What comics did you buy today?

[tony ingram]

Not even remotely British comics related, but today a copy of Detective Comics #487 I'd bought off ebay finally turned up. This 1979 issue is notable (well, it is to me, anyway) for featuring the first-and very nearly only-appearance of Steve Ditko's bizarre crime fighter, the Odd Man. He was originally scheduled to appear as a backup feature in Ditko's ongoing title Shade the Changing Man, but that book was cancelled in the infamous DC Implosion of 1978, just before his scheduled debut. The one and only completed story of deranged private eye Clay Stoner finally saw print a year later than intended in Detective Comics, and he then vanished completely until 1999, twenty years later, when he made a triumphant return in three panels of an issue of Superboy...

I like obscure characters. You can tell, can't you?

[philcom55]

Not even remotely British comics related, but today a copy of Detective Comics #487 I'd bought off ebay finally turned up. This 1979 issue is notable (well, it is to me, anyway) for featuring the first-and very nearly only-appearance of Steve Ditko's bizarre crime fighter, the Odd Man. He was originally scheduled to appear as a backup feature in Ditko's ongoing title Shade the Changing Man, but that book was cancelled in the infamous DC Implosion of 1978, just before his scheduled debut. The one and only completed story of deranged private eye Clay Stoner finally saw print a year later than intended in Detective Comics, and he then vanished completely until 1999, twenty years later, when he made a triumphant return in three panels of an issue of Superboy...

I like obscure characters. You can tell, can't you?

Actually, that Odd Man strip made its first appearance (along with the Shade story scheduled for the same issue and Ditko's Creeper tale intended for Showcase 106) in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade no.2 - one of the rarest comic-books ever published!



- Phil Rushton (The Prince of Obscurity! )

[Digifiend]

That cover in colour: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cance ... cade-2.png
And a list of contents for both issues: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Implosi ... _Cavalcade

You're right about the rarity - only 35 copies of each issue were every printed.

As for what I bought today, just the latest issues of The Beano and Classics From The Comics.

[tony ingram]

Not even remotely British comics related, but today a copy of Detective Comics #487 I'd bought off ebay finally turned up. This 1979 issue is notable (well, it is to me, anyway) for featuring the first-and very nearly only-appearance of Steve Ditko's bizarre crime fighter, the Odd Man. He was originally scheduled to appear as a backup feature in Ditko's ongoing title Shade the Changing Man, but that book was cancelled in the infamous DC Implosion of 1978, just before his scheduled debut. The one and only completed story of deranged private eye Clay Stoner finally saw print a year later than intended in Detective Comics, and he then vanished completely until 1999, twenty years later, when he made a triumphant return in three panels of an issue of Superboy...

I like obscure characters. You can tell, can't you?

Actually, that Odd Man strip made its first appearance (along with the Shade story scheduled for the same issue and Ditko's Creeper tale intended for Showcase 106) in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade no.2 - one of the rarest comic-books ever published!



- Phil Rushton (The Prince of Obscurity! )

Yeah, but since only around 35 copies were ever printed, on a photocopier, and they never (officially) got out of the DC offices, 'published' is too strong a word, I think. Purely to secure copyright, wasn't it?*

*edited to change '30' to '35' cos I saw the post above and checked it out. More than I thought...

[Digifiend]

That's what it says on Wikipedia anyway.

[tony ingram]

That's what it says on Wikipedia anyway.

It's also what it says in Amazing World of DC Comics number something or other, which is probably where Wiki got it from, as I recall. Personally, I really want to know what would have happened in the 60th issue of Kamandi and the Freedom Fighters/Secret Society of Super Villains crossover.

[philcom55]

As with most things in this digital age it's pretty easy to get hold of the full contents - for example here's the cover to Showcase 106:



Secret Society of Super Villains 16:


...and Shade the Changing Man 9:


...Unfortunately most of the stories are pretty inconclusive and rather badly scripted (though some of the art is pretty good).

- Phil Rushton

[philcom55]

...And for good measure here's the cover to Kamandi 60, as well as the splash page to Kamandi 61:



- Phil R.

[tony ingram]

The Sandman! Another great Kirby creation. Oh, they really should release a Cancelled Comics Cavalcade Collector's Edition...

Yes, the stories were frequently less than memorable in themselves, but I was getting into comics at that time and due to the frankly bizarre distribution US titles got over here, these third string characters were my first introduction to the wonderful world of DC. As a result Kamandi, the JSA, the Freedom Fighters, Steel and the Secret Society of Super Villains have had a special place in my affections ever since. Likewise, while Marvel UK were of course reprinting all the 'big' characters (albeit a few years behind), my first real exposure to US Marvel was with titles like Defenders, werewolf by night and Howard the Duck, as titles like Spider-Man rarely turned up in the paper shop in Penge. We got a frequently rather confused impression of American comics back then...

[philcom55]

I think that probably coincided with the period when the main Marvel titles like Spider-Man weren't allowed to be imported in case they affected Marvel UK's sales.

Over at DC it was, in some ways, a fan's dream as many of the newly hired writers and editors were fans themselves. This meant we got all sorts of amazing crossovers such as the Kamandi/Sandman story shown, the 100th issue of Showcase featuring every hero who'd starred in the previous 99 issues, and the JLA teaming up with the Legion of Super Heroes. Unfortunately all too much of it ended up like fan fiction as a result, leading to the inevitable sense of disappointment that such material tends to engender. Fortunately, better things were in store with Alan Moore and a bunch of iconoclastic Brits just waiting in the wings...!

- Phil R.

[Raven]

I think that probably coincided with the period when the main Marvel titles like Spider-Man weren't allowed to be imported in case they affected Marvel UK's sales.

- Phil R.

I remember BEM fanzine doing an interview with Dez Skinn just after he'd taken over editing Marvel UK and, as I recall, he claimed that the reason the major US titles, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Hulk etc. weren't imported had nothing to do with them potentially affecting Marvel UK sales. Frustratingly he refused to be drawn on the actual reason, saying that BEM's readers wouldn't be interested in that sort of thing - and I've often wondered ...

The potential competition with the Marvel UK titles certainly seemed the obvious reason to me.

[Raven]

I bought the new volume (4) of classic Popeye newspaper strips by E. C. Segar from the 1930s today: 'Plunder Island.' These huge hardbacks from Fantagraphics are gorgeous - reprinting all the full colour big Sunday Thimble Theatre and Sappo strips in one section and the daily one-liner strips in black and white (this time featuring the first part of a six month epic: 'Popeye's Ark') in another.

Also a manga title, 'Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture' # 1 with an irresistibly kooky concept the likes of which you only tend to get in the Japanese comics: a boy who can see germs and the whole microbial world with the naked eye.

I also had a postal delivery (yes, a Royal Mail delivery on a Sunday; how can this be?) containing Monster Fun no. 42 (with colour pull out March of the Mighty Ones jigsaw poster!), three 1973 Buster and Jets, and issues 2-4 of Krazy (which are all packed with creative stuff).

[steelclaw]

Picked up these 5 Annuals in a charity ship in Orpington today total cost £3.86 in as new condition,

[Raven]

Picked up these 5 Annuals in a charity ship in Orpington today

It sounds great - but where was it docked?!

As ever with IPC annuals, I'd be very interested to hear if the Krazy, Shiver and Shake and Monster Fun have any interesting unique one-offs (like Badtime Bedtime type specials), or interesting ye olde comedy or, especially, end to end adventure strip reprints as filler. Always good to know if there are any hidden gems in any of these.

[steelclaw]

Picked up these 5 Annuals in a charity ship in Orpington today

It sounds great - but where was it docked?!

As ever with IPC annuals, I'd be very interested to hear if the Krazy, Shiver and Shake and Monster Fun have any interesting unique one-offs (like Badtime Bedtime type specials), or interesting ye olde comedy or, especially, end to end adventure strip reprints as filler. Always good to know if there are any hidden gems in any of these.

I had to get a Space Rocket to get to the charity ship it was above Orpington high st (I really should wear my glasses)

I'm not that familiar with the strips of these Annuals so I'm not sure which ones are one offs or not, I think the following probably are, I think it was you who mentioned Toby's Time piece on another thread.

This is a 23 pager from Monster Fun.


This is from Shiver & Shake





A unusual text story from the Krazy 1982 Annual



And some others from the Krazy Annuals.







Google is using Popeye to celebrate E.C.Segars Birthday.

http://www.google.co.uk/