Eagle and Tiger Christmas 1985

Over the past few weeks I have been collecting and reading a fair (albeit incomplete) run of Eagle and Tiger comics from 1985 and finally reached the Christmas issue.

The previous issue (see below) sees Doomlord, the near omnipotent alien sitting around the Christmas tree with his landlady when his obnoxious son walks out and goes to his school where a fire is strted and lives put at risk.

Christmas day is only saved by Doomlord himself helping rescue a fireman and the school janitor. He thinks humanity has potential but his boy Nox seems to have other ideas. A confrontation is being set for the future.

Meanwhile the Mekon escapes as Dan Dare frees the people of Venus from his clutches  but earth remains trapped in a bubble which effects the penetration of sunlight but also oddly "traps poisonous fumes". Not sure about the scientific basis behind that at all, but this is comics after all.

The other stories continue with Shadow the escaped police dog helping to foil his new owners enemies from sabotaging their horse in a race and Max the super-computer has not only returned to his original home in Maxwell Tower but is up to his usual tricks.

Great stuff from a time when British comics were still widely available.

 

Witchblade #185: The Finale

Witchblade #185 (Image/Top Cow)

Ron Marz/Marc Silvestri/Matt Hawkins (w) Various (a)

Twenty years of Witchblade finally comes to an end this month with this final double-sized issue. Sporting a cover by the late, great Michael Turner (reprinted from the very first issue in 1995), Sara Pezzini embarks on a quest to pass on the artifact known as.. the Witchblade.

For those of you expecting high explosive action you will be disappointed. This is a very introspective adventure involving Sara's thoughts about her journey. For those of you (like me) who have not read a copy in a while this finale is worth adding to your collection no matter how long the gap.

Witchblade was once a highly popular comic whose early issues were highly sought after and attracted ridiculous prices in the age of the speculators, whose antics nearly destroyed the comics industry and certainly drove me out the hobby for a while.

Created by Marc Silvestri, Michael Turner, Brian Haberlin and David Wohl, this title made Top Cow one of the hottest companies in town.

Sadly Witchblade sells too few copies to be viable and all the other Top Cow titles have gone the way of the dodo. Sad, but tastes change.

For me the end came when Sara left the NYPD. But even then sales were dropping. Spin off comics like Artifacts did not impress and even the Darkness had it's limitations.

I'm sure this issue will sell a few more copies than normal but for now it is the end.

Here's some covers from Witchblades "heydays".

 

Brave and the Bold #72 (DC/1967)

Brave and the Bold #72 (DC Comics)

Carmine Infantino (a) no credit (w)

One of my favourite titles back in the late sixties was DC's team-up book Brave and the Bold. Usually this was Batman plus another DC character. However there were a number of issues which paired up other DC heroes. This issue published in 1967 teamed up The Spectre and The Flash!

Now for younger readers the first problem for the writer was that The Spectre lived on Earth 2 and The (Barry Allen) Flash on Earth 1. So whilst planning a visit to Earth 2 to look up his "old buddy" The Spectre, Flash gets kidnapped by a ghostly World War 1 pilot and turned into the Astral Flash so that the Ghost Pilot (what else would you call him) can get revenge on his old squadron buddies who had declined to take up a challenge from some German pilots on the last day of the war in which he had been killed.

The battle between a mind controlled Flash and the Spectre begins.

Tame by today's standards but great fun to read and a reminder of simpler times.

 

Challengers of the Unknown #80 (DC/1973)

Challengers of the Unknown (DC Comics)

Credits only given for Jack Kirby (a)

One of the joys of comic collecting is picking up back issues, some of which are not what they might seem. Published in 1973 this is actually a reprint of Showcase #11 originally published in 1957. The only credit given by the publishers is for Jack Kirby who is obviously the artist and was hugely popular back then and still has legions of fans to this day, myself amongst them.



DC went to the trouble of giving the issue a more "modern" cover (well for the seventies anyway), though the original isn't too bad at all.

The story is simple enough. Missing explorers in Antarctica, Challengers called to investigate, race of aliens plotting to destroy most of mankind, enslave the survivors and take over the Earth. Typical fifties fare.

Unlike today's comics this actually requires reading. One of the reasons old stuff is so charming. Corny dialogue but not read in under three minutes like some modern comics.

It tells a complete story in one issue, one of the reasons that I preferred DC to Marvel as a kid.

You can pick up this comic for just a few pounds whereas the original Showcase comic will cost you a lot more beer money.

Since obtaining this I have purchased the Challengers of the Unknown Archive Editions, themselves not cheap but they do collect the entire run by Kirby in two volumes and worth sitting down to read.

Here's some other covers for your delectation.

 

Vampirella #1969 Anniversary Edition

Vampirella #1969 (Dynamite Entertainment)

Various (w) & (a)

Regular readers of the blog will know that I have a "soft spot" for Vampirella and they'd be right. I have a fair number of comics featuring this scantily clad vampire and I make no excuses for featuring the latest offering from her new publishers Dynamite Entertainment.

Starting in 1969 (hence the numbering) Vampirella her adventures have enthralled her followers for the last 45 years. Starting off as a "hostess" in the black and white "mature" title published by the now defunct Warren Comics, then Harris before finally settling with Dynamite Entertainment. Vampy has had varying degrees of popularity and even had a fan club also sadly deceased.

This latest comic features a number of short stories by different creators in an extended deluxe square-bound format.

Here's some preview pages for your delectation.

A new series is on the horizon. Watch this space.

Battle and Valiant (1977)

One of the main British comics I grew up with was Valiant. It finally ended publication in 1976 and was merged with Battle Picture Weekly, a more modern comic. These all appeared in a period when I had all but ceased reading British weeklies and was only just returning to comic reading through DC and Marvel after a gap of a few years.

Battle and Valiant is certainly a good read and I know that that Battle in it's various incarnations was one of the stronger British comics absorbing a number of other titles including the controversial Action which I'll have to get around to reading one of these days!

Picking up copies at random I chose the 11th June 1977 issue because of the cover and the story that goes with it. Unusually  Panzer G-Man covers the Second World War from the perspective of a German soldier and his comrades, which given the inherent anti-German element of the British national character prevalent as I grew up was a brave move.

This comic also includes Johnny Red which has recently been revived by Titan Comics for a mini-series and I can see why. A complex adventure about a disgraced British pilot fighting alongside Russians and facing mistrust from the NKVD at a time when Stalin's rule could not be questioned. Ordinary men and women caught in a war between two totalitarian ideologies where life was cheap. Another brave choice.

Sadly none of the features I associated with Valiant have survived the merger. Even the indomitable Captain Hurricane has just a cameo appearance on one of the readers pages. The Steel Claw nowhere to be seen...

Still times change. Tastes change and this war-story orientated comic is well worth picking up.

Other stories include Darkie's Mob, Hell Island, Joe Two Beans ( a "Red" Indian at war)  and Rat Pack.

Another British title to add to my growing list of "wants" for my collection.

Misty (1978 to 1980)

Back in the sixties and seventies before the days of "political correctness" and "safe spaces" boys were boys and girls were, well you know the score. As a young lad I wouldn't have been caught dead reading soppy girls comics. Neither would any of my mates.

However for the publishers these titles were big business, many girls comics outsold the ones for boys and most women will have grown up reading Bunty, Sally or one of the many published back then.

Following the announcement by Rebellion (publishers of 2000AD) that they have purchased the rights to Misty, I decided to have a look since on fan pages this comic does get of a lot of raves especially..from the lads!

Misty is essentially a horror comic with great writing and art. The stories were a mix of continuing features and complete short stories.

The copies I picked up were from towards the end of the 101 issue run and featured the first two parts of The Body Snatchers which was set in a girls boarding school were the teachers seem to be changing personalities and had been told to sat away from the old mansion.

But our heroine makes the mistake of taking her suspicions to the headmistress...will she be the next victim.

One short story featured the Girl Who Knew Fairies but no one believed. Too old to believe in fairies right? Then why go down to the woods at night.....

So OK, this was a comic I should have picked up, at least when my girlfriend was out!