I SPY--------- THE SECOND EPIC SERIES

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alanultron5
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Re: I SPY--------- THE SECOND EPIC SERIES

Post by alanultron5 »

The three series (or two if you meld the two Walkers into one) are a truly fine body of work! Only one story really fails for me..."The Voice" but that one apart the series threw up some of the most innovative `fun-strip` stories any UK comic ever offered its readers. I contend that Les Barton's "Operation I. Spy" is the finest UK comic `fun-strip` story of all time!!

Regarding this finale..yes Mastermind is `childish` in contrast to Mr X' `glacial cool` Mr X would have had I. Spy killed outright from the off-Mastermind actually trusted I. Spy-who did betray him-no wonder he got upset!

As only diamond can cut diamond-only the Matic men could destroy each other-hence I. Spy's ploy!

I wish I had been around at the very start of Rab's first I. Spy series thread because it has been a `UTTER DELIGHT!! contributing since I joined during the "Tartan Terror" section. For years I thought I was the only person to have such a `yen` for the I. Spy strip; its great to know I wasn't alone there!

On Monday I shall open a thread to discuss the change of direction of the strip and its re-appearance in `Champ` comic! All are welcome to contribute!
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Re: I SPY--------- THE SECOND EPIC SERIES

Post by alanultron5 »

I have just started a new thread in `Comic titles` called "I. Spy -the years of decline-Sparky & Champ` to discuss the reasons why the strip altered so drastically. I will do season reviews, but not in great depth. Hope for some interesting contributions!

Back to the Brian Walker B/W series though! If you count both mini-series as one combined I think a list of fave stories can be worked out; here are mine!

= 1. "The Ghost of Mr X" and "The Copycat" Just cannot split these two magnificent offerings! Only "Operation I. Spy" heads them in my all time I. Spy list. Interesting in that both stories feature the return of I. Spy's two most formidible foes (Mr X & Mr Mastermind) both of who had been presumed dead!

3. "The Skywaymen" A story I only caught up with last year! For sheer originality it is unbeatable! Interesting in that no singular villian opposes I. Spy here-but a collective band of `rogues`.

4. "The Seven Stone Supermen" Another unique storyline with a villian (Dr Q) who should have been used again! Nice bit of continuity in that earlier story foe-`Fingers` is on of the Doctors `helpers`.

5. "The Return of the Maticmen" Always great to see the invincible Matic's once more and Mastermind. No real plot to the story, but full of action packed scenes and I. Spy at his most devious.

6. "The Amazing Mr X" Mr X using hypnotic musical coda to hold UK in his power via hijacking the countries new Space shuttle program. Something not quite jelling in this story, especially when X could kill I. Spy quite easily and passes the chance! Brian walkers art slips a little here!

7. "Versus Fatman" Series opener! A fair story which contains the most complex death trap you will ever see in a `fun` strip. Froghoppit/Fatman too easily telegraphed to readers. `Fatman` was a innovative idea -years before similar `comedy` suits were developed!

8. "The Voice" oh dear! The one out-and-out `Clinker` of the 17 longer stories of the Barton/Walker era! Villian `Fingers` a nonentity-plus too much slap-dash with Granny Spy! Only salvaged to some extent by some fine artwork on ariel scenes over the East End of London. A sad sign of things to come!
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Re: I SPY--------- THE SECOND EPIC SERIES

Post by alanultron5 »

Do hope Rab will highlight the two Les Barton I. Spy strips in Sparky book 1971 & 1972 not forgetting the superb I. Spy game in the 1972 book! I will be mentioning the I. Spy strips in Books 1973 to 1975 and 1977 to 1980.
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Re: I SPY--------- THE SECOND EPIC SERIES

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

Yes, I will definately be covering the I SPY stories of the LES BARTON era, Alan: they were good stories well worthy of inclusion on here.....but I will likely bung them in the BARTON thread.



Here's my round-up of personal faves of the b/w BRIAN WALKER stories:


1] THE COPYCAT; A great Mastermind vehicle crammed with eerie ambience in the opening chapters, and with healthy doses of imaginitive gag-setups and deadly drama. Easily the equal of the BARTON era in storytelling/melodrama.


2] THE GHOST of MR X: Without a doubt, the pinnacle of absurdist, fantasist, and downright anarchic storytelling within the I SPY archives, as MR X pulls off [no less] than the coup of 'stealing' or removing entire sections of Britain, like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle! So skilfully handled is this mind-boggling tale, that it's actually very easy to follow.......truly great material here from BRI and Peter.


3] THE SKYWAYMEN: I wasn't too struck on this story first time around, but today I recognize it as a bona-fide gem, and if the beauty of I SPY during the black-and-white serial days was the sheer diversity of the plots, this tale is more untypical than anything else from the glory days......very unusual, but with striking graphics and situations.



4] THE SEVEN-STONE SUPERMEN: Some of the highest-points of moody drama, and gothic gloom within the series, spiked with macabre black humour throughout. Also contains the demonic DR Q: arguably the most sinister villain of the entire spy-files. A very imaginitive story, with an equally unusual finale....actually pretty scary in parts.


5] THE RETURN of the MATIC-MEN: Excellent mayhem and sci-fi madness in the opening instalments, as old MM uses his MK. II Robots to escape from jail, and lord it up as he squats in at Buckingham Palace. Untypically, Mastermind's ambitions are curtailed near the end, but other than that, this is fine.

6] THE AMAZING MR X: an elaborate, far-reaching, 'comic-opera' as MR X unleashes hypnotic music on the UK, to mesmerising effect. Solid storytelling, but not quite up to previous MR X mayhem....some great visuals and outrageous gags, however.

7] FATMAN! The WALKER opener is no classic in my eyes, although the premise of the nuclear-powered inflatable 'fat-suits' is a good central idea. Some good gag setups save the day in this one, though.....not a great choice for a series debut, however.

8] THE VOICE!
The biggest let-down of the early classics, with a routine-tale and flawed concept......the story is mecifully short [three chapters] but every instalment ends with the same image of a house collapsing! Untypically hackneyed, and salvaged only by some great visuals......this story is for completists only: casual fans: keep clear!



Overall, the WALKER b/w stories retain a high standard of gothic chills and driving anarchy, and although for me they are not quite as classy as the earlier BARTON offerings, they qualify as genuine I SPY from the period when it still explored new avenues and themes, and the comic mystery inherent in the bulk of these stories is certainly reccomended reading for fans of this stuff.
Last edited by ISPYSHHHGUY on 21 Apr 2010, 13:08, edited 1 time in total.

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ISPYSHHHGUY
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Re: I SPY--------- THE SECOND EPIC SERIES

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

Just realized my choices are exactly in the same scale of 1-8 as yours, Alan......this was a genuine fluke!

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Re: I SPY--------- THE SECOND EPIC SERIES

Post by alanultron5 »

It just shows how `sympatico` we are with appreciation of the I. Spy strip Rab! If I were backed into a corner to seperate `Ghost` or `Copycat` as sole No 1 I would go the latter as `Mastermind` is in it-but apart from that, they are unseperable!

I will tackle the Walker/Fox Sparky Book strips later in my thread!
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