I SPY--------- THE FIRST EPIC SERIAL

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Kashgar
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Re: I SPY--------- THE FIRST EPIC SERIAL

Post by Kashgar »

Les drew Billy Bunter a few times in the late 1950's in the hiatus between the death of Frank Minnitt and Eric Roberts taking over the strip on a regular basis.

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Re: I SPY--------- THE FIRST EPIC SERIAL

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

Thanks for the info, kashgar......welcome back, by the way!

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Peter Gray
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Re: I SPY--------- THE FIRST EPIC SERIAL

Post by Peter Gray »

Image

Is this Les Bartons work before I put it up on my blog...I wonder if anyone can find an example of his Billy Bunters work...

Image

Image

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Re: I SPY--------- THE FIRST EPIC SERIAL

Post by Peter Gray »

Image hopefully all thse are drawn by Les Barton...

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Re: I SPY--------- THE FIRST EPIC SERIAL

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

PETER..... the 'TOM KAT' ['SPARKY ' early 70s] and 'HARRY'S HAUNTED HOUSE' [early 70s IPC. --POSSIBLY 'BUSTER'] are definately from LES BARTON.......this 'TOM KAT' example is unusually agressive, by the way!

........the HOUSE in 'HARRY'S HAUNTED HOUSE' definately reflects MR. X'S lair in 'I SPY'....I will ADD A 'COMPARE-N-CONTRAST' later..[the title-lettering in 'HHH' also looks like it's been done by LES BARTON].



---the 'PANSY POTTER' artwork you have provided is by a seperate artist; KASHGAR named him in my deleted posts here: again, I intend doing a 'compare-n-contrast with later JOHN GEERING 'PANSY' work.....



---I hoped my 'I SPY' posts would have been re-instated by now: --however....I will likely start again with the 'double-pagers' instalments again, shortly.......

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Re: I SPY--------- THE FIRST EPIC SERIAL

Post by Kashgar »

Pansy Potter artist is Bob Webster.

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Re: I SPY--------- THE FIRST EPIC SERIAL

Post by AndyB »

Harry was in Whizzer and Chips.

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Re: I SPY--------- THE FIRST EPIC SERIAL

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

YIPPEE!!!!---got my 'I SPY' posts back.....I will pick up from where I left off. ie EPISODE 3 of 'I SPY vs the INCREDIBLE MR. X ' will kick off here very shortly.....cheers, AL!-----at the very least, the entire early 'I SPY' run from original artist LES BARTON will be covered in detail, with accompanying visuals here and there.........



'I SPY' from the very beginning [14 single-page episodes, then the first 2 'I SPY vs the INCREDIBLE MR.X' episodes] are covered in considerable detail in 'I SPY': the lost posts........this is the continuation of the celebrated SPY saga..............

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Re: I SPY--------- THE FIRST EPIC SERIAL

Post by Peter Gray »

so this post works..

great it is back

thanks Al

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Re: I SPY--------- THE FIRST EPIC SERIAL

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

'SPARKY' issue227; 24/5/69.

'I SPY versus the INCREDIBLE MR.X', part 3 of 8.

'If you can't beat 'im.......CONCRETE 'IM!'

SYNOPSIS [from actual comic text;] I SPY has been KO'D by his double-an amazing working model made by MR.X.When the fake robs a bank, I SPY'S BOSS thinks it's the real I SPY......AND........




---unlike most SPY SAGAS, I SPY was a lone agent, and other spies within his organization rarely ever turned up [even in TV'S the 'AVENGERS', the usually self-sufficient STEED and EMMA sometimes made contact with other agents]-----here, however, we see a rare collection of comic agents, [ordered by BOSS SPY to apprehend our hero] who turn out to be a motley bunch, which the robotic, fake I SPY easily dispenses with, shovel-scooping them into a convenient dustbin.

nice atmosphere as our hero 'comes to' in a cell in MR.X'S lair.......some eerie rats [creepily silhouetted] flee as I SPY launches his steel-wrecker-ball wall demolisher. nice touch as 'OOPS!-LUCKY I BROUGHT MY 'CHUTE!'----casually mentioned, as he plummets perilously down the clifftop outside the cell.......

there follows an elaborate gag set-up worthy of WILE E. COYOTE, as BOSS and the motley SPY TROUPE engulf the unsuspecting, fat-tyre-driven, motorized I SPY IN TONS OF LIQUID concrete, FRESH FROM THE MIXER LORRY.

more atmospheric mayhem, as the harshly-lit I SPY, entombed in rock-hard concrete, is interrogated under GESTAPO-like spotlights.......here, it is revealed for the first time, that I SPY activates his devices from buttons within his pockets [perhaps explaining why he has his hands permanantly plunged in pockets]..........'the 'super vibrator switch' does the business, cracking the rock-crete, creating missiles which debilitate his captors.

I SPY is last seen, once again using his wrecking ball [with caterpillar tracks this time] to SMASH through the interrigation room, determining aloud his intentions to clear his name.

This episode continues the excellent tradition of effective use of pacing, imaginitive drama [offset with light-hearted comedy relief] and the endless invention of new, unlimited gadgetry, of which this strip and serial was celebrated.......still vitally potent almost 4 decades later, this work still deeply impresses and resonates with originality [for ME, anyway].

I SPY'S DEVICES: 'portable wall-demolisher', parachute [hat-activated], motorized fat-tyres [with hat-exhaust], 'super-vibrator' concrete-shatterer, caterpiller tracks.


FAKE I SPY DEVICES; stainless steel hinged mega-scoop.


'can I SPY clear his name and FOIL FIENDISH MR.X? ---that's a good question......MORE NEXT WEEK!'
Last edited by ISPYSHHHGUY on 11 May 2008, 17:22, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: I SPY--------- THE FIRST EPIC SERIAL

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'SPARKY' issue228, 31/5/69.

'I SPY versus the INCREDIBLE MR.X', [4/8]

'Face to face-who will win.....I.Spy or his terrible twin?'

SYNOPSIS; I SPY resolves to 'finish off' MR. X once and for all, and storms towards the villain's lair, where the superbaddie has commanded his 'precious prototype' ROBOTIC ' I SPY' to wreak chaos at SPY HQ........MR.X , about to unleash furter mayhem still, is interrupted by I SPY 'at the doorbell', and failing to blast I SPY with CANNON-FIRE, is caught by his internal power-winch...

uncharacteristically, I SPY downs some of MR.X'S 'super-strength pills', and leaving the baddie trussed-up, storms off to take on his bogus doppelganger.......MR.X, however, is released by one of his newly-minted ARMY of a dozen ROBOTIC I SPYS.

AT SPY HQ, the original I SPY robo-double has created all-out HAVOC, and is in the process of finishing off BOSS by machine-gun...[not exactly the cozy, nursery-like 'SPARKY' comic of the recent past!].....the real I SPY appears, and absorbs multiple shell-blasts which only tickle him [he has downed MR. X'S 'super-strength pills', remember!], and utilizing a power-magnet, pulls the ROBOT towards him, destroying him with a 'POPEYE-' type blow.

Reconciliences with BOSS are made, and before a 'nice cuppa' can be downed by the pair, the short-lived peace is again shattered by MR.X., who appears on the horizon with his ARMY of 12 fully-functioning ROBOTIC 'I SPYS'.


----the SAGA has by this point reached new heights of spectacle and melodrama, a non-stop visual assault of relentless, dynamic action and unbridled anarchy, and in addition to the impressive actions scripted above, are added loads of secondary, but very nice touches: I SPY, after being blasted by CANNON, [he escapes simply by 'ducking down' within his coat] sports a sizeable hole in his overcoat for the following frame ONLY.....the sort of self-concious continuity error that seems acceptable only in the fantasy worlds of COMIC-STRIPS, or animated cartoons.

utterly brilliant frame of I SPY 'blowing his top' [mini-ATOMIC-BOMB style,] as he sets out after downing the PILLS.

Another untypical touch here is I SPY using his arch-enemy's supply of 'super-strength pills'.....'POPEYE' never had BLUTO downing the old SPINACH quite in this way!

Much of the detail here [notably in the mayhem caused by the original I SPY double in SPY HQ] is astonishing, quite typical in late 60s comics, which were often drawn to a larger scale than today's more condensed-formatted comics.

If the above CHAOS appears mind-boggling on the written page; --it is but a pre-cursor to events that ESCALATE even further.......

I SPY'S DEVICES: 'power-lasso' with winch, megaphone, powered MEGA-MAGNET.

FAKE I SPY'S DEVICES; spear, elevated machine-gun, power-scoop, high-caliber shell-blaster, top-loaded rocket missile-launcher, wheeled torpedo-launcher.


QUOTABLE QUIP:

BOSS [witnessing the I SPY army on the advancing march:] ''OH, MOTHER! HUNDREDS OF 'EM, PHOUSANDS EVEN...'

I SPY; 'TUT! you never were very good at countin' BOSS.......'


'NEXT WEEK DISASTER ......DON'T MISS IT!'

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Re: I SPY--------- THE FIRST EPIC SERIAL

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

'SPARKY' issue 229, JUNE 7, 1969;

'I SPY versus the INCREDIBLE MR.X', episode 5 of 8:

'it's no joke, folk.........look who's gone up in smoke!'

SYNOPSIS: MR.X. and his army of 12 ROBOTIC 'SPYMEN' [ 'I SPY' mechani-doubles] descend on SPY HQ, and after thwarting these foes with a smokescreen, I SPY and BOSS flee by motorized UNICYCLE.....however, MR. X. assembles his team into powered STEAM-TRAIN mode, and they career ahead as I SPY suffers an untimely puncture....

---the old 'pump-out-reserves-of- slippery-oil' routine works wonders, however, causing the foes to SKID widely out of control. As MR. X. recovers and prepares for a new offensive [supplying his SPYMEN with 'super-strength pills' to 'pep 'em up'] I SPY himself launches an all-out ATTACK, utilizing his highest-caliber armoury. MR.X. once again organizes his army into a lehal, cohesive whole [this time as a unified MEGA-CANNON],----and I SPY faces this full-on with an almost kamikazi-like determination...

A MEGA-BLAST rings out, and BOSS SPY is seen in the final frame, situated near I SPY'S smouldering hat, trumpeting out the 'last post' as MR X and his world-beating crew march on to take on the world....


-----following the 'masterclass' of story-structure and comic-build-up that made up the first 4 chapters, the decks are now cleared for EPISODE 5, which is a sustained, virtually uninteruppted celebration of unrestrained mayhem, and this outing remains my favourite overall episode from my favourite overall story.

This is basically a non-stop testimony of intolerable anarchy, framed in a breathtaking chase-scenario with hyper-imaginitive gag structure, and a very, very sad ending of chapter, which would only be topped by the forlorn conclusion to the final LES BARTON episode.

the usual welcome SLAPSTICK elements are well to the fore, and I SPY is seen at his most courageous, taking on the might of 12 ROBOTIC doubles of himself.....the frame of him armed to the teeth, multiple-cannon primed for all-out action, is a total gem, and the gloating sight of a triumphant MR.X , leering over the charred ground where his victim once stood, is eerie and evocative.

the tiny frog and ducks shedding a tear for I SPY as the 'last post' is trumpeted by BOSS is a nice touch, too.


I SPY'S DEVICES: smokescreen, motorized unicycle, oil-dispenser, high-caliber SHELL-BLASTERS [X 4!], caterpiller tracks.

'SPYMEN' DEVICES: 'STEAMTRAIN' mode, multiple ['as one'] MEGA-CANNON' mode [with 'carnage-blast' shell.]



Image

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Re: I SPY--------- THE FIRST EPIC SERIAL

Post by colcool007 »

If the previous post shows examples of Brian Walker's art, then this clears up a style that I have been trying to identify for ages as this was the man that drew a large number of the humour strips in Wizard and Hotspur in the 70's.
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Re: I SPY--------- THE FIRST EPIC SERIAL

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

the actual artist above is by LES BARTON, colcool.......[details on his stuff earlier in this topic]-----he drew a fair bit of various strips in the late 60s/early 70s. BRIAN WALKER took over the character /strip of 'I SPY' from 'SPARKY ' issue 300 [always easy to remember!] in late 1970.

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Re: I SPY--------- THE FIRST EPIC SERIAL

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

'SPARKY' issue 230, [14 JUNE, 1969.]

I SPY versus the Incredible MR.X, part 6 0f 8:

'Twelve plus one.......UNLUCKY FOR SOME!'

SYNOPSIS: BOSS' 'last post' trumeting is interrupted by I SPY, who emerges from a manhole-cover [unscathed from last week's ultra shell-blast] unscathed to retrieve his hat......the blast has taken it's toll, however, and I SPY'S internal rocket conks out after a short distance.

In the city later, a batch of bizarre boffins tighten up I SPY'S inner workings, as a radio newsflash reports that MR X'S 'mysterious robots' have dried up the RIVER THAMES with giant sponges..............now in tip-top condition, I SPY flies off once again, and [most SPY-like] slips in, unseen onto the end of the line of his 12 robotic doubles.

Back at MR. X'S lair, the villain proposes they will RULE the WORLD by tomorrow, but as he does his basic sums, he realizes he has one SPY too many..........I SPY bravely sprouts an 'IT'S ME!' placard, then quickly [via cork-bungs] blocks the CANNON of two surrounding robots, causing them to internally explode; a further pair destroy each other by shell-fire, as I SPY 'springs' to safety........the furious MR X is finally, and fatally thwarted as his hand-held control-box is obliterated from a distance by some ace shooting from I SPY.

------the remaining ROBOTS are last seen whizzing around like demented, spluttering fireworks as they finally expire, and MR X flees to a nearby laboratory. T hree-quarters of the way through this episode, the tale STOPS abruptly, with the 'BATMAN'-like teaser posed; 'IS THIS THE END FOR MR.X' within a large 'question mark' motif. The cracking of a vast fortress-like wall, however, sees the re-appearance of MR. X with his trump card.....the vast, 50-foot-high, all-stainless steel, all-out WAR, fully-functioning 'SUPER SPY', the design of which is based on that of I SPY himself.........moving on tank-tracks, it lumbers towards our hero, whose eyes [quite understandably] are out on stalks, TEX AVERY style.




After the non-stop action and drama of last week's outing, the story once again takes time out to build up plot and further twists and turns, climaxing even further than previously, in a brilliantly sustained tableaux of imaginitive high jinks.

The highly unlikely outcome of the previous cliff hanger ['THE SHELL MISSED BY A GOOD SIX INCHES, AND I DUCKED DOWN HERE BEHIND ALL THE SMOKE!'] is nevertheless the stuff of today's cinematic blockbusters, in which we have the likes of INDIA JONES surviving the heart of an ATOMIC BLAST by simply taking cover within a lead-lined fridge.

Good ariel shot of LONDON, where we see BIG BEN and ST.PAULS as a backdrop to the dried-up RIVER THAMES. MR X'S lair appears to be within walking distance from this central LONDON area; kinda strange, as his neighbourhood somewhat resembles TRANSYLVANIA! [ah, the wonder of comics...]----the scene is set for a final set of climatic escapades that will top and tail this particular saga.


I SPY'S DEVICES: internal rocket-engine [re-tuned] ,power-spring, medium-caliber cannon, extending telescope. WITH: 'IT'S ME!' placard, bung-corks, and handy ear-plugs.

ROBOTIC SPY MEN DEVICES: giant extendable sponges [unseen], cannon-blasters mid-caliber].



'NEXT WEEK ................ SUPER SPY GOES TO WAR!'





[this issue of SPARKY' sees the first appearance of the centre-spread colour 'KINGS of the CASTLE' by KEN HARRISON, the earliest work from him I personally know of.]

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