gruber, but these fellas are the pinnacle for me.
So, thought i'd make one.
Oh dear.
Massimo's insane, joyously barking design may look quite simple but it really, really isn't. Trying to convert just the simple looking bulbous rear of the head is a right sod to try and get right. Those small ears look easy to do. Nope, just look stupid when you make it yourself. But worst are the "flaps" - the hanging down things where the mouth should be. First attempt was rubbish, made in 3D i ended up with a Cthulhu bust.
Here's where i am at the moment, all built and starting the painting.
I've decided to go away from the proper colour scheme as, when they did appear on the cover or centre pages of the Prog, they were an odd blue/white. That looks fine in print, but i'm not at all sure it'd work "in the flesh"

Some unexpected Reid, Baxendale & Colquhoun

2011-03-20T00:39:00.000-07:00

Strolling round a Boot Fair yesterday morning, some bloke had a box of comics. Kind of stunned to find that they're all from the mid 70's and in really good condition. He had quite a lot of Marvel UK titles that i flicked through - which really did prove that memory cheats - and a lot of Buster and Cor!!'s from 1974 and 75.
So, got a few out of curiosity sake as i know i had Cor!! back then but don't think i read Buster.
Get them home and, how nice.
We have a lovely simple plot device of Snooper wanting to know what's in a shed. That's it. But with the fantastic, dynamic art of Leo Baxendale it's notched up in to the genius level. Its amazing what an effect he can make with just a few speed lines around things.
Speaking of genius level, there's some classic Ken Reid on Faceache too. I don't need to show you more than this title shot to show that off eh?
Pete's Pocket Army is one of those strips that seems to be a variation of so many others of the time - in this case, loner kid with tiny friends. Whereas General Jumbo had a group of model soldiers, here we have "Pete Parker" being mates with six aliens from the planet Liturnus. It's alright i suppose but Jumbo using tiny tanks and planes is more exciting than breaking a schoolboy out of a room. Lopez's art though is simply stunning, giving the (then) contempery tale a Dickensian feel.
Marney The Fox i've read about but never read and is an oddity to be sure. Part of it is a Lassie style tale of a lone fox up against wicked humans. What makes it distinctive is the occasional thought ballons from the fox himself. Yep, we're given an insight into the thought processes of the foxy lead, which at times are brief and work well: "Many faces! Many eyes! Bright... curious... staring!", but at others he's positively chatty, coming across as the teacher from Kung Fu: "Hated man has the mind of a sparrow! Cunning has worked... now for speed!"
Biggest and best suprise though is on yet another clone series, this time the "Famous Five/Secret Seven On Wheels" variation. I'm used to Jet Skaters over in Thunder but here we have "Sammy Brewster's Ski-Board Squad", which is basically the same except here they wear balaclava's. Doesn't matter though - its Joe Colquhoun on art duties, which INSTANTLY raises it up. Doesn't matter how duff the strip, Joe makes it class and worth reading.
Really enjoyed these issues - hope the guys there again next week.

GIMME FIVE! - John Higgins

2011-03-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

Time for another and next up we have artist John Higgins.
His first published work was back in the mid seventies and got his first gig with Tharg on 2000 AD Prog 43 in 1977. He started as a fully fledged Art Droid in 1981, along with working with Marvel UK.
Well known for his colouring work on Watchmen and The Killing Joke, been prolific on the American titles, now a writer as well as artist, just lately with Razorjack.
He's also much respected for his Judge Dredd tales through the years, giving a heroic, square-jawed Joe. And its been a real thrill to see him back with the fella the last few weeks.

1. WHAT COMICS DID YOU READ WHEN YOU WERE A NIPPER?
Any that the money from my milk round would buy, with probably a Crunchie choc bar thrown in, nip down the shops with my 2/6, see what I could get.
2. AND THE FAVOURITE ONE OF THOSE?
Probably Valient, but usually any that had an SF cover. Valient seemed to figure most in my mind.
3. FAVOURITE CHARACTER?
I probably brought too many different comics to be consistent with my fan affections, but the Steel Claw and the Spider was always a good read. When I found the right comic, you had to get to the newsagent early or your favorite comic would have gone...
4. FAVOURITE ARTIST?
Always Brian Lewis whenever I saw him, but he was too versatile and tended to be all over the place doing a million different strips. But always loved Dudley Watkins.
5. IF "THEY" BROUGHT IT BACK, WHAT STRIP WOULD YOU LIKE MOST TO WORK ON?
I suppose Dan Dare, even though he was a mainly 50's hero, he did come back a couple of times in the 60's and 70's, some of which I did work on in the 70's, but very frustrating as the stories I worked on were trying to update him. He should be kept in the "Biggles" retro futuristic style, story line and art I reckon.

Returning to Hellman - Action 4 Sept '76

2011-03-15T07:13:00.001-07:00

With Rufus mentioning Hellman, it got me thinking i should have another read of the fella.
So, dug out a copy with him on the cover - where he seems to be modelled on Kirk Douglas - and took a look.
Oh dear, we're in the period where the art had gone downhill somewhat. No idea here who did it, he's okay with tanks and faces but when it comes down to action its VERY odd - this shot of Hellman running is downright peculiar.
Its a great tale though, with him having no choice but fight alongside his hated SS enemies until the end where, in true Action style, we have him lobbing grenades stuck down his boots, doing a roll then standing to attention in front of a Russian tank, hoping they choose to run him down rather than shooting him. Which they luckily do - and cop for the mine he was standing right in front of.
Other things of note this issue is the fantastic art by Belardinelli on Green's Grudge War, where his superb renditions of scenery are on show.
Dredger has a nasty bit of sadism as he's stabbed through the hand by a bad guy to prove he's dead. Which he isn't. Just real hard.
And, again, we have art slipping in Hookjaw. Only the outrageous use of red really stops it being quite painful compared to the stunning art Sola was producing only a few issues before.
"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
A veritable "Aieeee!"-fest this time:
A "Aaaaeeee!" from a guy sliding into Hookjaws, er, jaws.
A Russian "Batushka-Aieeee!" in Hellman, followed by a one E too many "Aieeeee!" from a shot SS then two more exactly the same from the inside of two Russian tanks and a final "Aieee!-Grenades!"

GIMME FIVE! - Rufus Dayglo

2011-03-13T00:05:00.000-08:00

Thought i'd start an infrequent little feature, where i ask creators *ahem* of a certain age, five questions about what floated their boats comic-wise as they were growing up.
First up is artist Rufus Dayglo, who rose up through the ranks from the animation industry, through working on feature films, pop promos, storyboarding and commercials then on to 2000AD and now Tank Girl.
All along he's been a passionate fan of British comic art, his collection and knowledge of which is second to none. So, a logical first choice for such a quiz.
Over to you Rufus.

1. WHAT COMICS DID YOU READ WHEN YOU WERE A NIPPER?
2000AD, Starlord, Action, Battle Picture Weekly and Battle Picture Library - any of the IPC WAR digests!! I was obsessed with killer animals, Sci Fi, and WW2.... Nothing has changed much it would appear! IPC defined my childhood.
2. AND THE FAVOURITE ONE OF THOSE?
Argh... 2000AD... No, no, Action, no wait a minute, Battle... Ah bollox... It's like choosing your favourite food... Each of these books introduced me to key creators, and story ideas I still treasure, and draw upon for my own work.
3.FAVOURITE CHARACTER?
2000AD - Flesh, Action - Hookjaw, Battle - The Sarge, Digests - Sgt Ironside
4.FAVOURITE ARTIST?
Ramon Sola for making animals so much bloody fun (literally), Carlos Ezquerra for making me draw squiggly lines around the outside of everything, and Mick McMahon, for his ever evolving style (which taught me to always look, always try and take a chance)... and Victor De La Fuente for the most beautifully rendered digest war books EVER! (Oh to have an ounce of his skill as a draughtsman...)
5. IF "THEY" BROUGHT IT BACK, WHAT STRIP WOULD YOU LIKE MOST TO WORK ON?
Hookjaw... I love that bloody shark... Or Hellman of Hammer Force would be fun. I'd love to draw war comics.

Wham! 145 and the genius of Ken Reid

2011-03-12T03:36:00.000-08:00

Not often i dip me toe into the comedy titles, but let's have a go eh?
A really good issue this, having just the classic Lee/Kirby FF reprint as the American contingent and nice tales form the likes of The Tiddlers, General Nitt, George's Germs etc.
They pale a bit when it comes to Eagle Eye Junior Spy, who i always remember going up against the brilliant Grimly Fiendish. Not here though, this time the bad guy is "Adolf Twitler", who our hero is trying to stop bomb London with his "Atomic Dandruff". Lovely, lovely stuff and here we have Eagle Eye booted off the wing of a plane, deciding to read his copy of Smash! before he dies, then finding how to make a parachute from paper just in time. Love it.
The others pale a lot more when you get a classic Frankie Stein, with jaw-droppingly awesome art by Ken Reid. I mean, just LOOK at that detail. Said it before and i'll say it again - someone PLEASE collect these together and get it out there for folk to enjoy again or discover for the first time.

New Poll

2011-03-11T23:20:00.001-08:00

Sticking to the Blogs remit of '68 to '78 and not including any comedy titles, who floats your boat from this lot?

Got me an original Janus Stark

2011-03-09T05:04:00.000-08:00

Well, colour me chuffed 8)
After a Font Black Max page, my next Holy Grail piece of art would be a piece of Janus Stark by F Solano Lopez and now i finally have one. Not only that but a title page too.
Still stunned that i've got it, and it's a thrill to examine a piece of my childhood up close like this.
That brilliantly evocative title bar that i used to pour over when a nipper is on card and stuck on.
The page is A3 and it looks like Lopez used different types of marker pens for filling in the blacks and some of the thicker lines - the horses are much lighter than anything else.
There's been quite a bit of whiting out, especially on the young lad, who seems to have totally redrawn for some reason.
All the speech bubbles are pasted on and the brilliant sound effects ("clopptey thud" Hah!) are drawn straight onto the page.
The condition is very, very good (those speech bubbles that look like they're missing aren't - it's just the flash of the camera) and, like i say, am stunned and chuffed to bits to own it.
Made my year.

2000AD Prog 1

2011-03-08T02:40:00.000-08:00

Thinking and comparing the new Flesh with the old, thought i'd go back to the very first Prog and have a read.
Still terrific stuff even now, with each tale hooking you in straight away. Their ability to have fantastic concepts that speed along with cracking dialogue, no preambles, and explanations kept to a minimum is something the modern version is lacking a tad.
Don't think i really liked Invasion that much, thinking Savage a poor relation to Dredger at that time, but did love the moody artwork, which had resonance in that the panels were filled with locations and folk we all knew (except Angela Rippon never looked this foxy).
Flesh i've already commented on and was responsible for my pocket money going on Airfix cowboys and their T-Rex kit to recreate scenes. Which was basically shoving decapitated figures into its gob.
Next up was Dan Dare. Now, knew of the original version but never read it as (A) think i was bit too young (B) think it was too expensive. So this was my first exposure to the fella. And i loved it. Not the character, who was just a blank really that reacted to situations. But it was those situations and, far far above them, Belardinelli's stunning artwork that made it for me.
I had already come across his art on Rat Pack etc over in Battle but here he was let loose and, boy, did he deliver. His Biogs are just jaw-droppingly awesome, topping his Artie Gruber and Slaine's warp spasm that came later.
M.A.C.H 1 was enjoyable really only because i wanted to be the Six Million Dollar Man so much at the time and Harlem Heroes at this point was just "nice art but - whatever" as i just saw it as yet another sports story bunged in that a lot of the titles seemed to do back then.
Other thing of note is Tharg's welcoming page, which is shoved in near the back and looks very cheap and nasty, what with its crappy typewritten message. Funny what he's become when back at the start the page looked as desposable and unneccesary as Flint's version over in Bullet.
"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
A cut-off "Aieee!" from a cut-off cowboy in the Crocs mouth in Flesh.

The New Flesh

2011-03-05T12:26:00.000-08:00

Well, enjoyed that. Its a direct sequel to the very first Book and top marks to Pat Mills for having it read like its something from 1977.
As usual with Mr Mills, there's some neat ideas in there - the guy with dinosaur teeth implants and the T-Rex with his head stained with gore being the highlights in this first part.
Chuffed to see it is in B&W, so feels even more of a continuation, and James McKay does excellent dinosaurs (although i'd have loved to have seen him do the totally inaccurate 70's version of the T-Rex).
If i've a quible, and its a minor one, its that i wish he'd used a finer line for some of the inking.
But its early days yet.

Some new Flesh

2011-03-01T03:17:00.000-08:00

SO looking forward to the Prog this Saturday as Flesh finally returns.
Was a massive fan when 2000AD first came out, with it and Dan Dare being my joint favourites for quite a while.
Enjoyed Flesh Book 2, mainly because of Belardinelli's stunning work, and the few other tales that followed, but none of them had the appeal of that first cowboys vs dinosaurs premise.
So really chuffed that Pat Mills is making this latest venture back in time as a direct sequel to the first book.
There's a lovely colour teaser shot from it in the latest Prog, which is lovely, but this B&W one posted up on the Tooth Forum far surpasses it, bringing back memories of the ultra-gore of the first episodes.
All fired up, thought i'd post here my Top Three Favourite Pages from way back then.

That's a nice surprise

2011-02-22T00:07:00.001-08:00

So, go out to by the Daily Mirror - and its a never before reprinted Frank Bellamy tale!
Excellent stuff, although it does mean i've got to buy the paper every day now 8/
And will be collecting them together and glueing them into an A4 binder in case this is the only time they'll resurface

GREAT NEWS CHUMS!

2011-02-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

Oh, happy day today - Garth returns in print in the Daily Mirror.
I've waxed lyrical before here about the fella and am chuffed to bits that he's returning in the actual paper rather than that Web only project a couple of years back. It looks like they'll be reprints, which raises the question: If they're stories that have never been collected before, will there be any sort of graphic novel collection? or should i start cutting them out and collecting them, like i did in the late 70's?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/02/18/comic-hero-garth-returns-to-the-daily-mirror-115875-22930756/

A nice Ian Kennedy interview

2011-02-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

A HUGELY, shamefully, overlooked artist, one who contributed so many fantastic combat images in the likes of Battle and Warlord, gets a nice interview via the link below.
As well as the above, i always admired his very clean, beautifully coloured work in Starlord of Timescape and, especially, Robusters. His Praying Mantis, along with all the other hardware in the strip, never were bettered, evoking strong parallels with Derek Meddings' modelwork on Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/Living/Arts-and-Literature/article/10785/at-home-with-legendary-comics-artist-ian-kennedy.html

This Is What We Want - Action #2

2011-02-08T06:02:00.000-08:00

Ahhhhh, such a classic example of why this title is so fondly remembered, why it's a classic, and why it was SO much better than anything the American publishers were putting out at the time.
Its great enough to have rollicking romps from the likes of Dredger and Hellman - this beautiful Mike Dorey page is worth the price of admission alone - but we also get two of the most iconic panels ever from Hookjaw. This colour one i used to study for hours, revelling in its gory greatness.
"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
Oddly, despite all the ultra-violence on offer, just a pained "Aieee!" from a bad guy getting hot coals in his mush courtesy of Dredger.

Johnny Red - finished

2011-02-04T03:51:00.000-08:00

Well, that was a treat of a read and no mistake.Been struck by how similiar it is to Charlies War, with the many instances of hideous cruelty depicted to the regular soldiers by the powers that be.
And also what Garth Ennis noted in the forward - Johnny's Hurricane don't 'arf get knocked about. Seems every other episode has it having a chunk blown off or being pranged yet again. Can't be much of it that's original by the end of the book.
Another thing to note is how Joe's realism in his art didn't just go into hardware, uniforms and battle scenes. Take a look at Johnny at the start, then 6 months later at the end of the book and there on his face is all that's endured, an adult and not a boy.
Stunning stuff.

Got me a Bat-Blog

2011-01-26T04:03:00.000-08:00

Been having a sort out of my den and it occured to me that i've an awful lot of Batman stuff, along with 40-odd years of back issues.
So thought i might as well set up a Blog to have a ramble about it all:

http://outofthebatcave.blogspot.com/

Johnny Red - Not hanging around

2011-01-26T03:48:00.000-08:00

Blimey, talk about hit the ground running.
First page of the first episode has only five panels. In the tiny amount of space we've found ourselves in the middle of a German attack on an Allied convoy, seen that the only Hurricane can't launch because its frozen to its launch rail, been introduced to Johnny Redburn, learn his nicknames "Red" and we get a flashback to how he's aboard rather than flying in the RAF.
In 5 panels.
Over the first 4 episodes, only 3 pages long, we get Johnny saving the convoy, fly off to find somehere to land, meet up with the Falcon's, fights with them and join them.
All in just 12 pages. Like i say, blimey.
Really miss this breakneck style of storytelling these days, where everything seems to either have a backstory you need to know to understand, or the tales told over multiple titles.
Know what i prefer.
Of note, of course, is Joe's STUNNING art with his trademark unique, gritty characters (Yakob's face especially so here) and brilliant action sequences already in place long before Charlies War.

Johnny Red: Falcon's First Flight

2011-01-22T13:06:00.000-08:00

Very surprised to see this in FP today, what with the massive delay and all.
Its got £3.00 off but i would've snapped it up anyway as Titan have gone the quite excellent Charlies War route of hardback, actual size and very clear reproduction. The cover is a bit different to this, having credits for Tom Tully and Joe Colquhoun and Johhny's Hurricane has been zoomed in on a bit more, losing the clumsy looking part of a dialogue baloon.
Like Charlies, we have an intro - by Garth Ennis - and a factual piece to do with the time by Jeremy Briggs which, oddly, has frame blow-ups to illustrate the points rather than contemporary photos.
Only had a flick through since coming home, but everything else is going to have to be pushed to one side.

Getting Major Easy out of a scrape

2011-01-16T03:19:00.000-08:00

Long term readers may remember me having a look at part one of an Easy tale in which, at the end, rather than threating to shoot the fella, the Nazi commander chose to tie him upside-down on the bonnet of his field car and drive him into a wall.
Typically barmy stuff - but how does he get out of it?
Taken a long time to get round to tracking down part two, but finally have it in me mitts.
And the resolutions just as offbeat - the Agent Easy's working with shoots the driver, making the car veer away from the wall and come to a stop. Easy asks the obvious: "You do realise the car might not have swerved?" To which the agent has the brilliant comeback: "Don't worry Major. If it hadn't, I'd have shot you before you hit the wall".
One panel that sums up why i love these tales so.
Interesting to see in this episode the rare instance of violence towards women as Easy knocks out the agent so she'll get on the plane. Its handled delicately, with his fist not anywhere near her face and actually looks redrawn - the hand, and especially the thumb, seem to have much thicker lines than the rest of the panel.
Also of note is Carlos's strangely attractive females. I can't quite put me finger on it why they appear odd. Thinking though that maybe the faces are a tad too long and the mouths are the same as the mens? Certainly distinctive though.

Back with Valiant & Vulcan

2011-01-08T02:13:00.000-08:00

Well, hope you had a jolly Christmas and the New Years started well?
Thought i'd kick off this year with a title i never got at all way back then. Of course i'd bought Vulcan but never cared at all for Valiant, thinking its characters were just not interesting.
Which put me off buying it - that and the fact i was deeply into Action and Battle at this time, along with every Marvel UK title going.
But i thought it might be worth taking a look at what i was missing.
Hmmm...
Lets get the naff stuff out of the way first shall we?
On the cover we have "Paco", half dog half wolf on the run from his wicked former owner. An odd tale involving him just running away, while various inept baddies fail to shoot or trap him, getting in a fix themselves. No style, no wit and no points of interest. Covers nice, having him come across like the Hound Of The Baskervilles, but the art inside is pretty duff.
"Well Red" (yet another football mad boy trying to make it), "Billy Bunter", "Death Wish" (a D Day Dawson clone), and "Captain Hurricane" show why i never bought the comic, while "One Eyed Jack" is just about passable.
"Soldier Sharp" is in here, but the art and script have gone really downhill - no humour or inventivness now, making him just be a nasty little creep.
Was thinking i'd wasted me money but, there at the back, is the barmy genius of "Adam Eterno" and all was right again.
Out of all his barmpot golden scrapes he's gotten in, this ranks pretty high - the fellas in Celtic Britain, up against "Celtic Stone Gods" who just happen to have gold ore in them (ain't that always the way?). He's resigned to his doom at the hands of these bad boys - until he realises that they're scared of limestone dust. Yep, you read that right, these stone GODS run away from a bit of dust. That's got to be up there with Green Lantern's weakness being the colour yellow as the lamest plot device going. Armed with this info he gathers up the dust into solid lumps to pelt them with, until "... the deadly lichen is being killed by slaked lime! Unnatural life ebbs from the gold-tainted stone".
Brilliant stuff, and well worth the price of admission.
There's a curiosty in here too - a pretty unfunny strip called "Challenge Charlie!", which has either an artist doing a fair Ken Reid immitation, or the great man wasn't on top form.
"AIEEE!" WATCH:
A perfect 100% "Aieeee!" from a Tommy in "Soldier Sharp"
A "Aaaeeee!" variation from the guy being dissolved in coolant in "Paco"
A short "Aaaee!!" from a Celt in "Adam Eterno" but, as he's being shoved down the throat of a Stone God, guess we can excuse that

Merry Christmas readers

2010-12-23T13:18:00.000-08:00

Okay, that's it, no more computer malarky while i go off and enjoy the festivities. Hope y'all have a great time and receive all you wished for.

Rogue's back

2010-12-18T02:39:00.000-08:00

The traditional end of year bumper edition of 2000AD is out, and nestled inside, the return of Rogue Trooper courtesy of Gerry Finley-Day and Staz Johnson.
I said before i was looking forward to it as, by having the original writer back and Staz looking like he'd gone back to the roots, it could be that we were getting an old school tale, without all the extra baggage and silliness that happened later.
Glad to see that was the case.
THIS is what 2000AD should be - action packed SF adventures that race along, with nifty ideas, nifty dialogue, great art and, wherever possible, self contained tales.
None of the ponderous, pretentious waffle that drags down so many of the strips today, not helped by muddy or downright confusing artwork.
The "lipstick" targeting device, stammels making a comeback, a brain in a jar, the return of the Neverglades, the "dead Ringer" - all great notions, set up and executed very well by Staz's art. Design-wise he seems to be chanelling Colin Wilson and Cam Kennedy, echoed again by his stong use of blacks. Which is great to see. Love his panel use too, the hovering dropship and - especially that last page (is it for sale Staz?).
To sum up, of course all comics must evolve. But really feel 2000AD has evolved TOO far and has gotten away from what made it great in the first place.
So its a lovely Christmas present to have an instance of a strip taking me back to my teenage years of reading the Prog.
Gawd bless yer guv'ners

Vulcan - 27th March 1976

2010-12-06T06:07:00.000-08:00

Okay chums, for this trip into the past, lets go with the oddity that was Vulcan.
An oddity in that, while it was a great (and far ahead of its time) idea to collect classic boys strips, many of which hadn't been seen for a fair old time, the execution of that idea was... odd.
(1) First up, guessing shrinking the pages to about two thirds of their original size was an economic decision (it being the mid 70's, there were a lot of them), but it don't 'arf make some of the small detail in the artwork hard to make out.
(2) Colouring black and white strips. This patently doesn't make sense. If you want to repackage these strips and decide to colour them to appeal to a wider market - i don't agree but i just about see the point - then colour all of it. Not just one and a half strips. The exception, of course, is "The Trigan Empire" which is just glorious in colour and to reprint it in b/w would just be horrible.
(3) The covers. This is where it really does look like it was a cheap exercise - cobbled togther efforts comprising panel blow-ups, crudely coloured. Looking at one of these on the shelves isn't going to attract readers.
So what does this issue give us?
For a start, a blummin' awful Steel Claw cover. The portrait of Crandell is a blow up from a panel inside, the guy in the background and cityscape from another episode. All badly coloured. Tsssk.

Inside, first strip is "Mytek The Mighty" and Gogra is making the giant mechanical ape tear up telegraph poles while he strides towards a nuclear missle base. And that's about it really. What's interesting is here we have a quite common occurence in the structure of many strips - namely the surname-only hero who's made it their goal to end a particular threat and takes the lead in all attempts to do so. Black Max's adversary was Wilson. Here MYtek/Gogra's is Mason, a fella like Wilson, disbelieved at first by the authorities then the figurehead of the defence.

"The Spider" quite rightly is fondly remembered. But usually as being an arch supervillain turned superhero. What's very often over-looked is just how silly some of his tales are. And this is pretty darn silly.
He's travelled to the ocean floor along with an "apparantly reformed crook from outer space" to rescue his friends and is attacked by "Furvoids" - hate filled entities capable of destroying any object or force that has ever existed - that are fired out of the trident of the Sea God. Who turns out not to be a Sea God at all, but an "ancient mortal who pretends to be superhuman". As he's vanquished, his passing is noted with the classic "So perishes the false pretender and his terrible trident forever more!". Brilliant, barmy stuff, with top-notch art.

"Billy's Boots" wasn't my thing back then and still isn't now. Nice art though.

"The Trigan Empire". What can i say? A true classic, so deserving of all the praise its ever garnered. How i regret selling my Hamlyn collection years back.

"The Steel Claw" is the usal barmy stuff. Our hero starts by being stuck to a magnetic wall (yes really) in the home of the local Governer. Trapped there by Dr Magno (yes really), a strange bloke who looks like he's got a pair of tights on his head, it looks like he's had it when Magno orders his men to "take your time my friends! Remember, that your target is an invisble one!" To which the not too bright goons reply "That won't help Crandell now! If we shoot all around the claw some of the bullets are BOUND to hit him!" (yes really). But our hero has taken the glove of and spends the rest of the episode prancing around invisibly while they try to plug him.

"Kelly's Eye" is classic stuff, with our hero up against an evil dulpicate of himself, exact in every way except he, er, talks backwards. Anyway, Tim's lost the Eye Of Zoltec to his doppleganger and has to climb into the "Titan Suit" to anything like be a match for him. Finally, he manges to cut the cord of the Eye and, as it rolls away, we have the brilliantly barmy "Enog... Enots!" This could possibly be THE best line i've ever read in a comic.

"Robot Archie" is a huge let-dwon after that, with crappy story, crappy art and crappy colouring.

All in all, a fun read, with some great examples of what makes these strips, er, great.
"AIEEEE" WATCH:
Nowt.

Smash! 3rd May 1969

2010-12-02T12:53:00.000-08:00

Second comic out of the box and its no real suprise - this title is a tad bigger and taller than the others so it'd be easier to come across first.
A real mixed bag here.
"Master Of The Marsh" was a strip i read back then only for the incredible moody artwork. And that stills holds true now - if it wasn't for it the strip'd be a right dull affair.
Next up is "Erik The Viking" starting - a curious oddity in that its actually a reprint of "Karl The Viking" from Lion. It early days for Don Lawrence on this strip but there's the odd panel or face here and there which are precursors to the magnificence he'd go on to produce for "The Trigan Empire".
After the duffness of "Nutt and Bolt", "Percy's Pets" and "The Wide World Wanderers" we come to creepiness of "Cursitor Doom". Here he's up against the ghost of highwayman Black Patch and, while the art isn't as nice as when Eric Bradbury was on it, this page is really rather good. The use of black on the ghostly figure on the left and the scratchy rain effect on the right are excellent and wouldn't look at all out of place currently in "Defoe", no?
Where we DO have Bradbury moodiness is in "Bunsen's Burner" . Another example of classic 60/70's boys comic method and why i love them so much - take a regular scenero and put a bizarre twist on it. Here we have two guys taking an ancient steam car around the world in order to gain an inheritance. Okay, a bit odd but not too implausable.
But a criminal called The Inventor has been paid to stop them. And how does he choose to go about it? By unleashing his "fantastic mechanical crab" that's how.
Because that's what you do when you need to stop a clapped out old banger. Not shoot the occupants, nor blow it up or any number of typical dastardly ways. Absolute genius and absolutely lovely art from Eric.
The moodiness keeps going over the page with "Janus Stark", a strip which had really hit its stride in terms of art which you can here is engaging and incredibly evocative despite the tale being almost all set-up and not much happening.
And that's it. Of the remaining strips, i would've mentioned "The Swots And The Blots" but, as its not done by Leo Baxendale and whoever did do it is just not in the same league, i won't.
"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
Far too early for such an expletive.

Battle and Valiant - 13th November 1976

2010-12-02T12:08:00.000-08:00

With us snowed in here in the village, it means no work and plenty od spare time. So, while the Sprogs are watching "The Muppets Christmas Carol", thought i'd pick a couple of issues out of the box completely at random and have a peruse.
First up, another Battle read for me.
It's an odd cover, made up of stark black and white images, with a lot of pretty prominent dotting for shading. All three look like they're copies from somewhere else - its obvious that's an Ezquerra Eazy but the One-Eyed Jack and D-Day Dawson look almost like they've been photo referenced, though gawd knows from where.
Three strips of note this time:
"Major Eazy" is the start of a three-parter, having the guy up against deep desert bandits operating out of a secret oasis. Its classic stuff with classic art by Carlos. This is my favourite - love how the centre section is the only area with solid panel lines and the way they're composed to contain Eazy being ambushed, with some lovely widescreen one's giving a real cinematic feel to the sequence. Can just see the panel of the bandits up on the dune top on the big screen.
A straight out action episode from "Darkies Mob", with the fellas attacking an air base. Again, Mike Western is using the panel to direct the reader - here these odd shaped panels really do seem to be focusing the reader towards the guy on fire (who seems to be reacting quite calmly, being his face is falling off).
Lastly we have the never really talked about "Solder Sharp". Which is odd as its pretty entertaining stuff with "Charlies War" quality art from Joe. Guess editorial and the readers didn't really take to having the main character being so unsympathetic, what with him being a coward, cheat and thief. But the funs in the scrapes he gets in to and out of. Here we have him tied down by the soviets (painful), his chest cut, then a cage of rats plonked down on him, the idea being they'll be so inflamed by the smell of the blood that they'll eat through the wooden floor of the cage to get to him.
Nice.
Arnie gets out of this one by spinning the wheel he's on over to the fire, then putting his arm in it until the rope burns through. A true "you couldn't do that in a kids comic now" sequence if ever i saw one.
"AIEEEE" WATCH:
A nearly there "Aaaiee!" from a desert bandit being shot at by Easy. Guess it'd have been fuller if he's actually been hit.
A 100% "Aieeee!" from a blown up Russian in "Panzer G-Man". Well done that soldier.
A one E too many "Aieeeee!" from a similary blown up German a few panels on.
And at the end of the strip we have a positive glut of them - a "Aieeeee!" from a Russian being shot AND on fire, a cut-off "Aiee!" from his mate next to him and then the really rather brilliant "BATUSH-AIEEEEE!".

Starlord #3

2010-11-30T08:23:00.000-08:00

Mentioning the galactic freedom fighters weekly journal to us mere Earthlings back in that Battle post gave me a taste to have a wee revisit.
So here we have issue 3, cover dated 27th May 1978 and sporting an excellent Kevin O'Neil battle scene, highly reminiscent of the Chris Foss/Peter Elson etc SF paperback covers of the time. Except, where they did theirs with an airbrush, Kev is all line work. And might fine fine linework it is too. The details just amazing, especially on the pilots outfit and cockpit. Does this still exist? Would love to have it.
Turn the page and we have "Planet Of The Damned", in my mind a rather over-looked tale. It may be highly derivitive (especially of Hammers "Lost Continent") and, of course, once they get back the tales done, but on the way it was a lot of fun. Quite nasty too - really get the feeling it'd have fit into Action no probs.
The arts what makes it. Lovely work from Azpiri - guessing out of the Spanish studios - with some nice gross designs, and here we have the acid spitting aliens.
What's curious is the use of grey in this strip. It doesn't look like the regular Letratone used for shading, more like the strip is coloured but printed in black and white.
Which beggars the question - was the original in colour, does it still exist, and what's the chances of it being reprinted?

Next up, "Ro-Busters". My favourite back then but, as with most strips of the time, it wasn't anything to do with the characters - it was the robots, the ships and the weapons that had all the appeal. A good case is here in this excellent double spread from Dave Gibbons - would've killed for a Preying Mantis model kit.

Another example of this is next in "Strontium Dog". The appeal of it was Alpha's weapons and that we got Star Wars type ships and battles every week. Here we have a classic example of Carlos Ezquerras brilliant, off-beat, simple looking spaceship designs that aren't really. I've tried making ships with this mass of panel lines and detail but what Carlos makes look so easy to do is blummin' difficult to recreate.

We have the start of "Mind Wars" next, which is a pretty slow start, saved by Redondo's excellent art.

Finally we've got "Timequake", another strip screaming out for a graphic novel treatment. Dredger, sorry, Blocker - has to go back in time to fight an earlier version of himself to prevent a future nuclear war. Nice, easy, action-packed stuff with stunning work by (said it before and i'll say it again) the crimingly over-looked Ian Kennedy.
What i said before about "Planet" looking like it was in colour but printed B/W is true here as we have the first pages looking like this with the last page in colour.

Summing up, only issue 3 but most strips have settled in nicely and there's a neat mix of different tales, a deliberate move to enable us kids to train up to join Starlords army.
"AIEEEE" WATCH:
A drawn out "Aaaieeeee" from a guy in "Planet" - but, as he's being dissolved by acid, guess we can allow that.

The last ever Black Max?

2010-11-25T03:15:00.000-08:00

Reading Lion & Thunder from the 21st October 1972 and i think i'm seeing the last ever episode of The Black Max.
On page 4 we have an ad for the following weeks issue featuring "Secret Of The Demon Dwarf", which is the spin-off series featuring the stunted scientist.
Which is making me think when, in his strip, Black Max is pursued and picked up by one of his Bats, with all the indications that he's about to be eaten, it really is the end for the fella.
Which would be a shame and really rather ainti-climatic if its true.

Battle Action - 17 June 1978

2010-11-22T06:30:00.000-08:00

I'd given up on this title by this point, much preferring to get my thrills through SF, what with Star Wars out only the year before, Who and Blakes 7 on the telly and, in print, 2000AD and the recently launched Starlord.
I know i came back to it though with the launch of "Charlies War" but this period is completely unknown to me.
So lets see what we've got.
"Johnny Red" i never really cared for, finding him a bit wet and whingy. Which he is here. But, as back then, its the artwork which is of note and, boy, does Joe deliver. Every bit as good as the work he'll go on to do with "Charlies", its got his trademark attention to detail, brilliantly executed action scenes, and interesting use of panelwork. Love this widescreen one at the bottom of the page, conveying even more speed to Johhny's Hurricane.
Mike Dorey takes a turn on "Hellman" and its yet another oddball idea - he and his tank hiding in a zoo's cage to ambush the Russians who've come along to shoot the animals for grub.
"Spinball Wars" is pretty apallaling, a VERY wattered down version of what it had been. Ditto "Dredger" who turns up later on.
"Rat Pack" has lovely, moody art from Eric Bradbury, which totally out-classes the story its telling - the team break in to their old prison to capture their old governer, take him to Belgium and swop him for a scientist the Germans have captured, who looks just like him. Straight away the Germans spot he's not the real deal. So why bother?
Last up is "The Sarge", a ho hum tale notable only for Mike Westerns stunning art.
Summing up, a good issue worth having the art - and that's it.
"AIEEEE Watch":
Quite a haul this time:
A variation of "Ahieeeeegh!" from inside a blown up tank in "Johnny Red".
"Hellman" has two - an extended "Aieeeeeeeee!" and a one e too many "Aieeeee!"
And THREE "Aieeeeeee"'s in "The Sarge"

Who's your favourite British boys comic character of the 60's/70's?
	Janus Stark
	Adam Eterno
	The Steel Claw
	Black Max
	Robot Archie
	Cursitor Doom
	Judge Dredd
	Dan Dare
	Dredger
	Hellman
	Tim Kelly
	Mytek The Mighty
	Hookjaw
	Old One Eye
	Joe Darkie
	Charley Bourne
	Major Easy
	Dolmann
	D Day Dawson
	The Spider
	M.A.C.H. 1
	Steel Commando
	Johhny Alpha
	Hammerstien
	Ro-Jaws
	General Jumbo
	Johnny Red

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