Bullet Number 1 - a memory cheat?

So, finally, FINALLY, a proper update here. Should have been about a month ago but the package of 1 and 2 of this title vanished after being sent to me - then finally ended back up at the seller...
Oh well, they're here now so lets get on with it shall we?
I know i bought at least the first few issues of Bullet, as i did with all new tiles, as i was really after the free gifts. When they ran out i kept with it if the stories engaged me enough and i could divert my pocket money to them rather than a quarter of sweets or the latest bubblegum cards.
Guess was pretty usual?
Anyway, as i say, i know i had the free gift issues at least, but haven't re-read any of them since 1976 - so, will memory cheat?
First up is Pic 1 and the cover. Two things to mention here. One is the very sparten use of colour - usually red to accompany the black and white. As a 14 year old i thought it looked cheap, and still do now. Other thing is the ring free gift. Remember it well, and how the skull and crossbones sticker on the cover here was by far the best to use.
Turn the cover and first strip is "Smasher" - a whacking great robot controled by Doctor Doom, who seems content to have it just destroy stuff, with no word yet of how he built such a titan nor what he expects to get from duffing up a non-existant country. Quite fun though, helped immeasurably by the art of Ian Kennedy, a shockingly over-looked artist, who had a unique, distinctive style far superior to the scripts he was ilustrating.
Next is "Twisty". So called because he's a "cripple" who goes from destitute beginnings, rising above them to be a footie star (if bells are ringing, you're not the only one). Very so-so art that looks rather familiar...
"Survivor" has young Dick's plane blown up by his dasterdly cousins so they get to inherit his grandfathers wealth. Very, very humdrum.
Then we have "Fireball". One part Jason Wyngarde, one part Bond, and a wee part of Dredger, its a massive NINE pages chronicalling the lead characters adventures, taking in Brands Hatch and, er, Norway, its a rollicking romp of mustacheoed, medal swinging capers. Only thing stopping it being a Bond is the total absence of any "totty". Which is understandable i guess. What's odd to see here is how the fella not only crops up in his tale, but every so often in the guise of fictional Editor/Creator of the comic (there go those bells again).
"3 Men In A Jeep" i guess is Bullet's take on Battle's "Rat Pack", having a bunch of Allied troops going their own way to take on the Nazi threat. Trouble is, the story and art are nowhere near as good.
Last strip is "Vic's Vengeance", the tale of a barrow boy fighting against the mob after his dad is killed by the mob. Very dull, very forgettable.
So that was that. Issue 1.
Nowhere as bad as i thought it'd be. I've always looked back on it with disdain and maybe later issues will bear it out - or back then i was reading it alongside Battle and Action and it couldn't compare - bit we'll see.
Biggest impression is though how similar things felt. Thinking about it a bit more and its a bits of a suprise as to just what came first:

Comic advertised as a new, tough, different comic to the norm for boys:
Bullet - 14 Feb 1976
Action - 14 Feb 1976
2000AD - 26 Feb 1977

Fictional Editor character who frequently pops up to talk to the readers:
Bullet - Fireball
2000AD - a year later with Tharg

Tough, do it my own way goverment agent:
Bullet - Fireball
Action - Dredger
2000AD - M.A.C.H 1

Kid rising out of the gutter of a poor, dysfunctional family to be a footie star player:
Bullet - Twister
Action - Look Out For Lefty

So, all in all, not the gamble i thought it'd be and quite an enjoyable read. But do i dare read more?
"AIEEEE!" Watch: A somewhat shortened "Aiee!" from a German trooper in "3 Men In A Jeep".

Laser Eraser

There WILL be an update soon here - honest. Just as soon as Royal Mail sort out the mess...
As a filler, not part of the Blog's remit but lovely work that i want to show off, here's my Laser Eraser commission by top bloke Dylan Teague.
Mysta and Axel Pressbutton are two crimingly over-looked characters imo - great plots, great scripts and stunning work by Steve Dillon.
Can we PLEASE have a hardback collection Titan?

Hookjaw in the raw

With kind permission of owner and top bloke Rufus Dayglo, thought you might like to see a classic page from the strip in its original form.
Its a perfect example of why Sola was THE artist for me on Action: slightly caricatured to the gritty end of the scale humans, highly original gore scenes and bizarro notions - why are the hammerheads up in the air.
Forget Tharg. Back then, Hookjaw was "The Mighty One" and no mistake. And so was Ramon Sola.
If the proposed new stories do go ahead it does beg the question - what on earth can an artist do to top this in the shock stakes? Not much i reckon.

Hookjaw's swimming back?

My thanks to the Bronze for giving me the heads-up on the wettest baddie ever maybe returning.
If its done well, could be the most exciting comic event for a long time

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/07/03/will-strip-magazine-bring-back-hook-jaw/

Action 11th September 1976 - ULTRA violence

Did my customary dip into the back issue box and came up with this corker. Only a few weeks away from it being taken off the shelves and boy can you see why.

Straight in with the start of "Kids Rule - OK" and it starts off as it mean to goes on - within 5 panels we've got the set-up of all the adults dying and the main characters watching their teacher rot away, within its 4 pages we've got the rivalries established and the two gangs introduced. Again, as an adult, its incredible how much information could be gotten across back then in such a small amount of space. Didn't really like this strip as a 14 year old and still don't. There's no-one to emphasise with as they're all a pretty rotten bunch and the whole thing comes across as being nasty for nasties sake, with the creators pushing to see what they could get away with and trying to top each vicious set piece.

"Dredger" has art that's picked up immensily from prior issues. Its still a bit dodge here but it kinda fits with the trippy, hallucinatory elements. Again, a self contained, entertaining tale in just THREE pages. Dredger's on top form here - Breed has to pretend to be the hostage and when asks Dredger won't folk see that he's the actual one, Big D bops him on the nose so the blood'll disguise him. Classic.

Jumping over a dull "Death Race 1999" we go into "Hookjaw" and the gore hits 11. Its the final showdown between the Beastie and Rick Mason and, over two pages, we see his foot come off, him get impaled, his arm come off and finally beheaded. It was an audacious move to have the hero character not only be dispatched but to have it take up two thirds of this issues page count. As shocking as it is, it would've been far, far more (and am thinking maybe unpublishable) if the art was of the quality of the first few issues.

"Hell's Highway" next and, again, one i never got into, for the same reason as "Kid's". But it does have this indelible image, one that's stayed with me all these years.

After that, "Look Out For Lefty!", "Hellman" and "Green Grudge's War" kinda fade into the background, with stories and art that just can't compete with what's just come before. Its like they're from a totally different comic.

To sum up, a classic issue which can stand up there as a true representitive of the title.

"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
Strangely, for such an action packed, violent issue there's just the almost "Aaaaeee!" from Rick as he's hooked on Hookjaw's hook and an elongated "Aieeeeeeeee!" from a Russian as he falls out of a barn in "Hellman" (it was a long drop).


Do like the really rather special

Dez Skinn's new Site

Still under construction but well worth a look and already pretty indepth. Hopefully it'll grow and grow.
Nice one Dez.

http://dezskinn.com/

Charleys War going cheap

Just a heads up for you UK visitors - The Works chain of discount book stores are selling the Charleys War graphic novels for only £2.99 each.
No idea if they're doing all of them, but my local one had Volumes 3, 5 and 6.

The return of Shako

Just got the new editions of Zarjazz and Dogbreath - and what a nice suprise to see this old timer making a welcome return.
Shako was late out of the gate in 2000AD, not appearing until Prog 20, but was actually one of the strips in the dummy edition.
That dummy was created before the Action upset and it certainly has echoes of pre-censored Hookjaw, what with the nasty, graphic, highly original human deaths dealt by this force of nature, depicted in gruesome detail by Spanish artists.
So, good to see the tradition continuing courtesy of writer Rich Clements and artist Bryan Coyle - the head in the mouth shot could easily be from '77.

Eric Bradbury's return to Black Max.

Hmmm, that's interesting.
I'd always thought that Mr Bradbury did the initial design work for the Black max strip and the very first episode but then passed on the duties to Mr Font.
So its a bit of a suprise to find, tucked away in the Thunder annual of 1973, a text story featuring the original artist.
Its certainly not out-takes from before the strip ran as the story has Von Klorr and Wilson in the midst of their battles.
Nice to see - but must say, prefer Font's monstrous takes on the Giant Bat's over Bradbury's far more realistic one's.

Dave Gibbons' Doctor Who

Alas, nothing in Nottingham i was after that'd fit the remit of this here Blog. But have been hankering over the Doctor Who strips that started in the then weekly back in '78.
Haven't read them since then but remember liking them - especially for the excellent Dave Gibbons artwork (was all fired up on him as it was around the same time he was drawing Dan Dare for 2000AD, and i was in love with that).
So, thought i'd buy a graphic novel. But which?
The proper, large-szed UK versions which are in the original black and white and the right size but only one tale per album?
Or the smaller, colourised US version, who's colouring does seem rather garish but you do get multiple tales.
Logic says to keep it authentic and go with the original B/W's.
But same price gets you 3 or 4 tales for the 14.99.
Couldn't decide - so went with one of the back issues of the US comic to see just what its like and if memory cheats.
It sure blummin' well does.
Gibbons' art is still as superb as i remember it and the plots are good fun.
But the scripts...
Sorry Steve Parkhouse and Steve Moore but you may have been brought up on the Doc and maybe even were fans - but he just doesn't talk like that.
Guess i'm old and picky now as i don't remember having a problem with Tom Baker exclaming "Good Heavens!" and suchlike but sure do now.
Odd. And it spoiled the tales for me big time. So dunno if i'll be getting the GN's at all now.

Off to Nottingham today

for a meet-up with a bunch of friends.
Will be popping in to FP and the really rather excellent Page 45, so hopefully will return with fodder for this here Blog.

Leigh Gallagher's Dredd

I've mentioned here here before how much i admire Leigh's work on "Defoe" in 2000AD, as his stunningly moody b/w art strongly evokes memories of strips from when i were a nipper.
If Janus Stark, Black Max, Adam Eterno or the Spider were ever to be properly resurrected then Leigh's the Man as far as i'm concerned.
He's recently done a Dredd tale for the Megazine and i've just got from him this prelim for an unused cover design.
Can see why maybe it wasn't chosen as the Werewolf is a wee bit small but i love it - a great, unusual shot of ol' Chinface and a superb bit of perspective on ol' Furface.
Top work.

Poor Brian Bolland

Just about on track - he had done work for 2000AD and Dez Skinn's Hammer magazine by 1978 - but i really feel sorry for Brian Bolland.
Not only an artistic genius and easily one of the top British comic artists ever, but what comes across in his "Art Of Brian Bolland" and "Bolland Strips!" books is what a nice, genuine guy he is, that gets hurt and upset by folk who have effectivly stolen his original artwork, or plaguerised him so much it stops being homage and patently becomes ripoff.
And here's the latest example.
And here's Brian outside the blatent piece outside the Pompidou Centre.
His face says it all.

Crikey! 14

Just got round to reading this, and its the usual diverse treat.
Oddly though, its not the interview with Bryan Talbot or the piece on Marvel UK that i enjoyed but these two instead.
I didn't know it at the time, but the reason i hung on to the few Rupert annuals i had was down to the genius of Alfred Bestall. Never liked the bear, nor his friends, nor the stories.
But the art...
Used to just pour over the artwork, these incredibly charming, evocative landscapes that seemed not to be paintings, but some sort of view in to another world. They were unlike anything i'd ever seen before and still stand up now. Am quite lucky in that i live not far from Canterbury, which houses a permanent Rupert musuem, with original art by Mr Bestall. Which is even more awe inspiring up close.
Second up is the nice piece on The Perishers. They were a daily staple for me, read just after Andy Capp and just before Garth. They were nice, gentle innocent fun with endearing characters that never seemed to change or grow old. But why should they?

R.I.P Peter O'Donnell

Sad news indeed:

Titan Books is hugely saddened to report the passing of writer Peter O’Donnell, who died over the Bank Holiday weekend at the age of 90.

“Peter O'Donnell was respected as one of the greatest writers in the comics medium today and had a devout following amongst comics professionals and fans alike”, says Titan’s Managing Director, Nick Landau. “I am honoured to have known him – and published his greatest creations, Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin – for almost 40 years.”

Born in South London in 1920, O’Donnell had a long and illustrious career, the highlight of which was his creation of classic crime character ‘Modesty Blaise’. The smart and sassy comic strip ran daily in the Evening Standard newspaper during the 1960s. O’Donnell retired from writing in 2001, but had continued to oversee Titan’s release of more than a dozen Modesty Blaise collections, contributing introductions and commentaries to his classic stories.

Adventurer, spy, smuggler and seductress, Modesty Blaise is the high priestess of pulp, providing crime thriller storylines with sass, wit and a touch of glamour, that have wooed celebrity fans such as Quentin Tarantino.

Charley's War

Been doing this Blog for a while now and, of course, Charley Bourne should've been featured by now.
But, i dunno.
This is a very lightweight homage to the comics i grew up with and, while Charley was a part of that, such a tragic, honourable tale of the horror of that awful war just doesn't seem right.
How can i do an "Aieeee!" Watch on it eh?
Suffice to say that it was both Joe Colquhoun and Pat Mills' finest hours, a true classic - and something that should be a mandatory read in schools.

We're off

Right, off now for a week in Norfolk. Will update upon return. Byeeeee

Garth - adjustments

Not a boys comic character, true, but to this pre-pubescent then pubescent fella, Garth was VERY interesting.
Not only did you get a fix 5 days a week (thankfully, my Mum was a Daily Mirror reader) of great fantasy and SF adventures, but you also got tons of buxom ladies (some of which rivalled Garth in chest size. But not often) who either wore very little or had the habit of losing said little clothing or going totally starkers.
As i say, very interesting.
For years i had my "Daily Mirror Of Garth" as my only collection of Frank Bellamy's run. And i've always thought that i had the true representation of those tales.
Until a few years ago when i picked up the Titan editions and released - something ain't right.
Comparing stories that appear in both it soon became apparent that some Mary Whitehouse type had been hard at work making the Mirror collection "safe" from all.
Either bras were crudely drawn over bits (as in the case here from "The Women Of Galba") or - unforgivibly - omiittted days worth of 3 panel strips, fast forwarding past the smut (as here in "Ghost Town".)
Tsssk... These tales were in a daily newspaper for all to see. How can collecting them make them more unsuitable?
Someone must've had the job of pouring over the art and making those decisions. Reckon it was Mary.

Got me a new Blog

Sorry for the lack of posts just lately, but have had a bit of a spurt on the old modelling front, plus i've been getting through a few novels so comic reading has been minimal.
Also been tied up making a new Blog.
Its dawned on me that, with showing films being my profession and watching them a hobby, why not have a whittle on about them?
Expect rants both for and against, plus the odd anecdote from this here Projectionist lark:

http://mangamax-outofthebox.blogspot.com/

The Exclusive

Here it is then, never seen before anywhere before, sorry about the wait. The teaser i'd put up was a zoom-in on the face of the rough of this final image.
You might recall me saying i've an ambition to have modern artists do their take on The Black Max, my favourite 70's comic character.
I've already got one by Chris Weston and now Dom Reardon has very kindly given up time to do his version.
Dom was top of my list to have a go as he's a proven master of the B&W supernatural strip with his brilliant work on 2000AD's Caballistics Inc and couldn't wait to see what he'd comne up with.
LOVE it.
The face has just such a great menacing look to it, the way he's done the break in the clouds is brilliant, the moon framing the plane is top notch and the bats - superb.
Well chuffed with it.

Top 5 Iconic moments - #1

It HAD to be this. The remit of the choices was for stand out images, moments from a strip that were so powerful that they've stayed with me over the (far too many) years and stand as symbols of that story.
Action had been going for quite a while before McNally reaches his demise and had been delivering shockingly graphic scenes week in and week out.
If i was becoming used to them i certainly don't remember it but, if i was, this panel sure would've got me back to square one again.
In the previous panels the Chief was trying his best to hold Hookjaw's mouth open, confident that he could still beat the beast.
Of course he couldn't and it was only a matter of time before he tired and the sharks jaws closed.
And close they did - and how.
To have all the limbs fly off like that was an audacious piece of storytelling (would love to know if it was in the script or the artist going for it) and neatly sums up the uniqueness of the comic. Where ever have you seen anything like that - in comics or film - either then or now?
A brilliant, brilliant panel that sums up everything that was great and different and joyous to the 14 year-old me.
And that's why its Number One.

Black Max - barminess reaches a new height

In the 24th April 1971 edition, we finally get to see how come Wilson never spotted Max's castle before, even though he'd flown over the area only a couple of issues ago with no sign of it - "It's not a real island at all! Just earth and vegetation on some kind of steel platform... and transported by airships!"
Bonkers.
Aside from how the heck you'd go to all that trouble of building a castle on a bunch of zepplins, there's also why, in that it served no purpose, being totally blown up a few weeks later.
But, we're talking early 70's boys comics, and logic had flown out the window long before.

Adam Eterno - the clod

Awwww... Bless 'im.
There he is, captured by the Inca Empire, bound by ropes of gold making him weak and vulnerable, elects to be stabbed in the chest so that the ropes are cut, then jumps off the temple with fake wings attached, to prove he's their God.
Does a couple of circuits before crashing to the ground in a truely It's A Knockout fashion.
Yep, he's English alright.

Black Max & Adam Eterno - recaps

Just got the 20th March 1971 edition of Lion & Thunder, which is the first issue of the combined titles. Because of that, all the strips have to have retellings of their origins for the readers of the opposite comic.
Which has made for some nice bringing up to speed and start of new tales for all the strips. The fact that they do so in the space of just 2 or 3 pages is a testiment to the talent of the writers.
With Adam Eterno you also get top notch art. Never seen him looking better or moodier. Could do without the cherubic pre-curse version though...
Black Max is equally good, with the added bonus of Von Kloor living on the (rather obvious) Black Island, the significance of which won't be revealed for a few weeks.

An exclusive on the way... nearly there

In the words of the immortal Rolf - can you tell what it is yet?

Best Of Buster

Got this before Christmas but only got round to waffling about it now. Its a pretty nifty, with a good diverse selection of strips. personally, i'd rather have seen more of Mr Baxendale and Reid, especially the latter and his brilliant Faceache creation.
Highly recommended, only available in WH Smiths and, at least before Crimbo, quite hard to track down. Dunno if that's still the case now.

Best Of Battle - Johnny Red

Hello chums, time for another update and we're delving back into the really rather nifty Best Of Battle and another of my favourites from my school days.
Think the appeal of Johnny Red was that it coincided with me getting into Airfix kits big-time, so i was reading the strip at exactly the same time as being surrounded by my own Hurricane's, Heinkel 111's and Stuka's.
What's great about the collected strips here is that they're the first few, with brilliant art by Joe Colquhoun, which i haven't reread since it started in 1977.
Up until now i've only had hazy memories of those times, with my main memories being of the strip after it'd occured to me to keep hold of my copies and they consisted of the really rather silly tales of Johnny having a red skull painted on his plane and really rather not-so-good art by John Cooper.
Anyway, the selection here shows how leisurely the pace was to get to the premise of Johnny fighting alongside the Falcons - its 3 issues before he meets them and 5 until he decides to join them.
Along the way we get brilliant art and lovely action sequences, favourite being the blasting of a rockface to make an avalanche to wipe out the German tank squadron.
Its been proposed often enough that there'll be a graphic novel and i can't wait. If it does show up i ain't doing an "Aieeee!" Watch on it as 1977 seems to be a golden year for such exclamations.

Evidence below M'lud:
"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
An unusual "H" popping up and a frankly uneccesary SIX "E"'s from a freshly machinegunned German pilot - "Ahieeeeee!"
Yakob has a war cry derivitive - "Haaaieeee!"
The Russian Front really seems to make the German's produce a lot of "E"'s and go heavy on the "H". A tank gets blown up with this heard from inside - "Ahieeeeeeegh!"

Top 5 Iconic moments - #2

Getting near the end now and its proving pretty hard to whittle it down to two. Should've done a Top Ten...
Anyway, i've pondered long and hard over what should be Number Two - Rat Pack perhaps? a Belardinelli or Gibbons Dan Dare panel? Some classic Baxendale or Reid comedy perchance? Maybe Warlord in all his medallioned glory talking to us Sprogs?
I've supurned them all for this here cover.
Not only is it a true classic, beautifully done but i've chosen it as (A) it gets across the tough as nails determination of the character, (B) it was unusual back then to see the hero so beat up, (C) and this is the main one, how brilliant it is to see robots and hardware that are JUST THERE. No explanation, no back story, no model numbers - just top notch designs, beautifully portrayed.
When i think of Dredd of the 70's and 80's its this tale and this cover that's brought to mind.
Which is why its here.

Top 5 Iconic moments - #3

Back to Action for the next and a grim and glorious panel from Dredger. I'd never seen any horror film outside of Universal and B Movie's by this point, so found this shot of a severed head truely horrific.
Used to study it for ages - it wasn't just how much blood there was and the look on the face, but also how well drawn it was and what a great angle to show it.
Also used to puzzle how someone's glasses can fall off in shock.
A great panel, one i always remember when thinking of the strip.

An exclusive on the way...

Not saying any more right now, but hopefully before long i'll be sharing something with you guys never, ever seen before and totally in keeping with this site.
Ohhhhh, ain't i enigmatic?

Merry Christmas...

... To you all, my Blogging chums. All the best for 2010.

Top 5 Iconic moments - #4

With the snow buggering up the plans, i've a bonus morning here at home. So thought i'd give you number 4 in my countdown.
The Pow! annual of 1971 seems to be quite an oddity in that, instead of its usual mix of Marvel reprints and British humour strips, we were given 10 all new origin tales of superheroes and villains.
The were mostly patently rip-offs of established DC and Marvel characters, but given the usual for the time British bizarro spin on things. That made them distinctive but, even more so, was the fact that the art seems to be all from the Spanish studios, given them an even odder and more surreal feel.
Both aspects made a huge imapact on the 9-year old me, no more so than the tale of "Norstad - Ruler Of The Deep!".
A despot ruler of a medievil-style underwater kingdom, he's deposed, dumped into the depths, loses his strength, forms a mental link with explorer Mike, gets his strength back from him whenever Mike's asleep, gets back his kingdom, rises to the surface, runs amoke but then flees back to the depths when Mike wakes up.
All that in 9 pages.
Great, mad stuff.
And the reason for posting is this page making it my number 4. Its a combination of the image of Norstad killing the shark by sitting on it and punching it to death. And his return to his palace to find his people had been over-powered by their jellyfish slaves.
I mean, c'mon - have you ever seen anything anywhere punching a shark to death? or ever thought how jellyfish could take over a kingdom?
I know i hadn't. But spent ages studying those two panels and pondering it.
And that's why its my number 4.

A Christmas Annual

As this is my last posting before the big day, thought it apt to take a look at a staple from British childrens pressies, the annual.
So here we are with Thunder from 1972 and, inside the typically lurid covers, there's a real mixed bag - but i'll focus on the strips that float me boat.
First up, The Black Max. The nature of the annual dictated that all the tales had to be self-contained stories - easy for the comedies, less so for the drama one's. Usually they were rather substandard in both script and art but here we have Font doing sterling work worthy of the weekly and a nice, barmy tale of Max being courtmarshalled for interfering with "The Prussian Butcher"'s plans of dominating the skies. Resigned to his fate, he decides to kill the hated Wilson before his arrest, only to find Wilsons plane that he shot down actually was piloted by the Butcher, getting him out of the fix. As i say, barmy - but brilliant - stuff.
Top notch art on The Spider. I look and marvel at the crosshatch detail in the whole strip, but the standout has to be this stunning shot of the ships. SUCH effort put into it. I'm in awe.
Adam Eterno bears out what i said about the art in annuals. Rather duff stuff here, not at all what we'd been used too. Not so jarring though than if it was set in the usual Victorian/Elizebethen eras, here the total lack of moodiness is helped that its in Arthurian times and in broad daylight. Makes it more fairytale-like.
Last to thing to mention is Jet Skaters, a strip i wasn't too keen on, them coming across as some sort of Famous Five relatives. But i look at it now and still feel the urge to have a pair of those boots.
"AIEEEE!" WATCH: Its 1972, guessing before the exclamation was born. Instead we have mainly derivitives of "ahhhh!"