Comics UK

Phoenix wrote:As promised, I finally got round to buying some issues of Valiant yesterday, in particular to sample the football serial Raven On The Wing. These were recommended on a different thread some months ago by Phil Rushton and, possibly inevitably, Raven. I bought 21 issues in Fine condition between March 30 1968 and December 14th 1968 from 30th Century Comics for £75 the lot. If I like them, I may buy some from 1969 on my next visit to London.

I hope you enjoy the experience of finally losing your IPC virginity, Phoenix; I'd say Raven on the Wing is the standout strip that year (Kelly's Eye is also good fun). Hopefully you have a good few consecutive issues in that batch. I look forward to hearing what you think of the serial (in the football comics thread?).

I expect you'll find A Haunt of Fears very interesting reading, too.

"I loved Thunderbolt and the rest, but also the less remembered backup strips like the Sentinels. Sadly, DC appear not to have acquired the rights to them so they haven't appeared since, as far as I know (maybe the ever elusive Roger Broughton nabbed the rights?). " tony ingram.
Yes, there were some interesting back-up and the Sentinels had sort of slipped my mind. So, I'm going to dig out my Charltons, have a good rake through (I forget which title they were in) and have a read 'cos I enjoyed them also. As you say, DC didn't take them which perhaps isn't a bad thing as they made a bit of a mess with some of the others.
Confession of ignorance coming up - who is Roger Broughton?

All this talk of Roy of the Rovers and Raven on the Wing brings me to -
Confession #2 - As I dislike football, I just can't get into football strips or comics. And as I've never been a big fan of war stories, British, American or anywhere for that matter, a lot of British comics stuff passes me by. But then, that's all cash I can spend on themes I do enjoy. All this means I miss out on some lovely art but there is so much of that in other story types. There is a long running Dutch football strip titled Kik Wilstra that some of you might want to take a look at. It's reputed to be good and very poular. I tried to find the link but I haven't pulled in all my bookmarks to this new laptop.
I await the inevitable slagging off with the usual resigned air.

No slagging off from me Paw as my own tastes have always been pretty similar. Generally speaking I tended to avoid any comics involving Sport, War or Cowboys unless they had some special 'gimmick' like Blackhawk or Gunmaster - though in later years strips such as Charlie's War, Enemy Ace and Bat Lash won me round by sheer quality.

On the Charlton backups I always liked the Prankster who replaced the Sentinels for one episode only in the final issue of Thunderbolt. It's a real shame that O'Neil and Aparo never got a chance to explore the series further (even if it was a dead swipe off Harlan Ellison's 'Repent Harlequin Quoth the Ticktockman!').

- Phil Rushton (...Who's now worried that Phoenix will absolutely hate 'Raven on the Wing' and end up blaming him for wasting his time and money. Gulp! )

paw broon wrote:"I loved Thunderbolt and the rest, but also the less remembered backup strips like the Sentinels. Sadly, DC appear not to have acquired the rights to them so they haven't appeared since, as far as I know (maybe the ever elusive Roger Broughton nabbed the rights?). " tony ingram.
Yes, there were some interesting back-up and the Sentinels had sort of slipped my mind. So, I'm going to dig out my Charltons, have a good rake through (I forget which title they were in) and have a read 'cos I enjoyed them also. As you say, DC didn't take them which perhaps isn't a bad thing as they made a bit of a mess with some of the others.
Confession of ignorance coming up - who is Roger Broughton?

Owner of the Charlton Media Group, and one of the most elusive individuals in the comics industry by all accounts. See here: http://www.comicbitsonline.com/2008/01/27/1684/

Raven wrote:

stevezodiac wrote:Here's Steve Heighway's signature (next to his printed name) from a Crystal Palace programmes I picked up a few years ago. Also Kevin Keegan's is here.

Thanks. The one in the book is nothing like this (or the ones I checked online) and it's the one I most suspect to have been done by the girl who owned the annual. There are a few others, too - though it may be a mix of a few genuine autographs (which look written by different hands) and a few 'wish list' ones that she's done herself.

I can't guarantee that mine are genuine of course.

A couple of weeks ago, I bought two issues of Cracker at e-bay and six issues of Krazy, and two issues of Cor!! from Chipmonk Auctions.

That will be the final e-bay purchase/auction for the year, as I'm being helped out with the issues I don't have of Sparky (which will see me through to the end of the year.)

OK, I'm back (the AC adaptor for my Internet router broke - ended up buying a new router from the KC (my ISP Karoo's owner) customer centre, since it's only £5 more than a replacement adaptor (what a rip-off!) I did shop around, couldn't find a compatible one cheaper).

Anyway, got a few annuals over the past week.

Beezer Book 1993 (didn't have that one already, and it's as good as new too - well worth the £1 I paid)
Beano Books 1983 and 1985 (already had them, but these ones are in better condition - cost £1.50 each)

"Owner of the Charlton Media Group, and one of the most elusive individuals in the comics industry by all accounts. See here: http://www.comicbitsonline.com/2008/01/27/1684/". tony ingram.

Thanks for the info. The article makes interesting reading and the whole A+; Charlton; Broughton thing sounds just a tad "out of the ordinary" (trying to be careful here and for want of a better description).

"No slagging off from me Paw as my own tastes have always been pretty similar." philcom.
And thank you, Phil for a wee bit of backing. I usually have a look at Commando but, although the art is often very good, I just can't get enthusiastic about the stories but I appreciate what you say about some of the war stories out there. As for westerns, up to few years ago I didn't bother about them apart from some Italian and other European masked cowboys (some of whom were originally Spanish, I think). Then I rediscovered the Dell westerns and some of it was a revelation. Given that I hadn't read one since the early '60's, I was surprised at the quality of the art in them and in other genres. Kinstler; Toth; Manning among many others. And many old Dells are not too dear nowadays, especially if you're prepared to compromise a bit on condition.
Forgot to say that in London I also bought Schoolgirl's Picture Library #58 - The Silent Three at St. Kit's. Lovely stuff.

I was in Devon the past few days visiting my grandparents, we came across a quaint Antique Shop. Inside why tons upon tons of DC Thomson comics! And Dad brought the whole lot for me for £30.00 for Christmas! Overall there were 203 different issues of the Beano, Dandy, Nutty and Hoot from the 80's and 90's. There was even the first full colour Beano! I hit the jackpot!

And then in a charity shop we came across two Wham annuals, 1969 and 1971 and brought both for £6.00! I also brought the Dandy and Beano Halloween Specials as well for this year meaning in my few days in Devon, I purchased 207 different comic related items, I believe that is what they call a result!

You've caught our collecting bug Wizz kid..
I remember Christmas presents like that at your age...very magicial..

Yesterday it was dentist time, and I decided to have a look in Ely's charity shops and got a couple of Viz annuals for £6. It looks like the comic once had a more "solid" line up with strips like Roger Mellie and Sid the Sexist getting a whole page in each issue, whereas today they can vary between 3 pages to four panels, or even not appear at all.
Mind you there was no Drunken Bakers back then

I have just bought issue 5 of TV Century 21 through Ardis Books.

Although I'm most familiar with Gerry Anderson's later shows (Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet) I am looking forward to seeing the Lady Penelope strip.

One of my first comic memories is of Mr Steelman and his robots attacking FAB 1. Lady Penelope was in TV21 for a full year before Thunderbirds came to our screens so as far as I was concerned it was just an original comic strip.

I hadn't intended buying many comics, since coming back to the UK but my wife actually said I should (cheers me dear!). Since then, I've bought loads of Marvel UK, including
~150 Mighty World of Marvel
~90 Planet of the Apes
full collection of Captain Britain (weekly, monthly, Hulk comic, Daredevils, Marvel Super-Heroes, Super Spider-Man) - only £40 from ebay - seller mis-spelled Britain and put it in a non-comic section
full series of Team-Up
full series of Marvel Super-Adventure
a bunch of Marvel Super-Heroes, Rampage and Blockbuster monthlies

Added to that, I've bought:
a year's collection of the New Eagle
full run of Crisis
~100 2000AD Monthly
20 Complete Judge Dredd

Now starting on some classic Brit comics, including
a run of Warlord
a whole bunch of Hotspur and Valiant annuals, plus a few Victors and others
a bundle of funnies from the 70s, including Buster, Whoopee, Shiver & Shake, Topper and Cracker
last ever issue of Hotspur

And my nod to the US market, the Legion of Super-Heroes, around the Great Darkness Saga.

The thing is, it's been remarkably inexpensive (around £200), if you know how and where to look. I'm enjoying NOT reading a run of comics but reading different comics every night - a bit like they were coming out weekly again. That should keep me going for a few years. Probably would be a few more Fleetway funnies if I buy more.

stevezodiac wrote:One of my first comic memories is of Mr Steelman and his robots attacking FAB 1. Lady Penelope was in TV21 for a full year before Thunderbirds came to our screens so as far as I was concerned it was just an original comic strip.

I thought so too - until the masthead image was changed to include a photo of Lady P while Thunderbirds was still on the drawing board: that really confused me! Mr Steelman was a fantastic character - especially as we didn't discover the secret behind his name until he appeared in person several weeks into the storyline. I was really disappointed that he never turned up on TV (or he'd make a great Bond villain!).

I loved Eric Eden's artwork here, as well as for the Supercar and Fireball XL5 Annuals he worked on. In those days nobody could handle an airbrush so well, which is why he was the uncredited colourist for so many of Keith Watson's Dan Dare covers on Eagle.

- Phil Rushton