I was probably about seven years old when I walked into my local newsagents in Cambuslang (near Glasgow) with my pocket money firmly held in one hand and clasping my mum with my other hand for added security after all I had the grand sum of 4 shillings to spend (20p in today’s money), a fair amount in 1966/7. At seven years old my interests were pretty much centered around the worlds of Matchbox cars, sweets, Plasticine, Timpo Knights and cap rockets. However, on this day another new interest was to be added to that list and one that would last into my dotage……. American comic books. Now I knew all about US comics long before this day as my dad bought them for my brother and myself on occasion and of course US strips were reprinted in the British comics, but today was to be a big day for me as it was to be the day I bought my first US comic.
I can no longer recall the actual newsagents name (it may have been “Swanns”) where this momentous event took place but I do vividly remember seeing the above comic and being instantly intrigued by it as I had never seen or heard of any of these characters (little did I know that they were all revamps of golden age characters) and there were so many of them including the Black Hood, Comet, Fly Man, Fly Girl, the Shield , Bob Phantom, Fireball, The Web, The Fox, Hangman, Inferno, Jaguar, Mr. Justice (my favorite) Steel Sterling and more. Sadly I lost (or swapped) my copy of the Mighty Crusaders issues 4 a few years later but it has always remained in my memory as the title that started my love affair with comics. It was perhaps written and illustrated in a more innocent time, it may not have been ”realistic”, deep or brooding but it was fun and is that not what comics are supposed to be.
I was probably about seven years old when I walked into my local newsagents in Cambuslang (near Glasgow) with my pocket money firmly he...
Following on from my last post featuring some of my favourite Marvel comic book covers from 1973, I thought I would show some of DC's ...
Nearly a half-century on I still consider 1973 to be the year that cemented my destiny in becoming a lifetime comic book fan. It was a yea...
Timpo Toys! I used to love Timpo Toys!
ReplyDeleteHi Steve, Of all the toys I had as a kid I think I miss the Timpo knights the most. I remember not only having lots of the above Crusader knights but a good selection of other s like the Red, Black , Blue, Green etc.knights
DeleteI only have one Timpo figure, which is something I must rectify. It's Captain Scarlet in case you were wondering. Why you no tell me you start blogging, Gringo?
ReplyDeleteHi Kid, Thanks for replying and apologies to everyone for not replying sooner (Laptop issues and work all got in the way). I was trying to figure out how this blogger thing all works first before going public with it Kid, at times I have found it a bit temperamental to operate and I still need to add things to the site etc. Plus wasn’t sure what to write its not as easy s you make it seem.
DeleteShucks, you say the nicest things, McS. Regarding DS's two FF's, it's interesting that he got into them just as John Byrne was leaving the title as his run was mostly a great one. I still have my original issues bought back then and, as I always (boringly) say - it only seems like yesterday. Still in the condition I got them in too.
DeleteCongratulations on your new blog, Paul!
ReplyDeleteHi Colin, Thank you. It's only taken me 6 years to get something together for this blog. I hope to have another thread up before the end of the decade lol.
DeleteIt's funny how almost all comics fans have such vivid memories of the issues that got them hooked. I had read probably hundreds of individual comics before I bought Fantastic Four 293 and 294 in a John Menzies in Glasgow in 1986, but those were the two that turned me from a casual reader into a manic collector. 294 was the current issue, the copy of 293 was jammed in half- behind something else at the back of the shelf, an unsold copy from the previous month. If a member of staff had gathered up the unsold comics more carefully, I might not have become so entranced by US comics, and i think my life would be very different today.
ReplyDeleteHi Steve, I have some really vivid memories of certain comics when I was a kid., apart from the issue of the Mighty Crusaders mentioned here I remember with almost crystal clarity reading Wham! annual 1967 as a 7 year old. I picked up a new copy of the annual about 20 years ago and was amazed that I remembered almost every page of the annual and even certain individual panels. By the mid-1980s when you picked up those two FF issues I had lost interest in most comics so I probably missed a lot of great stuff. Do you still have those two issues of FF, or will you be looking to track them down again in10-15 years’ time? I have great memories of John Menzies in Glasgow (now WH Smiths of course) it was always good back in the day for picking up US comics
ReplyDeleteSorry I meant Dave and NOT Steve in my reply my heads in the clouds today.
DeleteLol, no problem- a regular thing through my schooldays was that teachers could never remember by name- I was frequently called Andrew or Gordon among several other names! Later on there was a character in GI Joe comics who was so stealthy that none of his teammates could remember his name, I felt great empathy for him! (Later on they revealed that his name was... Ghost Rider. Strange choice of name for a pilot, but maybe that's why no-one remembered him!)
ReplyDeleteYes, I still have those two comics- as I've pointed out on Kid's blog before, I got seriously into comics in the summer of 1986 and would buy different titles to try them out, which means I snapped up issues of Simonson's Thor, Avengers Under Siege storyline, Daredevil Born Again, the X-Men by Claremont and Romita Jr, the end of Byrne's FF run...is it any wonder I got utterly hooked?
Hey, DS, what's wrong with being called Gordon - even when it's not your name?
DeleteI always found it a plus to fly under the radar at school so I was happy to be anonymous. Ah I forgot about Simonson's Thor and Byrne's FF they were the only regular Marvel's in the mid 80s I read, both cracking titles so I can understand how you got hooked . In the 70s my comic buying was 90% based on buying as many titles as I could, I had to try as many books as I could back then some great some a waste of money .
ReplyDeleteAm only now jumping back to the start of your blog, McScotty. Timpo Knights! I had completely forgotten them, despite the fact that my Dad built me a toy Castle with drawbridge to use to play with them in. And then Kid mentioned having the Timpo Captain Scarlett, and that reminded me I had also Captains Blue, White and Green. Thanks for triggering the memories!
ReplyDeleteMy dad also built me a castle that had a drawbridge for my knights. I can still see it in my mind's eye, great days. I had a bendy Captain Scarlet but i can't recall who made it. I think it's great when memories get triggered by our old toys and comics which is why at my age I still enjoy collecting old comics.
ReplyDelete'Twas Pedigree who made the bendy Captain Scarlet, McS, and as you know from my blog, it would cost a small fortune to buy a decent condition one today. I had all the Timpo CS figures at the time, but one will do me for the mo.
DeleteThanks for the info Kid. I saw a Capt Scarlet bendy toy a few weeks ago in a local antique market for £25, it wasn't in great condition his hat wasn't complete and his left leg looked "cracked" . I was in that store last week and it was sold. I personally wouldn't pay that amount for an old toy but I picked up a Timpo Crusader, sadly it didn't have a shield but was only £2
DeleteJust read your reply, McScotty. I remember that Captain Scarlet bendy figure....immediately the smell of the rubber it was made of came back to me! Amazing what the sub-conscious holds.
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