31 October 2017

Norman Thelwell - Chicko, part 2 of 2

The second batch of Norman Thelwell's Chicko strips from Eagle - a shame they're not signed  Thelwell.











30 October 2017

Norman Thelwell - Chicko, part 1 of 2

No time yesterday to highlight these small pieces of Eagle original art work that went under the ebay hammer yesterday. They show Norman Thelwell's earliest published character in Eagle, Chicko, in series of 3 panel strips. On most of the boards you can see
a). the date of publication
b). the scribbled "ok DL" - this is the ok from Derek Lord (Eagle sub-editor)
c). a scribble in the bottom right (which says EV) which is the ok from Ellen Vincent (Eagle assistant editor)
Both were early additions to the Eagle staff and worked on the magazine throughout the (golden) 1950s period.



The second strip shown here is my favourite as it shows Chicko as Dan Dare...























29 October 2017

Charley's war artwork for sale (again)

About 10 days ago there was the chance to acquire all 3 pages of original artwork for a Charley's War episode - the price? £2,100 and no-one went for it. Anyone kicking themselves for missing this opportunity might be delighted to know that the first page has been re-listed here for bids from £599

The original listing was over here on ebay.

These pages depict a time in the story when, sickened by having to be part of a firing squad, Charley enlists as a stretcher bearer to try and save lives rather than taking lives.





28 October 2017

Misty & Scream double signing this afternoon & evening

This is happening this afternoon...don't forget...

For anyone looking forward to October, for their opportunity to catch-up on how their favourites spooky characters are getting on care of the Scream & misty Halloween special, will be delighted to know that Gosh comics (in central London) have organised a signing for you as well. Details are here but they say...


Halloween at Gosh keeps the scares going into the afternoon of Saturday October 28th with a scream-a-riffic signing of the much-anticipated Scream and Misty One-Shot! Horrible Hannah Berry, Sinister Simon Coleby, Gruesome Grainne McEntee, Barbaric Ben Willsher and Angry Alec Worley will all be here from 4-5pm to put their ghoulish scrawl on your copies of the magazine!

(They're all lovely really!)

In the annals of British comics, the titles Scream and Misty have an evocative pull for those who were reading in the late 70's and early 80's. While neither had a particularly long run (a respectable 101 for misty, a mere 15 for Scream), both cast very long shadows indeed, and were probably many a young reader's fi...rst exposure to horror.

As a part of their acquisition of the IPC properties, Rebellion have taken both titles under their wing, and we're getting a Halloween special to celebrate!

Two of Britain's best-loved supernatural comics have been resurrected this Halloween and merged into one terrifying tome featuring all-new stories! Max the crazy computer makes a welcome return in The Thirteenth Floor by Guy Adams, John Stokes and Frazer Irving; the fangs are out in The Dracula File by Grainne McEntee and Tristan Jones; weirdos, warriors and weasels plucked from the pages of various 70s and 80s British comics congregate in Death-Man: The Gathering by Henry Flint; Kek-W and Simon Coleby collaborate on Black Max, the German World War One fighter pilot that's descended from a race of bat-people; the high-rise horrors of Birdwood are back in Return of the Sentinels by Hannah Berry and Ben Willsher; and fairies can be frightening in Fate of the Fairy Hunter by Alec Worley and DaNi.

So come along and meet the ghoulish gang, and get yourself a signed copy of this year's creepiest comic! If you can't make it and would like a signed copy, drop us an email to info@goshlondon.com to arrange a reservation or mail order.





News from Orbital comics about a signing they are having this weekend to celebrate the Scream & Misty special, they say...

It’s that time of year again, when ghouls creep and spirits wail; and to mark the occasion 2000AD has brought an old favourite back from the grim beyond – Scream and Misty! To celebrate, Orbital Comics welcome you to join us after hours for an exclusive talk with original Scream editor & Dracula File writer Simon Furman, Andy Oliver and current Scream editor Keith Richardson. Get here early and you may even find the opportunity to pick up some cool signed stock!

Two of Britain’s best-loved supernatural comics have been resurrected this Halloween and merged into one terrifying tome featuring all-new stories! Max the crazy computer makes a welcome return in The Thirteenth Floor by Guy Adams, John Stokes and Frazer Irving; the fangs are out in The Dracula File by Grainne McEntee and Tristan Jones; weirdos, warriors and weasels plucked from the pages of various 70s and 80s British comics congregate in Death-Man: The Gathering by Henry Flint; Kek-W and Simon Coleby collaborate on Black Max, the German World War One fighter pilot that’s descended from a race of bat-people; the high-rise horrors of Birdwood are back in Return of the Sentinels by Hannah Berry and Ben Willsher; and fairies can be frightening in Fate of the Fairy Hunter by Alec Worley and DaNi.




See you there (if you dare?)

27 October 2017

More scares coming soon from Rebellion

In all the coverage of people trying to get hold of the Misty & Scream / Scream & Misty Halloween special I'm not sure I've seen anyone mention this fantastic advert within the magazine itself...


Ok, so the strip was actually called The thirteenth floor but Rebellion have plenty of time to fix that :)
José Ortiz art from new Eagle, lovely. There's a lot of it as well, the Thirteenth Floor ran from 01/09/84 to 28/02/87 - so that's 131 episodes in total.

26 October 2017

early Carl Critchlow artowrk

A batch of SSI newsletters has arrived so I'll be mining this for interesting nuggets over the next few weeks, first up are two covers by Carl 'Thrud, Lobster Random' Critchlow...



25 October 2017

Carlos Ezquerra cover gallery - Fury comic

To celebrate the publication of the War issue of ComicScene, and the passing of Carlos Ezquerra, I thought I'd revisit the Fury cover gallery that I put together a while back, enjoy! 

Fury was published for 25 issues by Marvel UK and Carlos drew covers 2-25, Dave Gibbons drew the cover for issue 1. The titular hero was Sergeant Fury (and his howling commandos). Art and story credits for the US reprint material that made up the contents of this title are thin on the ground, so it's just the covers really I'll be highlighting. Fury lasted 25 issues (16/03/77 - 31/08/77) before it merged into Mighty word of Marvel.

Issue #1


Issue 2

rear cover art by Frank Langford

Issue 3

Issue 4

Issue 5

Issue 6



Issue 7



Issue 8



Issue 9



Issue 10

Issue 11



Issue 12



Issue 13


Issue 14


Issue 15

Issue 16


Issue 17


Issue 18


Issue 19


Issue 20

Issue 21



Issue 22



Issue 23


Issue 24


Issue 25

24 October 2017

Scream & Misty signing this Saturday

News from Orbital comics about a signing they are having this weekend to celebrate the Scream & Misty special, they say...

It’s that time of year again, when ghouls creep and spirits wail; and to mark the occasion 2000AD has brought an old favourite back from the grim beyond – Scream and Misty! To celebrate, Orbital Comics welcome you to join us after hours for an exclusive talk with original Scream editor & Dracula File writer Simon Furman, Andy Oliver and current Scream editor Keith Richardson. Get here early and you may even find the opportunity to pick up some cool signed stock!

Two of Britain’s best-loved supernatural comics have been resurrected this Halloween and merged into one terrifying tome featuring all-new stories! Max the crazy computer makes a welcome return in The Thirteenth Floor by Guy Adams, John Stokes and Frazer Irving; the fangs are out in The Dracula File by Grainne McEntee and Tristan Jones; weirdos, warriors and weasels plucked from the pages of various 70s and 80s British comics congregate in Death-Man: The Gathering by Henry Flint; Kek-W and Simon Coleby collaborate on Black Max, the German World War One fighter pilot that’s descended from a race of bat-people; the high-rise horrors of Birdwood are back in Return of the Sentinels by Hannah Berry and Ben Willsher; and fairies can be frightening in Fate of the Fairy Hunter by Alec Worley and DaNi.

23 October 2017

Comic shop in Reading

Just a quick shout out for anyone heading to Reading at any point...there's a great 2nd hand comic shop that well worth checking out in the Harris Arcade. I just snapped a few photos of the outside of the shop, but the inside is a treasure trove of picture libraries, annuals, original art, piles and piles of comics (many sold in 'blocks' of one year at a time). I didn't have very long to stay but there is a lot to look at.