What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

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Adam Eterno
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Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Post by Adam Eterno »

colcool007 wrote:I was partly tempted by this copy of issue 2 of Hotspur but in poor condition, at £45 plus postage fmade me realise that it was just that. Temptation. If the money was better, then who knows what will happen next time?
"83 years old from 1933" shows how long they've been trying to sell this. Doesn't help that it's loaded under US comics!

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Adam Eterno
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Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Post by Adam Eterno »

Outbid twice yesterday on Zane Grey's King of the Royal Mounted #1 WDL Comic and TALES OF SUSPENSE COMIC No. 1 Alan Class. Obviously not my day!

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Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Post by Hawkeye »

colcool007 wrote:I was partly tempted by this copy of issue 2 of Hotspur but in poor condition, at £45 plus postage fmade me realise that it was just that. Temptation. If the money was better, then who knows what will happen next time?
Border Bookshop have early Hotspur issues for just £10.

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koollectablz
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Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Post by koollectablz »

Rare comic, but horrible condition tbh. Nothing you could really do to improve it either.

Shame.

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Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Post by Phoenix »

I didn't actually buy any but I did find a lot in my back room that I haven't clapped eyes on for several years. I'm finally giving in to the need to make decisions on what to take to Cornwall and what to leave behind. I've found first issues of Hoot, Brookside - The Magazine, Star Trek, the official monthly magazine from 1995, two issues of Eagle from 1982 with the space spinner free gift, number 2 as well, two issues of the April 28 issue, as it had a Dan Dare badge stuck to the front cover. Both badges are still attached. I mustn't forget the first issue of Enid Blyton's Adventure Magazine from 1985, the 30th anniversary issue of Tiger from 1984, Radio Times for the centenary Cup Final, the Sunday Express Magazine in which is remembered the 25th anniversary of the Munich air crash that took the lives of so many fine Manchester United players, the TV Times for the launch of Channel 4, Inside Soap from sometime or other (I can't see a date on it), Total Football (likewise, but it has Gullit and Bergkamp on the front cover, and Blackburn Rovers had won the Premier League the previous season), the 60th Birthday number of The Dandy, and the same for The Beano the following year. I also found two issues of the first issue of Classics From The Comics, two envelopes, still unopened, of Top Chumps - World Cup Calamities, each envelope containing 16 playing cards. There is a note from The Guardian on the front of the first envelope stating that it contains scenes of extreme violence and strong language. Other freshly discovered treasures include five speedway programmes from the sixties, three for meetings at Belle Vue, one for the 1965 World Speedway Championship, the other one for Great Britain versus Soviet Russia in the International Speedway Test Match Series in 1964, the final leg of three, which was held at Belle Vue, the others having been held at Wembley and Coventry. Four football team pennants also emerged from obscurity, one for Valencia and another for Atletico Bilbao, their opponents that afternoon, (I attended that game), one for Tranmere Rovers who are unfortunately no longer even in the Fourth Division, having got themselves relegated, and a nice one for Southport who got relegated the year before I think. The pennant celebrates their winning Division 4 at the end of the 1972-73 season. Where are they now? I also came across five ashtrays, not needed since I stopped smoking at midnight March 22nd 1993. I had tried to stop the previous night, which was Russell's birthday but I didn't quite manage it. For the record the ashtrays celebrate Real Club Deportivo Espanyol, Barcelona's championship victory in the 1984/85 season, the Kardomah Cafe, which I don't think exists anymore, the House of Commons, and Harrods. Finally, there is one item I would like some feedback on. It's a chunky A5 booklet called Comics 101. Over to you!!

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colcool007
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Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Post by colcool007 »

The booklet sounds intriguing. Do you have any more information on it other than the title?

The item I chose not to purchase today was the 1942 Wizard Annual. I found it in a book shop that has opening hours which are best described as unusual. But as they do a deal of 5 hardbacks for £10, I will look to purchase it on my next visit as they had two 1960s girls' annuals in very good condition with their dust jackets pretty intact.
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Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Post by davidandrewsimpson »

Phoenix

I knew that Comics 101 rang a bell and, once I remembered that Denis Gifford was involved, I found an article about it on Dez Skinn's website. If you go to http://dezskinn.com/fanzines-3/ then scroll down to 1976 you'll see the cover of the convention booklet, various other covers, and the following article:

1976: COMICS 101 AND KAK

This was also the year that UK comics muscled up, both mainstream and alternative. While ComiCons traditionally invited UK guests this was mainly down to finances, the events being focused on US titles. So, to celebrate this being considered the 101st year of British comics, historian Denis Gifford created his own event to celebrate UK titles as Comics 101.

Guests included staff and freelancers from rival publishers DC Thomson and IPC through to such smaller indies as reprint publisher Alan Class and Marvelman’s Mick Anglo. Stanley White was honoured as being the UK’s first science fiction artist for his work in Mickey Mouse Weekly (Ian on Mu, 1936) and Garth creator Steve Dowling was almost reduced to tears at the fan response he got when taking to the stage. Like so many other British comics creators he admitted to having had no idea that people cared so much for his work.

An evening dinner included the Ally Sloper Awards (the convention having been timed to coincide with the launch of Gifford’s new Alan Class-published Ally Sloper comic).


Historians can debate what the first UK comic was, with the 1867 created Alexander (Ally) Sloper - an influence on both Charlie Chaplin and WC Fields - leaping from Judy Magazine to his own title in 1884 while Scraps (a collection of US joke material from Harper's, Life and Puck) launched in 1883. Funny Folks with its originated collection of jokes launched in 1974 and Comic Cuts revolutionsed the industry with its cheap 1/2d cover price in 1890.

Held at the Mount Royal Hotel (now one of the Thistle group) in the shadow of London’s Marble Arch, Comics 101 is best remembered by some for a speech made by IPC Magazines’ managing director John Sanders to an audience including many of the country’s leading comics artists of the time. During a Q&A finale to his talk, one question was “Why do you use so many foreign artists in your comics?”.

Possibly meant as an offhand quip, Sanders replied, “Because there aren’t any good British artists!”. This incensed artist John M Burns to such a point that following the talk he gathered together a group of other artists present, including Ron Embleton, Don Lawrence and Frank Hampson, and suggested they and others should all boycott IPC. This never happened, but I remember thinking at the time how ineffectual such a boycott would be as John Sanders had already made it clear he favoured South American, Spanish and Italian artists anyway! But the pub lunch meetings these artists (and a few of we wordsmiths) held to discuss such did have a worthwhile end-product as they evolved into the formation of the Society of Strip Illustration. Initially led by John M Burns as a somewhat elitist invitation-only group, its later chairpersons included Martin Asbury, Arthur Ranson, Vanessa Morgan, David Lloyd and Neil Gaiman.

While the SSI finally dissipated into something of a fan gathering as the somewhat inappropriately-named Comics Creators Guild (having more would-bes than weres), it could be argued it had been a prime mover in the British Invasion of US comics, with American guest speakers at a 1983 meeting, DC Comics editors Dick Giordano and Joe Kubert, signing up our talent wholesale.

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Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Post by Phoenix »

Thank you, David, for that impressive detailed coverage. I haven't read it all so far but it's certainly interesting to learn that those conventions were held regularly. I didn't attend the 1976 convention, in fact I haven't attended any. I did go to a comic/ephemera fair in London two or three years ago. I introduced myself to Lew Stringer that day as he had a table there. I did also meet Alan Class on a different occasion at 30th Century Comics where he was doing a signing, and selling some of his work of course. We had quite a long chat about our careers and our publications. I found him to be very gracious, friendly, interesting and interested. There is a photograph somewhere on their website of us in earnest conversation. I must admit that I can't help finding the word KAK amusing because when I was growing up in Lancaster kak was the word we used to identify what comes out of dogs' bottoms, accompanied by a coarse adjective if we had just trodden in some. A propos of the Denis Gifford-edited Ally Sloper, I have issues 1 to 4. Were there any more?

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Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Post by Phoenix »

colcool007 wrote:The booklet sounds intriguing. Do you have any more information on it other than the title?
According to the Editor it is an 80-page Bumper Souvenir Fun Book. Lots of artists have drawn a page each. These include Arthur Jackson, Bert Hill, Walter Bell, Frank Hampson, Charles Grigg, Denis Gifford, Hunt Emerson, Ron Embleton, Roland Davies, Geoff Campion, Sid Burgon, Terry Bave, Barry Appleby, Mick Anglo, Basil Reynolds, Kevin O'Neill, Denis McLoughlin etcetera, etcetera.

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Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Post by Lew Stringer »

Phoenix wrote:Thank you, David, for that impressive detailed coverage. I haven't read it all so far but it's certainly interesting to learn that those conventions were held regularly. I didn't attend the 1976 convention, in fact I haven't attended any. I did go to a comic/ephemera fair in London two or three years ago. I introduced myself to Lew Stringer that day as he had a table there. I did also meet Alan Class on a different occasion at 30th Century Comics where he was doing a signing, and selling some of his work of course. We had quite a long chat about our careers and our publications. I found him to be very gracious, friendly, interesting and interested. There is a photograph somewhere on their website of us in earnest conversation. I must admit that I can't help finding the word KAK amusing because when I was growing up in Lancaster kak was the word we used to identify what comes out of dogs' bottoms, accompanied by a coarse adjective if we had just trodden in some. A propos of the Denis Gifford-edited Ally Sloper, I have issues 1 to 4. Were there any more?
Sadly there were only those four issues, Derek.

The acronym KAK was intentionally vulgar as it was about underground comics. Hunt Emerson designed the KAK logo to look like it was made of poo.

It was good to meet you at that mart a few years ago, Derek. At the time, the intention was to have different guest artists every time, but the idea seemed to fizzle out after that one unfortunately. As well as myself, Nigel Parkinson, Gary Northfield, and Henry Davies were the other guests that day.
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koollectablz
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Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Post by koollectablz »

i think my dad had a strip in Kak

I'll have to check.

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Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Post by Lew Stringer »

davidandrewsimpson wrote: But the pub lunch meetings these artists (and a few of we wordsmiths) held to discuss such did have a worthwhile end-product as they evolved into the formation of the Society of Strip Illustration. Initially led by John M Burns as a somewhat elitist invitation-only group, its later chairpersons included Martin Asbury, Arthur Ranson, Vanessa Morgan, David Lloyd and Neil Gaiman.

While the SSI finally dissipated into something of a fan gathering as the somewhat inappropriately-named Comics Creators Guild (having more would-bes than weres), it could be argued it had been a prime mover in the British Invasion of US comics, with American guest speakers at a 1983 meeting, DC Comics editors Dick Giordano and Joe Kubert, signing up our talent wholesale.
The SSI was a good idea in principle, to act as a sort of union in a way. I was a member for a few years but only attended a few meetings as it wasn't often convenient to get down to London on the evenings they had their get-togethers. I suppose it was elitist in that it was for professionals only initially, but it later opened up for everyone and most of the pros I knew drifted away.

I liked the venue where we had the meetings; the Sketch Club on Dilke Street. As Tom Browne was one of the founders of that club it seemed very appropriate for comics folk to gather there.
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philcom55
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Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Post by philcom55 »

You can still see quite a few pages from the Comics 101 booklet on this thread:

http://comicsuk.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... son#p30346

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Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Post by Phoenix »

Lew Stringer wrote:Sadly there were only those four issues, Derek.
Thank you, Lew, for confirming that. I no longer need to keep my eye out for more.

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Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Post by comixminx »

Lew Stringer wrote:
davidandrewsimpson wrote: But the pub lunch meetings these artists (and a few of we wordsmiths) held to discuss such did have a worthwhile end-product as they evolved into the formation of the Society of Strip Illustration. Initially led by John M Burns as a somewhat elitist invitation-only group, its later chairpersons included Martin Asbury, Arthur Ranson, Vanessa Morgan, David Lloyd and Neil Gaiman.

While the SSI finally dissipated into something of a fan gathering as the somewhat inappropriately-named Comics Creators Guild (having more would-bes than weres), it could be argued it had been a prime mover in the British Invasion of US comics, with American guest speakers at a 1983 meeting, DC Comics editors Dick Giordano and Joe Kubert, signing up our talent wholesale.
The SSI was a good idea in principle, to act as a sort of union in a way. I was a member for a few years but only attended a few meetings as it wasn't often convenient to get down to London on the evenings they had their get-togethers. I suppose it was elitist in that it was for professionals only initially, but it later opened up for everyone and most of the pros I knew drifted away.

I liked the venue where we had the meetings; the Sketch Club on Dilke Street. As Tom Browne was one of the founders of that club it seemed very appropriate for comics folk to gather there.
I was involved in the SSI as an associate member (if I'm remembering the term correctly). I was never a professional artist or writer so could never join as a full member of course, but I was interested in creating better links between the SSI and the small press and indie / self-publishing scenes of the time which I was involved in. Also I had lots of friends who were in the SSI and later CCG, including my then partner Andy Roberts, who was doing comics professionally at the time.

In some ways the links with the small press / self-publishing scenes were a bit of a slippery slope because on the one hand it helped to open it up for a wider group of people and on the other hand it meant that professionals saw it as being less relevant to their interests. Having said that it was also a sign of the times in some ways perhaps, in that there started to be many more ways for professionals to keep in touch, see each other regularly, compare notes and so on - compared to the older days. But others may have a different take on it, I appreciate.

Yes, the venue was so beautiful! A fantastic location.
jintycomic.wordpress.com/ Excellent and weird stories from the past - with amazing art to boot.

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