You'll Die Laughing

You'll Die Laughing Trading Cards by Topps with art by the great Jack Davis. The perfect vintage collectible for Halloween. Get your set out tonight. For background music why not try Children of The Grave by Black Sabbath, Come to the Sabbat by Black Widow or on a lighter note, Monster Mash by Bobby Boris Pickett and the Crypt Kickers. Enjoy! Cara Mia!

HALLOWEEN CENTRAL: M.R.JAMES' GHOST STORIES

On this dark Halloween why not curl up on the sofa with some hot cocoa, turn down the lights and watch a classic British Ghost Story by MR. James. Here are three of my favourite televised adaptations from the 1960's and 70's courtesy of You Tube. Be warned, they may scare you stiff!

The UK 1979 TV play version of the earlier film 'Night of the Demon', one of mine, EvilEd's and Scoop's favourite Fifties movies [recently blogged about by Scoop].

 

 

Classic James: a hair-raising tale about finding a an ancient crown. From Christmas 1972.

A Ghost Story from Christmas 1968 and my favourite. This black and white chiller will send shivers down your spine!

The Haunting of Moonbase

A gruesome twosome of pics

taken in our kitchen today.

Halloween snaps welcomed all week!

Ministry Of Space

While I enjoyed reading comics as a kid I must admit I don’t bother much with the modern stuff which to my mind is too graphic and takes itself far too seriously. With the odd exception, I was never into the American costumed superhero, preferring British comic characters like Dan Dare and The Steel Claw.

However, once in a while a modern comic attracts my interest.

Although it came out a few years ago now, The Ministry of Space was an irregular three part comic mini series beginning in April 2001 and finally ending in April 2004.

 

It was written by Warren Ellis, illustrated by Chris Weston and coloured by Laura Martin

Warren Ellis had the idea for the comic while cleaning out his loft. He found a reprinted copy of a Dan Dare story, The Man from Nowhere. Although, in the fifties it was science fiction now in 2000 it could be seen as an alternative history - a time where Britain had led and won the space race!

The Dan Dare story was written at a time when Britain was recovering following the Second World War. It carried a strong sense of patriotism and an open optimism for the future.

The Ministry of Space carried a darker message and replaced that patriotism with jingoism, and the optimism with good old fashioned British cynicism.

So what’s it all about?

 

At the end of WW2, British troops capture German rocket technology ahead of the Americans at Peenemunde. With a technological advantage over the rest of the world, The Ministry of Space is brought into being led by ex Battle of Britain pilot, John Dashwood who convinces Prime Minister Winston Churchill to fund it as a secret project.

Soon British pilots have broken the sound barrier, manned space stations and landed on the Moon and Mars.

The twist in the tale is the source of the funding and the price paid for progress!

 

If you haven’t come across Ministry of Space before,  check it out - it’s a bit like Dan Dare meets Project Sword!
 

Keith Watson II

Woodsy, A follow up to Scoop's mention of Keith Watson. Here is the beginning of a strip he did for the New Thunderbirds Comic. Apparently he was given stills from the film to work from and adapt to strip cartoon. Best wishes, Andy B.

Happy Halloween

Horror Europa Tonight

For UK readers there's a pre-Halloween TV treat in store tonight: HORROR EUROPA, a tour of European Horror films with Mark Gatiss. 9pm BBC4. Grrrrrr!

Mischief Night

Tonight is Mischief Night in some parts of the world when adolescent pranksters take to the streets the night before Halloween. In the UK we have to wait till November 4th, the night before Bonfire Night, for these unwelcome high jinx. Lets hope the pranksters forget! Have you come across Mischief Night [also known as Cabbage Night or Hell Night in the movie The Crow] in your neck of the woods?

Japanese Booster Rocket Candy - New to the Blog

Reader Ed Tarboosh has sent me these excellent scans of magazine ads from Japan. They show a Booster Rocket pictured on the front of a Japanese box of candy. I'm unsure which make this is: Morinaga? Glico? Whether the Booster Rocket is actually a toy or model that came with the candy is unknown too. It's still a super image and completely new to the blog. Here it is in close up and the Project SWORD version appears below for comparison. The original painting was of course by the late Ed Valigursky.

 

Hurricane Sandy

Our thoughts are with our American friends who are struggling with Hurricane Sandy. Stay safe and hope to get you back fighting fit real soon.

LARGE SCRATCHBIULT SPACEX NUCLEAR FREIGHTER BY KEVIN D

Hi all,

Well, I've been meaning to try this for years and now I've done it. This is my attempt at a scratchbuilt replica of a Spacex toy [Nuclear Freighter]  with the intention of making it look like a realistic vehicle. It is made from plasticard and milliput mainly. I am quite pleased with it and may make it the first in an ongoing series of projects.

take care,

Kevin D

Piles of Spacex II

Hi Woodsy

Here is my "Piles of Spacex" pic, which is a pic of part of a batch of Spacex I won on Ebay back in 2005.

Cheers
Tony Panther

Gold Key Supercar Comic Covers

Continuing my current Supercar interest here are some scans of the front covers of the four Gold Key comics from the early sixties that featured Supercar, and as a bonus  the single Fireball XL5 issue.

I did like the glossy look of the Gold Key and Dell comics but most of them, it has to said, were examples of style over content.

 

 

 

 

 

Anybody else enjoy Gold  Key comics?

 

 

 

It Was The Marvel Of The Age

In February 2003 a new comic was published featuring Gerry Anderson’s Supercar.

I’d heard about it at a Fanderson convention in 2000 when two of it’s creators were interviewed.

The comic, published by Misc!MAYHEM was supposed to be part of a series which was to include a Fireball XL5 and UFO, along with a set of die-cast models by Johnny Lighting featuring Supercar .

I picked up a copy of the comic shortly after it was released and found it a pretty good read. I felt the writers, Michael Wolff and Kez Wilson were fond of their subject and the comic, although modern retained a lot of the essence of the TV series.

Inside was an ad for the next issue of Supercar - a four parter entitled Mercury Falling.

Another ad heralded the other two series featuring a six part Fireball XL5 story and a seven part UFO story.

I bought the die-cast Supercar - one of the first with yellow wings.

 

 

You could even buy tee shirts!

I waited for the next issue but to no avail. It seemed the whole project had collapsed.

It was a real shame. I would have quite happily subscribed to a new set of Gerry Anderson comics that weren’t aimed at the juvenile market.

Let’s hope that somewhere down the line these comics are given another chance.

Piles of SpaceX

You don't see great heaps of Project SWORD toys but not so Spacex/ Golden Astronaut. Owing to their size lots of carded sets fit into a small space. Over the years I've archived photos of piles of SpaceX from around the globe and here are my top four.

1999 Mark McClellan USA

1998 Woodsy UK

2010 Vectis UK

2011 Darth Canada

Any more piles of SpaceX out there?

Night of the Demon

It’s in the trees! It’s coming! The demon, it’s coming!

As a prelude to Halloween I thought I’d watch my favourite old horror flick, ‘Night Of The Demon’.

Made at A.B. P. C. Studios at Elstee, England in 1957, the film was directed by Jacques Tourneur, who had earlier directed Cat People, an erotic horror about a young woman who believes herself to be a descendent of a race of people who at certain times have the power to turn into ferocious cats.

The film was produced by New Yorker Hal E. Chester, a child actor appearing in films in the 30’s and 40’s. He was also the co-producer of another classic B movie, The Beast from 20,000 fathoms

It was at his insistence that the Demon appeared in the film much against the wishes of the director, Tourneur who wanted a more subtle and unnerving approach to the horror in the film.

American, Dana Andrews was the star, sceptic John Holden. A popular actor in the forties and fifties and brother of Steve Forrest, star of The Baron. He was the driven scientist in the film Crack in the World, and a mad scientist keeping a disembodied head alive in The Frozen Dead, a film which really scared me at the time.

Softly spoken, Naill MacGinnis was perfect as the charming but deadly. Dr Julian Karswell, MacGinnus had few leading parts but was more a mainstay of British cinema. He appeared in the classic B movies, Island of Terror and Torture Garden.

Peggy Cummings was the female lead determined to find out the truth about her uncle’s death. She appeared in many films during the forties and fifties including another favourite of mine, Hell Drivers, starring Patrick MacGoohan

Based on a short story called 'Casting The Runes' by horror writer, Montague Rhodes James , Night of the Demon is a dark tale examining the power and fear that is generated by Black Magic.

John Holden, played by Dana Andrews is the scientist out to disprove the existence of the paranormal, and discredit the followers of black magic.

Peggy Cummins is Joanna Harrington, who believes her uncle has been killed by a curse placed on him by Karswell, the villain of the piece who has the power to conjure up demons from hell!

It has been written,, since the dawn of time,

Even unto these ancient stones

That evil, supernatural creatures exist in a world of darkness.

And it is also said Man, using the magic power of the ancient runic symbols,

Can call forth these powers of darkness: the demons of Hell….

Through the ages men have feared and worshipped these creatures…

The practice of witchcraft, the cults of evil, have endured and exist to this day.

The grim opening narration spoken by Shay Gorman, set against the backdrop of a bleak and windswept Stonehenge.

 

The title was changed for the American release to Curse of the Demon, and ommitted the last two lines of the narration.

 

 

The film got front page billing in 1980 when the BBC showed a season of classic horror films. The picture was specially drawn by Mark Thomas to look like a double bill movie poster.

 

  

Maybe it's better not to know!

　

In Search of Eldorado

Like many whippersnappers of the Sixties I loved space toys and die-cast cars with equal ferocity. The sheer number of fantastic toy cars that populated the bedrooms of kids back then was head-spinning: Matchbox, Whizzwheels, Corgi Rockets, Hot Wheels, Sizzlers and Superfast. I was always drawn to the more exotic looking designs of concept cars and American classics, which fed into the overall space craze. There were so many pearls its hard to pick favourites. I'd happily have them all back as none survived my adolescence. One that regularly cruises the freeways of my memory is Dinky's supercool Cadillac Eldorado. Its sleek lines, chrome fins and deep purple colouring were the very stuff of the American dream. It even came in a rather snappy plastic case atop a neat card base. One day we will be re-united! Does anyone else have a favourite die-cast?

Wotan's Radio Play

If you haven't listened to Wotan's first fab sci fi radio story Tales of the Darkside on Radio Celtica then you can listen again on their mp3 podcast here. Read superbly by Dave Carrington on his Squaring The Circle radio show, it's a great way to spend half an hour on a dark wintry day like today. Get the kettle on!

Thunderstruck

Seeing The Shining is playing again at cinemas this Halloween has got me thinking. If an old classic movie like that can be re-shown on the big screen, albeit for one night only, then why not Thunderbirds Are Go? I suppose the first question would be does anyone want to see it anymore? Secondly, who would we badger, the film's owner? What do you think, a dead duck?

Before The Rockets

Just occasionally a toy appears on Ebay which makes me go "Yes! I had one of those!". From a time before I held my first rocket I played with more babyish toys and Cubby the Reading Bear was one of them. A beautiful clockwork toy, the bear 'read' his book by turning over the metal pages of his tinplate book. Made in Japan, Cubby has zoomed to the present like a time capsule and I was amazed to see him again albeit online. I also remember a clockwork monkey who banged two cymbals together! Wonderful! Did anyone one else have any clockwork toys like these?

Fireball XL5 From Century 21

At the beginning of the sixties, A.P. Film’s were about to end production on Supercar. Producer Gerry Anderson and art director, Reg Hill got to work on coming up with new ideas for the next series.

I read somewhere, one idea involved a day dreaming young boy who imagined himself as a space pilot called Joe Ninety. The concept would have been a mix of puppets and live action. However, this was apparently proven to be too costly.

But staying with the idea of a space themed series, Gerry and Reg came up with ’Century 21’, a space series set in 2962, and featuring a spacecraft of the same name. Century 21, along with a fleet of similar spaceships would patrol the Galaxy for the United States Space Patrol.

Reg and Derek Meddings worked on the spaceship design with Derek coming up with the pre-production sketch of Century 21.

This design found its way into issues of TV Comic, when the artist, Neville Main had presumably been given pre production artwork as reference prior to the series airing on television. Another similar design could also be seen as a guest star called ’Super R’ in the 1963 Supercar Annual, this time drawn by Eric Eden.

A concept brochure was created by Gerry, Reg and Derek to pitch the series to Lew Grade’s Associated TeveVision Ltd.

Changing the name to Fireball XL5, the series was given the go ahead and brochure was put to one side and forgotten.

Years later, following Reg Hill’s passing, the brochure was found at the back of a cupboard at his home.

In 2002, Fanderson, the Gerry Anderson fan club, gained access to the brochure and reproduced the sketches from it as part of their collector card series. Apart from the spacecraft which is credited to Derek Meddings, all the rest are credited to Reg Hill.