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Re: What comics did you buy today?
Posted: 18 May 2016, 13:53
by Adam Eterno
Phoenix wrote:Richard S. wrote:The Comic Journal issue 1-16 - very happy with that
There were just 39 issues of
The Comic Journal, Richard. The original compiler was Manchester-based Alan Cadwallender, who produced the first 18 issues, originally on stapled A4 sheets but he changed the presentation to A5 with issue 13. I think it was illness that persuaded him to sell to Bryon Whitworth in 1990, a further 5 issues later. I well remember Bryon approaching me that year at a book fair in Leeds, where I had a stand selling books and comics/story papers, to ask me if I would write an article for issue 19, his first obviously. I agreed, and wrote an eight-page piece that I called
The D. C. Thomson Big Four (1946-1955) - A Preamble. Alan Coates did an article on
Happy Days, which had been launched in 1938, and Colin Morgan wrote an article he called
''Q'' Squadron Goes To War For The Hotspur. There were four other articles in that issue.
Bryon eventually persuaded several more people to contribute articles, including such luminaries as Bill Lofts, Derek Adley, Ray Moore, Denis Gifford and Steve Holland, the A5 booklets getting thicker and thicker up to issue 28 in Autumn 1984. For issue 29 in Spring 1995 Bryon opted for an A4 format, with coloured covers and some internal pages in colour too, a format that he retained until issue 38, the Spring/Summer 2001 number, at which point he sold more or less his entire business to David Mirfin of Rotherham. Bryon did go on to produce issue 39, the Spring/Summer 2002 number, which turned out to be the final issue, despite David's stated intention to maintain production.
It is probably worth mentioning that early in Bryon's A5 phase he produced two Omnibus Editions covering issues 1 to 10 and 11 to 15 respectively. Presumably he still had reasonable stocks of issues 16, 17 and 18 that he had acquired from Alan.
Thanks for the great history, I can't believe I've never come across it before. I look forward to receiving my two copies in a couple of days
Re: What comics did you buy today?
Posted: 18 May 2016, 14:11
by Phoenix
Richard S. wrote:These were Alan's copies. They are all held together in a binder.
I'm delighted that you can now read at leisure an important and scarce comics/story papers resource produced by a true enthusiast of the time. Alan was principally a dealer in comics but he clearly wanted to share his enthusiasm with his customers and any other interested parties. Regarding issues 18 and 19, if you will PM me your address I will scan both of them for you and get them in the post by tomorrow at the latest. No charge obviously. They will fill the gap until you get the actuals, Richard, and will provide continuity.
Re: What comics did you buy today?
Posted: 18 May 2016, 20:57
by Richard S.
Thanks for your very kind offer Phoenix but no need as I have reprints from when David Mirfin took over the magazine. I'm just trying to convert my copies into originals now. I didn't think I'd ever get a whole original set of the comic journal so haven't been trying to collect it in recent years.
Re: What comics did you buy today?
Posted: 18 May 2016, 22:26
by Phoenix
Richard S. wrote:I have reprints from when David Mirfin took over the magazine.
Thanks for your reply, Richard. Could you please give me more details about the contribution of David Mirfin because I've always been under the impression that he didn't produce any issues whatsoever of
The Comic Journal. He certainly didn't contact me and I was a technical adviser, along with Steve Holland, right up to the final issue (39), which was put together by Bryon after he had sold his business to David.
Re: What comics did you buy today?
Posted: 18 May 2016, 22:48
by Richard S.
David Mirfin supplied me with reprinted back issues
Re: What comics did you buy today?
Posted: 18 May 2016, 23:04
by Phoenix
Richard S. wrote:David Mirfin supplied me with reprinted back issues
Thank you for that clarification, Richard.
Re: What comics did you buy today?
Posted: 20 May 2016, 14:44
by dishes
In the mood for swashbucking derring-do today:
The Best of Captain Easy and Wash Tubbs by Roy Crane (Fantagraphics)
Corto Maltese Under the Sun of Capricorn by Hugo Pratt (Euro Comics)
Cursed Pirate Girl vol. 1 by Jeremy A. Bastian (Archaia)
Re: What comics did you buy today?
Posted: 21 May 2016, 01:32
by geoff42
Hi, Phoenix; sorry for late reply - working too much overtime to attend; kind of sad about the Victor development; but still look forward to your work on the girls' comics book.
Re: What comics did you buy today?
Posted: 22 May 2016, 21:06
by Phoenix
I won a couple of very interesting items on eBay this afternoon. The two paperback novels are The Human Bat and The Human Bat v The Robot Gangster, both by Edward R Home-Gall. I've got most, if not all, of his sporting fiction so it will be interesting to see how he deals with a fantasy/sci fi scenario. Some members may be aware that Home-Gall wrote text serials mainly for The Champion in the forties and fifties. They were a bit on the pricey side but, hey, what's a pension for if not for spending, and visiting grandchildren? Be happy for me!
Re: What comics did you buy today?
Posted: 22 May 2016, 21:29
by Richard S.
from Bear Alley
http://bearalley.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12 ... -gall.html
featuring a postcard image of Home-Gall that was supplied by my dad!
Re: What comics did you buy today?
Posted: 22 May 2016, 23:31
by Richard S.
13 issues of Crisis and issue 1 of Strip (Marvel UK, 1990) complete with free badge - £2 all in, from my local car boot sale
Re: What comics did you buy today?
Posted: 22 May 2016, 23:56
by Phoenix
Thank you for directing me to that Bear Alley article, Richard. I must confess that I hardly ever go there, and visits to Lew's blog are also rare because I just don't have enough free time. I've printed off the article to look at later, but even at first glance I have to admit that I certainly don't have all his sporting fiction, although I thought I did. I do have the full run of both of his
Boy's Favourite Library series, minus
The Ice Rink Terror, number 4 in series 2, plus a bound volume of five of the titles from the first series that was a gift to Bill Lofts signed by Edward on 18 January 1959, that I picked up several years ago on eBay for £50, from a seller in Australia if I'm remembering correctly. Of the hardbacks I have
Ace Carew, published by Andrew Dakers,
A Prince Of The Willow and
The Roving Rovers, both published by Hennel Locke, all three with decent dustwrappers. The latter pair I remember reading while I was at school. Somewhere I also have
The Haunted Ice-Rink, minus dustwrapper, but I'm not sure exactly where it is. As far as I'm aware I don't have any of the novels that he published under an alias. It is very interesting to learn that Panmure, one of his publishing outlets, was actually the name of his house. I wonder if Comyns was another.
Re: What comics did you buy today?
Posted: 23 May 2016, 12:06
by Adam Eterno
3000 Commando comics in auction took the majority of my focus this week unsurprisingly so the only other purchases were some 1940's #1s and one shots. Panto Playtime, Panto Pranks, The Rocket and The Prang from 1948 as well as The Atomic and The Bang On from 1947.
Re: What comics did you buy today?
Posted: 23 May 2016, 13:28
by Richard S.
did you bid / win those 3000 Commando's then?
Re: What comics did you buy today?
Posted: 23 May 2016, 16:57
by colcool007
Won a signed copy of The Preacher special Cassidy: Blood and Whiskey from
Comics Anonymous as they ran a competition to celebrate the release of Preacher as a TV show. Now where is that Amazon Prime logon....