Old Comic Book Day

THE KNIGHTS OF PENDRAGON #1 - Cover Date July 1990 Cover art by Alan Davis and John Higgins

Brands And Ashes

I remember seeing Knights of Pendragon advertised in Marvel UK’s Transformers comic back in the waning days of that series. It always caught my attention but in those days I didn’t have much access to places that sold comics and not much cash to buy them with.

But now it’s 28 years later and I have access to eBay so I now own (what I think is) the complete run of (what I think is) the first volume!

I should have read this issue at the start of July but I had mislaid the issues under a blanket so I’m on catch-up.

First impressions are that this is going to be a creepy horror story with an environmental twist. I’m very excited to read more.

Inside the issue:

THE THING IS BIG BEN 3 - Cover Date 11th April 1984 Cover art uncredited

It’s Clobberin’ Time!

The Thing Is hypnotised into serving Ultron - can Machine Man and Jocasta stop the evil android?

Inside the issue:

The Thing: And One Shall Die–! Scripter: Tom DeDalco / Penciler: Ron Wilson / Letters: Joe Rosen / Colours: Don Warfield

Donald Dogfly by Hunt Emerson

The Thing v The Hulk poster by Alan Davis

The Invincible Iron Man: Siege! Plot/Writer: David Michelinie / Pencil Art: John Romita Jnr / Co-plot/Finished Art: Bob Layton / Letters: Joe Rosen / Colours: Bob Sharen

THE THING IS BIG BEN issue 2 - Cover Date 4th April 1984 Cover art uncredited

Get Yer Free Big Ben Banger - Inside!

Alas, my Big Ben Banger is missing from this issue, but it does have the main reason I have these comics, which is a guest appearance by Aaron Stack AKA Machine Man!

While Jocasta settles in with the Fantastic Four Ben Grimm has to settle and insurance claim on a wrecked Fantasti-Car and where does he go? To Delmar Insurance where Aaron is in charge of his claim! Coincidence! Meanwhile Jocasta has gone wild at Alicia Master's latest art show, unknowingly controlled by Ultron. Alicia then rings the Baxter Building but no one's home!

Fortunately Reed Richards has invented a 'highly sophisticated' device that records a message and then uses 'voice-prints' to identify who's on the line and who they'd probably like to speak to. Then it sends a message to a pager to prompt the recipient to phone the Baxter Building themselves to hear the message. I mean Reed, you could have just invented a mobile phone and Alicia could have called Ben directly. I'm just saying.

Anyway Aaron over hears that a 'lady robot' has gone berserk and decides to track her down himself, although he seems more interested in the 'lady robot' bit than the 'gone berserk' bit. Horny Machine Man arrives on the scene first to find Jocasta and a revived Ultron ready to cause trouble. The Thing piles into the fight but is hypnotised by Ultron and we end on a cliffhanger as Thing turns on MM! Cripes!

In the comic's other strips Iron Man infiltrates the country of Costa Diablo while Captain America and the hard-riding Team America follow a kidnapping robot through a wormhole and arrive in a strange town where it seems Mark Twain and Albert Einstein are living together.

Elsewhere in the comic is a nice Iron Man poster by Paul Neary which is dated for 1982 so I wonder if it has been used before.

We also get adverts for Spider-Man issue 579 and Doctor Who Magazine issue 85, with The Master on the cover and a feature on upcoming stories The Caves of Androzani and The Twin Dilemma.

Inside the issue:

The Thing: This Evil Returning--! Scripter: Tom DeDalco / Penciler: Ron Wilson / Letters: Joe Rosen / Colours: Don Warfield

Iron Man poster by Paul Neary

The Invincible Iron Man: Siege! Plot/Writer: David Michelinie / Pencil Art: John Romita Jnr / Co-plot/Finished Art: Bob Layton / Letters: Joe Rosen / Colours: Bob Sharen

Donald Dogfly by Hunt Emerson

THE THING IS BIG BEN 1 - Cover Date 28th March 1984 Cover art uncredited

Ol' Blue-Eyes Is Back!

I have a special interest in the first four issues of The Thing is Big Ben. Before I get into that though I have to comment on the strange name. I'd love to know what was behind it. It's such an awkward mouthfull and makes a weird connection between Ben Grimm and the Westminster clock tower. It is, however memorable - and in marketing I'm sure that's half the battle.

The Thing is Big Ben is a Marvel UK reprint comic. It's opening line-up consisted of Marvel-Two-In-One (The Thing), Iron Man and Captain America. I first encountered the comic in the pages of The Transformers (UK) issue 25 in 1985.

Since it's very early days Transformers had been reprinting the Marv Wolfman/Tom DeFalco/Steve Ditko Machine Man series. When those reprints ran out (Machine Man was cancelled at issue 19 in 1981) TF prepared to jump to the incredible Herb Trimpe/Barry Windsor-Smith miniseries set in 2020.

However in Marvel's US comics Machine Man had continued to have adventures which Transformers didn't print, and one of these contained the origins of a pretty massive plot point in MM 2020.

Transformers 25 contained an article on Machine Man's origins and recapped an adventure that told of Machine Man's encounter with Ultron and first meeting with the robot Avenger Jocasta. For the full story though, I was referred to 'Big Ben Nos. 1-4'.

At the time I had no clue what this comic was and without the full name of The Thing is Big Ben it would be many years before I even realised Big Ben was Ben Grimm.

But I never forgot. Eventually the truth was revealed and I managed to obtain a couple of issues of The Thing is Big Ben and many more years after that, I finally found issue 1!

So now, over 30 years after I first saw that mysterious editorial note I'm going to be reading the full story of Machine Man's appearance in Marvel-Two-In-One issue 92 as reprinted in Big Ben Nos 1-4! Life goal achieved.

Inside the issue:

The Thing: This Evil Returning--! Scripter: Tom DeDalco / Penciler: Ron Wilson / Letters: Joe Rosen / Colours: Don Warfield

The Invincible Iron Man: Siege! Plot/Writer: David Michelinie / Pencil Art: John Romita Jnr / Co-plot/Finished Art: Bob Layton / Letters: Joe Rosen / Colours: Bob Sharen

Donald Dogfly by Hunt Emerson

SCORE ‘N’ ROAR – Cover Date 27th March 1971 Cover Art Uncredited

The Exciting Adventures of Peter The Cat – Inside!

It's World Cup Month (week? fortnight? day?) so what could more appropriate for me to read than this 1971 issue of IPC's Score 'n' Roar? A comic I'd never heard of until I found this copy on a market stall. Based on my current estimations this is the oldest UK comic in my collection and, as a recent purchase I'm now reading it for the first time.

There's a lot of content in Score 'n' Roar - all football related of course. But even within that limited area there's a lot of variety. Jack of United and Jimmy of City are two fairly straight up dramas - with a nice touch. Jack and Jimmy are brothers and play for rival football teams in the same city. The stories are separate in this issue but there is good scope for crossovers and continuity with the two.

Peter the Cat is more of an old style boarding school adventure, with Peter having to sneak off the school grounds to find a lost cap during which he overhears the crooked gym master plot a robbery which Peter vows to foil himself because he can't tell anyone where he was. Makes sense to me.

Cannonball Craig veers into fantasy as a special Bubble-and-Squeak recipe grants young Craig super-powered kicks. Also pairing footy with the superhuman and supernatural is Give it to Gregory who has an uncanny ability to head the ball, and Phantom of the Forest. Phantom is especially bizarre. Phantom (his real name) is a ghost of a football player from the late 1800's who is impersonating his own ancestor to play in the modern league. I suppose, why wouldn't you if you could?

The Star Seeker is probably my favourite strip though. It's a bit more down to earth and tells the story of a football talent scout looking for the stars of tomorrow. In this issue the seeker helps a young lad get his chance with Tollgate City (I love these made up football club names), despite the efforts of the kid's borderline abusive father.

An interesting note about two strips - Nipper and Lord Rumsey's Rovers is that the stories were reprinted in the mid-nineties in Roy of the Rovers Monthly. As it happens I only have one issue of Roy of the Rovers from 1994 but that issue's Nipper strip forms the continuation of the Nipper strip from 1971. There's a small gap between the two parts but at least I know that Nipper did make it to the Blackport Youth Team trials.

Finally, in between the comics are a host of feature pages which must provide a fascinating snapshot of the UK leagues in the early seventies. I don't know too much about football but it was interesting to see George Best's name mentioned as a player and not as a cautionary tale of too much success too young. The highlights I've picked out here are a trivia quiz - see if you know the answers, I'm sure someone can still get them all right; a photo of one David Hockey because I like his description as a 'ninety minute fighter'; and a photo of the Manchester City squad with their impressive collection of oversized jugs.

Being an IPC comic from the seventies of course, nothing is credited. For the most part I try to present these books as I find them so the writers and artists are a mystery but their efforts have not gone unnoticed.

Inside the issue:

Jack of United

Cannonball Craig

Trouble Shooter A one page gag strip.

Peter The Cat

The Star Seeker

Jimmy of City

Phantom of the Forest

Nipper

Give It To Gregory!

THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS 1 – Cover Date 26th March 1988 Cover art by Andy Lanning and Dave Harwood

First Issue! 4 Great Stories!

My childhood comic favourites came in phases. Transformers was the first and the only one that I stuck with from (almost) start to finish, but alongside the TFs, and often overlapping each other were my secondary favorites. First there was Masters of the Universe, then M.A.S.K., and finally The Real Ghostbusters.

I can't quite remember the order in which I discovered Ghostbusters but I think I knew the film first - this would from holiday broadcasts on terrestial TV with all the swearing and spectral sex acts cut out. Then the Real Ghostbusters cartoon and Marvel comic must have come hot on the heels of each other and I was in.

I collected the GB comic regularly for about two years I think - until I found it wasn't keeping up with my changing tastes but for a while it was a solid comic, especially the Spengler's Spirit Guide pages which were always excellent. It is a sad tragedy that the guide is missing from this copy.

Inside the issue:

The Real Ghostbusters: There’s a Ghost in my House! Story: John Freeman / Art: Anthony Williams and Dave Harwood / Lettering: Bambos / Colouring: Steve White

The Real Ghostbusters: Haunt Thy Neighbour Story: John Freeman / Art: Brian Williamson and Dave Harwood / Lettering: Helen Stone / Colouring: Stuart Place

Winston’s Diary: A Day In The Life Of Winston Zeddmore Story: Dan Abnett / Art: Andy Lanning, Brian Williamson and Dave Harwood

LION AND THUNDER - Cover date 16th March 1974 Adrift In Space - See Sark The Seeker - Inside

From 44 years ago! A pretty good issue of Lion and also of Thunder - the highlight being an appearance of Robot Archie before he got into Acid House.

Inside the issue:

Spellbinder

The Team Terry Kept In A Box

Masters of Menace

Marty Wayne - He's Heading For Fame!

Sark the Sleeper

Robot Archie Fights The Smasher

Adam Eterno

The Last of the Harkers

The 10,000 Disasters of Dort

Steel Commando

BATTLE ACTION - Cover Date 24th February 1979 The Unsurpassed Horror Of The 1914-1918 Conflict Is Recreated In Charley's War! Cover art uncredited

Featuring both Johnny Red and Charley's War this period must represent Battle at the height of it's powers. Charley's War had debuted at the start of January 1979 and is superb in this issue.

Alongside Charley and Johnny we have HMS Nightshade, Crazy Keller, The Sarge, Glory Rider and a true life story of World War One submarining in 'Destination Dardanelles!'. The only slight fly in the ointment is Spinball Wars which isn't great and really doesn't belong here. As is standard for comics at this time nothing is credited.

In the issue:

JOHNNY RED On a special mission to return to England Johnny takes the controls of 'The Flying Gun'!

HMS NIGHTSHADE Defending troop ships sailing from Canada Nightshade encounters the dreaded U-Boats.

CRAZY KELLER It's a race to prevent Nazi sabatours from causing chaos in liberated Lyon.

DESTINATION DARDANELLES! A true-life story of a Royal Navy raid on the Turkish fleet.

THE SARGE Normandy, August 1944...

CHARLEY'S WAR June 1916, the build-up to the Battle of the Somme and a four-page masterpiece.

THE SPINBALL WARS It's not set during a war and there's no spinballs in it.

GLORY RIDER Not all the Battle cast are heroes - Colonel Jeb Rider is a glory-hunting git. It's an interesting premise and reflects that not all Allied soldiers were concerned with fighting for freedom or justice.

PLUS

The Airix Modellers Club Page - presented by Club President Dick Emery (and if you aren't aware why that's noteworthy here's more on Dick Emery - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Emery).

THE HORNET 596 - Cover Date 8th February 1975 The Hornet Gallery of Sport - Johan Cruyff Cover art uncredited

Here's an oddity from my collection - I only have the one issue of The Hornet, and unlike most of my comics collection it had Johan Cruyff on the cover. It's an interesting book with a lot of variety in it, there's some sport and some pop, war, adventure, and fishing. It does feel like it comes from a time before Battle, Action and 2000 AD though. As always with these sorts of comics there are no credits alas.

In the issue:

THE HORNET GALLERY OF SPORT: JOHAN CRUYFF If I ever go on Mastermind my specialist subject will be "the life and career of Johan Cruyff based only on information given in the two page biography printed in The Hornet." I now know more about Cruyff that any other footballer ever.

THE FURTHER TRUTH ABOUT WILSON The year is 1795 and Wilson is a weird kid who has decided to take himself off into the moors and train his body until it reaches the peak of human perfection. Like Batman but wearing a loin cloth.

JONAH Now, I've seen Jonah, the world's unluckiest seaman elsewhere. Here he's causing trouble for a ocean going film crew.

BERNARD THE BULLET The famous amateur sportsman takes on moto-cross in a tweed jacket.

CAST, HOOK AND STRIKE It's a story about corruption in the competitive fishing community - and despite myself I want to know how young Joe Dodds and a journalist from Angler's Weekly reveal the cheat's secrets.

THE BLITZ KID A bizarre story of home front football during World War II. Especially odd is how a football player swaps sides just before a game because the opposing team is down a man.

THE STARKAD CURSE It's a viking story with more than a little in common with The Further Truth About Wilson.

THE NORTH AMERICAN MUSTANG A biography of the fighter plane, not the horse.

DEADLINE DAN, THE HEADLINE MAN More fishing! This isn't as compelling as Cast, Hook and Strike though.

THE BIG PALOOKA Back to World War II and the story of a bizarre commando raid on Norway.

PLUS

EAGLE AND BATTLE 307 - Cover Date 6th February 1988 Hit Man Cover art by Glen Fabry

Don't be too fooled by the cover art - the Doomlord story inside doesn't feature anyone quite as cool-looking as this dude. The villains are more generic looking tough guy soldiers invading a middle eastern state called Chewbaqi (groan).

Elswhere in the issue - Detective Zed is quite fun but Ghost Squad is ridiculous. It looks like a cross between Rentaghost and Thunderbirds - if you can imagine that.

In the issue:

DOOMLORD Author: Alan Grant / Art:Eric Bradbury

STORM FORCE Author: J Nicholas / Art: Vanyo

DETECTIVE ZED Author: A O'Key / Artist: Robin Smith

GHOST SQUAD Author: D Horton / Artist: Vanyo

DAN DARE Author: Tom Tully / Artist: J Gillatt

JOHNNY RED Author: Tom Tully / Artist: John Cooper

SURVIVAL Author: D Horton / Artist: Ortiz

CHARLEY'S WAR Author: Pat Mills / Artist: John Colquhoun

EAGLE AND MASK - Cover Date 4th February 1989 Trapped On The Web Of Death Cover art uncredited

Look, are we going to be cocooned alive, or is the web of death? Make up your mind, Tarantula.

In the issue:

MASK: ROBOT ON THE RUN Mile Mayhem plots to turn T-Bob against MASK!

STORM FORCE Versus the giant spiders of Tarantula!

CHARLEY'S WAR Best thing in the comic, hands down.

MASK:ASSAULT ON THE AMAZON MASK and VENOM encounter Amazonian tribes people and it's not exactly sensitive.

DAN DARE Dan beats his robot companions.

DOOMLORD For those keeping score, Doomlord is still a villain and his son, Enok is a hero this week.

COMPUTER WARRIOR Bobby continues his deadly game of Thunder Blade.

THE FORWARD'S BACK I wondered if this was a true story of how a footballer put his back out bowing to royalty but I can find no evidence that Clive Tidesdale ever existed so it's probably just a one page gap strip but drawn in a realistic style (by Eric Bradbury, I think).

MASK: COCKPIT ISLAND Another MASK adventure with the two foes fighting it out on a tropical island.

WARLORD 18 - Cover Date 25th January 1975 Two Super Clip-Together Model Fighting Planes Of World War II Cover art uncredited

In the issue:

UNION JACK JACKSON It's the start of a new Union Jack Jackson story this issue as US forces, alongside British Royal Marine Jackson invade the island of Okawa. I wonder why the strip isn't called Union Jackson though. That rolls off the tongue a bit easier. As was common for the time there are no credits.

DRAKE OF E-BOAT ALLEY A new story - Drake is the captain of a Torpedo Boat, operating in the English Channel in the aftermath of the Dunkirk evacuation. This strip is most notable because I think the art is by Ron Smith.

FIGHTER PILOT A 'true-life war story' which takes place during the Battle of Britain.

THE STUARTS OF STALINGRAD Now this is an interesting idea - planting a fairly nuclear British family in the middle of the seige of Stalingrad - although I can't imagine the strip gets as grim as the seige really got. Also, looking at the title page I can't help but hear the theme from Crossroads in my head.

CODE-NAME WARLORD Warlord infiltrates and destroys a secret Nazi submarine facility. Not bad going for eight pages.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN A tragic one-off tale set in 1940.

SNAKE BOY This is a wierd one. It seems the only way to free Burma from occupation is for a kid who can control snakes to take an icon to a shrine. This has not been covered in any of the history books I've read on the topic.

SPIDER WELLS When last I saw Spider Wells he was escaping from a British court martial. Now he's escaping from German captivity instead. I'd say all he does is get captured but at the end of the episode he willing joins a prisoner of war camp so he's doing it to himself now.

PLUS

THE HEAVY MOB - Fighting Tanks Of World War II

SPIDER-MAN COMICS WEEKLY #100 - Cover Date 11th January 1975 Presenting: Our Amazing 100th Anniversary Issue Cover art uncredited

Happy issue 100, Spider-Man! There are no other Marvel heroes providing back-up this issue as Spider-Man takes centre stage with the concluding half of a reprint of Amazing Spider-Man #80 (On The Trail Of The Chameleon). We then get a full reprint of Amazing Spider-Man #81 (The Coming Of The Kangaroo). It has to be said, The Kangaroo is slightly underwhelming villain for a 100th anniversary issue, but I guess that's just how the reprints fell.

In the issue:

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: ON THE TRAIL OF... THE CHAMELEON! Author: Stan Lee / Illustrators: John Buscema & Jim Mooney / Letterer: San Rosen

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: THE COMING OF THE KANGAROO! Story: Stan Lee / Art: John Buscema, Jim Mooney & John Romita / Lettering: Artie Simek

Plus:

FREE KARATE JIU-JITSU COURSE An amazing Charles Atlas advert. I'm almost tempted except I'm sure it's not really that easy.

EAGLE AND MASK - Cover Date 7th January 1989 Dan of the Rovers? Cover art by Sandy James

Published 19 years ago!

As with all Eagle and MASK comics of this era there are no issue numbers and no credits but inside the issue are:

COMPUTER WARRIOR The Warlord summons Bobby Patterson to the computer world of Thunder Blade!

MASK: ROBOT ON THE RUN T-Bob loses it big time.

STORM FORCE Amos Scrag faces his final battle with Storm Force.

MASK: COCKPIT ISLAND Why is a counter-terrorist operation like MASK sneaking off to Indonesia to take part in a rally? Surely they have more important things to be doing?

DAN DARE Dij-it! Dij-it!

THE ADVENTURES OF CLIFF DAGGER Very silly.

CHARLEY'S WAR There's a sniper out there!

DOOMLORD A tidal wave of living pollution attacks the British seaside!

MASK: BULLDOZE BATTLE "Corrosive poison... NEEEGGGHHHHH!"

EAGLE AND MASK - Cover Date 31st December 1988 "Merry Christmas, Everyone!" Cover art by Sandy James

Published 19 years ago! Miles Mayhem is not acting very in-character here. In fact, he's being fairly pleasant. And what happens? On the inside front cover we see Scott Trakker and T-Bob scaring him with a cracker. Bullies.

As with all Eagle and MASK comics of this era there are no issue numbers and no credits but inside the issue are:

STORM FORCE The soldiers of the Action Force sustitute battle the psionic powers of Amos Scrag on the Prison Island of Moras!

MASK: CHRISTMAS KIDNAP Another silly MASK caper as Miles Mayhem tries to kidnap Scott Trakker by working as a department store Santa. Interestingly Mayhem, Cliff Dagger, Sly Rax and Nash Gorey are all captured at the end of the story. I'm sure this is never referred to again though.

CHARLEY'S WAR April 1917 and Charley is in the reserve trenches of the Ypres Salient. Best thing in the comic, hands down.

DAN DARE Dan Dare quits his day job with the SPS to publish his autobiographical small press comic. Or something.

MASK: THE PRISONER I'm sorry. This is entirely too silly for words.

DOOMLORD Every time I read a random episode of Doomlord either Doonlord himself or his son Enok have swapped sides. This time Enok is a good guy and Doomlord is the villain.

MASK: BULLDOZE BATTLE Boris Bushkin vesus Lester Sludge!

JOHNNY RED Johnny is blind and lost behind enemy lines! Second best thing in the comic. Hands down.

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2000 AD Annual 1987 Simply Light Years Ahead! Cover art by Robin Smith

Published either 30 or 31 years ago - I get a bit confused by how annuals are dated sometimes.

Inside the annual: Rogue Trooper: Nort by Nortwest Script: Peter Milligan / Art: Jose Ortiz / Lettering: Steve Potter

Tharg's Future Shocks: Return to Sender Script: Grant Morrison / Art: Jeff Anderson / Lettering: Steve Potter

Judge Dredd: Ladies' Night Script: TB Grover / Art: Bryan Talbot / Lettering: Tom Frame

Ro-Busters: The Terra-Meks! Script: Pat Mills / Art: Dave Gibbons / Lettering: Dave Gibbons

Tharg's Future Shocks: The Bounty Hunters Script: Alan Moore / Art: John Higgins / Lettering: Tony Jacob

Strontium Dog Script: Alan Grant / Art: Kim Raymond / Lettering: Mark King

Anderson, Psi-Division: Golem Script: Alan Grant / Art: Romero / Lettering: Steve Potter