The Beano and The Dandy 1937 - 1988 Classic Comic Covers

The Beano and The Dandy 1937 - 1988 Classic Comic Covers (Phil Comics/£19.99)

One of my great childhood memories was getting hold of the latest Beano and /or Dandy. Certainly I was more of Beano Boy than a Dandy I was more than happy to sit down and have a chuckle with Lord Snooty, Dennis, Korky, Desperate Dan and the rest every time I turned a page.

Then there were those misbehaved and anarchic schoolboys down at Bash Street. Those were the days!  Both comics were already old but far from tired when I started reading them sometime in the early sixties. Can't remember exactly when.




The Dandy was the first of the two comics appearing on Dec Ist 1937 with a much more scrawny Korky the Cat adoring the front page. Sadly The Dandy is no longer with us having finally succumbed to falling sales back in 2012.




The Beano is still with us of course and is now the longest running British comic and sales are on the increase I understand though nothing like they were back in the fifties and sixties. The beano began publication on July 30th 1938 with Big Eggo (an ostrich) on the cover.




Like others of my generation it's Biffo the Bear that was the cover feature growing up. Biffo took over the cover in The Beano on January 24th 1948.



This excellent book brings you some of the cover from both comics many of which will bring back memories of your youth, it certainly did mine. Like many I continued reading both the comic and the annuals way past the age group it was supposedly aimed at. Some still collect it today though I don't find it the same.  Different  generation me!

My only criticism is that they removed a character Peanut because of "racial stereotypes" from a number of issues. I don't approve of historical censorship. These were different times and literature including unsavoury language and imagery has to be understood in the context of the period.



I would imagine no one will ever release a collection of The Sparky covers. Most would have to be blank!

With that caveat this book is well worth picking up. Recommended as a coffee table read!

Comic Scene #13 Eagle/Dan Dare Special

The latest issue of the British comics journal Comic Scene is currently available and only via post due to the current crisis. Given this was a special edition devoted to the famous boys comic The Eagle and it's greatest creation Dan Dare I decided to order a copy.

When Comic Scene was launched I was enthusiastic about this project especially when with it's second volume it got distributed in WH Smiths and other outlets. It gave an opportunity for fans of old British comics and the comic scene in general in the country it's own journal.

However after the first couple of issues I found my local WH Smiths didn't ever seem to have a copy and only by chance did I see a copy hidden at the back of a floor based rack of UK Marvel comics did I buy one a couple of months ago at Victoria Station. I was not impressed by the content.Far too many "Indy" comic strips and with one exception dreadful.

So it was with some trepidation I awaited the arrival of this issue and I'm glad to say I was pleasantly surprised. It was what it said on the cover even if there were still a couple too many dreadful strips in the issue. I see the attraction of Rok of the Reds but the rest? Space that could have been devoted to the other strips in the Eagle as this was the comics 70th anniversary.



Oddly (though a good article) the issue starts with a review of the ever controversial Dan Dare strip from 2000AD which Rebellion released as two collected hardback editions some time back and are worth collecting and reading even if the story does not finis. Problem with this version  is that besides the name  the 2000AD version whilst entertaining is nothing like the Dare I grew up with! Oh the Mekon is around and all that. Best seen as an "alternate universe or timelineline version methinks!!

 

There's also coverage of the odd and very political version of Dare from Revolver by Grant Morrison. I only have one issue of the comic which I ignored like so many of these alternative comics back in the eighties and nineties. Far too pretentious and trendy for my liking. Dropped out the hobby for most of the nineties.




You'll also find coverage of the Dan Dare audios from Big Finish Productions. I have one of these and they are worth a listen as is their Doctor Who range which I collect avidly but I digress. There's also a good section on Spaceship Away, a fanzine which publishes new old style adventures of our hero. I have a few of these and will be reviewing the 50th issue when it arrives.

Worth picking up and contains the usual reviews of British Indy's some of which are good such as the 2000AD tribute comics Zarjaz (see previous post), Dogbreath devoted to Johnny Alpha which I have yet to review and Sector 13 from Northern Irelend which I have yet to see.

 

Could have done with a look at The Eagle in depth but still overall worth buying. I'll look out for the next one (due in June) but if the editors are reading this, please cut back on those comic strips.
More articles please.

Comic Scene can be obtained via: getmycomics.com/ComicScene

Dan Dare Audio via: www.bigfinish.com

Rocket: The First Space Age Weekly

This is the second of Steve Holland's guide to comics that I've picked up during the lock-down. This 80 page guide tells the reader all you want to know about a short lived comic from the fifties called Rocket.

Rocket was of course well before my time being published in 1956 the year before I was born and ran for just 32 issues. I've never seen a copy though have seen it referred to. An attempt to compete with The Eagle which was the main boys comic of the period with Dan Dare though Lion was doing it's bit with Captain Condor a less familiar character. Rocket had Captain Falcon .

One of Rocket's main selling points was a that it was edited by the war hero Douglas Bader though just for the first 8 issues as reliability of the publication appearing became a little difficult. The guide includes a four page tribute to Bader who most of us will recall with via the movie Reach for the Sky starring Kenneth More.



Sadly the comic was not destined to last despite some interesting strips such as Escape from Earth featuring Nazi fanatics heading to space as Germany fella nd constructing a new invason force on Earth's second "hidden"moon. The sort of stuff I the Finnish movie Iron Sky was made of.

There were imported stories like the syndicated newspaper strip Flash Gordon from the USA and The Floating Island from Holland.

This is a comprehensive guide for those interested and/or collecting British comics. May pick up an original one of these days just to have a look.

Recommended.

Copies can be obtained from: bearalleybooks.blogspot.com

Hurricane and Champion:The Companion Papers to Valiant

There may be no new comics as the shops remain shut but the post can still bring worthwhile reading. This is one of to volumes I purchased written by Steve Holland which give excellent guides to long out of print comics. There is a third which I will order and read in due course but for today I have just finished reading the guide to Hurricane and Champion.

As a child I was aware of both of these titles but only read Hurricane in the form of Annuals (I had the ones cover dated 1966 & 1968) whilst Champion was only known to me when it merged with Lion a comic I did occasionally read.

Of the two titles Hurricane ran the longest for 63 weekly issues between February 1964 and May 1965. The only character I really recall was Typhoon Tracy a troubleshooter in the vein of Captain Hurricane of the Valiant. Fists and strength.

 

There was much else as the author reminds us including Skid Solo (which I vaguely recall from the Tiger comic), The Juggernaut from Planet Z and When The Lights Went Out both of which appeal and will hopefully see a reprint from Rebellion who now own all this stuff.

Of course there were the inevitable humour strips like Dirk & Ed who remind me of a similar strip in Odham's Wham! comic which was around that time.

  

Hurricane despite being promoted as the "companion paper to Valiant" ended up being merged in the mostly sport orientated Tiger. The only period I had any interest in that comic as sport does not appeal to me.

 

The other and much shorter lived title covered in this short bu interesting volume is Champion. Never read a copy but it contained quite a lot of sci-fi comic strips a lot of which originated from Europe as apparently half the content was Belgian reprints. Some of these look interesting but not all could easily be reprinted as the Belgians would hold the copy-rights to their stories.

  

However there are only 15 issues to collect before it was subsumed by Lion the much better known comic published by Fleetway.

The guide finishes with and index of stories and annuals. Hurricane despite ending in 1965 continued to have annuals published up until 1974.

Highly Recommended.

Copies can be obtained from: bearalleybooks.blogspot.com

Something Wicked 2019 (FutureQuake)

Something Wicked 2019 (FutureQuake/£6.50)

Various (w) & (a)

Another compilation of short stories from small press publisher Future Quake, Something Wicked is a anthology of short horror stories like it's sister publication FutureQuake. Like all anthologies the art & writing are a mix of styles with some a lot better than others. Some stories will always be a question of personal taste. Some appeal and some don't. That's the nature of the beast.

There are a total of 18 stories in this volume which at the price is a good value comic. It's in black & white, which frankly I have always preferred for horror stories. These become more "atmospheric" though there will always be exceptions says the Vampirella fan!

Setting the scene is the first shocker a gambling story, Sense of Worth which really does have a moral and it ain't having a drink with Brucie if the cards ain't right. A good starter by Dominic Teague with art from Will Pickering.

Other stories that caught my attention were Children of the Night, A Zombie Calls, Euryales Progress, Adoption and Today's the Day. Overall an interesting if mixed package of stories. There are a couple of naff stories but overall worth buying. I will certainly consider a couple of back issues that are still available.

Available from: www.futurequake.co.uk/something-wicked

Rating: 3 Stars

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Zarjaz #36 (2000AD Fanzine)

Zarjaz #36 (FutureQuake/£3)

Various (w) & (a)

This is a small press fanzine devoted to  2000AD which remains Britain's premier comic with Judge Dredd amongst it's more famous characters. Like all fanzines this is a non-profit magazine published for the hell of it by fans for fans and probably to the amusement of the creators.

As expected the main features revolve around the world of Judge Dredd and are frankly well produced both in terms of writing and art.

First up is Back Again - For the First Time by Daniel Whiston with art from Andy Richmond which sees the Judges face up to Judge Death & Co who arrive from an alternate Universe.  This is followed by a tale of the Harlem Heroes which is written as a prequel by John Farrelly. Not a favourite strip of mine but I know the players do have a following amongst 2000AD readers.

An amusing short story in the tradition of Tharg's shockers comes in Savage: A Grave Result  by David Fenn & Barry Renshaw. I liked this one. Weird!  Judge Dredd  himself appears in a two-page story  Joe By Any Other Name from Alan Holoway & Ian Beadle.

The Ace Truckers return in a nice little story The Boppo Job. Always like the madness in this strip back in the early days of 2000AD. Last but by no means least is Judge Purger by Mike Kalin & Dave Peloe.

This fanzine was a jy to read. I'm not sure how often it comes out but there are still some back issues avaiable which I may get round to buying  but this issue is available directly from the publishers:

Go to: www.futurequake.co.uk/zarjaz

Rating: 4 Stars 

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The Trigan Empire (Rebellion)

The Trigan Empire (Rebellion/£19.99)

Mike Butterworth (w) Don Lawrence (a)

Probably the greatest British comic strip story of all time (for me and many others) was the full colour painted adventures of the Emperor Trigo and his family on an alien world which mixed Roman imagery with science fiction.

Appearing in the children's magazines Ranger and Look & Learn this strip ran from 1965 to 1982. I picked up the story from the latter as Look & Learn arrived with the papers payed for by my parents. An educational magazine which was quite interesting but it contained two features that appealed to me the main one of which was this story.

Each week we saw the battles on the Planet Electron as the Trigan Empire rose out of a barbarian tribe building a city on several hills, hence the "Roman" connection with ancient world architecture. Yet the civilisations also had airships, lasers and other advanced machinery which was interesting to this young mind and many others.

Oh and there were monsters, aliens, civilised moons and much else that I enjoyed exploring in this first volume produced by Rebellion who now own the rights to this and so much else of British comics history. This, the first of several volumes runs to well over 300 full colour pages and is amazing value.

The stories involving the discovery of a crashed spaceship with the records of a dead civilisation which crashed in Florida and are finally translated by a British eccentric lead to the tales of the wars with treacherous Lokans, the Hericons. an Alien Invasion and more.

The second volume is currently scheduled for November.

Available from Rebellion here: shop.2000ad.com

Rating: 5 Stars+ (Highly Recommended)

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Cor!! Buster Easter Special

Cor!! Buster Easter Special (Rebellion/£4.99)

Two of my favourite childhood comics return for a joint Easter Special this week. Cor!! which ran from 1970 to 1974 and Buster from 1960 until 2000.

This humour special has some of those characters from our mischievous childhood including Buster, Gus the Gorilla, Faceache, Frankie-Stein and of course the ever villainous Grimly Feendish who originated in the Eagle Eye strip in Smash!

 

There's very little I can say about this comic other than it's the second collection of all-new stories f to amuse children both young and erm..... old like myself and others from the generation that grew up with comics which in this digital age have virtually disappeared  from our newsagents shelves.

It's available from tomorrow if a shop is open near you or order direct from the publishers.

Go to: shop.2000ad.com

Rating: 3 Stars

Also still available:



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Jimmy Olsen #70 (DC/1963)

Jimmy Olsen #70 (DC)

No Credits (w) & (a)

With a misleading cover (typical of DC in the sixties) and three short stories this old fashioned comic was well worth a read. This issue kicks off with Jimmy Olsen's Boo Boo's in which a visit to the Smallville Jimmy Olsen Fan Club goes awfully wrong as the children of The Superman Revenge Club try to break up Jimmy & Superman's friendship. by sabotaging all of Jimmy's demonstrations.

Superman has to save the day and after their third trick see the pair fall out but when the aliens return to their parents ship Superman & Jimmy fly past having realised what had been going on and played along. The lads simply get a spanking from their villainous parents. The shame.

 

In the second story Jimmy becomes a robot after being tricked (again) by an evil scientist wanting to blow up Superman with a Kryptonite bomb. Needless to say Superman isn't stupid and soon saves Jimmy and captures the crooks involved.

Finally there is the final story, The Secret of Silver Kryptonite. There's nothing of the sort is there? Green, Red, Blue, White and Gold but no silver? However Jimmy is collecting something hidden in lead from all of Superman's friends in order to present him with Silver Kryptonite. Even Supergirl helps Jimmy, but why?

What effect will this have on our hero and the surprise is sprung. It's a gift made of silver containing the busts of his friends in silver. Even Element lad turns up from the future to turn the stand into silver. It's Superman's 25th Anniversary present. There was nothing to worry about all along.

Great stuff that formed apart of the Superman family of comics throughout the sixties into the seventies when things began to change. These charming stories will never be repeated today's readers have different tastes but for those of us of a certain age....

Invasion 1984 (Rebellion)

This collection of a story from the pages of Battle came out some time ago but for one reason and another I have only just got around to reading it and I have to say this is an excellent book which should be on every British comic fans bookshelf.

Running in Battle from March to December 1983 Invasion 1984 tells of the first contact mankind has with extra-terrestrial life and as hundreds of ships approach the Earth NASA sens up an unarmed space shuttle to say hi. Inevitably they get blown apart the intent of the aliens is clear.

Next their giant ships are laying waste to all of Earths big cities. In Britain the RAF sends in it's jets but a barrier prevents their missiles from hitting. It's at this point I start thinking Independence day which of course came later. The big difference being that set in Britain it's the Houses of parliament that gets laid waste rather than the White House.




Invasion is quite graphically violent but since Battle was a bouts "war comic" which published other hard-hitting stories from both World Wars Invasion 1984 didn't seem out of place or rather doesn't since it's only recently I have taken an interest in this title which I missed out on back then.



There is a scientist, Ed Lomax who can help save the day and he's fleeing with his family away from the skeletal looking aliens.In order to find him a rag tag group of hardened soldiers who don't fit anywhere else in the army are formed into Storm Squad under a rather rumbustious Major McVicker.

The plan is to try and communicate with the aliens but after the last British Minister is vaporised after going to meet the enemy their intent is clear. The Aliens intend to exterminate mankind.

That's as far as I can go without spoiling the story which is a great read and disturbing at the same time.

Rating; 5 Stars

Still available from: shop.2000ad.com

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FutureQuake 2020 (FutureQuake Press)

FutureQuake 2020

Various (w) & (a)

With no new comics being published or distributed by Diamond during the pandemic I decided to look at the small press for alternative entertainment and purchased a number of comics from FutureQuake Press which I'll be looking at this month.

This particular comic is a prestige format black & white science fiction anthology and frankly good value for the entertainment it provided. Like all such collections of short stories some stand out and one or two, well don't. It's the nature of the beast as they say.

There are no less than 23 stories in this comic starting with How to Get Ahead in Bounty Hunting by Ed Whiting with art from Andy Lambert which sets the tone for this volume. Good story & art. This is followed by  the amusing if horrifying Twenty Light Years or Less from Mike Lynch (w) and Tom Bonin (a).

Other stories that caught my attention were The Tale of the Gourmet (Daniel Whiston/Jerome Canty), Funeral March (Joshua Pardo/Marco Cantilliana), Worst Enemy (Ed Whiting/Edward Whatley), Valiance (Alexi Conman & Sinclair Elliot) and an episode of Neroy Sphinx, Misguided Spirits by Daniel Whiston & David Thomson.

The rest are a mixed bag which will appeal to some and not to others. Overall a comic I would certainly recommend.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (a good read)

Can be purchased from:www.futurequake.co.uk